#this is ONE of the best archetypes of my fav dynamic

[lurkingshan]

Japanese QL Corner

It's a quieter week as a few shows have just wrapped and the next wave hasn't started yet, but there is still Japanese ql airing, including what is shaping up to be an all time fav. Both of these current airing shows are on Gaga and I highly recommend watching!

Love is Better the Second Time Around

This show is so good, and so mature in exactly the way I hoped. And I don't mean mature as in explicit--there is sex in this show but it's not some wild heat level. It's mature in that it's a story about characters who know themselves, know what they want, and draw boundaries. Both Iwanaga and Miyata are going down as favorite characters for me; I especially love that Miyata is a more knowing and self aware spin on a really well known bl archetype (think Rain from LITA but if he actually knew exactly why he was reacting the way he was to Payu and was mad about it instead of just overwhelmed and confused). This week we got a lot deeper into his teenage hurt over Iwanaga and now have a firm understanding of why he's alternately giving into and resisting this attraction. I am looking forward to Iwanga figuring out how to repair the damage he caused and earn his trust back.

My Strawberry Film

This was easily my favorite episode so far of this meandering little show. Every week I am left wondering what exactly this drama is trying to say and be; it certainly doesn't feel like a bl. We have spent the vast majority of our time on doomed het romance while Ryo quietly pines for his oblivious friend in the background. But this week we finally got to know Minami outside of Hikaru's narrow gaze, and I like her a lot. Her scene with Ryo where they discussed their romantic woes and established each other as a safe zone was very sweet, and showed how perceptive she is about all these dynamics happening around her. I was discussing with @bengiyo whether the show is going for an aromantic read with her, and I'm not sure. I see the makings of it, but the presentation of her feelings on romance feels a bit muddled. I loved her calling Hikaru out on being self-centered and having absolutely no patience for his petty jealousy. Hikaru thinks he likes her, but he doesn't actually know her (or his own best friend). I liked the final scene between Ryo and Hikaru as well, and the terrible angst of Ryo's confession that he immediately took back. The way the lights and audio from oncoming traffic played over his face in that scene was a really fantastic way to communicate both a moment of clarity and a moment of fear in the aftermath. I'm curious to see where this show takes the ending; a romantic conclusion for the two boys would not feel genuine to me at this point, but I could see them leaving us on a note of burgeoning curiosity and hope.

Bonus: No Touching At All

I recently watched this 2014 jbl on @twig-tea's recommendation, and I really loved it (I have already watched it twice and will definitely be doing so again). This is a classic office romance between a young gay man, Shima, and his "straight" boss, Toga. It's a simple story but well executed, and the film has a strong sense of place that I really loved. Shima and Toga have a fairly instantaneous attraction, and Toga is the kind of laidback character who simply never gave much thought to his sexuality and doesn't care about the fact that Shima is a man; he likes who he likes. Shima, however, is carrying a lot of internalized homophobia and trauma from closeted men messing him around in the past, and has a hard time believing in Toga's sincerity. I really love the way this conflict plays out in the story, and I especially love the way Toga talks to Shima. He's a no bullshit kind of guy and he tries his best to reassure Shima, but he's not a pushover, either. Ultimately Shima has to work through his own insecurities and make the choice to be brave to make the relationship work. The ending of this one is amazing and left me feeling very confident in this couple, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's the grey for this one, unfortunately, but if you have trouble finding it in HQ let me know and I'll point you (don't watch it on YT, the version on there is potato quality).

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - all these kisses Korea, are you feeling okay?

Entirely subjective yadda yadda. Organized sorta by favs in each category.

Sept 2023 Wk 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Fri grey) ep 5 of 12 - I did think the sketch was done AFTER they’d become lovers. Meanwhile, I do enjoy the creepy slipping through time moments, adds nicely to the tension. I’m sublimely uninterested in all the hets but that's normal for me. Bit of a slow episode, but I'm looking forward to next week. 

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 5 of 12 - Cohabitation trope activated. Also "lovable grandma" is a new BL archetype I can get behind. Honestly PerthChimon's dynamic is good, it’s fun to watch a Thai BL where the leads are actually both stellar actors. There’s no stilted awkwardness to their dialogue back & forth or other interactions. I also like having MarcPuwin back on my screen. NO DAMN SINGING. Finally a fun twist on the faen fatale. 

Hidden Agenda (Sun YT) ep 10 of 12 - I like that we’re seeing actual realistic consequences of coming out. Not the big parental freak out, but the small nasties of opening up as an everyday queer. This is rare in BL.  

Naughty Babe (Sat YT) ep 3 of 8 - Lap sitting, lots of kissing, one arm counter lift - thank you, boys. Stupid tiny dog (not a euphemism). Is it just me or does Max look extra pretty these days? Anygay, it’s all quite silly and I'm mildly enjoying it.  

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 11 of 12 - I remain enamored of Big Daddy & the Hot Doc but nothing else. 

Venus in the Sky (Tues iQIYI) 3 of 10 eps - Their history and the consequences of the confession to their friendship all seems a little sad & cruel. But also it’s just this pulp, ya know? 

(10 points to the True Geek who gets that reference.)

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 6 of 10 - I want Mew’s moms’ story as a GL. (Not from this team, of course.) Ah even Sand can be a lying creep, best not to like anyone in this show... frankly, best just not to like this show. And ya know what, I'm pretty sure I really don't.

Could I make something clear? You can’t "steal a lover from someone." That's puerile thinking. That lover wants to go. It’s the lover’s fault (if anyone) not the one who stole that lover, no matter how much an asshole Top is. Sand’s ex is at fault, not Top. And screw Sand for thinking that way. Like his ex wasn't a whole person in their own right capable of making decisions?

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) ep 3-4 Marry Go Round of 24 eps - The premise of this is dumb. The pair is fun. They still kiss great. The actors are good. Crap story. What can you do? Don’t watch it. 5/10 

I need to rewatch Destiny Seeker now. 

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 5 of 10 - Omg. Too stupid to live. Why am I still watching this? How many more? Ugh. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Why R U? (Korea Wed iQIYI) eps 7-8fin - SaifahZon (no matter what country) are probably the softest enemies to lovers ever put on screen. Yes they are very cute and I like them better than the original. However, no one can out do ZeeSaint for the count down kiss on the rooftop. All in all, I enjoyed the final 2 eps, very cute. I liked this BL a lot but I’d love to know what somebody thought who hadn’t seen the original.

Ultimately, what can I say about Why R U? Korea?

Korea decided to remake, of all possible Thai BLs, Why RU? And that is exactly what we got: a short form, clean & pretty, uneven chemistry, slightly confusing, all the same tropes KBL that kind of cliff-noted the original but with none of the heat or complex relationship dynamics. I just … what world is this? Because it is BOTH bizarro land, and EXACTLY what I expected. How do I rate something like that? In the end I have to go back to simple questions: did I like it, would I rewatch it, and would I recommend it? Yes. Probably. And probably not. What the actual hell reality? 8/10 

You Are Mine (Taiwan Fri Gaga) eps 1-2 of 10 - Office romance, broken-grumpy + innocent-sunshine. (Also cutie devil meets angel bestie hotties.) Gotta say, Taiwan is awfully good at moments of recognition. I sense some whipping boy and obsession incoming, looks good on you, Taiwan. Do I like it? Of course I like it! 

Kisseki: Dear to Me (Taiwan Tues Viki & iQIYI) ep 5 of 13(?) - Taiwan never met a trope it didn’t wanna play with. Teacher student + secret relationship, there’s only one bed but they slept together on the floor anyway... it’s a trope gum ball machine. I'm not mad, a bit confused, but who cares.

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 5 of 8 - Uh-oh baby is sad. Yo is such a drama queen - I respect that in a boy. Also, I love it that W took it as and excuse to play Real Boyfriends. Also leaning v obsessive stalker there Japan. As expected you had to go there. Carry on, you do (and track on your creep app) you.

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) ep 11 of 12 - Ugh. I kind of enjoyed seeing Minato in pain and having to work for the relationship for a change. But that’s just because I’m so frustrated with his character this season and I want him to SUFFER. Sides are cute tho. I like them better this season. 

It's Airing But...

Crazy Handsome Rich (Sun Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - I just can’t. The sound. DNF 

Bump Up Business AKA Bump Up Project (Korea movie) original cinema release was 9/15 but MDL indicates it's been moved to October so I'll shift my dates. Last status update. Love story between a trainee who is about to debut and a celebrity from the same agency (based on a webtoon). Kpop boy group OnlyOneOf signed on to star. They’ve been auditioning for this since Libido IMHO. You can watch me chronicle their BL MV series in this post. It’s from Idol Romance who will do sad but can do good kisses (Wish You, Nobleman Ryu, Once Again, Kissable Lips, Poongduck 304, Tasty Florida, Tinted With You).

In case you missed it?

What Did You Eat Yesterday? is now available on Gaga. If you enjoyed Our Dining Table, you will enjoy this. 

I did a quick analysis of 2 different acting styles based on these 2 boys here.

Boyband, I finally watched the 6 eps that are available. It aired earlier this year and was hard to find. For good reason it turns out. Yes it’s about a Thai boyband so I skipped all the singing bits. I like the actor playing Juju (Brothers). Also hi Art, are you actually ageless? Lots of other familiar faces popped up like Copter, Max, Fluke. It actually started as a solid little story (if not much of a romance). The stuff with the organizers was v boring and there were 2 het sides but the rest of it was palatable. Operative word being was. Something happened around ep 3, like they lost funding as well as distribution and it just... fizzled. No real ending, no character dev, no story resolution, just blank. It’s like it DNF’d itself. 3/10 I don’t know what I just watched and neither does it. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Still To Come In September

9/26 I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan ????) - Adapted from the manga, childhood best friends: The cool, smart one who’s good at everything, and his average, dorky friend who struggles. Always by the other’s side, but not together in the way they truly want to be. No matter how hard they try, their hearts cannot reach each other.

9/27 Absolute Zero (Thai iQIYI) - from 2021, Studio Wabi Sabi and New Siwaj finally bring us this “time loop to prevent tragedy” romance. We don’t always get HEAs from them, so I'm on my guard.

9/27 Bon Appetit (Korea iQIYI) - from 2022, 8 eps from GoGo Studio, romance between an office worker who lives off junk food and the man next door who cooks well.

9/? Mr Cinderella 2 (Vietnam YouTube?) - it's Vietnam so your guess is as good as mine.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Just look at the PRETTY! His makeup is flawless this series. I don't know who GMMTV hired new for makeup recently, but this ain't Thai style, this genius trained at the feet of Korea's finest. You keep that bitch (hon. gender nu) around, GMMTV, ya hear? (Hidden Agenda)

Gah, I love Yai so much. He tries so hard. He's such a sweet earnest character. He's like the angel-baby opposite of Chan (devil-baby) but they both my 2023 babies. (I Feel You Linger in the Air)

You know I love it when a BL gets meta about tropes. Here's Why R U?K calling out enemies to lovers.

Kabedon!

Yes we like all the snacks, thank you Korea. Your BL is basically snack food anyway. I'm not mad about it.

SWITCHES! I love it when we get this kinda thing. (All Why R U? Korea)

It me in all horror movies and whenever a boy starts to sing in a BL. (Venus in the Sky)

(Last week) 

[kitkatt0430]

coldflash and/or coldwave and or whatever arrowverse ship you want for the bingo ask. 🧡

ColdFlash:

One of my two fav Leonard Snart ships right there and definitely in the top 5 of my fav Barry Allen ships. The attraction between these two is instant and electric, they're definitely compatible weirdos. Len sees the Flash doing his thing and is like 'this guy gets it, this is my chance to live my supervillain fantasies in real life'. And Barry's little grin on the train, like my goodness stop flirting when there's a trainload of people in danger my dude.

They trust each other when they both know they shouldn't. They're drawn to each other, they both want to bring out the best in the other, they're somehow dating and married and exes all at once. They're destined to be enemies and their fates intertwined. They're sci-fi nerds.

I absolutely love reading and writing this ship sooooooo much.

ColdWave:

My other top two Leonard Snart ship right here. They bring out the worst in each other and the best in each other. They're the first person the other thinks of when they need a partner for anything. They're opposites attracting and so similar they're each others shadow archetype.

After Len dies, Mick keeps trying to recreate their relationship because it was the longest, healthiest (and at times also unhealthiest) constant in his life. It was because of Len that Mick was able to find himself with the Legends and have the chance to reinvent himself as a romance writer.

Len becomes a supervillain and the first person he thinks of to team up with is Mick despite the fact that they hadn't worked together in years. They're exes and married and each other's greatest supporters and critics and their dynamic is so goooooood.

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

hi i just wanted to say you’re literally the best writer ive ever found on here, normally i avoid fanfics on here because of the heavy smut lying around and how uncomfortable it makes me, but im honestly just glad i gave tumblr a second chance and found your account. ur writing is actually so good and inclusive to a large majority of the readers and not only that but u actually portray the characters correctly instead of making them a twink or some dommy alpha daddy. i thank the heavens whenever i see a notification from u pop up on my screen. pls dont quit or get a disease and die i love u (also please write more sukuna x reader fanfics i will send you pictures of the front and back of my credit card)

thank you so much anon!! 🥹 it really does mean a lot to know my blog can be some kind of safe space for people who might be more averse to smut, feeling uncomfortable around certain tropes and dynamics is perfectly understandable and something i can definitely relate to lmao…

as for the characterization!!!!!! i encourage allll interpretations and takes, fanfic is fun like that :3 but obv i have some that i don’t enjoy…. the dom daddy archetype is one of them personally i think all good men should be more mommy-leaning. that’s just me though. Men Who Are Mother is my fav trope <33

I’M SO HAPPY YOU ENJOYED THE KUNA FIC??? or i’m assuming you did since you want more….. i just reread that one recently and phewwwww house husband!sukuna might be my best character yet ngl…. save me emotionally unavailable malewife who spoils you relentlessly through his cooking……. save me………. 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 i dunno if i’ll ever write for kuna outside of that au, but i’d be more than happy to write a pt2 at some point :3 we’ll see!!!!

[beansterpie]

B, D, J, L, T, U

Thanks for the ask moth!! <3

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

LMFAO Agohiru from ES21 😂 I remember when I first got into es21 back in highschool, Hiruma was my fav, but I didn't think much of Agon other than 'wow what an asshole!' and didn't like him. (Also I was a big Hirumamo shipper at the time, and I'm the type who clings onto One Ship for a character and isn't too interested in anything else lol) It wasn't until I got back into it in the last couple of years that I've come to appreciate how much fun it is to bat that asshole around, and just how loaded Hiruma and Agon's ~history~ is.

Though I guess no one person specifically changed my mind, unless you count past me vs present me lol. OH actually, what changed my mind was the fic "Independent Variable" on ff.net. I think I got back into es21 and was like 'you know, hiruma/agon totally has potential' and so was looking up fics of that pairing, and then I read that fic and was lost.

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

Hmmmm oh, Merther (Merlin/Arthur) lol. Their set up as a ship is extremely juicy (two sides of the same coin?? fate ties them together??? conflict because their initial world views are diametrically opposed????) and there's soooo much fic for them, but. I just. I don't like Arthur 😭 Like, I mean, he's FINE. But the writing of the whole show is so inconsistent and there's entire seasons where he's just so shitty to Merlin for no damn reason in a way that I'm supposed to take as funny and silly which pisses me off more.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

I mean, most shows that have mainstream popularity that I never checked out lol, though I think one that I've seen a lot of shipping art for on my dash is Star Wars? I've seen the main movies, but I think this is from.... Clone Wars, or the Obi-wan show or something. I see a lot of Obi-wan shipped with... one of the clone guys I think lmfao.

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves.

Hmmmm this isn't even a character I dislike, but whatever-- Judeau! I like him a lot tbh but I also find him shady 😂

I like how his 'friend who gives good advice and just has your best interests at heart' vibe is subverted by his personal biases and emotions, even if he'd probably deny that lol. He's flawed and it colors the advice he gives, and he even has moments that I'd argue are kind of judgy. It's what makes him interesting!

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? 

Yes! Main one coming to mind rn because I've been thinking about Hiruma (ES21) a lot, is that Hiruma is on the ace spectrum! I'm usually pretty take-it-or-leave-it when it comes to sexuality headcanons, like I can buy most interpretations but I generally don't feel strongly about them, but with Hiruma I really struggle to see him as anything else.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

OOHHHH. Well in Berserk, it's legit a tie between Guts and Griffith. I wouldn't like either one of them as much without the other in their orbit, and Berserk is one of those rare stories where both characters are really complex and compelling in their own way, and bring a lot of significant baggage into their dynamic lmfao. With Guts I love how sensitive he is, and the various ways in which he subverts and deconstructs the Macho Male Power Fantasy™ archetype, how at the end of the day he just wants someone to care about him and find worth in his existence. With Griffith, I love his ideals and his fragility in the face of the sacrifices those ideals demand from him, I love how much he cares and how much he gouges himself for caring, and how all of his stress and guilt and obligation still aren't any match for his love for Guts. And with both of them, I love how their upbringing informs their decisions so well to ruin everything even though they care about each other so much :')

w/ ES21, it's Hiruma lol which might be basic because he's everyone's fav, but for good reason! He's just fucking fun! I love how unhinged and demonic he is, I love the borderline slapstick loony-tunes tyle antics he gets up to, and I love his shamelessness. But I also love how accepting and realistic he is about his limitations, and how that doesn't stop him from striving for the top and going for what he wants. And like, for such an anime-level strategic genius type character, I love that such a core part of what makes him great is that he brings people together and uses teamwork and creativity to overcome everyone's various limitations. He's just-- so much fun!

And because this list is depressingly male lemme throw in a wild card-- Chase from Midnight Furies! It's a webcomic that I recently read for the first time, and Chase is the deuteragonist and a Hiruma expy lol. Which you can definitely tell, they both have the unhinged vibe and shark teeth, as well as the mysterious past and having a lot of cards up their sleeve, but I also think they're quite distinct. Obviously, Chase is a butch lesbian (which really does just add to her cool factor), but also I feel like Midnight Furies is a more grounded story compared to ES21, despite there being supernatural elements lol, and so Chase feels more grounded and realistic as a character. She's a bit more raw in her relationships to other people, and she shows vulnerability more, but she's also much more of a direct physical threat than Hiruma is. Because of that, she has moments where calculation gets thrown out the window in favor of a good ol' beat down, which of COURSE I love to see. And I think she has the capacity to be more ruthless. ANYWAY, awesome character, A+++ (please read Midnight Furies)

[alphabet ask meme]

[twisted-tales-told]

Hiii! I recently read iwwv and I saw that you're writing a iwwv au SO. Do you want to talk abt it? How did you assign the characters? Who's your fav iwwv character? Sorry for all the questions lol, I'm very excited!

Oh my god YES THANK YOU

Not many people ask me about vows made of wine so you are automatically my favourite

Okay so the first thing I did when planning this au is expand the 7 into 12, because just the marauders and regulus is 5 people and that means I wouldn’t get to explore marylily Dorlene Evan/barty dynamics etc. which was the best most brilliant idea because Marylily is honestly my favourite ship in this au.

Plus, it means I can explore their roles in pairs, I think at one point I list them, but basically each “archetype” Shakespeare wrote about usually does have “two sides” so to speak? Like, Tybalt and Mercutio are very similar in some ways it’s why they die in the same scene. But they’re also two opposite ends of the scale. Meaningless love/meaningless hate. That’s how Sirius and Barty exist in this au as well!

I definitely knew who I wanted to kill going in, but who I want to kill this person changes with almost every scene I wrote—which I assume will help when it comes down to it because it will be a more spontaneous decision.

I knew Lily was a Meredith Varient from the moment I decided to write this, and seeing as she is my favourite iwwv character I really am leaping at this chance to explore more of her backstory—specifically with the symbolic forced heteronormativity that I’ve spotted in Meredith’s character within the book. The only time she experiences genuine joy is with her fellow women. She views sexuality as power and doesn’t want to give that up, but in this way she’s never exploring what sex and sexuality mean to her personally. She is always at her happiest with Fillipa, Wren etc. and this is very telling of how she potentially is queer but is unable to realize it quite yet because of her upbringing.

The next chapter (coming out July 15th) is where we see our first cracks of conflict between the group of them. I really intend on dividing them and fracturing them up. All these strong bonds between them need fragilities exposed, and I plan to make it hurt.

[kleinstar]

how did u get into this series? 👀 what's ur fav dynamic, and your fav character (probably apart from eiden)?

ASK ME ABOUT NU:C (NOT ACCEPTING)

Let's see... I'm like half convinced I saw a picture of Edmonds really stupid uniform (sorry nuc i cant take it seriously) in twitter which is when I took notice of it but I dont think I downloaded the game then... I faintly recall being like oh he which was Olivine like 'oh he looks nice' but didn't expect to really get into the game at all but boom Eiden drew me in pretty much immediately lol. Liked him from the start. Storywise speaking i think first chapter that i liked a lot was kuya's but i think the story didn't grab me until Garu's weirdly enough bc the dude's my least fave lol, Dante's chapter even more though.

Faves....Aside Eiden, Rei was just introduced but he's already a fave of mine, the pretty aloof personality (for now! he only met Eiden) paired with obvious underlying issues (reasons still a mystery) that he's got. Has a bit complicated relationship with sex where he seems to treat it more as a tool to achieve goals (get magical items etc, study essense... ) than something fun (to the point where he'll even go through unpleasant stuff for it) where its easy to see how Eiden will fit into that ! He's like this ....researcher type but his personality is very different from the usual archetype s so it's interesting for sure - ALSO FATHER IS REALLY CUTE It's still pretty interesting to see how it'll develop, I'm glad the main story's taking it's time with him bc i think nuc does a bit better when it slows things down rather than crams it up into one thing for sure. 'I've seen people complain about nothing happening these chapters but its like...time, atmosphere settling, wish the game did this more often. It doesn't work with events bc limited story space and all. His intimacy stories also expand on him pretty nice.

Kuya is other fave because apparently i like resident bastards but yeah, mr-im bored bc long life which is also why it's hard to open up. Youkai and humans also have a difficult relationship, have had for a long time so Eiden's attempts in patching things up piss him off a lot but also bring him that element of surprise he so enjoys when things dont go the way he expects - hope makes it painful when it goes wrong after all. I also like his dynamic with Eiden a lot - which is really just Eiden kinda trying to please him with best of his efforts. He finds it amusing ofc and with recent developments he even seems to like it when eiden just does his own thing - not that he'd admit - eiden 'owes' him so much now since he's let him close. He calls him a toy, it's amusing how he tries so much and brings so many surprises right.... It's cute dynamic.

Those two are pretty much faves but dynamicwise close come Dante, Quincy Olivine and Blade tho! I'm not running introduction on them though.

Dynamicswise... With Dante it's that fun bickering with Eiden but also the differences that flare things up, finding bridge between them and so on, I love his Kleinmas event intimacy story a lot. Also Olivine's got that fun serene horny vibes but also really calm, cute and sincere moments that also feel really fresh, I also love how he's just " : )" when eiden just horny stuff. It's actually cute.

Quincy too though, similar as with Kuya but also differently he's grown tired of the long life he's had but Eiden's opened him up and stuff. Also different (but not completely different) to kuya he likes when Eiden does his own thing, likes it when he's selfish too which balances out great since Eiden's very people pleaser type so that nice chill moments just work out very cute too.

I also like Eiden's dynamics with morvay though lmao fellow hornies exchanging tips with each other and stuff, it's fun.

[ddejavvu]

Here’s a unpopular thing about the marauders.

Wolf star is treated as if it’s the only/best ship ever (yes, it’s my fav ship ever) but people treat others who don’t ship wolf star, or who ship Remus or Sirius with other people as if they’re bad. Especially when those two are shipped with women. (Cuz we love fetishising mlm) Neither of them are gay(technically). It’s okay if you think so, but this girl on tiktok got made fun of for shipping Marlene and Sirius because they’re “lesbian and gay”.

And on that note, the stereotyping of these two character. Marlene and Sirius, I mean. Marlene, one of the only lesbians, is always seen as this butch woman and no one likes it when she’s portrayed as feminine.

And with Sirius the opposite, in more recent years people a begun making him incredibly feminine. Nothing wrong with that, I personally like it as well. But they always combine it with this extremely masculine Remus contributing to, once again, mlm stereotypes.

None of these things are bad, but we, at least a lot of people, claim to be such a progressive fandom, but in reality we’re the furthest from it.

(I’m sorry for the bad writing, English isn’t my first language and I fear I may not have gotten across the point I wanted to. So please don’t pay to much mind to it.)

Anyway love your account sm💋best ff author out there xx

shipping wars in general are actually the bane of my existence lmao - i love wolfstar but i've seen moonrosekiller and the dynamic really intrigues me. marlene/sirius is ingrained into my brain from early marauders fandom where it was mostly just x reader stuff and sirius needed a love interest if it wasn't r. personally i looove marlene as the hyperfem girly, esp if she's lesbian, but i know a lot of people like different personalities and archetypes for them because they're not really nailed down in canon - i saw someone essentially writing sirius x fem!reader (it was a self insert i guess) fanfic on tiktok and their comments weren't insulting because she was writing a fanfiction, they were insulting because they were from other marauders stans telling her she was wrong because he's gay. dude, don't get me wrong. i have bookmarked more wolfstar on ao3 than any other ship. but it's not canon, so it's not unethical to see differently for the sake of fanfiction. it's not like they're taking a canonically gay character (like robin from st for example) and shipping them with someone of the opposite gender (romantic steve/robin makes me gag), it's literally completely up to you because it's not stated in canon 💀

send me your unpopular fandom opinions

[lesbian-kyoru]

What do you think of Akihito Sudou as a character? His relationship with other characters? He's my second fav character in chihayafuru but i don't see anyone talking about him that much anywhere🤧 plus I wanted to read some fanfics about him but couldn't find any good one,so if you don't mind,any recs?👀 Thank you,have a nice day😊

oh i am a big sudo fan! he was a character that i initially didn't focus on a ton, but rather the more i read of the manga, the more i really came to appreciate his character, to the point where i'd probably list him in my top 5-6 chihayafuru characters….. he started out as more of a background rival character (i think i didn't like him at first because he was mean to chihaya amshd;falkhsd), but with sudo, suetsugu did one of the things she's best at as a character writer: taking characters that fit neatly into archetypes at first, and over time fleshing them out beyond that point. all of her characters, even supporting or background ones, end up feeling like fully realized people; she accomplishes something similar with characters like suo, shinobu, and even taichi.

building upon this idea of archetypes, what makes sudo so compelling to me is the fact that at first he seems like a sadistic karuta player who will bring adversarial tension to karuta tournaments, nothing more—but there's a lot more to him than that. over time, we as readers and the characters around him start to see that sudo is a sadist, but he's not a cold-hearted or uncaring person. he truly loves karuta, and his sadistic, intense nature as a player is how he displays that passion and love for karuta. (in a way this acts as a precursor to arata’s internal struggle, where even though he doesn’t want to, playing karuta ruthlessly turns out to be the truest way to show respect to his opponents as his equal—with sudo, he has already reached the point where he’s comfortable going to that place in karuta, because he has internalized that that’s how his passion for it comes through.) he shows an unwavering passion for not just becoming the meijin or the top player, but a desire to stay involved in karuta his entire life because he loves it that much. even among a cast of characters who are literally all obsessed with karuta, sudo is special to me in that way because our perceptions of him as a player shift so greatly over time.

sudo also cares deeply about the people around him—his team, suo, even his rivals like taichi and chihaya. i think this second point is something very striking about him. there's actually a quote in the manga fruits basket about how every person's kindness looks a little different, how it takes a different shape, and for a lot of people you have to look harder to recognize that innate kindness—because it doesn't look the same as what we imagine “kindness” will look like. for some reason, sudo is always the chihayafuru character that makes me think of that quote! i found it really impactful to see a character like sudo, who at first glance appears mean and malicious, turn out to be one of the kindest characters in the series, one who loves karuta in a truly uncomplicated way. the way he shows affection for other people is more complicated by his hard exterior, but he genuinely has a very big heart. obviously his relationship with suo is a standout and probably what made sudo a favorite for a lot of readers, including myself. there’s something really special about watching sudo do everything he can to keep suo in the karuta world—and when he cried for suo, mountains were simply moved! it’s just clear to me that sudo is in love with him loves him a lot even if he doesn’t say it directly, and their bond is quite meaningful to me.

aside from this obvious one, i also love sudo’s friendship with chihaya so much!! i never really expected to, but i was obsessed with their little challenger/qualifier training arc together! the way they play off of each other is very fun to read. i think their dynamic is also interesting because chihaya typically hates people who play karuta in a “nasty” or mean-spirited way, but i feel like she’s able to reach a common ground with sudo because his sadism is so deeply rooted in a love for karuta, which chihaya can understand. i also really love sudo’s scenes with taichi and desperately wish they had more scenes together. the way sudo teases and simultaneously pushes and motivates taichi….. it’s good. specifically, i think the interplay of suo-sudo-taichi is fascinating and no one talks about it enough. it isn’t lingered on a ton in the text, but sudo must have been feeling immense jealousy when suo started focusing all of his attention on taichi; i love fanworks that dive into that aspect of his character and his relationships with suo and taichi. (there’s a lot that can be said about how those three characters intersect and are juxtaposed to each other—suo and taichi drawn together by their common “apathy” towards karuta while sudo is “left out” as someone who truly loves it; taichi who appears to love karuta but secretly thinks he hates it vs. sudo who loves karuta in such a warmhearted way that’s obscured by his harsh exterior….. however, that’s a far more complicated post; i genuinely feel like i could talk about those three forever, so i will rein myself in!)

i haven’t read a ton of fics with sudo featured, unfortunately! most of the ones i’ve seen are chihaya/sudo, which i don’t ship, but if you’re looking for something to read there are several on ao3 that you could check out! my favorite fic portrayal of sudo, however, is definitely how he's characterized in perfectly still in the dark by bloodletters. while suo and taichi's relationship is the main focus of the fic, sudo has the most striking scene with taichi—even if you are not a gay sudo truther like myself, it's so worthwhile to read just because of how expertly and subtley he is characterized. now that i think about it, i think that fic might've actually been what jumpstarted my love for sudo, but i digress LMAO. tl;dr out of all the chihayafuru characters, sudo for me is the closest to being canonically gay, and he should be celebrated more for that reason alone 🤍

[nexyra]

James Ironwood, for character ask? 👀

Aaaa thank you so much for the ask ♡ More rambling incoming !! Sorry for the wait btw, I've been both pretty busy and tired ;;

If you hate James Ironwood and don't wanna hear one good thing about him tap out now please ღ

My fav ship(s) for the character

I am not a super big shipper when it comes to James, but there are still some I like more than others soo here goes :

I think Ironwitch is a pretty good one. It's not necessarily a ship I'd search content for but I think these two would work well together ! Glynda is stern and honest and a no-nonsense kind of woman. She has the strenght to stand up to James when he slips or gets too stubborn when faced with the high stakes. At the same time, we've been shown that she cares for him and she knows he's only trying to do what's best for people. She has faith in him but also the ability to stand at his side as an equal. She seems to be the more steadfast of Ozpin's circle : loyal, you know you can trust her, and she will not crumble. This is the kind of personnality that I think James both admire and feel safe with. And the other way around, I think James is a good match for Glynda too. On a day to day basis, he's serious enough to not annoy here, but he's also a softie in some aspects and that's a nice combination to smooth out Glynda's edges.

Ironqrow is a completely different dynamic. The "we're annoying each other" dynamic is not one I'm particularly interested in usually xD But these two certainly had strong & interesting moments so it's a pretty valid ship !! Despite how they might butt heads because of the difference in their upbringing they (prior to V8) clearly trusted each other with their life. Even if Qrow jokes about shooting himself if he had to be one of James' man, when everything goes to shit there is no doubt in his mind that James wasn't responsible. Similarly, while James talks of shooting Qrow for his misbehaviour, when push comes to shove and we meet a tired Ironwood, run ragged by the pressure he's under... the only thing he does is hug him and reiterates how glad he is to see him. So again, they clearly have a lot of faith and trust in the other, and that's solid ground for a relationship.

My least favorite ship(s) for the character

Same spiel as always, shipping kids and adults is a big no from me; so any ships between Ironwood and RWBYJNOR can qualify here. That said, among the less uncomfortable ones, here are those I don't really like

This one is again because I love their relationship but platonically only, I'm talking of Winter Soldier. The reading I like best is not that Ironwood is Winter's Jacques 2.0, nor that he groomed her; but that he was an important father figure in her life. Protective and caring, who tried to help her escape with what he knew. I don't see James recruiting Winter as a way to gain a strong ally. But rather that Winter wanted to detach herself from her family name, and make something worthwhile of herself all on her own. And that the military is what Ironwood knows and understand, so naturally it's a career he'd see as a good path. Just like Winter then proposed it to Weiss. I like to think they care about each other a LOT and they're their own tight family in between the lines, even if professionalism might throw a wrench into it. For short I love them together but not romantically please =)

I don't know if there's a ship name for this, but Salem x James Ironwood would be a big nope from me too... In general, let's just assume I ship Salem with nobody because abuse.

My fav & least fav platonic relationship(s) for the character

Fav platonic relationship would be (have been because we dont talk about V8?) with Winter. Fooor the reasons I've explained above I suppose x) I (again) love the trust they had in one another and the quiet support.

There was also his relationship with Oscar that I really liked during V7, although it has been soured a bit by the (valid) reading from some people that Ironwood sought out Ozpin a lot through Oscar, and given his identity issues it is not ground for a greatly healthy relationship. Their interactions were still very intersting though ♡ I consider Oscar to be the kid who went at trying to appease James' fear or make him reconsider his decisions the best way. There was true understanding and hope for a working relationship here. I do feel that Oscar put in more work than James however (emotionally) and I wish there had been pay-back instead of a gunshot.

For my least fav relationship ? Probably Robyn or Watts ? Robyn was always very antagonistic toward Ironwood since their priorities are so different. And I overall just don't really like her after V7 so there are very few relationships with her I'm interested in (the exception is her ship with Fiona I think it's cute). Meanwhile, Watts is just a petty asshole hell bent on ruining Ironwood because he didn't pick his project. I'm not very interested in hate relationships, and since theirs wasn't deeply explored anyway, it's even more the case here. Their fight was great though, one of my favorite RWBY fights !

My favorite thing about the character

Well this was completely proven wrong by V8 buuut as of V7 I liked that he was a deconstruction of the military general (dictator) trope. Sooo you can guess how i feel about V8 X) In general among RWBY, several of my fav are fav BECAUSE they look like one trope but also have key differences that from the get go make the character stray away from said trope. For example I'm not a fan of the princess tsundere archetype at all, but I loooved Weiss in V1 BECAUSE she was extra-willing to listen and change her mind, and you could very easily tell that it was her upbringing speaking more than herself in most occasions.

Similarly, I wasn't a big fan of Ironwood before V7. I didn't hate him you know and he wasn't lower than most characters in my Tier list but I also didn't particularly care. But you know what ? I've aaaalways had a really soft spot for the "angsty angry traumatized teen". And RWBY made the mistake of extending that soft spot to "tired adults trying their best" (only to repeatedly beat them up/make them villains after making me care about them but what can you do uh)

Soo in general, I loved that Ironwood was trying so hard. I loved that he was tired and in over his head but learning and listening and trying to do good and be better despite his fears. I liked that he told his entourage about Salem and was loyal. I liked that he cared about helping the people above his own image and the way people perceived him. I liked that you could tell this was a terrible situation all around, and his decisions WERE questionnable but we could SEE that he meant WELL and was genuinely trying so hard despite how scared and tired he was.

My biggest criticism for the character

Well this won't be a surprise but in general I just wished he had stayed a morally grey character we were allowed to feel for instead of a cartoon black villain. I didn't need James to be THE Hero or anything like this despite some accusations levelled at those who like him. Him becoming one of RWBY's antagonist is honestly fine by me ! It is interesting. But I'd have preferred they kept him ambiguous and trying in his own way. (And smart because V8 Ironwood was dumb af)

I can be a tad overprotective of his character since he's just... so despised, so I think that I have inadvertently distanced myself from any of his flaws... somehow like "people are already yelling all of them so I don't need to add to this shit show" you know ? skjfkd But I KNOW he has them and it would still have been good to develop his flaws, just... not like that

But yea I'd have liked it if V8 Ironwood DID diverge from RWBYJNORQ and became an antagonist but not an iredeemable villain. LIKE,, we redeemed Hazel and Emerald and IRONWOOD is where the writers draw the line by saying "nope this one is rotten" ?? What ?

When was their writing at the peak according to me (ex : best season)

V7 definitely ! Ironwood carried V7 so hard haha. His character was fleshed out and given nuance and made to struggle and evolve and I loved him in that volume.

A song I think fits them & why

Hunger • Monsters & Men Human • Rag'n'Bone Man Way down we go • Kaleo Beekeeper • Keaton Henson Thistle and weeds • Mumford and Sons Castle of Glass • Linkin Park It's all so incredibly loud • Glass Animals

A headcanon to make up about them

His metal parts impact his metabolism so Ironwood is terrible at holding his alcohool and very little manages to knock him out. He's a workaholic. His low tolerence for alcohool is a great tool whn friends need to put him to sleep.

His joints crack and hurt in the cold, his metal parts as well and they are an hassle in the sand. James like to keep his room temperature warmer than the average atlasian because of this, otherwise he has to spend 30 min every morning simply unwiding muscles to move around efficiently.

He's not a good singer but has a nice low voice for telling stories. If he had kids, he'd probably avoid lullabies but compensate with bedtimes stories.

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

As always, I'm kind of reflecting along the way as I write this, and one thing I'm thinking right now is... Doesn't it take away from the atlas arc message ITSELF to just pile up so many "standard bad guy" stuff on Ironwood ? Like, I wanna ask... why do we hate him ? Is he an antagonist because he lets fear get the best of him ? Because he's a classist who doesn't care about Mantle like some fans argue ? Because he's too stubborn and wants to be THE hero ? Because he doesn't listen to others ? Because he abandonned Mantle ? Because he kills peopke left and right ? Because he wanted to bomb a city ? I think you might see where I'm going with this : his status as villain is kind of messy. V8 just kept piling-up flaws and villainous actions onto Ironwood with no concern for whether this was a lenght he would go to (using the certainty that he would go to any lenghts to enact his plans), ,or whether these were one of the initial flaws/failings that led to his "fall" as an antagonist. What lesson is Ironwood supposed to learn ? Personally the very first time I yelled at my screen "No ! Why would the writers choose that ?" is when Ironwood shot Oscar. When answering criticism against medias, many people tend to look at it only through the lense of "well it makes sense in universe" or as if there were no other ways for the story to devolve. But at the end of the way, everything in a story is a choice from the writer even if it is influenced by the characters' personnalities. If I took the scene where Ironwood shoots Oscar, someone might tell me "he's crippled by his PTSD, he COULD do this." Maybe, that's a reading I can somewhat understand at least. But the writers have the power to NOT put his character in such a position. When I saw the wreck that was V7 finale, I ranted to my bestfriend about it and at no point did i say "why did Ironwood do that", I said "why did the writers make him shoot Oscar, the only point narratively would be to make irredeemable" Aaaand that's what they went for and I obviously didn't care for it. So if I had to rewrite it; I would have kept Ironwood's "mistakes" more focused. If he's wrong because he wants to abandon Mantle, because he's (understandably) scared and doesn't want to take risks; then stay focused on that. It's what makes RWBY leave, and out of all his V8 actions that's really the only thing RWBY needed to tell the whole world he wasn't an ally anymore apparently. - Don't make him shoot Oscar point blank, instead Oscar can simply fall because he flinches away from Ironwood's outburst; and a distraught/guilty Ironwood can decide that he doesn't have the time or capacity to help because of the tense situation. (Killing and not saving someone don't hold the same moral weight at all). - Don't make him kill people left and right or bomb cities, maintain the flaw of Ironwood struggling with his PTSD and his fear and not being able to take risks. - Don't paint him as a black villain, and eventually write V8 in such a way that RWBYJNORQ show taking risks might lead to a bigger victory, which was the volume's theme anyway. For example, following Oscar's destruction of the whale, a growth can occur that would bring back together the two anti-Salem factions : Oscar's risk put Atlas out of harm's way, which leads to Ironwood seeing that maybe there WAS a way to save Mantle as well as Atlas despite Salem's presence and he might have jumped the gun too quickly because of his fears. I'm not sure, I haven't thought about this extensively honestly but I hope you see what I mean. I think it would have been more focused & more in-character to focus Ironwood's failings on his fear; and the fact that he cares for the people and the greater good sometimes at the cost of the individuals. The idea that by sacrificing individuals too much you forget the people you're fighting for in the first place, could have been interesting to dig deeper into. Keep to the idea that Ironwood is somewhat disensitized to the individuals suffering for the sake of the greater good, instead of making him just

callous & uncaring.

My guess for their MBTI/Enneagram

I think pre-V8 Ironwood was an unconventionnal ENFJ. Aka, the type of character no one would type ENFJ because they go by stereotypes and Fe stereotypes are just enneagram 2 everywhere (aka nice, kind, helpful) whereas Ironwood has an enneagram tritype very common among xxTJs so that's what he looks/behaves like, but the way he thinks (what's best for the people, ethical values derived from an Atlasian upbringing) align more with Fe cognitively I think I'm going with ENFJ 6w5 1w2 3w4

Starting from V8 though, Ironwood veered clearly into ENTJ territory (types aren't supposed to change but I wouldn't say RWBY is the most consistent media when it comes to characters' personnalities)

One aspect that I think would be nice to delve deeper into ?

I understand why they didn't care to, but it'd have been interesting to get a few backstory hints for Ironwood. How did he lose half his body ? How did Oz recruit him ? Or some pieces about his upbringing ?

[averinna]

top 5 jjk fav characters and why :)

Yuji : His kindness really feel sincere, I will forever remember how instead of going on about moral to Junpei he stopped, RECOGNIZED THAT HE DIDN'T KNOW HIS SIDE OF THE STORY AND LISTENED. Idc about other shonen mc here, maybe they do that too, but on the moment it feel important to me because it would've been so easy to just discard Junpei as wrong and Yuuji as right to stop him. Beside that, the anime constantly harass you with him being cute like?! Him immediately latching on being friend with Megumi then Nobara, or him being so dynamic and cute all the time, he's so adorable... even though mentally it's just getting worst... :)

Sukuna : You'd think the reason why my favorite suffer wouldn't be so close and yet. I think he's interesting in the way that his arrogance isn't there for no reason, and even if I like to soften him in fanwork I actually like how there's none of it in canon, and that really all he is interested is in Jujutsu. I loved his fight with Jogo.

Megumi : Got there because of the recent chapters, but he used to be on the same place with Nobara. I like how he look like an archetype but actually noped out from everything that make them boring and annoying to me, while everyone is usually attracted to them because they are "so dark and cool". Nah Megumi isn't the most social, but he respect his elder, want to protect his loved one, and he's just all around doing his best in his own way. Which also show that once again, you can be kind without being boring (I am really tired by the idea that kindness immediately mean shoujo heroine with no spine who get walked on). He also remember me Kyutaro from QQ sweeper who, like him, look like an archetype but nope out from what made them annoying.

Nobara : I love how she is allowed to be a PERSON. And she's alike of Yuuji in a way (as his past not really origin), she lived nothing "special"and don't belong to a special clan or anything, but she doesn't need that to be entertaining. I love how she literally looked at Megumi and Yuji and gone "UGH" just to mess around with Yuuji later and bully Megumi with him. She's just so dynamic and funny, she have her own things going on even if it's not super impressive. And it's something I do like in JJK in general! The characters are just people.

Nanami : Yuuji's mentor. I have to admit it's a bit due to his seyuu (I am very weak to Tsudaken...) but outside of it, I just love how a bit like Megumi he look like an archetype but say no to everything else beside look. In his case he look like a typical "do it even if it hurt" kind of mentor, the kind you see in old school shonen, but you already smell how different he is when Yuuji was like "let's do our best!" just for Nanami to go "let's do the effort necessary, nothing more". "I do not dream of labor" and ect... he's just so tired, but despite that he still have a kind heart and a desire to protect other, shielding Yuuji as best as he could. And the best being that in his eyes being a child wasn't a flaw, he wasn't like "you're weak!" not being recognized as a Jujutsu Sorcerer yet wasn't BAD. And just a little thing but the way he never really stopped Yuuji to call him Nanamin... *sob*

Thanks it made me think about the characters! It helped to give me something to do

[sailormoonandme]

Checking Out other Magical Girls shows Part 4: Miraculous

Of all the Magical Girls shows I’ve been researching this was one of the ones I was most hotly anticipating. See, in addition to Sailor Moon, American superheroes are a big passion of mine and Spider-Man is my all time fav. So a show that ostensibly combines the two was fascinating to me.*

I checked out three episodes from the first season, ‘Stormy Weather’ and the two part ‘Origins’ episodes. I was initially recommended the former as the best place to start but honestly I kind of regret doing that. Every ‘watch list’ I consulted recommended I NOT start with the origin episodes and I do not know why, they were a perfectly natural jumping on point and a far better introduction than ‘Stormy Weather’ was. Not that ‘Stormy Weather’ was bad, but I was a little lost.

Let me get some negatives out of the way before I move onto positives.

So the origins episodes I think at times dropped the ball as far as laying out the ‘rules’ of how Ladybug and Cat Noire’s powers work.  

-The five minute time limit comes out of nowhere and I don’t understand if it applies just to Cat Noire or to both of them, when the timer begins (from the moment they transform or from when they use their unique powers).  

-I’m uncertain if Ladybug has some kind of special visionary power because in 2 episodes items are lit up in a ladybug pattern in sequence and this is how she deduces how to use her Lucky Charm. But I don’t know if that’s a power of if it’s just an artistic representation of her figuring out what to do herself

-I also think the show should’ve clarified that when they refer to their ‘super powers’ they mean their special unique abilities, because obviously they both get enhanced reflexes and whatnot.  

-I guess also they seemed to know their the special phrases to activate their abilities without anyone telling them, but that’s standard Magical Girl fare I won’t hold that against the show. Same thing with how intuitive the characters seem to be with their powers, although I don’t know why Adrienne seems better with his powers off the bat than Marinette did?

-Finally, I’m very much in two minds about Ladybug’s unique powers. It’s certainly novel as super powers go and I guess works with the magical aspect of the characters. But…she gets a random item that will somehow help her resolve the issue? So…are things just predestined here? Her powers just know  what will happen because she clearly needs to make certain events happen for the Lucky Charm to help her, and even then it doesn’t seem to just fix the problem outright. I can see that power being problematic from a creative POV and possibly overpowered. I hope the sow addresses that going forward. The same applies to her ability to essentially undo all the damage caused, including restoring a collapsed building. I mean…does this apply to anyone who’s died too?

One other issues I noted were how Hawk Moth seems to know Cat Noire and Ladybug’s names when he wouldn’t, especially the latter since Marinette had yet to even label herself as Ladybug.  

I know that sounds like I’m really down on this show but the opposite is true. I think those are issues with it but I nevertheless REALLY LOVED THIS!

Marinette is charming and relatable and even Adrienne, in a more abstract way, can be understoof by his desire to feel normal whilst also feeling like an outsider. These might not be brand new teen hero archetypes but they’re classic, and the classics stick around for a reason. Marinette reminds me of Usagi and Adrienne is vaguely Bruce Wayne esque, although given this show’s influences perhaps Tuxedo Mask would be a better comparison.

The show also built up a decent supporting cast in it’s origin episodes, giving both characters a best friend, a rival/possible romantic interest in Chloe and decent tertiary characters ripe for expansion in their parents and body guards. Plus the school setting is a great story engine for the show, capable of giving us emotional drama but also a possibly endless supply of super villains for Hawk Moth to exploit. I also love the Parisian setting if for no other reason than t is refreshing to see a superhero story set outside of New York, Tokyo or an fictional American city like Metropolis or Gotham.  

Hawk Moth himself, whilst perhaps standard, worked for me. He sort of reminded me of Professor Tomoe, but with a little extra spice since he’s drawing upon the same powers as our heroes. And of course…he’s clearly Adrienne’s father (unless the show is setting me up for a huge twist). Again, MAYBE that’s nothing new but…it’s still a fun trope to play. And if I’m right I think I also know his motivation but that’s probably me having consumed super hero media all my life. Aeshetically he’s cool and the moth motif works well for his character.

In fact the look of the show over all works very well. It is a sad fact that the CGI in this show will look dated sooner rather than later since that’s the nature of CGI. But the animation style also allows for dynamic camera movements and action set pieces so I don’t mind. And frankly, this is the closest I’ve ever seen CGI come to evoking anime style animation so I’d be happy to see this style continue/evolve over time in other shows (honestly, a Spider-Man show might look really good in this style).  

In particular I was surprised that the show allowed for decent facial expressions and body language, which I was concerned about since I know the show plays in some romance and that might’ve been hard to watch if the animation wasn’t up to snuff. Thankfully it was and I’m invested in seeing their relationship evolve. I particularly like the dynamic in play here. In Sailor Moon you had 2 people who disliked one another as civilians but were very much attracted to each other as superheroes. There they get on in both identities, but whilst Marinette tries (and funbles) to initiate things with Adrienne, Cat Noire is the one coming onto Ladybug who seems to rebuff his charms (even though she seems to like him). That’s at least relatively unique for this genre and I’m here for it!

So overall, I really liked this and would watch more if I got the chance.  

*Cat Noir is even named similarly to Spidey’s girlfriend the Black Cat.  

P.S. I enjoyed the reference to Wonder Woman/Captain Marvel in the comic book Alya’s comic book.  

[oftenderweapons]

hi !! i’m supposed to be taking notes for my class rn but oop

i just finished reading illicit affairs (joon and vixen) and i wanted to say! that it was so ........ hot.... i’m still speechless....just gonna be sitting ..thinking abt it during class 😖😖 it was a lot more than what i thought it would be? i found their love talk one shot like maybe a month ago and it was interesting to hear them talk about their preferences but idk i’m still new to the world of role play and bdsm and exploration on the more extreme side and so i found that i personally felt lost in relating to it but i decided to read their illicit affairs once i had the time and like. here i was expecting joon to be the typical daddy dom that i see in a lot of fics (which there’s nothing wrong about) but he actually started out like soft dom, sweet and yearning. for me personally that’s exactly my cup of tea and especially with all the details u carefully crafted i really yearned to experience something like that too 🤓😋🥴. and then it actually wasn’t until the latter half of the fic that they started using the term daddy. like do i think that man is ‘daddy material’ ? 100%!!!!!! he is my daddy 😛 LMAO but in terms of my own preferences, while i do enjoy it and am attracted to it i usually keep that archetype/aesthetic/partner dynamic in my head and i’m not comfortable using it in my own sex life and when i read it in a fic it throws me off for some reason. it’s very weird. BUT when i was reading illicit affairs i welcomed it because their intimacy and the beginning of their relationship together was built up so well and u topped it off for me i think when u delved deeper into what the term meant for both of them because i don’t think i’ve ever thought of it like that but it still made 100% sense to me? anyway what i’m trying to say is that i feel like u just took my thoughts and desires and wrote it into a fic so well and i never knew it could be laid out so clearly like that. i feel seen LMAO. definitely one of my fav joon fics now and one to come back to :D anyway........i’m gonna get started on my notes now 😖 hopefully i’ll get to continue this saga soon and see more of them hehe thank u for writing and spending so much time on these !!!! 💖

THAT. IS. SO. ADORABLE.

I had a similar story with my DDLG kink. At the beginning, it always made me cringe because of its subtle implications, but as I wrote their story, I actually understood what it means to me too.

Namjoon gives her the kind of support, safety and understanding that she hasn't felt as she grew up, and of course it's a work in progress. One can't ask for full, blind trust right at the start. In one shots, it's very difficult to see how that trust builds, and the fat wordcount was exactly to show that.

I'm glad my fic reached its goal, at least with one person.

I see so many DDLG fics out there being very aggressive, which makes me feel unseen and sometimes even out of place or uncomfortable or maybe that I'm not into DDLG. I wanted a smooth, very "cerebral" daddy/brat tamer, who could be convincing without being aggressive or violent. I'm happy you can find yourself at ease within this fic, and I'm happy I gave a safe place where you can explore your own limits and understand your needs, at least on a theoretical basis.

I hope Namjoon and Vixen's story will keep you interested 🥰

Stay safe, sweet nonnie! I wish you all the best, darling ✨💜 [and good luck with those notes 😘]

[kpoptimeout]

My Top 10 K-Dramas of 2019 - What’s Yours?

2019 is ending soon and K-Dramaland has once again brought us so many goodies this year. As per our blog’s tradition [For 2018 faves click here], below are my Top 10 favs of the year (my faves in alphabetical order so it might not be yours so please don’t judge). (For our blog’s 2019 music ratings, click here!)

My only specific criteria usually is that the show must have had started in 2019 to be considered a 2019 series but this year I have made an exception for dramas that started very late in 2018 and it required watching well into 2019 for to be sure it was a great drama.

Without further ado, check the list below!

Doctor Prisoner (KBS2)

If you are looking for a thriller with insanely good acting, I would highly recommend Doctor Prisoner. Set in a prison clinic with Namkoong Min’s disgraced doctor as the lead plotting to right the wrongs society has done to him, the drama blurs the lines between good and bad. The medical director of the prison played by Kim Byungcheol seems like the perfect evil archetype for the audience to hate on but over time the plot and the acting allow us to soften up to his character and worry about his well-being. The drama also thrived in the current political climate in South Korea with its nuanced look into corruption and class issues. It was also a delight to see Namkoong Min’s rise in the past years from a rom-com lead to a seasoned leading man able to take on many diverse roles. If you love a drama that discusses the conflict between humanity and greed with stellar acting, you would love Doctor Prisoner!

Extraordinary You (MBC)

I actually struggled with whether to put Extraordinary You in the Top 10 due to the poor writing in the last few episodes of the show but caved in due to the spectacular quality of the earlier episodes and the consistently amazing acting of the main cast. Based on the popular webtoon “July Found By Chance”, the drama is about a girl called Eun Danoh who discovers she is in a shojo manga and not even the female lead - just an extra there to drive the love line between the male and female lead and stuck with a one-sided love to the biggest f*ckboi in school. Danoh decides to fight against fate (the writer’s plot) and try to change the storyline with her friends who start to also gain consciousness as well as the male lead Haru, a nameless background character who seems to have a mysterious connection to Danoh and an ability to switch characters in and out of scenes. The first half of the drama is pure K-Drama gold and consistently makes self-aware jabs at K-Drama tropes. Also, the quality acting of Kim Hyeyoon really breathed life into the character of Danoh, whose many monologues during her self-aware moments would fall flat without good delivery. While playing Haru was SF9’s Rowoon’s first major lead role, he carried the part well and was able to show the changes in Haru as he went from brainless NPC to an increasingly aware player in the plot to take down the comic book writer. Lee Jaewook, April’s Naeun, Jung Gunjoo, Kim Youngdae and Lee Taeri also all excelled in their respective roles. If you would like a drama where you can discover lots of young talent, Extraordinary You is the drama for you!

He is Psychometric (tvN)

While using the common K-Drama trope of male lead has a peculiar and uncommon superpower, and teams up with a female lead with secrets and some investigators to solve crimes, He is a Pyschometric excels in how it used these tropes well. I mean it is a tvN production and they own the supernatural mystery/romance genre these days. The male lead has the power to know about people’s past by touching their skin so of course we know plenty of skinship shenanigans and questions about human nature and trauma would be explored in this drama. After providing backstory and building up the personality of the main characters in the first few episodes, the series was consistently intense and the chemistry of the characters is great. GOT7’s Jinyoung has proven that he is ready for lead roles in more dramas, while Shin Yeeun showed that she is ready to take on the television screen after her quick rise to fame as a web drama actress in the record-breaking web series “A-TEEN”. SISTAR’s Dasom has also continued to grow as an actress, as seen in her role as police investigator in this series. If you are a fan of supernatural and mystery based K-Dramas, He is Psychometric is definitely one of the best dramas this year for you!

Hotel del Luna (tvN)

Another fantasy series coming from tvN, Hotel del Luna was definitely one of the most talked-about dramas of the year and rightly so. Set in a hotel that caters to ghosts, e.g. the dead with grievances and unable to “move on” to the world of the dead, you know you are in for episodic adventures involving the lives of many guests. We are also provided with the interesting relationship between IU’s Jang Manwol (her name literally means full moon) who is the ghost hotel owner for over 1000 years as a punishment for her sins and Yeo Jingoo’s Koo Chansung (his name literally means bright star) that the deities believe is the key to Manwol’s emancipation from ghost hotel running duties. In a way, it is like a gender-swapped version of the Goblin relationship going on but due to additional plotlines and character relationships, it is honestly a lot more and I will leave it to you guys to find out when you watch the show yourself. If you enjoy a fantasy drama involving ancient supernatural beings, Korean folklore and diverse stories, you would enjoy Hotel del Luna!

Kingdom (Netflix)

Netflix Korea continues to churn out amazing dramas and Kingdom is definitely one of the best this year. Adapted from the Korean webtoon series “The Kingdom of Gods”, the drama is set in Joseon Korean (in the 16th century) where a crown prince already dealing with court intrigues and trying to make it out alive is thrown another deadly problem - zombies. Given the stellar performance of Netflix’s earlier Korean period drama Mr. Sunshine and the amazing global box-office results of Korean zombie movie Train to Busan, this concept itself already sounds like a perfect cocktail for success. And the drama was received very positively, with a second season renewed for 2020. Besides the ridiculously addictive plot, the acting is also superb. The crown prince is played by none other than Ju Jihoon, who has long been popular in South Korea and among K-Drama fans for his dark and brooding demeanour perfect for an apocalyptic series. Bae Doona, who has found great success in Korea and in Hollywood for her roles in K-Dramas and movies such as Cloud Atlas and Netflix series Sense8, expertly takes the female lead role of the physician uncovering the zombie epidemic. If you love period dramas, zombie movies or both, this is the drama for you!

Sky Castle (JTBC)

Widely lauded as the best K-Drama of the year, Sky Castle is arguably one of the best K-Dramas of this decade because of the amazing acting, the unpredictable plot and its inclusion of many societal issues in South Korea. The show set the record for the most-viewed cable drama in South Korean history. Set in the opulent neighbourhood called Sky Castle, the story revolves around the “real” housewives of the neighbourhood who are all trying to get their kids into the top three universities in South Korea (SNU, Korea U and Yonsei - often also abbreviated as SKY universities). This concept of looking at the competitive education environment of East Asian countries is not new but the series set itself apart but including a mystery element, where deaths, secrets and intrigue involving members of the neighbourhood also shed light to class issues spanning across generations, gender issues, work culture, as well as familial relations in the conservative Korean society. The show also employed an extremely talented but underrated cast of actors who either spent many years honing their craft as side characters of many shows or are star film school students. The show also gave many opportunities to the cast afterwards, as seen in Kim Byungcheol’s lead role opportunity in Prison Doctor and Kim Hyeyoon’s lead role in Extraordinary You that are both discussed above. If you love a socially aware drama full of intrigue and mystery with great acting and cinematography, you would love Sky Castle!

The Fiery Priest (SBS)

The highest-rated miniseries of 2019, The Fiery Priest is really a unique show unlike any other. The story follows an investigation into the death of an elderly priest, with the Scooby-Doo crew made up of a young priest, a detective, and a prosecutor. While the crime-solving trio dynamic in the synopsis would definitely give “The Guest” flashbacks, this drama is completely opposite to OCN’s 2018 gritty horror extravaganza and is instead heartfelt and utterly hilarious. The priest clearly has anger management issues, the detective sucks at his job and the prosecutor has questionable moral standards. And Kim Namgil, Kim Sungkyun and Honey Lee all played these roles ridiculously well. Like other great dramas this year, The Fiery Priest looks at social issues in South Korea but instead of extremely serious commentary, touches of them in a humorous and sarcastic manner. This allowed the show to get away with more than you would expect on Korean non-cable TV. One thing the show did do which was similar to the much more serious “The Guest” was not having a romance plotline shoved down our throats like many K-Dramas. If you love a good comedy-mystery drama, you should check out The Fiery Priest!

The Tale of Nokdu (KBS2)

Another drama based on a webtoon, The Tale of Nokdu received average national ratings but was massively successful among the Gen Z of Korea and overseas fans. The reason may be the premise of the series. We have seen a good amount of girl masquerades as guy romcoms in the late 2000s and early 2010s such as the legendary dramas “Coffee Prince”, “You Are Beautiful”, “Sungkyunkwan Scandal” and “To The Beautiful You” but HAVE WE SEEN A REVERSED VERSION? Well look no further as The Tale of Nokdu is exactly that. Set in the Joseon Dynasty, the male lead has to hunt down a female assassin who has taken refuge in a women-only widow’s village and he must pretend to be a woman to live in the village to catch the assassin. Jang Dongyoon and Kim Sohyun delivered quality acting but probably what really made the show so popular with the Gen Z audience is seeing the male lead coming to realise the struggles of women in ancient times, with some struggles still existing today, as he lived in the widow’s village and the fierce and strong personality of the female lead who keeps saving the male lead’s ass. While there are some expected period drama tropes with royal court politics and will-they-won’t-they in face of the greater good, The Tale of Nokdu is one of the standout dramas this year for its fresh take on the cross-dressing K-Drama trope. If you have enjoyed previous cross-dressing K-Dramas, you should give The Tale of Nokdu a try!

Vagabond (Netflix/SBS)

Lee Seunggi and Suzy reunites in Vagabond for the first time since Gu Family Book in 2013 and this was definitely a great reunion. With a backdrop involving government corruption and terrorist attacks, Lee Seunggi dons the role of a retired stuntman turned vagabond to avenge the death of his nephew and uncover the truth. Suzy joins Lee Seunggi as a rookie special agent who gets pulled into the investigations after being in the wrong place during the wrong time (or the right place in the right time depending on how you view the investigations). This action-packed series was filmed across many countries such as Portugal and Morocco and would give you a huge adrenaline rush as the main cast faces new obstacles and betrayals in every episode. The current ending of the series suggests a possible Season 2. If you are a fan of spy and action-type thrillers like City Hunter and IRIS, you would love Vagabond!

When the Camellia Blooms (KBS2)

The highest-rated mini-series this year after The Fiery Priest, When the Camellia Blooms is a slightly more light-hearted slice of life series set in the fictional matriarchal town of Ongsan. The series stars Gong Hyojin as a single mother who moves to the town to raise his son and run a bar called “Camellia”. The story revolves around Kang Haneul’s small town cop (and lowkey village idiot with a heart of gold) who has a crush on Gong Hyojin and her baseball star ex-boyfriend and the boy’s father played by Kim Jiseok trying to win her back. What makes this series so well-loved is that besides the love triangle shenanigans set in the small-town community, the endless line of useless pushover men, and the community drama between store owners and neighbours, there is also a mystery involving a serial killer who holds a grudge against the female lead. But ultimately it is a quirky drama where the slice-of-life really dominates over the mystery aspect of the series and we learn a lot about the characters and their backstories as the series progresses. If you like a more slow-paced, slice-of-life series, When the Camellia Blooms is the series for you!

Honourable Mentions:

Dazzling/The Light In Your Eyes (JTBC): The story about a young woman who suddenly became 70 years old but with the ability to manipulate time. The series received critical acclaim for its portrayals of the struggles of everyday folk in South Korea and for its surprising twists.

The Secret Life of My Secretary (SBS): The male lead is a childish company director who lost the ability to recognise faces and must enlist the help of his secretary to maintain the pretence of normalcy. Rainbow’s Jaekyung was a complete scene-stealer for her role as the over-the-top CEO Veronica Park. 

The Last Empress (SBS): Set in the alternate reality where South Korea is a constitutional monarchy, this is a melodrama involving a bodyguard who wants to seek revenge on the King’s mistress and a Queen who discovers her fairy tale marriage was just a PR ploy by the royal family. Basically, peak quality makjang.

What’s your Top 10 K-Dramas of the Year? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and may the drama sharing begin (and the road to more excuse for holiday procrastination!)

Also, if you want to check out underrated K-Pop songs of 2019, here are the lists for idol songs and artist songs. We have also made a list for the Top 20 most underrated K-Pop songs of the decade!

[mystic-kitten-writer]

You’re so sweet for being so reassuring and not minding at all how I ramble about astrology 🧡 I’m very flattered with how you said how observant I am, thank you for that! But oh my gosh, please, there’s nothing to be jealous about. I personally feel like I get bogged down by details that at times I get too caught up and the bigger picture gets overlooked. (1/9)

And Zuko really is the poster child of a Mars man, you summed it up perfectly!! I am far from being an expert, but I love the validation you shower me with 🥰 Though I actually would love to reach a level where I can offer chart readings to anyone interested and have it be some kind of little side job one day. But ahh, there’s still so much I have to learn, from traditional to modern, it’s a discipline really worth getting into. (2/9)

I’ve never really thought about Azula’s nor Mai’s sign. Now I really want to think + look into it! It would be fun to analyze how that affected their dynamic with Zuko. I’ve been meaning to do a rewatch of the entire series due to quarantine, but even with staying home, there’s still school. And I find myself more stressed and not in the proper headspace to do a whole rewatch + be able to appreciate it properly. Idk if that made any sense, but hopefully I get over it soon. (3/9)

I’m hypothesizing that Azula has strong Leo/Scorpio to her, though she shows the negative qualities. She’s very loud, loud as in she makes people take notice of her + seeks praise/basks in any praise given to her, feeling entitled to all of it. Though I have to give it to her, she has this compelling vibe to her, so her entitlement is valid. She’s also cunning + manipulative and is a master at being so. Though none of that is her fault, she just really didn’t know any better. (4/9)

I would associate Mai’s no bull-shit attitude with Capricorn/Aquarius. I actually haven’t read the comics but her no bull-shit persona shines in the series and it’s fantastic! She’s not upfront with her feelings, but blunt with everything else. At the same time, she didn’t have a problem with stepping up when needed, such as stepping up to Azula. All of which fit into the archetypes of Cap/Aqua. And I agree communication between her and Zuko would be crucial for understanding between them. (5/9)

Those are my best guesses, I’ll get back to you more on how their signs played into their interactions with Zuko when I get to rewatching the series later! Yue’s gentleness comes from her Venus energy, and it’s wonderful how it allows Zuko’s inner Cancer to be visible. I also just realized Yue’s Libra energy and Zuko’s Aries energy play a part as to why they’re so appealing to each other too. They are opposites that just absolutely complement each other! (6/9)

Oh, I’m a Taurus + Libra moon + Sagittarius ascendant! Thanks for being curious ☺️ Going back to how you said you’re a Scorpio and your sister is a Taurus, I can relate. My mom is a Scorpio, and similarly, it took growing up for me to understand where my mom is coming from because we used to disagree on a bunch of things. I don’t have a proper explanation for it tbh. Other than the fact that Taurus and Scorpio are naturally opposites, so misunderstandings can easily arise. (7/9)

Though funny enough, I have a lot of people in my life that have Scorpio in their chart, and I’ve read a few times that if signs that naturally oppose each other make the effort to connect, then the connection is extraordinary. And as a Taurus, the people who positively affected me most are people with Scorpio energy, so I guess it’s the universe’s way of bringing balance. (8/9)

Omg, all of my asks basically make up a whole essay on astrology, and I really can’t believe I typed all that out. But thank you for sharing my enthusiasm for it 💓 I promise I can talk about things other than astrology though, aha. The next time I send you a message it’ll be on a different topic for sure! Also, I have no idea if any parts duplicated/are missing because Tumblr made me wait an hour before I could send everything. So I hope everything shows up properly! (9/9) - 🌻

I don’t know if it’s just me – but it makes my DAY getting long asks.

I love reading people’s words because you can tell how much effort and joy the person has while writing something (whatever the topic is). Like high-key, I wait for your asks because they’re always so long and in-depth, and as someone who suffers from word vomit – I can appreciate the passion and overall love. So, you better not send me short asks – I will hold it against you 😂 LOOL I need an essay buddy~! 😉

I AM CLAIMING DIBS ON BEING YOUR FIRST CUSTOMER. You can read my whole soul damnit because while I totally agree with you that Astrology is a broad discipline with much material to learn and cover, you have a vast knowledge on the topic already. I can totally see you doing it! You explain things very well, and as I read, I find myself learning stuff, and as someone who loves learning – your attention to detail and how clear you are is much appreciated.

Trust me, I get that feeling of stress. Like even though I finished school, and I can relax for the summer because my summer classes got cancelled, being stuck at home is starting to get to me. I’m very much an ambivert (leaning towards introverted), and usually, being alone is my fav zone. Still, I do enjoy going for walks and staying active (even if it's solo activities #Idontdoteamworkandusuallyendedupplayingsoloevents). But the weather has been poor, and I think all my family and friends are starting to get cabin fever 😅. Are you done your classes for the semester yet, or do you still have time to go?

OUUU, I see that mix of Leo Scorpio. Gosh, you're so good at this stuff. I can ask you questions all day LOOL. Like that manipulative aspect is, no doubt in my mind, a Scorpio thing 🙈. Like I’m a Scorpio, and even I can admit it – we’re master manipulators (for better or worse). But I’m surprised by the Mai one! Not because I don’t agree, but because I couldn’t pin one down for her, but I think you nailed it. I’m excited to see if you change your opinions once you watch the show. Because something I notice that happens naturally as you age, is certain traits of the zodiac signs become more prominent or disappear. Because, unsurprisingly, first episode Zuko to comic books Zuko are pretty much two completely different characters. He went from ‘don’t touch me’ to starting every single hug in the comic books with Aang and Sokka, etc. (Soft Zuko does things to me 🤭).

SO, QUESTION – how does Yue’s Venus influence Zuko’s cancer, and how does Yue’s Libra’s energy influence Zuko’s Aries? Like I know, they influence each other, but I’m trying to find the right words, or examples, of it happening. Or ways to describe how they affect each other. I’m sorry if I’m not making any sense. I just – there’s so much to learn, and I want to know more and more 🤯

HANDS DOWN, I would not label you as a Taurus!

I was going to label you as a Libra (so I’m happy I got that one right, kind of), but I’m so shooketh about the Taurus. But I can’t agree with you more on the fact that while Taurus/Scorpio’s are opposites, if they put effort into the relationship, it's incredible. Because I think a lot of it stems from miscommunication. Like I believe communication is vital in any given relationship, obliviously, but certain signs need an extra sprinkle of it to work.

My sister just had a second baby, and her first baby is a Libra/Scorpio cusp, and the second girl is Scorpio, and her husband is also a Libra/Scorpio cusp. I had to laugh and say good luck raising two mini-mes! She’s like I shot myself in the foot LOOL 😂😂😂

And don’t worry about it, hunny! If I ever miss a part, I’ll send a post right away in search of your missing ones because I need your words 😉

[sireneia-a]

Operating under the headcanon that Fates is actually just a myth / fairy tale in Fire Emblem canon, I was thinking I'd like to make a post where I choose what "character" each of my main muses have or have had as their favorite growing up! I'm also adding Clive to this list cause for the former I already had his fully written out before I removed him from my roster LOL 

I'll be following Bruno Bettelheim's model of children taking to certain characters in fairy tales because they are an externalization of whatever existential predicament they are going through at the time. I'm aware Bettelheim was a problematic man, yes, but I think his theory on developmental psychology in relation to fairy tales is really interesting ( assuming it’s his to begin with ) and I've been working to apply it to other media besides fairy tales anyway, so might as well combine my schoolwork with what I love.

As a result, I'll be using his theory as a guide for this post. All explanations and match-ups under the cut! As fun as it would be to also think up what version of the tale, ( Birthright vs Conquest vs Revelation, Second Gen included vs not, Heirs of Fate also known or not ) I'm just working with the idea that all of my muses know any and all content.

KLIFF - His favorite would've been Hayato! Kliff in general would've connected more strongly to a mage due to his grandmother being a powerful mage herself, sparking his own interest in magic, but he also would have identified with his plight of being embarrassed by his own habits and insecurities. They're not the same as Kliff's own, but he still relates to him.

CLIVE - Clive's favorite as a child versus his favorite nowadays is very different mostly because he underwent different struggles when he was younger. Whilst when he's older he finds himself fond of Xander and Corrin due to struggles of following one's heart versus doing what's best for one's countrymen, as a youth he would've been very partial to Laslow. Laslow, for him, represents a man with ties to military service yet a free heart that longs to partake in life's simpler pleasures such as asking women out for tea and dancing. Clive was a lot less stressed as a youth, merely being a noble's son who wanted to spend his days lounging about with his friends and later on gossiping about their taste in women and heroes.

TATIANA - Her favorite has always been Caeldori! At first it was because she admired Caeldori for being so put together and wishing to do so much tireless work for the army, being an absolute paragon that Tatiana herself wished she could be in order to repay the church for taking her in when she was younger. Tatiana looked to Caeldori to help her get through and come to terms with her own clumsiness and shortcomings so long as she put in the effort. As she grew older though, she revisits the tale and finds herself relating hardcore to Caeldori’s sighs of romantic love.

DEW - Dew’s favorite is very vocally Shiro. He probably gets pretty upset if you’re only familiar with a version of the tale that doesn’t include the children units. Dew particularly finds himself fond of Shiro because of how Shiro operates: he does what he wants, living freely despite the burden of being a prince and he knows it. It’s a philosophy that Dew understands and it surprised him when he was younger to totally just get a royal even if he’s only fictional. He loves the fact Shiro just kinda wants to stick it to his old man too and just picked up spears to be able to have an edge over him. 

IUCHAR - I feel like this could either be super surprising or not at all, but Iuchar has been partial to Forrest since he was first read Fates alongside his brothers. He tries to be quiet about it nowadays though cause I can totally see someone making fun of him when he was younger proclaiming that he liked Leo’s son. Nowadays, his fake answer is more along the lines of Laslow or Soleil. The truth to his fondness for Forrest is because he feels for his arc of wishing to be accepted. Even if they’re not dealing with the same things exactly, Iuchar most likely held some sort of insecurity when he was younger as not only the middle child but also being constantly on even ground with Iucharba yet not wielding major holy blood. When he got older, his concerns shifted because he was able to use Forrest’s story to cope and eventually move on! He DOES enjoy Forrest’s personality a lot though and probably got his eye for aesthetics after seeing Forrest get so interested in it.

TINE - Tine’s favorite operates based on the idea that she was first read Fates while she’s living under the Frieges and not in Silesse. With that in mind, she’s attached to Azura and even to the present day mid-FE4 keeps going back and back again to reading Fates because she has yet to move on from the existential dilemma she’s living with. She finds comfort in knowing Azura was moved from her home to another family as a young child and feeling trapped and cursed. She especially feels for Azura in Conquest when she’s placed under such heavy suspicion by the Hoshidan family, drawing parallels between Azura’s story and her own with Hilda. 

LENE - Lene since the dawn of time has been a Hinoka stan I’ll be real. Much like Tine, she hasn’t solved her existential predicament but she doesn’t revisit the tale nearly as often as Tine does. She admires and feels for Hinoka with how they both are yearning to search for someone, specifically a family member, and they just can’t give up on it, choosing their pathways in life to be a means to an end in finally finding them. 

COIRPRE - Coirpre, when he was extremely young, identified with Corrin. I headcanon that when he was very young, the mercenaries of Thracia would often poke fun and point out Hannibal’s bachelor life with statements like “Where’s the wifey?” or otherwise making it apparent that Coirpre is missing a mother. Coirpre finds solace in Corrin’s arc because Corrin deals with strange family dynamics and being adopted into the Nohrian family, something much like himself even if Corrin’s family is much, much bigger than his own. He ends up coming to terms with this predicament very quickly though, moving on from Fates to a different story soon after since he had decided he was okay with not having a mother because he loved being Hannibal’s son and also spending time with the Thracian royal family. He closes the book, merely only commenting on it afterwards saying that he thinks Corrin ought to align themself with Nohr and not Hoshido and he doesn’t understand why they would choose anything besides the Conquest route. Later on in life during FE4 though, he finds himself returning to it again and reliving his attachment to Corrin once more because of Lewyn revealing to him his true parentage: something he didn’t want to know and now that he does, it rocks his core ESPECIALLY if it means he has a duke or a prince for a father. He would find Corrin’s tale that much more necessary to cope with his dilemma, finally understanding the crisis between choosing one’s birthright versus the family they were raised with as he struggles to choose whether to return to Thracia after the war or to take up his late father’s lands and abandon the happy life he once knew.

LEIF - Leif is firmly Team Takumi and you can’t convince him otherwise. He especially feels for him in Conquest and will rant about how Takumi deserved better for days on end if you let him. I can totally see both him and Ares sharing a favorite in Takumi and them being able to potentially bond over that actually. Regardless, he has always been frustrated over his situation with his home life being destroyed and would totally latch onto how when Mikoto dies, Takumi blames Corrin for it. Leif would also as a child blindly see Corrin in the wrong and always side with Takumi. He understands Takumi’s anguish over his mother dying. At the same time though, as he gets older, Leif does learn to identify with Corrin considering Corrin’s situation as a fugitive but he feels weird because it’s not as if he thinks Takumi is any less valid. 

LIFIS - Lifis is one of the more fun ones to come up with for this post haha! Anyhow, Lifi’s fav as a child is Nyx and he honestly still probably is attached to her story mid-FE5 since I don’t think he got past the issues he held onto which made him like her in the first place. He finds her maturity really cool and feels for her since she gets asked intrusive questions a lot too. He ends up misinterpreting her situation as a form of being bullied and connects with her as a result; he ultimately sees her as how he wishes he handled situations, respecting and admiring her a lot. 

MARK - This is solely from the perspective of Mark as a young child in Bern because at this point he’s come to terms with the fact that he’s a tactician and tries to make use of his gift, making him parallel with his favorite’s canon ending actually. Regardless, under the headcanon that Mark at first tried to follow his parents’ footsteps as wyvern riders and being active in the military, he relates to Felicia. He sees her getting praised at something she didn’t aim to be ( being heralded as a good military commander and combatant and not the maid she wants to be ) and gains a feeling of solidarity out of it even if their positions are mostly reversed: he used to wish to be better as a soldier but instead turns out to be better at something off the battlefield. 

KENT - bfbfbhfhfhfh I’m so sorry Kent you’re getting one of the more boring answers I’ve written especially since you’ve been on this blog so long..... But I’d say his favorite is Saizo! Partly because Saizo is a Cain and Abel archetype just like himself so that’s neato, but he chooses to latch onto Saizo moreso because ever since he was young, he has always striven to one day become a knight for Caelin and he’d use Saizo as a model of what an “ideal retainer” is. If we operate under the headcanon that him and Sain are childhood friends, he probably also empathized with Saizo more because both of them are associated with green guys who keep getting distracted by women even if for completely different reasons.

ELIWOOD - gREAT QUESTION... i’ll be real i forgot eliwood on this list at first, Regardless, it’s difficult to think of because I haven’t really thought of nor used Eliwood enough to warrant many headcanons ( mostly because there’s plenty of other Eliwood rpers who I love to read and the FE7 community isn’t that big, so I don’t really get the chance to throw him out that much ) and canon doesn’t really give me a hell of a lot for his young childhood except that he hung out a lot with Hector and well, I didn’t really develop any ideas on what his youth was like besides that. We definitely get to know his existential predicament in his late teens considering that’s when FE7 starts up, but until then it’s a blank. Even then, I don’t really know if there’s really a character in Fates that captures the feeling of “wants to believe in their father no matter what even if he’s shifty???” Like unless you want to argue Corrin in Conquest? And the children units don’t really explore that, either being like they just like their dads or they dislike their dads. Honestly, just based on hunches, I could see him really liking Shigure or Hisame though. At the same time though, I could see him relating him and Hector to Siegbert and Shiro respectively in terms of their friendly sparring matches.

STAHL - Well, this one isn’t particularly deep or anything either, but I’m pretty sure Stahl would be a fan of Silas. He views Silas as a nice guy with simple dreams and can’t fault him for that. He does see Silas for a deeper character and honestly analyzes the other characters in Fates for that, but he doesn’t really connect to any of them. He didn’t spend a lot of time with Fates as a story truth be told. He does at least feel the whole “passing up on a former love” arc though when gets a little older.

MARIBELLE - Though part of me was wanting to say Hana due to the fact that Maribelle would be able to relate to the whole devotion to her best friend and totally agrees with Hana on her strong conviction to aim to be a samurai despite others looking down upon her, I think that if Maribelle gets exposed to Fates before she ever meets Lissa, she’d truthfully identify much more with Rhajat. Maribelle was picked on and treated as an utter outcast by all the other noble children, and she’d find comfort in how Rhajat seems to be seen weirdly upon others and gets scolded for scaring them even if Rhajat at times doesn’t actually intend to. Nowadays she totally says her favorite character is Hana though, but she’s grateful to how much Rhajat helped her through the rough patch in her early life. Bonus in that she sees Tharja and gawks a little at first, finding her so similar to the character from the fairy tale she enjoyed so much as a little girl.

BERKUT - Berkut’s choice in favorite isn’t particularly deep, mostly brought about by his own restrictions. He probably would only let himself relate specifically to royal characters with how his mother encouraged him to act like the heir to the throne that he was and to elevate himself, so he wouldn’t let himself relate to anything less. He then ends up picking Siegbert as his favorite character because it’s like Berkut pointing at him and thinking: He’s an awkward prince!!! Same!!! cause i 100% totally see Berkut being fairly socially awkward especially in childhood. He admired Siegbert’s dedication to his father and trying to become a good ruler, uses him as an example before he ends up moving on from the story and at this point probably just looks at Siegbert and thinks of him as “too soft” or something like that.