#this is why I'm gonna keep making canon accurate posts and putting them in the character tags | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

notsodailycake · 1 year ago

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Here, i finally finished this💀

Meet my Zelink fan kids! I have alot planned for them, but I'm too shy to actually share everything, especially bc I've only now just started fully exploring Totk (i got the game around last month) and so i wanna make sure I'm like, canon accurate, but i wouldn't mind answering questions about them👉👈

Anyhow, some fun facts about the desings:

Sonia has scars on her eyes and the tip of her left ear, why? The ones on her eyes were caused by a wolf she came across the one time she ran away from home (due to her jealousy over her sister when she was born, it's a long story), the one on her ear is bc of a bird she tried to grab once since Adira thought it was cute and wanted to pet it (Adira was 2, Sonia was 5)

Sonia's earring was a gift from her bff/crush, a gerudo girl that imma keep secret for now bc I'm still working on her

Adira's feather necklace is a gift from her close buddy/bff, a rito, which I'm also gonna be hush hush about for now

Adira messes around with alot of not so safe devices out of curiosity and the need to create, but gets her hands dirty/hurt in the process, hence the band-aids

They both have small fangs thanks to their mom (iykyk)

Adira's favorite color is pink, Sonia's is blue

Also, huge thanks to @carogdraws for helping me desing their clothes! It was a huge help and i probably wouldn't have done it without it ^^

Now, those are the extra info i have for them, the rest of the basic info i have already shared will be under the cut

Yes it was copy pasted from the last post i did about them, but i have a need to keep everything in one neat little post sue me

The two girls are 3 years apart. Oldest is Sonia (yes, named after Queen Sonia herself), and the youngest is Adira

Sonia is more like her dad, especially in terms of looks, but she inherited her mother's eyes and thurst for answers. She's very energetic and adventurous and likes helping others

She tends to be the guinea-pig to a lot of her sister's projects and creations since she has almost no self-preservation. She enjoys it tho, thinking it as a fun activity to try out new things and hang out with her sister. She also enjoys carving things, mainly toys and masks. Most of her sister's toys were made by her when they were around 11 and 8

Although she is usually quite the airhead, and not really the brightest (like her dad, cough-), she definitely inherited her mother's overthinker mind. Doesn't help that she also tends to think little of herself, being the firstborn of the Princess and Hero themselves, alot of people put her under alot of high expectations and although her parents tried their best to show she didn't have to prove her worth, the gossip around town was hard to ignore, doesn't help the fact that her sister has started to become a prodigy to her mom, creating inventions to help hyrule and planning to bring the royal system back when she's old enough

Sonia though, has no intention of bringing the royal life back, nor to continue it. Like her dad she wants to explore, she's fascinated by history and wants to disvover every small relic left unseen. And she wants to travel beyond Hyrule one day as well and help those she comes across her path. But also perhaps, escape the duties and expectations others put on top of her, and perhaps prove herself better then those expectations

She loves her sister tho, despite everything, and will never admit to her how jelouse she actually is of Adira. How jealous she was of Adira of being able to hang out with their mom so much, have so much in common with her, sometimes she wonders if she has anything from her mom other then her eyes

Adira is alot like her mother, especially in the looks department, but she has her father's eyes and thurst for chaos. She's usually quiet, but very sassy when needs be, and although seeming quite shy, she got quite the temperament and wont hold back her tounge

Like mentioned previously she becoms a prodigy to her mom, creating and getting invested on inventions to help hyrule and planning to bring the royal system back when she's old enough. She spends most of her time studying and working on anything technology finding it fun to see what possible outcomes it came give

Although sometimes the pressure is too much, as much as her parents give her the liberty to explore her interests, as she had started to show advancements in her creations and helping hyrule, as well as proclaiming to bring back the kingdom (even tho she was a child when she said that), all eyes were now set on her and she is terrified of any failure, and to disappoint everyone, she usually confides on her sister who never cared of her status and just liked to be around her for her (and well, she felt too embarrassed about it to tell her parents about it, they didn't need to worry about such simple things in her eyes, they already fought the townsfolk so much bc of that, she didn't want to make them dislike her parents bc of her)

She admires her sister alot, looks up to her and wishes she could be as cool as her, as free as her, but she isn't good in any sort of physical activities and is usually just stuck in the lab. And that causes a smidge of jealousy as Sonia is able to bond more with their dad then Adira ever could, she feels like she has nothing in common to her dad other then his eyes and need for chaos (which the second part was something looked down apon by others)

And those are the basics i have so far, there is more but I'm unsure about it for now, and aren't 100% concrete yet, so i wont share at the moment

But before i end this, here are some small fun facts:

Both Sonia and Adira are pure glutons, just like their dad XD. They have cooking sessions together quite often, helping around the kitchen when they can;

Sonia loves horses as much as her dad does, but she is terrified of riding them, because when she was little and riding one for the first time, the person who set settle on didn't do it properly and she fell, head first into a rocky ground, and to add onto it, the horse stepped right onto her pinky. Now she has small panic attacks trying to ride them

Sonia actually used to hate Adira. Since Adira was a rainbow baby, Zelda and Link did kinda get overprotective with her and accidentally neglected Sonia. That didn't last long after Sonia did cause a whole scene with running away and almost getting killed- but that's likez a whole other story in itself lol (i might make a more detailed post about this later). But after that incident, they were able to work things out, and Sonia ended up being way more protective over Adira than her own parents

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hijinks-n-lowjinks · 3 months ago

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Hi! For the WIP ask:

I'm sorry I gotta ask about and i've been tryin' not to feel it it's one of my fave JJK fics!

Specifically, how'd you come up with the overall concept and plot points in the fic? Is it inspired by anything from your own life experiences or solely the JJK source material?

Also: Is there anything in particular you keep in mind when you write Yuuji and Meg's characterization in the fic? Cuz you're one of the few writers who I think captures them PERFECTLY so tell me all ur secrets >:)

Thank you :D

Omg thank you so much, I'm so happy that you're enjoying it so far!!! This ask made me smile so big when I got it, this is exactly what I wanted to talk about for aibtntfi!!! warning, this will be a very long post lol. I'll explain further below the cut~

The overall concept was actually from me just daydreaming about what a regular itfs meeting would be life if they met in completely normal circumstances. I was still in college when I started writing this fic, and writing high school age setting feels unnatural to me now, so I just aged them up to make it easier on myself and more fun for me to write! This fic was also intended to only be a one shot, but..... then I thought of some cute little plotlines and rolled with it lol.

First off, I'm not gonna lie, I think a lot of jjk/itfs fics get them wrong—both their characterizations and their relationship.

I was determined to write my boys accurately, or at least as accurately characterized as I can imagine them being in a normal modern world! I couldn't picture Megumi being outgoing, or very willing to actively attempt to get to know anyone outside his current friend group, so I had to think of a way to get itfs to interact in a way that seemed natural and not forced.

Megumi has never been a problem for me to write. He's my favorite character, and I've loved him since the anime first started airing in 2020 and back then NOBODY gave a fuck about him (at least in my social circles). It felt like I was his sole fan, so I've always had a pretty good grasp on his character and personality due to having to defend my boy to the ends of the earth.

Something I've had to do to ensure that I keep him accurate is have little check ins. Whenever I write a chapter, I'll usually have a somewhat linear outline of what I want to put down, so I'll imagine if I could see canon Megumi saying/doing/thinking the same things as au Megumi. Obviously it's not a 1-to-1 (an au will immediate make a character different simply because of setting), but it does help!

For example, when itfs first met I couldn't imagine canon Megumi instantly fawning over him or getting googly eyes over him. That's just not my boy.

But I could imagine canon Megumi being slightly flustered and feeling mildly distressed when talking to a cute boy he just met and probably doesn't want to find as cute and interesting as he does. In a world where you can die on any mission you're sent on, Megumi likes having some feeling of control over himself and his reactions to things. That's why when he suddenly found himself inexplicably attracted to Yuuji for seemingly no apparent reason it distressed him; it's an emotion he doesn't typical find himself feeling strongly about and is more than likely in control of 24/7. That lack of control over his emotions is what causes him to begin to freak himself out and snap at Yuuji, becoming the catalyst for the entire fic.

Overall, Megumi is blunt, opinionated yet understated, responsible, petty, and he's kind of mean!!!! I mean that last one in the most affectionate way!!! He's constantly ready to insult or knock characters down a peg, but he's clever about it! He's a very emotionally complex character as well. He cares far more about things than he'd ever let on, and he's jaded as fuck. He has a very realistic (and slightly cynical) look at the world. He's extremely intelligent but has difficulty full expressing himself without wanting to put a gun to his head.

He's also a massive cutie! He's very quiet about his interests, but he does have love and passion for them. He adores his sister, unfortunately loves his friends and Gojo, and tries to maintain a level head and clear mind as much as he can while keeping a firm grip on what he deems realistic.

I also needed to imagine how the characters would have matured since I aged them up. 15 year old Yuuji does not have the emotional intelligence that 20 year old Yuuji does, and I needed to acknowledge that change. A 20 year old man should not be as immature as a 15 year old, not matter how closely you're attempting to maintain characterization.

Yuuji is much more difficult character for me to write. He's much more at ease with himself and the world around him, so it's a struggle to think of how he'd respond to others in different situations. Overall he's very understanding and sympathetic to others, but I think he also has a hard time knowing how to respond to them! With his older age in my fic, it was odd writing Yuuji with the emotional intelligence of a 20 year old because he just doesn't have that level at 15. That was a concession I had to make because writing 20 year old Yuuji that immature felt cringy and distasteful.

He's a silly guy! He likes to joke and mess around, but he's still capable of being serious. The balance between them is one of the harder parts of writing good Yuuji characterization, in my experience. A key part of his character is that he wants to be helpful. He's very easygoing and ready to provide assistance to anyone who might need it, sometimes even to the detriment of himself or others (in a damaging to their pride way).

The dynamic between the two is like gravity. There's something that somehow keeps them orbiting around each other no matter how hard one might attempt to break away from the other. They long to be near each other and don't know exactly how to define what they are to each other, they just are.

I can 100% get behind the idea that Megumi would be instantly drawn/attracted to Yuuji. That's more-or-less what happens in canon, so why would an au be any different? But the thing is, Megumi does not want to befriend Yuuji initially. He's civil with Yuuji, but he obviously doesn't care about being neighborly or getting on Yuuji's good side with the blunt-bordering-on-rude way he acts in the beginning of the manga.

I full leaned into that. I could absolutely see Megumi being irritated that he find this this stupid, kind, loud boy that he doesn't know frustratingly cute and I thought it would be a funny premise to get this little subtly tsundere boy to kiss a cute boy at the end of the night and get a boyfriend. That, in fact, did not end up happening and it instead stretched to them pining for each other for 14 chapters straight.

Yuuji is obviously far more outgoing than Megumi, so I had to play into that. He doesn't mind interacting and conversing with strangers, but he also doesn't really go out of his way to fully befriend them, so I needed another external force to really pique his interest in Megumi.

Megumi's resistance to chatting up with Yuuji is what draws the latter in. There's a deep curiosity engrained in Yuuji, because at his core he truly loves learning about things! I leaned into his curiosity for Megumi as a way to show that side of his character as well using it as a natural meet cute and spark.

When it comes to dialogue and interactions, I try to keep it as natural as I can! If I could picture a young adult have saying what they do or having a similar conversation then I know I've done my job! Repeating dialogue out loud or in your head REALLY helps. It helps your brain catch weird inflections or inconsistencies when just typing it out might not.

My final ace in the hole is my wonderful beta reader @kattythingz . They keep me in check for that sort of thing! They'll happily call me out if they think a line of dialogue sounds weird or that a character wouldn't say or act a certain way, and it's saved my ass over and over again. If you have people around you who are willing to read and can be honest about that sort of thing, then use them!!! You won't get better if people are sparing your feelings.

#I am SO sorry for this long ass reply but I really wanted to go into depth with my process!!!!!#and feel free to ask specific questions if you have any idk what people are specifically struggling with skfnskmf #jinx answers #fics: and i've been tryin' not to feel it #jinx writes #jinx talks

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some-teeth-in-a-trench-coat · 4 months ago

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Ok so I was gonna go more in-depth about the timeline and try to figure some things out, but I got a little sidetracked and time got away from me so I might continue this later but for now I need to go to bed. Please enjoy this infodump about the apocalypse in Moth Wizard (my post-apocalyptic fantasy setting) and the origin of magic.

(Content warning: war, religion, death, extinction)

When exactly canon diverges from our timeline is not determined yet since I've currently placed the apocalypse really taking off "sometime in the near future" and I don't know how much of the bad stuff may or may not happen in real life. We live in scary times. Ideally I'd keep it "in the near future" for a while though, like I don't know when (if ever) I'll actually Make The Show, but I'd like for it to still be in the future when I do. It would make the "this could happen to our world" part of the "this could happen to our world and while you individually cannot save us from it, it is entirely in the hands of humans to stop it and turn things around before then" message of the apocalypse, y'know, still apply.

As I mentioned recently in a very excited tag ramble, the apocalypse has several components. I think the main ones are war, climate change, and similar corporate greed consequences like pollution, unsustainable hunting, and destruction of habitats. All of it is human in origin. This is important to me, because if it weren't humans, then it would be Hashem (G-d), and He promised never to do that again after Noah and his family survived the flood. What Hashem did was give humanity the magic that allowed them to survive (and which now fills their world with wizards).

I like to think of this as kind of an inverse of the story of Noah. Hashem did not raise the tides, it was man, and man did not create the means by which life was able to live on, it was Hashem. Are we even now? Probably not, I wouldn't claim to know whether "being even" is even an applicable concept, but I do think that this event thousands of years later changed something forever. A circle has been closed. Life on Earth will never be the same.

I'll uh, definitely consult a rabbi about this at some point though, because I'm mostly making stuff up that sounds right and fits what I have in mind for their world. I'd like to make sure it's at least not actively contradicting anything.

Anyway, so we have the nearish future timeline deviation, I hope, where everything gets worse, billions of people die in world war III and countless species go extinct. Every single country on the planet is either at war or caught in the crossfire. If not for the gift of magic, it would have been the END end of life. How long after this does the story take place? I haven't decided. It's hard to put an accurate number to things.

Let's say hypothetically, magic is introduced in the year 5800, nice round number in the nearish future (a bit over 15 years).

As I've mentioned before, the first people to discover magic were kids probably aged 12-17, because of how the magic system works. To use magic, you need to try and truly believe in it, recklessly, and I don't think anyone is better at recklessly believing in undiscovered magic than teens, speaking as a former teen myself. Too young and the line between make-believe and reality won't be the right shape, too old and they'll have lost faith in undiscovered mysteries. Teens inhabit the sweet spot where the world seems just strange enough that maybe if you really really tried, you could fly.

And suddenly one day, the teens were right.

Sidenote but what I really love about this part of the magic system is that it comes with built-in explanations for why small children are not blowing up cars on accident (it has to be fully intentional and separate from playing pretend), and why not everyone uses it enough to call themselves a wizard (it's hard to believe recklessly and intentionally enough), AND gives good excuse for why anyone desperate enough could do it in a burst of emotion (recklessness is easy if you have nothing left to lose, the exact boundaries of possibility don't seem so important anymore). It's great.

It takes a while for people to believe the kids who discover magic. Obviously this footage going viral on TikTok is faked, and now there's a whole trend about pretending magic is real. And anyone who tries while under the impression that it's fake will of course fail, they don't believe at all. But the news don't have to spread via social media, it's much easier to show people in person. And do you believe it when you see a flying car on the news? You thought this was a reliable source, why would they buy into this obviously fake nonsense? And then you meet your 11-year-old cousin who claims she can make animals talk. You don't believe her, of course, until she points to a squirrel and the squirrel addresses you by name. The world is already in chaos, and now this?

Within a year, I think, it is generally understood that magic does exist. The exact mechanics are still unclear and everyone has their own interpretation, but the fact that some people are genuinely able to do things that until a year ago were definitely impossible is hard to deny now.

Somehow, magic seems to favor saving lives over taking them. This is not actually because magic itself has morals, but because it favors vulnerability and cannot be controlled the way guns can be controlled. Governments try and inevitably fail to create magical armies. You simply can't command someone to use magic. They would need to raise such soldiers from children surrounded by cultish propaganda in order to control their faith to such an extent, which of course they do to all their citizens, that's how they ever got anyone to kill another human on command, but they didn't have the foresight to include "you will be a wizard" in their programming starting 10 years ago. And now they won't get the chance. Their time is about to come to an end.

Oceans rise. Nations fall. The world we know dies screaming.

#sfw #personal #ok to reblog #Moth Wizard #tw war #cw war #war cw

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caliburn-the-sword · 1 year ago

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tlc fairest thoughts

this is all gonna be one post because if i put every "levana wtf" moment i had. i would end up just posting the ENTIRE book. ngl will probably tag this as anti?? because i don't have very much that is nice to say unlike the other books. respectfully, do not press keep reading if you're gonna be upset about how i feel about fairest because i don't want you to have a bad internet experience and i don't want ME to have a bad internet experience. thanks <3

am i really going to be forced to go through a whole second-hand-embarrassment-fest as an explanation for levana's backstory

sorry the writing style is giving the cruel prince. and i am very much not a fan of that book

wait i'm really confused. levana was 15 yet is now celebrating her 17th?? did the mourning period last an entire year or???

levana is just as delulu as cress when it comes to love, but she doesn't have the excuse of being locked up for like a decade in isolation. what's her excuse lol

respect for evret for being the ONLY grown man in this goddamn series that doesn't go after minors

AND NOW LEVANA IS 16 AGAIN. looks like someone in publishing didn't notice the continuity error lmao

idk if it's because i'm tired but WHY does channary not want anyone to know the father of the baby?? and also aren't there dna tests for that which make it redundant anyway??? tho i guess if she's fucking THAT many men then she wouldn't even know where to start with testing even if she did want to

i'm sorry but there's something HILARIOUS about levana hating all these women having babies. knowing that the babies are gonna grow up to kick her ass off the lunar throne

is the queen being glamoured????? it's hard to say because she was ALREADY such a disturbed individual that it's hard to say whether this new shit is her own thoughts or someone else's

TF LEVANA WAS SET ON FIRE BY HER SISTER?????

ahhh. part of me wonders if channary glamouring her sister during early developmental stages is what made levana so fucked up to begin with

the description of how hair catches fire is entirely accurate

god. i feel so bad for evret. his entire life was ruined and then he was killed before he could ever see his daughter grow up

ngl levana didn't seem to be very proactive in HER OWN story?? it's just a bunch of things happening to her or falling into her lap CONSTANTLY. other than her glamouring evret and trying to kill cinder, she never actually DOES anything. it felt like the author had a checklist of things like "okay these all canonically happen before the events of cinder so i'm gonna tick all these off quickly". idk. didn't love it. i'm glad that at least she didn't go to any effort to redeem levana, but istg levana literally had the moral consistency of literal water. one minute she's like "time to toss this baby off a balcony" and then "boohoo i didn't realise that killing someone would ACTUALLY kill them" like girl what???? that's not to say that i WANT her to be good and whatever, in fact i mean the opposite. just let her be an evil bitch. stop with the totally random, OUT OF PLACE bouts of empathy that happen for literally no reason. pulled me out of the plot so hard every time it happened. maybe it's because of my negative feelings but it just felt very anticlimactic?? i'm just sitting here like "okay so what??"

managed to get through the slogfest but i can already feel myself slipping into a reading slump. yesterday i wanted to read winter SO bad but now i feel like i need time to recover from that read. lesbians give me strength to persevere because i KNOW that i will LOVE winter

#the lunar chronicles #tlc #marissa meyer #it was through this book i discovered that i had been tagging winter incorrectly!! whoopsies #in my defence i would have googled it if i wasn't so afraid of seeing spoilers #anti fairest

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s-wave-entertainment · 4 months ago

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⚠️ SPOILERS FOR MURDER DRONES EP. 8 INBOUND ⚠️

Okay so I was locked out of my account until like a while ago ago and I haven't posted any of my thoughts on ep. 8. Let me be abundantly clear: I liked this episode. I liked it a lot. I was prepared to watch the entire cast die in terrible ways, for no one to make it out and to watch that screen go black with only a monotonous giggle to spare as we watched the universe as we know it return to square one. Yes, most of the cast still died horribly, but at least it wasn't permanent (unless you're Doll - I'm so sorry queen I love you I miss you). That said, there are aspects OF the episode that left me... desiring more. I hesitate to say disappointed, as Liam seems to have told the story he wanted to tell and for that I am proud of him, but... I have thoughts, as most of us do.

Let me start with some positives - what I liked and why I liked it.

Pros:

- Nori and Uzi did finally get to have that talk. Now I'll go more into this later, as I do wish there could have been more, but for the most part, I'm happy it happened at all.

- SPACESHIP PILOT. And not just because it was cute and adorable and oh my God I love him, but because it was a callback to a detail in the SECOND EPISODE that was not left behind. Liam set that up all that time back, and it was so very satisfying to see it become relevant. Gold star, Mr. Vickers! :D

- NUZI canon. Do I even have to elaborate? (Your honor, these stupid robots mean EVERYTHING TO ME-)

- V's return. HOLD YOUR FIRE, HOLD YOUR FIRE; LISTEN. I know what I said - I know I said I hoped her sacrifice was permanent. For a little while, I really did. I genuinely saw it as a fitting end to her character; to say the things she could never quite get out in words in one deafeningly loud action. And I still would have, if it remained permanent. But you know what else I see as extremely accurate and fitting to her character? Being able to make a plan in a desperate situation, but not having the certainty to know if it will work. Then, having the heart to send everyone else to what she genuinely thought was some kind of safety in the case that whatever plan she had made fell through. It wasn't that Liam wanted to retcon that part of her character - he was trying to elaborate on it. The point of it was, V loved N. And she was starting to love Uzi - even if she'd never say it. And she was still willing to do anything to keep them safe, even if it POTENTIALLY meant sacrificing herself. That part didn't change.

- I'm jumping ahead a little here, but it was too perfect of a segway into my next point - V's confession. I knew, I KNEW this girly was just scared of what could happen to them. I didn't understand her until ep. 6, but once I did, it clicked immediately. I'm sure we all realized that V knew more than she was letting on, but I knew that there was more to it. I knew she knew there would be consequences if N ever found out, I KNEW it. To hear her finally confess all of that... it's gratifying.

- The Entire Hallway Callback Ping Scene. The whole fucking thing. I sometimes pull up the episode JUST to see that scene. I can't exactly put into words WHAT IT IS I like about it, but I just. What I can say is (and this is gonna feel really weird to say) that I love how we get to see that Uzi's actions in ep. 5 aren't just a convenient plot thing - he is actively uncovering memories. Now in the hallway scene they were uncovered in a Very Inconvenient Way, but I love to see that this is canonically a thing that is happening and will likely continue to happen. It leaves a lot to the imagination (post-canon wise) and I respect it. And just, to see Uzi going for him as they both sat there in their own personal hells - I've said it before that they need each other, and I FUCKING MEANT IT. And if anyone attempts to say codependent because I've heard that before - it's not that, it's just that they're actually??? There??? For each other??? Like y'all, Uzi had NO ONE (except for maybe Thad, maybe) before she had N. Was it self inflicted? Yes and no - we can very clearly see that Uzi WANTED to talk to people, she WANTED to Not Be Alone, but it just,,, it didn't work because of who she was. And she kinda learned that "Well if people don't want me, then fine - I'll go it alone." and then built up those walls she had for so very long. And N???? Do I even need to say anything here???? J hated his ass for undisclosed reasons (I'll get to that later) and V Literally Couldn't Get Close To Him or she risked him getting changed - or worse. They were both alone until they weren't anymore, and they learned that despite prior hardships, at least this person is safe.

I think as far as SPECIFIC SCENES/INSTANCES go, that's it. But let me say, I also loved the comedy of this episode. I've heard some people say it was majorly overdone and some of the lighter scenes should have been left out (for at least one of them I agree but I'll get to that in cons), but I also maintain that if the comedy was removed from this episode it would have been. Well, it would have been /not/ Murder Drones. Liam had always made his eldrige horrors with jokes. Look at Internecion Cube, look at CliffSide - it's everywhere. It's Liam's style, and quite frankly, I'm thankful for it - without said style things likely could have been very, /very/ dark. I understand that's what some people wanted, but like,,, the show itself is already EXTREMELY dark, if you think about it. The comedy just helps it to feel digestible - and again, quite frankly, I'm thankful.

Alright, alright, here we go:

CONS:

- Nori and Uzi had a talk, for that I am incredibly grateful. But you know who else should have gotten a talk? Khan and Nori. And hang on, I'm not just bitching here - Khan has been very plain and straightforward about his distaste for Disassembly Drones/The Absolute Solver (even though he didn't know it by name) for what they did to Nori since literally episode 1. To pass off their reunion as a spoof was... disappointing. Now I won't say /much/, how they both reacted seems incredibly valid for their character, but like... I'm also pretty damn sure that Khan would have remembered Nori's voice? Like yeah he thought about it for a minute but like... I dunno. I can't speak much on his character anyway since we didn't get to see a lot of it. I have my opinions on Khan (and they have shifted since my last post about him, if slightly), but I still think he deserved to have that catch-up with his wife and I will be rectifying this "error" in fanfiction.

- J. And I don't mean her character (which I'm a little pissed at but I'll talk about that some other time), I mean a little something more. One has to make /a lot/ of assumptions about J to assume you have her character correct, and I'm sad for that. Have I made the assumptions, yes, and even with those in place, I'm still,,, perturbed for her. We got a little glimpse of who she is while she fought with V, but like... there could have been so much more there, and I wish there was.

- I'm not gonna say too much about open plot holes - we ALL KNOW there are plot holes. For example, HOW IN THE FUCK DID THEY PIECE THE PLANET BACK TOGETHER AFTER IT LITERALLY EXPLODED. There are also people who are still irked about the whole "consume oil to prevent overheating" thing, which I get, but like he DID say himself that he had largely dropped that in terms of plot importance. I choose to believe it's still very much a thing (I think the images in the credits prove that as often when N and Uzi are there together like in the movie watching scene or the card game scene there is a deceased worker nearby), but still. Yk.

- N and Uzi never "talked later." I want that goddammit and I'm going to write a fanfic about it later, don't you worry.

- J and V's whole thing. I really, REALLY wish more had been said about that - but alas, it was not. It looks to me like V and J knew about it together. J doesn't give a damn about N (never has, canonically anyway) and V was keeping it from him to protect him, but if they knew what was going on, I wish that would have been more apparent earlier in the series. However, I can understand why it wasn't - J was absent in the series from ep. 2- the end of ep. 5, and when she did have shared screen time with V in the pilot the show had a very different direction. So I'm not MAD about this lack of elaboration (and quote frankly it has fueled a whole fuckton of headcanons for me), but still - I wish we saw more.

I think that's it as far as specifics go. Let me address the elephant in the room - "Myrah, you're not mad about the way they defeated the Solver via a gag/the power of friendship?" And quite frankly, the answer is no. Why? Well I'll yell ya:

1) We already knew that the only way to permakill a drone (or otherwise any creature) affiliated with the Solver is to destroy it's heart. Leaving them exposed to heat will make them sluggish (so long as it's not accompanied by UV rays), and destroying them any other way results in that black hole [NULL] that we're familiar with via episode 2. Uzi destroyed the heart WITH UV rays (just like Nori told her to), and then when the [NULL] appeared, "Cyn" struggled with her and kept trying to pull her hand towards her mouth. There's a shot that shows us Uzi's visor shortly after "Cyn" pulls her hand in which her expression turns from fear to realization as it hits her that "Cyn" is trying to EAT the [NULL]. Figuring there must be a reason for this, she does it herself - which does the job. With major consequences (I'll get into that post credits scene in a minute), but regardless, "Cyn" is defeated.

2) Hey yeah remember how Doll insisted on doing everything alone and she was the one dead? I'm pretty sure this was Liam literally showing us that you cannot defeat the Solver on your own. That's like the main difference between Doll and Uzi anyway - one insisted on doing it herself (with good reason, I'm not judging Doll for trying to fix things alone) and the other allowed people to help her. People that, by the way, were also heavily affiliated with the Solver. Basically, it would be different if this ending had occurred with three random Worker Drones rather than three drones who are tied to the Solver - because it went the way it did, the Solver was essentially defeated by its own creations who were tired of its bullshit and now knew the full extent of what it had done and what it had forced them to do, which I find Fucking Awesome (also I just love the Dapper Trio, sue me).

Emotional connections and emotions in general are so important in terms of overcoming the effect the Solver has on a drone's consciousness/body. This isn't news because we SAW IT, PLAIN AND SIMPLE, in both episodes 4 AND 5. Of course I'm not upset they used preestablished rules to end the series - quite frankly, I would have been mad if they pulled out some magical mystery cure "here's the solution to the exact thing you're supposed to do" bullshit.

In short, no, I'm not upset with the finale of Murder Drones. I really loved the episode, despite its flaws and shortcomings. And if you disagree, well then how about you bite me.

#murder drones #md #murder drones episode 8 #murder drones spoilers??#murder drones finale #glitch #glitch productions #finale #final thoughts #yapper alert

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wyldblunt · 2 years ago

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i love your seeing your art, but I'm so curious to see what your salads (like lorelai, merritt, etc) look like in game! Ik sometimes in-game representations aren't completely accurate, but could you show some screenshots, for curiosity reasons 👀

i can!!! full disclosure i am very bad at screencaps (i WANT to get better i'm just lazy + impatient....) so i actually don't have a ton of good ones -- normally i just am kind of. spamming rough caps without even hiding the UI just to use as drawing reference. BUT, let's see what i do have!

starting with the big four: marina's commander, alan!

(the yellow guy in those last two caps is my clooney -- a lot of the time most of the good caps i have of marina's characters are duo ones like this bc we are really bad at remembering to send each other individual character caps from our respective computers lmao)

then of course my commander, glyn, who i have posted caps of before but why not more:

and then our lieutenant commanders, lorelei (mine) and merrit (marina's):

these are a little out of date bc i recently swapped lorelei over to the f model and i like a lot of things about that better, but i still consider both appearances canon!

also as a bonus, the most important merrit cap i have ever taken:

and under the cut i'll put some of our side characters!

OKAY SO here's a little more clooney (including some with lingering ui lol sorry):

(it is really fucked up that i can't keep his aviators on when he's wearing outfits so i have to self soothe)

bowyn (pink, mine) and rhys (dark purple, marina's):

(these are also out of date bc we decided later on that bowyn is actually way taller than rhys but. doesn't bother us bad enough for us to blow TWO makeover kits just to adjust height sliders, yknow)

maelduin (tawny, mine) and cadair (green, marina's):

aaand okay re: viper squad. i did make donner but i don't have any good caps rn and i am too lazy to start gw up to take them oops sorry. i do have PLANS for daimhin tho:

and here's an attempt i made at damage but... i don't think i'm actually gonna make her bc like. if i can't have the venus flytrap hair what's the point. i think it would bother me the whole time. this design is still cute tho:

AND THAT'S ALL THE IMAGES I'M ALLOWED TO PUT IN ONE POST APPARENTLY LMAO it's fine bc some of my other ocs i have caps of but i'm not quite satisfied w them yet!! so maybe someday :)

#ty for the ask!!#my ocs #marina ocs #alan #glyndwr #merrit #lorelei #clooney #bowyn #rhys #cadair #maelduin #viper squad #merrilei #alan/clooney #bowyn/rhys #cadair/maelduin

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satsuha · 1 year ago

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D V and Z for the ask game? :D

under the cut bc idk if this counts as ship hate and it got really long

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

hika ag... (not putting the eng ship name for search reasons) i already knew the devs were gonna push them the moment i saw the crossed paths illust released but ultimately it felt disappointing to me in the game orz i already don't like the feeling when a certain ship is being pushed if they aren't going to go the whole mile and make it canon but in a game like octopath where the protags have such minimal interaction i don't like that it feels like these two got special attention (they have the most banters together tied with thro/oche) and yet their interactions aren't.... interesting....! some of hikari's story banters with her literally feel like he could be talking to a random npc instead and the things hikari says in agnea's story ring very hollow to me 😞 given like the fact that they both lost their mothers, illusts show hikari dancing with her or playing the flute (even the lyre in a concept art draft), it's disappointing to me that their ingame banters don't touch on this at all... complained about their crossed paths story another time but honestly for all this complaining i don't hate them i just feel very disappointed and sort of like they wasted their interactions together ngrhg

V - Which character do you relate to most?

KINDA dungeon meshi spoilers... completely off topic from what i usually talk about but i like marcille's character arc and her goals arising from her fear of being left behind. i'm gonna keep things vague since dunmeshi just got an anime and is getting bigger and also since i don't want to go too deep into why i relate to her but stories about learning to value the time you have with friends while knowing it will end one day (frieren is another obvious one) are very close to me

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go!

sorry when you say ramble i think it will always be complaining-adjacent with me but after playing agnea ch3 with english voices i got so surprised at the difference between eng and jp giselle that i got compelled to make a comparison of it and it JUST... makes me so sad that certain chars will be more likely to be overlooked or overshadowed, even liked/disliked depending on localization efforts o<-< i know it's unrealistic to ask people to play in multiple languages bc that isn't feasible for everybody but honestly it's jarring sometimes how different certain characters or scenes can come off as... i struggle with interacting in fandom spaces bc i don't always agree with english localizing efforts (and i get it, it really is a difficult job and by no means do i think they did a BAD job at it most of the time) but because so many people who will interact with my posts have only been exposed to that version, i'll feel very... alienated?? by some interpretations that i see. but i mean ultimately interpretation is more subjective and i think localization only nudges you to one side or another, so i still just do the same as i would do otherwise and find people whose content i enjoy... that was a lot of rambling but did you know that in hikari's ch2 banter with castti the english changed his lines quite a bit ?? i've already talked about how i think eng hikari is more expressive in his voice acting but i think it's something that was present in the text first and i... AM VERY MIXED about it bc i do think it works Really nicely in certain scenes, but i still like how restrained jp hikari sounds because i think it suits him more... anyway this is just a small snippet of the kind of thing i think about when looking at localization like in the end it's just Different versions, i guess i do look at the original jp version as more accurate to the creators' intentions but i think having an "official" interpretation in english can be nice and valuable in its own right.. if i didn't think so i just wouldn't play these games in english at all lmao (by comparison i don't play korean games in english bc at least the ones i've gotten into don't have great localizations so i don't think it adds much merit)

crying the last one is so long but you asked me to ramble 😭 LMAO... but ty for leaving an ask!

alphabet asks

#answered #ship hate

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lilmissbacon · 3 years ago

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Redesigning Coq Courage/Rooster Bold and Caprikid

I already made a post about how much I hate the new designs revealed in Penalteam, even though I didn't go into too much detail because I just wanted to get my thoughts out.

I'll probably make another post redesigning Sabrina, Ivan and maybe others that I thought were fine but I'd personally change like Vesperia and Pigella (I just hate the bangs).

But for now I'm focused on Marc and Nathaniel because they're my favorite boys and couple so I felt extra pissed at what the designers did to them. Marc's rooster design is interesting but it's just not Marc's style in the slightest and it makes me mad. Nate (along with Sabrina) just look fugly.

And it is because of this episode that I no longer consider this season to even be canon and went to redesign them in the first place.

So I'll show you my new designs and explain why I went about it the way I did. I would personally switch their miraculous' entirely but I figured having them keep the ones they got would make this a fun challenge.

Let's start

Ram/Goat Nathaniel

I'd like to think that no matter what miraculous he uses, it'd brush his hair back in some way so his hair is out of his eyes.

Also how did the show's designers fuck up goat horns so bad? The horns they gave him looked like bobcat ears more than anything. So I gave my redesign accurate horns. The miraculous (hair clips) are under the horns where they connect to his hair.

In my personal design for Marc with the goat, he has bronze/gold belt buckles so I used the color here too. I felt the bronze/gold would really help Nathaniel's hair mesh better with the suit. Because it just looks ridiculous in show.

Rooster Marc

My favorite thing about Marc's civilian design is the fact that it's a perfect mix of feminine and masculine.

His lipsick, gorgeous green eyes and choker necklace VS his thick leather boots and fingerless gloves. It makes for a beautiful boy and I'd like for that to carry over to his superhero looks as well.

Instead of de-yasifying him through the rooster miraculous like they did. Marc would NEVER have a mohawk

To start off, it came to my attention that Marc's hair color was strikingly similar to the blue of a rooster tail. So instead of switching it's color entirely, I put his hair into a ponytail and gave it a teal gradient to represent the tail.

Then I gave him the bright orange scarf that flows down his back to kinda look like wings and all the markings on his chest to look like feathers.

Though a physical trait about chicken/roosters that always stuck out to me were their feet. How they were yellow with ring lines around them, so I incorporated that into his boots and on his forearms.

Also, I thought the miraculous itself kinda stuck out too much. Like, he has dark gloves and then that one bright-ass, golden thumb? "Of course that's the miraculous, let's swipe-" So I decided to give him little claws on the end of each finger. They don't cover the entire finger like the miraculous does, so it's distinguishable but doesn't stick out too much.

For a better look (because his hands are closed in the design above):

Overall, I feel like my redesign helps to capture his aesthetic, personality and style all at once without taking away what makes him beautiful.

Different weapons and powers

The weapons are way too on the nose for who holds them. Like I said in my previous rant post, it's like giving the fox miraculous a camera for a weapon because Alya is a reporter. Also the giant paintbrush looks stupid and a pen ain't gonna do shit in battle.

The miraculous (excluding the main 7) are based off of the Chinese Zodiac and because the ram is known for being creative and artistic, I think it would've been really cool to give them a paintball gun. If not that, then at least a shepherd's crook in reference to herding sheep would've been fun.

The power they gave it was literally the same as the ladybug. The ultra powerful and one of a kind miraculous of creation. The ram actually has it beat because the holder can choose what to make. Not only does that kinda ruin the purpose of the ladybug miraculous being special but it's utterly uncreative on the fact that it's literally the same power Nathaniel had as Evillustrator.

I would change it to the clout power that they gave the tiger, since rams are known for... well... ramming into things. In return, I'd give the tiger a sound-wave/roar type of power like the Thunderdrum dragon from httyd. Since the tiger kwami likes to be loud and Juleka wants to be noticed, it'd be more than fitting for both kwami and holder.

For the rooster, I think it should've had 2 boomerangs that looked like feathers. And don't comment saying the horse has a horseshoe for a boomerang because the cat, butterfly, monkey and fox all have weapons that are used as staffs. Sometimes they duplicate.

For it's power (because basically being able to choose whatever power he wants is too OP) I would give it fire. Since the rooster is often compared to a phoenix and are both known for symbolizing rebirth. And not only could he be creating balls of fire but if he kicks or throws things (like the ball in Penalteam) his power could launch those items like rockets.

One final thing; I decided to rename them as well.

I know I'm just changing everything at this point but I'd been waiting to see these heroes+powers for years and I was disappointed immensely. I'm passionate, okay.

Coq Courage and Rooster Bold are both just bad names and while Caprikid is actually kinda fun, I just don't think it fits Nathaniel.

For Marc, I chose Silkie; which is a different breed of chicken and for Nate, I went with Boucor (boo-core); which is a mishmash of 2 words. Bouc: french for goat, and Cor: french for horn.

Edit: I redid the feathers on Marc's chest to be more flattering so it'll look different in most reblogs now.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous redesign #nathaniel kurtzberg #marc anciel #coq courage #rooster bold #caprikid #redesign #I love these characters and I'm not taking their betrayal in designs lightly

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dottores · 3 years ago

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omg that past hc that was posted about y/n being bullied got me thinking.

roommates!rin and ran who let you braid their hair and anyone that laughs at them can get their asses handed to them (or actually prefer it not that they'll ever let you know)

roommates!rin and ran who try and clumsily make you lunch for school but fail miserably (you still take it and eat it anyways, but make sure to teach them how to cook and it's secretly some of their favorite memories with you)

roommates!rin and ran who sometimes sneaks into your room just to watch you sleep and maybe just a little to make sure you're real and won't leave them in the middle of the night

roommates!rin and ran who make sure that every block not just around your penthouse, but your school belongs to them even if everyone knows that you belong to them

on the flip side

roommate!y/n who (not so) secretly leaves money on their bedside when they first move in just in case they decide to leave her one day (she just wants to make sure they're taken care of if they leave and once the boys found out why she was doing it, they were furious.. but still kept the money someone's gotta pay for ran's new batons and the ridiculous amount of hair accessories you seem to sneak into their hair)

roommate!y/n who will celebrate literally any and every occasion and will take any opportunity to spoil them. and I mean ANY. birthdays, holidays, 1 month anniversary of moving in, 2 months, 3 months... etc. and yes she did it every month until she moved away

roommate!y/n who (also) watches them sleep sometimes to make sure they won't leave but they always know because they wake up with funky hairstyles on those nights

roommate!y/n who makes sure that the boys know that they're loved so they get matching necklaces, a locket with the other's pictures in them

I'm cryin I love their dynamics so much.. even if I'm making it up :)

JSKSKSKJDJSIDI STOP YOU GUYS LITERALLY HAVE MADE MY DAY TWO DAYS IN A ROW WITH THIS 😭😭😭 i don’t think y’all understand it’s the biggest compliment that you love lda yn, rindou n ran enough to start making your own hcs about them, im so giggly n bubbly right now. i love all of them so much all i want is for you guys all to too😭

BUT THE HEADCANONS OMG THEYRE SO ACCURATE PLEASE — rindou and ran A B S O L U T E L U let’s her style them up however she wants, they just sit back and relax and let her do her thing and if someone ever dares say anything to them they’ll beat them have to death because SHE did that for them and they hold everything she gives them so close to their heart 😞 AND MAKING HER LUNCH PLS they would try so hard to do it on their own, they even go to miss yua and mister ayato for help but they just can never get it to taste right 😞 but she still treasures it anyway <3 and yes sobs they would take over all of tokyo if they had to if it meant keeping her safe 😞

AND THE SNEAKING INTO ROOMS ON BOTH SIDE SO SO SO CANON, one night, none of them could fall asleep and they were going to sneak into each other’s rooms to help put them at ease and they ran into each other in the hallway and all 3 of them were like :o jsksjdjs none of them admitted what they were actually doing. the leaving money 😞 she absolutely does, also makes sure there’s extra soap and toothpaste in their bathroom just in case cuz of course she would be heart broken if they left but she still wants them to be able to take care of themselves 😞 AND SHE SO WOULD, sobs she wants to give them the entire world and it’s a gradual thing because neither of them want to feel like a charity case but eventually they get used to her spending outrageous amounts of money on them because it’s how she shows her love and she gets upset when they tell her no

IM GONNA SOB I LOVE THEM SM AND THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH IM SO ILL 😞😭😭

#my asks #series: little dark age

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skaldingrayne · 2 years ago

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For the writing asks:

🥺🎯💔🎢🤭

Love you friend ❤️

Ahhhh! You asked and I get to play one of these, yay! You are a lovely friend, thank you 💜💜💜

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels? Y'know that moment of hesitation before a character asks an important question you know has been bothering them, they stand their shuffling their feet in that liminal space, anxiously chewing their lip, looking anywhere else around the room but at the target of their nervousness, stammering a bit over what they are trying to say? Maybe there's a little hoarseness in their voice, a suspicious sparkle in their eye, the scent of salt in the air? Ooo, love it bc you know that whatever it is, it's gonna be something big

🎯 Have any of your readers accurately guessed major plot points? Care to share which? Oh gosh - I'm certain they have, I have very clever readers. The problem is I have many plot points and an awful memory. I consider it a win when readers can guess a twist though - it means I've foreshadowed thing correctly. I've heard of some writers (cough cough Game of Thrones) would rewrite scenes when they thought fans had guessed to closely but that just seems silly to throw all your hard work signposting your plot points and character development out a window like that when really, it's a sign folks are enjoying/caring about your thing, right?

💔 Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart? I'm not going to spoil them by explaining why, but: we are known by the stories we share (multiple points in the story), Keeping the Fires Burning, and Burn

And now here is the one that always puts my 💖 back together for me after: of Weeds & Wretched Things

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride? we are known by the stories we share hands down. epic giant monster battles, cozy fantasy, slice of life, saving your bro from the angry spouses that want to kill him while debating sexual technics, found family, gremlin Ciri, angst, fluff, massive amounts of deep canon lore and world building both, multiple near-death experiences, and an entire fleet of tattooed singing sailing witchers

🤭 Do you have a favorite tag to use when posting your works? "Lambert doesn't just have issues he's got the whole back catalogue he keeps bagged in mint condition" & "Friends to Lovers to Idiots to Lovers" are my two favs i've personally come up with and would like to use more; @round--robin's amazingly brilliant Kaer Morhen's Fanon Hot Springs; and no beta we die like witchers never fails to make me grin but I HAVE an amazing lovely fantastic beta reader so i don't often get to use it

Thank you again @trickstermoose67 for giving me an excuse to play! 💜

#tumblr games #asks #writing #writing asks

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swinging-stars-from-satellites · 3 years ago

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Ok, I'm kinda winging this so hopefully it's accurate, but, MSR: 'You're the only one I can trust.'

THIS IS CANON THOUGH THIS IS AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION THEY'VE HAD ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS SJSKSKSKSMSKZMSJSKSSKSJD

ok so I'm still on a bit of a kick about this one episode from s5, The Pine Bluff Variant, so I'm gonna write something set during that. idk if you saw my massive post about it yesterday but the basic premise is that there's this domestic terrorist group using some kind of flesh-eating bioweapon, and Mulder has to go undercover within the organization to help bring them down. the problem comes in with the fact that he's not allowed to tell Scully about it and while that wouldn't normally stop him, he really doesn't want her to get hurt bc these people are Very Dangerous. he's also very bad at lying to her.

anyway so Scully figures out that Something Is Up, is rather hurt by the fact that he seems to be betraying his country and maybe more about the fact that he won't tell her what's going on, and after their boss FINALLY lets her in on it (she kinda forces the issue lol) she ends up going to Mulder's apartment and waiting for him to show up, bc he keeps avoiding her otherwise. when he comes back he's hurt (the bad guys broke his finger as torture... poor boi) and she winds up fixing him up a bit.

btw for the full experience, listen to Breathe by Taylor Swift while reading this shdjdjsjsj I had it on loop while I was writing 😂

****************************

"I wish you'd told me," Scully sighs, and Mulder looks up from their combined hands holding the ice-filled towel to his broken finger.

She's holding it in place and there's really no need for him to keep his unhurt hand on top of hers, but once she touched him he didn't want to break the contact. They've still been together half the time these past few days, but he's missed her. Her small, cold hands reaching gently for his wounded one was the last straw, even as he had flinched from her prodding doctorish touch. He's missed her.

"I understand why you couldn't," she continues, shifting the ice pack and glancing up for a moment to check if he flinches in pain. "But Mulder, when have Skinner's orders ever mattered to you on things like this? I just- Mulder, maybe this is selfish, but I thought you trusted me enough not to keep something like this from me."

"I do," he says instantly, and the sincerity in his voice makes her look up at him; he can see the latent hurt in her eyes and the way she searches his face. He says it again, "I do," and it sounds like a vow. It feels like one, too. "You're the only person I trust, Scully. More than myself, a lot of times. You know that, you have to know that."

Scully looks down, back at their hands, halfway intertwined. "Why didn't you tell me, then?"

Mulder clenches his jaw. "Scully, look at what they did to me."

"They tortured you, Mulder." Her frown, firmly planted on her face already, only deepens.

"Yeah." He nods. "I didn't- I don't want you in the same kind of danger."

Scully's eyes flash with something approaching genuine anger at him. "Mulder-"

"No, listen, Scully," he says before she can argue that she doesn't need to be protected. "You saw what they're doing — the bioweapon. I had," he swallows hard. "I had an aerosol can full of it right in my face." Now it's her turn to flinch, clinical detachment regarding the biotoxin gone in an instant. "There's no way in hell I would ever willingly put you in a position like that, put you at risk of being targeted by them."

"I don't care," she snaps back. "You are out there putting your life at risk, you just said so. I'm your partner, Mulder, I should know about this. What if something happened to you?"

"That's not on you."

Scully stares at him. He can't decide if she's angry or just generally upset — he wishes he could read her better. She licks her lips, looks away, then back up to meet his eyes again before she hits him where it hurts.

"What if I were to never get to say goodbye to you?" She asks, face shadowed in the dimly lit apartment. Mulder suddenly thinks of Ruskin Dam.

Scully doesn't want him to protect her. She's a capable adult woman, no matter how petite she is, and Mulder knows it. But he sees her, trying to make herself taller in those heels, her eyes clouded with grief for a child she'd barely gotten to know, only a couple weeks ago. He sees her, pale in a green hospital gown, the tears lighting up her eyes as he kissed her knuckles when they both thought she was dying. He sees a red-haired body being zipped up in a bag and even though it wasn't her, at the time he had thought it was.

He knows she doesn't need him to protect her, knows she doesn't want it, but she's been through so much for his sake and he doesn't think he can handle losing her again. Not like this. Not ever.

He'd rather deal with her, angry and betrayed, and his own suffering, than have to deal with what could happen to her. She's inserted herself into it, broken through his barriers with a touch, but he's still terrified. Tonight, he has been tortured. Tonight, he could have died. Tonight, Scully is putting herself in danger by refusing to leave him.

She clears her throat after several long moments. "I do need to set this," she murmurs, lifting the ice pack from his hand.

"Yay," Mulder mutters dryly.

Scully shoots him a look and peers closer at his hand before carefully grabbing the broken finger. "I'm going to count to three and realign it, okay?"

Mulder nods, his body tensing already in preparation for the pain. He's been hurt worse before, but there's something unrelenting about this.

"Alright, one," Scully keeps her gaze focused only on doctoring, and Mulder keeps his gaze only on her. "Two... Three," she says, and twists his little finger with a sharp, practiced movement.

Mulder gasps at the searing pain that shoots through his arm, black spots floating in his vision. He bites back a groan with his eyes squeezed shut, because he thinks if he were to open them he would find that he's dizzy with pain. The only thing grounding him is Scully's touch.

"Mulder, breathe," she murmurs, closer now than she'd been before.

He forces himself to take a breath, and then squints one eye open to look at her with a wry grimace. "I'm breathing," he says, trying to make it sound like a joke and probably failing.

Scully watches him, her gaze unreadable. Mulder has always been horrible at figuring out what's going on in her head; all he knows is his own mind, and even that is a loose grip sometimes — right now what he knows is that Scully is in danger by virtue of proximity. He knows is that she is still holding his throbbing hand in both of hers. He knows he has almost died, that he still could die.

He doesn't know if she would recognize him dead by the New Spartans' toxin. The thought enters his mind and he almost jerks his hand away from Scully's before realizing the movement would hurt. He's been asked to identify a body thought to be hers once before, she's done the same for him. He is suddenly more afraid than he had been with his wrists strapped down and death staring him in the face.

The sudden, unexpected wash of belated terror drowns out the pain in his hand, but makes him even more lightheaded. Scully must see his expression change somehow, because she leans forward, almost right in his face. Her brow furrows as she looks at him, and he feels one hand release his own and come up to lightly touch his cheek.

"You okay?" She asks quietly.

Mulder shakes his head, avoiding her gaze. She's quiet, waiting for him to say something. He can't hide from her, she's proved that already tonight. He can't hide from her, and he thinks he gave up the moment she first touched him.

"I'm afraid, Scully," he finally whispers. "For you. You shouldn't be here, they already see you as a liability-"

"Mulder," she begins, but he keeps talking.

"And, Scully," he says her name again in an attempt to ground himself. She is, he thinks, not for the first time, his anchor. "Scully, they nearly killed me. He was ready to..." he trails off, lifts his uninjured hand to mime spraying an aerosol can. "Scully, I'm-"

"You're afraid for yourself," she finishes, her eyes bright with concern and now a bit of her own fear. He nods. "Mulder, I wish you'd have told me," she says again, with conviction.

The fact that she wants so much to be with him, even after everything she's been through for his sake, might make him cry.

"I wish I had, too," he admits. He won't deny he's considered it before, but the need to keep her safe won out against the need to have her near. "Scully, I'm sorry." He would do it over again, lie and push her away, if it meant keeping her safe, but he hates making her upset. He hates the pain it causes both of them, and then he feels selfish for that.

Scully looks down at their hands, then nods and reaches a hand around the back of his neck. He lets her pull him in and rests his forehead in the crook of her shoulder. He wraps one arm around her back in return, wondering if this is the last time he'll ever get to touch her. The case isn't over, and now both of them are at risk. He closes his eyes and listens to the sound of her breathing for as long as she'll allow — moments like this can only ever last so long. When Scully finally pulls away and looks him in the face again, she gives the bittersweet smile he recognizes and moves to stand.

"I'm going to get more ice for your hand and some painkillers, okay?"

Mulder returns her smile with another forced one of his own. As she starts to walk into his kitchen, he calls after her: "Hey, Scully?"

She pauses and looks at him over her shoulder.

Mulder takes a shaky breath. "Thank you."

Scully smiles again, and this time it's much more real. "Of course, Mulder. Of course."

#Lu writes #txf #the x files #txf s5 #msr #soz for taking so long whsjdnsjsj #also this is like. stupidly full of context so hmu in the replies if you want anything explained #k now i gotta crosspost on ao3 shsjsbsjsnsjs #it got Long

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sushi-purrrito · 5 years ago

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Chat Blanc Answered so many of the fandoms questions and I CANT EVEN HANDLE IT.

Incase anyone is unaware, there are versions of chat blanc already subbed on youtube. Now I know translations arent perfect, but if it was even close to accurate... Can we just talk about all the things they revealed to us this episode!?

(I made all gifs off of Kae Minami translated episode on youtube)

1. Adrien literally admitted.. HE ALWAYS SAW MARINETTE AS MORE THAN JUST A FRIEND AND NOW HE KNOWS WHY. A-K-FRICKIN-A. He has ALWAYS had feelings for her, SINCE THE BEGINNING! WE FRICKING KNEW IT!! HA! SCREW ALL THE NAYSAYERS. Everyone who ever said that it was "all in our heads" and that he thought Marinette was weird in first season and had no feelings for her until recently.... YOU WERE WRONG. (though I already knew that..) ALL HAIL ADRIENETTE. That Bitch Is Canon Now.

2. We now know that if Adrien found out Marinette was ladybug, he would keep it a secret from her, but still go all in, if it meant they could be together. and to be honest.. i'm not even sure what this means, but it's a thing.

Also... CAN WE JUST LOOK AT HOW MUCH HE LOVED HER?!?!?!

He didnt even hesitate to show her off to the world. (Not that showing off = love. Just saying that despite his fan club and his strict father he did what we wanted because it was about her. Cute!) Not only that..

But did you see how quickly Marinette was willing to accept that he was Chat Noir? NO HESITATION, SHE WAS ALL FOR IT. "HOLD ME, CHATON, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. "

3. Knowing each others identities did not lead them to give up their miraculous! Infact, it looks as if it helped them to find hawkmoths lair instead! So, either, Master Fu was cool with it(since he was still the guardian here) or BOTH Marinette and Adrien decided theyd keep their knowledge of each others identities a secret! (which I kind of love the idea of)

4. Hawkmoth is the literal scum of the earth. Just Greiving? LOL WE THOUGHT. He is completely irredeemable. There is NO saving that trash human. NO. SAVING. HIM. Not after all that bullshit he pulled. He literally tried to destroy Adrien and Marinettes relationship to get a strong akuma out of her. Which makes me lowkey sad since I kind of thought Gabriel had a soft spot for Marinette and wouldve supported them.. HE BROKE HIS OWN SONS HEART for his OBSESSION to bring his damn wife back.... AND THEN. After discovering his sons identity. THIS DUMPSTER BEAT UP HIS SON AND AKUMITIZED HIM. He didnt even consider trying to talk to Adrien first. WHAT THE FRACK. BROOOOO. SCREW THIS GUY. PLEASE LET HIM FRY IN THE WORLDS LARGEST LAMP, THANKYOU. This confirmed for me as well, that if Adrien ended up dying in the place of bringing back Emilie, Gabriel would be A-FLIPPIN-OK with that.

5. But.. pushing the Gabriel being a Garbage father rant aside. What this really revealed to us, was that Gabriel doesnt consider any of his current life.. real. He doesnt just plan to bring his wife back to life. He plans to "repair the past". change the past. completely rewrite history. Which explains why he is willing to hurt Adrien and treat all of Paris like tools and objects. In his brain. Once he gets the miraculous's, he's going to "reset" all of it. So, noone is really getting hurt. His son included. He really doesn't think he can lose, so anything he does now does not matter to him. Which also just tells us how dangerous this man really is. Like. Guys. He is really. really. dangerous.

6. Luka stayed in the picture. Even after Marinette and Adrien got together. Obviously. But yeah, I love him so much!

7. Though, sadly... we also learned. Marinette doesnt even consider Adrien being chat noir a possibility. DESPITE IT BEING SO DAMN OBVIOUS. Oh you poor poor Marinette🤦‍♀️

8. Meanwhile, Adrien put Marinette being Ladybug together in a *Snap*!

So who's the dense one now huuuuuuuhhhhhHHHHHHHHHH?

*Marinette* *cough*cough*

9. Also. can I just say, Gorilla is a total softy, and I am SO GLAD he wasnt the one to tell Gabriel that Adrien was Chat noir. He is still our wonderful semi fluff dad substitute.

because screw natalie..

and double screw gabriel

Thankyou writers, for sparing Papa Gorilla in this episode. lol

AAND I could keep talking about this episode, but this was just supposed to be revelations, not a reaction post. So, I'm gonna stop now, because I'm already getting carried away😭 AGNFOFPWNSHDHXHFHGSGSHHWJSU (me intangiblely screaming and rambling)

Okay. Goodnight now.

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alastanor · 4 years ago

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youtube

To start, I would like to thank @cis-het-angel-kinnie for bringing this video to my attention, even if it was to praise the video rather than to point out it's flawed arguments against Charlie for main character.

If you have not seen the video yet, I recommend giving it a watch prior to reading this or you may be confused.

Click to read more...

What Is A Protagonist?

I am not bringing up this question because I think the source used was incorrect. However, the statement that "protagonists ask questions and antagonists make arguments" is an oversimplification of both roles. And I am going to explain why.

The trope of protagonist vs antagonist is an age old theme which has been used countless times throughout storytelling's history in books, plays, films, and story-driven video games. As such, the definition of both roles has continued to flourish and evolve over time. It is no longer good vs evil.

While @diregentleman used books written by, I assume, published writers for his argument, I am going to use Creative Writing and Literary Experts from a Masterclass article.

In the article, a protagonist is described as this:

"In storytelling, a protagonist is the main character or principal character or group of characters in a story."

More than one character is capable of being an antagonist in this story. Given that demons are meant to be redeemed, fitting the theme of the story, it is fair to surmise that all (or the majority of) the demons surrounding Charlie are protagonists in some form.

The article goes on to state that the protagonist's goals reflect the overall story goals and the plot moves forward based on their decisions.

This being said, Charlie's overall goal reflects the premise of the story, that being that Hazbin Hotel is a story about redemption. This is a goal that Angel Dust does not have.

In DireGentleman's video, he claims Angel Dust joined the Happy Hotel with the intention of being redeemed, albeit skeptical whether it could actually be done. This is actually inaccurate, and we see this in both the pilot and the comic.

Angel does display skepticism straight from the gate, but when they explain their reason for approaching him (that no one else has agreed), he makes this face:

Does that really look like someone who believes redemption may be possible? But for further establishment of just how little Angel believes redemption is possible, Angel also laughs them off and calls their goal "lame."

The only reason Angel agrees to Charlie and Vaggie's proposition is because it is a rent free place to stay. He admits as much just a bit further into the comic. By the end, Angel says "Redemption, it's silly. Huh, Nuggs."

The tone we are led to believe he uses is one of contemplation and relief. Relief due likely to the fact that there is some light at the end of the tunnel to the shit situation he was in.

This is just comic evidence, of course. If we go to the pilot, when Angel is engaging in the turf war with Cherri Bomb, he explains that he is using Charlie and Vaggie for free rent. Further exemplified when he later asks if participating in the turf war meant he didn't have a free room anymore. But also in his conversation with Cherri, he also admits that he is still taking some drugs behind Charlie and Vaggie's back. Something that we see immediately toward the opening of the pilot when Angel buys a bag of Angel Dust.

Character Dynamic

I cannot emphasize this enough, the Hunicast is NOT a good exemplifier for character dynamics. Every single "character interaction" is based on fanon, not canon, and they are prompted by the fans themselves. Only Viv really knows exactly how Angel and Alastor would canonically interact. It is no better a source for character dynamic than the wiki is for accurate information. IE, some things may hold true, but the majority of it is not and it is better just to wait until it is confirmed canon.

Moving on...

There is a lot of focus on Valentino as a main antagonist, based entirely too much on the hope that Angel will be the main protagonist. And this is really just disingenuous when you consider there are two other implied Overlords, as well as several other sources of strife within the world of Hazbin Hotel.

An Antagonist is someone working against the protagonist to prevent them from achieving their goal. Alastor would not meet this criteria, as he is a self-professed observer and conflict creator. But he is not a main antagonist. Someone working against the goal of redemption could be anyone from the Overlords (which, far as we know, would include Valentino), Lucifer, or even Heaven itself.

Where antagonists come into play, quoting Masterlist once again, I think these two types of antagonists were overlooked:

A conflict-creator. An antagonist doesn’t have to be a “bad guy.” Sometimes, they’re just a character whose goals are in direct conflict with the protagonist’s, like Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice or Javert working to arrest Valjean in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.

The protagonist themselves. The main source of conflict in a story can be from within the protagonist themselves—their shortcomings or insecurities are keeping them from reaching their goal. A prime example of this is Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. While Holden comes into conflict with many characters in the novel, the ever-present antagonizing conflict comes from his own obsessions and insecurities.

Now, why did I bring up these two types? Well! I'm glad you asked! You see, where conflict-creator comes into play would line up more with Alastor. He isn't really the bad guy, but he does create some friction where his goals meet with Charlie's. He is a professed observer, but it is strongly believed that there is something else, another goal, that he has omitted.

As for the Protagonist themselves, this lines up pretty strongly where Charlie is concerned. You could argue that it does for Angel too, but Angel's goal, as mentioned before, is not Redemption. That goal is Charlie's, and hers alone. Yet it is her naivety, inexperience, and insecurities surrounding her failures as a princess that are holding her back from achieving her goal. Going by this, not only do we have multiple protagonists, but we also have multiple antagonists.

"So far, no one else's past is wrought with tension like Angel Dust's."

Even if this wasn't a sweeping, dismissive statement made with limited information, it would still be incorrect. Why? Because each and every character in Hazbin Hotel is going to have their own story to tell. Stories that will each be as relatable and wrought with tension, the only reason we know Angel so extensively is because Viv put the most work into him. She has admitted that Alastor and Angel were characters she wrote based on past dealings and experiences she had. Let those implications sink in a bit.

Now, to further this, people don't need to empathize with a character to like them. They can sympathize as well, even if they personally cannot relate to the emotions the character is feeling.

And where Angel is concerned, he is not addicted to drugs. Angel has used drugs to escape the pain of his trauma. His response in the pilot to having his drugs stolen from him is not one of a typical addict. Which leads us to believe the drugs are simply a coping mechanism more than they are an addiction.

Real Audience for Hazbin is 12 to 16

I would really fucking hope you are joking. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that this was said by someone who isn't a parent. While yes, kids will be sneaky and watch or play things they're not supposed to, a show with drug use/abuse, rape, sex, physical/mental/emotional abuse, and suicide is as much for them as Rick and Morty.

Further, it is not just these themes that make the show for adults. It is the format of the storytelling. Yes, you can complain about what you consider issues with the pilot. But at the end of the day, it did it's job. It established the story premise, introduced important characters (Fat Nuggets does not fall in that category, calm down), gave a basic understanding of their relationships to each other, and get the audience interested in continuing the series. Considering the views for the pilot and the resulting disproportionate growth of the fandom, I would say it did that in spades.

Hazbin Hotel is not Steven Universe. I cannot say this enough times, and the reason I cannot is because I cannot tell you how many times I have come into contact with the underage side of the fandom griping about lack of lore, griping about lack of production information, and overall being exceedingly impatient. At the risk of sounding like an old miser, the underage side of the fandom has never had to wait for additions to a series. Like waiting for Homestuck updates, or the new release of a Harry Potter novel. They have had a steady schedule of content, along with shows that give exposition dumps "in the first 3 minutes."

So don't look at Hazbin Hotel through the lens of kids' show fandoms. It has so much more to offer than that.

Alastor vs Valentino

No, this is not about whether Alastor could beat up Valentino. In the video, DireGentleman pulled a huge pet peeve of mine and lumped Valentino and Alastor together, labeling them both "monsters." Which is opening a huge can of worms for me. So, I will give a brief summary of why that is wrong, and provide a link to one of my other posts for deeper diving.

So, there is a reason why Valentino is more hated than Alastor is. Lumping them together is a mistake.

Valentino is a pimp that abuses and manipulates his victims through intimidation and (implied through) some kind of addiction to the red smoke (whether that is real or symbolism is yet unknown). He takes who and what he wants, be damned the consequences or who gets hurt. He is incredibly self-serving, with no consideration for anyone else. He uses people like pawns, and when those pawns refuse to do what he wants, what does he do? He forces them to do it anyway.

By comparison, while Alastor may use his people like pawns, he also has more consideration for them and doesn't abuse them (far as we can tell). The evidence to support this is the attitude of those serving under Valentino vs those under Alastor. Niffty and Husk both seem to not have a problem with Alastor, and where Husk is concerned it seems that his attitude toward Alastor is their typical banter. But definitely nothing that displays abuse. In fact, when Husker is hesitant or even refusing to do as Alastor asks, Alastor doesn't force Husker. He offers payment in the form of something Husker genuinely likes.

Now, while some might argue this is also manipulating through addiction, one could look at it this way. However, Alastor didn't make Husker an alcoholic. That was Husker's vice to begin with, Alastor simply has no intention of fixing it. After all, Alastor has said he doesn't think anything can change a sinner.

For further explanation and delving into Alastor, click here.

Parents don't 'get' Charlie = Disney Princess

Once again, we fall upon the slippery slope of disinformed statements. While the joke was made that the princess of hell expresses herself best through song, parent issues do not equate to being something that is relatable primarily or only to kids and teens. It's kind of offensive that there is a sort or implication in this statement that adults don't have issues like insecurities surrounding their own failures, or parent issues like what Charlie has or worse. And once again, we fall into the empathize vs sympathize realm and I once again will say that the audience does not need to empathize with the protagonist to make them a good protagonist.

Charlie is a failed princess, her people don't respect her and didn't even prior to her hotel announcement. Yes, she is sheltered and naive. Likely due to how little she was able or allowed to interact with sinners. After all, her ex-boyfriend was from another hellborn family. One that, from what we can surmise, interacts rather frequently with the Magne family.

And it is because of this naivety and inexperience that her method to redeem sinners will not work.

In the video, DireGentleman states that we can pretty much assume that Charlie's redemption methods will work. But her methods, as we see in her song, is to inject demons with meds and take away/burn their vices. She is seeking immediate resolutions to problems that require therapy and a long process that should be making sinners want to change. All Charlie is currently accomplishing is earning the ire and scrutiny of her people. This is why I previously mentioned that Charlie is both protagonist and antagonist, as she is getting in her own way to accomplishing the goal of redemption. And this is where we find that Charlie meets the "starts out being wrong" requirement mentioned in the video as well as "admiring a character for trying."

Charlie is also in a perfect position to be the tour guide for us, the audience, as we observe the metamorphosis of every demon who needs to be redeemed. She is, once again, surrounded by those who need to be redeemed which means we will witness every character arc. This includes Angel, who does not need to be the central focus for us to witness his story.

Finally...

It was stated, or at least implied, that Hazbin Hotel's pilot is no longer relevant. This is a statement that pretty much leaves me puzzled. The only way it would be irrelevant is if Hazbin went in a completely different direction, and we have no reason to believe it will. Vivziepop is still creative director for Hazbin Hotel, and A24 is notorious for giving creators their creative freedom. What A24 is doing is animating, making VA regulations, and ensuring there is an air tight lid kept on the project. Especially given it's popularity in such a short amount of time.

Contrary to what DireGentleman said, Hazbin Hotel will definitely live up to it's hype. Being picked up by A24 will not compromise the show simply because it's not in the same realm of indie production that Helluva Boss is. And it's a bit unfair to Vivziepop to imply as much.

In Conclusion...

Please do a bit more digging in regards to not only the show, but everything surrounding it. Don't lump fanon and canon together and expect them to be equal sources, and please do not claim an obviously adult-audience show is more fit for children and teens.

And lastly, please do more digging to better understand media and storytelling. Reading books is great, but what you were using as the foundation for your arguments were far too simplified and vague,, given the complexity of the protagonist and antagonist roles. Overall, the video just came across as one huge helping of Angel Dust bias with a side of strong dislike for Charlie.

#Youtube #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel charlie #hazbin hotel angel dust #hazbin hotel husker #hazbin hotel video critical #video analysis #long post #diregentleman #counter argument

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paintedrecs · 5 years ago

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Helloo i saw a tweet you made saying you recently watched a bunch of gay animes and i was wondering if you could perhaps make a list and post them on twitter? I'm always looking for anime to watch and i know your tastes align with mine. If it isn't too much of a bother perhaps? I hope you have loveky days!!!❤❤❤❤

Hey friend! I put off answering this, sorry, because my answers tend to be unnecessarily long and I was v tired when I got the original message. But if you’re still interested, here’s a lil rundown of some of what I’ve been watching/reading. In reference to this tweet, where I was watching a show that definitely isn’t gay but is kinda gay if you just squint the tiniest bit, which I’ve gotten used to doing.

If you follow me on twitter, most of these proooobably won’t be new? But I talk about/RT things on a scattered basis, so maybe there are some you haven’t checked out yet.

So, the canonical gay! I’m only going to list the ones I liked and/or remember most - my Quest For Gay Anime started two years ago, and I watched pretty much everything I could get my hands on, but at that point, there were only a few I loved enough to rewatch/buy/recommend. The list has gotten a little longer since then, unfortunately for my attention span and wallet.

(I’ll be honest, a lot of the really popular/older BL have too many consent issues for my tastes - I understand the context and all that, and no hate on anyone who loves stories that didn’t particularly appeal to me. But I’m including this note cause (a) if I don’t put a really well-known BL anime on this list that’s probably why (b) I’m gonna drop in a few that toe that line but I’ll try to include warnings where relevant.)

ANIME FAVES

DOUKYUSEI (Classmates)

This is kinda where it all started. I saw a tweet going around with a trailer for a very soft, lovely movie about two boys falling in love, and I thought whaaaaat an actual gay story? Where they kiss? And I don’t have to just imagine it??

Still one of my top faves. It’s beautifully animated - like filming watercolors? It always makes me feel languid and happy. The story and characters are realistic, in a very kind, hopeful way, as these two navigate starting a relationship that neither of them expected. It’s available on Amazon video - I own a digital copy there, hah, as well as the physical blu-ray, because I watch it often enough to want both.

I also recommend the manga, although I’ve only recently discovered that apparently the story did not end after the first three volumes, so I can only recommend that far. (I’ve heard it, unfortunately, gets angstier, and it’s still incomplete? The first three volumes feel complete to me, so I’m happy to leave it there if so.)

The movie pretty much covers the first manga volume - it’s a very accurate page-to-screen translation - and there’s some really wonderful relationship building and exploration of family dynamics in the next two volumes.

HITORIJIME MY HERO (My Very Own Hero)

Another huge favorite that I have literally watched like 30 times at this point. Two gay couples, double the fun, although this pairing is by far my favorite.

I’ll direct you to my very long post on this topic for more information, but the short version is:

Warning: there is an age gap and student/teacher relationship, but it’s treated very thoughtfully and is directly addressed as part of the story. They have to navigate through how to make their relationship work (issues with friends, coworkers, society). And they didn’t meet as student/teacher - it’s a lot more complicated, with some fantastic family dynamics. There’s a lot of angst to Setagawa’s backstory that makes you really appreciate the happiness and love he finds with Kousuke & his whole family. (Many more details in my watch-this-anime post.)

The series is 12 episodes long, with a WONDERFUL (happy) ending that makes me cry LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE TIME. Gosh I love this show a lot. It packs some serious feels - I cry, I laugh, I cry again, but for happy reasons.

It’s from a manga, but I do not recommend the manga. The manga falls into a lot of the tropes that I personally don’t like; I think the anime does a much better job of tackling the complexity of their story and treating these two with the thoughtful nuance they deserve.

Can be found on Amazon; I bought the blu-ray, and it’s one of the exceedingly rare cases where I love both the sub and the dub. There are slight differences in translation that really makes it worth watching both.

GIVEN

Wow, this one. Available on Crunchyroll, 11 episodes with a movie coming soon.

It’s newer to my list, and it’s really, really good. I’ve only read the first two volumes of the manga so far (with two more on preorder), because tbh I have trouble reading scanlations online and find it a lot more enjoyable to just wait for the official translations in paperback form.

So far the anime lines up pretty closely with the manga, so I do recommend both, although at this point I enjoy the anime more - partly because of some of the choices they make in rearranging/expanding scenes, and partly because it’s a story about a band, so it makes a huge difference to be able to actually hear the music.

And Mafuyu’s song is worth it. Wow. I listened to it on repeat for like two weeks after the episode first aired.

Uenoyama (the dark-haired stern-looking heart-of-gold character, I have a type), is my favorite. He is a MASSIVE disaster gay, and a lot of his scenes are absolutely hilarious. The dynamics between the characters aren’t what you’d expect - it’s amazing to watch the seemingly quiet Mafuyu come out of his shell and display his true personality - and there’s some really gritty, emotional material, too.

What’s fascinating about this one is that there are parallel stories going on about past loves and heartbreak, and how truly loving (and losing) someone doesn’t mean you can’t find happiness again.

(Warning and a spoiler: there is a suicide that happens before this story starts - Mafuyu’s ex-boyfriend - and while nothing about it is graphic, that event is central to Mafuyu’s story, so there are some weighty episodes. It ultimately leads to him meeting Uenoyama and joining the band. And finding himself again.)

The movie’s gonna focus more on the secondary couple, but I’m still excited to see more of them! And...more angst, I imagine, but hopefully a lot more happiness as well.

SARAZANMAI

Okay, fair warning: this show is weird.

I think if you’re familiar with Japanese folklore, particularly kappas, you might have a much better intro than I did, but considering the creator laughed about how much they got away with by hiding the weirder parts of the story during the initial pitch, I...am not sure about that.

It’s weird but I liked it a lot. I’m not even going to attempt to explain it in the space available here, but the wiki page has a decent summary if you’re curious before diving in.

The very, very condensed version is that the main characters are three middle school boys who get turned into kappas by the kappa prince, who sends them on missions to retrieve “dishes of hope” every episode. In the process, they learn more about themselves and each other, since each time they complete one of these missions, it results in one of their big secrets being spilled to the others.

I like the main trio (and there’s a gay subplot there, too, where one of the boys is in love with his best friend but doesn’t know how to tell him), but I started watching the show because of the “villains,” Reo and Mabu. They have a deeply angsty backstory that you don’t get to until the last couple episodes. Up until then, they have a transformation sequence every episode that ... yes, gets repetitive, Miraculous Ladybug-style, but I still sat and watched, entranced, every time.

One of the things I like about this anime is that while it is very, very gay, it’s not about being gay. It’s a fantasy story where several characters just happen to be gay. As much as I love romance (which the rest of these recs definitely have been), I like being able to see gay people (or kappas...) in different genres, just existing.

And if you can’t get into the show (11 episodes, available on Crunchyroll), there’s a spinoff manga about Reo and Mabu being disaster dads to a baby girl they find on a dish in the middle of the street. I think it’s a human AU (kinda?), but it’s super sweet and funny and I liked it a lot.

THE BETRAYAL KNOWS MY NAME

Okay, so this was an early favorite, and I rewatched it recently and laughed a lot about how massively dramatic it is, but I don’t care, I’m still into it.

We’re skirting the edge of “canon gay” here, because you never get an on-screen kiss, and it’s technically a shoujo manga. But...it was at the top of a lot of BL lists when I was first hunting for good stuff to watch, and the relationship between Yuki and Luka is deeply romantic (and achingly piningly good) and central to the story.

The title’s linked to one of Luka’s frequent lines: “I will never betray you,” which he earnestly tells Yuki at every opportunity he gets. Luka is an extremely powerful demon, and Yuki is part of an immortal (via reincarnation) clan that hunts demons. But in Yuki’s past life, they fell in love.

Yuki was, at that point and in previous lives, a woman, but something changed this time around: he was reborn as a man, and without any of his memories.

Luka, who waited for Yuki to be reincarnated so they could be together again, still remembers and still loves him. But he keeps his devotion on Yuki’s terms, refusing to force the memory of a relationship that Yuki might have wanted to forget.

There’s one particularly great scene where the leader of Yuki’s clan asks Luka if anything has changed - if they can still rely on Luka to stay by Yuki’s side and be his protector. “They have the same soul,” Luka says. Gender doesn’t matter. He loves Yuki. He’ll always love Yuki.

And Yuki, though he doesn’t remember loving Luka, begins to slowly, inevitably, fall in love again.

The anime is 24 episodes - while it doesn’t fully close out the story, it does have some closure, or at least a solid sense of an upcoming happy ending. (I own the DVD; I don’t think the show is currently available to watch online.)

There’s also a manga, which is beautifully illustrated, wow, the sheer level of detail in this blows me away. Which, unfortunately, was way too much work to maintain at that level and ultimately destroyed the author’s health, so the last few volumes get shorter and shorter and the story trickles to an unsatisfying conclusion.

I still love it a lot, though, and it’s another example of establishing a great relationship within the context of a much larger story - a sweeping, complicated fantasy epic.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Those are my primary favorites, unless I’m forgetting anything (and for the purposes of this post, I’m leaving out things like Tiger & Bunny and Promare, which are very gay and embraced as such by the creators but also not something I’m comfortable including in a Definitely Canonically Gay, You Won’t Ever Be Disappointed By Future Reveals list). If I have the energy, I might make another post like this for those kinds of stories.

But there are a few others that I enjoyed, if not enough to buy copies of or collect merch for. These include:

No. 6

Dystopian, so definitely very dark and kind of visually disturbing in places (for instance, people rotting from mystery infections). There’s a central m/m romance and one kiss, but the ending is kind of an open one without a super happy conclusion. It doesn’t have high rewatch value for me - I’ve only ever watched it once and don’t really feel inclined to go back - but it's got good storytelling and is worth viewing.

Kizuna Koi No Kara Sawagi (Much Ado About Nothing OVA)

That last bit of the title is important to get you to the correct OVA, since there are different variations of this story. It’s been a long time since I tried the main anime, but I did not like it - I had major issues with its story, particularly with the sexual assault plotline. I did, however, love the OVA and have recommended it to people as something that can be watched independently.

There's still a little dodgy content in it (as with a lot of things in the BL genre), but it's mostly a lovely established relationship story with a lot of bittersweet feels, with flashbacks to how the couple got together.

It’s necessarily a "happy" story either, though, because they're in a loving, committed relationship in a society where they can't be open about that, and it takes a toll. They're doing their best to work through the difficulties together.

Ai no Kusabi

SERIOUS WARNINGS FOR THIS ONE.

It's about a society with "Blondies" as the elite ruling class and dark-haired "Mongrels" from the slums. There's slavery, plus some serious sexual consent issues...which I found extra prevalent in the newer version (prettier animation but much more cringey on the content).

The 90s version has rougher animation but a more interesting story. The relationship is still not necessarily healthy, but it reads as a lot more of a forbidden love BDSM relationship.

Even so, the ending is SUPER unhappy. I cannot emphasize that enough. I was watching all these things on my own without any warnings, so this one hit me really hard, and I couldn't stop thinking about it for days after. I’m not sure if I'd watch it again, but I've had interesting conversations with others who did.

I guess what I liked about it is that it’s a very different kind of story - and like I said earlier, it’s nice to have variety in genres. As long as every story isn’t dark and tragic, it’s worthwhile to sometimes experience ones that are told well. And weirdly (since this is not something I would watch with my family) it reminded me to some extent of the movies I grew up with - the 80s and early 90s had a lot of dark sci-fi, and my family really loved watching them, so there’s something...nostalgic about how disturbing it is? Thanks parents. At least this one’s gay.

Gakuen Heaven

To pull us back from the darker content, here’s one that I guess was adapted from a dating computer game. As far as I can remember, it was pretty free of cw; fun but not as emotionally engaging as some of the others. It’s pretty much just a fluffy story about a boys’ school on an island with a mystery plot and a romance.

MANGA RECS

I sprinkled some manga recs alongside the relevant anime, but here are a few others that I’ve only experienced in book form. (I’ve got one on my nightstand right now that I need to read, but if it’s good I’ll just update this post I guess, I’ve put this reply off for long enough.)

OUR DINING TABLE

Unlike a lot of the other manga I’ve read, this is a single volume, which means it has a nice, solid conclusion that wraps everything up wonderfully and doesn’t leave you any room to worry that the author will insert unnecessary drama down the line. (That’s an issue, ok? It happens a lot.)

A very soft, sweet romance that’s actually a lot more about building family - which is something that hugely appeals to me. Highly recommend. Loved it, bought it, will definitely reread it. I’d love to see it eventually made into a movie, like Doukyusei.

MY BROTHER’S HUSBAND

This is a hefty book - I ordered it after seeing a joke-tweet about the live action adaptation (which I haven’t been able to find to watch online). I was surprised by the size of the book but even more (pleasantly!) surprised by its contents. I’m not familiar with the author’s other works, although I’ve heard this is the uh....softest and sweetest of his writing. It’s honestly way more uplifting and healing than I was expecting.

Again, it’s largely about family: a quiet, very private Japanese dad dealing with a visit from his deceased (estranged) twin’s extroverted and cheery Canadian husband. This could go down some very dark paths, but it really doesn’t...there are some smatterings of homophobia mixed in, since that’s sort of the point, but there’s a lot of wonderful self-discovery and building new family bonds.

OUR DREAMS AT DUSK

Oh man. This series. Irene Koh (Legend of Korra comics illustrator) recommended it on twitter, and I picked up the first volume from my library and then could not stop. All four volumes are now out in official translations, and they’re so, so good.

These are definitely on the more realistic side - less of an idealized, prejudice-free view of the world, with more of an accurate picture of what it’s like to be not-straight in Japan.

And I phrase it that way because there’s a lot of variety in the characters in these books. The main character is gay - just coming to terms with the fact that he is, because life would be so much easier if he didn’t have a crush on the hot guy at school.

Content warning: it gets so bad at school, in fact, that he starts out the book planning to commit suicide. It’s dark. But it gets much better, and by the final volume he’s grown so much in his confidence and sense of self-worth - because he becomes a part of a community of other people who teach him that it’s okay to be himself.

And all the other storylines are wonderful. Some of the other characters you get to know include a trans guy, an ace woman, two girls who (spoilers!) get married in the fourth volume, and a much older gay guy who’s been with his partner for several decades.

It’s not a fluffy story - there’s some really tough material throughout, and people aren’t always nice, even the ones you really, really want to be - but they also learn and work hard at communicating with each other. I think these are pretty extraordinary books. Beautiful and heartbreaking but also deeply affirming.

#anime recs #manga recs #long post #I'm sure I've forgotten something oh well I'll just do a follow up post #sorry for the slow reply anon #Anonymous

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