#and i don't have the brain power to write the reviews i was trying to make myself write | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wandafiction · 3 months

Text

In Every Universe - Part 5

Warnings: Brief mentions of death, angst, hurt

You groan at the incessant beeping you hear as you start to wake up, squeezing your eyes shut as you feel the burn of bright lights above. You attempt to move your hands to rub your eyes, hoping to soothe the pain, only to find them stiff and sore but also locked in place. Your ears pick up in the sound of metal hitting metal and you can only assume you are back in handcuffs.

Attempting to draw from your powers, you feel nothing but pain causing you to writhe in the bed as energy pulses through you but has nowhere to go. You gasp as your powers settle down, choosing not to attempt to use them again, and you can only assume they are power dampening.

Oh how you hate the power dampening cuffs, or anything of that matter, as your body needs to constantly release and take in energy to remain stable. The Hydra scientists had explained how normal human homeostasis works and how your body is no different but with the additional energy your body's homeostasis is harder to maintain.

You try to even out your breathing, trying to slow your heart, when your ears concentrate back on the beeping that has increased in rhythm. You swallow slowly, your throat extremely dry and sore, wetting your lips with your tongue. You know you're I'm a hospital bed, or at the very least a medical bay, and with the additions of handcuffs you know you are still in the avengers compound.

"Fucking hell." You turn your head to the side, trying to hide most of your face in the pillow as you slowly open one eye. "This is worse than a hangover."

"I'm not surprised, you've been out for nearly a week and you pretty much drained yourself of energy." You startle slightly at the male's voice, looking over to see a smaller man looking at his clipboard.

"You must be Doctor Banner, also known as Bruce or the hulk. So to whom am I speaking to out of the three of you?" You smirk as the man looks at you over the rim of his glasses.

"Dr Banner. And may I ask how you know such information about us. Reviewing the footage with Agent Romanoff we could see small tells and little actions you did when looking at the people who entered the room. Almost as if you recognised them." You hum shrugging.

"Well I mean Hydra's not dumb, they taught us about you guys. They have a profile on each and everyone of you, and I made sure to learn them off by heart. For example Mr, sorry, Dr Banner. You did have a very lovely lady friend that you fell in love with, the hulk saved her once but she was the daughter of the guy who was trying to kill you. So I can only assume that didn't work out, so with that in the past you've decided to concentrate on your studies trying to get the other guy out of you so you can live your life. Without fear of, what's it called -ah yes - hulk smashing the people you love to death." You chuckle as he shuffles uneasily on his feet clearing his throat.

"Well -uhm- you will be cleared to go back down to the cell soon. Just got to do some final tests and we will get you back down there." You pout as he avoids your gaze.

"You're no fun. You're all I'm Mr Serious just here to do my job, get paid, and not kill people. How boring." Bruce doesn't give you any sign that your little quips are bothering him, instead he just continues to check your monitors and write things down.

"Just so you know, your mind might get more flashes than it has already had." Your eyes move to look at him as he looks at you before quickly diverting them and looking at the hospital standard painting in your room.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"Neither do the others since I haven't told them. But when I have tech that can give me accurate brain scans and I see passive activity that a normal brain does not hold, I can only assume you are having flashbacks. Am I correct in assuming you've had one or two but kept it to yourself?"

"I don't like doctors." You choose to say instead earning a chuckle from the man, your eyes slowly moving to look back at him.

"And I don't like the hulk all that much but we all have to deal with things we dislike and just move on from it, right?" He gives you a lopsided smile and you hum slowly nodding.

"Right." You say slowly your eyes taking in the man's features trying to gauge whether you can trust him enough.

"So if the thoughts in your mind become too loud, the pain turns from a low thumping to a stabbing like pain just press the call button on your remote and I will come to give you some meds."

"What sort of meds?" You shuffle uncomfortably in your bed, your hand brushing over the IV in the back of your hand, small flashes of how Hydra would have you hooked up to an unknown amount of concoctions whenever you were on a medical bed.

"Just painkillers and maybe some relaxants that will help you sleep easier."

"How long do I have to stay here before I'm kicked back to the cell?" Bruce closes his folder, putting it at the end of your bed, taking his glasses off as he pockets his pen.

"Until I give you the all clear."

"And how long would that take doctor?" Bruce pretends to think about it for a second before smiling with a shrug.

"Let's say until the flashbacks stop being so powerful and the mind wiping and control ease off."

His hand gently lands on your calf giving it a small squeeze. And you take in his relaxed form, he isn't afraid of you he is just helping you. You scrunch your brows as he gives you a smile, questioning why he wouldn't have you sedated or on so many meds you don't even know your own name.

"I know you don't want to believe we used to be friends, used to be the same team. That's what Hydra does, but just know that even if you don't feel like you can right now you can trust me to help you get your memories back. And the handcuffs are just for precaution, you lost control of your powers - I can only assume from a flashback - and we don't need it happening again when they start coming thick and fast." He doesn't offer any more information turning towards the door and moving to leave.

"I remember the kid." His movements stop, closing the door quietly as he turns to look back at you. "Peter, the kid, I remember him. Or I remember some bits. I had a flashback about a movie night we had, and uhm the feelings and emotions came rushing back. I know he's not my brother but I love him as one."

"Anymore?"

"And Tony when he rescued me and brought me here. But that's it really." He gives you a smile in return as you tilt your head curiously. "Why haven't you told anyone you know about the flashbacks? And I mean now I've confirmed it. Will you tell them?"

"No I won't. If they find out then they are all going to try and get you to remember things and them and it's going to be extremely overwhelming for you and your brain. It needs time to heal, not a group of loud and unruly people telling you things you don't whether are true or not. We just have to let your brain fix itself. There's no saying how long and if it will completely fix itself but you will remember them all without their intervention."

"Thank you Doctor Banner, truly. I know I'm still the enemy and to me you're just the same, but I don't have fear of you hurting me so I will happily cooperate with any medical things you require from me."

"It's appreciated. And please just call me Bruce or Banner, there is no need to be formal."

"Okay well thank you Banner."

"Of course Y/n. If you need anything or are in pain don't be afraid to press that call button and I will be here as soon as I can, if not it will be Dr Cho." You give a nod in acknowledgement. "Anything else I can do for you at all Y/n before I disappear to check on other patients?"

"Yeah how is Peter and everyone else involved in my …. Mishap."

"He is completely unharmed." Banner smiles softly looking at you. "Thanks to you and your quick thinking."

“Thank you Dr banner.” Bruce chuckles with a shake of his head.

“What have I said about calling me that? Anything would be better, even green giant would be better.” You chuckle.

“Sure. one last thing, am I allowed visitors?”

“I don’t see why not.” With that he leaves without another word leaving you slightly confused but nonetheless relieved now that you are alone and can have a moment to adjust to your new surroundings.

It’s not that you didn’t like hospitals and Doctors, well if you were being honest you didn’t like them, but it's more you had nowhere to go. Your mind kept playing the fact that you had been unconscious for a week now, and you had already been in the cell for nearly a week also. The first question to pop into your mind was why was Hydra not trying to rescue you.

You were also trying to fight off the flashes of a time before Hydra, which is hard to come to terms with since you could only ever remember being a part of Hydra. You remember Peter and you remember Tony so surely that means that they are telling the truth, but you also think maybe they are using Wanda to plant fake memories. Get you to fall into a trap, to trust them, for you to help them and then find out it was all made up.

The rational side of your brain knew that this was probably very far-fetched and from what you are feeling from the flashbacks you were sure it wouldn’t be a lie. However, if it wasn’t a lie and you have been missing for over a year then how do you even begin to get back to who you were.

“Knock, knock.” Your rambling thoughts quiet as the door to the room slowly opens as a smiling ex-assassin enters the room.

“Miss Romanoff, to what do I owe the pleasure?” She quietly closes the door making her way to the bed silently, your eyes watching her movements as she looks at the handcuffs.

“I’m just here to see how you are feeling sweetheart.” Her eyes glide up to look at you, with a soft but also sad smile as hand slowly moves to push some hair behind your ear. “My sweet child, what have they done to you?”

“You don’t have to pretend to like me to get information out of me?” You turn your head, her hand dropping to rest on your shoulder, missing the pained look on her face.

“I was really hoping you’d remember, but that's okay. I’m here to get you out of the handcuffs.” Your head whips around looking at her with scrunched brows.

“But Dr Banner, Bruce, said that they had to stay on.” You eyes watch as she unlocks the handcuffs allowing them to drop to the floor.

“Well he is right you do have to have some power dampening thing on you, just for your safety as much as everyone else. But that's why I have this.” She holds up a small, thin silver bracelet.

“I’m not really a jewellery type of girl Miss Romanoff, and anyway I thought I was meant to be in love with Wanda.” You quip earning an ‘are you serious’ look from the older woman. “Sorry, explain it to me.”

“It is less restricting than handcuffs, so you won’t have to have someone unlock them just to go to the restroom. Also it will still dampen your powers, but not to the same degree. It will allow energy to flow easily so it doesn’t build up like it did in the cell, but you won’t actually be able to use your powers because any surge in energy will just make the power damping increase.”

“So I don’t need to be allowed to go to the toilet and I won’t cause an explosion. Guess that's a fair trade.” You chuckle as Natasha holds the bracelet up and you easily lift your hand up.

“So how are you feeling honey?”

/\/\/\/\/\

You trudged into the common room, your gaze on the floor, in sweatpants and a hoodie with the hood up. You aimlessly wander into the kitchen opening up the fridge only to stare at it when nothing in there seemed to be anything you wanted. You could feel their eyes on you as you closed the door only to open it again when your eyes spotted the chocolate bar you had yet to finish hidden behind the fruit.

You easily grabbed the chocolate, putting it in the pocket of your hoodie before also grabbing some grapes and once again closing the fridge door. You turn around bumping into someone who definitely wasn’t standing there a minute ago, their hands landing on your shoulders as your eyes look up at them. Your lip trembles as you see who it is.

“Oh my sweetheart.” Are the only words muttered before arms wrap around your shoulders and pulling you against them, your head in the crook of their neck as you finally let go of the tears you’ve been holding in.

The grapes are carefully taken from your hand, hearing the whispered voices next to you but not listening to what's being said. Your arms, that have been hanging limply, slowly wrap around the torso of the person who is now slowly pressing kisses to the top of your head.

“Let's get you some water, maybe run you a bath and into some fresh clothes. Then we can go to my room and cuddle under the blanket while watching a movie. How does that sound?” All you can do is simply nod, another kiss is placed to the top of your head as you do.

The arms easily lift you off of the ground, your legs instinctively wrapping around their waist, your arms moving to snake around their neck as you continue to hide your face in the crook of it. Gentle hands held your thighs, to keep you from slipping down, as they started to walk out of the kitchen.

You only let go of the person when they bent down to sit you on the edge of the bed, pulling your knees up to your chest and wrapping your arms securely around your legs. You looked up at the woman in front of you, your bottom lip trembling your eyes filled with unshed tears.

“I miss them so much. Natty, I miss him so much it hurts.” Your words are broken up by gentle sobs as Natasha crouches down in front of you, her hands cupping your face.

“Oh my sweet girl. I’m sorry I can’t take the pain away, I wish I could take this pain from you. Your brother would be proud of who you have grown to be. I mean look at who you have become, and I don’t mean an avenger but as a person, you have grown up so much this past year. He would be so proud.”

“You think so?” You sniffle using your sleeve to wipe the tears from your eyes.

“I really do.”

“I really wanted him to meet the person I love, you know. I always knew I wanted him to walk me down the aisle on my wedding day, be the godfather to any children I have. He was my little brother, I was meant to protect him but instead I was the one who hurt him. Killed him.” Natasha’s thumbs rub soft circles on your cheeks as you say your piece, getting what you need to say out.

“So would he have approved of your little crush on our witchy resident?”

“Don’t know what you're talking about.” You hide a smile at the thought of Wanda, mumbling into your knee as you rest your chin on top of it, your eyes avoiding Natasha’s smug smirk at all costs.

“Sweetie, I'm a spy, you can’t hide shit from me.”

“That's a dollar in the swear jar.” You smile cheekily as Natasha rolls her eyes lightly hitting your shoulder.

“Hey, no going off topic. So when do you plan to tell Wanda about your not so subtle feelings towards her?”

“I don’t. She is my friend, and I don’t want to ruin that so I will just bury it down.” Natasha shakes her head in amusement.

“I think the little witch might surprise you if you do tell her.” Your eyes flick up at that, your heart thumping in your chest.

“What do you mean?” Natasha doesn’t answer, instead standing up and moving towards the bathroom door.

“Oh when did we get a swear jar?” You giggle with a grin, Natasha had always been good at getting you out of your emotional pit.

She used just the right amount of distraction. One where you still felt like you could allow yourself to feel what you were feeling, but it never consumed you so much that you got lost in it. Natasha had been there for you since your first day, sure she may have given you a little bit of tough love during training but you found out it was because she cared about you. Something about reminding her of her sister who she hasn’t seen in many years, so she took you under her wing.

As you follow Natasha into the bathroom, watching her fill the bath with warm water and adding the bubbles and making sure there are plenty of them by swirling her hand around in the water, you feel the sense of being safe enveloping you. The way that Natasha could so easily read you and know what you need, how she did her best to comfort you and allow you to have your independence as well as giving you some restrictions to keep you safe.

It was all you ever wanted from your own mother. Yet you never did feel like she would ever treat you like a mother should, and you knew that it was wrong the way your mother (and your father) treated you. The way people in highschool would talk about their parents, saying how they wished they had more freedom and didn’t have to deal with them just because they weren’t allowed to some party on a school night.

You knew you couldn’t tell anyone that you didn’t feel safe in your own home, too scared of your parents finding out about it, so you simply moulded your replies and answers to what seemed to be the norm. You always made similar excuses to those you heard around you, and no one ever questioned it.

So as you stand there watching Natasha be that person you had always wished a parent would be like you couldn’t help yourself.

You got Natasha’s attention by hugging her side tightly, since she was sitting on the edge of the bath it was a little awkward. Neither of you say anything and for a moment silence fills the room, only the sound of running water to be heard. You took in a deep breath having so much to say but not sure how to say it.

It had only been a few seconds since you had latched onto Natasha’s side but the moment she bent her left arm so her hand could rest on the outside of your arm everything seemed to fall into place. Her thumb rubs circles on the outside of your arm as her fingers wrap around slightly until they are resting on your bicep and giving it a gentle squeeze. In that moment, with the smallest amount of affection she could show you feel the most comfort you think you ever have from someone who isn’t your brother.

“You okay honey?” Natasha reaches her other arm out to turn off the tap as she turns her head to look at you.

You bite your lips as your eyes search her features for anything that could be hiding in the facade of care you can see. Her soft eyes look to yours as you continue your search, drying her hand off on her shirt before cupping your cheek with it. The warmth you feel on your cheek radiates around your body and you feel like you can completely relax and you know you’re safe. Natasha tilts her head in silent question as you release a small breath.

“I’m okay. Just thinking.”

“And what’s got you thinking so hard?”

“A lot but mainly me and you.” Natasha brow lifts slightly as she tries to predetermine where this conversation is going.

“What about me and you?”

“Just how you’ve been more of a mother than my own mother, which is really crazy to say out loud, but you have and I just kind of see you more in that light than I ever did her.” You ramble quickly.

“What are you saying sweetie?”

“I just, well, you well. Wow, uhm. I just wish I could have had you as a mother growing up but I’m really happy I get to have the chance now. But I mean if it's weird for you then that's okay, I know it sounds kind of crazy and weird saying that but you do feel like a mom, like my mom. I’m sorry I don’t even know what I’m saying.” Both her hands now cup your cheeks as she moves her body to face you more.

“Hey, hey. Calm down, take a breath for me.” You do as she says, all while smiling and giggling embarrassingly. “Good. It's not weird Y/n, because I think of you as the daughter I never would be able to have. You’ve managed to find a home in my heart and I will gladly step up to that role if you want me too.”

“It’s not weird?” Natasha shakes her head smiling.

“Not at all.”

“Wow.” You let out a breathy chuckle, Natasha’s smile widening at the sound.

“Honey.” You hum as your eyes meet Natasha’s warm gaze. “You can say it, it's not weird.”

“Mom.” You barely whisper it but you know Natasha heard it when the tears build in her eyes and her smile stretches up even more.

“Hi sweetheart.”

/\/\/\/\

“Hey Y/n you okay?” Her voice brings you back into the room, realising you completely zoned out staring at nothing in particular.

“Yeah I’m okay.”

“You sure? You went quiet on me for a while.” You nod humming.

“I’m okay mom.”

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

#wanda maximoff #wanda x reader #wanda x you #wanda maxmoff x y/n #wanda maximoff x reader

28 notes · View notes

beatriceportinari · 4 months

Note

would you recommend reading naruto? i'm beginning to want context for the various konoha plots and shenanigans that befall you so very often

Since the dawn of time, humans have wondered : should you read Naruto? Many people's answer (cowards) was a flippant "don't watch Naruto". I think we can do better.

I think the way to ensure everyone has a good time is to make a list of why people watch naruto and what is enjoyable abt it or not and let you decide for yourself if you should watch it or not. This is not a review of naruto or an opinion piece on whether it is good or not.

Let's start with the bad parts :)

-Kishimoto's politics. Without too much spoiler, most of the bad parts of the system in Naruto will in fact just stay as is.

-The animation. Studio Pierrot does its job and there are some genuinely really good moments but i won't try and sell you Naruto on its animation. It's fine.

-The story. Kishimoto's politics and writing capabilities simply could not handle a story going on for more than 10 years lol!

Reasons people watch or read Naruto anyway:

-Shonen brain. It is genuinely very fun to see characters use powers of escalating magnitude to fight against each other with cool sounds and visuals and strategies. Many fights in naruto are great to watch, including those at the end too. I believe you are a touhou enjoyer ? i think you will like this. yippe adrenaline etc. the fights are good in the manga as well.

-The art. This is especially relevant if you're going to read it instead of watch as your ask suggests, the art in naruto is lovely! It's very endearing to see the evolution of it too, from the earlier more scratchy scrappy style to the more polished. It's a very idk... balanced type of art? just enough lines.

-The music. This is only relevant if you decide to watch it but the music really is so so good and iconic. And of course the endings and openings....

-Worldbuilding. Many fun settings and lore :)

-The characters. There are abt 56435675867 gajillions characters and groups of people and you Will find someone to get attached too.

-Of course, the most important part of any work that people get involved with, its actual badness. Some vague notion of "potential" gets people invested, and they start posting when that potential doesn't get realised. This potential can start from nostalgia, investment in a character who never gets developed, hope that kishi would have better politics or a better ending, trying to correct things, or just the desire to explore a world you like! Naruto functions best as a sandbox, which is the conclusion of this post I guess. If you would like to get involved, you will probably like it. If not, probably not. Hope this helps :)

#naruto #treesurface #my christmas gift from me to all of you.... everyone watch naruto and start posting pls (the most important part of naruto)

27 notes · View notes

binnieceo · 3 months

Note

"I don't support it in real life!"

Then why write about it? If for coping purposes, why post it online for others (especially actual predators) to see and consume? Then why portray those things in a positive light instead of condemning them?And you're seriously going to tell me that just because as an adult you want to see a fictional minor (that mind you, is usually designed to resemble an actual child) depicted in sexual situations doesn't mean you don't share that same view concerning children in real life? You find fictional minors attractive but not real ones? Why does the line between finding someone who is (and usually also looks like) a child sexually attractive get drawn at whether the child is real or not? I'm not calling anyone pedophiles, but if the shoe fits... And also no, I am not talking about 18 y/os finding 17 y/os attractive. Use your brain. Creating content of underaged characters is still questionable regardless of age, however.

I have some free time and you were polite in your ask, so I'll answer you since I believe you were genuine in your question.

I'll answer your question in parts, if that's alright with you!

"I don't support it in real life!" Then why write about it?

Well, it's not because I don't support something that I'm not allowed to write about it!

Fiction is just that... fiction. They are stories. I'm sure there are many stories in your folclore that depict hideous acts (such as murder, rape, incest, etc etc) but neither you or your people agree with them or think that the things done in those stories are okay to be done in real life—because stories are just stories and bad things done in stories are meant to stay in those stories.

And dark content is present in most media forms, whether you like it or not. I don't know which fandoms you are a part of (since you sent this ask anonymously) but I'll just list a few:

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has canonical torture, murder, racism, self-harm and even genocide

The Dragon Prince has canonical racism, torture, murder, kidnapping, blackmailing and gaslighting

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power has canonical slavery, racism, murder, torture, child soldiers, child abuse and much more (its been a while since I last watched SPOP so i don't remember)

Adult shows also tackle these subjects. Doctor House, Game of Thrones, Hannibal, The Simpsons, South Park... God, even the HOLY BIBLE has stories with rape, murder, slavery and much more in them! And that's a SACRED BOOK!

If for coping purposes, why post it online for others [...]

I don't speak for everyone who sees this post, but when I post online, I post for myself. My fanfics are all completely self-indulgent. And while I appreciate my readers, I don't write with them in mind.

But on that same note, the stories are mine and I can do whatever I want with them. This is the internet and I can post whatever I want, anytime I want. If I decide I want to post a rapefic on ao3, I will. If i want the fic to be private for me and my friends, it will stay private.

Plus, other people might find my stories and relate to them or even enjoy them! I write about rape and sexual harrassment, for example, because I am a survivor, and so many survivors have found my stories and messaged me about them, thanking me for putting into words what they couldn't. It's rewarding, really. Being able to connect with people so deeply over stories.

[...] (especially actual predators) to see and consume?

I'm gonna be completely honest with you. Predators, pedophiles and the like are NOT reading ao3 fanfiction. They are out there on chatting websites trying to prey on children, or going out of their way IRL to take advantage of young family members or unknown children/teenagers.

If I crave a hamburger, I'll go out of my way to eat it. I won't open a review talking about the burger or stare at pictures of burgers. The same goes for predators. NO PREDATOR OUT THERE is reading fanfiction about Klee Genshin Impact. Me posting or not posting my fanfiction WILL NOT CHANGE THAT.

But on the off chance that a pedophile really sees an underage fanfic of a fictional character, then... that's a good thing, don't you agree? I don't know about you but I'd much rather if a pedophile read smut of Klee Genshin Impact than if they went out of their way to abuse and traumatize a real, living and breathing child that exists in real life and will suffer for the rest of their lives because of it.

Characters are just that, characters. And in fanfiction, what we write about them isn't real, it isn't canon. They aren't even canonically traumatized by what we write, but real people are.

Why portray those things in a positive light instead of condemning them?

I don't know if you've ever read my fanfics or if you're just throwing this question out there, but to me personally, I have never written about rape/sexual assault and painted it in a positive light, much by the contrary.

As a survivor, I highlight how horrible the abuse made me feel and use my characters to talk about it. Not once have I glorified or written about sexual abuse in a positive light.

But if you're not talking about me personally, then I have to say... I'm sorry? Do you learn your morals from fictional content?

Ok fine maybe you can learn a few morals from MLP like "don't lie" and "be nice", but do you really open a show like South Park with racist, homophobic jokes and go "ah yes, this is a perfect example! I should base my morals off this show"? Do you?

Are you really unable to tell what is right or wrong by yourself? Does watching a slasher movie with a charismatic killer make you go "wow! Killers are amazing! I want to be like them!" Does watching action movies make you think that it's cool to commit arson and shoot people?

If your answer is yes, then I am so sorry but there is no other way to say this other than... that's your problem.

It's not the writers' duty to tell you what's wrong or right. They are not pre-school teachers who will grab you by the hand and point and tell you what you should or should not do-The writer has one and only ONE duty: To tell a story. They can portray whatever they want to portray in WHATEVER WAY they feel like, and you're supposed to be an adult about it.

And you're seriously going to tell me that just because as an adult you want to see a fictional minor [...] You find fictional minors attractive but not real ones?

Yes, because fictional minors are... fictional? They are not real? They DO NOT EXIST?

I'm so sorry but if I ever saw a child/teenager with the same proportions that lolisho/anime gives them then i'd be calling the authorities ON THE SPOT because THAT SHIT IS AN ALIEN AND IT IS NOT HUMAN.

Children don't look like that. Put up Klee Genshin Impact next to a real child. They are so incredibly different that once you notice how uncanny it is, you'll feel weirded out because she won't even look like she's human anymore.

You wouldn't accuse all furries of fucking real life dogs just because they think their blue dog fursonas are hot, would you? (what if anthro blue wolves were real? I'd be scared out of my mind to be honest,)

It's not because you're sexually attracted to something fictional that you find it hot in real life (god bless me and my breeding kink girlies who are sex repulsed and are terribly afraid of getting pregnant)

Hey, have you heard of like, lesbians who fall in love with fictional men? (like me lmao), do you think those fictional crushes make them any less lesbian? No, because these guys are not realistic. They have blue hair, extra limbs maybe, and were literally designed to be loved and to be perfect.

There are SOOOOO many examples I could give you, but I don't want to go on and on because I got my point across

But like, you do understand that fictional characters are... fictional, right? You can't even say that they are minors because... they aren't. They don't have a birth certificate, or a family tree saved in a country's government somewhere. They do not exist, you are aware of that, right?

When a "child" or "minor" is fictional, there is no child, there is no minor. You can't touch, groom, rape or abuse something that does not exist.

Law was made to protect the children who suffered, or who are, suffering because of abuse right now.

And by that i mean, real, living breathing human children who have their likes, dislikes, hopes, dreams for the future, and families that exist.

Fictional children/minors are nothing but tools, characters, a way of expression. THEY DON'T EXIST. They don't eat, they don't cry, they don't smile. They won't do anything unless they're commanded to by the writer.

They have no lives, no mind. And they will only grow up when the creator decides that it's time for that to happen. The line is there for this exact reason.

YOU CAN'T HURT OR PROTECT A CONCEPT.

You using your time to send this ask to "defend" PIXELS isn't doing anything to help or advocate for REAL CHILDREN who are suffering in the world right now.

Honestly, this only makes it seem like you're the one who doesn't care.

By the end of it all, i have no idea why you sent me this ask. Yeah I am anti-harassment but I don't think I've posted lolisho/underage content before? (again, I stray far from these because i find them icky and triggering) So I don't know why you focused so much on fictional children rather than the other things I do talk and post about on this blog.

And before I go, I want to shine a note here:

I'm not calling anyone pedophiles, but if the shoe fits...

I don't know how old you are, but you know damn well what you are saying and what you are doing. And I'm gonna say it again: Implying or flat out CALLING people pedophiles without proof can get you into real trouble.

Don't misuse that word. It has a meaning and a weight to it. I wasn't a victim of pedophilia myself but I know that real survivors would feel enraged at the way you're just throwing out words and accusations as if they were nothing, as if those people didn't suffer because of it.

I'm asking not for me, but for any other person who may come across this post, DON'T GO OUT THERE USING WORDS YOU DON'T KNOW THE MEANING OF. You are causing more harm than good.

Also, send your asks un-anonymously next time. Don't be a coward.

Have a nice day!

#proshipper #proship please interact #anti harassment

20 notes · View notes

fategoflatass · 6 months

Text

My Fall 2023 Watchlist & Opinions

Welcome to the comeback of my reviews that no one expected! But hey, I think this would be a nice practice for me to develop my writing skills and my critical thinking (?).

Take in consideration this post will be long because #unemployed, so everything will be under the cut.

Ready or not (I sure am not), here I go!

Atarashii Joushi wa Dotennen

Comedy, Slice of Life // ☆☆☆¾

After an atrocious experience with an abusive boss, Momose decides to switch workplaces. Used to such a toxic environment, he never expected his new superior to be so goofy!

The most wholesome show you'll find this season, and one of the most I've seen in general!

The work environment is pretty much paradise, each and every character being the living representation of the sweetest and most tender cotton candy you'll be able to find.

While the comedy mostly relies on Shirosaki's sillyness, it never gets old. Alongside the laughs, you'll find yourself aww-ing to many, many scenes.

Also, the series is conscious of the way people takes it (no, this is not a BL) and dedicates some scenes to it by giving different double meaning scenarios (they're all wholesome, no need to worry about that). Just a heads up, in case you're not into this kind of thing.

Want to know more? There's a canonical bisexual character in it! And here I was thinking that we didn't exist for Japan.

Totally recommend for those gloomy days, or even when you just need to shut off your brain.

Dr. STONE: NEW WORLD Part 2

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi // ☆☆☆☆

No summary due to spoilers.

I don't think there's much I can say about this one? I mean, unless I want to spoil someone, and I'm not a spoiler kind of person so...

For those curious about my experience, I'm enjoying myself very much! I decided to give it a try since my best friend loves it, and I liked it so much I quickly got up to date with it.

Now, do I understand every single thing they talk about? Hell nah, do you know how many times I failed chemistry and physics?!

But besides that, this show is a pretty wild and fun ride. And not only the previous parts, but also this one! Again, don't feel like making spoilers but the quality hasn't lacked not even a little bit. The characters are still as charismatic and funny as they've always been, and the plot keeps getting more and more interesting as it progresses.

Only thing I can say without explicitly spoiling anything: one of these days, Gen will end up messing with the wrong people. Can't tell you what tells me that, but he's messy enough for me to be unable to think otherwise.

Hametsu no Oukoku

Action, Drama, Fantasy // ☆☆

Once benerated due to their wisdom, witches are now being hunted down by humans who accuse them of impeding the progress of civilization. Adonis, a human raised by a witch, swears revenge against those who took his mentor from him.

CW: instances of extreme violence, forced non-sexual public partial nudity

Yes, I watched this one. Yes, it's an edgy one. No, it's not fun.

As someone who's always down to anything that has to do with fantasy, magic and supernatural beings, as well as being able to enjoy the trashiest things in life, I had some hope in the plot. Not in the way that it might be actually good, but in the way that it could be so bad I could get some laughs out of it. Sadly, this series takes itself quite seriously.

Which wouldn't be a problem if it weren't because it isn't even that good. The characters are plain, the episodes feel longer than they should, and there are times where you can see it go all over the top.

A pet peeve I have is when certain abilities/powers have ridiculous names, and this show does that to a tee by giving them some of the dumbest/edgiest (not exclusionary) names I've seen in a while.

"Do they even have to do with what each witch's magic is supposed to be?" I ask to the void in utter confusion.

"Absolutely not, but doesn't it sound rad?!" an easily impressed twelve-year-old exclaims from the grades.

Anyway, wouldn't recommend this show to anyone unless you're looking for an edgy power fantasy where characters die in gruesome ways not even five minutes after being introduced, magic type and all.

Also, can someone explain to me what does it mean to have "Natural Law" magic?

Hikikomari Kyuuketsuki no Monmon

Action, Comedy, Fantasy // ☆☆¼

After three years of becoming a total shut-in, Komari wakes up to find out she's the newest Commander in the Mulnite Imperial Army! Although she's descendant of a pretty powerful vampire family, she's rather inept when it comes to magic, even finding blood disgusting. Will her, alonside her maid, be able to make her path to success, or is failure awaiting for her around the corner?

Damn, this one took its sweet time to take off, only to crash and burn because the method was so cliché and overused.

The first three to four episodes are boring and not interesting at all, characters are bland as a wet piece of cardboard and the comedy excels at falling flat.

(Mild spoilers ahead, because I couldn't care less about this one)

And now you mean to tell me your seemlingly powerless main character is actually OP, only that under hypnosis? I didn't need to be a hound to be able to smell that crap from miles away, now did I?

But let's leave that aside to talk about Vil, A.K.A Male Gaze 101. I understand why she's attached to the protagonist, don't get me wrong, but did she need to sexually harass the protagonist or...? Also, how could I forget about the time where she almost forced Komari to pee herself in front of her!

Bro, if I were to know this was an omorashi hentai wannabe I wouldn't have given it a chance.

Anyways, if you're into any of the things I've mentioned previously, then enjoy yourself. This anime's definitely not for me.

Kamierabi

Action, Drama, Psychological, Supernatural // ☆½

A group of high schoolers see themselves forced to fight each other to death for the coveted title of God. Who will emerge victorious and claim their godly throne?

You have no right to ask that in the summary when you spoil the results in the first minutes of the first episode.

Let's be honest, if anyone is talking about this series is because Yoko Taro's name served as free promo. But did you know he's credited, not for the story, but for the concept of it? Big yikes, huh?

If you are a three-episode-rule kind of person, I assure you won't be needing that for this anime. One episode is enough torture, trust me.

The first minute is there to make sure you understand this story is different, is mature. There are no friendships, no love interests, only tons of suffering and betrayals. You know, what people back in 2011 probably went for when Mirai Nikki first aired.

Characters are not only boring as hell, but their designs are nothing to die for, heavely based on their assigned colors because you'll be forgetting their names the minute after they get introduced.

Fun fact: If you pay enough attention, you'll be able to see their phone cases' designs. Not only they look ugly, but they also spoil their so secretive abilities!

Speaking of character design, did you know the one in charge of it didn't even bother to create background character's templates? They all look like gray extraterrestrial things trying to pass as human beings, their never changing facial expressions being the cherry on top. This might be one edgy way of showing they don't matter to the main story, but it just feels super lazy. Also, this... artistic choice is just another spoiler, since everyone who has some sort of relevance has an established design. But oh well.

Fun fact: Every single one of these NPCs are gray, expect for a couple of them in episode six who are red and blue. One of them is the bad guy, can you guess who?

In summary, this show is utter trash. Wouldn't recommend unless you're as messed up as I am and like to watch crappy productions.

Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri

Drama, Mystery // ☆☆☆¾

When police office Totomaru is assigned to a serial killer case, he turns to Kamonohashi Ron for help—a once considered genius who, after a fatal mistake, got himself expelled from the top detective training academy and was forbidden to become one.

This is your classic detective show with the more normal character having to learn how to deal with the more eccentric one who's always really good at deducing. And I love it.

Yeah, it might be a copycat of other series with the same dynamics (like many other mystery anime), but they're all still dear to my heart. I just love them, man!

Every case they've introduced until now have been interesting and fun. It's been entertainting trying to think by myself what happened, who might be the culprit, how did they do it and why. As always, it's especially cool when you get close enough or, even better, when you were in the right. Serotonin kicks like those are always appreciated.

The dynamic between the protagonists is also really fun, Ron's shenanigans never getting old. Totomaru might not be having the time of his life, but I sure am!

If you're a fan of these kind of shows, then I totally recommend! If you're tired of the same scheme over and over again, maybe not so much. Would be nice if you'd give it a try, though!

Kanojo mo Kanojo Season 2

Comedy, Ecchi, Romance, Slice of Life // ☆☆☆¼

After their hot springs trip, Naoya continues his relationships with both Saki and Nagisa. Alongside Milika and Shino, they embark on a summer vacation full of romance with a fireworks festival, camping, and Okinawa. Chaos ensured.

There are not many series that touch upon polyamory which saddens me to a fault. The closest to this concept would be harem series, but a polyamorous relationship should never be a competition to see which whom does your "shared partner" choose to spend the rest of their life with.

While KanoKano isn't the best representation of this type of relationships (Saki often feeling like she's competing against Nagisa), it's not a bad series? Or, at least, not that bad. Rather decent, actually.

It's not boring, although it isn't the most entertaining series either. If I had to decide between KanoKano and any other series that touches upon polyamory (even if they do it with the tip of a stick, miles apart of the concept), I would probably go for Hamefura's canonical (albeit not in the way I would like it to be) Katarina fan club.

I just feel something's... wrong, you know. I get Naoya loves them both and that, in theory, both of them understand that, but I can't help feeling uncomfortable when Saki mentions this supposed competition the girls have (and the way they treat polyamory as "two timing" when that would imply it wasn't consensual?).

Besides that, it's a decent series to watch whenever you're bored. Not a masterpiece, but is not like it's trying to be one.

UPDATE: Rating has been lowered to ☆ as of 11/10/23. Visit the reblog section for more.

Kimi no Koto ga Dai Dai Dai Dai Daisuki na 100-nin no Kanojo

Comedy, Romance // ☆☆☆☆

Rentarou has been rejected a total of 100 times throught his entire life. Is when he visits a shrine and prays for better luck when he meets the God of Love. He reveals to Rentarou that he'll get to date 100 women in the foreseeable future. The catch is, once he meets them they must happily love each other. Otherwise, they'll die. What will be of Rentarou and his 100 girlfriends during high school?

He has arrived. The man, the legend. The harem protagonist of all harem protagonists.

Rentarou Aijou has arrived, and he's here to make you and your wife part of his loveable and excessively numerous family.

As I mentioned when talking about KanoKano, I've been looking for series that touch upon polyamory. And if you're like me, then you've just hit the jackpot!

While I'm conscious 100Kano is a parody of harem series and was never meant to be taken seriously, the way none of these girls are competing for the protagonist's exclusive love is refreshing. They're actually a pretty big family, always supportive of each other and down to give each other a hand or two (or twenty, if needed). They'll do anything they can to make their boyfriend the happiest man alive, and so will he with them.

There're no favoritisms whatsoever. Such concept as "the first one to arrive gets to win" does not exist in his agenda. In Rentarou (and every single one of his girlfriends)'s mind, everyone wins because everyone is his favorite.

An excellent series to watch by yourself or with your pals in case you're looking for something silly and easy to digest.

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto

Drama, Mystery // ☆☆☆☆¼

CW: infant death, classism, self-harm, kidnapping

Maomao lived a peaceful life with her apothecary father. Until one day, she’s sold as a lowly servant to the emperor’s palace. When rumours about imperial heirs falling ill surfaces, she puts her knowledge in medicinal herbs and poison to good use and finds a cure. It's then when she catches the eye of Jinshi, a handsome palace official who promotes her. The series follows Maomao as she solves numerous mysteries.

I can't explain just how excited I was for this one. As I said before, I love mysteries, but I also really like historical series. So when you mix both genres, you get characters who try to solve various cases with only the means they had yesterday.

Besides the art being drop dead gorgeous (alongside every single lady who makes an appearance in the story), the story is engaging and so much fun. The episodes are already a bit shorter than usual (albeit not for much, it's just me being petty), but the way everything develops makes it feel like they last no more than five minutes.

And Maomao—God Maomao! She's one of the best female main characters I've seen as of recently. She's not lacking personality—she actually has way too much, and I love that. She's so clever and capable at what she does, I bet it'd be so much fun to just stare at her as she picks different herbs or just stays still for hours, trapped in her thoughts.

I'm a sucker for good relationship dynamics and the one between Maomao and Jinshi is just *chef's kiss* exquisit. The way he's constantly trying to seduce her and she just stares at him in apathy or disgust (bonus for when she brushes off the places where he'd placed his hand on) are golden. I also love how what started as teasing and doubt about the other's true intentions morphs into genuine interest and maybe, just maybe, a tiny itty crush.

A pretty strong contestant for anime of the year, in my opinion.

Megumi no Daigo: Kyuukoku no Orange

Action, Drama // ☆☆☆½

The series follows three young firefighters who share the same goal—becoming members of the special rescue corps known as "Orange". We'll follow them from their early training days to the day they face the crisis that'll push Japan at the brink of collapsing.

I don't know about you, but I've never seen a series focused on firefighters. Yes, I know about Promare and Fire Force, but those aren't "real" firefighters, if you know what I mean.

Where's their daily life at the station, their training—just everything that comes with being one of them? I don't want flashy fight scenes against angsty twinks, I want to see people getting rescued from collapsed buildings and cats getting saved from trees.

Along with interesting characters and tense situations, all these making it difficult for you to not empatize with, Megumi no Daigo is here to bring us a peek on how the real deal is—with both the good, the bad and the ugly.

This anime is confirmed to be the prequel to a movie released in the 90's, so there's even more content in case you're interested!

Migi to Dali

Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Slice of Life // ☆☆☆

Twin brothers Migi and Dali pretend to be the Sonoyama's adoptive son, Hitori, in order to find out the truth behind their mother's death.

CW: (prepare your bingo cards) *inhales* forced non-sexual infantilization, forced partial nudity, forced non-sexual pet play, bullying, implied murder, classism, forced eating, non-sexual groping, surveillance, invasion of privacy, kidnapping and imprisonment. ~95% of these happen to a minor, so yeah.

While the main focus of the first two episodes was the comedy (it's still present in the rest of the series, just not as much), I didn't find it especially hilarious? It does give off Sakamoto vibes at times, but it never makes me laugh as much as the author's previous work did.

The mystery is still there, thought, and that's what keeps me coming back. The suspense surronding the twins' mother's passing is engaging, you genuinely want to find out what happened there and how the place where they've moved and its habitants are involved in the case.

Now, as I mentioned before this anime is disturbing and thus can be highly triggering for some. So please beware before giving it a chance.

Overtake!

Drama, Sports // ☆☆☆¾

Kouya is a professional photographer who, due to past circumstances, gave up his passion for taking pictures of people. But his fate changes the day he meets Komaki Motors, a family-run shop that regularly competes in F4 along with their only racer, Haruka.

CW: implied death (car accident)

Sports anime of the season, let's go! This time, about car racing. Never watched an anime like this one before, although I know Initial D is out there. I just haven't watched it... yet.

To be honest, I didn't expect to connect with the characters to this level. I got hooked to the story from day one and has been like that ever since.

The story is fun, the races will have you at the edge of your seat while cheering for your favorite team.

Because yes, I think the rival team can also be cheered on! Maybe their main face might not be the bestest guy, but Toshiki does deserve everything in this world and so much more.

And when it comes to the drama, it never comes out as over the top. Every single reason for them thinking, responding or acting the way they do makes total sense given their past ciscumstances.

Speaking of the characters, everyone here has enough personality to be separated from the rest: Haruka's overachieving and at times harsh demeanor makes a good contrast with Koutaro's more calm and playful behavior. And while Satsuki's charismatic, conceited and women-loving persona might be a pain for many, Toshiki serves as a good companion with his serious and ambitions being. And I could mention the adults, but I think you catch my vibe.

I so recommend this one!

Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu Season 2

Fantasy, Romance, Slice of Life // ☆☆☆½

We follow Sei, an office worker in her twenties who was suddenly summoned to another world as a "Saint". Taking advantage of her natural love of plants, she started working at a medicinal plant research institute. We also get to meet Albert Hawke, with whom she's more than friends but less than lovers.

Season two arrived and I have yet to rewatch the first one, although I think it might be a little too late for that.

Don't go into it expecting a wonderful series because it is not (or, at least, it isn't for me). It's a pretty neat feel good series, but definitely nothing out of the ordinary. Just nice people living their lives.

Sei and Albert's relationship is as wholesome as always, I appreciate them taking their time and not rushing into making things official. It feels, I don't know... adult.

There's literally not much I can say about this one other than I would recommend for those who are looking for a nice and relaxing shoujo.

Shangri-La Frontier

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi // ☆☆☆¾

Rakuro is a "crap-game hunter"—a strong aficionado to clearing buggy and just straight up bad titles that aren't even compatible with the now more frequently used VR technology. The game he's chosen to tackle next is the widely aclaimed "Shangri-La Frontier" that counts with thirty million players and counting. Little did he know this decision would change his fate alongside with many other players he meets along the way!

I can barely count the times I had this much fun while watching a series, and I can count even less the occasions where a gaming-inspired anime made me feel this great!

I've found myself dumbfounded so many times at just how detailed Shangri-La Frontier is. It's obvious there was research behind it, the author's a straight up legend for dedicating so much time and passion to something others would've easily disregarded as another basic, boring ass medieval-inspired MMORPG.

The level of character customization (you can even modify their origins like ‼), the many monsters you find along the way, and tons of easter eggs that players have yet to find in their entirety! It's my first time saying this when it comes to gaming-centered anime, but holy hell I wished this game existed IRL!

And honestly, I identify with Rakuro a bit too much when it comes to enjoying crap. In his case, are bad games. In mine, bad anime. I would love to have a chat with him and share our experiences and disgraces that come with this harsh hobby.

SHY

Action, Drama // ☆☆☆½

When we needed them the most, they appeared! As we were on the brink of World War Three, individuals with superpowers appeared all around the planet with the only mission to mantain peace. They would eventually become symbols of their nations, their presence being enough to lower the crime rates. Teru, most known as Shy, is Japan's heroine. When a mysterious and menacing association called Amalareiks surfaces, Shy must join forces with her fellow superheroes to stop their plans, all while dealing with her shyness and, overall, her teenage life.

CW: violence, death, self hatred, intrusive thoughts

Would it be cool to call it the more mature version of Boku no Hero Academia?

I had the manga for this series on my pending list for a while and when I saw an anime adaptation was coming out, not gonna lie, I got quite excited.

Now, I have to admit it's not one of my favorite series this season. It might be the pacing that sometimes gives me the feeling the episodes are, although just a little bit, longer than they actually are.

I love the concept and how it's executed, I really like the characters and the setting in which they're established. The drama they all have feels realistic and you can easily empathise with them. In my case, Teru's constant conflict with herself hit a little bit too close to home.

I would recommend it to those who're looking for a more mature series while also wanting to watch shounen-esque scenarios.

Sousou no Frieren

Adventure, Drama, Fantasy // ☆☆☆☆½

The adventure's over. The Demon King has successfully been defeated and thus Frieren and her fellow adventurers make their way back home. Now a highly regarded mage, she goes back to her slow-paced life only to realize years later, while attending Himmel's funeral, how short human's life expectancy is when compared with her own near inmortality. Frieren then makes the decision to begin a new adventure in the search of new absurd spells and friends alongside whom she expects to understand what life means to them and just how impactful can be what she perceives as nothing more than an instant.

CW: death, grief, mild violence

Oh Lord, this one's painful. I've no idea how they managed to do it, but they got me attached to the hero's party so quickly and so deeply this crap had already scarred me on episode one.

This story's gorgeous, I don't think I have to explain myself on that. Besides the more than stunning art, animation and music that acompannies us during the entirety of Frieren's self-discovery adventure, the slow pace and quiet moments are quite the delight.

The characters we meet along the way are also fantastic, written with such love, thought and care behind you'll fall for them in no time.

I truly don't want to talk much about it since I think this is an experience that one must live for themselves, but trust me when I tell you this is something you'll never forget.

SPY×FAMILY Season 2

Action, Comedy, Slice of Life, Supernatural // ☆☆☆☆

The same as season one, only that now the family's heading on a cruise ship expedition!

I don't think there's much I can say about this one? The second season's been giving the same vibes I got from the first one, so a wholesome, found family-centered comedic slice of life about three persons who don't know each other at all and do their best so that situation never changes.

Anya keeps on being the chaotic menace she has been from day one, Yor is still one of the best mothers ever alongside a woman I would never dare look for a fight against, and Loid keeps on repeating his more than iconic mantra as he unsuspectingly falls asleep while dreaming about certain woman surrounded by a zillion flowers.

But, you know, anything for the mission.

When it comes to the upcoming arc, I'm excited for seeing Yor at work! Been dying to get anything like this, and I'm so glad my prayers have been heard.

Undead Unluck

Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Supernatural // ☆☆☆¾

All Fuuko wants is a passionate romance like the one in her favorite shoujo manga. Sadly, her Unluck ability deems this dream impossible. But that anguish will have to wait because Andy, someone with the Undead ability, takes her as his test subject to see if, thanks to her misfortune, he can finally rest in peace. It seems peace has never been an option, though, because certain secret organization has begun chasing after them.

CW: not-quite-concenting groping

If I took my sweet time to start watching this series was mainly because, for some hell of a reason, it gave me big Mashle vibes. Don't ask, I just thought the comedy would be similar. And since my humble opinion on Harry Potter 2.0 is that it has its humour stuck up its ass, you might understand I gave an olympic jump over Undead Unluck.

But then I decided to give it a chance and man, Mashle would never!

Not the funniest series I've watched, but I appreciate the multiple laughs it gave me.

Now, what I do not appreciate are the various groping scenes. If Fuuko were to consent all of those, then cool. Who am I to judge whatever two consenting adults (Fuuko's 20+, right?) do with their lives and bodies? The thing is, not every groping is consented by her, especially at the beggining. So yeah, beware of that.

Putting that aside, the characters are pretty cool and so much fun to see fighting or just interacting with each other. The ability system the series has is rather interesting, would love to learn more about it.

Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou

Comedy, Fantasy, Romance // ☆☆☆½

We've heard this story before: girl reincarnates into her favorite otome game and, since she knows her way down every route, she gets to win over her favorite bachelor. Only that, this time, it might not be as predictable. After all, who knows what's truly inside Rae Taylor's mind? Claire François for sure doesn't, especially now that she's going after her—the game's villainess!

CW: discussions of homophobia, classism, rae can be creepy at times

In the words of @arataka-reigen, “This anime is like if Maria from Hamefura was the one who got isekai'd and then fell in love with OG Katarina”. Couldn't say it better, pal.

While this series is not one of my favorites this season, the characters not going right down my alley and the pacing not being the best, I truly appreciate the cafeteria scene. I've never seen such a discussion over diverse sexualities adn homophobia in an anime before, and I can only clap to that.

And not only that, but it seems like it's going down a rather... interesting path. I mean, the whole classism that's present during the series, the "commoner" students' complains, the game's title being "Revolution"... I smell something nice.

Yuzuki-san Chi no Yon Kyoudai

Comedy, Drama, Slice of life // ☆☆☆¾

From the day the Yuzuki brothers lost both their parents, Hayato never stopped taking care of his little siblings, making sure all their needs are met and nothing's lacking. They share tears, laughter, and a specially unbreakeable bond.

I've no idea what might be the reason, but all these stories about family (whether related by blood or not being quite irrelevant) alongside the others where they include and/or center around pets are my weakness.

The four brothers feel like actual humans beings, their dramatic and joyful moments in life will definitely take you for a ride althought, admitely, it might not be the most intense one.

Hayato would do literally anything for his family and, honestly, same. Both Mikoto, Minato, and Gakuto are downright adorable and would love to pinch every single one of those cheeks like there's no tomorrow.

If a cutsie family-center slice of life it's what you're looking for, look no further. But if what you want is a drama in general, then I would recommend Frieren first.

If you reached the end, thank you so much for reading! I literally stayed up til 2 AM to finish writing this (and I didn't even include the titles I dropped), so yeah. Highly appreciate!

35 notes · View notes

dissociativemagicalgirl · 4 months

Text

well it's almost a whole new year .... i started parts work this year (finally) (i think) which was exciting. now, i will write reviews of the texts on structural dissociation/trauma/DID i read this year. almost all available on archive.org for free if you would like to join me in reading. okay byebye.

any book titles listed with a ‼️ contain graphic, heavily triggering depictions of trauma. there is a heavy focus on these descriptions in each book. i'll try to write out specific tws in my review for each one, but i would only recommend reading these if it's safe for you to do so. make sure you listen to parts that get activated, have plans to de-escalate and take care of yourself, and avoid entirely if discussion of trauma is particularly raw for you or you're physically unsafe.

keep in mind: every book here will discuss various traumas. if you're not at a place where you can handle these discussions, it would be best to avoid these readings entirely.

amongst ourselves: a self-help guide for living with dissociative identity disorder - tracy alderman & karen marshall

5 out of 5. overall, this is a really insightful text. written by two people, one who is a licensed clinical social worker and one who is a person with DID. the way it's written was surprisingly warm. something about the way it's written feels so non-judgemental and non-clinical. i particularly liked this book's insights on things like how to come out as someone with a dissociative disorder, whether to confront your abusers, etc.

attachment trauma and multiplicity: working with dissociative identity disorder

2 out of 5. honestly im sure this isn't a bad book. unfortunately, it was too dry for me without providing much insight that's not easily accessible from other texts. i ended up not finishing it - maybe there's more to it that i didn't read? regardless, it reads as an introductory text for clinicians.

‼️ don't: a woman's word - elly danica

4 out of 5. content warning for csa, trafficking, and incest. this is a memoir. i really appreciate that it's written in a less narrative structure - events seem to take place separate from anything else, with little coherent narrative or reference to time to tie them together. i really hope that doesn't come off as a negative, because it excellently captured how childhood histories of trauma often become fractured. really powerful book with little catharsis at the end.

‼️ if you tell - it'll kill your mother - ardith trudzik

2 out of 5. content warning for csa, suicide, self harm, incest, animal abuse, and animal death. this book follows ardith's journey through therapy. it eventually falls into a pretty straightforward pattern: ardith recalls a memory, she tells her therapist, and her therapist affirms her experiences. unfortunately, i'm giving it a low rating because i personally felt like i didn't get much of it. ardith writing this book becomes part of her therapeutic process, and i'm very glad she was able to write this and share her story; however, beyond that, there's little analysis of the therapeutic process or the dynamics of abuse.

multiple personality disorder from the inside out - multiple authors

4 out of 5. a collection of submissions from dozens of systems. a lot of poems, memoirs, etc. this reminds me more of a zine than a book. really cool collaborative work from the 90s.

‼️ my father's house - sylvia fraser

5 out of 5. content warning for incest and csa. really powerful memoir on repressed incestuous abuse and its effects on her adult life. sylvia's writing style really tickles my brain in a good way. as far as i'm aware, she has never been diagnosed with a dissociative disorder, but her descriptions of having "alternate selves" who live in trauma time will likely be painfully familiar to any systems reading.

‼️ prism: andrea's world - jonathan bliss

whoever allowed this book to be published should be like... put in a saw trap. jonathan bliss' novel is a self-aggrandizing, exploitative hunk of shit from a freudian psychoanalysist with no history or training in working with DID. the novel alternates between jonathan bliss writing masturbatory exposition on how accomplished he is, taking random potshots at andrea (his patient) for being fat and mentally ill, and long recollections of andrea's trauma that seem to serve only as exposition on how crazy she is without any empathy - the equivalent of saying "isn't that fucked up?" and moving on. with the things jonathan bliss admits to in his own writing, he should have had his license taken away. the only feeling of catharsis or relief you will get from this book is when you learn that jonathan bliss has since died. content warnings for incest, csa, animal death, animal abuse, suicide.

the haunted self - multiple authors

5 out of 5. this one is kind of cheating because i haven't finished it yet - i'm about halfway through. regardless, it's radically shifted how i understand structural dissociation and its relations to traumagenic disorders - not just DID! the only negative i can list is that it's a little dry - if you're not used to reading academic texts, you might find it hard to parse. however i think the text itself more than makes up for it.

‼️ the incest diary - author unattributed

4 out of 5. i really, really, really struggle with writing about this one because it's a difficult read. part of what makes it triggering is that it describes aspects of csa that nobody really talks about, i think out of revulsion. my experience reading it could best be summarized as: yeah, that's what it was like, but i don't want to think about it. regardless of how much it repulsed my "main" self, i can acknowledge that some parts of my system felt understood in ways that other readings haven't given them. regardless, it's a really difficult read, and it's equally difficult to talk about. content warnings for... well, it's in the title.

the magic daughter - jane phillips

5 out of 5. the reasons why i loved this one so much are more personal than objective, but i still loved it nonetheless. jane's life has lined up in ways that are uncanny compared to my own. particularly, i thought it was refreshing to see a system that operates more similarly to my own: no defined identities or internal world, but there nonetheless. content warning for csa and incest, though the depictions are fairly brief. the bulk of the book focuses on jane's adult life, how she manages her DID, and the therapeutic process.

21 notes · View notes

recurring-polynya · 9 months

Text

I'm on vacation, so here is a random grab-bag of Soul Society thoughts I had while staring into the sea today (this is mostly for @bleachbleachbleach but you can read it too)

One of my favorite conceits of B3's writing (I feel like things that appear in fanfiction are sort promoted from headcanons but I don't have a good word for it) is the notion that Rukongai has its own magic that is fundamentally different and, in fact, somewhat opposed to shinigami magic. This first shows up in Afar, Afar, where Momo loses her ability to see spirits in Junrinan (and perhaps even her memory that such a thing exists). There was also a notion of it in REVERSE THE BONE (the best Weird Rukongai fic ever written) about the train, which already exists in a sort of quantum state where it sometimes exists both forward and backward in time, but also that the journey depends on the passengers. There's a quote at the beginning, but nonetheless, has completely rewired my brain (it has been over a month, and I am still thinking about it):

Hisagi does not find this mollifying. “Yeah, but I don’t even think Captain Kuchiki gets the same train as the rest of us. Have you ever tried to use his restaurant reviews? Because I always print these things, and they sound great, then I go. And then they’ll look at me like—Well. It’s like I’m not even at the same restaurant. But hey, at least you’ll get to see a lot, right? I’ve heard East Rukongai these days is… fine!”

Within the context of the story, this is just hyperbole. Of course Byakuya experiences things differently, he's incredibly rich and powerful, etc, etc, but the thing that sticks in my head about this is that Byakuya is fundamentally different from Hisagi, and also Hitsugaya and Hinamori, who are the protagonists of this piece, because he is a creature of Soul Society and they are not.

The Rukon is a place for ghosts. For beings that lived a life on Earth and died. It is an afterlife. A thing I find incredibly interesting is that nearly all the Rukon-hailing shinigami we know of died as children. Additionally, they are all Really Good at being shinigami--captains and vice-captains, although this is a function of Bleach being a story about the more powerful members of Soul Society. Anyway, I think this is not a coincidence.

Two things that are true about Bleach are that: a) liminal things, hybrid things, things that exist at the boundaries of two other things, tend to be more powerful b) power is also achieved through transformation

It makes 100% sense to me that a child ghost has more potential to become in Soul Society. We also know that aging is non-linear, and that age changes tend to come in concert with increases in power. All of this feels very consistent and right to me.

In particular, consider Rukia, who died as a baby (and we don't know this for sure, but her sister, who died as an older child or teen did not seem to have the same potential). She was human, but only got to live a small fraction of the life she could have, and instead, went to Soul Society, and became such a creature of Soul Society, that she not only achieved bankai, but trained in the Royal Realm, a thing that few other shinigami get to do.

This reminded me of a line from my own fanfic, Hold On, Hold On, where I was trying to make sense of the "lieutenant is equivalent of nobility" thing (through the convenient mouthpieces of Kira and Hinamori):

“High ranking shinigami are basically considered to be nobility,” Izuru explains. “Or close enough for most purposes.” “The argument goes,” Momo elaborates, in a way that she knows will resonate with Renji, “that the reason nobles are noble is because their souls are so pure and strong, right? So how else can you explain the captains that come from Rukongai? You can’t, so you have to act like they’re noble, too, right? Noble logic.”

And while I don't think I'm wrong, what if there's more to it? What if there is something that is fundamental to one's nature that nobles and powerful shinigami have in common, something that also corresponds to the nature of the Seireitei.

There's one other thing that I think they may have in common, and that's the ability to reproduce. Fanon is split on this topic, but I've always been of the mind that having babies in Soul Society is something only people with strong spiritual energy are able to do. So, in that sense, if noble people see themselves as defined by having been born in the Soul Society, of being creatures who have never lived, it's not exactly the same, but a Rukongai wandering soul who gains the ability to reproduce is certainly a step closer, no?

(Is this the part where I talk about Soul Society nobility and their parallels to faeries, with their low birthrate and stealing babies and people of talent to join their underground magical kingdom?)

An interesting ramification of all of this, is that you've got Rukia and Renji, who represent one of the most successful cases of dead souls acclimating to Soul Society and reaching the highest echelons of power, but I strongly suspect that there are still some fundamentally Rukon things about them-- things they see, things they feel, things they remember. What makes this extra cool to me is the fact that they hang out with Byakuya, the product of dozens of generations of Soul Society lineage. In fact, the catalyst for all of this thinking was me thinking about Byakuya having an instinctive distrust of the sea, whereas Rukia and Renji and Hisana all love it. Now, I am generally not very interested in Ichika, but I am interested in the fact that she is something different than her parents. That on some level she has more in common with Byakuya. I mean, is this the origin stories for Soul Society's noble clans in the first place? Some souls made themselves powerful enough to make more of themselves?? That is a pretty interesting thought to me, not that I've come up with anything interesting to do with it. It's like, what if you were a changeling, and you got adopted by the king of the faeries and you had a baby with another human changeling, but your baby was a faery? (Polynya, this was the plot of Books of Magic. Kinda sorta. You have somehow achieved your life goal of six degrees of John Constantine-ing Tim Hunter and Kuchiki Rukia and it was entirely by accident.)

Anyway, that was my complete quota of interesting Ichika thoughts for today (I still think it would have been cooler if they got to conceive a baby in the Royal Realm but no one asked me).

The more interesting direction that these thoughts took goes back to B3's fic, in the sense of: do the nobles avoid the Rukon? What is it that they don't like about it? The implication is always just basically that it's poor and not as nice as the Seireitei, but what if there are things that are in opposition to the law and order that people like Yamamoto have imposed on the controlled area inside the city walls. Even the Shiba, the infamous rebel outcasts only live in District 1.

Consider Ukitake's backstory--his noble family were so desperate to save their sick child that they went out to District 76 and made a deal with a god/a piece of the Soul King (is there a difference? does it matter?), a thing which gave Ukitake the capability to become a vessel for a god. I feel like Mimihagi wouldn't/couldn't have made that deal with an ordinary soul. This happened a super long time ago and I bet there have been all kinds of cautionary tales, etc, to discourage this kind of behavior today. (Which also ties a little into Yhwach's "the Gotei used to be better, you suck now" comment)

I'm not really converging on any sort of conclusion, here, it's just sort of interesting to me. The Rukongai sort of represents wild lawlessness, I think, the loss of rules and sense. The TYBW is all about how the order of Soul Society (and Hueco Mundo and the Living World) is a thing that was invented for and by the shinigami for their own benefit, and I think they don't even really have control of their entire realm, just the central bit.

There's a constant fanon outcry of "why do the shinigami neglect Rukongai?" and it's always because "Soul Society sucks" and "Central 46 is dicks" etc, but I think it's interesting to think about the shinigami as a social order that truly has limited power, and that there is a lot of shit in the Rukon that is more than is dreamt of in their philosophy, if you get my drift, whether it's werewolf clans or trains that don't obey the laws of time and space. It's like the way in a horror movie, the cop or the army dude gets taken down by the monster in the woods who is eventually defeated by a teen or something. Shinigami are very powerful when it comes to dealing with the interface between the World of the Living and their personal World of the Dead, but they are less well equipped to deal with the things in their own backyard.

Regretfully, none of this cohered in my head into anything that I could spin into a good story (I'm not sure they even cohered into this essay), but maybe it will roll around in my head long enough to grow a pearl, who knows?

#bleach worldbuilding #this is so long i am sorry this is mostly nonsense #the beach was very beautiful today!

36 notes · View notes

santacoppelia · 7 months

Text

Heaven and Hell strike! (a "crack" meta?)

I was reviewing my notes to write some things I like about Shax (they are organized by themes) but I came across this idea first and it tickled my brain (probably because I just watched Neil's speech at the WGA Strike picket line). (BTW, great message, go watch it!!)

We know some interesting things about the awful work circumstances at Hell. We can "ignore" them (it is Hell, after all), but what if we check out what is happening with Hell's workforce?

The place is dreadful. We know, it is Hell, that's how it is supposed to be.

There is a whole lot of bureaucracy. I would say that it is specifically because bureaucracy IS Hell, but this is also me being me.

Everyone is overworked. Again, maybe it is just the thing with Hell, but...

They are understaffed. Furfur let's us know that as soon as Shax asks him for a legion. This would be obvious for Admissions during WW II, but when the bookshop siege happens, they barely manage to get 70 demons. Why?????

Beelzebub talks a lot about Hell not "appreciating talents". They say it when they talk about Crowley, then again while they lament with the other demon, and that's one of the things that connects them to Gabriel.

This was also one of the points made by Furfur when he talked about trying to "climb the ladder". He lashed to Crowley about this (as if getting a better job was Crowley's fault), but... (put a pin on this)

Shax possible new Dukedom and Beelzebub offering Crowley the possibility of becoming a "new Duke of Hell" talks to me about some sort of power vacuum (it goes without mention that promotions are given at personal discretion, not through real merit).

However, Heaven doesn't seem like they are in great shape, also...

They are trying to hide their "institutional problems" (at least, two defectors, but we should also count the renegade-now-Supreme-Archangel as part of the problem)

The corporate climate in the higher levels of Heaven is HIDEOUS. They are mostly petty, envious, create rumors and love power struggles...

Michael (my personal hate character) is at the same time so power hungry and so clueless about anything, that they are incapable of taking action (thanks, someone)

After not even knowing if Gabriel really had a desk, Michael gets a desk, while being "Duty Officer" and making everyone roll their eyes with their orders. They got that desk out of pure pettiness!

We know that "lesser angels" are mostly ignored. If you are an angel like Muriel, nobody ever acknowledges your existence. We have already seen how happy they are just by participating!! (they don't even notice being called "dim", poor baby)

Gabriel bonds with Beelz around not being recognized for what they do, and Beelz win their (cold, little) heart WITH A FLY because nobody has given him anything before… Not even a little pat in the head?

We have already seen TWO cases where an angel and a demon discover, through familiarity and shared worries/complaints, that they have so much in common that they are better together. We are crackshipping a third one.

The pin about Furfur (which I had forgotten) is that the problem is not Crowley, and the problem are not the people inside the system who learn how to play it: THE PROBLEM IS THE SYSTEM ITSELF.

Now, the point:

Something something about unappreciated people coming together as soon as they learn there’s better to be had. Can you imagine that much fun???!!!??? Bring Pandemonium!!

#good omens 2 #good omens meta #good omens universe #heaven is terrible #bureaucracy is hell #ineffable bureaucracy #it is crack meta but only if you think so #stronger together

37 notes · View notes

max1461 · 2 years

Text

I think the fundamental weakness in the rationalist worldview is that it seems to take intelligence, above all else, to be the central motive force of history. What material conditions are for Marx, intelligence is for the rationalists. It shows up in Yudkowsky's writing on AI in particularly exaggerated form: he treats AI superintelligence as essentially magic, capable of circumventing any and all physical and material obstacles to achieving the system's goals. Many people have pointed out that there may be serious physical limitations on nanotechnology that make many of his proposed AI apocalypse scenarios implausible. But these potential limitations are handwaved away, because the AI is really really smart, you see, so surely it could find a way around them. A sufficiently intelligent AI could supposedly even find its way around even more fundamental information and epistemic limits. Within three frames of a video of an apple falling, an AI superintelligence would already have general relativity as one of its primary hypotheses! Good thing, as one commenter pointed out, it wasn't shown a video of a red balloon floating up instead.

Of course, there's a steelman here—that with sufficient intelligence, these putative limitations might be circumvented, and since we can't rule out the possibility, it's worthwhile to research AI safety anyway (even if the particulars of this or that proposed apocalypse sound implausible). And I'm pretty sympathetic to this steelman, which is part of the reason that I ultimately do think AI safety research is worthwhile. But this is not the way Yudkowsky typically frames things. Rather, he frames the issue of AI safety with a seeming certitude that, given sufficient intelligence, the world can simply be bent to one's will. All problems can be overcome by just being a really really super duper smarty pants.

I see why this sort of worldview, both the exaggerated mythologization of intelligence-as-superpower and the more toned-down conception of intelligence as historical prime-mover, would be appealing to... well, lets face it, a bunch of nerds who grew up priding themselves primarily on their intelligence. But ultimately, I just don't think it's correct, even as a heuristic.

It's not just in writings about AI where this shows up. It's also pervasive in rationalist discourse about the human social world, and this is where I think it's most misguided. There's a cadre of rationalist and rat-adj reactionaries who are famous around these parts for invariably, incessantly taking every political discussion back to IQ, because they hold a worldview in which everything is downstream of who's smart and exactly how smart they are. I've also found Scott Alexander to be pretty regularly guilty of this. Look at the way he talks about intelligence here, in his review of Joseph Henrich's The Secret of Our Success (this is admittedly not the best example, but it's the one I could find, so it will have to do).

To be fair, Henrich is in some sense writing against the idea that intelligence is a magical panacea, and Scott is recapitulating his argument. Henrich's view is that human success is due in significant part to cultural evolution rather than raw brain power, and in the broad strokes I share this view. Henrich thus spends a certain amount of time trying to demonstrate that raw brain power is not sufficient for survival, and Scott reproduces these arguments. But what gets me is that he reproduces them as if they are reasonably likely to be novel to us, as if we may genuinely need them in order to move on to the later discussion about cultural evolution, instead of presenting them for what they (in my view) actually are: fucking obvious.

Henrich walks the reader through many stories about European explorers marooned in unfamiliar environments.

[...]

These explorers had many advantages over our hominid ancestors. For one thing, their exploration parties were made up entirely of strong young men in their prime, with no need to support women, children, or the elderly. They were often selected for their education and intelligence. Many of them were from Victorian Britain, one of the most successful civilizations in history, full of geniuses like Darwin and Galton. Most of them had some past experience with wilderness craft and survival. But despite their big brains, when faced with the task our big brains supposedly evolved for – figuring out how to do hunting and gathering in a wilderness environment – they failed pathetically.

Nor is it surprising that they failed. Hunting and gathering is actually really hard. Here’s Henrich’s description of how the Inuit hunt seals:

[quotes from Henrich about how the Inuit hunt seals]

How do hunter-gatherers know how to do all this? We usually summarize it as “culture”. How did it form? Not through some smart Inuit or Fuegian person reasoning it out; if that had been it, smart European explorers should have been able to reason it out too.

He says "hunting and gathering is actually really hard", as if we need reminding that being a Really Smart Guy doesn't automatically confer you knowledge of all local flora and fauna and where to find them.

In the last paragraph, he claims that because Europe explorers (certified smartypants) couldn't figure something out in the several weeks before they starved to death, it is thereby obvious that local people could not have figured it out consciously either, even with multiple generations to beat their heads against the problem. Is Scott not familiar at all with the slow, incremental process by which modern scientific progress is made? To make clear me own biases on the object level issue: I think cultural evolution pretty clearly plays a big role in the development of human societies, likely the dominant one across history, though I think some level of conscious, intentional invention and experimentation pretty clearly plays a role too. I couldn't comment on the precise balance between the two. But even though Scott is ultimately arguing for a position I basically agree with, his reasoning here doesn't even look convincing. Unless, that is, you have tacitly accepted the notion that intelligence is magic, and that being a certified super smartypants frees you from all constraints of time, resources, and prior knowledge.

Sometimes I just want to shake these people and yell "some things are not basically about how smart you are! Some things are basically about other things!"

#navel gazing

325 notes · View notes

sapphire-weapon · 10 months

Note

hello there, how's your day going :)

i know you've talked about this before, i've seen your answer myself but i just have to say this one to let out some frustration in me lol

i've been scrolling down on tiktok for some eagleone content and whenever i see a video slightly about them there's like "siblings fr" / "brother-sister" captions and it's making me almost fume LMFAOO

what the HELL are these people talking about seriously.

and the comments are even worse, saying "so glad everyone is thinking of them as siblings" kinda shit

i have this urge....urge to puke bc whAT 🗣️🗣️❗❗

like, say something normal like "good friends" or "platonic" at least if you can't see them as a ship, since NOTHING in RE4make between Leon and Ashley are sibling-like to me and im sure many people who know smt little about body language can tell that

i just think this is some kinda propaganda to stop ppl shipping eagleone at this point lol some new ppl could indeed feel bad about shipping them if the majority of the ppl they see on social media see them as... siblings *pukes*

however it makes me wanna write some juicy, intense smut with the ship just to rile these ppl up haha

(thanks for reading this nonsense babbling)

.....

I know it's frustrating, anon. It's easy to ignore one person being dumb and wrong, because your brain can more easily go "ha ha look at what the jackass said" and move on. But to see people being stupid and wrong en masse over and over and over again is a little soul-crushing.

I'm personally going through this with the goddamn mafia background shit. I've kind of reached a point where I'd rather be trapped in a room with the entirety of Aeon fandom than have to bear witness to even just one more motherfucker who actually thinks that Leon is actually legitimately meant to be seen as Italian by Capcom -- ESPECIALLY after seeing what he looks like in Remake -- because apparently half of the people in RE fandom have never actually seen an Italian person in their fucking life. And, as someone from New Jersey, I take that shit personally. My stepdad's last name is Renzulli. Don't fucking tell me that Leon Scott fucking Kennedy is meant to be the son of Italian immigrants.

But I think what's important to bear in mind is that nothing that dumbasses say in this fandom -- no matter how many they are or how many times they say their stupid bullshit -- changes what the canon actually is or says. Twitter/Tumblr/TikTok dumbasses especially have no power over RE canon. When game devs look for fan response, they look for actual fan response to their official tweets and blog posts, as well as some forums (hello ResetEra), prominent content creators on Twitch and Youtube and what their audiences are saying, and game reviews (as well as comments posted on game reivews). No one at Capcom gives a singular flying fuck what the deeper fandom side of fandom is doing or saying, because they know that most of us are certifiable.

So, as rage-inducing as it is, we gotta just let some things go, man.

Leon/Ashley is a canonical romance, intended to be viewed as romantic by Capcom, and that's not going to change no matter how many thinly-veiled misogynists try to bad-faith morality police their way around fandom otherwise.

Leon Kennedy has no official backstory per canon and has never, in any way, shape, or form, been modeled or portrayed in a way that's meant to be viewed as Italian or in a way that makes sense with the idea he has mafia ties in his family or background.

Anyone who ever tries to tell you otherwise is selling something.

Remember: if it's not in the games, it's not canon. And what is in the games is a romance. Full stop.

So, if you can channel that rage into something productive like smut, please, for the love of god, do. It's a way better response than getting yourself all riled up. And this ship needs more creators putting stuff in the tag, besides.

#resident evil 4 #leon kennedy #ashley graham #eagleone

26 notes · View notes

czerwonykasztelanic · 1 year

Text

Metal to the masses!

LAST UPDATED: Feb 15 2023

Ave! Here's a list of various links to all things heavy metal. Doesn't matter if you're just getting into the genre and feeling totally lost, looking for something new to expand your already fvking brvtal taste, or seeking to win a debate under a Facebook post - this post is for you! (I'm by no means an expert, but I do try.)

Archives, music-sharing platforms and news outlets:

Encyclopaedia Metallum - If you want to own someone in an online argument, this is the place to go. Everything on every band, album and genre. When I say "every band", I mean it - even my local thrash outfit with 40 listeners on Spotify have their page. If you create your own account, you can add more pages to the Metal Archive, write reviews, browse forums, et cetera. Just don't fuck around and the mods will leave you be.

Kuttengallerie - A huge gallery of various battle vests and battle jackets, mostly from the 2000s and early 2010s. They're even sorted alphabetically. If you're looking for ideas or references, head on in. It's also part of a larger online forum, which is sadly mostly inactive. (This one's in German, but Google Translate exists, guys. Also, shout-out to my brother in metal Blues for showing me this!)

Rate Your Music - Not exclusive to metal, but you can create lists, rate music (like the name suggests), write reviews, et cetera. Good way to discover new things.

AngryMetalGuy - Funny, scathing, high-quality. One of the most prominent metal blogs. Bonus points from me because TheKenWord is a fan of Artificial Brain. (Big thanks to @dropdeadjack for this suggestion - and many others!)

Bandcamp - You can buy digital tracks, albums, even merchandise. Oftentimes it's "name your price", so look out for bargains. Bandcamp charges very low fees - it pays artists way more than most other platforms do. Also, it has curated collections.

Soundcloud - Good for uploading your own things, as well as finding others' stuff. A sort of alternative to Spotify/Apple Music/et cetera.

Loudwire - Mostly big news and sensations (picture Slipknot's beef with MGK); not a valuable source of information but it is funny sometimes and keeps you up-to-date with the talk of the town. Things like reunions, break-ups, new albums; rock and metal alike.

Metalsucks - Also lighthearted, but seems to be more respected in the metal community itself. Again, keeps you up to date.

Metal Injection - Another fairly reliable metal news outlet.

Documentaries, movies, YouTube channels:

Metal Evolution - Really well-made, high-quality series, but I've only watched part of it myself. By metalheads and for metalheads. Here are links to some episodes: Extreme Metal, Pre-Metal, Thrash Metal, Power Metal, Early Metal, Glam Metal.

Banger TV - Hosted by Sam Dunn, the guy who did the Metal Evolution documentary. Lots of interviews, reviews, tips; hell, even a comedy series (Heavy Metal Hitchhiker). They've also started a podcast, apparently.

Heavy: The Story of Metal - Not my favorite, but it does get the point across. Here's a link to episode 4 - Seek & Destroy. You can probably find the rest of the episodes on YouTube.

Heavy Metal Democracy Project - Banger TV strikes yet again. This playlist has videos such as "How to get into death metal", "How to get into thrash metal", so on and so forth.

Festivals:

Wacken Open Air - Germany. Considered by most to be the largest one in Europe.

Hellfest - France. Also a contender to Wacken's title.

Download - UK. The Donington Park one. Not metal-exclusive, one of the biggest festivals in the world. See also: Download Australia and Download Japan.

Bloodstock Open Air - UK.

Maryland Deathfest - US. As the name suggest, mostly death metal.

Louder Than Life - US. Possibly the biggest festival in America.

Aftershock - US. Rock and metal.

Ozzfest - Touring. Put Osborne back on the map.

Knotfest - Touring. Founded by Slipknot.

Summer Breeze - Germany.

Mystic Festival - Poland. Biased because I've been there.

Sweden Rock Festival - Sweden (lol). (Not listing all the Scandinavian ones because we'd be here all day.)

Metaldays - Slovenia. Biased because I almost was there.

Brutal Assault - Czech Republic.

Tuska Open Air - Finland.

Copenhell - Denmark.

Hell & Heaven - Mexico.

Rock al Parque - Colombia. One of the biggest in Latin America.

Hellprint - Indonesia.

Bangalore Open Air - India.

Other:

Guitar Hero - If you've followed me for a while, you'll know that I love that retro mess of a game. Here are downloadable versions of World Tour and Guitar Hero III.

Louder Than Hell - An oral history of metal by Katherine Turman and John Wiederhorn. Interviews with all the big names - hundreds of 'em. (Thanks @gia-is-a-punk-rocker for this one!)

#Output #Heavy Metal #Masterpost #If you've got anything to add - hit me up!

47 notes · View notes

study-with-aura · 2 months

Text

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

It was strange not having my robotics course today. I did have more time to study, which was nice. I am also able to add in a second hour of piano practice on Wednesdays now. I almost have my second piece memorized. I don't want to consider it memorized just yet, despite playing without sheet music, because it isn't fluid.

Midway through the week. I have seen several blogs I follow stating that their mental health has not been too great, so please remember to take your breaks and do something nice for yourself that isn't studying. This can also mean getting in more sleep or relaxing your brain by playing a game or watching a show or even better, getting outside if the weather is nice where you are. Socialize with people too, whether that's family, friends, or another you person you trust like a therapist, teacher, or school counselor. We have to remember to look out for ourselves and give our bodies and our minds what they need. This is easier said than done for many based on personal situations and circumstances, but we can aim to do the best we can given our situations and circumstances. It will look different for everyone, and that's okay. We are all doing amazing things!

Tasks Completed:

Geometry - Review of second quarter topics

Lit and Comp II - Reviewed Unit 20 vocabulary + read chapter 35 of Emma by Jane Austen + read the news

Spanish 2 - Pretended to write to a prospective renter about an apartment I am trying to rent, which included details about the apartment in Spanish (I found a local listing and described the apartment using that)

Bible I - Read Judges 6

World History - Ungraded quiz + watched a presentation on the end of WWI + watched videos on the Treaty of Versailles and its impact + answered questions about the Treaty of Versailles + viewed maps before and after the treaty

Biology with Lab - Read about the history of life according to evolution scientists + read an article on carbon dating from a creationist scientist

Foundations - Read more on reverence + completed next quiz on Read Theory + read more about what propaganda is

Piano - Practiced for two hours in one hour split sessions

Khan Academy - Completed World History Unit 6: Lesson 5 (considering the ongoing conflict, this was very interesting to watch) + completed High School Biology Unit 7: Lesson 1 (parts 1-3)

CLEP - None today

Duolingo - Studied for 15 minutes (Spanish, French, Chinese) + completed daily quests

Reading - Read pages 209-244 of Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi

Chores - None today

Activities of the Day:

Personal Bible Study (Psalms 34)

Ballet

Variations

Journal/Mindfulness

What I’m Grateful for Today:

I am grateful to have more study time even if I do miss the robotics course and the people I met through it.

Quote of the Day:

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

-Nelson Mandela

🎧Tidepools from Isla Vista Suite - Martha Hill Duncan

#study community #study blog #study inspiration #study motivation #studyblr #studyblr community #study-with-aura

6 notes · View notes

cf56 · 1 year

Text

My thoughts on episode 10

SPOILERS for season 3, episode 10 of the Animaniacs reboot

So that's great. I took two hours to write this entire review, and then with one press of control + Z, it was completely gone. Great site Tumblr. Really works as intended.

I was in a better mood, but having to rewrite this ENTIRE thing sucks so badly. I try to give my genuine thoughts as I go, and it's impossible to replicate that on the second try. I want to scream. Why can't this week just go right?

So now you're getting a negative opening for what was a super positive review. I seriously want to punch a wall. A website meant for long posts doesn't have an editor designed for them. That's just great.

I can't rewrite that whole thing. Just have a collection of screenshots and some jumbled thoughts.

I'm sorry for Pinky and the Brain fans that their final showing was so short. I didn't like Brain talking about the "endlessly repetitive formulaic rebooted franchise that relies on just a handful of tired characters." You can say it's the writers taking a shot at themselves, but it really isn't. It's not their show. They didn't create the characters. Combined with the ending, it just feels a little disrespectful to the people who put their heart and soul into creating this show in the first place, and to the fans who genuinely love these characters.

Look at them being silly!

I can't gush enough about the song. Such cute animation, such powerful music!

I teared up while listening to it this time. I'll probably do the same on every future watch.

I liked that Wakko was right about everything and had the idea that saved the day. The Warners literally saved the world and they'll still be treated like garbage by everyone around them.

The Joe segment was funny, especially the zoom out at the end. I liked hearing "Waltzing Matilda" in the background.

Dot was so cute wanting to go on the teacups, just being infatuated with the idea of spinning around in a little teacup!

This segment is the epitome of "this is my life now."

Poor Wakko has the worst luck. The SAME CLOWN just happened to be at this carnival? At least we know he got down from Mars.

I thought it was weird to have two cataclysmic endings for the reboot six minutes apart from each other. Although they say this sketch was written for season 1, I find it really hard to believe that this wasn't originally meant to end the season/reboot, especially with Dot's quip at the end. I'm not sure I would want this to be the ending, though. It would have sucked if the Warners were the ones who explicitly ended their universe and killed everyone inside. That would have proven everyone right about their destructive nature all along.

I thought this was a refreshing segment. Slappy sounded and looked great. Like I expected, it was short and there was no Skippy, but I'm happy it exists. I was surprised and happy to see that they got Sherri Stoner to return for work on the reboot.

I liked how Everyday Safety was just a never-ending cascade of total nonsense.

The Council is not pleased.

I thought Wakko's bottle song was catchy. I liked that it actually sounded like Wakko blowing. I wonder if they got Jess to do that for real in the studio?

And the ending. I wrote four paragraphs about it, and it sucks so bad because I thought I made my points quite well. Let me try again.

I understand the metaphor with the abrupt and sudden ending. I know the asteroid is meant to represent Hulu. I just don't think they should have pushed their bitter disappointment with the show ending directly onto us. They should have thought it through a lot better.

If they were going to go doom and gloom, which they shouldn't have, they should've at least given the ending some emotional weight. How am I supposed to feel anything when the characters themselves don't show any reaction to their unexpected, oncoming violent deaths? I'm not saying it should have been super depressing with crying and begging. They just should have given a genuine reaction instead of doing business as usual. The closest set of siblings in the world is about to go out in a fiery blaze, and they're not even touching each other. They're just standing near each other awkwardly. Have them embrace and accept their death with a positive remark about how it was all worth it. That would at least give some closure.

What they should have done, if I could rewrite it from scratch, is give us a satisfying, happy ending. Show the Warners finally earning their freedom from the tower after 90 years. Maybe have them gaze at the sunset together, mirroring how the sun rose at the very beginning of the reboot. Even if they didn't have time to animate new scenery for something like that, anything would have been better for this. This ending just feels empty. It lacks any emotion besides pure shock and it feels like an F you to everyone who cares about the show. The creators might have intended that F you to feel like it was coming from Hulu, but Hulu didn't write this scene. The reboot writers did, and they had the power to leave us with something better. This could be the last Animaniacs we ever see.

I'm at least happy they attempted an ending. The original didn't have one at all. It just sucks that Animaniacs had to end unexpectedly and unsatisfyingly both times it's been suddenly cancelled. The reboot was supposed to fix that.

This was perhaps the most entertaining episode of the season for me. It has one of the greatest Animaniacs songs ever, maybe the best song of the season, I'm still not sure. I still love The Island of Dr. Warneau a lot, so I'm giving this episode a solid second place in my final ranking for the season.

Episode 6

Episode 10

Episode 3

Episode 9

Episode 7

Episode 4

Episode 2

Episode 1

Episode 5

Episode 8

That means that the majority of episodes this season are episodes I would consider really good. The top 4 are all episodes I would consider really great. I'll give my thoughts on the season as a whole in my collective season 3 review, but I'll need a few more days before I start writing that. I need some time to collect myself and reflect.

I'm sorry for how this review turned out. The first version felt a lot more positive, because in this attempt I just wanted to express my more well-developed thoughts, which happened to be criticisms. I liked this episode a lot. I just so desperately wish I hadn't lost that first version. It only adds to the most heavily conflicting mix of emotions I've ever felt in one week. I was feeling good, and now I'm knocked down again. I'm sorry to be the one putting so much negativity into the fandom. I want this to be a positive place for all. If I wasn't able to express my emotions here, though, I wouldn't be able to deal with them at all. So thanks to those that have been listening.

I encourage you to add to the discussion of this episode if you want. If you're from the future, please don't say anything about any of the episodes that come after this ;)

#animaniacs #animaniacs season 3 #animaniacs reboot #animaniacs 2020 #animaniacs screenshots #animaniacs analysis #animaniacs spoilers #animaniacs episode 10 #cfposts

20 notes · View notes