#because of all the variety of relationships. that are not romance related lol

[viridian-house]

Do you have any favorite naruto fics you’d recommend? Any pairing, complete or not, on-hiatus, gen, oneshots, anything is fine lol

I was legitimately just pruning my bookmarks the other day!! thank you so much for asking.

I don't read too much fanfic these days, and I'm picky when I do--only about grammar/punctuation and immersion though. I ship a LOT of stuff (I guess The Youth would call me a proshipper) and although I never read darkfic, I don't shy away from weirder kinks and unhealthy relationship stuff.

categorizing by pairing, if applicable. some of them are smutty, and please note that the first 3 come from FFN which doesn't have a tagging system, but there is some SA CW I'll give in advance.

KAKASAKU | my first OTP! formative fics that totally reshaped my understanding of what fanfiction could be, and how well-written chemistry can make it or break it

HOUSE OF CROWS is the quintessential kakasaku fanfic. it was written during shippuden and so is canon divergent because of that, but also tells a comprehensive story of its own right that is intriguing and well planned. excellent characterization and world building. leaves me gutted in the best way on my yearly reread.

DUTY BEFORE HONOR is another silvershine classic. I don't reread is as often as House of Crows but they are just about equal in quality. again, the chemistry between them is off the charts, and the world feels so alive.

WILL OF FIRE for me is up there with House of Crows in being essential kakasaku reading. cynchick is a multisaku champion and a wonderful storyteller. the stakes in this one are stressful, the romance tense and believable, and we once again get lovely world building and great chemistry.

ITAKISA | a pairing near and dear to me, because men who do everything wrong are so deeply relatable. they both know they don't deserve anything good ever again but they found each other!!!! ARE YOU GUYS SEEING THIS--

A SHARK HIDDEN INN THE LEAVES doesn't have my favorite version of Kisame, but he's plenty close enough. it's a lengthy oneshot that got me into certain *ahem* kinks. it is a very fun and wild fic that is entirely self-aware of how absurd it's being, and manages to have nothing but sincerity at the same time (and I highly recommend the author's other stories as well)

AN ORCHESTRA PLAYING ON, INSANE is a modern AU (extremely rare in my bookmarks) that absolutely tore my heart out. god is it SO much to ask for these losers to be happy?! yes, it is, and I love every moment of it

MADAMITO | a rarepair I am SUCH a sucker for that has some of the most talented authors writing for it. lots of them have ot3 elements between them and hashirama, often angsty, but stuff like that is part of the appeal for me, lol

A HANDFUL OF SKY is an unfinished fic that I genuinely think about like once a week. if it ever updates then I will be over the moon. technically hashimadamito but it hadn't quite gotten there yet

LIKE ALTARS is just such a beautiful piece of writing, mostly on madara. it is everything, that is all

BLOOD AND RIVER WATER is more mito-centric but has one of my favorite madaras of all time

YOURS ARE RATTLED BONES is another short, mito-centric but gut-wrenching piece featuring the opposite type of madara from the last one

OTHER | character-centric stuff that isn't necessarily shippy but also doesn't have a very "gen" vibe either?

A SERPENT IN THE RICE is a little series about orochimaru that makes me feel so so so many things. highly recommended

HERETIC is such a love letter to kushina, and kurama too. cannot stress enough how much I adore this one

there's a few others that I probably won't link on tumblr, mostly unhealthy and/or "problematic" smut hhfhdj but maybe I'll make a public rec list on ao3 for these different categories and stuff like that.

but yeah that's pretty much it!!! I know it's not a huge list with a lot of variety but it's what I've enjoyed over the last 15+ years in the naruto fandom.

[unrepentantcheeseaddict]

Intro Post

Hey, this is Aven, and this is my new writeblr!! I may have accidentally deleted my old one 😭😭😭.

Pronouns are he/they. I'm young-ish writer focusing on writing YA, since that's what I like to read.

Currently working on several things, you're more than welcome to take a looksie!

I'm autistic and ADHD, physically disabled, super queer, and even more traumatized, and yes I do make that stuff my whole personality. If you don't like it, then please DNI.

Also I cuss a lot, way more on here than I do IRL.

My ask box and DMs are always open to chat, I'm a lonely little hermit lol. Feel free to tag me in games or challenges!!! If I don't participate it's because I'm out of spoons, not because I don't want to.

A bit more about me:

What I Like

Goblincore

Creepy witchy shit

Baking

Crafting

Doll Collecting (mostly vicariously thru YouTube cause that shit is EXPENSIVE)

Anything by Rick Riordan

Anything by Tamora Pierce

TERRY PRATCHETT

Any other good YA or MG spec fiction book I can get my grabbers on.

Taylor Swift

Hozier

Ashnikko

Fall Out Boy

Nordic/Celtic Fantasy music like Faun, Skald, Wardruna, AURORA, etc.

The MCU (newbie fan)

Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal

Good Omens (haven't watched S2 yet)

LOVM

Coraline

SPN (Newbie fan, only on S6)

Shadow & Bone

Gravity Falls

What I Write

I mostly write YA fantasy and sci-fi. Expect plenty of queer and neurodivergent rep, sibling relationships of all varieties, bad puns, the odd bit of creepy stuff and a lot of heart. I'm especially into mythology retellings, dragons, space operas, and exploring trauma and inner character motivations. Not so big on the romance, but I'm getting more into it.

Tagging System

Random stuff like shitposts, 2AM thoughts, etc is tagged with

#random shit,

Stuff about my irl exploits is tagged with

#life update

Stuff relating to my writing in general is tagged with

#my writing,

All posts relating to my main WIP right now are tagged with

#Godtouched

All posts relating to my second central WIP are tagged with

#second chances book

[verbenaa]

BG3 TAG GAME ✨⚔️

thank you so much to my wonderful and talented friend @khywren for tagging me in this 💖💞! I had so much fun doing this, even if it took me like three days to get to 😅

Favorite romance: in my Astarion era 💅 but in all seriousness, Astarion's character arc is very important to me in a variety of ways and has been a very cathartic to experience as someone who was lucky enough to escape an abusive relationship in my past.

Favorite class to play: I love bards because of the versatility! But on my next run I'm going to do a druid 🍃

Favorite NPC: This is soooo tough because I think there is so many amazing characters in this game, but I really like all the wild shit that Raphael AND Gortash have going on. There's a lot to dig into with both of those guys, they're so fucked lol

Favorite song off the soundtrack: ooooh this is so hard, there's so many good ones but I really love 'I Want To Live', both versions! Also props to Raphael's Final Act for obvious reasons.

Tell us a little about your Tav: Rin is my chaotic sword bard baby who isn't actually that great a being a bard and better instead with stabbing things (we love a relatable queen?). She's a little flippant, a little silly, sometimes clever, and lives in my head rent free.

Something you wish was in the game: I am echoing many other people when I say that I wish there was more content for Wyll. I think it's such a crime that he was deprived of a full character arc! I am also endlessly frustrated that he is not given an option to decide for himself (like Shadowheart was) regarding whether to break his pact with Mizora. I spent a full 30 minutes in debate with my husband over this choice in my first run and was so frustrated with this fact and honestly either decision feels like a raw deal.

Do you create fanworks? Share something with us: I do! I am currently busy writing Astarion/Tav and Astarion/Reader fanfiction. to eden is my current baby, and one I've poured a lot of time into and that I'm proud of. I'll also never stop being proud of my very first fic air so deep and sweet, as I really leapt off the ledge and dove headfirst into something I was so deeply insecure about but ended up paying off in the end and has literally changed my life in regards to how I now see myself 💖

no pressure tags: @elinorbard @ladyduellist and @xxnashiraxx if you want to join in, no worries if not 💞!

[doukeshi-kun]

Hey! I’m not sure if this falls into the “personal questions” category, if so, feel free to ignore this ask, and I’m sorry in advance!

You don’t have to get personal and speak about yourself at all, I’ve just been very clueless lately, about whether or not I might be aromantic. I’d say I’m pretty emotional and I do love, but the how romance is portrayed, and the idea of a “typical” romantic relationship has always seemed so shallow and meaningless to me. And I get second hand embarrassment from other people’s romantic relationships irl and in the media. And I can’t really tell platonic and romantic love apart, to me, romantic love is just love paired with sexual attraction (and sometimes it’s like super cringe too.)

I do crave connection with people who are “more special” to me than just friends, but I just don’t know if I’d call that romance, and I’ve never had a crush either. What would you consider the best way to feel less confused about this feeling of mine?

i'm actually happy to talk about aroace stuff because i know i won't be able to talk about it freely irl lmao. this is a bit long!

aromantic doesn't mean you're 100% not having any sort of romantic attraction towards someone—it generally means having little to no romantic attraction. besides, there are a lot more identities fall under the aromantic umbrella like grayromantic and demiromantic. i suggest you to read more into these identites if you're feeling conflicted and having those 'jumps' in your attraction.

these are all my opinions and experiences 👇 yours might differ bcs each human is unique to their own :)

i don't really want to get too personal here... but like a few years ago, there's this person whom i really wanted to befriend and i'm only ever interested in the idea of becoming his friend. however, people around me were taking my interest as something romantic and started shipping us together into a couple. it icked me so so badly because i knew i would enjoy being his friend but not his partner. i like the thought of being friends and that was it. that is all. no romantic relationship or anything. i have no desire to do romantic things with him, i have no desire to evolve the friendship or anything, i don't even like him romantically.

for me, that was my discovery of platonic attraction. i knew i wanted to form a friendship, and that was it. nothing more. i think the biggest sign that i feel stromgly that i'm aro is that i don't remember having a crush and i don't feel the need to pursue a relationship with someone else. like once someone started to make flirty comment on me irl, i'm repulsed by it.

i honestly don't know how exactly to describe romance or romantic feelings, mainly because i only perceive romance through medias and not through myself. i become sure i don't feel romantic attraction because i know how it feels to have platonic attraction and aesthetic attraction. i just don't know how it feels to have romantic attraction because well, i don't experience that, how would i know tsksgdjsjs💀

a lot of my friends are in relationships and when i listen to their experiences of anything like that, i could not relate at all. sometimes i'm like "why and how do you guys feel that way" or like "do you HAVE to be in a relationship with them? is it even necessary? is there any difference between being their friends and partner?"

there are more varieties of relationships that could be formed with someone whom you regard as "more special". romantic relationship isn't the only relationship —there are queerplatonic relationship as well. for me, relationship is basically having your intimate needs to be met lol

i really understand the confusion and the feeling of alienation when facing a romantic relationship irl. we're stuck in a world where everyone is into someone and someone is into everyone. the best way that i could think of to deal with this confusion is for you to figure out what kind of attraction you're feeling towards someone you happen to be interested with, be it for any reason really—because at least you can be certain about how some attractions feel like.

[yyyyanyan]

Book Club: The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

part 2 of my Camp Halfblood Chronicles binge!

It had suchhh a strong start with The Lost Hero. I love all three of them to bits (especially Jason but also ALL of them are my babies I'm holding them in my palms). The Roman/Greek split blew my mind when I first read this book years ago and honestly I'm still kind of processing it LOL. I'm obsessed with how Piper works on her charmspeak and getting comfortable in her own skin and Leo and his relationship with his fire powers??? god amazing!! And Jason I always felt like was such a strong stern type and I'm just attached to him. I think specifically he came off super perfect at first (especially with how Piper had her crush on him) and it was so pleasant to see him failing.

I like The Son of Neptune slightly less but not for any specific reason I can pinpoint--I think I just really vibed with the Jason-Piper-Leo trio. I did think it was absolutely sick that we got to see Percy is utterly insanely powerful and Hazel's backstory had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I also have a soft spot for Frank since he's Chinese-Canadian (one nitpick: what is his Chinese name Fai supposed to be?).

Unfortunately, I really lost my drive by the third and fourth books ToT I think there was just too many POVs and every time I was getting in the swing of things it was time for a new character in a new situation. And I'm sorry but Tartarus was such a drag for me!! I feel like I didn't get enough of a sense of just how miserable and horrible it was and honestly I just felt sad for Bob/Iaepetus all the time. The one positive of the variety of perspectives was, again, seeing Percy being a madlad from outsider POV <3

Anyways once once I finished Book 4 and went to the last book (Blood of Olympus) it went way faster--I was so excited about reading from Reyna's and Nico's perspectives! Reyna and Nico are sooo good together they're my #1 brotp (maybe). Honestly though once I got to this point I was kind of like, "seven halfbloods" answering the call feels so arbitrary to me? Both Reyna and Nico play such critical roles--especially Nico--that I feel kind of robbed that they're not officially listed as people in the prophecy. This is also the place where I say: ngl I think Annabeth being one of the seven was totally lame LOL (I like Annabeth though!) I feel like she had more of a supporting role and her Athena prophecy could have been a quest that was helping this big one (also 'cause it wasn't listed in this one). However this is definitely also my Nico bias talking because Nico is definitely one of my top blorbos in PJO

Anyways it's been like maybe two or three weeks since I finished the whole series and I have to say the ending was really underwhelming to me. I'm literally not even sure I could tell you what happened in Blood of Olympus in detail. I was so sure it was going to be even more epic and even grander and it kind of totally missed the mark? I remember being so moved and feeling the battles in The Last Olympian so vividly and this one felt so weak. I also thought that Gaea would be like... more prominent I guess? I literally think Tartarus ended up being more scary and he featured so much less. The final defeat was so underwhelming lmao :'D

Kind of related to the above is: I also felt more and more as the series went on that Leo really was a seventh wheel, in the sense that he just didn't seem as close to everyone else. I wish his relationship with Frank had been less prickly especially after the main point of their antagonism was resolved (like why did Leo ALWAYS have to make Frank the butt of the joke?), and I also wish the weird almost-Hazel/Leo thing just didn't happen? I feel like at that point she already liked Frank and neither she nor he really got invested in the sort-of-romance and I feel like if they had just settled into just being friends after the whole revelation thing then it would have made sense. It was exciting that Leo was the key to winning the battle, but I felt like it lacked emotional impact because he felt so separate from them all. Calypso and Leo ARE the cutest though and I was/am rooting so hard for them

The last thing is, I feel like there were a lot of like... plot points that didn't go anywhere? I can't tell if they were put in so they would get resolved in the third series but I'm kind of disappointed that they weren't dealt with in this series. So the ones that I picked up/am really interested in are:

Percy getting more violent/merciless and being scared of it

Jason's sort of... struggle between Roman and Greek? Specifically I feel like in the first book he was so Roman and then suddenly it became that he had a conflict(??) and felt more Greek. I guess with this one it's less that it was unresolved but more it came out of nowhere for me and I kind of wish it had been laid out more from the beginning. I will continue my salt in my ramblings of the sequel series btw

Hazel coming back from the dead?? Did Nico just see her and go "I'm taking her" and that was it lol or was there something else...?

[ebi-hime]

Since you've written quite a few yuri works yourself, what are some of your favorite lesbian stories you've read or watched?

My favourite lesbian novel is probably Affinity by Sarah Waters. I've read all of Sarah Waters's novels, and I'm very fond of all of them (she's the only author I know of who writes WLW stuff set specifically in Victorian England, which is very much My Thing), but I like Affinity in particular because of how morose the main character is. She's really rather gloomy, but she's gloomy in a very #relatable way haha. I also appreciated the twist ending in Affinity a lot: once I'd finished the book I had to put it down and lie on my bed for a while Feeling Things for the poor main character haha ;;; It's a very grim story which deals with a lot of uncomfortable subject matter (for example, the main character is suicidally depressed), and the ending isn't cheerful at all. If you prefer lighter, sweeter stories, I'd advise you to stay away from it, but if you can handle a bit a Misery then I think you'd find it a very engaging experience! As for visual novels, I'm pretty fond of Wanting Wings, which is a relatively sweet VN set in high school dealing with a trio of friends. The VN lets you pair these girls up however you want, and it gives you stories with each of them showing how things would pan out if they dated. It's mostly quite light, but the characters had a decent amount of depth, and the story had a bit of a bittersweet(?) vibe to it. It seems like a simple story, but there's a bit more to it than that. It'd also be remiss of me not to mention one of my favourite yuri VNs of all time, A Little Lily Princess. It's an adaptation of A Little Princess, the famous children's story, but it makes some of the subtext between the girls (there's a lot of "I love you dearly"s in the original novel haha) outright text. Since the characters are quite young, the romances aren't explicit at all (and some of the relationships are more friendly than out-and-out romantic), but it is a very sweet story which does a good job fleshing out the characters from the original novel who didn't get much attention. I especially love Lavinia's route: she is my best girl (because she's kind of horrible and she has Problems haha) and I love her a lot! I'm also pretty fond of Lilycle Rainbow Stage, surprisingly(?) enough. I tend to prefer gloomy stories on the whole, and Lilycle is very light and fuwafuwa, but I happened to read it at a particularly stressful time period and it cheered me up a lot! The art is gorgeous, and I enjoy how it has such a large cast of couples to read about. There were some pairings I definitely liked more than others (Alice and Ibuki in particular lol), but the sheer amount of variety was appreciated! It also might have some of my favourite UI out of any VN I've read before, since it's so dedicated to the 'moemoe' aesthetic haha. It's nice read, if you want something light and sweet!

[spectrearia]

double-tag time lol

got tagged in two different question things by @galactictides52 and @gonturan0 xD gonna fill both of 'em out at the same time I guess haha! thanks for the tags!!

going under a cut because there's quite a lot here haha

tagged by @galactictides52:

Last song I listened to: Follow by Survive Said the Prophet

Favorite content to watch: uhhh.. hm. depends on my mood. I usually gravitate towards let's plays or documentaries on a whole variety of topics? speedrunning, electronics, abandoned places, and critiques on a wide variety of media are some of my go-tos for documentary/commentary-style content. there's a lot more tho that I can't think of off the top of my head. I just like listening to people discuss random stuff haha.

Favorite games: Oooh, quite a few. Minecraft, Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi's Mansion, Professor Layton, Ace Attorney, Hitman (World of Assassination), and recently Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Mega Mix are some that immediately come to mind. There are so many more games I could add but I gotta keep this kinda simple xD

Favorite colors: I love all colors for various reasons but any shade of purple is my absolute fave <3

Favorite animal: CATS!!! though I'm sure that's pretty obvious, haha xD I can't help but relate to them so much lol

Favorite food: mmmm. maybe my mom's beef and potato hash? it's the ultimate comfort food to me and she doesn't make it often, but it always Hits Just Right whenever I do get to have it.

Sweet, spicy, or savory: savory all the way, baby. don't mind a bit of spice alongside the savory sometimes but it depends on what it is.

Current obsession: my own OCs (and some friends' OCs as well). I literally talk about them all the time and I could say I'm sorry but I'm really not. xD if we're talking media in general tho? I guess the Hatsune Miku game I mentioned earlier counts, lol

Last book I read: oof. I can't even remember. for published books, I want to say it was Mayday at Two Thousand Five Hundred by Frank E. Peretti? but if not, then it was probably my friend's original story draft. I hardly ever read anymore, honestly. I just write what I want to read instead.

Last thing I googled: don't use google, per se. but I think the last thing I searched online was the lyrics to King by Kanaria because I want to learn how to sing along lol

Fun facts: I always suck at these haha. can't really think of anything so I might just have to leave this as-is, rip ><;;

---

tagged by @gonturan0:

3 ships: lol I don't do ships so I don't have much to put here xD I guess I kinda "shipped" some characters when I was younger (like Mario and Peach or whatever), but not? to an extreme degree or anything? was never my focus. still isn't. Honorable mention does go out to Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, though. I felt their relationship was handled really well, even though I typically really don't like romance in kids' media at all.

first ever ship: idk probably Mickey and Minnie when I was like 5??? haha

last song: (see #1 in previous list)

Last movie: oof, memory is bad. it's been a while. the Mario movie???? in theaters??? i think. I can't remember. I don't watch movies as often as I used to tbh

currently reading: nothing right now, unless you count this list ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

currently watching: not "currently" but I'll probably watch the newest update of a Voices of the Void let's play that I'm keeping up with sometime later tonight :0

currently consuming: waterrr. stay hydrated, my dudes~

currently craving: sushi;;; specifically my Fave Big Roll with shrimp tempura, crab, cucumber, and a bunch of other good stuff (also SPICY MAYO, my beloved) <33

ayyyy, that's all, folks! I don't really know who to tag with this so i guess if anyone sees it and wants to fill it out, u can just say I tagged you xD I don't mind, haha!

[aceshua]

I'm not noisy but I assume you'll enjoy being busy with these: 😳✏🎶😒📝👃🎥(hey! The pencil is set for two different questions :o I want both 😂)🚀😷🌴 || s-lay-ing (hi lin 💞)

😳 - Age you get mistaken for?

Probably around 20?

✏ - Random fact about yourself.

I use around 9 skincare products on my face every night

✏️ - Want any tattoos? (I’m assuming this is the 2nd pencil)

Currently debating over a miyazaki tattoo…

🎶 - Top 5 favorite songs?

At the moment… 1) Oh My- Seventeen  2) Stone Heart- Taemin  3) Shine (acapella version)- Pentagon  4) Khan’s rendition of Despacito  5) Our Page- Shinee

😒 - Biggest pet peeve?

answered! EDIT I thought of another one: it peeves me when people automatically think the worst of each other and don’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt

📝 - Story from your childhood.

A friend of mine lived near the water, and one time we made corn husk dolls, tied them to a brick and threw them off the dock and into the ocean to drown them. I think we were pretending they were witches. Years later I’ve gone back and the brick is still there lmao

👃 You hate the smell of ….

Peanuts!

🎥 - Top 5 favorite movies?

1) Lord of the rings trilogy

2) Nausicaa of the valley of the wind/Castle in the sky

3) The Oceans movies (Oceans 11, etc. I haven’t seen the newest one yet tho)

4) Hmmm Big Hero Six was good??

5) idk if this is a fave but I really liked The Handmaiden, which is a Korean/Japanese lesbian gothic thriller heist movie. Lowkey too scary for me but the plot was wild

🚀 - Where do you wanna visit?

I wanna go to New Zealand so I can run around pretending I’m in Lord of the Rings

😷 - Something you hate eating?

mushrooms. I tolerate them as an adult human

🌴 - A island you would visit

Okinawa! I took a dna test recently and it traced my mom’s side back to these islands, which is something I already knew but I was surprised by how accurate it was?? Anyway I don’t think my mom has been there so I think it would be a fun ancestry hunt trip

[ellesliterarycorner]

What My Followers Want to See More of in Female Characters

My favorite thing in my WIP is all the badass female characters I have. I love writing about the bonds, friendships, relationships, and rivalries between them. It makes my little heart so happy! And, I will be the first person to admit that I hadn’t even thought of some of the things you guys suggested on our little instagram poll, but I cannot wait to add some of them to my story! Even though we’ve made so many leaps and bounds with the way female characters are portrayed, I still think we’ve got a long way to go, and if you guys include half of the stuff you suggested in your stories, then I think we’re gonna be okay. Once again, I didn’t change anything that you guys wrote, so there are gonna be some repeats on the list, but this time just because the list was getting so long, I did take out a few things if I saw that several other people had suggested it!

“Nerdy” or sporty girl who gets a love interest without a makeover or changing herself 

super girly femme characters shown as a complex person

making her own decisions, if good or bad

a strong female character without a tragic backstory 

gender non conformity!! 

Being openly children and not changing her mind about it

chubby and flaws and not having a crush with every cute boy they see 

girlie girls who are still really powerful 

self reliance but still having emotion, not being ice cold but not needing a a man 

lesbians who’s entire character arc isn’t about them being a lesbian 

having body insecurities eg wanting to be flat-chested

women in politics and women that have classic “man” as well as “woman” characteristics 

independence 

be less oblivious lol and more like real people who pick up hints 

not dead caring moms.

comic relief female characters

not minding about liking “girly” things/ having a bunch of friends who are boys but there is no romance between them 

being a mother doesn’t mean giving up ur dreams and settling for less,

having mcs that actually make smart decisions 

a bad ass character that loves kids and wants to have them in the future

not taking abuse cause they think it’s love 

ball gowns and pretty stuff for themselves and not for a mission or anything 

more bold female characters since many females are shown as shy 

having a big appetite 

female characters who can be cool without having to wield swords 

willingness to do domestic work with a cheerful heart 

women whose strength is their intelligence 

women who are not afraid to be feminine or strong 

strong mother figures 

girls that are the lead in their relationship over the boy 

more actual girly interests 

the women you least expect to sing the best 

strong women who like feminine stuff 

being happy without a romantic relationship 

black females being protected or vulnerable for once 

ending up single 

hanging out with male friends with no romantic subtext 

females who aren’t super pretty

ultra femininity (pink, dresses, glitter, makeup) that isn’t seen as bad/evil/weak 

allow them to look up to/admire male peers rather than feel inferior or as if they have something to prove 

traditional “femininity” isn’t regarded as weak! Can cook/sew/clean and it’s normal : )

Female characters who are funny and make quips 

soft, kind women, who are still powerful. I don’t like the mean strong girl stereotype : (

Not forced strong women. Just relatable and human ones. We all have strengths and weaknesses 

less insecurities. Yes, we all have those, but it’s becoming stereotypical, mostly in YA 

I want them to be strong without being upright bossy 

strong women who also embrace their feminine side 

a girl with menstruation

ego actions- I feel like only male characters can throw ego actions while fem characters are classified selfish 

nonbinary female characters 

has a twin 

sarcasm and general impoliteness without making them the bady guy 

them being warriors or soldiers and that’s normal, nobody questions it 

villains and manipulating 

autistic female characters 

being single throughout the story. Some people like being single, thank you very much 

not being the perfect pretty little thing. Having an interesting personality and thoughts, dreams outside of relationships and being a badass 

a morally grey female character like y r those only men 

girls and women in healthy relationships with personalities aside from their S/O

girls who can be strong and confident while still being emotionally vulnerable 

also, girls who own huge “aggressive” dog breeds

groups of girls doing really impulsive things together like all guy friend groups do 

strong, but not jerks about it and not looking down on things like sewing/cooking/etc 

shyness that doesn’t need to be “fixed” or overcome 

well written romances- straight and gay (ie not ones that objectify one partner or the other) 

“strong female characters” who are gentle and caring! Tough doesn’t mean heatless! 

women who care more about the plot than their inconvenient love life 

girls who empower other girls and don’t play into internalized misogyny 

i’d love to see women putting forward their ideas and having their voices heard more : )

Strong in their own way, not just hands on fighting stuff. Like mentally strong 

less who are arrogant and rude to the male protagonists who they fall in love with anyway 

More LGBTQ+ women! 

Oh and more female protagonists who stay single 

being average looking, not a hot model and being okay with it 

Not falling for “bad boys” 

saving herself or another character from a dangerous situation 

not wanting marriage or children and people being okay with it 

not obsessed with  looks 

being good at math and sciences 

not being sexualized constantly (or at all) 

being just friends with straight male characters 

being like other girls 

having a life outside of romance 

to not need a man, but also not to be a stereotypical “bad girl, I don’t need man” authors need to find a medium between the two 

drinking, swearing, anything deemed “masculine” 

confident women who embrace both their femininity and masculinity

empowering other women

somebody with variety of interests and skills that are shown to be important to her badass female characters who are genuinely kind/even loving 

strong women who don’t discredit the model of the ideal woman of the time in historical fiction 

older women protagonists! I’d love to read about middle aged female heroes

females that aren’t afraid to be themselves 

strength without being a “baddie” or at the expense of others 

emotional sensitivity that isn’t linked to mental illness, men, or a weakness in character 

a chaotic neutral female protagonist 

physically strong/skilled female characters that remain feminine and aren’t femme fatales 

female characters that don’t particularly fit into a trope as that’s not really realistic

[zoeology31]

30+ Ship/Character Headcanons for Pride: Elena of Avalor Edition

Pride 2021, baby! Took me a whole year to get all my headcanons lined up for my dear old friend of a show, but here they are. This was a very formative show for me so everyone is bi like me, lol.

(Last year’s Star Wars edition)

Elena

Elena is panromantic asexual and nonbinary, and uses she/they pronouns.

They are 100% oblivious to people being attracted to them, and when she does notice, addressing that falls pretty low on her priority list compared to work or family or friends.

For Elena gender is just sort of a thing she has, like a dress. They can be a girl or not be a girl depending on the feeling, but they’re still them.

They settle into a polyam relationship with Mateo, Gabe, and Naomi not too long after coronation, and surprisingly little changes.

Isabel

Isabel finds herself the hardest thing to label, but she eventually settles on pan or queer.

She dates Ari, Caterina, and Amber at various points as a teenager, but never gets into the more direct romance.

As an adult, Isabel is very career-focused and spends a lot of time traveling and researching. She never gets a long-term partner, but does adopt kids.

All her friends are some variety of queer as well: Cristina is pan, Amara and Quique are bi, Olivia is aro-ace.

Flores Family

Esteban is bi and aromantic or grey-romantic.

He never really thought about dating as a kid. Because Elena was similar, he just assumed it was an adults thing until Victor awkwardly tried asking about crushes one time.

He prides himself on being very suave and charming, even flirtatious in situations, but not with any intent, just to make a good impression and get people to do things.

Francisco is bi, but it wasn’t really talked about in his day so he’s only partially aware of it. Luisa is straight but enthusiastically supportive.

The Amigos

Mateo, Gabe, and Naomi are all bi. They handle this very differently.

Mateo only figured it out recently, when he was trying to figure out why he always felt like showing off around Gabe.

He’s a bit of a disaster around people he likes, so he mostly tries not to think about it. This works out well, since he’s naturally very sincere and thoughtful when not flustered.

Gabe's known since he was a kid. He wound up with three awesome, attractive friends, and he’s having a great time.

He has a femme bi older sister, Juliana (my OC whom I will talk more about later) whose support helped him embrace his identity, as well as his dreams of becoming a royal guard, from a young age.

Naomi has switched between the labels bi and lesbian a lot. She got play-married to Vee when they were kids, and it’s a common inside joke between them.

In a modern AU, she’d be a dyed-hair-and-flannel gay, and run a moderately popular youtube channel about sailing and boat facts.

Other Royals

Marisa is pan, Marzel is bi and trans. They’re actually pretty good at wingmanning for each other but in the most annoying way possible.

Valentina is a lesbian, Alonso is bi. Their kingdoms are close allies and they’re the same age, so they’ve been friends since childhood.

Chloe is a bi disaster, which she got from Abigail. Chloe’s other mom, Martha, is the Norberg ambassador to Satu and so is away from home a lot.

Rebeca is bi and ace. She has her own friend group in Galonia who are all at least a little in love with her, just like Elena does.

Supporting Cast

Skylar is gay, Luna is bi. They grew up together and came to Avalor in the same Guardian training group. They both kinda had a thing for Cruz, up until the part where he was evil.

Victor is bi. He has bad taste and is by this point well aware of that. He definitely had a crush on Esteban as a teen, and he and Felicia commiserated over being friends with two hot royal cousins.

Carla is bi. She has a thing for jocks, but really just wants someone she can relate to and confide in, and possibly nerd out over magic with.

After the series, Victor and Carla open a small grocery store and apothecary in the Via Mercado, getting the quiet, stable life they always wanted.

Spirit guides have no innate concept of gender, though they do take on some aspects of the humans they interact with the most. Zuzo has typically identified as masculine for the past several decades, but that’s always subject to change.

Recurring Characters

Rafa is trans, and came out a year or so before Shuriki’s invasion. And of course any master wizard worth their salt knows potions of trans your gender.

Ixlan is a nonbinary lesbian. They use the Maruvian equivalent of they/them, or just they/them for translation convenience.

Antonia is bi. She’s about 24 at the end of the series, and she eventually works her way up to Captain of the Royal Guard. She learns Maruvian so she can talk to Ixlan in her native language.

Tomiko is a lesbian. After college she travels and researches a lot, sometimes with Isabel, and eventually becomes a professor at the Avalor Science Academy.

[feralcherry]

Naruto takes that might enrage you (girl addition)

Warning, some of these takes might enrage you- that’s fine.

Fillers don’t count as canon, don’t even bring them up if you talk about this post lol. Also it’s been a while since I’ve seen the whole series, so some of these might be disproven as I continue with my rewatch. The excuse that Shounen is for boys is also very weak and holds no weight, as tons of girls (and nonbinary folk) relate to the characters in this show, so that doesn’t excuse Kishimoto for his weak writing of women.

To preface, I love this show. Love it to pieces. It was part of my childhood and holds a very special place in my heart. But there are some things I personally don’t like or wish could have been done better. I love every character and will go blue in the face talking about how much I still love this show. That doesn’t free it from my criticism. I’m also only listing what I don’t like and what I would change, though I’d be more than happy making a post about what I loved.

Let’s start off with my girl Sakura Haruno. She is easily the most hated girl in the series, and all because of how ‘weak’ or ‘annoying’ she is. As if that’s not the fault of Kishimoto himself lol. She was shoved off to the side continuously and never given cool storylines, unlike the other members of her team.

What I took issue with about Sakura:

-What were this girls dreams?? The whole reason she became a ninja was never really talked about nor were they really developed as time went on. She was all about Sasuke, which would be fine if she grew out of it. But no. 

-Her crush on Sasuke was super stale. He was handsome and powerful, but what else was there to him? He was a jerk to her most of the time (there are some instances he’s somewhat kind to her, but if we go off canon, it’s not enough to make her deep love make sense). I think it would have been so much more interesting to see her grow out of her infatuation for him. If they had to have ended up together, watching them relearn each other and fall in love would have made them more compelling. She stayed loving a boy who thought very little of her. 

-She’s pitted against her best friend and doesn’t develop much of a relationship with other girls her age. It’s kind of sad, and I think they should have fought over something other than a boy. 

-We are told repeatedly that she’s super powerful by other characters, but she’s never given time to truly shine. She got like a single battle with Sasori and she deserved more cool moments like that!

-She was a healer, which makes perfect sense. But why is it mostly girls who are the healers? It’s a bit weird, when there’s also Neji with his perfect chakra control. She only has her healing abilities and her super strength; but even then someone like Kabuto has more offensive healing based techniques than her. Like his chakra scalpel. 

What I would fix:

-New dreams. Show her find a dream outside of her team and grow into it. Also give her more of a backstory. Sai has more of a backstory than she does and he’s way newer than she is.

-I would let her fuck up one of the Peins instead of Konohomaru- she’s a main character and passed over for that little brat?? She should have gotten to do more than scream out for Naruto and heal people :/ 

-She her intellect a bit more. She’s so smart, and yet we don’t really see it.

-She’s perfect for genjutsu, Kakashi himself said so. So why not give that to her? Or play more with ninjutsu. She has earth and water on her chart, so why not give her those abilities? Maybe even wood jutsu to even her out with her super OP teammates. Idk how, it could have happened, this is a show full of demons and god like abilities, it could have happened someway.

-She should have grown out of Sasuke and not married a man who doesn’t really appreciate her and isn’t there for her at all.

-I would totally have expanded on Inner Sakura more. Imagine if it made her mind impenetrable? Could have woven that in with her skills for genjutsu and made her unaffected by other’s illusions.

Next, let’s go with a more beloved character of the fandom. Hinata. Now personally I don’t care much for her- she could have been so cool but just like Sakura, they kind of messed her up.

What I didn’t like about Hinata:

-Her entire existence is revolves around Naruto. Naruto this, Naruto that- and yet she simply sat back and watched as his life was shit and did nothing despite her ‘love’ for him. And then fillers/movies are added to show that oh wait! she’s been there this entire time!! no lol. Build her up from the start as his love interest at the very least.

-She stayed super meek the entire time. Shy girls are okay, but I wanted to see her grow into herself more and not need as much reassurance. She’s a ninja and should stand on her own two feet more.

-She’s less skilled then Neji and I would have loved to see her outmatch him at some point, even once. Or gain abilities outside of her clan, or do something that made a name for herself outside of being the heiress of the Hyuga.

-She never fixed her clan which was one of her few spoken goals. That was a huge bummer.

-I think it would have been cool to see her mess up Pein a little more. She only stepped in because it was Naruto, which reinforces that she’s only about him. But at least let her land a hit if she’s as powerful as people say she is. 

-She makes the most sense to be a housewife or a healer with the way her attitude is but in Boruto, she’s kind of rewritten to be a ‘scary’ mother which just doesn’t fit her. Plus, she tells Boruto to go and take care of his dad?? Bro, that’s your child and your husband is the hokage. 

What I’d fix:

-Prove her dad wrong and show him that her compassion isn’t a weakness but a strength. 

-Fix the Hyuga clan bs.

-More character growth and showing more of her life away from Naruto. Her romance with him could also have been better. I hated her always watching him but never standing up for him, it kills me.

-Neij dying for her proved their clans hierarchy bs to be right and it just doesn’t make sense for him to die for her. It showed that he was right to feel caged and that he simply existed for the benefit of the Main family.

Now with the others, there’s much less I have to say about them because they aren’t main characters or the love interests.

Ino-

-Jealous of Sakura, no dreams of her own, stupidly loves Sasuke and for what? WHAT’S SO COOL ABOUT HIM?

-I like her growth for the most part, it was cool watching her fight in the War Arc with her team. 

-Why is she the medical ninja? I never got that.

-She got with Sai but they didn’t really show their development and how they fell in love with each other. It’s like she only likes him because he looks like Sasuke and called her pretty once.

Tenten-

-Should have gotten to train with Tsunade at some point, since she was the one who originally idolized her. 

-We know nothing about this girl at all. She doesn’t even have a last name.

-Her weapon usage was meant to be so cool and yet she missed so often- there’s a disconnect there. Her abilities could have been built up more. Imagine if no matter what she never ever missed. That would have been cool.

-Her weapon shop isn’t doing well. Just because it’s an era of peace doesn’t mean the need for weapons is totally over, not if there are still active ninja??

Karin-

-I actually like her, she’s kind of funny and I like that she’s mean even if she can get annoying.

-Again, another healer, though she’s also sensory which is more interesting. I’d like to see her with some jutsus though. That would have been neat.

-Her love for Sasuke makes sense since he saved her and smiled at her, making her think of him as her hero. And she’s the only one he apologizes to without Naruto strong arming him into it.

Temari-

-She’s pretty solid in my opinion. Though I would have loved to see her more without her brothers.

Konan-

-Her goals in life were to support Yahiko and Nagito’s dreams. It would irritate me so much if other girls in the series were more well rounded and din’t also have some sort of dream involving a boy.

-She was underused. I would have loved to see her fight more.

Tsunade-

-Only becomes hokage to support others dreams...All of them men. And then later passes the title onto Kakashi who doesn’t even want to be Hokage either. 

-No other justus used, she’s on par with Jiraya and Orochimaru and yet she’s only super strong and the best medic. She should theoretically be more well rounded than that, right? She also should be shown fighting more even if she’s a medic, she’s also s legendary sannin 

-Had to be saved by 12 year old Naruto. I know it’s a show about him, but she’s meant to be a literal badass but needs a kid to save her.

Kushina-

-Wanted to become the first woman hokage and then didn’t. Her husband did. and then she became a housewife?? What?? She should have become the first woman hokage with a badass husband or had another prominent role in the village like as a council member or something.

Kurenai-

-Always lost a fight? She’s some genjutsu using badass but always lost fights.

-No real personality, she’s just chilling there. Sexy as hell though. Has a kid and that’s about it.

-What I will give her is that I’m so glad she was allowed to age. So many anime mothers always look the same as their teenage self and she looks like she can be anybody's mama.

Over all, the girls could have been handled much better. I wouldn’t find issues with any of them being housewives or all about boys if that weren’t what seems to be the standard in the anime. I just wanted more of a variety and better character development, especially for Sakura and Hinata who are the mains 😩

Now to what might REALLY piss people off- ships! I’m not trying to start some war here, this is just my opinion and you can take it or leave it.

Sakura- Naruto, since they had the most development and showed more than two seconds of caring for each other. Even Sai in Shippuden has more of a connection to Sakura than Sasuke did.

Ino-Shikamaru, if she had to end up with a guy it makes sense it’d be him since they spend more time together than her and Sai did. (inosaku for the win tho)

Hinata-Shino or Kiba, again, because they spent more time with her. Naruto and her felt very rushed and I don’t quite understand the appeal.

The one that made the most sense and became canon was Shikatem, though their son’s design was lazy :D 

If I do a second part, it’ll be about the boys and the ships with them that made sense to me. For now, this is all I have. If you’ve made it this far, thank you lol

byeee

[unforth]

Hello unforth! Thank you for your wonderful blog, and the the untamed art blog!! I followed you years ago for destiel, and you were one of the people that got me into the untamed. I watched it last summer and have been binging various cdramas ever since!! I had a question for you about reading. After watching the untamed I read the novel, and didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I think you’re someone who prefers the show, but if not, sorry if I’m remembering wrong… hoping you understand. I want to try reading other novels but I found the romance in mdzs to be kinda off. I guess I’m wondering if you have a recommendation for the best novel you’ve read so far? It would be great if it’s one with fanfic but if not I’m still curious to try! I hope this didn’t come off as rude about the untamed, it’s just a personal preference. Thanks in advance, and thanks again for all your work in fandom!

Howdy! *waves*

You have not misremembered, I definitely prefer the Untamed to the novel of MDZS (and I'm with you, no shade on people with different preferences, of course!). I also didn't enjoy the novel of MDZS as much as I thought I would, though I think some of that was because I read the Exiled Rebels Scanalations translation which - again, no shade, translating that was a HUGE job and kudos to them - but I do here from native speakers that some questionable translation choices were made, which can detract from some people's enjoyment of the novel (and can enhance other people's, it just depends how those translation choices relate to each person's personal likes and dislikes).

Now, I can tell you what I've read and what I've thought of each one, happily - I don't know what turned you off about MDZS specifically, beyond an aspect of the relationship dynamic, so it'll be hard for me to say which of these might appeal to you more? But, here's a list of which danmei novels I've read, and my opinion. The list is shorter than you'd think - danmei novels are long and I read slow, lol.

Note that all of these end happy, for various definitions of "happy," and the main ship is canon in all of them. Also note that I tried to avoid spoilers, but sometimes it's hard to even talk about the ship dynamic without some mild spoilers.

These are (roughly) in the order I've read them; I just finished the last a few days ago. All art is by the official artists, but I'm not always sure what their names are, sorry - I've tried to figure them out for my art blogs but it's REALLY hard.

1. Mo Dao Zu Shi, by MXTX.

(since I'm writing this post for you, and you're already familiar with it, I'm not putting in TW and plot)

My take: I figure knowing my opinion of MDZS will help you assess all this? There are things I loved about MDZS, including the book, but MDZS is still obviously trying to figure out pacing. Whereas in SVSSS, the storyline doesn't always flow that smoothly and the ending is rushed, in MDZS in my opinion the biggest issue is that she clearly didn't plan some things ahead. For example, Miangmian and Wen Ning are both introduced within a few pages of when they'll be needed to Do Shit. It shows that she hadn't quite worked everything out as she was going, and every once in a while was like, "shit shit I need a character for this thing" and hastily added them. The plot itself is better paced, though, though I could have wished for a less talky denouement. When it was the only one I read, I also often thought, "this author doesn't understand consent," and, "this author has kinks I don't share." Now that I've read all three of her books, I completely retract the first one. MXTX absolutely understands consent, and was intentionally playing with it in MDZS. Not sure if the evidence of that got lost in translation, or what, but...yeah.

Relationship Dynamic: ...the second of those opinions, I still kinda feel. The consensual non-con is just not really my thing, like I'm okay with it in small doses? And I don't love some aspects of Lan Wangji's domineering attitudes and Wei Wuxian's act of bare tolerating it. And don't get me wrong, now that I'm more familiar with her work, I think it was an intentional writing choice and I also think they're both largely roleplaying it a lot of the time...but I still don't personally enjoy it much.

2. Scum Villain Self-Saving System, by MXTX.

Genre: modern transmigration into a fantasy xianxia world.

Where to find it: English translation by BC Novels | donghua season 1

Trigger warnings for: graphic descriptions of suffering, non-con of the "fuck or die" variety, and body horror...I can't think of anything else rn?)

Plot: SVSSS is MXTX's first novel, and is a satire of classic stag harem novels. Shen Yuan, the protagonist and half the main ship, is reading a serialized web novel by "Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky" about a demon named Luo Binghe who has a harem of over 3,000 women and has done all kinds of ghastly awful things. He hates this novel but has read all, like, 3 million words of it or something, and trolls every chapter...until one gets him so angry that he dies...and then he wakes up in the book right around when the book starts, in the body of one of the early antagonists, a cultivator named Shen Qingqiu who abuses a young, innocent Luo Binghe physically and emotionally and, ultimately, is horribly tortured to death. Shen Yuan, in Shen Qingqiu's body, thus sets out to not be horribly tortured to death by Luo Binghe. Hijinks ensue.

My Take: In terms of my opinion of it...SVSSS secured for me that MXTX is a much more brilliant author than I thought when I'd only read MDZS. She understands tropes and subverts them brilliantly throughout the story, and from a writing standpoint, I was impressed with her. However, from a plot standpoint...she's got all the ideas but hasn't, imo, yet figured out how exactly to bring them all together. The pacing is off at times, and the ending felt abrupt to me. It's also the only danmei I've read where I ship a side ship more than the primary one (which is, of course, Shen Yuan (as Shen Qingqiu)/Luo Binghe. (also, oops...I read SVSSS after TGCF and just put them in the wrong order, oh well, not gonna change it now.)

Relationship Dynamic: In terms of relationship weirdness...it's hard to sort in that regard, because, like, it's supposed to be weird? I think it's a really interest book but I'm not sure I'd recommend it in your situation. Bingqiu's main dynamic is...uh...tolerance and obsession? They're kinda hard to describe. Shen Yuan often seems like he's just kinda putting up with Luo Binghe, whereas Luo Binghe is...god. So hard to describe, lmao. He's a big clumsy ox in a museum full of porcelain dishes and he really, really loves his Shizun. (also note that Shen Qingqiu is Luo Binghe's teacher. They don't get together until after they're not master/student, but if that's not your thing, another reason to avoid.)

3. Tian Guan Ci Fu, by MXTX.

(art is by Starember)

Genre: historical China (loosely), xianxia (note that I'm still figuring out exactly how stuff gets classified so sorry if I get one wrong, but I think I kinda get it???)

Where to Access It: English Translation by the astonishing yummysuika | manhua (this is an official translation by Bilibili! It's a few chapters behind the actual release, but still...) | donghua season 1 is on Netflix | a live action adaptation is juuuuust getting started on script reading and filing

Trigger warnings for: MCD, temporary MCD, body horror, graphic violence, epic levels of mind fuckery, uh...genocide?...again, racism/colorism, probably other stuff, sorry, I can't take as long as I'd like to for this post so I'm not being as thorough as I oughta be.

Plot: TGCF is about Xie Lian, an 800 year old man, and it commences at the moment when, unexpectedly, he ascends to godhood...for the third time. Unfortunately, when he ascends, he accidentally does some damage in Heaven, and he has to repay that, so he gets sent back to earth to deal with a ghost who's been causing some problems. Hijinks ensue...and then fucktons of angst ensue...then more hijinks...then more angst...and basically it broke my heart like four times and I am grateful for it every day? The main ship is Xie Lian and a ghost named Hua Cheng, but it's hard to even talk about without some spoilers because of some identity shenanigans. (they're VERY mildly identity shenanigans, but still).

My Take: So, you asked what my favorite of the danmei novels I've read is? It's TGCF. TGCF is one of my favorite novels ever, and it has a growing fandom, a donghua that's on Netflix, and a live action that's just starting to film. TGCF is the culmination of the skills MXTX developed through her first two works, imo. She clearly plotted it out all from the start, and while Book 1 especially often seems kind of random - lots of elements are introduced and then kinda...apparently...forgotten? And never explained? But she actually DOES bring it ALL together and it's flat-out masterful. I'm a big fan, obviously.

Relationship Dynamic: it again depends on your preferences and what you didn't like about MDZS, and there's no way to talk about it without spoilers, so consider yourselves warned. Xie Lian ascended to godhood first at the age of 17, and right around then he also saved the life of a 10 year old boy...and that boy is Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng is a follower of Xie Lian's, in that Xie Lian is literally a god, and Hua Cheng is literally one of his followers. However, they're separated for almost 800 years, so the age difference is largely irrelevant, and while some people complain about Hua Cheng's behavior being stalkery and obsessive, I honestly think they're dead wrong. It's more like when you read a celebrity/fan AU, and it starts weird, and then they really genuinely fall in love. Like, the fan may have been in love the whole time, and how they felt about the celebrity before they really met might feel slightly ooky, but it's how they act AFTER they meet their idol that matters more, and...yeah, Hua Cheng is great, they're both great, antis fight me. Xie Lian is easily one of my favorite characters EVER, he is all my favorite tropes in one horribly, wonderfully fucked up martyristic idealistic sweet kind laid back package. I would kill for him, lmao. In terms of their relationship dynamic...they love and respect each other? There's really nothing that weird about it other than the aspects of the "fan" Hua Cheng that get revealed over time - and he's always terrified that when Xie Lian realizes what a fanboy he was, Xie Lian will be upset or disgusted, but of course Xie Lian never is. They adore each other. It's glorious. Highly recommend. :D There's also no explicit content in TGCF (unlike MXTX's other two books).

4. The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (aka 2ha) by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat.

Genre: original world, xianxia, time travel, dimension hopping, it's so many things, 2ha is so hard to describe lmao

Where to Access it: English Translation by the amazing yummysuika (things are complicated, though, and it's not finished) | a manhua is in the works and should be out this year | a live action called "Hao Yixing" or "Immortality" is already filmed and could theoretically air literally any time cause it's completely ready, but when will it actually come? Who knows!

Trigger warnings: all of them. Literally. MCD, temporary MCD, murder, suicide, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, rape/non-con, abuse, manipulation, gas lighting, torture, graphic violence, body horror, literal graphic onscreen horrible blood murder of a small child (I had to skip that chapter), teacher/student relationship sort of but not exactly, probably other stuff, this book is dark as fuck, and a lot of these tags apply to behavior of one half of the main ship toward the other, but...it's complicated, and there are reasons things happen, and those reasons aren't "well they're just a bad person."

Plot: This is another one that's hard to describe because there's sooooo much mind fuckery going on, but I'll try. 2ha is about Mo Ran, who rises to be the Emperor of the World, Taxian Jun, but slaughtering all who oppose him...and who is so miserable that he commits suicide, only to wake up in his 16 year old body. This is pretty much perfect from Mo Ran's point of view, because he's gone back so far that the love of his life, his fellow disciple Shi Mei, is still alive. He has a chance to fix everything that went wrong, starting with preventing his awful evil Shizun, Chu Wanning, from letting Shi Mei die.

Spoilers: the main ship in this book is Mo Ran/Chu Wanning.

Hijinks do NOT ensue. There are no hijinks in 2ha. It is all pain all the time (but I swear it ends happy).

My Take: ...well, from a structural standpoint there are some pacing issues. The book is incredibly long (over 300 chapters, over 1 million words) and there are definitely some chunks that could just be excised and it'd still be fine. However, other than that, it's pretty amazing and absolutely masterful how it's plotted. As a reader you'll spend 100+ chapters thinking you know what's going on, and who the good guys are, and who the bad guys are, and how they relate to each other...and then Meatbun starts in on revealing what's ACTUALLY going on and she then spends 200 chapters repeatedly punching you in the face! Like, I went in knowing a LOT of spoilers, because the tags were so dark that I felt that for my mental health it was important I have a general idea what was going on, and I STILL ended up sobbing my eyes out (and I am NOT an easy crier and don't usually cry at books) over something I knew was coming.

Relationship Dynamic: That's about the only thing that the title accurately conveys about this book. "The Husky and His White Cat Shizun," sounds so soft and fluffy, right? That's how they get you, ha. But, Mo Ran is absolutely a big dumb husky who wants to do the right thing (well, sometimes he does) but just completely fails depressingly often. When he sees someone he likes come in the front door he WILL jump all over them and bark in their face as his way of trying to communicate affection. And Chu Wanning is equally absolutely a cat. He is emotionally constipated, poor at expressing himself, uptight, touch starved, desperate for affection, and so lonely my chest hurts when I think about him. And for how they relate to each other...well, picture that big dog greeting a loved one at the door...except that loved one is the most hide-bound proud white cat you can imagine.

That's their dynamic.

(However, also...there are multiple timelines at play, and Taxian Jun does some truly awful things to "his" Chu Wanning in the original timeline, and many of these things are graphically described, and while it's ultimately all explained, it still all HAPPENS, so if you're going to have trouble reading fucktons of abuse between the main ship, I would not recommend this book)

5. Thousand Autumns (Qianqiu) by Meng Xi Shi.

Genre: historical China (like, references actual people, as far as I can tell), xianxia

Where to Access it: ...reading Thousand Autumns is HARD, it's split over like four websites/translators. This Carrd can kinda help? I can get you the rest if you want | donghua season 1 | I heard there's a live action in the works? But I don't know more than that.

Trigger warnings: graphic violence, mentions/threats of sexual violence (but it's all stopped before things really go wrong), starvation, description of child death (from starvation), near-death, emotional/mental abuse, major semi-permanent character injury, god, minor character death, they're major characters depending on your pov, I can't actually think of others, after writing about 2ha it feels positively fluffy). Note that there's not really any explicit content, just implications of smut, and not til basically the very end and extras.

Plot: Yan Wushi, sect leader of a demonic sect, has just come out of an extended seclusion to improve his cultivation when he and one of his disciples come across a man who is wounded to the point of near death. This turns out to be Shen Qiao, the sect leader of Mount Xuandu. When Shen Qiao awakens from his wounds, he's lost his memory, AND he's blind, and Yan Wushi decides it would be great fun and an excellent use of his time to fuck with Shen Qiao by trying to turn him evil - because Yan Wushi is certain that ALL people are inherently evil, and shattering Shen Qiao's veneer of righteousness will just help prove that.

Spoilers: it's not a veneer.

Not spoilers: Not many hijinks ensue, but there are a few hijinks, and even when it's not hijinxed, it's still not that painful...usually.

My Take: despite that synopsis, a lot of the plot of Thousand Autumns is actually political, and I like political plots, so I liked that aspect of it. However, it has some serious pacing issues imo, and it's also hard to read in English atm because it's not fully translated; it's close, now, much closer than when I read it a few months ago, so it'll be easier to read soon. Or maybe I shouldn't say it's pacing problems, but rather, it's more of a sequence of multiple major plots, strung together, with the growing relationship between Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao playing out in the background. I think if I'd known there was no "one big plot" that would have actually helped me, because it kept feeling like, "Oh, THIS is the main thing," but it never was. Things would feel climactic...except then there'd be more. So it's probably better to actually think of it as more...episodic? And the episodes/stories build, and interrelate, and do have a culmination, but not all of them directly tie in, and not all the threads end up coming together/getting resolved.

Relationship Dynamic: early on, Yan Wushi is definitely abusive and manipulative, intentionally so, and I would argue that, imo, Shen Qiao falls for it. However, mid-way through, there's some big reveals, and after that when they're reunited Shen Qiao no longer takes any shit and Yan Wushi continues to act like he doesn't care even when he clearly does. They're not a typical ship in ANY WAY, and I'd say their relationship is more founded on mutual respect than on love. Indeed, in the author's notes at one point MXS actually says they doesn't see them as the kind of couple to ever exchange love declarations, and I thought that was really interesting and it really helped me to understand how they worked together because I'll own I struggled with at times. Yan Wushi is self-interested, often cruel, and ethically and morally dubious. Shen Qiao, on the other hand, could probably ascend to Daoist godhood, he's so pure. Yet...they DO work. I'd say "opposites attract" but that's ALSO not their main trope, not exactly. They're a VERY hard ship to explain, and I know some people who've read the whole book and still don't really...get them...and I've had to really think about them to wrap my head around them...but the more I've thought about them, the more I like them.

6. Those Years in Quest of Honor Mine by Man Man He Qi Duo.

Genre: historical fiction set in either actual China or make-believe China, I'm not sure if this is directly incorporated any real people

Where to Access It: English Translation by Perpetual Daydreams | manhua (untranslated, I'm not sure if there's anyone translating it into English) | I think there's a live action in the works? Not sure beyond that though.

Trigger Warnings: suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, drug addiction, drug abuse, chronic illness (different character than the drugs), manipulation, abusive, awful parents and parental figures (not all, but definitely some), some homophobia (but way less than there could have been), probably other stuff

Plot: After 7 years away, Zhong Wan returns to the capital of the Empire with the three children of his benefactor, the seven-years-dead Prince Ning. Prince Ning was executed for treason against the previous Emperor, and Zhong Wan has done all he can to protect and raise the three kids, but he's got a lot of worries about returning to the capital and what could happen to his charges if they get pulled into the politics surrounded the Emperor. But, even worse, he's got even more worries about being reunited with Yu She, nephew of the Emperor, with whom he has more than a little history...and about whom he has been lying for the past 7 years, claiming that he is Yu She's lover, in a bid to help use Yu She's reputation to protect Prince Ning's children.

Hijinks ensue.

And so does a political nightmare.

My Take: TYQHM was a hard book to get into because there are just so many characters and it's all about politics - this is NOT a xianxia or wuxia novel, and these characters are NOT cultivators. There's basically nothing supernatural in the whole book; instead, it's about Zhong Wan and Yu She figuring out their own histories, and accepting each other, while trying to survive in a political world that increasingly wants both of them dead. However, I adore political plots, and when all was said and done I really enjoyed it, and I'm trying tooth and nail to claw other people into the fandom with me, so far with basically no success. It only has like 15 works in English on AO3. And so not only does it not fit that requirement of yours...

Relationship Dynamic: ...I think you would also probably not like the relationship dynamic? Zhong Wan is a bit like Wei Wuxian-as-Mo Xuanyu, except more...genuinely? Like, it's his actual personality, not an act, in quite the same way. I don't mean the "flamboyantly gay" part...usually...he definitely has his moments...but he's just...like, he's been through so much that he'll basically say anything, and drag himself entirely through the mud, to distract people who might hurt the three kids (they're like 16, 13, 13, now I think? It was never THAT clear to me, tbh...certainly, all are at least 10...) and, later, Yu She. He has zero face, and doesn't mind having negative face when he feels the situation demands it...and Yu She, on the other hand, has MAJOR depression issues, is sure he deserves nothing, and mostly wants to destroy everyone around him and then kill himself, at least until Zhong Wan starts giving him a reason to live again. But, more than that...Zhong Wan is like the fucking epitome of a bratty subby bottom. He wants to get fucked SO bad. And Yu She is an incredibly reluctant dom, hilariously so at times, uncomfortably/manipulative so at others. When all was said and done, I was pretty fond of them both, but there were definitely moments that made me grimace, and given what you say of how you felt about MDZS, I think this one is less likely to be to your taste?

Bonus 7: Guardian by Priest. I never finished the novel version of Guardian because the translation had some issues that caused me not to enjoy it, so I won't get into it too much, but again, Guardian is a very different book than any of the others, because it's modern fantasy(ish, like, it's still deeply embedded in Daoist-related tropes but it's more "magic spells" and less "cultivation." Like, in terms of what it's like, it felt more like Japanese modern Onmyoji style stories, to me, than it felt like the ancient Chinese wuxia/xianxia cultivation stories.). I'm not gonna get into lots of details, because I read part of the book more than a year ago, and have seen the show (which is VERY different) like three times, so I can hardly even remember what they're like in the novel. There was definitely some weirdness, though? If you're potentially interested, I'd suggest starting with the drama instead. The plot for that is...

Plot: Zhao Yunlan heads a Special Investigation Unit in the human world tasked with maintaining a treaty between humans and the dixigren ("undergrounders") who are (in the show) aliens (in the book...it's the world of the dead). While doing this job, he keeps running into this professor, Shen Wei, who definitely knows more than he oughta.

Hijinks ensue.

And then it murders you with feels.

The live action streams from YouTube - here.

(Warning: uh, I don't want to give spoilers, but my "guaranteed happy ending" does NOT apply to the Guardian TV show...but it does apply to the book, as I understand it.)

*

Anyway, this was a terrible use of my time but it was definitely more fun than what I should be doing, and it's probably way more information than you wanted or needed, but since I wasn't sure what exactly you had in mind, I figured...might as well be thorough?

(Today's hyper-focus fail: this post, ha...)

[ahiddenpath]

Tips for Adding an OC to a Fanwork

I hate to be presumptuous, but I’m asked variations of, “Hidden, how do I effectively add an OC (original character) to a canon cast?” fairly often.  And I can see why!  Adding characters to a canon cast is an uphill climb!  For whatever it’s worth, I’ve written up my thoughts beneath the cut, and I truly hope they’re helpful. 

First, I’ll briefly touch on why OCs and OC-centric stories are comparatively unpopular.  

The biggest reason is simply because most people read fanfics so they can spend more time with their favorite existing characters.  A lot of folks would rather read an entirely original work than a blend of canon and original, and that’s a-okay!  It’s just a personal preference, like how some people prefer fluff and some prefer angst.

But OC-centric stories often have to contend with preexisting disdain for things like self inserts, mary sues, wish fulfillment, etc.  I’m not going to touch on how to avoid writing a self insert or mary sue, because you should be able to, if you want to!  Fanfiction is meant to be a safe place to play, explore, and create.  You do you, and don’t worry about critics!  You’re protected by your internet anonymity, and most platforms allow you to turn off anonymous reviews, which should spare you the worst of negativity.

But if your goal is to seamlessly add an OC to a canon cast, here are my suggestions for your consideration!

Consider the dynamics of the canon cast while planning your OC.

In my opinion, one of the best reasons to add an OC to a canon cast is because the cast might benefit from an additional personality type.  That is, the existing cast should inspire and influence your OC.

I hesitate to offer my main OC, Eimi Anami, as a “model OC,” but she’s what I have to work with, so please roll with me.  I’m going to reference Growing Up with You, a Digimon Adventure fic, since it’s an “add OC to canon” story.

Despite their flaws, the Chosen kiddos are exceptionally good, trusting characters.  And while many of them have complicated home lives, their difficulties are mostly caused by lack of communication/miscommunication.  This leads the kiddos to be too trusting/forgiving/naive for their own good at times.  I wondered how the dynamic might change if a new character wasn’t as trusting.  Would she be able to voice her thoughts to a group of scared, desperate kids that might not want to hear the difficult possibilities she suggested?  Would she come off as hard-hearted/jaded?  If so, what impact would that have on her, and on the team?

You want your OC to add a new flavor to the mix, and to shake up/challenge the existing dynamic.

Consider the show’s themes and try to add something new through your character, or add another facet to an existing theme.

Digimon Adventure follows some kids facing adversity in a fantasy world, which helps them grow and deal with their existing problems in their own world.  (In reality, it would probably just make MORE trauma, but hey!  xD).

I mentioned above that most of the canon cast have some family difficulties, but ultimately, the Chosen all have loving families.  They must find the courage and strength to open up and communicate.  That’s a fantastic message, and Adventure is admirably mature and ambitious in its family themes.  But too many of us come from families where we can’t communicate our problems away- or even reach understandings through family therapy.  Readers follow Eimi through this general situation in GUWY.  

In my opinion, media rarely allows us to watch a character come to terms with the fact that their abusive family will never be anything but abusive, mourn that loss, struggle with their trauma, and start their healing.  It seemed like an especially poignant message beside a bunch of kids working through a range of family difficulties in tandem.

Don’t give your OC an “in.”

In my opinion, your OC will receive the best reception if they aren’t automatically accepted in the existing group.  If your audience goes through the process of assimilating into the canon cast and earning their friendship with the OC, they are much more likely to accept the OC in turn.  It can feel jarring to open an OC fic with the OC already part of the group, since the readers don’t know them and are probably wondering where they came from, and how they befriended the cast.  Even the kindest canon cast needs time to genuinely grow close to someone.

Consider how your OC relates to the whole cast

It’s fine- and probably necessary, if the canon cast is large- to focus on your OC’s relationship with a few canon characters.  If you’re writing OC x canon character romance, that relationship will likely be the “main” focus.

But let’s say a bunch of friends go out, and the couple among them only talks to one another the whole time.  That would feel unnatural, right?  Make sure your OC is interacting with everyone in a way that feels natural.  And remember, your goal in adding an OC is to help the audience come to know and love them.  The best way to show an audience multiple sides of your character is to show them interacting with and growing close to (or further away from, lol!) a variety of people.  After all, different people draw out different aspects of our personalities.

And that’s all I’ve got right now!  I know that writing OC stories can be scary, since they aren’t popular.  But you can make some amazing stories by adding something new to something you love, and someone out there might benefit from what you have to share through your character’s eyes!  Take care, and have a blast writing!

[magalidragon]

Reading Corner

Here’s a sampling of some of the books I’ve read the past few weeks. I’m still working away on my reading challenge 🤣

1. One to Watch

This was really sweet, a different take on a rom com. It is from the POV of a plus size blogger who gets recruited onto a “Bachelor” show. It really hit home to me for a variety of reasons but having the main character plus size and exploring the serious issues she has relating to romance, her size, trust, etc. was unique and I thought well done.

2. Frontier Follies

I looooove Ree Drummond she is so unapologetic and real. This is just a collection of anecdotes from her life and I was laughing my ass off. When she writes about all the dogs they have had on the ranch I was almost peeing my pants I was laughing so hard. She is so relatable it is so nice to see someone in public eye who does not feel the need to conform.

3. The Room on Rue Amelie

I read this author last month and was annoyed at how predictable I thought she was. I had this book and wanted to finish before donating it. While it was better than the other two I read, I did find myself guessing midway about the “twist” and wasn’t wrong. It was based off a true story of an American woman who lived in Paris during the war and did not leave when she could have, and ended up helping downed pilots escape. I liked learning about that aspect from the author notes.

4./5./6. The Kommandant’s Girl series

Oh man. This got me. The first book is The Kommandant’s Girl and I read it in one sitting. It was sooooo good and so different from the other Jenoff books I had read. I truly felt for the main character and the split life she has, the choices she ends up making for her family, people, and the war effort. The sequel is The Diplomat’s Wife which wasn’t as good but does give a peek at some of the characters met in the first book. Then there’s The Ambassador’s Daughter which seemed unnecessary because it follows characters from TKG who we already know what happened to them. It seemed excessive but I will say it was painful knowing that aspect and reading how the characters are hopeful, knowing what happens. Very angsty.

7. The Winter Guest

I’m just bingeing all these books by Jenoff lol. This was very good, a different take on some of her general plots. I did NOT see the ending coming and was on edge of my seat. The main characters are twins who could not be more different. I did end up REALLY disliking one of them and even at end felt little sympathy for her.

8. The Sweetness of Forgetting

Like her other books this did follow similar tropes but unlike the other books it seemed to make more sense. I did not care for the main character and her daughter’s relationship but maybe that is because it was a realistic mom and teen girl portrayal and that’s kind of a lot for me lol. The chapters are also separated with recipes for the bakery items that are at heart of the story, and the “twist” is not one seen in WW2 historical fiction and encouraged me to research it. It touches upon how we are all human regardless of religion and conflict in today’s world with religion is a political construct not a true human one. I think this was my favorite of the Harmel books I have read.

9. The Hunting Party

I read this for the challenge prompt “a locked room mystery”. It reminded me of Agatha Christie and I did not see some of the twists. I kept wondering who was the murder victim until right before the reveal. I’m excited to red her other book “The Guest List.” It also hit on the themes of escapism, loss, and the question of what is true friendship.

10. Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry

I read this as part of my quest to read all the Newberry winners. I never read it in school and it broke me. I don’t know how I would have responded reading it in school as a kid because it is very real about Jim Crow South. I loved it, I think everyone should read it. The POV of a child who just doesn’t see race and has to learn the hard way that it defines her life was heartbreaking and I wish it was no longer like this but sadly we are still fighting these same fights even in 2021.

[gayregis]

tbh i feel like the way ppl approach dandelions sexuality is kinda sus ngl. like oh hes promiscuous and flighty and a serial cheater Obviously hes bi! hed fuck anything lol!! as if thats not grossly biphobic lmao. like im not saying its bad to think hes bi thats perfectly fine but the way people talk abt it and how they get so attached to his womanizing and all when in the books its mostly just kinda gross and unnecessary is like. can you please focus on anything else about him lol

(this is kind of a follow up idk) i also feel like. idk if you remove the Miss Ogeny of the author dandelions whole womanizer schtick is less abt just attraction as is and more abt him being a libertine and treating romance like a game. like it doesnt matter if he actually wants the person hes flirting with it matters that They want Him. idk what im trying to say other than dandelions a horrible narcissist and it doesnt matter if he likes women like hcs are hcs just dont make him het

i agree with this take. a lot of the time, it seems as though fans try to overlook his cheating and rewrite it as him just being polyamorous with open relationships. i think this subject especially is different for everyone on how they feel about cheating - for some, it might be a trigger, and so i feel like everyone should just engage with this subject how they feel is best for them.

for me, i think dandelion’s cheating is representative of his largest character flaws - arrogance and flightiness/noncommitiality. speaking from a canon standpoint, he thinks he’s better than others he engages in relationships with or flirts with (you can see it in how he engages with them thoughout the series), and seems to be never actually emotionally vulnerable with any of the women he dates, and jumps around from partner to partner making promises but never fulfilling them. as you said, “[he treats] romance like a game. it doesnt matter if he actually wants the person hes flirting with, it matters that They want Him.”

to me, it seems like an extension of his stage persona, he flirts using poetic flattery that’s really completely devoid of any true substance. of course, this relates to how sapkowski seems to equate committment in a relationship to true love (again, canonically speaking, yennefer and geralt for instance are not a “good relationship” in the beginning, solely because they can’t commit, and this is where their various behavioral issues stem from). 

it also is of course part of his comic relief, the concept of a poet in poetic love being actually primarily driven by lust and not by love is humorous, on albeit a basic or primal level. additionally, “man gets his comeuppance from his partner for offending her love” is also a comedic trope. this can have a variety of executions and it depends on context to me whether it’s offensive or not - to me, scenes like the beginning of eternal flame are funny because of how the dialogue is comically melodramatic (with insults flying), dandelion is obviously in no position of power over vespula and is not violent at all, and the whole thing is treated comically in a “no one got hurt, this is petty drama with comic supporting characters” sense. i’m able to find humor in this because no one is the butt of the joke, except dandelion, who has wronged his lady and now must face the consequences, which defangs the idea of cheating in my perspective. of course, others might disagree, this is just my personal response to scenes like this. i try not to read too much into dandelion’s canonical love life scenes other than treating them as comic relief, because i feel that is their intended purpose (for example, i have seen takes that anna henrietta sentencing dandelion to execution was abuse on her part... to me this feels extreme and i’d rather just see it as the humor it was intended to be, for reference i just explained why i am able to find it funny and accept that others may not be able to).

but back to the subject - yes, i think that dandelion’s cheating and wronging his partners is more representative of his character flaws, and this is why i think they need to be acknowledged when addressing his character. if you remove the context of cheating and say, “see, he is only ever flirty and sweet,” i think it removes a lot of the imperfections from his character. and these imperfections are significant, because he later demonstrates commitment and humility in other ways -- mainly to geralt, who he follows into brokilon in time of contempt. 

as an aside, i find their dynamic interesting on dandelion’s side partially because of dandelion’s behavior elsewhere - he never gets emotionally attached to the women he engages with, but for geralt, he’d risk his life constantly just to be by his side, and also bare his “true self,” not putting on poetic airs and acting truthfully to who he is? it’s partially due to just the misogyny in the writing and dandelion’s character (like how yennefer never really spends time with geralt so their relationship by the end seems like we skipped 10 years of relationship development), but the dynamics still stand.

for this subject specifically, i think it just needs to be treated with a lot more carefulness than “we can erase this, he’s just very flirty and promiscuous, hey, he’s bisexual now,” because as you said, this is pretty biphobic. i think it’s fine to headcanon dandelion as bisexual, i headcanon him as bisexual, but i think there needs to be more process involved in coming to the headcanons, or the headcanon needs to be entirely divorced from his behavior.

i headcanon him as bisexual for different reasons, not because he’s promiscuous, that factor is besides the point. i’m willing to accept his canon relationships with women and i also read subtext between him and geralt, so, logic has it that i see him in canon holding intimate relationships with both women and men, that’s bisexuality. i think he also represents in the series a great love for people overall, he seems to find beauty in the world where others would rather overlook it. 

tldr dandelion’s love life in canon demonstrates his character flaws and needs to be analyzed with more depth than the biphobic “he’s lecherous, thus bisexual”. as you said, he treats romance like a game, and this is unrelated to his sexuality. derive your sexuality headcanons for dandelion elsewhere than his promiscuity.

[izukult]

This is such a cute idea! I’m addicted to making weirdly specific Spotify playlists so this is perfect. I have an ✨eclectic✨ music taste but my favorites are usually bedroom pop (mxmtoon, chloe moriondo, khai dreams, etc), romantic classical (think Debussy and Revel), and indie (although I like some Megan Thee Stallion, AC/DC, Nirvana, etc when I’m hyping myself up). As far as my personality goes, I’m pretty insightful and like to support people whenever I can, even if I don’t know them well. I can be a little chaotic sometimes, but I like to think it’s a chaotic good. I love tea, blankets, philosophy, deep conversations, the outdoors, and writing. I’m also an INFP and a Taurus :)

Sorry if that was too much, thank you so much! Take care of yourself and stay well

- Elle ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

( @snoozless ) you don’t understand how bad i want to be your friend. 😐😐 ok so you kind of get bonus 😀 but it rly might not be bonus because akfjakdkw. so, i gave you matsukawa!! but he’s not always like revered about so if u want a character lmk!! i am. in love w him tho. you’re so sweet you would balance him out and yall would be equally chaotic together.

he would have philosophical questions w u!! he might just be a little blunt & might accidentally cut the convo short, but he would listen to everything you said.

he’s used to a wide variety of music bc i’m convinced the seijoh playlists are absolutely fucking cracked like so loud. so he really could sit there and listen to anything. and i mean ANYTHING. like if you wanted to put on christian rock he’d awkwardly try to tap his foot on beat for you.

but, that doesn’t mean he’s gonna geek over you i feel like he’d be pretty private about the relationship. he’s not like secretive but he’s not gonna post you every two seconds yknow? he wouldnt put prom photos, but if yall went to look at the stars or go on a little hike he’d take a pic and youre wearing baggy sweats and one of his shirts and your hair isnt brushed for shit and it’s way too dark to properly make your face out and he’d put that shit on his main absolutely 😒

this man would be the kind of mf to look up his “crush’s” zodiac just for shits & giggles, so if he randomly knows a taurus fact, don’t question it<3 (he looked up your compatibility and he will take that to the grave)

issei is an infp idc. so yall got that in common.

he’s genuinely so pretty.

bc i took so long, i’m going to put descriptions for all the songs i love you thanks for requesting sorry for taking forever i’ll link the playlist and list the songs<3

1. silly girl- chloe moriondo

okay while this song is actually kinda sad, i think tHIS is pretty cute. issei comes off as this intimidating guy, and the more you get to know him the more you forget ab this idea of him you had or whatever? like the lyrics “i made him perfect, cause i wanted him to be” are really prominent in the point i’m tryna make because like even tho the lyric is obviously sad bitch shit, music is up for interpretation and this is like “hello ok he actually a real mf and shiiit maybe he cool😁✊”

2. nice boys- TEMPOREX

kinda sad. i don’t care how unemotional he might act, everyone has shit that brings them down. PLUS HES A PISCES THERES NO WAY HES NOT SAD SOMETIMES. this song just really taps into insecurities for him, and the song just gets under his skin in like a very therapeutic way. also “because he’s a pisces” some of his emotions are super intense so the “because he cares too much” line hits him fuckin hard

3. IV. sweatpants- childish gambino

this is some shit he listens to more with his team, absolutely. no doubt they blare this shit during weekly practice. but, he really really likes the song. so, when you’re hanging out and he has the aux? it’s one of the first ones he puts on. you two jam to it together. he’ll come up w dumb little dances to fit with certain lyrics (stole some of them from oikawa and hanamaki, but he won’t tell you)

4. you get me so high- the neighbourhood

okay unfortunately i must say him and hanamaki get fuckin faded in empty fields at two am all trashy like. but they make it look good idc. and if you smoke, cool, if you don’t he does not care. he always associated getting high with,,, getting high and everytime he listened to this song it just was one of his getting blazed jams, but now he’s got like a different kinda “euphoric” feel with loving you? like i said this bitch is a pisces even if he doesn’t overwhelm you with affection, he thinks ab you 24/7

5. 80’s makeout session- dacelynn

thIS SONG IS SO CUTE. but it’s p self explanatory. in love and also spare a kiss pls

6. can i call you tonight- dayglow

i feel like actually coming to terms with genuine feelings for someone would be kind of weird for issei. like no offense, but he sees it as kind of a pain in the ass. i genuinely think he would be someone to put his all into work or a task in front of him. he’s super intuitive, and constantly uses it to be better. whether it’s in volleyball or like cremating ppl i guess (HE WORKS INA FUNERAL HOME POST TIME SKIP IF U DIDNT KNOW). and it’s the same in relationships, but it’s also harder because he can’t have this complete clear head because you make his brain go kinda fuzzy. so, this song is like his little way of expressing that even tho he was like ‘internally conflicted’ this mf chose to go for it and that’s how much u mean to him

7. clair de lune, L. 32- claude debussy

i’m gonna be fucking honest with you. even though he’ll listen to anything, i really don’t think this man is looking up ‘classical romance study tunes’ playlists in his free time. he definitely enjoys the music, but that’s only if someone points it out to him. and he’s listened to you talk about it before, and watched you as you heard the piano and gauged your reactions and thought u were pretty cute he’s not gonna lie😼. so he definitely just looked up classical romance and picked the first recommended song and added it on there. he’ll dance w you a lil bit, but it wouldn’t be that quiet, intimate slow dancing in the dark you think would come w this song. itd just be a little sway as he hugs you from behind while you get water, or he twirls you once randomly with a laugh UGH I LOVE HIM

8. like real people do- hozier

ok. this one was fun for me. idc. double meaning lol. so this song is literally about two dead bodies in a bog and ,,, and he works in a funeral home PLS LMAOFJAJDJA I THINK THATS SO FUCKING FUNNY AND SO DOES HE. but also this song literally is my idea of love. this is my idea of love. and yall listen to it, with your stupid little death joke, but he looks at you and he’s just like ‘oh’. yknow? YKNOW?

9. BS- still woozy

like i said, i think he puts a lot into work. and he literally plays for a powerhouse school there’s no way he doesn’t practice a lot. so that means there’s a lot of time where he’s physically not there and definitely can’t text, because he’s trying to improve. and while he wouldn’t stop volleyball for someone else, he understands that you are like super amazing for being so Cool with him not being the most available. the song just reminds him of how compassionate you are and also he does miss u when he’s at practice YKNOW?

10. i <3 u- boy pablo

this one made me so fucking soft ew. ok. this song reminds him of you so so much. he’s totally okay being vulnerable with you? and even though he has pretty heightened emotions, he’s never felt like so strongly for smth other than like ??? volleyball and caring ab his siblings (BUT HE FEELS DIFFERENT FOR U THAN HE DOES FOR A VOLLEYBALL AND HIS SIBLINGS PLEASE😁). HE LUVVVVV YOU

11. heart-shaped box- nirvana

so many reasons. for one, simply fucking JAM. yall would scream this on a drive. if you ever got drunk together, this would be the first song you play. also, little lyrics remind you of each other. (the pisces lyric in the first and third verse, and even tho the flowers aren’t being used in a sweet sense in the song he does remember talking ab flowers w u, and now any flower is mentioned and he’s like “ah yes. my girlfriend.”)

12. pluto projector- rex orange county

FUCK. FUCK THIS SONG. GOD. NO. LIKE HE REALIZES HE’S IN LOVE WITH YOU WITH THIS SONG. HE T E L L S YOU HE’S IN LOVE WITH YOU WITH THIS SONG. the first time, he just sends you the name of it like ‘pluto projector <3’ and you listen and it’s so sweet and ur like ayo turn this shit up. and he adds it to your playlist, which definitely gets a smile from you. and then one night like two weeks later youre just laying together, and he’s running his fingers through his hair and he pulls away for a second to grab his phone and he turns the song on and you just listen to it in silence and it’s so fucking intimate. and he’s just like “i don’t think i’ve ever related to a song more” and you think he’s making a joke so you tell him to shut up (also jokingly) and he just laughs and it’s dark in his room and he’s playing with your hair again and he just goes “god, if you’re telling me to shut up over that i don’t even want to imagine how you’re gonna react when i tell you i love you” and it’s right around 3:10 in the song i’m literally so gone for him. bye you cry and try to hide it but he can tell HES PERCEPTIVE

13. i wanna be yours- arctic monkeys

okay for one, it’s a good song. it’s a song he absolutely let’s play in the background, just to cover the static lol. but also? ALSO? THE TITLE APPLIES TO YOU THE FUCK? it’s as if,,, he’s whipped,,

14. supermassive black hole- muse

hanamaki prolly showed him this song, and it’s one of his vibe songs. he will do falsetto while singing it if he’s in a really good mood and it just makes everyone laugh, including himself. it actually kind of grosses him out, because this song used to literally just be a song he would aimlessly go hard to but NOW his little bitch ass is like “you set my soul alight”? i guess i relate and “oh baby, i’m a fool for you” well, surely i’m not a fool but yea i get you muse sing it. it’s so gross. at this point he wants one thing that doesn’t make him think of you, just to prove that he’s not that gone, but he struggling

15. desperado- rhianna

i’m sorry to say it but this song makes him feel like a bad bitch LMAOOOOO. like if he’s ever getting pregame jitters or anything, he will just play this song. whether it’s on the speaker or in his headphones, he puts this shit on full volume and gets a lil too cocky LOL. this is also on the main seijoh playlist no doubt. he wants to share his bad bitch song w you, so you can aLSO feel like a bad bitch?? dUH

IM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT BABES! IF YOU WANT ANY OF THE SONGS CHANGED (or even the character) LMK!! UR AMAZING ur so sweet it makes me ill