#top 10 vs personal top ten

[thisbluespirit]

Meme: Top 10 AO3 works vs Personal Top 10

I was tagged by @captain-aralias Thank you @captain-aralias! <3

Rules: List your "top 10" (or up to 10 if you haven't written that many) fics ranked by kudos on AO3. Are you surprised by what's most popular to your readers? Then, under a cut, provide your ranking of your personal top 10 fics (with explanations if you want!), and then tag a few fellow writers!

AO3 top 10 by kudos:

The Spirit of St Mary Mead (Miss Marple)

So We Meet at Last (Miss Marple/Dracula 1968)

it's the rain that will strengthen your soul (Star Wars Prequels)

Five Times the Doctor Got in the Way of Captain Janeway (and One Time They Got Along Just Fine) (DW/Star Trek: Voyager)

By the Book (Original)

Observation (Miss Marple)

We'll Burn That Barn When We Come To It (Hist RPF)

Not Bad For a First Attempt (Georgette Heyer)

Some With Arrows, Some With Traps (SW Prequels)

Dodging a Bullet (Doctor Who)

My own top 10.

A lot of these are fine as top stories, I think! Even if I think something is good, I don't trust that it is, if other people haven't said so. I mean, proof of the pudding is in the eating and all that. That said, there are definitely some random things that have got into this list.

(Dodging a Bullet has been pretty well unloved for YEARS, but looking at it it seems like maybe someone recced it last year somewhere or something? It suddenly had a bunch of bookmarks and has pushed out other things. Plus all the Star Wars ones have moved positions again.)

If I sort by comments, I think those are much better, so in no particular order:

The Spirit of St Mary Mead (Miss Marple yuletide fic, where Miss Marple is a Genius Loci, but it's still just canon. It was a great prompt, I think I wrote it fine, and it's top of my works by every measure, and there's no ship effect, so... who am I to argue?)

We'll Burn That Barn When We Come To It (William of Normandy/Harold AU in which the Battle of Hastings involves a lot more sheep and bees and a lot less people being killed. It's 'found texts' type fic, another Yuletide one, it was huge fun to write and it got a great response, so again, I'm not going to disagree!)

By the Book - I am SO happy and amazed this is on both lists. It was original fic written for Het Exchange (the tiniest exchange, lol!! XD) a few years back, for the prompt of Librarian/Demon she accidentally summoned. I got to use all my rl library knowledge and it, er, sort of stormed the exchange (it was VERY tiny, did I say?), and I would place it in my top ten, yes. I don't know how people still keep finding it, but I'm so delighted that they do, and they still like it.

it's the rain that will strengthen your soul - again, yes. This is a five times Padme Lives Obidala AU where they go on the run with the twins post RotS. It was another for an exchange (Space Swap, I think). I wrote it in mid lockdown, I buried myself in the Wookieepedia, and I was pleased with this one, and it's gradually got more love as the time has gone on, and I think it is a good fic; a very gentle story of healing that was probably a lot due to the times.

Okay, but there we diverge, because I think all of these are that bit better than the others in that list (which include at least 2 pieces of flash fic, one of which was written to cover a wrangling error I made long ago). Mind you, I think in some cases, it's because I Did The Research Dammit Appreciate This People, or because I plotted harder than usual, but most of these are or have been in top ten positions on AO3 as well:

(5) movements of the mind (Twelfth Night) - I wrote Shakespeare fic for Yuletide (about Feste & Olivia), and pulled it off. I had to watch TN a lot and then got 16th C jokes off the internet.

(6) Truth and Compromise (Discworld) - so old I hesitated a while over it, but I think I genuinely got the tone right (which is never easy for something like this) and I occasionally still read it myself if I want something to follow up The Truth with Wiliam/Sacharissa.

(7) Cul-de-Sac (No hawkers, traders, cold callers, canvassers or purveyors of religious knowledge) (Sapphire & Steel) - I've written a lot of S&S I'm really pleased with. It was hard to choose one (I do think I've done some good and unusual things for it), but this stands up and was very well liked.

(8) One Step Forward (Two Steps Back) (Jonathan Creek) It's very timey-wimey and I had to write accurate Maddy and Jonathan and be funny, and I do think I achieved all of the above, even if it took quite a while.

(9) Salt of the Earth (DW) I always include this one in my self-recs, but there's a reason. I still think it's good. It's about a very minor character, but it was one I'd wanted to write ever since I first watched Image of the Fendahl.

(10) i love the rose both red and white (Shadow of the Tower) Maybe this is another 'i did the research' one, but it's very obscure and still has done pretty well in my stats, so I don't think it's just me. But I did do the research, and I tried to push myself as to style for it as well, I think.

I do like Some With Arrows, Some With Traps, but it's another SW Obidala exchange fic, and it is very surprising that it's as high in kudos because it has never got many comments, and I just thought it wasn't much liked. But it has an OC droid and was as much 'SW fun adventure but Obidala canon divergence' as I could make it. (Still, I it's a short story that clearly in my head should have been 80k and never ever will be, so I think it's fair to swap it out for variety.)

I do not know what is with the Miss Marple thing. It just happened. (Those are pretty much my only Miss Marple stories! It's a rare fandom! It is a mystery.) It's pretty funny, though, and I will be sad if one day the ships beat Miss Marple from the lists!

Tagging (if wanted/not already tagged): @maryellencarter @pers-books @lurking-latinist @herawell @scarletmanuka @human-nxture @bunn1cula @foreignobjecticus @jurijurijurious

[feeder86]

Feeder 86: The Top Ten

Can you believe that the Feeder86 ‘Orginal Gainer Stories’ blog will soon be posting the two hundredth story? I thought of many ways to celebrate. But then I stopped and realised that I would probably be best using the time to address one of the questions I get asked about most frequently. Which of the stories do I personally like the most?

This was not an easy list to make as I very rarely go back to re-read my own work after I have finished editing and posting them. This is not because I do not like them, but because I always see bits that I want to change. Nevertheless, this project was the perfect opportunity to revisit a few oldies that I remember being very proud of at the time. 

Hopefully you will see this list for what it is: a glimpse into how I write, my motivations and drive; rather than just a self indulgent pat on the back for myself. Yuck!

So, with that being said, let us begin...

#10 The Feeders’ Formula: This tale certainly had to be placed into the list. After all, it is the one that kicked off ‘Original Gainer Stories’ all those years ago. There are many amazing examples of instant body weight transformation stories out there. I felt that I needed to write this one as my contribution to the genre. It went down well at the time. I swiftly wrote a Part Two, then followed it up with others (The Feeders’ Formation, The Feeders’ Formalities, The Feeders’ Foreclosure, The Feeders’ Forecast, The Feeders’ Former Years), becoming something of an ongoing saga in recent years; focusing on the different Feeders from that very first meeting. As a writer who sometimes struggles to find the ending, these are wonderful to write as they all have the same inevitable conclusion. There is also so much freedom to be had when you’re working with characters who are pretty much pure evil. I know so much more about the Feeders than I’ve ever written down, so it is great to tease out those little details with each new installment. The newest of these tales (The Feeders’ Foreplay) was the darkest yet, but seems to have provoked a very favourable reaction from many. Who knows what the Feeders may get up to next? I do! And you can find out too, once we start a whole new sweeps season of stories this April! Come with me into The Feeders' Fortress!

#9 Only One: Where do I start? Only One has my absolute favourite type of feeder. Ben is big, sexy and very in control. He’s one of those rare types of guys who always stays on top and is a step ahead of absoultely everyone he meets. Who wouldn’t fall for him? I certainly did! In fact, I loved him so much that I wrote an entire prequel for him (and none of you even noticed!) Check out Rewire if you want to see how Ben became the man we know and love.

#8 The Wright Boys: The idea of a weight gain that cannot be stopped or controlled is a tempting one for many. How much easier would it be if you didn’t have to second guess your choices or face the pressure to lose weight? This was the first tale of what I see as ‘The Curses’ saga that eventually bled into many other stories (including another one on this list!) and culminated in Wright vs Beckett. However, this story remains my personal favourite of these. If you’re a fan of looking for crossovers between my stories, these are some of the most explicitly linked. I followed it up with a spin-off tale (The Wright Boys: DNA), but continue to have ideas about how I could go back to these boys in the future. Watch this space.

#7 Making Monsters: The title of this story really does give away how I felt about it at the time. This is quite the saga, spread over into not just two, but three parts! It began as a story that was very similar to Blackmailed; a tale that I had written previously about a guy voyeristically enjoying seeing his friend fatten up her boyfriend. However, this story evolved even further for me, with Tommy’s love of eating and gaining weight being both his greatest love, and his biggest shame. His denial only heightened the tension for me, and, when he does eventually give in, the gains feel all the more satisfying as a result.

#6 The Pig Feed: It’s not easy to write a gainer story where there isn’t another character spurring the events along and encouraging things. In this tale however, that role is given to a very tasty and surprisingly addictive pig feed mixture that Steve gets himself hooked on. It’s a story that I really enjoyed writing and still feel very happy with. I have considered writing more stories around this interesting feed. However, I am yet to do so; deciding (for now at least) that things are perhaps best left as they are. But, feel free to let me know your thoughts on this.

#5 Farm Boy: Whether you grew up in a big city, or a small rural community, like Hayden in this story, we can all relate to having desires and attractions that those around us don’t understand. And, thanks to how well connected we are these days, we now know what it’s like to realise that you’re not actually alone, and the whirlwind of excited emotions that follow. I enjoyed writing this story because I, quite simply, fell completely in love with Hayden. As kinky as he was, he still retained that fresh faced innocence throughout. If any of my characters were destined to be together forever, I imagine that these two would be my top choice.

#4 Keeping a Crush: This is one of those stories that I wrote in a matter of hours, and I was so pleased with it when I was done. Getting the train to go to work is not necessarily something that many Americans have to do, and so the location had to be switched to the UK (quite refreshing, I thought!). For me, it’s one of those really rare instances where placing very solid restrictions on the structure of a story (In this case, having it all take place during the commute to and from work) and finding that it actually elevates the sexual tension and mood. All scenes take place in public settings. All conversations could, in theory, be overheard. These days, so many people meet online and flirt for weeks by messaging back and forth, before they even see each other for the first time. Nowadays, for better or for worse, the actual, real fantasy is finding a connection with someone you just see in the real world; perhaps with a person you literally just met on the way to work...

If you’ve not read this one, I really would highly recommend it.

#3 To the Max: Stories with a magical element to them are either loved or hated. However, I find that this tale walks that line very successfully. Ned gets his hands on a love potion and makes straight guy, Max, fall for him. I’m sure we’ve all been there with that fantasy! However, it is in the consequences of inviting someone into your life, someone that you actually know very little about, that the entire eroticism of this story is based. I won’t spoil it for those who have not read it, but believe me when I say that things soon start getting very interesting indeed…

#2 Tommy’s Two Hundred. Don’t recognise this one? Well, that's because none of you have read it yet. 

Now, I’m not just saying this because I want you all to come back for the two hundreth story, but this is genuinely one of my absolute favourites. For my big milestone stories in the past, I have written something specifically for that event (Wright vs Beckett, The Seven Feeders of Finn). However, this is just a tale that I adored writing and decided to hold back for you all, especially for this occasion. It’s a story of domination and submission within a fairly open, but very kinky, relationship. Strapping Hunter plays the part of a very controlling feeder, making me break many of my own rules and stretching my boundaries to the absolute limits. You’ll either love him, or you’ll hate him. That’s all I’m going to say…

Also, this story is going to be the first Feeder86 story that will be fully illustrated. It’s all thanks to the amazing talents of Spellwell9 who was given an advanced copy and asked to imagine the characters in four different scenes. I cannot wait for you to see this!

Put it in your diary. All will be revealed from Friday 5th April…

#1 F80 Control: This is perhaps a controvercial choice (especially as my #1). I have previously admitted that this story strays a little from its purpose of being a gainer story. In other words, I get very caught up in the background story that is being told. However, I feel that the science fiction genre is surprisingly underused in tales of weight gain. Yet, the combination of Aritificial Intelligence and submission seemed, to me, to be the perfect blend. It really is a beast of a story if you can follow it all the way through to its conclusion. 

With the advent of improved artificial intelligence software in recent years, I felt the time was right to develop the world further, with the addition of F80 Ctrl Alt Del; a spin-off tale set slightly before the main story. Then, unable to help myself, I followed this up again with another companion story, F80: Kidnap and Control. 

The reason I chose this universe as my favourite is because this is where I am happiest writing. With AI, I don’t need to consider the morality or motivations - I know exactly what their aims are and I can see multiple ways in which it will cause conflict with humanity (and their waistlines!) I would also love to write more for this world one day, and I even left a little unused subplot in the last story that I think would provide the perfect starting-off point for another chapter. Will I ever write it? Well, we’ll have to wait and see…

So, there you have it! The the complete list!

This was a much harder exercise than I expected when I first embarked upon it. Stories like: Jiggle the Jock, Meticulous, Rule Number One, Freaks, Leftovers I and II, Ethan: The Secret Feeder and, not fogetting The Consequences I, II and III all crept in and out of the list, unfortunatley missing out on the final cut. There are many, many others, of course. But this list cannot go on forever...

So, why not tell me which ones were your favourites? Feel free to write in the comments and post a link to any other stories that you have enjoyed from myself, or from other authors. Hopefully, if we all work together, this could become a great resource for people in the future, filled with signposts and reccommendations.  

Also, don’t forget the Feeder86 Contents page where you can find links and descriptions of all the 200 stories posted so far (as well as plot outlines for upcoming tales as well). Please continue to enjoy the vast catalogue of stories, and even have a go yourself! I love supporting the many new gainer fiction writers who contact me. So please do get in touch if you need advice, or to talk through your ideas. Let’s all encourage a whole new generation of people to get typing away! I’m sure you will cheer them on just as much as I will.

Thank you to everyone who supports the stories blog here on Tumblr. Keep checking in every Friday througout April for a whole new sweeps season to celebrate this milestone. Stories will include: Tommy's Two Hundred, Train for a Gain, The Feeders' Fortress and The 1% (a companion story to The 5%). For now, I thank you all for taking time out to sit and read the very bizarre tales that sprout from my mind. You are all wonderful.

Happy 200 stories!

Feeder86

[sunkissedliterarylightofchrist]

I never thought that I would say anything like this, but here it is: I think Twenty One Pilots should take the Dude Perfect route.

Let me explain.

For the first ten years of being Dude Perfect, they just seemed like normal guys. Having an overnight miracle success of a YouTube channel that did sports trick shots, and over time expanded to humor, funny skits making fun of stereotypes, challenges and battles, and became a kid’s entertainment thing. Parents got really excited about them because they were super clean, and one of the only channels that many felt like they could press play on and walk away. A lot of people could tell that there was a glimmer of something special about them, but nobody could quite put their finger on it. But as more time passed, and the more successful they got, the more hints they dropped. They kept referencing Bible verses or Christian values in their videos, but it was a blink-and-its-gone deal. Something that made you go 'huh' over.

Then one day, almost five years ago now, their documentary dropped and BAM! It becomes VERY obvious how Christian they are. Speedrun through it and you'll see. And then, if you go digging into old stuff of theirs, they still have a lot of the same alluding to someone 'greater', but it was just less obvious at the time. They've been proclaiming Christ's name since Day One, just in different ways. But now its more bold then ever. I saw this really funny short comparing them then vs now that went "DP in 2012: *trick shot happens* 'Let's go!' DP now: *trick shot happens* 'Let's go, praise God!'" And its so true! It's beautiful to see. Now, after each one of their live shows, they give a short, 5-10 minute presentation of the gospel message. And every podcast or interview that I've seen them do since has them talking about Jesus in some way, shape, or form, in a very obvious manner, even if the interviewer is trying to steer them away from that topic. They can't shut up about Christ.

They reached the height of fame, and saw that they had to point all of their success to the source- Jesus. And they've done it incredibly well.

They're still the same funny guys who make the same type of vidoes- mainstream on their channel, they don't talk about Christianity all the time. In fact, in the videos themselves, they've kinda had the same quiet references and pointing to glory to someone else that they always have. But now, with everything else, they've staked their claim on God so boldy for the entire world to see, and have no problem with their company going to pot as long as God is glorified and they can show others the why behind what they're doing.

So. How does this go back to Twenty One Pilots?

Tyler and Josh have made it in music. Top of the industry, to some extent. And this entire time, they've had lots of Christian imagery and ever so obviously talking about it without every really solidly talking about it. But they've never commited. Never hung up a banner for Christ and proclaimed Him and the Gospel to the world. And I think they really need too.

And I'm saying the 'Dude Perfect route' specifically, because they don't need to do a total 180 and now only ever have Christian worship as their music. (Although that would be AWESOME and I would not mind it at all- same as I would love it if DP started a full-on Christian ministry or something like that.) They can still do similar stuff in their music, but just be bolder about it, and then in interviews and more 'public' situations point everything back to Christ, and SAY that's exactly what drives them and who they are OBVIOUSLY, not only live off of imagery and double-meaning anymore.

Because what's the point of Paul writing Romans 1:16 if we as believers aren't going to live it out?

Yes, as soon as you say 'Jesus' some people will automatically be driven away. DP experienced that. I'm sure Tyler and Josh have to, on a smaller level in their personal lives perhaps. But thinking logistically here, if they crashed and went kaput tommorow, they'd have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. And thinking what God calls for us to do here, they honestly seem to be avoiding it at this point. I don't know. But there will never be any point of them talking about living for something greater than yourself if you never say what that something (someone) is. That's the conclusion Dude Perfect came to, and the one I hope Tyler and Josh come to as well.

[qsmp-yaoi-island]

Now that Purgatory (round 1??) is over I wanna do a more concise review on it. Warning for possible neg and long post, I just wanna talk about my personal opinion with it:

The event itself: I wanna say first that the most fun part of this event was the CCs. The event itself was... the least fun part. I understand the point of purgatory was to suffer, but from a content creator point you have to take your audience into account. To spend your limited time running back to your body for 30 minutes - 2 hours to get back to your body was just one part of the frustration and then pile people hunting you for points on top of that, it's bound to get people upset. People have already talked about how the biggest problem was the lack of testing for the event, so it they had to balance the event as it was ongoing. The constant changing rules made every victory feel less about skill and more about exploiting the rules/Who had the most people on that day.

Meta vs. Lore: This has been a problem with the qsmp for a while now, but it's never been more apparent with purgatory. All of the hints that were thrown around vague or not about the cursed team caused so much confusion. Cellbit said a really good point about it early on: "Why would they have an event where one team was bound to win? You're grinding for 10 hours each day just to give up and let one team win." <- paraphrased. So we were faced with a conundrum where we're unsure if we take the hints as something to consider in the competition of the game, or just play what the admins intended. And the balancing having to be done by the players for no enchants, lead to a lot of anger over disagreeing with that rule was in rp or not.

Was it worth it the reward?: First impressions, I want to say no. The coming days will probably change my mind but for now to justify two weeks of ten hours a day of grinding for a cliffhanger is pretty defeating. Multiple cc's have said they want a break after how intense this event has been and now they don't really get a reward for it, and will probably have to do it again. The drama was good, the emotions were high, but you cannot keep a story going on hopelessness forever. And now that they're going back to the island it's undetermined how this is gonna effect the characters in lore and feels like again, everything is put on hold for now.

I loved this event, the admins did so well despite it's flaws. My only hope is from here is that things start to get solved, the Eye being introduced at this point has really muddled with all the current mystery of the Fed and Resistance already had going on, and it's spreading out the focus far too much. We need answers not more villains.

That being said I'm excited to see where they take it from here. It really jumpstarted my love for the server all over again: it had tons of good interactions we wouldn't have gotten otherwise, intense gameplay, and tons of good character driven content. But man, I want off this wild ride.

[pinkykats-place]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "pinkykats-place "?

Hi, tough to narrow it down but here are 10 of my fav fics I’ve ever read

Note: no bakudeku fics because I already answered an ask post on my fav fics for that pairing and no reader inserts in this post (maybe I’ll make a separate top 10 reader insert list)

How Does It Feel?

Summary: Kuroko was found beaten and unconscious, hanging by his wrists from a basketball hoop in Kaijou's gym with a message cut into his chest and stomach: HEY GENERATION OF MIRACLES. HOW DOES IT FEEL? The GoM are determined to find who hurt him and make them pay, but along the way must face the mistakes they made in middle school, and realize the pain their actions caused others.

Eraserhead and His Feral Dumpster Child

Summary: Izuku is quirkless, feral, and full of dragon traits inherited from his father.

Aizawa took one look at him after finding him in a dumpster and was ready to sign the adoption papers.

No one who knows Aizawa personally know how to feel about this.

Puppy, Sprite, and Angel

(Deku-Centric)

Summary: Tomura liked the boy because he was so submissive.

Dabi possessed the boy because the boy needed him.

Overhaul liked the boy because he was quirkless.

In which a Quirkless boy abandoned by society finds a home and loves of his life.

Pet-a-cat, pet-a-cat, mafia man

(Atsushi x Chuuya)

Summary: Nakajima Atsushi has this nifty little trick where he turns into a cat to offer comfort to people. Somehow, it leads to dating Nakahara Chuuya — after an accidental Italian vacation, that is.

Jailbait

(Bella Swan x Seth Clearwater)

Summary: Four years is not a big difference, unless it makes the relationship illegal. What happens when the youngest pack member imprints on Bella Swan?

Justified

(Bella Swan x Paul Lahote)

Summary: Millions of people are homeless and stare longingly from the outside, in. When a werewolf finds his imprint in the last place to be expected, how many social abnormalites does he have to justify to make it work?

Bet on Me

(Bella x Jacob vs Bella x Edward)

Summary: Who in their right mind bets on their own virginity? Innocent Bella gets herself caught up in the charms of the very gorgeous, very bad Jacob Black. Will she be able avoid him like her boyfriend asks or will she fall for his seduction?

The Movement of the Earth

(Bella Swan x Jacob Black)

Summary: Jacob imprints on Bella. It changes things. A re-write of New Moon, beginning on page 242 in Chapter 10: "The Meadow."

Nothing But a Man

(Erik x Christine)

Summary: What if Erik did not murder Buquet? What if he did not lose Christine's trust so early in their relationship? How would the events have played out? This story takes place just before the demise of Buquet and is a what if based on the 2004 film

A Gypsy Caravan

(Erik x Christine)

Summary: Erik was never able to escape from his gypsy captors. Ten years later, a violinist and his young daughter join the clan for the season.

Bonus Fic because I just couldn’t not include it - Fawning Over Swan

Also Pinkykat was a nickname growing up and I thought adding place was a fun touch to a username

[regina-del-cielo]

On today's episode of "sports AUs that cater specifically to my interests and that I won't ever have the spoons to write":

JoeNicky synchronized divers AU

Hear me out

Diving is, at its core, an individual sport. It's just you and your ability to throw yourself acrobatically into the water vs a panel of judges, gravity, and a bunch of other people who are there for the same reason

But together with individual competitions, there's also synchronized diving, with two athletes from the same team diving side by side

So please imagine. Nicky and Joe being pro divers from the same country who are peak Competitive Bastards™️ about each other. In the individual competitions it's like all the others barely exist, as long as they come up higher than that guy it's ok

(They're so busy trying to outcompete the other that they constantly get better until they’re basically top ten in the world, go figure)

People think that if they were left alone in the same room they would murder each other, and then a coach (Andy? Quynh? Oscar Bertone? Who knows) has the brightest idea of the century

Put them together for the synchro competition

Shock, bafflement and scandal: "Why would you pair me with that guy?!"

"You are of similar height and also your styles are very similar, you're just too blinded by your pride to see it"

Listen. They may not stand each other, but they're still Competitive Bastards™️

They are NOT losing the chance for a medal just because they have to work with their mortal enemy

So they dive (heh) into the 'synching our diving routines until we look like a single person' training

And that's where it all goes topsy-turvy because. They are both Intense™️ in a way nobody else has ever really understood, not even the other divers in the team. And turns out they also have a similar sense of humour ("Di Genova, a sense of humour? Who would have thought"). And similar interests outside of the sport. And and and.

And they're training in the tiniest Speedos ever invented and I never said he wasn't attractive but NOW I also like him as a person and it's becoming A FUCKING PROBLEM

And then they compete, and they are ridiculously good, literally breathing in sync, what the fuck

(And then they kiss and become the most feared sync diving team in history)

(While still trying to outcompete the other in the individual competitions but now it feels like foreplay)

Not sure if the springboard or the platform would be more suited, I honestly think it could be either

Springboard is either 1 m (not an Olympic specialty) or 3 m (all international competitions including Olympics), it's 'funnier' because bouncy and also the difficulty of doing a lot of acrobatics in a relatively small aerial space before you get to the water

The platform is 10 m high and it's unhinged imo but also. Those two are canonically unhinged enough to not flinch at throwing themselves down into a pool at that height from a handstand position

[loveotomization]

For the past 10 years of my life as a Mikan enjoyer, I've been daydreaming about writing a series of essays examining Mikan's fall scenes through a lens of both satire and in-universe character motivation. Finally got off my butt and did it.

Presenting:

Mikan vs. Fanservice

Part 1: A Doyalist look at satire of fanservice in SDR2

(warning: contains images of anime girls in skimpy clothes)

This is a part of my larger Mikan fansite, Sad Nurse.

Essay can also be read under the cut!

(Please don't go picking a fight with me over cartoon people. I'm old and tired. I probably won't respond.)

I’d like to start off by saying that analysis will deal almost exclusively with Mikan’s portrayal in the SDR2 game, rather than the DR3 anime or any manga adaptation. Being a different medium, and produced a few years after the game, I believe that the writing and art could at times have different intentions than the games.

I personally find the writing choices for Mikan’s character absolutely fascinating, to the point that it invites both Doyalist and Watsonian exploration of what makes her function.  (simply put, Kodaka’s writing and Mikan’s in-universe motivations work in concert, rather than at odds)

I’m writing this series of essays in response to the constant, not to mention surprising, confusion I’ve seen surrounding Mikan’s character over the past ten years. Mikan is a very unique character, and her motivations are difficult to find perfectly mirrored in another existing character (not to say that I have consumed every piece of media ever, but I have yet to run across another character like her). Either way, I’m hoping to challenge some incorrect views or at the very least have the chance to say my piece after so many years.

Now, of course, I am not Kodaka nor have I met him personally. I have, however, been in the fandom for longer than the average DR fan, not to mention being somewhat older, so I may have different experiences with media than some other fans.  

Now that I have all of that out of way, I’d like to begin with what I personally believe was Kodaka’s primary intention in creating the scenes where Mikan falls over-

Satire.

Dictionary.com defines satire as:

‘The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.’

So just what is the ‘stupidity or vice’ that Kodaka is satirizing?

Fanservice.

(and perhaps the dojikko archetype, but we’ll visit that in another article)

I feel as if the term fanservice has become skewed as of late, as terms often do with passing decades. Back in the early days of English-speaking online anime fandom, fanservice was most often used to mean a scene or piece of artwork that was literally intended to be sexually appealing to the (usually straight male) viewer. At the same time, these scenes would do nothing to further the plot or add to the characterization of the woman in the scene.

These are images of Faye from Cowboy Bebop. I choose her because she exists in a sci-fi action canon that contains a well-written story and characters, as opposed to a pure fanservice series that is only created to showcase women’s bodies for an assumed male gaze.

While it can be argued that the way Faye dresses can make a statement about her personality, it is also clear to the viewer that her outfit is intended to be sexy not just in-universe, but for the viewer as well.

Let’s consider these pictures.

Faye’s top leaves little to the imagination, showing much of her cleavage, which is of course something that many female-attracted people find to be a turn on. You’ll also notice that her booty shorts are unzipped in front, inches from her privates. While I am neutral on the topic of fanservice, characterization and story-wise, there is no reason for the creators to dress her this revealing other than for viewers' pleasure. The adjustments to her costume in the live action prove that she can still be a strong and attractive woman without letting it all hang out.

The same goes for her cocktail dress. There is no vital in-universe need for jiggle physics.

(Disclaimer: This is not a critique of Cowboy Bebop. I think it’s a brilliant show. These images are here solely to juxtapose true fanservice with Mikan’s suggestive pose scenes)

Now, let’s take a look at some characters you’re more familiar with. These are from a collab with a mobile game called Sengoku… something. I’ve never heard of it, and I’m not sure what the actual characters from it look like. That said, let’s look at Mikan and Chiaki in these images.

These images are stand-alone, rather than being scenes from DR canon. In that case, they say nothing about the personality of characters in question, or the story they are from. These images serve no other purpose than to titillate the viewer. The outfits are clearly drawn in ways specifically to highlight their chests and other areas.

So what does this have to do with Mikan’s scenes in SDR2?

I firmly believe that Kodaka is doing three things with the following scenes: satirizing fanservice, satirizing the dojikko character type, and showing quite a bit of Mikan’s character at the same time. I find this pretty clever writing, and the reason I felt compelled to write this series of essays. We know that Kodaka likes satire and parody. Please just take a look at the entire DR series. Even the major themes underlying the games as a whole, such as reality TV culture and the pressures placed on Japanese youth, are largely satire. So why wouldn't smaller moments of satire be present in these same games as well?

These are the scenes in which Mikan falls over on purpose in order to diffuse tense moments, and shift the focus back onto herself by using her sexuality (I’ll go into this topic in depth at another time). As I said, these scenes show us a great deal about the personality of the character, making them immediately more valuable than simple fanservice scenes.

Take a look at her pose, and how she is dressed. Compare it to the ninja costumes above. They show quite a bit of skin, and the poses highlight their breasts and thighs.

In SDR2, Mikan is fully clothed in a reasonably well covering outfit (I once saw someone on Tumblr say that her skirt was drawn too short, and sometimes I feel like we’re one step away from visible ankles becoming scandalous again lol). Her chest is covered. There is the tiniest little peep of plain white panties in one of these images, but that’s about it. I can assure you that these scenes are not very sexy to the average female-attracted person. They are over the top, and clearly present a parody of the sort of scene truly meant to be sexy. Now, of course, literally anything can be a turn on to someone out there, but I’m talking about on average, of course.

Does this mean that Kodaka is against fanservice? I’m sure that’s not the case. However, it is possible to satirize things that you enjoy as well. In fact, I encourage creatives to critique tropes that they personally enjoy. I personally think that it’s a good way to challenge your own point of view and to not take yourself too seriously.

Satire can be shocking, or bring on feelings of discomfort. It is not always intended to be funny. Spending ten years of my life in the DR fandom, it’s always been strange to me that depictions of sexuality--even when they show very little or are used to further characterization--are more shocking to the general viewer base than the actual murders themselves, but that is likely a larger discussion for another day. Back to my point however, is that even if you do feel disgust or discomfort at Mikan’s scenes, they do elicit an emotion in the viewer, which is a large part of the point of art in the first place. In short, you have every right to feel discomfort at these scenes, but I do think that understanding the meaning and value behind them can help deepen enjoyment of the game, or at the very least of Mikan’s character.

Upcoming- A look at the dojikko archetype, followed by a Watsonian look into Mikan’s own motivations in the conscious use of her sexuality.

[aleyalea]

Blogging vs. TikTok: Is Long-Form Content Still A King?

MDA20009 DIGITAL COMMUNITIES

Well let’s be freaking real, everyone and their grandma is on TikTok and Instagram these days. You can’t scroll for five seconds without getting hit with a trend dance or even a cute cat video or maybe some Influencer telling you about “why you should buy this product!”. Well, the app itself is very quick, it’s flashy, and of course it’s very addicting too. So, where does that leave good ol’ blogging? Well, you know, the thing people used to do before short-form video took over our lives?

Here comes the real question, is long-form content still A KING? In this era do people still blog? Is blogging still relevant? The answer, YES and maybe no. Well, according to Mr Google, blogging is still relevant till these days but it’s not the top dog anymore.

WTH is Blogging?

So what is a blog? According to (Weiner, 2022) Blogs are a type of regularly updated websites that provide insight into a certain topic. The word blog is a combined version of the words “web” and “log” (Weiner, 2022). It’s basically like having a journal but in a digital format. Short form “virtually”. 

Like I mentioned before, blogging is not the top dog anymore and it’s also not the same as it used to be. In fact, it has evolved in exciting ways. If you’re thinking, “Okay, so what does that even mean?”, don’t worry, I’m about to break it down for you why it still a valuable today.

Firstly, people still want in-depth information. I believe there are still 5 out 10 people not prefers or wants their content delivered in very small-sized like what do you mean 15-second? 30-second video?Sometimes there are people who like to seek or need a real explanation. You can’t learn how to build a website, start a business or bake a ten-layer cake from a quick TikTok (well, maybe the cake, but you get my point). So basically, blogs allow long-form, detailed content. To put it simply, they’re where people go when they’re looking for answers, rather than just casual entertainment.

Secondly, there are some people who find joy in blogging. Sitting down with their laptops and a cup of coffee to spend time expressing themselves through writing. Unlike TikTok and Instagram, where everything is short and meant for instant hits, but with blogs it lets you dig deeper into ideas and share personal stories. It’s a place where your creativity can shine and your art work is appreciated by the communities.

Additionally, I think one of the most empowering aspects of blogging is you own the damn thing. You control what’s published, how it looks, and how people interact with it. Plus, you can monetize however you want. Whether it’s ads, affiliate links, or sponsorships, everything you’re in control of. Having a blog is like owning a house, of course you make the rules. You decide the decor and the layout. You can freely create a community and connect with readers the way you want. 

But in the end, TikTok and Instagram have truly taken over, leaving blogs behind. Today, TikTok and Instagram dominate as the go-to sources for quick, visual entertainment. With shorter attention spans, people tend to favor videos over long written content. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram quickly capture attention with their dynamic visuals and sound, making them more engaging users and of course without any shame I'm definitely one of them.

To be very honest, a lot of people have switched from blogging to making videos because it’s easier to grab and hold people’s attention. Especially for those who don’t enjoy reading.

Vlogs are an engaging visual medium that many viewers prefer. It can be easier to build an audience and follow with video (Hazel, 2024). It’s easier to pull someone into a 15-second video than to get them to read a 1500 word article. Well that’s a fact.

People have shorter attention spans these days (big thanks to the internet), and scrolling through TikTok and Instagram gives them instant satisfaction. You can laugh, learn, and move on in just a few swipes. Blogging? meh… It takes more time to create, more time to consume, and the immediate payoff just isn’t the same.  It’s easier to throw together a 15-second clip than to write 1,000 words on "The Art of Slow-Cooking Ribs: A BBQ Lover's Guide". If you want quick content with little effort, TikTok and Instagram are where it’s at. Blogging requires dedication and patience, both of which are in short supply in a world where everything needs to happen now. People want fast, easy-to-consume content, and that’s where blogs sometimes lose out. 

So, Is Long-Form Content Still A King? I'll leave you with that to ponder.

References

Weiner, A. (2022, December 6). What is a blog? Definition, types, benefits and why you need one. Wix Blog. https://www.wix.com/blog/what-is-a-blog

[wrestlingisfake]

G1 B Block finals preview

Jeff Cobb (5-3, 10 points) vs. Yota Tsuji (4-4, 8 points) - Cobb is the NJPW World television champion, but the title isn't on the line during this tournament.

Cobb needs a win or a draw to clinch a spot in the top three, whereby he would advance to the knockout stage. If he loses, he and Tsuji will both be at ten points, and it's possible that as many as four other wrestlers will join them in a giant tie. Those tie scenarios are pretty lousy for Jeff. If he loses here, the best he can hope for is if Hirooki Goto wins, and Konosuke Takeshita and David Finlay both win/draw. That would set up a three-way deadlock for third place, where Tsuji, Cobb, and Goto are 1-1 against each other. That sort of thing never actually happens in these tournaments, though, so for all intents and purposes, Cobb can't afford to lose.

Tsuji is in a must-win situation; a draw won't help him. Even if he wins, though, he's at the mercy of the tiebreakers. He'll be in good shape as long as Goto fails to reach ten points. If Goto wins, though, Tsuji's best path is if Ren Narita wins/draws, and David Finlay loses.

There's no specific personal issue between these two. However, at the start of the tournament Cobb was bellyaching about all the talk of a new generation taking over, and Tsuji is clearly at the forefront of that talk. So now Cobb needs to put up or shut up, against the most imposing of the Reiwa Musketeers. I think both guys are cool, so as long as I get a good fight I suppose I don't care which one wins. But realistically, New Japan isn't going to build the next decade around Cobb. Tsuji is the future, so we might as well hurry up and get there.

Ren Narita (5-3, 10 points) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (4-4, 8 points) - Like Cobb, Narita needs a win or a draw to clinch a spot in the top three. If he stays at ten points, he'll need Goto to win and Finlay to win/draw, but that will only set up deadlock ties that may not do him any good.

Takeshita can clinch a berth if he wins and Goto doesn't win. If they both win, however, Takeshita's best path is if Finlay wins/draws and Cobb loses.

I had been expecting this to be a matchup of two ruthless heels. But throughout the tournament, Takeshita has been acting like a babyface, belying the ruthless attitude he has in AEW under the tutelage of Don Callis. Thing is, heel Takeshita might be able to outmanuever Narita's cheating, but a babyface Takeshita is going to fall for every old trick just like every other babyface. I'm not thrilled to predict Narita as the winner here, but I suppose if we have to have one House of Torture guy in the knockout stage, I'd prefer him over EVIL.

David Finlay (5-3, 10 points) vs. El Phantasmo (3-5, 6 points) - Finlay's IWGP global title is not on the line during this tournament. In singles matches, these two are tied at one win apiece.

Finlay can clinch a berth with either a win or a draw. Otherwise, his destiny (like so many others) lies in the hands of Hirooki Goto. If Goto fails to win against Henare, then Finlay clinches no matter what happens in this match. On the other hand, if Goto wins his match, then Finlay can't advance without more help; he'll need Narita to lose, and to avoid a deadlock he'll want Cobb to win or draw.

For ELP, the tournament is already over. The best he can do is fight for pride. You can say that about anybody who's mathematically eliminated, but in this case it means more, given how depressed Phantasmo was at the start. After Finlay kicked him out of Bullet Club in 2023, ELP found new purpose with the Guerillas of Destiny, but in 2024 everybody else in that stable left New Japan to go to WWE. Now Phantasmo has gotten out of that funk and regained his fighting spirit...just in time to face his archnemesis.

Simply beating Finlay would be a big moral victory for Phantasmo, and potentially spoiling his G1 would be even better. But if ELP gets a win tonight, there's a good chance he'll be in line for a global title shot, which would really turn things around for him. Personally I think that's a more interesting outcome than Finlay advancing out of the block, but I'm not very certain it'll happen. Anyway, I'm rooting for Phantasmo.

Hirooki Goto (4-4, 8 points) vs. HENARE (3-5, 6 points) - Henare is the NEVER champion, but the gold isn't at stake here. Since Henare is mathematically eliminated, his primary motivation is to score his first-ever singles win against one of the guys he reveres as the embodiment of fighting spirit.

Of the six wrestlers who are still alive in this block, Goto has the most tiebreaker wins over them, with three. That gives him the advantage, or at least a deadlock, in every potential tie scenario. But he won't be in those scenarios unless he wins this match. And those scenarios won't matter if Cobb, Finlay, and Narita each clinch a berth at 11 or 12 points. Goto needs at least one of those three to lose--preferably Finlay, to avoid deadlocked ties.

Heading into this tournament, I was surprised Goto was the one aging veteran that wasn't put out to pasture--even his tag team partner YOSHI-HASHI didn't make the cut. So I wasn't expecting him to do well, but he's turned a lot of heads with his performance. If he makes it through I think a lot of people will be happy for him. But for me, Goto's been the Charlie Brown of this promotion since I got here, and I just can't work up any enthusiasm for a big comeback. My man is Henare, and I need him to maul Goto like a bear. Just give me this one thing, Gedo, please.

Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI vs. Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman & Francesco Akira - This is a preview of Takagi vs. Khan in the quarterfinals tomorrow. Interestingly, both of them scored big wins over the world champion, Naito, during the block matches. Since they can't both win the G1, I'll be curious to see if either of them decide to chase the world title on the next tour. As for this match, it's basically filler, and Akira or (more likely) Bushi will drop the fall.

Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma vs. EVIL & Dick Togo - On August 12, Umino handed Evil the loss that finally knocked him out of the tournament. I assume Evil wants revenge. A major factor in the match was Hiroshi Tanahashi running in to counter House of Torture's interference, so it feels like an Evil-Tana program is being set up. I doubt this match will advance the plot very much. Honma will probably lose here.

SANADA & TAKA Michinoku vs. Gabe Kidd & Jake Lee - Sanada, Kidd, and Lee are all out of the tournament and waiting for the next chapters of their respective stories. I suppose Kidd could start some shit with Sanada, but he's got beefs with so many wrestlers it's hard to say which will be his next challenger for the STRONG title. Michinoku should lose here.

Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano vs. Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato - Boltin was originally scheduled for a block match tonight against Yuya Uemura, but that was canceled when Yuya suffered an injury on August 10th. It's a real shame, since Uemura had a decent chance to advance out of the block with a win, and I was looking forward to seeing if he could go all the way. In any case, Boltin is finished with the tournament at four wins and five losses, which isn't bad for his first try. This should be a simple squash match for him and Yano; Murashima and Kato have no chance of winning.

[smolwritingchick]

The Bangtan Gal Chapter 10- Rookie King Episode 8

Chapter Summary: Thanks to a rainy day, BTS and Jen play X Man. During the Of Course game, Jungkook claims that Jennie broke the lamp, which causes an uproar as she tries to explain her innocence.

Words: 4,000+

----

'An Actual Situation'

'Bangtan X Man/Woman'

With Jin opening up their dorm door, the members prepare for an outing as they gather up their bags. Jennie wore grey sweatpants and a sleeveless loose black top that just went over her stomach.

"It says that a typhoon is coming. Can we really go?" Suga asked.

"A what?" Jennie questioned as they looked at the news, looking at the rain. Expressions of the members hardened once they saw it was pouring outside.

'Outing schedule canceled!'

'We will just move to the practice room first'

'Outing schedule is canceled with the unexpected situation!'

'But the shooting can't be wrapped up just like that!'

Putting on a leather jacket, Jen and the rest of the guys make their way to the practice room and stand together for the cameras.

"Real!" J-Hope pointed

"Situation!" Rapmon added

"Tuesday!" Suga announced

"X Man!" Each member announced, making an X with their arms.

'Channel Bangtan 1st time, based on X Man. Today's entreating casts, Jin, J-Hope, Rap Monster, V, Jennie, Jimin, Jungkook.'

"The rain outside is extremely~ heavy right now!" Suga announced while J-Hope danced the rainism dance, earning some giggles. "Today we prepared ourselves to go to an MT. Sadly, the typhoon personally came in our way. And since the production crew wanted to conserve some

time, X Man really prepared it for us with their budget. As you can see, the cards...it was colored at our dorm, by ourselves."

"Why did you wear the sunglasses today?" J-Hope pondered

"He has the celebrity disease!" V joked

"Since you're becoming the MC today, you're showing off a little bit, huh?" Rapmon teased

"Everybody, I'll explain it to you." Suga explained that he was playing with a BB Gun and hit the bullet under his eye. "I might be fine with it but the viewers, possibly might be a little uncomfortable with it. Anyways, X Man officially starts! Please give a round of applause!" 

'The member that was selected to be the X Man has to lead his team and distract them. After ending all the games, the members will select the suspected X Man through voting. Then if the selected suspect of X Man is correct, excluding the X Man, the remaining members would get the sweet & sour pork. If the members guessed it wrong, the sweet & sour pork is only given to the X Man.'

Walking into the secluded room, Jennie puts the headphones on, anticipating her fate.

"Jennifer...you...are not the X Woman."

Hearing that, she let out a small smirk for the camera, nodding to herself.

'Sly Smirk from Miss Bangtan, is she the X Woman?'

Once they all gather around, the guys joke around, saying that they're the X Man. When they are gathered into two teams, RapMon's team consists of V and Jungkook, while J-Hope's team consists of Jimin, Jin and Jennie.

'MISSION 1'

'Hat Removal'

'Both players face each other while wearing a connected hat. A game without using their body, they must remove the opponent's hat with only using their head.'

'Jimin VS V'

'Start!'

With both hats connected, V and Jimin stand face to face, staring at each other. Once V blows his breath into Jimin's face, he cringes and yells, making everyone giggle.

"Calm down, my friend!" Jimin puts his hands on his shoulders. "It smells! Don't laugh!"

'Only surrounded with breath smells'

"I'm so glad I'm not in that position." Jennie crossed her arms.

But then Jimin couldn't take it anymore and covered his mouth, running away. V high fives his teammates as Jungkook asks him what he ate.

'Something he ate during lunch, V wins'

"I brushed my teeth ten minutes ago." V revealed, as everyone grows suspicious, thinking Jimin is the X Man.

'Jungkook VS Jin'

'Start'

"Jungkook, shh, don't say anything." Jin puts a finger on his lips and starts leaning in.

"AHHHHHHHHH~"

The sudden move, makes everyone freak out. 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Jen screamed before putting her hands over her head, backing up.

Suddenly, Jungkook spits on his face, making Jin cover his mouth and move away, winning for his team.

'Jennie VS Rapmon'

With the hat over their heads, Jennie and Rapmon stare at each other as she starts to chew gum.

'START!'

She stares at him and starts to blow a big bubble as he laughs. "How big is that going to get?"

Once she pops it, Rap Monster decides to blow a raspberry at her, making her immediately back up.

"Ugh! Why!?" She wiped her face with the sudden saliva.

"Winner! Team Mon! Three to Zero!" Suga announced as Team Rapmon high fives each other.

'Mission 2'

'Pig Wrestle'

'In a sitting position while both their hands are holding their ankles, they have to push the opponent out of the marked space either using only their bottom and feet to win!'

'Jimin VS V'

"We'll start the pig wrestle immediately!" Suga commences as they get on the floor.

'START!'

V and Jimin start hitting each other with their feet while Jennie laughs but then Jimin kicks him and V places a hand on the floor. Shocked by the sudden move, everyone points to V's hand on the floor.

"Ah! You're done!" Jen shouted

'V puts his hands on the floor!?'

"He lost!" Jin and Jennie shouted

"Then did I win?" Jimin asked, looking around.

"V explain yourself." Suga pointed. "Why did you put your hand on the floor? Why?"

"It just fell without me knowing!" He explained

"Since you've done it unknowingly, we will have another round." Suga said while V fist pumps.

"Really?!" Jennie called out. "No! No, I refuse!"

"Wait a second, since when were things changed?" Jin laughed

'Team Hope who is complaining'

"It's up to the MC!" Rapmon mocked.

"Uh huh, and if it was the other way around, you would be the ones complaining." Jennie retorted, crossing her arms. "Don't play, you know you would."

Once they try it again, V quickly ends up pushing Jimin and makes him tumble over.

"BULL! I demand a rematch! This is not fair!" She huffed.

'This doesn't make sense'

'With the unbelievable loss, the members' suspicions grow bigger'

'V makes use of the term of an idiot as a highly strategic!?'

'Jimin keeping his head low, perhaps to hide his identity as X Man?'

'Rap Monster V Jin'

'Round 2 Start!'

Jin immediately starts Aahing while Rap Monster relentlessly attacks him repeatedly, not letting up. Suddenly, everything stops when Rap Monster puts his hand on the ground. He claims he didn't know but he gets eliminated anyway, making everyone laugh.

'J-Hope VS Jungkook'

"Jeon Jungkook. You're really handsome." J-Hope hugged him

"This is the X man! This guy! This guy!" Jin accused.

"What is this!?" Rap Monster protested. "They are having a love confession here!"

"Hol' up! No!" Jennie raised her hand. "Um, no, Jungkook belongs to me. Not you, J-Hope."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH" The guys start wildlin' out, acting goofy while Jungkook chuckled to himself, looking down.

'Miss Bangtan highly disagrees'

"Jungkook is this true?" J-Hope playfully gasped in shock.

"Yes it is true! That's my best friend!" Jen playfully claimed, teasing him.

"Accept me calling you handsome!" J-Hope pointed.

"Thank you." Jungkook grinned at him.

"It's very suspicious how these two are acting, right now." Suga murmured.

"Hoseok Hyung is truly...more than Jin Hyung. Uglier." Jungkook addressed, making everyone laugh. Jennie dropped her jaw at his statement while J-Hope went to attack him.

'Love hunter J-Hope failed to make a new love'

For the Pig wrestle, J-Hope quickly moves his feet around while humming. Jungkook makes his attack while J-Hope screams and spins around. Jungkook laughs at J-Hope's sound effects and ends up falling over in any way.

"J-Hope, you lost!" Suga said

'It was a good game hyung!'

Jungkook laughs and shoots him a thumbs up. "Mon Team wins!" Suga announced.

'Mission 3'

'Of course'

'The attackers have to question the opponent with difficult questions, and the defender would have to answer 'Of Course' no matter what. If they couldn't speak out 'Of Course' it's a KNOCK DOWN!'

"Everyone as you can see below, the low budgeted duct tape is lined there." Suga pointed down. "With this seriously poorly made duct tape lines, either you guys take a step back from it or walk away from your original position. I'll immediately take it as a sign that you're out. Who will come out first from the Hope Team?"

'Jin VS Jungkook'

'Start!'

"Yah!" Jungkook started off. Jin smirks out of amusement, crossing his arms while the rest of the members burst out in laughs because of his disrespectful words. "You know that your life is awkward?"

Jin grinned out of embarrassment. "Of course!" He answered.

"They are both five years apart!" J-Hope pointed out.

"There's nothing much that I can go against him..." Jin sighed.

"Of course!" Jungkook laughed.

"What are you saying!? Hold up! Wait!" Jin exclaimed.

'Jin lost his chance to attack and lost a turn!'

"You know that truly, you're a worse dancer than Rap Monster, right?" Jungkook dissed. 

Jennie dropped her jaw and looked from him to Jin while everyone freaked out.

"Wait! Wait! With this chance, do you really think you're worse than this human robot?" Suga questioned.

'Who is the winner of the dance battle between the human robot and the half dead dancer?'

"Of course..." Jin admitted

"Poor Jin..." Jennie looked concerned while Jimin rubbed his shoulders.

"Yah!" Jungkook striked again. "You know that we called you handsome for the broadcasts only, right?"

"YO~" Jennie laughed while Jin stomped away.

'KNOCK DOWN!'

Jungkook fist pumps and hugs V as he wins the round. 

"Jin, you good, buddy? You're handsome, don't worry." Jen tried to help him while Jimin stood next to her and comforted him too.

'Is Jin...really pissed off?'

'Rap Monster vs Jimin'

"You seem quite tall today. Isn't it?" Rap Monster asked.

"Of course." Jimin admitted. "Hey, you! Just now you said to Jin hyung, 'Hyung, you're so noisy! I can't stand it!' But did you know you were snoring?"

"OH~" Everyone yelled

"That was strong!" V laughed

"Of course!" Rapmon replies after trying to recover from his comment. "Jimin, you know do know that you and I are a two-top when it comes to snoring? If my snoring is like a beatbox, Jimin's snoring is like he was doing a moonwalk."

"Every night these two make a nose harmony phantom," Suga said

"Of course," Jimin admitted, not backing down. "Hey, you! Euhehehehe, this is really fun. I have a really curious question to ask! You know that you look like the Maori's clan chiefs, right?"

"Eliminated!" Suga yelled, pushing Rap Monster back

"I'm still a Korean!" Rapmon exclaimed

'V VS J-HOPE'

"Yah! You like me, right?" V asked

"Wow, just went right to it." Jennie crossed her arms, watching with interest.

Surprised, J-Hope couldn't help but laugh at his boldness. "Of course. I'll ask you something serious, now. That time, you enjoyed the kiss, didn't you? Your lips were trembling! I thought his lips was a handphone on vibrate"

"I can't believe he went there..." Jennie commented

V laughed out of embarrassment. "Of course. You know that you're getting noisier by the second, right?"

"Of course! You...that time...you...you stuck out your tongue during the kiss, didn't you!?" J-Hope accused

'WHAT DID YOU SAY?'

"OOOOHHHHHHHH! OH MY GOD!" Everyone screamed while Jennie fell to the floor. V started laughing and walked away immediately.

'KNOCK DOWN'

"That didn't really happen. I just said it for this game." J-Hope confessed after everyone pulled themselves together.

"Since it's an odd number, Jennie will go up against all members of Team Mon. Starting with Rap Monster." Suga announced as the both of them stood at the pieces of tape.

'Rapmon VS Jennie'

"Aye yo. Your hair looked like a bushy forest. Ugly as hell. Never again," Jen dissed, making everyone ooh at her comment.

"That was mean!" Rap Monster exclaimed, laughing. "Of course...so, you're going to let me have your noodles that you have in your fridge, right?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. Sighing, she nodded. "Of course...Jin is a better dancer than you."

"OOHHHHHHHHH"

Rap Monster stepped back immediately. "No way!"

'KNOCK DOWN'

"Winner! Jennie!" Suga announced while she high fived her teammates.

'Jungkook VS Jennie'

'97 Line Going At It'

"Let me take my jacket off for this one. I'm not backing down." She took off her leather jacket and stood at the tape to face off with Jungkook.

"Things are about to get serious." Jimin anticipated.

'START!'

"Ladies first." Jungkook gestured

"I'm better at video games than you." She smirked, raising a brow. 

She got a glare from him, knowing that she hit a nerve. Jen couldn't help by smile innocently while the guys laugh in the background.

"...Of course..." Jungkook grumbled. "The only reason you beat me in video games is because I let you win. You know this."

"Oooohhhhhh." The guys look on in interest.

"That game you wanna play, huh? All right. Of course...remember I told you that you were a cool person? I lied. You're not cool."

"Of course...so Jennie, wasn't it you that broke the lamp a few weeks ago?" Jungkook smiled evilly, raising a brow.

As soon as he mentioned the word, Lamp, her stomach dropped as her eyes went round. She motions him to stop as she makes a slicing motion on her neck. His statement makes Jin and Rap Monster turn to her.

"WHAT!?" The two males yell, walking up to her while she laughs nervously and buries her face in her hands.

"You did what!?" Jin yelled

'Jennie is under fire!'

'Is it true!?'

"It was you!? I got yelled out for an hour!" Rapmon yelled.

"I had to fix that thing!" Suga exclaimed.

They start shouting all at once, while Jungkook proudly stands, satisfied with what he's done.

"Wait, what happened?" V looked confused.

"Really Jungkook!?" She yelled at him as he just shrugged innocently. 

"No, no, no, no, it wasn't just me! He did it too!" She tried to explain. "He attacked me with pillows and I put him in a headlock! We both stumbled into the lamp! You gotta believe me!"

"That's not true! She stumbled into the lamp all by herself!" Jungkook explained.

"YOU LIE! Tell the truth!" She looked at him in disbelief. 

Oh, she was going to get him, now.

"Hyungs, I'm serious! She attacked me with pillows and jumped all over me. I was in so much pain. Jin was in the shower, I tried to yell for help. But then she put the pillow against my head, trying to suffocate me" Jungkook looked down, pretending to be sad.

"Jennifer how could you!?" Jin scolded. "We're going to have a long talk when this is over."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" She screamed, throwing her arms up in the air. "You have GOT to be kidding me! How are you believing HIM instead of me!?"

"I believe you, Jennie!" Jimin raised his hand.

"You're supposed to be on my team!" Jungkook yelled, turning to him.

"I like Jennie, more! She's very precious to us. We must save her at all costs!" Jimin announced while V agreed. "Maybe I should be your best friend instead of Jungkookie."

"NO, Jimin!" Jungkook pointed to him.

"Just to let you all know, I knew her longer, so she is technically my best friend." V raised his hand with a grin.

"Back to the game. Continue. It's Jennie's turn." Suga calmed everything down.

"Of course...you know what? You and I aren't best friends, anymore. You're a big meanie." Jennie grumbled.

Chuckling, he nodded. "Of course. But you and I both know that you can't stay mad at me forever." Jungkook declared with a cute smile, making her look away.

"He's trying to sweet talk." V giggled.

Before she knew it, she felt the corners of her mouth start to curve as she tried to fight it. 

"Hahah, it worked! She's smiling! She can't stay mad at our Jungkookie." J-Hope teased.

"...Of course. Your smile is contagious."

"Of course. You think I'm hot." He mentioned in a cocky manner.

"AHHHHHHHH." The members obnoxiously yell.

"This is so entertaining. Keep going, please!" Suga looked on.

Jennie sighed, putting her hands on her hips, shaking her head. The nerve of him. "I walked right into that one...Of course. You're such a dork."

"Of course."

Jungkook wasn't going to go down so easily. What could he say to make her back out? He had to win. He couldn't lose.

"So...you really liked our kiss, right?" He questioned, making her stammer while the guys in the background started hollering and yelling, yet again. 

Jungkook was acting bold today, what did he eat this morning?

'Is it true...?'

'What Will Jennie Say?'

Jennie sighed before looking at him in the eyes. "Of course."

"AHHHHH SHE ADMITS IT!" The guys yell while Jungkook smiles victoriously.

"But! But! You're a bad kisser!" She blurted out, making the members yell even louder and fall to the ground. Some were banging on the floor and walls, laughing loudly. J-Hope and Jin start jumping up and down with Rapmon.

During the commotion, Jungkook's grin dropped as he started to feel his face heat up.

"She got you good, Jungkookie!" Jimin laughed loudly.

Jungkook had no choice but to back up from that, he couldn't admit that. 

"Winner! Jennie! Team J-Hope wins!" Suga announced.

"Sorry Kookie." She grinned sheepishly.

'Mission 4'

'Take off socks'

'While carrying the opposite team's member on their back, the person who takes off the socks or stockings first, is the winner! Before the game begins, two boxes that contains a sock or a stocking would be picked by the winner of Rock, Paper, Scissors.'

After Jimin wins Rock Paper Scissors, he picks the pink box thanks to Jin and gets a pair of socks.

"Awe yeah!" Jennie cheered while Rap Monster gripped V by the jacket, upset that he got stockings.

'Round 1'

Jennie jumps on V's back and wraps her arms around his neck. Standing next to Jimin who had Jungkook on his back. 

"I'm not heavy, am I?" She asked, holding onto him tightly.

"You're not heavy at all. That's a great thing, for me." V mentioned, carrying her with ease.

"I'm going to make you eat your words."

As soon as they start, Jennie tries her best to prevent V from pulling off a stocking by squirming and moving all around on his back. 

"Don't take it off! Don't do it! V!" She laughed before he started spinning her around. "Ah, I'm getting dizzy!"

'Dizzy Jennie stops her assault while V tries to take a stocking off'

Jimin manages to pull off one sock.

"Atta boy!" Jennie praised Jimin.

"Continue keeping him busy!" Jimin huffed to Jennie while he tried to get the other sock off. Once he does, Jimin is declared the winner.

"Yeah!" Jennie dropped down, running up to him for a high five and a big hug.

'The Autumn Man Jimin who gets the over the knee sock, wins!'

After they all get situated, Suga points out that V was in a position to take off the stocking as suspicious looks are sent toward him. Once he was asked if he was possibly the X Man, V made an X to the screen. But then Jungkook follows suit and soon after, everyone else does it except Jennie.

"How come you're not doing it?" Jimin questioned. "Are you the X woman?!"

"Maybe. Maybe not." She smirked

Suga also points out that Jungkook wasn't even moving his body when he was on Jimin's back, which makes the youngest male make another X at the screen.

'Jungkook is...the X Man?'

'Round 2'

With Jimin on Rap Monster's back and V on Jin's back, the battle begins as Jimin starts shaking violently on Rapmon's back. Meanwhile, V rides Jin like a horse.

"This is very interesting." Jennie laughed as Jin quickly took a sock off. 

After a few seconds, Jin effortlessly takes off the over, taking the victory.

"We finally found a talent Jin is good at! Taking off socks!" J-Hope cheered.

"Mother! I'm good at taking off my socks!" Jin laughed at the camera.

'The best moment of Jin's life'

"Everyone since there's two winnings after the three rounds, this time, Hope team wins the game!" Suga announced.

'Mission 5'

'Fry-Pan-Play'

'The last mission that's welcomed with a round of applause'

"I...have no idea how to play this game." Jennie admitted.

"You'll know this game without me specifically telling you what it's called. Ting, ting, ting, ting" Suga chanted

"Teng, teng, teng, teng,!" Everyone but Jennie chants. "Ting, Ting, teng, teng, Fry-Pan-Play!"

"What? Ting ting what what?" She looked confused as the guys laughed while Suga explained it slowly to her. "Guys...I think I may be the cause of you losing this time." She said to her team.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." J-Hope reassured her.

Suga had a squeaky hammer to hit anyone who messed up. "Round 1! Go! Go!" He announced

Once they started the chant, Jennie tried to follow while watching her teammates until V's team got the beat wrong. Suga ends up hitting the three of them with the squeaky hammer while J-Hope high fives his teammates.

"Did we win?" Jennie happily asked.

"We won the round." Jimin answered.

"Darn. I thought it was over."

'Round 2'

Clapping and chanting again, Suga makes Jennie go first as she gulps. "O-okay..." She continued clapping. "Rapmon five!"

"Rapmon, Rapmon, Rapmon, Rapmon, Rapmon, Jin four!"

After Jin successfully does his chant, he calls out V, yelling three but V stutters and loses the round for his team. Suga hits the three guys while Rap Monster calls him out for making two mistakes.

'Round 3'

Jungkook starts, calling out Jin but then he messes up immediately. 

"What are you doing!?" Jimin yelled while Suga walked over to them to hit them.

Jennie scrunches up her face when Suga hits her head hard with the squeaky hammer as she rubs the top of her head. Based on Jin's actions, Rap Monster points out that Jin could be the X Man since he messed up so quickly.

'Round 4'

Starting again, the flow goes well but then Jimin messes up and his team gets hit again.

'Round 5'

"For the last round, to make it more fun, we'll change the rules. I'll give you a chance to personally hit the person across you. Do you feel more pumped up to win this?" Suga reasoned.

Starting again, everyone eagerly starts with Jin, and the flow goes well for a long time.

"V three!" Jin clapped.

"V! V! V! Jennie seven!" He chanted.

"Jennie, Jennie, Jennie, Jennie, Jennie, Jennie, Jennie! Rapmon 5!" She managed to continue the flow without messing up, mentally thanking her quick learning skills.

"Rapmon! Rapmon! Rapmon! Rapmon! Rapmon! Hope four!"

"Hope! Hope! Hope! Hope! Rapmon four!"

"Rapmon! Rapmon! Rapmon! Jin three!" He chanted only three times.

"Jin! Jin! Jin! Jin! Jungkook Three!"

"Jungkook! Jungkook! Jungkook! Jimin one!"

"Jimin! Rapmon four!"

"Rapmon! Rapmon! Rap..M-" He stuttered while Team Hope stood up and celebrated

"WOOO!" Jennie jumped up and down.

J-Hope pulls his team in for a big group hug while each member of the team hits Rap Monster's team on the head. Rapmon calls out that Jin has a talent for hitting as Jin hits V on the head yet again. 

After Suga announces J-Hope's team as the winner, he concludes who won the whole thing.

"With the final score being 3 to 2, Hope team wins! Any words from Team Hope?"

"Our win was expected, of course, because of the amazing leader." J-Hope grinned, earning a stare from Rap Monster.

After getting situated, Suga asks if anyone has thoughts about who could possibly be the X Man. Jennie accuses Rap Monster of the X Man while everyone else agrees and also questions Jin as the possible X Man.

After voting, mostly everyone chose Jin as the X Man, and Suga confirmed if he was the X Man with a fingerprint detector.

"Is Jin the X Man? It will be revealed in another 60 seconds." Suga dramatically said.

"SUGA!" Jennie yelled while everyone else complained.

After a while, Suga is back to announce the second suspect, revealing that Rap Monster is not the X Man. 

"I told you!" Rap Monster shouted.

"I told you it was Jungkook!" Jimin yelled at the camera, pulling up his sign to show.

"Okay, today's Channel Bangtan X Man is...of course, V!" Suga revealed as he stood up with a grin.

"Wha!?" Jennie asked in surprise.

Embarrassed, Jimin sits back down when he hears his accusation was wrong while everyone is blank and shocked at V.

"It makes sense. He put his hand on the floor, didn't take off the stocking and kept messing up the beat." Jennie mentioned. "Sneaky!"

After the commotion, everyone sits around to eat a meal of sweet and sour pork, King Mandu and back bean noodles. 

"FOOOD~! I love food. Food is good. Food is life. Food is amazing." She gushed at the mouth watering meal and ate it with the members. "Ugh, the sweet and sour pork...V can I have one? Please?"

Since he wasn't caught as the X Man, the main dish, which was the sweet and sour pork was all meant for him. 

"Ah, you can have some." V happily shared

"Thank you!" She placed a big kiss on his cheek and happily took some to put with her noodles.

"Share food and get a kiss from Jennie? Duly noted!" Jimin grinned

"Hey, I kissed your nose last week." She laughed

'Channel Bangtan X Man Complete'

[number-1-kuaidul-fanboy]

Top Ten Arc V Characters (Updated)

I was doing another Yugioh tier list and noticed that my opinions on this changed drastically since I first watched Arc V. So here's an updated top ten Arc V characters. Some of these picks may be partially motivated by spite. Also, I'm definitely gonna go back and forth between sub and dub names. Arc V is about even in dub and sub for me and some of the dub names are easier for me so just bear with me.

10 Dennis Mackfield

Dennis is kind of just funny to me but he does also have a complete character arc that isn't botched or cut off in some way, which is more than I can say for some other Arc V characters. He's a naughty bad guy but an enjoyable one who was kind of just a brainwashed kid with a redemption I can accept.

9 Yuto

The only Yu boy I can comfortably say I still like. He's got a sympathetic backstory that realistically shaped his current personality and while he appears scarcely, I enjoy the times he does. I like his dynamics with Yuya, Ruri, and Shun.

8 Shingo Sawatari

He's a cringe fail boy. I like the cringe fail funny characters that exist to be laughed at. I do wish Sawatari had more of an arc or development but at the end of the day, he's entertaining and that's all a character needs to be sometimes.

7 Sora Shiunin

Rushed as shit redemption arc aside, I find Sora's energetic hyper personality of season 1 entertaining and Sora vs Shun genuinely felt like a huge betrayal. On paper, the reasons for his redemption work and are sympathetic, I just wish more time was dedicated to fleshing it out. Still, wanting more of a character is generally a good thing.

6 Shinji Weber

I like villains/antagonists who have valid reasons for being upset. If anything, they actually made Shinji too valid up until they pulled the "he wants to oppress the rich" thing out of their asses but that's a can of worms on its own. I think Shinji's motivation is understandable, even if, for the writers' intentions' sake he "went too far", and those are the kinds of antagonists I like most. Also, he's canonically good with kids like Crow is and I just really like that. It shows he's got a sweet centre beneath all the gruffness and anger he displays. I like that.

5 Riley Akaba

Talk about wasted potential jesus christ. "This character has known nothing but being a vessel for other people's desires. So let's end the series by forcing her to once again be someone's vessel!"

Horrific treatment aside though, I still enjoyed Riley as a character. I relate to her anxiety, I liked her arc while it lasted, she and Declan have such a great sibling bond, she's still a good character. But yeah... the way the narrative botched her did drag her down a few slots I'll admit.

4 Zarc

One of the only saving graces of the fusion arc as far as I'm concerned. His escalation of wanting more and more violence in his duels as the audience pressured him into harsher duels was interesting and felt narratively cohesive with the better parts of Yuya's arc. And the way he's eventually stopped, not by defeating him but by Yuya understanding him and reminding him why he was duelling in the first place, that's really touching. One of my favourite Arc V moments for sure.

3 Serena

Yeah, I like Serena more than Yuzu. Even putting aside the fact that I loved her Duel Links event and her fusion based deck, Serena stayed a good character. The narrative treated her as badly as it treated Yuzu but her personality, when she was in her right mind, remained the same: headstrong, stubborn, and fierce. Plus she was the first to defect from Duel Academia and she did it best in my opinion.

2 Shun Kurosaki

I like Shun for all the same reasons I like Yuto: his genuinely tragic backstory that damaged him and turned him into the edgelord we know and love him as. He's also just way more badass and has more character development than Yuto. The way he's able to regain some form of happiness and stability over the course of the series despite all the horrors he endured, thanks to his new bonds with characters like Crow and Yuya, was really endearing to me. I'm probably the only person on earth with this opinion but as dumb as the bracelet girls and yu boys fusing together was, I think the one good thing that came out of it was that Shun had to just accept that Yuto and Ruri were gone. I get why people found it unsatisfying, but I think the fact that he was able to move on showed a lot of strength that I have to admire him for.

1 Declan Akaba

Declan is my favourite because I relate to his family situation and I refuse to explain myself further.

....Okay fine. I'll admit, Declan isn't the most well implemented character in terms of Arc V's narrative. I think we can all agree his change in character was out of nowhere and Sawatari made for a better rival to Yuya. But dammit I don't care I like him anyways. I think his moral ambiguity is fascinating. He's fighting on the "right" side and has good intentions and goals but some of the things he does to accomplish that goal range from morally ambiguous to just straight up evil at times and I love that. It's one of the best examples of one of Arc V's core themes: "war corrupts both sides." And while his switch to being a better person is sudden, I can accept it to a degree because in my mind, he always wanted to do the right thing and genuinely cared deep down. It doesn't excuse his early actions but it does help me understand and identify with him.

Also, no, I wasn't joking or exaggerating about relating to Declan's family situation. Without giving away too much, I have an intimidating father who's not around much, a manipulative mother who's around but in all the wrong ways, and a younger sibling who I've had to watch be treated poorly by my mother for years. Declan's situation is more extreme but the similarities are... they're hard not to notice. Declan is number 1 on this list because of how much I relate to and look up to who he is by the end of the series. He'd probably still be on this list either way but he's at number 1 because of how much he personally means to me.

[fairytail-whathesays]

Top 10 fights you'd change or rewrite entirely?

There shouldn't be ten to begin with but here we are...

10. Natsu vs. Totomaru

I remember this one being the first fight of the series that really just made me pause with irritation. The fight is pretty obviously one Natsu can't win--he can't control any fire he emits, and Totomaru can't be taken down quickly with pure melee, either. So...seconds before Jupiter is charged, Totomaru just stops being able to control his fire, for no reason at all. Totomaru's all "how did he figure out how to do that?!" and maybe it wouldn't have irked me so badly if Natsu hadn't outright been lauded for it with Happy saying he outright felt bad for rushing Natsu because Natsu needed time to "figure out" how to beat him. But the only thing he "figured out" was "it's mine".

What's worse is that a more logical solution was readily available. All Natsu had to do was create a really, really big fireball, one growing to a size that renders controlling where it goes moot. Big enough fireball explodes, it takes the Jupiter Cannon with it, kaboom.

9. Laxus vs. Orga & Jura

While I don't mind Laxus actually struggling for a win in a fight, I disapprove of that fight being...Jura.

The fact of the matter is, we had long since left "wizard saint" as a measure of power behind, with Jellal's fight with Natsu not even being as one-sided as later fights before Natsu powered up and beat him down. Laxus' last onscreen fight was with freakin' Hades, the guy who learned magic directly from Zeref, personally taught the Saint-level Seven Kin, and basically is the standard for power short of the Spriggan 12 tier. And Laxus fought him pretty evenly. I'm not willing to buy that in the arc immediately after this one, Jura--who confessed himself to be weaker than Jellal last time we saw him--is just that difficult for Laxus to beat.

The one who should have given Laxus trouble is, you know, Orga. The guy who would be completely unaffected by Laxus' magic, but could hurt Laxus pretty badly with his own. If you wanted to force the issue, at least let Laxus struggle for a win against Orga and then force him to fight Jura without a break. Instead, Orga goes down in one hit and Laxus vs. Jura is the highlight, which I don't like.

8. Natsu vs. Ikusa-Tsunagi

The Avatar arc sucked. The whole thing just felt...pointlessly fawning. Every time an enemy should reasonably have challenged the heroes--especially Natsu--he just blew through them with no trouble. Bluenote, then Arlok...and then finally Ikusa-Tsunagi.

The whole arc felt devised as a way to hype Natsu, and the breaking point was the final boss. Designing and drawing an entire god just for Natsu to one-shot it felt like a slap in the face.

Cut it. Cut all of it. You could cut the whole arc and lose nothing, really.

7. Sting & Rogue vs. Mard Geer / Erza vs. Neo-Minerva

You know, if you didn't want to have Sting and Rogue defeat Mard Geer, you didn't have to include them at all. The Tartaros arc was long and very busy, there were plenty of other things for them to do in order to contribute.

But instead, Mard Geer isn't threatened by them at all--doing nothing to fix the deflated hype issue from when we last saw them--and this despite Sting explicitly using holy magic that you'd think would be extremely threatening to a literal demon.

Having them be of no real consequence, and then shoving Jiemma back into the story just to give them something to do while Natsu and Gray handle Mard Geer, just felt irritatingly transparent--as if to say outright that yeah, they can be cool, but anything they can achieve should be overshadowed by Natsu so nobody gets any ideas about who's stronger. It was a cheap tactic.

Gray ultimately should've been the one to defeat Mard Geer, sure, but a better scenario would've involved Sting and Rogue being the ones to defeat demonized Minerva, rather than Erza. They had more right to that victory, physical and moral, than Erza did.

6. Erza vs. Kyoka

The infamous "it's because she's Erza!"

Like Natsu vs. Totomaru, this one readily came with an easy justification--Erza has a false eye. One that's protected her from visual sensory deprivation before, in fact. And yet, despite this, Erza is explicitly shown with both eyes darkened and it's made clear yes, all her senses are gone, and the win--which is underwhelming and not nearly what Kyoka warranted as a serious antagonist--is literally attributed to her being just that awesome.

It was downright disrespectful to the audience and, if nothing else, it was cheap and extremely thoughtless.

5. Erza vs. Kagura & Minerva

Are you sensing a pattern here?

The bullshit starts with Kagura. At the end of the day, Mashima succumbed to the same hype-slaughtering weakness he exhibited throughout the GMG arc: introduce an enemy too strong for a hero to overcome, and then have the hero win without any real attempt to justify it.

Kagura was far and away too skilled for Erza to beat--too strong for even her toughest armors and too fast for her on an even keel. I don't necessarily have a problem with Minerva intervening given Kagura was whooping Erza seven ways sideways, but I do wish we'd gotten there faster than Erza randomly blocking Archenemy--something that destroyed her Adamantine armor while sheathed--with a normal sword and then spewing Jopaganda (Jellal Propaganda) at her.

Furthermore, the random "Nakagami Armor" and Erza using her second origin like a mid-fight power up to defeat Minerva was just...garbage. It was, again, disrespectful to the audience. Why Minerva didn't just teleport out of the way of the attack is anyone's guess.

And again--easy solution. Minerva says verbatim during the fight "As long as I can see you, I can tear you to pieces!" in essentials spelling out an exploitable weakness--she needs to see Erza to attack her. Erza has a Morning Star armor that utilizes bright light, which we see her do later in the Alvarez arc--use this to blind her and then go in for the kill.

But no, we have to suffer through bullshit.

4. Erza vs. Azuma

A lot of people consider the Tenrou Island arc, and in particular this fight, to be the point where Fairy Tail started to go bad. It's no real wonder why--a lot of shit builds up in the Tenrou Island arc, and one of the last major slaps in the face is Erza's defeat of Azuma, someone who even at base power is simply too far above Erza's level for her to defeat, before even taking into account Azuma's dramatically increased power due to holding all of the magic on Tenrou Island via his connection with the Tenrou Tree.

Really, it should've been Gildarts who fought Azuma, and even he probably would've had a hard time of it as souped up as Azuma was. If it had to be Erza, she needed some sort of advantage that was set up properly, not magically surviving two nukes to the face composed of massive amounts of magic, and then just yoinking control of it from Azuma in no adequately explained way...and then defeating him with one hit when she hadn't gotten any good licks in before.

Fights like this are frustrating because they never seem to actually give the heroes a chance before the win comes. Me saying Erza couldn't beat Azuma in a million years isn't me being a hater--it's textual evidence made abundantly clear by the fight itself. So the viewer is asked outright "how can she possible win this?" and then the answer never comes before she does.

3. Natsu & Gajeel vs. Sting & Rogue

These last few fights are ranked the worst, because they go directly against the stated themes of Fairy Tail.

Quite frankly, this is one of the most egregious slaps in the face in the entire manga. It's where the Fairy Tail audience had to become familiar with that habit of Mashima's I brought up earlier, where he sets up an antagonist as a difficult fight for a hero and then walks it back without the hero even really struggling for the win.

I never would've minded Natsu and Gajeel winning, if only because up until now we hadn't gotten a very good feel for Sabertooth's strengths--we'd been told they were strong, but not told they were out of Fairy Tail's reach (like so many other antagonists).

However, this fight seems to go as hard as possible to pervert and distort Fairy Tail's themes of friendship. Natsu outright kicks Gajeel out of the fight to handle Sting and Rogue himself, a display so stunningly petty, immature, and unsportsmanlike that it shocked me, and I didn't even like Natsu. Then Natsu's 1v2 with Stinge and Rogue is set up with a passionate speech about friendship from Mavis, who is looking on...but not only has Natsu just thrown his friend out of the fight, Sting and Rogue are performing a Unison Raid, which had up until now been heralded as a powerful magic exclusive to those who have a powerful bond. It's rare to see--we saw Lucy and Juvia do one, and then Gray and Juvia had one that was anime-exclusive, and then Wendy and Lucy got one in during the fight with Master Hades. This is a very powerful and exclusive magic embodying everything Mavis is talking about, but the purpose of her speech is intended to put Natsu on the pedestal. Natsu, who then overpowers Sting and Rogue's Unison Raid with...no effort. Not even a Lightning Flame Dragon Mode power-up, not even the Phoenix Sword move he used against Zero, his basic Exploding Flame Blade.

Personally, I would've had Najeel vs. Stingue end in a draw, with both combatants utilizing a Unison Raid that ends up taking everyone out in the blast. You know why? 'Cause that would've been pants-wettingly, balls-to-the-wall awesome. But what we got instead was effectively sitting down viewers who, up until now, had been carefully directed towards anticipating an exciting fight between these four, constantly highlighting their desire to meet in battle and overcome one another, and dangling the idea of Stingue and Rogue as superior dragonslayers over their heads...and telling those viewers that they were stupid to expect that and that the results wouldn't be nearly that exciting.

2. Jellal vs. Oracion Seis

I emphatically skip this episode every time I rewatch the anime. I skip the chapter when I'm reading the manga. To this day I refuse to refer to Hoteye, Cobra, Angel, Racer, or Midnight as "Crime Sorciere" the same way I refuse to refer to Doranbolt as "Mest Gryder".

Jellal attacked these people.

And don't give me any shit about how they attacked him first. He was clearly there with the intent to induct them into his guild, by force if necessary, and he made that known. The Seis weren't threatening him or Meredy--they just wanted to be free and were happy to finally be able to pursue their lives how they saw fit.

And he attacked them and beat them down.

All while telling them that what they have isn't "true" freedom, and using their real names to their faces.

As a reminder, Jellal held these people in slavery. He was their slavemaster, and terrorized them in the Tower of Heaven.

Calling them by their birth names and not the names they chose doesn't serve to tell me that Jellal has a greater understanding of the truth. It tells me he's a disrespectful monster who is reminding the people whose lives he personally destroyed that they will always belong to him.

This was abominable behavior and a disgusting thing to pen on Hiro Mashima's behalf. I absolutely would not have let it past the cutting room floor.

Personally, disliking Jellal as I do, a better end to the fight would've been each of the Seis shitkicking him in turn before killing him and removing him from the story, but I'll settle for the fight just not happening.

1. Every fight in the Alvarez Empire Arc.

You could also include the Avatar arc in here if you wanted.

From start to finish, the Alvarez Empire arc was just a mess. Hiro Mashima had very clearly stopped caring long before it started, and as such, almost none of the fights are satisfying, either relying on bullshit developments or being an excuse to basically flash titties at the reader. You know it's bad when even Laxus and Gray, characters whose fights have historically been very well-done and satisfying, are joining the piles of shameful scenes, from Laxus randomly busting out a red lightning mode to Gray forgetting that he can eat ice and then trying to su/icide Zeref out of the story.

I think it was about during the Irene Belserion confrontation near the end that everyone I saw on my dash just gave up, and even people on TVTropes gave up and started making edits about how crappy the series had become.

There's too many fights in that arc to stuff into a single 10-entry list, so I'm flushing the whole thing. I don't want this, Mashima. Scrap it, start all over, and do it right this time.

[thomas-mvller]

I was tagged by Lise, Lin and Ander (aka @acrazybayernfan , @thommi-tomate and @miasanmuller) to do this veeeery interesting tag game! thank you all 🤗

What's your top 10 most memorable bayern matches?

In no particular order:

8 - 2 vs Barcelona: I mean, pretty self explanatory. It was like our 7 - 1 in brasil 2014.

5 - 1 vs Wolfsburg: literally who would've thought we'd witness a literal world record happen in front of our very own eyes in less than TEN MINUTES? that was absurd but in a good way! till this day i feel bad for vfl's keeper to the point i remember his name JAJAJJA

1 - 0 vs PSG: i was going through some stuff around that time (and believe it or not it wasn't because of the pandemic or anything related to it) so i was really not with my head in the game sort of speak, i literally watched the match in zombie mode until the goal happened and there i woke up a little and then when the match ended i bursted out crying JAJAJJA, it was like the perfect occasion to release emotions and it literally brightened my day, it was just what i needed that moment!

4 - 2 vs Juventus: i legit have this match downloaded on my laptop, in fact i watched it fairly recently! it's just the fact that we literally had ALL THE ODDS against our favor, losing during 90 minutes only for thomas to score literally on stoppage time AND THEN secure the match in less than two minutes? that was WILD! probably the most memorable in my book.

2 - 1 vs Köln: look, for the sake of transparency i didn't watch the match when it happened. It's not that i lost hope but rather they played very early and i prioritized my sleeping time 😂 but idk how effective that was since i slept like shit knowing deep down this was the title defining match going neck to neck against the bees nonetheless! but surprisingly i woke up just when both matches ended and i remember asking here "WHAT HAPPENED" and someone said "we won bundes!!" and then seeing the dash's reaction and finding out we won during the last minute + the bees blew it.... my jaw hit the floor omg.

4 - 0 vs Chicago Fire: I know this was a friendly but it was Bastian's farewell match and dude..... it was so emotional. Seeing him cry his heart out in a dim light stadium where everyone were cheering on him while a spotlight focused on him was just too heartwarming. Seeing club legends retire is never easy so i hope that doesn't happen ANY TIME SOON 😭

2 - 1 vs Dortmund: now this one is extra special because at the time i was familiar with bayern thanks to mr bavaria but i wasn't exactly a die hard "must watch every match" kind of fan, it was more of a casual thing and i remember coming back from school or something, turning on the tv and i swear to GOTH literally thirty seconds later robben scored and i was so confused about everything until the match ended and i was like "oh, they won a trophy, that's nice :))".......it was later when i realized the importance of the entire thing 🤪

vs Villareal: now i know this sounds weird but like, there hasn't been a day where i don't question myself "how the everloving fuck did we lose against them?". ALL THEY DID was make all eleven players defend their area, that's literally it.... AND YET WE COULDN'T BEAT THEM! I AM STILL DUMBFOUNDED AND CAN'T GET OVER IT.

1 - 3 vs Liverpool: once again.... i know this is odd given bayern lost...... but these are my two favorite teams of all time. I remember when it was announced both teams were playing against each other i felt personally attacked, i literally couldn't decide who to cheer on, every goal felt bad, every attack felt bad, and seeing how bayern lost in horrible fashion it was like... i couldn't even celebrate for lfc, i was in neutral mode and it was wild. At least it eventually led lfc to win ucl but still, it was 180+ minutes of double tension 😵‍💫

7 - 2 vs Tottenham: honestly how can you forget this one? it was absurd! serge came out for blood that day, against the sp*rs nonetheless!!!! i know we always joke about bayern destroying london teams but this was just unexpected, right now i feel like rewatching 😂

I'm pretty sure i'm missing one or two matches that shook me to the core, but i guess these will do rn. It was fun!

Tagging people from my latest bayern gifset because i know everyone has been tagged already so feel free to ignore this if so: @fabioquartararhoe @probayern @chelleisamazing @youknowitsworthfightingfor @dieclownschaft @gxtzeizm @uncoolfc @fcbalding @shrimpeon @be-lucky-again @colorsofmyseason @angry-pinscher @miss-i-ship-it and whoever wants to do this! just say i tagged you and you're it! :D

[acquired-stardust]

Game Spotlight #1: R4 Ridge Racer Type 4 (Playstation, 1998)

Acquired Stardust’s first game spotlight is here! Follow Ash through experiencing 1998′s R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 for the very first time this year. Definitely worth your time to seek out and play, whether it be on original hardware, emulation or the recent port to the Playstation 5 via PS Plus’ classics catalogue.

Often hailed as ‘the greatest year in gaming’, 1998 was a pretty special time in pop culture as a whole. Massively influential programming block Toonami, responsible for introducing and popularizing anime to a mainstream audience outside of the college campuses where it originally gained traction, added both Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z to its lineup. Pro wrestling was in the midst of a legendary boom period as the Monday Night Wars raged and the famous ‘83 weeks’ came to an end. Seinfeld‘s finale drew an incredible 76 million viewers, famously seeing people gather in a large crowd to watch the hour-plus-long episode on a big screen in Manhattan’s Times Square. 

Indeed, 1998 also featured an incredible slate of games across the world, whether they be new debuts (such as Sega’s Burning Rangers or Acquire’s Tenchu: Stealth Assassins both dropping on the same day in February) or games released in previous years receiving a translation before coming to other countries officially for the first time (such as in the case of Pokemon Red and Blue). This is before getting into other medium paradigm shifts like Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Metal Gear Solid. The arcade scene was still thriving as well, with the previous year’s Tekken 3 still leading the scene in money earned and seeing the release of such classics as Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Dance Dance Revolution. All of these games could easily receive spotlights of their own (and just you wait, I can guarantee you several will), but today we’re talking about Namco’s R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 that dropped on December 3rd, 1998 in Japan.

There’s something so romantic and enrapturing to me about the idea of self-expression and how that can transcend language and culture barriers to create a sort of universal language and culture of its own. Gaming is one of those things that allows people the world over to connect with, such as with fighting games for example often drawing large international crowds for in-person tournaments that see people who otherwise often do not share languages or cultures expressing themselves through character picks and playstyles, in many cases forging lifelong connections and rivalries with people for whom they’ve found a new way to communicate and express themselves through. It’s in this same sort of spirit that I find myself very attracted to racing games, a fusion of man and machine itself filtered through a machine. Faceless competitors vying for first place with tires screeching and motors whirring, each with particular strategies and styles and levels of ability. The idea of racing games is very attractive to me, but ones that manage to hold my interest for very long are very few and far between. Ridge Racer Type 4 has managed to capture and hold that interest for way longer than I’d anticipated upon trying it for the first time through absolutely oozing style and atmosphere in a way media as a whole can often only dream of doing.

Starting off with what has my vote for easily one of the top ten prerendered cutscenes of all time, the opening of this game alone is an absolute bomb of aesthetics the likes of which I’ve rarely seen before. Composer Kouta Takahashi teams with vocalist Kimara Lovelace (herself having several top 10 hits over the years) to deliver the incredible Urban Fragments theme song that plays over a slick, well directed scene in what ends up being a recurring strength of the game: an incredible soundtrack meeting incredible low-poly visuals creating a top notch experience, and that’s to say nothing of the gameplay which is a wonderful mixture of arcade-style action and simulation, which is to say the game can feel a bit like bumper cars when crashing but otherwise nails a very satisfying blend of physics, acceleration and traction that makes it feel just enough like you’re actually behind the wheel of the cars. Visual design of the tracks are varied between speedways Japanese style mountainside races with the levels themselves providing plenty of challenge and opportunity that mixes well with car handling and a surprisingly intuitive drift mechanic, providing a wonderful feeling of actually getting better and more consistent as you put more time into the game. Brake light trails dance behind cars beautifully as planes fly overhead and helicopters film the action while satisfying control meets an outstanding soundtrack inspired by various popular genres of the time (such as house music, drum n bass and acid jazz) to create what is an experience far more engrossing than I ever expected it to be. 

Speaking of ‘engrossing’, did I mention there’s a story mode in this game? That’s right, there’s actually a story mode in this game bundled into the Grand Prix. Presented in the style of a linear visual novel with dialogue that slightly changes depending on race placements, Grand Prix allows the player to pick one of four teams, all of which are named in reference to earlier Namco releases. Grand Prix sees the player a new recruit to either the French, Italian, American or Japanese teams and interacting with their team captain as they progress through a series of eight races of steadily progressing difficulty divided into three tiers that must be finished in progressively better minimum position as you advance through the three tiers of races. These stories are all interconnected to a surprising degree with each character the player interacts with having some sort of connection to the character featured on another team, and the story punches above its weight in terms of emotional content as well, several times managing to be oddly sad and touching, certainly the last thing one would expect going into a racing game.

In a year commonly hailed as ‘the greatest year in gaming’ full of genre and medium defining classics, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4  absolutely belongs in the conversation of the best games of that year. I’d argue it could easily be deserving of a spot on a list of best games on the Playstation as a whole, and wouldn’t bat an eye at someone saying it has a spot on their list of all time favorites. Heck, it might’ve even landed a spot on my own list of all time favorites. It’s one of the strongest combinations of attributes you can find anywhere in the medium, packed into a racing game of all things, which typically do not attract the sorts of acclaim particularly in retrospect as things like Final Fantasy VII or Metal Gear Solid, but I promise that if you give this game a try you’ll come away wowed and wonder how you ever missed it regardless of whether or not you have any prior interest in racing games or the genres of music featured in the game. R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 presents an incredible world through the marriage of its sound, visuals and gameplay that is absolutely attention stealing and will stick in your mind long after you put your controller down. Definitely be prepared to add a few of these songs to your usual rotation.

A gem hidden among the stones, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 is undoubtedly stardust.

--Ash

[aristocratic-otter]

Top 10 vs. Personal Top 10

Thank you for the tags, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe and @facewithoutheart. This is bound to be fun and difficult. How do you choose between your children? Well, I'm going to try.

AO3's Top Ten

Oh, Have You Seen The Fairies Dance

Back To Start

Playing With Fire, Treading Thin Ice

A Fucked-Up Cinderella Story

A Real Doll

A Tale of Two Tails

Careful What You Wish For

The Watford Games

Gates of Ivory and Horn

More Than This

Some of these are high scored because they're older, and some because they were just popular in comparison. There's a lot of overlap between this list and my favorites, but there are some differences.

One thing I notice is that the fics that were 'gift fics' where they were written to a specific prompt, or Carry on Reverse Bang fics, written to art that was made before the fic, didn't make my top ten, probably because it feels like the creativity that built them wasn't wholly mine. I still love those fics, but just not quite as much.

Also, other than Raising Dragons, I didn't include WIPs, though they may become favorites when they are done. I'm especially fond of Saving Simon Snow, my forced marriage fic, which I think is getting close to finished. I'll probably start posting that one by April!

And the experience of writing was a huge factor in my choices below. Getting to collaborate with lovely people, or finding myself as a writer features in all or most of my favorites.

Here is my list of faves:

A Fucked-Up Cinderella Story. Ok, the butt plug joke is my favorite joke of anything I've written, Ok? Not to mention, this is the Erotic Gropefest collaboration where I first met and worked with my dear friend Fristi and learned what a joy it is to collaborate with a brilliant artist.

Back To Start: I've called this fic my baby, and it is. It's the first fic I wrote where I really felt like a competent writer, and you don't forget that feeling. I used a whole lot of my life experience in writing Baz as a baby and child too, so it's especially dear to me.

Careful What You Wish For: This was my second collaboration, and @ivelovedhimthroughworse Apricot is the sweetest, most supportive partner anyone could ask for. And this fic is my favorite type to read: angsty, science-y, plot heavy with loving smut.

The Watford Games: This was the first plot driven fic I ever wrote, and I'm proud of what I accomplished with it. And it's also another type of fic I love to read: AUs that put Simon and Baz in place of well-known characters.

The Blue and The Gray: Written for COTTA, this fic didn't make the AO3 top ten, and I think that's because the American Civil War is probably of lesser interest to non-Americans. But I love it, and I think it was the first fic that made me feel like a writer. You don't forget that.

Raising Dragons: Even though this is unfinished, I've had so much fun writing pregnancy and childhood shenanigans in the SnowBaz universe. Not to mention getting to work with Fristi again!

A Real Doll was from the Monster Under the Bed fest, my first non-COTTA fest. This is the first smut fic I ever wrote solely for the purpose of smut, and I think it turned out pretty decent! (Also was the first fic that got a comment from Aralias, which meant a lot to me).

New Year, New Me: This one again didn't make the AO3 top ten, most likely because of the mpreg tag. But it is the exception to the 'gift fic curse', because again, I got to put so much of myself into it. The song @moodandmist and @cutestkilla wrote for it helps elevate this one for me too!

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun: I'll be honest here. I'll read PWP for the usual reasons, but it's always been one of my least favorite categories. I like plot in my fics. But this idea of Baz and Simon having a foursome with their own clones came to me and wouldn't let me go. And the fact that I got to work with Ashton, @artsyunderstudy? That is absolutely the reason this makes my top ten.

The White Chapel: This one is very new and will likely score higher as I get some distance from it. But as an adaptation of my all time favorite movie, Xanadu, it was a pleasure to write from start to finish (and it's also an exception from the gift fic curse, I'm now realizing--but it wasn't written to a prompt and I think that makes the difference).

Probably everyone has done this, so I tag all the folks mentioned above, plus a few others, just in case. @carryonsimoncarryonbaz, @annabellelux, @krisrix, @nightimedreamersghost, @otherworldsivelivedin, @prettylightsbigcity, and @whatevertheweather, I'd love to know what your top tens are!

[alarrytale]

i think a lot of things went wrong with bbg:

1) i think if louis + band had actually not communicated about it being not real and louis actually tried to play a dad for the first two years, then they could have easily ended it by latest 2017 with a paternity test. because they were communicating and all of these "theories" are wild and A LOT of people are aware of this "conspiracy" I believe this is why they cannot end it smoothly because they know we are gonna go "i told you so" and then it's gonna be another hot cup of worms.

2) at the same time I also think his personal losses affect him mentally to be putting his energy into this and that's why it didn't happen immediately?

3) do you think the contract has an end date? at this point I'm afraid it doesn't have an end date and they keep renewing it of some sort.

4) i am a quarantine larrie but i have heard many many times that there were seedings of it ending in 2016 and 2018 and even at the time around early 2020? but after I have joined the fandom i haven't seen any such signs of the bg ending. it has just amplified.

5) altho at the same time i do feel there have been contrasting changes to bg then vs bg now, louis is more involved and the clarks are not followers hungry as they used to be? B's instagram is also bare minimum (just a couple pics of F and i don't follow her so idk what goes onto her stories but i think she doesn't post a lot of F; ofc cause she has her life and she's not a mother)

6) in the past couple years i have actually sat back and thought if im sane about it or not or if louis was actually the father but then immediately i recognise that nope, above anything I know that woman was not pregnant aka no baby came out of her vagina and it's all bullshit. ofc they are other proofs of him not being a father but this tops them all. and it's also laughable how the sisters don't have any other pics of F apart from the christmas stunts.

7) louis can make sony money too, if they just fucking LET HIM. i don't understand why all cruelty is imposed upon him. maybe get harry engaged to some blonde for 2 years (and make him SELL IT? 2 years can do. they did with OW) as an exchange to bg getting ended. who the fuck cares??? as long as it's not bg 2.0 and HS is fully straight and in love with a WOMAN and engaged (maybe bring on the baby rumours too to feed the het fans BUT I WANT THE KID GONE)

8) at this point im just hoping they'll end it before he turns 10 but then ill be in excruciating pain to think that this sweet boy had to endure ten years of this torture just because he's 🌈 and in relationship with mr styles? this is tortuous.

9) maybe they can end it and louis can dip of the face of the earth for a year and then come back with lt3 and be the next big thing. i am manifesting for bbg to get over before july 2025.

10) truth to be told, i am losing hope but at the same time im optimistic that it'll end someday (hopefully soon) and they don't wait for hs downfall (just because he's on his peak rn) idfc. i hate it for louis and freddie, too. the child has no agency, he didn't sign up for this and he'll grow up with a lot of trauma if he's exposed to it anymore (2 years and he'll be 10? what another 2? and he'll most probably be on the internet? this is horrifying)

Hi, anon 💚

I think bg was something so horrible and traumatic to Louis (and the rest of the band) that the only thing he really considered was fighting back with everything he had. H and L had tried to position themselves to get more freedom within their closets, and this was undring everything they'd worked for. So it was important for him to show those who sees him for who he is, and sees and support his relationship with H, that it was not real. It's not who he is. He didn’t have a choice when it came to participating, but he could restist, resist and resist as much as possible. If he hadn't, and he played willingly along to really sell it, he'd be miserable, H would be miserable and larries would have left the fandom in droves. He'd have no fans to launch his solo career with. He'd have no support.

I don't know when it will end, it doesn’t seem like it's ending anytime soon, but then again bg could end at any time. It doesn’t need seeding. But if it ends, there's nothing stopping us larries from being very vocal about it and the larry rumours coming back again. L would be halfway out of the closet and dragging H along with him. So i think it will last until they're allowed to come out. I don't know when that will be.