#shitty animation cliche one sided characters

[wrenfea]

The Simpsons have always been great but the last season (34-35) they were not holding back at all. Amazing satire, all other adult animation should be taking notes.

#wrenfea.exe #they make it extremely clear its satire even for people barely paying attention #i thought by now the Simpsons would be redundant and running out of ideas but absolutely not #they tackle how big charities are just set up to keep the rich from paying taxes #and that they dont actually put resources towards helping people bc the need is what gets them paid #they also tackle how police gain money and power and no longer help people #and how they see reducing their budget by even .000001% as them being defunded #and thin blue line people dont immediately stop watching bc they use crossing guards as the example not cops #but its very clear who they are actually talking about (and they bring in the TSA #ICE and even right wing vigilantes #the Simpsons #in contrast i tried watching krapopolis and its...horrible #shitty animation cliche one sided characters #its a cool concept but absolutely horrible execution #i only was interested bc ive been on a history kick recently and the guy from wwdits voices a character

[jeweled-blue-eyes]

Recently I inhaled all translated volumes of the Ascendance of a Bookworm light novels, and I realized that the full beauty of this light novel cannot be appreciated until one has consumed a truckload of shitty otome isekai manhwas.

First off, there's actual worldbuilding. Praise be to the gods!

The following is... technically spoilers but I think it'll spark your interest and enhance one's appreciation for the author's brilliant execution.

The protagonist isekai's into a fantasy world, but doesn't really realize it's a full-on high fantasy world until she gets involved with the nobility because she was reborn into a peasant girl and peasants don't have much to do with magic and mana and all that jazz.

The protagonist, a peasant girl, gets adopted into nobility by her home duchy's highest-ranking nobleman (the archduke or “aub” as they're called, but don't let the name fool you— all rulers of duchies are called archdukes and her home duchy's actually somewhat on the lower end) but the process isn't all sunshines and rainbows, she loses her peasant family, they're alive but they're bound by a magic contract to never treat each other as family ever again— and it's heartwrenching because they truly, truly love each other and her family committed treason to save her (and she in turn was forced into the adoption to save her family from an execution). It's traumatizing.

The world is a fucked up place and the protagonist acknowledges it, and the dissonance between her own modern morality and the world's accepted customs make it hard for her to adjust, and she frequently comes across as an oddball or a threat/wildcard because of it instead of... I dunno, the modern protagonist taking over a reviled character's body and makes everyone love her by “girlboss”? (*side-eyeing Cha Siyeon* but ehhh it's not like she's the only one)

There's politics! Actual politics! And the protagonist starts off as a merchant apprentice and unlike so many otome isekai's that attempt to do merchant work this is actually... it's a world I can sink my teeth in and actually feel satisfied.

The first two arcs (or “parts” as they're called, the story's volumes are usually marked as “Part [#] Volume [#]”) are a bit more on the slice-of-life side with the world's darkness and politicking mostly in the background because the protagonist simply wasn't aware of the shit that was going on behind the scenes or outside her field of influence as she spent those two parts in the lower city as a peasant girl. And then she's forced into an adoption and shit ramps up.

The story doesn't allow itself to lull, there's always one thing or another constantly shaking up the status quo and honestly, I fucking adore it.

I can't quite vouch for the anime's quality as I haven't watched it (apparently a lot of stuff got condensed or cut out?) but I can wholeheartedly vouch for the light novels.

(it started out as a webnovel so I can see how it was written to be a deliberate subversion of the otome isekai genre as many korean manhwas of the same genre also generally start out as webnovels)

I remember Ascendance of the Bookwork! I must have watched the first few episodes when the anime first came out. Although I found the idea of a bookworm commoner protagonist refreshing I don't know why I didn't continue watching the series. It could be just like you said because they cut things and as a result of that the atmosphere seemed more lighthearted than in reality or it might have been that I didn't watch far enough and kind of forgot about the series as I often do with media where you have to wait for the next episode/season once you've caught up.

I had a totally different impression of the anime back then. I thought that the heroine would invent the letter press and start a book binding business. My interest dwindled when I saw a spoiler that she'd got adopted by a noble after her powers were revealed and mistakenly assumed that it would go the cliche route. I'm pleased to see that for once the adoption created a conflict and the real family actually cares about their child. (I think they discovered that she wasn't the real Myne but came to love her anyway? Which is great but must have come as a great shock to the family.) I might start watching the anime again. I don't know if I'll try the webnovel, because honestly I've never managed to fully enjoy a webnovel so far. Much to my regret, I want to feel what y'all are feeling. 😭 Why is classic lit a breeze for me but I struggle with webnovels?

Though can it be really a subversion of the Otome Isekai genre when the world is not a dating sim/romance novel? Is there something like an og hero/heroine protagonist who she runs into much later? When I think of subversion of Otome Isekai I think about stories like Surviving Romance and The Concubine Walkthrough.

#notanon #answered asks

[littlemonstert-blog]

Green Arrow Dawn of DC

First issue starts of as generic but I'm kinda intrested

But I can't help to laugh cause everytime this guy get lost on a island no matter what lmao.

I think Green Arrow needs a better Rogue's Gallery because usually he end up with Batman's C-listers villians.

Not really a fan of Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) but there were some cool runs he was in. I think the three times I was ever intrested in him were JLU, Young Justice & Injustice.

I couldn't really care for the main character but side cast I love.

Roy harper ( Red Arrow/Arsenal/Speedy)

But I'm happy for Roy gotten to have his daughter back again. It was amazing journey to see him fight his addiction. Lian Harper is a somewhat new so I need a few more years. Cool to see her work with Catwoman.

Black Canary

I still wonder is it New52/ Rebirth Dinah Drake Lance bc she got it by marriage to Kurt Lance never understood why they made it so confusing. Maybe they went back to Dinah Laruel Lance since the Infinite Frontier/Dark Crisis aka soft reboot happened and that's everyone favorite version she was the one who is the second version of Canary as a metahuman. I'll go with "Laurel" Lance since she the version that knows Roy has a kid. I just hope we explore her side with the JSA & other bonds. Not to be too tied up in Green Arrow lore.

Idk about this knew outfit something feels missing to it.

Connor Hawke

He's okay maybe need to reread his comic runs. Similar to Damian Wayne ( Conner was made first though I'd say Damian is a better character) but difference is, Green Arrow knew about him but was never around aka he was a shitty dad but, I kinda let it go since they reconnected.

Arrowette (Suzanne "Cissie" King-Jones)

She a legacy character her mother Bonnie King was the first Arrowette way way back in old comics "Miss Arrow" a Green arrow fangirl. She never was apart of the Arrow Family. Cissie was just apart of Young Justice & would on/off quit being a hero writers tended to leave her behind. She's pretty intresting hope to see more of her in green arrow. Hopefully she'll be more used in the animated series Young Justice next season. I think this would offically be her first time meeting him in comics.

Speedy (Mia Dearden)

I know bit of a cliche but, Mia is a fun character even if her past is sad. She had a bad childhood and somewhere down the line got Mia her trafficked into a prostitution ring. Mia tested positive for HIV, but still wanted to keep fighting and never gving up the good fight. Hope to see her more they left her behind in the years of comics. Don't know if they still have her with HIV in this countunity. New52 daughter of a crimelord but still she's a good person.

Red Arrow (Emiko Queen)

Another Diamine Wayne but more willing wants to be good. Green Arrow half-sister. I'll be honest I don't care for her. She not all the intresting compared to other characters. I'd say the one time I care for her was in Teen Titans comic runs. Her relationship with Wallace West (Kid Flash) is cute tho.

John Diggle

A character from the arrow show he was pretty cool in there so they added him in the comics.

Red Canary (Sienna)

Not much is known about her but she is a college student a fan of Black canary & took up the Canary mantle when a report said she had died. I have alot riding on her since I like Black Canary to. I also love her design.

the rest in the group picture are anti heroes or villians so there's that.

A character I hope to see: Artemis Crock,I know she's mostly a villian back in somewhat old comics. They added her in New52 ( looks like she was going to switch sides to anit/hero) but it was trash. due to the series Young Justice & Stargirl. I love her character hoping to see her more in the comics with Green Arrow or JSA comics.

#dc comics #green arrow #roy harper #red arrow #black canary #john diggle #red canary #dinah lance #lian harper #emiko queen #speedy #arrowette #hope it's a good run #artemis crock

[688199]

shitty miraculous ramblings regarding the bibles

reading through the earliest bible version vs the one disney accepted. obviously there’s a lot of pointers but here are some i like to discuss.

in the early version, marinette has a clear goal as ladybug. it’s established right in the beginning that it’s her fault that the kwamis are loose, so she’s determined to solve her own problem. this gives her a reason to do what she’s doing, and also alludes to her sense of responsibility and righteousness. but at the same time, you can show that marinette genuinely enjoys being a hero because she can help people. thus, making her goal even more strong.

on the other hand, the latest version doesn’t state why marinette’s goal is to capture akumas. sure it’s because she’s ladybug, duh. but just “oh i want to help people!” is too weak of a reason imo. of course, this can lead to great development later on in which marinette struggles with the responsibilities of everything and questions why she decided to be a hero in the first place. but the current series doesn’t do that, i think? reading the origin story, it comes off as just “you’re the chosen one and you can’t do shit about it” and marinette is like: “aight idk bout this but ok.”

however in both versions, what marinette lacks is an internal goal/ conflict, what she needs to become a better person but is unable to due to mental obstacles.

sure she has flaws such as clumsiness, impulsiveness, self doubt, but it’s either there for comedic reasons and a lame way to drive a non existent plot, or doesn’t remain throughout the series as a proper challenge she needs to overcome. for example, if we expand on her insecurity, the series can explore how she constantly doubts her abilities when she fails to capture an akuma. how her confidence is just a mere facade to convince herself. and how she doubts chat noir’s love for her because she thinks her hero persona is fake. yet she battles through her negative thoughts to do what’s right. hey look, an admirable heroine who shows that she’s human too by having realistic struggles and not a dumb mary sue like canon marinette!

i also really like that felix has a disability. it gives him a clear goal, as well as a reason to why his character is as such. he’s not cold, just focused. but at the same time, he feels restrained by the expectations he places upon himself, unlike adrien, who has an outside factor physically restraining him. i think this makes for a more interesting story to tell (go fuck yourself thomas astruc, “felix isn’t interesting” MY ASS). but felix doesn’t have any ties with hawkmoth, his parents are just overseas all the time. in a way, i think it’s good? because one complaint about the series is that since adrien and gabriel are father and son but they’re also enemies as their aliases, it kinda overshadows marinette even though she’s the protagonist. and obviously this show is meant to be about ladybug AND chat noir, so in terms of character plot, they should stand equally.

and this god awful change they made makes me wanna bomb the houses of whoever decided the latter was better. in the early version, marinette falls in love with felix because she admires his skill, sensibility and determination. NOW? she loves him because he’s “good-looking” and “mysterious”. yet has a so called “soft side” which she loves. and because he gives her a god damn umbrella? do you not understand how shallow that is? the reason is as cliche as corporate romance anime, AND YET THOMAS ASTRUC SAYS FELIX IS THE CLICHE?!?!!!?! genuinely how?

it’s clear og marinette doesn’t place felix on a pedestal like how canon marinette does now (ahem “untouchable”). she admires him, sure, but not in a celebrity sort of way. oh and also, i really really love the fact her goal is to make felix smile and laugh, not as much “date him”. like it’s an after thought. “who knows, thanks to this, maybe he’ll fall in love with her one day”. that’s so wholesome 😞 it does bring more meaning to her actions such as giving him tickets. even though it’s technically a date, she really just wants him to enjoy himself away from his studies. isn’t that great? isn’t that a wonderful way to portray love to a younger audience? “if you truly love someone, it’s ok whether they reject you, as long as you make them smile.” is so much better than glorifying a creepy stalker.

AND SEE. LOOK AT THIS. i hate those miraculous dickriders who shit on the og ideas saying: “i’m so glad they didn’t go with the original. felix is so mean and cold towards marinette, it’s clear he hates her! adrien is so much better!” NO. FELIX DOES LIKE AND APPRECIATE MARINETTE. HE FINDS HER CUTE AS HELL. HE FINDS HER ATTEMPTS TOUCHING. HES JUST FOCUSED.

i’ll probably post more ramblings soon, regarding ladybug/ chat noir’s relationship, regarding other changes. i have a lot to talk about.

#ladybug pv

[jusdisslotus]

Commadore, if your gonna a little petty bitch, about your seeing red comic shit show, as someone whos planning to EVENTUALLY criticise tbatf's shitty comic-

Tbatf's shit is better than yours. Their art is shit but at least it's easier on the eyes. Their story is awful and cliche, it wasn't even the first "edgy red leader" story, I've been in the fandom forever has. I was HERE when Tord was still here, when Edd was alive, and there were TONS of red leader edgelord content. I was one of the ones with better genetic "Tord's an asshole".

Do you realize how bad you'd have to be for me to consider tbatf to be a better option? which, the plot is basically that it has no plot. Just a lot of running around in circles, considering the plot it sets up itself to supposedly have or interesting lore (none of which is about main characters all about ocs) before dropping it to go chasing its own tail again?

The fact that some of the official crew likes this shows deeply, as it's clear that tbatfs writing ability is rubbing off on them, the beach episode was basically that issue but it's an animated show. I don't have high hopes and will garunteed Jon Lopez will find a way to sneek in a reference in the up coming confirmed wtfuture 2, which I don't have high hopes for anyways.

Side track: wtfuture 2 won't focus on red leader, and will mostly like focus on wtf Matt did at the end of wtfuture 1 and then generally reversing it, maybe past Edd/Tom and feature Edd/Tom/Matt teaming up. Or a sequel with future edd trying to kill past him again. Maybe they'll address monster tom, maybe. Chances are they won't full on tackle the issue. But don't expect red to get a lot of attention beyond a vague Easter egg. I don't trust them to do anything actually interesting, I don't hold the writing that high in regards.

But honestly, CCP, I much rather read tbatf or any other generic shitty Wattpad fanfiction than your comic. Your comic just feels like like it belongs on watt with other 10 year olds ideas and that's an insult to 10 years and preteens considering Edd started eddsworld when he was 15. To say children can't make decent content would be hypocritical. But it feels like trying to hard, and it comes across as cringe.

I guess that's what happens when you buy too hard on on how the end makes Tord out to be the devil and most evil character when Matt's done worse on mutiple occasions and the fandom (tbatf included) boils him down to incompetent idiot man child, despite the literal threat he's outted himself to be, and why you realllllyy shouldn't insult him. He's forgetful, not stupid. Let's be real.

Any story line that hinges on making Tord hella sympathetic because he's just UwU misunderstood is doomed to fail and turn out horribly, because by the shows he's logic's he's not misunderstood and Matt's somehow not evil and an idiot.

If you really want me to go page by page in-depth, allow me, but the results aren't charming, and do not favor you in the slightlest, my dear. I'm more than willing to give your game a roll of the dice though.

^

Just leaving this here cause it’s a lot

[caffeineandsociety]

Speaking of how people use accusations of pedophilia as a thought-terminating cliche, we need to have a conversation about how blatantly fucking racist the internet's current lolicon panic is.

Like - and I DESPISE that I have to include this preface - I don't like that it's a staple of harem and harem-adjacent games and anime to have the token edgelord little sister and looks-like-a-prepubescent-child romance options either. In my personal opinion it's uncomfortable at best and ruins the entire damned piece with its out-of-place bad-kind-of-weirdness at worst, and I think it's at least mildly irresponsible to sell taboo fetishism in the mainstream, as a side element in pieces that are decidedly not about the taboo fetish, to lonely people without caring if some of them are inclined to forget that some taboos exist for DAMNED GOOD REASONS, because "eh, not my problem, they have disposable income."

You know. Just like how it's irresponsible at best for adult-ish, dark-ish high fantasy to insist on having gratuitous sexual assault scenes out the wazoo for "historical accuracy" in a universe with dragons and absolutely no racial diversity despite ample evidence of trade networks that expand beyond these homogeneously white bubbles we focus on.

Yet way too much of the internet is out here, subtly or not, subconsciously or not, acting like this one shitty trope means Japan is just some den of degenerate men and gleefully submissive women, this perverted land that will sexualize anything and everything and in fact takes it as a challenge to cross every line and thinks child molestation is fun for the whole family because their age of consent is 14-

Which is. You know. Hm.

First of all, it can be argued that the age of consent in Japan is 14 in the same sense that the age of consent in the US is 12 or even nonexistent - that is to say, that's the youngest any prefecture is allowed to permit, and the only time it's actually used is in the case of close-in-age cases ("Romeo and Juliet laws") - i.e., the kind of legal codes that make it harder for homophobic parents to have their 15-year old children's same-age same-sex partners arrested and labeled as sex offenders. For no-strings-attached age of consent it's 16-18 depending on prefecture, exactly like it is in the US. The fact that even people who really try not to be racist or xenophobic will end up parroting this myth is...alarming.

Second, again, it's not like anime and Japanese games are the only things that have really uncomfortably sexualized genre staples, or that treat extremely young girls like sex-objects-in-training. It's not an anime-only thing that if we want a female character to have a ~dark~ backstory, it almost always involves sexual violence, as if women can't have any other kind of fear or traumatic experience (or as if men can't have sexual trauma except as an excuse to pay it forward, for that matter). Child actresses are often expected to wear fashionable, form-fitting clothes from damned near the moment they start walking, whereas young boys on screen generally get to just dress like kids. Western kids' media, especially that aimed at girls, is often glutted with obvious creator fetishes meant to fly over the kids' heads - and, okay, some of the breakdowns of this pattern are unfair and themselves the ones doing the sexualizing, the overlap between "things adults semi-often have fetishes for" and "things kids giggle at and/or may enjoy as sensory play" is...A Lot, but it is often framed in a weirdly sexual way, never mind that foot guy at Nickelodeon who got caught fetish mining from his audience of children.

Yet, for some reason, we only care about those cases when they're in the headlines, but when it's anime, we have to be on the lookout for it 24/7 and call it out EVERY time it shows up in ANYTHING we see and complain LOUDLY about it ALL the time or else we're child abuse enablers?

It's. It's xenophobia and racism. Full stop. And I'm sick to death of seeing it.

#satanic panic...2!! #that's it that's what this shit is #with all the racist and queerphobic and other christofascist implications included

[gubler-me-up]

Big, Open Arms (MGG request)

Request: Hi, a MGG request for you.  You're a famous comedian and are cast as the new agent for CM. The cast/crew all love you, even before you come on set as you're hilarious, especially Matthew which EVERYONE knows about. As a huge fan of the show you're nervous, but you get welcomed into the CM family pretty quickly, and adore them all. You become best friends with Matthew, and after a while he asks you out on a date, and you say yes then after the media get involved, Matthew asks you to be his gf.

A/N: Thanks for the request, anon! This was a fully loaded request, so I hope I encompassed every aspect to your liking! Hope you enjoy!!

Couple: Spencer Reid/Fem!Reader

Category: Fluff

Content warning: None

Word count: 2.5k

——————–

You were rehearsing your lines before you had to go on set for the day. You had to admit you sucked at memorizing lines, so there were a lot of blooper reals of you stumbling over your words. You hadn’t even been part of the Criminal Minds cast for a whole year yet. Good thing the cast and crew understood how hard it was to memorize masses of technical dialogue.

Your character was named Bianca Johnson, an SSA with a background in technology. She was basically Garcia, but could kick ass instead of petting cute animals. A lot of your lines were heavy technical geek talk, which was hard to say in a scene, let alone the whole episode. Whenever you messed up you’d joked around and said Shemar’s biceps were distracting you from actually getting your lines right.

Your favourite scenes were with Matthew though. He was such a great actor and hilarious as well. When you first introduced yourself to him he told you he thought you were such a hilarious comedian. One of his favourites actually. You told him your greatest joke of all time was landing the role of such a smart character when you only had two functioning brain cells. He let out a hardy laugh before agreeing with you by saying he also had barely functioning brain cells.

Everyone was full of the same excited energy when they met you. It was like having a family gathering every time you were on set. AJ was the sweetest, coolest person you’ve ever met, Shemar was charming, Paget was completely down to earth and Kirsten was such a character. Matthew was the standout cast member for you though. His portrayal of Dr. Spencer Reid was amazing to watch on T.V., but was even more amazing to watch in real life.

He would just spur out lines on lines of facts without messing up once. When he did though it was funny and adorable. You’d try to cover your laugh every time, but he would automatically turn to look at you with a goofy smile. Your laugh would escape immediately and then everyone else would join along.

You looked up from your script as you heard two loud bangs on your door. You looked at the time on your phone and saw it was already 8:55 a.m.

“Y/N, set in five,” you heard the producer yell.

“I’m surprised you’re here early today, Jeff,” you joked.

You heard him laugh. “If Shemar can be early on set anything’s possible, right?”

You gasped. “Shemar’s on set before I am? I have to see this.”

You got up from your chair and rushed towards the door to leave for set. Before you left, you went back to your mirror. You fluffed up your hair and adjusted your breasts. You wanted to make sure you were presentable as possible. For the camera, of course.

As you walked on set you were greeted with a welcoming hug from AJ. She literally gave the most mom-like hugs ever. It was comparable to eating cookies from the cookie jar.

“Happy wrap day,” she said as she let you go.

“I can’t believe we’re wrapping the season already. I feel as if we’ve only been filming for a week,” you said.

“I know, time flies around here. One second you’re in season one and then boom you’re in season 15,” she said.

“If I can look flawlessly good throughout 15 seasons like you I think I can get used to this job.”

She giggled and playfully rolled your eyes. “Are you kidding me? You always look so great. Trust me, a little someone keeps talking about how great you are.”

You looked at her curiously. If she was talking about who you thought she was talking about than you were ecstatic. Shemar, her and some crew members had told you when you first joined that Matthew was a huge fan of yours. Had talked about you quite a few times during the downtime on set.

“More Matthew gossip? I’m in,” you heard Shemar say from behind you.

You turned around and smiled at him. “Well, well, when Jeff said you were early on set I didn’t believe it, but now that I see it with my own eyes I still can’t believe it.”

He chuckled. “Well, baby, here I am in the flesh. If it’s opposite day maybe you’ll have a flawless run with your lines.”

“Good one. Maybe we should trade characters so I can look hot and kick down doors while you talk nerdy to me.”

“You don’t have to kick down doors in your case to look hot, Y/N. I think a certain someone thinks you’re pretty hot as is.”

You gave him a suspicious stare before looking back at AJ. She smiled and looked around the set. You folded your arms as you were waiting for further details to be spilled. They both remained quiet as you stood there waiting. Good thing your attention was soon shifted towards Matthew when you saw him walk on set. You unfolded your arms and softened your face up as you saw how good he looked.

“I guess this is our cue to go, AJ,” Shemar chuckled.

“I agree. See you in the bullpen, Y/N,” AJ said before she left with Shemar.

“Yeah,” you faintly said as you stared at Matthew.

He hadn’t noticed you. He seemed to be looking for someone though as his head continuously darted around the room. When he finally turned your way, his face instantly lit up. He lightly jogged towards you with a big smile on his face. It was as if he was looking for you.

“Hey, Y/N. Happy wrap day,” he said before embracing you in a hug.

You hugged him back. “Happy wrap day, Matt. What adventures are you going to get up to after we wrap?”

“Well, that’s kinda why I was looking for you. I was going to ask you that same exact question.”

“I don’t have anything booked until later next month, so I’m going to be relaxing mostly. Why what’s up?”

“Well, remember when we went to that Arcade Fire concert a few months ago?”

You smiled and nodded. “If you mean the best experience of my life than yes.”

He chuckled. “I’m glad you liked it. Vegas always holds the Life Is Beautiful Music and Art Festival and I was wondering if you were free to go.”

You felt your heart pumping with delight at him inviting you to go to his hometown. The last few months of your friendship were situated strictly in California. You had never really explored Vegas outside of a few shows at hotels and theatres on the strip.

“You wanna take me on a Vegas adventure?” You asked.

“Something like that.”

Before you could say your answer, the set bell rang. Sometimes that stupid bell could be so annoying, especially when you had a moment like this with Matthew. You don’t think there had ever been a more intimate moment between you two.

He smiled. “Think about it.”

As he started to walk off towards the bullpen set, you ran up to him to hug him from behind. He was caught off guard by your hug, but grabbed your hands that clung in front of him. You could say it was the first time you two had held hands.

“I’d love to go.”

“Awesome.”

—————

Going to Vegas with Matthew was such a different experience than anything you had ever done before. Everywhere he took you felt as if it were a new chapter in a life you’ve never lived. You always found Vegas cliche in its gimmicks and exaggerated neon lights. However, Matthew made it seem as if it were a faraway land yet to be discovered.

He showed you to little places outside of the flashy hotels and bright neon lights that filled the strip. You two spent a lot of time at ranches nearby. You told him since the first day you two met how much you loved animals, so going to those ranches was a dream come true.

What you weren’t expecting though was going to the ranch his mother owned. When you two were driving there, you felt your heart beating fast. You had never met his mother before but you knew he was a big mama’s boy. Even with all the nerves running through your body, you felt honoured to be meeting his mother. You didn’t even know whether to consider this whole trip a big first date or what, but it was something you weren’t expecting to happen.

You had a feeling Matthew had a crush on you for a while and the feeling had always been mutual. Guess the both of you had been crushing on each other through a screen for all these years. To be together in that moment was borderline unreal and probably long overdue.

“We’re here,” he said as he pulled up to the ranch.

You looked around the area. It was massive. Just a stretch of land with no buildings in sight. It was beautiful. You looked at Matthew with a huge contagious smile. He couldn’t help smiling back.

“Your mom knows beauty,” you said.

He laughed. “Yeah, I guess she does.”

“I mean if she created you she definitely knows what beauty is.”

He grabbed your hand and squeezed it. It was his fifteenth time holding your hand. Not like you were counting or anything. You blushed as he moved your hand closer to his lips and kissed it twice.

“I’m glad you came, Y/N. I’ve been meaning to ask you on a date for the longest time, but I couldn’t think of the perfect date to take you on,” he confessed.

“Matthew, you literally could have taken me to 7/11 for a shitty cup of coffee and I would have had the time of my life,” you said.

He laughed. “Well, even though 7/11’s cool, I thought you might like a trip to Vegas and concert better.”

“I have to say this is probably one of my favourite first dates ever. I just feel as if it’s missing a little je ne sais quoi.”

“A little je ne sais quoi you say.”

You then saw him let go of your hand and reach for the side of your neck. He brought you in closer as his face moved closer to yours. You hated dramatics, so you rushed in and embraced him with an enormous kiss. You grabbed his face to deepen the kiss. You had never been so excited to kiss anyone in your entire life. The way he kissed you was just different.

You two pulled apart from the kiss before anything went any further. You knew you were satisfied with that kiss but the way Matthew beamed made you believe he was even more satisfied. You covered your face with your hand as you couldn’t stop smiling to yourself.

“I didn’t mean to attack you like that,” you joked.

He chuckled. “No, no, it was great. Maybe we could continue this after we go see my mom.”

You smiled ear-to-ear. “I couldn’t dream of anything better.”

The two of you got out of the car to go greet his mom as she walked out to where he had parked his car. Her smile was just as magnetic as his. You were automatically drawn into her. So much so you found yourself approaching her ready to give her the biggest hug ever. She wasn’t shy to embrace you with big, open arms. It felt as if you were already apart of his family.

————

Back in your trailer to film another season of Criminal Minds and you thought you could get better at memorizing your lines. You didn’t. You swore to yourself you would get better over the summer break, but that plan went out the window as soon as Vegas happened. Matthew had turned what was supposed to be a mundane summer into a long-lasting experience. A long-lasting experience with a lot of making out and wandering hands.

You looked at your watch and saw you had a few minutes to kill before you had to go on set. You tossed your script aside and reached for your phone. The lines could wait a minute or several as you indulged in looking through Twitter.

You scrolled down your timeline, liking and retweeting a few things that caught your eye. One thing caught your eye in particular though. It was from TMZ out of all gossip media showing pictures of you and Matthew holding hands and kissing just a few days ago when you two went to the beach. They must have been hidden well because you knew for a fact no one was around the area you two set up.

Your shock was interrupted when a few knocks were made at your door. You put down your phone and picked up your script to pretend you were still trying to memorize your line. You knew if it was Jeff coming in he’d much rather see you trying to memorize your lines than scrolling through Twitter.

“Come in,” you said.

You saw Matthew come in with a sheepish smile on. You looked at him strange as you had never seen him seem so shy. Then you saw a magazine in his hand. You could only guess what it was. He held up the magazine, so you could see it. Right on the front cover was a picture of you on top of Matthew making out with him on the beach.

You smiled. “At least People Magazine finally put some eye candy on the front page.”

“I didn’t even know they were allowed to publish pictures of soft porn,” he chuckled as he handed you the magazine.

You laughed. “In this day and age anything’s possible.”

“Anything huh?”

He took your hand to take you out of your seat. You gladly got up as you tossed the script and magazine on your vanity. He pulled you in close as his hands moved from your hands to your waist. If this was his way of proposing a quickie in your trailer, you weren’t about to turn him down.

“If anything’s possible, how about we make it official?” He asked.

You would have screamed out of delight, but you were worried he might take it back if you did. You did the next best thing that had come to mind and grabbed his face, so you could kiss him. He wrapped his arms around your waist and embraced the kiss even further. The only reason you two broke apart was because you could hear the director calling everyone to set.

“I guess we should go before this ends up being our last season,” you said as you let go of him.

“I think it might be your last season if you can’t remember those lines,” he joked.

You laughed. “If I can still have you at the end of the day I’d be okay with that. Besides, I think Vegas might have an opening for me.”

—–

MASTERLIST

#spencer reid #dr. spencer reid #dr.spencer reid #mgg #mgg imagine #mgg fanfiction #mgg x reader #mgg x y/n #matthew gray gubler #matthew gray gubler request #matthew gray gubler fluff #Criminal Minds #criminalminds #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #criminal minds imagine #matthew gray gubler imagine

[taleofblossoms]

Ok I watched 3 episodes of fate, actually scratch that I watched 2 full episodes and like 10 minutes of the 3rd one....I...I just couldn't anymore. It made me sleepy and bored. No joke my eyes were basically closed. I tried really really hard not to compare it to Winx but it turns out it's just plain boring on it's own. The characters are bland the dialogues so effortless and the plot just straight pointless. I didn't care for one single character. I mean Aisha had potential since she seemed like the only one with braincells but she had literally side character with no depth besides being supportive written on her forehead. Nothing new for a poc/woc portrayal. I just couldn't.

The white Musa literally has no facial expressions. at all. ever. nothing but a dead face. nothing. She smiled once and that was the most forced smile I have ever seen. I think from all the main girls she is the one I cared the least about. I am done mentioning her.

Bloom is so so so annoying. Warning unpopular opinion coming through: More annoying than in the cartoon. (I recently rewatched winx and my love for bloom died on those rewatching days. It will take too long to explain) I can't feel sad for her because her pity party seems so forced. I just can't. I mean I am sorry you have shitty earth parents i guess? Vanessa and Mike would have never treated you like that.

I can't get myself to like Terra. I simply don't care. I just don't. And I say this as a big girl who knows the struggle. The Ups and Downs but I just couldn't bond with Terra.

Watching Stella's new personality was just the saddest little thing. It was so stupid it made me laugh. Stella is a diva we know it and we loved it. But she was never a bitch. She is supposed to be the princess of light and the actual Stella was the definition of a sunshine but this Stella? This had to be a joke. The fucking love triangle is the biggest joke. Her crawling after a man? pahahaha Her crawling after SKY? HAHHAHAHAHHAHA. WHO THE FUCK CAME UP WITH THAT BULLSHIT.

Maybe it's because I can't get over them white-washing two of the main girls, KILLING TECNA, only having TWO. TWO!!!!!!!! people of color as a cast out of 10? 12? And I am not just saying this because of winx but it's weird to only see white people on a show that's apparently set in the 21st. century (they use insta). As a winx adaption fate the winx saga is just disrespectful and rude and should be sued and on it's own it's just boring with not relatable characters, stupid cliches that are outdated and an uninteresting plot. Maybe it gets better after ep 3 (I doubt that) but my disappointment is too big to continue this show. I've read that others quite enjoyed it as it's own so that's good I guess. Sorry for this long rant i had to but tbh I even had more to say but that would have turned into a whole book.

P.S.: Oh before I forget. Dear Netflix, pls do us all a favor and just never ever, and I can not stretch this enough, try a remake or a live action version of an animated show or film ever again. I still haven't forgiving you for what you've done to Death Note. Will you never learn?

Sincerely, a concerned human being who is done with this kind of bullshit.

#winx #winx club #fate winx saga #fate the winx saga #netflix

[karls-writing-space]

『 Backstory 』

➵ Any TWs? :

➵ Subtle Mentions of Transphobia.

➵ Beau Romano - his deadname being Bianca - was born a year after his older sister, Faye. He lived with his semi-wealthy parents, Camilia and Dylan Romano in Manitoba.

When he was in second grade, Beau began to have a big sprout of creativity. He had drawn pictures of people and anthropomorphic animals, and create small little tales about these people/animals he has drawn. He Drew more and more of these as time slowly passed, and he enjoyed telling stories about these drawings. This had grown into a hobby, and something he enjoyed thoroughly.

His older sister came out when she was nine that she felt like a girl and that she was attracted to girls. Now, their parents are very accepting people and proceeded to assist and support Faye - who was formerly known as Lovino - get what she needed to transition.

Beau happily cheered on his big sister on, supporting her and showering her with love. He celebrated her transitions and her relationships happily, happy that he had such a prideful older sister.

By the time Beau was ten, he had begun to experiment with his sexuality by feeling some weird way towards a guy in music class. He talked with this guy more and more, and these feelings continued to grow.

After a couple of weeks, he felt the same way towards a girl in music class too. The feeling for the boy stayed, but now he had feelings for a boy and a girl.

One day, while walking to school with his mom, he heard two girls behind him talking about the people they liked. One of the girls had said that she was Bisexual, to which little Beau tugged on his mother's sleeve and asked what "Bisexual" meant. The woman explained that it was when someone liked two or more genders.

Beau put that into thought, and not even a minute later, he exclaimed "I'm Bisexual!"

His mom smiles and ruffled her son's - then daughter's - head. While Beau was still a kid, and she thought that Beau didn't know what he was talking about, the boy knew exactly what he was talking about.

Those feelings of the boy and girl faded over time. When Beau was twelve, he had fallen for another person. There had been this really cute girl in class who enjoyed drawing, and boy, what a talented artist she is.

Slowly, but surely, Beau began to fall in love with this girl, and spent time with her. Months went by, and the two had fallen in love.

The girl had confessed to Beau, which he accepted.

These two were a great, healthy Lesbian couple at the time. They were both very happy and loving. Beau had welcomed his girlfriend into the family, to which they welcomed with open arms.

The relationship lasted for two years until they fell out of love. The spark was gone. Their breakup wasn't nasty - they awkwardly stated that they lost that romantic spark on both sides. Beau had turned thirteen at the time. Beau and his ex-lover are on good terms to this day.

Once puberty hit, Beau looked at the body he had at the moment. He didn't quite fit with how it was. It made him feel like he didn't fit in a girl's body. He wanted to cut off his developing melons. So, he decided to talk to Faye later that evening, whom had fully transitioned. She was a beautiful woman. As he talked to her about what had been up, Faye stated that Beau could be Transgender, and even gave him a few articles on Gender Dysphoria.

Weeks of looking into gender identities later, Beau took the label "Trans Male" and used it to describe himself. With encouragement from Faye, he came out to his parents, who accepted him. He didn't want to transition as quickly as Faye, and wanted to take it slow. Testosterone and binding first.

As he grew older, Beau got bullied for being a Transgender Bisexual man. He was experiencing Transphobia from a few of his fellow peers. He knew that not everyone would accept him for being who he was, but this hurt quite a bit. Being bullied for this wasn't fair - he had every right to express himself! - but nooo, people were idiots.

His love for writing had grown more and more over the years. He began to write little stories that he presented in school and posted online. People loved his little stories. Whether they were fanfiction or characters and universes he had created in his head, they received a lot of positive feedback. Sure, there were haters, bullies, trolls, and rude people in general, but Beau didn't pay attention to them too much.

Beau had gotten top surgery when he was fifteen. He had been on testosterone for a year, and he had been binding for that time being. He loved his new, flat chest. Sure, he would have a scar on his chest from the surgery, but it didn't really bother him. He was happy that his tibbies were deleted. Now he could feel like a guy somewhat.

During the time passed from fourteen and fifteen years old, Beau had been watching a show known as "Total Drama" with Faye. The show was appealing to the young teen. The risky challenges were entertaining, most of the cast was likable, and it was really entertaining for the young boy. He'd talk about joining the show every now and then and would think about what his label or cliche would be on the show.

Timeskip to now, Beau and Faye are sixteen and seventeen respectively. After watching an ad to audition for the next season of Total Drama, Faye looked over at her little brother.

"Hey... You should audition to be on there!"

Beau, liking the idea, auditioned for the show. Once his audition was seen, Beau was invited to be on a season of Total Drama.

『 Voice Claim 』

『 Miscellaneous Facts』

➵ Theme Song

➵ Quotes

"O-Oh, hello...!"

"I'm Beau. It's nice to meet you!"

"It's too people-y in there. I-I'd like to stay right here."

"He's... Kinda pretty."

"Are you lonely? I could hang out with you if you'd like."

"I-It's not a diary! It's just a journal that I put my writing and ideas in."

"Sorry, I'd rather be by myself. I-It's nothing personal -- I j-just don't like large groups of people."

"Sorry... I'm rambling again, aren't I? Sorry about that..."

"He's a... He's a man. And I'm just a boy."

"Ciao, bello..!" (Hello, handsome..!)

"Aren't you guys a little too old for a bedtime story?"

"Fine, fine. Once upon a time, there were a few guys on an island who needed to go the fuck to sleep. G'night, guys."

"What do you mean that 'isn't a good bedtime story? I think it's a brilliant story."

"Fine... There was once this God named Fóllame de lado-"

"Hey - do you wanna fuck around with the others?"

"H-Hey! I apologize for interrupting what you were doing, but... I'd like to confess something if that's o-okay? Look, I'll cut to the chase. I... love you, dude. And not in some bromance way. Like... I have romantic feelings for you. I love you so much I could scream it to the world..! I hope you f-feel the same way. And if you don't? That's p-perfectly fine."

"Good morning, mio amore."

"Sorry, but could you like, shut up for five seconds? Thanks..."

➵ Ship Names (OC X Crush or OC X OC)

Duncan x Beau = BeauDun/ BeauCan

DJ x Beau = BJ / BeauJ

Alejandro x Beau = AleBeau

Mike x Beau = Meau/Bike

Lightning x Beau = Blightning/BeauLight

Topher x Beau = Beaupher / Beaupher

Shawn x Beau = Sheau / Bawn

➵ Random Facts

• If they're comfortable, Beau calls his male friends "Bello" (Handsome), and his female friends "Bella" (Beautiful).

For Nonbinary folk, it depends on what they prefer.

•Beau has learned how to play the ukelele from Faye.

•He would actually like to go windsurfing sometime!

• Speaking of his sister, she's a well-known acrobat/performer for her age. He admires her for being so talented in such a thing..

• His sister is an extrovert, and more outgoing than Beau. The two are opposites,,but yknow, opposites attract!

•Beau prefers to write stories that are/include horror, action, and supernatural/fantasy. He can write romantic stories, but he doesn't prefer writing things like that.

•He has written some shitty fanfictions when he was younger. He will share them among his friends and laugh at what he wrote.

•The languages he speaks are:

• English

•Italian

• (Some) Spanish. [Italian and Spanish are similar language-wise in a few ways. That, and Beau just wanted to learn Spanish.]

• Respectful boi when it comes to Pronouns, Names, People's likes and dislikes, etc.

•Beau has some family members that live in Italy. He has gone to Italy to visit them numerous times.

• Beau doesn't believe in soulmates. He thinks that it's just some fairytale thing that people believe in. He wants to love someone on his own accord - not someone who the universe was like "Oh, let's put these people together.".

♫♪.ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı.♫♪

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

#td oc #total drama oc #beau romano #tdpi #tdas #tdwt #tdi #vix writes stuff #nico writes stuff #Youtube

[frumfrumfroo]

What are your favorite movies and TV shows outside of SW? I’m looking for new things to watch since SW was so disappointing

My tastes are pretty eclectic, so I will stick to just things that are either similar to sw or are in the reylo-esque romance wheelhouse and have happy endings:

Chuck. It is a goofy, light-hearted action-adventure show with extremely endearing characters and a very prominent central romance (seriously, heavy romance and there is a lot of payoff for it, you will be FED- it's kind of slow burn but also shockingly NOT slow burn, they are deep into it pretty much immediately). The main couple is the classic Stoic Badass gradually softened by an innocent they have to protect who is a liability in battle but full of the Power of Heart. Chuck is The Heart btw. He is of that vanishingly rare male Beauty (of B&tB) type. He's incredibly generous and open, Sarah is prickly and closed-off. It is Quality. Very much a gender-swap of your typical cliche anime couple lol. I would recommend stopping at the mid-season finale in season 4, because it's downhill from there. The beginning of season 3 is very rough, but it's definitely worth it to stay for the back half, imo. There are several great endings to choose from before things go to shit, so we don't need to talk about the finale. Probably the most tonally similar to SW thing possible without being high/space fantasy. More humour, more silly, but definitely has a spiritual kinship. Has the best THE BEST 'secret revealed' scenes I have ever seen in anything. If you're into that and were hoping for that in ep IX, you need to watch Chuck.

The Shop Around the Corner. 1940 romance/drama film. You've Got Mail is a remake of it. Jimmy Stewart being profoundly adorable, Frank Morgan (aka the Wizard of Oz), various amusing side characters, and an absolutely deathless double blind 'secretly in love with the workplace nemesis' plot that can and probably has been a great reylo AU.

Mirromask. Fantasy/coming-of-age film. Touted as a 'spiritual successor' to Labyrinth by the filmmakers (one of whom is Neil Gaiman) and let me tell you, that is extremely apt. Beautiful, magical, laden with symbolism and Mask Discourse, and has a great ship. I quote it regularly.

Speaking of which, I'm sure you've seen Labyrinth? If you haven't seen Labyrinth, drop everything and watch Labyrinth.

Legend (the Ridley Scott director's cut, not the theatrical cut). Sumptuous fairy tale, runs on proper fairy tale logic, stunning to look at and overall captivating. Tim Curry. Tim Curry as a lonely tragic lord of darkness who tries to seduce the heroine and has drippingly overwrought monologues.

Howl's Moving Castle. Fairy tale adventure/romance film. Beautifully animated, has the ending you want.

The Silence of the Lambs. Thriller/drama film. Actual masterpiece. Use it as a gateway drug to read the books and rejoice that Clannibal is canon and it is spectacular. Just SotL and Hannibal, you don't need to read the other two. Stan Clarice Starling and revel in that ending. Most triumphant 'villain'/heroine ship of all time (he is not technically a villain but for shorthand's sake).

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Terry Gilliam 1988 fantasy/adventure film. THE TRIUMPH OF IDEALISM OVER CYNICS I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW HEALING IT WAS TO WATCH AFTER THE TROS BULLSHIT HIT. Jonathan Pryce's spiritual villain is basically Chris Terrio and it is cathartic to see imagination and sentiment conquer him.

Sabrina. 1995 romance film. Modern fairy tale with Harrison Ford. Rejecting what you thought you wanted all your life for the thing you actually need, growing up but still believing in magic, beautiful character development across all the leads. Could be (and is irrc) a fantastic reylo AU.

The Scarlet Pimpernel. 1934 adventure film. High romance, secret identities, play-acting, people who aren't at all what they appear to be, falling in love with your own spouse, Big Heroism, guile and wit and audacity. It makes me do little kicks like a happy baby. This is one of the 3-5 films constantly tied for my favourite film of all time. There is a good quality rip free on youtube. Watch it and fall in love with Leslie Howard (this is possibly my favourite acting performance of all time).

Oh, related note. Pygmalion 1938 or My Fair Lady. (The musical is based on this film and borrows from it heavily, including its much more romantic ending compared to the original play.)

The Mummy. 1999 action/adventure/romance film. Very tonally similar to sw. A fucking great time, A+ characters.

EVER AFTER. 1998 romance film. The flawless and perfect and best ever Cinderella adaptation. This is the most satisfying film in history, maybe, the ending is so good it is amazing it exists. Also, it has Richard O'Brien being slimy. Huge selling point. Grapples with identity and stewardship, is brilliant.

Fruits Basket. drama/romance anime. I haven't watched the new version yet, but it's following the manga so I know the story. The original anime didn't do the whole plot (because they caught up with the source material) but it's wonderful and I still recommend it. The central ship is (spoiler.........) a B&tB type where we eventually discover the main love interest both feels like a figurative monster and turns into a literal monster. He has an incredible speech about his relationship with people's fear, it makes me weep. I called the endgame from the first episode and always thought it was obvious, but there is a red herring love triangle dynamic. It's really not annoying, though, because it is a red herring. (I hate love triangles)

I am Dragon. Russian monster romance film. Beautiful, simple fable with a really great heroine.

Jane Eyre. 1943 Gothic Romance film. It's Jane Eyre, byronic hero x sensible heroine love story with much atmosphere and Gothic drama. I stan this version because I am an Orson Welles fangirl and I'm also not convinced it can be improved upon. Elizabeth Taylor's film debut btw.

Hellboy. 2004 action/adventure/romance film. Defying destiny, reconciling identity, monster romance. The complete package and a great time. Tonally similar to SW and probably thematically closest to it out of this whole list. Don't watch the sequel.

Beauty and the Beast 1987 tv series. Exactly what it says on the tin. Deals with the classic B&tB themes, but in a different way. He's not cursed and will never transform into an ordinary man. The first season is very episodic and 'case of the week', but the second season gets more into character drama. It's dated, but if you give it a chance you can get past some of the cheese factor and it's really a unique experience. Its concerns are SO atypical that it feels like something fandom would make rather than a mainstream network show. It was so massively, insanely popular with women at the time that a record of Vincent (the beast) reading poetry topped the album charts. Also Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton. Stop at season two. Point of interest: George RR Martin wrote for this show.

Stargate (the movie not the series) sci-fi fantasy about a nerdy guy who accidentally a hero.

Possession. 2009... mystery/supernatural/romance. Okay. This is a whole thing. Lee Pace and Sarah Michelle Gellar. It's based on a Korean film I've never been able to find for some reason, but being Hollywood they ruined the romanticism and nuance of the original in the theatrical cut to make a shitty punative ending. However. If you buy it on dvd and go to the alternate ending (which follows the original story) with around 20 minutes left (scene after Lee Pace's character wakes from a bad dream-go to deleted scenes and select the alternate ending), you will get a very, very interesting character study/thriller/redemption about sincerity within deception, compassion, and a major question about second chances with a positive answer. It's kind of dark and kind of astonishingly idealistic at the same time. The heroine makes a very powerful choice, twice over. It's fascinating. If you're into the conflicted and uncertain period in reylo, the part where he is most ambiguous, and you wanted more of that and much darker shades to it, you might be really into this. Also, it should be noted, there is a MASSIVE height difference and they show it off. The film is flawed (and the seams show on the Hollywood rewrite) but idk, it's fascinating. Shocking to me that they even got to shoot the original ending. It is pretty balls to the wall with its themes on forgiveness.

I would recommend getting into kdramas because there is a wealth of female-gaze tropey amazing content, but always check the ending before getting invested. My all-time fave is the 1st Shop of Coffee Prince, but it's not sw related at all lmao. It has a happy ending with all the elements you'd want, but it's not satisfying in execution, so that's it's major flaw and I find that pretty common with kdramas. One that is maybe more relevant is My Love from Another Star, which has a hero who is a little bit like Ben in personality. The heroine isn't my favourite, though. It does have a decent ending.

Oh yeah- brain fart. Kurosawa films and classic westerns were both very influential on SW. Or you can combine both and watch The Magnificent Seven.

#this somehow ended up a wall of text??? I'm so embarrassed #anyway it should be fixed now #recs #anyway 40s movies are fantastic they used to CHURN OUT rom coms and even the bad ones are entertaining #and they were not in the romance ghetto they had prestige actors and directors #I don't know what happened and why this isn't done now because that shit was profitable #another edit: #I messed up my directions on Possession bc I first saw the alt ending on YouTube from the fridge point #but actually the full thing starts way earlier and covers more of the loose ends than I remembered #so I've fixed that now as well #(because I just rewatched it after writing this rec) and serious SERIOUSLY someone watch this movie and scream about it with me #I can't stress enough how important it is you switch to the alt ending and watch that INSTEAD of the theatrical cut but but but #If you do - OMG the ending is incredible #the coded conversation the subtle optimism #it is a meeting place where we Soft Reylos and the edgier villain/heroine stans can meet in the middle

[the-desolated-quill]

BBC’s The War Of The Worlds blog - Episode 3

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

You know, people often ask me why I get so angry when I’m reviewing BBC shows. I mean yes I give Disney and Marvel a hard time too, but they don’t get nearly as much bile and venom as I give the BBC. Well that’s because, unlike Disney and Marvel, BBC shows are funded by the British taxpayer through our TV licence fees. I’m effectively paying for them to make this crap. That’s what pisses me off more than anything.

Yes we mercifully come to the end of this... this. Episode 1 was a slow, plodding and utterly tedious affair that was about as exciting as an Amish bachelor party. Episode 2 was even worse thanks to its poor narrative structure, terrible characterisation and less than subtle allegories. Now Harness has come to hammer the final nail in the coffin with Episode 3. Is it bad?

...

You’re right, that’s a stupid question. A more apt question would be how bad is it. Very, very bad is the answer. Very, very bad indeed.

Lets start with the obvious problem. The non-linear narrative introduced in the previous episode. The stupid early reveal that the Martians ultimately lose and that Amy survives completely destroyed any and all tension and suspense thanks to Peter Harness desperately trying to outwit the audience instead of just telling a story. Now, bizarrely, he tries to reintroduce tension by having the characters umming and arghing about what killed the Martians off and whether this could help stop the Earth from terraforming. One teeny, tiny problem with this though. The audience already know! Even those that never read the original book know how it ended! And even if you didn’t, the episode drops enough hints like great fucking boulders. The prevalence of typhoid throughout the episode and its correlation with the Martians stumbling around like a drunken prom date isn’t exactly hard to miss. Harness’ writing is still as unsubtle as ever. But worse still, he completely undermines and misses the point of the ending to War Of The Worlds.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people (mostly Americans) criticise the end of the original book for being a deus ex machina. I mean the Martians get killed off by the common cold. How stupid, right? Except it’s not because those people (mostly Americans) are looking at it the wrong way. Your main takeaway shouldn’t be that the Martians were easily killed off by bacteria. Rather that we failed to stop them. The reason humanity prevails in the end is more down to luck than anything else. The narrator even attributes this to being an act of God. But here’s the thing. We didn’t stand a chance against the Martians. We didn’t beat them. They lost because they just happened to catch a cold. Now it’s not hard to imagine a society as scientifically advanced as their’s to be able to find some kind of cure or vaccine for it. And if and when they do, what then? We’d be fucked, wouldn’t we? Should the Martians ever return to finish what they started, the human race would be well and truly doomed. It’s not a deus ex machina. It’s a dire warning of what’s to come. A brief respite before the inevitable. That’s what makes the ending so effective.

The BBC series however completely misunderstands this, changing the story so that Ogilvy (an astronomer, don’t forget) somehow manages to weaponize typhoid in order to kill the red weed, which is presented as some kind of victory, when in reality it’s quite an insulting deviation from the source material. If only the Commonwealth could shake off the remnants of British colonialism as easily as these guys dealt with the red weed. Not to mention it just makes the Martians look really stupid. So they come to Earth, drink our blood, keel over and then... what, they just give up? Are they just waiting for humanity to die by itself? What happens when Mars HQ realises the red weed hasn’t worked? What then? Are they just going to shrug it off? It doesn’t make any sense.

Which brings us to the Martians themselves. The picture above comes from the Jeff Wayne musical version and is without a doubt the most accurate depiction of the Martians from the book. Most of the other adaptations have wildly different interpretations, which isn’t a problem in and of itself provided it works within the context of that particular narrative. However the reason I bring up the original design is so I can talk about what H.G. Wells intended when he came up with them. See, while the Martians are highly intelligent, they’re also presented as being quite vestigial. They’re sluggish thanks to Earth’s heavier gravity, rendered practically deaf thanks to Earth’s dense atmosphere and apparently have no organs with which to digest their food, hence their need to inject human blood directly into themselves for sustenance. The Martians represent what humanity could become as we become more and more reliant on technology. The Industrial Revolution brought about a lot of societal fears and concerns at the time, and the Martians are those fears manifested. Heartless creatures reduced to being simple brains, unable to properly interact with the world around them.

The BBC series goes a very different route. Instead of the giant brains, we instead get giant brown crabs, which, again, isn’t necessarily a problem provided it works in context. And that’s the problem. It doesn’t. The original Wells design told us what we needed to know about their biology, their motivations and their society. What do we learn about the BBC Martians? They’re big, generic monsters that look like rejects from Stranger Things. They don’t even inject blood into themselves. They feed off of us directly, leechlike. They’re more like animals. Not the vast, cold, unsympathetic intellects they were described to be. At no point do you buy that these creatures would be capable of building the Tripods or colonising the Earth. They just exist for some cheap jump scares and horror movie cliches.

What’s worse is that by changing the Martians’ design so drastically, any subtextual allegory gets chucked in the bin. The Martians from the book are meant to represent the British Empire at the height of its power. Merciless tyrants stomping all over the lives and cultures of the so called ‘lesser races,’ changing the environment to suit them rather than adapting to the existing environment. It’s Darwinism crossed with arrogance. And yet, ironically, the oppressors (the Martians) are technically inferior to the natives (the humans) as they are incapable of surviving without the aid of technology. The BBC series is unable to make this allegory, so Harness has to resort to straight up telling the audience the allegory. In by far the clunkiest scene in the entire series, we see George argue with his brother about how the Martians are no different from the Brits in their colonial ways. Not only does this break the ‘show, don’t tell’ rule and stands as a perfect example of bad storytelling, Harness doesn’t even bother to do anything with this other than just making the comparison. It’s been previously established that Amy was born and raised in India. You’d think she’d have something to say about all this, but nope. At the end, she wistfully describes India to her son in the most patronising and insulting way possible. It’s really quite disgusting. I mean H.G. Wells was quite patronising towards the Tasmanians in the book, but in his defence, he was a privileged white man from the 1800s. What’s Peter Harness’ excuse?! Ostensibly he pays lip service to the idea that the Martians are no different from the Brits, but he doesn’t want to really explore it or get us to actually think about it. Probably because it’s all a bit too complicated to get into, but if he’s not confident about exploring such topics, why the fuck is he adapting War Of The Worlds in the first bloody place?! Write something else!

In fact I think this is the root of all the problems with this adaptation. Harness clearly isn’t capable of exploring the complex themes of the source material, so instead he either introduces irrelevant social issues that aren’t nearly as complicated (women’s rights, empires are bad and so on) as a token show of progressiveness, or he goes as far as to uncomplicate themes and ideas to an almost offensive degree. In the book, the narrator is trapped in a church with a priest who is going through a major existential crisis and risks giving away their hiding spot to the Martians, who are busy terraforming the planet. So he resorts to knocking the priest unconscious and watching as the Martians drag his body away. In the BBC series, we see the old woman and the kid get killed off for no reason other than shock value and the characters have nothing to do with their demise, so they’re morally in the clear. The priest meanwhile doesn’t even appear in the scene, instead being relegated to the shitty flash forwards where his faith remains very much intact and even protests against the idea that it’s humanity’s illness that stopped the Martians rather than an act of God (brief side note, would Ogilvy really be this open about not believing in God? At the time of the book’s publication, the scene with the priest losing faith was considered extremely controversial, so this just seems utterly wrong). Plus there’s no tension in wondering what the Martians are doing and whether they’re going to find the characters. In fact there’s no tension whatsoever because we know the Martians have fallen ill and the characters are just hanging around, waiting for the fuckers to die. I cannot stress enough how atrociously awful the writing is in this show. We know the Martians are dying and the episode is about the characters waiting for them to die.

Jesus fucking Christ!

The Artilleryman from the previous episode was the same. In the book he was a deluded crackpot who willingly bought into imperialist dogma, believing that humanity could rebuild underground and eventually rise up and defeat the Martians. In the BBC series, he was a scared, innocent little waif being forced to fight in a war he wants no part of. It’s an incredibly shallow and uninteresting reinterpretation of the source material.

But the worst, the absolute worst, is what Harness does with George.

To be clear, no I’m not upset he gets killed off. I’ve made my views on him quite clear. He cheated on his wife because she was infertile and ran off to make whoopie with some redhead. The bastard deserves everything he gets, frankly. Plus I’ve had enough of Rafe Spall’s gormless acting to last a lifetime, thank you. What I am upset by is the way he gets killed off.

One of the most interesting parts of the original book is the fact that there are no heroes in War Of The Worlds. The Artilleryman is a young, impressionable, nationalist fool, the Priest descends into a pit of nihilistic despair, and the narrator survives only by his cowardice. He even goes as far as to attempt suicide, throwing himself in front of the unbeknownst to him dead Tripod because he cannot bear the idea of living in a world like this. It’s extremely dark and very cynical. The BBC series goes a very different route. We see George slowly become delirious as a result of the typhoid infection he got by drinking the poisoned cup of water in the previous episode (so all that stuff about the Martian terraforming was a load of bollocks) before, realising that he is becoming a burden to Amy, deciding to make the supreme sacrifice and facing the lone Martian alone while she makes a run for it. Not only does this open up a major plot hole - who the fuck was Amy expecting to arrive from the North if George is dead? They try to dismiss this as memory suppression, but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t apply to losing a loved one to a fucking alien - it also completely stands at odds with the themes of the book. When facing annihilation at the hands of a higher power, the arrogant Brits, who previously lived a life of privilege on the backs of millions of subjugated, reveal themselves for who they truly are at their core. The BBC series says yeah, we were a bunch of racist tosspots with delusions of grandeur, but we weren’t all bad. The main takeaway I got from this despicable, badly written series was a three hour pity party about how all those selfish POCs don’t consider the feelings of white people and asking why can’t we all just get along.

Peter Harness’ bastardisation of War Of The Worlds is without a doubt one of the worst adaptations I’ve ever seen. In fact it’s quite possibly one of the worst TV shows I’ve ever seen, period. It’s not just the sheer disregard for the source material that upsets me. It’s also the absolute amateurish nature of the whole fucking thing. This series fails in some of the most basic ways. His writing is truly terrible, somehow getting steadily worse and worse with each episode. It’s not just upsetting to see someone get the fundamental elements of storytelling so spectacularly wrong, it honestly makes me sick to my fucking stomach. Peter Harness, please, for your own sake and my sanity, stop fucking writing. You’re clearly not good at it and I don’t want to see my money go to someone who obviously hasn’t the faintest fucking idea what they’re doing. Enough is enough.

So it would seem that Jeff Wayne’s musical version remains the best adaptation of War Of The Worlds. In fact can we just have a movie adaptation of that please?

#the war of the worlds #hg wells #peter harness #bbc #review #spoilers

[ererichi]

I see you're drawing Ereri and I thought... do you have some recs on fics or something that got you into Ereri? (or further deepened your passion) because I lost all of it like 2 years ago since I read all doujins there were and it's kind of... Where has that tingling feeling gone to...? That reminds me, I never read any fics of them. Or talked with others abt them. Wow, don't know if to call that love shallow or just unconditioned lol

I’m going to be really honest with you, I barely read any ereri fics neither did anything really stick with me. It’s been years since I last read something that I actually liked so I’m kind of in the same struggle as you are. I think what really got me into ereri is either the fanart or theories about the characters. 

(Ahem, and the fanservice from the actual anime like the official artwork and the chimi chara stuff lmao.)

I’ll list a couple of fics I somewhat still remember though. Mind you though, it’s been years since I last read them so I have no idea if the pairing is correct in the way you want to and uh, yeah… you’ve been warned!

It’s Funny Because Eren Can’t Read

In the Survey Corps, reading and comprehending paperwork is equally as crucial as it is beyond the realm of Eren’s capabilities. However, with his CO’s confidential tutelage, Eren is sure he’ll be able to catch up with his comrades in no time… if he can shake this unexpected suspicion that his fondness for humanity’s strongest soldier isn’t simple hero worship.

Hint: He cannot.

Log On (Unfinished)

Eren is a dedicated gamer, and he prides himself on his ascent from Bronze League Hero to a competitive player. What will he do, however, when a chance encounter with one of the world’s top gamers flips his life entirely? How is he supposed to balance a busy college life with his newfound gaming highlife? Unfortunately for him, there are no walkthroughs on what to do when you fall for someone thousands of miles away from you.

The 6th Ward (I actually really, really love this one)

A comedy about being dead.

Levi is finally returning to work as a nurse after recovering from a car crash that nearly killed him. Nothing says “welcome back” like realizing he’s lost his marbles and can see the disembodied spirits of the comatose patients in the 6th ward. He begrudgingly helps them learn how to be dead. Eren, the newest coma patient in the 6th ward, has six months to learn how to be dead. Good luck, kid.

More under the cut!

Junkyard Dogs

Autocracy — a system where one leader has absolute power — is the only government that exists in prison. Levi is the current ‘Top Dog,’ and for years, no one has had the mind to challenge his position — at least, no one until now. Enter: Eren Jaeger, a new inmate with indefinite mentalities and obscure motives. With the power to shake Levi’s throne, Eren becomes the one exception of everything.

3 AM

The story is about Levi: A neurotic man who suffers from depression, is successful at writing but unsuccessful at everything else. Setting: Breakfast (never in the morning) at his favorite diner, a record store that hasn’t dusted its ceiling fan since the 1970’s, a hole in the wall cafe to drink black tea and judge the terrible tongue tied poets on the shoddy ill-lit stage, a park with swings that are always annoyingly wet, and his immaculate apartment in the city. Levi is riddled with quirky traditions and struggles with anxiety, still battling childhood memories he can never completely forget. Then enter Eren Jaeger, the too loud and too passionate guitar player that takes the stage one night that just won’t stop staring at Levi. Eren is full of hope and promise and everything Levi needs, but Levi can’t have what’s good for him. Right?

What’s Eating You?

As far as accepting one’s death goes, Eren Jaeger thinks he’s doing pretty well. Except for the fact that he should have turned days ago. Why was his bite healing, when he had witnessed several others’ turn them into the soulless monsters now consuming the streets? It doesn’t help that he has been separated from everyone he could call a friend, only to be found by a mysterious group of survivors. Including one who has a personality not far off from the creatures he is trying so hard to avoid.

Great.

Art of War

Noisy neighbors, nursling dinosaurs, satanic box cutters, shitty convenience store management, the word ‘fuck’, hereditary (but not really) homosexuality, beer and ramen, pennies, truckstops, strippers, closets, semi-public defacing, rings, house parties, “recreational” drug use, accidental rendezvous, toxic stew (don’t eat the stew), nice abs, housewives–batteries not included, over-educational movie sessions, copious domesticity, kittens named after landlords, a shit joke at participating locations, and many, many happy endings.

A modern AU in which Eren moves into the apartment directly above Levi’s.

Little Titan Café.

Just another cliche AU in which Eren works as a barista in his mother’s café, specializing in latte art. And then there’s Levi, who’s not exactly your typical patron, because, well, he’s blunt and rude (which Eren supposes isn’t that much different from regular customers) but mostly he just confuses Eren’s poor little homosexual heart.

Sword Art Online (Yes, it’s a crossover)

When something seems too good to be true, that’s because it usually is. Within three hours of the game’s start, the creator of the entire endorsement, Akihiko Kayaba, summoned all ten thousand players into the town square of the first floor. Some people were already complaining about the lack of the ‘log out’ feature. I thought it was just some sort of bug, I didn’t think anything of it when I noticed it myself.

Help Me Stand

Eren’s best childhood friend and high school boyfriend, Armin, dies in a car accident in which Eren had been the one at the wheel. Unable to keep from blaming himself, life itself becomes agonizing for Eren and he turns to the more negative side of coping mechanisms. Eventually, he meets a college student named Levi who seems like he has it all figured out, just to discover that they have more in common than he thought. Modern!AU.

You have been connected (Also unfinished)

The one where Levi’s a business man, Eren’s a college student and they meet on Omegle. Twice. It kind of seems like fate after that.

#it's been so long #i literally have no idea anymore #it's easier to keep liking the pairing #by drawing them #but i can understand your point of view too #anyways #i'm sorry if any of these are problematic now #or something?? ?? #i have no idea lol #i just remember reading them #that's about it #so uh yeah #there you go i guess #answered

[dangan-meme-palace]

V3 is Sexist and Here's Why

Heyo! Here are my reasons for why I consider NDRV3 to be the most sexist installment of the DR series.

They fridged Kaede who was introduced as a promising and compelling protagonist in favor of her male love interest; another generic boy that the series loves to play as. It also sucks since Kaede ends up being remembered only as Saihara's love interest who care about him rather then a genuine leader who was morally gray.

Maki's characterization was inconsistent and cliche. A brooding tsundere who had a horrible life and it's only after a guy forces his way into her life does she learn to regain her humanity. Although Chapter 5 says that Maki managed to change for the better, her actions proved that she didn't changed at all consider that she was willing to kill everyone for the sake of her love interest. But everyone just brushes it off since she was just a girl who had fallen in love. Not to mention how her character development revolved only around Kaito.

Iruma was written in the hopes of making her as dislikable as possible. This is leads to unfortunate implications since she represents all the qualities that Japanese society disapproves of for women to be. (Being loud, prideful, sexually active, vulgar, having a talent that defies gender roles). Plus it's really messed up how she turns into a fragile, pathetic mess whenever someone yells at her or throws an insult at her.

Toujo and Angie both had interesting plotlines and characterizations (Toujo revealing to be a prime minister and wanting to kill for the needs of the many, Angie using her cult as a means of protecting the students while also having a selfish side) but they're instantly forgotten once they're killed off. Plus Angie's characterization and backstory is filled with racist writing.

Tenko was written to be a man-hating and obsessive lesbian-coded character who made some disturbing statements about how all men should die. (If they made it so that she wanted another minority group to perish, then you can tell that she would have gotten worse hate). And her constantly coddling Himiko, basically reducing her to a pet animal, was honestly super creepy. It also sucks that she was also revealed to have followed this creed because her master (a man) told her to.

Tsumugi and Himiko were okay regarding their roles and characterization, but they could have been done better.

And those are the reasons for the girls. And on the opposite side of the gender spectrum, there are noticeably more guys who are heavily involved and proactive in the actual storyline compared to the girls.

Saihara gets the privilege of playing as the POV Protagonist for a majority of the game and gets all the attention from the narrative and the characters. He even gets credited as the one who 'ends' Dangan Ronpa.

Ouma is the rival character and fits perfectly well with the truth vs. lies theme of the game. He has a constant presence in most of the chapters; either by helping the other players using clues and tricks to figure out the cases, or by terrorizing them with the dark and twisted truths of the game. It all comes into fruition when he manages to halt the killing game by claiming himself to be the mastermind.

While Kaito is only a supporting character, he still has a huge influence in the game because of how much he cares and roots for Saihara. He also serves as a thematic foil to Ouma as the two constantly clash over their ideals and actions. He has the most spotlight and most of the V3 kids admit that Kaito is important to them.  And there's also how he led the unsolvable murder scheme in Chapter 5.

Kiibo is technically important later on when it's revealed that he was the audience surrogate of the game. And he is also credited for officially ending/destroying Dangan Ronpa.

Amami also gets more recognition because of his role as the SHSL Survivor which ties in to the dynamics of the series and how it works.

While Hoshi, Shinguuji and Gonta aren't as involved, it still stands that there have been more guys who were actively involved in the storyline along with fitting the theme of truth vs lies in comparison to the girls.

And actually, i would like to disagree with you on Sakura. 

Despite being referred to as an ogre, she was honestly one of the best written girl characters in the series. 

She had a unique design that wasn't conventionally attractive like the other girls. 

She has the title of World's Strongest Fighter and she has a calm and honorable personality with a heart of gold.

She could have easily broken any of her classmates for insulting her, but she doesn't. She always maintains her cool. The only time she threatened violence was when any of them harmed her friends (Asahina).

She made an honorable sacrifice by killing herself to save her friends. Both the survivors and the narrative acknowledge this by showing the original 6 making more of an effort to work together to end the killing game. They honestly wouldn't have gotten as far if it wasn't for her.

That's why I consider her to be a girl character who was written exceptionally well.

You're thoughts?

-END OF SUBMISSION-

I strongly agree with all of these points!! The protag switch off is kinda iffy for me because while I recognize that it switched from strong female lead to male, I liked it as a plot twist. Still disappointing that they just killed her off for a shitty plot device and then didn't do anything to compensate for it. The girls kinda feel like they were thrown to the side tbh... I don't disagree with you though, and they did kind of just make her into a martyr and not the significant character she could have been. I feel like dr does that a lot with dead characters >:T

Also, when I say Sakura deserved better I meant that she shouldn't have been treated as a gag character or like her being strong was weird. It's like what you said about Miu in a way. I didn't mean that Sakura herself was bad or anything, I meant that it really bugged me when they made a joke out of her and then kind of forgot her after the trial even if they used the key she left behind. She literally sacrificed herself for them and nobody even really apologized properly to my recollection? Kinda wack.

Thank you for sending this in, it was really interesting to read!!

-tech

#asks #ask meme #forced harmony #gorgeous girl idiot #maido 4 lyfe #caring cultist #tenkido #suegucci shirogoneayyyy #it's bullshit~! #and maki pouts some more #these tags will change ofc but just for now #submissions #submission #mary suemugi

[ywhaeri-blog]

(◕‿◕✿) hi there!! my name is alice, i’m 18+, she/her.. it’s been,,,, a hot minute since i’ve been in a rp so please bear with me, but nevertheless i’m so excited to get back into the swing of things and meet all of your lovely characters (and you)!  anyway, onto my sweetest little lady, song haeri - your friendly local inn owner who’s just a *jenna marbles vc* thirty year old laaady that loves bread and her daughter, and is a teeny bit bitter about where her life ended up. p.s i hear if you press the ♥ you will soon find me in yours ! that was cheesy, i apologise. ( i’m also available on d*scord if you’d prefer ! adorable murder bunny #0085 ) p.p.s i’m dumb and haven’t finished her pages yet, so click the cut for some nonsensical ramblings + potential connections.

~general background ~

the song family has lived in yangwon for generations now. they’ve seen it all, from the construction of the town to now

and yangwon’s inn has been in her family for just as long almost

needless to say, haeri and her sibling were expected to continue the tradition

however in a truly cliche fashion, haeri wanted to get out of town and become a part of something bigger than her stupid town’s inn, so as soon as she could she booked it to baeksu tech to study business administration - the ultimate goal to later move on to another university in seoul and become a ceo or something of the like

tw: death, pregnancy -- in the beginning of her second year, haeri got pregnant after a one night stand ( college was wild, don’t ask her about it. ). then, a few months later, her parents died due to a drunk driver while they were visiting her in the city

needless to say that was a pretty shitty time for her. do not mention it or her parents if u wnna live

now with a degree, child on the way, and a feeling of “holy shit i owe this to my parents because it’s mY FAULT they died (even tho it wasn’t)” haeri gave up her dreams and moved back to yangwon to take over the inn

fun !

so she’s been back for a long time now and everyday she grows increasingly more cynical

also fun !

~ tidbits ~

has a nine year old daughter called naeun, or as you might hear haeri call her, “dAMMIT KID”

she’s haeri’s entire world, basically. if naeun doesn’t like you, haeri probably won’t either

favorite thing is bread. any kind of bread. just. bread

( she is biased towards sweet rolls though. )

tries not to swear but fails horribly

talks too damn much ??? someone shut her up please ???

a cancer 

has a soft spot for kids / young people and a vendetta against authority figures

has a thing for strays,,,, animals or people it doesn’t matter. if you come to her needing a place, she will help you no matter what

doesn’t have any particular feeling about jojamart tbh

basically eleanor shellstrop from ‘the good place’

~ connection ideas ~

a babysitter ( or two ). this person watches naeun whenever haeri is busy at the inn or doing... whatever it is she does, honestly. this person will also get payed a pretty penny because i’m not saying naeun is a terror, but...she’s a terror

someone who she’s taken under her wing ??? let her teach someone how to be annoying and avoid responsibilities !

someone who she babies. just. i need this

a good influence ! haeri isn’t a bad person but she is rough around the edges at best, so an angel on her shoulder would be helpful 

enemies ! this could be a big or small hateship. it could be one-sided or for the dumbest reason. just, enemies

#yw:intro #i'm so unprepared gbye #this is a MESS #and i will respond/send ims as soon as possible its just gonna take me a minute !

[neoct18]

seven minutes in paradise

Taehyung felt things immensely.

He’d had to deal with bad situations for a long time, coming home late because he didn’t really want to be there, hugging his sister like he’d never see her again, and then finally—

A bottle. Shattered. Bloody hands. Fear.

But freedom.

Taehyung felt too much or not at all.

You knew this. That was fine.

He’d done something terrible but never got punished for it. That stayed with him.

But it was fine, all his backstory was static noise to you, it truly didn’t matter, ‘cause none of it shaped his personality.

When you first saw him, he was holding hands with a pink haired boy. They looked cute together; looked like they had a bond of sorts. You remember feeling jealous of that; of that extra something some people shared with each other.

Taehyung has had relationships. With both boys and girls. Too much or nothing at all. Stay or go. Black and white.

You wish you could say him and the soft looking boy lasted long, but everyone on campus knew Kim Taehyung never stayed romantically with someone for too long.

But the bond remained, and you guessed it was because of Jimin’s balancing personality.

The second time you saw him, he kissed you. It was a party, and both of you were drinking just to drink and you found yourself thinking “I don’t drink; why am I drinking?” but then it was game time, and you found yourself opposite of him.

It was Seven Minutes in Paradise or something like that.

You two got chosen and shoved into the bathroom, condoms following you before the door smashed closed and you were left alone.

Taehyung didn’t seem to mind as he slid down the wall and sat on the floor, beer in hand, eyes a bit unfocused.

“You don’t want to fuck me.” It was a statement.

Your eyes widened as you looked down at the most beautiful boy you’ve ever seen in your life.

The most beautiful boy who seemed tired, over it, a bit cocky, a bit lost, but glowing nevertheless.

“Not really,” you answered. “But if I said yes?”

He half smiled on the tiled floor, before looking up at your face, eyes squinting a bit, the light hurting his eyes.

His smile was lost. It was there but it wasn’t.

“I don’t charge much. You’re pretty.”

Another thing you knew about Taehyung was this. He couldn’t survive off of his photography, not at college, and he certainly was attractive.

You didn’t need much of a push in Seoul to become... something.

“I used to do that too,” you said. “Lasted for a week. Memory’s gonna last forever, though.”

He drank to that.

“(Y/N), right?”

“Yup.”

“Jimin said you like photography too. What’s your color?”

Taehyung always had a weird way of putting together words.

“Um, I love vibrancy.”

“Do you? I only like it for nature. I’m a black and white kinda guy.”

You knew that. But his character definitely wasn’t two sided.

“But the colors you could capture in that specific moment in time— they can’t be recreated. The next day they’ll be slightly different. Not how it was when you missed your chance.”

“True. You can see the colors in the shadows, though. Or the highlights. You like polaroids?”

“Yes.”

“Figured. I like those, too.”

You sat on the cold tiles too. Your skirt rose up quite a bit. Taehyung noticed it, drank a sip of his beer, licked his lips and said nothing.

“I wanna ask you,” you started.

“Hmm?” He left the bottle on the floor, pulled his legs up a bit and his fingers absentmindedly started playing with his bottom lip’s skin.

“You a top or a bottom?”

Your question did not surprise him at all. In fact it made him smirk, and his eyes glinted. Your real question didn’t escape him either, even though you thought it would.

“I don’t fuck boys. I date them,” he answered simply.

“You fuck girls then?”

He half smirked again and looked at the holes on his jeans.

“If they’re interesting.”

“Dating?”

He shrugged, and his big shirt slipped a bit to reveal his shoulder. He really was a pretty boy. You had experienced a few of those. You preferred to steer clear.

“I wanted to date you,” he said it like he was pointing it out. “I asked you, but you were too drunk to remember, I guess. Plus you were going out with that Wonho dude.”

This was news to you, indeed. If you knew that, you’d consider it. You liked Taehyung for a while now.

“So? Why didn’t you ask again?”

“I thought you were serious with him. Jeon Jungkook said you two were serious, according to Wonho, at least.”

“Yeah he says that about everyone he dates. Makes him feel better about himself, since Hyungwon never spoke to him again.”

He seemed confused at that. “That hyung in animation?” You nodded. “Guess we’re all going against the government, aren’t we.” He chuckled.

“Well, he’d never admit he likes both sexes, so it seemed kind of whatever to me.”

“Do you?”

You looked at him. He seemed patient, waiting. Just another get-to-know-you question.

“I... I don’t really know. Maybe. I mean...”

“Hey, that’s cool. Not knowing is cool, don’t worry ‘bout it.”

The silence after that was comfortable. You never really think about yourself. It’s always about others; how others are doing, how can you grow through them, how brown looks so fucking bad on one of your friends though you’d probably never say it to her face.

You should do that more. Be more open. Think about your sexuality. Or maybe not, ‘cause at the end of the day whatever happens, happens. Who you’re gonna be attracted to now or in six months, and how they’re gonna look or be cannot be put in a boring box with an awful fonted label on top of it.

Your early twenty’s don’t work like that. Shit, life doesn’t work like that. Ever.

So you sigh, and crawl towards Taehyung. You grab his shitty beer from his hand and chug the rest of it, ‘till the taste of it makes you gag.

He laughs, tugs at your arm and next thing you know you fall on top of him, your position awkward, your angle unbearably uncomfortable, and—

He kisses you. Like a sad person would; like how only a semi drunk person can. Knowingly. You’ll both remember this tomorrow.

You think you’ll remember this for the rest of your life.

There’s no tongue in this kiss, yet it manages to be sloppy. You try to move into a more comfortable position, but he’s holding you so tight you think he needs it exactly how it is. So you let it. You don’t know why this is even happening, maybe it needed to, maybe the stars and planets all fell into place and he just absolutely had to kiss you—

Very possibly, it was just the fact that he liked you and it really isn’t rocket science sometimes. Guys are too impulsive for that.

And you’re not gonna sugarcoated it either— this kiss isn’t mind-blowing. You’re not seeing stars, nor is your heart beating fast like in those cliche rom coms.

Yeah, fuck no, but this kiss is real, and that’s all anyone can ask for.

Your lips are dry and your right leg is getting numb, yet you kiss back just as hungrily as he is. You breathe a “Why?” into his mouth, and his hands just grab at your waist to finally move you properly onto his lap.

Your legs go on either side of his and your grab the back of his neck. You’re very aware his hands have not moved down to your ass, like every other dude’s that you’ve hooked up with. They’re both holding your head in place, and you can’t really escape now.

He pulls back to breathe heavily and you open your eyes in a trance and lick your lips, thinking he’ll dive right back.

He doesn’t.

He does look intensely into your eyes though. Like he’s silently answering this why to you. But you don’t understand, you don’t get it; you really have no idea why this whole night is even happening.

There’s only so much you can blame on alcohol before it becomes you again.

“I haven’t kissed a girl in a year,” he finally says; it feels like an explanation.

“It’s so—” he laughs, roughly caressing your cheeks, “different. It’s push and pull again.”

You nod, almost sheepishly. You don’t know what to say to that. So you question it.

“Is it just push with boys?”

“Fuck,” he wets his lips quickly and chuckles again, pushing you back a bit now. “Yeah,” he runs a hand through his hair, eyes wandering, and lets his head rest on the tiled wall. “Yeah, it is.”

“So?” His gaze falls to yours like it never left. “Which do you like best?”

“Both,” he replies hoarsely. “I really liked you, (Y/N).”

You know. Though you never got around to actually learn about his feelings, or do anything about your own, this moment was an ending to something you both missed the timing for.

And it only took seven minutes.

When you look at Kim Taehyung, you want to see someone that would be in a long lasting relationship. Someone who you can share a studio apartment with, and have fun mornings that turn into lazy evenings that end in passionate sex against a window or something. You really want to.

But he doesn’t look like he can give anything like that. He’s a cute, tipsy hook up in college, someone you remember and talk about in a morning brunch with your girlfriends after your future boyfriend proposes to you. He’s this amazing, peculiar creature that can only be observed from afar.

And now that you’re so close to him, you can feel it. How things like this happen only once in a lifetime; how you’re not meant to touch but admire. He’s not an unraveling miracle, but a well preserved classical painting. By a magnificent fucking painter, too, if you’re honest.

“You belong right in the middle of a fucking flower painting by Van Gogh, you know that?”

His eyes twinkle and crease with laughter. His fingers travel up your arm, to your jaw, to your ear, to your hair. He plays with a strand of it, still smiling.

“You really get me, (Y/S Y/N),” he grins at you.

You grin back like a cat, and get off his lap, then off the floor.

You tugged your skirt down, and pretended the wetness between your legs could be ignored. You wanted to have sex with him; you wanted that to be attainable. But it wasn’t; not anymore.

“Our seven minutes are over, I think.”

He gets off the cold floor as well, re-adjusting his silk shirt, and putting that cigarette that was behind his ear, in his mouth. Lights it up and nods towards the door. 

You look at him blankly.

He can’t stop smirking now. “It’s well past fifteen minutes, darling. They don’t give a fuck.”

You giggle. He mutters, “That sounds cute,” under his breath while his eyes look fondly over you.

You take a step towards him, and press a kiss next to his mouth, not even caring if his cigarette is gonna burn you. You linger for a second, and pull back.

“I’d fuck you in an instant, Kim Taehyung. And I would gladly be your girlfriend.”

You think timing is a bitch. You also think, maybe your time hasn’t come yet, that it’s not passed.

He’s opening the door and letting you pass by when he says, “Someday, in New York. Let’s get married.”

You’ve never thought marriage could sound this much fun.

“No older than twenty-seven. And I’ll be wearing the suit.”

He snorts and fades into the crowd of drunk people, while always completely standing out.

“I’ll look badass in a dress,” you swear you hear him say.

You believe it.

#bts scenarios #taehyung scenarios #bts smut #taehyung smut #taehyung #kpop scenarios #writing #taehyung;seven minutes in paradise #y'all this has been sitting in my drafts for almost a YEAR now #how fucking crazy is that #i literally finished like half of it right now #writers block is weird af #but yeah i live for bisexual tae #also bg tae x jimin cause i stan a lowkey ship???

[jira-chii]

Thoughts on the Shoumetsu Toshi Anime before it even airs

The Shoumetsu Toshi anime will air in April 2019, which fills me with both excitement and trepidation... 

Warning for long post. And a bit of language. I may have spoiled the bare minimum of the game in order to explain why it is awesome. There are no spoilers for the anime because it doesn't air until April 2019. 

NB: This whole post is my own personal opinion. I don’t claim to be an expert in anything anime or game related. In fact, I don't play many mobile games at all, and usually steer clear of anime adaptations of such games because I know how shit they can be. I sincerely hope Shoumetsu Toshi will be different because of the quality of the writing. Also yes I am very biased. And passionate. And this whole thing is written on the assumption the producers actually want to make this anime good and worthwhile, rather than just a quick money-grab. I just have a lot of feelings about this ok. 

During Shoumetsu Toshi’s fourth year anniversary, one of the projects announced was an anime! I'm sure everyone playing knew this was going to happen eventually. After all, the game has an all star cast of seiyuu, an amazing storyline, and has been marketing itself for quite a while now (collabs, live concerts, CDs, keychains and more). I have no doubt Shoumetsu Toshi has the potential to become an amazing anime if done correctly, but it will face many challenges on the path to adaptation. Here are some of them.

Too many tamashii

One of the game’s greatest strengths also becomes one of its greatest barriers to adaptation. Shoumetsu Toshi has done an amazing job at creating a huge community of characters (like, an actual city). We get to see their stories unfold and their characters develop bit by bit through various events and quest stages. Within the game, we meet characters that are strong and inspiring, characters with complex relationships, characters that are good-natured and goofy, characters with tragic pasts and so much more. There are characters with stories in this game that will tear your heart to shreds, stories with plot twists nobody saw coming until years later, and stories that were so impactful I had to write a 3000 word essay on it before I was satisfied.

Unfortunately, the anime cannot afford to invest the same amount of time and effort in its characters as the game does. Though we love them, including too many would be detrimental because 1. It wouldn’t fit the tone the anime is going for, 2. There's actually no point because the majority of these don't affect the main story whatsoever and 3. They won't be developed enough for first timers to become invested in them. Especially the ones with more serious stories.

The producers will need to carefully choose which characters to include: characters that are not only distinct and easy to invest in, but will actually contribute to the plot and make the time getting to know them worthwhile. Because one of the worst things an anime can do imo, is bring in a character nobody is invested in, who contributes nothing to the story, has zero character development (i.e. their character is based completely on cliches and tropes) but also gets about 200% more screen time than any other side character, because there is the assumption that they’ll be popular based on their character design alone. That is just lazy writing and is disrespectful not only to the audience, but also the character (I don’t care if they’re fictional, good characters deserve respect too).

I fear there is a very real danger SPR5 could become that. The in-game idol group got a real world debut, and, while I don’t mind seeing promotion in an anime (we live in a capitalist society after all), they shouldn’t contribute much to the overall story, and I will be very disappointed if the anime give them more screen time than they need purely for the sake of marketing.  

Complex storyline

If there is one thing I absolutely don't want this anime to get wrong, it’s the story. The Shoumetsu Toshi main storyline is frickin’ amazing. It is an epic quest that spans four worlds, involves characters literally jumping through space and time, and breaks the fourth wall in the creepiest way possible. The creativity that comes with that is my absolute favourite thing about the game, however I acknowledge some heavy changes would need to be made to make it fit the traditional anime format…

I have heard the anime will be an original story, however the PV suggests it will still retain key plot points from the game. Contrary to my general opinions regarding anime-original content, I think this is the right way to go. I think fans innately despise original stories in anime adaptations for one of two reasons: the story will either be too complex for non-fans to enjoy, ruining the reputation of the series, or the story will be too watered down in order to appeal to said non-fans and consequently lose much of what made the original actually great. Achieving harmony is an incredibly difficult balancing act, and part of this involves the series living up to its own greatness. Which very rarely happens. If Shoumetsu Toshi goes for a retelling of say, World 1, it is invariably going to be compared to the original. Also it becomes predictable for anyone far enough into the game. If the producers do want to go the extra mile and make it worthwhile for the OG fans (which is nice in theory but, admittedly, unlikely), they would need to add some meaningful original content that still retains the essence of what makes Shoumetsu Toshi, Shoumetsu Toshi. That is, it retains the same themes and atmosphere, conveys a similar message, keeps all the characters appropriately in character...basically anything that would not feel out of place if it were to be inserted into the original. Luckily for us, Shoumetsu Toshi writers have loads of experience with this. I am talking, of course, about the mountain of ranking quests, side stories and events.

I will admit not every single minor story in Shoumetsu Toshi is fantastic, particularly many of the ranking events, which usually only allow about three stages to tell a story focused on one character. However, what I think the game does do very well in respect to these short ranking stories (and many other events and side stories open to lower level players), is make them accommodating to both old and new players. This is usually achieved by including Easter eggs and hints to a greater plot for the former, while keeping the actual main story for that particular quest straightforward and accessible for the latter. This strategy avoids alienating newcomers and will be absolutely vital if the anime is aiming to appeal to a larger audience, namely the international one who are mostly not even aware of the game. Failure to adhere to this strategy is also partially why many anime adaptations of games have such a shitty track record. They try to pack in too much, usually by explaining multiple complex concepts without devoting enough time to see them properly work in action. The story might take a backburner in favour of the more technical stuff, leaving newcomers confused and bored. Then when it’s time for the climax, nobody actually understands what is happening on screen. “Just play the source material”, actual fans will say, but really, unless the premise or characters appealed to me, how likely am I to invest even more time into a game if I thought the anime was boring as hell?

I do not think Shoumetsu Toshi will be able to showcase its full potential in one anime season. But if the goal of the anime is just to promote the game, there is no need to. If the goal of the anime were to be an actual good anime though, I think the creators would need to take the same approach as the game does for its stories.

Shoumetsu Toshi’s most epic moments are its unpredictable and creative plot twists. The amazing thing is, they don’t just come out of nowhere. This game’s strongest stories are the long ones that build up gradually to spectacular and emotional climaxes, which are possible because characters are given ample time to establish their values and motivations. This helps us as an audience better understand important plot points without the story having to beat us over the head about it, allowing the game to weave a subtle yet sophisticated narrative that actually makes total sense by the end. This means the story needs to be planned out from the very beginning, and will need some time for setup. Which means it won’t truly shine until the metaphorical ‘late-game’.

Stories like these are at a disadvantage these days because, especially with the Internet giving us so much more choice, a lot of anime watchers now tend to drop a show if it fails to impress them from the very start. After about three episodes, the audience should have a good feel for the anime’s main characters, setting and a hint of the main plot. If by then, absolutely nothing about the series appeals to you, you would start to think there are better things you could be doing with your time. Unfortunately, sometimes a show just needs a long time to set up a good story (or sometimes producers dick around too much with filler episodes).  

On top of probably needing a slow start, the Shoumetsu Toshi anime is at another disadvantage in respect to one type of audience, because the game does not have an English version. Which means a lot of the Western anime audience will have had no prior interaction with it and don’t know what to expect. They have no idea who the characters are, what the story is, and why its fanbase considers it so much more than just another gacha game. We just have to hope the anime is compelling enough in the beginning to ‘hook’ these newcomers, and make them stay on board long enough to make their time worth it...

A good Shoumetsu Toshi story needs to take risks. I hope to God nobody at that studio makes the executive decision to ‘play it safe’, because the last thing any fan wants is a disappointing anime adaptation with a mundane story even a non-fan wouldn’t be able to enjoy.The writers need to be given complete autonomy and trust to fully realise their creative vision, because that is exactly what is needed if this adaptation wants to use Shoumetsu Toshi’s biggest drawcard to its full advantage.

Animating exposition

This is a pretty minor thing compared to the other two I mentioned previously, but the most iconic thing that sets an anime adaptation apart from the source material is, well, the animation. Visuals and animation are probably the biggest things influencing a new audience’s first impression. Unfortunately, the PV portrayed some pretty lacklustre animation for Madhouse standards and I don’t think people were that impressed.

Good animation is time-consuming and can actually take quite a lot of effort on the part of the director (not that I have that much experience to speak to). Where to place characters in the shot composition, when and how far to zoom in for a close-up, how to best direct movement for maximum impact, but also keeping the scene direction consistent enough that the audience can still understand what is happening on screen. Dynamic scenes are hard enough, but on the other end of the spectrum, how do you animate a static character reciting an information dump in an interesting way?

Shoumetsu Toshi has a lot of talking. It's just something that comes part and parcel with a game of this format. In the game it's alright because you can read at your own pace, and it's important information. Plus they usually keep you engaged by switching up characters’ facial expressions (Shoumetsu Toshi 0 does this in spades) or by distracting you with the stellar soundtrack. I expect the anime is also gonna have a heap of exposition. I mean, from the PV alone I already see at least three expositional characters: Geek, Eiji and Kikyou.

Personally I think expositions are the hardest things to animate. And I don't mean difficult to actually draw and turn into animation, but to actually direct something like that in a satisfying way takes brain power. There are an infinite number of ways to animate characters talking, ranging from the super boring still-image-with-moving-mouth-flap, to using dynamic camera angles to keep the composition interesting, or overlaying a montage of some sort to visually convey the message without having to look at a static character. The game provides only a generic idea of how the scene might play out when animated. While this opens the door to a heap of creative possibilities, I’m concerned that if it comes down to time and budget, or if someone gets lazy, it is very likely we could end up with one hella boring sequence of exposition. Which could be a serious problem if the action scenes aren’t able to impress.

Ahh, you guys have no idea how much I want this anime to do well. There's just so much potential there.

In my opinion, traditional anime can be seen as an incredibly limited medium that must, in the span of about 12 episodes, tell a good story to its audience, invest them in its characters, and keep them engaged for half an hour each episode through pretty visuals/cool animation. If they can’t do that the audience will probably drop the series because they a) get bored, b) don’t care, and/or c) fall asleep. This also means a good anime can’t afford to sacrifice story for character development or vice versa. They need to happen concurrently.

It is not easy to make a good anime, and even more difficult to make one that lives up to the hype of its very amazing source material. As a general rule of thumb, I keep my expectations of game adaptations low, and that is what I said to myself when the Shoumetsu Toshi anime was announced. But then one day I got linked a Shoumetsu Toshi drama CD, and I was blown away by how well they did it. The title is The Vanished Elephant, a literary reference to Murakami's short story of the same name. I'm trying not to spoil but basically, the CD fully utilised the fact we can't see the characters (but can hear them) to craft a mysterious original story with a wonderful plot twist. It works just as a stand alone story, but actual players who are familiar with the characters and motifs immediately get that sense of unease at the very beginning, which is finally paid off with the reveal at the end.

Thanks to that, I can't help but be excited for the anime. If they do fuck it up, I won't be surprised but I will be very, very, sad.

If you have read this far, thank you so much for your time. If you are unfamiliar with Shoumetsu Toshi, could I ask you to please give this anime a chance? And if after its run, it does turn out shit, by all means, complain to your heart’s content (because I will be doing the same).

#shoumetsu toshi #anime #analysis #long post #afterlost