#Illya is problematic

[imanoddsweetthing]

Illya identities as gay even if he does experience occasional attraction to women

Napoleon identities as straight even after he commits himself to a man

[lumilasi]

Finished these doodles, I still don't know what Illya's new style should be so his shirts are random. In fact they both kinda need some level of outfit upgrade bc their current ones don't really work for either story they are a part of....(and tbh, the OG outfits were lowkey made specifically for that arcane fic they appear in, which was again yet another, different setting to consider.)

Anyway, more info about these two below:

These 2 appear in 3 different story tags I have, but I consider Town of Ruska as their 'main' one, and is what the info below bases on:

Illya is originally from Ukraine, and has an older sister who is also a frost elemental, though she is stronger than him.

Stefan is Polish-Turkish, with his mum being Polish and his father was from Türkiye, but left when he was very young. (hence he has his mother's surname)

Illya and Nadiya's family is quite wealthy, though they are estranged from most of their relatives. They only really have close relationship with their immediate family I.E their parents, whom don't live in Ruska. The siblings send them letters regularly.

Illya works in Ruska's observatory as an Astrologist AND an astronomist, given the town is magic so astrology is actually truly relevant there. His sister is the town Sheriff.

Stefan was close with his ma and took her death quite hard (they were attacked by a Lycan, he survived and was turned, but she died)

Stefan generally tends to hide his true emotions a lot behind brash, overconfident exterior to protect himself due to his trauma. People often assume he's more temperamental than he actually is

Stefan works as a bartender in Ruska, but is a pretty good mechanic as well, often asked to fix things around people's houses or even the city tram system which is the main way to get around there outside walking/biking, as Ruska has no cars, let alone a need for them.

Stefan is part of the Guardian pack for the town, which is formed by him (the resident Lycan) and the two Romanian Grimmhound brothers, Mihail and Roman. Their job is to get rid of any problematic individuals in town/dangerous entities. (basically, if a human visiting commits a serious crime, they're dog food)

These two ended up together because Illya was the first person Stefan had ever met who dared to tell him off and bitch at his face without being scared, despite their size-difference. (Basically for Stefan it was near love-at-first-sight, and with Illya, he - annoyingly - realized that he really enjoys Stefan's company, as the mutt helps him relax, and lets him ramble and complain about things without trying to butt in with unnecessary advice, also he's WARM)

Illya has a bad habit of working too late and is often tired as a consequence. Stefan tends to drink too much and get bad hangovers as a result, so they can both end up being cranky and bitchy in the mornings (you're better off steering clear and just letting them bicker.)

[typellblog]

people who get really mad about homura being 26 or w/e are so funny. like yes that is what the number is for its about the number of years you have been alive. 'oh but it doesnt count because its the same time over again' do you really think a time loop is the only way to experience stagnancy in your life.

i guess illya is fucking, 8 years old or something because her childhood was taken from her or whatever. honestly they would probably believe that on account of her looking like a kid which is really the thing they are using to evaluate here

like its just such an inherently self defeating point innit. "oh you cant measure maturity by age because what if their life experiences were different". WHAT IF THEY WERE! DO YOU REALLY WANT TO EXAMINE THAT!! FOR EVERY OTHER CHARACTER YOU SHIP!!! AND ANALYSE THE RELATIONSHIP FOR PROBLEMATIC ELEMENTS!!!! JUST BECAUSE YOU CANT COPE WITH THE FACT THAT YOUR FUCKING TOXIC YURI MIGHT HAVE SOME AGE GAP IN IT!!!!!

[nadiyusya]

Nadiyusya — Ukrainian for “I hope”

Indie 1x1 Fandomless OCs & The Man From U.N.C.L.E. & Marvel Canon-turned-OC Quad Muse RP Blog

Penned by Lettie || 25+ || Personals & Minors will be blocked

Muses:

[Illya Kuryakin — TMFU Canon-turned-“OC”] [Arina Bondar — Fandomless Espionage OC] [Adelina Bondar-Kuryakin — Fandomless Espionage OC] [Toni “Taskmaster” Ilyina — MCU Inspired Espionage/Superhero Muse] Mains/Affiliated with: @viduanata @frombehindpaleeyes Other blogs: @rexheroum // @potensreginae // @yourheroicprinces A Study In: child soldiers; wartime romance; human experimentation; what makes a hero and what makes a villain; seeing the grey area in things; learning from your mistakes; found family; PTSD; WWII and the Cold War; espionage; disappearing from all you know; and how to heal from wounds that leave scars.

Rules:

No minors (under 18) or personals please. You will be hard blocked unless you have a RP sideblog.

I don’t own any of the canon characters or the face/voice claims.

NSFW might be present, and will be tagged as mild lemons or lemons, depending on how suggestive it is. Update: This blog still will not have much “spicy” content, but it’ll be on [insert url here] instead! It’s a sideblog to here as of [2/22]

NSFW (spicy or otherwise) with muns 21+ please, I’m 27 (as of June 2024) so younger than that just feels…awkward for me.

Runs on a queue for both replies and ooc posts.

The best way to interact with me is via memes or tossing me random starters :)

ALL of my muses are somehow under the LGBTQ+ umbrella.

No bigotry of any kind allowed.

Please no cisbent/genderbent characters. It makes me uncomfortable, no offense to anyone.

I apologize, but I’m mobile ridden so I cannot cut posts.

Semi-selective, basically open to anyone but with a preference for mutuals.

I am not your therapist, please do not use me as such unless we’ve bonded ooc prior.

I’ve been RPing for 15+ years now, on various platforms, so I’d like to think I’m an RP veteran regardless of my skill level.

No elitism and/or drama or anything akin to those things please. I avoid and ignore most callout type things. I will ignore them unless they are related to very serious issues such as abuse. TBH I’m a really sensitive person, and even seeing others hating on each other bothers me. So keep me out of drama/callouts please.

Please reblog aesthetics and memes from the source, unless you cannot find it. Thank you!

Please do not like my starters unless you’re saving them with the intention of replying.

I do not use Illya’s canon fc, nor will I acknowledge his canon FC as ever having played Illya. Illya is mine now, so he’s getting a non-problematic fc.

Please hard block me if you don’t want to rp and I’ve followed you. I will do the same

[dopplerdora]

People are talking about Heaven's Feel again.

Don't get me wrong, I likes the movies but... they could have been so much more.

Part of the problem is that as a story Heaven's Feel is ment to come after you do Fate and Bladeworks. The prior routes frame Heaven's Feel in a way that show the "point".

By the climax of Heaven's Feel Shirou's "team" has more power than in either other Route. Shirou has Archer Arm, Rin has the Jewel Sword and hasn't needed to use her Chrest to make a Pass for Shirou, Rider isn't Saber but she has Infinite Energy from Sakura, they even have Illya on their side. All this power, power and knowledge that could shake the world of Magi like never before honestly. All that power... and it doesn't mean a damn thing.

Because Power can't help Sakura, no amount of Power can help the one person they want to help. This isn't Fate; Shirou can't just project Caliburn, make a promise, and go be a hero. This isn't Bladeworks; Shirou can't just keep moving with his ideal, show his resolve through combat, and learn how to move forward. Rin can't just Blast the threat away with raw power. This is Heaven's Feel; Shirou's idea is worse than nothing because the "enemy" is his Family. Rin has the ultimate weapon for blasting away her problems... but the problem is her little sister. The world will end, to end thing Somebody Has To Die. Gilgamesh dies but that makes things worse, Zouken dies but that doesn't fix anything, and deleting Saber doesn't actually fix the problem. Because ether problem is years of torture and abuse, you can't fix something like that by punching the monster after the fact.

Heaven's Feel isn't about power, this is problematic because the movie didn't get that memo when animating it. The fights are beautiful, this doesn't in any way help the story telling outside of Rin's fight with Sakura which is more about Rin's internal conflict anyway. It hurts the story because the fighting takes up so much time that some of the characters don't get to show their parts properly... Also its way more Shirou than anybody else, this is a problem because Heaven's Feel has somewhere between Three and Five protagonists and Shirou is only one of them. That said if I go into how sombody in charge seems to hate woman as characters and seems to... think badly of sexual abuse survivors I would probably be here all day and also fail because it would start going into misogyny in Japanese culture and a bunch of other things.

To digress Heaven's Feel is a beautiful, painful, amazing story. The Heaven's Feel movie isn't bad but I feel like is didn't really read the assignment and tried to make an action flick.

[lovely-in-pink-shifting]

My pinned post! ♡

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

I've been shifting since 2020 shifttok just about, like a little before the Dracotok boom (like a lil') and the subsequent apocalypse that happened after "Just kidding on the rights" Rowling's transphobia was coming out.

Yeah so fun fact I was NEARLY a Draco girly, I feel like the fallout was divine intervention stopping me at JUST the right time but that's besides the point, the point was to give you a time frame for long I've been shifting.

I'm making this blog with people in my age group in mind, I'm not gonna be posting smut or porn on this blog (and no blog's that do that are not the devil or something that's not the point) but I'm not really gonna be censoring myself either? I guess just be 18 or older if you wanna send an ask or DM, if you just wanna look or read my posts I guess that's fine.

°°♡°°♡°°♡°°♡°°♡°°♡°°♡°°♡°°♡°°♡°°♡°°♡°°

So my interests do shift pun maybe intended, a lot. I think of it as like a wheel, like, "Oh I'm bored? Time to spin the wheel of interests again then!"

These are the things I like enough to be "canon" to my messy hodgepodge of a DR

♡ Touken Ranbu (I don't understand a lick of Japanese but beautiful boys? Sign me up, the warriors game is um, there too)

♡ Demon Slayer (It's not the best shonen anime granted I don't like many, but I find it enjoyable and cute)

♡ My Hero Academia (Also not the best, but hey, I love it a lot! Still need to catch up on the anime)

♡ Sonic the hedgehog (If you think being a furry is cringe you are more cringe than you think being a furry is. You can call me a furry if you want though I don't personally self identify as one, doesn't mean I'm embarrassed though!)

♡ Yugioh (The game is like- dog shit but hey Jaden Yuki has had a grip on my clit for too long and HE WILL NOT LET GO. We're childhood friends to lovers btw ♡)

♡ Ayakashi romance reborn (It's really good you guys, play the stripped down mobile app while you can, the switch port is kinda sorta bad: says someone who bought it on switch anyway)

♡ Bakugan (RIP gen 2, I never knew you Gen 1 but will always have a crush on Dan and Shun, Gen 3, we don't talk to Gen 3)

♡ Beyblade (It's fun, Jan, why do I need any other eXcuse to like it? Real bladers will understand my dumb joke)

♡ Miraculous Ladybug (I only watch it to fuel my own better version of the show that exists solely in my own head, but that's just the case for the whole fanbase at this point)

♡ Kingdom Hearts/ FF (My favorite game in the series is Dream Drop distance or Union Cross, that should let you know how normie I am to a deranged degree. What I love about Kingdom hearts is the shit I make up about kingdom hearts. Also uh, Cloud hot or something.)

♡ PriPara/ Aikatsu (I'm not shifting to really interact with any PriPara or Aikatsu character it's more like the general Idol stuff is just in my DR. I'm also listing it because PLEASE TALK TO ME ABOUT PRIPARA OR AIKATSU AAAAA-)

♡ Fate Grand Order (It's really fun and interesting when it's not doing something questionable, Prisma Illya, whenever they're doing something with that poor little girl it's questionable)

♡ Genshin (I haven't bothered to play Fountaine, Genshin takes up a 100 gigs and my sister refuses to delete farcry six sorry-)

♡ The other 3 Hoyo games (Yes I'm grouping them all together but I play em' pretty casually)

♡ Diabolik Lovers (My 2nd problematic fave ♡)

♡ Black Butler (My number 1 problematic fave, all my BB fans out there know it is not of god ♡)

♡ Pokémon (I only WISH I could play into gamer girl stereotypes more by liking the Sims too)

♡ Danganronpa (Did I spell it right? I don't care tbh. I don't like the gameplay, sorry, I don't like investigating in any game period, I play it pretending it is an otome game, aka I play it wrong.... just need to actually finish 2 and play 3)

♡ Uta No prince sama (It's peak. Need I say more?)

♡ Obey me and What in hell is bad? (I think they both some of the most greedy and scummy gachas I've played but uh... love the characters. I don't think it's AS evil but I love UnholyC too!)

♡ Twisted Wonderland (I don't have to tell you I've connected it to the KH stuff right?)

♡ Cardfight Vanguard (Yugioh was like crack cocaine to me, it was the start, you think I wasn't gonna seek out TCG ecstasy either?)

Shadowverse (Card game weed... I wonder how obvious it is I'm writing these drug jokes as someone whose never done drugs...)

♡ Cookie Run (Uhhh, Uhh, running out of neurons to justify anything uhhhhh, twink cookies go brrr?)

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

I also really like dress up games and I really wanna learn more about fashion.

I like hello kitty (The best character is my melo, DUH!), Bratz, Barbie, I really liked Rainbow high but they were like... doing a lot at once for me.

My favorite two dress up games are Life Makeover (Okay it's actually number 1) and Suit U (I love it but it is so god damn uniquely greedy) Everskies is fun too but I find it hard to find clothes you REALLY want and it can get samey, for me at least.

I'll be making a DR self lore and master list... naybe... soon? If you've seen my first post you know I want things to be relaxed here. I guess with previous side blogs I got anxious? I guess? But I'll update this paragraph here once or if I do that to a link.

I'll be doing a lot of DR self vanity posting and hey, if you wanna vanity post in my ask box go ahead if you'd like, being vain is very fun. But don't send real pictures of yourself, I think that's fair.

[mr-deep-downer]

and you know I’m not gonna be like “if you like fanservice heavy or media with dark/edgy/problematic themes you should fix your life” cause there’s a bit of stuff I like that I can’t easily recommend to some people without huge asterisks. Yeah Gunbuster is one of the all time great mecha animes and it made me cry but fuck if it ain’t horny as hell with its majority teenage female cast and I fucking love chainsaw man but oh boy that gets heavy for a shonen manga in ways that are really relevant to real life in the modern day.

but like, there’s nothing defensible about lolicon stuff. Im sure oath under snow is a great movie but I am not touching prism illya with a 6ft pole. Nah y’all can have that.

[aozakibeatriceinversionimpulse]

We're going to ignore the fact that I'm bad with names.

[dianight]

There's like a yet incoherent thought in my head after seeing all this yaoibrained takes about dunmeshi while ignoring literally every woman in the series and it goes like this:

It's infuriating that fanart of a kid looking adult (male, Chilchuck in this case) always emphasizes he's an adult; he's drinking, he's talking about his wife, kids or being divorced, he's in "bitter middle aged man" situations. I've seen very explicit art of him with other dudes, while not my thing I don't really mind it, but I can't help but think if he was a woman no one would even try to post that kind of art.

Take a kid looking adult (female, Illya in this case) and you immediately see that explicit fanart of her is going to be at minimum problematic as fuck.

It really sucks because the yaoi girlies can go anywhere (<- you get what I mean) and they can talk about fucking Chilchuck or putting him in situations (sexual). But god forbid women like a woman who looks young. If I where a bit more visible and hornyposted about Kozakura it would take no time for people to call me vile shit.

Like do we see the double standard? I think that's the point I was trying to make.

[tennyowithanunclespecial]

Okay, I just have to say it. One of my LEAST favorite headcanons is that Illya is just seconds away from defecting. It bothers me for a variety of reasons and I’ll ATTEMPT to detail a few in this post (this is very, VERY long omg this is why I usually post things on my phone because using the stupid iPhone pad limits the amount of words I have the patience to type):

1) A man who has dedicated his LIFE to upholding a system isn’t going to just throw it away willy-nilly because he spends a couple weeks abroad. A man who has spent his life trying to prove his loyalty through military and civic service isn’t going to just go “oh nevermind” and drop it. You had KGB sleeper agents who spent their entire lives in the US who never “gave in” and held onto their ideals. I’m not going to go into the history of Communism’s crimes (believe me, I know, just providing an alternate–if flawed–view), but many people in the 60′s (probably including Illya) believed that this was a time of “growing pains,” that this was only temporary, that a new worldwide utopia of peace and prosperity and equality was upon them. They rationalized that they had things like universal healthcare (ILLYA AND GABY WOULD BE USED TO FREE BIRTH CONTROL JSYK) and support for single mothers and the elderly, homelessness was almost unheard of, scientific advancement was keeping pace with the US, there was a sense of innocence and camaraderie that many people look back to with nostalgia, and at the time, many people thought of the government had their best interests at heart, kind of like a parent “keeping them safe” (and Illya probably would have thought of himself as being a part of this–like, lol, a “big brother” to his younger siblings).

I mean…. I’m hardly saying it was ideal and no one has to tell ME about the wide-spread issues, but the 60′s were the period of openness and transparency and a revealing and rejection of the horrors of Stalinism. It was a new era, quality of life in the USSR was improving, and things were looking up in general. And this is the Russia that I think Illya would see. 

2) A man like Illya’s heart beats for his country, he would DIE to protect it (Americans in particular don’t understand because in regards to our country, many of us can just take it or leave it–and in recent times, it’s much more likely to express either indifference or hatred toward it–the level of devotion to their country that many Russians have is something that the average American just can’t understand). The Motherland is his first love to the point that choosing between it an Gaby might not end up in Gaby’s favor. I tend to avoid this scenario for this very reason but also because I think if she loves him she won’t ask him make this choice.

3) People assume that Russia has nothing for Illya, that he lives in some muddy, freezing hellhole without any friends (nothing suggests that he’s friendless–he’s moody and introverted but he’s also under a lot of stress in enemy territory working with someone who typifies everything he hates) or family (what happened to all his extended family? aunts? uncles? grandparents?), that all his bosses all regularly treat him like dirt (true, the KGB wasn’t exactly friendly, but uh, Illya is the KGB), and that Russia is just a shitty place to be in general and anyone in their right mind would want to leave ASAP. (See point #1)

4) Aside from Oleg threatening him, there’s nothing that suggests that Illya is dissatisfied with his career, one that seems to be going very, very well for him.

5) It’s super insulting to Russians to imply “well, clearly anyone with a brain would join US/NATO, the superior country.”

6) Illya is aware of the “glitz and glamour” of the West, and he has no problem tapping into it when the mission calls for it (Gaby’s suuuper expensive wardrobe–also interesting because yes, I know it was a nod to TV Illya being a fashion designer, but it suggests that the mission comes before ideology), but he himself doesn’t buy into it (see: his own clothing– and I will DIE ON THE HILL of Illya being a sensible but fashionable character, I mean, look at how many guys are sporting black turtlenecks and blazers now, eh? eh?).                                     

7) The whole POINT of U.N.C.L.E. is to join equals from all over the world, to join opposing viewpoints, to rise above politics. This whole thing doesn’t work (and proves U.N.C.L.E. to be dangerous and biased) if it favors one ideology over another. Imagine the beauty of a Christian agent and a Muslim agent working together to defeat terrorism and everyone wants one to convert to the other’s religion and you see the issue…

I like to think that them burning the disk is the final test–can they put their individual countries’ interests aside for the greater good? Again, we expect the American to make the right decision (because Americans are always good, right?) but I was grinning ear to ear when I saw that the Russian did too, which is why it bothers me when people explain it away as some kind of blooming romance between the two. Don't take this SUPER rare portrayal of a Russian being a morally decent human being (and the American is a self-obsessed thief? who shows signs of prejudice and ignorance of other cultures??? say whaaaaat…) in a Hollywood film away from us!!!

Anyway, just my uh two cents. I think that if Illya were ever to defect, it would be during the corruption of the late 80′s, and that’s ONLY if he feels that he could better serve his country from without rather than within. I think Illya is incorruptible and if the system ever failed him irreparably, THEN he’d try to find other options, but Russia would remain his love. 

[magicalgirlagency]

I don't get it, isn't PreCure supposed to be a show aimed at children? Why would you want them to touch upon these mature topics?

Yes, it is aimed for children. However, children aren't dumb and entertainment aimed at them shouldn't be taken so lightly.

I would've expected all of that p*do bullshit to happen in a seinen Magical Girl series, like Prisma Illya or something... not on a standard Magical Girl series from a recognizable company. Toei should at least have some decency.

"Chill out, it's just an anime!", you may say, but Toei Animation was the one who paired up minor-aged girls with older men, so I suggest that you direct your complaints at the company, not me. If this is the path we're taking, these mature topics should be addressed with the nuance and seriousness that they deserve, for they aren't your average crisis of the day/week that can be easily solved with the Power of Love & Friendship. Things like p*dophilia and power imbalance cannot and should not be romanticized. Don't sugarcoat that shit.

Just because Sailor Moon has done it and was a success, that doesn't mean it'll work now. These are different times, and people know better now.

Hell, even Tokyo MewMew New seems to acknowledge how unhealthy Ichigo and Quiche are as a couple.

Look at how poor Ichigo struggles when she's at his mercy. Quiche's gestures are clearly unwanted. I sincerely hope to see Zakuro obliterate his twinky elvish-alien ass in Full 4k HD 1080p when Season Two airs.

If you want a better alternative, I strongly recommend @rockybloo's Glitter & Guilt. At least the heroine and the bad boy have a history together, and are on the same page about their relationship (though it's hella ironic, since the author was heavily inspired by Ichigo and Quiche...)

And the thing is that PreCure has the capacity to touch upon these things. Mind you, the first season of the new decade, Healin' Good PreCure, involves a chronically ill pink lead prioritizing her well-being and outright refusing to help a villain who has done nothing but gaslight her and take advantage of her kindness. She says "no", sticks to her word, defeats the villain, and the narrative doesn't paint her as any less of a hero for it.

Imagine the many possibilities that can be explored with a PreCure season aimed for adults. Adult animation is often reduced to either sensacionalistic violence or doom 'n gloom, often paired up with mediocre designs, subpar animation and tropes that have aged like milk. Its audience is rarely allowed to have fun with something colorful and vibrant.

Not to mention that the IP is now 20 years old, its audience has grown with it. If Ojamajo Doremi could have an OVA with adult protagonists, then why not Pretty Cure*?

Personally, I highly doubt that they'll ever change the endings for these problematic seasons (I mean, Japan has a deep-rooted problem with l*licon/sh*tacon), so this is all wishful thinking. I'd prefer an animated adaptation of MagiLumiere instead of an existing IP that isn't popular on the West, but we all can't have whatever we want unfortunately.

The Pretty Cure will have to do for now, I guess. And I'll have no other choice but to keep my expectations low, to avoid being disappointed in the long run. I can't handle any more disappointments in my life...

*I mean, Sailor Moon's reaching its endgame in June of this year; Toei should start focusing on their other Magical Girl IPs and advertise them properly to the West.

[tainbocuailnge]

okay im like. actually curious about anime girl arthuriana. youre the only person ive ever seen posting abt it and you told me abt it once and like.... i kind of Have To Watch It.. do you know where i can find it. also is it like good in a bad way OR is it bad in a good way. should i watch it

well as I have personally been an avid fan of anime girl king arthur for 10 years now obviously I think it's good in a good way. however it has a lot of what is most aptly described as "anime fanservice" baked into the series roots, and a quick look through your blog archive suggests that you don't have a lot of anime exposure, so I can't really say how easily you'll be able to like... look past some of the more distasteful elements of the genre. arthuriana itself is also weird and horny and ~problematic~ though so i'm not saying this because I think you can't stomach it I just feel the need to add a disclaimer because fate/series started with a porn game and never really let go of those roots it just also has bonkers lore. personally i think the good is so good that it more than overshadows the bad and you should definitely give it a try

fate/ is also a bit of an odd series in that translation projects for it are under some kind of curse so despite it's immense overseas popularity a lot of it never gets localised, or gets bad localisations, or fan translation projects for it drop halfway through, or turn out to have been partially machine translated, and so on. I'm sure this is a struggle arturiana can relate to lol. as a result for a lot of fate/ content you have no choice but to pirate it if you want to read or play it at all. there are a lot and i mean a Lot of different entries but individual entries of it are often pretty loosely connected so there's not really a fixed reading order, just a few sets of entries that are directly connected and the rest tends to follow in themes more than setting, and later entries tend to assume you already know how the magic shit works so it stops explaining it. this is also very arturiana of it.

the easiest way to test the waters and see if you'll enjoy fate/ is to watch the anime "Fate/Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Works]". this is an adaption of the second route of the original game, as such it is missing a bit of context from the first route but it should still be easy enough to understand and it's imo a good representation for the overall vibes of the series (both good and occasional bad). last I checked it's available to watch on crunchyroll and netflix. after Unlimited Blade Works comes the movie trilogy "Heaven's Feel", which adapts the third and final route. alternatively you can watch "Fate/Zero" instead, which is on the same streaming platforms. Fate/Zero is the prequel to Fate/Stay Night and has a darker and edgier tone to it which may or may not be up your alley. both of them feature the original anime girl king arthur as one of the protagonists so they're good to see if you'll like her as well

there's a bunch of other fate/ anime on netflix, but none of them are good introductory points. the "Fate/Apocrypha" anime is a notoriously bad adaption, and if you're interested in that one I strongly strongly suggest looking for the manga adaption instead (Apocrypha is particularly cursed, the original novels never finished fantranslation and the manga is still ongoing so the shitty anime adaption is the only way to get the full story in english currently). the "Fate/EXTRA Last Encore" anime is a kind of spinoff slash alternate ending to the PSP game "Fate/EXTRA" and is likely to be incomprehensible without playing that one first (which i recommend because it's a personal favourite). the "Fate/Grand Order" anime are probably fine to watch after Stay Night, just be aware that they're pretty mediocre as adaptions and take place a good chunk into the story of the game with the same name so you're missing a lot of buildup. the "Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya" anime are unapologetic pedobait and not worth the trouble

if you like the Stay Night anime I would suggest reading the visual novel as a next step! as said before the original has three routes, and it's actually the first one that hasn't been adapted properly that focuses the most on anime girl king arthur's character. in this post I explain how to get the game. the nature of animated adaptions is also that they can't possibly convey everything in the original text, so even after watching the adaptions the visual novel will still offer a lot of fresh material.

another good next step is to pick up the mobile game Fate/Grand Order, it's the current flagship title of the series and is still ongoing. it's a gacha game (i don't know if that means anything to you. it's got glorified gambling basically. think fortnite lootboxes but for playable characters) so you might not want to touch it but I like the gameplay and story a lot so I'm still going to suggest it because it has a shitton of round table figures as playable characters and they feature heavily in parts of the main story as well. if you don't want to engage with gambling mechanics you can easily look up the story on youtube instead

i could go on for a lot longer because there simply is a lot of it lol but i think this is already more info than you really need to get started and if you have more questions I'll gladly answer them. I hope you enjoy it!

[studentofetherium]

Illya would be problematic...

[cha-melodius]

Hi! How about the last trope from the list for Napollya (the one about: I'm scared but I won't admit it, so you take my hand). I first imagined it in a setting where Gaby shot at a mission and they are waiting for the results of the surgery, but feel totally free to use a different scenario. Your writing is so awesome I'd probably read anything you'd write.

(Hello anon, thank you for the prompt! I absolutely went for your scenario for this, it was a great setup. This is early post-canon, and includes Napollya but is also focused quite a bit on the team as a family, which felt right since Gaby is the catalyst. This one ran about 1.7k. I really hope you enjoy it!)

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Read it on AO3

“Cowboy. Stop pacing.”

“I’m not—” Napoleon starts, then re-evaluates. 

Ok, maybe he’s pacing. He’s just restless, is all. Too much time in one spot. Too much waiting. He’s still jumped up on adrenaline and unused to sitting around. They should be back out there, chasing down leads, not sitting in a hospital waiting room. Sanders would have sent him back out already. Well, Sanders would have never sent him out with the same partners so many times in a row. Better off if they didn’t know each other that well, he’d said.

Napoleon hates that his asshole boss might have had a point. He doesn’t know what to do with this twisting in his gut, this clenching in his chest, this concern for someone he should only have a working relationship with. It shouldn’t be a surprise, after what happened on that hillside in Italy, when he’d seen her limp body in the upside-down Jeep. He’d felt the clenching then, too, even though they hardly knew each other, even though her betrayal only hours before had nearly meant his own death. There’s no reason to think it wouldn’t be worse now, after they’ve spent the better part of a month together. He wonders if this is what it feels like to have a little sister, someone who can manage to inspire annoyance and delight and fierce protectiveness all at once.

It isn’t right. He works better alone, and this is one of the reasons why. No chance of getting attached to people he shouldn’t be getting attached to.

Speaking of… Illya cocks an eyebrow at him, then gestures wordlessly to the adjacent chair with a nod of his head. Of course, Napoleon’s first instinct is to refuse, because the last thing he needs is to indulge in his currently most problematic attachment issue, but the look on Illya’s face suggests he’s considering tying Napoleon down if he doesn’t stop (which is both an alluring and completely inappropriate notion). So Napoleon sits, stiffly and on the edge of the hard hospital chair, ready to spring up at a moment’s notice.

“You are worried about her,” Illya says, regarding him with a level gaze.

It’s too knowing, that look, at once terrifying and terribly enticing. No living person really knows Napoleon, entirely by design. It’s better that way. He can’t be hurt, that way. There is too much power in that knowledge. Letting someone in—letting Illya in—isn’t just dangerous. It’s stupid. (He fears that it might be already too late.)

Instead of meeting his eyes, Napoleon stares fixedly at the far wall. “I’m just… antsy. I don’t like sitting around.”

“Worried,” Illya repeats stubbornly. Reaching across the narrow space between them, he pries one of Napoleon’s hands from its death grip around his thigh and carefully laces their fingers together. “It’s ok.”

“How are you not?” Napoleon counters, finally turning toward him with a huff. He should pull away from the hand holding for myriad reasons. He doesn’t.

“We arrived in time. She is strong. She will be fine,” Illya says. The confidence in his voice is not exactly reassuring, but it does go a ways to settle something that’s been jittering about in Napoleon’s chest ever since he’d watched her get shot. “Also, I am worried, Cowboy.”

“That why you’re holding my hand?” Napoleon teases, aiming for a levity he doesn’t feel. “Your hands are freezing, by the way.”

Illya just squeezes his hand. “Would it make you feel better if I said yes?”

Napoleon stares at him and wishes desperately that he knew what all this was. For all his discomfort over his emotions about Gaby, the tangled web of feelings that Illya occupies is infinitely worse. Or, maybe not worse, but certainly more complicated. He supposes that’s what you get for sleeping with your partner, who you have to work with every day, who the world says should be your enemy but turned out to be, decidedly, not. Sometimes it seems like it’s only sex, and he tells himself it’s better that way. Just an agreement between friends that offers a way to avoid involving civilians when they need a release. But then there are times like this, when Illya looks at him with aching tenderness, and he lets himself believe, if only for a moment, that it could be more.

Which is absurd. People like them don’t get more. Napoleon has always gotten along fine without more, and he certainly doesn’t need it now. Plus, there’s that whole knowing him thing that still lodges in his throat whenever he thinks about it too hard. That doesn’t stop the conflict between what he should want and what he does want from slowly tearing him apart. Maybe it would help to talk about whatever this is between them, but, by a mutual, unspoken agreement, they don’t.

“It doesn’t bother you? The… attachments?” Napoleon asks, pushing the limits of that agreement. It’s only after he’s said it that he realizes that Illya might take it as a slight, or some sign that he was troubled by their arrangement. “I didn’t mean—”

“I know what you meant,” Illya cuts him off. Of course, Napoleon should have figured something similar was going through his own head. Illya sighs, and his thumb begins rubbing absently across the back of his hand. “All my time as a spy, I have been told attachments are dangerous.”

“And you’ve been a spy long enough to know it’s the truth.”

“Is it?” Illya asks, barely above a whisper. For the first time since they started this conversation, he doesn’t sound so sure of himself. He bows his head, and though there’s no obvious sign of it, somehow Napoleon knows he’s staring at their linked hands. “Or is that just what they want us to believe, so that we have nothing else besides the state?”

“Careful, Peril. Don’t think your handlers would like you talking like that,” Napoleon says. He pitches it like it’s a joke, though it’s anything but—as much a warning to himself as it is to Illya. Your handlers, he says, not ours; well, he has a suspicion that Waverly wouldn’t disagree with Illya. Their temporary handler is sometimes a bit of an odd duck, in the world of espionage. That’s all this is, though, temporary, and neither of them are free. They belong to those who would use these attachments to destroy them, if it suited the state. If they became more trouble than they’re worth.

“Good thing they are not here, then,” Illya returns wryly.

There’s an odd look on his face as he reaches up to push a stray lock of hair off Napoleon’s forehead, his hand sliding down to linger on his cheek, and Napoleon abruptly realizes that they’re alone in the waiting room. He thinks, absurdly, that Illya is going to kiss him, right here in the hospital, where anyone could walk in. He tries not to think about how badly he wants him to.

“I believed I worked better alone,” Illya says instead, his eyes sweeping downward. “That I had to be alone. Now I know that was a lie. We are a team, Cowboy. We all make each other better.”

Napoleon wants to flee, not because this feels wrong, but because it feels so right. “Now I definitely know you’re going soft, Peril,” he says, grinning, because it’s easier than admitting the truth of Illya’s words. Jokes, jokes, always jokes; he wears his flippancy like armor, retreats behind it like the walls of a fortress. Some days, it seems like Illya and Gaby are the only ones who can draw him out again. For the moment, though, Illya lets him hide.

“I am still better spy than you,” he retorts, his lips tipping into an answering smirk.

“I thought we all made each other better,” Napoleon counters.

“Yes,” Illya confirms, his face the picture of earnestness. “I have learned much from Gaby.”

Napoleon laughs, loose and unfettered, and for a brief moment he feels impossibly lighter, until he remembers why they’re sitting there. “You really think she’ll be ok?”

“I know it.”

Illya squeezes his hand again, and Napoleon nearly gives in to the impulse to lean his head on Illya’s shoulder, to let his partner wrap him up in one of those Illya-sized hugs, public hospital waiting room be damned. As it is, he’s sufficiently lost in Illya’s eyes that he doesn’t realized they’ve gained an audience.

“Gentlemen,” Waverly says, clearing his throat.

Napoleon immediately tries to jerk away, but Illya doesn’t let go of his hand, instead clamping down hard enough that Napoleon feels his metacarpals grind together. Apparently he wasn’t even aware he was doing it, because when Napoleon shoots him a look pointed look he lets his grip go slack, a sheepish look flit across his face. Napoleon shakes out his crushed hand, unable to decide whether he finds the whole situation more endearing or annoying.

Waverly’s expression is—no surprises—carefully composed, though Napoleon could swear he sees a trace of amusement flicker in his eyes for a brief moment. “Miss Teller is out of surgery and doing well,” he announces. “She is still unconscious, but the anesthesia should wear off soon, and I’ve ascertained that you both can wait in her room”—he pauses, and the corner of his mouth twitches—“if you like.”

Illya is already on his feet, and Napoleon isn’t far behind. “She’s going to be ok?” Napoleon asks, painfully aware of how tight his own voice sounds.

“They expect her to make a full recovery,” Waverly assures them. “She’ll be back on her feet before you know it.”

Napoleon doesn’t think too hard about the sheer, immense relief that floods through him as he lets Illya drag him down the hallway toward Gaby’s room, but just now, he doesn’t try to deny what’s behind it either. Maybe Illya is onto something. Maybe this team—this family, a small, seductive voice in his head whispers—is more than just a liability.

Maybe, in time, he’ll be able to let himself believe it, too.

[hopeymchope]

Initial Reaction When I Saw HiDive Post About This: OH SHIT I didn’t even realize that movie came out already! You mean to tell me this hit Japan last year? And THIS is the first I heard of it?!?!

Next Thought: Been a long time since the last season but at least now Illya and Rin and Bazett and those other characters I don’t care about can leave this cursed alternate universe and return to their home dimension!

After Watching the Movie:

Seriously? If we were gonna do this, couldn’t you have just produced another regular-ass season?!

BEFORE ANYONE SAYS IT: Yes, I know how problematic this series is. I knooooooow.

[rougeagainstfanpol]

2, 7, 10, 15 for the problem ships!

2) what is your favorite “problematic” polyship (ot3, ot4, so on)?

Perhaps it's still Araragi x Senjogahara x Kanbaru from Monotgatari. Kanbaru is a lesbian and loves Senjogahara, and out of servitude to Senjogahara's happiness, will joke about being Araragi's "sex slave" WW

Some would believe it's problematic because a lesbian has to share her love with a guy.

7) what kind of “problematic” tropes you like to put your ships through?

Ah, depending on the ship, I like to explore what would make the ship problematic on the surface. If not, I like to add more problematic things to the characters (like kinks or something) and make them explore it together, or just joke about it!

10) what is your favorite “problematic” fandom?

The Fate series gets a bit of flack for catering to lolishotas. Jack, Alexander, Jeanne Alter Santa Lily, Agartha!Fergus, Illya, Andersen...and not only that, some Heroic Spirits are canon loli/shotacons (Blackbeard and Miyamoto Musashi respectively)

[From the recent event in FGO, Miyamoto says a line like "I assumed I could take them because they were too old for my tastes"]

Another thing is that some Heroic Spirits are "problematic" by virtue of what they did in history, such as Gilles de Rais and Elizabeth Báthory. There are seriously people in the fandom with DNIs that state if you like certain Servants to not interact.

Before everything I listed here, it all started as an H Visual Novel where you could romance high school students. So I'd say it's pretty problematic!

15) something cool about the last thing you watched/read/listened to!

Oh hey I watched the recent episode of Helluva Boss! There was a song in it, and I noticed the melody of the song afterwards. I always like when shows do that! Musical callbacks make me ache in my heart. Own your compositions! Ahh!