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anolyso · 3 years

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Utena thoughts...about 2 weeks later

I've been putting it off for way too long and so most of my thoughts stopped being fresh. On top of watching way too many analysis vids post-watch, but still I do at least want to put my 2cents of Revolutionary Girl Utena out there for the world.

Utena is perhaps one of the most famous "magical girl"/shoujo action shows out there for not only it's transgressive themes of relationship abuse and low-key pretty much being the poster girl for like actual feminist perspective on/in anime...but also just doing it all in both a heavily allegorical and understated, yet super over-the-top stylish fashion

But that's it's reputation preceding itself, is Utena worth while all these years? The answer is Yes, but it also really shows it's age and budget in pacing and repetition, tho as an appreciator for "behind the scenes" compromises in art, it's more showcasing Ikuhara's talent in working around both taboo and long-form budget constraints with just well-thought out and iconic imagery that - while episodic and formulaic - is just very good at filling the 39 eps with feasts for the eyes.

Utena broadly is about tomboy Utena with memories long ago after her parents died being "saved" by a princely figure like a princess...except she's so enthralled by the nostalgia that instead she becomes a full on Prince herself and receives a dueling ring to fight in the Ohtori Acadamy secret duels for "engagement" to Rose Bride Himemiya Anthy.

Utena is divided between 4 arcs, only the first and last being Manga adapted from hearsay:

1: Student Council Saga

2: Black Rose Saga

3: Akio Ohtori Saga

4: Apocalypse

From back to forth I'd say that Akio + Apoc is more just escalation into the finale while Black Rose being anime original comes off as a glorified side-character study which while complementing the secondary cast, feels like one of those Anime movies that has to say "but if you don't watch this part, it's pretty much optional for the main plot" despite it also actually introducing the most important antagonist within it's margins.

More importantly, it's the Student Council (arc and the actual people) that lay the foundation but also a large part of the show's focus which ironically puts Utena in the background until like almost the finale and some in-between developments, so it's less "Utena (and Anthy Himemiya)'s story" until the very end, but more like a showcase of how fucked up the system at large is (pin in that).

By the Council themselves is:

Kyouichi Saionji: The biggest jobber, like actually introduced as the most despicable loser ep 1 and proceeds to be a complete arrogant joke for the rest of the show. Honestly in another shojo "love" story, they'd find some way to redeem him but semi-compellingly they turn him into like an Aqua-lad type pathetic brat with an inferiority complex to the actual Student head

Miki Kaoru: the naive "nice, non-threatening soft boy" that also just never actually listens to the girls around him. Probably adds more complexity to the whole patriarchal idea on analytic reflection since yeah, the whole "nice guy finishes last" plays up better when the kid comes off as that "ally" energy of wanting to save Himemiya from being the Rose Bride but also low-key won't actually not just do the duels and win her cuz he's that sorta wishy-washy hypocrite. Arguably the least hateable guy in the cast (minus mascot Chu-Chu)

Juri Arisugawa: TRAGIC LESBIAN TRIANGLE LOVE. Probably the biggest point to of both "not-explicitly homosexual" but also really freaking obvious since her entire story is her girlfriend stealing her "boy crush" when actually she was crushing on her and being pretty much frustrated throughout her story as pining most of it. It's quaint by today's standards but also like damn girl, get over her she was like the worst back stabbing bitch (literally if Black Rose counts)

Nanami Kiryuu: SPEAKING OF QUEEN BITCH, it's been a long time since I've watched a High School girl bully and honestly it's kinda refreshing. If Miki is "soft-boy uwu" Nanami is a brat that gets her come-uppance often, featured prominently as an anime only with the MOST filler/comedic episodes but also not low-key, being the most out-spoken actual brother complex ironically spins perhaps the biggest twist and ironic relationships of "I love my brother but not-like-that but also like-that" by the end. Mostly comedic relief but I find her inclusion to actually add a lot more to juxtapose...

Touga Kiryuu: Big Student Council Prez himself, the first arc antagonist and also a strong foil to Saionji and later a stepping stone for Akio. Touga is THE image of a Princely Playboy Heart-Throb that in any other Shoujo romance would have the main girl win him over from all those "other girls" despite him being apathetic if not outright manipulative of them. Good thing Utena is better than that and really puts a spotlight on just not-actually-ok his power hunger for "the power to bring the world revolution" that leads him to heavily objectify Anthy, arguably even more than Misogynist Trophy Girlfriend beater Saionji, since he doesn't even see her as more than a means to an end despite professing and looking the Prince part but lacking all the actual virtues.

The Student council matters more since they're characters and subsequent tragic flaws are the ACTUAL meat of the show and on second rumination actual shows more how fucked up the system/gender dynamic/power hierarchy is since - while it blatantly fucks over Juri who can't just outright say who she likes - also show almost it's own sub-text of Masculine failings: Saionji desperately clinging to being TOXIC MASCULINE™ and completely falling short underneath Touga; Miki's "nice boy" act belying him trying to replace his low-key nostalgia for his sister (also a bitch, but apparently was more like Nanami in the manga); and best yet Touga being the quintessential "Prince in all but actual behavior" by emulating a cutthroat and Machiavellian world view but coming up empty because well, he's just an illusion of a prince...but that leads in way more to the big finale piece where I'll reintroduce the actual story's main trio

Utena Tenjou: Tomboy Prince with brain empty except for lesbian thoughts. Honestly probably what every western "STRONG INDEPENDENT WOMAN" archetype wishes they were since while having very tomboyish personality in athletics, blunt speaking and also VERY oblivious to the actual plot for REAL DRAMATIC IRONY, but also never actually demeaning her being feminine partially due to her love of an childhood prince and how she maintains her relationship with both her friend Wakaba and later Anthy. Honestly mostly a plot device after S1 until she gets ACTUAL development by the very end and instead kinda bumbles her way into undoing the entire REVOLUTION OF THE WORLD. I kinda wish she felt either more cognizant or at least felt like she was developing/properly rebuking the rest of the cast's power obsessions but I guess that's for the movie.

Anthy Himemiya: Actual Trophy Wife with a dark secret (darker than ski- wait no that's terrible scratch that). Set-up very much as an immediate princess in distress while also being the most femme Yamato Nadeshiko, Anthy being the Rose Bride as a literal prize who acts and behaves as whom she's "engaged" with desires while otherwise being quiet, wry, mysterious and noticably submissive, by the end it actually plays up into THE BIG REVEALS of just how abused she's been into a hopeless acceptance...like y'know actual abuse victims.

Akio Ohtori: Grade A Antagonist, probably the most insidious I've seen a villain in a while, Akio is notable for, back in 1997, being perhaps the big go-to of actual deconstructing the facade of a whole shoujo genre's "hots for a teacher/sexy man putting the moves" and highlighting how actually exploitative and abusive a person like that really is. Being Himemiya's brother (somewhat justified in the manga by both being a weird Sailor Moon-esque reincarnation of gods/godesses of Dios), despite how much of his motives are runing the background and how the entire back story is uh...brought up in like barely in the last arc with little lead up (some scenes feel like they'd be a full melodrama season and they just have like 1 scene in the final arc episodes) he manages to one-up Touga (in the plot as well) by instead of "just" objectifying girls, not-just-flat out saying Utena looks best as a princess, but y'know the fact that he is implicitly yet constantly exploiting and victim-blaming Anthy for her own suffering for "the power of Dios/Revolution of the world" turns it on its head

I've spent all this time on characters but in truth a lot of the meat of the show relies again on the Council Members fleshing out the issues of system leading to outright divorcing "being a Prince" (heroic altruistic virtues) and "being a man" (considering like all but maybe the comedic relief have some deliberately misogynistic behavior) and beyond just the plot (or rather character) synopsis, the talent goes far more in how it's framed, the symbolic/allegorical shots, the repetition adding a good episode formula flow to character showcases, probably the most "tasteful" allusion to uh...*ahem* sexual abuse that so many other edgier/prentious shows fumble. Both in how intimidating yet understated it's foreshadowing is until they hard-reveal it despite never explicitly naming it even tho it sends Nanami into hysterics

Really it's both a massive blessing and reason for it's cult beloved status for it's aesthetics but also it's burden, for being a full 39 episodic season by season character development study of everyone BUT the main trio except for snippets and the very end that makes it greatly appreciable as a legitimate work of art.

What I wanted more to say however (long overdue) is that a large part of following is, visibly at least, western feminist critiques and yes while it almost seems like Utena fits the "deconstructing patriarchy" story like a glove...it's weird how almost none of them actually can give a good historical account of actual Japanese female/gender/sexuality norms nor Anime contemporaries actually were. Like Tenchi Muyo and Berserk came out the same year (Cardcaptor Sakura the next) and despite how you can "feel" the influence in lots of modern shows like SHAFT's signature visual imagery cuts or many WESETERN shows having straight scene references to Utena....almost no one has a similar feel to Utena until like Princess Tutu comes out.

Really tho probably should've watched Utena and then Tutu because while it's undeniable that Utena is a major pillar of shoujo re-codification - what with everyone before Utena was saying they thought it'd be like a Rose of Versaille or Lady Knight rip-off...whose laughing now? - it's almost like there's a missing link between it and it's major western fanbase (probably with what few anime did get overseas, this one probably rose to the top), or how very noticeable there IS an influence on it's genre in Japan

Almost none of the big analyst fans actually know A) it's not "a deconstruction of Magical Girls" since despite Ikuhara working on Sailor Moon just before this, almost none of the tropes line up and instead more with Shoujo genre as a whole. or one of the major inspirations was Takarazuka theater.

And this is not to dismiss how inspirational it is to it's western fandom, but while I am notably cynical towards placing things on pedestals, there's probably something about cultivating the whole pop-culture feminist reading commune with people making weird time-loop theories while kinda most of it is just filling in a mad-lib mostly thanks to Ikuhara just keeping things on the vague and letting the audience take away their own perspective.

Again, most of the show is completely sub-textual or visually/symbolically depicted and never stated nor properly defines it's weird key words (End of the World, Revolutionize the World, Power of Dios, Rose Bride, all things said constantly but never really said what they "mean". But that's also perhaps its charm, in it's allegory and very Death of the Author approach, it has definitely allowed it's fan theorizing and appreciation to flourish so there's something there for that.

Ultimately I'd say Utena the TV series is great more so for what it isn't...or rather I should say it's great for not just subverting Shoujo tropes and archetypes for the Japanese audience but also that despite dealing with some very serious and heavy subjects in obtuse and perhaps understated ways for the time, people have allowed it to be put on it's pedestal because they can easily fit it in themselves.

Honestly though, not that a more "straight forward" approach wouldn't detract from Utena but I will say that the movie, Adolescence of Utena, is very much the best encapsulation of what Utena strives to be (for another big blog post) and while the TV series has plenty of time and flexes it's directorial muscles with budget constraints and season pacing UNrestrained, the movie will trim a lot of the fat

#long post #Revolutionary Girl Utena #I haven't actually done my Anime thoughts in a while #Maybe I'll keep this on my main blog this time #I wrote this mostly on facebook tho if I wrote it here first I'd better integrate images probably #anolyso's media time #uh...except now that's on my main blog

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bookaddict24-7 · 3 years

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I said at the beginning of the year that I would share my reviews more on my blog instead of just on Instagram and Goodreads. I’ve been reading a lot so far this year, so my reviews will be delayed on here.

Friend me on Goodreads here to read my reviews in real-time!

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107. Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow, this book had more of a punch than I anticipated! I think books like this one are super important--not just because of the content, but because of the audience it's geared towards. Young readers now are learning more and more about society than a lot of us did at their age, so I think it's perfectly fitting that a book like this one is out there for kids to devour. One of the things I liked the most about this book was the allegory of racism in a magical community. Usually in fantastical novels for kids (older ones, anyway), there's this belief that no matter what you look like, the moment you go to another magical place all of your worries about racism goes away because MAGIC. But in this one, not only did our MC have to contend with the racism in her normal life, she had to face more racism in her new life, just with a new title. So many of the actions taken against her by those around her, and the comments (like putting her brother on a pedestal because he was the star of the school and calling him the exception to the rule, or one girl actively telling her that "You can take the girl out of the ghetto, but not the ghetto out of the girl) really made me think that this poor kid went from one ignorant situation to another. Not only is she trying to find her brother and solve the mystery of his disappearance, but she also has to deal with racist and ignorant people around her. Imagine calling a child evil because of something they can't control. Imagine going out of your way to ensure that they fail. Imagine you or your child hearing the things this child heard while trying to just do her best in a system that's always been made to be against her, both in the human world and in the magic world. Imagine, imagine, imagine. Another thing I loved about this book was her resilience. She is brave, and smart, and has such a big future in this new world of hers. I'm so excited to read the rest of this series as it comes out. This book was POWERFUL and I highly recommend it. Not just for the young readers in your life, but I think parents and other readers would highly benefit from reading Amari's story.

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108. Mindy Kim & the Yummy Seaweed Business by Lyla Lee--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Okay, this book was ADORABLE. I haven’t read a 6-8 book in a long time and I’m thankful to my friend on Instagram who recommended these books! Mindy has to deal with not only her grief about losing her mom and her dad’s busy schedule (as well as his own grief), but she’s also at a new school in a new State where she is the only Asian student. I’ve mentioned this in some of my most recent reviews, but I love that these important topics are being discussed in children’s books. We see moments of racism in this book where Mindy is left upset, even if she doesn’t fully understand just why certain comments and actions are so hurtful. And even if she doesn’t dwell on it, a parent reading this with their little one would notice and hopefully learn if they see their own behaviours mirrored in the actions of some of these adults. But we also see moments of kindness and love as a young girl tries her best to find ways to make her dad happy. Despite the heavier undertones in this book, there was an overall feel of sweetness and childhood innocence. The ability to apologize when you know you’re in the wrong, the innocence of emotions getting away from you, and the sweetness of a daughter loving her father. This was a great read and I highly recommend it for everyone, but especially the little ones in your life who will be entering situations where books like these and their lessons are really important.

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109. The Dead Zone by Stephen King--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one, I felt, held more of an emotional punch rather than a creepy feeling. I really enjoyed it! I loved the psychic angle and the MC proving the people who didn’t believe him or mocked wrong. Also, this was a King book that actually made me want to cry at the end. I didn’t give it a 5 because of some really slow moments. While I love that his stories always have a way of coming together at the end, certain scenes sometimes feel long, boring, or confusing. I’d recommend this for anyone who wants to read a King book that isn’t scary and if you’re a fan of 11/22/63!

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110. Takane & Hana Vol. 1 by Yuki Shiwasu--⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one took me a while to read. I found that I wasn’t really in the mood to read it every time I picked it up—which is so different from when I pick up a manga I really want to read. The story had some funny bits and the artwork was gorgeous, but it really bugged me how every new chapter re-introduced the love interest. Over and over and over again. I get it: he’s rich, arrogant, and an asshole. Can’t you trust us to remember these key personality traits? But it wasn’t even just that. We were constantly re-introduced to the premise of the story. I don’t know how common this is WITHIN the same volume, but I haven’t encountered it yet—and if I have, it wasn’t as annoying as this one. I’ll keep reading the story because I’m curious, but this first volume was a bit of a rougher read for me.

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111. You Have A Match by Emma Lord--⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I think the thing with this book is that the cover tells a different story than what really matters in this book. Yes, there’s a friends to more relationship in this, but the main storyline is about two girls who find out they’re sisters and are trying to solve that mystery. This isn’t a romcom—the romance is a super side story to the main storyline. And to be honest, I really enjoyed it. I wanted to see why these two sisters lived their whole life separated. I enjoyed the process and the friendships created along the way. I felt for the parents, but at the same time, I felt more for the girls. There were instances where I wanted to yell at the parents because they kept putting the reveal off. This was enjoyable overall—a great summer read. Not particularly memorable, but it does what it sets out to do: makes you question the strength of friendships and what they can overcome. Also, Instagram.

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112. Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When my friend raved about this book I was both excited and intimidated. I usually try to avoid hypes surrounding books because I go in with too-high expectations and a lot of the time, the expectations crush me while I’m reading. Thankfully, the hype is very well-deserved with this one. For me, the most important aspect of this book that stuck with me wasn’t the mystery surrounding the MC’s cousin’s death, but the character growth the MC himself experiences during the time of his investigation. Identity sounds like a pretty clear cut thing sometimes, but it’s a lot harder to know your own when you’re the child of an immigrant family. You live in a new country, get accustomed to new expectations and customs, and inevitably feel a culture shock when you’re re-introduced to the culture your parents grew up in. I saw myself so much in this MC. From my childhood to my current adult years, people have thought that they could define me and who I am simply because I say I’m this or this. But while others make a quick judgment, they don’t see the internal struggle. They don’t see you questioning yourself on whether you’re enough of this, or whether you’re enough of that. I think teenage me would have loved this book even more. The MC is constantly faced with criticism about his father choosing to move them to the States from the Philippines. The judgments and the preconceived notions of him and his family make him not only weary because he recalls how his uncle treated his father the first time he visited, but also wary because it sets him down this road of self-reflection. I haven’t read many (if any, unfortunately) books where a character goes to the Philippines. I’m so thankful to this book. I learned so much about the culture, the foods, and the struggles faced not just financially, but politically as well. I remember reading about some of the topics brought up in this book and it was extremely eye-opening. It’s so easy for us to look away because we have that privilege, but this book says, “No, look at me. I exist.” The MC, in his journey, also learns to speak up and use his voice. Not just against ignorant friends, but an annoyingly smug and verbally abusive uncle (who I hated to all hell). He also learns to listen. He learns that though not every story is perfect, they still have power. I think this is a great read for those who have one foot in two different worlds (hands and arms can be in other worlds, too). Especially if you’re trying to understand this part of you that wasn’t developed as you grew up. I’d also recommend it to readers who want to learn more about this struggle, learn more about a different culture that is more than its stereotypes, and/or want to read about a young teenager trying to come to terms with his grief and guilt.

___ Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them?

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Happy reading!

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80sanime · 4 years

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Top 10 Favorite Manga

I was bored today so decided to make a list of my top ten favorite manga, with little comments describing what’s great about them:

Apocalypse Zero by Takayuki Yamaguchi If you were scared off by the OVA… well, you might still hate the manga since it’s even more crazy and explicit. But the anime failed to capture most of what makes the manga so unforgettable, be it the deliberately over-the-top tone; charmingly grotesque characters; bizarre eroticism; or the stunning artwork. Plus Kakugo is the perfect man?!

Devilman by Go Nagai This has finally reached the mainstream so I don’t have to describe how influential it was/is. I consider it Nagai’s most put-together work, and where his art looked the best; rough but expressive and with lots of character (for that reason I recommend reading the original edition if you can, not the later ones with the stylistically jarring additions). Although to be honest, my true trashy Nagai pleasure is Cinderella Knight…

The Holy Terrors by Hagio Moto I’m not a huge Hagio Moto fan. I recognize her greatness, but most of her original work doesn’t really speak to me. Her adaption of Jean Cocteau’s novel, though, is some of the most magnificent comic work I’ve ever seen. Their unique styles meld to create something not quite Moto and not quite Cocteau... a dreamlike union.

Maison Ikkoku by Rumiko Takahashi This was a tough pick, since I like individual elements of other Takahashi works more (particularly Mermaid Saga and her short stories), but Maison Ikkoku is the one I find the most compulsively rereadable. It’s still so relatable, while also being such a charming snapshot of what everyday life was like in Japan during the 80s. The characters have foibles but aren’t stereotypes, not even Godai’s wacky neighbors (well, except for Yotsuya), and even the romance subverts her infamous will-they-or-won’t-they waffling by delivering a poignant payoff by the end.

Me-teru no Kimochi by Hiroya Oku I feel like I shouldn’t love this manga half as much as I do. Oku is a creator I have a lot of issues with normally. No matter how intriguing the initial setup, all of his long-term series tend to fall apart at the seams... but this three-volume manga manages to come together in a genuinely amusing and touching way. The last few pages make me emotional every time I read them.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki This seems like a cliche choice but, despite how popular Ghibli is in the West now, I feel like a lot of people are still sleeping on this manga. Since it isn’t primarily aimed at children, unlike his films, Miyazaki is able to add a lot more darkness and moral complexity to this apocalyptic war story; I was impressed when, by the end, even his saintly heroine was forced to get her hands dirty. The style is unique (inspired more by European comics than Japanese manga), the world building is fascinating and the entire cast has so much more depth (esp my girl Kushana). The last two volumes are absolutely staggering.

Ogre Slayer by Kei Kusunoki When Viz released the first two volumes of this manga when I was a kid, it was a shock to my system. Kusunoki lavishes as much detail on the terrifying ogres as she does her attractive main character, the nameless boy on a fruitless quest to become human by hunting his own kind. The juxtaposition of cathartically gruesome violence with the emotional, largely female-coded trauma the ogres represent is captivating. So although the series starts to lose steam toward the middle of its run, I still love it for the strength of its early installments.

Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda I feel guilty whenever I admit this, but most of the time I prefer the anime adaptions of shoujo manga (Fruits Basket, Kare Kano, Ouran Host Club, Please Save My Earth… this is even the case for one of Ikeda’s later works, Onii-sama e). But the Rose of Versailles anime doesn’t come close to matching the detail and grandeur of its source material imo. If you’ve only seen the series, please please make sure to read the manga as well, esp if you love Andre as much as I do… Dezaki did him (and by extension his romance with Oscar) dirty!

Twin Knights by Osamu Tezuka I wasn’t that enamored of Princess Knight, but this sequel captured my attention in a big way. It’s so imaginative and fun, has great supporting characters and features some of Tezuka’s most beautiful Disney-inspired panels. It also manages to avoid most of the dated gender essentialist stuff that made me roll my eyes so hard in the original, despite them both being from the 50s.

Violinist of Hameln by Michiaki Watanabe Where do I even start with this one? It’s honestly a mess, but the best kind of mess. A fantasy adventure about a hero that fights monsters with the magical music he plays on his jumbo-sized violin, the ping-ponging between cheesy humor, extreme tragedy and shonen manga power-leveling is disorienting at first, but you get used to it. The art is a bit amateur (and becomes increasingly abstract as the series goes on) but you can feel the enthusiasm the author has for his work jumping off the page. Plus, it’s jam-packed with classical music trivia!

I’m sure I’m forgetting some big ones but these are the first that come to mind. What are your favorites? Now that I basically have no work to do (orz) I’d love to read some new stuff. Off-kilter series in particular!

#manga #text post #my favs are all either violent and/or romantic lol #I guess my tastes tend toward the extreme

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faneliacosplay · 5 years

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Top 10 of 2018

C2018 was a year is this nicest way I can sum it up. My precious fur-baby passed away after fighting a horrible illness and is in a happier place, my health went crazy (still is as of writing), and I finally broke free from an abusive toxic person who had been controlling me for a huge chunk of my life. Despite the bad things that happened, I want to focus on the good things of 2018. One of things I began doing in January of 2018 was at the end of every week, I would write down all of the good things that happened to me, be it sewing, watched a good movie, spending time with a friend, etc. So without further ado, here’s my Top 10 of 2018! (I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ALREADY MARCH!!)

1. The Ancient Magus’ Bride

- I’ve been a lifelong fan of Beauty and the Beast-like stories ever since I watched the classic Disney film. The manga kept popping up in my recommendations for the majority of 2017 and I remember seeing a poster at my local theater for a premiere showing of the first 3 episodes of the then-upcoming anime (I have since regretted not going to this showing). I finally caved and bought the first two volumes of the manga and literally went back to the store two days later and bought the next 2 volumes. I’ve always been a very picky person with my romance be it movie, novel, anime, manga, etc., but this quickly became one of my favorites with it’s excellent world-building, relationships, and don’t even get me started on how gorgeous the animation is! If you want an excellent Beauty & the Beast adaptation, you won’t be disappointed. (I am unashamed of crying happy tears in public while watching the final episode)

2. Satoshi Kon’s Filmography

- My New Year’s resolution was to watch all of the late Satoshi Kon’s works, starting with his debut film Perfect Blue. I had wanted to watch this film for several years, and it did not disappoint. (I kept spamming for people to go and see it when it got a theatrical re-release in Fall 2018) Next was Kon’s final project Paprika, which I watched about 3 times in May and many times over 2018 and still notice something new every time I watch it. Finally, I watched *the* film that I have wanted to watch for many, many years (since 2004 to be exact): Millennium Actress. I was not prepared for how moving this film would be with its themes of the past vs. present, how an ordinary encounter can lead to something so much more, and lastly: love transcends time. If you could only watch one of Satoshi Kon’s works, please choose to watch Millennium Actress. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch Kon’s other two works, but I aim to in 2019 (along with reading his works)

3. Slayers

- I watched some of Slayers back in middle school and in summer 2016, but never took off with it until in 2018. I knew I would like this funny series about the adventures of a fiery sorceress, dumb as a stump swordsman, optimistic hero-in-training, and an overly-serious chimera, but I had no idea it would become one of my top 10 favorite anime series! I haven’t laughed so much with an anime in a while, and I greatly appreciated it since my fur-baby passed away and this was one of the last anime we watched together. There’s just something about 90s fantasy anime that’s just so appealing. I will throw in that while I love the tv series, the films are worth watching too, with The Motion Picture being my favorite. If you need something to cheer you up, I highly recommend Slayers!

4. Venom

- Confession: I did not have high hopes for this movie. I was the only one among my friends who was uninterested in this film whenever we would watch the trailers/promos/etc. Eventually after this movie came out, my friends and best friend convinced me to see it. My sociology buddy told me “This movie wasn’t marketed right! Go see it!!” and another told me “This is the best action rom-com of 2018.” The next day my family asked me if I wanted to see it and Bohemian Rhapsody (also an excellent film) and I said “Sure!” This film has since spawned never-ending jokes between me and my best friend. (I ended up making her a Venom scarf for Christmas!) If you’re trying to get someone to see this film, don’t show them the trailers depicting it as a dark, gritty, action thriller, show them the home video trailer depicting it as a rom-com because that’s exactly what it is. I still can’t believe that a movie about a human falling in love with a man-eating gooey alien is real.

5. The Shape of Water

- “2017 will be remembered as the year men screwed up so badly, women started dating fish.”- Jimmy Kimmel, 2018 Oscars. I’m beginning to see a pattern for stories of humans falling in love with monsters. My mom and I wanted to see this film after the trailer dropped in summer 2017 and were disappointed when the film didn’t play here. However, sometime in February 2018, this film played in our town for one weekend, so we dashed to the theater. I don’t even know where to start with how beautiful this film is and since several people I know still haven’t watched it I’ll just state this: Please watch this film. It earned the 4 Oscars it won. (It earned all 10 it was nominated for!)

6. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

- I almost didn’t see this film. 2018 was a pretty hectic year for me and I didn’t really keep up with films/entertainment news, so I saw no trailers for this film (except for a really short tv ad). All I knew was what my best friend had said: “Brianna, let’s go see Spider-verse. In 3D.” (y’all, 2018 was the year of listening to my best friend) It was so nice not only to see a different Spider-Man, a diverse cast, a well-curated soundtrack, and a completely new style of animation that makes you feel as though you’re reading/watching a comic book??? Sign me up! I’m so happy this film won the Oscar!!

7. Macross Frontier Movies

- I’ve fallen deep into the Macross hole in the past year or two and have no plans of crawling out. The 2008 series Macross Frontier was my first and favorite entry in the series so far. I knew that there were two recap/alternate retelling films made, so when I was free one day I watched them and I was really surprised that I enjoyed them more than the tv series!? I haven’t really mentioned this, but my big problem with the tv series of Frontier was it’s ending being not too good. I don’t want to ruin it since Macross (particularly made after 2001) is a bit unknown in the USA, but I will say that if you want to get into this franchise, start with the Frontier movies or with the iconic Macross: Do you remember love? film. The music is just as good as the tv series, same with the costumes, and the writing is much better! The performance of Northern Cross at the climax of The Wings of Goodbye was really moving. Not “Do you remember love?” moving, but pretty close.

8. Sailor Moon Theatrical Double-Feature

- Everyone who knows me knows that I’ve loved Sailor Moon for pretty much all of my life (ever since the 3rd & 4th seasons aired on Toonami back in the day!) A holiday tradition for me was to watch the 2nd theatrical every Christmas Eve, unfortunately my two VHS tapes finally gave out in 2016. Thanks to Viz Media, this past summer saw theatrical re-releases of all 3 Sailor Moon films. Shockingly, my local theater was showing the films subbed so my mom and I bought our tickets right away. It was so surreal seeing these films that I grew up with on the big screen, and I know non-Sailor Moon fans won’t get this, but hearing/watching the whole “Moon Revenge” sequence in the theater was so intense. This part never got to me as a kid for some weird reason and I had no idea I was crying until my mom pointed it out at the end of the film. With the 2nd film, seeing Luna transform into a human was emotionally moving as always, just 10 times more since it was on the big screen with that nice surround sound system. That night when I got home, I didn’t get any sleep since I still couldn’t believe that this happened. The now 20+ years old Sailor Moon movies got released for the first time in USA theaters. This is an experience I’m going to remember for the rest of my life.

9. Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc

- I was so excited when a sequel to Cardcaptor Sakura was announced. Like Sailor Moon, I watched this series as the heavily-edited Cardcaptors on Toonami. When I got older and learned that there was more anime out there besides the ones I saw on TV, I went back and watched Cardcaptor Sakura to get the whole, magical story and even read the manga, which I believe is the greatest children’s manga ever made. I loved every single moment of the new series and felt as though I were watching another episode of the classic series. The only thing that felt different was that the animation is no longer hand-drawn. (it’s still good) When you reboot or make a sequel to a series be it tv, film, or book, sometimes it’ll miss the charm that made it so enjoyable in the first place. Clear Card thankfully still carries the charm its predecessor had.

10. Little Witch Academia

- I had started this anime around holiday 2017 but didn’t finish it until early 2018. This was one of the most optimistic series I’d ever had the pleasure of watching. I don’t want to compare the two, but the inspirational message that Kiki’s Delivery Service gave me when I was 10, was the exact inspirational message you will find in Little Witch Academia. (and that I needed to hear as a 20-year-old) I was starting to get a bit depressed and losing confidence in myself with my science grades getting lower no matter what I tried, as well as other things in my personal life. After dropping Science, I had a long wait between classes, so I decided to start watching Little Witch Academia again. Seeing our protagonist Akko trying her best at flying a broom and failing was me with my science grades, but her determination to get her broom just a few centimeters off the ground was so inspiring to watch. After this I watched the other Studio Trigger works I had yet to see, and while they’re all good in their own way, none of them have left the imprint LWA left on me. Sometimes when I get frustrated or lack confidence in myself, I tell myself Shiny Chariot’s words of wisdom that motivated Akko throughout the series: “Never forget your beautiful dreams. Believing is your magic!!”

#2018 #2018 in review #The Ancient Magus Bride #millennium actress #satoshi kon #slayers anime #lina inverse #venom #the shape of water #into the spider verse #macross frontier #sailor moon #cardcaptor sakura clear card #clear card arc #little witch academia #brianna talks #slayers

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ivanaskye · 6 years

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8+2 writing questions meme

@vardasvapors tagged me and I used doing this as a reward for dealing with airport security....

1. What are your current writing goals? Ohhh boy, okay, let’s see, I’ve got to get Šehhinah book 3 fully edited by March 9th, when I’m planning on publishing it … finishing drafting Evocation 3&4 … editing Evocation 2 … then editing the other Evocation books, obviously, once they’re drafted … outlining the series that takes place after Evocation … I think that’s as far as I have planned. That should get me through some of the year! Although let’s be real I probably haven’t even done cursory outlining of whatever I’ll be writing in November or whatever yet.

2. When did you first discover your love of writing? HAHAHAHAHA when DIDN’T I discover it.

Uhh ok no really … I learned how to read like really early and was always super into books. “Book! Book!” I apparently demanded of my mom like, all the time. My physical ability to hold a pencil took longer to be a thing than my ability to read, and certainly longer than my ability to storytell, but there’s a whole collection of little stories I dictated to my mom as she wrote them down when I was three or four or so. These include memorable lines such as “Yes, dear, a fire hydrant is very important” and “Buzzing! He couldn’t believe his eyes!” and “And then they drank all day and died. This was a long time ago, when people used to do that sort of thing.” There was also the story that ended in Pooh Bear and Piglet dying … and the one where Thomas the Tank Engine “took his medicine” and “didn’t do any bad things anymore” …

Not too long after those, there started being little things I’d write myself with pencil and paper. For whatever reason the first that comes to mind is this song about winter (meant to be sung by Pooh Bear, obviously) which I think I wrote when I was six, that went “It’s snowing / it’s mowing / but I don’t mind // I’ve got furry furry fur to keep me warm and snuggly / because it’s winter!” Gods, uh, I even still remember the tune for that actually. Then again, I think I remember all the tunes of the bad songs I wrote as a kid.

Also by the way I still have basically all of this stuff. I have like, a barely-even-started attempt at uh, a nonfiction book, bound by staples, about volcanoes … THE FREAKING FAIRY SLAVE STORY, involving a fairy enslaved by an evil witch at the age of six …

This kept ramping up in complexity until I was nine and decided that a good way to spend a three-week road trip would be to write an entire movie script. Which I did; it was about sixty pages long once later typed up by my mom (these were the waning days before I really learned how to type), which by typical page-to-minute conversions for scripts, means it would have been about an hour long as a movie. I did try to film it, and got partway through, but oh my Gods, that is a story for another time and this is already an essay and I’m only on the second question.

Keep in mind that on that same road trip I also attempted to start drawing several manga—most not making it past the third page—and did some Tokyo Mew Mew fanfic, and a number of other things besides …

Uhh anyway this brings us to March 9th, 2006, which is the “created on” date of my very first writing document on my computer! It was four paragraphs long and terrible and I was a bit of a weeb, so the main character’s name was Subeteno Kakusei … there was this whole thing where like, she’d fight for Life in the daylight but switch personalities and fight for Death in the nighttime, but I got stuck and stopped writing when she asked, “and why is life bad?” and I couldn’t come up with the answer. Uh. Also this story itself was already a revamp of another story written on paper which had started out as a riff on Pokemon…

3. What motivates you to keep writing? UH WANTING TO REMAIN BREATHING, lmao.

No seriously though, that’s actually something I’ve said to people: “oh, yeah, I have to write every day, OR I WILL DIE.” And I mean??? I probably would?? Wtf is a not writing every day? I mean, okay, yeah, I only started the daily thing at the beginning of 2016, but still…

Seriously though, writing makes me feel like myself, it’s kind of what I am…

4. How important is worldbuilding for your writing? VERY??? EXTREMELY??? A WHOLE BUNCH???? I absolutely 100% have to get the cosmology of a setting down before I can write in it. It’s the most essential thing in my entire process and also the hardest. That essential-ness is why I write secondary world stuff—I want to decide the cosmology Gods heck it!! I get to display something, a possibility of something, that is good, where the world works in a way that feels right, where the very formation of how the world works including its magic system is supportive of people’s happiness.

The whole cosmology process requires heavy amounts of thinking and analyzing and even heavier amounts of believing in myself though, and I feel utterly exhausted after it every time.

For all the other parts of worldbuilding, I do better if I have it down ahead of time rather than expect myself to come up with stuff while drafting—because, lol, I won’t, I’ll make up a cool landscape if I give myself a minute to do it in outlining or worldbuilding but if I don’t have one when drafting, I will somehow just completely fail to come up with anything interesting at all. But also, I like drafting way more than any other part of the writing process, so generally speaking I don’t worldbuild quite as much as I could or maybe should!

5. Pen on paper versus typing? Typing typing typing oh my Gods.

6. Favorite Author? OKAY UH … the obvious answer here is N.K Jemisin bc her most recent trilogy is perfect, and she has great subject matter AND a gorgeous writing style that’s just amazing, and, and. But. I don’t usually like to say someone’s my favorite unless I’m certain that the stuff they’re doing next is also going to be something I like, so I might defer Official Favorite Status to such a time as her next book is published!

In that case, the backup favorite would be Brandon Sanderson…

7. Something you do to get the creative juices flowing to write? Coffee.

But more seriously … to get the creativity flowing to write, I write. It’s a habit. There is no muse. There’s no use in waiting for inspiration to strike. You have to make it happen anyway. You have to just keep going and believe, and believe.

(More generalizing than I would normally say, but I highkey feel this one…)

8. Do you write better at night, or first thing in the morning? Morning! This past month is the first period of time for two years where I’ve not felt like I’m dying if writing isn’t the first thing I do in the morning … if only because I trust I’ll end up doing it for three hours in the afternoon anyway. I can pretty much write any time of day now but I’m most attuned to doing it in the morning. With coffee…

9. How do you take your coffee/tea? Cappuccinos are very important to my lifestyle. BY CAPPUCCINO, I specifically mean equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and foam—but the foam is mixed into the milk, it isn’t just spooned on top, so basically it’s foamy milk. The drink should be approximately 8oz. It includes two shots of espresso. The most preferred types of espresso tend to be Ethiopian, but anything with a bright flavor is great (which still is very most often African beans, with Ethiopian almost always as the best!).

…So, ok, maybe I’m a little particular…

10. If you could only live with one season for the rest of your life, what would it be? I’d say summer except that in many ways nighttime is more important to me than the day and also I lived in Hawaii for the better part of 4 years and the constant heat was too much for me. So uh. Uhhh.

I do need a lot of sunlight though, and even more than that clear skies! I need starlight! And moonlight! So any season where I can get those things, and where the temperature’s not too hot but not like horribly cold either. (Of late, my cold tolerance has outpaced my heat tolerance, but it too has limits.)

Tagging @lcmawson, predictably.

#yeah ok I have two friends and one tagged me and I'm tagging the other #BUT A VERY GOOD TWO FRIENDS.#COULDN'T HAVE CHOSEN BETTER MYSELF ETC.#writing stuff #yeah that might have been more than u wanted to read but!!! JUST DEAL W IT!!!

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swoodthis · 7 years

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50 Headcanons: the Happy Mask Salesman

1. The Happy Mask Salesman is benevolent. This one comes first, for obvious reasons. 2. He is the last living Ancient One. 3. The Ancient Ones were not always an empire of magically-genetically-engineered people, but they were demonized for the actions of their last few kings. 4. Majora was their greatest and most terrible emperor. 5. The Ancients had a rigid caste system of 3 groups of 13 subcastes. Ironically, the Salesman is of the 23rd caste, son of a household servant and a scribal clerk. 6. The Salesman took the soul mask of Terminus, Termina's equivalent to Hylia, from the temple as the Imperial City was being destroyed by the Forces of Light to try to save his dying sister and his playground friends. So he's Termina's Zelda as well as Termina's Link. 7. The Clock Tower is sacred to Terminus. It was also built by pre-imperial Ancient Ones, but that tends to be glossed over in favor of jingoism. 8. The Salesman was ten when he became the avatar of Terminus, and never aged. His true form... is a child. This is why he can traverse the Lost Woods so easily. 9. ...Except when he got nearly killed by Light spirits due to the warping timelines in OoT. And Majora's Mask's warded box's wards started to fail. He was trying to renew the wards when a Skull Kid showed up... and due to Majora's influence the rest is history. 10. The Salesman took Majora's Mask in the first place because the post-imperial and defected Ancients sealed it inside a warded tomb. When the Ancients were wiped out, the wards could not be maintained properly, and our tiny wizard took it upon himself to take the Mask to try to find a way to destroy it. Imagine if Frodo had no idea what Mount Doom looked like, where it would be, or if there even WAS a Mount Doom in the first place... 11. The Salesman rescues Link when he runs out of time. 12. The Salesman met Mynos when Mynos was nine. He had escaped from Fierce Deity cultists and was half-starved, injured, and had stumbled into Kakariko Village, where little Mynos convinced his family to take care of him. They've been friends ever since. 13. The Salesman as you see him is about 40% clothes. 14. Like all Ancient Ones, the HMS has vaguely feline behavioral qualities, but while Majora is reminiscent of a snarling, psychotic tiger, the Salesman is more of a playful, cuddly little kitty. 15. The Salesman went to the astral realm of Koholint to get his current form. 16. And he also had his name erased. Like a cross between the reasons of L and the Doctor. 17. Speaking of whom, the Salesman is a friend of multiple Doctors. Occasionally the Happy Mask Shop is covered with TARDISes. 18. The HMS lives in Smashville, thanks to Master Hand and Crazy Hand. 19. Much like in ancient Rome, it was a capital offense for anyone not of the upper castes to wear purple. Having your culture overthrown has its upsides if you have an illegal favorite color. 20. The HMS collects anything old/historic/magic/cool/shiny... Though, granted, destruction of art and history has been a very real problem for him, so... 21. The HMS has a mechanical horse. His name is Brass. 22. The Salesman loves eating anything sweet... or weird. I mean, what else do you do with all that leftover demon flesh when you're out hunting? Mmm, sinfully delicious. 23. He does this so much that he wrote a wizard cookbook called Chicken Soul for the Soup. 24. In case you haven't noticed, the Salesman is a bit crazy. 25. His glitchy movements are an illusion put in place around himself so he can have a head start against anything trying to kill him. 26. The Salesman is asexual and aromantic. 27. He named his giant piano Elouise. 28. He is the trolling champion of the multiverse. 29. He taught Defense Against the Dark Arts at Victorian-era Hogwarts under the name Hieronymous Nemo. 30. His infamous, often-creepypasta-ized temper is only present with too much stress or not enough sleep/cake. But the Salesman will often go for long periods of time without sleep... 31. As a result, there is a "Designated Defenestration Area" next to his shop. It's so nobody gets hit when he throws a jammed blender out the window. He also has some very Mythbusters-worthy methods for appliance vengeance. 32. The Salesman is actually good friends with the Skull Kid, much to the Skull Kid's surprise. 33. The Salesman's ears move a lot. 34. He makes 'dad jokes' that are actually funny. 35. People will often go to the Happy Mask Shop with grave misconceptions about magic and paranormal hunting, and end up telling the Salesman that what he does is blasphemous. After a bit of awesome you-got-rekt comebacks after his science-magic explanations, they leave, and are sent on their way with "Have a nice day, hail, Satan!" See headcanon 28. 36. The Salesman loves memes, Youtube Poop videos, and other things such as Gifs With Sound. 37. His taste in music is very eclectic, and he surprisingly likes crazy rave music, a few rap artists and he LOVES heavy metal. He will often jump around blaring Judas Priest like a caricature of an 80's teenager. 38. Watching a horror movie with the Salesman quickly turns into an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. He will point out stupid things and mosconceptions, and once you've heard his witty commentary, you can never take the movie seriously again. The same goes for badly-done action, drama, and romance. 39. The Salesman is quite talkative usually, often going off on weird, magic/history/trivia-related tangents. 40. The Salesman can sometimes be seen having tea with the Lutece twins (Bioshock Infinite) and the G-man (Half-Life 2) 41. The Salesman will act as a protective mentor or father figure to anyone younger than him... which is to say, everyone. 42. There is a scale of Salesman laughter, from 'vaguely amused' to 'maniacally cackling like the Wicked Witch of the West on speed'. 43. He would be voiced by Richard Horvitz. 44. The Salesman's collar thing is actually an adamantine gorget. 45. The Salesman will often discuss morbid or esoteric topics hilariously casually. 46. He has been writing to Akira Himekawa, writer of the Majora's Mask manga, and Jadusable, writer of the BEN Drowned creepypasta for years asking for a formal apology. 47. 'Fetish' originally meant a magical object or totem of some kind. This means that Link and others had to give the Salesman the "gay means homosexual now, grandma" talk. 48. The Salesman's basement looks like Merlin, a witch doctor, Sherlock Holmes, a steampunk inventor, Leonardo da Vinci, and Willy Wonka decided to pool together all of their worldly possessions. 49. Magical beings like genies, familiars, and fairies will use the Happy Mask Shop as an employment agency. 50. The Salesman will often push himself too far. When he's hurt or tired, he tries to protest at friends helping him to try to reassure them... but inside he LOVES being hugged, cuddled, and generally cared for. Awwww!

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haneuly-blog1 · 7 years

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ons x fe: fates crossover

japan/ons world as nohr and hoshido - the vamps are nohr, the jida is hoshido, and the possessed/demons are valla - shinoa takes to hoshido (birthright), and mika takes to nohr (conquest), hoshido (birthright) or goes alone (revelations) so he is overpowered okay because i like mikayuu also bc technically this is what happens canonically in the anime-manga soooo Mikaela Shindo-Tepes-Hyakuya or whatever/Shinoa Hiiragi (technically, their last names would be Bathory, but last names don't exist in fe so ha i freaking beat the system) as M!Corrin and F!Corrin respectively - yes they can still shapeshift into a dragon - yes they can still use swords/whatever they use - yes they still start out as a nohrian/nohrian noble - no they are not the same as each other - since corrin is a flexible character and ultimately shows no individual personality whatsoever, corrin in whatever gender will be modified to shinoa and mika's personalities - mika can use swords, lances, and axes - shinoa can use swords, lances, and tomes - in their upgraded forms that is; before they use a master seal, they can only use their dragon stone and sword - mika can only be paired with yuu (nyehehehehe it's cause i'm the creator suckeR) but shinoa can be paired with either mitsuba or yuu (because mitsushin is goals hell yeah) yuu as azura - manlier (than azura, but still pretty feminine - more feminine that in the anime/manga) - still sings (ie azura sings on the battlefield to give the units one more turn) - is paired with shinoa/mika (f!corrin vs m!corrin) - child isn't specified? - ^might have to include @califlair 's (tumblr) michirou, aka mikayuu love child - idk what shinoa's child would be, but p michirou still (even though he's mika's lmao) - ^maybe just redesign a child for yuunoa - dunno if i should even have a child for mikayuu - ^think abt it - yuu is a mix of azura/shigure - usually uses a naginata more than anything else, but could use katanas (or even the Nohrian lances) - has tried tomes before, and REALLY REALLY hates them - still as ditsy as his anime/manga counterpart, but smarter and more serious - ^actually pretty bad at conveying emotion, like canon azura - when he sings, his eyes turn blue(?) - he knows abt valla - although he's (sorta) bad at maneuvering in it when he first got there (ie after guren as arete got married, he moved to Nohr to marry the king (Ferid ew) and miraculously had yuu because vallans(?) are magical and the women and men can have children - his color scheme matches azura's, although has some shigure elements in it - A++ at singing and dancing, although he takes up the title 'songstress'(? what is the male version omg) - ^ if paired with either shinoa or mika, he will teach them to dance the vampires (led by Ferid Bathory) as Nohr - the vamps hire mercenaries and then turn them into vampires - they are, as the canon nohr is, cold, dark, and overall oppressive - Ferid's history with Valla is the same as king Garon's in game - ^ie he marries the ons arete, aka guren, and has our favorite yuu-chan - he kills kureto/krul(?)/whoever will be in place of hoshido (ie jida, so maybe not krul...oH SHINYA YEAHHHH) and takes mika or shinoa and drags he or she off to Nohr - mika is okay with ferid but thinks he's annoying, and shinoa outright loves/hates him - crowley is xander, krul is camilla, urd geales is leo, and lest karr is elise - jakob is lucal whesker, felicia is lacus and flora is renee - the nohrians have few retainers: saito (krul), ky luc (urd), gabel parthe (lest), fuola honte (ferid - as iago), noin teta (krul) (, chess belle, horn skuld (1 retainer per person besides crowley and krul - including ferid) - as well as in game, ferid has absolute no trust in you but usually follows his own advice instead of fuola's and thinks of his advisor as a nuisance - the retainers are modified according to their characters in game (ie not much is known about noin, so i can modify her all i want besides the fact that she hates the jida; ie chess and horn are romantically attracted to crowley, so that will stay) - ferid, ulike garon. is not possessed in any way but is just how is, ie evil, sarcastic, sadistic, and petty as well as a perv (lol) - unlike how garon is,he actually really loved guren (and also unlike the game guren didn't like him back - he deSPISED him) - ^ the way ferid is in the present happened because of guren's 'death' (more in the valla section) - crowley is like super bloodthirsty after shinoa/mika chooses hoshido sooooo yeah - lest literally tries to stop crowley in his own weird lest way but, like elise when she tries to persuade xander, is killed in a kamikaze mission, although he doesn't necessarily jump in front of mika/shinoa like elise does to corrin - by the time shinoa/mika reaches ferid, he's literally just bawling his eyes out (since apparently he has time to do that during war) and fuola is not present; ferid cries over a picture of guren (who had previously been thought dead before mika/shinoa went to hoshido but was then found out (lol) and bc of that ferid just hates the hoshidans more so tht does literally nothing but make him a depressed idiot (he's pretty difficult to save though even while depressed so) the JIDA (led by Shinya Hiiragi) as Hoshido - woO MAMA SHINYA ISN'T SO MAMA ANYMORE - ^ jk he still kinda is, but not as much as the fandom makes him out to be and he def not as motherly as mikoto - he's more fatherly lmao - he is in a relationship with guren atm (ur like 'woah he's alive??? wut') - the jida are still in fact called hoshido lmao - they aren't as sunny as the hoshidans because of mahiru... who is currently gonna be anankos for now thanks - Shinya knows where, what, and how to get to valla via guren, because they are a happy couple - please let them be happy - psyche THAT IS NOT GONNA HAPPEN - ANYWAY... as shinya finds mika/shinoa/omg wth, he is noT- I SAY, NOT- KILLED but is saved by guren, who is present at the moment - and this is where the feels train starts - guren, sadly, dies, yes, dies, like, the dying that means your life blood is sucked out of your veins and slowly drains you of your soul, body, and mind because yoU ARE DYING GOD JFC - anyway, about that- shinya gets super pissed lol like absolutely agent cheeto 2017 election pissed (@guren lol) but doesn't kick mika/shinoa's butte since he knows it's not his/her fault (kinda like ryouma in game) - as guren starts to die, shinya just takes him back to the castle to a 'special room' – no it's not for the x rated stuff it is a practical vallan regeneration chamber - jesus you have a dirty mind - anyway, of course shinya's (adopted) kids start to hate shinoa/mika cause they're like 'omg you just killed my mom' since they aren't let in on the vallan secret >>>>>>:00000 - sayuri is ryouma, narumi is hinoka, kimizuki is taKUMI YEAHHH, yoichi is sakura because heck yeah – ps there will be yuuyoi/yoiyuu interaction - the retainers (they have so many more than nohr lmao) are: norito goshi (yoichi), mito jujo (sayuri), aoi sangu (guren+shinya's advisor), shigure yukimi (sayuri), aiko aihara (kimizuki), shusaku iwasaki (narumi), and mitsuba sangu (who was technically hired to be shinoa/mika's retainer as a child, but since corrin in game was taken away, she became a strategist and the back-and-forth retainer of kimizuki and yoichi, the bros who usually work in a team (when mika/shinoa come back, she's overjoyed and doesn't mind the nohrian attack on guren) (:0000 jk it's cause she obv remembers mika/shinoa and wants to be his/her retainer ) - the retainers know about guren's 'ability' and were appointed to their retainer to reveal the ability to the noble children (sometime in the very very very very very far future) - kimizuki, like takumi in conquest, does indeed do become possessed by a vallan 9APPARENTLY ITS 'VALLITE') (ie a demon) but only for a short while when he is fighting against mika/shinoa with yoichi in like chapter 28 or something lol - hoWEVER HE DOESN'T DIE LIKE TAKUMI DID OKAY he just like gets calmed by yoichi because unlike takumi, who was fighting solo, kimizuki is with yoichi/sakura so is calmed and coaxed out of pairing with the vallite demon and jUMPING OFF A FREAKING CLIFF Demons/People able to harbor Demons as Valla - okay, this is probably the most complicated out of all of them - Guren, Yuu, AND Shinya are from Valla (as well as the actual demons like kiseki-o and asuramaru and mahiru... sort of) - Kiseki-o and Asura are buddies in Valla (Asura is like.... the hoshidan lilith because of yuu and kiseki-o is the nohrian one; yes i know lilith is not a vallite shut up) – kiseki-o is an evil son of a biatch and is the one who possesses kimizuki/takumi under ferid's request – despite this asura is still chill with him bc they're of the same kind so - Guren is the queen... king of valla and yuu is the princess lmaooooo - contrary to the game, i'm being a rebel and having azura and corrin not be cousins (ie hence why shinya and guren are a couple and not siblings because i don't support incest) - also, i'm also thinkig that guren had yuu before he remarried to ferid, and ferid trying to try his best to impress the son and ultimately failing, only to be happy because oh yuu felt bad and tried his hardest to like ferid - eventually he hated him because he thought that ferid had killed guren after his disappearance, and marched on out to the hoshidan/nohr borders at the bottomless canyon to jump back to valla only to be captured by the hoshians he despised (then found out they weren't so bad) and found his mom again - he still hated ferid – suCK IT FERID - okay, so since vallites are the demons in ons, they can regenerate - slowly but surely (takes like a couple of years, unless ur a nobLE) - after the process of regenerating, their timeline is reset so that they look young, but they age and die just like a regular person would (only they would just look young while dying so) – if that's too hard to grasp, here's an easier summary of it: when a vallite dies at a certain age, they will be able to regenerate if his/her body is preserved well enough. once they regenerate, they will look the same as when they died but will also resume the appropriate amount of years that passed when they were dead – so basically they look young but are actually old - and, again, unlike the game, i am having shinya be vallite, only he is a mixed blood vallite (ie half human half vallite) so his regeneration periods trigger less often than a full vallite would - so he looks older than guren but they're the same age lol (which is probably like 30-40 or something, not around 20 like in ons) - guren's regeneration period takes less time since he is a noble of valla, so it would only take him like 2/4 to 3/4 of a year to regenerate - shinya and guren decided not to tell the royal hoshidan children that they were vallite because that would just blur the lines between what is hoshidan and what is vallite - mahiru ties into this because i will have anankos, yes the evil eye dragon thing, be vallite - my history between mahiru and guren confusing bc wow, shinya is also a dragon but can't activaye his powers because mahiru's the one that got the whole dragon blood blah blah, it took her over and she ended up lethally wounding guren, destroying valla (pretty much), and ultimately ruining her relationship with yuu - the hiiragis and the itchynoses had a long history of continuously switching between love and hate, and in guren's gen, he was mahiru's fiancee and had yuu with her, so yeah yuu's also part dragon like azura is in game – good job memu aka me, myself and i for staying somewhat close to the actual fe: fates storyline - anywhoo, as you know, the bottomless canyon (the first actual battle in fe: fates) is a gateway from valla to the real world so ofc guren went that way when he escaped valla (because the way from like bodies of water was blocked off since mahiru literally destroyed everything) so he had to take that way - he tried to take shinya with him, but shinya insisted it would be important for the noble queen (lol) to go escape to safety first, so, after much persuading, guren went without shinya - then he was captured by nohrians after literally not knowing where he was (since he didn't know about the bottomless canyon and just escaped using instinct) and was taken to ferid, who freaking experienced love at first sight – ferid u bich u don't deserve true love - guren didn't feel the same way but thought he was a nice guy so he married the dude – what a freaking nice guy amirite - going back to shinya, there was one lake in the middle of valla (there really isn't one ingame so) and he escaped using that, since it was a portal that all travelers going to valla went through without passing in through the gates (sincethere was a border gate with guards there) and it led to a lake that was around the perimeter of hoshido, which had tenri hiiragi and kureto hiiragi as king and prince in line (this is the time when ferid is like a teen and hoshido and nohr don't hate each other yet) and shinya was put in place as next prince (since hoshidan was first started by vallites ie the hiiragi line, who was more idealistic and hated the fact that valla was a 'dreamlike' place that you could never talk about (since the rainbow sage (aka a really powerful sorcerer who was literally on no side but did what he thought was right) placed a curse on valla) and preferred the real world to valla – short version of what the hell i just said: the true hoshidans were vallites that hated valla and wanted a more realistic place to live that you could actually talk about without dying - shinya missed guren as kureto died early after tenri's rule and he was placed the king and was appalled to see the guy he missed with disgusting lovesickness in the middle show up after a couple years (ie like two decades yeesh) and at this time, ( i lied guren didn't disappear he was done without consent then was 'killed' by nohrian soldiers (and then regenerated since they didn't really kil him but just made him unconcious) and decided to leave nohr - he thought yuu was happy in nohr (he was - he didn't even mind the cold, dark space until he went to hoshido) so guren left him there - shinya then made preparations for guren after he arrived and after like two years they married (and not just to carry on the hiiragi-ichinose name that was planned) and they adopted children (since vallites can only have one child) - vallite men and women can reproduce - it's kinda like omegaverse, a/b/o, but without the ranks - really only the royals, nobles, and a select few people of the male gender can reproduce - it goes like that for women that can give the men the reproduction system too okay, so now that i've come up with the basic stuff i can get on to the more relationship-building unnecessary things lol support conversations of course, just like what is customary of the fire emblem series, support conversations would probably be present in this crossover the support conversations would have the standard format: C, B, A, S or A+ *A+ os for very good friends - it acts like an S support without actually binding the two people in marriage the supports would go something like this: Mika; in revelations (himself), birthright (hoshido), or conquest (nohr): Yuu (C,B,A, and S), Mitsuba (C,B,A,A+), Lacus (C,B,A,A+), and Renee (C,B,A) are the mains bc they will go with any path (since mitsuba, as mika/shinoa's retainer will be required to follow him/her) in conquest: Ferid (C,B,A), Crowley (C,B,A), Krul (C,B,A,A+), Urd (C,B,A), Lest (C,B,A), Kiseki-O (C,B,A) and all of the nohrian retainers in hoshido: Shinya (C,B,A), Guren (C,B,A), Sayuri (C,B,A), Narumi (C,B,A), Kimizuki (C,B,A,A+), Yoichi (C,B,A,A+), Asuramaru (C,B,A) and all of the hoshidan retainers Shinoa; prettt much whatever mika's supports are for revelations/hoshido and hoshido except her convos with Mitsuba are C,B,A,S Yuu; in revelations/conquest/birthright: Mika (C,B,A,S), Shinoa (C,B,A,S), Guren (C,B,A,A+), Shinya (C,B,A,A+), Asuramaru (C,B,A,S) bc yes yuu can marry his demon lol, Kiseki-O (C,B,A), Sayuri (C,B,A), Narumi (C,B,A,A+), Kimizuki (C,B,A,S), Yoichi (C,B,A,S), Mitsuba (C,B,A,A+), Ferid (C,B,A,S) for those feriyuu shippers lmao, and the nohrian/hoshidan retainers for conquest/birthright respectively Guren; Shinya (C,B,A,S) because technically their supports should already be filled out since they're married but they're not bc fe is odd, Yuu, Mika/Shinoa, Mitsuba (C,B,A), Sayuri (C,B,A), Narumi (C,B,A), Kimizuki (C,B,A), Yoichi (C,B,A), Ferid (C,B,A,A+) for those who really ship guren and ferid you arE WELCOME, Asuramaru (C,B,A), Kiseki-O (C,B,A) and the nohrian retainers Shinya; p much the same as Guren's without any Ferid Ferid; Guren, Yuu, Mika, Krul (C,B,A,A+), Crowley (C,B,A,A+), Urd (C,B,A), Lest (C,B,A) and the nohrian retainers i really don't want to keep listing out the supports lol but i think it's pretty explanatory since the nohrians keep to the nohrian side and the hoshidans keep to the hoshidan side and there are some stragglers who go in between both of those and yeet for those who really like pairings, these are the main ones: mikayuu yuunoa feriguren shingure/gureshin mitsunoa kimiyuu yuuyoi/yoiyuu there's probably more but i'm too lazy to go back and read the whole entire thing from start to beginning again so yeah ^ if you have more headcanons for this then feel free to inbox me lol

#mikayuu #yuunoa #ons #owari no seraph #gureshin #shingure #yuuyoi #yoiyuu #kimiyuu #fire emblem: fates #fe: fates #fire emblem #crossover #yuuichirou hyakuya #mikaela shindo #guren ichinose #shinoa hiiragii #mitsuba sangu

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freykugel · 7 years

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I finally finished Suikoden III. And it was a huge stressful labor. Not even a labor of love. More like obligation? I was on a Suikoden high because I absolutely adore the first two games. And I’m a very forgiving person because if one aspect of the game is absolutely stellar I will move mountains to complete it. But SIII felt like work. I was getting tired. I literally was watching youtube videos of other things 70% of the game. I just really wanted to see if I’d appreciate it more now than I did when I first played it.

Because when I first completed it in like... 2010? I dunno. I had plenty of time. I just needed to go in order of release. Back then it was like just a lukewarm response. Eh it was okay now I can play Suikoden V.

And replaying it now I can’t understand how people love this game.

First off, the music. The music is absolutely lackluster. It’s mildly quirky at best and obnoxiously awful at worst. I don’t understand. Miki Higashino composed a beautiful and iconic soundtrack for the first two games and gave me high expectations. And I hear the Castlevania Symphony of the Night composer did a good chunk of it? But it’s all either so forgettable, awful, or just plain unfitting. I know there are a few duds in the first two game soundtracks but it kept me pumped up. It kept me interested. It made the game move fast. BUT NOT THIS ONE. One of the worst battle themes I’ve ever heard. The life blood of JRPGs is usually in the beautiful music but NOT THIS ONE. I’ve read how people gush over Duck Village and Vinay del Zexay BG music and I’m just--... Your taste is not my taste and that’s okay but the OST does not make me want to play.

Which made it so much more slow and awkward when the music actually LOWERS THE VOLUME DURING CUTSCENES. There’s no voice acting so why the fuck are they lowering the volume?! I don’t fucking understand. It makes it quiet/silent and slow moving. At the very least keep the music BLARING I DON’T FUCKING CARE HOW AWFUL IT IS don’t soften the music because they’re talking. This infuriated me like what the hell ass kind of logic was that?

But continuing on the music train, there is so much back tracking. The majority of the game is just repetitive trekking through the same goddamn forests and towns. Like I said the random encounters and backtracking would be mildly better with a kickass battle theme. But since it’s fucking awful this is made to be an infinitely more arduous chore. I know you can’t just pick and choose location points because it would make Viki irrelevant but FUCKING HELL. My blood pressure goes up just remembering it. Oh I’m out of money I have to fight treasure bosses. Except I’m at Lake Castle and the next location I have to go to is at Mountain Pass. ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE MAP. And the Mt Pass itself is fucking long with a winding path. FUCK. Viki’s presence was waaaay to short in the game. And yeah, she can only show up in chapter 4 because you can’t just have her teleport just one perspective character and no one else. And with no Blinking Mirror you’d still have to slog your way back home. GODDAMN.

Speaking of battle music, the battle system is obnoxious too. You can tell me all about how it brings an added strategic feature to it, like you pair up your melee and magic user so that your melee fighter can tank while your magic user drops their nuke. But fuck that, what if I want to use all six magical nukes. Nope can’t do that. And like what if I wanted Aila to use her Shield Rune while the rest of the group do their SFDF Unite attack? Nope.

And once upon a time I actually preferred the SIII war system because it gave me much more control over the characters. Flash forward to 2017. Nope. Nooooope. I spent more than a couple days with the small free time I had level grinding my fodder characters and raising their weapon levels so they won’t DIE in battle. But Frey, if your time is precious why didn’t you just stop playing? Well it’s tied into the Luc portion of the rant so hold on a moment.

Quick point to say FUCK THE FIXED CAMERA. I kept going back to the previous room or got stuck behind obstacles while I watched ANYTHING ELSE MORE INTERESTING THAN THIS.

Okay now we get into the story portion of the rant. I get what they were trying to do. I really do. I understand splitting the perspectives in three meant there’s going to be repetitive scenes. I understand they were trying to convey the greys of war and shit. BUT IT’S SUCH A WASTE OF TIME. I have already seen this let me skip. What did it add? Nothing only that the one perspective character missed out on some context.

I do really like Chris and Geddoe less so but he’s okay. Unfortunately Hugo is the odd duck out so to speak. His story is short, boring, and doesn’t really add more to the context. It’s just a kid doing a job, he gets chased, his bestie gets killed, sees the baddies, and canonically he gets chosen to be the Flame Champion. And me being a stickler for canon always choose him to be FC because narratively it makes more sense for Chris to receive True Water from her father and Geddoe keep his True Lightning. But Hugo. Did. Nothing. To. Deserve. It. Like Tir gets shit tossed at him from the beginning and it was awful to have. Riou was forced into a battle against his best friend. Hugo? Rrrr Ironheads and shit.

Which is sad because his mom, Lucia, is the best character ever. Best mom.

Thomas I do actually adore. His chapters were a lovely break. But it could be because they’re short.

Hugo’s FC speech was awful. As charismatic as a slice of bread. Who the fuck can he unite. Nobody. Zexens and Grasslanders and everything in between. There’s so much bad blood between them and Hugo just whips out a few trite Shounen Manga words and then BAM they’re united? Awful awful. I don’t know what Chris or Geddoe say but I can’t imagine that they’d be any better.

I mean, to be fair, in SI and SII the protagonists were silent so they couldn’t even do a speech, but at least you could sort of fill in the blanks. Plus they had a beautiful supporting cast who were strong enough to create a charged atmosphere. Especially with the likes of Viktor and Flik. Here in SIII everyone is just mildly interesting or shitty. There’s no one really who was like FUCK YEAH and truly engaged the army or the player. Just. Mild.

Also let me just say Lulu pissed me off.I know he’s a kid but Louis literally bumped into him and said, “Oh excuse me. Pardon me.” And Lulu goes off on a racist rant about FUCKING IRONHEADS. Like I know you’re a kid and you’ve been raised like this but RNGESUS PLEASE he apologized after accidentally knocking you over.

Caesar, boy, what a useless tactician haha. Everything he told you to do was common sense. And Albert? I hate Albert too. He makes me uncomfortable in the same way Lucretia did in SV in that he’s so omniscient about everything. Like the entire game was him setting up the dominoes and in the end knocking them down. Plus the ending blurbs on Caesar like, “All your efforts were for nothing el-oh-el because your bro was always one step ahead.”

Apple what the hell ass are your cameos.

Jimba’s reveal as Chris’ father was terrible and unexplored.

Yun’s self sacrifice for the ritual left no impact. I have no idea why she left such a mark on Chris that she’s referred to in the ending blurbs. I don’t get it.

Okay now for the elephant in the room. Luc. I’ll be honest. I think I played through this entire fucking game because the fandom is enamored with Luc. And maybe it’s because I’m fucking old but I don’t understand it at all. Yeah, he had a semi-permanent spot in my party in SI and SII because of his powerful magic and it was less likely to fail. But what the fuck happened in SIII. In the first two games he was a shit head. He’s a jerk who dropped a golem on you in the first game for funsies and only stuck around because Leknaat told him to. He’s a petulant brat who only bothered to reveal his True Wind Rune because it was piss off Sasarai. But then in SIII all of a sudden he’s a tormented thirty year old man angsting about his existence and the visions he’s supposedly seeing about absolute order and silence. So he goes off to... destroy his Rune and soul so that Hirusaak can’t get all 27? What??? Am I missing something????? Like I would find the entire plot of SIII believable if his characterizations from the first two games were anywhere near close to the one in SIII. Except it’s not? All of a sudden he slam dunked himself into his emo phase? He’s not even acting like a shit lord? Just Crawling in my skin these wounds they will not heal. I don’t get it. Even after playing the Luc extra bonus chapter. Especially after playing it. Just LET’S SPARK A WAR BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES TRYING TO SETTLE A PEACE TREATY SO WE CAN ENTICE HARMONIA INTO INVADING AND GRAB ALL THE TRUE ELEMENTAL RUNES. I just. What. I’m having such a difficult time just wrapping my mind around this idiot plot ball. Remember the bit where he was like JOIN ME HUGO/FC. SEE THE VISIONS YOU WILL BE TORMENTED WITH AS A TRUE RUNE HOLDER. Bluuuuh. I don’t know. I just don’t.

I didn’t bother with the plays. I didn’t bother with the baths. I didn’t even bother trying to get the Golden Hammer. Which is sad because I discovered new things with the older games when I replayed them. Cook-offs? Bath toys? Wow I just zoomed past them the first time around. But I was ready to be wash my hands of SIII. It’s not for me. I don’t understand the fandom.I don’t understand the love. But you do you and if you happen to adore the game that’s cool. But that’s not where I’m at.

I might have been super forgiving and loving towards this game if it were infinitely shorter. Like, SI definitely has its problems. You can’t sprint without a Holy Rune, the inventory system was fucked, and so many characters are such bullshit (I am the Window Man I live and breath windows here let me swap them out for you.). Even SII like Nanami I love her but I also hate her what the fuck Nanami why would you fake your death and hurt your brother like that. And all those bugs I GAVE YOU TWO SPINACH SEEDS WHY DID IT DISAPPEAR. But SI was short and sweet and SII had beautiful pixel graphics and popping characters. SIII had awkward bulky graphics, terrible music, and it DRAGGED ON FOREVER. Literally over 70 hours. I wasted 70 hours of my life. I can’t get them back. I just wanted to refresh my memory of it.

This was all my fault I know. I just wanted to rant.

Let me just say one good thing was that I do really like the added skills. It added an extra layer in creating a diverse team. Also with Support Characters I get extra help from NPCs who would otherwise just rot in HQ.

Okay I’m done.

#no one asked for my opinion #i'm sorry if it shows up in the tumblr search #i just really wanted to get this off my chest #vidya rambling

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prinzenhasserin · 7 years

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Yuletide!

Dear Yule Goat/Creator/Person I Will Love Forever,

I am very excited for anything you write for these fandoms. Please feel free to take my prompts and likes any way you wish, as long as you stick to my dislikes. Don’t feel like you have to stick to the prompts! I’m always open for other characters. Generally, I will be delighted with any rating from gen to explicit. I hope you have fun creating!

My AO3 name is Prinzenhasserin, here. If you want to browse more of my letters, here are some at my exchange letter tag.

Likes:

fake/pretend relationships, arranged marriages

loyalty

odd couples

found family, dysfunctional families that nevertheless love each other

historical stories for same-sex pairings that aren’t unhappy but that fit with the society of the time (so like, spinster ladies living together; bachelors-for-life)

cultural differences, age differences, height differences

heists, rescue missions, case fic

dragons, fairy tales, magical realism, urban fantasy

competent characters

people not realising they’re the most competent at their job/hobby

people failing their way to success

happy endings, earning your happy ending, open yet hopeful endings

cynical humour

mutual pining

suits, corsetry, fancy dresses

Identity shenanigans (secret identities, mistaken identities)

Blatant Lies

Enemies finding common ground and becoming friends/lovers; rivalry

outsider POV, 1st person narrator

epistolary, fictional non-fiction, worldbuilding, interactive fiction, poetry

orange/blue morality (that is, not entirely human morality); grey/grey morality

people not usually found in law enforcement solving crimes

non-verbal expressions of affection

contradictions: that is, I like my fantasy with the mundane (doing taxes in a mythical land of dragons, or space pirates!) and I like my mundane fiction with outrageous happenings.

Kinks:

wall sex! overcome with sudden desire! sex with clothes on!

shifting power dynamics (outside the bedroom, and inside the bedroom), actions on both sides, basically

stiff characters letting go of their iron control inside the bedroom; characters feeling guilty of their desire but not guilty enough to stop; coming to terms with the guilt

lots of foreplay, drawn out orgasms, edging

desperate sex, drunk sex, we-just-can’t-help-it!sex, sex for life-affirming; sex pollen

sex toys

Dislikes (Do-Not-Want):

rape played for laughs, or as backstory

sexuality, or gender as the focus of plot or used for drama

suicide

tragic endings (ambiguous endings are fine, though!)

RED (Movies)

(Characters: Victoria, Sarah Ross)

This movie, goddamn it. It’s so silly, and so! much! shit! explodes, but I can’t help but find it charming and adorable.

If you want to write me Victoria teaching Sarah how to handle her weapons and shoot shit up, I am absolutely here for that. I would also love secret spy shenanigans, or a situation where only the secret skills of the customer service person Sarah or the filling skills of a bored bureaucrat (also: Sarah) save the day in a spectacular manner.

Or Victoria taking Sarah under her wing and teaching her everything she knows about life, men, and how to end both. Or trying to protect her from the fucked-up shit in her life, and then maybe realising that maybe Sarah doesn’t need to be protected.

I am a fan of the age difference, too, and I do ship them together, if you rather want to write that. Give me all the fucked up femslash! Going on murderous rampages together, and having sex amid the slain corpses of their enemies, yes, that. Bedsharing because circumstances have them hiding out in the Siberian Tundra. Victoria dressing up Sarah and taking her as a trophy wife to diplomatic functions? Seducing Sarah so Victoria can rub their togetherness into Frank’s face. Taking people of guard, because the expected a toy boy, and not -- whatever Sarah is.

DNW: mommy kink

Gokusen (Manga)

(Characters: any -- Fujiyama Shizuka, Kuroda Ryuuichirou, Sawada Shin, Yamaguchi Kumiko)

How do I love this manga so much? I have no idea. I’m not even near high school age anymore, and yet the plot (and tbh, sometimes its ridiculous nature) always gets to me. I’d read more about any aspect of this canon, and if you want to bring in any other characters, and leave others out, feel entirely free to.

Post-canon would be great, but anything goes really. Focusing on just one character would be terrific. Having all of them would be great!

Kumiko has adventures with another class, or her minions! Does she continue with being a school teacher? Maybe she starts leading the Yakuza group, and still goes to school to teach her kids manners, and morals, and how to fight the system?

Shin goes to law school/Africa/some place, but gets lost on the way there! Will he come back to Yankumi? Will he eventually lead the Yakuza group?

Fujiyama Shizuka doesn’t get why she’s the one without the beautiful student toy-boy, and tries to find one herself, and instead falls in love with, idk, the new female teacher? one of Yankumi’s brothers? the new janitor? Or she watches and cackles a lot as Yankumi and Shin date, and then maybe found a Yakuza orphanage, and/or marry.

Kuroda Ryuuchiro and his quest for the rightful heir to his Yakuza group! How does he feel about his granddaughter running around with the police chief’s son — does that bother him more than the whole student thing? Does Shin really inherit the Kuroda family group? Does he become a Yakuza lawyer? Or does Yankumi make him stay away, or maybe Kuroda makes them stay away?

I ship Shin/Yankumi but gen is delightful also.

How does Shin convince Yankumi to have sex with him? Is he getting kidnapped left and right before they actually get together because all and sundry already think they’ve been doing each other for years?

If they are already in an established relationship, how does Shin deal with Yankumi’s students (especially when one of them develops a crush)?

I have no problems about depicting violence, or graphic criminal activities, but please keep the violence perpetrated by the nominated characters within the spirit of the manga? I like to root for morally ambiguous characters, but not if they are truly evil.

Roundtable Rival - Lindsey Stirling (Music Video)

(Characters: Durango Black, The Violinist (Roundtable Rival))

I love this music video! It’s so silly and fun! It is here, if you want to watch it yourself, but basically, people are fighting each other with music instruments to a jaunty tune, set in the Wild Wild West.

Basically, fighting with music! Foiling dastardly plans! I want to read more about this! And anything goes, really. If you want to focus more on one character, or want to show this from an outside perspective, either would be great.

Lowkey, I’m really a fan of rival-dynamics, and love to ship enemies, so bringing a lovestory between Durango Black and the Violinist would make my day. Or if there’s a dynamic like "You are the only one allowed to catch me"? —Perfection

Maybe they know each other from before? Maybe there’s epic discussion about different ways to fight each other with music (I’d be into reading about that!).

Would also be into PWP where the Violinist dominates Durango Black. Some Bootlicking, maybe? Or creative uses of the music instruments. Or clothing porn!

Or case fic where The Violinist tours around the country, catching criminals; or just a glimpse into how music developed its own fighting style — or performing tricks like shooting an apple out of the air, just with music instruments!

(Additional question for worldbuilding: What is that clear liquid they serve in beer humps?)

DNW: rape (dubcon is fine, though!)

British Romantic Writers RPF

Characters: John Keats (British Romantic Writers RPF), Lord Byron (British Romantic Writers RPF), Percy Shelley (British Romantic Writers RPF)

Okay, I’m not even vaguely sorry. Here’s my confession: I ship all of these with each other, as pairs, or as threesome. I’d read them writing spite!fic, or rather spite!poetry, about each other, though! Or a zombie!AU, in which they are all stumbling incompetently around the dead suddenly among the living. Or maybe they turn out to be surprisingly competent at killing/evading zombies! (I’d expect nothing less from Percy Shelley who seduced people on graveyards, tbh)

Hey — at least they knew of each other! I am into the really very dysfunctional relationships with each other, here. Who is to say they wouldn’t have been very happy with each other in various constellations? Lord Byron seemed to have detested Keats — or at least thought his poetry as "mental masturbation" — I’d dig them in a rival relationship, that suddenly develops into a sexual relationship. Maybe even romantic? (Definitely romantic in the original sense)

And I can definitely see Lord Byron condescending down on Keats for his poor upbringing, without being aware that this is what he is doing, and Keats so not having that. And Percy Shelley with his continued efforts into giving all his money to charity while having the luxury to seduce women and traipse around the continent!

How about an AU in which Keats doesn’t die and joins Percy Shelley in Pisa (and for some reason Lord Byron is there, too — I will not read this for the historical accuracy, believe me)

Basically! Literature! Orgies! Seducing people in graveyards, and skinny-dipping in French rivers, that’s all I really want. I’m not saying no if you do decide to go down the historical accurate road, but I’ll also read all sorts of wild AUs.

Or adventures in Greece during the revolution in an Everybody-Lives!AU?

Percy Shelley wrote an elegy about Keats, and said this when he invited him to Pisa: "I am aware indeed that I am nourishing a rival who will far surpass me and this is an additional motive & will be an added pleasure." Added pleasure? (He means fucking! says me) I am just very into rival relationships that turn sexual or more.

Look, I’m just here for Lord Byron and Percy Shelley seducing a reluctant Keats — and Keats maybe anchoring them a bit down to earth. Or various combinations.

I am not into the long-term effects of drug use and the suffering thereof, but if you want to mention it, that is totally fine. I wouldn’t want it glorified.

DNW: contemplation of suicide, vore

Miss Marple - Agatha Christie

Characters: Jane Marple

I am a fan of Miss Marple. I, too, have lived in a quiet town where you can see into the abysses of the human condition :D

I’d love to read something that lead her to the person we know her as, maybe when she went to the girl school in Switzerland? Maybe during her time in the cypher division, during the war — maybe the cypher division was really a cover for Miss Marple’s spy activities for the war office?

I’d also love fic about her as we know her: spending time in St. Mary Mead’s and solving crimes, quietly knitting her nephew another sweater. Holiday themed fic! Somebody keeps stealing the geese for the holiday celebrations!

Honestly, I’d also really like to read about her in a relationship, especially one that people wouldn’t expect of an elderly woman. Did she have a youthful indiscretion with the prime minister, and now that he is widowed, he visits her again, and Jane’s nephew is entirely shocked by the whole thing?

Was she maybe in love with a woman the whole time? Did she quietly retire into a cottage with her best friend, and they have a romantic relationship with each other?

(Or crossovers! It would be super interesting if Miss Marple knew a wizard from the Harry Potter universe, or maybe she’s a squib or a with herself? Or maybe she knows Phryne Fisher, or Lord Peter Wimsey!)

Island of the Aunts | Monster Mission - Eva Ibbotson

Characters: Dorothy (Island of the Aunts)

Look. This is one of my favourite books. I would read absolutely anything about every single character— I choose Dorothy, simply because she’s my most favourite, but if you want to write a story where she’s not the focus, I’d still be ecstatic.

That said, omg, Dorothy. I love her (and her wok!) and I would read countless stories on adventures she had while going off of the island in a rage to be angry at polluters, or hunters of endangered species, or both. I like that she seems to be the most competent in dealing with outsiders, even though usually she rather likes to resort to violence.

So! Pre-Canon, or Post-Canon, whatever; either would be great!

How is the work on the island? How is Dorothy dealing with her piranha farm? Maybe she decided to pursue some other, even stranger, protection against various and sundry? Does the Kraken return to the island?

How does Dorothy deal with the mermaids? Is she tolerant of their foibles, or is it a similar relationship to the one she has with her sister Betty, that is: polite bewilderment?

How does Dorothy feel to be suddenly the responsible one, who didn’t kidnap children and make them work with her? How’s her relationship with Etta, and does Dorothy milk it for all that it is worth?

Did Dorothy ever fall in love? Was it someone off the island, campaigning for more environmental protection? A mythical creature of her very own?

Who did she meet in prison? (Was Archie someone Dorothy pulled in?) How did she deal with prison in Hong-kong? Is Dorothy the reason there are now forest cities in China (— this is maybe a bit of a reach, since Hong Kong isn’t really mainland China and all, but I’d love if the Aunts have a bit of an influence on the world, even though Fabio is probably never going to be Brasilians prime minister. Though I would read a story about that.)

(Burning questions I have that aren’t relevant to Dorothy as a character: Is Herbert ever going to return? Is the younger Kraken?)

DNW: unhappy endings

If there’s something confusing, please don’t hesitate to ask! (Anon happens to be open, too.) And I hope you have a fun Yuletide!

#exchange letter #yuletide 2017

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