#too many pop culture and anime references

[tricksterlatte]

There was this post I saw awhile back that asked what was the one thing you would get pretentious about since everyone has at least one. I didn’t reblog it at the time, but my god if I have to see any more bad faith or media illiterate surface level take about Chainsaw Man, I’m going to become the literacy devil

[actuallysaiyan]

The First Time(Aka How Nanami Kento Lost His Virginity) Chapter One: A Lesson In Kissing

Chapter One: A Lesson In Kissing

warnings: kissing, exploring sexually, fluff, mentions of IRL creative licenses/pop culture references pairings: Emo!Nanami Kento x Fem!Reader summary: after a few weeks of getting to know the shy and stoic Nanami Kento, you invite him over to your dorm to watch some anime. as things progress, you realize that you have taken his kissing virginity...

taglist: @beneathstarryskies @seireiteihellbutterfly @benkeibear @kenpachisbrat. @gennaray

MDNI banner and Support your writers banner by the lovely benkeibear!!!

Masterlist

Classes had begun fairly well and you were getting into the full swing of things. Moving to a different city and going to a prestigious university hadn’t been your initial plan, but when you won the bursary and the scholarship, you found yourself unable to say no. Your parents had encouraged you to go, praising you for your high grades and your charismatic nature. So with that in mind, you had been very excited about the prospect.

You had worked in a bank a little bit during your last year of high school. And it completely changed your mindset about money. You decided not long after that that you were going to study to become a financial advisor. You wanted to be able to help people with their money. You wanted them to see that they could make good, fiscal plans with their assets.

And taking classes in business and finance could open a lot of doors for you. Even if the financial advisor job fell through, you could make your way into a job in stocks. Anything in the financial and business field would make you happy.

This is where you met Nanami Kento. He’s shy, sullen and stoic. He hides in the back of your shared classes. You swear he’s not paying attention whatsoever, but he’s acing the tests and the quizzes. He’s at the top of the class, no matter the subject. He’s got his nose buried in a book or his notebook most of the time.

It was his amber eyes that drew you in. Most of the time you only got to see one as he covers the other with his bangs. He rarely smiles, which also draws you in. Everyone else is dressed in business attire, whereas Kento wears business casual. And he’s very heavy on the casual side of things.

But due to his academic successes and good grades, nobody is batting an eyelash at him. Seemingly you might be the only person in these classes that is even remotely interested in him. One thing that really caught your eye was his collection of pins on his jacket.

You approach him one day after class, and he shoots you a confused look. Everyone is leaving the classroom, but you wanted to get to know him more. You wanted to approach him. And the minute you do, you notice not only does he have a look of confusion on his face, but he’s also blushing.

“You’re Nanami-san, yes?” You inquire, even if you know the answer.

He pulls his bag over his shoulder, “Y-yes. That’s me.”

You introduce yourself and extend your hand out to him, “Nice to meet you. I really like your pin.”

When he doesn’t shake your hand, you point at the cute little GIR pin on his lapel. Not many people you know have watched Invader Zim. He sort of looks at you in shock for a minute before turning away. 

“Thanks, see ya.”

And you don’t approach him for another few weeks after that first encounter. You wonder if he’s just shy or if he’s abrasive. He seems so cute in your eyes. So you push yourself to make an effort to talk to him more.

The second time, you invite him out to lunch. He doesn’t outright say yes, but he also doesn’t say no. He begins to follow you to the cafe just outside of the campus. You both order a coffee and sit in silence for a little bit.

“How’d you find the test?” You ask him, taking a sip of your coffee.

He shrugs, “It was fine.”

“You must be very smart. You’re at the top of our class.”

He blushes and shrugs once more, “I don’t know. It’s just not too hard for me.”

The conversation dies down before you head over to the counter and order two sandwiches. Then you return with the two plates and Kento is confused. It’s been a long time since anyone has bought him lunch. He’s really not sure why someone as beautiful as you would even bother with him.

“Do you like the band The Used?”

Kento’s eyes widen, “Y-yeah! You like The Used?”

You nod. “Love ‘em! They are so awesome.”

This begins an acquaintanceship between you and Kento. You spend the lunch hour chatting about your favorite bands, your favorite manga and anime and of course, your favorite tv shows. You both discover very quickly that you have so much in common.

By the time lunch hour is over, you’re both upset that you’ll have to end the conversation. You see Kento in a whole new light, and him…he realizes that there are still some good people in this world.

The next time you two meet, you invite him to your dorm room. He’s never been invited to someone’s dorm since he enrolled, so he’s a little nervous about it. Not to mention the fact that he thinks he’s developing a crush on you. This coupled with the fact that he’s entirely a virgin scares him. Nevertheless, he makes his way to your dorm and knocks on the door. In his other hand is a bag of snacks and drinks to share with you.

“Kento-kun! Nice to see you! Come in,” you greet him in such a sunny way. Your demeanor was beginning to remind him of someone from his past.

He smiles shyly, “Thanks.”

He makes his way into your little space. Despite it being small, you’ve managed to make it feel so nice and cozy. It’s well decorated with band posters, comfy furniture and even a little kitchenette area. He’s surprised that you could make such a small place look so much like a home.

“Sit down,” you motion to the couch. “I’ll get us some cups.”

You return to the living room area of the room and join him on the couch. On your little TV, you have some old anime playing. Kento is immediately sucked in. You find the drinks in his bag and pour the drinks. Your fingers brush against his when you pass him the cup. He shudders from the sudden contact, hiding it by returning his attention to the TV.

“You like this?” You gesture to the TV.

He nods, “Yeah, this is Ninja Scroll, right?”

“Yeah! I didn’t think anyone was still interested in this sort of stuff.”

You and Kento begin a conversation about anime and the movie that’s playing. You both can’t stop talking to each other. It’s just like the conversation continues to flow so naturally between the two of you. The more you conversed., the more you found yourself liking him. He’s cute, knowledgeable and not like a lot of the other guys you’ve met.

As the conversation dies down, both of you sit in a comfortable semi-silence. The movie comes to a point where the romance is noticeable. You feel your heart pumping a little faster when you look at Kento again.

He’s blushing as his eyes lock with yours. He’s never even kissed before, but he’s not stupid. He knows where you want to take this relationship, but he’s so damn scared to fuck it up. There’s got to be some sort of false confidence he could display.

Yet the minute your soft lips press against his, he knows you’re going to be able to suss out his inexperience within seconds. He doesn’t know how to kiss you back, so he sits there stunned. His hands are shaking as you sit even closer to him. And then when you pull away, you notice the look on his face.

“Shit, I am so sorry, Kento. I thought…well, I thought maybe you wanted to make-out.”

Kento’s cheeks burn even more, “I-I do, I just… Idon’tknowhowto.”

You can barely make out what he’s just said. But the sentiment is there and you pick it apart. He’s never made out before. Your brain turns this information over a few times and then it clicks. That was probably his first kiss. You begin to blush and apologize profusely.

“I am so sorry, I thought that maybe…”

Then he surprises you. He kisses you. It’s sloppy and harsh, but you appreciate it all the same. Your hand reaches out to cup his face, and he shudders again. You’re so soft and you smell so good and the feeling of your lips on his makes his heart race. When he pulls away, he’s the one apologizing.

“Don’t even say you’re sorry. That was a sweet kiss.”

Then the two of you turn to face each other. The tension could be cut with a knife. You reach out to cup his face again, pulling him even closer. His hands shake as he tries to caress you, but he’s just not even sure what to do. You lead him through another kiss, this time you deepen it just a bit more.

His fists stay clenched at his side for the first part of this kiss, then you gently reach out to intertwine your fingers with his. The minute you do this, he melts into the kiss.

Then you pull away, leaning your forehead against his. Your hands are so soft against his face. He nuzzles his face into your palm before he leans in once more. This time, Kento takes the lead which surprises you. He pins you down on the couch with his body weight.

The kisses that follow are so tentative and slow. He’s learning how to be less sloppy and more precise. He’s gaining confidence the more you two explore, and soon you feel his hands on your sides. He caresses you so softly, almost like he’s afraid you’re going to slip away and end up being some figment of his imagination.

“You’re a good kisser,” you compliment him when you both pull away to breathe.

“T-thanks…you were my first.”

You cup his cheeks, “I know that, baby.”

Then your lips meet in another sweet kiss. But this time you surprise him by gliding your tongue along his bottom lip. Kento freezes for a moment, then he parts his lips.

‘So soft, so sweet…tastes so good.’ His mind is racing with thoughts like this. ‘Wanna taste her even more…’

Your tongues rub and roll together sensually. Soon you feel him grinding against you and you notice just how hard he is. His erection is poking against your thigh. And as much as you want to keep going, you think it’s probably for the best that you pace these things out.

So you pull away, leaving Kento panting and looking so dazed. He’s so sweet like this. This is the cutest look on his face you have ever seen. His lips try to chase yours a little, but you pull back just enough. Then you caress his cheek.

“Let’s slow this down, yeah?”

He swallows hard. “Oh uhm…yeah okay.”

You notice his disappointment, “I just don’t want you to rush into this. Let’s make this something special,”

He finally nods and smiles. His heart feels full of affection for you. This was exactly what he needed after all the trauma in his life. You were truly someone who cared and you were looking out for him.

You kiss his cheek. “Don’t worry. I really like you. I’m not kicking you out.”

He smiles shyly, “Okay cool. Can we maybe cuddle?”

You wrap your arms around him and bring him even closer. His head rests on your chest and you two fall into the blissful happiness of cuddles.

[tainbocuailnge]

I think there is a difference between the comic as a sequence of images with text and the comic as a comic. it's a subtle difference that an untrained eye might not see but the more one as artist draws comics the clearer this difference becomes, because one who first aspires to draw comics will soon find they are merely drawing sequences of images with text.

when people say an artist is clearly inspired by anime they often use "anime" to refer to japanese pop culture in general, but if you look more closely you can often tell it really is specifically anime rather than manga that inspired them, because the paneling and camera angles in their comics will read like a series of anime screenshots rather than a manga page. similarly, when I was a teenager really popular manga that had anime adaptions would sometimes get "animanga" reprints where they replaced the panels with the equivalent anime screenshots of the scene, and they often looked like dogshit because the very premise showed blatant disregard for why the original comic worked in the first place. these two examples are both about anime because i am a weeb but it applies outside that context too. a cartoon storyboard can be read as if it were a comic, but what it really is is a sequence of images with text that has yet to be refined into its actual intended format.

there are many artists who only employ the medium of comic because what they actually want to draw is a video, or a video game cutscene, but the only tool actually at their disposal is the ability to draw a series of images and add text to them so that is what they use. there is no shame or mistake in doing this, you have to make your art with the tools that you have available, and if the sequence of images with text is enough to convey the idea then it was the right tool for the job. but these are different mediums with different visual languages, languages which have a lot of overlap and can occasionally be used in each other's stead to achieve similar results (especially when drawing a fanart comic of a video game for example), but which are still ultimately different. the comic and the video and the cutscene are all different forms that a sequence of images with text can take but they are far from completely interchangeable.

there is a key difference in approach to the comic as a series of images roughly interchangeable with other forms of series of images like the video and the cutscene, and the comic as specifically the comic. this difference in approach is not always necessary to achieve results, an artist who wants to convey a scenario they came up with needs only the sequence of images with text to achieve this. but the difference between a comic with good writing and art, and a comic that is a good comic, is in whether it was treated as a comic rather than a sequence of images with text. I say this as an artist whose nearly every comic has been simply a sequence of images, because I just don't have the patience to refine it into a comic when I merely want to convey my idea rather than draw a comic. it takes a particular skill and insight that have to be developed and practised separately from the ability to draw well and the ability to write well in order to become good at making "the comic" as synthesis of the two.

it's hard to specifically point out the essence of this difference between the sequence of images and the comic because it's kind of a vibes thing honestly, and it depends on where and how the comic was meant to be published too. comics meant to have paper print editions have different constraints and requirements and frameworks to work with than webtoons meant to be read on slim mobile screens in a continuous scrolling format. a good traditional comic will consider not just how each individual panel looks but also the way each page as a whole looks, and how the pages look next to each other in a spread, and how it feels to turn the page towards the next spread. a good webtoon will consider the movement of scrolling down and how this affects the transition from one moment to another in its composition. time is time in videos and cutscenes but space is time in comics, and the space your have available determines how you can divide time across it. when you make a webcomic on your own website you have no constraints but the ones you set for yourself, and sometimes this leads to things like homestuck, which would not work in any other format than the one it created for itself.

the best comics are good because they tell their story and present their images specifically in the form of a comic, in a way that would not be possible if it were not specifically a comic. I think this is true for basically every medium, I'm just thinking about comics specifically lately, because even though I don't really consider myself a comic artist - because I usually draw sequences of images rather than comics - the thing my clients want to pay for is often still "a comic", and they don't know or care to tell the difference. it's a difference that, as established, is often fairly moot anyway, because as long as it successfully conveys your idea it's good enough. but it's precisely because the sequence of images is often good enough that the specific skill of the comic artist is often overlooked.

[clouduru-chan]

Well I decided to write something about some yanderes, well I'm kind of new to this, so sorry for any mistakes, well in the Brazilian yandere community, we usually write headcanons of some characters, as well as realizing that there were no headcanons for some characters here on Tumblr, I decided to write a little about them.

Yandere reacting to reader who cosplays

Monika

- Well, you have only been dating a short time, and she knew that you loved to watch anime, series and Doramas, read some manga and light novels or play some video games, and since you know her well, you call her to watch something that involves romance;

- But something caught you off guard, when you simply showed up at the meeting with the cosplay of a romance anime you like to watch with your girlfriend;

- You did it because it might please your beautiful girlfriend;

- you cosplayed Kaguya Shinomiya from Kaguya Sama wa kokurasetai;

- Well you just wanted to surprise her, and Monika rather liked that, and with that she pours sweet kisses all over your face, and you turn into a blushing mess;

- You get a little clumsy around your girlfriend, so you don't get into the role of Kaguya too much;

- Monika loves how Kaguya Sama's school uniform dress looks perfect on you;

- Well you have been doing character cosplays for quite a while now, so it would be nice if your girlfriend knew about it;

- Well Monika realized at first that this was not the first cosplay, as it was very well done;

- When you stopped being embarrassed by the situation, you decided to act like the character you had cosplayed;

- Monika laughed a lot at your performances, because you were able to get perfectly into the role of the character;

- She loved the work you did just for her, you had so much love and dedication to it, she feels sweet, she will one day repay that;

Ayano Aishi

- She was waiting for you outside your room, but out of nowhere she feels caught, she feels your hands on her thighs and back, you had picked her up;

- This yandere turned extremely red when you did this, and when she looked at you, you were in costume;

- You were cosplaying Yuji Itadori from Jujutsu kaisen;

- The two of you kind of decided to hang out together at the comic con, to tell you the truth, you were the one who urged her to go to the event;

- At the event, you were holding hands the whole time;

- Ayano wasn't in cosplay, since she didn't see much point in it, but so that people wouldn't look down on her for not wearing something from pop culture, you lent her your Attack on Titan freedom wings sweatshirt;

- Ayano was extremely happy and flushed with this gesture, it will be a little difficult for her to return the sweatshirt to you, as she will place it on her altar with other of her belongings;

- At the event, many people came up to you to compliment the cosplay, but until one person came up, making a reference to the anime:

" What is your type of woman"

Ayano grimaced at that, why ask such a personal and stupid question?

She hadn't understood the reference, so you got into character.

"My kind of woman? My kind of woman is tall and big-butt, just like my girlfriend Ayano Aishi! He then points to the dark-haired girl.

Congratulations you have made this yandere extremely clueless.

Alan Orion

- Alan had arranged for you to go out into the forest, since he had a surprise for you;

- But you had an appointment, so you told him you were going to be a little late, of course he was annoyed by this, what was more important than him?!;

- Well you had to go to an anime event that was going to be held at the gym, a lot of people who like pop culture went there, so obviously to show your work, so you went in cosplay;

- The cosplayer you did was Rem from Re: Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu;

- After the event, you were in a hurry to go see your boyfriend, because you knew he had been upset with you for changing the appointment time;

- By this time you hadn't even taken off the accessories you were wearing to make the cosplay, so you go straight into the forest to see that man;

- When you arrived, Alan was sitting with his back to you, and as soon as you approached him, your boyfriend's heterochromatic eyes sparkled with admiration; he thought you were late just to get ready like that just for him;

- Well, his intention when he called you was to fuck you hard in the forest, to get you addicted to his cock, but seeing you dressed like that made him hard right away;

- You kind of won't feel your legs for a week anymore;

Sunny day Jack

- Jack was wondering why you were taking so long in the room;

- He was intrigued in what you were doing, as this ghost was curious of what your Sunshine was doing, so he opened the door to your room;

- When he was going to ask how you were, he looked at you, you were wearing strange clothes, wearing a pink wig and contact lenses of the same color, as well as a well-made makeup over your face, making you look very effeminate;

- You jumped when he saw you cosplaying Astolfo from Fate: Apocrypha;

- Well, you decided to step into the role of the character, just to tease Jack for breaking into your room;

"Oh! So you are my master?! Then I will introduce myself! For it is very important to speak my real name! So, my name is Astolfo! One of the twelve paladins of Charles Magno! It's a pleasure" you played the role of getting all excited, quickly approaching the blue-haired man.

" What about yours?" You had a huge smile on your face, you had really gotten into character, Jack was impressed, even though he didn't understand the reference he quite liked it, especially the master part.

- Jack picks you up and puts you on the bed, he would give you lots of love, because as you said, he was your master;

[another-lost-mc]

Gonna be completely honest tho. Like yes they are hot in the vampire au but I would be terrified. Like I hate needles and all of that and idk I just feel like I'd be too freaked out for it to be enjoyable? Does that make sense??

A/N: Honestly, same here, anon. lol I think my own MC would find the whole situation exhausting mentally if not physically. There's a lot of valid reasons why any MC might not want to get caught up in this whole mess.

In a lighthearted vampire AU, the characters might feel that vampirism is more of a nuisance than anything else. Ultimately, I think they'd still try to prioritize MC's wishes and comfort over their own needs. It would motivate them to find an alternative solution for blood/feeding (especially if it were a long-term/permanent condition).

This Sucks! | Why They Don't Want to be Vampires Vampire!DEMON BROTHERS x gn!Reader, 0.5k words, SFW Content warnings: references to canon-typical vampire behaviours including biting/blood-drinking. More from the vampire!au

─── LUCIFER

Lucifer doesn’t like depending on anyone for anything. This would be an extra burden for you personally, and the last thing he wants is for life at his side with them to be even more challenging. His brothers would be unbearable if he tried to claim your blood for himself, and he knows in his heart he doesn’t want to share you. (A trivial concern is that his fondness for Demonus, even a blood-infused version of it, might be ruined by vampirism—it’s one of the few luxuries he allows himself to indulge in.)

─── MAMMON

Mammon's too greedy to share you. If you don’t want to donate your blood, that’s even better—that way no one gets to feed from you! He’s also going to be busy figuring out how he can capitalize on blood alternatives if the condition isn’t temporary.

─── LEVIATHAN

Levi's disappointed because vampires in anime are so hot cool, but he’s intimidated by the physical intimacy of it. Oh, and he hates the thought of others wanting to feed from you too. (What if you compare them and you prefer feeding the others more than him?!)

─── SATAN

Human pop culture is so inconsistent with their monster lore. Satan understands that the reality of feeding a vampire (or in this case, seven of them) is daunting and less appealing than the fictional version you've read about or seen in movies. Besides, he has enough anger management issues to deal with—bloodlust would be an extra hassle. He's one of the first to volunteer to find a better a solution for feeding if the vampirism is permanent.

─── ASMODEUS

Asmo doesn’t want to drink anyone’s blood. Wouldn’t it make his breath smell? What if it gets all over his clothes? If he drinks from you in his bed, the stains might ruin his expensive Devilmoth silk sheets! He might seem superficial about it, but his biggest complaint is the possibility that feeding might scar you or hurt you in some way. Leaving his mark on you sounds appealing, but not like that—especially if you're already hesitant about the idea. (He's secretly worried one of the others might try to talk you into something you don't want to do, and he wants to make sure his own judgement isn't clouded so he can help protect you.)

─── BEELZEBUB

Beel has so many issues with hunger and self-control that the thought of being hungry for your blood upsets him a lot. He’s so scared of hurting you, and when he’s out of control with hunger it's difficult to stop him. What if the others can’t subdue him in time? What if—? No, he doesn’t even want to think about it.

─── BELPHEGOR

Belphie assumes that drinking blood would act like a stimulant, so the last thing he wants is to feed from you. Why would he do something that makes him more energized and makes you tired in the process? (He’s not sure he can convince you to only feed him, and the idea of having to share you with the others—except for maybe Beel—is intolerable.)

[ducktracy]

Looney Tunes really fucks up with your sense of time. It makes you contend with facts like "the last Looney Tunes short could have been about a Tasmanian tiger and it wouldn't have to be justified because they weren't extinct yet."

DOESN'T IT??? THAT'S WHY I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!! OHHHHHHHHHH YOU'RE GETTIN' ME STARTED

IRONICALLY i'm usually the opposite frame of reference, a thought i regularly have is "the earth is millions of years old and i get to live in the fraction of a fraction of a blip just a little bit after these guys were around and some of the directors and animators were still alive when i was born, we're really not that far apart, everything is so recent in comparison, i'm so lucky to be alive and get to experience this" LOL.

but yeah, the historical aspect is a huge huge huge huge huge reason why i'm a LT fanatic and why i have no plans of ever slowing down and haven't yet. it's like an anthropology lesson. i love seeing what trends were current with what year. i love seeing radios in the shorts evolve into televisions, i love hearing jokes about then-new things (like Daffy crying in the cut dialogue from Daffy Duck in Egghead about how if he gets shot then he'll never collect on his social security, which was less than 3 years old at the time of the short's release), i love seeing how the fashion evolves, how the music evolves, how the attitudes of the characters evolve depending on the needs and wants and assimilation of the public... it's one huge time capsule, and i think that tends to be viewed disparagingly and there IS a lot to view disparagingly. we all know how much hasn't aged well at all. but i do love that these shorts show their age (when not in the sense of discriminating against a group of people) and it's such a big part of the charm. these characters and stories are timeless in many ways, and many ways they're not! and i think so much of the charm comes from the era in which these shorts are born. explore it! have fun with it! IUNNO! as a history nerd and an anthropology nerd and pop culture history nerd it's just.. AHH. things like these really get me emotional in the best way. it's an animated time capsule we have at our finger tips

it's also kind of reassuring, too, because there's so many jokes or premises or character tics or just. THINGS. that make you go, hey, we aren't that far removed at all. again, earth is millions of years old, we're very close to these guys in the timeline range! and so it's really fun seeing certain jokes or phrases that seem current. like i remember watching Porky's Preview for the first time and genuinely struggling to believe that it was almost (and now is OVER) 80 years old. or, you can argue that Daffy Duck made the first YouTube Poop with Daffy Duck in Hollywood. and it's not some sort of freak accident. humor is universal and transcends time! "this is so funny for being so old" No, it's just funny! i've gone on this soapbox elsewhere about how i get so incensed when people seem to imply that just because something is old doesn't mean it can be funny, or if it is it's in a "freak accident" sort of way. no! it's funny! these guys knew what they were doing! they had a sense of humor, and it's not too different than ours in certain points! it's not some freak accident!

IM GOING ON A BIT OF A SEPARATE RANT HERE HAHA but the timelessness and not timelessness of these shorts is incredibly important to me and so big on why i'm doing what i do. it's really humbling, it's really fascinating, and there's just so much to learn and soak up

[aroaceleovaldez]

do you have anymore rogue demigod headcanons? recently i've been thinking of my own rogue demigod ocs and trying to come up with ideas for them

BOY DO I

Okay i have a lot of very niche thoughts about how rogue demigods work and the sort of loose culture they have as a collective group. I'll go over the main thoughts I have and throw some bonus loose rogue concepts at the bottom of the post just for fun if anyone wants oc ideas. Below a cut cause i've thought about this a lot so there's. a lot:

Most rogues take the "names have power" thing a lot more seriously than campers do, since they don't have the protection of the camps to help them. As a result, many rogues go by "rogue names" or pseudonyms. Some chose their names on the spot, others slowly gained a name over time or were nicknamed by other rogues. Some may choose to not go by a rogue name, but many at least have one even if they don't always use it. Some rogue name hcs I have for specific canon characters include: "Hound" or "Hound of Hades" for Nico (cause hellhounds, also rogues making jokes about him being "the camps'/Olympians' dog"), "Rue" for Chris (named himself after Clarisse cause he missed her, though he's too bashful about it to admit it), Luke's was "Titan," and Hylla's being "Twice-Kill" is just canon. It's also fun to play around with how common some rogue names might be ("Wolf" and other animal names are definitely popular), how silly some might be (Just the first thing that popped into their head, their old street/town name, a famous actor or character, a youtuber's name/handle, cryptids, etc etc. "Ender" is also definitely popular. yknow. from Minecraft), and what stereotypes might be associated with rogue names/common rogue names. You can get real funky with it really easily. I'm personally a big fan of there being a rogue joke about people with animal-themed rogue names, just because of how common they probably are. It's probably rare that somebody earns an animal-themed rogue name from the collective community rather than just picking it themself. Also easy jokes about rogues sliding by with youtuber names or similar just cause most rogues can't access the internet, so they don't get the reference.

Almost all rogues knew about other mythologies/pantheons way before the camps did. It's a very open-secret type of thing. It's pretty impossible for them to not run into demigods from other pantheons living like they do. They just generally don't tell camper demigods about it, partially because it's sort of an unspoken rogue agreement to keep it secret from them for general demigod safety and also because most rogues don't like campers, so it's kind of a joke to keep them in the dark. Titan Army demigods were very well aware of both camps in particular.

The Amazons, Hunters, Circe's Sorceresses, and other rogue groups are also fully aware of this but don't ever mention it, even if they're camp-affiliated. The sorceresses just generally didn't run into campers enough for it to be relevant (and the campers they did run into probably never went back). For Amazons they're probably just too focused in profits to bother stirring up trouble by telling the camps about it. The Hunters probably don't mention it for the safety of the camps.

Camp Jupiter is very anti-rogue and hostile towards rogues in general. It's very rare that rogues are able to join the legion, and anyone who leaves to become a rogue is formally exiled and can't ever return. Most people who join the legion have to either be sponsored by a retired legionnaire family living outside of camp or just wholly directed to camp by a god (or representative of a god - see: Nico for Hazel). Rogues particularly hate CJ because of that. CHB on the other hand is perfectly willing to take in former rogues and there are plenty of ex-rogues in CHB who are fully aware of other pantheons. They just. Don't feel like ever mentioning it. Rogues are generally a bit kinder towards CHB because of their more open friendliness towards rogues, and will help direct new demigods towards CHB fairly often. They're still not fans of it most of the time, but they understand rogue life isn't for everyone and that it's safer, at least.

A lot of rogues take mercenary work, or other hired jobs. Technically this one is just kind of canon. See: Lots of TOA rogues, even some rogues from PJO and HoO are implied to have been hired by the Titan Army or Giant Army (or Octavian). This line of work is seen as totally legitimate to rogues, though there's a lot of different opinions within rogue circles about how it should be gone about. The most common opinion is that it's taboo to take or hire hits on those who run safehouses. Rogue safehouses are usually considered off-limits for any kind of targeting, and trying to target them is sure to ruin your reputation. Stealing or inter-rogue violence is generally considered on the table though. It's largely a lawless space. If you're particularly cruel or try to throw your weight around a lot though, you're sure to be ostracized by other rogues. Because of this, groups like the Titan Army who vocally advertised a lot of trying to make life better for rogues were popular, but other groups like the Giant Army or Tri are significantly less popular because they're seen as just power-grabs trying to hire extra muscle because they can't handle their petty squabbles on their own. Most rogues who joined the Giant Army or Tri were either indebted to them somehow or really desperate and willing to take more dubious jobs.

Norse rogues are actually significantly more common than Greek or Roman rogues, as they don't have any options for a camp to train at instead of living as a rogue, and get hunted down by monsters once they become old enough often regardless of specific parentage. Norse rogues are often more willing to take more dangerous work, as they hope it will either attract the attention of their godly parents to help them or if they build up reputation and die valiantly it will be enough to get them into Valhalla.

Safehouses are rare, but not unheard of. They're mostly just rare because their success rates vary wildly, and many try to build one but fail. The successful ones are often widely known in rogue circles, and there are some that are trade/gathering hubs to find work or restock supplies (and catch up on news). Most are considered peaceful zones, though there are some where combat is allowed, or may even have spectator sports like gladiator battles or etc where rogues can try to build up their reputations and notoriety.

Not every demigod benefited from Percy's deal that the Olympians had to claim all their kids - for some, they could have otherwise slid under the radar, but being claimed caught the attention of monsters and forced them on the run. Some got claimed in the middle of doing something in their mundane lives (with the gods doing some mass-claimings after the war) and had to run away on the spot, and resent Percy/CHB/The Olympians for it.

Free to use rogue demigod concepts:

Amazons and Hunters count as rogues! Anything with them is always fun. Ex-Circe sorceresses are also very fun.

Titan Army, Giant Army, and Tri rogues are also always very fun to play with.

Rogue satyrs, fauns, and nymphs! Or monsters/part-monsters, even!

Cursed rogues! Maybe they're part-monster, and/or the curse is part of them being banished/exiled somehow.

Rogues who run safehouses, or rogues who don't run safehouses but live there. What's their community like? How does it function? What are the rules there, and what's life like there? What's their role?

Think of a rogue name and then make a character themed around that. It's VERY fun I highly recommend it, especially if the names are leaning silly. Rogues stealing youtuber names, or their favorite anime characters, or some other pop-culture reference and hoping nobody notices. Rogue named Vriska or Sans or something. Rogues named after Pokemon. Get funky with it.

Rogues who work with monsters, or have alliances with them! How did their alliance come to be? Is it reliable? Why do they work together - what do either of them get out of it? etc etc.

Mercenary rogues, or other rogues who do hired work. Who are their clients, and what does their work entail? How does that impact their reputations?

Rogues who were revived with the Doors of Death. what were their lives like before they died? How did they die? How did they come back? Were they ever part of the Giant Army? What's their second life like?

Multiple generation rogues! Second-gen or third-gen rogues who were born into rogue life outside the camps but have always known about demigod communities.

Demigod who got claimed unexpectedly from the post-Titan War mass-claiming stuff and was forced on the run.

Norse rogues! Rogues from different pantheons! Or even rogue magicians! How do their lives differ from Greek/Roman demigods? What do they get up to?

[changesforminnesota]

Molly’s Cracker Jack Collection

Cracker Jack was a popular caramel popcorn and peanut food and every box came with a prize. Molly loved to collect and trade small toys from inside these boxes. Open the Cracker Jack Box and help Molly eat the pretend popcorn. She keeps her growing collection in an old cigar box. It includes two marbles, a ring, two tiny animals, a World War II airplane and three paper toys.

Details about Cracker Jack and how I made the collection under the cut.

What are Cracker Jack prizes?

Cracker Jack is a caramel coated popcorn and peanut mix that was first sold around 1896. It is a staple of American baseball games and other sporting events. It’s even mentioned in the song that plays at every baseball game, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, written in 1908: “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don’t care if I never get back”. 

Cracker Jack started giving prizes in their boxes in 1912, and throughout most of the century, these prizes were highly collectable among kids. Most of the prizes are plastic animals and other trinkets, as well as many paper or cardboard items like games and collectible cards. Some even included tiny books or flipbooks or dollhouse furniture. It’s fascinating to look through the years and see how things changed, from metal to plastic, the different pop culture references, the war years, et cetera.

Frito-Lay bought the company in 1997 and changed all of the prizes to flat things like tattoos, stickers, and jokes. Not the same experience at all–that’s what I remember from growing up. And now they don’t even include anything but a QR code for an online game.

Research

To make Molly’s collection, I looked through the 1940s pages of a collector’s guide on Internet Archive to get a sense of what was available at the time. I took some things from the 1930s and 1950s too. I printed out some of the flat games and collected other items based on what I could find in a teeny tiny scale–these toys were already really small so it was hard to find things that are small on an American Girl scale. I also did some searching about how kids collected these, and someone said they were often kept in old cigar boxes, which might not be PC enough for PC, but I liked the idea so I made a cigar box out of a fancy cardboard jewelry box I had. (more on collecting and trading below).

I have ideas to add more prizes, like printing out movie star trading cards and coming up with a way to make pins–I’m picturing something like the doll Grin Pins. 

Molly Lore (head-canon)

I can imagine Molly trading away all of the warplane cards and toys to her brother Ricky for dollhouse furniture, jewelry, animals, movie star items, and so on. There were, unsurprisingly, tons of planes and other war items in Cracker Jack in the 1940s. It seemed like Molly was always getting planes and Ricky was always getting stupid doll furniture! They both liked the games, though. Molly and Ricky gave any leftover prizes they didn’t want to Brad. 

One day Jill decided she was “too mature” for Cracker Jack and gave her collection to Molly, which was more annoying than it should have been, because there’s something kind of not fun about suddenly getting things all at once that you’ve been collecting slowly. Molly invited Susan and Linda over to pick through Jill’s collection, each girl choosing one thing at a time until it was divvied up. At least sharing with her best friends and not keeping it all to herself made it a little more fun. 

Resources:

This collector’s guide was instrumental in my research. It both gave me specific ideas and a general sense of the experience and patterns of the prizes. There were a few telling editorial remarks like this one about Barrettes on page 127: “Left a lot to be desired if a little boy got it. (Then again, I’m sure that many a little girl was disappointed to get a “war” prize).” This is what gave me the image of Ricky and Molly trading their prizes and both of them being happy about it!

https://archive.org/details/crackerjacktoysc0000whit

Another resource I used was this selling website:

Although the search function is pretty awful, it is good for scans of paper prizes. 

Here is the google doc I used to collect the pictures I wanted to print in what seemed an appropriate size: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/196ByHxFQ8G21VbtBmT5H2ZCmigQnAYsUfbzru0buivM/edit?usp=sharing 

[silentcryracha]

❍ ‗ Love Language (Skz - Maknae line) ‗ ❍

Pairings : Jisung x reader, Felix x reader, Seungmin x reader, Jeongin x reader

Genre/warnings : They all start fluffy and fun and end up smutty, You've been warned. 18+. (eventual specific warnings will be at the start of the paragraphs)

Summary : Specific situations in which I think skz would go feral in. Very easy. Half headcanon/half scenario.

Word count :

A/n : As promised here is the maknae line! Also just wanted to specify that many members may share the same hobbies/passions but of course I tried to switch it up a lil lol. The summary and title suck I know apologies, just read to understand lol Anyways have fun!

ps: There could be errors. Do NOT repost on other socials. Leave feedback if you feel like it, otherwise enjoy! ♡︎

Hyung line here

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Jisung ‗ ❍

Jisung is a nerd (affectionate <3), everyone knows. Now, he seems to be pretty proud of it, and I genuinely get the vibe that he would dislike people who picked on it for no reason. Like, why do you hate fun dude?

And that's exactly why he does like people who are able to have fun with these pop culture/nerdy things like he can. You're automatically a cool person to him. And imagine if on top of that, you maybe even share his tastes AND you're hot?? Then it's settled, you're his.

Watching anime, dramas, movies but also reading manga, manhwas (and so on), but in general indulging into this type of content seems to be both a hobby and a comfort activity for Jisung, so it's natural that he would love to share this with his s/o.

You'd recommend things to each other, both to watch together and separately, or maybe keep up with the same things and then discuss them and your opinions. It would definitely be something that would connect you more on a personal level, too, I think.

Especially since you can learn so much about a person simply by understanding their likes/dislikes, what makes them cry, what makes them laugh ( or *aroused*).

It becomes a natural thing between you two to use this common interest as a way to connect even more and lift each other's mood when you need it. Maybe one day you're being a little sad or disappointed for some reason, and Han would just either drop a very specific reference that would make you laugh or simply suggest spending some time together and relax.

Of course, it would be a mutual thing. You'd absolutely use these little infos about him, like having a particular preference/crush for a character, at your advantage. I feel like that would get him more flustered than he'd like to admit.

This little game would absolutely turn somewhat kinky in some way, at some point. Like role play kinky. It could be in a very random moment, for example you two could be watching something and one of you would go "That was hot. Want to make out?" and then you'd end up fucking on the couch at 4 pm on a Sunday, just because.

Or it could be a planned thing. "I prefer the villains anyway" you'd randomly say during a talk, shrugging casually. And man, would he take notes. Next thing you know he's going to randomly pin you against the wall, a hand sliding lightly up from your chest to your neck, "Do you trust me?" you eyes wide, a little confused but excited, you'd answer "Yes". He'd smirk, proceeding to tell you all the filthy things he was going to do to you.

I am a firm believer that Jisung is a switch so yes the situation could 100% be reversed.

Felix ‗ ❍

With Felix the options could be multiple, but for now let's focus on his 'nerdy' side. In this case it leans more into computers/electronics and gaming, which I think is a bit more specific than something like watching anime.

It's more a relaxing activity and a hobby (one of) than a passion in my opinion, so I don't think that he would search specifically for a s/o was also into these things, but if you were then it would be very cool.

Nonetheless he would let you into these things pretty easily, and you would be happy and eager to hear all about it, of course. At the end of the day seeing him getting excited and enjoying his time was the thing that mattered the most, and you felt good knowing that he cared enough to the point of wanting, or maybe even involuntarily, talk about it with you.

It would probably take a little for him to actually be completely comfortable, meaning that I see him as someone who would not hide his hobby but would try to make it 'cool'. Like, "Me? losing? never" and you'd be like "Sure sweet cheeks" and then just watch him get his ass beat up by the other players. Of course with time you'd earn his trust and confidence enough to be allowed to roast him whenever you wanted to (lovingly ofc).

But you would also be his number one fan! He would love to have you present as a 'lucky charm' or ask a kiss for good luck, to bet with you jokingly, to comment and complain about the game itself or other players and so on. Felix would love to have you around in general to be honest. It would greatly help his mood whenever he got frustrated or nervous for some reason.

He would also find it extremely cute when you got a little clingy, like laying your head on his shoulder or hug him from behind just because you felt like it. He loves getting attention and physical contact with his loved ones, so of course he'd appreciate it a lot.

But of course like all things between couples that are fun and cute, could also very quickly turn into heated situations. "This damn game is pissing me off! And that guy just keeps being so annoying, shit" he'd complain, waving a hand in the air in annoyance. You couldn't help but be just a little amused seeing your cute boyfriend get all worked up, the frown on his face just about as threatening as a kitten hissing.

"Mmh" you'd hum, getting up from wherever you'd be sitting, "I'm going to take a shower now. How about you get a rematch, beat that annoying dude and win for me? Then we can celebrate" his mouth would go slightly agape and his eyes wide looking up at you. You'd just chuckle and get his headphones back up on his head before walking away.

Not even five minutes into the shower he would burst in, undressing himself on the way and join you. "Did you win already?" you'd ask in amusement. He would shut you up with a feverish kiss "No, I got distracted" he'd smirk in between kisses, "Besides that cunt can go fuck himself, I got better things to think of"

Seungmin ‗ ❍

Seungmin would love to have an s/o that matched his vibe. He also has side hobbies outside of work, so for example he would love to get you involved in them. But in general of course you'd make sure to always support him and share his excitement.

That one baseball team that he absolutely dies for played a game and won? Suddenly you become fan number two. Do you give a fuck? Maybe not. Does he know? Of course he does but that's why he'd be ten times more happy if you decided to play along. Also knowing how fast this man can switch vibe, you would trul just wouldn't know what to expect next.

"Didn't you say that you can't stand sports?" you'd roll your eyes at him dramatically, "You little sh-" he'd just laugh and kiss your cheek as a silent thank you. I feel like he would genuinely value that a lot, especially if he knew you only did it for him.

Seungmin would be beyond entertained in a situation in which he was being a little shit to someone and you'd just, play on his team. Either of you could casually drop the most out of pocket comment about something and the other would throw back a smart response and then you'd just keep going. Literal partners in crime.

Again, he looks like a man that has range. From cute, to serious, funny, sarcastic and even sexy. And an s/o that could put up with it and be able to respond perfectly to his mood would make him thrive, I think.

He also seems like someone who wouldn't enjoy having his boundaries messed with, though. If he was mad or seriously anxious, he wouldn't like someone acting off and maybe undermining his feelings. But he'd like someone that would take him seriously and tried to help in practical ways.

This boundaries could also imply physical touch or specific words/behaviours. For example, you could decide to play with his hand in public rather than getting all over him and kiss him. Or again, I feel like he wouldn't be the number one fan of being too cheesy in front of other people, but could very well appreciate it when you're in private.

He definitely has a romantic side to him, so you initiating stuff with him would make his heart flutter like crazy, in the right situation. There could be some exceptions, though. Imagine you're out with a group of friends, and you decide to tease him a little.

You'd lean in and whisper, "Seungie, I'm bored". He'd raise an eyebrow at you, genuinely confused at first, "Is something wrong? Do you want to go home?"

You wrap your arm around his, your head resting on his shoulder "No, I didn't say that. I would just rather to do something else" he was eyeing you a bit suspiciously now, carefully asking "Like what?".

You'd try to hide a smile and respond very casually, purposefully making him even more flustered. "You?" he'd absolutely have to control himself from making too obvious expressions, making you chuckle.

He'd silently curse you for getting him worked up in such a situation, but then after a few minutes he'd casually say that it has gotten late and you should go, or straight up make up an excuse. Now, what happens after and its consequences are gonna be on you and you alone ;)

Jeongin ‗ ❍

Jeongin would probably love to have a s/o that is similar to him. Meaning that he'd probably way more inclined to want spend time with someone that he can share anything with, emotionally, physically, habits wise.

I feel like he values communication and understanding a lot. He would like to have someone who knows him well and with whom he could maybe create some sort of routine? He also is someone who may be a little hard to read, but definitely has different range depending on whom he's with. That alone implies a great sense of trust.

You'd undoubtedly have to keep up with him, though. He seems to be generally a pretty quiet person, but could absolutely get a little crazy sometimes. Like, one evening you'd be quietly having a relaxing time at home and then the morning after, when you wake up he'd randomly go like "So, how about we take the train and visit this place today?"

You'd kind of just impulsively go and have a great time. Regardless. Could be raining, be tremendously hot, super windy. You could lose the train or the bus, drop your ice cream on the floor, literally anything but it wouldn't ruin your day. Because you both have that kind of positive and carefree attitude that makes you match so well.

I feel like he wouldn't ask for anything specific except someone that can keep him in a good mood and be there for him when he needs it. You'd just be a safe space for each other, honestly.

Kinda feel like he's secretly quite affectionate, especially with an s/o and a few other exceptions (kids and animals, lol). Jeongin is clearly a very sweet person in general, but I do feel like he holds himself back a bit when he gets anxious about 'exposing' himself too much emotionally.

Still wouldn't 100% be a very clingy or cheesy person in public, but would allow toned down PDA like holding hands, leaning your heads on each other, sharing smiles. Something a little more specific, is hugging or being closer to each other in a crowded place like the subway, an event, a square and so on.

He would very much appreciate conversation. A kind word, some encouragement, a joke or just you being calm and trying to influence your good mood on him would be more than enough. He would probably be really touched by it.

I feel like you'd have 'your' thing. Like a couple ring, necklace charm, bracelet. Something small and private that only the two of you would 'get', and find great comfort in it.

Let's not forget about his silly side though, this man could be the sweetest angel in one moment and start joking around/teasing you in the next. You'd laugh a lot together, and those would most likely also be the situations in which things could get heated.

Even in sudden moments, just out of pure love. For example, while you're roaming around the city, having fun and just being so full of life and love that at some point it would feel almost...overwhelming.

You'd just look at each other, feeling such intimate connections that you'd probably just spend the whole way back home giggling and exchanging super lovey-dovey eyes. Until you do in fact reach home, and that's where the magic would happen. Could be slow and romantic, undressing sensually and smiling type of vibe, or it could turn into something a lot more passionate and frenetic. You're just going to have to find out day by day with him :')

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

[garycxjk]

Why everybody gets 100 Girlfriends wrong

I've been seeing quite a few comments that completely misinterpret The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You, so I'm gonna break down to you the series a bit, trying to not spoil it for anime onlies. This is mainly in response to someone wondering why they don't just "speedrun girlfriends".

100 Girlfriends, first and foremost, is not a romance manga. It's a comedy manga with focus on romance, yes, but first and foremost, it's a parody manga. It's parody in the same sense that Gintama is a parody. Yes, it's an affectionate parody, but a parody nonetheless.

It already starts with the premise that the main character has 100 girlfriends. The focus actually isn't the 100 girlfriends, it has always been the girlfriend archetypes. The pervert, the tsundere, the non-communicative one, the kuudere. They deconstruct, then reconstruct each and every single one. This is why it also does not speedrun the girlfriends, because it shouldn't.

In fact, the first seven chapters (up to episode 5) do show this already, it has a slight pacing problem. Not because it takes too much time to get to each girlfriend, but because it doesn't take its time to give us the deconstruction and reconstruction phases. It is only from the next two chapters (or episode 6) on that it basically uses each girl's traits and shows us creative ways they work with them.

But they had to speedrun at least the first four girlfriends to give us an idea of what the premise is. Rentarou is an impossible protagonist who actually manages to make a polyamorous relationship work. I'll get back to that later, but keep this in mind. It needs to establish the actual rules.

We know the visible rules, that if Rentarou rejects a girlfriend, she'll die. However, chapter 3, and by extension episode 3, establishes directly that Rentarou doesn't just make these girlfriends his because they'd otherwise die, he actually genuinely starts caring for them, and wants to love them, while at the same time he wants them to care for him.

This is one of the manga rules people miss, because, forget the rejection means death rule. That rule hasn't been important since episode 3 anymore, and hasn't even been brought up that much in episode 5, and that's the initial mistake many manga readers made when getting to chapter 7. However, from chapter 8 on (the next episode), something magical happened. We finally figured out that this manga has never actually been about playing the romance part straight. It was always a comedy first and foremost.

You see, the fourth wall breaks, the absurd situations, the literal physical abuse Rentarou gets (from Karane of all people). Heck, even the anime opening. Especially the first point, the fourth wall breaks, those should tell you that the manga never really takes itself too seriously. Yes, it does take the romance parts seriously, but that's because if you don't do that, it doesn't work as a parody.

Take Gintama. It's a parody of shounen manga (and by extension anime). However, it is also a shounen manga in and of itself, that part it still plays straight. If it was just riffing on shounen manga, do you think it would have been as successful as it has been right now?

Or take the many films by Mel Brooks, and one in particular, Spaceballs. Spaceballs is a parody of science fiction films, but Star Wars in particular. However, it still is a science fiction film in and of itself, it still takes that part serious enough to make the parody work.

Compare that to the later Scary Movie films or those other movie parodies. They didn't work because it became pop culture reference, the movie, instead of being a parody of the genre while still playing that genre straight enough to make it work. They fundamentally forgot how parodies work, which is why the parody film died.

So let's go back to my comment about Rentarou being the impossible boyfriend. Many manga readers joke about Rentarou being the chad, or Chadtarou. However, by now we've realized one thing about him. He's literally an unrealistic standard when it comes to boyfriends.

There's a reason the meme "Chapter 1: I want to become Rentarou, Chapter X: I want to be Rentarou's." We realize that we literally cannot be Rentarou, nor would we even want to be Rentarou, because, face it, his job sucks. He has to take care of, what, four girlfriends at this point, which already seems like an impossible task in real life, but Rentarou goes above and beyond to make sure each girlfriend is equally loved. Not proportionally, no, equally. And with each new girlfriend, he doesn't divide the love he has between his current girlfriends and his newest girlfriend, no, he adds on top of it. It's like, at the start, Rentarou's love capacity is 100%, but then he gets two soulmates. Does he just divide his love in two, 50% for Hakari, 50% for Karane? No, he gives 100% to Hakari and 100% to Karane.

At this point, we'd just rather be Rentarou's **girlfriend**, because at least we **know** we can and will be loved by him 100%. Rentarou deliberately sets an impossible standard for the harem protagonist, because it's a standard that should never be reached by any living being. Rentarou in and of himself is the ultimate parody of a harem protagonist, and the reason for that is so that the manga and anime can safely parody every single romance trope that exists.

So, to break down the five episodes for you, to explain why it's paced like this:

Ep. 1: It explains the premise of the story, and how it's going to subvert your expectations.

Ep. 2: It shows an explanation of such subversions.

Ep. 3: It shows you the more serious side of this anime.

Ep. 4: It subverts the harem narrative.

Ep. 5: Basically the same as episode 3, combined with trying to deconstruct and reconstruct the archetype of the week.

And you will notice that with each new girlfriend, it will do the deconstruction and reconstruction in one episode. It needs to explain an archetype, show how it would actually work in reality, and turn it around and make it actually work in the bigger picture. Then, in the following episode, it will... well, you will have to find out soon I guess. But there is a pattern.

To sum it up:

1. This anime isn't a harem romcom. It's a parody of romance manga.

2. Each girlfriend represents an archetype that gets deconstructed and reconstructed.

3. Likewise, without going too much into spoiler territory, any situation is a parody of an existing romance trope.

4. Rentarou isn't your typical harem protagonist, because he isn't meant to be one, he's meant to be a parody of one.

5. The reason it doesn't speedrun girlfriends is to give each girlfriend enough time to parody.

[81scorp]

Constructive criticism: Raya and Wish (2023)

Ah yes, Raya and the last Dragon and Wish... and a bonus

Raya and the last Dragon

Taking place in the fictional country of Kumandra, based on Southeast Asian culture, the movie follows the warrior princess Raya as she seek the fabled last dragon to save her father and the land of Kumandra from evil spirits that are known as Druun.

Critics gave the film positive reviews; some critics praised the imagery and depth but criticized the limited Southeast Asian representation.

The movie is very good on a technical level, Visually impressive, fun characters and the story is good... until the third act.

It`s message doesn`t really fit into it`s narrative. It tries to fit a square shaped peg into a round hole.

If I could wish upon a star that I could travel back in time and do some changes to the script I would like to make one small change.

Namaari giving her "This is just as much your fault" speech and Raya acting as if she`s right

The biggest downside in this scene is Raya`s reaction to what Namaari says, looking at her own reflection in her sword as if to say: "My god, what have I become?"

How I would do it: Raya and Namaari fight. Raya gets the upperhand, disarms Namaari and is about to strike the final blow... but then she looks at what`s happening around them, the city is falling apart, killing Namaari is not gonna solve this. She drops her sword.

Raya: "My original plan was to steal the gem. It was Sisu who convinced me to talk to you. She believed in you. And for a moment... so did I."

Then she leaves to save what still can be saved of the people of Fang.

Namaari looks at her own reflection in one of her twin swords and has a "My god, what have I become?" moment.

I guess I could stop here, but I want to change one more scene.

Raya giving her gem piece to Namaari

In the scene where they are all in the pit trying to fight the druuns with their gem pieces and Raya realizes that they have to put the pieces together, it would be better if Namaari gave her piece to Raya before she gives her piece to Namaari.

Namaari would then step backwards and let the Druun take her. The others would then give their pieces to Raya, stand next to Namaari and be turned to stone. Raya tries to put the gem back together, nothing happens, she places herself between Namaari and the others (Tong, Boun, Little Noi and the Ongis), puts a hand on Tong`s arm and a hand on Namaari`s shoulder as if to form a bridge between the two. (Symbolism!)

Then the dragongem starts working, everyone gets unstoned, the dragons return, Kumandra is united and everyone`s happy.

The end.

Yes, I know. Raya needed to learn how to trust, but Namaari needed to show that she could be trusted.

Wish (2023)

Disney (the company that owns your childhood) was turning 100 years old and decided to give itself a big pat on the back by making an animated movie that would celebrate it`s legacy.

The film received mixed reviews, with praise directed towards the vocal performances, the animation and references to the wider Disney canon, but criticism levelled at the plotting, songs, and screenplay.

People were disappointed in Wish because it was supposed to be a milestone, the movie made to celebrate that the Disney animation studio has been around for 100 years! It just couldn`t live up to the hype. But if you take all the hype and great expectations out of the equation and just view it, not as this BIG thing it was intended to be, but just as the movie it is, it`s... just OK.

Later when the art book of the movie came out and people saw what could have been, many youtubers decided to do what I have been doing since 2015, and do a little constructive criticism of their own. With so many rewrites of Wish popping up on the internet and my own history of playing script doctor, it only seems logical that I too throw my hat in the ring and submit my own Wish rewrite.

So... if I had a fairy godmother who could Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo me back in time to when this movie was written, this is what I would change.

People willingly giving their wishes to Magnifico

It would have been better if Magnifico took peoples wishes from them without their knowledge. It would have made him a better villain. He could take peoples wishes when they are asleep.

Asha

I`d dial down her quirkiness a little. Personalitywise she could be an ambitious overachiever, a mix between Hermoine and Tiana, with an adorkable side.

Valentino

Does everything he says have to be something comical? I like jokes but not all of them landed. It was like his funniness was mandated. Dial down the number of jokes.

Some of the songs

It`s not that the songs are bad per se, some of them just don`t fit into the scenes where they are used, like "At all cost".

They should either have :

A: Given Julia Michaels more time and let her be more involved in the production. (Howard Ashman was very involved in the making of The Little Mermaid.)

or

B: Hired people experienced in musicals. Maybe the people who wrote the songs for Wicked, Hadestown or Hazbin Hotel?

Magnifico needing a book to be evil

The biggest problem this movie has is that it couldn`t decide if Magnifico should be a redeemable, three dimensional antagonist or a classic Disney Villain, so it did both and the results were underwhelming.

I would have made him a twist villain, but instead of waiting for the third act I would reveal it near the end of the first. He would be a charismatic leader, great at fooling people that he has their best interests at heart. In the end, his paranoia would get the better of him.

To Starboy or not to Starboy, that is the question.

At first I wasn`t gonna bother with the whole Starboy thing since it`s not really an issue. The movie`s biggest problem lies in how they wrote King Magnifico. However, a while ago I saw a video on youtube by ColeyDoesThings who talked about what the movie could have been if they had gone the Starboy route, and she made some compelling arguments. So for this rewrite I`ve decided to go with the Starboy idea.

Starboy`s personality could be a lot like Aladdin, a little bit like Peter Pan with a pinch of Ariel. (Why Ariel? Because similar to her, he wants to be where the people are, he wants to see, wants to see 'em dancin'. You know, all that stuff.) He would be a bit of a contrast to Asha.

I did not change Star becase I thought it was necessary, but because I thought it sounded interesting.

I would also make Hal and Bazeema gay and have them kiss eachother in the end.

Plot

Asha prepares to interview for the job of Magnifico's apprentice on the day of her grandfather Sabino's 100th birthday.

When Asha is around, her mother and Saba put on a happy face for her, when she leaves they become a bit apathetic. This is something that many people in Rosas over the age of 18 (who have had their wishes taken) do.

She leads tourists through the town as she sings about what an amazing place it is and what an awesome king they have in "Welcome to Rosas". She rehearses for her job interview with her friends,

There are three wishes that the king refuses to grant:

Wishes about killing people.

Wishes about making someone fall in in love with someone else.

Wishes about bringing people back from the dead.

If you wish to become a magician you`ll have to become the king`s apprentice (and you don`t have to be 18.)

Queen Amaya shows up and takes Asha to Magnifico. At first it goes a little shaky because she`s nervous but then it goes well and Magnifico thinks she is worthy to be his apprentice.

They sing a duet, but not "At all cost". It is a song about optimism and ambition, about what a great student/mentor team they`ll make. The chorus could go:

Magnifico: "With you as my student!"

Asha: "With you as my guide!"

Both: "Great things will happen with you by my side!"

Something like that.

The interview is over and Asha leaves Magnifico`s study.

She is excited. She gets to work with the king! The most awesome king in the world! She does a dorky little victory dance. Valentino shows up, he snuck into the castle with her. Asha starts chasing him, she doesn`t want him to break something expensive, she really wants this job!

Valentino sneaks in through a door to a big (and probably forbidden) room and knocks down an ancient scroll. Asha picks up the scroll to put it back where it was, then she notices the title: How to remove someone`s wish.

Remove? The king grants wishes, he doesn`t take them!

She tries to convince herself not to read it, it`s not meant for her eyes, it`s classified, but her curiosity gets the better of her. She reads in the scroll that the spell should not be used on people under the age of 18. The individual who has had their wish removed becomes docile and free of aspirations, and in some rare cases, even lethargic (just like Simon). They will feel like something is missing from their life but are not able to put their finger on what.

She refuses to believe this. This can`t be true! Magnifico wouldn`t do something like this! He`s a good king!... Right? There are magical orbs of light floating in the ceiling, she takes a ladder and climbs up so that she can get a better look at them. One of the orbs shows a woman that wishes she could fly, another a woman who wishes to sail the seas, another a man who wishes to climb a muntain, and one of the orbs shows... her Saba! It is true, the king takes peoples wishes from them!

She climbs down, puts the scroll back and leaves the room quietly with Valentino under her arm.

She`s about to leave the castle through the main gate when Magnifico shows up. He tells her that there will be a wish-granting ceremony later that evening and he wants her to be present. Asha is nervous, but not a "OMG! I`m meeting my hero!" kind of nervous, but a "Hope he doesn`t figure out that I went into a forbidden room and saw things I shouldn`t have seen" kind of nervous. He seems not to notice, but at soon as Asha leaves the room we see that he did.

Later that evening there`s a wish-granting ceremony, a woman gets her wish granted, the people cheer for Magnifico and Asha sits there next to the queen, stiff and nervous.

Later that night: Asha tries to tell her family the truth about Magnifico, but they don`t believe her. Distraught, Asha runs away and makes her own wish on a star as she sings "This wish". (Not a bad song, but it could have used better lyrics in some places.)

Starboy appears and surprises Asha who smacks him with her sketch-book. (Meet-cute!)

Magnifico senses Starboy's arrival and sees it as a threat to his power.

Starboy doesn`t really grant wishes per se. He`s only as helpful as giving the means, but it’s up to the wishmaker to put the work in order to have their wish fulfilled.

Starboy's magic brings the forest to life, giving voices to the animals, plants and Valentino. They sing "I`m a star", but with better lyrics. (No "we're all shareholders" or "Get that through your system. Solar!") Asha, Valentino, and Starboy embark on a mission to recover Sabino's wish. She wants to save all the wishes, but if she can only save one she`ll have to focus on Sabino`s.

Tension rises in Rosas, Magnifico makes a public appearence and promises a great reward for any information relating to the strange light phenomenon. This makes Simon react. The residents of Rosas begin questioning his rule for the first time. Magnifico gets uncomfortable, leaves and sings "This is the thanks I get" (But sinister, not upbeat, and no "I let you live here fo free and I don't even charge you rent"). Asha and Starboy takes not only Sabino`s wish but a few other wishes as well and uses Starboy`s cape as a sack.

Asha returns Sabino's wish and he is overjoyed to have his memories back and sings "A wish worth making", playing his lute. They get ready to take the sack with the other wishes and return them to their rightful owners when King Magnifico bursts into the family's home. He has been informed by a mole that Asha was responsible for Starboy's arrival. He crushes Sakina's wish as punishment, rendering her overcome with grief. Starboy tries to defend her and is spotted by Magnifico, who vows to capture him. Asha and her family flee with Starboy. Sakina can barely stand after what Magnifico did to her wish, so Starboy uses his magic to give her the strength to walk. In all the chaos they unfortunately leave the other wishes in their home, Magnifico takes them as his own. Sabino and Sakima hide somewhere safe while Asha goes back to Rosas to free the rest of the wishes.

Later, in Magnifico`s study: Simon enters and feels bad for selling out his friend, King Magnifico tells him that what he did was necessary for the safety of the kingdom and that Asha won`t be hurt. He turns Simon into a knight, not in a public wish-granting ceremony though, but right there in his study.

Later, a brainwashed Simon is walking the streets with the company of other knights, searching for Asha and the rest of her friends. Asha sees him and looks for a place to hide. She finds her friends` hideout, not because of Valentino`s butt, but because of his sense of smell. She rallies the rest of her friends, Queen Amaya shows up and joins them.

Asha and her friends start making a plan.

Later, in King Magnifico`s secret lab: King Magnifico has made a staff, Amaya shows up and tells him what Asha and her friends are planning.

Gasp! Queen Amaya is a villain! (Dun dun dunn!)

She and Magnifico sing an evil duet villain song which is kinda similar to "With you by my side".

Asha`s friends infiltrate Magnifico's study to open up the ceiling and free the wishes while Asha plans to distract Magnifico. She and Starboy hides in the woods, she is nervous, Starboy tries to comfort her, so they talk a little. The talking leads to feelings being revealed which leads to singing. They sing "At all costs" and dance a romantic dance, first on the surface of a lake, then high up in the sky. (Thanks to Starboy`s magic.) Starboy gives Asha a magic wand to use as he leaves to help her friends, he then notices that he is getting weaker. Magnifico arrives, he and Asha fights. Magnifico turns out to be Simon disguised with an illusion and he breaks Asha`s wand, Asha finds a way to knock him out using the environment to her advantage.

Her friends almost free the wishes but are betrayed by Queen Amaya. Starboy tries to stop her but she pulls out a dagger and threatens to kill one of Asha`s friends, Magnifico shows up and zaps Starboy with magical chains that he can`t break free from.

Asha returns to the city, is caught by Magnifico, finds Starboy in magical chains and finds out that Queen Amaya was just a mole. Magnifico darkens the sky with clouds so that the people won`t be able to wish on stars.

Asha (to Magnifico): "I believed in you! I thought you were a good king!"

Magnifico: "I`m not a good king. I`m a GREAT king!"

All hope seems lost, Asha starts to sing the reprise to "This wish", her friends and the people of Rosas join her and their singing makes Starboy strong enough to break free from his chains. The breaking of the chains creates a shockwave that knocks Asha, Amaya and Magnifico off the tower. Starboy, still weakened, only has enough strength to save one of them, so he saves Asha.

With Magnifico defeated, his spell powers down as a new day dawns over the kingdom, with the citizens, Asha's mother included, are able to get their wishes back, afterwards, Asha is soon confronted by a regretful Simon, who understands if she doesn`t want to forgive him, but she does as she understands why he did it.

Starboy keeps getting weaker and has to go back, he gives Asha a new wand and the two of them say good bye. She wonders if she`ll ever see him again, he tells her that he`ll be the second star to the right.

With urging from her friends, Asha promises to help others earn their wishes as a Fairy Godmother, aiding everyone in making their dreams come true.

Post-credit scene: One year later: Asha is walking to the wishing tree in her fairy godmother outfit. She walks past a grave stone. Sabino is sitting in the tree playing "When you wish upon a star" on his lute. A tear rolls down Asha`s cheek. After Sabino has played the song he disappears as if he was a ghost. We see that the grave stone that Asha walked past earlier was Sabino`s. She wipes away her tear, looks up at the second star to the right, takes out her wand and teleports to some place where she might be needed.

And that`s how I would do it. Not great but hopefully not bad.

I cut "Knowing what I know now" because it was getting a little tight between songs. It would be hard to fit that song, Magnifico and Amaya`s villain song and "At all costs" so close to each other, while still maintaining a good narrative flow.

At first I wasn`t gonna turn Queen Amaya evil because I couldn`t come up with enough evil stuff for her to do (that I could fit into the plot without making it worse). But then I made her a villain because it would make things harder for Asha and her friends, which would make the movie more interesting.

But like I said before, the movie`s biggest problem is not that the Queen wasn`t evil, but that the writers couldn`t pick a lane when deciding if they wanted to make Magnifico a three-dimensional antagonist or a classic Disney Villain.

And now... a Bonus

One more thing about Frozen 2

Turning Kristoff`s Lost in the woods into a cheesy 1980s rock ballad musicvideo

I was gonna have this in my Frozen 2 CC but forgot and didn`t remember until after I published it. Since I don`t wanna go back and edit it I`ll write it here.

This scene is admittedly entertaining and if you don`t care about tone as long as it`s entertaining it`s fine.

But funny songs works better for funny characters and what Kristoff is singing about feels sincere, which clashes with how the song is executed.

The 1980s rock sound: Lose it.

The visuals: Have Kristoff walking around in the woods, seeing things that, to him, looks like Anna: a pile of rocks, a pile of leaves, a cloud in the sky. Stuff like that.

Probably an unpopular opinion.

It is of course very easy for me to write these because I have the luxury of hindsight. And unlike the filmmakers I didn`t have a movie studio full of corporate suits breathing down my neck, focus grouping the movie to death, forcing in unnecessary changes and pressuring me to get it made before a deadline.

Why do I write these?

For several reasons. I`m nitpicky. Sometimes the movies I criticize aren`t bad, I just like my own ideas better. Sometimes the movies I critize are bad. I care about good storytelling and it`s a fun excerize in creativity and script doctoring.

But also because I have a lot of of free time.

---------------------------------------------

Other movies on my Constructive Criticism list that you can look forward to

Supergirl (1984) Jonah Hex (2010) Dragonball evolution The Spirit (2008) The Dark Knight trilogy

And as usual: English is not my first language, so if my writing doesn`t seem to flow naturally, you know why.

[acquired-stardust]

Daydream Generation: The Lasting Legacy of Akira Toriyama's Work

Here on AcquiredStardust we don't talk about anime enough and we wish that beginning to rectify this could've come under better circumstances. Just what is the Daydream Generation anyway? Join Ash as she attempts the impossible task of summarizing the importance of the 'god of manga' Akira Toriyama after his passing earlier this month in this special tribute.

Late Thursday night news finally broke on social media that beloved manga author Akira Toriyama had passed away several days before, prompting an immediate outpouring of grief the world over. Many of us feel a deep sense of loss in a way unimaginable before his work achieved the level of cultural penetration and ubiquitous veneration that it has, and it is impossible to overstate the singular importance he had in shaping our modern culture.

Responsible for hit manga Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball which quickly found themselves at the forefront of the Japanese pop culture renaissance of the Showa period, Toriyama's work is possessed of a rare combination of an earnest childlike wonder and adventure that is perfectly serviced by an instantly recognizable art style that is something of a rite of passage to for budding artists to imitate. It is in that Showa boom period that the Daydream Generation, a term coined by Toriyama disciple Yoshihiro Togashi's Yu Yu Hakusho particularly as the title of its 5th ending theme, is forged.

It is no overstatement to refer to Akira Toriyama as "the god of manga", and in fact he is referred to as such by Masashi Kishimoto of Naruto fame. It is Kishimoto's generation, coming of age in the Showa era in which Toriyama produces his most significant works, that finds themselves first so captivated by it. Although anime is in the middle of a golden age by the time Toriyama's work is published (lead perhaps most by Leiji Matsumoto of Galaxy Express 999/Captain Harlock fame and Mobile Suit Gundam visionary Yoshiyuki Tomino), Toriyama's work forges a connection with Japanese readers in a way that other work hasn't quite in the same way.

Perhaps it is the clean linework, deceptively simplistic and stylish all at once. Perhaps it is the expressive characters often named with clever puns or food related names. Perhaps it is familiar cultural touchstones and elements of comedy and parody rolled seamlessly into each other. Perhaps it is the refinement in elements popularized by contemporary works like Ring ni Kakero such as the frequent use of tournaments as a framing for the plot Perhaps it is the rare ability for Toriyama to create characters that often appeal equally to male and female readers without either demographic rejecting them, feat only rivaled with any real frequency by authors Rumiko Takahashi and Hiromu Arakawa.

Regardless of the cause, the strong creative voice and earnestness that shines through Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball does something special for children of the Daydream Generation: it makes the job of creating manga seem more attainable than other works of the time do. It gives a generation of children the ability to dream, some for the first time, of their own works. It is in the immediate wake of these works that authors such as Masashi Kishimoto, Yoshihiro Togashi, Tite Kubo and Eiichiro Oda come of age and dream of their own works in direct inspiration from them.

The Daydream Generation, sat in their desks at class fantasizing about a world in which they too would be able to pursue creative dreams in a postwar Japan perhaps otherwise unattainable to them without first being armed with the sense of accessibility that Toriyama provided readers, affectionately refer to Toriyama as 'sensei' nearly universally. It is he who is the god of manga, revered and emulated - Toriyama, more so than any individual, is responsible for the explosion of Japanese pop culture in this era and many manga authors are frank in their admittance of such. It isn't just limited to the world of manga either, as Toriyama has a hand in multiple iconic video games such as Enix's Dragon Quest and Square's Chrono Trigger.

But then something equal parts special and unlikely happens: in the late 1990s Toriyama's work begins to be exported into the west with relatively minimal changes to the source material, and the whole process repeats itself. This time with a constant flow of follow up works by the Daydream Generation to help Japan's global pop culture takeover.

Anime's infiltration into the west played out on college campuses, and in those early days of fandom defined by import VHS and LaserDisc it was nearly unthinkable that it would end up mainstream enough to appear on television. While early ground is gained on anime in the mainstream (particularly Ronin Warriors hitting television in a largely unedited form in 1995 as well as multiple attempts to import Sailor Moon around the same timeframe, not to mention Pokemon's debut in late 1998), it is not until the revamping of Cartoon Network's Toonami block, spearheaded by Dragon Ball Z, that anime would truly arrive in the west.

The importance of Toonami in getting anime in front of the eyes of the generation following the Daydream Generation in America cannot be overstated. It was the first time many of us laid eyes on animation that wasn't an episodic comedy, with more mature themes. It was the first time we had encountered drastic cultural differences inherent in anime. For many of us, particularly in the case of Dragon Ball Z, it was even the first time we began to see animation and even creativity as being something that comes from someone rather than spontaneously generating itself for consumption. For the first time in my memory a mania kicked off with the addition of Dragon Ball Z to Toonami in 1999 that changed the way my generation thought about and consumed media.

Gathered around our own desks ten plus years later, American children male and female alike passionately discussed Dragon Ball Z. We debated power levels, questioned what other planets and races populated the universe of the series, and for the first time we discussed concepts that were unknown to us just a short time before: who was the creator of this series and where did it come from? Mirroring the effect that Toriyama's work had on the Daydream Generation many Milennials and Gen X people, especially those with no prior introduction to anime, found themselves absolutely captivated by Dragon Ball Z. Millions of young people put pencil to paper for the first time to imitate the art style of Toriyama brought to animated glory by the staff at Toei or to write fanfiction. We developed these skills and collaborated with each other now armed with the same sense of approachability that the Daydream Generation had years before us. And then the hits kept coming. Serving as a gateway into a world of animation previously largely unknown in the west, Toonami exploded in the following years.

Starting in 2000 Toonami added Tenchi Muyou, a series almost completely different to Dragon Ball Z which would go on to be an influence in Dana Terrace's recent Disney hit The Owl House, and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. The Gundam franchise, originally popular in Japan contemporaneously with Akira Toriyama's work, had seen many followups and spinoffs in the years after the original series ended and had itself become a titan of Japanese pop culture. Finally hitting the west using Dragon Ball Z as a bridge, it was the first time many of us were introduced to animation as a medium for communicating complicated political ideas.

Perhaps most significantly, as is easily observed through diving into the wealth of old abandoned websites from the Geocities era, Gundam Wing served as a vehicle through which young people were introduced to male characters that all seemed to have romantic chemistry with each other. Having both lived through the era and examining it in retrospect I say with all sincerity that it was Gundam Wing that helped begin the yaoi craze in the west, by then a well established thing in Japan, and was therefore absolutely instrumental in beginning to soften the attitudes of young people towards queer people in the west.

A strong hunger for more of this extremely different kind of animation had been created and the floodgates were about to open. Years immediately following saw the broadcast of memorable anime such as Outlaw Star and The Big O. 2003 saw Nobuhiro Watsuki's unavoidably Japanese historical fiction piece Rurouni Kenshin debut in America, Yoshihiro Togashi's Yu Yu Hakusho finally make the transition to the west followed by Eiichiro Oda's One Piece and Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto in 2005. Each of these works massively impacted my generation and empowered us in a different way: whereas the Daydream Generation saw the opportunity to create their own works my generation had the luxury of exploring these works, full of ideas and states of being unknown to us before then. We were armed with the ability not just to create our own works but to create ourselves and to decide who we would be far more liberally than we would have otherwise been comfortable doing in the past.

It is worth noting that Toonami did not have total dominion over the boom of anime in America: while there were others in later years, latenight programming [Adult Swim] pursued an older viewer who was hungry for even more of what the wide world of anime had to offer. Rumiko Takahashi's Inuyasha was an early favorite alongside the likes of such classics as Cowboy Bebop, Trigun and FLCL. Already massively influential in his own right, it was using Akira Toriyama's work as a foothold that quite literally proved to be the breakthrough moment for anime in the west and provide any of these incredible shows with an audience here.

As such there are few people you can point to as singularly responsible for shaping the way our culture (and that's culture at large - not just pop culture) works. Akira Toriyama's name is up there with the likes of Walt Disney and George Lucas in its weight. His works and the bridge they provided to other works helped to reshape the way we communicated with each other, the ways in which we saw ourselves, and the things we dared to dream. Millions and millions of people pursued writing or drawing, or the powerful physiques of Akira Toriyama's characters featured in Dragon Ball, and those who were inspired by him continue to share his work with their offspring ensuring his timeless classics remain in circulation perpetually.

He is, while not the origin point, the biggest guiding hand in so many aspects of our culture and the man most singularly responsible for the exporting of Japanese pop culture to the world. He has left behind an incredible legacy that few could ever hope to achieve and fewer yet will, and more importantly he inspired generations of people to be and do things they otherwise never would've thought possible. Both directly and indirectly his fingerprints are all over what you enjoy perhaps without even realizing it, and it's unlikely that will ever go away no matter how far we get from his life and work.

[thefiresontheheight]

1. The Roud Folk Song Index lists it as the 39th Child Ballad. Comparisons to be made to Type 425 in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, under the entry “The Search for the Lost Husband.” TvTropes.com has more to say on the page titled “Shapeshifting Lover.” A story iterated upon in many forms. A young woman, almost always a woman, sometimes virginal, is wedded, or falls in love with, or is taken away by a man under some sort of curse. He is horse. Or a lindworm. Or a wolf. Sometimes only at night. Sometimes only when the fairies who cursed him make him so. He is a Beast, she must undo whatever evil makes him so, normally through a kiss, true love, wedding him, or, in some of the less sanitized versions, simply sex. 1. The first time they hooked up he cried afterwords, which she didn’t understand at the time. They were sophomores in college. It wasn’t her first time. It should have been casual. It was up until he cried in the morning. She felt so bad that she suggested they get breakfast together, when she had simply meant to leave. At breakfast he calmed, he talked about his life. Quiet, nerdy, hiding in his hoodie. There was something vulnerable there, and she liked it. She gave him her number after. 2. Later thinkers and writers have revisited this trope. Sometimes it is played straight, depicted on the screen by Disney. Sometimes this is (falsely I would argue) called Stockholm Syndrome. Sometimes this is, it must be said, simply used for purposes of sex and titillation. I think, however, that the continued persistence of this motif in media, it’s emotional resonance, demands further explication of its longevity. What about this appeals to us in the modern day, when we (ideally) can no longer ascribe to it a moral of young women being forced to accept arranged marriages? 2. They’re a few months into their time dating, after long arguments about that label, when the crying returns. This time no longer after sex, but she feels the emotion is the same. You should leave me, he says. Break up. You should do it now before I hurt you, he says. And she, not wanting to point out that she is bigger and stronger than he is, gently asks why he says something like that? In there time together he has been nothing if not careful. Thoughtful. Kind. One of the most soft and charming people she knows. He cannot explain it in any satisfying way. He simply insists that there is something dark inside him. Something he has sought to deny far too long, and will not be able to deny forever. That if she stays she will be hurt, simply as a function of loving him. He will one day lose the fight against himself. She does not know what to do but hold him. 3. I think some of the appeal of this trope can be found in reference to another motif of our pop cultural mythos. That of the werewolf. We are used to seeing werewolves depicted from the viewpoint of the hunted. But there is perpetually the question of what such a transformation looks like from the viewpoint of the animal itself. A human transforming into a beast demands of a human audience that we consider what it must be like to monster. To be capable of hurting those we love. And yet, I at least wonder, if we are capable of hurting those loved ones, do we not still hope that they will love us as we transform? As we become different, monstrous in shape and utterly unknown even to them? 3. They graduate. Together. Move into an apartment above a Taiwanese restaurant. She gets a shitty job that has health insurance for them both. He does commission from home. It’s not perfect. There is some part of him he never shares and she does her best to make peace with that. To accept that wherever his mind goes when he is watching her put on a dress, do her make up, whatever he ponders while watching the women passing by the street outside, or after they have sex, that is something he has chosen not to share. But instead they share popcorn. And bills. And shitty inside jokes. And that time they got accidentally drunk at his mothers remarriage to Craig (fucking Craig amiright?) and got found by the staff of the hotel whose ballroom she had rented, having passed out near the punch bowl. It’s a life. It’s their life. She tries to give him space within it. 4. Consider again the Ballad of Tam Lin. The idea of Janet in the woods, holding onto her lover as wicked fairies transform him. To something ice cold. To something burning hot. To a horrible slimed thing writhing in her embrace. To a snarling wolf-monster, a beast of wicked claws and gnashing teeth. Who has, at one time or another, when circumstances reveal that which we keep hidden, felt like that? 4. She gets home unexpectedly early one spring afternoon in her late twenties. Janet from accounting somehow set fire to a microwave, which set off the sprinklers, and no one could get anything done that day. A small treat, and it validates her admittedly flash-judgment of Janet. And as she unlocks the door, flowers in hand, she finds him in front of the closet they share, and understands the secret that has been kept from her for almost a decade. 5. And then of course, the tales and legends end. Normally in the curse being lifted, the lover being returned to normal. Beast is a beast no more, the Lindworm is again a prince, Tam Lin may leave the woods a man. A simple ending to a simple story. But for us living in reality? Outside of the tidy constraints of fiction? Perhaps there is no ending. Perhaps we remain a beast, remain a wolf, remain cursed, and monstrous and strange. Perhaps we endlessly transform into new, and more twisted shapes, and have only hope that our loves will hold us nonetheless. That even if we become something that may hurt them, something they may not understand, they will still love us. 5. It is hard. It would be nice to say there are not challenges. She always thought she was bi, but the label of straight was easy, and she never had to examine it when she was with him. She keeps on stealing her dresses. There are good times too. Times where she looks at this woman still becoming, someone she had loved for a decade and still barely knows, and sees how brightly she smiles, and feels so proud. But it is above all else hard. The crying does not go away. Estrogen works wonders, but cannot stop dysphoria, and hurt, and pain. It is hard to love her. But she is trying. And when the fights over labels and new boundaries and shifting emotions break out, or the dread comes, or the weeping, she does what she can. She holds her partner, no matter the form she takes.

[bleucaesura]

Yup. So my day has been GREAT…

I went and managed to fuck up the only job I’ve loved because - well - I’m ME.

And my depressed, AuDHD, dysfunctional ass is spiraling cuz - the FUCK do I do NOW?

I’ve FINALLY fully unmasked and straight up cannot do a regular peopling job again… It will KILL me.

How does one go about getting a Glucose Guardian when one is ACE (demi) and therefore sex is not a favour I can be offering?

Guess what I’m saying is… Any Glucose Guardians in the market for a:

Thirty *cough* SOMETHING *cough* / Female (she, her) / AuDHD / Demi (hetero) sexual / Pan Romantic

Basically a cat stuck in a human body

Cat obsessed / Writer / Artist / Crafter /

Would-rather-be-sleeping

Loves to binge watch stuff

Good emotional support human

Jokes mainly consist of pop culture references (and fuck you I’m hilarious even if you DONT get my jokes - I will laugh all on my lonesome)

Big ‘ol nerd. Current obsession: Helluva Boss. Other fandoms (not at all limited to): Doctor Who, Good Omens, Star Trek, Star Wars, Hazbin Hotel, animes (too many to list), Supernatural, Owl House… and so so much more

Love bright, colorful, shiny shit. (Favourite colour? Fucking “rainbow” bish!) Call it my Magpie Syndrome.

I’m a delight. Damaged and depressed. But a fucking delight!

So! Who’s buying?

Not really though.

But seriously… Pray for me and my financial future 🫥

[captain-crowfish]

The Warrior Cats Phenomenon

A beloved xenofiction series that is, in reality, incredibly mediocre, is subsequently glamorized and over-inflated by the perception of adolescents, influenced by the cultural landscape at the time of the fandom's mainstream conception. The era of the early 2000s brought about the popularization of the internet, and with it came a new sub-division in alt. youth pop culture; which for the sake of this tangent I will refer to as "Alternative animal expressionism." In less formal terms, just about all the artsy kids on deviantart had a fursona that walked on four legs and was adorned with an abundance of accessories and bright colors, as well as punk/emo-resembling hair styles. This is reflective of the commonplace visual aesthetics we now refer to as MySpace/MyScene subculture. MySpace was designed as a platform for older teenagers and young adults, and just so happened to collide with the rise of Youtube, and with it came two other communities that were skyrocketing in popularity; AMVs and furries. The history of furries is too long to elaborate on here, however many of them were pioneers in developing crucial components of code still used in modern operating systems. What defines a "Furry" is debated, but mostly revolves around an enjoyment of anthropomorphized animals. arguably one of if not the most popular forms of media depicting animals with such characteristics at the time was Walt Disney's The Lion King, and the growing number of forum websites meant that multiple forums and websites were bound to surface that were entirely dedicated to The Lion King and its fans, serving as a dedicated space to discuss the film, and potentially their own fan-made characters. AMV is an incredibly broad and potentially outdated term. The Acronym "AMV" was first coined as "Anime music video." Although for reasons I will touch on a bit later it can also mean "Animated music video." Again, with the notoriety of forum websites and online fan spaces, information can much more easily be found, given, and spread. Anime was still a relatively new concept in the world of Western entertainment (and was first popularized by, you guessed it, Furries.), and until files and videos could easily be shared over the internet, the only way to watch Anime was to get your hands on a physical VHS tape, which at the time still proved to be difficult and an incredibly niche practice, especially if you wanted subtitled or dubbed Anime.

Now in the 2000's, the popularity of Anime has increased almost tenfold. And while animation is a media that can be easily translated is necessary and enjoyed by a Western Audience, Japanese music did not quite reach the same level of popularity, at least not alongside Anime. Western audiences often combined clips of various Anime TV shows and films to music, most of which was Western-made. The intent, editing style, and end result of each fan-made music video often differed greatly from each other, although a common idea was evidently present: The music landscape at the time, brought on by the newest wave of counter culture, could be relatable to the situations of the animated characters. (This was not a completely new concept, and full disclosure I do not know how people made fan made music videos before computer video editing software was invented. According to Wikipedia, "The first AMV was created in 1982 by 21-year-old Jim Kaposztas. [He] hooked up two videocassette recorders to each other and edited the most violent scenes from Star Blazers to "All You Need Is Love" by the Beatles to produce a humorous effect.") These were also sometimes referred to as "Anime mixes", particularly if they contained footage from more than one property. Similar media also included MMVs ("Manga music videos"), FMVs (literally "Fan Music Videos") and HMVs (which were obviously created for a more adult audience).

The oldest AMV on Youtube (at least that I could find) After some time, the appeal of creating a fan-made music video spread to other fandoms (again through social cross-pollination, i.e. someone who was a fan of both Anime and The Lion King was more likely to adopt these mediums), particularly The Lion King, and fan made music videos using footage from the film and its sequels began to surface, although still using the "AMV" Moniker. The next logical step for anyone who enjoyed Western mainstream animation was to include other Disney properties in fan-made music videos. But why stop at mainstream? Why stop at films? the medium soon evolved to contain and pay tribute to all kinds of Western animation, from Walt Disney to cult classics such as the likes of Watership Down, to TV shows like Avatar The Last Airbender (the latter of which was often understandably grouped in with Anime and AMVs).  In 2003, a group of authors underneath the pseudonym Erin Hunter released the first book in what would become one of the most popular and most beloved xenofiction book series of all time. Warriors: Into the Wild. Like most budding fandoms, Warrior Cats also sprouted dedicated fan websites for discussion of the series. The up-and-coming Warrior Cats fandom found itself somewhere on the spectrum between the anime and furry communities, combining the ingenuity and creative thinking with the"Sparkledog" furry art style. However, the more "visual" creative types lacked almost any pre-existing media to work with, and before 2009, fan-made music videos often consisted of picture slideshows with simple or non-existent effects and transitions, with some scattered fan-made animations here and there. And then, everything changed when a small team of artists and animators driven purely by devotion, passion, and seemingly sheer creative will, released the first episode of their new Anime-inspired, episodic retelling of the first Warriors book. SSSWarriorCats was so Anime-inspired, both in animation style, direction and pacing, perfectly straddling the balance between the Anime and furry communities, respectfully. The series, although technically incomplete, still garners an enormous fanbase to this day. Evidently Warrior Cats fans have been inspired by these animations for over a decade, and it's not hard to see why. And thus the release and subsequent releases of episodes sparked what is regarded as the “Classic” period in Warrior Cats fan animations, and also sparked the creation of “MAPs” (“Multi-Animator-Projects”), as opportunities to collaborate with fellow artists. To summarize, Warrior Cats had the ingenuity of Anime fans to create music videos out of already-existing content, but upon realizing they had none, looked to the furry, tactile-based artistic side of their fandom’s conception to create it, instead of waiting for an official adaptation to surface. (And considering what Tencent animation is doing… I’m glad they did.) In other, perhaps more unserious terminology, the Warrior Cats fandom is the cultural brainchild of the Anime and Furry communities. To summarize, Warrior Cats had the ingenuity of Anime fans to create music videos out of already-existing content, but upon realizing they had none, looked to the furry, tactile-based artistic side of their fandom’s conception to create it, instead of waiting for an official adaptation to surface. (And considering what Tencent animation is doing… I’m glad they did.) In other, perhaps more unserious terminology, the Warrior Cats fandom is the cultural brainchild of the Anime and Furry communities. The Warrior Cats Fandom continues to persist, even after two decades, seemingly out of sheer artistic will. But, of course, the question remains as to why all of this happened, why does the possibility for these ideas to occur exist in the first place? The answer is simple, The perception of adolescents that such amalgamated fan-made media can be perceived as "mature" or even "edgy" is not one that has disappeared from our culture and probably never will. Cringe culture is dead.

[magicaldogtoto]

There's a way fandom gets bogged down in details and facts of their favorite things that I sometimes wonder could be impeding actual creativity and ideas in the long run.

Knowing the history of the fandom/genre you're in is important, but to expect it to be omnipresent when someone brings up a thing they like about something (especially as a "gotcha") feels too limiting.

I keep thinking back to when Guillermo del Toro made Pacific Rim, and he mentioned in interviews that he made a conscious choice to make the film while avoiding looking back at his favorite mecha shows and kaiju works as much as he could during the creative process. His reasoning made sense: he didn't want Pacific Rim to be a movie that could only be enjoyed if someone knew about Godzilla or Patlabor, among other things. And it seems to have paid off; a lot of Gen Z mecha fans I see online seem to have fond memories of Pacific Rim. Which probably also explains why Uprising was so damaging to them that they'd rather pretend it never happened.

This even applied to the design of the film, since Del Toro told the artists to use real-world technology and wildlife as inspiration for the Jaegers and Kaiju. It goes well with this comment I saw once that a problem with modern mecha works (In their opinion, anyway) is that the people working on them are more fans of mecha anime and manga as opposed to, say, fans of the machinery that inspired those early mecha that they reference. It's true that you don't have to fix what isn't broken, but I'd say repeating the same designs over and over again also has the risk of going stale.

I keep thinking about this in contrast to discourse I saw regarding Amphibia. People like pointing out how the show references classic anime, and it's not the first American cartoon to do that. But sometimes I wonder: if you pack in so many references to older things in your own work--instead of, I don't know, going further back and looking up other non-pop culture things for inspiration--how much of you is in the thing you create?