#I do also like female protagonists actually that seems to be more common in romance too
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MISUNDERSTANDING
— the mafia series
PAIRING: nishimura riki x fem!reader
SUMMARY: you were never curious about people's lives but ni-ki's one has you intrigued. why weren't the teachers scolding him? getting mad at him for leaving in the middle class. it was just weird. that is until you find the very reason as to why the teachers were not doing anything. one thing led to another and somehow, you were roped into this mess.
WARNING: blood mentioned, fights and mafia, stabbing. if you remember the dark blood fight scene with sunghoon and ni-ki, you can imagine that but way more gory and also actually stabbing the person with an actual katana (not to sunghoon though, but to an actual bad guy)
WORD COUNT: 9.3K (I BEAT JAKE'S ONE?? WTH)
NOTE: lord have mercy, this took too much procrastination, sweat and tears to do finish this. like no joke. plus with the edition of me either forgetting to do it or me just having no mood to write. I FUCKING FINISHED IT!!! BE PROUD OF ME 🫵🏼🫵🏼🫵🏼🫵🏼
ONE
being a kid exposed to crimes at a young age wasn’t a peculiar thing. however, it was the life of a young boy who went by ni-ki. you see, ni-ki was one of the seven successful young billionaires in the world. his family name was already plastered to every billboard. the Nishimura Cooperation, they were one of the pillars to korea’s and japan’s success. any normal person would just look at them and acknowledge their power but what they didn’t know was…how did they get their power?
the nishimura family built their entire empire by doing dirty work which led to a huge money income. they bought their way up to the top and managed to gain countless of loyal followers. Eventually collaborating with the Park Corp. which was jay’s family company. Many were surprised to see that ni-ki was dabbling in a little of his family business because at the age of 18, nobody would willingly want to participate in business. The Nishimura Corp was mainly stationed in Japan so ni-ki handled the work done in Korea since he was already here.
as usual, as a teenager, ni-ki would be in school. however, he never studied nor did he care about his scores. why should he when is already a millionaire/billionaire at 18? he could easily buy his way through the system but his parents didn’t allow him. they wanted their son to get his certificate the right way. the same way his 2 other sisters were going through in Japan. ni-ki could only obey his parents’ words, they knew what was best for him. which leads into the female protagonist of his life story, you being his classmate.
ni-ki was like any normal teen boy. angsty, hates school and a little jokester who is always on the verge of getting detention. you had never understood why the teachers never actually sent the boy to detention, it was…weird.
“(name) and ni-ki.” the teacher announces. there was this project that you had for an English class, something about literature and poetry. you had to find some classical romance novel that fits the criteria. which you didn’t fully understand. honestly, you never even liked English class, the teacher just rubs you the wrong way. either way, ni-ki was now your project partner. you were already plotting different ways to approach him and actually get him to do his work. you weren’t oblivious to the fact that ni-ki rarely ever participates in school work.
“hi, we have to do a project together.” you timidly say after you approached him. The boy before you looked bored, seems like he doesn’t fancy English class too.
ni-ki sighs, “yeah, listen. I don’t really like English class so we should get this stupid project done and over with. i also have other important things to do.”
well, at least he was honest. you hummed at his words, “seems like we have something in common. let’s get this project done quickly then let’s meet in the library at 3pm?”
ni-ki shrugs, “alright then. if i’m late, don’t bother waiting for me. I have a pretty busy schedule and life so school and this project is the least of my worries.”
“no problem, just let me know if you can participate in this project. If you can't, I'll just do it by myself and slap your name somewhere on the paper.” you say. ni-ki tilts his head but he didn’t protest your suggestion.
“that will be great. Now, I need to run some errands.” he leaves the classroom, the teacher not even bothering to even ask where he was going. clearly, they were too used to him leaving the class in the middle of nowhere or maybe they knew something you didn’t.
“he is weird…” you mutter under your breath.
as expected, ni-ki did not show up at the library. you sighed and just continued working on the project. you weren’t exactly surprised he wouldn’t show up but you still hope he’d at least have some manners and actually show up. It was 5pm, you were finishing up on your part of the project. You still had to do his part and then come up with a short little poem because your teacher wanted to make it more sentimental or whatever she wanted.
ni-ki shows up, busted and bruised up. his hair was dishevelled, blood at the corner of his lips, he looked rough. something an 18 year old boy shouldn’t be having, you confused. just as he draws nearer, you notice there was a cut on his cheeks, small drips of blood slowly falling down. you gasp.
“sorry, had some business to attend to.” he says sheepishly.
“this is your business to attend to? why are you so bloodied and bruised up? who did you have a fight with?”
“just some group.” he shrugs. “don’t worry, my older friends were there to help me out. well, it’s not like they really helped.” he mutters the last part.
“uh, well this can’t be some sort of tiny thing. you’re bleeding.”
he reaches to touch his cheek and swipes the blood away. he winces a little and shrugs, “nothing too bad. been through worse. anyways, what’s the part I have to do? feeling a little bad if I don’t help you out a little at least.” you sighed when you noticed the blood he swiped away continued to flow.
“come here.” he tilts his head at your words but still goes over to you.
you made him sit next to you and you took out some antiseptic from your bag. you had one because you usually volunteered at the orphanage and the kids there played quite rough.
“this might sting a little.” you told ni-ki. he sighs and just lets you do whatever it is. you wiped the blood with a wet tissue and then placed the antiseptic on the cut. ni-ki winces.
“while i am curious as to how you got this since it looks like you had a huge fight, I’ll keep my mouth shut.” you placed a bandage on the cut. “there it’s better now. here take this and wipe the other blood that’s dried up on your face.”
ni-ki thanked you quietly. he quickly wipes the blood that you had previously pointed at. “so which part am I supposed to do? also, didn’t the teacher say we have to do a romance novel?” he grimaces at the thought of having to read a romance novel. he was never a fan of romantic things. Sure, he liked cheesy things like matching clothes or matching items but he was too single for that (and still young).
“yeah, it’s some romance novel. from the synopsis, i can tell it’s really similar to ‘Twilight’.” you could hear ni-ki sighing.
“so some vampire romantic novel thing?”
“basically. have you watched ‘Twilight’?”
“no. i don’t have time for movies or series or dramas. i have a busy schedule.”
“sounds…boring but i understand if you have a job and it’s more important than watching a basic show.”
“i-” ni-ki sighs. “we can watch it. well, i can watch it on my own and then read the novel the teacher suggested us to read.”
“alright, we can split it and then summarise the novel with our own thoughts. makes it more sentimental.”
ni-ki nods, “uhh send me a link to the ‘Twilight’ story or something.”
“i don’t have your number.”
ni-ki holds his hand out and you gave him your phone. he quickly types in his number and sends a text.
“there, now i need to go. i have work.” ni-ki doesn’t even bother to wait until you uttered a word, he just leaves. you huffed and looked down at your laptop. maybe you should just stay and complete some work.
TWO
ni-ki entered the Decelis Resort and clicked on the elevator button to the top floor. he was met with his 6 other older friends. each of them huffing and sighing, it seems like they found out something.
“uh, what’s wrong?”
“this.” jungwon shows off the screen on their database. a warning which was basically telling jake about his brother. ni-ki tilts his head.
“isn’t your brother dead a long time ago, hyung?” ni-ki asks jake.
“yeah.” nabi says. her arms were wrapped around jake as she comforts him. right, he forgot they got together already and they aren’t blindly being stupid and not confessing to each other (read: please save ni-ki, he already witnessed two of his hyungs kissing their girlfriend/wife).
ni-ki scrunches his face at the affection that jake’s girlfriend was giving him. just as he looks to look over in the other direction, he witnesses heeseung giving his wife heart eyes. ni-ki has had enough of it, he rolls his eyes.
“why did you call me in, i had a project to do with my partner.” he says.
“oooo project with a partner, who is this partner. is it a girl~” sunghoon teases. ah, the ever so annoying thing sunghoon loved to do with ni-ki, tease him. sunghoon should be thankful that ni-ki could hold back his anger. or else, ni-ki would’ve initiated a war crime on him.
“none.” ni-ki simply says. he folds his arm.
“none what?” sunghoon tilts his head, slightly confused at the short answer.
“none of your business.” ni-ki fires back. sunghoon clenches his jaw and gets ready to swing when jay holds him back. sunghoon practically hisses like a cat as he scrambles to get out of jay’s grip.
“okay okay. calm down.” heeseung claps his hand to get their attention. “we called you back here because while jungwon and jake fix the database, you, sunghoon, jay and sunoo are going out to find the target.”
“old school style?” sunoo asks.
“yeah. since our database is fucked up right now.”
“so…how are we going to do that without the database?” sunghoon asks.
“stakeout. you guys should know what he looks like after i send the photo of him. sunoo and jay will be in charge of ground level. ni-ki and sunghoon take high ground.” heeseung explains.
“what about you, hyung?” jay says.
heeseung turns to look over at his wife and the older boys instantly knew. ni-ki was still clueless until he realised…
“OH MY GOD EWWWW. can’t you leave the baby making for another time? we are literally on a mission.” ni-ki fake gags.
“you guys are on a mission. i can stay back.” heeseung reasons.
“you can fight too, hyung??”
“yeah, no. I wanna stick with my wife, thank you very much.”
“whatever, let’s just start this mission. I’ll just take charge as usual.” jungwon says.
THREE
ni-ki and sunghoon stayed up above while jay and sunoo stuck below. each of them had their own disguises since they were going in old school style. even if it sounded ridiculous but at least nobody would know it’s them.
“you guys going in now?” sunghoon asks.
“yeah, me and sunoo are going in separately to avoid any suspicions.”
“jake hyung says that they are working on getting the app online. if we find the guy without the app then we just strike and kidnap.” sunoo says.
“hyungs, you two are the only ones who have eyes inside. let us know if you need more help, me and sunghoon hyung will come down and help you.” ni-ki says.
“mmm, will do. you guys watch out from upstairs if the client left the building.” jay says.
“got it.”
both ni-ki and sunghoon watched from above the building. what they didn’t expect was for someone to come up behind them and shove them off the side. ni-ki grabbed sunghoon and pushed him closer towards the side of the building’s wall so that sunghoon could catch himself. ni-ki grabs his grappling hook and throws it so sunghoon can catch it. Both of them were eventually ‘safe’ on the side of the building.
“shit, they’re onto us.” sunghoon curses. “you good, ni-ki?”
“yeah, sure. dangling about 656 ft above the ground is totally fine, hyung.” ni-ki sarcastically says. sunghoon rolls his eyes.
“i can just let go of the rope and let you fall, you know?”
“you wouldn’t, hyung. you love me too much in a brotherly way.” ni-ki says.
sunghoon sighs, “yeah whatever.”
“we should find a way back up. those assholes decided to shove us off.” ni-ki says.
“yeah, we should.”
-
sunghoon taps on his spy earpiece, “heads up guys, I think they’re onto to us. Me and ni-ki just got shoved off the rooftop.”
“so you guys are just dangling at the side of the building?” jay asks.
“yeah, we need to clear the way. sunoo, could you find a way to floor 76? we’re currently dangling beside one of those hotel rooms on that floor. i think someone is occupying this room though.” sunghoon says.
“don’t worry, i’m on my way right now. they don’t call me sneaky sunoo for no reason.”
“nobody calls you that, hyung.”
“shut up, ni-ki.”
“i’ll keep a look out for the mafia leader. he’s probably in the party they have in the small casino of the hotel.” jay says.
“alright, seems like this is the plan we have for now. we’ll meet up after sunoo saves us.” sunghoon adds.
“roger.”
-
the wind blew onto their hair, ni-ki sighs.
“is it too late to tell my project partner that i won’t be coming to school tomorrow.” ni-ki asks.
“you’re still worried about your project?! we’re dangling off the side of like one of the tallest skyscrapers right now and you’re worried about that?!” sunghoon says as he is bewildered by ni-ki’s words.
“well, i’m still a high school student. i don’t want to fail my classes.”
“when have you ever cared about school.” sunghoon deadpans. ni-ki was about to counter but ultimately shut his mouth.
“you’re right. i hate school.” ni-ki huffs.
“no no wait. we’re not stopping there, tell me why are you suddenly thinking about this? is this about your project partner? because this is my first time hearing you actually want to go to school.”
“no.” ni-ki simply replies.
“don’t just say ‘no’. there is something more to that. are you falling for your project partner?”
“you’re crazy, why would i fall for my project partner. i’m only a high school senior, i’m too young to be falling in love. i’d rather focus on our mission than her.”
“ah, so it’s a her.” sunghoon egged further. though ni-ki couldn’t see sunghoon face, he knew the older was smirking at him, seemingly amused that ni-ki was actually showing some slight unknown feelings.
“the teacher assigned us together, we’re forced to do it. it’s not like i wanted to do this project with her.”
“okay but is this girl at least cute to you?”
“hyung, can we not talk about this?”
“no no. we have time. there are at least 10 rooms on this floor, sunoo will take a long time. tell me if this girl is your type.”
“i am not telling you and also, i don’t have a type.” ni-ki grumbles.
“so, it’s a yes?”
“i’m just talking to her because i am forced to.”
“does she intrigue you in any way?”
“hyung-”
“yo, i am here to save the day.” sunoo opens up the window just enough so that sunghoon and ni-ki could slid through.
both sunghoon and ni-ki climbed through the window quietly.
“how did you get inside the room?” sunghoon whispers.
“simple, the room was occupied by some girls so i just used my sunoo charms and boom they let me in. i told them i’ll be back soon but i’m gonna bolt out of this room after grabbing you guys.”
“the girls don’t appeal to you?”
“oh no, they are just…how do i put this in a nicer term?” sunoo thinks for a split second, “they are way older than me, about 40 years old?”
“ayo?” ni-ki says.
“anyways, we need to get out of here chop chop. i was informed that the system and database is back so we don’t need to stakeout. we can just find and capture the guy with a simple call for backup.” sunoo says.
“great. now, let’s get out of here.”
sunghoon, sunoo and ni-ki snuck out of the hotel room and went to find jay. jay gestures for them to come closer and they went over to him.
he nudges his head to point where the guy stood, “our target is being surrounded by some other innocent people and his bodyguards. we need to find a way to bring them around and away from these people.”
“did you call for backup?” sunghoon asks.
“yeah, they are on the way now. they’ll just clean up whatever mess we’ve done.” jay explains.
-
“hey umm, guys.” jake says.
“what’s wrong?” sunghoon asks.
“we can see from the security cameras some bodyguards walking to the casino hall. jungwon had eavesdropped into their convo from their walkie talkie. it seems like they’re going to report about sunghoon and ni-ki.”
“shit, we really need to take them down. jay, how about you proceed with sunoo and play a round with our target while me and ni-ki take down those guards.”
“yeah, that works.” jay says.
“perfect, we’ll watch over the security cameras. we’ll report if there is anything else. jay, your men are about 10 minutes away from the location, they’ll come closer after the deal is done.” jake says.
“got it.”
-
“so? can we go now?” ni-ki asks.
“yeah, let’s go.” sunghoon says.
about 1 hour later, they managed to kick down their bodyguards with no suspicions from other bypassers. both ni-ki and sunghoon locked their unconscious bodies inside the bathroom stall and went to find jay and sunoo. jay flips the coin and it lands on heads, he smirks. he cracks his knuckles and neck.
“showtime.” he mutters.
chaos quickly ensues. everyone was running out of the casino, jay flips his gun and shoots. sunoo slides towards the entrance of the casino and allows all the innocent people out before cooly shutting the doors for all the bad guys. he puts his hands up once he turns around when the henchmen were holding up their guns at him.
“ehem, i suppose you guys have me cornered.” he innocently says. “i suggest you turn around though.” he smirks.
before the henchmen could even turn around, their necks were snapped and they fell to the ground. sunghoon and ni-ki managed to run in time just to help them fight off with jay’s men. ni-ki corners their target in one spot.
“hand over what we want and we’ll let you free.”
the guy laughs maniacally and ni-ki laughs along with him, “no.”
ni-ki stops laughing, “okay then.” with one simple shot, the guy falls to the ground, blood surrounding him. sunghoon winces.
“i can never get over this scene. you’re so brutal and direct with it like no hesitation. at least jay waits for the guy to say something.”
“we don’t wait for people like him and besides, what good is he going to bring us when all he has done is sell personal information, drugs and solicit women.” ni-ki says.
“ni-ki is right though.” jay shrugs. he turns to his men, “anyways, let’s clean this up before police get here. which should be in 15 minutes.”
-
“10 minutes.” jake corrects them.
“okay thanks.” jay says.
-
jay pats one of his men's backs, “there isn’t much people this time so it should be easier.”
“there are a few unconscious people in the bathroom. maybe we can use them and turn them into our men.” sunghoon suggests.
“good idea, you heard sunghoon.” jay says. jay’s men nod, they get to work and went to clean up everything while sunghoon, jay, sunoo and ni-ki went back to the Decelis Resort.
FOUR
ni-ki went to school the next day after not getting much sleep. he was barely awake during the whole class, almost dozing off. it’s not like the teachers cared anyways. well, except for you. you had whacked the table to get ni-ki to wake up. he groans and wakes up.
“nishimura, we need to finish up the last bit of the project.”
“do we have to? i’m tired.”
“yes, we do.”
he sighs, “fine but can we do it after school?”
“we have consultations with the teacher right now and we barely have any work done other than my part.” you told ni-ki.
ni-ki deadpans. “and? look, i barely got any sleep last night due to some things in my life and i want to sleep right now.”
ni-ki almost looked too pitiful, you could see the dark circles under his eyes. the way his eyes were slowly about to shut. the slow blinking. which made you feel bad and so you sighed.
“fine, just sleep. i’ll find a way to cover you from the teacher if he asks.” you say.
ni-ki tilts his head. he was surprised to even hear that you’d cover for him. it’s not like the teacher cared so why did you care? either ways, at least he could sleep so he lays his head onto the desk and falls asleep. you sighed and turned away from looking at him. you still had to do something with the project hence you just continued to work on it without him.
about 2 hours later, the class ends. something was off, really eerie. you had went to the bathroom because you know, you had some business to attend to. you were about to turn the corner to the classroom when all of a sudden, someone bumped into you. you apologise but something was weird about them. they didn’t look like a high school student so why were they here?
ni-ki spots this and so he runs over and grabs your wrist. he doesn’t even mention anything, just grabs your wrist and walks. it leaves you confused as to who that guy was. ni-ki turns the corner and stops.
“get to class,” he says.
“umm, who was that?”
“just get to class. i need to settle something. don’t leave and make sure everyone stays inside.” he warns.
“okay?” you say a little confused. ni-ki grabs your shoulder and turns you around before pushing you a little to direct you to go inside the class. he runs off after. you were still confused.
after school, you still hadn’t seen ni-ki and so you were a little worried. of course, any sane person would be worried for their classmate after they disappeared without a trace. which led to you looking for him. not a very smart idea but what could an 18 year old boy do? he may or not be strong enough to fight some people.
there was an alleyway behind the school. dark and scary. you had to pass by it every time you went home. maybe, they were hurting him behind there. it was possible. you had turned to the corner and ducked behind the wall. there ni-ki was with a foot on top of the guy, it seemed like he was on the phone with someone.
“hyung, can you get here quick? this guy called for some backup.” ni-ki sighs. “you want me to settle with possibly 10 more men coming over? wow, for once you aren’t doubting my skills? i’m surprised.”
“no seriously though, find out why they went to find me at my school. this place is filled with innocent people and it would not be great for them to be caught in the middle.”
“no, the guy is knocked out. may want to interview him or something. he seems like he knows some useful info.” he pauses. “i am not carrying him, i’ll look too suspicious and besides, i have a project to work on with my partner.”
your heart races as you hear his words. wait. that makes no sense, you can’t like ni-ki. you shook your head. it was probably just the adrenaline, there were other things that were more important. who was ni-ki calling and why did he sound like he was on some creepy team. what do they call those people.
“what? obviously! we’re the mafia!” ni-ki says.
ah, right. the mafia. that thought flies over your head until you kept repeating it, you froze. ni-ki was part of the mafia? that explains the cuts and bruises he constantly has. why he rarely gets any sleep. why the teacher does not care. he was part of the mafia and the teachers knew about it. this new found knowledge changes your whole perspective of ni-ki. he was not weird, he was in fact a dangerous person who was living a very wild life.
“okay, get here quick.” ni-ki says before ending the call. you had ran away from there. your legs were dragging you somewhere where you had to process everything and maybe get your mind off it. how do you continue working on your project knowing your partner was part of the mafia?
you had finally sat down in the school library. you were trying to comprehend everything. all you knew was that you can’t let anyone know about this and ni-ki can’t know that you know about him. what if you get hunted down? or what if ni-ki tries to hurt you? you could feel a cold shiver run down your spine, your life may be mundane but there was no way this was real. it felt surreal, this was real life and not a spy movie.
there were footsteps approaching you, a deep voice followed by it.
“hey, we still have to complete our project. we should get it done and over with. i have about.” he checks his watch. “30 minutes or so to spend.”
“we don’t have to do it. if you’re busy, we can just text.” you say. ni-ki tilts his head, he grabs the chair in front of you and sits.
“why do you look so scared to talk to me?” his eyes narrowed. you visibly gulped.
“what do you mean? why would i be scared to talk to you.”
ni-ki didn’t believe you, he leans forward. your breath hitches. his face up close, a strand of his brown hair falling right on his face. he once again tilts his head. “tell me.”
you felt the air being knocked out of you. you can’t look at him in the eyes. your face was heating up, this wasn’t good. “no. i’m really fine.”
ni-ki cocks his eyebrows and clicks his tongue, “then you should have time to do this project. we wasted too much time already.” he finally sits back in his seat, leaving you to able to breathe. his phone rings and rolls his eyes, he doesn’t pick it up.
“so what do we have so far?” ni-ki says.
30 minutes turned into 4 hours where you were working on the project with ni-ki. he cooperated really easily. he does the research and everything you ask him to do with ease.
“nishimura riki.” an unfamiliar voice says. you had looked up a guy with silver hair was standing there.
“hyung, what are you doing here?” ni-ki says not bothering to look behind him as he continues to work on the project.
“we called you hundreds of times and you’re here in the fucking library doing school work?”
“it’s a project. it’s due soon.”
“last i heard, it was due in a week.”
“and? me and my partner haven’t done much.”
“oh my god, this is the first time you’re acting like this. is it because you like her?” the silver haired guy points over at you. you blushed. ni-ki looks up at you and then behind him.
“no. sunghoon hyung, you always assume it’s something else.”
“yeah but you hate school.”
“i’ll go back in a bit. just leave.”
the man named sunghoon glares at ni-ki and then looks over at you.
“you have to be careful, remember. they watch our every move.” sunghoon warns.
“yes, i know hyung.”
“i’ll wait in the parking lot. finish this up because we have somewhere to be.” sunghoon says before he walks away. ni-ki sighs.
“is he your guardian?”
“one of them. my parents live abroad, i have 6 other ‘brothers’ who take care of me.” ni-ki nonchalantly says.
“oh.” you would’ve said more but you didn’t want to mention ni-ki's secret life. it was scary.
“i’ll just complete this last part and then we’re done. i believe that’s what we have to do for the project.” you hummed at his words.
ni-ki does as he said he would, finish up the last part and then packs his stuff. he gets up and pauses. “get home safe.” he says before quickly leaving. your heart races.
FIVE
2 weeks passed by quickly. it was just like any typical day at school, lessons for the day and then walking back home. you had walked past that dark creepy alleyway when suddenly, a few people had grabbed you. you were struggling in their grasp, fighting your way out of their arms. you kicked and bit their hands, finally they let go and so you did what was best, you had bolted away from them.
you grabbed your phone and dialed for ni-ki. the phone rings and rings as you ran but he wasn’t picking up. frustrated tears fell down your face. you hated feeling helpless, you weren’t strong enough and these people were fully grown adults. you needed help. out of nowhere, someone grabs your wrist. it was sunghoon, he pulls you over to one of the stores at the side of the road and then went through the staff room before going through the back door.
a van was waiting there. sunghoon opens the door and pushes you inside, he shuts the door and the driver starts driving away. you were panting heavily, you were also sure you’d get a bruise on your legs from being pushed into the van. ni-ki pulls you up so you could sit down properly. he places a jacket on your lap to cover your legs since you were wearing your school skirt. he also unintentionally brings your face closer so he could further inspect you for any bruises on your face.
“are you really sure you don’t have feelings for her?” sunghoon says. ni-ki rolls his eyes before dropping his hands to his side.
“can’t i just be concerned for a classmate who literally got chased by some bad guys? any normal person wouldn’t have to go through this if they didn’t interact with us.”
“yeah, whatever but there is something laced under your actions. what normal guy will hold her face like that? you look like you’re going to kiss her.” sunghoon mentions.
ni-ki’s face was stone cold, he definitely did not like that statement.
“do you really have to say that? I’m seriously just showing concern for a classmate.” ni-ki deadpans. you were staring in between both sunghoon and ni-ki, you didn’t even notice the other guys that were staring at you in confusion.
“so, what are going to do now? it seems like those guys think ni-ki has a love interest which means it’s only going to get worse from here on out.” a blond hair guy comments.
ni-ki sighs, “we need a way to distract them, i am sure her parents are going to be targeted next.”
“my parents…they umm aren’t present in my life…” it went dead silent.
“well, that’s good at least. we don’t have to worry about more people getting hurt-” sunghoon gets whacked by a guy with blond streaks in his hair.
“do you have any sense of awareness? she’s only 18 with no parents and you are thankful we don’t have extra people to get hurt??” the guy with blond streaks in his hair comments.
“it’s alright. i don’t exactly remember my parents much. i was really young.”
“so you’ve been living with your grandparents or something?” the guy blond hair adds.
“yeah. pretty much my whole life- hey, wait how did you know?” you had pointed out.
“idiots.” the guy with blond streak mutters under his breath. he holds out his hand for you to shake. “i’m jay. that idiot over there is jake.” he points to sunghoon, “the other idiot is sunghoon. i’m sorry for their stupidity. they clearly don’t know how to empathise with people.”
“it’s alright.”
“we’re here.”
“oh, right. that’s sunoo.” jay pats sunoo’s shoulder. sunoo playfully rolls his eyes before turning to look at you.
he gives you a smile, “nice to meet you, ni-ki’s girlfriend.”
his words fluster you, you didn’t expect to be addressed like that.
ni-ki shoves sunoo. “could you not call her that? she could be uncomfortable for all you know.”
“she isn’t saying anything or looking too disgusted so it is true. she’s your girlfriend.” sunoo shrugs. ni-ki rolls his eyes as he finds sunoo’s judgement of yours and his relationship to be something completely untrue. sunoo snickers before putting up a straight face.
“annoying fucks.” the one with the cat-like eyes sighs. he holds out his hand for you to shake and you took it. “i’m jungwon. the leader of this little…” he looks towards the others and then back at you, “boy group.” he says, dragging out the last part.
“BOY GROUP!?! we aren’t those pretty fuckers who dance and sing.” sunghoon rolls his eyes. “if anything, i’m stronger than them. they probably can’t lift up a gun if they wanted to. scaredy cats.”
“jeez, what’s gotten you so spicy with the topic of ‘boy groups’.” jay says.
“probably cause they get more bitches screaming their names than he ever has.” jake shrugs.
“damn.” heeseung adds.
sunghoon could only sit there and huff.
“okay, that’s enough.” jungwon pinches the bridge of his nose. “sunghoon, you know how to make plans last minute, what should we do?”
“can’t think of anything right now. all the plans i have in my head involve abandoning her.” sunghoon points to you. ni-ki smacks his hand.
“we can’t leave her.”
“and why?”
“because there could be other ways.”
“like what?” sunghoon folds his arms. “how about you suggest other ways, nishimura.”
all eyes were on ni-ki before he sighs, “since they already think, (name) is my girlfriend. we can take advantage of that and find a way to actually infiltrate their base or at least find out who is responsible for all of this.”
“so…you wanna fake date…her.” jay points to you.
“i-” ni-ki could feel his face heat up. “if you put it that way, sure. i guess.” he looks away so you and the other boys don’t notice the colour of his face change.
“i thought you were the one who said that you didn’t want to you call her your girlfriend? what happened to that?” sunoo deadpans.
“it’s just for the mission.”
“uh huh, the mission…ni-ki you like her don’t you?”
“no. i don’t, i just-” he groans. “i’m only 18, i have never fallen for anyone. why are you expecting me to know what feelings are?”
“he is definitely in love.” jake declares.
“uh, guys…i’m still here.” you say.
just as you opened your mouth to utter another word, the driver stops and announces that they had arrived their destination. you had zero clue where they had brought you to. however, the exterior of the place amazes you. it was huge, beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. there were greenery all over the place.
“welcome to our hotel.” jay says.
“woah. you guys built this place?”
“instructed and led the project. we obviously aren’t made to construct the place because that isn’t our job but yeah, for the most part.”
“it’s pretty.” your eyes trailed around the exterior and beauty of the decor. ni-ki stares at you, you truly looked pretty whenever your eyes twinkled at things you really liked looking at. a smile creeps up but he holds himself back. he couldn’t let anyone see him like this.
“anyways, here are the card to your room.” jay hands you a card. “since the mobsters seem to think ni-ki is your boyfriend, you won’t be able to get home.”
“right but what do i do? i don’t have any of my clothes and other stuff. most of my textbooks are still at home.”
“oh don’t worry about that. i’ll get some people to grab your stuff and we’ll clear it so that you can stay in this hotel safely with our men around.” jay smiles.
you turned to look at the other boys and they didn’t make a single face.
“i get to stay here for free? that’s not possible right? i mean, staying at this luxurious hotel for free doesn’t seem exactly right.”
“you’re right. there is a catch.” jay gets close. ni-ki nearly reaches out to stop him but he stops himself. “help us out.”
“oh, umm. look, i don’t know much about your little scheme. i just know these people you work with just do shady stuff.”
“you’re right, we do shady stuff but it’s not all legal. just…maybe illegal to a certain extent. after all, we do help good people. we don’t kill people unless they’re bad. which is why, you’re safest in our hands.” jay explains.
“alright. what do i have to do?” jay points to ni-ki as soon as you’re done speaking.
“be his girlfriend.” jay simply says.
“WHAT?”
“HYUNG!” ni-ki says. he could feel his ears heating up.
“don’t pretend i didn’t see how jealous you got when i got close to her. plus, it’s for a greater cause. we can use her and bait out those people and then find their boss.”
“but jay hyung.”
“do the others agree with me?” jay asks. the others nodded.
“sorry ni-ki, we just have to use this method. for some odd reason, they wanna use this ‘weakness’ of you having a girlfriend so we can take advantage of that and find out who is behind this.” jungwon says.
ni-ki’s eyes met with yours before he turn to the other boys, “fine but (name) has to also agree. this plan won’t work if she disagrees, i am not forcing her.”
“wow, the ever so gentleman.” sunghoon rolls his eyes. “(name), what do you say?”
you looked in between the boys and ni-ki. there was honestly no other choice, you were already roped into their life and it would only be harder for you if you just disagree. “yeah, i’ll do it. i’ll be…ni-ki’s girlfriend.” you could feel the heat rush to your cheeks as quickly as possible after those words left your mouth.
“ayyy.” jake smacks ni-ki. “ni-ki’s first girlfriend. now lead her to her room, she doesn’t know the place as great as you.” he shoves ni-ki to you.
“you guys know the place as well as me, why do i have to do it?”
“because she’s your girlfriend now, so be a gentleman and do it. besides, you’ll get jealous if we send her to her room.” jake continues to tease ni-ki.
“very funny. i am not jealous.” ni-ki deadpans.
“yeah and i’m ugly.” jake says.
“you are.” ni-ki yells as he grabs your hand and brings you over to the elevator. you could hear jake yelling a string of curses to ni-ki but he only ignores it. he taps the card on the elevator and clicks on the floor. the elevator closes and you were now in a confined space with just ni-ki.
“we have to make our relationship believable to those bad guys.” he turns to meet your eyes. “any suggestions?”
“uh, why are you asking me? I don’t know anything about dating.”
“considering we worked together during the past project, I think you should know more about love than I do. you did finish your part quicker than me.” ni-ki explains.
“yeah but that doesn’t mean I know much about datin-”
“romance is part of dating so, you should know.”
“well, too bad I don’t.” you say. ni-ki sighs.
“fine, I guess I have to follow my hyungs method.” ni-ki walks closer to you and you can’t help but step back. he corners you in the elevator. “we have to make it believable so you better play your role well or else, we won’t be able to get information we need.”
you meekly nodded. ni-ki was towering over you and it couldn’t help but feel small and helpless. after all, who's to say ni-ki couldn’t just i don’t know take out a knife and stab you. then leave you dead in the elevator. finally, the elevator reaches the floor. ni-ki steps back and grabs onto your hand. he easily interlaces it and drags you over to your hotel room.
it was one of the executive lounges so there were only 2 per floor. Hence, ni-ki was assigned to the room that was nearby yours. he stops in front of the large double door.
“this is your room and since you have no clothes. I’ll just lend you some of mine until the hyungs grab your stuff from your house.” he points to the other door on the other side of the hallway. “that is my room. considering I stay here most of the times, that room is off-limits to other people from booking it. if you need anything, just go over. for now, go in and just rest up. i’ll bring my clothes to you so you change into them and not wear our school uniform.”
you nodded. ni-ki hands you the card to your room and he keeps the other card so he could go in easily and possibly protect you if anything happens. he quickly goes to his room to grab a shirt and sweatpants before coming back and handing them to you.
“we have some ball, party thing tomorrow night and so you’ll be going as my plus one. there are a bunch of big media people going there to create a publicity stunt. it will make this whole thing even more believable since you’re with me.”
“okay, what am i supposed to do in the day though.”
“as it’s the weekends, you can just stay here or around the hotel until the party. there is room service just make your order, you won’t need to pay for it.”
“oh-” you hesitated, “but like isn’t it too much…this hotel is fancy looking and high-end…i am sure the food is expensive too.”
he leans down to your height, “it’s free since you are my girlfriend. the staff at the front desk know you’re my girl. you don’t have to worry.”
you felt your face heat up. his girl. a sentence you thought you’d never hear ni-ki say to you. it almost sounded too real, however you knew this wasn’t real. you were only a victim and ni-ki was your protector.
“r-right, it’s late. have a goodnight!” you quickly swiped the card and bolted into your room. leaving the door to shut quite hard. ni-ki snickers.
‘how cute’ he thought. he catches himself and so he shakes off the thought. it was only for a little while, he can’t fall for you. after all, he was a dangerous guy. it would put your life at risk if there was ever anything going on between you and him. that thought kinda made him sad, he frowns before turning around and walking over to his own room.
SIX
at around, 6pm someone comes knocking at your door. you went to peek through the peephole and realised that it was just a hotel staff. you opened the door and they entered with a rack of clothing and a present.
“these are the clothes that Mr.Nishimura hand picked for you.” the staff points to the rack. they hand you the present. “Mr.Nishimura also prepared this for you and told you to wear it for tonight. We will have a makeup artist coming soon to help with the makeup and hair.”
you nodded and the staff left the room. you had opened up the box and pulled out the dress from inside. it falls down perfectly as you hold it up, a beautiful long black dress with ruffles that cuffs around your arm until it reaches just below your shoulder. it was beautiful and it was also paired with a masquerade mask to hide your identity at the ball. the makeup and hairstylist arrives and quickly does your hair and makeup. just as they spun you around to let you look at yourself in the mirror, you were in shock. that was not you. they had tied your hair up in a half up and half down, along with curling the ends in loose curls and even making your curtain bangs look nice.
the doorbell rings, the staff letting ni-ki in. he walks over to you and he pauses in his step when he sees you. you looked beautiful. his heart races, was this love? the boy was completely speechless.
“umm, how do i look?” you had asked ni-ki. his eyes scanned you from head to toe and you blushed under his gaze.
“beautiful. you look beautiful.” he mutters. “let’s go. the older guys are waiting for us. they’re also looking out for the bad guys. security is tight today so you don’t have to worry about getting harmed.”
you nod. “that’s good.” ni-ki holds out his hand for you to take and you do so. he intertwines your hand with his and brings you over to the ball.
just as you entered, cameras start flashing. most likely capturing every part of yours and ni-ki’s arrival because it was it big thing. another member of the Decelis Boys was taken. there were whispers, mumbles and gossips all over the ballroom but ni-ki paid no attention to it as you leads you to where the other boys were.
“nice, the media is going crazy ni-ki. you’ve done it.” jake says.
“now, they’ll probably attack later on so make sure to bring (name) somewhere safe.” jay adds. ni-ki nods.
“you can enjoy your little couple time now. just keep a watch out.” sunoo teases.
“hyung.” ni-ki says. sunoo laughs, he pats ni-ki’s back and the other went their separate way as they split up to cover the ballroom. ni-ki turns to you, “want something to eat? or drink?”
“umm, is there only wine here?”
“i suppose so. hmm, maybe we can eat some nacho chips. i’ll request the waiters to prepare some for us and of course some plain water.” you nod at ni-ki’s words. “I’ll be back in a short while. you’re okay with being alone for a bit right? i need to find the waiter.”
“i don’t mind.”
“that’s good. wait here.” you hummed once more at his words.
right as ni-ki left, someone comes up to you and strikes a conversation. it felt off though, definitely not right like something was about to happen. the guy smirks and hands you a drink that he apparently grabbed from the waiter that had passed by previously. you shook your head and politely rejected it since it was wine and you were still technically a minor here in Korea.
the rejection doesn’t sit well with this guy, he frowns and shoves the glass into your hands and tells you to drink it. thankfully, ni-ki came back on time and shoves the guy away.
“what are you doing to my girlfriend?” ni-ki’s deep voice resonates. the guy wasn’t fazed by it and so ni-ki grabs the glass in your hands before splashing it on the guy’s face. he turns to you and whispers, “run. get to the elevator and click on the penthouse button.” he hands you a card.
you do as he says and left the ballroom. ni-ki taps the bracelet on his wrist. it sends notifications to the other boys. jake and heeseung’s significant other quickly left the place too. jungwon smacks the button on the wall for emergencies. a siren blasts the whole room and it sends everyone in a frenzy. everyone except for the bad guys, ran towards the exit. they stayed and took out their guns, aiming at the boys.
jay and sunoo pulled out their guns and so the battle begins. the bad guys ran towards each of them, but the two boys ducked and shot twice without looking back. jay eyebrows furrowed, this certainly wasn’t going to be a simple fight like back at the hotel.
“they’re stronger now, it seems like whoever is behind this has finally start to slowly show their power and skills.” jay says. sunoo looks down at the weapons and outfit that the guys they shot wore.
“this person is definitely smart.”
“but not smart enough.”
“he could be toying with us, hyung. we need to watch out.” just as sunoo says so, someone tries to attack him. ni-ki slashes his katana right on the guy’s back, saving sunoo and jay. the body falls right beside them.
“i think they’re going to get up to the penthouse. me, sunghoon and jake are going up there. jay hyung, we need more people to get up here.”
“on it. i’ll get some backup.” jay runs off. sunoo nods at ni-ki before he goes to shoot more people. sunghoon, jake and ni-ki went up to the penthouse by a different and secret entrance. once they arrived, it was eerily quiet.
“this definitely does not feel right.” sunghoon says. suddenly, a loud shriek was heard. the 3 of them ran over, only to see you, nabi and eun crouched on the ground with 3 guys cornering the 3 of you.
you had made eye contact with ni-ki, fear evident in your eyes and it makes ni-ki mad. something switched inside him and all that was left was anger. the red vision covering his eyes. he spins his 2 katanas and charges forward easily slashing two of the people. the last guy tries to fight him but couldn’t as ni-ki easily stabs the guy right in the middle. the guy falls to the ground. jake and sunghoon the whole thing with their jaw dropped.
ni-ki turns back to them, the blood right all over his shirt and some on his face.
“guard the elevators and get more people here. check up with the others downstairs. we may need to move. they found our little hiding spot here. i’ll move the girls to the garage since they have no idea where it is.”
with not a single word uttered, jake and sunghoon quickly left. they’ve never seen this side of ni-ki before and honestly, it scared them quite a bit. after they left, ni-ki checks up on you. his eyes softened.
“are you okay?” he asks.
“yeah, just startled. i didn’t expect this to happen. i thought, i was going to die.” ni-ki pulls you into a hug.
“don’t worry, you have me. i’ll protect you…always.”
it was quite a romantic moment, even nabi and eun were shocked to hear this come out from ni-ki. they didn’t expect him to be so kind-hearted towards a girl. after pulling back from the hug, “we should get going.we don’t have much time before they send more people up here.”
ni-ki leads you, nabi and eun to the secret elevator which led to the garage. it was definitely safer around here and there even was backup. there was a loud slam to the door after the rest of the boys poured in. jake and heeseung ran up to their significant other and hugged them. there were small whispers of sorry’s amongst the both of them as they tried to calm down their girls.
“well, this resort is fucked. we have to move somewhere else.” jay says.
“we could move to this resort near the airport. whoever is charge most probably won’t know that we own it.” sunoo suggests.
“we should move there. if don’t move there now, the innocent people staying here will be hurt.” heeseung adds.
“that means we need to divert the attention of the reporters right now.”
“but what could we possibly use to divert their attention from?”
“i think we could use a distraction of love. like ni-ki and (name).” nabi says.
“but everyone already knows (name) is my girlfriend.”
“oh, no hesitation-” jay whacks sunghoon.
ni-ki wraps his arm around your waist, “yeah, no hesitation because she is my girlfriend.”
“holy shit.” jungwon’s jaw drops.
“i’ll give the reporters some scoop about mine and (name)’s relationship details.” ni-ki says.
“but we- aren’t we fake dating?” you looked up at him.
“not anymore.” he simply says.
you could feel your face warm up at ni-ki’s words.
“i’ll tell them that you’re mine and i like you a lot.” ni-ki says.
“damn, ni-ki with the rizz?” jake says.
jake and jungwon gets notified of the police cars and reporters driving to the resort.
“you have to get ready quickly, ni-ki change your clothes and then we need to delete their memories of the fight that happen and organise the place quickly. hurry!”
all of them had quickly done their parts. with one large bright flash of light in the resort, everyone forgets the fight that happened. jay’s men quickly cleans up the place and pretends to escort the affluent towards the hall as if nothing happened before. the place was lively again.
when the police and reporters arrived, it was strange. someone filed a report that there had been a gang trying to tear Decelis Resort apart but the police didn’t see anyone fleeing in terror. they tried to look for the very person who filed the report but when they did, the person seemed confused and didn’t know what they were talking about. they simply just brushed it off and left. of course, the reporters were more nosy then the police they had to figure out what was going on.
that is exactly when ni-ki and you walked towards them, giving them free information about your newfound relationship. the reporters left happily as they could use this huge scoop for their headlines. just as ni-ki got ready to leave with you to meet up with the others. someone taps his shoulder and hands him something.
“this fell out from somewhere i think that waiter over there dropped it. you should really discipline your staff from throwing litter on the ground.”
it was a strange object, something a waiter should not be harbouring.
“thank you for the feedback but mind your language when you’re speaking to one of the founders and this resort.” ni-ki’s tone was laced with venom. the guy nods.
he carefully makes his way to the garage again and hands the item to jake. it cracks open the moment jake touches it.
‘kinda pathetic to wipe their memories don’t you think? it’s a one in a lifetime for those elites to experience such a scare. they should think twice when pushing around people who aren’t rich.’ - a voice recorded message.
“whoever this is definitely doesn’t like rich people.”
“and they used a voice modulator. it’s not their voice. we should run a test at the other resort.” jungwon says.
“yeah, whoever this is…we have to find them. our families are in danger.” sunghoon says.
ni-ki turns to look at you, “are you coming with us?”
“of course, i have to but you have to teach me how to fight. i want to help you guys out. this person will probably take more precautions now.” ni-ki holds your hand and squeezes it.
“that means we will have to miss some of school.”
“is school really our priorities right now when we are being chased by some evil dude?”
“she makes it a point there.” jungwon says.
“alright, we’ll be a team. my girlfriend.” ni-ki shyly says.
this emits groans from the rest of them with how cheesy it was.
“we will, boyfriend.” you could only smile up at him.
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feel free to skip if you're uncomfortable. I saw your post about the things you don't support in writing but what are your thoughts on things like rape-fic or CNC?
First and foremost I think I will never write them or read them. I am a rape-survivor and though I have managed my trauma well I am not in a place where I want to see or interact with it in literature or media.
In terms of whether or not they're ethical? That's a grey area. Context matters pretty heavily when depicting those topics and there is definitely a way people do it that is toxic and perpetuates harmful misconceptions about sex and consent.
To a point you can argue it's like BDSM, the people creating and engaging with these scenarios are adults writing about other adult characters and they retain control over the fantasy so there's no actual consent being violated. Though I certainly think there is a conversation to be had about why these fantasies are so prevalent, especially among women. There's also an issue with the predator characters sometimes being intentionally or unintentionally racially coded but that requires its own separate conversation. It also makes a difference if the writer is identifying with the predatory role vs the victim role which is also it's own conversation but I think for the purpose of this ask I'll focus mainly on female consumers who identify with the victim as that is the most widespread scenario in fanfic and the "romance" genre.
Take this with a grain of salt, I haven't really done a lot of research into this so most of this is speculative and based on conversations I've had with women who enjoy this kind of content. I could be way off in my observations but I noticed common threads in all of my conversations.
I think genres like smutty "bodice rippers" written by and for women don't have widespread popularity for no reason and the reason is rooted in internalized misogyny. It's a symptom of generations of women feeling ashamed of their sexuality. The main appeal of these kinds of narratives seems to be that the female protagonist has little to no control and is therefore not responsible for initiating or perusing any kind of sexual gratification. She remains passive rather than active, through that passivity she can retain a sense of moral purity and even innocence. Why do those things matter? Because historically and even in some sense currently, that is the measure of a woman's worth.
I've spoken to women who say that they inexplicably feel a sense of guilt if they take a proactive role in the bedroom and I find that more than a little troubling tbh.
In most of these stories the female protagonist is not given power because power would mean she could be held responsible for her own debauchery. It opens her up to criticism, slut-shaming and accusations of "asking for it."
In summary I don't think there's generally anything wrong with kink but I think it's beneficial to examine where the kink comes from and why a particular fantasy or kink is widespread. Fiction is shaped by reality and consumers of fiction are obligated to some extent to understand what they are consuming and why they are consuming it. At the end of the day all I ask is that people engage critically and be willing to unpack whether what their consuming is in itself harmful or a symptom of a more widespread harmful ideology.
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ARC Review: Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa
3/5. Releases 11/14/2023.
Vibes: much social media awareness, flipping through past exes, crafting, and the anxiety that comes with putting your life back together.
Sophie released a hit of a romance novel--and nothing else since. Feeling the pressure to drop her next book, but very aware that she's never actually been in love herself, she sets up a project on TikTok to track down her exes and figure out why she never fall hard. Roped into the deal? Her landlord and (sort of) friend Dash, a former actor who now works on crafts as he works through recovery. Their chemistry is immediate, though Dash isn't ready for a relationship; but if he waits much longer, one of Sophie's exes may just snap her up.
This was fine. It didn't annoy me, but it also didn't stir me. Erin La Rosa can for sure write, and can definitely write some heat, but I just wasn't bowled over. I did appreciate some of the representation (Dash as a recovering alcoholic, the very casual queerness of Sophie's past relationships) but the story didn't grab me.
Quick Takes:
--So, the good. Like I said, I do think the writing is solid, and you're not bored. The setup of going through the past exes leads to some interesting takes, and the fact that Sophie just has a nonbinary ex, just has a female ex, is very much attracted to Dash--is just normal? Was really nice to see, and still not as common in romance as I think some imagine it is. You feel the tension rising between Dash and Sophie in a dynamic that is in some ways a slow burn and in some ways very much not.
--Where I started struggling with the exes project is... the TikTok of it all. TikTok is a surprisingly big part of this romance, and while the summary (on Netgalley, at least) does mention Sophie gaining millions of new followers, I don't think TikTok is mentioned by name. She actually documents her project on TikTok, and Dash is kind of a bigger name on... CraftTok?
And I feel like I have mixed emotions on this. Social media here to stay, and I don't think that making it a part of a romance novel automatically "dates" it, any more than including the Internet dates it. These are big parts of contemporary life, and they're not fleeting. That is, social media in general isn't fleeting. The concept of recording and posting your actions--blogging, sharing videos, etc. That's not fleeting. That will stay for the long haul, I think.
But when you get into specific mechanisms and sites, I feel like you're really toeing the line. Twitter may have seemed like a mainstay, but suddenly it's not even called Twitter anymore. Facebook was The Shit for a while, but now I would side-eye a contemporary about a twenty-something who's allll about FB. TikTok really hasn't been around that long, and while lots of people use it--let's be real, the people who really, really obsess over it tend to be confined to a somewhat small age range. It's all about trends, by design. I just don't see TikTok being this big a part of your romance novel (it's baked into the premise) aging well.
--Another issue I did take with the book was that Sophie seemed like a really passive protagonist. And perhaps that was part of what the story was trying to confront, but until then, it came off as her just sort of going with the story, not really pushing much of it forward That makes it hard for me at least to bond with her, and I had a hard time getting invested in her character.
She's a grown woman, and there is a moment in which she allows her high school boyfriend (now a married father!) to guilt her about teenage bullshit. That just didn't work to me, and it kind of felt like I was reading therapy speak, but from the perspective of a character who bought into it.
--I did appreciate Dash; his love of crafting, his focus on recovery. This was also something that I do think kind of made Sophie a tougher sell. At points, it felt like Dash was doing the work in a way that took, well, a lot more work than Sophie. This is a man very literally in recovery, doing his best. And while that doesn't invalidate Sophie's issues, it does mean I'm much more invested in Dash. I mean, him coming from a complicated famous family added to his appeal. He's just got more going on, and it felt to me like there was an uneven level of depth to these characters.
The Sex:
I've seen some saying this isn't explicit and uh... it is? She's riding his face like, halfway into the book. But there is a reluctance to go into full on intercourse on Dash's part, because of his perception of recovery (he's past the point when AA would typically recommend waiting on sex and relationships). Frankly, I found everything else they were doing super hot, so that hesitance worked for me and kind of added to the story.
While I can't say I was thrilled with this novel, I did find it interesting, and I will try more from Erin La Rosa. I'm curious about what else she's done.
Thanks to Netgalley and Canary Street Press for providing me with a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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some thoughts, because i need to purge myself:
i wish we could see a more morally complex world, them being pirates and all. not saying it isn't, but narratively it seems we're too limited to Stede's sanitized (dare i say, romantic) version of piracy: one where you can afford not to kill others—need not cast away parts of yourself—in order to survive, where your reputation isn't relevant because you don't need to board vessels for loot. protagonist-centered morality isn’t necessarily bad, but it'd be nice if s2 could change that a bit, what with Stede finally getting the "it's not about you" treatment. and please more female characters 🙏🏻
Oluwande, my beloved, i wish i was this cool. i just, i'm in awe at his common sense, his cuteness, his empathy! taking no shit from anyone! ahhhhh
congrats to Jim for having actually intelligible Spanish, for once, in an English-speaking production. i'm a native speaker (greeting from Argentina!), but my gods, why productions usually make it so hard to understand the designated Spanish-speaking character? (i know, expose yourself to other dialects outside your own, but like, sound mix teams do your job i beg you)
no thoughts, just... Frenchie 💖
didn't care at first for Lucius (might've been the sideburns i'll admit ajslkjk), but having the emotional braincell in this ship made me really like him
neither did i care for Stede, but like ✨ character development ✨ and gods he's great. love him. hopefully, the narrative will continue to push the whole 'be a little less self-centred my guy' thing. also i'd like for him to interact more with people who aren't Ed (and Ed with people who aren’t Stede). look i love their scenes together, but it'd be nice to see them outside the romance angle y'know?
Ed, honey, love you but please grow a beard again. it looks so good! anyway, been reading meta/headcanons on his Ambiguous Disorder™ and who he "really" is, but i think the outfit invites a comparison to... Road Warrior. in a world of nightmarish seas roads where "only those mobile enough to scavenge, brutal enough to pillage, would survive" and pirates gangs "took over the highways ready to wage war for a tank of juice", ordinary men like Max (a cop scared that he was beginning to enjoy the rat circus, only a badge saying he's a good guy) are "battered and smashed". despite taking his revenge, Max is the shell of a burn-out, desolate man, haunted by the demons of his past, who wandered out to a blighted place and learned to live again. (and that's like the intro only.) anyway, he lives in the wasteland, helping out only when it suits him, uninterested in companionship or a chance to rebuild his life. ("come with us." / "what are you looking for out there? [...] there is a better way!" → "i never get involved") yet there is kindness: even when he's lost everything, he can still reclaim his humanity. so where am i going with this? no idea. maybe it's about Ed being a legend, about struggling with trauma but surviving no matter what, about choosing solitude, about enjoying the violence, about atonement. that he needs to acknowledge forging himself in fire and blood, instead of handwaving it. (...also the outfit is mmgh 🤤)
how could i not sympathize with Izzy when he's out there living a Greek tragedy, victim of his own hubris, destined to fail and realize all too late he's only got himself to blame. that he's superfluous, unneeded in any way or form... least of all by Ed. ("i need you here"? where was that sentiment after the duel?) because they're not even friends, if Ed's to be believed. at "stages of fucking each other over" and all that. could there be more to their 'dysfunctional love' than the Intricate Rituals™? if so, the self-sabotage is all on him, isn't it? and no matter how 'deeply in love' Izzy is, he'll have to admit defeat to the man who's bested him in every single way that matters, who loathed him—and rightly so everyone would tell him—at first sight. (if he even lives until that point. alternatively, he'll have to fuck off for good so everyone can live happily ever after.) to admit that whatever he and Ed have matters so little that being maimed while he's completely vulnerable is acceptable. so, yeah, kinda tragic. i'd love a redemption arc for Izzy. like if the repressed white dude with far more privilege, who is consistently bad at not really seeing beyond his own needs unless someone calls him out, can change for the better, why can't Izzy? (something something palatable forms of trauma, something something Die For Our Ship at play, something something Steddyhands please askjlskj)
all three of them (Stede, Ed, and Izzy) i love precisely because they're flawed so i just can't understand the necessity of certain fans to reduce three-dimensional characters to 'never did anything wrong' while demonizing the other, instead of accepting it takes two to tango, as they say
#ofmd#meta#our flag meets death#ofmd meta#oluwande boodhari#jim jimenez#frenchie#lucius spriggs#stede bonnet#edward teach#izzy hands#(guess who watched the series for the first time two weeks ago)#skyward-tags#alternatively the guy he's loved for years decides to assault him#or guy puts 'jilted wife' in his place and no one bats an eye bc he 'enjoyed' it#wait that's not how it's supposed to be read as?
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A Vaguely Underwhelmed Look at the Costumes in Beauty and the Beast
Belle may not have the most costumes (quantity) of the princesses, but she definitely has one of the most iconic dress there is. Read more below.
This is it, the staple of her wardrobe. Does she have more than one blue dress? Does she wear another white dress under it? Who knows - but it is the go-to outfit for anything that comes up. Shopping in town, avoiding that dudebro who won't leave her alone, adding a cloak to go to an enchanted castle in the rain to save her boyfriend, it does everything.
Female Representation: 10/10 I can't speak to the historical accuracy, but as a costume for all ages, it's perfect. The silhouette is pretty timeless and, while it may be figure-hugging, it does not emphasize Belle's maturity (in contrast to the similar outfits worn by the bimbettes). You could lower the score because of the apron, but I think this is more a class signifier (other peasants in the town have them regardless of gender) than it is an implication that she should be doing work. We don't see her do any actual work in it anyway, so it just seems practical.
Practicality: 10/10 As I said above, it is extremely practical and takes her through the majority of events in the story. The sleeves are long but can be rolled up easily. The skirt is multi-layered but never seems to get in the way. There's a reason our pragmatic protagonist wears it all the time.
This is one of the dresses Belle wears while she is in the castle. Specifically, it is when the Beast presents the library to her. Since it is green, this might signal the new beginning (like spring) to their relationship, since after this they get along quite well.
Female Representation: 10/10 This is clearly a fancier dress than her standard blue one. It fits the common idea (at least in the Western sense) of a princess, with the tapered waist and puffed sleeves. This is her second most revealing dress, but it does not emphasize any of her assets over her a character.
Practicality: 9/10 Presumably a bit less practical, though we can only guess what the material is made out of. Still, it works quite well for her indoor adventures in a castle. The sleeves would be warm but unlikely to get in her way, for example.
This is the other dress Belle wears while at the Beast's castle. She wears it to play in the snow and then removes the cloak to have dinner with the Beast afterward. Since Belle brought nothing with her, it is presumably from the enchanted wardrobe. It is obviously the dress of someone who was not a peasant, what with its fur cloak, fancy trim, and bright color (though blue would not really have been a peasant color either). It is also, importantly, worn during her budding romance with the Beast and the color reflects that.
Female Representation: 10/10 Again, like above, it is a great dress to be a costume for all ages. It is more feminine and fancier than her other dress without degrading her previous choice. Her current role, which she expects to last the rest of her life, is to live in an enchanted castle and she is starting to dress the part.
Practicality: 9/10 Perhaps less practical than her first ensemble, but obviously more suited to the snow. The dress is longer and the cloak appears warmer (if only because of the fur). The sleeves are shorter, but the decorations on them wouldn't get in the way, so I think it's still pretty great.
Here it is, the reason the Disney Princess brand puts them all in ball gowns. And maybe even the reason the Princess brand exists as a concept. The design of the dress was intended to make the dancing scene as beautiful and awe-inspiring as possible. While she was not the first princess to dance with her prince, the animation of the scene definitely went up a level. And the color is a HUGE part of that. Gold stands out against all of the background, while the other ladies tended to be complemented by the rest of the room instead of wearing something that pops out of the screen. It's iconic.
Female Representation: 10/10 I'm just going to give it a perfect score as well because it's so lovely. It is a bit more revealing than the other dresses but I would put it in the category of "adult woman dressing up" more than inviting us to objectify her in any way. We also see her through the eyes of the Beast, who is quite smitten, of course.
Practicality: 9/10 I mean, it is a ball gown - so perhaps less practical. Presumably it has a hoop skirt which could make going through doorways difficult. But overall it is perfect for the spectacle, which is the purpose after all.
For more of my thoughts about female characters, find me on Youtube
Belle video out now!
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WHAT IS YOUR WRITING GENRE?
Before we get started with the descriptive genres we need to get familiar with some abbreviations used in book descriptions.
Abbreviations Used In Book Descriptions
I actually thought I was familiar with all the abbreviations used in book descriptions until I found this list. Some of these things I’ve never heard of before! They are often used by reviewers and some writers in book descriptions, so I think it behooves ignorant writers like me to at least know what they are.
PNR is the acronym typically used for paranormal romance: Shifters and vampires and mermaids and so much more. Shifters are people able to become various animals. Vampires are simply vampires. It depends on the writer whether they are good or bad. The one thing most of them seem to have in common is drinking blood or sometimes life essence. A few writers of fantasy like Ilona Andrews (husband and wife writing team) treated them as another species (theirs don’t drink blood).
PWF Paranormal Women’s Fiction. These books will have adventure, passion, and LIFE. And they’ll kick ass, just like all our books already do! We are not inventing books with 40+ heroines. We are hoping to define a place for them amongst other genres.
OTP: One True Pairing (that couple that you will root for till the end of time)
NOTP: (Pronounced No-TP) Basically the opposite of an OTP. You do not want this couple together!
BROTP/Bromance: A friendship (between guys) that you adore!
Ship: If you ship a couple, it means that you want them to get together (comes from the word “relationship”).
HEA: Happily Ever After
Book Boyfriend/Girlfriend: The fictional boy (or girl) you only wishcould be your real-life love.
Insta-love/Insta-lust: The phenomenon that happens all too often in books when the couple meets and instantly falls in love (or, sometimes, lust).
Love Triangle: When the main character can’t decide between two romantic partners—most frustrating when this is drawn out for multiple books in a series.
Slash Fiction: A type of fan fiction where two same-sex characters are paired together (often guys). Sometimes slash can just refer to the imagined pairing of two same-sex characters (not necessarily within fan fiction).
OMYM/OWYM: Older man, younger woman/Older woman, younger man
M/M Male/male romance
F/F female/female romance
RH reverse harem - typically one woman several men
MC: Main character (book is told from their POV).
POV: Point of view (the perspective that the book is told from).
POC/BIPOC: People of color/Black, Indigenous, and people of color
Daphne: A female character who has to be rescued all the time (in reference to Daphne from Scooby Doo)
Mary Sue: A character who is too perfect and/or too good which, strangely.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A type of female character depicted as vivacious and appealingly quirky, whose main purpose within the narrative is to inspire a greater appreciation for life in a male protagonist.
Twist: An unexpected event in a book—typically one that changes the direction of the plot or characters dramatically.
Info-Dump: When the author gives you lots of background information all at once via narration or dialogue.
Bechdel Test: a set of criteria used as a test to evaluate a work of fiction (such as a film) on the basis of its inclusion and representation of female characters. the term was popularized by American Cartoonist Alison Bechdel so it was named after her. Alison Bechdel never claimed to be the originator of the test. In fact, she never gave it a name. She credited her friend Liz Wallace for the idea, but also the work of author Virginia Woolf in her essay “A Room of One’s Own”.
Unreliable Narrator: A narrator whose POV is not trustworthy (could be due to lying, misinformation on the part of the MC, mental health or memory issues, etc.).
GT
Agent: a person who acts on behalf of an author, negotiating with publishers and promoters.
Alpha Reader
The first reader, usually a non-professional, who provides feedback on a writer’s work.
ANT
Antagonist: the adversary or competitor to the hero/protagonist of any story.
APS
Associated Press Stylebook: a writer’s and journalist’s reference manual for rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, and word and numeral usage.
ARC
Advance Reader Copy: free copy of a book given by a publisher to media, librarians, or other readers in advance of official publication.
ASIN
Amazon Standard Identification Number: Amazon’s unique identifier for each book they sell.
AU
Alternate universe: a fictional universe in which recognizable details are changed in order to create the story.
Beta Reader
A reader, usually non-professional, who provides feedback on a book after a writer has made revisions inspired by alpha readers.
BG
Bad guy: the Freddy Krueger, Lord Voldemort, or Darth Vader of your narrative.
BS
Backstory: history or background that occurs before the current events of a story.
Character Arc
The inner journey and transformation in personality of a character between the beginning and the end of a story.
CMOS
Chicago Manual of Style: a writer’s and editor’s reference manual for grammar usage, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, and word and numeral usage.
Cont
Contemporary (genre): a genre that, although fictional, depicts realistic events that could happen in today’s society. An example: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
CP
Critique Partner: a writer who provides feedback on a fellow writer’s work.
Drabble
One hundred words that tell a story. Drabbles, because of their brevity, demand strong verbs, zero redundancies, and minimal showing. They usually require more time to write than longer stories.
F & SF
Fantasy And Science Fiction (genre): make-believe worlds and characters combined with narrative that is based on scientific principles. Think Star Wars by George Lucas, et al.
FF
Flash Fiction: very short fiction, usually containing fewer than 1000 words.
FN/Fant
Fantasy (genre): stories about mythical worlds often populated by magical creatures. Example: Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling.
GMC
Goal, motivation, conflict: important elements for engaging stories.
GN
Graphic Novel (genre): stories that are told using a combination of graphic panels and text. Although a graphic novel may be similar to a comic book in format, it usually encompasses an intriguing plot with character growth. Example: the Logan’s Run graphic novels by William F. Nolan, et al.
HC
Hardcover
Hook
An element that is unique to a story. Always memorable, it may also be controversial.
HR
Horror (genre): frightening stories that often include elements of fantasy. Examples: Children of the Corn by Stephen King and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.
Indie
An independent writer who maintains creative control and who is not associated with a major publisher.
Juv
Juvenile (audience/genre): usually geared to children under twelve years of age. Example: Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White.
LI
Love interest
Logline
A brief summary, usually one sentence, that presents the main conflict or storyline, often combined with a hook to stimulate the interest of readers.
LOILetter Of Introduction
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The Not-March Ones (1 of 5)
It’s St. Patrick’s Day, or so I’ve heard, and what better way to celebrate than with the Gamera film about a monster crocodile(?) that shoots rainbows? Enjoy this, the first of the reviews for the five Gamera films not released in the month of March.
Gamera vs. Barugon actually was released on the 17th of the month, just in April of 1966, so its actual 57-year anniversary is next month. It’s the second film in the Showa era, and the only Showa film not directed by Noriaki Yuasa. It’s also one of the scant few mainline Showa films (i.e. the seven original Daiei films produced from 1965-1971) to have a female protagonist of any real plot importance, so let’s talk about her—
…Wait wait wait wait wait, hold up, her name’s Karen? All this time and I’ve never picked up on that? She doesn’t even get a last name? A classic Japanese kaiju film and I have to talk about a character who’s just named Karen? *sighs* Fine, here we go…
Karen, a woman living in 1966 blackface New Guinea, who positively radiates step on me energy in every scene she’s in and may or may not be a vampire, joins the film relatively early on and is easily distinguished among the islanders by her seductive death glare and lack of racist makeup. She tells the three treasure hunters not to go into the cursed cave, but when they, of course, do it anyway only for one of their number to betray the other two, she helps nurse the surviving man back to health. She then agrees to accompany him back to Japan to help track down his attempted killer and retrieve the stolen giant monster egg.
She fills a stereotype fairly common for women in these films, an island native who serves as an exposition character, but she has a far more commanding, rational presence than most examples. Throughout the film, she relays the legends told in her village about how they’ve defeated the enemy monster, Barugon, in the past, which get put to use as the standard slew of soldiers and scientists work on various (ultimately ineffective) plans to stop the one that’s now hatched from the stolen egg and has been set loose on Japan.
There’s a background romance arc between her and the redeemed treasure hunt survivor, which like most relationships in these kinds of films, is conveyed more subtly than overtly. I’ll admit it’s kind of cute at points, especially in a scene cut out of one, and possibly both of the English dubs, in which Karen expresses her frustration and distress at being taken less seriously by the military than the 10-year-old boys in the other movies. The hero is slow and careful in offering her comfort, which she takes to like a lifeline, then boldly and firmly defends her expertise on the problem to all the old men in the room. I don’t really like het romance in my movies but this one doesn’t bother me too much.
Also, the scene where she rushes to drink the blood from his bleeding injury after a fight with the villain is… weird, and kinky, but is presented entirely as a sweet and genuine act of affection. The technicality of her drinking blood feels like it definitely has some unfortunate, probably racist connotations, but the film seems to see it as a positive way to acknowledge the different culture she was raised in while establishing her feelings of love and care.
Unfortunately, despite looking like she could carry all the human fights in this film by herself, Karen is relegated to the stereotypical “breaks one bottle over the bad guy’s head while the man does the actual fighting.” It’s a scene in blatant contrast to how her character is presented otherwise, to the point of being completely ridiculous when she just… stands there confusedly in an extended wide shot while the two dudes are beating the shit out of each other. She does look a bit like she’s looking on in disbelief and silently judging them, so there’s at least that.
For comedy’s sake I’ll also mention that one guy on the boat trip back from New Guinea, who keeps unknowingly complicating the villain’s plan to pretend he went to the island to exhume a relative’s bones by latching onto him as a fellow war orphan and making grand, genuine gestures of respect and comradery for the made-up relative – up to and including saving the fake bones as the ship is sinking and finding the villain afterward to return them. You can’t help but feel a little bad for him when the villain brushes off his sympathies and finally yells the truth at him in frustration.
Barugon himself is probably the closest thing to a crocodile/alligator kaiju ever depicted in a classic kaiju movie. He doesn’t exactly look it when he’s walking around like a cross between a lizard and a dog, but the resemblance really shows in the fight scenes, whenever his huge jaws are opening and snapping shut next to Gamera’s much smaller head. Unfortunately, there aren’t many fight scenes. The first one is a bit longer than you think it is if you’ve only watched the MST3K cut, but still consists mostly of the two monsters sizing each other up with few actual hits exchanged. The ending fight at least has the good heroic vibes going for it, as it’s the first time Gamera is shown to hunt down and kill a monster that threatens humans where it can’t be explained away as being done for personal gain.
The warnings here will mostly concern the death toll, which I believe is the second-highest of any Gamera film in terms of major characters. First, we have the third member of the treasure hunting expedition, who is left to die from a fatal scorpion sting moments after mentioning he has a wife. Then, the two human fight scenes of the film concern the main character and his brother, both individually confronting the villain because they believe he’s killed the other brother. Only one of them ends up being right, and the other is tragically killed before he can learn the lead brother survived the attempt on his life (thus leading into the second fight). Also, the brother who dies is disabled and uses a crutch, and both he and his wife are left either beaten to death or to the point of immobility while their home is destroyed from Barugon’s attack on the city. You know, in case you were still convinced there was a chance for this film to have a good look after the New Guinea scene. Aside from that, a closeup of Barugon’s tongue when it captures and draws in the villain may be a mildly uncomfortable visual.
Yes, when all is said and done, the villain is eaten by Barugon, after a long spree of murder and world-endangerment done all for the sake of greed. He specifically dies thwarting a plan that almost manages to kill Barugon, stealing Karen’s diamond right before it can be used to lure Barugon to drown in the depths of the lake and instead, getting it swallowed along with himself. When I bring up this film’s and Gamera vs. Gyaos’s similarities to Ishiro Honda films, it’s these larger moral themes that complete the comparison – just about all the evil of this film, including Barugon being set loose in the first place, is squarely the fault of the villain’s greed and disregard for others. And all the while, through his actions, the heroes continue to suffer and have their efforts undone, ultimately requiring an unforeseen assist from Gamera to save the day (after the most long, grueling, drawn-out, preemptive literal justification for Gamera’s title of “the last hope” that’s ever been put to cinema).
Does this film have flaws? Yes. Is it generally considered the absolute best the Gamera Showa series has to offer? Also yes. Is it my favorite Gamera Showa series film? Definitely not, but it’s one of very few that I appreciate for its themes and characters instead of lmao look Gamera’s doing gymnastics! Still, it remains to be seen whether that will give this film an edge over several close competitors in the middle-tier bracket.
Enjoy this movie with skittles and grape Kool-aid.
#gamera#gamera vs barugon#barugon#karen gamera#i guess that's her last name now#gamera march#a lesbian reviews all the gamera movies
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Locked heart
Locked heart Pc#
Triggered by a heart filled with ambition, the powerful Pack Alpha Harry Styles decides to create an alliance with the neighbouring pack through marriage.
Locked heart Pc#
While there are many bigger, more memorable titles of this kind available on PCs and consoles, as a mobile game, and a free one at that, it’s definitely worth your time (although, for those interested, a PC version is also available).Wildwinters Fandoms: One Direction (Band)Įngland, 1840. Overall though, Locked Heart is a really sweet experience, perfect to fill a lonely evening or kill time during a few long bus rides. This is also a problem with supporting female characters, which seem quite interesting, but we just don’t see much of them during the story. This is definitely related to the overall length of the game (a single playthrough should take you just a little bit over two hours), but leaves you with a feeling of lost potential – the teddy bears just turns into beautiful princes a bit too fast. I also have to mention that the initial premise, with all the characters being toys and sufferings connected to that curse, is pretty quickly forgone. Here, the two heirs and their butler could probably start a k-pop group without even changing their haircuts Obviously, every guy in an otomege has to be not just handsome, but beautiful. This irritating trope actually plagued another western otome I’ve played in the past, Michaela Laws’s Seduce Me, and I can’t say I was ever motivated to unlock those “true” endings. This makes a lot of choices, many of which don’t lead to any interesting scenes or pieces of dialogue, very much meaningless, apart from being part of the cryptic, frustrating puzzle of finding that “one true path”. In effect, there’s pretty much nothing you can do wrong – literally every path will lead you to a positive, romantic conclusion. After a tiny common route, which decides (in a somewhat unpredictable way) with whom of the three teddy bears/bachelors you’ll be locked in a romance route, the choices only matter by occasionally unlocking hidden CGs or, if you find the “perfect” combination, leading you to the alternative “best ending” with that specific character. What I might complain about a bit is the structure of the story. That’s actually one of the tropes in Western otome games that I very much enjoy – protagonists in them are usually much more than just empty silhouettes that the player can insert him/herself into. The protagonist, Aura, might be slightly less fleshed-out, but still presents enough of girlish silliness and stubbornness, combined with life experience derived from her tragic childhood, to be a compelling character. The routes also complement each other well, showing the story of the d'Lockes family from different perspectives and constantly adding new details about all the characters involved in it. While they all appear as clear archetypes at first, it’s easy to realize there’s some actual depth to all three of them – this makes the interactions with them and the (admittedly very timid) romance enjoyable to read. The living toys you meet at the beginning of the story are genuinely cute and there's a lot of fun moments connected to them – to the point it feels like a bit of a shame how quickly they're goneĪs cliched as this sounds, the details of the story and the bachelors themselves make it quite enjoyable – while the main “twist” is very much predictable, the stories and secrets of the heroes are interesting and written in a convincing way.
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Hi, Rapha! I have a question, and feel absolutely free to not answer if that makes you uncomfortable (it's not my intention).
You seem to like a lot of romance movies and you're aro. I'd like to hear your thoughts on it if you have any.
Because obviously, we don't only consume media that we relate to. But I'm wondering because I, myself, used to not be a fan of romance bc I couldn't relate to it at all! I used to identify as a lesbian, and all I knew were straight couples in movies. It's not like I hated it, but I didn't quite like romance bc seeing straight couples all the time was something that... I didn't quite enjoy. I felt like it was something so far from me, if that makes sense.
I guess my question is... what is your view on heteronormative movies as a queer person, specifically while aroace?
Oh, wow. I've actually wondered about that myself, but I don't actually know?
One thing I thought about is that sex and romance are so ubiquitous, and fiction gives me a lens through which I can interpret these things that are absolutely everywhere and are considered super important. So that romantic song isn't about an experience that's completely alien to me, it's about my OTP!
I usually like romance that's actually given importance by the narrative, if it isn't fully central, that side romance that seems to be in every story because it has to be there leaves me cold. When they put two hot actors next to each other and then expect me to root for them to get together just because it's very frustrating. I never used to see a romantic relationship between characters unless it was explicitly intended by the narrative. When I started engaging with fandom more I would start seeing it after having actual fan content for it . So I didn't project it there.
Romantic stories are some of the ones that focus the most on interpersonal relationships. Who these characters are, what makes them tick, what makes them good for each other, what causes rift, how they need to grow to work things out, internal conflicts arising from the characters and not just external conflict. I do also love stories about found family, about siblings and about friendship for similar reasons. I usually care about characters and relationships more than I care about plot. And I like cute, sweet moments which is also common in romantic stories.
And there's curiosity about a thing I don't experience. I already liked romance since I was very little, and I was convinced it would happen at some point. I really invested on the late bloomer narrative, then on the right person narrative, because I thought it was just the natural progression that at some point I'd have a cute relationship like my parents, or like in fiction. I idenfied as demi for a while, with no reason to believe that, before admitting I was just plain aroace. But now that I know I still retain a bit of a fascination with romantic stories.
But as you said, we don't only like stories we relate to. I often relate a lot to the characters in romantic stories, but even if I don't relate to the romance itself it's still fun. I think romantic stories have some clearly delineated progression and resolution for you to hang cuteness and funny shenanigans on.
Sorry for the delay on the answer, I'm very wordy and I was boxing up books for the move all day today. I hope this is at least somewhat coherent.
Also, I watched Lisbela and the Prisoner when I 7 and I just stole my whole personality from it, so there's that
#Rapha rambles#aroace#aromantic#asexual#asks#answered asks#I was watching cowboy bebop (the original) and I still have some episodes to go but it feels like a wasted opportunity#the characters are good but I don't see the relationship between the characters developing much so far#firefly was another space cowboy set up that I adored because I actually saw the relationships between the characters develop#Honestly there are also a lot of ''romantic'' stories I like where I didn't actually care about the guy at all and he was just a sexy lamp#something for the female protagonist to get for her troubles lol#but I didn't go into that because in those cases the romance wasn't the appeal#I do also like female protagonists actually that seems to be more common in romance too#when I say my parents are cute I mean they are very cute#long post
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Since the very conception of the motion picture, the LGBT community have been represented on-screen in some form. An early example is Algie the Miner (1912), a short silent film which follows the effeminate Algie (Billy Quirk), who enjoys kissing cowboys. In order to marry someone’s daughter, he heads west to prove that he’s a man. While this is quite an outdated stereotype of being gay, the portrayals have varied greatly over time. Only recently is LGBT representation becoming more positive and common. However, when it comes to portraying bisexuality on-screen, it still seems to be a difficult task.
Many narrative tropes have been birthed through filmmakers trying to show sexuality on-screen and most of them contribute directly to the overall erasure of bisexuality in cinema – usually with ambiguous portrayals, negative stereotyping and characters needing to pick a side. Not all instances are problematic, but their prevalence isn’t helping to combat the stigma that bisexual people face. There are three main tropes when it comes to depicting bisexuality, which is infidelity, picking a side, and the horrible husband. They’re usually found together in a common narrative that erases bisexuality, whether intentional or not.
Infidelity
There’s a long-standing stereotype that bisexual people are more likely to cheat on their partners and are incapable of commitment. This is a trope that is heavily carried in some of the most well-known depictions of bisexuality. Typically, a female protagonist is engaged or married to a man, but she meets a lesbian woman and they become involved sexually and romantically, leaving the protagonist torn between two lovers. This happens in Imagine Me & You (2005) when Rachel (Piper Perabo) falls in love with lesbian flower shop owner Luce (Lena Headey), who provided the flowers for her wedding to Hector (Matthew Goode). It’s a fairly average film that could’ve been amazing had it acknowledged Rachel’s bisexuality, but it’s still one of the better ones considering Perabo and Headey have amazing chemistry.
For some reason, bisexual characters are often in serious relationships when they’re suddenly sexually awakened. This happened to Rachel right after her wedding because she happened to meet the right woman. While this type of experience does happen in real life, it’s always the go-to narrative for films about women realizing they’re not one-hundred-percent straight. In these instances, the same-sex love affair acts as the conflict within the narrative – this can create good drama when done right, but it gets boring and bisexual characters deserve better than constantly being portrayed as cheaters. People are not more promiscuous or likely to cheat on their partners because of their sexuality, but these tropes are constantly telling people otherwise.
We deserve to see bisexual characters whose sexuality isn’t the main narrative focus or who at least explore their sexuality outside of a relationship. Appropriate Behaviour (2014) is a good example of this as Shirin (Desiree Akhavan, who is also the film’s writer and director) is a bisexual Persian American woman who is keeping her sexuality a secret from her judgemental family, while also attempting to rebuild her life after breaking up with her girlfriend. Seeing bisexuality portrayed on-screen is another place where people pick up more stigma or acceptance, and with bisexuality it, unfortunately, seems to be the former. This is why bisexual filmmakers like Akhavan are better suited to portraying the experiences of bisexual men and women than others.
Picking A Side
When the protagonist is in conflict with her sexuality, the people around her usually wonder if she’s a lesbian now – despite them being engaged or married to a man. This can be seen in Below Her Mouth (2010) where Jasmine (Natalie Krill) begins having an affair with Dallas (Erika Linder). When her husband finds out, he tells her “You’re a lesbian” but she tells him that she loves him and nothing has changed between them. It seems impossible to grasp that a person could be attracted to both men and women. Bisexuality is erased.
Some films insinuate that the protagonist isn’t necessarily bisexual or even a lesbian, it’s just that they’re attracted to this one woman only and no others – they’re an exception! This is the kind of impression you get from Below Her Mouth, but also from other films such as Imagine Me & You and Elena Undone (2010), which isn’t particularly helpful for lesbian representation either. In Imagine Me & You, Rachel tells Hector “You are my best friend. That was enough before, and it will be enough again.” This implies that Rachel was never truly attracted to him in a romantic sense, thus implying that she’s a lesbian. While this could be a case of compulsory heteronormativity, it seems problematic as it’s never discussed or explained. Avoiding discussions about sexuality – as most of these films do – are what contribute to this trope massively and result in misinterpretation and erasure.
Films as new as Netflix’s Alex Strangelove (2018) also feed into the idea that bisexuality is a stepping stone to picking a side. Alex (Daniel Doheny) prepares to lose his virginity to his girlfriend but finds his plans derailed when he’s attracted to another boy. He spends most of the film questioning his sexuality and at one point thinks he’s bisexual. The film does highlight biphobia which brings attention to this problem, so it’s disheartening at the end when Alex realizes he is gay and not bisexual after all. The set up for Alex Strangelove was perfect for a bisexual love story and, while it’s still positive LGBT representation, it’s a shame it didn’t stick with that. It’s even rarer to see bisexual men portrayed on-screen, so it would’ve been really rewarding.
It’s important to acknowledge that bisexuality is a comfortable place for some people to be while they’re trying to accept that they are gay – and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, there still seems to be some widespread discomfort when it comes to sexuality being fluid. For bisexual people, there isn’t any side to pick – they’re not torn between polar opposites, nor are they confused. They aren’t on the fence, they’re on both sides of the fence. Nevertheless, films continue to portray bisexuality as a personal conflict that needs resolving, and it does this by putting bisexual characters in a situation where they’re having affairs. This makes their sexuality the narrative conflict, which is wholly problematic in itself.
The Horrible Husband
The protagonist’s fiancé or husband is usually abusive or passive in the relationship, and thus portrayed as the antagonist. She is then drawn to a lesbian woman who treats her so much better and gives her the attention she deserves. Sometimes it’s as though these films are saying that lesbianism is the cure for a dissatisfying heterosexual relationship. This contributes to bisexual erasure by suggesting that bisexual women can only be happy with women and never with a man because they’re horrible or not good enough. It also perpetuates the idea of picking a side – almost telling bisexuals that they should just be lesbians instead.
This trope is found in films like Elena Undone, where Elena (Necar Zadegan) meets Peyton (Traci Dinwiddie) who is a famous lesbian writer. Elena’s husband Barry (Gary Weeks), however, is a homophobic pastor. Elena Undone is actually loosely based on director Nicole Conn’s real-life romance with Marina Rice Bader, but the film itself isn’t great. It’s also shown in The World Unseen (2007) as Miriam (Lisa Ray) quietly follows the customs of 1950s South Africa, alongside dealing with her abusive husband Omar (Parvin Dabas). Miriam becomes empowered to change her circumstances when she meets and falls in love with free-spirited cafe owner Amina (Sheetal Sheth).
A much better film that deals with this trope is Bound (1996). Lesbian ex-con Corky (Gina Gershon) arrives at an apartment building to start work as a painter and plumber. She soon finds herself being seduced by Violet (Jennifer Tilly) who lives next door with her boyfriend Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). Violet explains that they’ve been together for five years and he’s a money launderer for the mafia. She wants to escape and make a new life for herself, so she and Corky plan to steal $2 million of Mafia money and blame it on Caesar. The horrible husband trope actually works well in this film because the women plan to screw Caesar over and it doesn’t use Violet’s infidelity as the main narrative conflict – it’s a lot more original, which isn’t surprising as the first directorial feature film from the Wachowski Sisters. Bound would’ve been much less effective if Caesar was just a regular guy who Violet hated, but she has a better motive with the drama surrounding his violent mafia connections.
These three tropes are collectively the entire plot of Imagine Me & You, Elena Undone, The World Unseen, I Can’t Think Straight (2008), Kiss Me (2011) and more. It’s a shame that there isn’t always a huge focus on the actual relationship between the two women in these films. It’s more about them hiding their relationship and because they officially get together at the end, we never get to see much of what their life is like as a couple. They all feature very similar themes, meaning that when it comes to telling the stories of bisexual characters, the narrative is rarely diverse. Romantic comedies in general always follow the same beats which is fine, but these tropes for bisexual characters either erase their sexuality and/or display it as a problem.
These tropes can still work well (like with Bound) depending on certain aspects of the narrative. Infidelity works well in Carol (2015) due to the 1950s setting. Carol (Cate Blanchett), who is in the process of divorcing her horrible husband, and Therese (Rooney Mara) have to hide their relationship due to homosexuality not being accepted during this time. This adds an extra layer to the narrative, giving actual depth to why things are happening the way that they are. There’s also Disobedience (2017) where it works well due to the Orthodox Jewish culture. Ronit (Rachel Weisz), who is considered bisexual, returns to the community for her father’s funeral to find her childhood friend Esti (Rachel McAdams) married to a man. Esti describes herself as a lesbian woman in a relationship with a man, which is disheartening but works in the film’s world. Disobedience also plays through the infidelity trope very differently to other films, allowing it to be more effective.
The Erasure
In films with bisexual characters, it’s rare that the word “bisexual” actually comes up. It’s mostly ambiguous, implied or erased completely by the protagonist seemingly picking a side. It’s constantly reinforced by narrative tropes that are set up for dramatic entertainment, with no real intention of representing sexuality with genuine care. Erasure also happens due to words like “gay” being used as an umbrella term when referring back to certain films. Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Call Me By Your Name (2017), for example, are often referred to as gay films on social media due to the gay relationships portrayed, However, the characters are portrayed to be sexually fluid/bisexual due to the nature of their relationships with women. It also happens with films like Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2014) which is always painted as a lesbian love story when Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) is clearly bisexual. It’s not necessarily bad to use gay and lesbian as umbrella terms, but it, unfortunately, does contribute to bisexual erasure. We should be bringing more attention to bisexuality on-screen and pointing it out specifically when we see it.
One of the biggest erasures is the portrayal of bisexual men. They appear much less frequently than bisexual women. The most recent example that comes to mind is Jake Gyllenhaal’s character in Velvet Buzzsaw (2019), but the word bisexual was never used and he was portrayed as being promiscuous, which fits into the negative stereotype (although the film is satire so perhaps it can be excused). Some better, or at least more interesting, depictions of bisexual men are still out there and can be found in films such as Velvet Goldmine (1998), Kaboom (2010), The Comedian (2012), The Lobster (2015) and Moonlight (2016).
If anything, bisexual characters are usually left out of the bury your gays/dead lesbian syndrome trope. It’s very common both in film and television for gay men and lesbian women to be killed off in some dramatic way, such as in Brokeback Mountain, The Fox (1967), Les Biches (1968), Lost and Delirious (2001) and A Single Man (2009). Bisexual women have been killed off quite a bit in television – like Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) in The O.C. – but they’re relatively safe in film and hopefully, it’ll stay that way.
Acknowledging Bisexuality
It is disheartening that bisexual representation on-screen isn’t as good or as frequent as gay and lesbian representation. We’re also at a time where it could be massively improved, but now we face the barrier of “queer” as another umbrella term. It’s wholly unhelpful when not everyone identifies with it and when we want bisexual characters to say the word bisexual on-screen. We want to be acknowledged. Bisexual actress Stephanie Beatriz made sure her bisexual character in Brooklyn Nine-Nine got to say it earlier this year, because that word means something to certain people and the impact is great. Hopefully this will start to happen more in film going forward.
There are definitely films out there where the word bisexual is actually said, like in Appropriate Behaviour, Kiss Me, Velvet Goldmine and Margarita with a Straw (2014). It’s rare that we hear it so when we do it’s pretty exciting. In addition to these, other films that feature positive and/or complex portrayals of bisexual characters in general (and not the previously discussed tropes) are: Cabaret (1972), Chasing Amy (1997), Black Swan (2010), Atomic Blonde (2017) and Tully (2018).
There have been many positive and negative depictions of bisexuality, but the majority of them aren’t great or feed into the biphobia and the erasure of the identity. Filmmakers need to do better when it comes to portraying bisexual characters and their stories. It’s always helpful when bisexual people themselves get a voice, whether as writers, directors or actors. For some reason, although there are exceptions, most straight male and lesbian filmmakers have trouble portraying bisexuality both positively and accurately. They essentially give the message that bisexuality doesn’t exist or is an inner conflict that needs to be resolved. We must do better because one day someone will be watching a film where a character says “bisexual” and their life will suddenly fall into place.
#bisexuality#lgbtq community#bi#lgbtq#support bisexuality#bisexuality is valid#lgbtq pride#bi tumblr#pride#bi pride#bisexual education#films#bisexual#bisexual community#bi erasure#bisexual erasure#biphobic gay people#internalized biphobia#biphopia#biphobic#bisexual nation#queer nation#queer#bisexual men#bisexual women#bisexual youth#movies#bisexual movies#bisexual films#respect bisexual people
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Dehumanization in Otome Isekai: Are Evil Women Born Evil or Made Evil?
A popular trend in Otome Isekai right now, or rather, common trend is the dehumanization of characters, particularly villains, and particularly... female villains.
Now, that is not to say that a lot of male characters aren’t dehumanized, but I feel there is a clear difference between a man who acts on his sexual desire and need for power to rein in a woman as is commonly seen and... a woman who is cruel for the sake of needing an alpha b*tch villainess (like, a “true” villainess but that is a conversation for another time). Because one is rooted in a pattern commonly seen irl in abuse relationships and misogyny built from upon centuries ago and the other one is a rare form of denial for any layer of depth to female characters. Female villainesses (antagonists) are time and time again denied any form of depth by the author, mainly because authors (authoresses?) want YOU, the audience, to hate the villainess as much as possible, but in doing so, perpetuates a... weird trope. The real question is: should the trope be a common thing?
There’s absolutely no question that everyone has their different tastes, but these one-dimensional female antagonists feel tasteless, especially in the face of their true potential. Take Mielle from The Villainess Turns the Hourglass, for example. She’s probably the worst of the dehumanized-antagonist syndrome (as I like to call it) because it’s revealed that she doesn’t hate Aria simply for being a commoner, but it’s more of a psychopathy-narcissism thing.
There’s an important distinction to made here: Rather than Mielle being made evil by growing up with these horrible ideals, learning them and cultivating them into bad behaviors, Mielle was just born evil. But the thing is, Mielle being born evil weakens the narrative a LOT, especially in the face of themes such as classism and corruption of wealth and whatnot.
Is it... misogynist to have your women born evil?
Now, there IS a disconnect from real life, I have to mention. Female Psychopaths are, obviously, a real thing, but to what point does media have to abuse the stereotypes of these women to make their female antagonists? And the truth is, even PSYCOPATHIC WOMEN irl are, indeed, human. If you look at the greatest female villains, yes, they display traits of narcissism, but the writers of those media (Elena from Little Fires Everywhere, Azula from ATLA, etc.) make sure that they portray ALL sides of these women, making sure YOU understand that they weren’t born evil. They are just humans who do evil things, strayed from the path, and honestly? It’s FINE to have evil women in media, to have female antagonists, but we have to ask... is it FINE to have your women evil with no other depth to them, to have your women cruel because they were born to be cruel, and have women serve no other purpose than to make YOUR female protagonist look better?
Is that all evil women are cut out to be?
As an author/authoress, I believe that people have the right to control their own narrative, to make characters that stand for something. I really cannot see why women HAVE to be born evil, even giving them a simple motive does wonders. Mielle didn’t HAVE to be born evil, she could’ve represented an extreme of aristocrats, shown that she was taught horrible ideals, and in the end, it’s FINE because we understand that perpetuating those horrible ideals still means she has to be taken down. It is fine to humanize your female antagonists, or any antagonists, because if you HAVE to dehumanize your antagonists to make the audience hate them, then you might want to think twice about how engaging your media really is.
I understand Otome Isekai is said to be a “low-brow” type of genre, much like YA romance novels, but I think it is sad to be watching all this wasted potential go down the drain. It is wrong to feel like Otome Isekai is a progressive feminist-type genre when tropes like these still linger around the most popular and hailed novels, and I absolutely LOVE Otome Isekai but I think it is also important to view some of its tropes with a more critical eye. I hope any rising OI enthusiasts who are writing their own novels can think twice before making another one-dimensional two-faced bitch with no backstory, no real personality beyond “cruel”, no nothing.
As someone who often adores villain/villainesses characters, isn’t it ironic that we have to dehumanize actual villainesses to make our female protagonists seem more human?
#villainess#manhwa#the villainess turns the hourglass#this is my lukewarm defense of mielle#she NEVER had a chance in the narrative as she was 'born' evil#not 'made' evil#the author didnt want to make her human. she only wanted to make a villainess. that is a kind of sad existence#Otome Isekai#meta#tropes
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JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 7: SCARAMOUCHE (1921)
Hello, Citizens, and welcome to the seventh meeting of our lovely Convention!
I deeply appreciate your wishes for my speedy recovery and I assure you that I’m right as rain.
So, with that out of the way, let us begin.
1. Introduction
“Scaramouche” is a historical fiction novel written by Rafael Sabatini, who might be familiar to some of you via works like “Captain Blood”, which was among my favorite novel series when I was growing up as I’ve always loved (and still love) me a good swashbuckling story and I never quite grew out of these tastes in literature.
In the case of this novel, it never was a blip on my radar when I was a kid but my renewed interest in the French Revolution and my research of topics for future reviews led me to this story. Apparently there’s a sequel and I might review it in the future.
I found the ebook readily available in English on Project Gutenberg so it’s pretty much in public domain now.
I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that there’s a swashbuckling novel set in Frev - the setting is like a perfect fertile soil for external and internal conflicts, adventures and drama, so it was only a matter of time before someone came up with an adventure novel in this setting.
That being said, at first I had quite a few fears that this book would be just another propaganda piece, especially since the author was technically Anglophone.
Did my fears come true? Let’s find out.
2. The Summary
The story’s protagonist is one André-Louis Moreau - a ward and godson to a Breton nobleman and a lawyer by education who swears revenge on a Marquis who kills his friend in a duel.
To escape the gallows after landing himself in hot water for igniting the fire of revolution in Rennes and Nantes, André-Louis joins a troupe of traveling actors and performs as a character called Scaramouche, hence the title.
3. The Story
Like I said, I have a soft spot for swashbuckling novels so I actually quite enjoyed reading the book. And, on a pleasantly surprising note, the revolution is NOT demonized. If anything, the protagonist actually becomes an idealistic republican by the end, which is a really uncommon narrative choice in Frev media.
The narrative clearly portrays the nobility as too privileged and corrupt and the people are in the right - at least, this is what the protagonist understands during his arc.
There’s also not that much Thermidorian bullshit, at least no popular stereotypes, which I really appreciate.
That being said, I do have three main issues with the story.
Firstly, sometimes there’s too much filler and it feels like the narrative is barely dragging along, which got tiresome at times.
Secondly, I didn’t like the romantic subplot between André and the niece of his godfather, Aline. For context, the two were childhood playmates and grew up referring to each other as cousins, only to fall in love as adults.
Maybe it’s just me, but I find romance between family members (no matter how honorary) gross even if there are no shared genes involved. I know cousin marriages were more common in the past but personally I think the novel would’ve benefited from Aline and André only sharing a platonic bond and familial love.
(Spoiler alert!)
Thirdly, I highly doubt the “I’m your father” twist was necessary here as I usually dislike such plot points because they’re hard to do right.
Here there was no proper building up to the revelation, at least in my opinion, and the twist itself can (and most likely will) seem predictable to modern audiences.
However, it was resolved in a fairly realistic way. Marquis de la Tour and André don’t immediately reconcile just because they’re father and son but André calls off his revenge quest, grants the Marquis a safe passage out of the country and doesn’t want to see him again, which is understandable considering their prior enmity.
On that note, let’s take a closer look at the characters.
4. The Characters
Right off the bat, the biggest issue the modern readers might have is that the characters are too “black and white”. In the era of “grey morality” and complex characters, these archetypes might come off as done to death and boring but, other than that, the characters were mostly easy to empathize with.
Personally, I didn’t like André himself in the beginning but he grew on me.
He starts off as a stoic almost to the point of coldness, a cynic and a borderline nihilist who believes fighting against the noble class is futile and there’s no point in trying to improve the country.
But when his idealistic best friend is killed, André vows to take the Marquis down by using the volatile revolutionary climate to his advantage. Slowly, André too becomes a revolutionary and an idealist, which is admittedly rare as usually people in stories become cynical by the end.
Seeing this character ark but played in reverse felt quite refreshing to me so even though at times André’s sarcasm and stoic attitude made him insufferable, I think he is pretty well-written and fleshed out as a protagonist.
Next is Aline, and unfortunately she is underdeveloped in the novel, more so than a female lead should be. She is ambitious, which makes her consider marrying the Marquis, prejudiced against actors due to her upbringing and in general is a typical noble ingenue.
Her and André are playfully witty at times and verbally cruel to each other at others and, unfortunately, they suffer from the “misunderstanding” trope which makes them unable to talk things out. I always find this trope annoying and, coupled with prejudice and not being fleshed out enough, it played into my apathy for Aline as a character.
Then there’s Marquis de la Tour, the typical privileged corrupt noble. He loves women, is a master of fencing and has no heart. André even calls him the embodiment of sin various times.
I know despicable people can and do exist, but here it seemed like he was made a bit too evil, to the point of being simply cartoonish and hard to perceive as a threat or, for that matter, take seriously.
At least he wasn’t threatening for me personally as a character and was more amusing than anything else.
Interestingly enough, historical figures don’t feature much in the story but we do get cameos of Marat, Danton, Robespierre and Desmoulins, as well as Mirabeau.
Mirabeau is called a hypocrite by the author but the other four, surprisingly, aren’t portrayed as evil villains. Marat is even called a philanthropist and his pamphlets inspire André! How rare is that, Citizens?!
Anyway, let’s continue.
5. The Setting
Although at times the text is overloaded with descriptions, all of them were vivid enough for me to imagine myself in the story with the characters.
Sabatini sure knows how to convey the images of villages, cities, nature, inns, etc in an exciting and engaging manner. I just wish that the descriptions were a bit shorter.
6. The Writing Style
Seeing as the novel was published in 1921 and I’m pretty good at English, I didn’t have many problems with reading but there were some outdated grammatical structures and vocabulary so be prepared.
Besides, in the version I read didn’t have translations of French and Latin phrases that occasionally pop up in the text, which was a bit annoying but not that much as I could understand the context of the phrases and therefore figure out what they mean more or less.
In general though, despite occasional overload of descriptions and the aforementioned grievances I have with the text, the writing style is engaging, very easy to understand and not too complex.
7. The Conclusion
In short, I can definitely recommend this novel to anyone who loves good swashbuckling stories and hates propaganda. Not the most original story but enjoyable and a good read regardless.
With that, I announce the end of the meeting. Stay tuned for updates and stay safe, Citizens!
Love,
- Citizen Green Pixel
#french revolution#frev#history#maximilien robespierre#jacobin fiction convention#robespierre#frev art#frev propaganda#frev literature#camille desmoulins#georges danton#scaramouche#rafael sabatini#jean paul marat
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Belated Spring 2020 Anime Overview: My Next Life as Villainess
For the Spring 2020 anime season, I mostly watched continuations of shows I was already into. The one new show I did pick up was My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! follows Katerina Claes, a spoiled young noble girl deviously scheming to win the heart of a prince- oh wait, never mind, she hit her head and remembered her past life! Turns out she’s an eighteen year old Japanese otaku chick who died and got reincarnated as the villainess in her favorite otome game.
If you don’t feel like reading the wiki article, an otome game is basically a female- targeted dating sim where you play as a blank slate main character and date a bunch of pretty boys (and sometimes girls, but usually only if you go outside the mainstream ones), unlocking their backstories and collecting all the romantic endings.
Having played this game, Katarina is well aware that the Villainess character- who constantly tries to interfere with the game’s heroine and whichever boy she’s pursuing- is either exiled or killed in all of the games endings. And now she IS that villainess, living in the world of the game and all its characters! Does that mean she’s doomed to a horrible fate? What’s a girl to do?
Well, if you’re Katarina, what you do is be supportive and kind to the people around you and in doing so accidentally get every single character in the game to fall in love with you. And yes, this includes all the boys the heroine is supposed to date, the other female romantic rivals the heroine is faced with and the game’s heroine herself.
That’s right, we finally got us some bisexual romantic comedy hijinx last anime season, my friends! My Next Life as a Villainess was the delightful little show I really escaped into during these anxious pandemic times . All these girls casually falling in love with Katarina without it being treated as ‘weird’ was what particularly drew me to this show and warmed my gay little heart to see. It was honestly the perfect fluffy, low stress watch during these high stress times.
Anime has long been oversaturated with ‘harem’ stories- where a usually unwitting protagonist somehow gets a bevy of beauties in love with them- but it’s still unfortunately really unusual to see bisexual harems, especially ones with a girl at the center, so right away there’s a big draw to this story that helps it stick out from the rest. (And worry not, the story is largely focused on Katarina having fun with these pals-who-are-not-so-secretly-in-love-with-her, rather than having a ton the dubious shenanigans you see in more sexually charged tales.)
Harem protoganists also famously tend to have the personality of potatoes, being so painfully bland it’s unclear why so many people would fall in love with them in the first place. But that definitely not the case for Katarina. She’s brash, ridiculous, kind and INCREDIBLY dense, and that for a pretty dynamic combination in this setting! She does genuinely come off as a fun person to be around. Unlike a lot of modern isekai shows, she doesn’t stumble into having incredible magic powers or skills, so her compassion is genuinely her greatest strength and what saves the day and wins hearts time and time again.
Katarina’s five brain cells doing their weekly check-in
(The moment she won my heart was when she responded to a tragic Frozen style situation with her friend locking himself away from people because he believed his magic was dangerous by taking an axe to his door. My kinda girl!)
The premise also allows for some plausible built-in reasons for the characters to take such special notice of Katarina- having been raised in a different world, she isn’t beholden to all the social rules, class divisions and noble family drama all the other kids in this very specific midevial-esque fantasy world are so embroiled in. This combined with her naturally earnest, accepting and straightfoward nature means she’s able to cross boundaries and reach out to them in a way they aren’t accustomed to. She was significant in each character’s life because she genuinely was the first to show them acceptance and affection without pretense, if only because she isn’t even aware there was supposed to be a pretense.
Katarina’s focus on trying not to die and her fear she’s going to meet the same fate as the villainess in the game also at least gives some kind of a basis to her comical obliviousness to everyone being in love with her. She assumes that everyone has to be into Maria (the heroine) and terrified of her because that’s how the game GOES okay, that’s CANON! Of course, this logic stretches thin as time goes on and it would be abundantly clear to most people that things have diverged greatly from the game’s storyline, but the show makes it clear that Katarina’s determined, one track mind is as much a gift as a curse.
Her bullheadedness when it comes to picking up how everyone REALLY feels about her is an intentional gag on the show’s part and even her love interests are well aware of what a colossal dumbass she is and not afraid to point it out!
My Next Life as a Villainess isn’t without its flaws, and the personalities/backstories of some of the ‘love interests’ Katarina gathers may be a stumbling block on some- mostly the male ones. Geordo, “the black hearted prince” has a bit of the “ possessive shoujo bad boy” archetype about him, and though he’s far from the worst that genre of love interest has to offer (there’s not much bad he can get up to due to Katarina’s obliviousness, the lighthearted nature of the show, and his rivals constantly getting in his way), the way he refuses to break Katarina and his engagement off despite her repeatedly asking him to, as well as some of his lines here and there, are definitely NOT cute.
Keith is Katarina’s adopted brother, but clearly has a thing for her too. On one hand, they only first met when they were nine and he fell for her pretty immediately. On the other hand, he still refers to her as “sister” constantly which is kinda eesh.
The other two guys are all right- Nicol’s big thing is he’s inexpressive and doesn’t talk much which, considering show doesn’t spend much time inside his head, doesn’t make him a very interesting character in the ensemble (maybe he comes across better in the novels) but there’s nothing wrong with him. Alan is undoubtedly the Best Boy in my book. He’s another common trope- rambunctious and competitive with Katarina but clearly soft for her- but he’s done well and they have a lot of cute moments together.
I find the girl love interests to be a much more interesting group overall, though this may be my obvious bias talking. Sophia has the strongest connection to Katarina, their backstories being intertwined in a surprising and touching way (I’m told in the novels her affection for Katarina was treated as more platonic, but the anime definitely plays it up as having romantic elements). Maria’s original role as the game’s heroine puts her in the most interesting position (and would make her the most narratively satisfying choice of love interest, if the show was actually interested in choosing). And while Mary is comically tenacious in her pursuit of Katarina, she’s doesn’t ever act ‘sinister’ or overstep boundaries in the way Geordo does, her “scheming” only really amounting to straightforwardly asking if Katarina wants to ditch her fiance and run away with her.
As I mentioned, one thing that really contributes to My Next Life as a Villainess being a relaxing watch is that the queer characters are treated with casual acceptance. Mary in particular isn’t subtle about her crush on Katarina, but nobody bats an eye at her and she’s completely open and comfortable with herself too. The observing maid notes that the girls are in love with Katarina with the same bland affect as when she notes she notes the guys are. And while the social practices of the nobles are pretty heteronormative- girls are always engaged in arranged marriages to guys, the guys are expected to dance with the girls (something Mary complains about!)- there’s apparently a booming queer romance novel industry that inspires our young wlw.
Katarina, having grown up in a different world, seems to be the one most prone to heteronormativity of her group. She never really considers that a girl would ever fall in love with her, but is also never hostile to the idea. It’s telling that when Mary very clearly indicates her desired romantic partner would be a girl, Katarina’s the only one that gets tripped up and has to walk back her assumption that Mary would be talking about a guy.
Mary LAYING DOWN THE LAW
Also, Katarina has SEVERAL “she’s so cute! My heart is beating faster!” moments with the other girls, on par in frequency with her moments with the guys. This strongly hints she’s an oblivious bisexual disaster.
So, My Next Life as Villainess is a fun, frothy watch and the rare positive example of silly wish-fufillment that’s inclusive to a wlw audience. But is the actual plot good, or remotely complex? The answer to that is no, the plot is fairly predictable and one definitely shouldn’t got into this story expecting a deep examination of the nature of fate or anything like that.There’s no real explanation of big reason as to why why Katarina was reborn into this game world and so on.
The antagonist that does eventually emerge plays off otome game tropes a bit, but ultimately isn’t that interesting or built up all that well. . The attempts at drama the show makes towards the end fall a little flat, especially since it tends to rely on very-late-in-the-game-exposition-dumps (dark magic isn’t even MENTIONED as existing in this world until like, the second to last episode where it becomes relevant and we get a vague infodump explaining its mechanics). The conflict honestly almost feels shoehorned in and the climax is pretty standard and doesn’t really utilize the big cast of characters all that well
But in the end, that’s okay! The show makes it abundantly clear from the beginning it’s not here to be Deep, but to be some silly fun. And it really fulfills that purpose well, from it’s catchy, peppy theme tune to its consistently warm tone. It MAY get repetitive at times for some, and I do have some quibbles- like how I found the childhood segments to be some of the shows best material and wish we could have stayed in that section for a bit instead of rushing through it, how I wish Katarina had kept her cute little scar, etc- but overall, it was definitely the soothing balm I needed during a very rough time and I absolutely recommend it if you’re looking for a chill, feel-good watch.
And hey, a second season’s supposed to be on the way too, so there’s something to potentially look forward to!
#my next life as a villainess#my next life as a villianess all routes lead to doom#destruction flag otome#otome gemu no hametsu furagu shika nai akuyaku reijo ni tensei shiteshimatta#anime overview#katarina claes#catarina claes#my reviews#spring 2020 anime
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Why do I write primarily mlm fanfic?
This was something I asked myself the other day. I am a girl, I think I'm queer (but I am attracted to men, whatever I am), so why do I fixate on mlm relationships? Why do I never feel compelled to write wlw or even just some good 'ol straight stuff? I brought this up to a few friends of mine who also watch anime. One of them said that it’s because lots of popular media only really focuses on developing their male characters well, and I think this to be a very suitable explanation (as well as the fact that I’m queer and thus gravitate towards queer stories).
Take Sk8 the Infinity for example. I could count the number of female characters in this anime on one hand, and one of them is a robot. The others are supporting roles who only serve to support the male main characters. I love Sk8 very much, and with the possibility of a 2nd season I’d love to see a prominent, well-developed female character (but if they make her Reki’s love interest I will literally stab someone). But as the anime stands right now, there are no female characters that aren't just basically plot devices.
Another show I love dearly, Yuri!!! on Ice, is much the same. While there can be more of an argument made here because 1) competitive figure skating is split up between men and women, and 2) I believe that the story Yuuri and Victor is absolutely meant to be a romance, so having the two men as the focus is somewhat necessary, there's an overwhelming lack of fleshed-out women in the story. All the female characters are supporting members that only exist for the benefit of male characters. Yuuko and Minako support Yuuri, Lilia exists so Yuri P. can improve, Mila is just... kind of there, and Sara's whole character is centered around her brother being overprotective of her.
Okay, so let's look at something a little less... fruity. Horimiya. I've only watched the anime, so if there's stuff I miss from not having read the manga (yet), please forgive me. I still think this is a valid perspective, though, because if there's female development that the creators decided was so unimportant that it could be cut, that still supports my point here. In my opinion, Miyamura is a lot more developed than Hori. He has his tragic backstory of being a loner, and having his secret piercings and tattoos and all that. A lot of the story ends up focusing on his side of things... despite the fact that Hori is the protagonist. The story follows her perspective for the most part, we learn things about Miyamura as she does, yet I feel like she's a bit dull. She has a uncommon home life and has to take care of her younger brother, that's her big bad secret? I get that it's kind of unexpected since she's the pretty, perfect, popular girl, but I still feel like it's a tad anticlimactic. It's hardly ever addressed beyond the first few episodes, too, and it just kind of exists as a fact within the story. Even beyond our main couple, it seems like the other female characters development and stories are all focused on the boy they're interested in (except for Sawada, but she's there for like a couple of episodes and then doesn't really show up all that much again... and her crush on Hori is handled really weird, I didn't exactly love it). Remi's entire character is pretty much centered around her boyfriend, and Sakura and Yuki are basically competing for Toru. Meanwhile, the guys have story beats themed around the girls they're interested in, but I feel like it's not as obsessive or dramatic as how the girls are depicted.
So, we're given these female characters, who are really watered-down and honestly kind of boring, and we're not super compelled to write about them. When we are given flat female characters, there's nothing to work with. It's more fun to use the characters who have had development and play around with the "what ifs" and our own personal headcannons. The characters who get this special treatment are primarily male. And while I commend a lot of shows for developing their male characters in such a way that doesn't exactly fit with society's idea of masculinity (ex: Reki's insecurities and depression, Yuuri's anxiety and femininity, Miyamura's isolation and depression), in the end these characters are still boys, men, males.
I also think mlm is so prominent because of both straight girls and queer people. For straight girls, it can often be fetishization (forgive my generalizing, I'm sure not all straight girls are like that, but an overwhelming amount definitely are). I think one of the best examples I can give for this is Phan. This is a bit different since it's not anime, but instead real people, but if anything that really drives home the point even more. The way Dan and Phil were (and probably still are) treated in the fandom internet space is disturbing, to say the least. Their audience, while much of it was queer, was also made up of an overwhelming amount of heterosexual girls who not only shipped them intensely, but also often sexualized them. And look, there's nothing inherently wrong with being a straight girl and writing smut, but it gets to a point where it can be kind of weird if its excessive. Like, if that's all the relationship is really about, and if the people you're writing about are real human beings, that's definitely overstepping. I will admit that I had a Wattpad and that I wrote Phanfic way back when, and this is something I'm not exactly proud of. Granted, I did not write anything explicit, it was still super weird, whether or not I was queer. And I'm not saying all the problematic aspects of the Phandom were because of straight girls, because what I contributed was arguably problematic, and I did not identify as straight at the time. At the same time, though, there were straight girls who wrote exclusively smut (or "lemons" as they might've been referred to at the time). There were those who analyzed every post, every bit of information they could find about these men on the internet. They obsessed over the fact that they occasionally shared clothes (which is fairly common for roomates of similar sizes to do), and gathered evidence to support the theory that they shared a bed. It was bad. It was invasive, and it got to the point where it wasn't about the people, it was about the fetishized fantasy these girls made up in their heads about these real, actual men.
Dan and Phil's online presence kind of disappeared for a few years... and I don't blame them.
Getting back on track, mlm is prominent for queer people because it's the LGBT representation they so desperately want to see actualized in media. If a show doesn't make their favorite queer ship canon (and they often don't), they'll do it themselves! That's what fanfic is for! I also know that queer people project onto these characters a lot, and that writing about them is almost like a form of therapy. They see these characters as queer, and they see themselves in these characters, so they write about these characters experiencing similar emotions to them. The thing is, the most compelling characters are male, so those are the characters they end up focusing on, even if the person in question is strictly sapphic. My best example is how I project onto Reki. Personally, I end up thinking of him as (and thus end up writing him as) having some internalized homophobia around being bisexual. That's literally what I am currently going through. I can't project this onto any of the female characters in Sk8, because I couldn't see them going through this experience because they're not developed enough to.
Despite all of this, I still enjoy all of the shows I mention a lot. I think it's just an interesting topic that I was thinking about. I'm not trying to bash anything that I used as an example, these were just my personal observations based off of what I know about these shows and their fandoms. I do, though, believe shipping real people isn't super cool, and I stand by that as someone who used to do it. I'm not going to stop you... I just think it's intrusive and inappropriate to pretend like you know enough about influencers to dictate who they should be involved with romantically. Their love life is, frankly, none of your damn business.
So, long story short, we should make anime (and popular media in general) less misogynistic.
(Also, please leave Dan and Phil alone, they deserve privacy)
#fandom#anime#mlm#queer#lgbt#lgbtqia#sk8 the infinity#yuri!!! on ice#yuri on ice#horimiya#kind of an essay#kind of a brain dump#I hope I got my point across#I spent a little bit too much time of this probably#yes I was a phannie a little while ago#don't judge me#I didn't want to tag this as phan for fear that they would attack me#I don't need the wrath of the phandom
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do you really need to bring shipper wars in the Austen fandom too?
Full offense but people who deny Emma is in love with Mr Knightley and hate on him because they ship her with Harriet, and pretend she should’ve ended up with her, are bullshit. I’m tired of these posts (including the Harriet stans whom I saw bashing even in some emma/knightley posts when fans of the latter are the first to make cute posts about Harriet too), and honestly, you all just make me feel very negative about Harriet and unable to truly appreciate her scenes with Emma.
Maybe I just don’t care about being a bitch but here’s what an Emma fan who is just tired of the anti Emma/Knightley crap honestly thinks about your nonsense:
Hating on the last Emma adaptation because Emma is in love with Mr Knightley and marries him in the end is as disingenuos and idiotic as hating a Pride and Prejudice adaptation because Darcy and Elizabeth are in love. Le duh!
You can ship him with Bingley and her with Charlotte (or Wickham, if that’s your mood I’m not judging shipping choices here) but if you watch a movie based on an Austen’s book you know what you are getting yourself into, especially when her canon romances tend to be very important plot elements for the protagonists and their character growth.
I get it’s 2021 and hating all het romance makes some people feel woke and edgy, and I totally get alternative readings and things like that, but out of ALL Austen ships and all her female heroines, Emma is the one female character who doesn’t even need, neither want, to get married and truly only does that in the end because she is in love. Emma is the LEAST Austen heroine whose romance you should even question because she honestly only married the guy because of love and no other reason. Furthermore, unlike most of romances from that time, the guy Emma marries isn’t just some random guy she has met two seconds ago, it actually is her best friend, someone she knows since years and the one person who knows her best and loves her in spite of her flaws. Austen was very forward for her time with their romance, especially given the fact her male love interest actually decides to live with Emma and her father in the end instead of doing what every married man had the right to do at the time (take his wife to his own home where she’d have little to no power).
Knightley and Emma are the (original) best friends to lovers relationship. He’s the best friend Emma had loved from the beginning without realizing it. It’s one of the main points of her story and the great irony of the novel that she thinks love isn’t for her, and she had never been in love, but she already is in love with him without realizing it because of their friendship.
I’m sorry bro but that had never been Harriet, and it seems hypocritical tbh for some of you to want to give Harriet the story that Mr Knightley has with Emma, all the while hating on him and the romance.
Even with the last movie, you have people take quotes de Wilde said about Knightley and Emma (e.g., the one about the movie making you think about ‘the best friend you maybe should have kissed’) out of context to manipulate others into thinking she was talking about Harriet instead (and queer baiting, which would be homophobic)
On one hand, we really do need more stories that put an emphasis on female friendships too and on other relationships that aren’t just the romance. On the other hand, it’s completely useless for writers to try to give us that (e.g. de Wilde in the last Emma) if everytime two characters care about each other and share screentime together, people claim that relationship (and all scenes that make perfect sense with a normal platonic relationship) must be romance and romance only.
It’s almost as if some of you never had a friend and therefore believe that everytime a character cares about another character they must be romantically in love with them. It also makes me believe, more than anything, that romance is the only kind of love that exists or is important for many of you. And if that is the truth, why even bother with fictional friendships then? Why even complain when writers don’t give us that if we are unable to appreciate those relationships as something of equal importance with romance?
I really can’t take people serioustly when they overinflate Harriet and her relationship with Emma all the while they minimize Emma/Knightley’s mutual feelings. I read people who apparently find it harder to erase Harriet’s baseless crushes on every guy who gives her attention, than erase the actual love story and feelings of the protagonist!
Tbh, even if you wanted a gay adaptation of Emma (and not one that is that just for the sake of), it would make much more sense to simply turn Mr Knightley into a female character, therefore still respecting the canon couple and Emma’s character arc, than ship her with Harriet.
The latter is a weak alternative and frankly baseless for me because the only things she and Emma have in common is the fact they are both girls and they have an ‘e’ in their name. Full stop. Intellectually, Harriet is no match for Emma and their ranks in society are so apart that their relationship could never ever be equal (and it never was).
I don’t want to be harsh but tbh I was never convinced they are actually friends in the novel, and the last movie made it even worse for they emphasized Harriet’s blindness about Emma’s feelings, and how one sided that dynamic is for it’s just Emma who makes an effort to be a friend in the end.
Let’s be real here, Harriet doesn’t even know Emma and never really acts as a friend to her, unless your definition of friendship is ‘someone who worships you, and pretends you are the best and right even when you aren’t, as long as they perceive you as a savior who can help them'. That’s not what being a friend means to me.
It speaks volumes to me that the one and only time movie-Harriet actually notices that Emma is a human being with flaws and feelings too is when she gets angry because Emma wants the same guy she wants. I don’t know if Austen’s ‘naive and completely clueless Harriet’ is worse or better than de Wilde’s version but the latter really emphasizes one of the biggest issues of Emma/Harriet even more, to me.
As a book Emma fan, before an adaptations fan, I read all kinds of comments about this novel and character but honestly, I never read any real convincing argument why Harriet and Emma should be a couple instead of her and Knightley. Most of what I read boils down to people taking things out of context and/or claims that Harriet is ‘better’ for Emma just because she’s a woman and she agrees with her all the time, while Mr Knightley is the bad guy because he’s older than her (he’s only 37, btw) and criticizes her ( as if Emma doesn’t need someone to criticize her, and her character growth isn’t dependent on precisely that).
I get some people wouldn’t like to have someone who is criticizing them but worshiping someone is =/= being their friend or appreciating their real qualities.
I also read people point up how much Emma praises Harriet in the book as proof that she’s in love with her, but the same ignore the many instances, especially after Harriet tells her that she loves Mr Knightley, that truly show Emma’s real colors and how much she still considers Harriet her, and especially Mr Knightley’s, inferior to the extent she regrets their friendship and thinks Harriet is ‘uppity’ for thinking Mr Knightley would ruin his reputation to marry someone like her.
When I read those arguments it seems, if anything, that people want to have the cake and eat it by saying that Austen’s own story doesn’t matter (and she doesn’t understand her characters’ real feelings) when it comes to the things those people don’t like (eg the fact Knightley is the one Emma is in love with and all the explicit hints about that ), all the while still selectively using some of her writing to support their alternative version of the story.
Now with the last movie adaptation, it’s even worse for me.
It’s telling that the two scenes people romanticize as pro Emma/Harriet are two phrases/moments that actually emphasize the bad side of their relationship, and why their friendship isn’t good for either of them.
The first is the scene when Emma says she ‘wants to keep Harriet for herself’: not only there is nothing romantic about that ( that line is in the book too as well as Knightley’s ‘your infatuation is blinding you’. You are reading a book written in 1800 with modern goggles though, and that alone doesn’t really work) but that phrase should actually make you cringe for it emphasizes how selfish and manipulative Emma is by treating Harriet like her new pet project just because she’s lonely. She doesn’t care about the girl’s feelings for Robert Martin, and what is truly the best for her due to her rank (and how dangerous it actually is for Harriet to not marry and find someone who can offer her protection), even if it’s what she tells herself, she only cares about her own desire to have a new female friend because she lost Mrs Weston and she feels lonely and bored. It’s also true, though, that she is still lying to Mr Knightley too because she does actually want to match Harriet with Mr Elton, that which is obvious in the other scenes, but even that is an expression of Emma’s selfishness and not really a hint of her caring, let alone loving, Harriet as a human at this point. If you read the book, it’s particularly obvious given the fact that Emma isn’t blind about Harriet’s feelings for Robert Martin for she knows that her behavior is bad and the girl actually cares about the guy, but she manipulates her into thinking Mr Elton is better because it’s her choice and she prefers him (until he proposes to her, of course. Then she thinks Mr Elton is trash for being so arrogant to believe someone of his rank could marry her)
The second phrase people romanticize is only in the last movie and it’s that annoying ‘I refused Robert Martin because of you’ phrase by Harriet later in the movie. I hate that because, once again, that phrase has nothing ‘romantic’ about it unless you obviously ignore the context and what is actually happening there. Harriet is being passive aggressive with Emma there, gaslighting her and blaming her for the loss of her first suitor BECAUSE HARRIET WANTS MR KNIGHTLEY for herself. Harriet is angry with Emma there because she realizes she loves Mr Knightley TOO and Emma has more chances than her. The most likely sentiment behind that flippant phrase for me is something along the lines of Harriet impulsively telling Emma to move aside and let her have Mr Knightley because she made her lose Robert Martin already. She is trying to make Emma feel guilty, subconsciously or deliberately, but this surely is how Emma herself perceives Harriet’s words too for the poor girl really thinks it makes her a bad person to accept Knightley’s proposal in spite of loving him back. Harriet made her believe she was stealing her man and yet, AND YET, had Harriet been a real friend, to begin with, she should’ve realized Emma’s feelings for him way before she deluded herself into thinking the guy wanted her. But Harriet never cares about Emma’s feelings and even their reconciliation in the end is all, still, about what Emma needs to do for her. Not a word from Harriet about being happy for her friend too. Nothing.
Listen, I really appreciate de Wilde’s attempt to make the Harriet/Emma dynamic better than it is in either the novel or other adaptations, even if it personally doesn’t convince me it’s friendship. But I get it. Like I said at the beginning, it’s important that movies display different kinds of love too beside romance and if you can’t do that with characters like Emma who are the protagonist then when you can even do that? I think it was valid for her and Catton to want to emphasize the fact that Emma, at her core, is truly young and lonely and she doesn’t have friends in the truest sense of the word (Mr Knightley is one, of course, but their point is more about her having a female companion too whom Emma could do more ‘girl’ things she can’t do with her husband or father) but, honestly, I maintain no adaptation ever truly got their relationship right. No one.
Overrating them and pretending that they are best friends forever when there is no substance for that is as incorrect as an interpretation of Austen’s writing as it is treating Harriet as a silly girl Emma barely tolerates.
I appreciate the movie shows Emma’s conflict about Harriet when Knightley proposes to her because most of adaptations don’t do that: in the book she really, for a moment, feels so bad for Harriet and feels simultanously happy Mr Knightley loves her but also bad for taking the guy Harriet wants. She is no hero who wants to give up about him to let Harriet have the guy instead, though, but it isn’t like she doesn’t care either. She does and it’s a source of anguish for Emma and part of her character growth that she actually cares and feels empathy for Harriet.
However, if you want Emma to have a real female friend that’s not Harriet and that’s not really the story Austen wrote and the role she gave to Harriet.
Like many academics pointed up, like many of Emma’s ‘mirrors’ in the story, Harriet is put there by Austen to emphasize Emma’s immaturity at the beginning and the fact she deliberately doesn’t choose her equals as friends and picks Harriet, instead, as her new pet project because her inferiority makes her easier to manipulate and, like Mr Knightley very eloquently points up, she makes Emma feel superior and more accomplished than she is. Emma doesn’t want to be friends with Jane, for example, because not only she could be more her equal but she actually does see her as superior in the aspects that make Emma the most vulnerable and insecure.
It’s great the movie gave more space to Emma’s relationship with Harriet, and I get that if you want to put the spotlight on female friendship too it’s either Harriet or Mrs Weston but also, let’s not pretend the movie wasn’t focused very much on her romance with Mr Knightley too, perhaps more than other adaptations did. People commend this adaptation for showing his feelings for her more and it’s true, but I will also argue that this movie does emphasize her feelings for him more than adaptations usually do for you really see Emma’s feelings and jealousy towards him before she even realizes her feelings. It’s obvious since their first scene when she’s waiting for him and runs to her piano because she wants to get noticed by him. Her breath constantly hitches when he’s close to her or because of her feelings for him, and she definitely reacts to dancing with him. She may not know her feelings from the start, she might be in her own ‘work in progress’ to figure everything out, but the movie makes it obvious to me that she loves him. If there is any adaptation where you want to be disingenuos about their chemistry and deny their romance, this really isn’t the one tbh.
Look, if you want to headcanon Emma as bisexual you’ll find me agreeing with you, but pro LGBT readings and actual representation doesn’t mean, for me, shipping two characters together just because they are the same gender and the writers make them care about each other a bit, or give them screentime. Like I said at the beginning, if I wanted a gay adaptation of Emma I’d rather make Mr Knightley a woman than ship Emma with Harriet or Mrs Weston or Jane. Because regardless their genders, it’s the Knightley character the one Emma loves and wants to be with, and it’s this character who truly represents her best friend and the person who knows her best. It’s Knightley the only one who cares about her well being so much that when she is being the worst version of herself and no one cares, he is the one willing to tell her even if he hates doing that and he feels he’s destroying every chance he has to make her love him back. It’s the Knightley character who ultimately inspires her to be a better person and loves her in spite of her flaws.
#emma 2020#emma woodhouse#emma#harriet smith#mr knightley#emma x knightley#may delete later but I needed to rant because some of you are getting old
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S5 Ep5: Female Friends
So I was up hella late because of Daylight Savings screwing my sleep schedule, and I was on Twitch and one of the people I follow was speedrunning a Yugioh game (I think it was called Forbidden Memories like it was some Romance YA novel) and I was like “that’s a thing?” And I watched about 15 minutes of just complete nonsense. Like this game makes no sense when your scrubbing through 30 minutes of gameplay, but when a whole game takes 45 seconds and they have mechanics using like planets and astrology symbols? What?
What?
Y’all, I’m a little concerned your card game ain’t real. Like this is some ploy by knowing adults and this is some sort of Santa Claus situation where everyone else knows that this game ain’t real, but I’m the last person alive who’s like... “it is real though, right?” Hoping that I haven’t been played all of these years, despite having literally no empirical evidence that it is.
Just saying, I’m on to you, Yugioh.
Thanks dub.
I am pretty convinced (could be wrong) but pretty convinced that Grandpa was probably just normal horny in this scene. Like it just kinda matches what I know about horny grandpa tropes (that and Vivian is really talked up to be this hot stuff although she’s just youknow...some girl who exists.)
He immediately falls over. Like immediately, and I don’t know what’s up with Grandpa’s weird slipped disc, but luckily this is the one thing that Mokuba is prepared to deal with as a park manager.
Or what was his job again, Master of Ceremonies? That was the name of Mokuba’s actual chosen job that a 12-13 yo would choose?
Only Mokuba would have the choice to choose “a literal astronaut” and not choose an astronaut. This kid probably hates space though, with his family’s countless war machines now currently flying through the void.
The amount of times that the Kaibas have had to call a doctor for these guys.
(read more under the cut)
Bro was like “So Hawkins paid Grandpa to pretend to fall down so they could ditch Rebecca’s duel, right?” and youknow...probably. It was a pretty boring duel. They got off scott free.
Rex and Weevil do cartoon antics that actually feel like cartoon antics--which feels so weird for this show. Of course, it also has this Vivian plotline that is a little sus for a children’s show?
OK, show. You keep throwing women at Yugi Muto, and I get it’s a joke because he’s the world’s most undateable boy but there is a line of plausibility that even for a kid’s cartoon show it’s like “eh, probably not.”
Anyway, Vivian has Cho Chang energy of “I’m here for a problematic romantic conflict that never needed to happen and hamfisted diversity and uhhhhhh that’s it! I won’t exist after book 5!”
What a step down from dueling on top of the train, right? Like this whole time you could have just dueled next to it? What? In this show?
The rest of the party show up to the train station, where there’s really no other audience watching. Like where are Rebecca’s adoring fans who were asking for her autograph like 3 episodes back?
Card culture is brutal, y’all.
Vivian is not drawn like a 16 yo, being real. I was pretty surprised that she was under 25 according to a cursory Google search. Course, Joey Wheeler is drawn like a built adult, too, so I think the only convincing teenage child on this show is Pharaoh because at least he’s short. Just ignore how sometimes he’s got muscles on his arms that have no right to be there at the age of 16. (17?)
Then we had like a little Season Zero vibes where everyone just picks on Yugi for a hot minute.
And so Tea’s character development comes full circle as she realizes that this whole time, the Female Friend she needed was already here in the form of that small child who has a crush on her kinda boyfriend.
This was such an episode written by a bunch of dudes.
But at least Rebecca and Tea found something in common, although I really wish it wasn’t Yugi, considering how little on screen development he has with either of them. Where’s the reward for me as the viewer? If I cared about either of this love pentagon at all (well, hexagon...Bakura’s still in there.) there will never be a payout. You very well may be waiting forever for a relationship the writers clearly had never any intention to ever write except to act as a foil for our protagonists instead of like...a relationship.
And the show seems a little inconsistent with the relationship between Rebecca and Tea, too. They hang out a lot as the girls on the sideline, and appear to get along a lot of the time--but then they hate eachother a lot of the time as well because of jealousy? It’s just so weird.
I feel like TV shows in general have a really hard time approaching girl friendships, and speaking as a girl, I wish TV and books recognized more that our female friendships don’t have to be so freakin serious. We just act friendly and that’s freakin it.
That and these girls are going to go right back to hating eachother half the time after this is over because the main problem--Yugi not piping up and telling one of them to back the hell off--has never been addressed and never will be because Yugi is a broken, broken wet blanket.
Back at the base, Seto is also making up his own problems to be upset about in the absence of any apocalypses happening on screen.
Unless that hacker is Noah Kaiba, you’re probably fine. I really haven’t had too much of a reason to feel any fear over Zigfried von Schroeder. And maybe it’s because his character design was pretty complicated so no one wanted to draw it.
This was a ‘who’s on first’ joke but still.
...why do cards have to be like this?
Also, I didn’t see anything about this nonsense in the speedrun I watched the other night so, guys, this game ain’t real.
Anyway, Rebecca won.
We find out a little more of what happens to other duelists. Our Cowboy lost to a Sherlock Holmes boy, and I was very happy that I don’t have to come up with jokes about country music because I have none other than like...Taylor Swift jokes? Does she still count as country? I have no idea what’s going on in the country music scene.
On other side of the park, Yugioh decide to pay another tribute to the creative crotch shot with one of these:
Rex and Weevil are off to fight the big bad, and when you think “OK, we’re gonna get a wacky duel battle with these two balancing on top of eachother,” they kinda whiffed it before they made it to the stage.
And then I kind of whiffed it when I realized that Mokuba and Weevil have never spoken in the same place before and they have the same exact font color so fml.
The fact that Mokuba didn’t realize anything was wrong until they fell and revealed they were two small adults in a trench coat says a lot about most of the competitors in this duel.
It is incredible how both the Battle City Tournament and the Kaiba Corp Tourney (s that it’s name?) are both poorly managed, but in a different way. The Battle City Tourney unfortunately had a bunch of murderers in it. This tournament, no one is killing eachother, but they are still kind of sneaking in through the back door and being chronically late to everything.
(and I just want to point out that after the last match Mokuba oversaw that had Joey nearly miss the appointment, Mokuba decided to set this one in front of a Giant Clock just to get his point across)
So Zigfried has some sort of flying horse card that wiped them out right away, which makes you wonder........
.............why use any other cards?
Kaiba makes these cards, right????
Like he should be the last person who’s surprised????
Anyway, Zigfried top-decked a horse, and the guy who spends about 15 minutes getting ready his big ol blue eyes dragons every match he’s ever played was like “Yo I have GOT to get into speedrunning!”
And yes, the speedrun I was watching did not use Blue Eyes White Dragons. They were using a bunch of other stuff that I tried to look up just now and the art is completely different from what I recall so...unfortunately that means that your game is fake. Pretty sure it’s fake and you have no way to prove to me this is real.
Anyway, that’s it for now, not much to say since we’re still at the beginning of the arc. Next week I guess we’ll find out if Seto ever removes his ass from this chair.
https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono
#ygo#yugioh#yu gi oh#recap#photo recap#episode recap#S5#Ep5#Rebecca Hawkins#Seto Kaiba#Vivian#Tea gardner#female friends#for at least the next 5 minutes#Joey Wheeler#Tristan Taylor#Duke Devlin just hovering in the background with nothing to do#Mokuba Kaiba#Carrying this entire show#Grandpa muto#excusing himself from the plot#Proffessor Hawkins#Also excusing himself from the plot#Rex Raptor#Weevil Underwood#zigfried von schroeder#thought his name was ludvig von schnieder till just now
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