#bg is kinda busy but I didn't know what to do for it and this is what my brain spat out

[rileys-battlecats]

vengeance

[sadaveniren]

Hi! Why do you think BG is still going? I see a lot of people saying that it is an alternative to Louis having to have a beard but in my opinion it's much worse to use a child who has no say in the matter and will probably grow up damaged than a beard who has signed up for the job and is getting paid well. A child is not needed to maintain a closet. So with that in mind, why do you think Louis is stuck with Freddie?

Okay you are like the fourth or fifth anon who has insisted that a child is not a way to maintain a closet and while I... guess I get where you are coming from I feel like everyone asking this seems to be forgetting that this isn't just... a decision Louis made in 2022.

Here lemme just include a portion of this ask and then I'll ramble behind a cut

That anon is 100% right btw. This decision was made in 2015 (tbh I think it was probably made in late 2014 but that's a whole separate talk) by music execs who wanted something flash in the pan for their boyband that was about to lose one of their most well known members (Zayn - and no this isn't blaming Zayn for BG I am lying the guilt very FIRMLY on the feet of Sony/Syco/Modest/Simon for this one). What happened after has just been... a shit show.

I don't think Louis knew there was going to be an actual fucking baby involved until October when Belfast happened and when the baby was born I don't think anyone knew how long this was supposed to last. They took almost two weeks to file the birth certificate. I think they were trying to figure out something else to go forward with it, and they were trying to muddle all of what was coming out so fandom didn't know top from bottom.

They ultimately decided to file the birth certificate and go the paternity route and everything was then meant to lead up to a paternity test denial. And then Jay got diagnosed with cancer in March 2016 and everything went off the rails.

I think decisions were made back in 2016 because of that so Louis could have the privacy he wanted for his mother and BG was put on the back burner of his mind. I think Louis did two years of hard pap work for BG before he decided "okay I'll move back to London and let this baby thing die off, I'll focus on making music I want to make and I'll figure it all out later." He did Xfactor like Simon wanted in 2018, he avoided LA like a plague, and he tried to get Walls made.

I think he might have felt he found a good balance ignoring everything by 2020 and not mentioning it and then Briana had to go and get fucking sued because she scammed some dude for fake boobs. I'm not expecting anyone to remember this but I went on a VERY LONG RANT about how dangerous of a position that put Louis and his business companies in because it involved taxes and the IRS. I would not be surprised that that moment basically made Louis go "okay well I can't just let things lie because then I'll have a bigger mess on my hand and stuff will creep up that I can't control that involves my closet" and so he has taken back over the stunt so he can have control over his closet.

Here's basically where I'm at and you can agree or disagree but this is what it is: Louis ending BG without coming out would be very difficult. Someone asked me "what do you mean babies are part of the closet" and it's kinda like... a baby is like the ultimate proof to the heterosexual world that you are heterosexual. You have had verifiable sex with the opposite sex. The nuance of how that all happens is lost in part of the bigger heterosexual picture. If you remove the baby from the equation you are now left with "Turns out Louis Tomlinson isn't the dad of the baby his fans never thought was his because they think he's gay and in a relationship with Harry Styles." And the fact that they have let it go on longer and longer just makes the fact you can't end it without forcing him out of the closet very difficult.

Especially if they don't have another section of the closet to fill that piece. AKA... he gets engaged or married to his long term girlfriend. Because what most people try to accomplish with their closets is that people don't go snooping around it. And losing BG would cause people to do that with Louis. "oh that baby was fake what about your relationship? oh you and this girlfriend have been together for how long and you guys never post anything normal or have gotten married/engaged? huh... weird"

And if he is trying to remove having a public girlfriend from his public persona, which I think he is, the only piece of the closet he has left is BG. Because if he removes BG he has to do SOMETHING to re-enforce the heterosexuality. He'd need to up the girlfriend side of things. He might need to get "engaged" so that way people don't go poking around at his closet.

TL;DR: BG is being used because it has been here. They missed the boat of ending the stunt at a time where it wouldn't have immediately outted Louis and now they have to use BG as part of his closet until Louis is able to come out. Which is his right to choose when he wants to come out. Does it suck for the kid? Verdicts out tbh but I'm not someone who thinks the kid really knows what's going on at this point outside of "oh hey I know this famous dude and go to Christmas with these people who are nice to me" and I also think when he's not with Louis - which is a lot - he's probably living his little six year old life with his mom and dad.

[iseullgc]

profile. background.

okay now that my prewritten things are out of the way — hello friendos i am here with my third muse cho iseul, future it boy, wannabe idol, etc etc etc. thank you for the welcomes (will be getting to those in a bit) but i wanted to post a short about (him) if you didn't to read the monster i put in his bg post hahaha

as always, like to plot!! i also have twitter and d*scord (young_story) if that's easier for you ^^

also, i'm looking for LGCU plots specifically for people in the house of younggong.

he was born on 010101 so when he was growing up, his nanny used to call him an angel all the time bc angel numbers

he doesn't really enjoy that his bday is on new years, but what can you do lmao

he was born in vancouver canada but he was back and forth between van and seoul a lot as a kid

he did some of his younger years in an international school in seoul (gr 8-10 age 13-15) before he moved back to canada for a while

his parents are rich business people (they both work in international trade) so he didn't see them very much when he was growing up (and sees them even less now)

was always lonely when he was younger and that has manifested as him being rather clingy with the friends that he has now

he came to seoul (permanently) last year (july 2022) when he auditioned for fun in an international legacy audition and passed

he actually feels a bit more at home in seoul bc he has a few friends here compared to being back in canada (though he does miss his nanny. she didn't really take care of him much now that he was older but they kept in touch, and he has fond memories of her being one of the only people who cared for him in comparison to his parents)

he currently is still kinda figuring out what he wants to do because while he loves to dance, he's not too sure if being an idol is cut out for him

he's a decent singer though, and he likes to think that he's unique bc of his higher tone

he works part-time at a pc room because the hours worked well for him to fit in with training and he likes to cook (even though pc bang food is usually just putting stuff into the microwave or air fryer or just adding water to noodles) he also enjoys that he doesn't really have to talk with anyone, though he's more than happy to talk to people about games or whatever (he knows games but mun doesn't hahaha)

some plot ideas

friends from canada!!

other people he might've known in the circle of Rich Business People's Kids aka they literally sat at the same table while their parents mingled at Fancy Business Dinners and Events

dorm/roommates shenanigans pls (look at you dorm a!)

he actually needs more friends in general

as always i would much rather brainstorm bc i hate coming up w plots hahahajgkkfd help

[midnightmah07]

Was thinking about this a bit

Growing up Emory probably lived in a mansion or smth. Her father was the only child of one of the wealthiest families so not only did he inherit all the riches but also has a successful business (if he does-dude focused on his career more than his daughters)

So the night he left I imagine he stayed somewhere else and the mother packed her stuff, filed for divorce and moved to a small house on rent. It's not that her mother comes from a poor bg it's just that she has siblings to her family wealth was distributed and she didn't want to what was left of hers yet.

After she got a job herself, they moved to a decent house in the city.

Emory gets transported near the end of her being 16

During that time her father tried to contact her since she is the only alive successor of his family.

She ignores him for a while till eventually she replies to his messages and makes a deal.

The deal being she will inherit his business and his name and in return he won't bother her again.

She wants nothing to do with him but agrees to relieve the burden on her mother.

Soon after this deal gets made, he begins visiting her to kinda get her back in to the rich life and teach her about the business and all.

So she has a bunch of money already and this money gets transferred with her to twst.

And the money is actually useful (twst can have multiple currencies)

But she doesn't tell anyone about the cards she has cuz ain't no way she is spilling that to strangers.

Not that she tells after wards either. Hates the fact someone will try off leech of her.

Keeps the card with herself and after she graduates uses it.

And when I say she has a lot, she has alot

Her dad is like Idia lvl rich

WE LOVE TO SEE A RICH GIRLIE THRIVING

Really unique take on Yuu actually, I like that u gave her this bc mayhaps it can make some stuff easier for Emory along the story! Really fun stuff if I had a deadbeat rich dad I'd do the same. Also-- never let Ruggie know of this he will steal from her /hj

Also this is so different from Daisy I'm crying-- my girl was like "wealthy" (she wasn't rich but lived a comfortable life) and had like etiquette lessons and stuff that's why she had like. Impeccable posture and holds herself like a princess, but after her mother and later father passed away her family because lower middle class and when she comes to twst she's poor poor like no money like rivaling Ruggie 💀💀

[trickstarbrave]

Asfkghjkl please please give the deets on Baldur (only if you wanna)

uhmmm sure i can hopefully it will be what u want

>uses he/him pronouns and mostly masculine terms so i guess i'd put him closer to the boy side of nb?? gender is hard i think if you asked him he'd say "i'm a guy??? i think??? i guess???? something like that. definitely not a woman"

>uses primarily one handed weapons. knows a bit of archery and also good with a shield. id apologize for giving so many of my skyrim ocs archery if archery wasnt such a useful fucking skill

>for his bg i didn't actually think it thru LMAO he is just on the streets most of his childhood so he learned to steal. this gets ppl to treat him like shit from an early age bc no one wants a scrappy thief running around your home or business potentially stealing from you

>very good looking. other characters are transphobic abt his appearance now but fuck them i love my pretty boys and will make pretty boy ocs until i die probably.

>has faced a lot of SA both pre and post transition and is pretty traumatized and thats mentioned a lot in the story early on esp disassociation from trauma so it might be triggering. i self projected a Little too hard. he learns to fight to defend himself and refuses to die

>obv not every single character was a horrible transphobe but baldur also like to keep to himself due to being burned before and theres also a lot of casual transphobia. he's a smaller guy rather than the typical buff nord warrior (a significant portion of that comes from malnutrition growing up though)

>he makes it all the way to sovngarde actually despite how frankly ill prepared he was

>like i need to stress even with the "blades" backing him and him doing active recruitment for them and getting them to higher numbers than the game allows (for more realism) he isn't taken seriously by most people and was super unprepared. they sent him to get the dragon stone and fight the dragon at the tower bc they were kinda just hoping he'd die. even the blades didn't rly take him seriously except for delphine and esbern and delphine wasn't happy this was their 'hero'. he was kinda scrawny due to not eating properly and not trained well enough. despite this he was a pretty terrifying warrior

>alduin acknowledges this and thinks if he treats THIS dragonborn like a dragon he shouldnt get a miraak situation this time. he gave miraak too much freedom as a priest as far as he is concerned. keep the dragonborn on a tight leash with proper discipline and rewards and he'll hopefully have a good champion on his hands instead.

>i made up some shit for this fic exclusively that is probably not lore friendly. which is dragon's CAN just make oaths they take seriously, but also alduin knows how to etch that oath onto their souls and claim them as his own. breaking the oath can have some dire consequences, but as a benefit you can get stronger and also be brought back from the dead by alduin because alduin is eternal and can't ever really die without seriously destroying time as we know it. normally its uncomfortable and dragons just put up with it but uhhhh baldur likes it a little Too Much

>did i mention this fic gets pretty bdsm? it kinda does. we have soul branding, soul sex i guess???, possessiveness, claiming, probably more im forgetting. alduin learns the joys of a very submissive and compliant sub i guess

>also added is like i said in another ask dragons in this au do just have sex. theyre pretty cautious, prideful creatures though. so usually there is some light combat/wrestling/debating over who is gonna bottom and 'submit'. dragons love dominating after all and who am i to take that from them. they'll do it to blow off steam reinforce hierarchy, for rewards, and also just for fun. dragons don't really need to reproduce and can choose if they get pregnant or not so it serves other functions socially for the most part

>in fact finding two dragons that ACTUALLY reproduce is weirder. they can in this fic but for the most part they don't. having kids with someone requires a level of trust and devotion that dragons seldom like to give up, but it does happen from time to time. those that do are usually mates for life and are pretty exclusive with one another. creation via reproduction is seen as inferior to just shaping the world however you want to (and THAT part is actually lore compliant with tes

>oh yeah and dragons are fucky with gender. they're literally dragons. demi gods to full on gods and cosmic forces of the natural world. what matters is if you're a drake or a jill (god i hate that term but its what we got) and that also informs your duties to time itself. theres drakes that lay eggs and jills with penises. also why dragons vary so much in appearance, they just pick how they wanna look. they don't give a shit. baldur having a vagina absolutely does not phase alduin, nor does his transition--its only right he change his body just as he changes the natural world with his thu'um, its his birthright by akatosh

>i know a lot of the above isnt abt baldur specifically but i hope it can inform you a lot on how his relationship with alduin goes and why it goes that way

>alduin names baldur his champion and doesn't hesitate to start taking care of him. he isn't aware mortals down in skyrim weren't treating him the best yet. he thought they should have been given he is their champion sent by the divines to defeat him according to prophecy yadda yadda so why wouldn't they treat him like a king and outfit him with the best gear they had at their disposal? but baldur well fed, well trained, and geared up is kinda Stupid OP, especially when backed by an army of fire breathing dragons and magic flinging undead. lol. this boy has no problems

>baldur starts conquering cities no problem. the wonders actually being well fed, geared up, and surrounded by colleagues that don't hate you can do

>alduin actually likes having sex with baldur just as much as baldur does with him. alduin theorizes it's because akatosh made baldur for him (to stop him, but same difference in the end), and the dragonborn is the most loyal of his followers so he doesn't really care

>the other dragons get jealous of it though. where is THEIR fun reward. why don't THEY get to fuck the champion. whatever alduin is being nice (by world eater standards) now so they can let it slide

>im actually thinking of alduin having baldur's armor designed after himself. walk up in armor that looks like the scales of akatosh's first born to show how much you belong to him. lol

>does alduin fuck him in a conquered city at one point? i can neither confirm nor deny.

[amynchan]

Writing Update, I suppose???

So I have a oneshot story for MDZS I've called it The Ways In Which I Love You. I wanted to use some prompts to do little things, so now I've got this. XD It's halfway done at this point (go me!), and this is chapter #5.

Chapter 1: Wangxian, "Who did this to you?", T

Chapter 2: Wangxian, "You're my best friend. I've always loved you.", T

Chapter 3: Wangxian, "Oh. Oh.", G

Chapter 4: Wangxian, "Shut up." "Make me.", E

Chapter 5: Jiang Cheng & Wei Wuxian, "Then why did you do it?" "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU", T

Chapters 1 and 5 have Alternate Attempts that I made and abandoned for different reasons. They're in the sequel story, The Ways In Which I Botch Loving You.

Chapter 1: "Who did this to you" Take 1

Chapter 2: "Then why did you do it?" "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU" Take 1

I'm hoping to get the other 5 prompts out in a timely manner, but we'll see how it all goes. I currently have my rolling die python application (that I made ages ago and didn't realize would come in so handy!) open to make sure that each prompt is randomly selected when I move onto the next, and the next prompt (for anyone interested) is ''I didn't know where else to go.'' A few ideas are already bouncing around, so we'll definitely see how this goes. >:3

I have a sister story for Selling Flowers in the works, though it's gone through a couple of serious overhauls at this point. ^^; New beginnings, new endings, new consequences, new disasters, new timelines, new lots of stuff. I'm really enjoying this AU. This story just needs major tweaks in order for me to get the timeline I really want down right. What I can and will say is that it's Jiang Cheng-centric, focusing on what he and certain others were up to during what we all know had to have been a rough patch in Wei Wuxian's life. It'll touch on the past, a tic of trauma, how Jiang Cheng interacts with the Wens, his dynamic and feelings towards Wei Wuxian himself, and the Jiang family situation. I am seriously aiming big here.

I also have a story that I never released, but it runs in the same vein as To Never Forget, but sadder. Well... ish. I had a thought experiment going about Wei Wuxian, what he's been through, and his happy ending, and I wanted it to be a little more tangible than just inside my own head, so I started writing out a story. I'm hoping it'll be no more than a few chapters once I'm done with it, and I want similar vibes to what I was going for with Trapped are the Guilty, but we'll see if the years have really honed in my ability to get the effect I'm going for.

There's a slow-going HunterxHunter AU that I've been working on, but I'm currently stuck there. However, it's a non-nen AU where Gon and Killua meet when they're much older and have slightly different priorities. Gon works with Kurapika, Leorio, and Melody in an undisclosed business while setting a trap and lying in wait for Ging to come along. He's very reluctantly patient about the whole thing. Killua is with Alluka, living a...life..., and there's something... not quite right or wrong about the pair. Whatever's up, Gon is still Gon, Killua still needs a friend, and the world is a little more grey than we all want to believe it is.

Finally, there's a fluffy as heck oneshot idea that's in the works and already has a beginning kinda hammered out. It's come to Lan Wangji's attention (through Unfortunate means) that Wei Wuxian doesn't sleep as well when they are forced to part. When Lan Wangji is sent out and Wei Wuxian must stay behind, what's a man to do to ensure that his beloved husband gets the rest that he needs? The answer comes from the same source as the unfortunate revelation, and I think it's kinda funny.

So... I think that's everything. Now y'all are up to date on the thoughts of Amy. XD Or, at least, the writings she's been actively working on. Some passive stuff is going on in the bg of my computer and shall stay there for a long time. *pat pats computer*

[bloompompom]

two years later i had another roommate that i had to get a court order on

she was having her boyfriend sleep over and my other roommate wasn't comfortable with it, so we chatted with her about it. she didn't really cooperate, which was shitty.

but then shit hit the FAN when our landlord found out. that + some other stuff she was doing in the bg = her getting evicted EXCEPT she started throwing a FIT. i was in my room minding my own business and there were pots and pans hitting the ground, she was screaming, banging on doors, etc etc she eventually left, which was good because i was late to work and we all know retail corpos won't take "my roommate is banging on my door and yelling curses at me" as an excuse for dipping out on a shift (french revolution when)

we tried to deal and just have like a buddy system so our roommate wouldn't try anything funny just because she was kinda freaking us out. one night i was hanging out in my roommate's room and we heard loud ass music begin playing in the kitchen (surprise! it was the problematic roommate) she was blasting music and then shouting any curse words that would come up at the top of her lungs at our door specifically.

after that my other roommates and i went to the courthouse and got a court order.

what luck you have with roommates!! it’s the worst feeling to be uncomfortable where you live, and even worse when it’s a person because it’s just soo like… threatening, for lack of better word. i hope you’re in a better spot now!

anonymously tell me anything!

[7ban-sama]

Could you rank the covers please?

haiiiiiiii, wakaru 👏 ikimashou

let's start with least favorites and work our way up, how 'bout.

starting with... this.

i could not care less-!!! it's kinda funny. nothing about the pose or colors or anything makes me feel much. i think mitsuba's school mystery outfit is busted lol, he feels like he has a bunch of stuff glued onto him. a bit too busy and silly for me to take seriously. his bones... his, eyeballs and little mirrors. feathers kinda like, bits n pieces stuck in his hair. i know you didn't choose to look like this mitsuba but it doesn't change the fact that i'm not into it... sorry.

it probably doesn't help that every time i'm reading PP i'm like god. get these clowns out of here-!! they're interrupting the DRAMA... feel like i'm asleep for their parts of this arc. so for them to get a cover is like sigh, whatever. it ruins the flow of all the amane focused ones lol... i wish i lived in the world where every PP volume had amane and nene on it. [thinks...] i would even sooner let shijima-san take one cover tho, if it had to be interrupted. just not this. -_-

next up...

i don't like kou. kinda repulsed by his pelvis zone here. big ugly guy huge forearms. i think i look cool in this image and the bg being black / there being a lot of gold present makes it more visually appealing than the previous cover. but only by so much.

i think it's kinda funny i have fangies and crazy swirly eyes. does it have to do with what vol 4 is... about? [pause...] hm... whose to say lol. it's funny, regardless.

this is.... neutral territory. i don't feel much about it. i'd say toilet trio illusts in general are very, snzz, i sleep. they can only be so interesting... it's sorta like seeing 'stock art' of a series, the things that go on t-shirts and cut-outs. Here are the characters. yep... nothing wrong with that, but nothing to be felt, past a point. esp when everyone is just big smiles or something, facing the audience. this doesn't really convey who they are as individuals, or their dynamic, even.

a part of me almost wishes someday there wouldn't be a need for depictions like this. i'd prefer seeing these 3 in a more grounded scene, if anything. [shitty amane voice] anyways.

now here's a few that are like. nothing felt. but i don't hate them. but it's like Lol.... there's genuinely nothing to be said. hearts nene is the cutest one here? let's go with that.

*amused huff* an image like this, i get the impression that i'm not the target demographic (genuine fujoshi...) so it's pretty logical it doesn't make me feel much. not the drawing's fault, really.

also, when akane is all bishie'd out in clock keeper mode, i can't feel anything about that. but he's not as ugly as kou to me. just wearing a funny outfit ig. meanwhile, hanako looks like a crazy whore. to a degree where it's funny? this is my mental image for what it's like when i suck off my brother. in this way, it has value.

the actual composition, colors used etc. is fine. neutral.

i kinda have a funny relationship with vol 1's cover. in 2020, when the anime released, people were posting gifs etc. of the OP (you know what part of the OP.) the only other thing i saw from the series, aside from that gif, was vol 1's cover. organically, my response to seeing these things in concert, was: "uhh, no thanks lol…" dismissing the series as, perhaps, a bit too shota-yaoi-gnarsty for someone like me… i look at too much porn on pixiv also, so i'm sort of... literate. when it comes to... shotacons. and this is the sort of image pings... a certain flavor... makes me go... "hmm… no… i don't need toilet-fuck-prisoner-skank-ghost-shota, thank you..." (not a value judgment. i'm just more of an oneeshota guy. normal heterosexuality swag.)

anyways, it's purely incidental that this was all i had seen. along with tons of your run of the mill "tsukasa tormenting amane" fanarts... it gave me such a particular impression of the series.

that being said, i never found this cover bad looking or anything. in fact, the style was pretty appealing-? (the style doesn't have to be bad for you to go, that's not my genre of porno ww) now that i've actually read it and love the series, i can say that vol 1 almost has this classic stink to it. it's just so effective. it's not wrong to look at this and think: shotacon bait manga. it absolutely is, lol. & i suppose my first instincts still weren't wrong. again, i'm not the target demographic.

now this is. a bit closer to being For Me. i am now within the target demographic. but it also kinda makes me angry 💔... like i'm being bullied, a bit. you know some images are a bit too gormlessly horny... like, even for me. oooh. nene-chan's being fed this cake. mmm, open up... frosting all over us.. her ankles bound, her pussy barely not visible. and this, mysterious inexplicable knife stabbing a mini heart. it's all like. [stoically] Ok...

you hand this to a 13 yo bird though, i think he'd be spellbound. ohhhhh. what is this...? so colorful... and if he opened the volume and saw that little alice in wonderland illust of nene between the twins + nene's teaparty outfit... he'd be like mrghhh.... *sucks up gravy*

same goes for vol 2's cover.

you hand this to teen bird, it's pure catnip. though i prefer it to the last one, due to the more... noncon lean. and ofc, just being hananene...~

the way nene is posed, the rope, the frills of her uniform, her crying. hanako looking like some scary vampire captor, about to whisk her away. flanked by the knife and scissors... ohhh. what's going to happen to her...? ⬅ i'm already checking this out of the library before this thought can fully crystalize.

it's not quite as lush or impressive as some of aida-sensei's other illusts though. i think her earliest art is most charming in the manga panels themselves. illusts like this, the bodies feel a little too evened out, to me. not so strong colors. mind you, still nice looking. and again with nene's pussy so nearly visible. Well thanks.

vol 3 is always like... *smiles weakly* mmmm. aida-sensei... i accept who you are. i do... i know you kinda can't help it, in some ways. but it's a shame this isn't more... IC... on tsuchigomori's end. i think this image skews a lot of the perception of tsuchigomori's rship with amane, which i dislike, because their rship in canon is... amusing. and tsuchigomori is a weak loser. but i understand what people typically want out of teacher/student. i leave the humble fujo be.

that aside, i'm a fan of everything else. dusky colors, moody expressions. tsukasa's hands reaching out and cupping amane's face. yes... lovely. it was a fun era, when alluding to tsukasa was best done through hands reaching out. something from the past, coming to haunt. i like amane's hat being off... the glass triangles used to show memories, the ropes, the tsubaki. we love imagery, guys.

these next few are like, "i love my wife" (ignores other person.)

i like tsukasa here. a girlie that goes, nyarrrr! fun and minxy, ever the delight to see. all the pinks and reds, the rosy color of the 'seal' kanji... hi sweetie. *blows a kiss* good luck doing your job.

i really like nene in this outfit. i suppose it finally makes you go "oh" about how she has pale hair and red eyes / and how this suits the typical miko white/reds. i'm actually glad we got to see it in a cover. she's all decked out... ornate... frills, draping fabric, big bow. flanked by flowrse and bells. fancy girlie.

i'm more aligned to shoujo manga and such, actually, so an image like kinda lights up the same part of my brain. a feeling like, "i know it well"... girls posed like dolls, together. classic.

you know me, idgaf about kou. but this girl is distinctly gorgeous. i love greyyyy as a background, and how she's composed of pallid colors. her tights feel so stark black. and then the soft yellow and orange in the flowers... ooh. she's really incredible. if it was a nene-only cover, this would be probably one of my absolute favorites. for severance, too, the vibes are flawless. dreary, drained.. enervated feeling girl. she's delicate. love love love.

we're entering a notable jump in favoritism. ⬆ all these prior covers had things like, details i was indifferent towards, or entire characters i wished weren't there/found neutral. ⬇ these next ones are closer to, 'i wouldn't change this, i like who is here'

auhhh... hakusumi... we're so lucky to have a cover dedicated to them. one of my favorite volumes, too, in terms of literal events. i like this pose and the contrast of their expressions... sumire's eyes always feel like they're purposefully kinda, intense and creepy. i think hakubo is appropriately passive... below... but pawing up at her. i really love sumire's hand splayed on his chest too~ kya. vivid purbles... touches of greem... quite nice.

I like these all about the same amount. I look cool in them. Which is nice, because this arc is mostly about me.

i'm simple... i enjoy the duality of amane and hanako. i think PP does a good job at playing with this divide in living self / current ghost self, what it means to have been this. what is the authentic self? what does he really feel? it's even more convoluted when you have hanako functionally RP'ing as his past self.

i like how hanako has more of a severity to him, in these side-by-sides. amane is supposed to be the one who is just a normal boy, 'before tragedy', so he's all smiles. but isn't it funny, with how nene sees past amane as miserable and current hanako as cheery, smiley smiley...? he's a complicated guy, isn't he.

i'm a fan of the colors of vol 9. excitable telescope boy. then, the kinda, paint-splotch feeling details at the ends of his legs, fun allusion to the painting-in-progress world. for vol 11's original cover, i like the stark white bg for hanako. his expression... it's one of those expressions that makes me think aida-sensei is a wizard. how is she doing that...? he looks crazy... but it's so subtle. he also kinda feels like he's about to bite his lip? this + the fingers threaded over rope... a lot. his companion amane meanwhile just feels crazy in a different way, as a result.

handsome coolness abound. ty sensei.

hehehe. 20 is just so ffffffffun! tsukasa giving major "the puppet master that cursed your dick" energy. dark eyes and lidded gaze... seeing the ropes threading around his fingertips is just so fun. they're often off-screen, or blooming from within characters, so i like to see them so decidedly coming from tsukasa. he's orchestrating so much, it's so appropriate, isn't it-!? we owe a lot to him.

i was looking forward to sakura finally getting a feature on a cover. her listless expression and limp body works well with this all. contrast with tsukasa seated somewhat to the side, flanking her. it's cute that these are the colors that mean "spring!" in japan. and aida-sensei has put out so many spring-themed illusts featuring pinks and greens this year. so festive.

it all comes to roost then, in this cover. touches of green in tsukasa's spooky corpse fingertips. the pink all around is giving Femininity, as much as it's giving... sickness... feverishness... i like how sakura's uniform and tsukasa's hakama are a similar shade. pleats and frills... yes yes. i suppose this cover is doing more for me, in the "two pretty girls posed together like dolls" department. it's more on the unhinged side. love love.

these two... they make me stunned by aida-sensei's ability to make an image is simply so... beautiful? fills me with such yearning. i wish i could make something half this good, ahaha. i must drink in these images...

they showcase some softer feeling amanes. crazy boys in prev volumes are fun, but they're not really playing off of the right energy, to me. (not at their full potential yet...?) meanwhile, covers like these, i think the execution is perfect. here's the boy... your title boy. i'm forced to understand why my wife finds me to be handsome, ig.

the illust for the pilot release feels so sweet. like aidairo themselves are fond of their initial pitch still. to include aspects of his old design (like, no thick trim on the gakuran) within aida's more modern style is very cool. translucent... ghostie boy. you know him well. all the flowers frame him nicely.

for the far shore/severance situation, it's quite fascinating to see amane like this. amidst all the madness... i think it's a good follow up to the red house also. this... is the guy we're trying to get back to. the paper lantern he's holding is such a simple yet wonderful detail also. idk... he's really a japanese ghost. he really on "the other side"... in a procession, with the other spirits. and i love the abstract bits of buildings and vehicles floating about, representing the far shore. the sunset orange clouds and bright blue sky... sugoi.

this one makes me feel so simple. sometimes, you just have wife emotions. (i have 4 yo tsu as my bg on tumblr & my pc...💞) i love you BAY-BEEE!!! you're so special to me!! kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss.

this to me is almost like, the blessed version of "this reeks of a shotacon" lolll... cuz now we're at an age range/size that i'm like YEAH!! OOUEHH!!! FUN!!!!!!! BOLD! INTERESTING!! SHOW ME MORE!? i love to see TOYS and DOLLIES, yeahhh! a toy piano!! a robot!! lil cars!! bouncy ball!!! rocky horse! YES!! IT'S ALL THE THINGS!!

center stage, we have tsukasa preciously holding his teddybear. the ripped seams and overflowing stuffing... his lil suspenders and shorts. the thick, vibrant red socks! weewoo. i would say it's a perfectly executed piece. straightforward. welcome to the toy room! it's bright and colorful and a little ominous... don't you want to know more about this lil guy-!? don't you just wanna scoop him into your arms. yes, of course you do!! come on in...

this is probably my absolute favorite volume also... it's so concentrated... i just love this arc sf much. 9.9 the volume sleeve illusts + contents page are perfect. this random illust of hanako that the volume opens up with is very sick & twisted, he scares me. but i also love it very much. and then the first pages are tsukasa asking to play. 10/10... love the whole package. this cover is like a ribbon on top of it all.

[scuffs shoe... gets small.] [hides under my hat.]

... 💦 ... .. .. .... ..... 💦💦 ... ... ............... ..

girlfriend. emotions. (these are somehow different than wife emotions.) she's... resplendent... i don't deserve her... idk, it's hard. to talk about this one, gomen, if this comes out awkwardly.

but it's... just. really pretty. after the whole PP, hurts to look at. the biiiig moon in the sky. dreamy lil stars. the red of her eyes... and for nene to be threading both her hands over his, while red rope binds them together... wonderful. i like how the ropes perfectly kiss with 'red string of fate'... also this all gives me OT3 feels. (tsukasa often symbolized by the moon...) overall, does a great job at conveying the climax of this many-volume arc.

it's a lovely image. and the odd angle to amane's face is inspiring for me, also. i wanna be able to properly represent the huuuge eyes and lil muzzles that the characters in JSHK have. they feel like my little ponies... i must learn how to capture this...

[getting even smaller. ragged.] [sighhhhing forlornly, leaning out a window.] it's my favorite cover. but also, it's my favorite inner sleeve illust... so i must include it. hopefully, you'll understand me, as you see them side-by-side.

the cover, though... it's got it all, i guess. intimacy. atmosphere. expressions are loaded. the hand to yashiro's face... her nape visible. the stars, the lights, the summer night vibe, due to tanabta. yashiro decorated in tsubaki, in her beautiful yukata. the big fanciful bow obi. the air feels thick, humid. gorgeous... wouldn't change a thing.

i love all that tanabta encapsulates. ooh. it's the peak of it all... we're star-crossed lovers, aren't we. reaching through streams of time to meet one another. the indulgence of the age gap... nene onee-san... choosing to meet her again, over dreaming of the future. that's how it always works, right...? love always supersedes any vague wishing of a, career, or w/e... flimsy, in comparison. [i use my severe tone and lots of eye contact to convey that this alludes to the choice to die with tsukasa vs grow up and be an astronaut.]

in the chapter itself, we see that hanako vaguely has some... feeling... memory... of nene's forehead kiss. and i think that's conveyed in the cover, too~ it feels like he can't resist a pull. memories... a long-existing crush, incubating...~ how long has this girl been haunting you...

woof, the romance that oozes from it all... it makes me feel so soooo simple. i like that aidairo can be so... earnest? about it all? we're tying key romantic events with our main couple, to THE romantic festival.. yayaya... yes.... thank you...

all this. all this! and knowing the yugi are running around, eating cotton candy, playing with sparklers, late into the night... we really can have it all, can't we?

[mobiused]

if u aren't busy could u share your thoughts on the r2 stages . ik you shared some but i like reading your opinions ^^

wjsn - well the singing did not really sound like that. like people mentioned before trying to do a dark edgy version of navillera made no sense and i think the gaybaiting intro where they made a big fuss of it on bubble or weverse or whatever about their lips maybe touching was kind of cheap LOL. the dance was kinda mid pretty unremarkable. (the audacity to say loona was unmemorable when i literally forgot every single aspect of their performance a week later. ok.) uh i should think of something nice to say... it gave me this reaction shot of hyeju so thanks wjsn!

loona - my little theatre kids… their most entertaining performance ever it was like a real show, something a little aggravating was the fact the mix aired on the show nerfed their vocals, a lot of comments about their weak vocals but they were WAY better at projecting in the zoom version than the broadcast version so it felt a little anticlimactic especially since there was no cheering when there was a ton on the zoom version so its like uhhh… anyway i love it and im biased idc and if you haven't go listesn to the digital version

BG - really good mix though i kind of hate when momentum is killed in songs but its ok. something that aggravates me about BG is like. they are very very competent singers and yet they're always yelling into mics. you dont need to do that. thats what a mic is for it will make you loud you dont need to shout. please think of the poor sound engineers. better vocalists than a lot of other girls so ill forgive them. love a performance with a narrative too (also how did hyeju predict it was about thievery from like 2 seconds in she's crazy) also i really really like mvsk so i really liked it actually

viviz - the mix was also really good!! unnatural is a well structured song so it was a good pick but eunha hardcarried. it feels like they're not creative enough to overcome their deficiency in talent, and also not talented enough to overcome their deficiency in creativity. that sounds really mean sorry. umji's cane dance was literally laughable if you could call it a dance. at least it was visually impressive (red is cool) and ok to listen to, but performance wise i was left ambivalent… like they are not dancers. damn. did you know all 3 of them are younger than haseul i think thats crazy.

kep1er - the intro was nutty i loved it so much. and then the song was just… how am i meant to listen to that as a single. stop stopping. im trying to listen. of course it was superduper cute but like their other performance it was so chaotic and disjointed that i was left bewildered rather than entertained. the mashup was good though though and hikaru literally devoured shes so cool hyeju why can't you make friends with her instead. at times it was hard to tell them apart from the bg dancers which is not so good… and i really wasn't a fan of the bar dancing like hold on didn't you say you didn't want to do certain BG songs because they were too mature and you have kids in your group…? and yet…? okay sure i guess. and despite how chaotic it was it was pretty low energy at the same time which i guess is maybe impressive in and of itself

hyolyn - how is she so cool…. now this is an ARTIST. i love her clear vision and effort made to interpret the song as its originally intended as well as make it her own. hoop work was more visually impressive than technical but still such a badass intro. her vocals put everyone in the entire show to shame. its amazing how she dominates the stage on her own… but the mix was surprisingly sparse, i dont think i could listen to it as a single, maybe because i'm used to the cracked out original so in that regard i was a little underwhelmed, and i guess the dance after the hoop intro was a little unremarkable but her singing more than makes up for it (and her bg dancer team did great)

final verdict: loona > BG > hyolyn (are you surprised?) > viviz > kep1er > wjsn

[touchmycoat]

mido, i would like to uhh ask for our thots on something - lemme preface this ask first by saying that this is more of a "me" problem, than it is the other party, but, here goes: if there's one thing that i've learned since consuming danmei, it's that you have two very different approaches to it re: fandom. on the one hand, you have the camp of ppl who like to go all out and wild w/ canon, do whatever, enjoy however, and on the other, ppl who try to stick closely to canon, or - 1/?

- those who don't even engage in fandom at all, and are just there to discuss the text as it is. there's nothing wrong with both approaches - we're all just here to have a good time. that being said, it kind of is giving me ??? doubt as to whether or not i'm enjoying fandom the right way. ofc there's no wrong or right way to enjoy a piece of media, and i like to think that this sin't an anne rice situation at all, but - i see ppl say fanon is shit all the time, ppl don't like certain ships.. 2/?

b/c the characters in the ships are so far removed from who they are in the text that they're pretty much just "ocs wearing the character's faces" that i have to just pause, and rlly ponder - am i doing fandom the *right* way? and it's cause for concern because i've done fandom like this ever since. i mean, my first foray into fandom was legit reading pwp/dead dove wild-ass content that was so far removed from canon, and it's been the same for every fandom i've ever been a part of 3/?

a bit of bg on me: before i came to danmei, i was knee-deep in comics. and if there's one thing you need to know abt comics - hell, even star wars - it's that anything goes re: canon because canon changes SO MUCH every few years - canon is always at the whims of the next writer who comes on board, and so it's more or less just a free-for-all pick-what-you-want buffet re: canon. doesn't mean you didn't have the occasional disk horse or meta re: canon & fanon, but. 4/?

i suppose it's just been quite.. the change of pace? anyway, fun fact: i came away from my last fandoms worrying abt and trying to be more dead dove, and now i'm worrying abt whether or not my interpretations will be canon-compliant enough. (damn @self, pick a struggle dude) anyways, one thing i've noticed is that, with mxtx, sv mains are well, i mean the book is legit sy reinventing pidw canon, and anything just goes in sv - so it's perfect. and i guess my worry is that there are - 6/?

- some mdzs-main authors whom i rlly rlly respect but am also so intimidated by because they have such amazing meta on canon events that i'm a little worried abt them seeing my works in the sv ao3 tag - even tho i know some of them don't rlly read fic - and well, getting vagued abt how my fic and interpretation of the story might be, or is, subpar. like i said, it's a me problem, because fandom is all abt writing for yourself, and the easy fix is to simply post on an altogether diff platform 7/?

but, yeah. i guess i'm just - i'm feeling kinda lost, and i get that this is borne out of my own irrational anxiety, but - what're are your thoughts on it? what do you think - is there like, not exactly *right*, but a more *aligned* way of interpreting canon that stays true to the spirit of the story, or should fandom be also all abt going crazy with your ideas? imo, u could adapt a "business in the front, party in the back" strategy on ao3 8/?

- use two complete separate profiles - one account for canon-compliant stuff and another for the id-stuff. but, yeah. i realize that the numbering of my asks may be wonky as hell, because i didn't write this ask in one go and section it off, so i'm rlly sorry if the numbering is confusing af when you view it in your inbox. anyways, that's abt it, and thank you sm for entertaining me, i rlly appreciate i. no rush, this is a super long and ?? ask, and i hope you have a nice day!

--

aah i hope you're having a good day too darling! it sounds like you're feeling anxious about the engagement aspect of fandom, that maybe there's a monolithic interpretation of canon and a "mainstream" way fans are supposed to enact fics/art/vids/etc. To deviate from that would garner negative notoriety, specifically from people whose interpretations are widely regarded as "good and true" and whose interpretations you also do personally like.

To directly answer your question, I do think that fandom should be all about going crazy with your ideas. I don't believe in any policing at all.

Let me try to impose a concrete example onto this real quick (do tell me if I'm misunderstanding). Back when I was on bird app, i followed two kinds of accounts: the Analysts and the Horny Folks. They're not mutually exclusive ofc lmfao but for the sake of ease: we have a set of tweets that are like, "SV identifies XYZ specific failings in stallion novel tropes, prescribes them to toxic masculinity, and reworks them in ABC ways" and another set of tweets that are like, "so Bingge kidnaps SQQ and LQG from canon timeline and fists them both one on each hand." Both kinds of tweets take hard (hard 💕) work to produce and both kinds feed me, god bless. But if you were to write fic based on these, only the first kind of tweets invites the question of whether or not you're going to incorporate that into your writing, which may or may not manifest as pressure bc it's 1) from a person you appreciate and 2) if you don't, you think maybe other fans who've seen those tweets will think you're doing something wrong or ignorant. Furthermore, if I want to write fic based on the second kind of tweets, do I then have to incorporate the gospel as spoken by the first kind of tweets??

Hell no!! You sure can but you don't have to. I feel like you know this is the answer already so let me just affirm that.

Look, I will say that I think there are fan interpretations out there that are more canon-aligned—but then I gotta ask myself the question, which fics are trying to be? When I read a Modern AU winter fluff 2k songxiao fic, I don't need it to have incisive commentary on the canon theme of blame and complicity, y'know? The fans who wrote that fic also aren't trying to give me that. Same thing with porn. I think the question at the heart of all reading endeavors is "what is the author trying to do?" The onus isn't all on the writer to be good, imo. Good readers will ask that question and meet the author where they're at, esp in fandom. It makes no sense to expect the same thing of a 4k coffee shop AU meet-cute and a 40k post-canon fix-it. It sounds like you're a generous reader and fan who is experienced with accepting, appreciating, and working with multiple interpretations of fandom (oh man, coming from comic fandoms?? you've got a soul of steel babe). So you know well that not everybody needs one definite and consistent reading of canon to happily engage in fandom. Many others are the same as you~! Even the BNFs, most likely. And if you follow people who post things that sour your self-confidence, here's the friendly reminder to unfollow them.

Another possible way to avoid concerns about being called out for misinterpretation is to write for smaller ships and audiences lmfao. Too many existing metas about the main character? Write about a minor character instead, wahoo! Too much ship content with a cemented dynamic? Write a completely new ship nobody's even heard of, ayooo. It's both good writing exercise and good for the soul 'cause people who find you want to be there and everyone else won't even see what you've done. I just think it's sexy lololol on both the reading and writing sides.

Okay also—there are interesting politics about "who has the more correct interpretation" when it comes to danmei bc not everyone has access to Chinese. I don't know if this plays a factor in your worries in any way? It's a whole other conversation lmfao so I'll keep it short but I definitely have had complex feelings about my own readings vs. non-Chinese speakers' readings vs. other "authorities" on interpreting the Chinese etc. etc.

At the end of the day, fandom is a sandbox and you should play how you want. Write your id fics, publish them on main, publish them on anon, don't publish them at all—whatever makes you happy! It sounds like visibility plays a large part in what you're anxious about? So yeah, maybe a side account or going anon is the way to go. I know people who do exactly what you said, one main for the character work and one side for the id food!! That's fucking valid fam. I have works on anon for the same reason.

As for people visibly chatting about the validity of certain characterizations or interpretations...that just can't be helped, y'know? It's the nature of the internet, and it's another way of fandom engagement. As long as it's not mean-spirited, I think you just have to make peace with it. Carry that dead dove spirit with you, maybe!! I fucking love dead dove fics. "I have done this and it is here and I'm not apologetic about it." That's just completely tits out and phenomenal. Alternatively, maybe try to manifest digital data in analog—this is what I do whenever I get anxious about my presence in fandom. The digital world distort the impact and importance of most things, y'know? Whenever I think someone is out of my league, it helps me to imagine a chat as a face-to-face discussion, and that reminds me this is a cool person yeah but they still have like, a real face and a real body with all of its real, normal things like itching and the possibility of tripping on stuff. A BNF might say something that makes me feel super insecure but i dunno, they still have to periodically scrub down the sink. They're still cool but they're also normal. Your methods of engagement are 100% valid with or without consideration to people you admire.

anyways those are my thoughts. It might also be worth mentioning too that people who apply strict standards of canon-compliance to their own readings and writings might not apply those same standards to others. I certainly don't. I mean, it's arguable how canon-compliant my interpretations are lmfao but I certainly try for it. But it's not so important for when I'm reading, y'feel? The central concern of reading, at least for me, is more "has this author sold me on their story" and less about whether or not it complies with "my" readings. if I'm only interested in my readings, I wouldn't be reading other people's works. And if I am in fact not interested in other people's interpretations, then maybe you shouldn't be so interested in my interpretations either hahahha.