#with how many tragic characters in here and also the interesting ways you can fit two or more characters together to deal in this world

[fishareglorious]

r1999 pacific rim au anyone?

[energydrinkking]

Furina's constellations and their meanings!

Furina is known for having extremely long constellation names. Many know that all these names are taken from operas and songs, in character for Furina since she loves operas and arts in general. But… is there more behind it? Here are my thoughts on the constellations and how they fit her story and character!

C1: “Love is a rebellious bird that none can tame”, the lyrics are taken word by word from the opera “Carmen”. The lyrics of the opera often reference love as multiple things at the same time. “Love does not know law!”. “Love is far, you can wait for it”. “Love is a child”. The opera itself deals with proletarian life, immorality, lawlessness and the tragic death of the main character on stage. Furina’s love for Fontaine does not know law. She impersonated a god, which is punishable, but she still did for her people. Her love for her people cannot be tamed by law, or by anyone. She would choose to act out this painful act another 500 years if it meant that her people would be safe.

C2: “A woman adapts like duckweed in water”, the name is a stretched-out version of the opera “Rigoletto”, the original title of the opera is called “La maledizione” (The Curse). it deals with a curse that was put on the main character, and it only comes to fruition when Gilda (the female love interest) starts falling in love with him, he is then saved by her, sacrificing her own life for him. Sound familiar, no? A curse, a prophecy, a sacrifice. Furina fits all these themes in one way. Furina also, quite literally, adapts to any situation thrown at her (like duckweed in water).

C3: “My secret is hidden within me, no one will know my name“, the sentence is taken word by word from the opera “Turandot”. The opera follows the Prince Calaf, who falls in love with the cold Princess Turandot In order to win her hand in marriage, he must solve three riddles, with a wrong answer resulting in his execution. Calaf passes the test, but Turandot refuses to marry him. He offers her a way out: if she is able to guess his name before dawn the next day, he will accept death. Furina often uses her God name “Focalor” when describing herself, to keep her image as a god. In the opera, the main character is glad that the princess doesn’t know his name. However, in Furina’s case, she is probably saddened by the fact that she can’t let anyone know her “real” name. Everyone knows the name “Furina” but do they really KNOW “Furina”?

C4: “They know not life, who dwelt in the netherworld not!”, is a retelling of the ancient legend of Orpheus and Eurydice and comes from “Orpheus in the Underworld” Orpheus in the play is portrayed as carefree, indifferent to the loss of his wives, even eager to escape the constraints of marriage. This might draw parallels with Furina who, to the people of Fontaine, appeared inactive in the face of Poisson's disasters.

C5: “His name I now know! It is…!“ the sentence is also taken word by word from the same opera as the C3, “Turandot”. The princess finally learns his name at the end of the final act. She uses the words “It is… love!” I 100% believe this is a reference to Neuvillette.  With her C3, where she is telling everyone that no one will ever know her name, and in this constellation, she seems weirdly happy about knowing someone’s name… or in better words: knowing someone. Seeing Neuvillette grow as a person and learn to love humans as much as she does. She now knows the true Neuvillette, the one who loves and adores humans. As she has a close relationship with Neuvillette, he can open himself up to her, he has no secrets that he must keep from her. Many fontainians have tried to get close to him, but all have been rejected. No one knows his full name, except for Furina. She, however, cannot ever let Neuvillette get to know the real her. Her secret is hidden within her.

C6: “hear me – let us raise the chalice of love!” is a duet from “La traviata” and is considered a brindisi (a song that encourages drinking). Now, this is going to sound lazy but I feel like this constellation name is something Furina would say out of the blue when she’s drinking alcohol. Clorinde once had to stop her from getting up on the table when she was drinking too much. I also want to mention that Furina, who has acted as someone she was not, may fall back into that character. It was also mentioned in Furina’s voice-overs that she sometimes cannot separate the real Furina with the “god” Furina.

These are my thoughts!

[i-heart-hxh]

Hi again! I've had this thought in terms of hxh meta that I personally have not seen discussed, so I'm gonna dump it here for you! There's an underlying theme I've noticed of characters throughout the series being one that lost their other halves. Like, most obvious, Leorio and Kurapika lost their childhood best friends. Melody lost her friend to the devil's music. We see Nobunaga lose Uvogin, and so on. So Killua saving Gon instead of letting him die after CAA seems to be a "breaking the cycle" so to speak, although I'm not sure what that would even mean! Nothing much to say besides those details I've noticed, but I wanted to know if you had thoughts? Or perhaps it's just an interesting background detail that is up in the air in terms of being significant?

Hello, thank you so much for sending an ask again! I've put some thought into this topic as well, so I'm happy you brought this up! How I'm answering this is both somewhat abstract and far-reaching in the series so it's a little difficult to summarize and express simply, but I hope you and others might get some meaning out of it!

I strongly believe that one of HxH's great overarching themes is the transformational power of love and how it grants people second chances in life. In this post I'm referring to love in a broader sense, not just romantic love, as of course many different types of love are portrayed and have deep importance in HxH. We see the theme of transformative love in so many different relationships and instances that it's difficult to even summarize them--a few examples are Gon and Killua, Meruem and Komugi, Meruem and his Royal Guard, Ging and Kite, Killua and Ikalgo, even in less major character pairs like Ging and Razor (Razor: "Ging taught me it took only one person, one person in the entire world who will trust you, to save you.") and Kite and Koala, but that's only scraping the surface. I reblogged a previous wonderful meta that pointed out the domino effect of Killua's act of kindness towards Ikalgo, which ended up changing the ultimate trajectory of humanity's war against the Chimera Ants. This is a great example of this theme in action!

But of course, while meeting and loving someone can transform that person's whole life, so also can losing someone significant. It can set someone on a completely different life track than they would have been on had they not lost them--Kurapika, Leorio, Senritsu, the Phantom Troupe (especially with their flashback in recent chapters), Gon and Kite, Kacho and Fugetsu (though this hasn't played out all the way yet) come to mind, but there are many more throughout the series as well. Not all of the losses that fit into this are someone losing their other half/most important person, but there's a solid enough percentage that it certainly seems to be a trend Togashi is establishing and exploring.

It's difficult to explore one of these themes in depth and with honesty without the other--love happens, loss of loved ones happens, both are deeply transformative, and both can ultimately be placed under the broader umbrella of the transformative power of love. After all, if losing a person causes someone's entire life path to change, chances are they loved them a great deal and the force behind the change that occurs in their life is the love and grief they still feel after the loss.

HxH has many tragic elements and Togashi certainly doesn't shy away from the heart-wrenching and long-lasting results of loss, but I think it's fair to say from the 400 chapters we have so far that HxH's themes are not ultimately tragic and hopeless on this topic by any means. In HxH:

Death is not always insurmountable, i.e., Kite, the Chimera Ants in general

The life path one ends up on after a major loss need not be a tragic one, i.e. Leorio deciding to be a doctor and help children in poverty as a result of losing his friend

Death in itself can be an act of love, i.e. Meruem and Komugi, Netero and humanity

Even if one ends up on a dark path as a result of loss, that doesn't mean they can't be saved by someone else's love for them, i.e., Gon and Killua, this could also end up being the trajectory for Kurapika and Leorio potentially?

With Gon and Killua, their whole relationship is based on them transforming each other and giving each other second chances:

Gon saving Killua simply by not judging him, befriending him, and showing him another life path

Gon retrieving Killua from the Zoldyck family when Killua's resolve broke down because of Illumi

Killua pulling the needle of out of his head out of sheer love for and desire to protect Gon

And of course Killua not allowing Gon to die, simultaneously saving him and transforming Alluka's life.

(And Killua's ability to save and help Alluka is of course, a direct result of the kindness Gon extended to Killua and the love Killua has for Gon.)

There's no way to know for certain what will happen in their future, but I definitely think their relationship has one more transformation in it at least, in the form of a reunion and reconciliation.

So, in summary, I think these themes of someone losing a person who was their other half and how one continues to live after that are another way of exploring the broader theme of what it means to love someone and be transformed by meeting them, which I see as a primary theme of HxH. I also think some of these relationships are intended to be comparisons to or foils of Gon and Killua's relationship in a sense (especially Kurapika and Pairo and Kacho and Fugetsu, but others as well), expanding on the themes of their relationship and how a love that deep affects people, both in beautiful and in deeply painful ways.

[littleaipom]

Propaganda post about my fave medias time! [#1]

Hiiii, I just wanna talk about and recommend some things I like on my blog here! I don't always draw fanart for everything that I like and find inspiring, but I like sharing what I feel are gems with others. (the gifs im adding arent mine)

I've got a small handful of movies that involve animals and a predator+prey relationship, with plenty of cute moments mixed with heart-aching moments. They're all animated kids movies with the potential to hit pretty hard. There's something tragic to the way each movie acknowledges nature and has a character try and fight the standard order of things.

One Stormy Night

Over time, this one has become my favorite of these. This movie can provide such an unexpected comfort with how it approaches friendship as something that can transcend all else, and not need any complex reason to exist. It centers around a friendship between a wolf and goat, from how they first become friends and into how they have to fight to keep their friendship. The art style and protagonists are adorable and goofy, maintaining a delightful levity and earnestness throughout the whole movie. There is still plenty of drama surrounding their romeo-and-juliet-type relationship, and the lengths these characters go to to be friends is captivating. I rewatch this movie every now and then and it still manages to make me cry through it's earnestness and the truths it speaks to.

You are Umasou

The art style for this is extremely bright, unrealistic, cartoony, and adorable. The story is similarly cartoony, and yet it hits on some very grounded topics about family, facing difficult truths, and finding your own path in life even if it doesnt fit what's conventional. This movie gets bonus points from me for having two main predator+prey relationships that mirror each other. It's heartwarming and silly and has plenty of entertaining action moments with a good dose of drama. It's really charming and sticks with me.

Chirin's Bell

Heads up, this one is bleaker than the rest, and I love it for it's tragedy(behind the very cute artstyle for the sheep, no less). The protaganist sheep starts from an understandable position where he is tired of being the prey, the victim. His journey to do something about it pushes him to see and do things he never would have done otherwise. And it's this path he takes that has both impressive and unintended consequences. The film seems to pose questions like "is it better to live in ignorance if you can?", "how far will you go to ensure you can't be hurt again?", and "how do you reconcile with abandoning your origins?". The ending feels inevitable and yet haunting all the same.

Leafie: A Hen into the Wild

This one has held up for me perhaps the least, due to it's specific brand of cartoony-ness and unexpected gross factor(this ties into the original vs english/censored versions of the movie. arguably it's a personal preference thing in the end, but i'm actually glad i watched the censored version first.) However, it has still hit home for me several times before and deserves it's credit! The movie tackles the idea of remaining locked inside a system vs living free in the wild where there are many more dangers and mistakes to be made. It also focuses heavily on motherhood, where love and selflessness win in a fight against the uncaring and unmoving whims of others and nature itself. The protagonist's determination to be free and live the life she wants despite her ignorance and the pain it causes her is very moving to me. There is tragedy sprinkled thru the movie and yet it's underscored by how the protagonist is resolved see it all as worthwhile. The movie is often goofy, often dramatic, and overall bittersweet.

So yeah, check them out if any sound interesting! ^^

[thelordofgifs]

On Maglor’s Fate

(and why it’s a good thing)

I’ve seen several excellent posts by people far more knowledgeable about HoME than I pointing out that Maglor’s fate in the published silm – wandering the shores in eternal lament – was in fact taken by Christopher Tolkien from a single draft of the legendarium, and that JRRT’s later conception of Maglor’s fate was that he died by suicide at the same time as Maedhros, casting himself into the sea along with his Silmaril. This is a very good point, but despite the fandom’s general lack of adherence to published silm canon (see the prevalence of crispy Amrod truthers, or the lack of consensus on Gil-galad’s parentage) most people seem to have cleaved rather strongly to the idea of Maglor’s survival. Why?

Well, I would like to argue, because it’s SO much more interesting.

Of course, your headcanons are valid! If you prefer thinking that Maglor died at the end of the First Age, go for it; most of the texts support you! But for all the Maglor girlies (gender-neutral) out there, here’s a non-exhaustive list of reasons why Maglor’s survival is better, more satisfying storytelling, and you should continue to cling to this one outdated draft of the silm.

It fits Maglor’s arc better. For such a popular character, I always find it interesting that Maglor is only really developed in the final chapter of the silm – but what we do get in that final chapter is so fascinating. He takes pity on Elrond and Elros, he speaks against stealing the Silmarils, and, most pertinently to my point here, he effectively relinquishes his claim to Eärendil’s Silmaril. The straight line from "its glory is seen now by many, and is yet secure from all evil", to wanting to surrender to Eönwë, to actually throwing a Silmaril into the sea is SO delicious. A lot of that character growth is wiped out if Maglor instead casts both himself and the Silmaril into the sea.

It better sets up Maglor as a foil to Maedhros. I will never shut up about how Maglor's last debate with Maedhros is the best and most heartbreaking dialogue in the book. Its construction is exquisite, and one of the things I love about it the most is the way they mirror each other's words, becoming, in a way, reflections of each other. ("Who shall release us?"—"If none can release us...") All of Maglor's actions in the final chapter are in direct contrast to Maedhros': compare the fostering of Elrond and Elros with Maedhros' failure to save Eluréd and Elurín, and then consider why it is that Maglor still seems to have some hope that things will all work out (which is why he wants to surrender) while Maedhros despairs completely. That contrast makes it important to me that Maglor reacts in a different, more optimistic manner than Maedhros to the Silmarils burning them. ("More optimistic" by the bleak bleak standards of the end of the silm, at least.) I also really like the kidnap fam parallels of Elros and Maedhros both choosing death in very different ways, whereas Elrond and Maglor both choose life - E&E almost repeating M&M's decisions in a healthier and more wholesome manner.

It better preserves Maedhros' arc. Leading on from the last point, but, I think, separate. Maedhros' suicide, in addition to being just ridiculously tragic, is fascinating. The despair, the profundity of the realisation that it was all for nothing, the idea that Maedhros, who spent decades as a captive of Morgoth, is the one person knows exactly what being burned by the Silmarils means - aahh it's so good I can't dissect it all here. But do also consider Maedhros begging Fingon to kill him, and how he finally got his wish, centuries later! That terrible fall from grace is Maedhros' story. I think having Maglor also die by suicide actually diminishes Maedhros' tragedy, with the rather perverse outcome that two deaths end up being less sad than one.

Unresolved endings are good. This is a rather more personal one, tbh - but I love those last messy loose ends, and Maglor's survival is a quintessential one. Don't the great tales never end? There is, of course, so much excellent fanfic potential in Maglor still wandering Middle-Earth into the Second and Third Ages. Here's a legend from the Elder Days, and you can have him stroll into Rivendell if you want! So much more satisfying than neatly wrapping the story up and tying a bow on top.

As far as I can tell, Tolkien's own reasons for having Maglor die instead were that he wanted Galadriel to be the last surviving leader of the rebellion of the Noldor; I've also seen it argued that Maglor needs to die so that Celebrimbor can be the last surviving Fëanorian. To be honest, I don't think Maglor's survival does much damage to either of these arcs. He's effectively a non-entity after the First Age; the text specifies that he "came never back among the people of the Elves". So you can definitely prefer a version of canon where Maglor lives without losing all those Very Important Feelings about Celebrimbor!

There are, of course, myriad self-indulgent reasons why you might also prefer to think Maglor doesn't die. Maybe you just like him and it would be too sad if he dies; maybe you ship him very specifically with someone born in the Second Age; maybe you just want Elrond to have one thing left after everyone he's lost. I didn't include these in the above list because that was attempting to focus more on literary reasons why Maglor's survival makes for a better story, but they are all so valid and I agree with all of them! But hopefully Points 1-4 can be emphatically whipped out the next time someone implies that the fandom is clinging to Maglor's survival for solely sentimental reasons. There are good, solid grounds for wanting Maglor to live, we promise! It actually improves the story!

you're just jealous our blorbo survives and yours doesn't—

[thefirstknife]

To take a break from this week's awfulness, I wanted to tag in on Calus in LF. As you deftly laid out, it's perfect for his character & his relationships with the Witness & Caiatl. It shows him as vain & pathetic. But that's precisely why it fails *as a game villain*. He needs to be scary & powerful for our final battle, but it was just sad to me. A sad little man, unloved & desperate. Compared to Sav, Oryx etc it's a big emotional difference. What do you think from the angle of *game* villain?

Oh that's an interesting question, no worries!

Honestly, it really depends on what type of a villain people expect or prefer. I can see why some would prefer a villain to not be this way or at least if they didn't know all the details. I personally really love villains like this; villains who have put themselves into a path that led them to being just sad, abandoned, lonely and desperate people, despite being given options and a way out, multiple times. But their refusal to accept change is what ultimately led them to their fate.

Calus fits this really well! There's definitely a tragedy to him and his life as a whole. This doesn't really bring the same sort of joy over his defeat as it would be to defeat someone who is villainous in a different way so I can understand why people would feel off for killing him. But personally I believe that Lightfall's whole theme fits this with Calus. He was a sad little man, who rejected everything to overcome his problems and grief and instead chose the simpler path, unlike us; we worked through our grief and took the more difficult way but ultimately more rewarding. It's the primary dichotomy between the way of Light and the way of Darkness. The Witness is also important to consider here because the Witness looks for these types of people in particular for manipulation. A sad little man like Calus was overjoyed to meet the Witness, ages ago. The Witness played with that aspect of him and promised him everything he wanted; most of all, to be important and to be seen.

And in truth, he simply wasn't. He was being used, as all who side with the Witness are. With the whole setup of loss at the end of Lightfall, yeah; his defeat didn't feel as triumphant as it would've been if he'd been different. I believe that was intended. It definitely gave me more of a sense of relief that we put him to rest, rather than triumph. The Witness does that to people. You're kinda glad that you're putting those irreversibly manipulated by it out of their misery. It's also reflected with Caiatl who was basically just tired of it all and just wanted to know if it's done.

I'd even say that Oryx was a similarly tragic figure, though not exactly in the same way. Oryx was also manipulated and he struggled with his doubts all of his life. And when he finally came to attack us, he was literally just a father struck with grief over losing his child. He was more of an imminent threat to the solar system of course, so there was more triumph in defeating him. His story was also much more obscure overall (given how D1 did lore). To a lot of people, Oryx was just a scary monster that arrived to kill everyone. But once you know the background (and especially now with the full scope of it and the role of the Witness in shaping the Hive into who they are), I believe that he is also one of those villains that are ultimately just tragic people. I know Oryx is like that to me.

So yeah, I think this is a really interesting perspective to consider. I still think that this does work for villains, it's just not something that everyone equally enjoys. An expectation for villains is that we should feel good for ending them. But Destiny in general has given us many questions about that over the years; Uldren is a perfect example. He was also painted as a villain, but even back then (and especially now with Crow post-Haunted), I genuinely felt like crap for what we did to him. And that was kinda baked into Forsaken as well; our revenge rampage was never meant to be heroic. There was no real glory or justice in it.

This is definitely something that not everyone will perceive the same way and that not everyone will equally enjoy, especially when considering what the expectations are going into it.

[sunfyredarchive]

i really wasn't gonna do this but i just started typing and couldn't stop myself. pretty sure so many things left unsaid but needed it to get it off my chest somehow.

let me start with saying that as a sunfyre && aegon enjoyer, the actual reason of my discomfort is NOT the way they ended up. i am sad about it ofc, but i knew that was one of the few canon outcomes they wouldn’t alter much ( && must have reaaaallly enjoyed depicting for reasons 🤡 ) so what left me so shaken was not the sight of sunfyre— a creature i’ve been stanning and really wanting to see for literally a decade— and aegon’s canon fate but the way it was delivered, obviously. as i’ve been discussing with some of my close mutuals and friends on here, personally i’m no longer enjoying the endless and, at this point, quite out of control woobification of aegon in particular. please don’t get me wrong, i wasn’t expecting him to be depicted in a controversially positive / heroic light all of a sudden especially with their unquestionably pro-rhaenyra ( not pro-black in general ) and anti-aegon ( not anti-green in general ) agenda, which did not bother me this much until this season. at first it seemed creative and tragically engrossing, to depict aegon so unwilling and pitiful and so not ready to rule. it added him way more nuance and promised a compelling character development. something that honestly made me find him way more interesting because i seldom care for stereotypical && morally flawless / less flawed leaders in fiction. but i was expecting / hoping for jaehaerys to be a bit of a turning point for aegon’s character, and i know i’m not alone in that so i also can’t be the only one who’s so sick and tired of aegon still being a clumsy comic relief with how cartoonishly pathetic they’re so adamant on depicting him until the very end ?? stuff like his own council leaving him on read and now his terrible high valyrian ( i don’t wanna start yapping about this either but lemme say i like the idea of aegon being not as fluent and eloquent as aemond, it fits his overall personality. can be interpreted as him being lazy / easily bored / having adhd / rebelling his targaryen upbringing like cutting his hair short also indicated etc etc I LIKE THAT !! makes sense. but they didn’t need to go so overboard with it like they did with every other logically negative aspect of him. the high valyrian scene would be so much better with aegon simply getting irritated and backing down from the conversation due to his current lack of military prowess rather than him downright being unable to form a single coherent sentence lol ), like .. please. so are we really going to take only the most outrageous, downgrading theories from an already unreliable narration because anything that is mildly admirable about him must be green propaganda ?? he just has to be so laughably bad at everything and anything because he’s “evil” ?? i didn’t know this was supposed to be a morality play.

now back to rook’s rest. i understand there aren’t enough details about the dragon conflict here so of course the anti-aegonism pioneers felt justified to run with the idea that’d paint him in the worst light by ridiculing him as blatantly as possible ( aka taking away one of his few redeemable qualities, which is trying to be an active player by commanding his own armies instead of remaining out of harm’s way by choice ) and make his most prominent attempt at leading look like a scorned child’s petty, impulsive, barely-conscious decision which only proved everyone who believed him to be a failure; right. whereas all the other prominent characters on team black are made to look utterly brave && heroic for merely suggesting to do the same... cute. now they can because they ain’t aegon uwu. you know, someone who actually did fight until he was left almost unrecognizable. now look me in the eye and tell me that isn’t a too under the nose way to manipulate “canon” info to serve a biased agenda.

what’s more disappointing for me personally is how sunfyre could not escape the anti-aegonism’s wrath either, who’s always been more special to me than aegon himself. here we see aegon and aemond as joined forces, against the common foe, appearing at the very same time so nothing justifies aegon showing up unannounced and almost ruining a whole ass plan nobody bothered to fill him in on— another illogically biased addition to further ridicule aegon. mind you, since there isn’t enough to decipher aemond’s true intentions during this battle, i really wouldn’t mind him ending up causing more damage to aegon/sunfyre than even rhaenys/meleys, but the choice to make him so blatantly attack his brother/king and one of the very few fighting dragons they had when they chose to make this very same guy be a lot more distraught over killing lucerys is just .. cartoonish. imagine society if we were allowed to watch two brothers managing to set aside their personal grudges despite all the clumsy attempts at paving the way for a bigger enmity ( the brothel scene can’t sit with us ). i also wouldn’t mind seeing aemond visibly being tempted to hurt aegon for a split second during the intense eye contact only to attack in a more ambiguous way rather than downright aiming at aegon, it’d be closer to his actions in book too but the disney villanism won because, again, they simply cannot be allowed to appear like a semi-caring family. something i will also omit in my own portrayal because i’ve always believed the eye incident being a turning point for aemond/aegon’s relationship.

gonna end my angry rambling by going back to woobified sunfyre. notice how it is worded as “against vhagar alone she might have had some chance, but against vhagar and sunfyre…” not the other way around. not pointing out the more obvious fact that meleys would be able to take down sunfyre if it wasn’t for vhagar. which means we can safely accept the fact sunfyre was an important and necessary player for this whole “trap”. him and aegon didn’t just randomly show up on a whim to rain on aemond’s parade out of jealousy. they were always meant to be a part of this because apparently not even vhagar could defeat meleys alone and remain unscathed, she needed a distraction. and before anyone claims the attached part might also be pro-green propaganda ( just like the whole sunfyre’s beauty && loyalty were exaggerated allegations because apparently anything that’s mildly praise-worthy is immediately shot down as a propaganda but !! only if it’s about a green 😉 ) — i strongly disagree, mostly because of that iconic line about princess rhaenys’ courage. because guess what ?? you actually can praise AND accuse both parties in a well-balanced manner instead of butchering a perfectly tragic && intentionally ambiguous story by bending the “facts” to your will. shocking to some i presume.

[zelda-the-sacred-realm]

As much as I enjoyed the story of totk, I feel like it doesn’t really do ganondorf justice in terms of personality and goals. Throughout the game all he does is boast about his desire for power and how he hates how peace has made people go “soft”. I don’t necessarily think that he has to be this tragic sympathetic figure, I just wish he had the same depth and nuance that the other characters had in the game.

I always thought a great way of demonstrating a more complex and nuanced approach to his character would be dark foil to Link. Him growing up as a sorta chosen one and hero of his people with initial goals being the power to provide for his people and create a world of great warriors. However his pride and ambition combined with his transformation into the demon king corrupted and warped his mind until all he cared about was his own power to make the world as he saw fit. By the time Link and him meet, he’s resigned himself to his role as the villain of this story cause he believes that this is what the world intended for him. Him consuming the secret stone also highlighting the moment his armor finally breaks as he can’t bear to think of the idea that everything he’s fought and sacrificed for was all in vain. So he’d rather give it all up just to say he at least destroyed the man that ruined his plans once and for all. But his last ditch effort to wind not only destroys his mind as well as omit his influence on hyrule, but he’s defeated shortly after by the light dragon and Links combined efforts. In the end Ganondorf was his own worst enemy.

I like your thoughts on Ganondorf, I also think that he is always the villain positioned in the story but that he doesn't have an obvious reason to be so evil.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with some games is that little attention is paid to the motive of the villain, it is easy to create a character, position him and tell the player, here, he is your enemy. But why is that character evil? Why does he want to kill and conquer? What's in his past? Ganondorf doesn't respond to any of these, and maybe that's the reason why I'm never interested in him at all.

I have an example of a really well developed villain, he's from Final Fantasy XV and his name is Ardyn. An incredible story was developed for him, he was a good person, dedicated to saving his people from a deadly virus, the brother, on the other hand, was selfish and violent. Well the oracle announced that Ardyn should ascend the throne, but his brother knew it and set a trap for him, which ended with the death of the oracle herself, who was also Ardyn's sweetheart.

Moral of the story is that his brother ascended the throne and locked up Ardyn, and for many years Ardyn swore to destroy the family that descended from his brother.

For me this is an example of how to characterize a villain, giving a reason for his actions.

Sorry if I dwelt too much, but the topic interested me a lot, so I hope that sooner or later Nintendo will take care of giving Ganondorf a motive, so that maybe the players can also understand him.

Thank you for discussing this topic with me!

[maniacwatchestheworld]

Two-Face ought to be a top Batman sexyman!

Of the candidates left in @batman-heritageposts' Batman Sexyman tournament, in my mind Two-Face is the best suited to be considered the best Batman sexyman, even though unlike Scarecrow, he does not even have an actual entry on Sexypedia! To prove my point, I have gone onto Sexypedia's trope list and taken the liberty of actually compiling a list of all the sexyman tropes that I believe can definitively apply to him. So for your viewing pleasure, the list:

Angst Tragic backstory. Lamenting the life he's lost as well as his own present existence. Two-Face is FULL of all kinds of angst! And given that he used to be besties with Bruce, he even makes Batman angst too!

Chaoslord Comes with the territory of his gimmicks. He is often noted as being Batman's most unpredictable villain because he lets a coin make all of the decisions for him! Even he can't predict what he's going to do next! Chaos vs order is a persistent theme with him.

Criminal Obviously.

Dealmaker More in a gambling way than in a supernatural 'deal with the devil' way. But he often makes promises and deals and will keep to them so long as the coin flips the right way. Also he used to be a lawyer. Kinda comes with the territory.

DILF He may not be a canonical parent right now, but boy does he have the vibes for it!

Distinctive Voice (Two-Face) While Harvey tends to talk in a pretty normal voice, Two-Face often talks in a growl. Depends on the iteration though.

Divorced We know for a fact that Harvey was married... And while in current canon his wife is supposed to be dead, in many canons it's often unclear whether she's dead, they split up for whatever reason through whatever methods, or whether they're still together. Because you know. Continuity! In any case, him being divorced from Gilda isn't an unpopular theory. A valid one, certainly given how he's caught up in a cycle of being at Arkham and on the streets as a criminal.

Dominating (Two-Face) Usually Two-Face, not Harvey so much, and through sheer force of personality. Big step on me vibes here!

Duality The basis of his entire character and gimmick!

Egotistical (Two-Face) Harvey tends to be a pretty humble guy. He certainly has a lot to brag about, being a legitimate legal genius and all, but he tends to keep it on the down-low. Two-Face on the other hand? He ABSOLUTELY thinks that he's hot shit and will brag about it, and will shoot at anyone who doesn't want to listen or disagrees with him!

Eye Imagery His whole asymmetrical deal leads to him having very... Interesting eyes... In many iterations he doesn't have an eyelid on the scarred side, making that eye look bulbous in comparison. Also the whole getting half of his face melted off thing led to his eye color changing in many iterations. So as a minimum, he's usually portrayed as having some form of heterochromia.

Gay/Questionable LGBT Rep The fact that this man who is Bi everything NOT being confirmed as interested in men should be considered a CRIME! Let Harvey make out with Bruce already!

Hot-headed (Two-Face) Harvey can usually keep his cool, but Two-Face is noted for being very hot-headed. When Harvey loses his temper, that's usually when Two-Face ends up fronting.

Intelligence (mostly Harvey) While Two-Face is certainly no idiot, Harvey is likely the smarter one by sheer virtue of he's an actual genius when it comes to matters involving the law. Law genius also translates pretty well to criminal genius, turns out. There was a reason that Harvey was District Attorney. He was just the best damn lawyer in all of Gotham and for good reason!

Knifemurderer Yep! Two-Face sure has murdered a whole lot of people! Two-Face is probably most well-known for deciding whether to kill people or not based off of a coin flip.

Magnificent Bastard In many iterations, fits this trope to a T.

Power of Love In his third ever appearance, he decided to stop being a criminal because Gilda still loved him despite his appearance. Since then, this is a theme that continues to pop up now and again with his character- that so long as people love Harvey, he can be saved.

Questionable Neurodivergent Rep Is explicitly shown to be plural and having OCD. The representation is often... Not so great... Though it does seem to be a thing that many writers are trying to improve on.

Scars Literally half of his entire face, and oftenhis body will be scarred up too! It's where he gets his moniker of "Two-Face" and is therefore deeply tied to his character and gimmicks.

Tall Usually.

Twisted Freaking Cycle Path Yep! Usually with DID.

Unkempt (Two-Face) Harvey usually keeps pretty tidy, but sometimes Two-Face will be unkempt on his side of the body.

Villain Obviously.

Morally Grey Obviously, again. Also this is like his entire deal!

Well-Dressed/Suitguy He's practically THE suitguy of the Batman rogues gallery! With snazzy two-tones suits that are split down the middle too! Definitely among the best dressed of the rogues.

White Hair Often his disfigured side will have messy white hair, if he has hair on that side at all.

Meanwhile, how many sexyman tropes apply to Dick Grayson? I'll be honest, I know nothing about the Talon iteration of Dick Grayson and therefore more of the sexyman tropes likely apply to him than your bog standard Dick Grayson... BUT IS IT 27 TROPES!!!??? Even Scarecrow doesn't have 27 tropes attributed to him on his sexyman page! And I didn't even include the more subjective tropes the require a fair bit of popularity like Johnlocked, Controversial, or Fanon Splintering!

Do the right thing and prove that Two-Face is the best Batman sexyman!

Vote Harvey "Two-Face" Dent for Batman sexyman!

[battlekidx2]

The Ghost and Molly McGee Season 2 Thought So Far

I can’t believe I haven’t talked about The Ghost and Molly McGee yet. I have multiple drafts in my docs and on tumblr but I could never really get my thoughts across as well as I would like but I’ve decided to just put my thoughts out here because I really do enjoy this show.

The ghost and molly mcgee is one of those shows that shocked me with just how much I enjoyed it. I think that’s purely because it doesn’t fall into the tone of show I usually lean towards. I usually gravitate towards shows like Arcane, Invincible, Amphibia, and The Owl House to use recent examples. Shows that are very bittersweet (or in Arcane’s case straight-up tragic) and know how to gut punch you with emotional moments. I feel seen in certain aspects of these shows and the hard truths they portray that many people have experienced but that isn’t what I need all the time and the Ghost and Molly McGee perfectly fits what I need outside of those types of shows.

It’s a show that champions joy and connections and it sees the best in people. In a time that seems to be filled with hate and is hard to experience day to day, this is the type of show I need to unwind and feel a bit more hopeful.

The Ghost and Molly McGee had a phenomenal first season. It was an amazing introduction to the characters, world, and themes of the show that ended on a bang with Molly vs the ghost world. I had a lot of excitement heading into the next season, but was unsure of where the show would go from that explosive finale and I can safely say that the second season is off to a great start. 

I love the introduction of the Chens and how their profession of being ghost hunters comes into conflict with their friendship with the McGees. It's an interesting dynamic that adds a level of tension to Molly and Scratch’s adventures that wasn’t present in season 1. There wasn’t much of a threat of anyone discovering Molly’s friendship with Scratch or exposing their escapades, especially after Libby was brought into the fold, so I really like the decision to add threats on the human side of things.

The Chens themselves have a lot of potential as characters and are already interesting foils to the McGees. Most of them don’t have much development yet and they are very similar to the McGees in terms of personality, but the show has already set up very interesting plotlines for them. 

Ollie in particular has a lot of potential due to his discovery at the end of “I Really Wanna Dance with Some Ollie”. He made the conscious decision to not tell his mother that he discovered that Molly is friends with Scratch which sets up an interesting conflict in his character and it adds depth to his actions and bond with Molly. 

Right now he is a copy of Molly in many ways (as are all of the Chens with the McGees) but it’s only a few episodes into season 2 so there are a lot of opportunities for growth.

I also really like June and love that she’s canonically autistic. The Ghost and Molly McGee is great when it comes to representation. It is very racially diverse and I appreciate that it has background/normalized lbgtq+ characters and is now including main characters that are intentionally and explicitly neurodivergent. Representation matters. I’ve written about why I believe representation is important before so I’ll spare the essay but I believe that people being able to see aspects of themselves not depicted as frequently in media in characters on this show, especially this show’s age demographic, is a good thing.

Another development I really liked is what the show has decided to do with the ghost world, specifically the chairman. The idea that Scratch is forced into a role of authority after the events of the finale is really interesting. There are so many directions they can take this idea and it’s a really good way to force Scratch out of his comfort zone and get him to grow. This also expands on the lore in regards to the ghost world which we still know little about. I look forward to the ways in which this can explore Scratch’s character and give us more insight into the show’s lore.

Scratch gets some very poignant character moments even outside of the chairman development  in these episodes with the best example being “A Soda to Remember”.

“A Soda to Remember” is my favorite episode of the batch that dropped because of how it juxtaposes Scratch’s character and the glimpse of his past with the wacky antics of the episode. There’s a palpable melancholy to the flashback at the end of the episode that works so well considering the overall tone of the show. It builds a lot of emotion and intrigue around it that makes the episode and Scratch’s arc in it hit a lot harder.

Episodes in The Ghost and Molly McGee almost always end on an optimistic note so that final scene strikes a unique emotional cord within the show. This technique was used sparingly in the first season with it only occurring in the episode “Out of House and Home” when the McGees lose their house and when Scratch is taken back to the ghost world in “The Jig is Up”. The show knows when to slow down and allow these emotional moments to sit which is part of why I enjoy it so much.

This actually might be the plotline I am most interested in seeing explored in the future.

Overall I think the second season of The Ghost and Molly McGee is off to a great start!

[romanticizingmurder]

Hi! 2, 10, 12, 22 and 23 for the salty ask (tvc fandom) 😁😁😁😁

2) Lestat & Armand! I can't picture their dynamic in a way that presses any of my buttons.

10) Okay so the only book I couldn't bring myself to finish was Memnoch, but in terms of arcs within books I otherwise enjoy: like everyone else, could not get into the replimoids, I wish we had just stuck with ghosts and witches as our non vampire supernatural creatures, and I cannot take QotD's plot seriously in the slightest. Love QotD for it's character work, cannot handle either the present day Akasha story or the many many pages of backstory.

12) I feel like SO many depending on the section of fandom. So first, unironic totb stan here! I know some people didn't love the talamasca and psychic shenigans but I think that actually did work as a way of expanding the TVC world without getting too far astray. Also won't say I liked blood canticle but I think if you can push through the sillier and stranger bits it has some good lines.

Character wise: Not unpopular with our section of fandom lmao but in a broader sense, Marius & Armand in Venice. I don't view it as abusive or predatory (beyond what you could argue about any vampire/human relationship, I guess), I just think it's romantic and tragic in how brief they had each other.

22) I'm not really someone who actively dislikes any characters in media, I'm usually just indifferent if a character doesn't appeal to me. So in terms of characters I just don't understand the interest of, personally: Akasha is just deeply boring to me as a character outside of her impact on other characters like Marius and Pandora.

23) Okay assuming Marius is too popular to fit here: Antoine, Zenobia, Goblin (I feel bad for him...)

[avvidstarion]

1, 6, 8, 12, and 17 my hater in arms 💕

The character everyone gets wrong

OKAY this is niche and OUTTA LEFT FIELD but my favorite book of ALL TIME is we have always lived in the castle by shirley jackson and the HATE i see for its protagonist is ALL WRONG. It's in the same vein as like Chara undertale hate (another of my fave characters of all time) where peoples see a CHILD that clearly has a lot going on and are like. this person is irredeemably evil. no they're traumatized

6. Which ship fans are the most annoying?

bloodweave sorry bloodweave like. for why. why is it so popular why is it everywhere. like yeah every origin ship is valid and can be canon but like they both have much more interesting dynamics with other charactes. where is the gale/lae'zel art. hwere is the aslach (ass lack) or the aswylllach (ass will lack) art. why is bloodweave the most popular origin ship

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

okay this doesn't exactly fit bc i dont think it's super popular per se but it's on my mind today. i hate seeing fanart of kakashi and gojo together. people always twinkify them and alwasy draw them like they're about to fuck. 1) kakashi is not hot (dont get me wrong i want to fuck him but not cause he's like. physically attractive.) 2) they are not the same person 3) gojo will never be kakashi gojo wishes he was kakashi 4) kakashi would kill that man

OH OH ALSO THAT REMINDS ME I'LL THROW THIS IN HERE TOO. i don't like kakashi/iruka i think it's unfounded. they hardly ever talk. yeah they both love naruto but like can just be his mentor figures separately they don't have to be married. kakashi is married to guy like they are MARRIED. i feel like kakashi/guy would be way more popular if guy was a prettyboy twink (like iruka)

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

i wanna say wyll but like that shit actually makes me fucking angry and not in a silly haha way so i am going to instead say sera dragonage. now. i know there are a lot of sera dragonage haters out there and there are some things about her that i do not like. however i overall love her and i think she is a tragic case of bad writing and wasted potential. why did they have a straight white guy write a lesbian whose character arc revolves around internalized racism. why does the game literally talk shit about her during her romance arc. literally one of her romance quests is "you love sera and wanna get her something to show her how much you care. go ask your friends for gift advice" and EVERY SINGLE COMPANION OR ADVISOR IS JUST LIKE. I HATE SERA SHES SO ANNOYING WHY ARE YOU DATING HER. UGH. ALSO. the game makes you be so mean to her!! so many times the only dialogue options with her are like "stop talking weird i dont understand you'". also the fact that YOU CAN LITERALLY KICK HER OUT AT ANY TIME??? LIKE NO MATTER WHAT THERE IS ALWAYS A DIALOGUE BUTTON TO KICK HER OUT?? here are reasons why you should like sera:

she is fun trickster! solas fucking wishes he was her.

her subclass is just super fun!! throw jars of bees and fire and shit at your enemies!

she is so genuine and cares so much about what she believes in. i wish that was explored more but as i have said the game literally hates her so.

she loves you so much!!!! she marries you!!!!!!!!!

i actualy really like her voice and the way she talks. shes just fun!

she's autistic <3

17. there should be more types of this fic/art

more people should be drawing gale and halsin and karlach fat, for one. also everyone else in the party but like especially those three. larian the fact that you have zero fat people in your game sucks supremely and you should feel bad about it.

actually draw more characters as fat anyway.

[ace-and-the-rpg-horrors]

a so small ahsy for the asks game? ( ・∇・)

favourite thing about them: how tragic his character is and how that contrasts with the childish, light-hearted way he behaves. there's an inner conflict, he seems to be unable to decide which will be his true nature- the caring, cheerful, silly older brother or the demonic monster who will stop at nothing to revive his dead family, even becoming a terrifying murderer himself. and how he must have felt after murdering Claire for nothing, once he realises that the Witch's Heart would not grant a positive wish such as his

least favourite thing about them: kills my girl Claire way too much, leave her alone :((

favourite line: he has so many good quotes, but here are three!

"... you lose if you worry. you lose if you hesitate."

"no matter what strange things happen, people are easily controlled by what the majority of people there agree with. even if they know it to be evil, acting as a group can sometimes lessen the recognition of it being sinful."

"... people's lives aren't well put-together like fairy tales. if you do good, you'll be rewarded; if you do bad, you'll receive punishment. nothing so convenient as that ever happens. i simply don't believe in the theory that this world is fair. actions don't always get the proper result. there are disgustingly many examples of that happening throughout the world."

brOTP: him, Lilia and Claire. gosh Ashe, who let you have TWO amazing sisters. so jealous

OTP: no one really

nOTP: Clashe and Siriashe

random headcanon: i've said this before but, he cannot stand strawberry cake because if he hadn't eaten Lilia's strawberry cake, she wouldn't have made him buy a replacement, so he wouldn't have been away from home when Matty burnt it down, along with his entire family still inside

unpopular opinion: he's not my favourite. he seems to be many people's, but i like other characters a bit more. he's still very interesting and well-written!!

song i associate with them: Villain by Stella Jang. i have an entire animatic in my little head with the PERFECT imagery to fit with the lyrics...

favourite picture of them: no i'm not biased cause this CG also has Noel and a cat in it what are you talking about

[emmym1]

My thoughts on... X-23 2005 (#1-6) "Innocence Lost"

I'm finally diving into X-23's comics! She's a character i've been dying to learn more about ever since got meet her in All-New Wolverine 2015 Annual #1 (which was part of my read of Spider-Gwen 2015). And ever since I've finished reading Avengers Academy the desire to learn more about her has only grown. So here we are! Going in I knew a little bit about X-23 and her past but this comic completely blew me away. It was an incredibly emotional ride that made me tear up and cry a few times. It's a really hardhitting and tragic story that is just very very well excuted. I was engaged with it the entire time and the writing was just top notch, especially for the narration. Speaking off, I love how the narration is Sarah and then you slowly realize the narration is actually a letter she is writting for X-23 and it really makes you view the narration in a completely different way. The character of Sarah is a very tragic one. The way she was an abuse victim herself and then became an abuser herself realizing only when it's too late is just incredibly tragic. Especially in the way the story executes it. They really dive deep into Sarah's phsyche and thoughts and all the guilt she feels over what she has done. The way that seeing her own child - X-23 - grow up to be this emotionless weapon completely changed her perspective on things. And I love how in the end it's because of X-23 that she finds hope that she can be something different and something better. The way she says it really stood out to me: "You showed me that we can choose to be something other than what we have been forced to be...That we can be something better than what we believe we are" -Sarah Kinney

It's a really beautiful quote in my opinion and it fits so well in the story and what X-23 goes through. You see her be molded to be this emotionless weapon rather than a human. But behind all that you can see the human pain and suffering she goes through. How all of this really is hurting her. The way the facility treats her was awful. Being forced to kill your own teacher against your will due to a trigger scent, being betrayed and left behind for dead by Zander, getting operated on without any anesthetic. The list goes on but she really really went through a lot of suffering and pain. The moment where she (partially) goes against her mission orders and decides to not kill Henry was such an important moment. Not only for X-23 but also for Sarah as that is what convinces her that they both can be things different from what they have been. Them teaming up to destroy and leave the facility behind was so cool. It's such an important moment for both of them and it's super gutwrenching to see how it ends. The moment where X-23's trigger scent gets activated and is forced into a state where she kills her own mom was so painful and gutwrenching. Sarah revealing X-23's real name and saying it for the first time was an incredibly emotional moment that hit me really hard. It made me cry so much, because it's a moment with so much weight and emotions behind it for so many reasons. Another really emotional moment is X-23 getting the letter from Sarah that we have been experiencing as narration the entire time. It's so well done and it hits super hard. And it's genuinely such good writing. This story was such a rollercoaster of emotions and going in I didn't expect it to hit me this hard. I am super happy I decided to start reading her comics as I am hooked and incredibly invested already. I love how character driven this story was and it just such a memorable read that is just fantastically executed. It really shows how much pain,suffering and abuse X-23 has endured and how even her freedom from that came with a significant cost. I can't wait to read the rest of her comics as she's such an interesting character with so much to her.

[okamirayne]

I finished the entire BtB series (and HHU) about a week ago and it hasn't left my mind even once.

I'm not quite sure how to put my thanks into words: You managed to make me feel so obsessed with reading like when I was a kid. I stayed up until 4 am, had to literally force myself to sleep because I was (am!) so incredibly invested. No other piece of literature has done that since like... 6 years? I cried, screamed, laughed, gasped, blushed at so many scenes - the heartache was genuinely so beautiful.

I know the first part of BtB is quite old and your writing has improved a lot since then but all the parts read incredibly seamlessly.

I could *hear* the characters voices in my head while reading, picture the scenes like a movie in my head. The attention to detail and the accuracy of the characters makes me so incredibly happy. Usually when reading, I notice every single distraction going on around me and it's so rare that something pulls me in to the point I just zero in on the story.

There's a lot of scenes that stuck in my mind and to my surprise, I resonated most with your characterisation of Genma. I went in a die-hard Neji fan (and still am) and came out with a deep appreciation for Shikamaru and Genma. (That being said, I also really love then way you portray the other characters, especially Hiashi and Ibiki who I really didn't like before.)

Genma's story just... God it has my heartstrings in a death grip. His never-ending jack-assery and dirty jokes and the way Raido sees right through it.

The fact he held onto items important to him and related to the people he loved most...

The way he handled Shikamaru and Asuma and Kurenai's baby while still insisting he doesn't do well with children.

The way he made Kakashi say what he feels near the end of UtS in an ass-backwards way but a way that didn't allow for deception and empty words.

But, I think the moment that made me sob and laugh and feel the most was when he said "You ruined it" - that fucking killed me right then and there.

When I first met Genma in your story I was really sceptical and suspicious of him, thinking he was somehow the bad guy. And then I grew to love him and hurt for him. That was so extremely well done.

I also have to get off my chest that I love, love, love the way you described his drug trips (and Kakashi's little endeavor with medicines) as well as dreams and flashbacks. I find that these things are mostly feelings and oh so confused and confusing that it's hard to put into words but you genuinely excel at it.

I also love the transitions of dreams back to reality. Keyword here being "back". God, nothing hurt me more than reading that word in HHU. I think you know which scene I mean.

I also read through old asks and found out more about Naoki and Karibi. I love these two so much as well. Karibi struck me as very interesting and I'm glad I got to find out how she lived and died. Especially because HHU kind of alluded to her commiting or attempting suicide.

Naoki... My heart hurts for him. This poor, poor man. I'm so fucking glad he didn't have to die alone. He was so strong for Genma though, building him up, putting him on the right path and giving him a verbal slap for being an addict, giving Kakashi and him his blessings eventhough he used to be so possessive and protective of Genma.

His story really is tragically beautiful and incredibly complex. I really wanted him to live but realistically I knew it wasn't going to happen.

How old were Karibi, Naoki and Genma when they joined Team Yokai? When Inoichi saw Genma and Naoki kiss and Genma talks about his Senbon hitting certain nerves (hehe), they're said to be about 17 and I remember it being mentioned that Naoki took a while to "bottom" in bed due to his childhood trauma.

Also can we talk about the Tsubomi poem? That is so *beautiful*. Did it come easy to you or was it hard to write? It fits so incredibly perfectly to Naoki and Ino.

One thing that confuses me about the storyline is the epilogue of Requiem, where Genma has a flashback(?) about Shuken holding Naoki hostage and making him reveal his name. Could you explain to a confused-maybe-stupid-me when that takes place and how Genma and Naoki escape from that situation?

I can't stop gushing about your story so i won't:

Shuken's character is also so well written. When we first meet him in Shikamarus flashbacks, I was also oddly intrigued eventhough I had an idea about what sort of fucked up things he'd done to Shikamaru. You wrote his seductiveness really well. And then he reveals his age and I got *deeply* disturbed and as we learn more I just got more and more disturbed. The progression was so well done, I felt like I was sort of experiencing what Shikamaru was going through. The use of "Shika" sent cold shivers down my spine.

I also really loved your wheels within wheels and walls within walls metaphor for the ANBU. It creates such an amazing mental image that can be played around with so creatively.

Aaa. Okay. I think I got most of my thoughts down so far. I'm sure I'll come back to gush some more, maybe ask some more.

Thank you so much for this amazing story and all the work and hours you put into it. I can't wait to read more from you 💙

My dear @sunlightrays 💙💙 Thank you so much for both your patience with me as I finally secure the time to respond, and of course, for the phenomenal feedback you've given me. As expressed in my private DM. It impacted me immensely...and I am still moved and altered by it -- thank you. I will endeavour in this reply to answer your Qs to the best of my ability, given that I do tend to revert back into a blob of incoherent feels every time I revisit this message...💙

I know the first part of BtB is quite old and your writing has improved a lot since then but all the parts read incredibly seamlessly.

Oh dear lord...that first installment....*cringes* oh the temptation to rewrite it, luv...THE TEMPTATION....(aww, thank you though, I appreciate that you felt it all flowed together).

There's a lot of scenes that stuck in my mind and to my surprise, I resonated most with your characterisation of Genma. [...] Genma's story just... God it has my heartstrings in a death grip. His never-ending jack-assery and dirty jokes and the way Raido sees right through it.

Oh, luv, I do so love writing Genma and his respective relationships, whether platonic or romantic.

I'm so freaking happy you took a shine to his portrayal in BtB! The feedback you have given me with WHY and WHAT you loved about Genma's portrayal and story was just...I can't even begin to describe how nourishing that was to my writer's soul. If every writer were to receive this kind of feedback, I can see their proverbial cups running over with gratitude and inspiration. Thank you so, so much.

I also love the transitions of dreams back to reality. Keyword here being "back". God, nothing hurt me more than reading that word in HHU. I think you know which scene I mean.

Ah god damn, but you hit me hard with the love you showed my OCs. Thank you so, so much for that and for sharing what it was that drew you in -- especially with Naoki. 💗💗💗 (Even Shuken, dare I say)

How old were Karibi, Naoki and Genma when they joined Team Yokai?

13 to 14 years old. Naoki joined when he was 13, Karibi and Genma at 14. By the time they were assigned to Team Yokai, they were all 16.

When Inoichi saw Genma and Naoki kiss and Genma talks about his Senbon hitting certain nerves (hehe), they're said to be about 17 and I remember it being mentioned that Naoki took a while to "bottom" in bed due to his childhood trauma.

Correct! They'd have been 17/18 years old at that time. Age 19 is when Naoki tragically accepted Danzo's offer and was listed as KIA after his 'fake death'.

Re: intimacy issues. Right you are. Due to his childhood abuse, Naoki refused to "bottom" for the longest time. It took a hell of a lot for Genma to work through that with him. Karibi helped with this too.

Also can we talk about the Tsubomi poem? That is so *beautiful*. Did it come easy to you or was it hard to write? It fits so incredibly perfectly to Naoki and Ino.

Aww....I'm so touched you felt that way about Naoki's poem for Ino. It's such a tough question to answer. Anything that is deeply personal or painful for the characters always twinges my heartstrings when writing...but for Naoki, his guarded emotions came out in his seldom seen/heard creativity / art, so writing it was easy in the sense that it flowed into my head easily from the character, but it was hard in the sense that it reflected so much of Naoki's pain as well as his love.

One thing that confuses me about the storyline is the epilogue of Requiem, where Genma has a flashback(?) about Shuken holding Naoki hostage and making him reveal his name. Could you explain to a confused-maybe-stupid-me when that takes place and how Genma and Naoki escape from that situation?

Oh my dearest, YOU are in no way the confused-maybe-stupid party in this. In fact, "I" am the idiot who cut a LOT of scenes surrounding Naoki's torture at Shuken's hands and the escape situation *epic facepalm* In hindsight, I would love to go back and edit that by re-writing/editing and INCLUDING those scenes. I can see the holes there from the reader's perspective, and if I hadn't been operating like a runaway train at the time, I'd have slowed down to correct that error.

So, that scene where Genma has the nightmare flashback of Shuken holding Naoki hostage. Let me do a breakdown chronology as it's the easiest way my fucked-up spiderweb mind-map can be translated into a linear sequence....

Naoki gets stabby-happy with Shuken (plunges that needle into his neck) and fucks up his ROOT mission, but prioritises saving Shikamaru

Naoki needs Genma to "buy him time" while he tries to fix the trauma and everything coming undone in Shikamaru's head

So Genma goes happy-hunting on the Freak Show as Naoki deep dives into Shikamaru's brainpan

(DELETED SCENE) Naoki stablisies Shuken so the natural energy doesn't kill him. Then Naoki deep-dives into Shikamaru's brainpan and meets with some complications because of the natural energy swimming around inside him.

(cont. DELETED SCENE) Naoki tries to stabilise Shikamaru too, but gets interrupted mid-brain-and-body-fix by more Freak Show cross-breeds looking for bossman Shuken. Naoki can't complete what he's doing with Shikamaru and needs more time. He hides Shikamaru and takes out the opponents interrupting him before rushing to assist Genma

He assists Genma lol -- ends up getting injured (takes a nasty blow to his hip, if I recall)

He tells Genma he needs more time with Shikamaru to fix the kid

Genma is too busy freaking out about Naoki stabbing his mark/Shuken in the neck and the consequences of this action

They get interrupted by more Freak Show mutants, which sabotages Naoki's plan to regroup with Shikamaru and use the Nagu blood vial to get them the hell out

Naoki opts to stay behind to distract the Freak Show and give Genma time to get Shikamaru out, so he kisses Genma in a heated moment to shut him up and save time by connecting their minds where he " communicated in seconds what would've taken minutes to put into words; why Tenka had killed those children; where he'd hidden Shikamaru; what he'd tried to do to fix him; the secret route he planned to use to get them out; and lastly, what he was asking Genma to do – no, ordering him to do." -UtS

He tells Genma to get Shikamaru out, basically, even though he hasn't finished 'fixing' the kid. Naoki gets caught (DELETED SCENE)

Genma does as he's ordered, only he can't bring himself to leave Naoki behind again so after crossing through the portal so Shuken can't reach the kid, he hides and secures Shikamaru (DELETED SCENE) and returns to go and help Naoki, letting himself get caught in the process

Naoki in the meantime has been at Shuken's mercy (or lack thereof) and is receiving a traitor's punishment (DELETED SCENE) -- it is at this point that Genma's flashback dream comes into play where Shuken is starting to shown signs of transmogrification due to the natural energy in his system (think Sound Four on steroids) and wants to know Genma's name and where he stashed Shikamaru

(LONG DELETED SCENE) Meanwhile, Kurayami is borne in Shikamaru's consciousness and THAT is the person that wakes up when Shikamaru finally comes to. He secures himself some Nagu blood, re-enters the portal and goes on the hunt for Shuken

(HUGE DELETED SCENE - hinted at in Genma's memories when he's talking to Tsunade) Shikamaru/Kurayami finds Shuken. He goes for Shuken like a heat-seeking missile, taking out mutants as he goes, unintentionally freeing Genma in the process, his shadows bringing chaos. He does damage. A lot of it. But in the last minute Naoki comes between Shuken and Shikamaru and gets Shuken's knife in the back. Shuken is out for the count after that. Naoki, knife in back, prioritises clamping his hands to Shikamaru's head, trying to shut down Kurayami and lock the alter away, as the whole building is coming down.

This was Naoki's last bid effort to try to save Shikamaru's mind by sealing off all the alters, knowing he didn't have time to integrate them.

Shocked Genma snaps into Kaika mode and gets his shit together, scooping up unconscious Shikamaru and running like a mo-fo with Naoki in tow

Naoki can't run any further, he falls and is bleeding out, tells Genma to run one last time and get the kid to safety, reminding him that Shikamaru can't be allowed to remember etc. Makes Genma swear an oath to him.

Though it costs him his heart, Genma does as he's told one final time. And it's too late to go back again after getting Shikamaru to safety at last. He believes Naoki is dead.

Phew! Sorry for that LONG list. I hope it clarifies for you those missing/deleted scenes, sweetie? Sorry again for any confusion. I own that as a big mistake on my part; sadly at the time, the mammoth wordcount and my runaway brain steamrolled ahead. In hindsight, I'd absolutely fix those gaps upon revision.

Aaa. Okay. I think I got most of my thoughts down so far. I'm sure I'll come back to gush some more, maybe ask some more.

You are most welcome to, luv. I am delighted and humbled by your interest and your huge support for my fic. Thank you for your patience with my response and thank you again, so, SO much for such an outstanding response to my insane contribution to the Naruto fandom.

I am grateful beyond measure and meant every single word I wrote you in that DM. I repeatedly revisit this review and I shall for as long as I write. 💗💗💗 Thank you.

[kaus-quietis]

The circus bookclub - The Letter Killer Club, by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky

There are some authors I simply cannot get enough of, and Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky is one of them. In this first ever edition of this new bookclub, here in the circus, I'll share with you my most recent read of him! And what more fitting title than The Letter Killer Club to introduce the bookclub, right?

Hello there! I'm the circus resident poltergeist, Eliott, managing this blog until Lav comes back. Here in the circus bookclub I share with you my most recent reads/amazing books I wish everyone would pick up one day!

Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky is an Ukrainian author born in 1887 in Kyiv, who died in Moscow in 1950. He wrote his works in russian language, and was little published in his lifetime: most of his works were published posthumously.

The Letter Killer Club is a short novel (approx. 100-150pages according to the publisher/language of translation) written in 1926. Its story revolves around the life of a Club, the Letter Killer Club, run by 7 individuals. The story starts when they welcome an 8th member, a writer intrigued by the peculiar people seeing each other once a week, in a quiet room lit by the fireplace.

In the Letter Killer Club, the members think that writing their ideas on paper would denature them. In their philosophy, ideas stay pure when they only stay to this stage: ideas. Every week, the members of the club tell each other their book ideas, scenarios, without ever writting them on paper. Each week, one member speaks. This is how the seven chapters of this book are organized, by the story of one individual, followed or interrupted by the occasionnal remarks or conversations around it (reminding me of Marguerite de Navarre's Heptameron, if some of you are familiar with french late medieval literature here). In these stories, Krzhizhanovsky seems to always explore a philosophical thought, or ideas about literature and what it is to be a writer. This is, according to me, part of what makes this book so interesting to read.

These stories are strange, almost metaphysical at times, funny and tragic. I will not go in details about them so you can fully enjoy this book, should you decide to read it, but what striked me in The Letter Killer Club is how well balanced Krzhizhanovsky's writing was, between telling the stories and the characters of the Club themselves. With very few elements, Krzhizhanovsky succeeds in creating a particular atmosphere, one that engulfs you and makes you feel like you are seated there, amongst them, almost as a 9th member of this strange reunion.

Krzhizhanovsky is an incredible writer. These themes of the idea vs. writing it, putting it on paper, what it is to write, to have ideas, to be a writer, are extremely present in most of his works, but they seem to be particularly explored in this one. During his lifetime, while he wasn't much published, Krzhizhanovsky was very present in literary circles, and therefore certainly involved in many philosophical discussions of what it meant to be a writer at that time. This shows in his works, and he explores these questions in a very clever way.

Krzhizhanovsky's writing is demanding and his ideas need some thinking and time to be well reflected upon, but I believe his works are extremely interesting if you ever want to explore more of the literature of his time. Often using fantastic elements or situations to convey his ideas, his writing is a clever mix of fantastic, abstract, absurd and reflection on writing itself.

I hope this made you curious about this author's works! Krzhizhanovsky has written many short stories as well, and these are also great if you ever want to give a chance to reading his writing.

Sources : his wikipedia page for the bio / goodreads for the english edition of the letter killer club