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raveneira · 6 months ago

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so as a fan of boruto and tbv boruto I’m wondering when it comes to the ships, are there more evidence against borusara more or BoruSumi??

Being as realistic as possible, the short answer is yes, but its really hard to tell without seeing any of the male perspectives which is a huge flaw in regards to every single pairing in Boruto

In Naruto we had Naruto, Obito, Jiraiya, Dan, Minato, Yahiko, several male characters with their perspectives and feelings shown for their love interests, requited and unrequited, it was not all one sided where only the female casts had romantic interests.

This is where Boruto falls massively short in regards to the romance, it gives the illusion of 'development' for BoruSara lets say by having Sarada completely and utterly obsessed with him, wearin his clothes, and not even caring about her friends feelings next to her because shes so fixated on a guy

This is the 'illusion' of development, because on the surface thats a win right? I mean no WAY shes not inlove with this boy right? no WAY their not endgame after all this right? sadly thats not how this goes

For you see, lets use a canon ship for example, SS, it was very one sided in the beginning with Sakura loving Sasuke but him clearly not reciprocating her feelings, but over time, as they spent more time together as a team, we see Sasuke's feelings towards her start to shift in a more positive direction, that he isnt entirely put off by her advances as he once was, that her love and care was starting to be reciprocated, maybe not in the romantic sense yet, but he loved and cared for her enough to be willing to die for her and Naruto to escape alive, and even in Shippuden there was several signs during the war that Sakura's feelings still impacted him, even if he couldnt accept them for obvious reasons at that point, you could tell her feelings still had an impact on him and that he acknowledged them, which is why he gave her such an awful vision to knock her out in the hopes that she would finally let go of him for good, just as Sasuke was hoping Naruto would let go of him after the final fight, but neither of them did.

Finally at the end of it all, the only one Sasuke apologized to and showed remorse for his actions was Sakura [Naruto is self explanatory I dont need to mention him] and then when he left he shared his most cherished gesture from his brother with her and promised he'd see her when hes back.

In this case Sakura's feelings got the most spotlight obviously because her feelings were already set in stone, Sasuke's feelings still had to be explored and developed which over the course of the series they were.

Compare that to BoruSara, we get all this insight on Sarada and her feelings right? now tell me, where do we get insight on Boruto's feelings towards her?

Here is Boruto when hes literally about to die in an assisted suicide and these are his last words

"Im sorry dad, give my best to mom and Hima"

He doesnt think about Sarada at all, despite this being the last time he'll ever be alive to see them, hes prepared to die, he WANTS to die so he DOESNT hurt the ppl he cares about, so for his final moments he has a chance to leave behind a dying message for everyone he loves and yet the only ppl he mentions is his family, he does NOT think about Sarada, but if you had put Sarada in Borutos place you best believe she would've mentioned him before letting Kawaki off her.

This isnt a one time thing, even earlier in the series, this is literally JUST after he promised Sarada he would be her right hand man and support her, after he JUST told Tento how he wants to be an amazing Shinobi that supports the Hokage, the very first mission their assigned after that, he throws a fit and when Sarada comes to try and talk him into coming he literally refuses and just tells Mitsuki to go with her.

What makes him change his mind? Mitsuki blackmailing him that if he doesnt go then he wont either and just let Sarada face danger alone, he then REMINDS him of HIS own promise that wasnt even that long ago that he made it, which LITERALLY catches Boruto by surprise like he had forgot, which he most likely did if Mitsuki is having to bring it up to him to call him out.

But notice how just bringing up his promise to Sarada wasnt enough, he was surprised, but not moved, it wasnt until he mentioned HIS MOTHER AND SISTER that he struck a nerve and Boruto gave in, he did not budge for Sarada, but he did for his family.

Even with this reminder about his promise I want you to think, when has Boruto ever once thought about it? seriously think, where has he thought about the promise he made to Sarada at any point? compare it to Naruto's promise of a lifetime, he thought about it and brought it up several times, but Boruto? not even a thought in his mind.

Ppl like to claim the times Boruto 'protects' Sarada is him acting on his promise but that could not be any further from the truth because this is something he did even before the promise.

It has nothing to do with his promise, he protects her because thats his friend, if shes in danger he'll protect her, if Mitsuki is in danger he'll protect him, if anyone he cares about is in danger HE'LL PROTECT THEM, it has NOTHING to do with a promise he made, he never once has thought about it since he made it, only in the anime and that was once in a comic relief moment and it was SARADA who brought it up, which just goes back to my statement that everything is only from girls pov.

SHE remembers the promise but not him, hell even Mitsuki remembers it, but not the guy who actually made it.

I wont completely downplay him protecting her in the exams tho, it was still meaningful and from his pov that it was HIS fault and he HAD to protect her, but it is SAD that that is literally all there is.

But going back to Boruto not really thinking about Sarada the way she does him, lets go back to the chunin exams.

When Boruto is about to lose their flag, what came to his mind when he was about to make his friends lose it all? well in the manga it was the email from his dad that gave him the push to use the ninja tool to win, him wanting to impress his dad and get his attention is what moved him.

In the movie it was the exact same thing, his almost failure in the first exam, and the email from his dad.

The novel and the anime however include Sarada in his reasoning, yet in the movie written by Kishimoto personally and Ikemoto who drew the entire movie recap exactly as it was in the movie, I think its safe to say thats the canon version of this scene.

Boruto didnt think about failing Sarada, letting her down, making her lose this step closer to achieving her dream, his one and only focus was impressing his father and getting his attention which Im not condemning him for but simply pointing out that Boruto does NOT think about Sarada the way she does him.

Lets just real quick compare Boruto and Sarada to Naruto and Sakura, because Im gonna use various examples so lets go with NS this time

When fighting Gaara, what motivated Naruto to be brave and tap into a whole new strength was him wanting to save Sakura before she was crushed to death, Sasuke too, but Sakura was a big motivator, and once Gaara was defeated the first thing Naruto wanted to know was if Sakura was safe and was relieved to know she was

Compare this to Boruto, when is she ever really a motivator for him? when has she ever been a source of strength? when has she made him reach new heights or push past limits? when has she been a driving force? a constant thought in his mind? someone he pays special attention to that he doesnt others?

Never, you cant give a single instance where Boruto treats Sarada any different than he would anyone else in her position, you could have Mitsuki about to get slashed by Kawaki and he'd have gotten the scar the exact same way, if Kawaki was about to sneak Inojin in their sparring match he would've jumped in to protect him and called him out the exact same way, if Sumire was the one who sent Sasuke to save him he would've thanked her the exact same way

Boruto treats Sarada like he does any other friend, there is no special treatment, no special thought either, the only time he'll think of Sarada is if Sasuke is involved in some way so she crosses his mind by extension for obvious reasons, but its never

'I HAVE to do this for Sarada, I have to protect Sarada, I have to be there for Sarada, Im so worried about Sarada, I need to get stronger for Sarada, I need to keep my promise to Sarada'

Im excluding the movie scene because that was out of guilt for partially causing what was happening and seeing how frozen in fear she was, so he manned up and took responsibility to protect her, to put that more into perspective just look at Sasuke literally stabbing himself so he could save Sakura and flee, sure he wanted to save himself, but Sakura being frozen and helpless was also a big motivator that made him fight even harder to move, Boruto has never had a moment where Sarada has made him fight even harder, made him overcome his fears, made him go out of his way especially FOR her

She's never a driving force for him, never a motivation for him, she doesnt cross his mind as anyone special he specifically wants to do xyz for.

Even now rescuing Sasuke is more about his own guilt for Sasuke sacrificing himself for him after Sarada selflessly sent her dad to protect him, and Boruto looking out for her is based on Sasukes final wish being for him to look after her for him.

Its funny how Boruto is quicker to remember and keep his promise to Sasuke than he does the one he made to Sarada. Shows you which promise and WHO Boruto really prioritizes.

Compare that to Sarada who literally says to Mitsuki that she wants to be able to help him more, that she wants to get stronger to help Boruto and fight off powerful Otsutsuki's, who breaks down and cries about how unfair omnipotence was to Boruto, whos bitched at everyone for 3 years trying to prove Boruto's innocent and being ignored, who was so overwhelmed to see him safe and sound she rushed to hug him

Which btw, Boruto returned, but he didnt initiate, because again their relationship is ALWAYS one sided, Sarada GIVES all this energy but she never RECEIVES any of it back.

Observe, how supportive and empathetic Sarada is of him about his dad even when she herself has father issues, vs how supportive or empathetic Boruto is towards her

Despite wanting time with her own dad, she wants Sasuke to take on Boruto as his student because she knows it'd mean alot to him if he did, and was happy for him when her dad said yes.

She lies to Naruto about where he is just so Boruto could spend a little more time with his dad.

She insists on taking the lunch box Hinata made to Naruto because she knows how much it means coming from someone special, which is what makes Boruto change his mind when thinking of his mother.

Moving on lets also compare supportiveness of their dreams, when Boruto tells Sarada his dream shes supportive and happy for him and wants her dad to train him, but when Sarada tells him her dream this is how he responds

Boruto LASHES out at Sarada unfairly because of his personal daddy issues, he takes his fathers neglect as Hokage out on her simply for wanting to be Hokage too, he also assumes that just because Naruto ended up neglecting his family that Sarada would do the same

Compare this to Sarada, who has even worse daddy issues, and how instead of lashing out at Boruto for wanting to be like her father, she supports him? instead of thinking he'd go on to neglect his family the way Sasuke did his she doesnt make that assumption at all? and this is WHILE inside shes annoyed with his complaining and envious of him

Yet she never takes it out on him, never lashes out at him, never calls him out on his insensitivity and selfishness of only thinking about himself and never once considering how she was feeling despite them being childhood friends, yet Sarada is the only one who cared and sympathized with his father issues but Boruto never cared about hers, let alone even acknowledged they existed, and Boruto was so self centered on himself that she never talked to him about it either, not even Chocho her own best friend because she too was also insensitive in regards to her father issues [having a loving and caring father right there yet rejecting him because hes not cool when Sarada literally hasnt even met her dad to her knowledge]

The only person Sarada EVER opened up to about this was Kawaki, and thats because he was the only person who actually GOT IT, they BOTH lacked father figures in their lives and saw Naruto as the ideal dad who was the one who saved them in their darkest moments and inspired them, out of her 2 closest friends, Boruto and Chocho, Sarada could only talk about her personal father issues with Kawaki who she only knew for less than a year, she could open up to HIM before she could two ppl shes known since childhood, that speaks volumes on just how one sided he and Boruto's friendship is because he of all ppl she should've been able to come to for this, yet Sarada didnt say anything at all

I could go on but you get the point, everything is one sided, Sarada gives WAY more to Boruto than he ever has for her, despite having father issues himself, he never ONCE related to or empathized with Sarada in a similar position, but Sarada has for him more than once.

She lied so he could have more time with his dad, she gave up time she could've had training with her own father so Boruto could since he really wanted him as his teacher, she sacrificed even more time with her dad by sending him away on a whole 3 year journey to protect Boruto, despite complaining about her dad not spending time with her several chapters before that, she STILL made that sacrifice for HIS sake.

Show me a single panel or episode where Boruto makes even remotely that kind of sacrifice for her, show me where Boruto ever tells Sasuke or tries to get Sasuke to spend more time with Sarada, show me where he ever sympathized with her not having her dad around, show me where Boruto ever tried to convince Naruto to train Sarada, show me where Boruto ever gave that much of af about her like she has about him.

You wont, because it doesnt exist, unless you wanna count novels not written by Kishimoto and an anime where a good 90% of it, possibly more, isnt even canon to the manga.

In this post Im only gonna reference things we know for a fact are 100% canon, so that means only Gaiden, Boruto movie, and Boruto manga content I will be referring to since thats the content we know for a fact is canon and non debatable.

But the sad part is even if you do include the novels, Boruto only sends Sasuke to spend time with Sarada once because its parent child day and he literally wants to spend time with his own dad but sacrificed that time for his little sister to have it instead, it only made sense for Sasuke to spend time with Sarada on this day, that wasnt so much him being considerate as it was him wanting time with his own dad but couldnt and he saw Sasuke didnt know anything about the holiday since its a new thing and explained it to him, thats not the same as him ACTUALLY considering Sarada's feelings and looking out for her, he had assumed that was why Sasuke came back in the first place until he realized he didnt know, explained it to him, and then went on his way.

So even the one time Boruto thought about her, it wasnt because he actually thought about her feelings and wanted her to spend time with her dad, but just an coincidental encounter, but the entire event Boruto was sulking from wanting to be with his own dad, sound familiar? yea, thats how Sarada felt in Gaiden when surrounded by everyone with their dads, only difference is Sarada was attentive and sympathetic towards him, Boruto isnt.

But lets move back to the manga, specifically TBV cuz I dont wanna be here all day just on part one.

Sarada, unfortunately, decides to dress like Boruto, and not only dress like him, but also go the extra mile of wearing a mens sized jacket...

This is how she dealt with her 'complicated feelings' apparently after omnipotence, she took on his style and even somewhat his attitude

Now lets look at Boruto in TBV, who is he representing? yep you guessed it, it aint Sarada, its her dad.

I want you to keep in mind that TBV is 3 years after Boruto and her dad go MIA after she sent her father to protect him, shes had zero contact with either one of them for those 3 years, she has no idea whether they were dead or alive cuz apparently she never asked Ada for any updates, and in her mind Naruto is dead.

So with all those details in mind you would think Sarada would wanna honor her father right? dont gimme the Uchiha crest cuz thats her own danm name and what she wore even before now, but what about Naruto? that was her idol so you'd think she might wanna honor him right?

The answer is no, she doesnt represent her missing father, nor her believed dead idol, she reps BORUTO.

Now compare that to Boruto who reps Sasuke, why? cuz thats his idol, thats who he strives to be like, thats who he looks up to, who kept him safe despite being brainwashed, who trained him for a whole year, and who sacrificed himself so that he could get away.

It makes sense why Boruto would wanna honor him, even tho I have my own issues with his Sasuke cosplay, atleast from a narrative and character standpoint it atleast makes sense, like you dont see that and go 'Huh?' whereas Sarada you do because that dont make a danm bit of sense in context.

Her dad is missing, her idol is dead, her friend is missing, yet the only one she honors is the friend? not Naruto who saved her at her lowest moment and gave her her dream? not her father who she was only just starting to finally spend time with after years of being miserable without him?

To put this into perspective, imagine Sasuke putting Naruto above Itachi, like Imagine Sasuke, who idolized his brother as danm near perfection personified, imagine he put Naruto above him for no reason and Im dead serious, there is no reason why Sarada would put Boruto above Sasuke, romantic love doesnt trump familial love especially towards ones own parents, despite popular belief that 'well she loves Boruto and known him longer than Sasuke so she cares for him more' is such a bogus take because in that case Boruto should be closer to her for the same reason, Naruto became Hokage when he was around 5-6 which is around the same time Sasuke goes on his mission, you can literally make the same argument for him but for some reason ppl wanna act like theres a difference.

But ok lets play their game that romantic love trumps familial, if they truly believe thats true and that BoruSara is already mutual then shouldnt Boruto put Sarada above his family as well? because they arent just talking about Sasuke, no they say Sarada cares more about Boruto than her own parents, so by this logic if their love for eachother is stronger than their love for their own family then shouldnt Boruto put her above his family as well?

Well he doesnt, infact he consistently puts her BELOW them, he's always prioritizing his mom, his sister, and his dad, Sarada is never a thought in his mind UNLESS Sasuke is involved in some way.

When he refused to do the mission, Mitsuki used his mother and sister to sway him

When he was about to die, he apologized to his dad and asked him to send his regards to his mother and sister

What motivated him through the chunin exams was getting his fathers attention, not helping his friends succeed

Whats motivating him in TBV is freeing his parents, Sasuke, and patching things up with his brother, Kawaki

When he arrives to save Sarada and Himawari, he orders the others to look after his sister and gets mad when they dont, but is indifferent towards Sarada

Yes he protected and saved her, but there was no great concern over her wellbeing despite her having been injured and just nearly consumed, he put her right back into the fight despite knowing she was being targeted, he only asked that Hima be looked after

Even if you argue he 'knew' Sarada could fend for herself, thats bs, Boruto himself had to flee the Shinjus when he got jumped, Sasuke himself got overwhelmed just by the lesser claw grimes cuz of their numbers, but you want me to believe Boruto thought Sarada could just handle it? even after almost JUST being consumed? get outta here.

Im not saying he doesnt care, what I am saying is he cares way more about his family and will prioritize them than he will Sarada. Keep in mind he had to fly OVER Sarada to where Hima was and THEN he went back for Sarada, nuff said right there.

So what am I getting at? well if it isnt obvious by this point, BoruSara, and most ships in Boruto in general, with the exception of Mitsuki, is all one sided af and it is ALWAYS from the girls pov.

We see Ada's pov, Sumire's pov, Sarada's pov, Yodo's pov now, Moegi's pov now

We dont see Boruto's, dont see Kawaki's, dont see Shinki's, dont see Konohamaru's

We see everything from Sarada's pov but nothing from Boruto's, he does not feel those same strong feelings towards Sarada as she does for him, and Im not even saying shes inlove with him, I just mean strong feelings in general, he does not give that same energy back to her that she gives to him.

The most Boruto has done in return was tell Ada to thank her and not to worry, and promised her that he would free Sasuke and everyone else trapped in tree's.

This is the most you get from Boruto, compared to the plethora of consideration you see from Sarada, the most you get is this.

Him coming to tell her what happened to her dad isnt really anything special, thats just expected, he left with her dad, her dad sacrificed himself for him, he tried to save him on his own first but failed, so now he goes to tell her what happened, its not that big a deal.

And thats exactly the problem, going back to my SS example, whenever we get moments of Sasuke's pov, of Sasuke giving some of that energy that Sakura gave him back, it was always a big deal, a big moment, something special that stood out from other interactions.

To put it a bit more in perspective I'll use Sasuke thanking Sakura before he left to Boruto thanking Sarada before he left.

With Sasuke there was an emotional and powerful build up, Sakura's pleas and Sasuke's refusal to look at her and choosing revenge over them, Sakura mentioning how their first interaction went and Sasuke saying he doesnt remember, all of that leading up to Sakuras confession, Sasuke deflecting and calling her annoying revealing he infact DID remember the interaction she spoke about, her trying to stop him and him appearing behind her, thanking her, then knocking her out and gently placing her on the bench before leaving

With Boruto all he does is literally just give Ada a message to relay to Sarada, there isnt really anything more to it than that, just tell Sarada I said thanks and dont worry cuz I'll be back.

There was nothing big or stand out about it, this is the same kind of thanks you'd see him toss any friend of his, theres nothing special about it.

And this is the problem with BoruSara, they have the 'illusion' of development because its pushed so strongly from Sarada's side that it gives the 'illusion' of the ship sailing, that theres something there, that their so inlove and so important to eachother etc

But when you really sit back, replay everything, and actually look at all their 'moments' and interactions you'll realize just how one sided the relationship is, that theres no reciprocation on Boruto's end, that Boruto doesnt treat her any different than he would anyone else, you could put Sumire in every place Sarada was and he'd act the exact same way, you cannot look at all thats happened and honestly say if you put Sumire in her place that Boruto would react any differently.

And thats what I mean by the 'illusion' of development, because Sarada is just a smoke screen, making her so obsessed and hyperfixated on him gives the 'illusion' that theres been some development in their relationship, that oh their bond is stronger now and shes starting to realize she loves him and Boruto feels the same etc etc

But again when you really look at it all you'll see that isnt the case at all, Sarada's obsession with Boruto is just like Boruto's sudden OOC attitude change, something GIVEN to them but not EARNED

For context Boruto's attitude is very OOC for him, and makes no sense in the context of what happened and what hes been through

To put it simply, Sasuke became the way he was not because of ppl being brainwashed into hating him who used to love him and losing nobody and knowing their all safe and sound, Sasuke became that way because a corrupt village persecuted his clan and plotted their genocide and made his brother carry it out in exchange for sparing his life, who he then hunted down and killed because he thought he was a traitor only to realize he wasnt and truly loved him

THAT is why Sasuke became the hardened person he was, from actual loss and trauma

Boruto has lost NOTHING, he says this himself, he lost nothing and has experienced no real trauma, hardships yes, but no trauma, he knows omnipotence is the reason for everything so he knows everyone that is against him now actually loves him and are just brainwashed, he had Sasuke by his side for a year and then KK for the other 2, he knew he had Sarada and Sumire as his allies back home, he now has Ada, Shikamaru, and Mitsuki on his side as well

Boruto's attitude makes ZERO sense in this context, hes acting like Sasuke but without any of Sasuke's experiences that made him like that

The same applies to Sarada, shes suddenly obsessed with Boruto to a very weird extent yet there has really be NOTHING to justify her obsession with him, none whatsoever

Just to give an example, lets use Haku, it was perfectly explained why Haku had such a strong unhealthy attachment to Zabuza, it made perfect sense why Haku would be obssessed with Zabuza and follow him to the ends of the earth, do whatever he asked, and even throw his own life away to protect him, THAT made sense

I'll give another example, Kawaki, do I even really NEED to explain why his obsession with Naruto makes sense? havin his biological dad sell him for money for booze? his adoptive dad beating him daily and having his body modified against his will? the only good father figrue he ever had in his life was Naruto who was the only one who ever showed him love or care? yea it makes perfect sense why he became unhealthily obsessed

But Sarada? for what reason are we given for her obsession with Boruto? absolutely none, not even in a romantic sense because for some reason Ikemoto wont commit and have her even recognize shes inlove, which is why I dont believe she is because by this point its been 3 years, shes been bitching at everyone for 3 years to believe his innocence, shes dressing like him, wearing a mens size jacket, getting called out by Sumire for her lack of consideration for anyone other than Boruto, she cant even listen to Boruto tell her what happened to her dad without cutting him off with a hug

Im sorry but if she hasnt realized shes inlove after all that, then maybe, just maybe, shes not fkin inlove with him because aint no WAY your doin all of that and still goin 'I mean that platonically' theres just no fkin way Sarada is just in THAT much denial that she cant tell shes inlove with him by now, your not gonna convince me Sarada is that oblivious, your not gonna convince me that 'oh shes like Sasuke' when Sasuke perfectly understood romance, he understood Sakura's feelings he just couldnt accept or focus on them cuz she had other important things to think about

Ppl however are arguing that Sarada doesnt know how she feels which is just stupid, your telling me your going out of you way to wear a mens size jacket the same style as your friend and you still dont know your inlove with him? get outta here man aint nobody THAT dense, thats not even in Sarada's character TO be that dense, she understands love and she not stupid, shes very emotionally intelligent, so if Sarada was inlove with Boruto she'd have realized it by now, the fact that she hasnt doesnt mean shes just that dense, it means what she says everytime shes asked if she likes him, which is no, sorry to burst ppls fanfics and headcanons but Im taking Sarada's words over shipper interpretations

Anyway so getting off of Boruto's perspective, even from Sarada's perspective its really lacking in the romance department because yea shes obsessed with him to a weird extent, but theres no romance, and when their is, its always shot down by her even when theres no reason for her to, there were tons of one sided loves in Naruto so why cant Sarada be confirmed inlove with Boruto by now? what does that ruin? its still a will they wont they situation since we dont know who Boruto likes yet so whats the hold up? theres no reason to keep dragging Sarada's feelings UNLESS its because she doesnt have any, but Ikemoto wants shippers to BELIEVE there might be to keep them reading, which makes sense because majority of readers are pro BoruSara, definitely dont wanna lose your main reading base when the manga is already struggling to stay afloat wth sales constantly dropping lower and lower every volume so yea, I get WHY he wouldnt shoot down BoruSara, but I dont get why if it WAS endgame why he wouldnt have already revealed Sarada's feelings by now, it only makes sense if she doesnt love him.

So romantic love aside, what reason does she have to be this obsessed with Boruto? absolutely none, there is NO reason for her to be this obsessed with him, its not like Sarada was some orphan abandoned on the street and Boruto was her one and only friend who helped her out and took care of her etc, nah Sarada had a normal childhood, loving mom, her best friend Chocho, Boruto havin her tag along with him and his friends, dont mention the novel because it contradicts the manga and even if you do it doesnt change anything because she still had Chocho, still had her mom, and still had a normal happy life with her only issue being an absent dad

She has no justifiable reason for being this obsessed with him, yet she is anyway even tho its unearned, same way Borutos personality shift is unearned, they both act in ways they dont have an justification for WHY they would, none of the experiences that would MAKE them behave the way they are

This is long enough so I'll just end by saying this, yes there is more going against BoruSara when you actually look at substance, theres barely any between them, all surface level bs, one sided bs, and non canon/debatable canon bs that the manga disregards entirely.

BoruSara thrives entirely off content by other ppl, Kodachi added extra bits to the movie novel than was in the movie, the novels were written by different ppl and are debatably canon, and we all know SPs track record, if you look at the manga tho there really isnt much goin for em that you cant say would be any different for somebody else

Like if Sumire hugged Boruto I find it very hard to believe he wouldnt of hugged her back, hell I believe even Mitsuki would've gotten a hug back, I dont really see Boruto only hugging Sarada back, but for example I can only see Sasuke poking Sakura's forehead, not because he dont care or feel as strongly for Naruto, but because he reserved that gesture specifically to convey to Sakura how he felt and to share with his daughter, a symbol of a promise he intended to keep, this is something he especially does just to them

But Boruto? yea I cant see him not hugging anyone else back who hugged him, it just goes back to what I said about their moments not really being 'special' because their nothing that wouldnt happen for anyone else, their not a big deal, hell the only reason the hug is a big deal is because Sumire understandably is jealous over it and called Sarada out for her inconsideration, not cuz she understandably hugged her friend she was happy to see, but because Sarada NEVER considers anyone elses feelings at all, SUMIRE understood how Sarada felt and why she acted that way, but Sarada never considered how Sumire felt, that she also missed Boruto, that she also had things she wanted to say, that she also wanted to show her joy and relief at seeing him alive as well but Sarada didnt even give her a chance to say or do anything before she flew at him.

So instead of a heartfelt reunion, instead now she gotta break the awkward tension between them now that Sarada cant speak cuz shes all embarassed by the hug, once again considering SARADA'S feelings despite her not considering hers at all.

Anyway Ima leave it there, sorry if this isnt as organized as my other posts, I didnt really plan this out and just wrote it as I thought about it but I hope I still made my point. I didnt want this to be too long so theres still alot of stuff I didnt go over in this post but I hope what all I did mention gets the point across well enough on its own.

If you were wondering if I think BoruSumi has more going for it than bsa, I cant say, it has the same issue with a lack of Borutos pov to tell, but just Sumire being sure and confident in her feelings for him puts it above bsa which is literally all fandom speculation that oh their totally inlove they just dont realize it yet ._.

As for if BoruSumi has more going against it, no it doesnt, if anything it has less tbh because its less focused on, and when it is its usually in a positive and mutual light so yea, definitely beating bsa in that regard.

#boruto manga #manga spoilers #rave responds #anti-bsa #pro borusumi

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popawritter12 · 2 years ago

Text

As you know, this is a Yandere account, but in this case we are going to use a Tier List of Headcanons to guide me better.

With you, I present...

The Yandere tier list of League of Legends

(also explained)

(Yeah, it looks like shit btw)

In this case, I used a total of 8 tropes:

Childish

Classic

Cold

Protector

Sadist

Doesn't understand anything

Can't be Yanderes.

As you can see, here is the explanation and they will allow me to bring out my most "aksHuallY ☝️🤓" side in my life.

Ｏ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

Explication:

Ｏ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

1: "Childish"

In this case, we are in the presence of a type of childish Yandere. What do I mean by this?

Childhood Yanderes are those who do not notice and recognize that they are obsessed; Not because they do not know how to recognize the difference between love and obsession, but because, by not understanding what love is in itself, they do not see you as their partner, but as their best friend who MUST be with them always.

Their murders, kidnappings and crimes in general are not done in the name of love, but rather the "purest" friendship they can have.

An example of this is Lulu: she is a Yordle who does not understand the concept of loving, hating or other things, so if she becomes a Yandere, we will be talking about someone who only knows that she likes being with you and wants you both to be best friends forever (Or until one of you dies)

Ｏ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

2: Classic

Ah, the Yandere we all know.

Obsessive, Sadistic with those who are not their crush and EXTREMELY clingy, these Yanderes are the stereotype (Or their Yanderism is going to be closer to this trope) in the life of a Yandere; justification of "love" in every crime, manipulators, lovers of violence against people "dangerous" to you, pampering you in every possible way, etc.

They can basically be seen as an example of a mix between that champion mixed with Yuno Gasai or Yandere-Chan.

An example of this is Renata, who we can see as a woman who, if she becomes obsessed with someone, will do the simple thing: kidnapping, using her connections to always win and subdue the person she loves until she is the one. her ideal partner.

Ｏ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

3- Cold.

One of my favorite tropes (Yes, quite stereotypical of myself).

Yanderes of this type are people who, although they may be a copy and paste of the previous trope, usually have a characteristic that is noticeable even in the name of the trope: They have a hard time expressing love.

Did you see when they say that there are romance animes that take 6 months or seasons to even hold hands? These Yanderes have those words tattooed on their foreheads.

They have a hard time expressing feelings for something or another.

In reality, more than once the signs that this champion likes you are MANY occasions contradictory, you can come to think that they hates you or that they have you there to kill you, or to torture you, or at least until at one point he explicitly Make your intentions clear (This happens if the extreme case comes that you have an emotional breakdown in the middle of your captivity)

But, even with all that problem of trust or expression, they love with the same intensity (Depending on the case even more) than a classic Yandere.

An example of this is Pyke, a champion who, although I can see a lot of Yandere potential in him, I see more that it is difficult for him to be able to openly say how much he loves you and the amount of things he did to even be able to have a moment alone with you.

Ｏ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

4-Protector

One of the busiest places was this; Why is there something that in itself is only a reaction of our survival instinct? Simple: These Yanderes apply it in other ways.

What do I mean by this?

These Yanderes tend to murder in smaller quantities (This is compared to other stereotypes such as the classic or the sadist), but they are MORE possessive and MORE protective than a common Yandere.

What they don't have in the number of murders they have in the basic way they keep you close: They won't immediately resort to kidnapping, but if you stay close enough (understood as within their reach, not physically speaking) to 'not in danger'

In fact, these are more nonsense than a common one: they claim that since they didn't murder anyone near you (This is if they didn't do it once or twice by "accident") they didn't do anything wrong, obviously ignoring harassment, stalking, invasion of property , illegal investigation, etc.

Anyway, a good example of this is Ekko, who, if you ever try to even think about getting away from him, will find a thousand and one ways (and a million if necessary) to keep you with him, even if that applies any anything, except murdering someone close to you (Unless the obsession is too heavy for him, which ends up consuming him completely)

Ｏ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

5-Sadist.

Be prepared, bithes, because this is the worst stereotype of all.

On all scales, we can say that at least no group of Yanderes harmed you, right?

Until now we have seen that they can commit atrocious crimes (And at the same time enjoy committing them), but they do not seek to harm you, but rather to protect you, love you, and many more things, right?

Well, everything goes to hell here: After all, even the title warns you to run away.

They enjoy the suffering of others, but there is something... special in you, something that makes your existence unique among all other victims.

Yes, they also "fall in love", they love you, they hate seeing you with someone else, etc.

But they have their own peculiar way of expressing it... And I say this because, if you're half-assed, they are capable of hurting you, and taking pleasure (or worse, becoming addicted) to harming you in many ways.

Simply using you and making you suffer, watching you writhe in agony is a unique delight for them, as if it were what they didn't know they wanted, but needed.

An example of this is Jhin, he is sadistic, a son of a bitch, and thousands of other things. But if he becomes obsessed, my sincerest condolences go out to the poor disgraced soul who suffers from being this man's "special guest".

Ｏ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

6-Don't understand anything

We're talking about Yanderes who don't understand a thing about what happens to them, nor do they understand why, when or how this obsession happened, but they don't care either.

They don't see you as an object or as something, you are simply something that exists only for them: You don't even amount to anything. But they love you, they just want to be with you, but they don't understand how to refer to you or how to even talk to you.

They don't understand what the fuck jealousy or possessiveness is, you're just theirs, end of the story.

No matter who they try to get you away from him or her, they are basically less than excrement to his/hers.

An example of this is Aatrox, who is a fucking Darkin who understands nothing but destruction, so tell me what is he supposed to do when he comes into romantic contact with a human?

Ｏ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

7- Can't be Yanderes.

In the latter case, I see it as those champions that, no matter how much effort I make, I am not mentally capable of making them Yanderes. This is more of a preference of mine, to keep some of my little pride intact after making this tier list.

An example of this is Cho'gat

I mean, how the fuck does this thing EVEN get close to anything that breathes without immediately trying to eat it?

Ｏ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)ＯＯ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

#yandere #obsessive love #lol #yandere league of legends #league of legends #yandere headcanons #yandere male #yandere female #yandere lol #league of legends headcanons

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averyhodgmorr · 2 years ago

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normal people

Normal People by Sally Rooney

꧁ღ╭⊱ꕥ 07.21.23 ꕥ⊱╮ღ꧂

I’m back! After a long, long procrastination/break, I have finally returned to my blog to catch up on the books I’ve left un-reviewed, starting with Normal People by Sally Rooney.

To keep it short; this book... changed me. My original feelings about the novel compared to my final feelings are a stark contrast. To be honest, I initially thought this book was going to be, how do I say this, Wattpad-esque, and to be fair, that’s how it was set up; An unlikely pair drawn to one another despite conflicting inner-circles and different circumstances. After reading to only halfway through the novel, my connotations were proven completely wrong. Normal People is a raw and familiar example of life, I wouldn’t think a single part of this book to be slow or boring simply because of how real it is.

This book felt like you were Connell, and like you were Marianne because of how easily relatable, tragic, and beautiful it is. I think that this novel is such a romantic portrayal of a very common and "normal" relationship between two people over time.

There was so much growth and changes of personalities and circumstances, Rooney’s choice to completely flip-flop Connell and Marianne’s popularity and statuses going from high school to university made so much perfect sense in the book because of who the characters were, but also because it provided an opportunity for so much development, and put them in situations that allowed the reader to understand who they (the characters) are, what they think, and why they are the way that they are; Like how Marianne’s treatment from her brother and mum later manifested into her placing herself in self-deprecating and dangerous relationships, and how Connell being a wonder child and having so many friends--but without meaningful connection--throughout his adolescence caused him to be socially unequipped to have real adults conversations and relationships.

I think that this truly is a story about two normal people living simple and empathetic lives that Rooney was able to turn into a transporting and captivating novel about romance, drama, relationships and tragedy.

I would rate this book a 4.5/5 stars because I thought it was such a great novel that was very easy to read and that I would read again, but nothing is perfect and there are things I would’ve changed to improve my experience with this book, alas a 4.5! This is definitely a book you should read if you like romance, drama, and (in my opinion) a slow burn that you’re not going to want to put down.

Thanks for reading!

-avery

#booklr #reading #normal people #sally rooney #marianne sheridan #connell waldron #book review #romance #drama

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social-homicide · 4 months ago

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Accomplice to Murder: Media Kills Relationships

If you are plugged into the social media sphere at all, you may have come across various content that centers around romantic relationships. Whether it’s couples’ content on TikTok, a Twitter thread debating the ethics of “ghosting”, or even your friend from high school’s Instagram post of their new wedding engagement—relationships are bound to fill our digital media sphere. There is nothing inherently wrong with talking about relationships on social media, but it is valid to analyze how it can affect individuals and their own relationships.

After a shift in technology, there has been a clear difference in how people approach relationships now than how they did twenty years ago. Before social media, there was no incentive to curate one’s relationship for social validation. The over-saturation of online relationship content has made us vulnerable to social comparison theory. This theory suggests that people often compare themselves to others, leading to low self-esteem. I personally have caught myself being a victim of this.

For example, I saw a Twitter thread with users debating the ethics of “ghosting”. Ghosting is a modern term used to describe when you abruptly cut off communication with someone you are involved with without warning. In the Twitter thread, users argued that its validity relies on the duration of the relationship. In other words, ghosting should only be permissible depending on how long you have been involved with this person. Others argued that it can be disrespectful in any context. The thread alluded to the idea that there are ethical procedures when entering a relationship. This is dangerous because it puts restrictions on how romance should be and may lead readers to compare their experiences to the subjectively high standards spewed by random Twitter users

Overall, something must be said about how our culture interacts with media and how it impacts our approach to relationships. There is no escaping the change that digital media has had on our relationships, but it is important to be aware of its negative impacts.

#media #social media #relationships

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missfay49 · 2 years ago

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Listening to a lecture by a female engineer who didn't know women could become engineers until a female college professor suggested it, only because she has never seen a female engineer before.

And this is a common story, I've heard this before, that people need to see examples before they can realize something for themselves. I believe this truly happens to people, I just never experienced it myself.*

But today during this lecture it finally clicked for me Why I never felt restricted by my gender as a child; I never Recognized my own gender.

I'm a pansexual polyamourous only-child who grew up in the countryside with no consistent childhood friendships living in my neighborhood. I literally had no peers to compare myself against until I was 12, and was entirely immune to subtext due to what is probably mild autism. Classmates were just people I worked with that often behaved inexplicably. When I tried to emulate classmates I almost always got different results so most behaviors were just a total mystery anyway.

I watched tv and identified with EVERYONE on the screen. I identified with the men trying to get the girl of their dreams because I wanted those girls too. I identified with the women navigating work and romance because I also struggled to navigate school and boys. I identified with Sid the Sloth, the oblivious and literal-brained outcast. My best friend was my cat.

I feel like I can finally see and recognize the non-binary part of me because I finally realize how I interacted with the world as if I Personally Was whatever gender was suppposed to be there, without even realizing it. All behaviors could be learned, switched around, combined and recombined to suit every situation. It never even occurred to me to behave any other way and my parents never discouraged any behavior that wasn't literally a danger to me.

I grew up with no personal sense of being any particular gender, but grew up around more women in general just because teachers often grouped us that way, for reasons I didn't bother to acknowledge.

I did grow up distrusting men, but as far as I can tell this was not taught to me by outside sources. It was taught to me by my own experiences because the inherently random grouping of men and boys in my life consistently lied and cheated, were both unpredictable and more athletic than my artsy self, so every one of them posed a potential danger until they proved themselves trustworthy.

By this point (35y.o.) I've been physically and sexually harassed by older women more than I've ever been harassed by men. Older women just seem to think they have a right to blatantly touch and command younger women.

...I think I'm losing the thread here..

Anyway, hell yes to gender nonconformity enacted through a complete unawareness of a standard :)

*I did grow up thinking people had to be born actors and that this was the only way to become an actor. I was completely unaware of the pathways to becoming an actor, it was all a very secretive process I could not fathom until I was in college.

#just dont acknowledge it!#just act like you're normal and most ppl wont debate you!#it's free gender!#my own queer history #nonbinary #queer

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duckprintspress · 3 years ago

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How to Write a Great Query Letter

Part 2 of a 2-part series of guest posts by Alec J. Marsh. Part 1, “Why Query Letters are Good, Actually,” came out last week; you can read it here!

Alec is also the author of Duck Prints Press’s forthcoming novella To Drive the Hundred Miles, about a young man coming home for the holidays and finding more than he expected. It’s coming out December 21st, 2022. They know what they’re talking about, as an author and about a writer-writing-about-writing, so read on and learn!

Now that you’ve read the first post in this series, and had a week to reflect on it… are you convinced yet? Are you ready to acquire the most important marketing skill of your career? Great!

If you’re primarily interested in how to pitch to Duck Prints Press specifically, there will be a full post about that coming out in the near future. But I promise, these skills will help you whatever your writing aspirations are.

1. The Really Boring Part

Most queries open with a paragraph called “metadata.” This is all the marketing stuff that you need to get out of the way so your agent/editor knows what kind of book it is. This includes

Title: Self-explanatory

Length: This is vitally important for traditional publishing. If you are a debut author and your story isn’t within the accepted range, you’ll get automatically rejected by most agents. There are very good industry reasons for that, but discussing that’s a different article. If you want to look at the averages, check out this link.

Genre and age range: This is practical for marketing and readership purposes, and it also puts the summary in context.

Comparative (or Comp) Titles: This is a tricky one, and a full discussion on selecting appropriate comparative titles could easily be its own separate blog post, but the short version is that you should pick titles that your book can be compared to. That can be descriptive—"Supernatural but set in Eastern Europe"—or genre—"For fans of Tamora Pierce"—or even trope based—"Sunshine/Grumpy romance set in a world of danger and magic." There are a ton of options, but the main point is to position your story in the market and make it easy to pick up quickly.

Logline: This serves a similar purpose as the comp titles do and is meant to sum up one cool part of your story. It doesn’t have to sum up the entire story. For example, Gideon the Ninth sounds wild if you try to summarize the plot, but I’ve been able to convince all my friends to read it by saying simply, “it’s about lesbian necromancers in space.” That’s all you need! In casual conversation, this is often called your “elevator pitch.” Imagine you’re at a convention and you get into the elevator with your dream agent, and you have only the length of the elevator ride to sell them your novel. What do you say? That’s your logline.

***Both comp titles and logline are technically optional, and you don’t need both of them. It’s better to write something unique than to waste the space putting something in just because you think you need it.

2. The Biography

This usually goes at the end of the query. Don’t overthink it. If you have any credentials, put those in; relevant credentials can include past publications, editing jobs, or a creative writing degree. Then write one to two sentences that make you sound interesting. For example, I say that I like long walks in the fog (because I write moody fantasy) and have a history degree (because it inspires my fantasy world building).

3. The Body

I left this until the last because it’s the hardest and most important part. A killer summary will make up for dull metadata and a lackluster bio. But if the body of your query letter is weak, no MFA in the world will save you. This section should be 300 words maximum.

Your simplest formula for including what needs to be in this paragraph is four sentences: LEAD, OBJECTIVE, CONFLICT, TWIST. It’s simpler than you think to write the first draft. I promise. Let it be terrible, get it down, then edit it to a fine shine (much like you’ve already done with that novel!).

Lead: This is your main character. Name them and describe them by including their profession, skills, or other plot-relevant details.

Objective: What does your main character want? Try to make this as specific as possible. “Longs for acceptance” is vague and generic. “Wants to be accepted into the Book Guild” is specific and gives a reader clues about their personality and the setting. You can put in some information about motivation here too. Maybe her father was also a bookbinder and she needs to redeem the family name.

Conflict: Now we’re getting to the meat of it! Why can’t your main character get what they want? Again, try to be specific and don’t leave it to platitudes. If the bookbinders just don’t like her, that’s generic. If they don’t like her because they think she’s as corrupt as her father was and will bring ruin to them, that’s something a reader can really dig into. We have themes implied now! We understand this is a story about family ties, redemption, and preconceived notions, and you didn’t even need to spell that out.

Twist: This is the most nebulous part of the query. The twist can be a real plot twist, like her discovering that the bookbinding guild also sells occult books. It can be a cool thing about the setting, like the bookstore being on an airship. It can be the romantic subplot, if she falls in love with her rival apprentice. It can be the historical inspiration, if the book is set in a fantasy world reminiscent of Renaissance Italy. In short, what makes your book special? What’s going to prompt people to shove it in their friend’s faces? It’s similar to the logline in that way.

You can also put the twist at the beginning of the body paragraph, if it’s really cool. You can weave it throughout. You can put it at the end in a mic drop moment. Just make your book sound cool. That’s literally all this is!

And those three sections…are basically it! Doesn’t sound so scary now, right? Oh wait, it still does? Okay, then, here’s some more tips to help you!

Write down everything you need in a query in whatever order works for you. I do it like a sad, clunky mad libs just so it’s all on the page. It’s a lot of pressure to include all this important information AND make it pretty in one go.

Ask your beta readers to help! It’s hard to summarize your own stories when you’ve been living inside them for months. I’ve helped so many friends with their queries because they wrote something perfectly serviceable and technically correct that somehow still made their story sound frightfully boring. (This is not a condemnation of their skill as writers. The skills needed to write queries are completely different.)

Don’t use rhetorical questions. This is mostly personal taste, but I think they’re a waste of space. “Will she follow her heart?” is sort of useless when 99% of stories are about people following their heart. “She must choose between her ambition and the chance at true love” is so much more clear and includes more conflict.

The body of your query letter actually only needs to include the first 30-50% of the story in most cases—enough to leave the reader/agent/editor eager to know what happens next, and no more. This isn’t true if the twist is necessary to understanding why the story is exciting. Can you imagine trying to sell Gone Girl without including the twist that it was all a set up? That twist took the story from generic true crime to something truly original. So to some extent, you’ll need to use your judgment, but there’s rarely any need to try to fit the whole plot into that 300-word paragraph.

Above all, be specific.

Do not shy away from giving spoilers (again: BE SPECIFIC). “She finds information that may change everything,” are seven words that tell you nothing. If you say what the information is (“she finds a note from her father that makes it clear he was framed”), you’ll leave the reader desperate to know what the outcome will be, begging for the rest of the story.

Get the query competent and coherent, and then leave it for at least a week. This is good editing advice for any story, but it’s absolutely vital for a query. Because they’re so short and so much rides on them, every single word you write in the query has to be useful, and every sentence has to be clear, concise, and intriguing. Don’t rush this; it’s better to go slow and get it right then hurry along and face a pile of rejections.

Have a query beta reader who hasn’t read your story. Make sure it makes sense with no context. Revise it again. Leave it for another week. (I’m sorry. But I’m not really.)

I know this sounds like a lot. Query letters are hard, and the pressure makes it harder. Writing culture loves to hate on them, for good reason. But you learned to write a novel, something that takes years to master! You can learn to write a query letter too. I won’t pretend it’s easy, but it is a skill you can learn, and it’s worth it! With a single page, you can convince people to buy your book, and that’s magical!

You can learn more about Alec here; you can learn more about To Drive the Hundred Miles here, and read a teaser here. And, you can check out Alec’s two already-published erotica works Heart’s Scaffolding and Study Hall.

Who we are: Duck Prints Press LLC is an independent publisher based in New York State. Our founding vision is to help fanfiction authors navigate the complex process of bringing their original works from first draft to print, culminating in publishing their work under our imprint. We are particularly dedicated to working with queer authors and publishing stories featuring characters from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

Love what we do? Sign up for our monthly newsletter and get previews, behind-the-scenes information, coupons, and more!

Want to support the Press and get lots of our stories? Consider backing our Patreon or ko-fi monthly at a level that includes free stories, and read your fill!

#duck prints press #guest blogger #alec j. marsh #writing advice #publishing #query letters

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lilolilyr · 2 years ago

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Valentinesnormativity

I definitely don't have the time to write a full fic at the moment & it's exactly midnight and therefore past my bedtime right now & I'm too late for valentine's day by more than a day now anyway, but I had Thoughts so you get the bare bones of the fic in just dialogue under the cut, who knows if I get some reblogs I might turn it into something longer on Ao3 when I have the time!

(team talk ends with among others Markus needing valentine's day off work to try and save his relationship, Deborah just nods and waves her hand for him and everyone to leave, leaving her and Ava sitting next to each other)

A: So. Valentine's day...

D: Don't tell me you also need the day off. I know you're not in a relationship that would warrant that, do you really need to schedule your one night stand on that day?

A: no! Ugh, no. I don't need the day off, I just wanted to ask, because we were already on the topic... Valentine's day. Thoughts?

D: -_-

A: like it, hate it love it, don't care? Cause, well, I mean, it's definitely a capitalistic dystopia invention to just sell more shit on another invented holiday and stress everybody out about making the day perfect and romantic... But it's also kinda cute how schoolkids give their entire class friend valentines and sweets and stuff, right? Though I guess we already have Christmas for cards like that and Halloween for candy... But valentine's day kind of went off with the candy heart aesthetic! Of course all unimportant compared to the dangerous way it proports amatonormativity...

D: what now

A: amatonormativity! You know I already explained heteronormativity to you -

D: too many times than I cared to listen

A: if you listened the first time I wouldn't have had to - anyway. Like heteronormativity is about how the society is all about straight couples being normal and expected, amatonormativity is about how romantic love in general is like that, too! I mean sure falling in love is great and all but that's not the only love there is! Some people never fall in love and that's okay! And even if you do, that doesn't have to make that relationship the most important one for you, people are capable of having important platonic and not-romantic relationships, I mean friendships and stuff... And, back to valentine's day, no shut up I'm getting to the point already, valentine's day makes people think that there's something wrong with them when they don't have a significant other because it looks like everyone has one or at least wants one!

D: I wasn't interrupting-

A: •_-

D: okay I was but I was just going to say I think I get it. Important platonic relationships, they can be more important than romance. A bit like us two.

A: looking down) oh, uh. Yeah? I guess...

D: ?

D: Of course, if your little speech didn't mean much and you'd still rather spend the day with some random tinder d-

A: no! No, (reaches for Deborah's hand) definitely not. I mean, you're importantly to me too. And I'd love to spend valentines day with you.

D: (looks at her, sees that despite her best efforts not to, Ava is blushing) ...oh.

D: I suppose I should have used me and Kiki as an example for that important platonic relationship. Does that make us a part of the unimportant amatonormativity now?

A: (splutters) Deborah!

Lmk if you want me to @ you if/when I turn this into a proper fic or write sth else for these two!

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loosesodamarble · 3 years ago

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Morgen Faust Headcanons

Here’s my various headcanons for Morgen Faust! Lots of it is very self indulgent, mind you.

Morgen was a bit of a crybaby in his early years. He got scared easily and had a gentle heart so anything mean or cruel would upset him.

While not nearly as talented as Nacht, Morgen made up for it in determination. Or stubbornness, depending on who you asked. Morgen had drive to continue at something even if he wasn't good at it or it was boring.

Massive bookworm. He would read anything he could get his hands on. He had a fondness for poetry, romance, and adventure stories though. Poetry fostered his gentle, thoughtful nature. Romance made him a bit of a romantic. And adventure inspired his decision to be a Magic Knight.

Always had a fondness for nature. He liked visiting public gardens as a child and when he grew up, he became more willing to venture into the wild to appreciate nature's untamed beauty.

Morgen was well-liked by animals, on a similar level as Yuno. Strays flocked to him and he fed them if he had anything he could share. He's stumbled upon a herd of grazing deer and they saw him, but sensing he wasn't a danger, they continued to graze.

Morgen could play the piano. I will never let go of this thought, ever. The piano is an elegant but strong instrument, just like Morgen was a kind person and served as a Magic Knight. I can imagine him performing a beautiful melody on a grand piano, his face peaceful as he sways to the music a little.

Also, he sang. I imagine that he had a tenor-baritone voice, high to middle range for men (examples for tenor voice are Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran. Baritone voices are like Frank Sinatra and John Lennon).

Skilled in social dancing, think ballroom with the waltz or foxtrot. Forced Nacht to be his practice partner a lot.

Excelled in his etiquette classes, being called "The Perfect Gentleman" by his tutors.

From a young age, Morgen was willing to help others. His belief was that because he was blessed with a good life, he should bring good into other people's lives.

His helpful nature brought with it a good reputation with the public. However, he didn't care for the attention and preferred shying away from it.

Morgen quickly learned that his parents' "love" for him was conditional. He had to be the image of perfection and always work for their approval. They had high expectations that he never seemed to meet however.

He was compared to Nacht often, especially when Morgen didn't excel as easily as Nacht did.

Morgen noticed that Nacht wasn't held to the standard of perfection that he was. Morgen never got upset but was relieved that Nacht didn't endure the same burdens.

His mother often patronized Morgen, acting sweet but saying things that played down his accomplishments. His father meanwhile gave “constructive criticism” on whatever Morgen did and advised him to “do better.”

Despite his harsh upbringing under his parents, Morgen was genuinely upbeat and optimistic about life. He wasn't going to let his past define his future.

Had some airhead moments. Once, he was buying his favorite pastry at the bakery he regularly visited and the baker said "if you like 'em so much, I'll sell you the whole stock!" And Morgen took him seriously.

He could casually say "Yeah my parents only loved me when I followed every rule they set out for me. And even when I did follow the rules, apparently I never followed them well enough," and not see anything wrong with it.

Joining the Magic Knights was motivated not only by his desire to help people but also the want to get away from his parents. He didn't need to put up with their treatment of him.

Early on, Morgen worked himself to the brink and Julius had to take him aside to tell him he could relax. The exhaustion and relief made Morgen cry before passing out.

Considered everyone in the squad his friend even if he didn't know them super well. He likes supporting everyone with that kind of connection.

Morgen made regular visits to the Faust manor. He mostly returned to see Nacht and the wonderful staff that raised him.

With his gentle heart, Morgen was highly inclined to healing and other support type spells. With utilization of Mana Zone, Morgen would've been able to created an area of effect healing spell.

A couple attack spells at least but before he mastered those, he just grabbed a person and threw them into a wall at light speed. Yes this does mean Morgen had an ounce of upper body strength.

Had an anxiety attack when he discovered House Faust's secret practices. Just curled up in a ball and pressed his hands to his temples trying not to scream or cry. He always knew, or least had a feeling, that something wasn't quite right with his family but the full truth was difficult to process.

Increased his efforts to convince Nacht to join the Magic Knight in hopes of getting him away from the devil work but it was to no avail.

Morgen never hated Nacht. He worried about his brother and acknowledged his wrongdoings but Morgen knew Nacht had a kind, but closed off heart.

#morgen faust #morgen faust headcanons #happy birthday morgen #black clover #black clover headcanons #morgen's death makes me cry on a daily basis/lh #i love him so much and want better things for him #fanfic and aus to the rescue #morgen and josele being in love also gives me life #let me have my obnoxiously cute ship!

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isolatedbubble · 4 years ago

Text

Romance in MXTX, Priest, and SHL

MXTX: Flower, Wine and Dreamworld

The romance in MXTX's works is like flower that grows in ice and snow; colorful, bright and hopelessly romantic, blossoms in misery and hardships.

It features a distinct "us against the world" mindset, depicting love as the only constant in the world. It's an eternal "dreamworld" detached from worldly matters, the perfect escapism as well as a source of strengths in the face of cruel reality.

Both MDZS and TGCF are a critique of mob mentality.

The contrast between CQL and MDZS is very interesting. While the former ends with LWJ taking charge, and therefore changing the world for the better, the novel ends with wangxian isolating themselves from grand politics and focusing more on helping individuals as recluse. It has an essentially pessimistic attitude towards the morality & intelligence of the collective.

TGCF takes a slightly more optimistic approach, featuring the crowd being courageous under the right circumstances. However, both works share a similar undertone: putting one’s absolute faith in the collective is dangerous, whereas unconditional trust and devotion can be only found in one-to-one connection

MXTX herself compares MDZS and TGCF to 花间一壶酒 (A cup of wine among flowers), MDZS being the wine and TGCF being flower. She also compares MDZS to 风雪夜归人, the person returning home from snow and wind, and TGCF to 红泥小火炉, a small red furnace.

Priest: Breezing Wind and Burning Iron

The romance in priest's works is more complicated. It's the most gentle in its normal state, when it is rational and collected, in which case it's like the breezing wind, soothing, sweet and light-hearted. It gives the individuals more incentive to achieve their individual and/or societal vision, as well as more reason to value their own lives & well-being.

In Faraway Wanderers, the most distinct feature of WenZhou relationship is how in naturally sync they are, and how comfortable & smooth their dynamic is. They both have past burden, but it doesn’t matter, because they bring simple joy, understanding and happiness in each other’s lives.

In Sha Po Lang and The Guardian, the ML’s lingering love for the MC motivates them to become better version of themselves, to care about others, and to form a holistic vision about bettering society.

In The Defective, Lin Jingheng(MC) explicitly said that Lu Bixing(ML) is the only meaning in his life. He had little incentive to care about his own life after his revenge plan fell apart. LBX helped him reconnect with his inner idealism, and gave him a reason value his life.

When the passion and fiery energy manifests itself, however, the romance is like burning iron, blood and fire. It isn’t actually toxic or unhealthy, but it's not pure and innocent either; in this case, it strives for something deeper and more intense, never content with the past or the present. The sheer intensity of relationship is like a double-edged sword, walking the fine line between unconditional devotion and dangerous obsession.

SHL: Spring Water and Healing Open Wounds

The romance in SHL is like "spring water"; it's warm, gentle, nurturing. It breaks through the boundary between individuals to bring the couple closer to each other, taking them back to a utopia of their childhood dream, away from social pressure and responsibility. The theme central to their relationship is “salvation”: how love is able to bring people back to integrity.

Both drama wkx and drama zzs have lots of regret about their past sins and wrongdoings. Four Seasons Manor is essentially a metaphor for purity, acceptance and the safety of childhood home. How to make drama wkx open up and accept this safe harbor as his home is one of the most significant plot-lines of the show.

SHL couple is way more emotionally vulnerable and expressive. A significant part of SHL arc is healing the wounds in an open and honest way. They cuddle and confide in each other way more often, talk about their shameful past and even cry about their regrets in front of one another, which is very rare among MXTX/Priest works.

The heat of the relationship sometimes gets too hot and even burns; in other words, there are constant miscommunications, conflicts and misunderstandings in the relationship. However, they can never let each other go, because it's the only source of warmth left for them in their hopeless lives filled with regrets and guilt.

Similarities and Differences

*Note that this is not a SHL/TYK comparison. TYK is kind of an “unorthodox” priest novel; you will know what I mean if you have read 3+ of her works.

Relationship Dynamic & Narrative:

In MXTX’s works, the concept of “romance” itself is divined; and the characters are illustration of the ideal of “undying love”. People are made for one another, to complete one another. Her works use colorful symbolism (silver butterflies, the emperor’s smile, the 3 thousand lanterns, etc.) to depict this romanticized ideal of love.

For MXTX, the romanticization of “destined love” is one of the most recurring themes of her novels. Therefore, the readers look at their relationship through rose-color glasses. Obsession is usually framed in a jolly & romantic light, and doesn’t feature much tension or stress, and has less negative or unhealthy undertone.

In most of priest’s works and SHL, soulmates are not born but made, so they have to figure out how their relationship works step by step. Therefore the narrative is less of a “rosy picture”.

Priest has a habit of using derogatory terms to describe relationships that are mostly healthy, but somewhat “bloody” and edgy, full of excessive passion and obsession. The most common phrase is “爱生忧怖”, a Buddhist term meaning “love results in worry and fear”.

SHL obviously has to be more subtle in expressing love. That said, drama WenZhou are way more emotionally vulnerable and expressive than their novel counterparts, as well as most Priest & MXTX characters. They have a dramatic falling out once in a while, even towards the end. They barely fit the Chinese definition of Zhiji (to know me/to understand one another), but are “lovers” who are buried deep in their passion instead.

Past, Future and Evolvement:

In SHL, characters are encouraged to treasure past impressions that are thrown in figurative “wrappings”, whose luster is derived from age-old experiences (Psychological Types, Carl Jung). In other words, they are encouraged to root their love in a shared past, a Utopia of innocence.

The contrast between The Defective and Word of Honor is very interesting to observe. Both involve long separation, and the suffering and personality changes hat comes from it. SHL narrative frames their innocent childhood as something to cling to and return to. Drama WKX is encouraged to accept his identity as Four Seasons Manor disciple because it was part of his childhood past. This is a significant part of drama WenZhou relationship.

In The Defective, the narrative doesn't encourage the couple to dwell on the past that much. On the contrary, the all-knowing AI explicitly discouraged the MC from “comparing past to present”. They are advised to accept changes, however painful it might be, and build a better, more equal dynamic out of it, evolving from one-sided pandering to fighting side-by-side.

In Priest’s novels, the characters rarely return to something in the past, but look into the future. Change is usually framed as inherently beneficial, albeit usually painful and rocky, the implication being that you need to constantly strive for something better.

Sha Po Lang is a good example of this, with Gu Yun’s changing attitude towards Chang Geng after he as he matures, gradually showing his intelligence in politics. CG starts referring to GY as Zixi instead of YiFu is also a sign of this change---to see him as equal rather than a parental figure & protector.

The Defective is even more obvious in this regard, with both parties uncomfortable with the change initially, but gradually adjusting to the changes during their 16-year separation. The ML also stops calling MC by his surname “Lin”, as a sign of viewing him as equal.

In MXTX’s works, change in personality or relationship dynamic is neither framed as painful or good. It just happens. It’s a natural flow that take place when it does. Their relationships are rarely challenged by change. They are objectively at a better place compared to their past, but it’s merely the result of a series of events rather than a deliberate choice or struggle.

WangXian’s relationship naturally changes over time after WWX’s rebirth, but neither of them really struggles with the change.

Xie Lian doesn’t even recognize Hua Cheng as the someone from his past, so they start out as friends getting to know each other.

Salvation and Changing one another:

Priest herself stated in an interview that she doesn’t believe in the concept of salvation, since people have the inner capacity to be their own savior. Therefore, priest characters usually don’t actively try to change their partner’s morals or personality. Some might be willingly influenced by their partner, but there’s rarely an element of moral condemnation. Even when there is a conflict between different values, the options are 1) to reconcile them by choosing the middle ground 2) to maintain their independence and tackle it with nuance 3) to break up.

On surface level, Mo Du/Silent Reading is about Luo Wenzhou being Fei Du’s salvation. However, as LWZ pointed out himself, Fei Du would’ve been a good person at heart with or without his influence.

In The Defective, when Lu Bixing mistakenly thought Lin Jingheng stayed in the Eighth Galaxy against his own wishes because of their relationship, and that their priorities are irreconcilable, he even thought about breaking up. Of course he was not serious about it, but this showcased that he would never try to change LJH’s convictions.

In SHL, however, the concept of salvation is central to the theme. Some find it strange that SHL make drama zzs the more “moral” one of the two, despite his action being more objectively questionable. In fact, the only reason he get framed as more “moral” is that he admitted his fault sooner, and therefore could guide drama wkx’s path back to salvation: to recognize the goodness in people, make peace with external world, to clear his name in Jianghu, and to follow due process with his revenge plan to avoid collateral damages.

“I tried to change you, but you end up changing me”, said drama ZZS. This relationship dynamic is never present in any of priest’s works I’ve read. Priest characters don’t *try* to change one another.

Does MXTX believe in salvation? Hard to tell. One could argue that Hua Cheng would have be way more amoral and even immoral if it hadn’t been for XL. This is complicated and is a topic for another time.

However, it is certain that MXTX MCs don’t condemn each other morally. “The orthodox one defending their unorthodox partner in front of the world” is a common wuxia trope, but the way MXTX novels approach it is very different from SHL.

HuaLian never had a serious falling out about being on different sides. Even when they disagree, they respect each other and love each other exactly the way they are. Hua Cheng didn’t approve of Xie Lian saving Mu Qing, but he didn’t interfere with Xie Lian’s decision. Xie Lian feels responsible for helping Shi Qingxuan in Blackwater arc, but he is perfectly fine with HC helping He Xuan keep secrets. In several cases where they have different values, they are able to make it work with ease.

LWJ never *morally* condemned WWX for his action, and never once objected to WWX practicing demonic cultivation after his rebirth. In fact, LWJ never objected to WWX’s morals; in their previous life he was worried about his safety, and struggled with what to do about certain situations due to his family background, but difference in morality is not an issue for them.

The “righteous” one does not feel the need to guide their unorthodox partner or to be their salvation with regards to integrity.

*The similarity & differences part is a bit messy and some points are not fleshed-out. Sorry about that.

**I don’t claim to have the right interpretation. The lens by which we see different styles of romance is ultimately subjective.

#mdzs #tgcf #mxtx #tian ya ke #mdzs meta #word of honor #shl #sha po lang #mo du #can ci pin

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slightlyrebelliouswriter23 · 5 years ago

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Writing smut without cringing the whole time? How do you do it.

Writing Smut 101: Overcoming Smut Shame

CONTENT WARNING: NSFW RELATED CONTENT BELOW.

The short answer, nonnie, is: you don’t.

That is to say, writing smut is always kind of cringe—especially if you’re new to it, or simply “not in the mood” to write.

But rest assured, feeling embarrassed is completely natural. The trick is learning how to overcome the cringe when it does happen, instead of letting it deter you.

I’m going to break this up into a few sections: 1) Why you might be feeling this way, 2) How I, personally, combat the issue, and 3) Some more tips that might help you get the ball rolling.

1. Why You “Cringe”

It’s important to find the root cause of any form of writer’s block so you can pull the weed out instead of just trimming it back. Smut writer’s block is its own special brand, and generally, the main issue writers have when it comes to smut is stigma.

Speaking openly and honestly about sex, in Western society, is still very much a taboo.

No matter how “progressive” we like to think we are, the inherent shame surrounding pleasure-seeking experiences, and the detailing/consumption of them, has been ground into us since we learned how to understand the concept of gratification.

And I’m not just talking about sexual gratification. This applies to everyday things, as well. Eating, shopping, relaxing (or doing virtually anything in capitalist society that does not directly contribute to capitalism).

So it makes sense that you would feel any amount of embarrassment, awkwardness, or “cringe” when writing smut. It’s something our society teaches us is wrong to want. Unfortunately, that shame translates to writer’s block when we sit down in front of the computer.

A lot of this blockage might stem from not giving ourselves permission to write the thing.

We’re staring at the blank document, knowing we want to write smut, and suddenly the thoughts start streaming in: This feels wrong, is this wrong? What if someone comes in and looks over my shoulder while I’m writing? Am I describing this right? Is this too unrealistic? I have NO idea what I’m doing, and everyone is going to know it.

These are all perfectly normal thoughts, and definitely ones I still have from time to time. But they’re also probably the direct cause of why you feel so blocked. Luckily, I have some bits of advice to give you on how to unblock yourself.

2. How I Combat Smut Block

✦ First, when the intrusive thoughts occur, instead of ruminating on them, think of each one as an impermanent object. You can use any metaphor, but I like to use the imagery of leaves:

Each negative thought is a leaf floating down the river of your mind. If you focus only on the leaf, you’ll exert a lot of energy running to try and keep up with it, consequently miss everything else around you. But if you acknowledge that leaf as a temporary part of the scenery, and let is pass, you can process and appreciate the beauty of your surroundings a whole lot better.

Remember: you are separate from your thoughts. You are not defined by them. The things you think sound stupid might be incredibly exciting to someone else.

If you can string a sentence together, you can write smut. This is all part of giving yourself permission to write the thing that makes you feel uncomfortable.

✦ Second, I’d suggest giving good thought to how you personally experience embarrassment, how you experience excitement (of the sexual variety), and how those two might sometimes commingle or feel similar.

For me, they are very comparable, like different shades of the same emotion—but there are differences which are important to note.

If I’m making myself blush from excitement, this is a very good thing for writing smut. It means that what I’m writing feels real enough to evoke something in the reader, even if the reader, like me, knows what’s going to happen.

If I’m making myself cringe, however, it may be time to take a step back and readjust my perspective.

✦ Third, ease yourself into it! Don’t jump straight in the deep end and expect to know how to keep your head above water if you’ve never swum before.

The way I eased myself into smut was first by writing “Steam”—a category of fic I made up because the current vocabulary lacked an efficient term for fics that straddled emotional romance and explicit content.

Essentially, steam is smut-adjacent but not explicit, and here’s a step-by-step example of how I transitioned myself smoothly from one genre to the next:

I first wrote my fics Wicked Game and You Are (both of which feature either a heavy make out session or teasing + lots of sexual tension) with this “steam” concept in mind.

I wrote the first chapter of Fine Line, which has brief but explicit descriptions of fantasies, framed by a very sexually charged scene.

I released my fic Crashing, which is probably more of a bridge between Steam and Smut, and features soft-focus fingering. Nothing in it is explicit—it focuses more on the emotions than explicit detail—but it’s very clear what is happening.

After I wrote those, I felt just confident enough to make that final stride over the threshold into smut. I wrote my fics Holy, King, and the second chapter of Fine Line all within weeks of each other.

And trust me when I say, once you get the momentum going and receive that validation from people who’ve read your work, it becomes SO much easier to sit down and start writing.

You just have to finish that first piece.

✦ Finally (and I know I’m going to sound cliche when I say this), just like any other skill, the more you practice the more confident you will feel and the better you will get.

So practice, practice, practice!

If you’re nervous about posting smut for the first time, have a trusted friend/mutual Beta read it for you. It’s the online equivalent to someone holding your hand before jumping off the cliff, and works wonders for the nerves.

3. Keep The Smut Rolling

Now that you have some tools to help get you past the blockage of writing smut, here’s how to keep the inspiration flowing.

✦ Start by incorporating smutty fanfiction/erotic fiction into your regular reading rotation-

Of course AO3 is a fantastic resource for smutty fanfiction.

If you’re a fan of TFOTA or ACOTAR and want some of my personal fic recs, visit my fic rec masterlist.

In terms of erotic fiction, my personal favourites are anything Anais Nin (specifically Henry & June and Delta of Venus), The Thornchapel series by Sierra Simone, The Godwicks series by Tiffany Reisz, and The Original Sinners series by Tiffany Reisz.

There are also sites like Literotica and sexstories.com, which play host to explicit short fiction (not fandom based).

✦ Next, I’d recommend having a designated digital space for smutspiration-

This can be a list of “smutty” words/phrases kept on a separate document on your computer, for those days when you just can’t think of the right way to describe something.

Or you can create a private side-blog or Pinterest board for your favourite smutty fanart or other kinds of visual smutspiration.

✦ For that matter, try following some smutty/18+ blogs (ONLY IF YOU’RE 18+) here on Tumblr-

Many of them have a plethora of what I like to call “lemony snippets”, a.k.a. short text posts that describe (usually in conversational language) explicit scenarios.

This is useful because it will normalise the concept of sexual fantasies in your brain, making it less weird for you when you try to come up with ones of your own to write into smut.

Not to mention, your dash will be rife with inspiration.

✦ I would also suggest checking out 18+ ASMR on YouTube (AGAIN, ONLY IF YOU’RE 18+).

My favourite account is Professor Cal Official, but Auralescent also has some good content.

Headphones are highly advisable for this, as their stuff is very dangerous for work.

So, nonnie, I hope this has provided you with at least one helpful tip. Whether you took anything away from this or not, just know that the feelings of embarrassment when it comes to writing smut are entirely normal. And the best way to keep those feelings at bay is to confront them head on.

-Em 🖤🗡

Writing Advice Masterlist

Writing Masterlist

2K Celebration!

#writing #writing advice #writing tips #smut #fanfic #writeblr #ao3 #writer things #em's 2k celebration #smut 101: overcoming smut shame #fluff #angst #writer's problems #asked and answered #em answers #nonnie #anonymous smut cringe

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invalidtumbls · 3 years ago

Text

I Love “Rumbling Hearts”. Don't watch it.

Copying this over from a thread on Mastodon, for the sake of a first post.

Well, I said I was going to post more original content here on Mastodon than on the other site.

And despite the fact that I see a lot more of my iOS/Mac dev friends here than Anitwitter refugees, I'm going to kick off a thread about #anime, because my favorite show just became available on Crunchyroll, as part of the Funimation merger: https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G6ZXM399R/rumbling-hearts

Rumbling Hearts, or Kimi ga Nozomu Eien ("The Eternity You Desire") is a 2003 14-episode series based on a 2001 visual novel, a sort of choose-your-own-adventure style of video game that's heavy on reading and light on interaction. The anime is rated mature for adult situations and nudity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumbling_Hearts

I'm not going to recommend you watch Rumbling Hearts, because I believe it is an uncommonly difficult sell in 2022. But the fact that it's so much of its time might be why I like it, why I go back to it, and why you won't find anything remotely like it today.

For starters, Rumbling Hearts is a romantic drama aimed at adult male viewers. We really don't have anything comparable in the west today.

I think we used to! I mean, Casablanca is one of Hollywood's most beloved romantic dramas, and that's told from Rick's point of view, not Ilsa's. But romance has been denigrated in the west, marginalized as being for women only, and saddled with insulting slurs like "chick flicks".

Anime has a thriving genre of male-skewing romance, often built around the concept of "moé", ("mo-EH"), a feeing of wanting to cherish and protect someone.

Some of the most popular of these come from a company called Key, known for tear-jerkers like Clannad and Angel Beats.

The thing is, in Key's stories, the romantic interests are tragic characters who usually suffer through no fault of their own. In Clannad, for example, Nagisa has a chronic disease, Kotori's parents died in a plane crash, Fuuko is a girl in a coma in the next town over and doesn't actually exist, etc.

What makes Rumbling Hearts different is that the characters aren't innocent. They are all deeply flawed, and largely the cause of their own suffering.

Takayuki, our protagonist, is friendly, cheerful, and just wants to get along. This, unfortunately, is his problem: that's all he wants. He is evasive, quick to tell little white lies, and unwilling or unable to make the right decision when he needs to.

Haruka has had a crush on Takayuki for years, but hasn't been able to act on it. She is innocent to a fault: timid, shy, sometimes even mousy.

Mitsuki is Haruka's best friend, and a gal-pal to Takayuki. She sets the two of them up, and then later decides she might have actually wanted Takayuki for herself. She can be manipulative, and after the three-year time-skip, her adult version develops some truly dangerous habits, like using sex to get what she wants, and going blackout drunk to avoid her problems.

Akane is Haruka's younger sister. In her youth, she aspired to be a swimming champ like Mitsuki. Post-time-skip, she fiercely defends her sister. She's everything that Takayuki and Haruka aren't: bold and pushy, though she has a tendency to take things way too far.

So, there I think is the problem. In 2022, western audiences generally don't want flawed characters. We want protagonists who are likable. More than that, I think there's a mindset that if we're going to imprint on a character, they have to be perfect, because that reflects better on us. We can't relate to fuckups, because that would mean that we're fuckups. There's an empty narcissism to modern media consumption and I really hate it.

When I was young and learning writing, all the guides said that characters have to be flawed to be believable and relatable. Whatever happened to that?

I'll tell you my pet theory: JK Rowling ruined an entire generation of readers and viewers. When the Sorting Hat literally tells you who's good, bad, and indifferent, there is zero room left for nuance or depth. Harry Potter is the good guy, I like Harry Potter, therefore I am a good guy. Thanks, I hate it.

So that leaves Rumbling Hearts to thread this incredibly hazardous needle: to give you these characters who screw up and hurt themselves and hurt those around them, and then asks you to root for them anyways, to want them be able to overcome themselves and their own bad habits.

As you probably guessed, this goes over like a lead balloon with a lot of people. You'll find a lot more YouTube videos trashing Rumbling Hearts than praising it. https://youtu.be/wr0BuAUbDqw?t=1048

So, yeah, I can't recommend Rumbling Hearts, because I doubt most people are going to relate to it. The ideas behind it are fundamentally unpalatable to most modern audiences.

And the fact it was made with early digital animation techniques to save money, with the expectation it would be viewed on a fuzzy CRT and not a 60" 4K LCD, doesn't help either.

But… well… I wouldn't have written such a long and unwelcome thread if I didn't think there was something truly special and valuable here. I come back to it every few years and discover something new, either in the show or in myself.

So, don't watch Rumbling Hearts, but hopefully you'll understand why it lands like it does for me.

#rumblinghearts #kiminozo #kimiganozomueien

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captnjacksparrow · 4 years ago

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Dear Sparrow, You have really amazing analytical skills and your detailed knowledge about the Naturoverse is just as impressive! It's always so interesting to read your posts and I value your opinion a lot. Now to my question... How would a realistic romantic relationship between Naruto and Sasuke look like in our eyes?

I'm not really interested in knowing who is seme and who is uke, but what their couple dynamic would look like? What would be their struggles? What would they talk about?

For example, what if Naruto wanted a family and Sasuke didn't. Would Naruto -as a Hokage- be hesitating on sending Sasuke on dangerous missions? What are their plans for the future?

Or how would they search for/react to/display/intimacy? Would they stay closeted (like they kinda are in Boruto XD)? Or would they be openly gay and live with each other? How would each of them react to homophobia towards them? I'm curious about your head canon! ♥️

Thank you so much for your compliments @itsmischiefsblog 😍😍😍

But you asked the wrong person!!!! LOLOL.... I’ve never read any SNS fanfiction so far to even base my headcanon upon (except for 1 which had just 3 chapters and I just started 1 very recently)

But,

I can say you one thing.

As you know very well that I treasure SNS ship a lot, A LOTTTTTT..... So I won’t just compare this ship with anything so easily. And if I do, which means it’s really worthy. I came to ship SNS only because Naruto and Sasuke’s interaction always reminded me of this other Ship I loved a lot before watching Naruto.

And after finishing Naruto, I came to this conclusion that If Naruto and Sasuke were allowed to be together, then probably they will display their love very similar to the other Couple I loved. Because culturally they share the same value and the world is Ancient. Just like Naruto series has Chakra, they also have Spiritual Energy in their abdomen.

And also, the Couple shares the same dynamics with SNS... That is, One is a Bright, Cheerful, Messy, Prank loving Bubble and the Other is an Unexpressive, Stern, Elegant, Intense loving Heart-throb....

Oh by the way, in this Dynamics everything is similar to SNS except for One.... What happens if Sasuke stayed in the Light Path and Naruto went to the Dark Path??? What will Sasuke do for Naruto??

If that interest you, then this series will be for you.

I suggested this series to another SNS Blogger Friend of mine @seraphina-herondale ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Now she is Brainrotting and Gushing over this couple so badly.... Because they are very similar to SNS and has more Fluffs, many subtle Intimate moments and extremely good chemistry....

If you want to know my Head Canon.... You have to watch this series and I am sure you will never regret it!!!

Not to mention, Just like SNS has SNS toys, pens, mugs, perfumes and many other merchandise.... That couple also has a lot of merchandise and is extremely popular. It was based on a BL Novel and got adapted into Anime as well as Live Action Series... Live Action is what I am talking about.... It also has a Chibi Version of Anime as well....

Novel has all the ‘Hot’ contents towards the very end.... But Live Action has passed that couple off as Soulmates because of Censorship... But still the Show Creators had found a round-about way to make the couples Marry on-screen indirectly in our plain-sight.... LOLOLOL... Just like how Rikkudou Sennin made an unofficial Marriage for SNS....

If you ever decided to give this amazing series a try.... I suggest you to start with the Live Action, then Novel, Anime, Chibi-Anime.... In this particular order... Because Live Action has no Adult Contents and so Pure just like in Naruto Manga.... It will really make you gush over them a lot and then if you want to really know how they ‘Get together’, you can read the Novel linked here..[Link]

That series Name is The Untamed (Chen Qing Ling),based on the Novel named Mo Dao Zu Shi, available in Netflix, Viki Rakuten or in WeTV app. Please don’t google or Youtube to spoil yourself.... Just Go straight to Netflix and Watch it....

Anyways, I would like to provide you some Teaser in order to show you the similarities they share with SNS .... Just only few.... there are a lot actually...

BONDED UNDER THE MOONLIGHT

Both couples Bonded under the Moonlight... Actually The Untamed Showrunners mentioned in their interview that they decided to capture that scene under moonlight to provide a ‘Romantic Effect’..... LOL... Am sure Kishi must have thought that way way back in 1999..... 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

GOOD MATCH

Both the characters are so happy over the fact that they found their ‘Match’.... ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

WHO AM I TO YOU?

The situation is mindbogglingly similar... Naruto asked that Question when Sasuke is trying to avoid him and going towards that dark path.... This person also asks this same question when the other person was avoiding him and going towards Darkness....😔😔😔😔😔😔😔

OUTSIDERS

Both the respective characters, after getting into the Darkness, actively trying to push their Light.... By using the same term.... ‘Outsiders’..... Ooooof!!!!! 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

I AM TAKING YOU BACK TO...

Both these characters represents Light... They want to take their Bae into the place where they live.... In Naruto, it’s Konoha (Leaf Village).... In The Untamed, it’s Gusu (Cloud Recesses)

CRADLING MY BAE

Aren’t they adorable, warm and tender?????

YIN AND YANG

Just like how Sasuke represents Yin in Naruto.... The Person who is very similar to Naruto represents Yin in The Untamed.

Aren't they all similar????

So, Please don't google about this and try to watch it without any spoilers because the plot is equally captivating as our Main Characters’ chemistry.... Lots of Angst, Tears, Brotherly sentiment, Brother-Sister Bond, no annoying Female Characters.... And Don't just watch it for the fluff stuffs because the story and romance is like Yin and Yang... You really have to pay attention to the story to understand their Bond.

First 2 episodes might be hazy... because the story is Non-Linear... But don’t drop it.. Starting from Episode 3 you will really get into the Flashback and then later you will understand what First 2 episodes are all about...

So, Yeah!!!! The Tagline itself touts them as Soul Mates...

This is my Head Canon about the Adult version of SNS... And the Actors are really handsome and talented enough to portray our Naruto and Sasuke in a Soulful Manner with such Tenderness.

After watching this series, even if you have a shred of doubt that Naruto and Sasuke may be Brothers.... it will all fly off to the trash Can because, the show clearly distinguished how Brothers would Act around each other and how Soulmates act in a subtly Romantic Way. I wish those Antis watch this series and understand the meaning of Soulmates & SNS... That’s only my wishful thinking...

[[I am not saying one ship is better than the other ship.... All I am saying is One Couple resembles the Other and I love them in my own way, equally]]

The Main Couple in The Untamed are Officially Gay (in Novel) and Soulmates (in The Live Action Series). If they are Gay and Soulmates, then so is SNS.

#sns #sasunaru #narusasu #sasunarusasu #chen qing ling #the untamed

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