#I focus on the characters I actually enjoy and don't harass the people that like the characters I don't

[the-cosmos-withinus]

Doest mine enjoyment of this man bother thee?

Just a dumb meme I made for a private laugh with my sister, but in light of recent events I decided to share. Sorta Shadow Puppets AU based but also general enough just fun for all Belos enjoyers

Here, have another one, on the house

[zu-is-here]

Zu, there's something I don't understand: Antis and ProShippers. I understand that the Pros are in favour of any kind of fictional ship, even controversial ones, and the Antis are not. But why just so much hatred towards each other. I mean, I've seen posts from Antis saying that Pros were disgusting (blah, blah, blah) because they liked incestuous ships for example. But I've also seen posts from Pros saying that Antis are just disrespectful people who harass people as soon as we manage to not mix fiction (the "problematic" ships with fictional characters) with reality (what we think would happen if it actually happened in our world) ≧〔゜゜〕≦

That's not really what Antis is about. I mean, it's just not being comfortable with "problematic" ships, it's just listening to your triggers (and/or for some, your values). That's not mean I think Pro's don't have values (on the contrary, some of them have more values than Antis. It's not because you like this or that ship that you have more or less values) ヾ(-_-;)

For example, I think I'm partly Anti. Because ships that talk about pedophilia (and more often than that glorify it instead of condemning it) make me really uncomfortable. The worst are those who blame the child, that really irritates me quickly. But I try as hard as I can to stay away from this kind of subject and content, I'm not going to insult an artist, harass them or display their art as repugnant ٩꒰･ัε･ั ꒱۶

Plus I know that even though I don't appreciate it when Dream and Nightmare are brothers and ship together, there are strangely exceptions: like they're not brothers in the story, or if they're artists I appreciate their art. Basically, the fact that it's an artist I like is going to play a part, because I'm not really going to look at the ship, just the art itself. If it's a post where you can imply that it's just platonic, or just brotherly love without anything more, I'll do it o(´^｀)o

I know it can be seen as a cowardly thing to say. Like, just because it's an artist I like, I decide to close my eyes and pretend it's just platonic. But I know that most of the time these artists do it in a sensible way, like it's not a toxic relationship and they're both OK with it. On the other hand, when it comes to pedophile ships, I just can't "tell the difference" as some people like to say, but I don't see what the problem is with just not wanting to see that kind of content（▼へ▼メ）

Like when I first joined the fandom, I enjoyed the SwapDream x Nightmare ship. But I grew up, I evolved like everyone else. And like everyone else, I asked myself what I liked and didn't like. And in almost five years, well, there are things I don't appreciate any more, while others have evolved differently and aren't bothered by it. So yes, maybe I'm being hypocritical because I'm turning my coat, but I decided to ask myself what I liked or didn't like and to follow my answer. Even though things have changed since I first arrived in this fandom, I decided to listen to what I liked and what I thought (=｀ェ´=)

I think Antis and Pros are just the same: they've decided to follow their own reasoning. The Antis feel that even if it's fiction, they're not comfortable with that kind of ship, and the Pros have decided that fiction should remain fiction and that we don't need to see anything more than that. So I don't understand why all this hatred towards each other.

There are extremes of course, on both sides. But that's what people don't seem to want to see: there are extremes in everything. There are extremes in every fandom, there are even extremes in 'real life'. People focus so much on the extremes that if you dare to be Anti you're a closed-minded stalker, and if you're a Pro you're someone who encourages that kind of relationship in the real world ┐(‘～`；)┌

I know I've been expressing myself badly all along, but I'm really sick of seeing posts from Anti people who say that all Pros are disgusting people who only encourage problematic relationships in front of young people who are easily influenced, or Pros who consider all Antis to be stalkers who can't understand that it's only fiction ヾ(￣~￣;)ﾉ

Basically, if we're in a fandom, it's just because we like this universe, so instead of focusing on this or that person who likes this ship (and that's bad, yikes), or that or that person who doesn't like it (and they're just closed-minded), we should just be interested in and enjoy this universe in the peace and quiet of our own corner (;° ロ°)

I'm sorry if that sounds like I'm angry and venting my anger at you. That's really not the case, it's just that I know you're a ProShipper but you've never denigrated Antis. So I thought it might be a good thing to talk to someone with a different point of view from me without being afraid of getting hate just because I think differently. And I also know that it calms me to talk to you. I'm really sorry if you took it the wrong way, that really wasn't my aim p(´⌒｀｡q)

Thank you so much for your trust and patience, I appreciate it a lot (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃♡

You say the right things from the heart, and there's nothing coward about admitting that you have every right to choose what you want to enjoy or not ☆

It is right to decide for yourself!╰(*´︶`*)╯ Problems start when you decide for others.

Without the labels, we're all the same: we came here to enjoy the content. This way, antis & proshippers could coexist peacefully, but some choose to judge others because they feel uncomfortable about things others enjoy, thereby provoking a response, etc.

Sometimes it is hard to try to understand each other, mostly because this would mean accepting others' point of view as equal and valid. But even with things we can't understand, we should always stay respectful to each other — that's the key ♡

[thefirstknife]

Hi Bel,

I keep seeing comments about people complaining about the quality of destiny’s writing and story in the last few weeks. I haven’t really engaged with destiny since season of defiance, what’s currently gotten everyone so riled up? I thought that people were enjoying Season of the Deep/Witch in terms of narrative, why is Season of the Wish causing people to deride the destiny writing staff again?

I don't know!

Deep and Witch have been absolute bangers in every aspect to me. I've been enjoying all interactions and lore tabs we've received. A lot of them are stuff that we've never had before, a lot of reunions and closures, a lot of development and interactions between characters who you wouldn't really think would have much in common.

Sloane's return and healing from what she's been through has been fantastic, Drifter opening up with her to help her because he also got help from others was fantastic, Sloane reuniting with Aisha and Shayura brought me to tears (Shayura's descent into madness was triggered by immense trauma of Sloane staying on Titan and Titan disappearing), everything with Sloane and Zavala...

Witch was just incredible in every single way; the focus on Eris, the amount of Eris and Ikora content!!!!! Everything about Xivu and Savathun and their interactions together!! Eris finally fulfilling her goal she promised Savathun YEARS ago, getting that closure.

Wish so far has been equally great to me. All the new stuff about Ahamkara is amazing, finally giving us proof for long-standing speculation about Ahamkara and how they aren't universally evil creatures and expanding on them as a species. I love all interactions we've had so far; finally we have Petra back, Mara's singleminded focus on figuring out how to defeat the Witness and her continuous work to improve as a person, ALL SJUR MENTIONS!!!!! I won't talk about the "leak" because we have no context for it so I will wait for the full story to be revealed before I can pass judgment; something that I think should be a lesson to learn from this entire year. Maybe wait for the story to finish before judging the story.

Literally everything this past year that involves Osiris, but especially this season now that he's back in his element with the Vex. And of course every little detail we get of him and Saint. Osiris honestly shaped this year for me with everything that he's done to uncover the biggest mysteries. I think a big reason is that a lot of people just don't like Osiris, which I consider a massive skill issue.

Other than that, I don't know what are the issues people have besides just not being interested in any of these storylines and attributing it to a nebulous "bad writing" claim. I also genuinely believe that way too many people get wrapped up too much in fandom, imagine storylines they want to see and then get disappointed when the actual story doesn't go there. Almost like people forget that this isn't their story and these aren't their characters. A lot of it is also fandom completely warping characters into not what they actually are and then feeling like the canon story is the one that's wrong.

Whatever is the reason, I guess everyone is entitled to their perspective of the story and everyone is free to explore the story in different ways through fanfics and AUs and whatever. I do that too!

But I would definitely ask people to be normal with how they engage in criticism, especially in the current state of affairs. Writers are developers; they experience a ton of harassment and negativity from the community and also from inside the company. And they are online: they can see what we're saying. It's been documented that community commentary has been used to harass writers:

Imprint this into your brain and never forget what these people had to go through. Let's not forget also the way people treated Seth Dickinson on social media when he was active with Destiny fans. "Fans" were actively arguing with him about his own work (telling him that HE is wrong) and were utterly disgusting towards him when he tried explaining what he wrote. His works are now hailed as the best writing in Destiny and people want him back. If I were him, I wouldn't want to come back ngl, not with how he was treated and not with how fans are still treating writers (and hey, Seth wrote LF Collector's Edition! So he was back, technically, this year!). Let's not forget that a lot of writers are members of various marginalised groups. And I'd definitely not want to go back with zero support from leadership.

Which is also an important aspect for all developers, including writers: sometimes they have orders they may not like, but can't argue against. They do the best they can with what they're given, the time they have and directions they receive. And with that in mind, I am enjoying everything we've gotten this year, obviously with some specific complaints about things I didn't particularly enjoy (like the universally mid reception of Defiance; I've spoken about my gripes with it before, a big one being the shafting of Suraya who should've at least been mentioned in a lore tab).

I can tell that there is passion in their work, even if maybe they would prefer to do more with it, but can't. Maybe even if they want to take different routes, but can't. But from what we got, I can feel that they care about this world and these characters. I can tell that someone lovingly wrote about Sloane and her friendships with two grieving women. I can tell that they deeply cared about Sloane's friendship with Zavala and that they loved showing us Saint and Drifter caring about a fellow trauma survivor.

I can tell that the writers are immensely careful and loving towards Eris; everything she went through was crafted with love and passion from both writers and her VA. Eris' story is such a fundamental aspect of Destiny and I can tell that this was important to the writing team and that they gave her everything they could to do justice to her character and her arc and her healing and her release from the cycle she was trapped in for so long.

I can tell that there are writers who care a lot about Osiris and Saint and their relationship. I can tell that someone cared a lot about expanding on Ahamkara and giving them more personalities. I can tell that someone cared DEEPLY about Sjur and Mara and that her repeated mentions are the passionate work of writers who want us to remember her.

I could go on. And I know that not everyone sees it this way, which is fine; we all have different ways of perceiving stories. I enjoy discussing things we in the fandom disagree on and I enjoy hearing different perspectives! Unfortunately, this has recently become rarer and rarer. And for the love of god, please try and treat writers with some respect, especially now, especially those who are still working and doing their best with the shitty situation they're in. None of the cries of "poor devs" ring true to me unless the same is given to writers, instead of treating them like punching bags.

[jamethinks]

I wanna say something that's really mean and a lot of people are gonna hate me for it but idk it has to be said. Yor is an extremely boring and flat character. And this is not me hating on her, it's actually the opposite because I love Yor and I believe she is the most complex and nuanced character on the rooster. The problem is that no one seems to let her be the complex interesting character she is.

And the reason is because of fucking blatant misogyny and it drives me up the wall. Yor isn't allowed to be anything but a mother. She isn't allowed to an assassin, she isn't allowed to have friends, hell she isn't even allowed to be a sister. She's just a mother and nothing else.

We don't really see Yor being an assassin. She doesn't train or work on her skills, she didn't even have to work on her strength, she was born that way. The only time we get to focus on her job is the cruise arc but even then she's not even doing her actual job, she's being a bodyguard??? And the entire time she felt bad because she wasn't with her family??? And after all of that she forced her self to go enjoy the vacation with them even though she just spent the being beat up by people actively trying to murder her. Mind you- when Loid comes back from beating the living fuck out her brother only to get his ass saved by Nightfall- he gets to lay in bed while Yor just brushes everyone's hair??? And to top it all off, after all the work that she did protecting that random woman and her baby, Twilight is the one who actually ends up saving the day by disarming a bomb. WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU PUT THAT IN??? WHY WAS HE EVEN THERE??? COULDN'T HE JUST VANISH THE WAY YOR REGULARLY DOES SO TWILIGHT CAN FOCUS ON HIS JOB??? LIKE GO HOME OH MY GOD

And then there's the friend thing. Twilight has friends, he wouldn't classify them as friends but they're clearly on his side. Namely, he has Franky who he trust so much he gets to go little adventures with him and take care of his daughter. We even get a look at their meeting. Then there's Yor, Yor has no actual friends. There are her coworkers who fucking hate her for some unclear reason. Apparently she's weird (not even that weird just not very social because why give her an actual personality) so that means you gotta bully her like your a bunch of high school girls even though you're married adult women (one with a whole ass child). And then you introduce a new female character except she hates her because she's jealous of her, why, oh because of a man of course. I can't even think of a single other female character Yor talks to, and she clearly doesn't have any guy friends because make her uncomfortable.

"But the whole point is that she was a shy shut in and being with Loid and Anya makes her more confident" and you see why that is an issue right? Because when she's single and childless, she's lost and confused and isolated. The only genuine r/ship she has is with Yuri and it's fucking Yuri man come on. The only time she seems to feel fulfilled is when she gets to be a mother and a wife because fuck everything else. Dead parents? Groomed into a serial killer? Parentification? Workplace harassment? Vaguely suicidal thoughts? Who cares, her biggest dilemma is that she can't cook.

Speaking of which, that was a random fucking retcon. Because before she wasn't a good cook but she was competent. And then all of a sudden she just can't at all? Yor's whole fucking thing is that she raised her brother by herself after both he parents fucking died and I am supposed to believe she didn't even learn how to cook? You couldn't even let her have one fucking skill. Just a useless woman who does nothing but offer to make tea and coffee. Apparently she can kick ass but only when she's paid to or when her family is threatened (or just a child in general).

And the cherry on the cake. Not even the fucking dog likes her. Why doesn't the dog like her? Because she can't cook.

I am not even going to try to open the can of worms that is Lieutenant Yuri Briar because where would I even begin.

The one genuine developed relationship she has is the one with Anya and it's based on absolutely fucking nothing. She just decided this random child is her daughter now and that she wants to be her mother despite never actually expressing any interest in parenthood or children. Like she was a-ok throwing away all her freedom from before and just becoming a mother overnight because????????

"Oh she raised her brother-" That's more of a reason for her to NOT want to raise a child especially so suddenly. But who cares right? The only significance of that storyline is explaining Yuri's odd obsession with his sister, it didn't affect her psychological development at all. Because at the end of the day, she's a woman and raising and caring for children is instinctual even at the age of 12.

[fertilize-my-eggs]

I swear if you get upset over my fictional problematic content like fanfic or fanart PLEASE JUST BLOCK ME!! Thanks (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

Again you don't have to follow me or enjoy my cringe content, you can simply block me or chose to ignore me because again this is only fictional content and I only used writing/drawing as coping mechanism but people fucking hate that apparently.

Like I've been writing dead dove problematic fanfics for two years about to be almost three, I don't understand how people always get so bothered that I'm proshipper and lolishotacon and make a cringe fanfics that bothers them so much. (I'm talking about this coz I still can't get over the fact that people call me slurs, names over fanfic when I first started writing fanfic.) like focus on serious issues that happened like I can't imagine getting upset over fictional content shdhdhjdj.

Like I get it, you can dislike some content but again stop harassing others just coz you don't like fictional taboo tropes, people say shit like fictional content is worse than the actual thing.... It's insane to see someone say that over fictional content online these days.

Can people stop comparing reality into fictional content not all of us doing that, encourage people to do the crime or are okay with the tropes irl, you can be against it irl and still enjoy fictional content because fiction stays as fiction... Unless you really can't tell the difference so please get some medicine help for that, it's not normal to get physically aggressive and want others to get hurt just coz you don't like shigadeku, dekudabi or himkoshiga or any ship of two fictional characters together. 😭😭😭

[saccharinemeat]

hi! VERY strong anti here. trying to be civil. just genuinely asking, why do you like proships. genuinely. why. what makes them so good to you? to me, they, well, make me feel nauseous and gross. sometimes even violated depending on what it is. what about these, honestly, gross ships is so good to you? what makes you think they're good? i'm not looking for an argument. just,, answers.

Alright, I'll answer in good faith here, because i really appreciate not picking a fight or an argument

First off, please, don't say , "you like proships" proship doesn't mean "problematic ships", it means "pro" (as in favor of) shipping, that is to say, it's an anti harassment stance on letting people do whatever they want, based off the old fandom saying "ship and let ship"

you dont need to like problematic ships to be proship, you just need to be against harassment of people who enjoy darker or more 'edgy' media, and that's it

As for you question in itself, it's complicated, some problematic ships i enjoy stem from my own trauma and family issues, particularly my abusive mother. Reading and making content with parental incest gives me comfort through the fact that its an inconditional , codependent love. In fiction it feels comforting, but i know reality is way different first hand.

For age gap ships, theres a whole aspect about having someone take care of you, and also again, love regardless of situation, plus there is self insertion as it makes me think of back when i was a teen and had crushes on older people. I couldn't act on them, and I knew that any adult willing to date a child is no good. But within fiction,you can write about it and it would be harmless, generally speaking

For dead dove or more problematic stuff,such as abusive relationships, theres again the desire for love no matter what, and the situations those develop in, are usually trauma bonding for the involved characters

Now, these are not the ONLY reasons i enjoy such ships. There's also the aspect that i just like some of them aesthetically, or i see their chemistry in a romantic light, Or i have a streak of sadism towards a certain character.

Another reason is the potential for interesting fan content, particularly fanfiction, wholesome ships are sweet and cute and can be hot even, but it's all very by the book. The exploration of their emotions, thoughts and actions in messed up situations is more interesting to me

For sibling incest particularly, i just feel that they're usually developed in such a way that it can easily be seen as romantic, since we spend so much time with them, and seeing them fight and bond and laugh and promise to be together, that it just clicks different

and, It's understandable that you feel nauseated and grossed out by a lot of these, in fact, there are problematic ships and tropes i hate and despise, despite the fact that i love other messed up content for example

- I hate bully/victim ships

- I hate uncle/niece ships

- I hate cheating stories

- I hate forced feminization

- I dislike enemies to lovers

- I dislike anything involving characters I consider too young

- I dislike vomit and sick fic

a lot of people love these! but i dont! some of them make my skin crawl! but i dont go and yell at them, i dont comment on their things, I just block them and move on, and focus on the stuff i DO like ,which is what i generally suggest

Fictional exploration of darker stories is okay, and generally harmless. I know the argument that it can be used to groom people, but truly, that's not the fault of the content or its creator, the blame is fully on the groomer.

Also, if we started banning or bashing things that can be used to groom others, we'd have to ban stuff like plushies, candy, adult collectionists of cartoon merch, comics, books,etc etc

ANYTHING can be used to groom a person, if there's a groomer targeting them. nothing is safe if there's an actual pro contact pedophile with the intention to groom a child. The only way to prevent these things is to be taught about them, and to learn to not take life advice from fanfiction, which should be a given.

Like seriously, think about it. let's see, a safe hobby, non fandom related....

okay, imagine theres a minor who's very interested in learning about history and historical maps of the world.

This kid joins an unsupervised group online, and talks about wanting to make friends, and does make some nice, age appropriate friends

They feel generally safe online

Then,a groomer targets them, befriends them and brings up the fact that they collect maps, and they love history just like the kid.

then moves into talking about 'old customs' and starts planting the idea that old societies were in the right about child marriage and so on, until they actually gets what they want, and commits a crime.

The groomer didn't need a fanfic to convince the kid

they just needed to manipulate the child into trusting them, using whatever the kid liked.

who do you think it's at fault here?

the kid? the history book? the group? the internet? Nope.

It's the groomer's fault for targeting the child

and it's the parent's fault for not teaching online safety to their kid.

[cartoonscientist]

this has probably been touched on before but so much of fionna and cake ties into the theme of self-value and self care by making references to (what is traditionally viewed as female-centered) fan culture and specifically the debate around whether fanfiction should have “some basic level of quality” or whether it should be considered an unbridled form of self expression closer to art therapy than writing a professional novel (it obviously comes down on the side of the latter)

the theme of Simon not wanting to discuss his “old stuff” that he finds embarrassing and painful because he wrote it in a very bad place mentally, what he sees as mediocre, emotionally masturbatory wish fulfillment that says way too much about his psyche, although it’s shown that other people get a lot out of the Fionna and Cake series, suggesting that it’s a versatile work of fiction which readers can interpret to fit their own emotional needs even if it’s not exactly “high art”

or Scarab’s ultimately self-destructive obsession with wiping out what he considers a “mediocre” “abomination”, even though everyone around him is telling him to chill and let it go and focus on more important things because it doesn't really matter. for years, and even today, fandom has been plagued with (usually cishet male these days, but women used to make up a far larger portion of the snark/anti-fan community) fans who don't only dislike shipping and original characters, they actively seek out creators who do enjoy these things to harass them. or, I'm sure you've seen those people on twitter who get really mad about the fact that leaving long critical notes on ao3 fics (when not prompted or specifically requested not to) is widely considered Pretty Fucking Mean

both Simon and Scarab are basically being told by the narrative to take it easy, to not care so hard about like, the ontological definitions of "art" and "quality". Simon learns to value Fionna and her world, realizing that they have a life beyond the circumstances he believed he created them under. (but when he again tries to assume control, to sacrifice his own well-being for people he feels are more deserving of love than him, his space god girlfriend basically slaps him and says "you are so special and amazing on your own simon, you don't need to hurt yourself, you don't need to try to handle everything by yourself, and actually sacrificing yourself when you don't need to is kind of a dick move, and yes I know from experience because I'm omniscient now" [which ties into what's kind of the thesis statement of the show, Simon and Fionna both feeling like they're not special and don't deserve to exist or receive care and affection because they aren't exceptional, ie don't have magical abilities/live in an adventurous fantasy world; basically, you don't NEED to be super talented and amazing and saintlike to deserve to be happy, you just need to BE, and do your best as a human])

FOOTNOTE: when Scarab told Fionna that what she did wrong was exist, it was painfully reminiscent of transphobic (and anti-ND) harassment (and ultimately added another layer of satisfaction and validation to his defeat) and tbh it's hard for me to believe the writers didn't intend that at least subconsciously

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: Played by Naima Simone

4/5. 9/3/24.

Vibes: widower hero, hockey romance, "it's just a warm body", love after loss

Heat Index: 7/10

Still grieving the loss of her professional and personal partner, firefighter Adina can't resist opening the journal she finds after a fire at a hockey facility. The journal details the kind of loss she understands deeply--but when she brings it back to the owner, widower and star player Solomon, he's furious that she got a glimpse at his innermost feelings. But as he realizes that Adina understands where he's coming from better than anyone else, enmity gives way to bonding, which gives way to a fierce physical attraction... The question is, can either one risk falling in love again?

Oof. Played is a unique take on the hockey romance subgenre (and not only because Solomon is the only Black hockey hero I've read thus far, and the book doesn't shy away from how white the sport is). While the hockey is a part of it, the firefighting is no less so. It's about two people who genuinely love their jobs, but have also let themselves lose who they are in it because they can't face the reality of their new lives. It's about falling in love out of understanding and pretending that it's just physical. And it's about the inevitable messiness that comes with falling for someone after losing another.

This makes it sound super heavy--and I wouldn't say it totally is? Like, there's definitely some heavy stuff here, but overall the book is fun and sexy and dramatic. It just also takes the time to think deeply about its plot, and I appreciate that quite a bit.

Quick Takes:

--The thing I really enjoy about this book is that Adina and Solomon actually get each other from the jump, arguably before they even meet. However, they--especially Solomon--really fight that, which kind of makes it easier to pass it off as something physical. They don't act on the physical too quickly (though I wouldn't call this a slow burn either) but there's this conscious effort by both of them to sort of focus on that because the other option is... what? Being in love? Perish the thought!

--This is a single parent romance! Solomon is not only a widower, but the father of a young son. I'm very vocal about my iffiness re: kids in romance novels, but this one was done well in my opinion. First off, he actually reads like a child. Second, he's definitely a big part of Solomon's life, but a part of what the novel confronts is that Solomon has been leaning on his in-laws as coparents since his wife died (which is a super real thing, right?). This not only provides us with good plot and character stuff... it also ensures that we don't have too much of the kid on the page. I know, I'm mercenary, but it's smart writing!

Still, Solomon being this really loving but imperfect father so worked for me (and Adina). I loved the way he was presented as totally affectionate and vocally loving towards his son. So many books focus on like, this daddy's girl thing with single father heroes, and... I don't know. We need more depictions of fathers who kiss and cuddle and dote on their little boys, right?

--This novel actually tackles some hard stuff alongside the romance I'll give readers a heads up and say that while it doesn't venture into sexual assault territory, Adina does have to deal with some pretty serious sexual harassment at work. At points, I did think there was a LOT packed in here, but one thing I did appreciate was that there wasn't this pretty "tied with a bow" resolution to everything. There are some very human issues confronted here, and the resolutions felt like... very humanly in progress.

That said, I did kind of feel like the ending was a bit rushed (and I have my quibble with one aspect) and some trimming of those other aspects might have left us with more time for a smoother resolution.

--One of the things I appreciate about this book is how honest it is about falling in love after losing someone. Often, I think romance can be rather cruel to the dead spouse, as it were, and diminishes the relationship... which cheapens the central romance to me. Here, you see exactly how much both Solomon and Adina loved their lost partners. They didn't get to choose to end the relationships. They were cut off. Who knows what would have happened if their partners had lived, but that's the reality we're living with, right? And it doesn't lessen their love for their new partners at all.

The Sex:

Ooooh, it's good. There aren't too many full-length sex scenes in the novel, but those that you do get are very long, preceded by a lot of tension, and INTENSE. Solomon is super growly and aggressive, and Adina kind of gets to let her own naturally dominant side take a bit of a backseat when he's tossing her around. We love to see it.

Approaching tough topics with grace, Played is a hot, emotional book that remains a good time throughout, even when it gets deep. (And the book isn't the only one that gets deep heeeeey--.) Definitely a "hockey romance for people who don't like hockey romances... and also those that do" kind of novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[variousqueerthings]

you know what, I actually quite like Curse Of The Black Spot

maybe the reason M*ffat kept returning to over-complicating Stuff was because people didn't give enough credit to a simple plot every once in awhile. this is a good breather! I like breathing! (you know who else likes breathing? Rory Williams)

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 7/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored): 8/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 9/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 6/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 8/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 10/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 6/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 9/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 8/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 7/10

FULL RATING: 79/100 (if I can count….)

This is so funny, this is the highest M*ffat-era rated episode so far! and all you had to do was give Amy a sword and put Rory in jeopardy! Knocked the others out of the water (the water, get it? Pirate episode)

OBJECTIFICATION: I knocked it down a little point, juuuust because I think the casting and dressing of Lily Cole, because the pirates are meant to think this is a siren, is a bit of a reach

like I get it, she's meant to seem "sirenesque" but sirenesque could've been something incredibly non-human-looking, or a confused amalgamation of human-looking ooorrrr... like I see what they were trying to do here, but I think they could have been way more interesting than just "hot woman"

(notice though, Amy is finally free from this point! yes, she's actually not suuuper practically dressed, but it's a bit of a changeup in this season + she gets a longcoat)

PLOT-POINT: so this isn't a big "interiority" episode as suuuuch, but! but but but! we get more Amy/Rory that I actually enjoy!

we get Amy being possibly a tad jealous (although I think it was also a joke on her part) that hypnotised!Rory called the siren beautiful, and we get her being incredibly worried for his well-being

this is kind of like the flipside to the last episode (+ several episodes in s5) where it felt like it was heavily centred on Rory's concern for Amy, and yes, there was Amy's Choice, there was Cold Blood, but that's not concern, that's like... Dead dead Rory. he dies, there's nothing she can actually do other than be like "yo that was traumatic"

I think this Concern is more powerful to their relationship, than Death -- because I wasn't seeing the Concern much in s5, on Amy's side, and on Rory's it often felt quite... patronising.. in the way it was written

SO! like yeah, they're cute now. I know she has to sign a thing to show she's willing to sign him out and the episode ending kind of hinges on that, still don't think they're married yet in my internal "I'm changing the pacing" timeline. spins the "make up new hinge" wheel and goes she says she's married and Rory is like "yo you said we were married, that's so cool" (flipside to Vampires of Venice where they were engaged and she said he was her brother)

yeah, I like that

COMPLEXITY: It's super simple. there's a supposed siren that's after some pirates, except now we investigate and woops, she's actually a space!nurse-program who thought they were all dying, and now the pirates are flying through space

it's cute

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: the aforementioned Amy and Rory dynamic is the main thing

also that mysterious woman in a hatch again... hmmm.... and the episode also semi-pointlessly reminds us that Amy is still schrödinger's pregnant

I also quite liked that Amy had a flashback to the Doctor dying, that weighs on her. we enjoy a bit of weighing. some things should weigh

COMPANIONS MATTER: AMY!!!!!! LOOK AT HER!!!!! SHE'S TAKEN TO THE HOLD and you're going "oh no, another thing where Amy is put aside and the Doctor saves things and then she gets let out again," but NO, she finds a sword, dons a longcoat and hat, and fights a bunch of pirates! good fun!

and then the Doctor asks her, shall we do this, you okay with that and it's her emotional connection to Rory that drives the plot forwards, and then she saves Rory's life

Rory is mostly there to damsel for once, and it's fine, because Amy has needed this her entire run, while Rory needs to understand that Amy cares about him

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: useless bench, as is occasionally what's needed! like, still useful in some ways, but mainly just going "ah yeh, I was wrong last time." also a bit of a contrast to Vincent and the Doctor, where his not figuring shit out led to a creature being accidentally killed and there wasn't a lot done with that

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: it's not Low, it's just like... yeah, doesn't matter in this one, it's fine. Pirates

“SEXINESS”: YOU KNOW WHAT I APPRECIATE? I APPRECIATE THAT NOBODY MADE A JOKE ABOUT AMY BEING A SEXY PIRATE! OR AMY MAKING A JOKE ABOUT FUTURE ROLEPLAY AS A PIRATE! YOU'D THINK THIS WOULD BE A LOW BAR, BUT IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED YOU KNOW IT COULD!

INTERNAL WORLD: simple. pirates. son stowaway. now, space pirates.

POLITICS: um. pirates? knocked it down a bit for the monogamy and aforementioned boring Siren who's just like... hot

FULL RATING: 79/100 (if I can count….)

So this episode is strong in that it's finally giving Amy perspective! and feelings that are about her, not about how others feel about her feelings! and a sword!

it's weaker in the story itself, especially the design of the creature-of-the-weak, and it's absolutely a simple little episode. In the grand scheme of Doctor Who it's not the Bestest Most Badass Episode Of All Time, but I think it's underrated, especially since it ends on Space Pirates and Amy has a sword

[msfbgraves]

I always enjoy your takes, so my question is: why do you think Daniel is characterized 95% of the time as the "bottom" in a male/male relationship? He even gets this with his wife Amanda sometimes! In Omegaverse stories he is almost always an Omega, and if not, either gets "bitched" into one, or is still the bottom as a Beta. Is it the smaller stature? Personality? The doe eyes?

I think a couple of things come together. Perhaps, for a lot of female writers, Daniel is easy to project on; he's treated as a lot of women are several instances in canon. Secondly, Ralph really doesn't mind playing Daniel as frightened and doe eyed; or at least playing the follower in a relationship to a strong man or woman. Still, if you only restrict this to Daniel, he may be happy to be sweet and doe eyed with Ali, Amanda, Mr. Miyagi, Johnny Chozen and Terry, he is not that way with his mother, Kumiko and absolutely not exclusively that way with everyone he does make doe eyes at. I really wonder which sides men who write him or gay women who write him emphasise, and/or other people to whom bratting/bottoming/receiving doesn't appeal. I feel he's very good in being the yin to someone's yang or, with Kumiko and his Ma, the yang to someone's yin. But with such a lack of interesting actual female characters around, Daniel being a rich character and clearly not opposed to playing the preyed on part, he's a goldmine for people who feel that way to project on, many of whom are women who identify with someone who is both often treated as real life women are and is still allowed to be a lead with a personality, because Daniel is a guy. And there are so few of those characters around. If you want a man who takes the lead to write about, that's like 98% of all characters on tv. So if you finally have someone who makes scared doe eyes at people and defers to his wife (!) and knows from experience what it means to be disregarded and sexually harassed in canon, why focus on those other traits? He has them but the girls and the gays (though again, since Daniel is apparently also a lesbian, I'm curious how they see him!) never get anyone to play with, who actually goes through what he goes through and is allowed to be a lead! And contain multitudes. It's too good. And if Daniel has orher traits, that's fine, but those don't fulfill that need to be actually represented. Because women nowadays so seldom get to be feminine and human. Even Sansa Stark only gets to be cutthroat and feminine whilw constantly having to say she's stupid and frilly. And female power is so often magical, which, cool, but magic and superpowers are not available to us. And some women, like Daniel, don't want to be masculine to be accepted. Daniel when he wants is gleefully flirty, making bedroom eyes at customers. He gets to revel in a way women still so seldom do without getting punished. Joan Holloway? She may look like the femininity gives her power but only until it gets her sexually assaulted. That only stops when she takes a more masculine coded role. Daniel doesn't aspire to that. He wants to cook, do kata, take care of his kids and seduce people into buying cars with zero excuses.

[tribow]

2015 comes in on the touhou community to drop the bombshells that are Urban Legend in Limbo and Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom. No miss no bomb score chasers and lunatic players had no idea what they were getting into and the fanon takes a massive hit. No one was ready for this.

This post bleeds quite a bit into 2016 as well. A lot of fanworks started adjusting interpretations and I was simply lost in the sauce. So anyway, here's my findings:

A new ship sails with Mokou and Sumireko due to their interactions in ULiL. Kaguya ain't happy about it.

I've noticed Raiko (and by extension, the Tsukumo sisters) be commonly depicted with tattoos. I don't know if this is a reference to something or if it's just inspired by metal/rock bands.

Wakasagihime gets some of the saddest works I've seen centered around one character in a while. She goes from being a part of a comedic trio to a lot of social trauma.

Sekibanki gotta be one of the funniest touhou characters of all time.

Seiran totally never killed someone! It's just paste! Don't worry about it!

Ringo collapses the instant she stops eating dango.

At this time Junko was not harassing Reisen at all! In fact, in most works I saw they actually somewhat got a long. Enjoy it while it lasts Reisen.

Junko commonly mistakes Seiga and Kaguya as Chang'e.

What if you place other sphere-like objects on Hecatia's head? A lot of works run with this joke.

For obvious reasons, Clownpiece tends to use a lot of english words or speak entirely in katakana

We are at peak psycho Koishi hours. Koishi getting a knife was all that was needed for this fanon interpretation to take over a while. Koishi's Heart Throbbing Adventure is no longer the main inspiration.

Sagume tends to have a very close relationship with Doremy since in many fanworks, her ability doesn't work in the Dream World so Doremy is a character she can freely talk to.

Tsukumo sisters have fallen under the Aki sisters routine of butting into a situation just so they can be involved.

The Tsukumos also seem to have their dynamic flipped for some reason. Benben would be crazy and Yatsuhashi would be cool-headed. Weird.

Kosozu is now an incident magnet and sometimes enjoys it.

Momiji's sword seems to keep getting smaller every year, I remember when she always had a buster sword.

Tojiko has been suppressing her anger as a vengeful spirit, but this also means if she does get mad, all of that anger comes out at once as lightning. The entire UFO and TD crew have to balance antagonizing each other, but not pissing off Tojiko.

Seija now has a mom. (It's Sagume).

Junko is very nice to the fairies

Tewi gets presented as a badass a lot around this time. Maybe she doesn't want Seiran to show her up.

Sumireko knows who Maribel and Renko are (this is not the case in canon...I think.)

Lots of Watatsuki sisters content here, although they're mostly used for catching up with the Eientei gang.

Lunarians can't resist filthy Earth food. It's just too good....well....at least until Sagume accidentally says it out loud.

Kokoro just wants to fight people, she'll use any justification. It's practically how she talks to others.

Hecatia becomes the weird t-shirt girl thanks to Sanae's dialogue in LoLK. She'll never live this down.

As usual, for a lot of the established touhou cast, their fanon portrayals don't change too much. However, the status quo was greatly shifted by the Lunarians. Eientei becomes more of a plot point in many doujins now and that is much different to how it has been for a while.

Bit of a side note, but I really like how a lot of doujins gave Junko a wide-eyed, but empty stare at all times. Really reinforces how broken of a mental state she must be in despite keeping up a casual conversation with most characters.

I feel this is around the time when there was a bit of a resurgance in touhou fans. Not that it was dying out, but much of the fan content did not focus on newer characters nearly as much as this year was.

[marcodiazisatransgirl]

First, Breastforce claimed that their entire interest in this started from Marco in a dress from St. O's. The person asking about Marco in a dress was trying to bait Adam into saying something about the theory.

Most people who repeat the theory do it because of the dress, not the "dysphoria" (which is actually body dysmorphic, involving obsessive focus on a perceived flaw in appearance.)

I know that you're not going to believe any of this. It's upsetting to see you misgender anything, especially when I've been misgendered so many times in the last 6 years. Also your comments about my physical state don't help, making a joke out of it is cruel which is how I interpreted it.

And being transphobic is another jump to conclusion that doesn't make either of us look.good. I'm not transphobic. I'm transgender and have had years of reflection on iit. Calling me transphobic is like a punch in the gut.

As far as Daron, all she said was that she always intended Marco to be the type of guy who wasn't hung up on doing some things that are typically feminine without any concerns for his masculinity. It seems from an experience she had when she was young with her best friend who was male. When I asked her if Marco was going to grow up and be a good male role model, she said yes. Twice she did.

I won't deny I love the character a lot. I won't deny that some of the crew liked that some people saw themselves in Marco. But even if you look at the storyboard that everyone points to, it was a doll of a persona Marco already distanced himself from except for a royalty payment of $650. It was a capitalist business deal and nothing more. That's all the merch was ever about. A way to give Marco spending money during adventures. It wasn't about some secret "he's going as a she" behind everyone's back. It was all about the money. If Marco really cared about it on the level you theorize, he wouldn't have taken money out of the profits and would have done it in the best interests of the girls.

In conclusion I see this is misgendering. While it is a fictional character, some of the ways you've interacted with me have also been along the same lines, about me being transphobic and making light of my physical problems which is hitting below the belt.

Hi. I've been nice to you thus far. I've argued with you on your level, I've met your points on good faith. I've countered every argument you've given me with relative politeness considering how you've harassed me and my community, or ignored you when i was tired of said harassment. But now?

Get fucked, mate.

Where the fuck do you get off with this? Where do you see the moral high ground attacking trans people - OTHER trans people! - for finding identity with a character in a cartoon, in a community on tumblr. How childish are you that you cannot fathom other people having different interpretations of the source material. How petty and small-mided and hateful can you possibly be that you see trans people finding joy and community in a fictional character on tumblr and decide that it's hateful. How puritanical is your mindset that you cannot stand the idea of other people existing outside of your point of view.

Jen has said that she's not angry at you but I fucking am. Grow the fuck up you petulant, whinging, tantrum-throwing child. Flinging baseless accusations - I've never talked about your physical state, I barely know what it is beyond you being physically disabled in some way, which I found out after the majority of my interactions with you. I'm sorry, but you do not get to use your own problems as justifications for bullying and attacking others. You do not get to play the victim when it is you going after people apropos of nothing. It is you sending hate to fan artists just minding their own business, it is you going into our tags to complain about how we enjoy and interpret media.

And no, I don't fucking stalk you so I didn't know you were trans. Congratu-fucking-lations asshole! Looks like trans people can be just as toxic as the cis! Thanks for taking one for the team! And I'm sowwy that it's huwwrtful but your harassment and condemnation of the theory fucking stinks of transphobia. If you just disliked the theory, that's fine - I know plenty of polite and nice and non-transphobic people who don't think it's correct - people like Adam McArthur who would be appalled at your harassment at people over different interpretations of his character. Dozens of other tumblr users dislike the theory and they don't fall into your emotionally manipulative bullshit. That's a you specific problem.

(and while we're on the cast/crew topic: Daron Nefcy would be appalled at your use of her words as a gotcha for your bullshit cyber bullying. they mean nothing other than her affirming your interpretation of the character)

Your preposition is fundamentally flawed, you base your entire judgement of this theory on the fact that the idea started when a trans woman related to a character in a way you didn't think was valid. Your idea that somehow feminine men are underrepresented in fiction is completely ridiculous. But to go the fuck off about how even being perceived as a trans woman is dangerous to cishet men and then land on the conclusion that the problem is trans women? That's fucking transphobic.

But fine. You're trans so you can't be transphobic. You must of course have a ready list for canonical trans women for us to have flocked to back in 2016 when the theory was popular! Actually, I managed to find four examples (off the top of my head) of major characters in children's cartoons, the genre we're talking about. So you must be able to find the same! No? What about that same list from today? C'mon! If feminine men are so underrepresented compared to trans women, there must be more of them today at least! Fine we'll make it easy - it doesn't have to be a children's cartoon! Show me any western cartoon from any point in history where there was a trans woman as a major character. She doesn't even have to be the main character! Just a part of the reoccurring cast.

Show. Me. One.

But somehow those poor cis men are the ones victimized by us mean trans people.

I'm so fucking sorry you feel personally victimized by (other) trans people seeking representation. I'm so fucking sorry you are so badly triggered by (other) trans people (many of whom have dysphoria) identifying dysphoria in a work of fiction. But--newsflash asshole!--you don't get to bring your problems into a public space and harass people about them. You are the one in the wrong here, but your head is too far up your own arse to even dream about treating other people like actual human beings.

So, yeah. You're an immature, transphobic, bullying piece of shit and I want you to stay the fuck away from me, my friends, and my fucking tags.

[radsloth95]

I wish we had women only cities. And before you call me out and say that gender segregation isn't the long-term answer to dealing with men, consider instead the long-term positive effects a place like this could have for the women who lived there.

An entire city with apartments and houses and gyms and schools and outdoor spaces which are all only for women. Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault could have a place to heal. Every woman could go to the gym without being harassed. All of the stores would be women-run companies with ethical supply chains. We could have a ban on beauty advertisements (which isn't to say there would be a complete lack of things like hair salons or makeup being sold, just that there would be no models on billboards or on posters in public places imposing an unrealistic ideal). We could have clinics and hospitals with all female staff.

And we could create all the things we like about the rest of the world but take away the misogynistic parts so that we could truly enjoy them. For example:

-we could create Anime and films that don't sexualize every female character.

-we could have bars and clubs for dancing where people could wear what they want and no one would ever get groped or hit on while trying to have fun with friends

-we could recreate so many aspects of healthcare but in far more efficient ways that cut out the capitalist gains and the bias against women and instead focus on actual health issues

I think about this all the time and I just think it would be a wonderful place.

[graylinesspam]

I’m still trying to define my asexuality for myself, and your posts have helped clear up that definition, I think. How did you come to defining your own? If you’re comfortable talking about it, no worries if not

Honestly, i am very uninterested in strict definitions. Instead of making things overly complicated by trying to define exactly what it means to me, I have oversimplified. Asexuality is non or very little sexual attraction.

I don't see the need for making it any more complicated than that because I generally don't bother to explain myself or my sexuality to other people. I do so on this website purely because I've seen a lot of my fellow ace people, such as yourself, struggling especially in the wake of the acephobic wave that hit tumblr a few years back.

If you want to know about my personal experience trying to figure out what the fuck sexual attraction even is. I'm gonna be real, idek.

I have never in my life seen another person's physical body and thought, "yeah, that arouses me. I'd like to have sex with them".

In all reality i think sex might be a fun activity in the way that like smoking weed is a fun activity. It's stimulating to the senses and the hormones within my body. But that's it. I came to the conclusion that I am ace in part because it is very hard for me to conceptualize sex.

I either find myself thinking of it selfishly as a way for my own orgasms to be achieved. Or conversely as a way to do that for someone else. I have to center one person as the focus of sex when i think about it. Either i am getting or they are. The idea of sex as an activity that two people are engaging in together for intimacy is foreign to me. It seems more like a service being performed. Which i have come to realize is a very cold and sterile way of viewing it.

Even in the most romantic way of viewing it i still see it as just another act of service. I might bring someone pleasure in the same way I might make them coffee before they wakeup. Or cook for them. Or run an errand. Or buy them a gift. It's showing affection but the way i view it seems to be surface level to the way that others do.

I say that I am neutral to the topic of sex because I honestly don't care about it half as much as everyone else seems to. It's just a tool.

And because i don't experience attraction to people i don't experience the tolerance to them and the side effects of sex that other people do. There are no rose colored glasses. I don't like excessive bodily fluids. spit and sexual fluid doesn't become less gross. genitals don't become less weird. the concept of sticking your genitals together for stimulation doesn't become less bizarre. Some allosexual people talk about experiences where they're "brought out of it" or "icked out" basically turned off and suddenly bothered by the sexual process. Well I am never turned on by my partner and therefore am always kinda there.

Which isn't to say I can't enjoy sex. it's just that engaging with another person has so many caveats, and stipulations, and downsides that i find myself very unmotivated to engage with it.

I don't like that sex drive really just means libido, because I have plenty of libido, but I have basically no drive to actually engage in sex. I want to cum. end of story. Everything that gets in the way of that is just a complication.

And of course I feel like such a douche whenever I think something like that. Because it legitimately sounds like dialogue from a narcissistic male lady harassing character in a 90s sitcom.

which is why generally I just avoid it all together. There is something more to sex that a lot of people are looking for, a kind of connection , intimacy, and validation that I cannot provide them.

Whatever it is, I don't have it.

(The tone of this is very frustrated, which honestly, with this topic, currently, I am. But i don't mean to be discouraging. Your experience can be and probably is different from mine. And if it's not...at least we're in this boat together.)

[xxduncandonutxx]

(rape fetish and abuse mention) Tbh the only reasons I share my idol opinions through anonymous messages is I don’t want idol to start being weird towards me , but also I just don’t want to be a hypocrite?

Like I don’t believe people should hide their opinions (within reason) and indie shows aren’t immune to criticism , but there also comes a point when it’s like “ok yeah they’re doing this to purposely bait people now” as well as some of the stuff he says on unicornmantises making both his art and criticisms look worse

Idol does not deserves to be harassed for not liking Viv and redesigning her characters. HOWEVER I 100% believe idol was purposely baiting Viv fans with his (recent) redesigns. idol has made several dozen posts talking about how awful both Viv and her fan bases are, Hell, he even claims one of his friends was abused by Viv (which sucks) and yet has a surprise pikachu face whenever he made a redesign and people made a connection between the redesigns and the very public posts of him crapping on Viv and her works

Like, oh wow, why would anyone guess someone who claims Viv is an abuser and has a rape fetish among other heinous things posted on a public tumblr blog, would make redesigns out of hate/spite? It’s totally normal to make fan art for people who abused your friends, right guys?

Talking from experience , I used to be active on TikTok and would bait people with my opinions on a controversial web comic in order to get engagement, but I left when the app as a whole started taking a toll on my mental health and I realised baiting people wasn’t a good way to gain attention

The difference though, is I genuinely do still enjoy engaging with the comic, I just knew being public about liking it on TikTok would get people to interact with me after I first shared my opinions and got hate for it, and again I know better now that wasn’t a productive use of my time and to instead focus on stuff that brings me positivity

So I just can’t really imagine doing that for something you hate? My enjoyment out of baiting people came from the fact I could laugh at teenagers getting angry that some rando (me) was enjoying themselves instead of blocking and moving on, idol just baits people to surround himself with cartoon opinions for a cartoon he doesn’t even

If idol actually interacts with me or something particular happens I might have the nerves to be more bolder with my opinions but for now I rather try keeping myself in check and give myself the moment to go “hmmmm should I really post this? Is it really worth potential drama or should I just vent to a friend instead?”

I hope you’re doing okay

Yeah I'm doing fine, also agree that if Idol is doing this as bait then they should really stop because this could mentally hurt him.

But I don't think he made those redesigns to bait people, rather just for fun.

[gillianthecat]

For the asks game: 1 (Kieta Hatsukoi and Theory of Love), 9 (Cherry Magic and The Untamed) and it seems you already answered the majority of the others but I hope no one asked 14 yet? 💌

hi! @midnight-sun16! Thanks for these asks!

1. name a drama and I’ll pick my favourite scene in that drama:

Kieta Hatsukoi - I'll go with the scene on the swing set (apparently I have a thing for scenes on swing sets?) where Aoki and his friend Hashimoto realize that they don't actually have a crush on the same person. I just thought it was very cute how they had resignedly agreed that they were love rivals and then when they finally said the names of crushes out loud they figured out that the eraser had erased part of the name. It was funny and cute and a good depiction of a sweet friendship.

In my drafts there's a gif of the scene where Aoki spill juice on Ida; that one is also very cute, so maybe this is a good excuse to post it. Honestly, while I enjoyed Kieta Hatsukoi a lot, the details didn't really stick in my mind. Perhaps if I rewatched a different scene would stand out.

Theory of Love - There's a scene in a train station in episode 11. I don't want to give spoilers so I won't say more, but... yeah.

9. name a drama and I’ll pick my favourite character oh, these two are both hard ones. I could have so many favorites from each, for so many different reasons. 

Cherry Magic - ok. I've decided I'm going to use this opportunity to go on a mini version of my rant about Cherry Magic that I've been meaning to write. So I will pick Kurosawa, for who he was and who the story wouldn't let him be. He had so much interesting potential - this "perfect" guy who had a crush on the awkward one, the guy who thought he always had to be perfect and please other people... It's such an interesting character, but the show never allowed him to change. We got a glimpse at his own struggles in that flashback about the dinner where he was being sexually harassed, and where Adachi helps him catches Kurosawa's eye. But then it felt like that thread just got dropped, and Kurosawa never got to have his own story, it was all about Adachi.

I mean, it's also possible that Kurosawa was less static than I thought and I just missed some stuff. If so, please let me know!

Basically I wanted to this aspect of Cherry Magic to be more like Blueming. I loved Blueming for subverting this idea of the "perfect" love interest. Da-woon was very similar - someone commonly considered perfect, crush on an awkward guy, feels pressure to please other people - but the story allowed him to be flawed and change and grow. I loved Kurosawa enough to want to give him the same chance!

(The longer version of the still unwritten rant includes stuff about virginity, the title and the lack of focus on sexuality, Kurosawa's thoughts as heard by Adachi, stories as fantasies vs. stories as stories... probably some other stuff too. I did like the show! It just also frustrated me in ways that detracted from my enjoyment. I possibly went into it with expectations too high.)

And if I was just going to pick a pure favorite, it would be Fujisaki, their aromantic colleague. I liked how here they subverted expectations of her being a love rival, or a overinvested gossip or something, and had her be a sweetly supportive friend, but also with her own story happening so that her world did not revolve around the main characters.

The Untamed - Look this is really hard. I'm basically throwing a mental dart at a mental dart board to choose.

Wei Wuxian. His whole... everything. Self-sacrificing, arrogant, loving, brilliant, teasing, playful, clever... I honestly don't know how to write about him or The Untamed right now. I watched it just this spring and was obsessed with it for a time, but in many ways that seems forever ago. I feel like it's sunk into my psyche in the place before words. Perhaps someday I'll have more to say.

14. drama you dropped within the first 2 episodes (we’ve all been there)  There have been several, but I'm going to say 2gether. This world, where everyone's approach to getting what they want seemed to be stalking other people and everyone ignores the word "no," just does not appeal to me. (Interestingly, this meant that the depiction of Green as a predatory femme didn't bother me as much as I expected, because a lot of people in the show seemed predatory.)

I ended up dropping it at the scene where Tine somehow manages to play porn on his classroom's projector; the secondhand embarrassment was too much for me on top of everything else. I had intended to pick it up again, and maybe I will someday since it seems to be one of the foundational Thai BLs, but it doesn't feel like a priority.

And yes! You were the first to ask for 14 :-)

List of Drama Asks