#( I mean in his novel series he will have character developments that makes him more aware of how his words and actions impact others )

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

The Agency's Older Brother: or, Ranpo's Character Development

I want to talk about Ranpo and the development he goes through in the series, because for as much as Ranpo is an important member of the Agency, his story is focused on in small chunks that may not always, at first read, seem to be overly significant. In fact, Ranpo’s arc is very consistent and I’m fascinated to know where it’s building to, because he’s done a lot of growing in the series. A lot of the themes of his story are to do with responsibility and faith in others.

The Ranpo we meet at the beginning of the story is not the Ranpo we see now. The biggest change is that he’s a lot more personally involved with the struggles of the Agency members, taking it on himself to be proactive and protective, while previously he had to be pushed and bribed into helping much of the time. When did this change?

Well...

[ID: Two screenshots from a scene in Poe's introductory episode of the Bungou Stray Dogs anime. In the first screenshot, Yosano lies on the carpeted ground, an axe embedded in her chest, blood pooling around her. Ranpo is crouched beside her, supporting her shoulders with one hand and clasping her hand with the other. The second screenshot is a close up of Ranpo's distressed face. End ID.]

The thing is, it's almost easy to overlook the effect this scene had on Ranpo, because Poe’s introductory chapter/episode is such a brief one. Moreover, afterwards, Poe becomes an ally and is a bit of a silly character, so it’s easy to forget sometimes that he was a legitimate threat here - and Yosano nearly died for it. This scene was incredibly significant to Ranpo for a few notable reasons.

It’s the first time someone in the Agency was in serious trouble/died without a backup plan.

It is, unfortunately, kind of on him. (Let me be real clear here: I am not blaming Ranpo. But he probably was blaming himself and that's something to keep in mind.)

To recap: Poe pulls Ranpo into his novel out of revenge, also trapping Yosano, who went with him. Ranpo realizes that they are in a world with no abilities, and importantly, he doesn't have the glasses Fukuzawa gave him.

We know those glasses mean a lot to him. When Ranpo was at his lowest, when he was convinced the world hated him, Fukuzawa gave him those glasses and told him he had a special ability. That he had a gift that no one else did that allowed him to see the truth that no one else could. Untold Origins makes it very clear that if Fukuzawa hadn't reached out to Ranpo when he did, Ranpo may have forever been outcasted. He was a kid kept in a bubble then suddenly and rudely shoved into a world he was unprepared to cope with, where he continued to get rejected and thrown out over and over - and all this on top of the grief he felt from his parents' passing. Ranpo was bitter and terrified of people, and thought everyone was pretending to be oblivious just to hurt him. Fukuzawa saved him the only way he could, in the only way Ranpo would hear him. It's not an exaggeration to say Fukuzawa saved Ranpo's life. And, while cute, it's also telling how quickly those glasses became an intrinsic part of his identity. Only maybe twenty minutes after he first received them, he was already making little doodles of himself wearing them.

Suddenly, the glasses are gone, and Ranpo goes into a funk because he "can't activate his ability without them". Obviously, we know that isn't true, and so does Yosano. Ranpo probably, deep down, knows this too, but to admit that would be to admit the president lied to him, and to uproot the very thing that gave him the means to perceive the world in a brighter light. The reason Fukuzawa had to lie in the first place was because the truth would be to tell Ranpo that his parents lied to him, something he angrily denies could ever be the case. And now, Fukuzawa is very plainly stated to be Ranpo's adoptive father. Ranpo's parents do not lie to him. He does not want to see it - and so he doesn't. This is a recurring thing with Ranpo. For as much as he sees the truth clearly, he also chooses not to see it at times when it would be uncomfortable/go against the intuition of someone he deeply trusts and respects.

And I think it's very easy to just leave it there, and say, "Oh, Ranpo realized at the end of this chapter/episode that he didn't need the glasses, that he doesn't have an ability, and that's a key turning point" but I don't feel that's the full picture or even the focus here, especially since Ranpo still hasn't reached the point where he can properly admit it aloud, even to Yosano.

The thing is, those glasses aren't just of use to Ranpo - they have sentimental value. A heck of a lot of it, for a character who is not very sentimental. The real turning point here is that Ranpo put on Yosano's glasses in order to save her.

[ID: A screenshot of a panel from the Bungou Stray Dogs manga. Ranpo puts on a pair of glasses. His hair is blown out of his face and he wears an intense expression. End ID.]

Shortly before this, we are informed by Yosano that not only was the Agency specifically formed for Ranpo to make use of his talents, but also that it was Ranpo who invited her to join - which we later learn was a pivotal moment for her to start over after she was completely broken by her experiences in the war. And now, he is watching her bleed out because she had to take over. Because he couldn't solve it. And that, to Ranpo, is unacceptable.

But again, there's more to it. Ranpo is fundamentally a self-centered character - this is not a judgement; I actually love that about him. He's the center of the Agency, the (ostensibly) good guys of the series; a narcissistic guy with little in the way of sensitivity who wants to use his skills to help others. Not for some higher ideal, or because it's "right" necessarily, but because he's good at it, and because he's supposed to protect all the "babies" who can't solve things for themselves. I love it because it highlights a major theme of BSD, which is good as something you do rather than something you are, and also because it explains something about Ranpo himself.

See, if everyone in the world is a "baby" who needs Ranpo's assistance, then the people in the Agency are a little different. They're people hand-picked by Fukuzawa to support him, both through praise and through backup. Remember that Ranpo trusts Fukuzawa's judgement more than anything - this means that he expects the Agency members can handle themselves. So, in chapter 10, when Ranpo doesn't really care that Atsushi has been taken, citing that it's a "personal problem" and he should handle it, I really think this was some odd form of "Atsushi will be fine" and "why should I worry or do anything when I know he'll be fine". And in the past, this has been true - the Agency members always pull through. None of them, up until that point, have been in a situation that they couldn't eventually fix. Ranpo has a bubble of safety in the Agency, that basically amounts to a "villain of the week" type beat from his perspective, where troubles gets fixed up pretty quickly. All in a day's work.

But then Yosano dies in Poe's book, someone he actually had some level of responsibility for when he invited her to join his safe little circle in a world that had no place for people like them. And it's a direct result of Ranpo's refusal/inability to act.

In order to fix this, Ranpo uses Yosano's glasses. The lens he's seeing through has changed. The people in the Agency were initially "his" in that they were meant to support Ranpo, the special one "chosen" by Fukuzawa's glasses, the reason for the Agency's existence in the first place. But now the people in the Agency are "his" in that they are his to protect. He's their big brother they all look up to in a way, and as the big brother, he's got to take responsibility for their safety.

Why did this not stand out in the moment? Well, we learn something about Ranpo from Untold Origins: he's very good at pretending he's doing okay and things aren't bothering him as much as they are. He's able to hold it together up until it all comes spilling out of him during the play. Also, I do think Ranpo cares about people a good deal more than he'd have you believe. A common fanon thing about Ranpo (from what I've seen) is that he tends to forget people, which, I can see how one would come to that conclusion, but I actually think it's completely wrong. I don't think Ranpo's forgotten a single person he's accused. I don't think he's forgotten a single person he's helped.

He lied about not remembering Poe, in fact, he remembered him pretty fondly as a real challenge. He remembers the information on a person from the Special Division he was asked to look into and gave the info to Mushitarou to allow him an in. He recognizes an officer he'd helped, and it's implied he recognizes every single officer who had been present while he was working on cases in the past. Does this mean he cares about all of them? ...eh. Probably not. But it does mean that Ranpo keeps a lot of his cards close to his chest. He's disarming with his intentional childishness. And so it can be difficult for the characters and readers both to notice that events like Yosano's almost-death... actually bothered him a lot more than he let on.

Because it was his fault. Because she was his responsibility. Because he's supposed to be invincible.

And unfortunately, the story from here on out does not get any kinder to Ranpo as his safe bubble that is the Agency is repeatedly targeted in ways that are increasingly hard to repair.

Fukuzawa falls ill and nearly dies in Cannibalism arc.

A girl gets blown up and Kunikida ends up in jail because Fyodor managed to manipulate Ranpo's intel.

Mushitarou is believed to have been shot and killed trying to warn Ranpo about the Decay of Angels plan.

Taneda bleeds out from a stab wound and falls into a coma. Ranpo can do nothing but listen and cannot get him help.

The amount of times Ranpo has seen people nearly die in front of him... bro it's almost as bad as Kunikida.

Much like Kunikida having extreme faith in his lofty ideals which make him fall just that much harder when he fails to uphold them, Ranpo has practically zero self-doubt and complete and utter confidence in his abilities... so when problems arise, Ranpo is very harsh on himself. He takes the blame because he's supposed to be better than that. Because he is the one with the powerful "ability" that should never fail.

In this sense, Ranpo's position in the Agency reminds me a lot of a certain person in the Port Mafia, someone who also has a powerful skill he puts towards protecting his own, someone who also received life changing words from the boss which earned him his loyalty, and someone who would do anything to defend the only place in the world he feels secure.

I think there's definitely a reason Cannibalism arc had Ranpo and Chuuya face off, I'm just saying. Both of them ostracized and thrown out as young teens by people who should've been looking out for them. Both the instigators of that arc, proactive and desperate to protect the person they are most loyal to who changed their perspectives. They've even got the same power stance, look. :P

[ID: Two panels from the Bungou Stray Dogs manga. The first is a panel of Ranpo with the silhouette of Fyodor behind him. He is standing with his hands in his pockets, facing front with his head tilted back and to the left a little, a fierce expression on his face and his cloak billowing outwards. The second is a panel of Chuuya standing in a similar manner, arms crossed, facing front with a fierce expression as his coat billows out around him. End ID.]

Of course, there's more interesting comparisons and contrasts to be drawn between them, but I'm focusing on Ranpo in this analysis, so I think I've made my point. Chuuya is the Port Mafia's best martial artist. Ranpo is the Agency's strongest man. And that places a burden of responsibility on them that they both believe they must uphold. They're both ready and willing to do whatever it takes.

The thing is though, is that Ranpo doesn't actually have an ability. When up against someone like Chuuya, he is at a distinct disadvantage, and he knows it. "Regular people can't defeat ability users". But he's still going to come up with a way to do it anyways, and why?

[ID: A screencap from the Bungou Stray Dogs anime. The members of the Agency all stand around Ranpo, who is seated at his desk with a smile, one hand holding his cap, the other held up in a casual gesture. The image is filtered in a soft light. End ID.]

Because his friends think he's invincible.

If Ranpo wants to maintain his safe place in a world of fear, then he has to step up to defend it, and he has to get creative about it. And that's exactly what he does. Ranpo becomes steadily more active throughout the story, which is a huge change from the start, where he had to be practically bribed to help at all. I see a lot of people point out his channeling of Fyodor's tactics to secure Kunikida's release, which is definitely a dark turn for his character, but it's not the only change.

Ranpo is now choosing to place his faith in others, the first obvious instance of this being his use of Poe's novels - which was how he defeated Chuuya. Ranpo knows that he is not going to succeed against people who drastically overpower him all alone, even if he does still take things on as personal burdens. He's also far more obvious about his protectiveness, going on the rescue himself to save the Agency members, driving a car (whereas before he needed someone to take transit with him - another indication of his increased proactivity since he's now literally driving instead of being driven), and bodily shoving Atsushi out of harm's way.

It all culminates in one of my favourite Ranpo scenes where he speaks at the conference to the police, who've worked with him before, where he asks if they will think for themselves - and tells everyone gathered there that anyone can be a detective if they think for themselves and look with their own eyes (!!!). He manages to get half the police force on his side, just through his words and his logic alone! Minoura assumes he somehow knew it would all work out, because, well, it's Ranpo. Ranpo knows everything.

But...

[ID: An image from the Bungou Stray Dogs manga. Ranpo sits in the passenger seat of a car with an honest, helpless smile. End ID.]

He reveals he didn't know if his ploy would work at all. He had to trust that it would with no solid proof. He had to trust these people would use their heads and look beyond the obvious. He respects these people enough that he thinks at least some of them will make the right call.

Fourteen year old Ranpo, bitter and estranged from other people, would never. For him to have come such a long way is testament to the security that the Agency provided him with. In a way, Fukuzawa forming the Agency allowed Ranpo to "complete" his childhood in relative safety, so that when the world became hostile once again and his family destabilized, Ranpo had matured enough to meet it and defend himself and those he has a responsibility towards head on. The Agency is his family, and Ranpo cares for them enough that he puts his faith, not just in them, but in the people they put their faith in too.

[ID: A panel from the Bungou Stray Dogs manga. Ranpo is kneeling in front of Fukuchi, who is sitting backwards on his chair to face him. End ID.]

...aaaaand then Fukuchi went and ruined it. Thanks, Fukuchi.

Ranpo again chooses to put his trust in someone without proof because Fukuzawa trusts him, only for that to have gotten thrown back into his face in the worst way possible. And it's in this regard, the trust aspect, that I think we'll see Ranpo develop as the story goes on.

Will he continue to show this tentative faith in people? Or will he begin to hyper-analyze, unwilling to trust again without proof?

If this arc gets resolved decently well, I think Ranpo will have no issue brushing this off as a one-time thing. However, if what I fear might happen does and Fukuzawa doesn't make it out of this arc... Ranpo will be destabilized.

I don't know that Ranpo would go "bad" per se. He likes the other Agency members. He cares about them - that's genuine. But if Fukuzawa dies, then Ranpo may begin to take darker actions in order to keep them safe, almost overprotective and harshly logical, with little room for blind trust or risks in the name of justice or honour. It may put him at odds with Kunikida, in that Ranpo may start to develop a strong "do what's necessary" mentality, even if that may be immoral. He may regress a little into his old trust issues.

However, I really don't think Ranpo will go too far down the path of darkness, even if the worst should happen. He's a lot tougher than he seems, and he has a good support system in the Agency. I guess it remains to be seen where Ranpo's story takes him next.

Until then...

[ID: A screencap from the Bungo Stray Dogs anime. Ranpo sits in his chair in a cuter art style, having taken a bite from the pastry he has in his left hand. End ID.]

I love one good boy. :)

#ranpo's such a good character man. there's so much i couldn't cover here but he's so so good. #but anyways. ahahahahaaaa i finished it! yesssss #sorry for the. VERY. long delay on this #i'm back baby #bsd #bsd ranpo #bsd meta #call me ace detective the way i am ace. and also a detective. #storyrambles #hope i got everything. whee.

[snaccpopstudios]

Hi everyone! We're here with the long awaited post on our newest bachelor, Simoun. We know you've all been abuzz with questions about him so we hope to answer some of that in this deep dive into his creation. This post is in lieu of our usual Wednesday devlogs as we've been writing this over the span of several weeks, and was co-authored, edited, and reviewed by Tobias, Jude, ToyboxToonz, Primarvelous, and Sauce. The above image was drawn by @toyboxtoonz.

You can read the full post for free on Patreon, or click the readmore to see it all!

Personally speaking, some of my concerns since Simoun's debut are thoughts like "Do people think I'm making SnaccPop Studios push an agenda?" and "Do people think I'm going through a checklist while making new characters?" It's made it difficult for us to write this quickly because this is quite personal to myself and the rest of the sensitivity consultation team on the DachaBo team.

Concept to Creation

The story of DachaBo begins way before SnaccPop Studios itself was even a concept (that's Sauce's story to tell though). Early Patreon art of Simoun exists from November 2022, back before I was signed on to manage the Patreon and any other projects besides Sunny Day Jack. Sauce had some ideas laying around for several other characters in the DachaBo universe that didn't make it into the proof-of-concept demo:

I dug up an old draft for the DachaBo cat character we teased and it featured a story concept where the cat character was originally a female DachaBo character, referencing the original female design. And overtime he got tired of how he was being treated and decided to change his own self to reflect who he wanted to be, not the sycophants who collected the toys and whatnot ... It was shelved because I didnt have the means to sensitivity check it The designs are half cooked is all but he was supposed to be Indian ethnicity coded for no other reason than I've never seen a character like that

One thing that's important to note is that there definitely are Indian folks who are gender diverse (see Hijra on Wikipedia for a quick primer on one of the traditionally recognized nonbinary genders in South Asia) so it's not a novel concept by any means, but it's also not very common in media whatsoever.

Why The Long Wait?

One of the other contributing reasons as to why Sauce wasn't able to do much with the concept at the time is because we didn't have a VA for him confirmed yet, as I explained in May:

One thing that's rather unique to SnaccPop Studios in all of my experience as a game developer is the fact that all of our series involve coordinating with Voice Actors from the start, which means we need to take the VAs themselves into account when making characters. Adding another layer of complexity in hiring is the fact that SnaccPop Studios is a strictly Erotic Adult brand focusing on masculine love interests, and even if we focus more on the softcore, there's still the unfortunate stigma that any 18+ work has when attached to your name. All of these contributing factors make the potential talent pool that much smaller. This isn't to make excuses: I know SnaccPop Studios can do better on this front. While we can't make changes to some of the existing series' main cast (we don't want to put people out of a role they've been promised), we will do better moving forward to incorporate more diverse characters into our future titles, and that's a pledge

In the field of voice acting, it's best practice to cast actors with similar backgrounds to the character they're voicing, particularly for characters from marginalized populations (ethnicity, culture, gender, etc.), because it's a recurring issue in all professions where marginalized folks are regularly turned down for employment or career opportunities. You don't have to look far for instances where other voice directors failed to cast the proper talent for a character, even in the AAA sphere where they ought to have the resources to be able to find the proper talent; at SnaccPop, we wanted to avoid that situation at all costs.

Finding Simoun's Voice

So we had to confirm a VA first before we could do anything. Sauce, Reece, and I all tried to put private ads out for a trans masc POC (any ethnicity with dark skin) actor for a R18 game, which was largely met with silence at first, then responded to by folks who didn't fit the role in a full capacity (many only hit one or two of the criteria we laid out, some of them none at all). And it's not hard to imagine why: it's common knowledge that the majority of erotic works often fetishize marginalized people who are otherwise underrepresented in mainstream media. Things such as skin color, body type, hair color, age, etc. are treated as traits to be objectified, and on the off chance that queer folks or people of color might see themselves in porn… it's usually not for the most flattering or empowering of reasons. How could we, an exclusively Adults-only studio, convince someone who isn't familiar with us that we wanted to make something for people like them rather than something that turns them into mere masturbating material?

We were almost about to give up on the Catboy until I decided to take a chance on contacting a VA whom I hadn't had any formal and proper interactions with before. I'd been a fan of his work and knew him from an audition he sent in from a previous game I had worked on, but he knew me solely by name at best since we were following each other on Twitter. Still, it was a lead, and after chewing my nails for half a day, I shot off a message to Soren Viloria.

And what do you know? He said he'd give it a shot as his first NSFW role.

Naming the Lad

Soren is a Filipino VA, and despite the fact that I myself seem to be mistaken as Filipino by other Asians quite regularly, I'm actually not as well-versed in that culture as I ought to be.

There's actually a reason why we were so secretive with Simoun's name for a while: he didn't have one yet, so internally we just kept calling him "the Catboy." We wanted to pick a culture-appropriate name for him, something that was meaningful: Soren initially suggested "Siopao" as it was a common cat name (it's a type of Filipino Steamed Bun, so think of how many pets you've seen who have names like Cupcake or Nacho Supreme), but that didn't seem serious enough for a tsundere catboy like him. A few days later, Soren did a little research on a few well-known characters from Philippine media/culture that fit the bill a bit better:

Elías from the Philippine Revolution novel Noli Me Tángere (a required reading in the Philippines). Cat may like his radical tendencies for revolution and his deep, devoted connections.

Simoun from Noli's sequel, El filibusterismo. Holds revolutionary values similar to Elías, but far less noble and more of a loner. Violent at times, and will do what it takes to get his way.

Panday/Flavio, a very popular hero. Part of his charm is that he doesn't have special powers, but took matters into his own hands and forged a magical blade. Has been portrayed in both 'cool' and comedic ways.

Ricardo "Cardo" from the Philippines' longest-running TV drama Ang Probinsyano. Just a cool action hero dude who cares about family, but is also very ambitious and angy.

Seeing as how we already had an Elias Gallagher, Simoun seemed to be the perfect fit, and the name stuck pretty easily.

Simoun's Boundaries

Now that Simoun had a name, we were able to talk about him more seriously beyond the simple "tsundere cat" tropes. You've all already met Gil Finnegan, who we originally brought into SnaccPop Studios to handle the narrative design for DachaBo but was then onboarded to help with Sunny Day Jack, and those of you in the Patreon Discord server are familiar with our mods Tobias and Jude; along with me and Soren Viloria, that brought the grand total of openly trans masculine members on the team.

We all talked about our personal experiences as trans masc/AFAB people, what things we rarely saw reflected in both mainstream and indie media, things we wanted to see more of. Something we all agreed that was difficult to find was trans masculine folks in sexually dominant roles in erotic media, whether that was live video, audio, writing, art, or a combination thereof; there was only a handful of series we could count on our fingers as far as sexually explicit content that featured trans masculine people in roles that weren't exclusively submissive/bottoms, and the majority of us had already seen those or at least heard of them before (ie. Gummy and the Doctor and Sasha From The Gym were prominent ones). Either discovering this content was difficult due to Search Engine Optimization favoring depictions of trans feminine folks, or it simply didn't exist.

All of this, along with the backstory that Sauce had for Simoun, led us to determine that Simoun would be adverse to submissive roles in intimate situations. Simoun isn't the type to want to be penetrated either due to previous trauma surrounding his gender. Bear in mind that this isn't meant to imply or suggest that there is only one "acceptable" sexual preference for trans masculine folks, nor is Simoun meant to represent all of trans masculinity; he may be our first trans masculine character but certainly isn't the last, as we hope to feature more types of characters at SnaccPop Studios.

As an aside, it should be noted that the trend of erotic trans feminine content being more readily available doesn't necessarily mean that trans women have more positive representation per se; for every kinky piece of art created by trans feminine folks out there, there could be ten more works that fetishize and objectify their bodies. We probably don't need to tell you about the common derogatory slurs that have been used to refer to them; trans feminine and trans masculine people deal with varying levels and types of transphobia as well as situations that oversexualize (or even undersexualize) them, and it's important to focus on content that doesn't strip them of their autonomy.

There actually was a period of time between the release of his concept art after Soren was onboarded where the team observed comments both on Patreon and in the Discord regarding Simoun, and we discussed how we could avoid having people try to ship Bo and Simoun together; because Simoun hasn't had bottom surgery of any kind, we wanted to ensure that tokophobia (fear of pregnancy) or dysphoria wouldn't become a thing for any of us involved in the team or for our trans masculine Patrons. It was a bit of a chicken or the egg situation, trying to keep up with the evolving comments about Simoun to try and anticipate what people might accidentally say.

Debut Day Thoughts, & Moving Forward

We were quite happy with the general reception everyone had with Simoun, and we're excited to see so many people taking a liking to Simoun after his reveal. SnaccPop Studios has always strived to provide inclusive and diverse stories for those who don't often get represented in media, much less NSFW media, and the team was quite elated to see folks who were just as happy to see Simoun.

We hope that the love and care we put into building Simoun has shone through in this post and will continue to shine as we write more of him for DachaBo, because we're just getting started.

#dachabo #character design #trans masc #transmasculine #transgender #minors dni #gamedev

[merakiui]

Omg Mera more isekai concept crumbs I beg of thee🙏🙏

I'd like to think that Azul only sees the mc as a tool in the beginning but the mc is just so enthralled by Azul's (unexpected) existence that she showers him with affection so he ends up falling head over heels for her lol. Makes sense considering that he lived a lonely life before getting reincarnated.

Though I wonder if the twins would get in the way of the two of them getting closer to each other? Or try and break off the engagement between them so that they could have the mc to themselves

Yes!!! This is exactly the dynamic. Azul doesn't care much for you on an emotional level until he sees just how much you dote on him and gravitate to him and suddenly he finds himself falling. <3 and as usual the twins are brats about it. T_T they can't stand to see your budding relationship with Azul because you, who never smiles at them, are suddenly lighting up whenever Azul's around. It's really not fair! They want to be the reason you smile, too. Sure, they may have been a little...mean to you in your childhood, but they are mature and sensible now (no, they're not).

I imagine they pull all kinds of petty stunts just to interrupt your friendship with Azul. Floyd grabs you by the chin to plant the sloppiest kiss on your lips right in front of Azul and you're sputtering in the aftermath. He's so gross!!!! >:( and when the lot of you have to attend social gatherings Jade loops his arm with yours. "For protection," he claims, but you suspect otherwise because he doesn't let Azul get a chance to dance with you. They're too territorial...

After thinking about the au, I've had a few more thoughts to further develop the plot. Since the MC in the novel was an orphan from the slums, perhaps Ruggie is somehow involved. :D I just like the idea of phantom thief Ruggie who was close with the MC, but when the MC is found and taken away by Mr. Leech (who perhaps has his own ulterior motives in doing so; perhaps he thinks one day you might lead him back to the group who is always crossing into his territory or attempting to pilfer things from the many underground establishments he runs, or something of the like) Ruggie is now left to wonder where you've gone. And then he overhears you were taken in by some big shot mafia boss and you're set to be married off to another big shot. Ruggie being another character you don't remember in the novel because you had yet to reach that part of the MC's backstory (also perhaps it's a series, so you really only know half of the first novel).

orz so many thoughts!!!!!!

#twisted chit chat

[emotionallychargedtowel]

Why hello! I don’t see why we can’t keep the Top 5 trend alive in the new year so…

From one chronic rewatcher to another, what are your top 5 most rewatched scenes?

Sorry this took so long, @wen-kexing-apologist! I'm just now getting back to posting a bit more regularly after the holidays got me totally off track, and this question brought up a lot of Thoughts so I've been chipping away at it for weeks.

So, um, this is the best question ever. Except it’s the meanest question ever, because I'm terrible at choosing between things like this.

I am a massive rewatcher, whether you’re talking about whole series, episodes, or scenes. Scenes especially. Why watch an entire thing when you can go right for the best part/s and watch them over and over? This is also one of the reasons I have way too many gifs saved on my phone.

I thought about coming up with a list that was based more on what would make a good post, and/or what would make me look less uncool, than what I actually rewatch the most. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. I wanted to be honest instead. So at the risk of seeming even more like an Utsukare obsessive and overall one-trick pony, I'm going to talk about the five scenes I think I've actually rewatched the most, even though four of them are from my perennial obsession.

The four Utsukushii Kare scenes are in the order they occur in the series, not from most rewatched to least. Then I'll talk about a fifth scene from another series that I've been pretty vocal about appreciating, and I'll mention some runners-up.

“who do you like, him or me?”

If gif posts are any indication—gifs are the smallest increment of rewatching, after all—some of my favorite scenes to rewatch aren’t that popular with other rewatchers. This one gets gif’ed, sure, as you can see. But it's not as popular a choice for this kind of treatment as a lot of other Utsukare scenes.

There are a few reasons this one is a favorite of mine. One is that I tend to like some jealousy in my romance. I have my theories about why it’s so appealing to me specifically, but I’m not entirely sure how to explain it. I also love a good aggressive shirt-grab. (Utsukare certainly delivers these regularly.) But the main reason I keep coming back to this moment is that in just a few sentences, a bunch of character development happens. Well, I guess it would be more correct to call it character revelation. This is the first time we really see this side of Kiyoi, and in that respect, it foreshadows the big perspective shift that’s just around the corner. The viewer picks up a lot of hints that Kiyoi has feelings for Hira prior to this point (even if Hira remains stubbornly oblivious to them). We’ve even seen Kiyoi kiss Hira already (even if he did push him to the ground a split second later). But this is the first time we see such direct evidence of the strength of his feelings for Hira. Kiyoi is so unguarded for this brief moment. The mask slips and what’s underneath is total desperation.

Hira, of course, misses the real meaning of what Kiyoi is saying despite how obvious it is. Which means it's also the viewers’ first indication of how intensely Hira clings to his favored view of reality in the face of evidence to the contrary.

"sorry I like you"

This is another scene where so much is happening in a short span, all because Kiyoi got desperate enough to talk about all of the unspoken bullshit between him and Hira. As usual, Hira doesn’t get it. But he might be starting to. 

This scene is pretty rough watching in some ways. When this episode first aired and it ended with this scene followed by each of them on their own and feeling terrible, I was a bit of a mess. It was silly of me to worry. There were plenty of favorable signs in the preview for the finale. I knew the novels had a happy ending. But it was just so sad and so real that it got to me anyway. But I also enjoyed it, because for an obsessive analyzer like myself, seeing these important relationship dynamics finally come to the surface in such concentrated form was fascinating. It was also a relief to see things out in the open.

Both leads turn in such great performances here. Yagi Yusei really steps up. It’s even more impressive given his relative lack of acting experience. His performance is so raw and affecting. If he had been less vulnerable, Kiyoi’s point about how contradictory Hira’s actions and statements are could seem like a kind of “gotcha” moment designed to win an argument--like he was pointing out that Hira was hypocritical in a bid to score points. Instead, Yagi shows viewers how deeply being caught in this double bind with Hira has hurt Kiyoi. 

Hagiwara Riku, in contrast, portrays Hira as so confused that he’s basically dissociated. Hira has a really strong tendency to see the world in whatever way suits him, regardless of the truth. Kiyoi’s words force Hira to set his usual narrative aside and see how much clinging to it is hurting the person he claims to love, and it throws him off to such an extent that he seems to be experiencing a form of psychomotor slowing. He looks like he’s moving through molasses. He can’t form sentences, or at times, even words. His normally expressive eyes seem like they’ve shrunk to half their normal size. He’s really come unmoored, and it shows. The more I think about Hagiwara’s work in this scene the more impressed I am by the insight and physical control he had to bring to bear in order for it to work. 

Of course, if I watched this scene on its own habitually, this level of blorbo distress might take a toll on my mental health. Which is why I usually follow it up with…

"I'm not going to kiss you for a while"

I’m busting out the bullet points for this one because otherwise it might take me all day.

This scene works on so many levels!

Well, the main ones are:

Relationship progress! Character growth! 

The whole kiss fakeout thing is hot

Hira gets some payback and frankly, he deserves it

The other highlights for me are: 

Even after repeated viewings and knowing very well what happened in the story, I still feel kind of relieved to see that Kiyoi came back, especially right after rewatching the scene prior to this one. 

When Kiyoi asks Hira why he thinks he came home and he says, “to punch me?" he does it in the most weirdly cute way.

Kiyoi’s absolutely lethal snotty face/voice when he response to the possibility of punching Hira with “maybe” is so perfect that it's hard not to think that Hira might have a point about this whole King deal. 

Hira apologizes and it’s actually sincere and not just some knee-jerk bullshit. 

The way Hira closes his eyes and waits for Kiyoi to smack him is a rare case of him actually letting go and putting himself in Kiyoi’s hands instead of his usual topping-from-the-bottom thing.

More about the kiss fakeout:

Hagiwara does a great job of telegraphing Hira’s expectant response. In scenes where two characters are going to kiss but get interrupted, it's not uncommon to see a kind of hesitation or other subtle signal that the actor knows the kiss isn't going to happen. But there's none of that here. Hagiwara even does this sort of gulp/swallow thing like he thinks the kiss is going to start any moment. When the kiss doesn't materialize, he nails an absolutely pitifiul sad puppy expression.

Kiyoi’s vulnerable voice and facial expression when he explains about the kissing boundary thing is so sincere and cute. Could he be any more different from season 1 episode 1 Kiyoi?

I’ve written about how the no-kissing-until-Hira-takes-Kiyoi-seriously policy might seem like a controlling move or an inappropriate ultimatum to some viewers but it actually better resembles what Harriet Lerner calls a “bottom line,” resulting in a boundary that is not only justifiable but downright healthy…or almost healthy, at least. It's a bit on the extreme side, and the fakeout part remains a little mean. But they're understandable given what Hira has put Kiyoi through. 

Here's my s2e4 writeup that includes that discussion:

“sorry, Kiyoi”

So, I’ve already written quite a bit about this scene. In one instance, I wrote a propaganda blurb when it was in bl brackets’s kiss bracket.

Here's the original blurb I wrote for @bl-bracket when I nominated the scene, as used in the post where people voted:

Hira and Kiyoi Final Kiss: "It’s an important plot point (because Kiyoi has said he won’t kiss Hira until he stops putting him on a pedestal and now Hira is making progress on that front, and because Hira hasn’t initiated physical stuff in the past, and initiating is itself a way of treating Kiyoi more like an equal). It’s also just a really well-acted and effectively shot kiss, and as a result it communicates so much about the characters and shows a side of their relationship not portrayed elsewhere in the show. And of course, it’s super hot. That includes the kind of weird but suggestive details that are typical of the show, like Hira passing candy/candy spit to Kiyoi through the kiss and then switching into this really distinct sexy voice that makes it sound almost as if he’s changing personalities."

And here's an additional, longer propaganda post I wrote to lobby for votes:

One of the points I tried to make in that post about why this scene is special was that it really does represent a leap forward in how both leads portrayed intimacy in this series. Prior to this scene, viewers had seen a dead fish kiss on graduation day, a more intense makeout situation in the season 1 finale that was shot so impressionistically that it was often hard to tell exactly what the actors were doing, and some interrupted kisses earlier in season 2. And then this happened. Here's a quote from what I wrote previously:

Personally, despite being a fan of both actors and thinking they did amazing work on the series, until I saw this scene I really didn't know if they had it in them, if they could actually pull off something that felt real. But they brought it. They're not holding back. As opposed to more stylized kisses you see in BLs and other romance dramas sometimes, I found it very naturalistic, like the way a couple of real kids in their early 20s would kiss.

So, yeah. I thought it showed real growth on the part of the actors as individuals and as a pairing/team.

This scene also caused me to dig deeper, with the help of some very knowledgeable mutuals, into what “persistent” and “cute” mean in a sexual context in Japan. My main post about that is below.

Noticing Hagiwara's use of Hira's "persistent voice" also helped me to notice something else when I checked out his other work, and that is that he often uses his voice in very different ways in different roles. I recently watched a drama he did before Utsukare and I was struck by this all over again. Again, it shows a really impressive degree of control.

And now, for our one non-Utsukare scene in the top 5:

"I'm trying to seduce you"

I also wrote a nomination blurb about this scene for the kiss bracket. (If you're seeing a pattern here, well, yeah, it's a pattern.) The original voting post here but I'll go ahead and quote it in its entirety since it's pretty short.

This kiss is ridiculously hot and is a culmination of so much that’s been simmering beneath the surface for the entire show up to that point. Togawa has been pining so hard for Nozue for so long that when Nozue gives him a glimmer of hope and then tries to leave, everything he’s been bottling up comes surging out. Kimura Tatsunari exudes a level of desperate lustfulness in this scene that’s as intense as anything I’ve seen in any genre. We’re all familiar with the idea that people look at a person’s mouth when they want to kiss them, but Togawa looks at Nozue’s mouth like he dreams about it every night and sees it every time he closes his eyes. No wonder he feels a need to stick his thumb in there. Takeda Kouhei also communicates so much in this scene. Nozue is shocked and confused but he can’t help but respond to Togawa’s kisses. You can see the gears turning—and refusing to turn—as he tries to make sense of what’s happening—and keeps kissing Togawa back even though he still can’t process it. Togawa’s declaration, “I’ve been trying to seduce you, with everything I have,” is the cherry on top.

There's another bit of subtle physical communication here that I find interesting, and I think you might too, @wen-kexing-apologist. Just recently I've been thinking about the meaning, in kissing scenes, of what for lack of a better term I'll call the head-bonk. By this I mean the thing where one person puts their forehead against the other person's, often with at least a tiny bit of an impact that renders it a bonk rather than, like, just touching them together. Togawa kisses Nozue once, then a second time, and then goes in for a third that Nozue avoids by sinking toward the floor. The third kiss doesn't happen, but when Togawa starts to initiate it he does an absolutely sublime head-bonk. I'm still figuring out what I think about the head-bonk thing. All I know is that, from my vantage point, that little move on Kimura's part practically screams "I've been holding this back for five goddamn years and I can't wait one more second to kiss this person."

Runners-up and honorable mentions:

Semantic Error:

Their first kiss in the restaurant after Jae Young calls Sang Woo "hyung" - I have watched this so much that if I had been asked for my top 6 this would have been #6.

Jae Young demonstrating the features of the "free trial"

Minato’s Laundromat (season 1, of course):

Shin freaking out about Minato being alone with Hanabusa

The washing machine kabedon

The “smelling the sheets” scene

Kiseki (I just watched this for the first time a week or so ago and I have already done so much scene-rewatching it's ridiculous):

That incredibly angsty sex scene with Ai Di and a drunk Chen Yi, you know the one

Chen Yi's confession to a physically restrained Ai Di

The scene at Ai Di's bar where Chen Yi puts him in a double kabedon

Ai Di and Chen Yi's conversation after Ai Di gets out of prison, where he says he fucked Chen Yi "just for fun" and offers to let him do stuff to him as "revenge"

Ai Di trying to scare Chen Yi by stroking his chest and asking him if he wants to "play" and then getting weirded out when Chen Yi asks, "What if I say yes?"

Jheruei and Zongyi's first real kiss and subsequent A+ lap-sitting moment

And as a bonus, here's my most-rewatched non-QL moment:

There's a scene I'm obsessed with in Something in the Rain where Jun Hui comes to Jin A's home and sees her ex-boyfriend there with her and her parents, lobbying to get back together and manhandling her, and he reacts exactly the way you'd expect as someone to who's in love with Jin A. It is tattooed on my brain. If I ever learn to make gifs I am gif'ing the fuck out of that scene.

#obsessive rewatching #utsukushii kare #utsukushii kare meta #old fashion cupcake #hagiwara riku #yagi yusei #kimura tatsunari #takeda kouhei #BL asks meme #semantic error #kiseki: dear to me #minato's laundromat #something in the rain

[kiruyeen]

listen if you go into g3 thinking it will be just like more episodes of g1 youre gonna be very disappointed. like yeah if I had to choose between them Id choose g1 as it cant be beat, but g3 has its own unique charm and is really good if you accept that the g3 cast isnt gonna be a carbon copy of the g1 cast. they arent meant to be! theyre new takes on their character, by definition, a new generation. yes I still have criticisms for it but also it did a lot of stuff better!

first off, a trans character IN a queer relationship. Ive always related to frankie but gen 3 especially does them so well and no matter what you say them and cleo's relationship is adorable. also I see a lot of you treat them like just a girl who uses they/them pronouns (or ignore that theyre non-binary at all) just because they dress femininely, and I am judging you. their relationship is trixic, not sapphic, and frankie is unlabeled and cleo is bi so theyre not lesbians either. frankie is not your theythem girl or theyfab or whatever. grow up. deuce is also theorized to be trans or intersex and is also canonically aromantic and I fucking love that as well. "b-but my nostalgia abt cleo and deuce" Im still nostalgic about them too and it was nice seeing the "mean girl" and her boyfriend have a healthy relationship but again this is a different take on their character, and I can happily say I could see their g1 versions identify this way as well if mattel wasnt such a coward back then.

next, lagoona. Ill be honest I was one of the biggest haters of g3 lagoona at first, pink skin, vsco girl ass fashion, "this aint my lagoona, she's way less edgier than the others AND g1" Id say, but she really grew on me, and as someone who frequently rewatches g1 as well, I notice she is a LOT more well developed than her g1 counterpart. g3 is fierce and is afraid of no longer being seen as such due to also having "cutesy" interests, and loves graphic novels and sometimes sees them as more true than real life. she also has anxiety and copes with them in an unappealing fashion (chewing). she makes up for her lack of edgy looks with her edgy personality. meanwhile g1 is just.... aussie and loves her boyfriend. g3 is still very sporty and cares for her friends (and crush) a lot, but now has personality past that, she can even find fault in her crush while still loving him, while g1 lagoona just saw gill as the perfect incarnate. g3 just overall, has more fleshed out monsters than g1.

more about deuce, I see a lot of people headcanon him as trans and I love that, but I personally believe he may be intersex. "but both of his parents and his sisters are female, there is no y chromosome in their heritage so how could he develop a y chromosome or testosterone" you may ask, but worry not for I have a biology special interest and am more than willing to explain! deuce's parents are a harpy (bird monster) and a gorgon(snake monster), and both birds and snakes are known to have NOT X and Y chromosomes to determine sex, but Z and W, and it works the other way around! meaning the offspring with zw chromosomes will be female while the offspring with zz chromosomes will be male! and due to deuce being out of the sex norms of both harpies and gorgons (having no males), he is considered intersex! again, I have nothing about his trans headcanons, but him being intersex makes more sense to me. and I LOVE it if thats the intention.

either way, even if I have my criticisms, I love g3, yes its not comparable to g1 but theyre different series!

#monster high g3 #monster high #monster high gen 3 #lagoona blue #deuce gorgon #frankie stein #cleo de nile #mh g3

[romanceclub-lovers]

Interview with author Aleksandra Remy

Questions for Aleksandra

❔Question: Which of all the men you have created could you imagine as your life partner?

🗨️Answer: Killian.

❔ Question: Do you have a favorite movie or TV series?

🗨️Answer: From TV series I always highlight Game of Thrones, from cinema I am highly likely to like everything with McConaughey, my favorite films contain a lot of works by Tarantino, Guy Ritchie or Nolan.

❔Question: As the visual lead screenwriter of the Garden of Eden story, you are aware of all the nuances of the visuals, plot, and development)

Do you have any favorites in this story? If you were the player, who would you lead a thread with?

🗨️Answer: Yes, I liked the last scenes with Jin Doo-yeong so much that I decided to choose a branch with him. Switched from Castiel...

❔ Question: Is it difficult to be the author of some of the most discussed and popular stories of the Romance Club?

🗨️Answer: I don’t know how difficult it is in a general sense, but it’s definitely more difficult than people think) There are many nuances here that will morally destroy an unprepared person. We must remember that any success has a second side to the coin. But if your nerves are strong, you can... get used to a lot of things.

❔ Question: How do you feel about various fandom theories? If the hypothesis turns out to be correct, does this make you happy as the author or, on the contrary, alarming, stimulating you to add even more ornateness and unexpected moments to the plot?

🗨️Answer: It’s good if the theory is close to correct. This means that the person correctly put together the pieces of the complete picture that I scattered throughout the plot, and I really like this. In general, any creativity, it seems to me, in one way or another pushes for reflection and reasoning, and that’s why I love it.

❔Question: Aleksandra, you are an active user of social networks, you often communicate with fans (for which a huge THANK YOU). Doesn't such active interaction with the fandom tire you? Or, on the contrary, does it give you strength and desire to write?

🗨️Answer: Sometimes it’s tiring, but it’s okay, it’s difficult for me to always be at the peak of social activity. Then I simply reduce the time I spend on social networks and crawl back into my introvert hole, where I mostly work and communicate little. I gain moral strength and something else, and return later.

Questions about the novels...

❔Question: How are names for heroes chosen?

🗨️Answer: Through a search and a list of names related to the country I need + melody, so that I myself like it and suit the hero. If the plot requires it, then I also select it by meaning. Most often I can’t name the heroine precisely because her name plays a plot role.

(And because I don't like writing in first person *laughing emoji* )

❔Question: Was the character of any of the characters taken from a real person? (maybe from an acquaintance or friend)

🗨️Answer: No, the main characters are more likely to have a drop of my character traits than others, so you can feel them better. But at the same time, each hero has his own unique character, background, etc.

If we talk about friends or acquaintances, then I can take someone’s experience as a reference. For example, the situation with Eva's childhood. This happened to someone close to me, with whom I empathize on all levels, and with her permission, I transformed her feelings and my artistic vision of the situation into this plot point. And it hurts me every time I write or think about this, but I also understand that such things are worth writing about, even necessary.

❔Question: You yourself, as the author, already know the ending of the stories. Can he change? Maybe depending on the reaction of the fandom or the opinion of the author himself may change?

🗨️Answer: I don’t think it’s possible to change the ending in any way. KCD ended exactly as I had planned in the early stages of developing the story, it will be the same with Nile, and with the prequel too.

❔Question: Why is there such a low threshold for choosing oneiromancy stats in "Song of the Crimson Nile"? Does this mean that there is a balance and it is possible to save up for all elections according to different stats? In addition, it was mentioned in the story that in very rare cases, shesmu have a predisposition to both directions of dark magic...

🗨️Answer: (*mysterious silence*) :)))

❔Question: How would you characterize Amen? Is he a positive hero or a negative one?

🗨️Answer: I think I have neither positive nor negative heroes, it's too boring. Even Livius himself has one or two not the best character traits, and this is normal. The same applies to Amen, there is both good and bad in him, because the world is not black and white. It's time for people to get used to it)

❔Question: What gave you the idea of using time skipping in KFS? Do you think this was a good move? Will this happen in other stories?

🗨️Answer: I don’t see anything terrible about the timeskip; it was necessary for Kali. Firstly, because of working with a large period of time (but in general, I noticed that in all my stories I work with several points in the timeline, the present and the past, to which we return), secondly, because the heroines of the first plan were too young, I wanted to show how carefree youth slipped through their fingers, forcing them to change, become smarter and more responsible in order to enter the game.

And girls now play dice not for wishes, but for human lives.

❔Question: Will the fate of Radha be revealed in the KFS, the future formation of Indira as the head of the Basu clan? Judging by the family tree, the eldest of the twins, besides Indira, did not have any more children, nor did she have a union with any other man except Radha.

🗨️Answer: Indira’s emergence as an heiress is too far from the events described, but Radha’s fate will be known to us.

❔Question: Are there plans for hidden endings in KFS and SCN? (Such as in KCD, where independent Amala mercilessly kills Amrit even in a branch with him)

🗨️Answer: I don’t know yet. Initially, those endings were just endings, I designated them hidden when I realized that to reach them you need not just stats, but a combination of choices. This is possible in both Nile and the prequel.

Questions from subscribers...

❔Question: One point is interesting. I began to notice that in all three stories the theme of connection, purpose, and truth runs through all three stories. I really like this theme in general, and especially how it manifests itself in your short stories. I wonder how this happens? Do you intentionally put such meaning into stories and relationships with your favorites, or does it come out naturally, intuitively?

🗨️Answer: I wouldn’t say that this is on purpose, because I myself really like this trope, and I’m not the only one. But still, I understand that there are certain similarities in all three stories. However:

Amrit's fiancée, Amala, is precisely his destiny, like fate, to be his ideal partner. Set treats Eva less poetically, she paid off the debt, and she is not the only one with him. But the romantic component of this connection will also be revealed. With Ram, everything is completely different, but I can’t give you the details ahead of time, you’ll find out for yourself.

❔Question: It became interesting, will there be any explanations or hints given as to what kind of traps await Evthys from Amen and how she can avoid them?

🗨️Answer: Amen's traps are the least of Eva's problems. I think you've already noticed that the plot is moving away from the hunt, and something worse is looming on the horizon.

According to my plans, we were introduced to hunting in the first season, and then we begin another plot block. It was fun to read the guesses about the endings involving capture and hunting. I thought: "Eh, guys... hunting is just the beginning."

❔Question: Choosing for diamonds with Ash (Set) in the latest update greatly affects romantic relationships? Is it possible to take this choice simply for the sake of his protection and patronage, leading a branch with another favorite?

🗨️Answer: All elections with Set are romance. You can improve your relationship with him in order to gain his favor, but up to a certain point. You will understand which one.

❔Question: Which story is easier for you to write? KFS or SCN?

Did you encounter any difficulties while creating the plot?

🗨️Answer: Both stories feel very different, sometimes there are difficulties with one, sometimes with the other. But in any case, I find an outlet in both short stories. They are fun to write.

❔Question: What 2-3 words or phrases or aphorisms could you describe each of your stories?

🗨️Answer: Kali: "Everyone has the same end" Nile: "When trouble comes, open the gates" prequel: " What goes around comes around"

❔Question: Is there a character in your short stories that you don’t like and irritate you, but without them the story wouldn’t have worked out?

🗨️Answer: They all piss me off sometimes.

❔Question: The thread with Gabriel in KCD... Was there one? Why was he so unfairly cut off or at least not given a choice where to save his life?

🗨️Answer: The thread with Gabriel is a sad misunderstanding, of course, he deserved a better fate, and at least one ending with him alive was worth doing.

❔Question: Where does such love for the frog come from in your tg channel?? When did it arise?

🗨️Answer: This frog is funny and absurd, like me, I feel a mental unity with it. Lately people have been telling me that I look like her. I don’t know whether to be happy or... what to do...

❔Question: Do you have qualities that you consider to be your shortcomings?

🗨️Answer: Yes, and a lot. If I can’t deal with them, I turn them into my advantage. For example, I am choleric, and sometimes it’s hard for me to restrain irritation or anger, and in general this cannot be restrained, honestly, I tried. So I convert them into energy for the gym and for work, use them as a charge boost or something like that. Otherwise I turn into a true psycho.

❔Question: Do you ever plan to write a book based on "Kali. Call of Darkness" and "Kali. Flame of Samsara", combining the events of these eras in one work?

🗨️Answer: I don’t think so. I don’t yet feel the desire to return to books, but this thing is very exciting, I have no doubts.

❔Question: What basic, main, qualities or character traits of Ash, Amen, Livius and Agnia could you name?

🗨️Answer:

Amen - devotion, loyalty.

Agnia - love of freedom.

Livius - kindness, warmth towards this world.

Set - spontaneity, trust in impulse, chaos.

❔Question: Aleksandra, would you like to have another pet besides a dog?

🗨️Answer: Not yet, I am as monogamous as possible in terms of pets, I like to love one to the maximum. All love to Hermes (her dog), I'm not even ready for a second dog.

❔Question: Aleksndra, thank you for agreeing to answer our questions! If possible, in conclusion we would like to ask you to say a few words to our subscribers who love your stories and are looking forward to their continuation and new short stories by you!. Thank you!

🗨️Answer: I would like to thank everyone for their support and interest in the stories, I am happy to try and work, knowing that I am doing this for you!

Source: 50 Shades of Romance Club

#romance club #romance club game #rc writers #song of the crimson nile #rc kali flame of samsara #rc kali call of darkness

[ur-frndly-neighborhood-memer1]

A THEORY ABOUT OZAI-

Why was Ozai so cruel?

Fire Lord Ozai is the absolutely malicious and tyrannical main antagonist of the Avatar: The Last Airbender. In the series, he comes across as a cruel, ruthless, and a megalomaniac dictator. Which is why he is often considered as a 2 dimensional cartoon villian with no rich background compared to the other villains like Azula, Zuko (formerly), Hama; Amon, Zaheer...

We never really see his inner struggles or anything complex about his character at all. His only motivation is like "Evil for sake of being evil". That's why some fans complain about his character being too shallow and too cartoonishly evil. And this really stands out when we compare him to rest of the characters, and arguably, they're all more complex characters than Ozai.

But... is this really true?

Could there be something more interesting and tragic about Fire Lord Ozai's character? Do we only see the only a small part of the iceberg? Well, let's find out!

There's literally nothing we know about his childhood or his early ages. All we know is that he was married Ursa when he was 30 and Ursa was 21, Ursa was specifically chosen because she happens to be the granddaughter of Avatar Roku. So, they could have powerful heirs for the Fire Nation. And it actually happened because Zuko and Azula really are exceptionally powerful firebenders.

Another thing we know about him is this panel,

They actually look like a normal, ordinary family here and it hurts. They're on a vocation; Ozai and Ursa just sitting calmly, baby Azula playing with sand, little Zuko running to save a turtle-crab... And when when the wave washed over Zuko, Ozai ran to save him.

Could the whole thing be true or Ozai was lying? I personally don't think it was a lie, because Zuko seems to remember some rare memories of his family being happy once and coming to Ember Island all together. Yes, you can say that Zuko could be an unreliable narrator here since he kinda romanticized those memories... But again, it's what happens with memories. Don't we all remember our childhood as purely innocent and happy? Because we like to remember those happy times and often forget about the bad ones. But the bad times don't erase the good memories! Also, in the "Beach", when Azula came to comfort Zuko, she also seemed a bit depressed. It means she was also missing those happy and innocent times of their life. So no, Zuko's memory was correct and Ozai probably wasn't lying either. Their family had some good times once.

Could it possibly be a redeeming quality for Ozai? Perhaps. However, we all know that it didn't last long. And we also know that Ozai was always sort of like that and Iroh comfirms it in "The Legacy of The Fire Nation" novel

And something interesting here... Iroh admits he sort of blames himself for not being a better guide for his brother. Which makes me think... Did Ozai really ever have a positive influence on his life?

You can arguably say Iroh, but i'd disagree. First of all, there's a huge age gap between Iroh and Ozai. And Iroh was a general who was busy with fighting in battle, such as the siege of Ba Sing Se. So I imagine they didn't really have a chance to spend time together and bond as brothers.

Also, Iroh wasn't exactly a positive influence before the death of Lu Ten. He used to be more ruthless and hungry for glory. Yes, he still was a caring guy towards his family, but he only realized the terrible side of violence and terror after losing his dear son... This is when he finally developed empathy towards everyone, not only for his family. So I don't think he would be able to be a better influence for Ozai when they were younger...

And if not Iroh, who could possibly be a good guidance for Ozai? Azulon? Pfft, yeah right! He definitely favored Iroh over Ozai, and was seen to be cold and harsh towards his son. So nope, he was an abusive father and far from being a good guidance.

But... What about his mother? What happened to her?

The only thing we know about Iroh and Ozai's mother is her name, Ilah. And she was married to Fire Lord Azulon. There's literally nothing else we know about her. So, we don't know what kind of a relationship she had with Ozai either.

And that's why I have this theory in my mind! Could it be that Ilah died when she was giving birth to Ozai? And maybe that's why Azulon was cold and cruel to Ozai?

The death on childbirth was a common incident during middle age and in the earlier ages too. Unfortunately, it still can happen in modern world too... But thankfully, it's a rare incident now due the modern advantages.

So yes, it's very possible that Lady Ilah to die on the childbirth. Because we never see her in the series nor in the comics. If she was alive at the moment, she would totally show up on Ozai and Ursa's wedding. But she didn't, which means she was long gone, at least for like 20 years. But since neither Iroh or Ozai mentions her for once, we can assume that she died very long ago.

Could this be why Iroh turned out to be a caring and compassionate person towards his own family? Because he had maternal love and support? Well, he obviously didn't get that from Azulon (even though Azulon seemed to care for Iroh and Lu Ten in a certain level). And that might be why Ozai became a cold and cruel jerk, because he never had this kind of love and support in his life.

And it also explains Azulon's bad treatment towards Ozai, reminds me of how Tywin Lannister despised his son Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. Tywin hated his son Tyrion because he was a dwarf and also because he "killed" his mother in childbirth

So maybe Azulon was going full Tywin on Ozai and blamed him for "killing" his own mother.

If that's the case, it makes a ton of sense for Ozai's character! Because he never really had a chance to redeem himself and grow up in a healthy environment. He was being told that he was a killer since he was born and accused with killing his own mother. I can totally imagine Azulon telling him that he is "An ill-made, spiteful creature. Full of lust and low cunning" (Quote from Tywin Lannister), or maybe even calling him a "monster"?

If this theory is true, then it makes sense for Ozai's character and why he became a brutal, ruthless and narcissistic person.

And let's not forget, narcissism isn't only a personality disorder but also a coping mechanism. Narcissists actually have fragile egos and low self-esteems. That's why they fake confidence and a false sense of grandiosity as a self-defense mechanism. The exact reasons of narcissism is not known, but researchers show that both genetic and environmental factors are in it. And it's very possible to occur because of a trauma or abuse too.

So maybe Ozai was crushed under the abuse and pressure of being "guilty" for killing his mother in childbirth, and he found comfort in creating a false sense of superiority.

And this also might be why Iroh and Ozai became distant towards each other. Ozai was probably jealous of Azulon's nicer treatment towards Iroh. So he didn't want to be around him and see how their father treats him better, because it would remind him of the fact that he was the unfavorite child. And from Iroh's aspect, maybe he was devastated after the death of his mother and wanted to distance himself from Ozai for it? Yes, it doesn't really sound like something that the Iroh we know would do. But again, we really don't know the Iroh before Lu Ten's death, but he surely cared about his family so much. And maybe that's why he distanced himself from Ozai because he took away a part of his family? And because of Azulon, Iroh probably didn't have a chance to accept Ozai a part of his family at this point. And when he did, it was probably too late. The damage was done. Ozai already became a narcissistic jerk and a potential tyrant.

So, that's my headcanon about Ozai's evilness. You can agree or disagree with it. If you have different thoughts, please feel free to share them with me

#atla ozai #azulon #atla iroh #azula #fire lord ozai #ozai #evil #Atla #Avatar the last airbender #Avatar Ilah #Why is ozai evil #avatar analysis #Zuko #ursa #avatar ursa

[stillsolo]

GET TO KNOW THE MUN. respond to the prompts out of character !

what made you pick up the current muse(s) you have? oh, where do i even begin?  well, i suppose i should start with how long sw has been in my life.  ANH was the first movie my mother ever saw when she visited the USA; she saw it with my grandmother ( and subsequently developed a massive crush on harrison, so indiana jones became a huge part of my childhood too lol ).  for this reason, my mother introduced my brother and I to sw when we were actual babies.  then, when the prequels came out, it’s all me and my brother consumed.  from the movies themselves to the original clone wars cartoon to the PS2 games to the novels/book series.  we watched it on a tiny portable player for every trip, and every time my relatives needed us to go away to let the adults talk lol.  it also helped our comprehension of english so much. i can’t recall a time in which sw hasn’t been present in my life! before i joined the tumblr swrpc, i kept to myself in the prequels community, wrote fanfic, and rped anakin on skype.  he’s always been a character that hit a little too close to home in one too many ways.  the main parallel i have with him (that doesn’t relate to his mental issues haha) is his love/devotion/attachment to his mother.  it’s difficult for me to explain without getting into the aspects of my culture (孝順 / filial piety), but in short, i am cantonese; if my mother asked me for my thumb tomorrow, i would give her my arm today.  anakin’s love for his mother, his determination to free her from slavery at an early age, was very touching.  EPII has been memed to oblivion, yes, but the pain i feel when anakin doesn’t get to hear his mother tell him she loves him one last time before she dies, and knowing that it haunts him for the rest of his life (eu), makes me want to throw myself out a window lmao  i have an extremely close relationship with my parents; this sort of pain is absolutely gutting for someone like me. anyway, when i joined the tumblr swrpc, writing han solo was never the plan.  i originally wanted to write luke but ended up changing my mind at the last second.  I’d written well over a dozen fics with han at that point, but was nowhere near confident, so i thought of it as more of an experiment. guess that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, because if you really think about it, since the day i started writing him in fics, he hasn’t stopped butting into my brain.  in fact, he’s been harassing me ever since—to the point that i even switched from writing luke to him… lol given my upbringing and my mother’s love for him, han has always been my childhood hero, as well as my brother’s.  our dad was our han solo.  the nostalgic and familial associations run so deep, it’s difficult to articulate.  we share many traits, right down to his universally agreed-upon zodiac sign (sagittarius); i know han solo like the back of my hand—and it’s probably because i wanted to be just like him when i grew up.

is there anything you don’t like to write? character death.  if i have to say another, it’s when people conflate harrison with the character he plays and then decides to address that in a thread.  harrison was a ladies man back in the 80s, and that’s fine, but that doesn’t mean the same for han.  i hate seeing the conflation between the two.  not sure if this happens as often anymore, but there was a time when fics/threads/even han rpers would lean into it, by default, thus totally destroying his character in my eyes.  i mean, write it as a storyline, that’s cool and fine, but infidelity has never been inherently part of his character.  i will die on this fucking hill.

is there anything you really enjoy writing? most unpopular opinion ever: action sequences.  critical situations, fast paced action, thriller scenes featuring immediate, life-threatening circumstances.  i love writing that which exhibits a sense of urgency and tension, with sprinklings of emotional depth and contemplative introspective moments.  scenes with internal conflict combined with aforementioned external events.  even evading enemy forces, sustaining minor/major injuries, dressing wounds.  dunno why those are always the most fun to me.  aside from that?  romance/romantic angst.  i’ve had many writing partners over the years, and each one thought they could outdo me in writing romantic angst.  sometimes, the psychosomatic pain of heartbreak isn’t far from feeling like you’ve lost a limb in battle.

how do you come up with headcanons? by being the most annoying, meticulous person ever.  i’m extremely detail oriented; when i see incongruities in my own work, i perish.  so, when i come up with headcanons, i have to consider all factors that may affect the outcome of whatever question i’ve posed in my mind and feel the need to justify my choices, for whatever reason, by tying it back to XYZ.  my headcanons must align with my muse’s personality, their environment from childhood to adulthood, their current circumstances, and if it’s an AU, how it mirrors canon events.  canon/eu is everything imo, because they are their own choices; it’s what shaped them into the character we know them as.  ofc, this is my process and opinion, so make of that what you will.

do you write in silence or do you play music? no music, no tv.  sometimes people talking is too much for me.  i have adhd and my medication only helps so much.  i will absolutely start writing down the conversation or lyrics playing in the background lol

do you plan your replies or wing them? plotting vs planning replies is different to me.  plotting gives me a foundation, but it can’t be too confining.  to plan a reply is to block out each moment.  if you trap me, i will always deviate; so i wing everything, even when i have a foundation.

do you enjoy shipping? yes, absolutely!  i’m not sure why people tend to assume otherwise, but i’m more open to it than people think.  i’ve never cared about who you write, if they’re in the sw franchise, or even what era of sw etc etc  never given a shit about what people think; if our muses click, they click.  honestly, some of the best ships i’ve had with han, as in the most enjoyable and enlightening of his character, have been ‘crack ships’.

what’s your alias/name? vin, vince, vincent.  vincent van hoe.  trash bin vin.

age? 27!

birthday? dec 2!

favorite color? silver.  if that’s not a color to you, then blue.

favorite song? you can’t expect me to… well, ‘in your eyes’ by the weeknd has been up there for a long time.

last movie you watched? star wars: the clone wars (2008)

last show you watched? … the clone wars lol

last song you listened to? billie jean - MJ.

favorite food? my mother’s 番茄炒蛋 ( egg and tomato stir fry ), unagi, freshly baked breads, fresh fruit …

favorite season? i get mostly tropical weather, but i love a cold winter.

do you have a tumblr best friend? unfortunately, so many people have left the site over the years, but i'm grateful to call these people some of the closest friends i have in the rpc: @techniiciian @desiccation @vibraea @rcvanchist @sgterso @voxcrystallis

tagged : @debelltio thank you for thinking of me!! tagging : if you're still reading this, i tag you!

#( . i hope i didn't bore anyone to death haha i already cut out so much skdfjksdf #( . im a bit of a Yapper y'see‚ and i can ramble about sw stuff like nobody's business #( . anyway just know that i always come back to han‚ no matter what. he's so annoying lmao #˒・*。◞ ( dash game ) *･ﾟ✧ ⎸ ғᴏʀᴛᴜɴᴇ ғᴀᴠᴏʀs ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏʟᴅ‚ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ’ᴍ ғᴇᴇʟɪɴɢ ʟᴜᴄᴋʏ. #˒・*。◞ ( ooc ) *･ﾟ✧ ⎸ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ᴄᴀʀʙᴏɴɪᴛᴇ. #long post ts

[thexcricket]

Why was Kunikida against rescuing Kyouka?

Will mention some minor spoilers for Dazai's Entrance Exam light novel.

The way Kunikida reacts to Atsushi trying to save Kyouka is so so important to his character and how he has developed (even before the series actually starts).

The way he acts about Kyouka (discouraging Sushi from helping her) feels conflicting with his ideals. We see him trying to help kids in bad situations so often. I’m talking partially about Aya and kids with bombs literally strapped to them, but I’m also talking about kids going down a bad path. I mean, the whole reason that bomber guy in the Aya episode was obsessed with getting revenge on him was that years ago Kunikida saw this high schooler who was hurting and being very fucked up about it (I think he was planning to bomb his school?) and tried to help him in the way he knew how (pushing his ideals onto him).

But the more direct example is Rokuzo, the hacker guy in the Azure Apostle/Messenger arc. I think it’s more clear in the light novel, but the kid was going down a bad path after the death of his father, he was hacking the ada, getting into illegal stuff, and instead of getting him in legal trouble, Kunikida lowkey blackmailed him to use his skills for them. But this was because this gave him a connection to try and help him!!! To be a figure in his life and lead him right! (He specifically says he had no intent of actually releasing the evidence on him.) That was his whole goal there! And we all know how that went.

The whole Azure Apostle/Messenger arc was designed to make him question his ideals (as are many of Kunikida's best moments), and it certainly does.

"Was it right for her to be shot and killed?! Is this the ideal world I seek?!" Pg 172, Osamu Dazai's Entrance Exam

"Miss Sasaki is dead, and so is Rokuzo. 'All I've found in my search for righteousness within myself is a sense of hopelessness.'" Pg 173, Osamu Dazai's Entrance Exam

And then, after that, after his ideals fail him and lead to that kid's death, Atsushi, the new hire that he must feel at least a little (maybe unwillingly) responsible for (because who else is gonna be responsible for him, Dazai?), meets Kyouka. And Kunikida knows how this goes. Atsushi is naive. He will throw so much of himself into saving this kid, just like Kunikida did. It will end in tragedy and it will break him. Kunikida went through this already and he doesn’t want that for Atsushi.

In the anime, we meet Kyouka so soon after the Azure Apostle/Messenger arc. In general, I think changing the timing of Azure Apostle/Messenger ruined a lot of the adaptation, but in this specific instance, it adds something because it makes Kunikida's reaction to Kyouka feel more like a direct result of what happened there.

So we see Kunikida trying to protect Atsushi, the kid who he can help, and sort of try to go against his ideals. He is actively struggling to go against what he feels is right, and in the end, he succumbs to it anyway. We have seen Kunikida try not to follow his specific ideals or general moral code in the name of being logical and it doesn't work. In the end, he lets Atsushi's hope infect him and power his ideals once again, and it pays off!

I adore him <3

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #Osamu Dazai's Entrance Exam #kunikida doppo #bsd kunikida #screaming in the void #I am too long-winded for social media #mine

[trashexplorer]

BLCD Review: Nikurashii Kare

Title: Nikurashii Kare (憎らしい彼)

Author/Artist: Nagira Yuu

Shop: CD + Manga

Release Date: 2021/07/23

Cast:

Ono Yuuki x Saitou Souma

Morikawa Toshiyuki

Matsumoto Takuya

Matsui Akiha

Maeda Hiroki

Tonozaki Yuusuke

Horie Shun

Sahara Io

Miyama Mari

Kumagai Mirei

Yamane Masashi

Tamano Shouyo

Miki Shinichiro lmaooo so random

Synopsis: Second installment of the series.

Review Proper

My brain too smooth for this. Don't get me wrong—it's good, but I don't have the patience to sit through three CDs of this. 😂 I fell asleep 5 times. A new record!

It would've been better if Hira just stopped talking to me in formal Japanese 'cause it makes my brain crash. He says a lot of deep things when he can't even grasp the shallowest of concepts. I also have a love-hate relationship with Hira's train of thought 'cause how can he jump to all these conclusions but never the right ones? He's still absolutely sad in the head, but idk, I'm here for it lmaooo.

The same goes with Kiyoi. Like boi, you're the only one with half of a functioning brain here, so idk, use it?

Kiyoi: "I don't wanna be with you anymore."

Hira: *leaves

Kiyoi:

Like in the first BLCD, I still can't figure out if I should feel concerned for him or Hira. I mean, if someone I knew had this relationship, I would personally ask both of them to leave each other and see a shrink. 😂 I dare say that their relationship would be the most normal one there is if Kiyoi wasn't such a tsundere and if Hira was just less of a weirdo.

How are we bringing your parents into this already when you have a wack-ass relationship???

But hey, nothing like a good kidnappin' and one mc almost dyin' to solve communication issues, right?

The things you do, Nagira Yuu.

As usual, the voice work is phenomenal. Saitou Souma won as best voice actor for Kiyoi at the chilchil 2023 awards while Ono Yuuki placed 2nd for Hira. There's just something special about Saitou Souma and Ono Yuuki in Utsukushii Kare. Their chemistry is good and so natural! It's like they bring out the best in each other. I especially love hearing Ono Yuuki come undone under Saitou Souma's Kiyoi but immediately get his revenge in disc 3.

I'm already nominating this as Souma's best match up in 2021. Sorry, Makonyan. Let's see if someone else rises to the challenge.

As for the accuracy...

So I've actually tried listening to this back in 2022. Yes, I'm writing this review in 2024, and this is the very CD that caused my burn out lmaooo. From what I read from the trial, it doesn't start the same as the novel, so I was confused. I didn't take the liberty of buying the whole novel, so I'm not sure if they really do have the same content. They do have the same name, though. Idk. Again, Hira speaks in formal/old Japanese, so the struggle made me put this off. 😅 And it just snowballed from there 'cause I'm loyal to my log. I don't keep up with the manga either, but I think the third volume is still at Utsukushii Kare and not Nikurashii Kare.

Long story short, I can't say if it's accurate to the source material, and I won't be able to recommend read-alongs for both Utsukushii Kare and Nikurashii Kare.

The two installments are equally interesting. Both are jam-packed with nicely paced content. I feel more comfortable with Nikurashii Kare, though, 'cause Hira made me uncomfortable in Utsukushii Kare, while it was Shitara who made me uncomfortable in Nikurashii Kare lmaooo. I loved Hira's little character development here, and I wish I could say the same for Kiyoi.😂The comedy and action were also good, and Moririn's presence made it 100 times better. It might not make my 2021 faves, but it's definitely one of the best-produced ones—it won best BLCD at chilchil 2023 for a reason.

Let's pray to god I survive the third installment. 🤞

#blcd reviews #blcd 2021 reviews #nikurashii kare #ginger records #nagira yuu #ono yuuki #saitou souma #morikawa toshiyuki

[fanfic-corner]

AO3 Wrapped

Happy New Year everyone!! Although 2023 has been hard, it's nice to look back on everything we've achieved over the year before starting 2024. So here are all the fics I wrote this year!

Grishaverse

things we don't say (14k)

Inej's phone has been silent for two months.

OR

Inej and Kaz have broken up. Jan Van Eck has locked Wylan in the house and pulled him out of the university, preventing him from marrying Jesper.

There's only one logical solution to the two conundrums: a heist.

I love this series and this felt like a wonderful conclusion to characters I adore.

meet-cute (3k)

meet-cute

noun

(in a film or television programme) an amusing or charming first encounter between two characters that leads to the development of a romantic relationship between them.

One meet-cute isn't enough for Jesper and Wylan. Here's the story of their first two.

Inspired by the series, I thought I'd write a little bit of wesper fluff, never realising I may never see them again :')

dream of better nights (1k)

Nina hasn't fought so hard and so long to let Matthias stay in Hellgate.

I couldn't leave them apart like that!

Fairytale of Ketterdam (2k)

Kaz has dreamed of seeing Inej again for two years.

He wasn't expecting to find out she's coming home from an idiot. An idiot who's kidnapped him. An idiot who wants to ruin the Feast of Saint Nikolai by destroying Kaz's family.

Luckily, Dirtyhands - for the first time in a long time - has backup.

A little Kaz-centric fic for the Grishaverse Secret Santa!

The Last of Us

hold me close to your heart (2k)

Joel convinces Ellie to come back to Jackson before they rush into a cure. And in the meantime, he's tasked with the very important job of finding her new nickname.

AO3 went down immediately after I finished TLOU and then this happened!

Safe as Houses (7k)

Making it back to Jackson doesn't promise Joel and Ellie safety. But it does offer them one thing the open road didn't: a home.

This was so much fun to write... Joel and Ellie are just Tony and Peter in a different font!

Marvel

the ripples they cause (111k)

There is exactly one person who remembers the name Peter Parker, and that’s Spider-Man. Although the spell prevented the multiverse from tearing itself apart, Peter’s problems are far from over. The number of people calling for his arrest grows every day, and it’s not easy to live your life when you no longer exist.

Luckily for him, the apartment above him belongs to two really good lawyers, and they know every vigilante in the city. With their help — and the assistance of two Avengers intent on rising from the dead — Peter may just be able to find his way in this strange new world.

I started this in 2022, but finishing it in May this year was one of my proudest achievements. To write a novel-length fanfic and finish the ending I wish No Way Home had meant a lot, so thank you to all the wonderful people who commented and egged me on!

what it means to be a person (currently 28k)

Nearly a year after the spell that erased Peter Parker, he finds himself chained to his old mentor. Literally.

Tony Stark has been running from his memories of Thanos for two years, burying himself in work and spending time with the family he nearly lost. But when a cunning new villain kidnaps Spider-Man to get to him, they’ll have to work together to escape with their lives.

But Spider-Man is just a kid. A kid who seems to have the answers to every hole in Tony’s memory. And he’ll do anything to protect the one person who might finally let him rest.

I just love making everyone cry. Both at my update schedule and emotions.

According to AO3, I wrote a whopping 173,000 words this year! Here's to even more fanfic next year 🎉

#love making these posts because I get to actually see all the fics I've written #I'd completely forgotten about some of them! #marvel #spider-man #peter parker #tony stark #irondad #grishaverse #kanej #helnik #wesper #the last of us #joel miller #ellie williams #my writing

[diazfox]

I have a lot of thoughts about Red, White & Royal Blue (both the book and the movie). If you manage to read through the whole thing, I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings! Please feel free to interact. If you don't feel like reading through the brain dump of a random girl from nowhere, here's a summary: movie was great, but the book remains undefeated, plus a pathetic attempt at rallying for a petition to make this into a series.

I first read the book in january 2023 (I was very late to booktok I'm sorry) and have been obsessed since then. I have re-read it multiple times and have pages of annotations in my pdf copy. as a huge literature nerd, thematic expressions, plot and character development mean so much to me. While it's not a crime to interpret this book as an idealistic and purely romantic piece of fiction, I think there is plenty to value in the way family, politics and self-discovery is illustrated in the novel.

To me, it's really the intricacies that give so much to life to many scenes and characters. June standing up for Alex even when he never outright asked for it, staying in the white house for him instead of pursuing her own dreams. June feeling trapped and chained down being born into a life of politics, while Alex, entirely optimistic and determined, revels in it. Nora being introduced as a tech junkie who gives it to him straight while June is the more soft-spoken one, but Nora being the one to deliver the most important cold hard truths that wake Alex up multiple times throughout the book. How Alex is who is because he has these 2 girls who provide him with 2 different support systems - June who understands the struggles of the public eye, the divorce of his parents, being biracial, and Nora who understands the realm of queerness and shares his passion in politics. Rafael Luna's story arc and the triple-crossing. How Alex looked up to him so fervently, how Luna has his own dark past that made him who is today.

and Henry... (cue BIG DREAMY SIGH) The harrowing reality that someone so special not only to him but both Bea and his mom as well left all of them so bereaved that his mom completely shut off and Bea turned to a life of drugs. His father who symbolised everything that the crown frowned upon, and stole his mother's royal-blooded heart anyways. How Henry was probably brought up to be fearless and strong just like his parents but his entire family was snatched from him at such a young age that it left him stranded and lost, leaving him no choice but to follow the path of royal traditions, being pushed and shoved around however they deemed fit. and when he did get older and privy to his sexuality, it was too late to turn back and stand his ground to say "No, I don't want this life." The pills, the insomnia, the piece of himself that's been lost forever, that nothing and nobody will ever be able to replace. Percy being his only escape from the royal lifestyle, how he was willing to share a part of his life's works for Henry to experience outside his mundane royal duties, something Henry chooses to do instead of being forced to. Bea stepping up after realising how she needs to do better not only for herself but for her brother as well, that all they have is each other and she needs to fight for them. Bea being the protective sister who explains to Alex how Henry misses his dad, and that he needs to be comfortable with the fact that there will always be a part of Henry that Alex might never be able to reach. Henry's mom stepping up in the end, not willing to lose her son the way she lost her husband, how Henry is the closest living reminder to the love of her life, born with his heart on his sleeve.

Their emails. Henry and his beautiful monologues depicting grief and love. How he has never bared his heart out like that to anyone, yet when he finally found the right person, everything was leaked to the entire world. The multiple references to historical figureheads and literature that actually give "History, huh? Bet we could make some" all it's meaning.

The tension in the confrontation with the queen. The nervous wreck that election night put me in. The political journey of this book further helped to solidify the idealistic, fairytale-like nature of the novel and its ending. It left me with such an overwhelming sense of comfort, like coming back to my childhood home (quite literally in Alex's case).

Ellen and Zahra's relationship, Oscar and Luna's relationship, Oscar saying Ellen will always be the love of his life... the list is literally endless. I could go on forever. I laughed, I cried, I screamed into my pillow, I stared out my window wistfully, wondering how people can feel so much so deeply.

All these details that bring so much colour and dimension to the plot convinced me that it would be a crime not to make a live action of this book. But that is not to say that the movie was bad. I had already prepared myself beforehand to handle the disappointment of not getting all 500 pages verbatim, and I understand the directional choices made to focus solely on Alex and Henry's relationship, not having the luxury of time. Viewing the movie as something separate from the book, it was beautifully executed and I have already watched it 3 times now.

But... just to put it out there...

Imagine a live action with everything I mentioned above, though. Wouldn't it be lovely to go on all these journeys with all these people together with Alex and Henry? And it's not something completely impossible is it? I think even an animated series would be sublime but is it really too much to ask for the novel to be made into a proper series? I feel like Casey has given us such a wholesome and never-seen-before story that deserves every nook and cranny to be explored and made into film. We have had so many versions of Little Women and Pride & Prejudice, so I'm holding out hope that a rwrb series is not an impossible feat. Taylor and Nick will always be Alex and Henry in my head, but that's something I'm personally willing to trade for a longer series made with even more people and further explorations that the movie couldn't afford to make.

My sister asked me last month why I kept losing my marbles everytime a new photo or clip dropped. Said that "it's just a random book, get over it". I think this book means a lot to many different people from different walks of life. Minority race, being biracial, coming to terms with bisexuality, dealing with divorce, dealing with the public eye, being born into a family that you don't entirely identify with, losing a loved one, dealing with mental illnesses, dealing with grief, standing up to authority, being outed, letting yourself love and be loved. This book encapsulates such a vast array of experiences and emotions that I'm confident that I'm not the only one who feels this strongly about "just a random book".

Casey really did make history, didn't they?

#alex claremont diaz #firstprince #red white and royal blue #rwrb #prince henry fox mountchristen windsor #alexhenry #prince henry rwrb #rwrb movie #nora holleran #zahra bankston #casey #casey mcquiston #history huh

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long

4/5. Releases 4/23/2024.

Vibes: age gap, rake/virgin, plucky heroine, and "I'm not good enough for you"

Heat Index: 5.5/10.

Inexperienced but determined Catherine Keating is in town to find a husband--and she's staying in the same boarding house as the famous rake and politician, Lord Dominic Kirke. Catherine and Dominic strike up an immediate camaraderie, and he knows everything she needs to know about high society. The catch: the more time Dominic spends helping Catherine as she looks for a partner, the more they want each other. But Dominic knows his scandalous reputation and secrets mean he's not right man for her. Right?

I love Julie Anne Long's Palace of Rogues series, which basically mashes a bunch of great characters together in this kinda kooky boarding house (a boarding house that has an incredible knack for helping residents find love). You always get the newbies, and the recurring cast of characters--including the heroes and heroines of the first two books. This was a sweet, fun addition that really doesn't have a lot of plot, but showcases solid character development and a lovely "jaded man meets sunshiney girl who makes him feel young again but is also Too Pure For His Wretched Hands" dynamic.

I do think that other installments are a bit more plot-heavy, and the degree to which this was really kind of just two people really liking each other slowed the story down at points. However, if you're looking for a low-conflict, cute romance, this will absolutely do the trick.

Quick Takes:

--Julie Anne Long loves an age gap, and while this was definitely on the softer side for her--Catherine is twenty-two and Dominic is pushing thirty-six, which is really not much to blink at compared to those found in What I Did for a Duke and After Dark with the Duke--but it felt like a bigger part of the story, somehow? Maybe more of THE CONFLICT versus a framing piece?

Because what Dominic struggles with most--and this is a hero-forward story, I'd say; Catherine is lovely and well-done, but Dominic is easily the one with the most conflict--is really being too corrupted and weary and Bad for Catherine. (Is he Bad, though? I would say that he's a deeply good man, if one with a past, and Catherine also knows this from the beginning.) It's pretty classic, and it's rooted in him having a lot more life experience than she does. I love that he kind of acted as her mentor--he wasn't actively trying to help her make a match (it's not one of those) but he does assist her with the general rituals and ways of high society.

--You know, for all that it was light on plot, there are some things here that you don't often see in historicals. Dominic is a politician, and that's a big part of his character and what he does. This is definitely one of the more politically aware historicals I've read.

And... I don't know that I can reveal the OTHER thing this novel does that you don't often see in historicals. But let's just say... rakes don't often have to face consequences for being rakes. Dominic's problem doesn't exactly link to his active rakehood, but it is the kind of reality that, again, historicals frequently seem to avoid. (Which isn't a bad thing, by the way--but these touches of realism matter.)

--Like I said, the conflict is, overall, Dominic resisting Catherine. After a certain point, he knows he wants her. He knows she wants him. They get along. There are obstacles, but none of those obstacles are so extreme that they can't just get hitched ASAP.

This is what I would call a slow burn, and I can struggle with those, but I actually liked it here. So I imagine it will be a crowd pleaser on that level.

--It's always great to see the collection of side characters in this series. But I've gotta say... I'm especially interested in how Long is slowly unfolding a secondary love story between Dot, the ditzy and hilarious and territorial maid, and Christopher Pike, the footman she believes is moving in on her turf. Dot also learned about what the word "phallus" means in this installment. Long live Dot!

The Sex:

There are a few solid scenes--most of which do not involve penetrative sex, but rather some fingering, grinding, handies. You do get p in v, but it does take quite a while to get there. It's good, but it kind of felt like they waited until the last minute.

I'll also be honest: while Long has always been on the fluffier side with her sex scenes, they are explicit and hot. However, looking back on a book like What I Did for a Duke and more recently After Dark with the Duke, I see a bit more heat... and I kind of miss that. Don't hold back!

While it is quite a slow burn and a bit light on plot, My Season of Scandal is a fun and frothy rake/virgin romance. It leaves a sweet taste in your mouth, and it's ideal for when you need something lighthearted and low stakes.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#romance novel blogging #romance novels #book reviews #arc reviews #netgalley #books

[zanewatchestuff]

Superhero Roundtable: Invincible

How do structural mythology, cultural studies, and cultural history reflect the series’ world and world-building around superheroes?

Invincible, much like many modern iterations of the “Capepunk” superhero genre that explores superheroism in a “realistic” manner accompanied by dark comedy and gruesome conflicts, offers commentary and its own unique premise on the cultural studies, cultural history, and structural mythology especially. The structural mythology of the show that initially borrows and parodies the structural mythologies of shows like The Justice League (2001) constantly explores what it means to be a hero through the main character, Mark Grayson. The 17-year-old half-human-half-Viltrumite high school student grapples with not just having to learn how to use his new powers, but also what being a superhero means, a concept that Mark struggles with throughout his entire career. A modest example of this is how Mark dubs his superhero alter-ego as “Invincible”, yet throughout the series, he is constantly beaten to near death and loses many major conflicts. Additionally, his father, otherwise known as Omni-man, someone whom Mark initially looks up to and models his superhero identity and perspective after, reveals to Mark that he comes from an alien race whose purpose is to conquer the universe and nearly kills Mark after Mark’s refusal to join in his father’s conquest. This is one of the most pivotal events in the series, as not only did it result in the death of thousands of people, but also is the beginning of the deconstruction of the illustrious image superheroes held and greatly influenced Mark’s career as a superhero.

The media of Invincible, which includes both the show and the graphic novel from which the show is adapted, greatly reflects cultural beliefs in their audience, more so in the comics, and adds onto these shaped beliefs. Apart from the show bolstering a wide array of superheroes from many different races and ethnicities, Invincible adds to the cultural view that anyone can wear the mask, a view famously explored through Spider-man media. Superhero monikers in the world of Invincible, primarily in the comics, are interchanged and evolved upon e.g. numerous people taking on variations of Omni-man’s identity and a few characters temporarily and permanently stepping in as Invincible with their own perspectives on what that position means.

The comic run of Invincible spans from 2003 to 2018, meaning there is a large element of cultural history that each major arc of the comic run is influenced by, however, the current run of the show makes some attempt to modernize some of the cultural history elements. One that particularly jumps out is the change in values of broadcasting and information exchange and how that has played a part in the growing caution and distrust for authoritative bodies, namely the U.S. government, among the younger generation. In some scenes in the show, as Mark is starting to develop agency in being a superhero, he has numerous arguments with Cecil Stedman, the government agent in charge of the Global Defense Agency, and even defies orders that Cecil gives him in acts of both rebellion and growth in his own ideologies on ‘superheroing’.

In what ways are the superheroes and their abilities informed by their racial, gender, sexual, and cultural identities?

In many cases, superheroes in Invincible are inspired by already existing superhero entities of both Marvel and DC with a range of alterations, some of which are informed by their racial, gender, sexual, and cultural identities. Both Mark and his father Nolan exhibit powers popularized by DC’s Superman that also similarly stem from their cultural identity as aliens, namely, Viltrumites from the planet Viltrum. Though not explicitly explored in the early stages of Mark’s career, his Asian identity also plays a role in his superhero identity. Many male characters seemingly naturally have some degree of increased physical strength and durability as part of their abilities with very few exceptions like Rex-Splode whose ability is able to create explosions by charging molecules to an unstable level of power. Most female superheroes exhibit abilities that aren’t necessarily akin to physical strength or explosiveness and more so some form of manipulation of matter, with very specific exceptions in characters like Monster Girl who shares similarities to Marvel’s Hulk in that she can transform into a large monster with supernatural strength, durability and healing, and War Woman who bares similarity to DC’s Wonder Woman in numerous ways, including her supernatural strength, speed, and durability

The show also shamelessly plays into the trope of having black male characters have superstrength and/or supernatural durability, as there are numerous black male characters, both heroes and villains, who have almost the exact same abilities with the exception of characters like Darkwing, the Batman-inspired superhero.

In what ways do costumes and concealing identities further separate the superheroes from normal society? How necessary is it for the superheroes to hide their true identities to successfully achieve their goals?

The show takes some time to explore the process of how superheroes pick their costumes and how they choose to have their identities displayed, such as hiding one of their identities or making attempts to separate them.

A somewhat common trend among some superheroes of the world, usually superheroes who have had experience in the careers or are generally older, is that they don’t wear a mask or any sort of garment that could skewer their identity, which makes a lot of sense for superheroes who don’t have separate identities in their day-to-day lives, but for characters like Omni-man/Nolan Gray and Atom Eve/Samantha Eve Wilkins, one of Mark’s friends and allies, they’re still able to hide and separate their identities without using a mask of some sort. This isn’t quite successful for Eve as Mark is able to recognize her at school after encountering her as her superhero counterpart earlier, and she offers an explanation that most people don’t expect someone they know to be a superhero, a very Hannah Montana situation that mostly works. Mark, however, has a number of reasons as to why he has to wear a mask, especially for the safety of his friends and family, as there are numerous cases in the comics where villains exploit his identity as well as his ties to his Father.

The costume designs also play a part in separating the superheroes from society and are explicitly described as symbols. When he starts, Mark builds his costume with the notable goggles and bandana to hide his identity. He later visits Art Rosenbaum, a suit tailor who designs many of the costumes of the show, and we see him create Invincible’s suit and mask that he dawns for most of his career that helps hide his identity as Mark Grayson (an important detail that will be explored quite soon in the series). When picking a suit design with Art, Mark states that he doesn’t like the orange and yellow suit designs and wants something “more iconic” (hence the yellow ‘I’ in the middle of his suit). This reflects both Mark’s understanding of the superhero identity that is modeled greatly after his father who dawns an ‘iconic’ white and red suit with the letter ‘O’ on it, a symbol, as Omni-man describes it, and the design of other superheroes entities of the time that dawned sleek black lines and colors that accompanied whatever other color scheme the superhero wore.

How do the economic, political, and social events that occurred during the series’ creation and broadcast cultivate and inform the superheroes’ decisions and actions?

The Invincible comics began its run in 2003, meaning some of the comic elements and stories may have been influenced by the period of time in which there was a heavy focus on the United States combatting terrorism following the events of 9/11, as many “alien threats” dealt with by the superheroes resemble this period. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002) also came out a year prior and is heralded as a large influence in comic book superheroes, most likely also being an influence in the creation of Invincible as they share very many similar elements (and even have various comic runs where both characters crossover to work alongside each other and are drawn by the same artist).

Nonetheless, the T.V. show that’s been broadcasting since 2021 very much attempts to modernize the story, and we see elements of more transparent Government involvement (or rather more exposure into the credibility of the Government) following major events such as Trump’s impeachment. Additionally, in recent years there has been general dialogue and questioning over the State following more and more largely broadcasted and empowering social justice movements and mass protests in recent years (e.g. the Black Lives Matter movement) that have worked to counter a lot of authoritative policies as well as deconstruct prevailing social constructs. In the show, this can be reflected by how Invincible (and several superhero characters) begins to make more of his own decisions instead of simply following orders given to him by Cecil, as well as a general distrust for Government authorities by the general public due to either their reliance on Superheroes and their continuous exploitation of people, both superheroes and non-superheroes.

How do the superheroes question themselves, each other, and their obligations and duties to the people around them?

Mark especially questions his role and obligation as Invincible as his plate grows larger, takes on more responsibilities and constantly has his beliefs toyed with. Growing up with a father as a superhero, being a superhero just like him had been Mark’s dream for 17 years. However, after having his whole world shattered when his father revealed himself to be a world conqueror playing “superhero” and “family man” as a means to accomplish his goal of conquering Earth, killing the most powerful superheroes and thousands of civilians due to Mark refusing to join in the conquest, Mark begins the continuous journey of questioning his role and responsibility as a superhero, often fearing he would turn out like his father and constantly blames himself for the destruction Omni-man/Nolan caused. Even in the second episode, we see Invincible learn the nuances and difficulties of superhero work when he causes the death of an Old lady while trying to evacuate her from an alien invasion.

A common theme in the show is the irony of Mark’s superhero name, Invincible, and how he is often going up against threats that are a lot more powerful than him and he repeatedly gets beat up and loses his battles. This takes a toll on Mark, causing him to question his abilities more often than not, as well as those close to him e.g. his mother. It also plays into the theme of growing up and independence and all the challenges that come along with it.

Atom Eve also goes through her own journey of establishing her obligation and duties as a superhero, as she comes to the realization that her abilities (the power to see and manipulate matter at subatomic levels) could be used for more humanitarian purposes like solving world hunger and building homes rather than being reduced to violence in the form of crime fighting. She leaves her superhero team in order to pursue this goal, which she learns comes with its own challenges that cause her to question whether or not she’s doing the right thing.

Our season 1 antagonist, Omni-man, has his own journey of questioning himself and his obligation as a superhero. Initially, his militaristic, planet-conquest mindset that is instilled in Viltrumite culture is conflicted when he comes to Earth and learns about humanity and societies on Earth, developing an obligation to protect the planet, even if he planned to conquer it in the future. Even after revealing his goal was to “breed” a suitor, a.k.a Mark, that could help him on his conquest, he is unable to follow through because he’s overcome with emotion and memories of his time on Earth while nearly killing his son. In the 4th episode of the 2nd season, Omni-man shares a vulnerable moment with Mark/Invincible where he talks about how he doesn’t understand why he cares for and feels obligated to protect a “weak” alien species, why he feels like this should be his purpose instead of the Viltrumite conquest, and why death and the guilt of his actions suddenly begins to weigh on him for the first time in his life. The episode ends with Omni-man fighting his ex-comrades to protect an alien planet alongside his son, completely showing an overhaul in his initial ideologies, and is prepared to die for the Thraxan alien species.

@theuncannyprofessoro

#oxyspeculativetv #Youtube

[sinkableruby]

compiling a list of issues with monogatari light novels (spoilers)

ougi is in the school (worst offender)

araragi is a cop (also bad)

hitagi is a capitalist (not great)

tsubasa is no nations anti war jesus (lol?)

araragi is still the protagonist even though his arc has been done for like a while now and he doesnt really have any more interesting stories to tell except theoretically the future ones*

*the future stories have a lot of problems. the thing with shinobu in ikusa is a little weird and doesn't seem to match up with their established dynamic?

also musubi spends times establishing new characters and doesn't make them recurring. maybe we will see more of them later but its weird to introduce people that we don't have much investment in and then just drop them when you could make the whole story about the futures of the characters we know or most of it

OUGI IS IN THE SCHOOL (THIS IS STILL NOT OKAY)

(I'M STILL NOT OKAY WITH IT)

(NOT JUST BECAUSE I LOVE OUGI AND AM VERY BIASED BUT BECAUSE IT IS ALSO, IF YOU ANALYZE IT, PRETTY MUCH OBJECTIVELY WEIRD! NISIOISIN FORGOT HE WROTE OUGI DARK)

probably nadeko should become a new protagonist or at least it should be more of a thing where there are multiple protagonists and all their stories get explored. this way we see each character from their own POV instead of araragi's and they get to develop on their own terms. more interesting stories can be explored this way instead of done-to-death kind of boring ones and everyone can be happy because their blorbos get content

ononoki yotsugi has been done dirty

ougi is still in the fucking school? why? why? why? why did he have him make that choice in ougimonogatari. and more to the point, why does the narrative think it's okay to relegate someone who by all means should be free and having a life to eternal work in a school question mark? this seems completely at odds with the message from ougi dark, which again, nisioisin forgot

it's not even that ougi doesn't want to have a life! we know this because she is jealous of tsukihi for being good at living. she's just kind of bad at it. but they still want to live. that was a pretty important thing. and pretty significant for their character. so why are they in a school forever as though they still need people to affirm their identity/need to be tied to the school? being literally stuck in a school is not "living." why does the narrative think this is okay ? question mark?

oh yeah also why are we not seeing kanbaru and ougi finish kanbaru's whole arc thing going there? why are we pushing aside conclusions of stories like nadeko's and kanbaru's for uninteresting stories of new characters who generally aren't very compelling instead? it's just not an interesting direction to take the series, and it's already gotten stale. nisioisin could have tried something new like he seemed like he was going to do with oroka, but he just dug his feet in even further to araragi because he can't let go of the stinky man. not swag horrendous crinkly vibes.

in short: NISIOISIN fell off

#monogatari #ougiposting #oshino ougi #araragi koyomi

[sesamestreep]

Nick/Jess, 15!

15. i’ll save you a seat (from this prompt list)

IT’S MILLER’S TIME

The bestselling author of the hit YA series ‘The Pepperwood Chronicles’ opens up about seeing his work adapted for television, his new novel, and becoming a father.

LOS ANGELES - The lunchtime crowd at Gogo’s Tacos in Silver Lake is more plentiful and aggressive than the colleague who recommended the spot for my interview with Nick Miller led me to believe it would be on a weekday, which means I spend the twenty minutes between when I show up (ten minutes early) and when he arrives (ten minutes late and convincingly apologetic about it) fighting off other patrons who are convinced I’m lying about expecting someone and want to steal his seat. His appearance in the busy restaurant is welcome for more reasons than one.

We’re here to discuss the new Netflix adaptation of his bestselling book series, The Pepperwood Chronicles, into a television series. The first season, which drops this Friday on the streaming platform, takes on the Herculean task of adapting the first book in the series (clocking in at 628 pages) into just eight episodes of television. It’s a highly anticipated project for the army of Pepperheads out there, who want to see if Sebastian Stan truly has what it takes to embody the titular grizzled New Orleans detective from Miller’s beloved novels, but it’s not the only project that’s been occupying Miller’s time lately. He’s also got his debut novel for the adult market, the stylishly-titled HoBo, which draws heavily on his childhood in Chicago, coming out in November. But the project he’s most anxious to brag about is one he had—by his own admission—very little to do with, aside from the original idea. The lion’s share of the credit belongs to his wife.

“This is Reggie,” he says, stretching his phone across the table proudly, swiping through dozens of photos of a pleasantly chunky infant in a Chicago Bears onesie. “Oh, and that’s Mario,” he says, when we get to a photo of a dog sniffing the same baby, asleep in a car seat and wearing a hooded jacket with bear ears.

“I know he looks like a funky little alien right now, but my wife says that most babies get really cute around the six month mark,” Miller says, after suddenly remembering that he has tacos he could be eating. He takes an enormous bite of one before making a face. “God, don’t print that. My son is already adorable. I love him.”

We debate whether or not I can actually print that comment (guess who won) for a few minutes before Miller finally allows us to move on. I ask, given his penchant for drawing details from his own life to use in his novels, if this recent development for him means we can expect the next Pepperwood installment to find Julius Pepperwood and his leading lady, Jessica Knight, contemplating parenthood. 

“I don’t know about that,” Miller says, with his mouth full. “It’s not that one-to-one for me. Yes, Pepperwood is based on me in some ways, but in many other ways he isn’t, you know? Same goes for Jessica Knight. She’s based on my wife, definitely, but I’ve never felt constricted by that. I’ve always felt like the characters follow their own path, though they take inspiration from my real life.”

In this answer, Miller has given me both an articulate response and neatly sidestepped giving any confirmation of further Pepperwood installments, which forces me to ask the question directly. His face goes blank for a moment afterwards, and he spends a while chewing before he attempts to answer.

“I’m not saying no,” he finally replies, wiping his hands on a napkin, while looking thoughtfully into the distance. “But I’m also not saying yes. There have been people—and my wife tells me not to read the reviews or the comments, but sometimes, you know, shit happens and you see some stuff—there’s people who think Pepperwood is too happy now. They liked him when he was tortured. Now, he’s got the love of his life by his side, he solved his brother’s murder, he made peace with his father. It’s like, where’s the tension anymore? But at the same time, I don’t want to make him miserable again just to sell more books.”

Miller talks about Pepperwood (and Knight and all of his characters) like they’re real people, a fact he shrugs off when I point it out.

“Of course,” he says. “Of course they’re real to me. It’s important to remember that they’ve been with the readers for six books now, but they’ve been with me for longer than that. And they don’t leave me alone when the book is done, either, like they do for my readers.”

They don’t seem to leave his readers alone after the last page, actually, if the healthy fandom producing fanart and fanfiction online are any indication. Miller, of course, has thoughts.

“I’m pleased about it,” he says, with his usual Chicago-born nonchalance. “It’s always made me happy that my work resonates with people, especially young people. I didn’t see that coming, in the beginning. It wasn’t supposed to be a YA series.”

The origins of The Pepperwood Chronicles are the publishing world’s version of a Cinderella story. Miller initially published the first book in the series himself at the encouragement of his friends, hawking the hand bound (!) copies at local bookstores with the encouragement of his then-girlfriend, as well as his future wife (“Two different women,” he clarifies. “It’s a long story.”) The hefty novel all about the seedy underbelly of New Orleans very quickly found a devoted fan base amongst a surprising audience: teenage girls. Where other authors might have bristled, Miller instead took his unexpected champions in stride.

“Like, there was definitely some initial shock to get over,” he explains. “If I’d known I was writing to teenagers specifically, I would have cut, well, a few things from that manuscript.” He’s referring delicately to some pretty explicit sex scenes and graphic violence, which definitely get toned down in later installments of the series. Confronted with this, Miller shrugs and says only, “That’s show biz!”

Speaking of show biz, how does he feel about the Netflix adaptation of his work?

“It was really interesting,” he offers, thoughtfully. “I’m grateful they didn’t ask me to write it, because it turns out I’m a terrible screenwriter.” Before I can ask him to elaborate on that, he continues, “But the team really did check in with me a lot and they made sure the tone felt right, and the changes they had to make worked with my understanding of the world and the characters. I felt like they really respected Pepperwood, which obviously means a lot to me.”

Miller is being generous, of course, considering he and his wife are both executive producers on the series. When I mention this, however, he waves it off. “They still could have told me to fuck off with my opinions,” he says.

As for working with his wife in that capacity, he’s more than happy to sing her praises. “She’s great. Aside from myself, she’s the person I trust most to get Pepperwood, you know? Like my editors and my agent and everybody, they’re amazing, but if I’m really stuck, Jess is the one I can turn to and be like ‘does this work? Or does it suck?’ And she’ll tell me. She’s always been that person for me. She’s the first person I shared the first draft of the first book with, so her input is invaluable. Or is it valuable?”

“They mean the same thing,” I tell him.

“That’s stupid,” he replies. “I mean, I’m not calling you stupid. The English language is stupid sometimes. My wife’s input is very important to me, is what I’m saying. Her instincts are spot on.”

And they should be, after all. When she’s not producing the Pepperwood TV series with her husband, Jessica Day (yes, you’re reading that right. Miller’s wife and the inspiration for his character Jessica Knight is named Jessica Day. Check the dedication on the first Pepperwood novel if you don’t believe me) works for Scholastic, as a part of their team that handles community outreach to K-12 schools across the country. (Miller’s publishing deal is with an imprint of Simon & Schuster, in case anyone is worried about favoritism.) Before that, she worked briefly in the nonprofit industry and as a middle school teacher and later vice principal. 

“She understands the demographic perfectly,” Miller summarizes, fifteen minutes into an endearing monologue about how great his wife is. “I think the writers for the TV show liked having her around even more than having me. She really knows her stuff.”

When I follow up a few days later with Ms. Day for comment, her husband’s remarks amuse but don’t surprise her. “He’s always giving me too much credit,” she says, humbly.

Does it weird her out at all, to have so many people so intensely invested in the fictionalized version of her love life?

“It’s funny. I know the names are really similar and obviously Nick borrows things here and there from our real life,” she says, “but I really don’t feel like Jessica Knight is me. So I don’t take it personally at all.”

This isn’t the first time this attitude has come up in interviews. Last year, when casting was announced for the Netflix series, Day made headlines for defending the production’s decision to cast British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Jessica Knight after many fans claimed she didn’t match Knight’s description in the books.

“Gugu’s a very talented actress. I’ve seen her screen tests and she will blow you away when you see the show, I promise!” Day took to Twitter to say at the time.

“She capture [sic] JK’s energy perfectly,” she added in a further tweet. “Please welcome her to the Pepperwood family as we have!”

Now, Day is less diplomatic in her response. “It was a small portion of fans who were upset,” she says, “but they were the loudest contingency. It was very upsetting, and honestly tacky. So what if she doesn’t look like me? The character isn’t me, first of all. And the books are set in New Orleans, for God’s sake! It would be stupid if the entire main cast was white people.”

When I accuse her of saying the quiet part loud, as the kids say, Day seems nonplussed. “It’s those new mom hormones, I guess,” she replies, as a baby cries in the background of the phone call as if on cue. “I just don’t give a fu…dge.”

Miller, during our interview, feels similarly. “The team went with the best people for the parts, and we made it clear, my wife and I, that they absolutely weren’t trying to cast our doppelgängers. That wasn’t the point. Honestly, it would have freaked me out if they had.”

So he doesn’t think he and Stan look alike? 

“No, not at all,” he says, automatically. “Do you?”

“He kind of seems like a more Hollywood version of you, yeah.”

Miller takes a long time thinking this over. “That’s…huh…”

In order to distract him from the existential spiral I’ve inadvertently led him down, I switch us over to the topic of his new book, HoBo. It’s made several lists of most anticipated books for this fall (including this publication’s) but there was a while there where Miller feared the manuscript would never see the light of day. 

“The publisher thought it was too dark for the teen market,” he says, without any of the smarmy pride one would expect from the average male author accused of being ‘too dark’ by The Man. “I had no idea! I thought Pepperwood was too dark for teens and they loved it! So, there was a bit there when I was like, ‘okay, so this is the end, I guess.’”

Miller isn’t being melodramatic either. There was a moment, according to him and confirmed by his editor, Merle Streep, where they considered parting ways. Luckily, they came to an understanding once the dust settled and Miller pitched the novel, then titled “Chicago Hobo”, for the adult market. The source of this brilliant solution? You guessed it: Jessica Day.

“My wife’s a genius,” Miller states. “It was so simple and yet none of us could see it. Of course they should market the book to adults, if they thought it was too gritty for teens. Obviously.”

Day, however, downplays her contribution. “The issue with the manuscript came to a head on our wedding day, if you can believe it. On our honeymoon, it was all Nick could talk about. He was worried he’d never publish another book again. I suggested he send the manuscript around to other publishers to see if there was interest, but pitch it as, you know, a book for grownups. I thought it would make him feel better. I had no idea that the minute he did that, his original publisher would come back to him with a deal.”

But that’s exactly what they did. He’s also on the hook for three more books after that, though he’s cagey with details about if those will be HoBo sequels, further Pepperwood adventures, or something else entirely.

“We’re in a really pivotal moment,” Miller says, looking a little bit sweaty as he admits it. “We’ll see how Pepperwood does as a TV show, we’ll see how people feel about HoBo when it comes out.” He pauses to laugh. “We’ll see if being a father completely fries my brain and I never write another coherent sentence ever again.”

Early reviews and chatter are saying that the new novel is every bit as cinematic as The Pepperwood Chronicles, which suggests a screen adaptation is more a matter of “when” than “if.” It is, by Miller’s own admission, even more autobiographical than Pepperwood (the preteen narrator is Travis Tiller, called “Trick” by his friends, so do with that what you will). It’s based, in many ways, on his childhood in Chicago, but it’s also equal parts dystopian speculative fiction and superhero origin story, with a heavy pour of magical realism to wash it down. The cinematic universe practically writes itself.

“We just don’t know,” Miller replies vaguely. No matter what I do, I can’t get him to speculate on bringing this book to the small or big screen. “I don’t want to jinx anything,” he adds, frantically, after many such questions.

Fine. But, as pure speculation, what actor does he think, potentially, has what it takes to bring the eponymous hobo to life on screen?

“Rock Hudson,” he says, after much bullying.

When I inform him that Rock Hudson is dead and has been for more than 30 years, Miller looks crestfallen. What about preteen Trick Tiller, then? Is there anyone Miller would entrust to play his younger self?

“Cate Blanchett,” he replies.

When I point out that she’s both older than him and a different gender, he frowns. “She played Bob Dylan, though,” he counters, confused. I concede that he’s got me there.

We return to the much safer topic of conversation that is the current adaptation of one of his novels. What’s he most looking forward to now that the show is finally premiering?

“Getting to go on a date with my wife,” he says, sincerely, with the dead-eyed stare of a sleep-deprived new parent. “Seriously. We’re getting a sitter to watch the baby, we’re bringing a few of our close friends, who are all getting sitters for their babies. It’s going to be really fun. It’s going to be a classic mess around.”

A what?

“Don’t worry about it,” Miller says.

Is there anyone whose opinion he’s particularly anxious about, when it comes to the TV show? Or even his new novel?

“I’m always worried about what the fans think. I want the Pepperwood fans to like the show. I want them to like the new book, even though it’s not about Pepperwood, you know?”

Does he think there will be crossover?

“Absolutely I do, yes,” he says, emphatically. “The kids who read Pepperwood when it first came out—this is terrifying to say, but—they’re grown up now. They’re in college or they’re young professionals. HoBo is written for their age group now. It will be marketed to them.”

It’s kind of like they’ve grown up with him.

“Don’t say that,” Miller replies, putting his head in his hands dramatically. “I’m gonna have a panic attack. Having an actual biological child is scary enough.”

Speaking of scary, to distract him from another existential crisis, I ask if he’s been starstruck at any part of the process of turning his beloved novels into a TV show, and his answer is surprising to say the least.

“I mean, I was a little bit starstruck meeting Alfred Molina the first time. He was already in costume as Schmith, too, which was an extra level of weird,” he says, referring to the iconic love-to-hate-him villain of the first Pepperwood book and a supporting player in many of the series’s other installments. Still, Miller eventually got used to the idea of Doc Ock himself being in the show. 

“Oh, I know my big starstruck moment,” he adds. “When Taylor Swift tweeted about the trailer. That was like…Woah! Is this really happening?”

That’s right. When the show’s first trailer debuted in March, the Grammy-winning singer took to Twitter to express her excitement.

“I can’t believe how good this looks,” she tweeted with the emoji of the cat making the Home Alone face. “Is it September yet?!?”

Can we take his excitement over this interaction the confirmation we’ve all been waiting for that Nick Miller is a Swiftie? 

“I don’t know what that is, but I like her. She’s really talented. When my wife’s upset, she likes to listen to Taylor Swift and cry while she drinks pink wine,” he says, before taking a troubled pause. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told you that.”

Day laughs when I tell her this anecdote during our phone call and gives me the go-ahead to print it. “It’s true,” she says. “Who cares?”

So, if they had to pick a Swift song to represent Julius Pepperwood and Jessica Knight’s relationship, what would it be?

Miller’s answer is simple: “You should ask my wife.”

Day’s response, on the other hand, is more complex. “I think it evolves over time, you know, from book to book. Probably in the early books, before they get together for real, it’s ‘Out of the Woods’ or ‘Wildest Dreams.’ Maybe even ‘White Horse,’ if you want to go back into her catalog.”

What about for her and Miller?

“That’s easy,” Day says, and the smile is obvious in her voice. “I’ve always thought of ‘Mine’ as our song of hers.”

This conversation mostly just confirms Miller’s assertion that his wife knows his characters just as well as he does. It also begs the important question of whether he’ll use this big moment in his career as leverage to arrange a meeting between Swift and his wife.

“I don’t know,” he says, honestly. “Maybe? I should ask Jess. She might kill me if I pulled that on her with no warning.”

As our meal and interview come to an end, I can’t help asking Miller a question that has been on my mind the whole time: with all this talk of how great and inspiring his wife is, and how integral to his creative process she’s become, does he happen to identify as a Wife Guy?

“I don’t know what that is either. You keep saying these things—I’ve never heard of them before,” he admits. “But I like the sound of it. So, yeah. I guess so. Unless it’s a bad thing. In which case, no. Was that—did I answer your question?”

In this case, just like so many of Nick Miller’s characters before us, we might have to make peace with an ambiguous ending.

•

The Pepperwood Chronicles premieres exclusively on Netflix this Friday.

#forgive any stupid mistakes it should go without saying that I’m not an actual journalist #also I genuinely don’t even know what year to pretend this is set in…who knows tbh?? #I have a lot of feelings about the Pepperwood chronicles it turns out phew #new girl #nick miller #jessica day #nick x jess #god this was so fun to write #taylor swift song prompts #firstelevens #homelywenchsociety #<just my writing tag don’t worry about it #IDK IT IS WHAT IT IS!! #there’s so many Easter eggs in this….a whole basket’s worth #barely relates to the prompt I tried