#he's going to be charming and likeable sometimes!

[pynkhues]

Interesting idea about Marius maybe being noticeably taller than both Lestat and Armand. I haven't read the books and I've been thinking that it doesn't matter what Marius looks like, but I've seen some people say that he looks like Lestat and that's important. The show can obviously adapt or not adapt whatever elements of the books it chooses, so it doesn't really matter for the show, but does it matter in the books that Lestat resembles Marius?

Hmm, I don't remember it being super important that Marius and Lestat look alike? But again, I've only read the first five books and I read them a hot minute ago (although I am re-reading TVL now - I just got pulled in again when I was reading sections for this fic, haha, Anne is such a compelling writer).

Marius and Lestat's relationship is fairly unique in the books in the context that they take on a bit of a father + favourite son dynamic. Marius is the one who coins the term 'brat prince' for Lestat (and it's absolutely a term of affection when it comes from him), and he's the one who kiiind of steps in in the way it would've been expected Magnus do of that era of ancient vampires when Lestat tracks him down after leaving Paris and before he goes to New Orleans. Marius also has a bit of a flirtation with Gabrielle and is the one who tells Lestat to go live a human life because he was turned before he got to have one (absolutely hilarious levels of hypocrisy coming from Marius who loved turning children lol) which is a big part of why Lestat settles down with Louis in NOLA as opposed to doing whatever else with him. So yeah - it's very much a quasi fatherly role he steps into with Lestat, at least in the early books.

I do think in that sense that it's important Marius see parts of himself - or at least, traits he wants to have - in Lestat, but I don't from memory think it matters too much in terms of physical appearance? It's more that he needs to be extremely charismatic in a way that's not dissimilar to Lestat (but I'd argue not that similar either - they're very different characters, and I think Marius' persona is a lot more of, well, a persona than Lestat's is). Arguably, it's a part of why Armand effectively imprints on, and has the degree of idolatry that he does for Lestat too.

[sparrowsfallingfromthesky]

I know he's older than the book portrayal (although so is pretty much everyone else in the show) and also they may be trying to avoid bigger name actors which I respect but I think Anthony Head would be a really great Marius de Romanus

[felassan]

David Gaider on Alistair, under a cut for length:

"Ah, Alistair. Depending on who you ask, he's the adorable woobie with the biggest heart or the irritating, over-used man-child. Yes, he is indeed all of those things. Good characters have flaws to go with their virtues. Ugly spots. That is literally their humanity. He was a bit of a bear to write, at the outset. James (Ohlen, the first creative director on DAO) had this idea he needed to be a grizzled Warden veteran - older, distrusting. Everyone hated him instantly. I call this the Carth Onasi Problem, and suggested to James that maybe I try something else. My observation says that the characters who are generally liked the most are the supportive ones. Enthusiastic. Funny? Sometimes, sure, but that's *not* required. I need to digress. See, at the time James had this (regrettable) period where he believed everything could be derived from a formula. He even sold this idea to the founders, Ray and Greg. Google 'BioWare formula'. Anyway, how this relates is because James thought the DAO cast needed a Minsc: a comedy character who would become super popular and, ideally, the icon of DA. "Isn't that Alistair?" you ask. "Arguable," I say, "but no." James had me to up a huge list of 'comedic archetypes' and I wrote some possible dialogue for each one. Then he had the team vote. The winning archetype? The Buffoon - like Homer Simpson or Peter Griffin. James was pleased. I was not. "The problem," I said, "is I don't find the Buffoon funny." 😅"

""But you're a professional." "Sure, I *can* write him... but comedy isn't science. I need to find him funny. If I write him, the only comedy I'll mine is where he makes fun of himself." James took that on board and then passed the character onto someone else. The result? Oghren. I rest my case. So back to the supportive character: that was my thought for a new Alistair. It was a special case, after all - the DAO PC was thrust into a terrible situation. They needed someone who had their back. A bud. A *likeable* bud. I was watching Buffy at the time, and my thoughts drifted towards Xander. Now, I know Joss Whedon is persona non grata these days, but this was 2006, OK? I was watching Buffy and thought, "man, Xander is such a wasted character" and considered how to fix him. Then I realized this might work for Alistair. Plus, I wanted to see if I could replicate the Whedon vocal patter. That was the new Alistair: a more useful and likeable yet equally dorky version of Xander. We had very strict rules in DA about language: no modern speech styles, colloquialisms, any words that came into use in our world after 1900 got severe side eye... but Alistair? Alistair got a blanket pass. Was it great that the lead writer's leading man got to break the rules? I guess not, but it's my opinion that you can break those kinds of rules - selectively, in small doses. Too much and you break the illusion. And it worked. Alistair was an instant hit. Not just with the team, but with the fans."

"Confession time? Yes, I knew Goldanna wasn't meant to be Alistair's mother. But neither was Fiona, originally. I think fans caught wind of some revisionism at work, and OK it's true. I had a more Arthurian idea for his birth but I stopped liking it... yet not soon enough to go back and make edits. Should I have just left it be, left Goldanna as his mother? Maybe. It was one of those writer things I just couldn't let go of and I probably could have used someone to sit me down and go "Gaider, please. Just stop." I still like Fiona, and where I took it. But I probably shouldn't have gone there. Casting Alistair was SUCH a chore. He required a weird mix of devilish charm, but with enough sincerity and adorkableness it didn't come off as smarmy. Every audition went full smarm... until Steve Valentine up and appeared out of nowhere. In the midst of a batch of audition files, there he was. We brought Steve in "just to try out", and he pulled it off. Even the "frog time" line, which (seriously) nobody else could. And when he got to the romantic lines, Steve's voice turned into pure butter without, again, sliding into "oh, he's slightly creepy". Both Caroline and I were sold. And he was so gloriously easy to write. It's a well I'd probably return to... a bit too often, maybe? Maric, then Anders in Awakening, and then Alistair kept popping up in future games and the comics because, yes, he was pretty much the breakout comedy character of DA. Which still makes me happy. 😁 CORRECTION: Goldanna was someone Alistair thought was his *sister*, and her mother his mother. Look, it was almost twenty years ago, OK? 😅 --- I actually had a whole scene written in DAI where Fiona tells him, but the requirements were so specific for them both to be in Skyhold and it seemed like it'd be relevant only to a small small sub-section of fans (and confusing to everyone else) so it was dropped. Rightfully so, I guess."

[source thread]

User: "The Buffy vibes were strong in DAO and I was very happy with that at the time. What I loved about DAO was the mix of dark themes entwined with bits of levity. That's how I like my angst. Dark, broody with a side of ha-has and y'all delivered in DAO for sure." David Gaider: "That's a me thing. I like going dark - really dark - and then pairing it with light, comedic moments. It provides peaks and valleys in the tone, and prevents either from becoming overwhelming. Hey if it worked for Shakespeare (alas, poor Yorrick), it can work for DA, right? 😉" [source]

[shiroganejpg]

There's sooo so much to say about kabumisu and the parallels between Kabru and Mithrun in their individual characters and how both their similarities and their fundamental differences make them absolutely perfect for one another, both in the sense that they work together romantically and that they both helped one another grow as individuals to such an immense degree. They were each exactly what they needed, even when they have different values or alignments.

But something that just Gets Me is that. Both Kabru and Mithrun exist with one specific goal in each of their mind's. Kabru might seem less single-minded that Mithrun, but you have to consider how he goes about pursuing his goal: getting people to like him. He uses his charm and likeability, flexes his relationships, and gathers information - but it all comes back to the goal he has: preventing a second Utaya. We're told from the start that that is Kabru's goal and we see it reinforced multiple times on the way through the manga.

I feel like a lot of people in fandom overlook the impact Utaya had on Kabru and how it impacted his psyche and his motivations. But here's the thing: I think to some degree, this was what Ryoko Kui was intending. Kabru's overall intentions are well stated, I think, but we then see a lot of his actions and words that don't always seem directly related to this one-track mission, and it allows us this room to kind of question it and wonder if there's something else at play here.

Mithrun, on the other hand, seems relentlessly and directly devoted to his goal. He doesn't act on things that aren't directly related to his cause -- that is all we see in him. We don't have the same room to wonder about his intentions or motivations because we can plainly see that everything is directly related.

It's incredibly interesting to see how these two overlap: They both have their own one-track goals, but go about them in completely separate ways. Kabru uses his likeability and his charm to get what he needs to fulfil said goal, and sometimes that involves "detours"; Mithrun doesn't have the capacity for that, and he just runs straight at the issue. Neither Kabru nor Mithrun's story is fully revealed to the reader - we hear of Utaya, we hear the story told, but the flashes we see are only that: Flashes. A lot of Kabru's backstory is not revealed to the reader. Mithrun's story, on the other hand, is revealed through an unreliable narrator who we know cut out significant portions. Kabru is the one to tell Mithrun that he deserves to have his privacy, and that the world doesn't need to know everything, because Mithrun overshares to a point that could be self-detrimental.

They both have a goal, and a one-track mind for said goal. But they have so much they can learn from one another - and do learn from one another. They are both underhanded, they disregard themselves and don't take care of themselves the way they should, they're relentless in the pursuit of their goals... but they're also polar opposites in some things.

And all of this, when put together, forms them into two perfect puzzle pieces. These characters could have been made for one another in terms of helping each of them grow as individuals: each one is exactly what the other needed to aid their growth. They're insane. I love them.

[hollowtones]

first yiik impressions?

Hi. Thanks for your message. I've been thinking about this for days. I wrote paragraphs. Here you go!

Everyone talks up how the game is bad, but I've never looked into it much myself, so I went in with an expectation along the lines of "people whose opinions I often agree with think it was an awful mess, I'll likely think something similar". Expectations were low. Even then I wasn't really ready.

"YIIK" is a game of tedium. I don't think it's a game about tedium, that's something different (though it could be, if it was a different video game altogether; "what if the world was made of pudding" etc). To some degree I think the tedium is by design but I'm not really sure what it's in service of.

I don't think tedium in a video game is a bad thing. "Morrowind" and "Breath of the Wild" are two video games I like very much, and some of my favourite memories of those games are of slowly wandering through empty expanses, or having to suddenly deal with equipment degrading or supplies dwindling because I forgot to prepare. Moments like that feel thoughtful! They're interesting moments of reprieve or of tension that feel thoughtfully and intentionally designed! "YIIK" feels like trudging through chest-deep molasses so it can shout "hey did you know you're stuck in my molasses right now? that's weird, why are you stuck in my molasses right now? did you notice?" directly into your ear.

You'll notice this is a pattern.

Combat is turn-based and involves completing little minigames, timing button prompts or hitting targets or some such. It's a cute idea that wears out its welcome when you start realizing how long every single one takes to resolve, especially when you have multiple party members, and sometimes multiple enemies (I'm told this part specifically gets more egregious as the game goes on). I don't think it's awful or unsalvageable but I'm not super into it as of the point we're at.

This is a pattern.

Leveling up is a manual process that you have to unlock, and it involves going to a save point (any save point? we didn't check), to enter the Mind Dungeon, to enter the actual Mind Dungeon, to walk down a set of stairs and enter individual doors one-by-one, so that you can choose how you want to allocate stat increases, so that you can walk down a different set of stairs to commit your choices and spend your banked experience to level up. I think "you can only power up at specific points / times / locations" and the granularity of stat growth are interesting ideas, and the environment they made for it are a charming idea, and I don't think it needed to be a "Hotel Mario" level that you had to slowly walk through. It could have been a menu. They could have used the resources for a nice background or backdrop for a menu that accomplishes the same thing.

This is a pattern.

I haven't really mentioned anything about the story or writing yet. The protagonist's name is Alex and he's a very self-important nerdy misanthropic dickhead white man (a very specific kind of guy that I've definitely met at least once or twice) who is obsessed with a paranormal message board populated by people like him and desperate to find out more about the disappearance of a woman he witnessed. (The woman & her disappearance are based on the real life death of Elisa Lam & aren't handled with a whole lot of tact, IMO, but other people have put this into better words than I can right now. It sucks. It keeps coming up and it makes me bristle every time.) Alex is a bad person. I know he is. You know he is. The game knows he is. I've seen some reviews say a negative point of the game is "the main characters aren't likeable", which I don't really get, because that's the point of the characters, as far as I can tell. The issue, then, is how much time the game takes to exposit at you how bad the characters are. It's exhausting. Every time Alex has a monologue, it feels like it sums up to 10 minutes of "I am a bad person. I am a bad person. Alex is a bad person. This character is a bad person. Do you get it? He's a bad person. Alex is a bad person. Do you understand yet, player? Alex is a bad person. You should know that he's a bad person. Do you get it?"

This is a pattern.

(I don't know how interested I am in bringing up the game's lead writer right now, if at all, but there's a well-known anecdote where he talks about wanting to write a story about a bad person who is forced to grapple with himself and do better, and how the reason why his game wasn't well-received was because people who play video games didn't get it & weren't ready for a story like that. I dunno. I can understand being upset about negative reception to something you poured time and sweat into, and saying something hasty because of it. "Final Fantasy 4" is a beloved RPG classic, though, and "Disco Elysium" came out the same year to overwhelming praise. I haven't played either of these yet, though, so I'll admit maybe I'm off the mark here.)

The characters we've met so far (i.e. the ones that aren't unnamed NPCs) are… well. There's a smarmy younger kid who idolizes(?) Alex & also made the aforementioned paranormal website. So far it seems like he mostly exists to go "hey fuck you Alex, you dickhead" and immediately say something even more insensitive. There's the insensitive based-on-a-real=ass-dead-woman elevator woman, who immediately disappeared from the narrative while still being an essential part of the narrative. There was a dead(?) robot in a bedroom, who had a choir of ominous hooded people monologue about how weird and sad and strange and uncanny the scene is. What the!? There's a woman who works at the arcade and has Powers. Her design's cute. (I feel like, generally, the game's visuals are Fine. The audio, too. That all ranges from Just Fine to Surprisingly Neat. I don't really have much issue with those aspects of the game, but I don't have much to say about them either.) Alex and Kid Whose Name I Didn't Care To Remember are constantly very uncomfortable to her, because she's a woman and because she isn't white, in the 15 or so minutes we've seen her on-screen, and she gets to tell them off, but then immediately kind of goes "well whatever I can smile and put up with this and hang out with you". It feels misogynistic. I know to some degree Alex is misogynistic on purpose, because the game is bludgeoning your skull in and yelling "ALEX IS SHITTY TO WOMEN! AND PEOPLE OF COLOUR! DO YOU GET IT? HE'S SELF ABSORBED IN A SHITTY WAY! DO YOU GET IT, PLAYER? YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ALEX SUCKS ASS YET? MAYBE 10 MORE MINUTES OF THIS WILL MAKE IT CLICK?" But for a woman of colour (the only one we've seen so far who isn't Probably Just Dead) to finally tell him off for being a shithead, only to turn around and go "well it's ok, you're cool now, let's hang out now because it's narratively convenient and you're the protagonist" is pretty damn egregious!

This is a pattern.

Writing in general feels stilted and long-winded. Most of the main characters feel like they don't talk like people do. Alex gets to feel like a person but that's mostly because he gets to talk to himself so damn much. Most of his monologues feel like overly flowery prose, like someone padded it out with identical adjectives to meet a school essay word count. There's an interesting idea or premise or setpiece every now and then. There's a spark. A glint of something compelling. Every single time this has happened so far I find it immediately snuffed out by an over-blown "oh my god!!!!!!! how weird!!!!!!', or a very long plot dump, or a Joss Whedon-ass quip. There can be no small moment of joy. No story element or visual element can stand on its own legs. There can be no room for ideas to breathe. No space for the player to wonder, to dream, to play in the space. The narrative is compelled to suffocate iself on itself, to take up all space, to swallow itself whole in its making. One very minor (so far?) side character has some interesting dialogue in this one dream world, and I think "oh that's neat", and then I learn they're lines taken wholesale from a book (and I think that's fine, reference is fine, but I have a bit of a chuckle over the fact that this character is the reason why the game has a giant REFERENCES option in the main menu). The literal first minute of the game is a bird telling you "oh my god, the title of this game, right? why'd they spell it like that? so fucking dumb, am I right!" It feels insecure. It reads like the writing has no confidence in itself. It has to make a comment about how silly and video-gamey it is, roll its eyes at itself, mock itself for the thing it's doing while continuing to do it without addressing it or discussing it or doing anything with it.

This is a pattern.

There's a specific part of "YIIK", at this early point in the game (we're only around the start[?] of chapter 2), that feels emblematic of the thing as a whole up to this point. Alex is getting phone calls from a stranger. They're confusing and weird and sound a little like something you might hear in a dream. They make references to some shared past, some childhood, some understanding of Alex, or maybe of you, the player. They've come up a few times. Every single time, I'm left thinking about what it could mean, how it fits in with everything we've seen so far & what the game seems to be talking about, with regards to connecting to other people and to yourself. It's a neat little thing. It's a neat idea. I'm charmed by it. As much as my thoughts on this game are largely negative, I still try to look at it fairly, to understand it, to talk about it, to let myself be surprised by it. As soon as I find myself thinking about this, my thoughts are immediately drowned out by Alex telling me how weird the phone call is, how random and uncanny and dumb this is, and how he's rolling his proverbial eyes about it, in spite of all the other paranormal happenings around him, for another period of Just Too Long. And I am sapped of all strength and I crumble to dust.

I'm genuinely transfixed. I'm transfixed! Maybe the fact that I wrote Paragraphs about the 4-or-5 hours I've seen of the game can tell you as much, even if you skip everything I wrote in them.

I can't wait to see more.

This, too, is a pattern.

[siggiedraws]

I'm almost nervous to share this because it seems you're very protective for him and sometimes against other people's views of Sonic but I think the Sonic in the new Sonic Prime show is my favorite Sonic- he's so kind and heartfelt its so sweet

No need to be nervous! My grievances are mainly with official media. I will not harass or attack anyone for different opinions. There's a reason why I only complain on my blog and I don't go out of my way to complain on other people's blogs.

I think Prime Sonic is capable of being likeable. He has positive traits that allow for people to find him charming. I'm not here to try to argue with you or prove you otherwise about your love for Prime Sonic, it's not my place to do so. I can only account for my own thoughts about the franchise and what I like and dislike, so I'm going to get into my issues with Prime Sonic, but do not take this as me trying to invalidate your own feelings or thoughts! I'm only expressing my perspective in the hopes that it will get us on the same page.

The main question I have for interpretations is the idea of what makes Sonic Sonic.

What makes an interpretation Sonic-like is to retain the core baseline of his character. That is, him being a static and inspirational figure. This is core to every single narrative of every Sonic game. See my essay about it if you want!

I do not like Prime Sonic because he fails to retain this core baseline. The show's plot exists to teach Sonic a lesson - that he needs to appreciate his friends more. Game Sonic knows that already and he does not need to learn anything. However, for Prime, Sonic's existing traits are discarded just so that he can learn something in order to appeal to Western storytelling norms of a protagonist needing to go through a character arc.

I like Game Sonic for the same reason you like Prime Sonic. Game Sonic's heart, kindness and compassionate nature is a large part of why I love him! But it's also the fact that he is such a rare type of protagonist is why I am so protective of him. I think we need to allow for more unique styles of storytelling in Western culture, and Sonic already excels at this while being a very popular franchise worldwide.

[sunshinemoonrx]

Thoughts on Spielban?

Spielban is my favourite tokusatsu.

It's important to know this about me.

In a lot of ways Spielban is a combination of everything that was so good about the four seasons of metal hero that preceded it, assembled into Uehara's ultimate power armour space adventure to cap off his tenure on the show before they radically shifted gears to make very different stuff thereafter (sad robots, international ninja...).

That's kind of an oversimplification; there's things those shows have that this doesn't. But it does feel more comfortable than Juspion in having these kind of space adventurer heroes without bits of space sheriff flotsam getting in there, while having that more freeform structure. And it does have an all-star cast: Watari Hiroshi and Morinaga Naomi were standout combined face/stunt leads that stole the show in Sharivan and Shaider respectively--so it says something that when you unite them relative newcomer Sumikawa Makoto is still my favourite of the trio on both fronts. And Soga Machiko as a main villain always elevates a show a full letter grade by itself (I'd even say this is my favourite role of hers).

Going back a sentence there, Diana remains probably my favourite individual tokusatsu hero. She's cool, funny, chaotic, super cute, I wanna dress like that, I wanna be able to do stunts like that, and increasingly as the show goes on it stops being a joke that she really wants to bang Spielban's sister. I think it is interesting how she was apparently a response to the popularity of Annie from Shaider and people wanting her to get a suit; well now we've got another show with Annie's actress, but we're giving her a different role that's much heavier on melodrama than action proportionally (which is entirely fair enough, giving the more experienced actor more to chew on), while casting the other leading lady as the one who's essentially Annie 2: 200% Cheekier Edition.

And my god, full-on star-crossed yuri between the two main heroines running right the way through the show. I'm even reasonably sure after Shaider that Uehara knew he was doing it. You spoil me, Spielban.

Well, except when that one annoying dipshit scientist side character is on-screen. It's like they were trying to recreate that buddy character who hangs around with all the space sheriffs, except what if he was completely lacking in charm or likeability? He's not like, "shonen anime comic relief pervert who should be in jail" level bad, but he's obnoxiously loud enough about going "uwaaaaaaah a pretty girllllll" whenever he's around that I feel irresponsible recommending people the show without mentioning it. Still, they seem to have realised it wasn't working and written him out unceremoniously--although hilariously his younger siblings still continue to appear as the heroes' designated kid friends with nary a mention of their big brother, presumably after he was taken out back and shot.

Anyway, everything else is pure melodrama pulp adventure gold. I may love a good episodic monster fighting show, but it's always cool to see more serialised shows from this era, and the story never loses momentum here. The 80s Toei space fashion is in full force (what the hell is emperor guillotine wearing) (positive), the suits are perfected versions of this aesthetic with lots of chrome and fun light-up eyes and everything, sometimes Spielban does a jousting version of his cool laser sword finisher from his motorbike, and everything in the show has a great insert song.

I guess I've got more horny on main as I've got older so the Certified Hot Babe moments I used to regard as kind of unnecessary I mostly now just think are fun; and I won't say Spielban rolling around in tight shiny leather constitutes "equality" for the amount of Diana's and other gals' legs we see (although come to it, she /should/ have taught him the Hip Press. Step 1 to lightening up), but it is there and Watari is very pretty; he really bloomed since Sharivan.

I dunno what else to say. They improved on the x-wing. They improved on the lightsaber (beating phantom menace to the double-bladed punch by over a decade). They improved on the Big Spaceship Gun from Shaider. I genuinely don't know if this show is as good if you haven't seen a couple of the previous seasons it's building on, but it remains my #1.

[yuikomorii]

Why do so many people love Ayato?

I like him too but I just don’t see what makes him so worshipped by the fandom (no hate)

// Other than his incredible visuals, a lot of people love Ayato because he got a particular charm that makes him stand out.

To put it mildly, he's truly a good character. What makes him distinctive is that he strikes as the perfect mix between generic and unique. Ayato is recognized in Japan as the orthodox Diaboy, and Karlheinz has confirmed that he is the most human-like of his brothers BUT this doesn’t mean his personality is not complex.

Rather than being forced to be likeable, his emotions are expressed in such way that makes him feel realistic. If things don’t go his way, he gets angry and starts acting impulsively. He’s also an arrogant brat when someone irritates him, yet… you can’t really bring yourself to hate him for that. Why? Because that’s how people are in real life too. Whether they were aware of it or not, everyone has behaved like that at some point since, in certain circumstances, such actions or thoughts are unavoidable.

The thing about Ayato is that he assumes his wrongdoings and ends up trying to fix his mistakes, instead of facing no consequences, being pushed by others to take responsibility or still being portrayed positively after doing something bad.

He needs to put in a lot of effort to reach his goals; sometimes he succeeds, sometimes he fails. He’s also canonically really brave, upright, mentally strong, pure-hearted, a good boyfriend & brother, which of course, are ideal traits and a bunch of people will respect him for that. Such a flawed person having such admirable qualities creates a good balance and it’ll be very easy to see yourself in him.

[emotionallychargedtowel]

Revisiting To My Star: A pursuer meets a distancer (season 1, episodes 1 & 2)

I’ve been meaning to do a To My Star rewatch for a while now. I have a lot of thoughts about the series and it’s a favorite of mine that I’ve already rewatched quite a bit, but I’ve never really formed those thoughts into some sort of gestalt. So I’ve been wanting to slow down, put the puzzle pieces together, and see what sort of picture emerges.

I thought about marathon-ing both seasons and trying to write a summary post, but it would probably be obscenely long and take me at least a month to finish. So instead of going that route, I’m going to slow down my watching pace a bit and post as I go along. I would go one episode at a time, but the first season episodes are so short that I’ll be doubling them up, at least until I reach the longer episodes in season 2.

As you might expect, the first two episodes are mostly focused on introducing the characters and setting up the plot. But they do a remarkably good job of revealing and even beginning to develop the characters given their short runtimes, and there are more clues here about how Ji Woo and Seo Joon will eventually relate to each other than I had realized.

By the way, I can’t help but see the beginning of the series through the lens of everything we learn later, but I’m still going to try to keep putting myself in the shoes of a first-time viewer because the way that information unfolds over time in the course of the story is an important part of how it works.

With that in mind…

What do we learn about Kang Seo Joon?

We see his good-natured side right away, but we also see how spoiled he is, and how he sometimes treats others’ feelings with a dismissive kind of casualness. We first encounter him as a sleepy voice on the phone, asking his manager Ho Min if he can pack his things for him before he goes on the run from the press. But as they pull out of the parking garage at his place, he speaks admiringly of the diligence of the reporters who chased after him so early in the morning. Of all the things to say at a time like that! And it seems sincere. After all, no one's listening but Ho Min.

Seo Joon spends a lot of his time smiling. Sometimes his smile is there to distract you and smooth things over because he’s actually being pretty inconsiderate, like when he orders breakfast from Ji Woo and then blatantly refuses to eat it. Yet there’s always some degree of of sincerity to it, if only because he sincerely wants whoever he’s smiling at to like him and approve of him even when he’s being a pain. And he really is likeable. It doesn’t hurt that Son Woo Hyeon has an adorable smile and a remarkable amount of seemingly innate charm. If a less appealing actor had been cast in this role, the story would never have worked. But it's also there in the writing.

In the first two episodes, we have no idea whether Seo Joon really hit his friend or not, or why he’s stonewalling his own management company. The CEO of his management company, Pil Hyun, refers to him having “another scandal,” implying he has come to the public’s attention in a negative light before. Ho Min alludes to him sometimes saying “scary” things when he's speaking with Pil Hyun in private. First-time viewers might think it’s a distinct possibility that he has a dark side that just hasn’t been shown yet. 

We get a hint about Seo Joon’s isolation and loneliness when he asks Ho Min about hanging out together during his first day at Ji Woo’s house, becoming crestfallen when he says he’ll be busy with another actor. There’s already an implication that the relationships he does have may not be very meaningful, given that his supposed best friend doesn’t pick up his phone after their night out together results in a scandal. The fact that the only person he can socialize with at this point is someone who’s paid to spend time with him also isn’t a great sign. 

When Seo Joon really starts to interact with Ji Woo, we start to see his persistent, friendly, relentlessly pursuing side, which I’ll talk about more in a bit. And right at the end of episode 2, when Ji Woo’s front window is broken by a rock, we see a very different side of Seo Joon from any we’ve seen up to this point when he begins to have a panic attack. 

What do we learn about Han Ji Woo?

It’s harder to feel like you know Ji Woo well at this point in the series, because he’s so guarded. But we do get quite a bit of information about him. Ji Woo is very direct and, frankly, pretty grumpy. He takes pride in his work, despite the fact that his business partner is seen as a superior cook just because he was trained in Italy. Thus he doesn’t take kindly to his cooking being devalued, as it is (in his eyes at least) when Seo Joon refuses to try the egg dish he made for him (after he made an exception to cook for him before business hours). At the same time, he’s so sensitive that praise he views as excessive bothers him too, like when Seo Joon waxes rhapsodic about his mussel dish. It’s no wonder he doesn’t want too much praise, since he’s preoccupied with never being beholden to anyone. He says he doesn’t want “free money,” either in the form of payment for food that was not eaten or excessive reimbursement for the beers Seo Joon drank. The same seems to be true for anything else he doesn’t feel he has fully earned. 

Ji Woo also isn’t a narc. When his reporter friend and his business partner talk about Seo Joon, it’s clear from the look on his face that he recognizes his name from earlier and realizes he’s the person who used his bathroom and rejected his egg dish. Is this a sign that he's already started to like Seo Joon? Nah, I don’t think so. I think it’s actually related to what we learn about Ji Woo’s family’s past in season 2. He knows enough about what it’s like to face the judgment of others, and about how arbitrarily that judgment is often meted out, that he doesn’t want to help anyone find Seo Joon.

We see examples of Ji Woo being really harsh and cold. He tells Seo Joon that he smells, seemingly just to get back at him for his earlier slights. When he says they shouldn’t get close during Seo Joon’s stay, he stares at him so aggressively that’s it's a little bit scary. Yet he shows consideration for Seo Joon in little ways. For example, when he’s making dinner, he reaches into the refrigerator. We see his hand grab an egg, but then it pauses and puts it back, seemingly because he remembered that Seo Joon isn't a fan. 

If you watch closely, you can see that Ji Woo’s harshness isn’t just a result of unrestrained hostility, but rather, a means of keeping others at a distance. How can you tell? It’s a matter of timing. Sometimes he pushes Seo Joon away when he feels disrespected, or sees Seo Joon as rejecting him first. But other times, he pushes him away just when he’s been kind or friendly enough for Ji Woo to be tempted to let his guard down, as he does after Seo Joon compliments his cooking. When he first starts praising him, Ji Woo looks stunned and sort of ambivalent, as if he’s both wary of Seo Joon and drawn to him at the same time. Then his face hardens and he turns cold and critical. 

But despite his efforts to keep Seo Joon at arm’s length, Ji Woo seems concerned when Seo Joon’s panic attack begins. It's an entirely new side of his personality.

Other characters

We don’t know much about Ji Woo’s business partner, Hyung Ki, yet. We know he trained in Italy, hinting at his greater degree of privilege relative to Ji Woo, and that he seems uncomfortable with people assuming he’s the better cook as a result. When their part-timer quits after no-showing, he gets significantly angrier about it than Ji Woo does. He believes in “physiognomy,” the idea that you can tell things about people’s personalities from their facial structure (and maybe other physical attributes). And he makes an interesting comment to their reporter friend: “They say those who betray you are usually the people closest to you.” Foreshadowing, perhaps?

We’ve just started to learn a few things about the aforementioned reporter friend, Yoon Seul. Mostly we know that she’s a busy, enterprising, hardworking journalist who managed to be the first to reach Seo Joon’s home after the story broke about the incident with him and his friend. 

The main things we know about the CEO of Seo Joon’s management company, Pil Hyun, is that he likes to complain, particularly when Seo Joon causes hassles for him, and he thinks that people around him look down on him. He’s especially preoccupied with the idea that people around him are always talking smack about him because they think he only attained his position through nepotism. (Which he probably did, especially if he really is the same Pil Hyun that was played by the same actor in Where Your Eyes Linger, which was also directed by Hwang Da Seul). 

Ho Min, the lower-level manager who deals with Seo Joon more directly most of the time, isn't very developed as a character yet. Mostly we see him doing his best to navigate tricky situations involving the various strong personalities at his job. But the moment when he was so struck by Ji Woo's coldness that he slapped himself in the face hints that he might have some eccentricities of his own.

Seo Joon's and Ji Woo's relationship so far 

Their first interaction is fleeting and rather superficial, but it makes a decidedly negative first impression on Ji Woo. Seo Joon comes into it with his usual desire to please others and gain their approval, but since he’s not really committed to either goal, he’s full of smiles but disregards Ji Woo’s feelings. He still manages to be (annoyingly) charming, though. And hey, it’s early in the morning and he’s having a really bad day. 

Their second meeting almost goes off the rails spectacularly. Ji Woo could have conked Seo Joon over the head with something, like he was considering doing, but Seo Joon turns to look at him just in time. Then Ji Woo unintentionally flashes him thanks to a bathrobe malfunction. (Would Seo Joon have been as determined to get closer to Ji Woo after this if he hadn’t gotten a peek at the goods? There’s no way to be sure.) I doubt that Seo Joon has any inkling of what Ji Woo will mean to him at this point, but this is when he really starts to do the full court press trying to get him to like him, and he never entirely lets up. But despite his cute smile when he talks about how their meeting twice in one day “seems like fate,” Ji Woo isn’t going for it—at least, not yet. 

The next time they interact, the fact that Seo Joon drank all of Ji Woo’s beer the night before doesn’t help matters, nor does the way Seo Joon ends up boasting about his wealth when he offers to reimburse him and then some. Ji Woo shows his willingness to go for the jugular when he tells Seo Joon he stinks. But once Ho Min tells Seo Joon he smells fine, he shrugs it off easily. It’s almost as if the fact that Ji Woo wanted to get his goat badly enough to lie provides him some measure of encouragement. 

But it’s in the evening of that day that their relationship starts to develop a bit more. Things aren't exactly looking great at this point, but they do start to give some hints of how they might relate to each other in the future. Ji Woo is annoyed to find pizza boxes outside his door and greets Seo Joon with monosyllables, but he does put back that egg after starting to take it out, showing Seo Joon some consideration, and he switches to informal speech with him. He still tells him that he thinks he’s “a bad person,” though, and points out that Seo Joon’s denial that he hit his friend doesn’t count for much. Seo Joon’s response is interesting. His expression turns forebodingly blank as he tells Ji Woo, “Then you must be very scared right now. Since you’re with a guy that beats people when they drink.” It’s like he’s calling Ji Woo’s bluff. He doesn’t actually seem hostile, though—it’s more like he’s trying to prove a point. Maybe he wants to show Ji Woo that even when he talks this way, he’s still not scary. I’m not sure. Either way, he then offers Ji Woo a slight smile and says “cheers,” and the tension level goes down as they each have a swig of somaek. 

Seo Joon was already excited just smelling Ji Woo’s food when it was still on the stove, so it’s no surprise when he reacts with a stunned face and effusive praise once he actually tastes it. At first, Ji Woo seems a bit pleased by Seo Joon’s favorable response, showing the mixture of stunned and ambivalent expressions I mentioned before. Could he be on the verge of caving to Seo Joon’s charms a little? But then the praise starts to sound a bit over-the-top and he gets closed off again.

Then he makes an interesting comment. “You’re not considerate of other’s feelings and say what you want to say. I’m envious of it,” he tells Seo Joon. I’m curious about the translation here, because there are a few ways to interpret this. No one wants to be inconsiderate of others’ feelings, so I don't think that's exactly what he's saying. But maybe Ji Woo would like to be less preoccupied with other people’s perceptions of him so that he could just say what’s on his mind. It’s interesting that he basically admits here, by implication, that he’s been bottling things up and not being open with others. This statement has quite a few layers, but there’s no mistaking the fact that Ji Woo isn’t trying to be nice here. He leans closer to Seo Joon and glares with his eyes opened wide in an unmistakeable display of hostility. 

I mentioned above that the timing of Ji Woo’s antagonistic displays suggest that he’s using his belligerent side to try to push Seo Joon away, sometimes because he's in danger of feeling close to him. This doesn’t exactly bode well, but at the same time, it suggests that Seo Joon really is almost managing to get a little closer to him.

Seo Joon responds to this intimidating behavior by jokingly asking Ji Woo if he’s taken a “kkondae test,” seemingly some sort of quiz that will tell the respondent whether or not they’re a kkondae. Apparently, the classic definition of a kkondae is an older person who acts in a condescending, controlling, pedantic way. But as Seo Joon adds, although Ji Woo is young, he still “ha[s[ what it takes to be a kkondae.” This is criticism, but it’s delivered with a notable dose of playfulness. 

It’s fascinating to watch Seo Joon in these moments. Most people, even pretty persistent ones, wouldn’t respond to the things Ji Woo is saying or the looks he’s giving him by continuing to make friendly overtures. Seo Joon is downright exceptional in this department. This degree of persistence is one of the reasons he’s going to have a better chance of getting through to Ji Woo than the vast majority of people would. 

Seo Joon also has another advantage, but it’s not one that he would have chosen. The moment when someone throws a rock through an adjacent window and Seo Joon starts to have a panic attack falls immediately after this exchange. When Ji Woo gets re-oriented after standing up and approaching the window, he sees the state Seo Joon is in and his expression changes. Seeing a vulnerable side of him is already having an effect.

There’s a lot going on here, and I won’t get into it too heavily yet. But it’s worth noting that Seo Joon’s and Ji Woo’s pursuer and distancer tendencies are already on display. (For more on what that means, check out this post where I talk about pursuer/distancer dynamics and how they apply to BL, including a part where I use an instructive example from To My Star season 2.) These tendencies also have implications for their attachment styles, something that I anticipate talking about more as I continue these rewatch posts. 

Next up, episodes 3 and 4!

Big thanks to @my-rose-tinted-glasses for encouragement and for being a particularly effective and pleasant sounding board.

I also want to thank @mostlyfate for creating a treasure trove of absolutely beautiful gifs of this series a few years back. If you're a fan of TMS, I highly recommend checking out their gif posts for the show. They even have them tagged by episode!

[pleasantphantomhologram]

The Forge Princess (Part 1)

Pair: Carlos Sainz x Maria Forge (OFC) 

Format: SMAU + Narrative storytelling 

Summary: Maria Forge is the only daughter of Tobias Forge, the famous lead singer of Metal band Ghost. Yeap, that cool scary metal band lead singer is her Dad. He loves her so much and always said that she is never too much to be loved. Then, when she was 24 she happened to experience her first love with some F1 driver that she accidentally met

A/N: So.., lately my playlist is full of Ghost Band Discography and I.AM.ADDICTED! Imagine being Tobias Forge Daughter and your Dad literally wrote “Can you see me longing for you, forever?” and his band look was very gothic and “scary”, I don’t know how men would approach his daughter ATP. 

Warning: None, just a gothic dad overreacting to his daughter in love with certain Williams driver (and also happened to be his fan) , and english is not my first language :'

Being a daughter of a lead singer from a legendary metal band “Ghost”, Tobias Forge has certain pros and cons. You have all the privileges in this world, having a famous, rich, talented, and loving dad who will give it all for his daughter but the cons is, every man is scared to flirt or talk with you. Yes, for 24 year of Maria Forge life, she was always single because everyone knows who her dad is. Not that she complained about it, she was actually glad that her dad always protects her. 

Look, she is beautiful, smart, kind, and very witty, she has her dad’s charming aura, and she is so approachable and likeable, and that’s the problem sometimes, so Tobias would act like a guard dog for his daughter to take care of a certain unwanted dumb man. 

“Lammy, never settle for less and always asking for more, okay, because you are worth it, you are worth all the love in this world, and never ever say, you are too much. You are never too much. Because me and your mom love you so much.”

“So, if a man says you are too much, dump him, or I will kick him for you. No one will say that to my lovely daughter, okay.” 

That conversation with Tobias happened when Maria was 17 years and had her first heart break because of some dumb teenage boy. After that conversation, Maria learnt that her dad was right, she is not too much, all men that happened crossed paths with her just too pathetic and unworthy for her. 

And now, Maria is 24 years old and working as her Social media manager for her Dad’s social media account. Yeah, you know her dad just doesn't understand the power of social media, and Maria can’t ignore it anymore. So, she told her dad that she wants to take care of his Instagram account, of course Tobias gladly agreed to her suggestions. 

“Dad, You need to take care of your IG account. You are this famous, and what?” Tobias just laughed at his daughter's rant. 

“Baby, I don't have time to be so active on social media. It’s not my thing okay.”

“Then, I will take care of it. I want the world to know that my dad is hot and scary and talented.” She said, 

“Okay princess, go ahead. I trust you, but you still have to follow my persona okay?”

“I know dad, promise I won't make your persona out of character.” 

“Then, it’s a deal.”

And you are officially employed as your dad’s media social manager account for his 2025 European Tour.

RealTobiasForge

RealTobiasForge My daughter said photo dump is the new era, So…, thank you  Lisbon gonna make sure we’ll be back next year 

Liked by MariaForge, thebandGhost, billboard, billboardUK, Stereogum, CarlosSainz55

Thebandghost Papa really ate tonight  (It’s the new admin’s here 🫡)

> RealTobiasForge Not my band admin’s too 😀 

Username1_ghost: Not Papa trying photo dump trend at his age 🫠 

Princessofghost: I am literally crying and dancing and screaming tonight, thank you for your blessing tonight Papa

Username12_666: Amazing performance tonight Papa! 

MariaForge: Papa, i’ve told you it works 🫶

> RealTobiasForge: It’s just a post on Instagram why you call it photo dump 😀 

> MariaForge: Because you have to speak like people’s on the internet 🫶🫶🫶

> Username_12344: 😭😭 Not my idol’s daughter teach him how to use his IG

---

MariaForge

MariaForge Girl breakfast on tour be like😔🫶 Yep this is my very first time went on tour with Papa as his social media team. 

Liked by TheBandGhost, RealTobiasForge, Username234, 17k people

RealTobiasForge Princess that’s not real food, your mom will be angry at me because of this 😀 

>MariaForge: Papa it’s still 8 in the morning chill 😔

>TheBandGhost: Incoming Call from your mom 👉 

> MariaForge: Stop 🤪 

Username_12456: She’s literally papa’s girl 😔 

Username_fggh: Imagine being the only daughter of Tobias Forge 🫠 

--

Milan has some soft spots in Maria’s life. It’s the architecture, the vibes, the romance, and of course the food. She has liked Milan since her vacation with her parents when she was 10 years old. It’s still 9 in the morning, her dad and the crew are still at the hotel preparing for tonight's show. Usually, she will take some behind the scene videos and photos for Tobias instagram account, but today she wants to make some new angles for her dad’s Instagram. So, instead of tailing her dad, Maria decided to stroll near the hotel and take some photos and buy some coffee for her and her dad. 

She saw a very cute cafe across the street and chose to visit it. Turns out the cafe was still relatively quiet in the morning. Great, she still has an hour to take a break and sip her Americano in peace.

“One Americano and Croissant please.”

“Americano and Croissant please.” 

She was a little stunned when someone else simultaneously ordered the same thing at the same time as her at the front desk. She looks beside her to see who the other human is and is shocked, because this human male it’s just happened to be a handsome man from some romcom series.

“I am sorry, I didn't see your order first. please go ahead.” He said, slightly smiling at her. 

“Oh, no, no, I am fine. Please go ahead, I am not in a hurry.”  

“Well, my dad always teaches me to be a gentleman, so, please proceed with the order from this beautiful lady first.” he said to the barista. 

Maria is absolutely losing her shits, What in the world happened today? Did something happened last night that made her luck goes 100% 

“Well, err, thanx, I guess?” she said a bit stutered.

“No problem, It’s a pleasure to meet a beautiful lady in the morning.”He said with a smile. Wait, did he flirt at her? At this hour? 

“Did you just flirt with me?” She does not hesitate to ask. Rule number one from her dad, “Always be straightforward with a stranger, to state some clarity.”

He still smile at her, “Why not Princess?”

“You don’t even know me?”

“Then, hello, I am Carlos, may I know your name Princess?” She then giggled 

“It’s Maria. Nice to meet you.” 

“Just Maria?” 

“My Papa said, to be carefull with a stranger in Milan. And you  telling me your last name either.” She shrug a bit.  

“Well, people already recognize me even though i am not telling my last name Princess.” He smirks at her. Wait, did she miss something? Is he famous? Damn it, to be very honest, she is not too updated with a world outside music and literature. Yes, remind her to touch some grass sometimes. 

“And yet, I still don’t even know you, Mister, not so famous.” Tease her.  He laughed a bit, damn it, that confidence, she hate it sometimes. 

“Guess, I need to try harder to be more famous after this ‘meet cute’ situation.”

“Meet cute situations? Are you sure you know that phrase?”

“I know it too well, because this conversation with you today is absolutely one of my favorite tropes in romcoms.”

“Are you this smooth everyday?”

“Nah, people call me Smooth Operator for a reason, Princesa.”She rolled her eyes. Guess this man is just the same as previous men that she met before. 

The conversation was suddenly cut off by the Barista who already finished Maria’s order. 

“Here’s your  order Miss.” 

“Thank you. How..,”

“Let me take care of the bill.” He said.

She lifted her eyebrow, confused with his words, “Excuse me?”

“Please, I insist, I really enjoy talking with you even for a bit. Just say it as my way of saying thank you.”  

“.. If you say so, then, go ahead. and thank you.” She picked her order and was ready to leave. 

“You’re welcome Princess. I don’t know why, but my guts says that we will meet again soon.” 

“Then, we are officially in the meet cute scenario. But, this is real life not a romcom series, So good luck. Good Bye, Carlos.” Maria walks past Carlos casually. 

If Maria knew that her life would change after this meeting with Carlos, it seems she wouldn't have said that to Carlos, because who would have thought that Carlos was actually in Milan that day to attend his favorite band's concert, yep he will be attending Ghost Concert.

[julietasgf]

Heyyyyy Vicó! Can you do 16, 20, and 21 for Vesta and Strabo for the OTP ask game? 💕💕

helloooo grace tysm for the ask!!! and ofcccc:

16 - three to five non-sexual acts of intimacy.

when strabo is tired after a stressful day, or when he came back from a reunion in the capitol, he would rest his head on her lap while she just runs his fingers through his hair. he does the same for her when she's tired as well;

strabo kneels to help her tying her shoes or adjusting her high heels. he also offers to carry her things, such as bags and coats etc etc

his hair sometimes falls on his face, and she brushes it off whenever she gets the opportunity. she also likes running her thumb through the scar on his nose and the calluses of his hands when holding them.

20 - their absolute favourite thing about each other in the whole wide world.

I answered this in the ask vivi sent, but basically: vesta adores he's willing to do anything for her and that she's one of the select group of 3 ppl he lets his walls down, and he adores that she's such a genuine authentic person, and that's what makes her so likeable to other people around her; she's the personification of the sun to him!

21 - do they ever match in any way?

tbh they kinda match each other's freak! I think they compliment each other personality-wise (vesta is charming and charismatic, she can have people wrapped around her finger, while strabo is a loserman but he's really smart and and talented despite lacking social skills). I think she likes the attention and adoration he gives her, and him on the other hand appreciated she didn't give up on him. in general, I think she knows the man she married, and she didn't go for it randomly

[statementends]

Thinking of it the fact my Best Friend's Wedding which ends with what would now be an extremely Aro coded woman and a gay man dancing and laughing together, it's no wonder it was my favourite romantic comedy as a kid.

Like, watching it now it's like ah Juliette, you are Aro but you don't know it. Your happy ending would never have been a romantic relationship with Michael.

Like to explain how surprising this ending is (just go to the reblogs I put videos that highlight it), even now it ends with her saying good bye to the person she thought she romantically loved. This is a romcom. The entire time you have felt empathy for her but you never want her to succeed. At least for me I never wanted her to get the man, but here at the end she doesn't. It's very bittersweet for a romcom... So they don't end it there. They bring back the friend who has been supporting her the entire movie and is in on all the schemes she's been up to and trying to get her to just tell the truth and move on.

He does what in any other romantic movie would be the sweeping romantic gesture where she realizes the man she wasn't looking at was the one that loved her all along.

But he's gay and he is in a relationship. The movie makes clear from the start he isn't the rebound or the dark horse romance. Instead the gesture is explicitly not romantic. It's an inside joke between them and he's there as her friend because he's seen how wrecked she is by the whole ordeal and wants to make her feel better. Platonically. That's how this romcom ends.

It's not perfect (the movie's from 1993 and a queer Platonic plot I doubt was the true intention), but when you're not inclined to romantic love sometimes it feels like you can't win against romance. Media makes romance the highest goal, the most important thing. The protagonist finds romantic love and lives happily ever after. But this movie even though it's very much about romance it's also about platonic friendships.

In the end she saves the wedding because although he rejects her Michael is still her friend.

Despite wanting to hate her she actually finds the romantic rival likeable and charming and if not for this man between them they would probably get along as friends. She tracks her down to set things straight.

Her editor and friend talks her through things, supports her, urges her to do the right thing, and roasts her when she's being an idiot, and is the person standing with her at the end giving us an uplifting and satisfying ending. Where for the protagonist romantic love doesn't conquer all, but platonic love certainly makes life better.

[geddy-leesbian]

May I ask any headcanons you have about Luis's family?

OF COURSE YOU CAN ASK I WILL ANSWER ANYTHING ABOUT LUIS!!

I went into his family a little bit in the most recent chapter of my main ongoing fic, but I'll get more in depth here.

The Navarro family historically were fishermen, but Luis's grandfather, Alsen, was a black sheep who preferred hunting on dry land, very rarely fishing. His wife, Luis's grandmother, died before Luis was born. (I haven't thought about her that deeply yet, surprisingly.) They had one daughter, Juliana.

Overall Juliana was a nice, likeable girl, although a bit of an outcast because the walk between the Navarro home and the main village square was difficult enough to stop her from socializing with the other villagers frequently. She would walk there once a week for church, and because she was musically gifted she'd play piano or guitar in church. She was a bit of a hopeless romantic too, always hoping someone would make a move on her, but being too shy to try making the first move herself.

Mingo was a real Messy Bitch™ who didn't care for religion or social norms whatsoever, sleeping around with any woman he could successfully charm. Eventually he had his eyes set on Juliana. Alsen knew his reputation and warned Juliana to stay away from him because he'd break her heart, but she couldn't resist. He went through the trouble of hiking to the Navarro home at night to visit her in secret, and that was enough effort to really sweep her off her feet. Sometimes he'd talk about hating Valdelobos and how one day he was going to run away to a big city and do great things, and that vision also appealed to her.

Eventually she gets pregnant. She's excited, Alsen is furious. He gets into a screaming match with Mingo, demanding he marry Juliana before she has the baby. (And the anger is very out of character, Alsen is a very cool and collected man who almost never even raised his voice. It's just matters concerning his daughter, and Luis in some of my AU's, that would upset him deeply enough he'd lose his temper in an argument.) Mingo, allergic to commitment and not at all family oriented, fucks off and leaves the village, making promises to come back which he had no intention of keeping. It was quite scandalous, Juliana being pregnant out of wedlock in such a religious place, and she became even more of an outcast than she was prior. But she was still excited about having a baby, and believed the empty promises. Alsen knew Mingo was full of shit and would never come back, but still loved Juliana more than anything and looked forward to becoming a grandfather. He talked to Mingo's family, hoping they might take some interest in the child that would share their blood and give Juliana more of a support net, but they were entirely unsympathetic. They'd all but disowned Mingo themselves due to his embarrassing behavior, and didn't feel responsible for his child.

Juliana lived long enough to name Luis, and make Alsen promise to raise him and not poison him against his father, still believing that one day Mingo would come back and want a relationship with his child and fearing Alsen would try to get in the way of that, telling Luis he was a bad person that abandoned him and his mother. Which she was right about, Alsen hated the man, but he also loved his daughter enough to keep the promise. He had nothing nice to say about him, so he just refused to tell Luis anything about his father, technically keeping the promise.

Raising Luis would have been really hard at first too. Being socially ostracized meant the village's new mothers who may have agreed to nurse an orphan under different circumstances would have been hesitant to nurse Luis specifically, and formula wouldn't be an option in Valdelobos, so Alsen would have had to turn to poor substitutes like goat's milk. Baby Luis didn't thrive, there were a lot of moments where Alsen wasn't sure if he'd make it, but he pulled through and was very healthy by the time he was a toddler.

Luis looks a lot like his mom.

I also HC that Luis's jacket originally belonged to his mother. The fit/cut of it just strikes me as more feminine, and I like the thought of Luis having a connection like that to his family.

Alsen did his best to educate Luis himself, trying to give him a decent foundation for when he eventually grew up enough to leave the village and go to university. Of course it wasn't even close to the type of formal education Luis would have received outside of Valdelobos, but it at least instilled a love of learning into Luis so he was motivated to educate himself after his grandfather's death.

[zenkindoflove]

For the OC game!

[1] What first impression do they typically make? Are they likeable from the get go, or take time to grow on people?

[8] How open they are about their true feelings, both positive and negative?

[22] Do they have nightmares, and if yes, when did they start and what are they usually about?

[60] If they were to commit a crime, what kind of crime would it most likely be?

Going to answer these for Alexius!

[1] What first impression do they typically make? Are they likeable from the get go, or take time to grow on people?

Alexius is very likeable from the get go. He's extroverted and gregarious. Playful and charming and knows how to get people laughing quickly. He has a lot of confidence and is great at giving compliments which I think pulls people in quickly. In some ways this is a bit of a double edged sword for him. While its easy for him to make friends, Alexius sometimes suffers from people only seeing him as the one dimensional, funny gay (especially with women who have a hard time with boundaries with him), especially in professional settings when he's not exactly letting people see all sides of himself.

[8] How open they are about their true feelings, both positive and negative?

Alexius seems like a very open book. It's one of the ways I love to contrast him with Eris. Eris quickly notices Alexius' vulnerability and how hard it is for him to hide his emotions especially around him. Alexius leads with his heart. Now, as I mentioned earlier, sometimes Alexius' high socialness and generally sunny disposition makes it easy for him to mask his feelings in other ways. He knows how to distract people with humor and putting on a smile - even if that isn't exactly how he is feeling. I think when it comes to people that Alexius has intimacy with, his walls are completely down. With others who he is more cordial with, they have a harder time seeing past the fun guy persona.

[22] Do they have nightmares, and if yes, when did they start and what are they usually about?

Alexius has a lot of nightmares about the night that Amarantha's goons came to Day and killed most of the Pegasus horses. I wrote a whole scene in Chapter 5 of Pull Me In Deeper where Alexius explains what happened that night and the role he played. Alexius' family are stewards to the Pegasi (Pegasuses...whatever you want to use). They have always been in charge of their care, and that night when they came to kill them, they all fought hard trying to defend them. Alexius was tasked by his father to run to the tallest tower of the Day Court where the Royal Fleet of Pegasus horses were. He barely made it in time and was able to release them so they could fly away to safety - and those are the 14 horses that Helion still has. It's one of my favorite things I've written, especially when it comes to Alexius. Alexius came of age when Amarantha arrived and spent most of his adult fae life under her rule, so he has had a unique experience when it comes to how most of his life has played out.

[60] If they were to commit a crime, what kind of crime would it most likely be?

Breaking and entering to steal an animal that is being mistreated - which Alexius has done and was punished for (referenced in Carry You Home). Also drugging a guard, impersonating said guard, and illegally entering a closed kingdom to gather proof of unicorns (Pull Me In Deeper). If being gay is a crime, Alexius is fugitive #1 - and I definitely referenced some of his actions in Summer Heat as "being gay and doing crimes" because of how much of a menace he was to Eris, trying to get his attention.

Ahhhh! these were so fun to answer. You picked really good ones! <3 Thank you!

OC Ask Game

[danielfeketewrites]

DOCTOR WHO TOP 10 - 12th Doctor

The penguin with his arse on fire.

10. The Swords of Kali

This story has everything a good Doctor Who comic needs - jumping between past and future, flashbacks featuring the fourth Doctor, a space goddess, vampires, lesbians... Everything.

9. Face the Raven

Sarah Dollard debuts with a bang. She paints such a vivid world in this one... I really wish she wrote more episodes than just Face the Raven and Thin Ice (which almost made the cut as well, another bloody good Capaldi episode). Please, Russell, ask her to come back.

8. Under the Lake / Before the Flood

The perfect Base Under Siege, with an excellent and likeable cast, a great monster (I love the Fisher King), and a fun involvement of time-travel. I can't help but love this one. My favourite Toby Whithouse script.

7. The Husbands of River Song

And my favourite Christmas special... I love River. I've always loved her. But this episode goes beyond that. The charm, the vibe... It's such a sweet and funny story.

6. Oxygen

Ah, my beloved "anti-capitalist zombie horror in space". It hits all the right beats and I'm just amazed how well Jamie Matthieson constructs the situations in his Doctor Who episodes, where he usually gets rid of the sonic screwdriver as well as the TARDIS. He does it so efficiently. He makes great Doctor Who horror seem effortless. Back in... Oh, I dunno. 2019? This was the first ever script I printed out and read in it's entirety. So it means a lot to me. An excellent episode for sure.

5. Best-laid Plans

Another Paul Spragg Memorial winner. This might just be my favourite one. In it the Doctor visits a shop that sells ideas to villains. An excellent premise and an excellent short story. Go listen to it, it's for free on the Big Finish website.

4. Four Doctors

Paul Cornell's take on The Day of the Doctor. This was a mini-series, published for the 10th anniversary of New Who by Titan. And it's just utterly excellent. I especially enjoy the dynamic where 10 and 12 hate each other and 11 is trying to be the mediator between the two of them, as he's able to get along with both his former and future self. The story offers glimpses at sins of alternate futures, as well as a sequel to one of my favourite 1st Doctor stories. Check it out if you haven't done so yet. It's brilliant.

3. Heaven Sent

I love Heaven Sent. It's beautiful and poignant and precise and well-thought out... Personally, there are two stories with the 12th Doctor I like more than this. Obviously, that's why it's at number 3. But I have to admit - this one deserves to top all the polls. It's really that good. Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat and Rachel Talalay all operating at 100% of their capacity. It's magnificent.

2. World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls

Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat and Rachel Talalay all operating at 100% of their capacity. It's magnificent. Again. But this time, it is also the end of an era. The most gorgeous, beautiful end of an era. Bleak and dark, yet hopeful and charming. Fanservicy, with a multi-Master story a Genesis of the Cybermen, yet never losing track of the real story. I really think it's the best New Who series finale. It felt like it was made for me.

1. Mummy on the Orient Express

And yet, out of all the episodes of this era, my love burns the brightest for this one. Jamie Mathieson made a simple murder mystery in space... And then he made it perfect. This is the episode where Peter Capaldi really becomes the Doctor. I've been thinking about the "sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones" speech for nearly a decade and it has helped me in some difficult times. It's precise, it's playful, it's dark... And above all, it's Doctor Who.

[mnkiss]

A quick list of animes I watched and don't want to forget 3:

Satsuriku no Tenshi - perfect for halloween, it was a short story with an easy to forget plot and characters I could root for. Tbh it hooked me with the never ending suspense and Zack. And I'll never forget the heartbreak at the end. So toxic and broken and tragic. The horror elements were fun, sometimes scary even so 7/10! Demon slayer - Its a bingeable shounen. The story is mid, the animation is cool, the MC is kind and likeable + i love how they show us the difference between "city japan" and "rural japan" (especially technology and behaviour-wise), but the constant screaming and second hand embarrassement is just too much. And besides getting stronger and using better techniques there are no character arcs (as of in S2). The boar + thunder kid just ruined the whole series for me t_t And the mountain peasant/animalistic superpower schtick is boring as hell after an episode or two. 6.5/10

Samurai Champloo - y2k graffiti/breakdance meets samurais. Boi, what an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G anime! The AV, OST, art style, all the fight scenes and character design... all of it is 10/10. Of course the found family trope can never be trumped, however the story itself was adventurous, not repetitive (except for them never having money lol), captivating, witty and emotional when it needed to be. Also the episodes tie into each other a lot, which makes the storytelling natural (+ its not just episodes put in order). The MC's are all 3D with weaknesses, believable behaviors and distinct manners + they have easy to remember names and styles. Watching the messy trio's friendship come to live is something I want to witness again for sure.

Konosuba! - A surprisingly bad and adorable parody of the isekai genre that I could only watch all the way through after the 3rd attempt. Most characters are completely helpless/stupid/naive but in an oddly charming way. The MC is ofc a pervert neet that is insufferable, but his oversexualized companions are cute, their friendship is cute, and their boobs are huge. Watch it while having dinner 6/10

Ouran highschool host club - light hearted and stupid and has some second hand embarrassement, but its a must watch! I wish the artstyle was different tho :/ 8.5/10

The Apothecary Diaries - Sherlock Holmes meets chinese historical romance fanfic. Beautiful, captivating and rewatchable. Very dreamy (but i have a feeling that theres going to be a lot of drama and sadness in the future? idk i havent started the light novel yet) 9/10

Midnight Occult Civil Servants - its so much more worth it than ppl think! Yes, the power of friendship is strong in this one, buuuut 1) its not overdone 2) the story is not sugarcoated and there are some interesting philosophical topics that we touch throughout the episodes 3) even though the MC is a naive and ridiculously hard working boy, he learns a lot from his mistakes and kinda grows up. His friends are lovely too! I just wish that their design was a bit more detailed, the animation got a bit more budget and that we could have gotten a bit more chapters... 8/10!

Mignon - a korean BL manwha adaptation. Each episode is around 5 mins so the story isnt too complicated. It has vampires (why dont we get more of them nowadays??) and sexy man-love. 6.5/10

Golden Boy - It is a golden comedy (and educational) anime and it's so humorous that I actually laughed watching it. At first it seems annoying/ridiculous but from the end of the first episode I understood the premise and the point of the anime. The boy doesnt learn much, but the women around him do. 7.5/10

Kamisama Kiss - I loved it at the beginning and then felt really let down by it, cuz 1) I learned about the end of the story and got pissed off (because ***SPOILER ALERT who the fuck thought that giving up your occult superpowers and long life is romantic? WHO?***) and 2) it got so rushed at the end. The art style is not my favorite ad some of the frames looked cheap, but I loved the comical use of expressions and some of the designs were really cool. 6/10 (and -100/10 because of the ending of the manga. Seriously. Fuck that.)

Frieren - A sentimental fairy tale. Wish it was an already finished tale tho but the manga's not finished soooo... The anime looks amazing, has a soothing soundtrack, I really like the colors, and also it's very well paced and you have to pay attention to the details (you're kinda forced to do so because there are way too many recaps lol). Bonus that the found family trope is strong, and it makes me feel secure knowing that the MC is extremely powerful. 8/10