#but nonetheless genuinely who were they even writing that yuri for if that was their assumption re writing queer characters

[fellhellion]

i need to know the deep lore on why p3p allows you to have queer romance as femc when that one dev from the p2 duology was like yeah lol we included the jun romance to see if there was any money to court from fujo like fjkdhfjksjkd WHO WAS THIS FOR

[susansontag]

my guide to lesbian anime both canonic and subtextual

(won’t include every lesbian anime ever, this is a personal list)

the canonic-gay section:

revolutionary girl utena

nothing before or since has ever done it like this. trigger warnings for everything imaginable. loads of homosexuals in this one. gender commentary, fairytale allusions, a lot of kids who are having a hard time growing up and moving beyond their pasts. sword lesbians.

flip flappers

the problematic favourite, in that there’s at least one uncomfortable sexualised shot each episode (roughly speaking; some have none and one has even more, unfortunately), so be warned. but at its heart flipflap is about repressed cocona going on adventures with outgoing and expressive papika, and their exploration of various fantastical lands/inner worlds of people they meet. hugely inventive and pretty, and a core thread is cocona discovering she’s gay.

aoi hana (‘sweet blue flowers’)

the comfort lesbian show, with not a romantic relationship at its heart, but a friendship between two childhood friends who meet again, both of whom are gay (though only one realises this during the show’s run, as it’s based on a manga). one of them dates an upperclassman at her school, and there’s various gay and bi side characters. it’s just very wholesome, lovingly animated, sweet and sometimes painful stuff.

bloom into you

I controversially do not care that much for bloom into you, but as the best, high-production, non-skeevy yuri show in years - that is based on a manga by a woman - it’s worth mentioning. late-bloomer girl dreams of romance, though has never felt it, and finds affinity with a girl who similarly is disinclined to date. that is, until said girl says she fancies her. genuinely moving exploration of developing gay identity at times, only downside is my personal disinterest in the black haired girl. some weird ‘heightened’ moments that feel inauthentic and titillating do arise, but it’s very few - to the point where some would disagree with me on my reading of it, I’d imagine.

sailor moon

the bits which the lesbians are in, etc. it’s a classic. I haven’t watched all of it myself because I don’t care much nor do I have nostalgia for sailor moon, but it’s one of the most notable examples of a butch/masc lesbian in anime, so that’s nice.

o maidens in your savage season

nerdy teenage girls who are part of a literature club make it their quest to discover sex and dating, in various ways (unfortunately, not all of them dealt with well… teacher/student foolery that is fortunately abandoned before it gets worse but is nonetheless handled with mixed results, imo). mostly though it’s hilarious, sweet, silly, and there’s a gay girl in it, but I won’t spoil which one. adults predating on children is also handled much, much better in another of the show’s storylines, and I do appreciate it for trying to tackle that difficult subject matter.

oniisama e (‘dear brother’)

an oldie, based off a shoujo manga by one of the greatest (riyoko ikeda). there’s a central relationship to root for (better articulated in the manga), but it’s mostly just what if we were messy depressed lesbians at an all-girls school and we were also melodramatic and mean as hell.

revue starlight

what if we were at an all-girls dramatic arts school and engaged in utena-like duels to become the top performer? main implicitly gay couple with canonic side gay couples. it’s quite cute. also worth watching if you like takarazuka in any way (prestigious all-female japanese theatre troupe), because the main conceit of the school is very much based on that idea.

the gay-themes section:

sound! euphonium (season one)

in which director naoko yamada’s awesome legacy of writing lesbians and then saying “who’s to say though, ha ha” continued (she did it already with a side character in tamako market). this one is known as the gaybait to end all gaybait, but hear me out: the first, and best, season, is not only a fantastic self-contained story with many great characters and plot points, but it’s main character is undoubtedly lesbian-coded and even has a love interest you can argue about. frankly I think she’s gay-coded throughout the whole show (even when she dates a guy for two minutes), but this feels very “I wanted to focus on this compelling relationship between two female characters but the adaptation’s success meant we had to revert back to the source material in later seasons”. what we got from this is perhaps my favourite lesbian anime of all-time, following utena.

a place further than the universe

this show is about four girls who join an expedition to antarctica, and what if I told you they’re all great, believable dorky teenage characters, and they exist in a well-written and thematically satisfying show… and there’s nice lesbian implication between one of our adult female protagonists and her old (deceased; not a spoiler) friend who was the main teen girl’s mother. there’s some sad here, obviously.

puella magi madoka magica

the well-known, much beloved deconstruction of the magical girl genre is also pretty gay, as it happens (so gay in fact it started a trend of gay-coded pink+black magical girls). it’s not a particular favourite of mine, but it’s visually one of the most notable anime productions ever, so it’s well worth seeing just for that.

NANA

the 2000s manga+show about the two twenty-year-olds who meet on a train and discover they’re both called nana is also pretty gay! to the point where there are heated fandom debates about nana komatsu’s (pink one) possibly being a lesbian. they both have many relationships with guys, but it’s their bond that forms the heart of the show, and the bisexuality (or, who knows, homosexuality) of the leads is pretty undeniable. to the point where you’ll get blasted on the nana subreddit if you try and suggest otherwise.

the wild-card section:

keep your hands off eizouken!

this is a show about three oddball girls who start a club to create anime, but have to pose as the film club instead for various reasons. it’s not even subtextually gay, I just personally think that all three of the leads are gay and the whole thing feels like a very female-centred creative endeavour. hugely fun watch, and very high production values. you wouldn’t regret seeing it.

skip & loafer

these two you see here are side characters. this show is actually about mitsumi, the greatest female protagonist of this kind of shoujo-esque slice of life show, who moves from the countryside to tokyo for high school. here she meets many a misfit, including the pretty blonde and the nerd girl who have undeniable chemistry and form one of the most popular pairings in the show. it’s just a good time.

chihayafuru

I’d get in trouble for this, because the primary romance factor in the show is a famed heterosexual love triangle with chihaya at its centre and her two male childhood friends at the side. but go with me on this. chihaya is oblivious to romance and feminine socialisation, she is obsessed with a card game and with her equally dorky dark-haired rival… she’s anime’s greatest autistic lesbian lead. and you get more than what you pay for, because the two boys I mentioned? a lot of gay stuff going on there too.

the big-screen-cinematic section:

the adolescence of utena

revolutionary girl returns in the sequel of a lifetime, slightly older (sixteen, say) and gayer than ever, to escape this place with the love of her life. cue the impromptu dance sequence (with stars and rose petals)!

liz and the blue bird

the naoko yamada directed gay cinematic universe continues with a gorgeous film starring two of the side characters from sound! euphonium’s second season (not necessary to watch beforehand). that means it has plausible deniability whilst being so crazily gay it’s almost some kind of joke. this is a highly detailed, laser-focused character study of two girls in their high school band club and their ever more strained relationship. yamada never misses.

the summer

this is korean! it’s about two girls who meet at school and start dating in secret, what happens as they grow up and move to seoul, and how their relationship changes and strains when met with the conservatism of contemporary korean society. it was sweet and like aoi hana above for japanese girls, felt pretty frank to the experiences I’d imagine young korean lesbians might have.

puella magi madoka magica: rebellion

if you’re a fan of the show, you probably don’t talk about this movie. sure, it’s a visual feat, sure, it’s insanely entertaining, but it’s also frustrating and upsetting and potentially undermines the neatness of the original as a perfectly-crafted story. BUT. kyouko/sayaka becomes all but canon in it, and everything else aside, that’s all that really matters. but you should definitely watch the show beforehand.

[faelune-home]

FFXIVWrite 2023 #28: Blunt

(A/n: This prompt actually had me and a friend go down a whole different rabbit hole of an idea that interested me in a way that I want to write it, but it wouldn't have worked today. So another time perhaps. The more reasonable idea I did write was instead another Yuri piece, since I do write her as very blunt and straightforward.

Introducing her to another Scion, and he gets a sense for that straight edged style of hers, especially when she's not really charmed by charasmatic rogues. Plus a small gag to end because Urianger hasn't been to the East in game or we'd definitely see someone baffle at what he's saying even with the game's handwave about everyone knowing a lot of common.

Word count: 962)

“Oh, perfect timing Yuri, I’d like to introduce you to someone,” Krile said upon Yuri’s entry into the main hall, a box in hand that was large enough that she had to peek around to even see the smaller woman. She hadn’t yet seen this “someone” due to the box as well.

She wasn’t particularly fussed about meeting anyone to be honest. She had plenty of work to do - Krile having recently given her the responsibility of supervising incoming reports from outbound researchers, and that pile somehow grew by 5 new reports every time she got through just one.

Was this “someone” even going to be here long? Someone she would be spending enough time with to justify getting to know them and committing their name to memory? Well, she had to trust Krile on that since many faces had passed through the Annex in Yuri’s time there without a proper introduction - names learned instead just bumping into each other in the hall or passing food or papers between each other - so maybe this one was significant? 

Like Fhara, who had gone off on her own errand, said to be gone for at least a week or so, but otherwise had spent a lot of time with Yuri. She drove the conversation mostly on her own, but she managed to drag enough out of Yuri for all her reticence that Yuri had found herself growing comfortable in her presence. Mostly.

She finally put the box down on the table, turning back around to take in the guest - a hyuran man with silvery hair wearing a heavy white jacket, and a roguish smile already on his face. Yuri already wished she’d just insisted on her work.

“Thancred,” he said with a small bow, “I ran into Fhara on her own little excursion and she told me much about you.” Oh, she’d certainly heard his name before. Unfortunately, the image conjured in Yuri’s head from Fhara’s tales still kept her watchful of the man, but nonetheless she matched his bow with her own.

“Yuri. Fhara also told me about you,” she said. His eyes rolled and Krile already seemed to be wearing a sly smirk.

“Only good things I should hope,” he sighed, to which Krile chuckled, “With you? Nothing but the finest.”

“Do you feel misrepresented in her stories?” Yuri dared to ask.

“Well, that would depend on what she’s told you exactly.” He looked somewhat hopeful.

“Mostly that you’re an amorous type with trails of broken hearts in your wake, and the one time you didn’t, you were distinctly not yourself.” She didn’t quite deliver the message with the same coyness Fhara had when she was telling the tales. And it was a sillier topic, about some of the Scions little faux pas to ease Yuri’s own spirits. But as it was, she knew so little about him other than those stories.

Indeed, his face dropped into a stunned dismay.

“Really? That’s all she’s had to say of me?” Krile had a hand to stifle her giggles, but it was evident enough by her shaking shoulders.

“Nothing about our courageous escape from Ul’dah, chased down and treated as criminals?,” he continued, though Yuri couldn’t be certain if he was genuinely upset and trying to salvage her character or if it was theatrics by how he gestured with his hands and shook his head, “Or my daring rescue of everyone against the Warriors of Darkness? Or was our time spent charging Mt Gulg at the van together not worth mention at all?”

“Oh they probably were, but they’ve only known each other for a short while now,” Krile said to placate him, mirthful in tone, “And you know what she’s like, certain others probably had more mention than most.”

“Ah yes, her adoration for those two would trump presenting me in a good light,” Thancred huffed, though the small smile he wore finally told Yuri he was at least good humoured about it.

“We haven’t spoken much about you or some others supposedly also in the Scions. That is all I know for now,” Yuri said.

“Well, that is to be expected with Fhara. Though I must say, you certainly aren’t tactful with your words,” he sighed, “Do me a favour, next time you meet, and ask her about some of our more dangerous or thrilling adventures please? I could do a better showing there.”

“I’ll try if I can get a word in with her. She normally does most of the talking, and I’ve been rather happy to let her,” Yuri admitted, “Though given your response here, I’m sure you’d be quite the storyteller. Why not tell me yourself now?”

“Y’know, I would, but unfortunately, I’m just passing through. Came to update Krile on matters and see how she was doing, and she insisted I hold so I could meet you,” Thancred replied, “And well met indeed. That’s quite the first impression you have of me, and I certainly won’t forget yours.” Yuri simply tilted her head, not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“As it is, I’m just waiting for my companion to arrive and we’ll probably head off again. Give you a quick introduction, but no time to chat. And probably for the best given how he goes on and on-”

A knock on the door interrupted him, and a taller elezen man walked in, dressed in a long black robe. Thancred shot a glance between the ladies, a knowing look in his eye. The elezen himself cast a brief glance at Yuri in acknowledgment of her presence, and a nod at Krile, but then focused on Thancred as he said– wait. What?

Oh kami help her, what kind of Eorzean was this man speaking?!

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

...yandere sdra2 boys please...

I gotchu! I decided to write some hcs both in and outside the killing game

.......

Yuri

If you're a male, he probably won't be as possessive. Though if you're a female? Welp, welcome to your new life.

He's excessively clingy, giving death glares to all the other males just for looking at you.

You can hear him mumbling threats in Russian, though when you distract him with a kiss, he magically calms down.

He remarks he won't mind killing any of the males, but you try to convince him not to because if he's executed, he wouldn't be with you anymore.

Fortunately your persuasion works as he's horrified at the mere thought of dying knowing you'd be all alone with the rest of them.

So he won’t do anything. Just keep a close eye on him.

Nikei

Has a whole journal dedicated to what he likes about you--including your daily routines. Of course he'll never show you that one, claiming it's a work-in-progress article.

All he can think of is you whenever he's writing. Everything you do is just an amazing scoop for his eyes and his eyes alone. The press doesn't need to know a thing.

Absolutely loves it when you wear his coat, but loves it even more when you give it back to him. Your scent lingers and he refuses to get rid of it for days.

He's just a lovesick puppy who's more devoted to you than devoted to Void.

Mikado

Oh..once you've captured the mastermind's heart, there's no going back.

Impresses you with his magic tricks, even if he exhausts himself--he's addicted to your attention and praise, knowing that only you truly appreciated his presence.

He ordered Void to only spare you, to the point of instilling fear of what he’d do to them if you were threatened in the slightest.

You were confused and bit saddened some of your classmates abruptly stopped talking to you, even in the trials exchanges were quick.

But going to Mikado for comfort was part of his “special” plan for you: a plan that'll ensure you only relied on him and nobody else.

While the others (and even Monocrow) were concerned for your safety--you told them not to worry and reassured them he won’t hurt anyone under your watch.

You say as the wizard lurks nearby with his mask forming a grim expression.

Yuki

One day you just let him borrow a pencil and oop--he's completely enamored.

Though he's the quiet and harmless type of yandere who daydreams of you often, watches you from afar, and writes love letters. He won’t actively try to harm anybody.

For a while you never know how truly obsessed he is over you. But when you bump into him one day, a letter that was meant to be his genuine confession slips out of his notebook and he f r e a ks until you read it and become flattered.

He's on cloud nine when you say you return his feelings, though at first he tries brushing it off as he's just "boring" and "plain".

But after saying you truly did like him, he grins.

After that, any yandere tendencies he had stopped altogether, as you're helping him gain more confidence in himself.

Hajime

Ever since you two started dating, he trains for both his health and for you--specifically to protect you from anyone who tries being too "friendly" with you.

His dark sunglasses easily hide his watchful gazes as he observes you lovingly (and give threatening vibes around others), seeing your smiles and the determination you show in trials.

If you're a female, god forbid if Yuri even looked at you. He'd crush his head in if you weren’t there, but later on you reassured the boxer that you're ignoring his remarks.

And he does calm down, though he's still overly protective of you regardless of who's nearby, even Shinji.

His obsession over you makes him betray Void--even if it ended up being a fatal mistake.

Shinji

While he was insistent that nobody doubted each other....he only meant that for Void members specifically.

He trusts no one being alone with you, especially whenever you become a suspect in a crime or even being part of Void.

Gets quite snappy if people keep speaking over you in the trials/normal conversations or point out flaws in your testimonies (though you calling him an affectionate nickname seems to calm him down immediately)

Like Hajime he trains solely to knock the lights out of anyone who tries flirting with you.

He did get quite angry when you suggested that he spent his free time with Yuki instead for once--which terrified you--but he felt guilty and gave you a bone-crushing hug as an apology.

Yeah, you’re never gonna piss him off like that again.

Shobai

Probably has the most subtle yandere tendencies. They’re violent nonetheless, but you wouldn’t suspect a thing.

He respects the fact you got your own life and should be able to talk to people--he trusts you that much.

Though he’s got plans if you tell him someone made you uncomfortable.

You see him look more tense than usual--to the point of crushing the cigarette he hadn’t quite finished in his hand.

But he calms down quick and says he’ll take care of the problem “free of charge”.

You just think he’s joking and laugh along, never knowing his true intentions.

Teruya

As he becomes more aware of the situation he's in--he remembers you being his lover during the last killing game.

And oh boy is he pissed off about the thought of you getting killed by some idiot--or even talking to anyone else for that matter. 

He knew very well that anyone had the potential of being a killer, not just Void.

He'll be your overly-protective and excessively clingy bodyguard, not letting anyone near you and certainly not letting himself be distracted, especially after Kokoro's death.

As determined and upbeat as he tried to be, that failure made him breakdown completely and he watches over you like a hawk from there on out.

No way in hell will he let another killing game take away someone he loved.

[subliminalcherry-blog]

Long Ass Enta Rant

The only thing more problematic than defending Enta’s behavior because he’s “14″ and “we all did dumb things as kids” (I sure as hell didn’t do the things Enta does toward my crush at 14 but I’m not going to get into that) is claiming that any hate/criticism directed at Enta is based on homophobia?? Or an adult not understanding how a child’s mind works when they’re in love? 

And after seeing so many posts in the tags about it, I’m going to explain why that’s a garbage conclusion to come to.

Like, y’all do realize that Reo and Mabu are the fandom’s favorite characters, the most popular characters to come out of the show while it’s airing regardless of whether people read the Manga first or not, and they’re both undoubtedly, definitely, and indisputably gay? And they’re both ADULTS out here relentlessly murdering people but they’re still well liked. 

Where are these homophobia claims coming from? They’re both baseless and stupid. A characters sexuality should NOT be a shield from criticism. Ever. 

For people who shit on Reo and Mabu fans for still liking them but in the same breath, criticizing Enta, People can continue to like Reo and Mabu despite all the things they do because we can acknowledge that they’re the bad guys and they’re intended to be the shows main villains or at least so far that is what we are being lead to believe. No one tries to justify the things they do.  No one is saying Reo is in the right for trying to kill multiple children and MAYBE succeeding the second time around. They’re villains. They don’t try to justify their actions or so far have not made themselves out to be victims. And most of all, we don’t see their fans jumping to their defense every time they do something inherently wrong. Most of us were just as shocked as anyone else that Reo’s crazy ass shot Enta. But moving on.

 In the case of Enta, what’s worse than the things he unapologetically does is his fans acting like the things he does aren’t bad and use his age and sexuality to guilt people and deflect criticism from him as a character. First of all, gay people do not need to be coddled and treated like they can do no wrong. Real gay people are human beings who make mistakes and eventually own up to them. Enta has not and has only continued to make mistakes while learning nothing from them. I understand that Sarazanmai is short and fast paced, but that’s still no excuse in my opinion. Second of all, No one is vilifying Enta because he’s gay. That aspect of his character is largely irrelevant compared to the things he does. Enta is not being singled out because he’s the only openly gay character of the main trio. He’s being criticized because the things he does are inherently wrong and mostly without justification. And he’s not the only one being criticized. 

Kazuki, Mabu and Reo have all come under fire for the things they do. Chikai maybe has faced backlash as well, especially for what he does in episode 8, but I haven’t went out of my way to look for it. The only one of the relevant cast, Sara aside, who hasn’t done a thing to warrant backlash is maybe Tooi. You can bring up the fact that he killed someone and his brother covered it up, but he was a child, even younger than Enta and he did it in self-defense - and was lead to believe that was something he must do to project his brother who shifted the blame onto himself. It is in my opinion that Chikai pretty much conditioned him into thinking this was an acceptable lifestyle and choice, but I’m not entirely confident that it was written with that intent so just take that for a grain of salt.

As per the Ikuhara character standard nowadays, Enta is a piece of shit. He makes himself out to be a victim and his fans treat him as such. He refuses to see the error of his ways even if he hurts the person he cares about the most and wants to connect to in the process. He’s not entirely unsympathetic and sometimes he may even be understandable, but he’s shown to take things to illogical extremes, as Ikuhara characters tend to do. He acts entitled to Kazuki, and only loves the idealized version that he once knew or ultimately made up in his head, refusing to accept that Kazuki doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. Enta is the type of character that everyone would hate if he was a straight male character doing these things to a disinterested female character. But suddenly because he’s gay it’s justifiable and endearing and anyone that doesn’t like him is a homophobe? That’s ridiculous. I don’t give a shit what a character or human beings sexuality is. A piece of shit is a piece of shit. 

I’m not even going to lie. I wanted to like Enta at first. I was following Sarazanmai since it was first announced and when the character designs first came out, Right off the bat, I wasn’t a fan of his design or how aggressive he was toward the other characters in the trailers. For me, those were red flags. But I still tried to like him regardless. when he kissed Kazuki, I got excited until the implications of his actions fully set in for me. Kissing someone without their consent isn’t okay, especially if the person is asleep. That was already another red flag for me. And then they reveal that he just stepped up to the next level of creepy by making him sniff kazukis clothes and suck on his recorder for indirect kisses? He has delusions about him? And people tried to justify it because he’s 14 as if it wouldn’t be creepy if it happened to someone in real life or again, if a male anime character did it to a female anime character? Only scenario I could see this not receiving hate wildly in is if it was a comedy anime or something but then we’d still have a number of people labeling the character as a creep.

Enta’s love for Kazuki is unhealthy. It’s more than just being a dumb awkward gay 14 year old who has their first crush on someone. He’s just a character in a long line of Ikuhara character’s that don’t display their love for another person in  way that is understandable or healthy. I don’t see how relatable this character could be on a surface level when you think of all the things he’s done. He’s not a borderline rapist like Ringo from Mawaru Penguindrum, which I’m grateful for because she may be one of the most unlikeable characters Ikuhara has ever written, but he’s basically Lulu 2.0 from Yuri Kuma Arashi except a guy. He even ““dies”” in the same way as her. 

While Kazuki is no saint and getting some of the backlash he deserves, Enta is not entitled to Kazuki and part of the hate directed at Kazuki shouldn’t have anything to do with his feelings or the lack of them toward Enta or being too dim-witted to acknowledge them. Enta is not a victim just because his love is unrequited. He’s a flawed character, borderline unlikeable for some including myself and relatable for others but a flawed Ikuhara character nonetheless. The criticism he receives is not baseless. It’s not based on homophobia. He’s not being singled out because he’s an ““awkward gay 14 year old” as if a homophobe would sit through this show for 8 episodes anyway just to come to that conclusion. Episode 1 was a turn off for even people who aren’t homophobic anyway —

He’s criticized because he’s a flawed character that shows no remorse for his actions, acts entitled, acts like a victim in situations where he’s in the wrong, is a creep and is currently fighting Kazuki for the title of the most unlikeable, most unsympathetic character in the cast for me and no amount of ““self sacrifice” is going to change that for me until i see him change. I think next to Tooi, he’s better written than Kazuki, who imo has been bland and never stopped being bland. But that doesn’t necessarily make him a good character or ““well-written” either. 

At the end of the day, it boils down to your opinions and perspectives. It just gets tiresome seeing people trying to write off criticism toward Enta as irrelevant just because he’s gay or because he’s “14″ as if this “14″ year old wasn’t written by a grown man with a history of writing problematic underage characters? Ringo didn’t initially get a slap on the wrist when she was shitty until she truly earned her sympathy card. None of the characters in Yuri Kuma did either except Lulu who ended up dying despite being the most likeable character in the cast. 

The amount of people I see defending him makes me think this is a lot of you’s first Ikuhara anime. Most of us who have seen Ikuhara anime before would have expected a character like this due to his repetitive story-telling and character molds. Like I said before, Ikuhara has a history of writing problematic characters. Everyone in the main cast is in a way, even Tooi. Sara is squeaky clean for now, but she may end up being a morally grey character as well.

I just can’t take the opinions of people who make baseless claims like that seriously. Or people who try to justify Enta’s actions because of his age either. He’s a FICTIONAL CHARACTER. not a real 14 year old. I don’t get why people are so defensive over him either. I get that we can relate to characters sometimes, but the amount of projection I’m seeing is almost as unhealthy as his obsession with Kazuki.

Anyway, come for me if you want. Send hate or whatever. If you wanna discuss your perspective on Enta’s character, feel free to do that too. 

If anything, y’all should be mad that all the most outwardly problematic characters in the show are gay and barely have any justification for their actions. I mean Kazuki tried to kidnap someone and impersonated Sara because he wanted to form a connection with his brother, but he not only failed at getting Sara kidnapped, he also learns from his actions and tries to form a genuine connection with Haruka on his own. Being dismissive of Enta’s romantic feelings for him shouldn’t be an subject of criticism and shouldn’t warrant a justification. If you aren’t interested, you aren’t interested. Onto Tooi - We don’t know what Tooi’s sexuality is, but his justification for killing a guy was self defense and he was most likely conditioned into believing that the lifestyle he lives is acceptable by his brother.

 What’s Enta’s excuse other than that he was jealous? Reo and Mabu didn’t didnt have a genuine excuse to kill all of those people, including trying to kill Harukawa and then shooting Enta. I understand that they’re threatened with death, but They could have just threatened Kazuki and Enta into giving up the dishes of hope since they had a gun. Just saying. 

Anyway rant over. If you lasted this long, what are you doing with your life. And what am I since I sat down and wrote all this shit.

[sage-nebula]

Okay, so when I first heard the news about the third season of the swimming anime on Facebook, my immediate reaction was, “If it doesn’t end with Makoto and Haru getting married, or at least engaged, then what’s the fucking point?” I was kind of being facetious, but at the same time, I’m actually a little serious.

I normally don’t care very much if my ships become canon. I mean, obviously it’s great! It’s always nice to have a canon ship, but it’s not the end-all, be-all. Fandom is there to provide what canon can’t or won’t. I’m a fanfic writer. If canon doesn’t want to make my ships canon, then fine, I’ll just make some fanon myself, it’s nbd. Even in the event that I’m the only person on a little inflatable raft of a ship because the juggernaut ships are notps, that’s fine, I will happily row myself and my fics right out to sea, see if I won’t.

But in this case, I actually do care. Not just because MakoHaru is one of my all-time favorite ships (seriously guys, I love it so much), but also because at this point . . . look, I’m not one to whip out the queerbaiting accusation very often. I think that, a lot of times, people in fandom use that term too loosely, applying it to ships that they personally like a lot, but that were never actually teased to be canon. Queerbaiting is very specific; there has to be actual teasing that insinuates that the ship has a real shot at being canon, only for it to be yanked away at the last minute (and often replaced with a het relationship instead). So I’m cautious about lobbing that accusation out there, because oftentimes it’s just not true, and I don’t want to be someone who reads too much into something. I don’t.

But the thing is, the swimming anime has been known as a fanservice anime since it’s introduction. I mean, look at it. The very first season of the very first episode has Makoto pulling Haru up from the bathtub (with Haru’s swim trunks revealed at the last minute). One of the characters, Gou, routinely gushes over the boys’ muscles. The animation is gorgeous and no expense is spared at showing just how built these athletes are. Couple that with how close all of the relationships are in the show, and yeah, you can see why it’s called a fanservice anime. That’s justified. Likewise, like with many sports anime out there, the relationships do veer into homoerotic territory sometimes, with “wink wink, nudge nudge” jokes made about it sometimes. That’s where the accusations of queerbaiting come in, and where they start to gain more legitimacy.

Nonetheless, this was something I accepted at the start. I figured that no ship in this anime would become canon. And to be perfectly honest, when I first started watching this show, I did so as a joke. My friend and I started watching it with the intention of getting a good laugh, because we thought it was hysterical how the OP to a swimming anime went as hard as it did, and also everyone on tumblr was talking about it. So we figured, hey, why not. We never expected to get invested, and I especially never expected the story to be as rich and emotional as it was, but here we are. Nonetheless, even after getting invested, I still didn’t expect anything to become canon, much less my preferred ship. I knew what sort of anime I was getting myself into. I was prepared.

But then . . . well, everything happened.

The thing is, it’s not just content within the show itself, although there’s plenty of that as well. It’s also everything surrounding the show. Everything in the side materials, the official art, interviews with the directors and writing staff. There have been so many insistences that Makoto and Haru are not only the closest of best friends (able, as we’ve had reiterated to us time and again, to communicate without spoken words, pretty much telepathetically, due to how close they are), but also that they are literally each other’s other half. The directors and writing staff have gone out of their way to paint this picture for us, and most of the extra materials (such as the first movie, which was a prequel) have focused around their relationship. By now, so much has piled up that it genuinely feels they are one step away from canon---one tiny little nudge to canon. Just off the cuff (and in no particular order save accessibility):

In the official novelization for episode six, it’s revealed that losing Makoto is Haru’s biggest fear. It’s also apparently said at another point in the novel that Rin “taught Haru what nakama is,” but that Makoto “is different from that.” (Additionally, Haru tries to answer Makoto’s “it’s meaningless without you,” but Makoto understands what he’s feeling without words once again.)

In the new movie, Makoto has a dream about living together and cooking for Haru. Additionally, he has concerns about Haru’s new apartment because there’s something creepy there (?) and he’ll be coming over a lot. This prompts Kisumi to tease him about how close he and Haru are.

KyoAni made a magazine spread titled “sweet love life” with Makoto and Haru (and also Nagisa/Rei). 

When asked whether Rin was Haru’s other half, the director not only said no, but specified that Makoto is Haru’s other half.

In one of the drama (well, comedy) CDs, Nagisa, Rei, and Makoto think Haru has turned into a mackeral and can only be awoken with true love’s kiss from a prince. Both Nagisa and Rei immediately assume this means Makoto must be the one to do it.

One of the lead writers has called Makoto “Haruka’s childhood friend and partner”, and has said that their relationship “makes you wonder ‘what’s going on with those two . . .’” because they’re so close.

That same writer has said that “it’s very easy to become a married couple’s conversation” when describing the dialogue between Makoto and Haru, and in that same conversation, the director said “they belong together.”

The director has also said that they have a “telepathic relationship” and that “they need each other.”

The director of the prequel movie has said that Haru and Makoto’s relationship is “an inviolable sanctuary.” 

The show director has said that Makoto is the only one who is “drawn to Haru’s existence alone,” and that when he tells Haru “it’s meaningless without you,” he means that it’s meaningless without Haru as a person rather than Haru as a swimmer. The director also “strongly fought” to keep the line “it’s meaningless without you” in the anime.

In the prequel movie, Makoto is asked by another member of the swim team if he’s swimming because he actually likes swimming, or if he’s there because he likes Haru. Makoto is conflicted for a good part of the movie, and avoids Haru because when they’re together “his feelings are more confused.” He ultimately apologizes for the unintentional avoidance, and comes to the conclusion that, “I love swimming, and I love you, Haru-chan.” He uses the word “daisuki,” which is very powerful when said to another person. It’s powerful enough to be a romantic confession. The way Haru’s eyes light up doesn’t help shake this feeling.

When Makoto and Haru fight near the end of season two, Haru not only races home to curl up in bed, but he’s so depressed over it that he doesn’t even bring his swimming gear to Australia with him. (This is big for Haru.) I don’t have a link for this, but it’s in the last couple of episodes of season two.

Likewise, no link, but in the bonus episode following season two, Nagisa starts to say, “Our Haru-chan and Mako-chan are . . .” before they both look panicked and hush him. Hm, what could they not want him to reveal?

And so on and so forth. The implications in the show alone could be an essay, but looking at everything that has been said in interviews and the like (and there’s more I’m sure I’m forgetting), the feeling that they are one tiny nudge away from canon is, I believe, a justifiable one. When you consider that Yuri On Ice! has a confirmed queer pairing in Yuuri/Viktor, thus opening the path for such relationships in mainstream sports anime, I feel that at this point, KyoAni has absolutely no excuse. I always forgave them for it in the past because I know how Japan is with LGBTQA issues, I know they’ve still got a long way to go, I figured there was no way they could get confirmed, canon MakoHaru greenlit. Both since Yuri On Ice! did it, I feel that now they absolutely can. YOI opened the gate. KyoAni could do this now, particularly with how popular the swimming anime is, and how much emphasis they have placed on Makoto and Haru’s relationship. (Again, the first prequel movie---released in theaters, iirc!---was all about their relationship, and the emotional climax had young Makoto telling Haru that he loved him. Come on.) It’s right there. They are so close. And if they don’t do it, then I feel that not only is this flat out queerbaiting, but also that there’s no point, there’s no excuse, what are we doing here if we aren’t going to make these two officially, inarguably, canonically involved?

So yeah, I have a lot of emotional stakes in this. To use a meme: Just make them fucking canon, you cowards. I’m of course not going to attack KyoAni over it or anything (I’m not one of those), but . . . god, KyoAni. Please. Come through for me on this. Please. I’m not asking much, but if they’re not at the least engaged by the end of all this, then honestly . . .

. . . what’s the fucking point?

[katsukiyurj]

proper poise

on ao3

i was stressed last night and started thinking about phichit (because honestly....what a guy) and realized he is the most theatery theater nerd to ever theater nerd. and i think we should embrace that. so i slammed it into a fic with some victuuri cuddles and called it a night around 2 am

the title is a pretty random line from popular from wicked because....it sounds nice? alliteration is cool.

this is my first yoi fic and i dont trust anything i write after midnight so it might not be my best, but i hope you enjoy nonetheless~

“ Popular! ”

Yuuri groans as the familiar ringtone wakes him from a dream that was probably really nice, but is already slipping away. Goddammit, Phichit. Today is supposed to be a rest day, which is supposed to mean sleeping in.

“Wha’s that?” Victor mumbles into his pillow as Yuuri fumbles with the phone charger.

“ I know about popular! ”

“Phichit,” Yuuri grumbles. Not that he doesn’t love waking up to Kristin Chenoweth’s voice, but he really needs to find a new ringtone. Or just make Phichit’s the default one again. He answers before the song can go on for any longer. “Mhmm?”

“ Hey, Yuuri! ” Phichit practically sings. “ How are you? ”

Yuuri sighs and sits up, running his hand over his bedhead. “I’m tired. Is something wrong?”

“ Am I not allowed to want to hear my best friend’s voice for no reason? ” Yuuri can practically hear the pout in Phichit’s voice.

“No. No you’re not. Not when I’m sleeping.”

“ Rude, Katsuki. That’s very rude. ”

Victor mumbles something incoherent and rests his chin on Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri smiles softly at him before saying, “Victor would say hi but I don’t think he’s awake.” He turns the phone away from his ear a bit so Victor can hear as well.

Phichit snorts. “ Lazy butts. ”

“What time is it anyway?” Yuuri squints at the clock on his desk, but he doesn’t have his glasses on, so really? What’s the point?

“ It’s just about six for me! ”

Victor inhales deeply. “Too early.”

“ Uh huh, that’s eight for you two. Shouldn’t you be up and running already? Or were you busy last night. ”

“I can hear your eyebrow wiggle, Phi,” Yuuri deadpans. “Stop that.”

“ Never! ”

Yuuri rolls his eyes. “I’m taking the day off.”

“ Says who? ”

“Says my coach.”

Victor hums in agreement and buries his face in the crook of Yuuri’s neck. Admittedly, they had  been  up incredibly late. But they had been playing with Makkachin and watching videos of themselves on YouTube. Mostly old routines and random compilation videos people had made, nearly all of them from years ago so they could judge each other and themselves for their mistakes, fashion choices, hairstyles, and that one time Yuuri wore makeup and it did not go nearly as well as Mari insisted it would. Both him and Victor agreed that eyeshadow was not a good color on him. Yuuri likes the tribute videos to Victor the best, the ones set to really cheesy music with overdone effects and iMovie transitions. The comments had been fun to read too. Yuuri hadn’t realized how easy it is to make Victor embarrassed, but apparently all it takes is five year old YouTube comments from preteens. Victor made Yuuri swear to never tell Yuri, but Yuuri has pictures of some of the expressions Victor had made and, honestly, who knows where those will end up.

“ Who says your coach gets the day off? ” Phichit asks.

Yuuri runs his fingers through Victor’s hair. “First of all, Yakov is in Russia. And second of all, even if Yakov was here, do you think it would matter?”

“ True, true ,” Phichit agrees. “The Victor Nikiforov does whatever he wants. And who ever. ”

“I’m going to hang up on you,” Yuuri threatens.

“ You wouldn’t! ” Phichit gasps.

“Good bye, Phi—”

“ Don’t leave me, I’m pregnant! ”

Victor inhales sharply and tries to muffle his laughter in Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri just rolls his eyes.

“ You’re the father! ” Phichit cries. “ You can’t leave! ”

Victor gives up and falls back onto his pillow, covering his face with his hands as he laughs.

“I hate both of you,” Yuuri mutters.

“I can’t believe you cheated on me with Phichit,” Victor says through his laughter.

“I swear it meant nothing,” Yuuri says flatly. “It was a one time mistake.”

“ Drunk Yuuri is a great kisser though ,” Phichit says thoughtfully.

Victor raises his eyebrows.

“Phichityousworewewouldnevertalkaboutthat!” Yuuri hisses, feeling his face burn.

Victor just smirks and wraps his arms around Yuuri’s waist. “He’s right though, you are a great kisser.”

Yuuri groans. “Let me die already.”

“Nooo,” Victor whines, nuzzling Yuuri’s neck. “I love you too much for you to die.”

“ Awww ,” Phichit coos. “ Wait a minute, you two aren’t allowed to be cute when I’m not there to witness it! Who’s going to tell Instagram? ”

“And snapchat and twitter and tumblr,” Yuuri mumbles.

“Someone needs to get him followers,” Victor teases. “His selfies alone aren’t good enough.”

“ Hey! ” Phichit protests. “ My selfies are better than yours . ”

Victor hums thoughtfully, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. “That sounds like a challenge.”

Phichit scoffs. “ If I’m challenging anyone, I’m challenging Chris. ”

Victor narrows his eyes. “You’re on, Chulanont.”

“ Bring it, Nikiforov! ”

“Please don’t make this like last time,” Yuuri whispers.

Victor furrows his eyebrows. “Last time?”

Yuuri shakes his head. The last selfie war Phichit had lasted through finals week and Yuuri had genuinely considered dropping out of college to avoid getting caught in another surprise selfie. It didn’t help that Phichit liked to blast music while he was perfecting a photo. The first few times it wasn’t bad, but after the sixth rendition of Omigod You Guys, Yuuri was kind of done. At least it had been a change from the Bend and Snap. Phichit had gone through a Legally Blonde phase that was a week or two too long for Yuuri to handle on top of finals stress.

“ It was beautiful ,” Phichit says dramatically.

“I almost died,” Yuuri reminds him. Victor gives him a confused look and Yuuri will have to ask Phichit for that photo later.

“ It was worth it, ” Phichit declares.

“This is what you’re getting us into with this selfie war,” Yuuri says to Victor. “And no doubt Chris will get involved—”

“ JJ will probably invite himself .”

“Yurio will claim he’s not participating but he’ll aggressively post selfies all day when he catches whiff of this,” Victor says with a smile. “Phichit, you are so on.”

“ Yes! ”

“ No ,” Yuuri groans. “Why do you two want to make my life hell?”

“ Because we love you .”

“And your face is too pretty not to share with the world,” Victor adds before peppering Yuuri’s face with kisses.

Yuuri laughs and gently pushes him away. Victor leans forward, making kissing noises. Yuuri blocks him and a smile with a pillow. “Stop it! We’re on the phone!”

“ Oooo now I’m interrupting, ” Phichit says. “ Probably should get on the ice soon anyway, unless some people I know. ”

Victor rolls his eyes.

“Good luck,” Yuuri says, “but you suck for waking us up.”

Phichit makes a noncommittal noise. “ Eh, whatever. Have to get up eventually .”

“Not the point.”

“ Oh, and Yuuri? ” Phichit says suddenly.

“Yeah?”

“ Don’t even think about changing my ringtone .”

Yuuri tenses. Whoops “…how did you—”

“Did you forget about our bond?!” Phichit interrupts. “I always know, Yuuri, my son. I always know.”

Yuuri rolls his eyes. “Good night, Phichit.”

“ Good morning, starshine! The earth says hello! ”

Yuuri rubs his temples. “How did I room with such a morning person. Please go back to skating and let us sleep.”

“ Only if you post cute couple selfies later .”

“You can’t bribe us int—”

Victor takes the phone from Yuuri. “We’ll do it and we’re also going to win. Bye, Phichit, have fun at practice.” He hangs up and puts Yuuri’s phone on Do Not Disturb before placing it down on the bedside table.

“Wow,” Yuuri drawls.  

“Mmm we do have the day off.” Victor lays down and tugs Yuuri into his arms. “Phichit was cutting into that.” He curls around Yuuri and hums into his hair.

Yuuri scoffs but still sinks into Victor’s embrace, enjoying the warm, fuzzy feeling he still sometimes gets around Victor. “He’s so getting a new ringtone,” Yuuri murmurs.

“What, Glinda not good enough for Phichit?” Victor asks with a laugh.

“It’s been years ,” Yuuri complains. “I can only wake up to that song so many times.”

“I didn’t realize Phichit was such a morning person,” Victor muses. “How did you live with him?”

“Phichit is an every time of day person. You haven’t really experienced him until it’s one in the morning and he’s singing the Bitch of Living.”

Victor laughs softly. “Not a fan of musicals?”

“Musicals are fine,” Yuuri promises. “But I’m not nearly as big of a fan as Phichit is.”

“Life’s a bitch,” Victor muses.

“Mhm.” Yuuri closes his eyes and sighs contentedly. Later, he’ll have to deal with a selfie war that will probably take over the entire figure skating world and find a song that Phichit will see suitable to replace Popular, but for now, all that matters is Victor and more sleep.