#this is the only manga where the mc is not only single out but abused for gags

[mikeellee]

Hi!

Can I just say that I hate how in some fics even after Uraraka finds out what exactly Bkg did to Izu and what the name Deku actually is meant to mean she still calls him it? And doesn't even offer to call him literally anything else?! At that point it just feels mean spirited - what are your thoughts?

Hi, @doodlegirl1998

Ok, first let me say one thing(or more) BK never hides his true nature, what you see is what you get. I have seen stories where the person puts on the mask of a "nice guy" or tries to be subtle in their actions.

BK literally, canon here, tried to kill Izu (people forget he has bombs in his hands...even if we are to accept he is not meant to kill, he would have sent Izu to the hospital at the very least) and no one seemed to be shocked. This makes me think if this is somehow normal??

Kids being kids...

You have a quirk that makes plants grow, the other can break diamonds, it´s normal.

except, we never saw anything like that...it´s only BK who tries to kill Izu, always him. And I say again, it´s not bc he is quirkless, it´s bc Izu is his victim.

In fics where his so-called friends find out about BK´s abuse on Izu...it´s rare to find good ones...when they find out...not many changes. Ochako may call him DEKIRU which is a better name for him, I give that but is still linked to DEKU (look I don´t know Japanese nor their grammatic but it canon how Ochako thought Deku was similar to Dekiru, and even called him like that) and Izu goes along..."He is reclaiming the word"

But....think this way. Your abuser calls you dumb, and you want to reclaim the word dumb as something positive, can you do it? Maybe, good branding can do anything...but then again, the word dumb will have the same meaning for people who are out of your circle.

Meaning when Izu calls himself Deku, people are just hearing "useless" and it seems like a funny moment. "har har his name is Deku" but it has mean and dark undertones. (shocked but not surprised no teacher went to talk to him about his name. Midnight vetted BK´s name bc it was bad...no one could have done the same for Izu? "your name sounds too negative on you, please pick something else")

As for fics like that (running away from the topic lol) Ochako doesn´t have a solid character, and what we have is not a good image the stans like. So, in some fics she beat BK up (cool, I´m in favor) in some she is a background character, she worries for Izu but nothing comes out of it.

Ochako doesn´t have a solid character. How she would deal with bullying? She had friends in her old school? Was ever been bullied? we don´t know.

As if she continues to call him this name and says "You can reclaim it, be Dekiru" ( again, Dekiru is a better name for him) seems .... something advice a well-meaning would give, even though the said person is completely out of her depth.

Only Shoto is canonically abused here...and he has no say on how Izu was treated, or on BK (unless if is to say how they are friends) and if we are to take the latter into consideration....then Shoto is falling for the old mentality of abuse "you can get away from it"

Izu´s pain is seen as a joke or then a way to make a ship shine. Hell, this logic was used for Shindeku. Shinso beating up Bk to avenge Izu is pretty cool even if Shinso is a terrible character too.

To conclude, Ochako doesn´t have anything to stand for. She may be meant well (as she is the lover interest) but I do find it a bit sus she went for Dekiru instead of a pun with his name or hair. Like "Greenie" yeah maybe it´s not super creative but would be so much better.

[bibibbon]

I have mentioned how Izu is single out in his own story in many ways but...can I say how bk is the root of all the problems the manga has? Yes, even the Tododrama.

"but bk didn't abused the Todos" True, it was Endy...but the blame still goes to BK bc in a story where HE can mistreated, abuse and try to kill the MC OF THE STORY and no one baits an eye ...why the tododrama would be different?

If Izu has to look up to his abuser and call him cute nicknames...why Endy wouldnt center himself as "mea culpa" and take the spotlight in the narrative of the Todorokis?

It's all a domino effect.

Hori constructed a narrative and even framed as BK's actions aren't that bad. People thought it was funny.

"lol typical BK" as he says smth cruel to Izu or you know, tries to kill him.

People start to ship him back the day...with Izu. People were saying "wait for his character development/redemption" and well...it became a question of what BK feels, not Izu.

Doesn't that feels similar ?

Who cares what Toya or Shoto feels? It's more important to know what Endy is feeling.

If the mc of this story can be abused and no one bait an eye(be in the story or in the fandom at large) why people are shocked the Tododrama is being like that?

Its absolutely consistent with how MHA is since day 1. The victim deserves nothing and the abuser has a pity me party.

Hi @mikeellee 👋

Well sure bakugo definitely has a huge influence but it's not bakugo himself that directly caused the todoroki family drama and neither would I label it as such.

I get the point that it's characters like bakugo that are the root cause for a lot of societies problems!! I also agree with this sentiment.

I think that there is also evidence for this since bakugo shares a lot of paralleling imagery or just parallels with horrible characters like Enji todoroki and All for one. I remember one of @sapphic-agent posts that talked about bakugo and his lack of a main villain was because he was his own villain. Bakugo is the prototype for one of the worst types of people that exist in MHA society and it's worse that his previous behaviour goes unpunished. This is also another parallel that he has with enji todoroki. I would like to say Iam surprised but Iam not.

I think it's interesting how horikoshi managed to simply normalise bakugo's abusive, aggressive and rash behaviour and even turn it into what some may call an enjoyable gag for the readers to see and go "classic bakugo" or some other type of excuse.

So yes if bakugo can do it other characters can do it that meaning enji and AFO who got away with a lot heck afo was somehow even humanised?!?!?!?!

I can never understand canon BKDK shippers like Iam sorry but what do they see in that. Izuku literally has no agency or autonomy here it completely sucks and its toxic as heck. Also it's very ooc considering that bakugo hates Izuku's guts and has only recently started to act civil towards him. Also bakugo never went through a proper redemption so I don't see the appeal. I think that a lot of shippers may ignore these factors which is where fanon and a much more healthier version of BKDK comes in but I still hate it tbh 🤷‍♀️.

Yes classic hori somehow managed to turn his story into one where the abusers are always praised and the victims are either always perfect little angles that forgive and forget everything or spiteful and vengeful with the urge to burn society down.

[doodle-dog-diary]

Saltober DAY NINE: Hobby

Original post here

Technically this is a hobby that is my own but yeah couldn't think of anything else to write about

(Warning: please do not talk to me about Yarichin Bitch Club. Do not play the YBC opening song anywhere near me. I WILL rip your throat out in a very unsexy way.)

Psst.

Come closer. Closer. Yes, that's it. I have a secret to tell you (tbh it's not so much a secret as just something I don't usually go around telling people, but I digress)

I read yaoi.

No, I didn't just go through a phase when I was like 13, I read yaoi as in, I'm still doing it now. Present tense and all. NO NO PUT DOWN THAT PITCHFORK I CAN EXPLAIN

I think I must have started when I was 13, maybe 14? When a self-proclaimed-fujoshi friend of mine introduced me to it. (I feel like back then every female friend I had was either already familiar with yaoi, or into yaoi. I don't know why, it feels like yaoi was like, an integral part of the Teenage Girl Experience)

I then discovered the amazing world of free manga reader sites, and no one could stop me from then on (except maybe almost getting caught once, but still). In those early days I started out only reading yaoi that was recommended on rec lists, in an effort to filter out the icky weird toxic bullshit (It didn't always work. Remember that opinions are subjective, and sometimes someone's memories of a thing may be tinted with nostalgia). I then learnt how to judge books by their cover with some degree of success (you can tell which works are more recent based on the art style. More recent stuff is less likely to have problematic elements, like abuse and rape being portrayed as romantic)

Ok, I know how this sounds, before you say something like, "but Doodle! That sounds like a lot of trouble! Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just, you know, read something from another genre?" I will say that yaoi, just like literally every other genre of fiction in existence, adheres to Sturgeon's law (90% of everything is crap), so it's not like I have significantly higher chances of finding something that is not crap with any other genre. I would know, every time I went to the library and picked out a YA novel (the sort geared towards teen girls) 9 times out of 10 it would be the same old "boring brunnette protagonist who insists that she's ugly even though she's not has two angsty hot dudes chasing after her, everyone looks like a model, also magic and werewolves" bullshit. So yeah, I'd rather take my chances with yaoi, because…

…Second, I…like pretty boys. YES I KNOW I'M AROACE THAT DON'T MEAN I'M BLIND,…also I'm a degenerate weeb, I just like looking at pretty anime boys, what can I say

Third, I've adapted. I've learnt to embrace that So Bad It's Basically Psychological Horror Yaoi lifestyle. I mean, if you can't escape it, you might as well just embrace it, you know?

Listen, man, reading bad yaoi may be an acquired taste but is an EXPERIENCE. Especially yaoi from like, Ye Olden Days. Those are a whole different level of fucked up. I could pick some random yaoi that looks pretty old, and the title would always be something that's really cute and cheesy, like, "doki doki first kiss" or something like that, and the mc experiences violent sexual assault within the very first chapter, without fail, every single time. That shit really fucks you up, man.

Also, I LOVE how yaoi mangaka will go, "you know what would be real fucked up?" and then go and draw a whole ass comic about shit that's fucked up. But potray it in a sexy way.

(Seriously. I just read one where it's like a collection of short stories, and in one there's a guy who's a literal pedophile. Like seriously. His friend asks him "what kind of girls are you into" and he deadass stares at a group of elementary school kids and says "you wouldn't get it" like no joke for real goddamn. Same guy goes and molests his little twink classmate not two pages later. The whole thing is portrayed as a cutesy high school romance)

Before I end this, word of advice, it's something I learned from my yaoi rec list days, some people will say shit like, "oh, go give Junjou Romantica a try…go read Sekaiichi Hatsukoi…trust me it's good…really the most wholesome romance story in yaoi history…" THOSE PEOPLE ARE LYING. DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM. I WATCHED JUNJOU ROMANTICA WHEN I WAS MAYBE 14 AND IT SCARRED ME FOR LIFE. SERIOUSLY DO NOT DO IT I AM 100% SERIOUS I AM NOT FUCKING AROUND JUST DON'T DO IT

[conking]

So hey con, what's this new anime/manga thing I see on your blog that you've been nonstop posting about? Looks actually pretty nice and the kinda thing I'd be into but I want to look a little more into it and find things out, like it's name for example, before I go diving into the cesspool of the internet for it

this is gonna get long so, tldr: ancient chinese gays! comedy! action! mystery! good meta! immortality! gods!

non-tldr: welcome to hell. specifically, mxtx hell, where a bunch of people yell really loudly about three different novels written by the same author (Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù, aka, mxtx). it’s not actually all the same thing, she just has some very specific aesthetics for her main couples dsfkjgsdfghs here’s a good way to differentiate them.

anyway i’ll give you a summary of the novels and if you find one interesting, please do enjoy your gateway drug because i’ve Never seen someone only read one of these once they start.

first up, Mo Dao Zu Shi / Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation / Founder of Diabolism (it’s got a lot of names, i’m sticking with mdzs)

question: what is MDZS about?

a goth and a prep mutually pining for each other while fighting zombies and solving murders, accidentally adopting a riot of awkward teenagers along the way. 

an uncomfortable look into the ethics of humanity, struggles with internalised homophobia and self-hatred, our stances both as a whole and individually on the complex issues around vilification, what counts as ‘the greater good’, the difficulty of forgiveness, and how ‘doing what’s right’ doesn’t always mean the same thing for different people.

magic and flying swords and family

answer: all of the above and hot damn is it fun. this is probably the one you meant when you said anime, cuz guess what? it has one and it’s GORGEOUS.

10/10. be warned, you WILL cry, you WILL want to fight the author, and you WILL love it. it’s incredibly angsty at parts and incredibly funny always and the romance kills me dead every time i think about it. slow toasty burn, with a super good plot that gets deeper and deeper as it goes. if you re-read the novel after you finish it you’ll find so many things you thought were insignificant on the first pass suddenly kicking you in the chest.

warnings for [SPOILERS]: dubious consent kissing, drunken touching, consensual rape kink. also starvation, slavery, genocide, gore, and body horror. mentions of incest and it’s consequences.

read it HERE, watch it HERE, listen to the audio drama HERE, watch the live action HERE

my favourite of the three is Tian Guan Ci Fu, or Heavenly Official’s Blessing.

tgcf is about a sexy demon pirate tagging along with a trash collecting disney princess who is very bad at staying in heaven (where he belongs). they go around systematically digging up every single piece of dirt on everybody ever - including, unfortunately, themselves. //sips tea/ delicious. 

it’s basically an action/detective novel, heavy on the comedy and angst. read this for introspection, self acceptance, growth, forgiveness, endless torture, incredible pain, suffering like you’ve never known, the effects of war and genocide, results of abuse, beautiful imagery, Gundam, endless devotion, unconditional support, and the knowledge that hualian exists and invented romance. to put it another way:

if you like plot filled slow burn with healthy dynamics and a lot of trust, this is the series for you. 10000/10 i will take this novel to my grave PLEASE read tgcf. did i mention it’s also getting a donghua sometime soon?

warnings for [SPOILERS]: gore, cannibalism (kinda), plus child abuse and lots of body horror. gaslighting and manipulation feature pretty heavily in places (especially books 4 and 5). severe depression, anxiety, suicide, and self-depreciation are all dealt with as well.

read the first 21 chapters HERE, and you can find the rest on @ yummysuika ‘s pinned tweet, including the extras! the manhua is starting in a few days, and the donghua will be out next year!! wOOO

finally, we have the first book mxtx published, Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (i’m not touching the cn phonetics for that, we’re going sv for short).

to quote a tweet i saw one time, sv is about a shitty millennial litcrit who gets sucked into the novel he hates as the main villain, and how he struggles to survive while his overpowered disciple crytypes his way to true love. this is the fun one! [thinks about meta] …….the fun one [thinks about any character other than the mc] f-

it’s got a lot more web novel tropes and is generally an easier read. sv is full of hijinks and shenanigans and the tortured screams of a 21st century man who really just wants to lie around and eat good food, but keeps being dragged into everything against his will. comedic misunderstandings galore up in this bitch, character development and relationship growth gets Much heavier towards the end, and if you’re looking for a fun read to pass the time! this is the one! just don’t think about it. because it’s written from the perspective of an idiot with 2 braincells total, we also get to enjoy the Epitome of unreliable narrator syndrome.

overall 8.5/10, would recommend. it sets up and breaks a Lot of stereotypes, and the satire is *chef’s kiss*. don’t be fooled by the way the mc sees the characters, ya gotta look at it from their pov too. it’s getting a donghua in 2020, and the manhua will be out (again) sometime soon as well! yehaw!

warnings for [SPOILERS]: student-teacher relationship, forced kissing, some kinda dubious-consent touching, and a scene where one character thinks the other is going to rape them (nothing happens). additional warnings for violence, mentions of gore, slavery, bullying, and child abuse. (i haven’t read the last few chapters, but unless something Wild happens, that should cover things.)

read it HERE

one thing all mxtx novels have in common is the awesome side characters. you’ll probably end up loving a couple of them more than the protagonists and that’s just how it be. we’re all crying here. another thing they have in common is good plots. whether you’re interested in characters, plot development, deep conceptualisation, romance - it’s all there. just don’t go in looking for hot gay smex, cause that really ain’t what it’s about.

all of these are easier to get into if you have some knowledge of xianxia/wuxia/xuanhuan tropes, but it’s not a must! the translators provide great footnotes, so just google a phrase or refer back to them if you get stuck. you can read them in whatever order you want, they’re not connected at all, but if you’re new to the whole thing i’d recommend starting with the mdzs donghua or sv. as much as i love it, tgcf isn’t the best choice to start with.

[lia-nikiforov]

Spring 2018 Anime Watchlist

THERE IS TOO MUCH ANIME THIS SEASON I HAD TO BINGE 37 EPISODES IN THREE DAYS TO CATCH UP

Dropped

Mahou Shoujo Site: Although I originally intended to irony watch this one, expecting something like MahoIku or King’s Game, its sadistic reveling in the main character’s suffering was impossible to stomach. I felt physically ill at the end of it. I’m not, in principle, opposed to gory stuff, y’all know I sat through the whole stupidity that was King’s Game, but MahoSite doesn’t even reach the level of ridiculous over the topness to make it funny, it’s just a cascade of misery porn with not a single moment of levity or triumph for the heroine. I think I was done the moment that gratuitous “if you punch my stomach my period won’t come” line, because apparently some dudes get off on the idea of a woman being so brutalized she stops menstruating??????

Kakuriyo Yadomeshi: I was willing to give this one the three-episode trial after the first episode in spite of the godawful main love interest and the fact that the grandfather sold the MC into literal slavery wtf, because the main girl seems proactive and independent buuuuuuut fuck I hated episode 2. Not only does she seem to quickly forgive her grandfather for SELLING HER OFF, the men around her keep speaking over her and making decisions for her and she turns out to be just independent enough to not be a complete doormat, but not enough to appear defiant and I hate it. Thanks but no thanks, I ain’t here to see a romantization of being literally sold into an arranged marriage.

YOU THINK?!

Cutie Honey Universe: Before this, I’d had zero interaction with any other iteration of Cutie Honey, so I wasn’t sure of what to expect beyond knowing this was from the creator of Devilman. Certainly blatant homophobic jokes and jokes about physical abuse wasn’t in my list of thigs I expected to see, yet here we are. I ain’t here for “hyuk hyuk look at these fat/butch/ugly lesbians, aren’t they ridiculous” jokes either.

Butlers x Battlers: I completely forgot I watched this one. I don’t remember anything about it except being confused

GeGeGe no Kitaro: This one didn’t do anything wrong, but I was never gonna watch it. I just checked out episode 1 because I heard it made a dig at Logan Paul. I wish they’d gone all the way through and killed that character, but I guess you can’t have it all. It was actually a pretty decent episode, and in a weaker season I’d probably keep watching it, but there’s just too much stuff coming out. And I have watched previous Kitaro anime and it’s sometimes too meanspirited for me.

Uma Musume: I didn’t expect much from this show and was pleasantly surprised by the double-length first episode. Special Week was a nice, fun protagonist to root for and although the world-building was weird as heck, it was fun and positive. So I’m not exactly sure of what happened with episode 2/3 that it left me feeling completely dry. The pacing was super rushed, the characters all felt horribly flat, and the races weren’t super exciting because rather than any strategy or strong emotional realization, Special Week just has to start running even faster and faster in the final leg. It was also kind of implied she had gained weight? But then never brought up? And it’s not made very clear why she lost in the end? Was she supposed to learn humility and not getting too complacent? Seems too early for her to learn that when she’s supposed to be an underdog. I don’t know, it didn’t really work for me and I don’t feel like I care to watch more of it.

Because this post is long af and has a lot of gifs some folks were having trouble loading it on mobile, so you’ll have to read under the cut to know which are the shows I’m actually watching oops

Chopping Block: 

There is too much anime and I’m near the end of the semester so I’m gonna have to cut at least one -preferably two- of these shows

Sword Art Online Alternative: This was another one I intended to hatewatch? But rather than offensive or idiotic it’s so far been pretty boring. Episode one was a slog. The first half of episode two was a horrendous spectacle of hating your own body. The only think I liked was the friendship between LLENN and Pito (btw Pito meand ‘dick’ in Spanish and every time she says “call me Pito” I die). Then episode 3 was more boring exposition. FPS games are the least interesting I could think of, and I’ve never been into Let’s Play, so this show is hitting all the right notes to make me bored out of my mind. I also don’t appreciate the big dude not telling Llenn the plan and just kind of being condescending to her. If next episode is just 20 more minutes of the dude explaining things to Llenn, I’m out. (Also, Pito is 100% Elsa Kanzaki)

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Not feeling this reboot at all. It’s all very dry and just dudes expositioning strategy at each other. Also there are 30 characters in the Ending and only 2 of them are women???? I’ll give it one more episode, but tbh I’ve had problems even paying attention to 2 and 3, it just doesn’t grab me.

Libra of Nil Admirari: Although I like the heroine and she might be one of the strongest reverse harem heroines I’ve seen, the plot itself is very... eh. The guys are also very uninteresting so far. There’s also the fact that Tsumugi claims to have no interest in men or love, but this being a reverse harem with a bevy of men starved for her attention makes me worry this’ll end with her being “fixed” by an actual nice guy who is worthy of her or something. But the OP is very cute!

Hatewatch

Darling in the Franxx: Boy oh boy, the otaku have been creaming their pants and tearing their clothes off for the last three weeks, but “Don’t call it Fucking, It’s Making Love” in the Franxx’s greatest achievement in my eyes is going for idiotically offensive to just bland and clichéd. A recent AMA on reddit with the producer seems to imply that none of the themes of sex, gender and heterosexism that have been at the core of the show were even properly thought out, nor were their implications even remotely considered. I don’t know if the show’s heterosexism would be worse if it was active propaganda rather than what it seems to be: a bunch of ideas the producers thought would be “cool” and “titillating” with no particular meaning to them. Also we’re 15 episodes in and all we’ve achieved is Palurdo has finally tamed his beast waifu who is Not Like Other Girls. Oh, and I guess the monsters actually had humans in there, what a shocker, never seen that before, never expected such a clever twizzzzzzzz....

Mid Priority

Tokyo Ghoul: Re : I thought I was done with Tokyo Ghoul after trying to read the manga and being bored shitless by all the unnecessary exposition, but this one, while not quite excellent, managed to pique my interest. The conceit of Kaneki losing his memories and joining the Doves and helping in exterminating ghouls I’m super not interested in, but his encounter with Nishio has made me curious enough about what has happened with the rest of the characters to keep watching for now.

Rokuhodou Biyori: The iyashikei show of the season I guess. The guys’ personalities are a little bland, so I might bump it down to the chopping block, but it’s only been two episodes, so I want to give it a fair chance

Persona 5: My history with Persona has never been good. Episode 1 of P4 made me sleep, and I watched the first P3 movie THREE TIMES and never managed to parse wtf it was about. This show shares some of the same problems in making me struggle to pay attention, but at least so far the plot seems interesting, the visuals are creative and striking, and I really like the main character’s design. I’m also more inclined to keep watching because Sayokan directed the OP for the videogame.

Hisone to Masotan: There’s a cynical part of me that watches this show and feels like I’m watching a commercial for the JSDF. Yvan eht nioJ, come join us, we have cool dragons!!! I also don’t love the fact that the dragon turns into a plane :/ BUT the characters have a lot of heart, the dynamics so far between Hisone and Masotan and Hisone and Kanzaki have been very touching. A part of me though, wishes Hisone had stuck with Otofu because it’s such a cute name and she sounded really funny yelling “OTOFU!!!”

Safe Sequels

Although some of these sequels would go in higher categories, I was unsure about how to rank them -especially the 2-cour ones- compared to some of my top premieres of the season, so I’m just putting them all together because there are A LOT of sequels.

Yowapeda Glory Line: FINALLY SOMETHING POSITIVE HAPPENED FOR SOHOKU. I was starting to feel exhausted with all the gloominess, especially for seeing Teshima punished, HE DESERVES EVERY GOOD THING. Now we can get back on track and hopefully have a fun race without Teshima brooding all the way through the episode. ALSO THANK YOU FOR THE EXCELLENT TESHIAO CONTENT

Nanatsu no Taizai: FINALLY ESCANOR SHOWED UP. It’s felt like the first half of the show dragged a lot compared to the manga, so I’m happy we’ve reached one of the coolest parts. Though if memory serves, the rest of the season will be spent floundering around, but damn, the Escanor vs Galand battle is very satisfying to watch.

Lupin III Part V: So this time around they’ve added the social media factor into Lupin’s adventures, and so far the result has been quite interesting. I don’t have a lot to say, the artstyle looks closer to classic versions of the franchise and has lost some of the edge from part IV, but the comedy and Lupin’s plans are still creative and fun to watch, even adding a unique spin to the social media component, so I’m excited to see where they take this. But we need more Fujiko yesterday pls

Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boueibu Happy Kiss: A soft reboot of this magical girl parody franchise, with frillier costumes and even more ridiculous attacks and transformations, and I’m here for it. I do wish we’d get at least some cameos from the original gang. I also feel that so far, apart from the Red guy (Kyotaro?) the others don’t seem to have much of a distinctive personality. It’s only episode three, so hopefully that’s something we’ll see developed as the show goes on.

Hozuki no Reitetsu: It’s the same as it’s always been, a brilliantly dry workplace comedy. If you haven’t watched the previous seasons, you’re missing out on one of the best comedies of this decade.

Boku no Hero Academia 3: After the recap first episode, the series has gone back full gear ahead into the next story arc and so far it looks pretty cool. Although I’m never a fan of “regular MC activity gets interrupted by villains”. Idk why it bothers me a lot -a prime example being the S Class exam getting cut short in Fairy Tail and the concept of S Class mages completely ditched thereon after. But anyway, I have faith in the writing that they’ll make this villain interruption cool and worth it. I do however wish they’d let us meet the Class B guys better.

Steins;Gate 0: You know, I was 100% ready to be disappointed and abandon this one right away, but damn, damn have these first two episodes been brilliant. The nuances in Okabe’s characterization, the portrayal of his grief, and his more mature attitude seem like a mirror of the watcher who has grown all the same in the seven years since the show’s original season. I’m hoping the teases about Maho as a potential love interest are a red herring, but other than that, I’m blown away by how good it has been so far. Just delete Daru please.

Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card: Things have started happening! We’re starting to see that Akiho’s mysterious book is somehow having an effect over the events of Sakura’s life. The episode with the animals was particularly strong, with a new card that had a nice renovated design, and a really emotionally effective scene of Sakura and Syaoran embracing to help Sakura regain confidence to save her friends. It’s one of the strongest episodes of the series so far, so hopefully we’ll have more of those and less of the “finding a card that only minimally makes 10 cm from a bookshelf disappear” type. As a sidenote, I find Akiho’s obsession with Sakura’s play a bit offputting.

High Priority

Mahou Shojo Ore: Given how little I knew about this series going in and how excited I was about it in spite of it, I’m pleased to report the show has lived up to my expectations in one way or another. The weird comedy is on point and also everyone is fucking gay. I’m rooting for you Blue Girl! Easily the superior show with Mahou Shoujo in its title.

Hinamatsuri: You know, I didn’t have super high expectations for this one, but it’s turned out to be a very nice surprise. It has that charming paternal relationship between Nitta and Hina that is cute and hilarious. I have to say I’m not super into the classmate-forced-to-become-a-bartender storyline and I’m not sure how that even fits with the rest of the show, so I hope there won’t be a lot of vignettes about it.

Piano no Mori: Wonky CGI and occassionally questionable character design choices (Ajino was so BEAUTIFUL in his youth, why does he look so ridiculous in the present?!!!) aside, this has been one of the strongest premieres of the season. I know fans of the manga have criticized it, but as someone unfamiliar with the original, I’m definitely intrigued by this story.

BESTEST

Megalobox: This one wasn’t on my radar at all. It’s one of those numerous cases of me seeing a title that sounds stupid and deciding to ignore the show based on that alone. I’m glad I stumbled on all the praise the premiere episode received because damn is it good. The story behind the cameras is that this is a 50th anniversary project for Ashita no Joe, and it was meant to be a reboot, but the director couldn’t find a way to make it work, so he created something entirely new, and aren’t we glad about that. It has a unique retro look and although the plot beats do call back to Ashita no Joe, our Joe feels like his own person alright. I think my only nitpick is that I’m not entirely sure of what is even the point of the additional gear. Also, I know how Ashita no Joe ends and I hope this show won’t end like that too :’D

Golden Kamuy: How long has it been since the last time a multi-awarded manga not only wasn’t disappointing but ended up being one of the most promising anime adaptations of the season? Yes, everyone’s seen the ugly CGI bear, moving on, this is a captivating and unique historical show with a so far excellent portrayal of Ainu culture and a kickass lady coprotagonist.  I am really excited to see where this one will go. Also, it was really exciting to hear characters actually speaking ainu language. I’ve done some research on Ainu history (and kickass Ainu women) for school, so I’m very pumped about this one.

Otaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii: By far my favorite premiere of the season. So far, two episodes in, it’s all I ever hoped it would be and more. The characters are charming, Narumi and Hirotaka’s relationship feels natural and effortless -both the romantic aspect of it, and the way they easily become comfortable with one another-. Narumi is delightful and very well-rounded, being as cheerful and optimistic as she can be cynical, and her quick-developing friendship with Hanako is so violently relatable I was screaming. I really love this show. ALSO THE OP IS SUPER CUTE

I FINALLY FINISHED WRITING THIS IT TOOK FOREVER BECAUSE THERE IS TOO MUCH ANIME

[knightedwriter]

11 (43) Questions Tag

Alright so I was tagged by @madmooninc​, @rhiannon-writes​, @winnieleighwrites​, and @bellepaige​ to answer some questions! So I’ll do all of them at once *cracks knuckles* All under the cut, of course, so I don’t flood anyone’s dash.

Rules: Answer the questions given to you, then write 11 more and tag 11 people. Given this post has a lot I’ll probably skip the tagging! I’ll do this in sets so people can find the questions they gave me easier.

1. Who is your favorite OC to write of all your WIPs?

Laethe from Death’s Name. She’s not a typical protagonist for me--hard headed, not willing to let things get to her, very action oriented.

2. Who is the most morally correct of your Ocs?

This is a really subjective question, tbh. But I’d probably say Laethe. She’s young and she makes mistakes, but her heart is in the right place.

3. What are some movies/tv shows that inspire you to write?

I’m not all that inspired by tv shows/movies. FMA:B and Avatar: The Last Airbender are definitely stories that really moved me, so I would say they inspired me the most.

4. Post a gif that represents the main character of your WIP

Laethe @ everything that happens to her.

5. What’s your favorite beverage to drink while writing?

Tea!

6. Which of your OCs would you most want to hang out with?

Garrick or Laethe for sure.

7. Which of your OCs would you not get along with?

Alderon, probably. Karolus too. Desmines would also most likely not like me.

8. Describe your WIP(s) with three words

The Moon’s Song: blood, kindness, forgiveness

Contact: Grief, terror, healing

Death’s Name: Loss, confusion, betrayal

9. Who do you share your writing with?

I share it on this blog! And a few friends get to see a bit more.

10. Do you believe in writing advice?

Sure, if it seems good, solid writing advice to me. But I take everything with a grain of salt, and if something doesn’t work for me then I leave it.

11. Novel writing, poetry, or short-story writing?

Novels!

1. How similar is your story world to the Earth we live on?

The Moon’s Song definitely draws from historical aspects of Earth, as does Contact and Death’s Name but that’s where the similarity ends. I deal with lgbtqia+ fantasy and science fiction, so anything can happen.

2. What inspired any of your WIPs?

The Moon’s Song: I’ve always been fascinated with vampires, and with knights, and this one scene with both wouldn’t leave my head. So I started writing.

Contact: Again, a fascination with aliens, and a scene that wouldn’t leave my head. But also my struggles with anxiety and depression and wanting to explore that.

Death’s Name: This one actually was partly inspired by The Name of The Wind series by Patrick Rothfuss. Also knights. And explorations of identity--I thought of it during a confusing time in my life.

3. What song best explains the squad in your WIP?

For The Moon’s Song that’s probably Renegades by X Ambassadors. It’s so perfect.

Not sure about the others, though.

4. Do you use Pinterest for your characters/stories?

Yep! Specifically for The Moon’s Song but I want to expand to the others because it has helped me so much!

5. Do you have an Asshole character?

Ahahahahaha yes. The one villain whose name you don’t get yet, Michael (Garrick’s abusive ex), Karolus is kinda an asshole (but a good asshole), and I’m sure there’s some others I’m missing.

6. What superhero is similar to or is idolized by your OCs?

Rella, Garrick’s mom, instantly makes me think of Wonder Woman.

7. Do your protagonist and antagonist get along?

Depends on which ones you’re talking about.

The Moon’s Song: Given that Alderon is the protagonist, Garrick kinda counts as the antagonist for the first half. So yes, they do.

Death’s Name: Laethe and Them do not get along for most of the series, but toward the end there is some...mutual respect.

Contact: That’s...complicated.

8. How many of your current WIPs do you plan to publish, if you are publishing?

All of them, if I can. I dream of showing my ideas to the world.

9. Which artist would your MC want to meet/to see on Tour?

Desmines likes a band called Rapid Flight (a band from their time) so they would love to see them.

10. Is there a song that inspires you to write, or inspired any of your WIPs?

I mainly like instrumental music, but I have hunted for a few songs that represent my WIPs.

The Moon’s Song is inspired by Dark Star by Jaymes Young, Moondust by Jaymes Young, Something Wild by Lindsey Sterling, I’ll be Good by Jaymes Young, and a few love songs I’ve gathered.

11. What trends do your OCs use/wear/etc.?

Not sure how to answer this one tbh? Laethe and Garrick wear armor a lot, if that’s what you mean. Alderon likes noble’s clothes. Desmines has a ship uniform.

1. Do you listen to music or ambiance while you write? Or just silence? If it’s music, what genre?

Music. I usually can’t write in silence. The music is usually instrumental, but that’s changed with The Moon’s Song since I’ve gathered songs for it.

2. Are any of your characters sassy?

Oh yes. I’ll just list them.

The Moon’s Song: Serah, Garrick (a bit), the twins (A in particular), [Villain’s Name] in very disturbing ways

Death’s Name: Alvera, Illa, Aja, probably others I’m forgetting

Contact: Some future characters that I have not fully fleshed out yet, but yes

3. How did you come up with the idea for your current WIP?

I like to daydream about putting characters into terribly emotional or distressing situations. One of those was a knight offering his blood to a vampire.

4. How long have you been working on your current WIP?

Since September.

5. Are you planning to publish your current WIP?

Hopefully!!

6. If your MCs were youtubers, what kind would they be? (ex. vlogger, artuber. booktuber, coedy, etc.)

I’ll do this for The Moon’s Song.

Garrick: animaltuber. Also might post videos on sword technique and care.

Alderon: booktuber. He gets oddly intense, even though he thought making the channel was a waste of time.

The twins: A does comedy/pranks, N might do let’s plays/walkthroughs.

Draeya: Artuber for sure! And the twins might goad her into showing off her pickpocket abilities (specifically on Alderon).

Rin: Little fireside chats type of thing, usually whatever is on his mind. Some advice on being trans too.

Serah: She’ll vlog, but also give really useful walkthroughs for home remedies and healing.

Rella: Training videos. And videos of little Garrick she managed to take.

7. What season do you associate with each of your characters, and why?

I actually listed that out right here if you’re interested!

8. Is there one scene that you are particularly excited to write, or had a lot of fun writing?

Alderon’s Mistake(tm). Because I’m awful.

9. What would the ship name be for your favorite romantic pairing in your WIP?

Alderrick seems to be the decided ship name for The Moon’s Song :P

10. Are you a planner, or a pantser, or in the middle?

Pantser by far!

11. What’s your favorite detail that you put into your worldbuilding?

The Moon’s Song: The Resistant and Ancient categories

Contact: That Ruthvier’s species doesn’t bother small creatures (not worth eating) so these creatures evolved a commensalism with them (in which one creature benefits and the other is neither harmed nor benefited).

Death’s Name: My Naming system (using the five senses).

1. Do you read graphic novels/comic books?

Yeah! Mostly manga, but I do read comics from time to time.

2. What was the last store you shopped at?

I shopped online on ebay if that counts?

3. What would your main character eat for breakfast?

Garrick would seriously eat stew all the time if Alderon let him. Alderon uh. Drinks blood so.

4. How far are you in your story?

75% through the first draft of The Moon’s Song.

5. What makes your story different and compelling for readers?

I feel like I turn a lot of cliches and tropes on their head. I introduce a moody, emo, angsty vampire, only for him to find genuine happiness and work on his flaws. My male characters cry just as easily as anyone else. The main pairing starts out with one character abusing the other and I DO NOT let that go; Alderon has to work pretty damn hard to change himself and really deserve Garrick’s forgiveness. And he does. He admits that he was wrong, that he shouldn’t have done what he did, and he works to change. The single mother doesn’t die, but also doesn’t need to find a relationship to make her life fulfilling. I have a good blood family relationship AND a good found family relationship. And that’s just The Moon’s Song.

6. Which of your characters drinks the most?

...Garrick.

7. Which of your characters is religious?

Rin is, as is Rella.

8. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Tbh I really like Washington. I’d love to travel but Washington is definitely my home.

9. Would you date any of your characters?

Probably not?  Maybe Laethe, or Rin but that’s all I can think of.

10. How much have you written this week?

Idk but I’ve written every day, and I usually hit around 1000 words each day so a good amount.

And DONE! Thank you for the questions everyone, they were fun :D

[coe-lilium]

Would you be willing to rank the major Apocrypha characters (Masters and Servants) from best to worst? I'm curious as to how you would rank them

Gladly :D

Be warned that this will be 90% tastes and maybe 10% narrative/objective analysis. And sorry for taking so long to answer. Also, it got long ^^’

A concise, condensed ver before the cut

- 10+/10, tie between Mordred, Jeanne e Shirou

-  9.5/10: Semirams and Shishigou Kairi

- 8-7.5/10: Vlad, Achilles, Shakespeare, Caules 

- 7: Chiron, Fran, Atalanta, Karna, Fiore, Darnic

- 6, I start not caring: Gordes

- “wasted” and “still bitter after 5 years”, no numbers: Avicebron and Siegfried

- 5-4, it’s complicated: Astolfo

- 4: Sieg (and it might go down to 0, I’m serious)

- 3 to 0: Jack, Reika, Celenike 

Btw, I kept them vague, but spoilers/hints up to vol4 and 5

Rank “will fight the world for them, forever in Higashide’s debt, I wish one day for Nasu to write them himself because I trust the mushroom man to make me love them even more than I already do, 10+/10″: 

Mordred: SHE. Higashide’s best accomplishment in winning me over no matter other flaws. Tie with Gilgamesh as my favorite Nasuverse character ever.

There isn’t a single thing I don’t love about her (bar that atrocious “dress” under the armor, delete that). The armored and casual character design. The backstory as abused and exploited child who tries to break free of her mother influence and plots but ends up following them anyway because of her other parent rejection and, ultimately, how Morgan life lasting damage could not be undone without support. Her snarky, bratty, selfish and ferocious personality she show to the outside world and the hidden insecurities, the good heart and the ability to reflect on her flaws. Her loyalty and her desperate need for parental love and recognition as her own person. Her fighting style that is a delight to read or watch, truly a beast. Her chemistry and relationship with Shishigou, all of it. How it start in that cemetery, how develops over the course of the story, how she manage to open, connect and trust him and ultimately find a real father in him.

If I have to find a “wish this was expanded on” is her written in but not recognised by canon issues with gender/presentation which wasn’t a real issue for me until I read metas here and I’m now quite confused especially on how to write her (him?) in the future, when I’ll hopefully get at it.

The only reason I don’t completely wish for her and her Master to have been made MCs is the love I have for the following two guys and this couple steal too much of a spotlight from other characters.

Still, while theirs is a story more focused on personal growth and healing then deciding the fate of a great number of people or the world, in the end Mordred and Kairi saved each other so it could’ve still meshed neatly with the overall salvation theme. Sadly it was not meant to be but I’m more than content for what we got.

Jeanne: She. Who gets only second place and no caps lock because, a surprisingly good portrayal none withstanding, she could’ve been even better had Higashide done a bit more research (in his favour, I don’t know what kind of books on her are translated in Japanese and if the processes transcripts are among them).

For example I’ll forever maintain that, while the whole “romance” thing has a historical base (funny that, uh?), it required a way better realisation and as it’s written in Apocrypha does her character a disservice. Laeticia too, who was a potentially interesting “device” and could’ve been our outsider perspective, got derailed into more nonsense romance and aww poor Sieg and oh man, who-gives-a-damn: not me.

Also, not enough of a sarcastic spitfire or military prowess (“just waved the flag”, now that’s a funny way to write “half of Charles’ court was impressed by how good she was with every damn weapon”) for my tastes but I guess historical Jeanne is just that irreplaceable or TM chose to emphasise her piety and “sainthood” over other traits in order to avoid an Arturia 2.0.

Not a single mention to her mentors either, in 5 volumes (which is bad, extremely bad, Higashide why) and too much of Gilles de Rais nonsense but unfortunately Type Moon is committed to roll with it. Dunois, La Hire and d’Alencon never, poor me. 

That said, Fate!Jeanne is really a good interpretation, firmly rooted in history and I love, love her. 

Her faith and lack of hate are spot-on and are treated with respect instead of mocked. 

She’s allowed to have a no-nonsense and even ruthless soldier like attitude, a protective streak (which always remind me of that promise she made to a young noblewoman to keep her husband safe and bring him back to her, or how she took care of her young squire. Both survived her) and loth of empathy at the same time. 

She’s down to earth but can also be immature and have flaws and be tempted. 

This post is already long as it is, so here’s some more reasons I love Apo Jeanne: 

Novel Jeanne musing 1       

Jeanne meta from the manga 1

Jeanne meta from the manga 2

My eternal greatest disappointment will forever be the lack of a satisfying confrontation with Shirou. You write someone able to shake Jeanne d’Arc convictions, make her doubt her conduct and moral standing when the threat of torture and the Rouen process weren’t able do so... and you don’t follow on it? Unforgivable.   

Shirou: This guy. This absolute mess of a human being. I need more and no, GO, “evil alternative self” isn’t what I mean (but yeah, gimme him too). After discovering him in Apocrypha I started digging my university library to hunt down his IRL self story and there is no higher accomplishment for a Fateverse character for me.                                                                                    Fascinating person and fascinating take by TM, double so since I discovered dude’s still being vilified in contemporary Jp stories/entertainment and man do that enrage me.

It’s like someone mixed up a character I love (Kirei), one I loathe (Kiritsugu), shaked it and the result it’s the best possible one I could ask for. 

I like the character design (both), the historical and post 3HGW backstory and how it shaped him into a Jeanne opposite (for excellent reasons), the most “Kotomine” traits like the snark and trollish attitude and how they cover all the suffering, despair and hate boiling under the constant smirk. How Higashide avoided the “turned evil” interpretation that’s prevalent in jp entertainment and made him a good person and a hero, if a misguided one and also the trapping of a “void/hollow inside” personality and instead gave him those fragments where you see he’s still a 17yo kid. 

He’s not just interesting, he’s funny to read, even with all the angst going on.  

The interactions with Shakespeare are great and... his relationship with Semiramis. Man, that’s excellent, excellent stuff. Can’t gush enough about how much I love them together

My only great complaint -for now, until I see a certain late discovery with my own eyes- is that all the narrative build up and comparisons between him and Jeanne (done in-universe and acknowledged within the text mind you, I’m not headcanoning here) went wasted. 

How can you write two characters who mirror each other so perfectly, put them as “head” of their factions, in the same role both... and not deliver with a confrontation? The only thing that tried to do so was -ironically- the anime in ep #13, as their confrontation in the novels wasn’t as personal and as good as the anime.      

Rank “good, excellent civilisation, never get tired of them”, 9.5/10

Shishigou: best father ever, 100% should legally adopt Mordred. He was/is extremely enjoyable to read about, snarky, smart, his fucked-up magus backstory had long lasting effects but managed not to destroy him, on the outside your tough, broody mercenary making hard decision but actually a good, moral person with a caring nature and, again, a great father. 

As already said, his and Mordred narrative is less tied to the different views of salvation theme and more to the “people making their wishes come true” and they’re bit of outliers for the whole duration of the story but I wouldn’t change a thing (except one T_T). 

His relationship with Mordred is one of the absolute highlights of Apocrypha for me, in every medium.

Semiramis: shallow reason first: charming, scheming, hot asshole-ish royalty in league with a Kotomine troll, what more could’ve I asked for?                        That she was an interesting char in her own right, which is what I got.          

More in-depth, she’s another character I never have enough of. Begrudging sole responsible adult of red team, I couldn’t help but grin every time she had to deal with AKA team or single members, not to speak of her scenes with Shakespeare, which are both amusing and very good for characterisation. 

She may not have that much of screen time compared to other faves but earned her place by making what she had memorable. 

Her backstory is simple: abandoned child learns to exploit her society view on women to rise to the top and get everything she wants and fuck everything else. Which not only neatly establish how and why she became what she is but also why this broken kid, which is a sort of her exact opposite, fascinate her so much. 

Speaking about our broken resident Kotomine, her chemistry with Shirou is simply great, all of their scenes are a joy to read. They have fun plotting together, they (she, dude’s either too young to notice or just let it go) casually flirts, have a functioning, mostly open relationship from the get-go that works no matter how messed up they really are and get each other’s back until the very end. Most of the more lighthearted stuff is in vol 1-2, then things gets more interesting. 

See, as much as she seems to be (and like to present herself as such to enemies) the perfectly devoted Servant and is aiding Shirou… she’s also truly villainous, cold and ruthless as hell and is also very conflicted and switch back and forth on what she wants, not much as out of the War as instead from her Master in particular (don’t think bad… okay, do) for the whole series. Vol3 and 4 are a godsend for her character and you dunno how I wish we had more than a bare bone summary for vol 5 because god damn some things in that summary. 

With the many, many stay night or Zero parallels and homages in Apocrypha, she come off as a sort of reverse Zero Gilgamesh and Gilles in being, respectively, the devilish member of the  Kotomine - Servant pair and the “personal involvement/interest in the saint figure, sometimes verging on the creep-ish, predatory behaviour" one (Gilles was 100% full on creepy mode, Semiramis keeps her thoughts for herself and is just tempted. I strongly appreciate), “reverse” for being conflicted, but in the end being a better person than both dudes above and respecting and knowing her partner enough to let go of her worst desires/frustrations. There’s some really good stuff in these two’s relationship, let me tell you. 

If Mordred-Shishigou take the cake for best platonic relationship in Apo, Semiramis and Shirou single handy destroy every competition for the romantic one. 

Rank “You. I like you”, 8-7.5/10

Vlad: here’s someone I’m pretty content with how he’s written (I wouldn’t change a thing), but really wish had had more space just because I enjoyed him a lot. Higashide nailed him and I wanted more of a historical Vlad III who is a hero, a good ruler caring for his country and a ruthless warrior and executioner and none of this aspects negate the others. Plus, it was refreshing to see a Vlad III being so clearly separated from the “vampire” twist that his wish for the Grail was to erase book and legacy from existence.

Achilles: a simil Alexander, I dislike the IRL/myth dude but can’t stay mad with their Fate incarnations. I like his personality, his quirks, his relationships with Chiron and Atalanta. Loved the mocking duel (and the anime committee will hear me scream from the other side of the world if I get robbed of it  yeah, I wrote this part before ep17. Fuck you A1). 

I don’t even think he needed more screen time, he’s really fine with what’s shown. Not every character need to be a main one and Achilles manage to be a good secondary one, with enough development and characterisation.

Shakespeare: here’s an enjoyable dude I like to hate. Amusing character, his interactions with Semiramis and Shirou are a joy to read or watch, but, fuck this guy. May Moriarty and Saber Gilles have their way with you in Chaldea.

Caules: one of those rare beasts known as “perfectly functioning siblings” of the Nasuverese. Respect his Servant and tries to do her right till the end. A good dude.

Rank “could’ve shined more in a longer and more focused series, but okay” aka those who served their purpose, 7/10 

Chiron                                                                                                            Atalanta                                                                                                          Karna                                                                                                                Fran                                                                                                                  Fiore                                                                                                                Darnic

Not really anything to say about each one here. They’re fine as they are.            

Could’ve used more Darnic, the 3HGW is a fascinating subject no matter who the Einzbern decide to summon and his actions shaped the whole world of Apo. Personally I’d have cut the Jack business and expanded him as a character/treat, maybe to shed light into CT politics and magus society fuckery (because if there’s something the Yggdmillennia as a whole and each one of them in particular show is how the magi society is an aberration that twist and corrupt everything it touch). But in the end I know it was either Ygg vs CT as promised or Rulers against each other and I’ll gladly take the latter.  A longer series could’ve had space for both, who knows.

Rank “nice arc. There are more interesting people but I’ve come to appreciate you” 

Gordes: Probably the human character who experience more growth in the series.

Rank “wasted” and “decent what little is there, perhaps, but still bitter after five years”

Avicebron: also know as the poor thing similar to the antagonist in background and wish that could’ve worked with the themes while also being a personal foil to the protagonist in being a golem/artificial life creator and user but the writer couldn’t/wouldn’t bother with him for some reason and he only got to be the “Gilles de Rais summon Chtlulu and heroes have to team up to bring him down” of Apocrypha, with no other purpose than being a Zero “homage”. 

To add insult to injury, the Adam threat does literally jack shit on a narrative point because “Servant goes stray and threaten the world, Servants form both factions have to team up to defeat him” already happened, 2 episodes before for the anime, end of vol2 vs beginning of vol3 for the novel version. And Mordred and Shishigou making an alliance with the surviving Black members was already going to be a thing after the Gardens mess. Shame, shame and shame.

Siegfried:  tainbocuailnge here has written some good meta about him lately and, yeah, perhaps all of that was intended, and I can kinda appreciate it. The point is that I couldn’t give a single crap over the OC when for him to come into being means sacrificing freaking Siegfried. I may not have read as much or being already attached to the literature/epic character like other cases but… no, just no. Siegfried deserved way better than what he got in Type Moon. 

Add more personal bitterness because with such numbers I thought it was finally time for the Heroes to shine and for the Masters to be sidelined and instead we got super special super powered MC. To hell with it.  

If anything, Siegfried may be the only character the anime did more good than damage. He’s still there and sometimes get to act as a mentor instead of being a useful power up and then fucking off for the remaining 4 volumes.

Rank “I tried to like you, I wish I could like you, but I cannot stand you no matter what”, 5-4

Astolfo: I’ve tried to like him but to no avail (rest assured, though, that I’ll deck anyone who’ll try use that t*ap or “girl” bullshit). 

It has to be that unholy combination of extremely airhead personality and mannerism, all the screen time he gets that could’ve gone to my favourites, that idiotic attempt at a “love triangle” (for the love of God, Higashide) and a voice acting that, I swear, even if I already didn’t like him from the novel the anime would’ve been the nail in the coffin. All these combined make him grates on my nerves like few other Fate characters. Perhaps part of my distaste comes from being unable to shake the feeling that the author himself don’t respect him.

I realise it’s quite… unfair, because on the page he has everything I usually like: he’s brave, he’s kind, he has morals and will maintain them in front of everything, he stand up to assholes, he save and inspire people, you can overpower him as much as you like and he still won’t care and will still fight you. 

Astolfo is a good, decently written character and I really wish the franchise would just stop using him as a joke and stop being so gross to him in order to cater to even more gross “fans”. 

If I were to put tastes/guts feelings aside, I could praise him for pages. I simply can’t bring myself closing the gaps from appreciating the undeniable qualities to actually like the character. 

Rank: fluctuating between “your concept should’ve been handled by a more experienced narrator” and “goddamn, does your very existence piss me off”, pending more on the second as we go on, less than 4

Sieg: on the page kid’s got a good arc. An homunculus, a magus’s tool, trash to be used and disposed off, gains consciousness and, shaped by what he witness and the actions and sacrifices of heroic figures, rise to free his kin from their slavers and then find himself fighting to “save the world”. How he attained freedom and have come to interpret it and his experiences put him in the path of the antagonist and the two and their “ideologies” makes for an interesting double face of the coin, forced salvation vs free offer and answer to actual prayers. Sounds pretty great. 

Unfortunately, Higashide aimed too high for his skills or didn’t learn well from Nasu and Shirou Emiya, or both. 

Otakus mad because he “got the waifu” aside, Sieg do come across as too damn lucky and overpowered and there is a limit on how much the in-universe reason “damn, the Counter Force had to work hard to give him a chance to stop a Heroic Spirit with hundreds time his experience” can go before the readers start getting annoyed at Heroes dropping dead or getting sidelined just to push him forward. 

I’m not a fan of these buzzwords, but the impression he’s a fan fiction OC that force the original and more interesting cast to revolve around/sacrifice for him or hijack their plots is damn strong. Scrap it, it’s not an impression, it’s exactly what happen. In at least 4 or 5 cases. 

There were also too many times he bore me to death so not really what you want from your protagonist. 

Another thing, more grave than personal preferences: his wish/fight firstly go nowhere, then get resolved too quickly without a fuss and then, once his goal has been effortlessly achieved, he proceeds to tag along and stole duels and confrontations from other characters, on which he had no stakes nor reason to be. What kind of writing is this?! He get the contract with Astolfo, walks in the castle and the Yggd agree on releasing the homunculi. And that’s it. Wow?

Also here’s my 100% personal reason for not having an ounce of interest in Sieg, godly writing skills or not: for once, just once, we could’ve got our first Fate solo female protagonist. An all-around badass but, at the same time, not an Arturia nor Shiki nor Arc nor Aoko clone. Who just happened to be my favourite historical figure ever.

Could’ve kept the same theme of opposing concepts of salvation, brought the Ruler vs Ruler/Saint vs Saint thing in the spotlight, with all their nice baggage of similar lives resulting in  opposite views by different regrets and traumas, faith or lack (that instead got all swept under the rug, and man if the self awareness of vol4 isn’t something to behold) and after five years I still feel personally robbed of all of this, especially when it became clear Apocrypha was yet another “male protagonist with the world revolving around him while the female heroine gets to be his support/sidekick. Oh, and as already said, he get the confrontation with whom the narrative builds as her rival”. Because of course he does. 

You don’t sideline Jeanne frigging d’Arc and expect me to forgive you for it.

Rank “why are you even here, why are we wasting anything on you”

Jack and Reika: ye god, why. The concept behind this Jack the Ripper? I find Fake ver superior but I’m on board. Then, first, that fucking character design. Sorry BL, reddit, MAL and whatever: putting a child in a thong is a revolting choice of character design and no, there’s no “well, she learned from prostitutes” that count.    I appreciate at least the connection made with Atalanta. But the execution. Their “plot” drag and drag on and goes nowhere (hilariously so in the anime. What was the point of Jack killing some random homunculi and disappearing for the whole arc, again?). Their only narrative purpose is doing ???? for roughly three volumes, *do that* to Atalanta and shaking Sieg’s worldview. At least they grant Jeanne some badass solo scenes and to us more insight on her character. Still the equivalent of a anime-only filler, and a bad one. 

Pity, really, because a child Jack who 1. is a child and act as one and 2. get heavily influenced by her/their Master and thus could either become a better person or be exploited wasn’t that bad of a twist for a famous figure but the pair was never allowed to be more than “Apo pair of rogue murderers”. 

Celenike: just… begone. I cheered when she died in the novel, cheered loudly when she died in the anime and will cheer even more loudly when she will die in the manga. 

[richtits0fshipping]

Original Intention vs Execution: For what it’s worth

PREFACE: This is an uncouth self-plug of an anon ask to @pyropsychiccollector that I decided to copypasta under the assumption that it would be a cold day in hell before anyone would look into an untagged reblog of an anon ask. If you haven’t already done so, definitely look at @pyropsychiccollector​‘s response.

Anon Ask:

Outside the context of the FT manga, the afterwords of both Volume 60 & S Volume 1 give quite a bit of credibility to the Natza ship. Volume 60 singles out Natsu & Jellal, in particular, with regard to possible relationship depth while also providing leniency ("made up with story flow") to further include and flesh out any development/affection/etc. between Natsu & Erza. S Volume 1, on the other hand, suggests that Mashima had an already intended relationship between Natsu and Lucy. Thoughts?

Impending Narrative:

I really liked this question and the answer that followed so I’d like to add my own thoughts on the matter. I will argue that these initial intentions have significance insofar that they give us insight into the mind of the author and the degree to which that influences the direction of the narrative. Before I further delve into this, I think it’s imperative to note that not all original ideas are equivalent (i.e. Idea A was scrapped so the import of Idea B is just as insignificant). There are very different reasons why some ideas are scrapped and some ideas can remain pervasive throughout the narrative as they aren’t contingent upon the plot. A relationship can remain ambiguous and continue to develop without the necessity of resolution. A plot point, on the other hand, demands resolution; it either happens or it doesn’t as the direction the manga takes is dependent on it. Exploring this idea in the context of Mashima’s manga, the Afterword of Volume 10 touched on Mashima’s initial concept to incorporate his own version of the Japanese folktale, “Dream of a Butterfly.” Giving the “bare bones” of the tale, a man, Akinosuke, finds himself regularly falling asleep under the tree in his garden while in the company of his friends. One day after having fallen asleep, he wakes only to be whisked into the governing kingdom where he marries the marries the kingdom’s princess and ultimately lives out a life of luxury, love, family, and fulfillment. After the passing of his wife, the king tells him that he must return from whence he came and that his wife and children will be tended for. He then finds himself back under the tree and his friends note that dozed off for a few moments. After recounting the dream to his friends, they inform him that they saw a butterfly leave his mouth while he was asleep only to be caught and whisked away by a colony of ants. They investigate and find a giant kingdom of ants under the tree and finally an isolated “coffin” with a female ant in it. While it’s heavily implied that the butterfly was Akinosuke’s soul, another interpretation is that the dream was just that; an illusion with everything being mere coincidence. Mashima wanted to implement this concept in Chapter 75 (aptly named “A Butterfly’s Dream) with a reversal of Erza’s dream of the past; Everything up to chapter 75 is a dream of the future that little Erza (still at the ToH) is having. At first glance this concept is incredibly poignant in depicting the escapist tendencies and wish fulfillment that’ve manifested as a coping mechanism due to the psychological damage she’s incurred while in captivity.  Here’s the catch, in context, given all that’s been established: Lucy being the MC (with the whole story thus far revolving around her and Natsu), Erza not coming into the manga until later, the tone that’s been set thus far, etc. this idea is fuckin terrible…It begs the question: what comes next? If this idea was implemented into the narrative imagine how everything would have to change. Erza would now be the MC (it’s not about Lucy’s time at FT but Erza’s captivity and what comes after?) three of our MC’s disappear (never to return) or will only return in subsequent dreams, the same Jellal who’s taking care of her, her support throughout this ordeal, and her crush is now reimagined emotionally and physically abusing her and their friends, etc. etc. etc. Suffice it to say there are plenty of potent reasons to scrap this concept as it undermined all that’s been established. Naturally, concepts revolving around plot points need far more attention to the ramifications they may bring about for the future of the narrative. Interpersonal relationships and their development (or lack thereof), while perhaps, not as impactful to the plot in their execution, are in turn FAR more flexible and can go in any conceivable direction at any time or event (and even able to contort the plot if desired). By now, I hope it’s understandable that these concepts really are like apples and oranges; they can’t be weighed against each other. Moving on, Let’s look at the S Volume 1 afterword ( translated here: http://rieriebee.tumblr.com/post/150560855805/so-i-was-avoiding-posting-this-because-of-the ). Again, here’s where relationship intentions differ. Mashima could’ve ignored the fans demands, instead of having partially acquiesced, left his intentions as originally intended and aside from the forced fanservice that was included NOTHING WOULD CHANGE. As intended from the beginning, his original desire to make Nalu one-sided remained as such. Now looking at the Afterword from Volume 60 (translated here: https://www.reddit.com/r/fairytail/comments/5zuf5u/ms_fairy_tail_volume_60_afterword/ ) , anon appropriately noted that, “Volume 60 singles out Natsu & Jellal, in particular, with regard to possible relationship depth while also providing leniency (“made up with story flow”) to further include and flesh out any development/affection/etc. between Natsu & Erza.“ So what? Why does this matter? Given all that’s transpired, it matters quite a bit. Without any preconceived direction for Natsu and Erza’s relationship and development, us Natza shippers hit the jackpot Chapter 434 onward with a scary amount of moments expounding on our ship. The best part? Even if I tried, I can’t begin to find one moment between the two that was even remotely contrived. I think we can all agree that, despite a notable degree concession, Mashima ultimately does what he wants. As a fandom, us Natza shippers are so minuscule in number, that there’s literally no pressure for him to write half as much as he did for our ship. In fact doing so would only provoke backlash from the massive Jerza and NaLu fandoms. And it did…big time. In and of itself, this really speaks to Mashima’s genuine interest in Natsu and Erza’s relationship. I think we should revel in that more than we do. Whether inadvertent or not, by virtue of Lucy being the MC accompanied by Natsu and the lingering feelings between Erza and Jellal, Mashima set up two massive fandoms of fiscal dependence for FT (you can see that in how the anime appropriates the manga to cater to these ships). He already gets a lot of shit if he so much as “rocks the boat” (im sorry XD). Once those pillars went up, we really had no shot in hell. In my opinion, given the juxtaposition of constant stagnancy between Jellal and Erza coupled with the pervasive Natza moments, one can’t help but to look at Volume 60 with an understanding of continued indecision between Natza and Jerza (further made evident in Natsu’s brusque response to Lucy’s anticipated kiss, the lack of contact between Jellal and Erza, and finally the contemplative look on Jellal’s face when told to “live”). In the end, these afterwords are important insofar that, in conjunction with the narrative at large, they give us insight into the underlying emotions and relationship that the author perceives and attempts to convey between two characters.