#dont think too hard about the Realism

[jeanmoreausautismstickers]

I HAVE A THOUGHT.

okay so maybe kevin caught onto jean having feelings for SOMEONE but didn't know it was him.

and Jean, trying to keep kevins attention (as one does when they have a crush on an older person they sort of idolise) tells him it's a freshman trojan right

and Kevin, both out of curiosity and Teenage Boy Bullying (affectionate) makes jean watch a match with him, and keeps pointing towards freshmen on the trojan line up, and he gets to jeremy (Jean doesn't even know his name at this point)

and Jean agrees. yeah. that's who he has a crush on. not because Jeremy is particularly attractive to him (at the time at least) but because he's the exact opposite if kevin, and kevin wouldn't ever suspect it MIGHT be him if jeans got a thing for blonds who don't know how to wipe the smile off their face

cut to 3.5 years later and jeans FURIOUS with himself because not only is he not a raven, but he accidentally predicted his own crush on this stupid blond with a cardboard dog who is just as bad at talking about his issues as jean

and Kevin already knows.

[thegreatyin]

how is the scoundrel going currently anything going on in her life

currently? they're having a Delightful time being a side character in their roommate's nemesis-and-hijinks-filled journey through the neath. and also questioning why the hell this guy keeps collecting knives.

[cultofsappho]

Ive come to the realization that the reason theres a small but loud group of people who are showing nothing but hate for the rwrb movie is because they have completely unrealistic expectations. People are forgetting that this is a cheesy romantic comedy, thats supposed to look and feel like a cheesy romantic comedy. This isnt going to be moonlight or gods own country or some other critically acclaimed, oscar nomintaed queer film that makes straight people go "hmm maybe they do deserve rights and respect🤷‍♀️"

Its gonna be a cheesy adult romantic comedy, thats gonna be a bit camp and over the top and thats exactly why its so good. I dont want to think about every gay movie I watch. I want to watch it and see two queer people fall in love and thats it. Thats how deep it goes. Maybe a sprinkling of politcal commentary in between.

There is this issue thats become bigger and bigger every passing year, that people expect every bit of queer representation to be the best thing ever. There can not ever be anything cringey or different or silly, and if it is then they send endless hate towards it, and in an industry that already hates to show queer people on screen, its this viscious cycle of someone finally being greenlit to make queer media, the media gets endless hate for not being perfect, the studio cancels the queer media before giving it a chance because theyve just 'proven that it wont make money', suddenly everyone is saying 'why do they keep canceling queer media😢', cycle repeats.

Im so over it. Let gay people be slightly cringy or cheesy or campy. Let queer media exist without putting it on this huge pedestal. Just enjoy things! And if you dont, dont watch it! Move on, find something better to do.

Yes!!! Thank you so much anon for putting this feeling into words much better than I could have!

"I dont want to think about every gay movie I watch."

Thank you.

I want light-hearted rom coms about queer adults just being queer adults and havig fun. I want comedy adventures where the characters just happen to be gay. I want more horror where at the end the final girl kisses a girl and can't belive they lived but not because they're gay. (suprisingly several of these exist and I love it)

I don't always want to think about the plight and horrors of being queer today with every queer movie I watch.

Sometimes, yes of course, I want to be seen on that level.

(Nimona, which came this weekend is a perfect example of a queer movie where I felt very very seen but also had a good time and was an incredibly silly fantasy adventure movie. But, still had the queer expereince intertwined.)

I'm looking forward to a movie that will be 90% rom com, and 10% realism/heavyness. re: being outed is a real thing that happens to people. famous people.

Alex and Henry go through some heavy shit. There's seriously traumatizing stuff at the end of the book. They're both dealing with mental illnesses, complex families, and rock-or-a-hard-place situations. I want all of that honored.

And, at the same time, I'm expecting a straight-to-streaming, mid-budget, movie that had to pass through a LOT of straight hands and board meetings to get to us.

Not to say we should love and accept every queer movie that comes out automatically, they have been done wrong in the past. (example: I skipped call me by your name bc the age gap still makes me too uncomfortable to watch)

But we have to give queer movies a chance to fit the genre they were made for, the tone they are made to be, and give queer creators a chance to show they are us annd they know us. The director is Bi. He's spent so much time going on about how much he related to Alex that he needed to make this movie. It's his first directing role, and I'm giving him a chance.

[sapphicc-ace]

💗About me!💗

MY DM NOTIFICATIONS DONT WORK USUALLY AND ITS ANNOYING IM NOT IGNORING YOU AAAA

They/she, sapphic

Pretty self explanatory. I'm still kinds figuring out my gender identity but for now I'm a femby, feminine leaning non binary person. If you don't respect that move along. I dont at all mind being referred to femininely but a they once in a while might be nice, still figuring things out yknow? And when it comes to the next two topics, as the name implies I'm very sapphic, meaning I'm not rlly into the masc side of things. But all gendered peoples are welcome here and I'd love to be friends with anyone!! Also I have a lot of social anxiety so forgive me for being stupid fhfhrjf

Aromantic...maybe demi?

I think im aromantic. I'm not actively looking for a serious relationship, but who knows maybe thatll change one day. Just keep it in mind when you dm me im not really looking for a relationship, pls dont get your hopes up. However, I love being flirty and making people happy and flustered with complimentsand teasing😋 I'm open to queerplatonic/poly stuff and would love to be an encourager to any fem feedees, or just make new friends! So feel free to reach out as long as you respect my boundaries (and ofc I'll respect yours, be sure to tell me them so I know!!)

If I think you're cool and am comfortable with you and you live in or near new york...👀

A graysexual feedist?

Yes, asexuality is a spectrum, and in truth I think i reside more on the lines of graysexual. For some, asexuality means not being sexual whatsoever. For others, like me, you can still experience stuff like arousel, without the need for sex itself. I personally am put off by sex organs of all kinds. Sex itself is physically pleasurable, but conceptually does nothing for me. Tldr, I only get off on feedism, my love for feedism is an aesthetic fixation consciously, while my body gets horny about it.

And as the name implies I loooove soft feedism! Casually encouraging someone to overeat, praising and teasing their softness, cute shit gets me so bad. I do enjoy some more hard stuff too, but usually only if my partner is into it. I naturally lean more soft core.

Feedism topics i love:

-Button pops

-Gluttony🥴😵‍💫 🥰(especially the "helpless" style of gluttony)

-Tight clothes

-Jiggles

-Burps (in particular lil borps from being too stuffed)

-General soft feeder-feedee stuff

-Bloating

-Before/after, seeing progress, that kinda thing

-General chubby love especially from non feedist sources, call me a dork but that pureness makes me heart sing🥺

Stuff I'm neutral on (can be cute in the right scenerio):

-Pet play

-Belly noises

-Slob

-"mommy" type stuff

Things I am NOT interested in however:

-Graphic stuff about genitals/holes. Knowing youre super aroused can add to it but just...no holes pls

-Blueberry stuff

-Vore

-death feedism/health issues

-Inflation

-Abusive situations

-Any bodily fluid or substance that comes out of you lol

(BTW anythibg on here that's halfway is like neutral, like I won't be sad over a lack of it but I like it!)

Neurodivergent

ADHD, undiagnosed autistic, probably an anxiety disorder, yeah I'm kind of a mess

Other interests:

-Videogames, generally big on Nintendo stuff and play plenty of steam games. Not really into super competitive stuff, realism or most shooters, but some big names are Kirby, Smash Ult, TF2, Pokémon, Celeste, Animal Crossing, and I'm a huge fan of many roguelikes like Binding of Isaac.

-Animals: pls send me cute photos of your cat🥺

-Magic the Gathering (filthy commander player who hasn't bothered learning the meta for other formats)

-Failed artist but I love seeing other works!

-Foodie (no honestly outside of kink I'm a huge slut for good food, but I'm as picky as a 5 year old so it's a struggle lol)

-Weird horror stuff, warning I WILL tell you my analog horror theories

-Animated shows like adventure time

-stupid movies, I will quote some bad movie I havnt seen in years because it suck with me for no reason

That's pretty much everything I think is important to know about me. I'll edit later if things change. Hope you have a good day full of delicious foods! (Or full of adorable fatties if you're an fa!)💗

I am both of these btw spiritually (credit: punkitt)

[mourninglamby]

what were ur fav dsmp arcs and characters im wondering 👀

this is a question ive always had a weird reaction to lol. but for the sake of ease ill say exile arc and pogtopia.

i like stories about darker topics that usually pertain to my trauma or that have something to say philosophically. that Tell me something New. ethel cain's preachers daughter and revolutionary girl utena would be some examples of the type of media i moved onto after dsmp.

this is why i would get so angry when theyd prove to the audience that they werent trying to Say anything. but at the same time its complicated and i think the story was told by the actors epistemologically. they had their limits when it came to being conscience of their rhetoric. And I'm not calling them stupid; theyre just normal people who dont think about social commentary a lot.

this story is rly uncomfortable to examine under a microscope or in a bubble, especially considering the allegations against that lying narcissistic sack of pus dream that are still being debated right now. but i think that's what makes me like these arcs even more. maybe like is the wrong word... i am fascinated.

despite what ex fans or dream stans might propagate, exile arc was about abuse. so was the ravine to some extent. it also included characters struggling with ptsd, and very odd yet scarily realistic protrayals of suicidal ideation (sometimes sans trigger warnings until midway through streams or NONE AT ALL ON MAIN CHANNEL VODS). these were handled in a way i doubt any media will ever replicate, and it's not for it's quality of writing, but for how interwoven the people are to their characters. parasocialism probably plays into this quite a bit, but i digress.

i feel like these arcs (let alone the overarching narrative) escape traditional categorization. the only genre i could ascribe it to is theatrical realism for its dialogue and subject matter. but thats wrong too because the events in the story are supposed to be literal, like the three life system and communicators, while simultaneously in Real Life being more.. metaphorical? its hard to explain. it really is a puzzle.

im not very smart, im an art school dropout with years of unresolved issues im still struggling with. but i feel very strongly about this subject. id love to hear what other ppl think about their "favorite" arcs.

Edit : I meant to touch on characters too but I sorta combined that with my discussion of the arcs. So yeah Tommy and wilbur are my fav characters. Short answer.

[erysium]

I started reading Kochab a bit ago and while I'm no where near done I wanted to tell you how gorgeous it is

I keep stopping at every page to zoom in and study all the details, your artwork is absolutely stunning <3 I love the backgrounds, and how you play with the framing and composition, it looks so good !!

And the little animations! Agkkfsdlkf! They are so pretty! You make everything come to life! I want to live in this world!

Also love how you use colors, really makes me feel how warm/cold it is, esp when the warm vibrant oranges begin flooding in after a lot of darker purples n blues, feels so cozy

I'm still in the early phases and dont know Kye or Sonya very well yet, but I just know I'll fall in love (while they do the same w each other>:3)

I think there was more I wanted to talk about but I'm half asleep n can't remember so I'll leave it there. Thank you so much for sharing your work, you clearly put so much into it :]

Thank you so much! this comment is so lovely to receive. thank you for taking the time to appreciate all these little details, this all makes me so happy to hear <3

thank you! It was watercolor base + digital touching up (for the fine details and also broad color shifts) I really like that medium combo, it feels like I can get the best out of both :)

thank you so much!! I keep saying it but I've been really blown away by all the support for the comic ending and kickstarter - it's really much more than I'd hoped for. :') <3

<3 thank you so much for reading!

thank you!! :') ah that's a broad question! Color is part of how I think about contrast, values, composition, lighting, and mood. I look at a lot of photos and art for reference/inspiration, and try to make myself try new things! I do fall pretty easily into wanting every painting to just be blue/purple and yellow, and I try to avoid doing that too often, haha. I also have to try hard to not let things get muddy, and/or bogged down by realism when stylized or expressive color would work better. A lot of my art is based on lighting or color schemes I've seen in real life and want to try to capture. I've taken Kat Tsai's color class and Sam Nielsen's lighting class, and both really influenced me too! My asks tag might have some more thoughts/resources too.

[zishu-arts]

do you have any writing tips in general? I admire your stuff a lot and I write too so if you have any it'd be awesome :)

ahh thank you !!!!

generally speaking, i’d say just try writing A LOT. write about anything. write a bunch of different things, try different styles and such. it’s okay to mess around and stuff

also DONT READ WHAT YOUVE ALREADY WRITTEN. i feel like rereading your words over and over while you’re still writing really wears it down and makes writing seem like such a chore. just let the words flow, and once you run out of your juice, you can go back and read it (if you like. personally i don’t think i’ve read a lick of my words after i’d written them, only a few days after i’ve posted fics did i actually read them)

something else is like, if you feel like your story’s stale or like you’re not too good with narrative, you could always add on a story when you mention/describe something. like, if your character is at the park, you can mention how they used to spend the whole day picking out four leaf clovers and collecting pinecones. it’s a nice thing to add onto instead of just leaving it at saying character A is at the park, and the park had a lot of trees in it. it sort of adds onto the character’s like, realism? if that’s the word

if it’s for like technical/format tips, always remember to create a new paragraph every time a different person speaks or the topic changes. try not to overload paragraphs too much because it can get very muddy and hard to read

don’t feel pressured to have a draft before writing. i don’t think i’ve ever written a draft in my life. sometimes it helps people, but for me, as soon as the words get written down, i am NOT coming back to it. it’s okay to wing it a little and just let your words and brain work

i’ve seen this tip elsewhere before, but try to minimize the use of “Character A felt” or “It feels like” when describing something. It falls flat on reader’s imagination when you’ve already stated that Character A was starting to panic. it helps if you describe things like dizziness, lack of air, ringing in ears, numbing in fingers, racing heart, muffled noises, etc. it allows readers to feel the panic while it’s happening and makes things seem more real

let your own feelings be written down. a lot of my fics come from my own personal feelings at different times (like anxiety or neurodivergence and such) or, i would try to imagine what if would feel like to be in x situation. it helps to be able to write a scene if you’re able to know what the experience is like.

that’s all i can think of off the top of my head. i hope it helped !!! im not really sure what im doing when i write cause im literally winging everything, but hopefully these can help :)

[prosciuttulipa]

RAAAAAAH i want a match ngl LMAO

Jjk match because Im a fucking simp, and a guy bcs I am in fact a straight woman thanks

I'm a big nerd. Like, a very big nerd. I do math for fun and I am not ashamed at all when I interrupt someone to correct them (I have autism and ADHD, how could you tell?)

I'm relatively closed off, and most of the time, insecure. I'm shy and I barely ever make the first move (unless I've had a couple of drinks or a lot of eyeliner). I think what people most define me as is the "old soul, young body). I'm like the mom of the group, though I am absolutely reckless when there's another mom in the group, since it takes the responsibility away from me.

I hate going out, and it's really hard to get me to go to the beach, for example. I think my best quality personality-wise is that I'm down to earth and realistic about my goals. A problem is probably how much self-doubt I have, since people constantly tell me I am capable of achieving more than I think I can. I don't settle for seconds, but I'm not too excited when I rech first, because there's always a new competition.

Oh yeah, I'm competitive. Very.

I'm a pessimist, though I like to say it's realism, because why be positive, hype myself up, only for it to go wrong and the disappointment hurt me? As I said, emotionally closed off.

My personality is the infamous black cat, and I think (though I'm not sure), that a golden retriever boy is what would fit me best. (even though I simp for other black cat guys)

For hobbies, I'm boring, though I do have many. I play the guitar, do martial arts (krav maga), draw, sing, write absolutely filthy smut, and, most important of all: do math and study. Yeah, my main hobby is studying.

I'm not sure how I show my love? I don't, usually. I can love someone unconditionally and be absolutely lovesick, but only after a very heavy emotional session, may it be a fight or drinks, will I tell soemone how much they mean to me. I spent the last four years with my best friend, and only after a day's worth of drinking and crying did I tell her how much she meant to me.

I'm a bit icky with physical touch, but if I trust them, I'll let them cling to me. Initially push people away and only after knowing them do I let them hug me, kiss me, cuddle me. I am awful when dealing with compliments, and I cannot take a gift. So probably quality time is my love-receiving language when generally speaking. A boyfriend/husband would probably work with physical touch and words of affirmation, though.

I dont think there's any big turn-off or turn-on in relationships? Maybe not giving me enough attention and helping me emotionally, because I'm easily falling into insecurity, feeling like I'm not enough.

I have like medium curly dark hair and dark eyes. Eyebags, and a lot of moles all over my face. My body is relatively fit? I have a bit of fat ngl but I also have muscles. A bit of a tummy and thicc thighs (they do, in fact, save lives) that double the size when I sit (insecurity alert!) I'm pale, though I am a mixed baby. I dress in all-black most of the time, and all the color variations are like red or dark blue. (I AM NOT EMO). I wear eyeliner from the moment I wake to the moment I sleep and I have pierced ears. I also plan on getting nip piercings and plan on getting

I think i need more songs to listen to, so I'm going with the three songs he associates wit me.

Congratulations! You have been matched with...

Choso Kamo

When people see you and Choso together, they immediately assume that you're just another average emo couple, quick to place stereotypes. But under the heavy eyeliner and dark clothes, are two people who are just trying to figure out life in their own way.

Choso is fascinated by your contradictions: insecure yet quick to correct others, pessimistic but burning with a competitive drive for more. Where some people may see indecision, he sees something much more real and human in comparison to the single-minded characters he's met during his time alive. Living is hard, has experienced it for himself, so he doesn't shun you for your contrasting perspectives. Instead, he wants to learn about the world alongside you, unpicking the way you think, wondering about your insecurities. Although he's been through a lot, there's something inherently innocent and simplistic in the way Choso sees the world. If you're an old soul in a young body, then he's a young soul in an old one. Perhaps by meeting somewhere in the middle, the two of you will get closer to unravelling the mystery that is life.

Choso doesn't mind that you don't like going out, but you often find yourself tagging along as he explores the world in small ways. A trip to the convenience store may as well be a museum visit, with the way he asks you about the products, eyeing them with confusion. He also admires the fact that you study math—to dedicate yourself to understanding anything in such depth is no small feat—and he's happy to sit next to you while you work, occasionally asking questions about your interest in the subject. His most common form of affection is just leaning his head against your shoulder, watching silently as you work.

Dates with Choso are pretty laid back, since he's happy to take the lead on whatever makes you comfortable. It doesn't matter to him where you two are. For him, understanding your mind (and falling in love with the way you think, the way you are) is what matters to him the most.

The Matchmaker's Gift:

Contrary to popular belief, Choso's music taste is rather soft. This song reminds him of the inherent dependence that comes with being connected.

Offering you this song with a curious tilt of his head, Choso asks you if this is how your pessimism feels like.

This is the song Choso uses to confess to you. His feelings are one of the few things he has to his name, and he wants to share them with you.

[livwritesstuff]

can i ask where you get your inspo for your joanie munson series? i want to write more fics for emma but i dont really have, to put it lightly, good childhood memories or experiences so im not really sure how to make them realistic or "cute"

hello hello

not sure if this was meant for @shares-a-vest bc miss joanie munson is their oc (and such a lovely one, might i add, i love their series), but i like talking about myself so i will be responding to this either way 😁 

my upbringing was also uh..dysfuctional to say the least, and a lot of the foster/adoption side of the story is (loosely) based on a situation i grew up in the periphery of, so not much of this is necessarily based on my own lived experiences as a child.

i think my inspo generally comes from 3 places:

1: the internet -> TikTok, reddit, YouTube, etc., and it doesn't even necessarily have to be kid-centric. this post, for example, was inspired by a screenshot of a TikTok that got posted onto instagram. i used reddit for bits and pieces of this post too. people get pretty real on reddit - it's not great for facts, obviously, but i find it to be a good resource for hearing about other people's lived experiences

2: interactions with kids -> i am the oldest of about 100 cousins (it’s actually more like 25 but that’s still a lot i think) and i've grown up with kids of all ages basically my entire life. i also babysat for years and worked with a lot of teenagers at retail jobs.

3 - my own life, be that conversations i overhear, or, occasionally memories of my own childhood. i do also think a small part of me is creating a kind of childhood i wish that i’d gotten, which…i dunno that might make me sound like a crazy person but whatever (this post is 100% just me projecting lol)

in terms of realism, writing kids is genuinely not easy, especially when they're younger. i definitely recommend doing research on developmental milestones for whatever age you’re writing, and I have a general rule for myself that the younger the kid is, the more I try to avoid writing dialogue for them because I think it's really hard to capture in writing the specific way that young kids/toddlers/babies speak.

and then i think that sweet spot where cute and realistic intersect really comes down to remembering that you're (probably) writing from the perspective of a parent. parents (usually) adore their kids and eat up every single thing they do, so it's really more about the way the parents are reacting than what exactly the kid is doing. this post is a good example - moe isn't really doing anything out of the ordinary here; steve and eddie's perspective on it is what makes it feel special.

hope this helps <3

[panukkie]

dont go out for a walk alone and late at night when you have been drawing and researching horses/centaurs all day, you WILL end up thinking about the logistics of centaur birth and early infancy development!!!

anyway im going to info dump the stuff i was thinking about :)

since horses can walk and run only a few hours after birth and human babies are practically useless for several years, this would mean that the horse development would need to be drastically slowed down and the human development drastically sped up, but humans require a very long time (after birth) for our brains to develop because most of what we learn is learned socially by interacting with other humans, horses are not like this and most of their knowledge is instinctual.

centaurs have human shaped skulls so its reasonable to assume that they have human-like brains too. this means they require a prolonged childhood in order to grow as social creatures and therefore cannot have an accelerated development as babies/toddlers.

when humans are born they are floppy and things like skulls are soft and in separated pieces, this is because humans are upright standing creatures and the position of the pelvis does not facilitate a comfortable, smooth birth. however, centaurs would give birth out of the horse part so they dont have the same problems as humans when it comes to birth, therefore infant centaurs can be born with hard skulls and stronger bones and muscles. this is good news bc it means that the human half wont be floppy like a human child would.

centaurs are likely to live in groups because that is a shared trait for both horses and humans, so with lots of other beings around, it is less necessary for infants to be very independent. this means that while their lower halves may be able to stand and walk, their upper bodies dont need to be able to be super mobile, because they can rely on others to take care of them. it might be the case that their torsos and arms are much shorter (relatively) than they would be in adulthood, because they dont have much use for their upper body yet. as their brains grow larger and more capable, then their arms start growing and their fingers become more dexterous. as infants centaurs human ribcages may be fused with their horse ribcages, and as they get older the ribcage splits and there becomes a more distinct difference between horse and human halves. throughout childhood, their spines elongate, and their upper body separates from their horse shoulders

im not an expert on human or horse development, this is just based on the little that i actually know so it might not be completely accurate. but yeah thats what i think. also i just made some stuff up that probably doesnt make any biological sense but theyre fantasy creatures so i think im excused a little in terms of realism

i have normal thoughts too i swear 0_0

[cloudyscreams]

aikatsu stars 2nd season rant

ok im couple of episodes in now and its a good thing im working while watching because i would rage quit otherwise

have to preface this with wow this is even gayer now with elza being so open with actions and words...

there is a fatal flaw to that though, i cant claim it 100% since im obviously not very deep in the story but she seem manipulative as fuck to me and i would take it if it wasnt so...yucky i guess

like despite me hating edgworth at first manipulation was the fun part with his character and dont even get me started on nahyuta because im playing aa6 rn, i love the guy

elza is just...weird. she is the out of touch rich kid who made fun of you in school. she is regina george of aikatsu (how fitting for her to be in a trio too lmao) ive seen a comment saying its because of her mothers approval but i feel like there were so many ways to set up and develop her character even up to this point that doesnt do....whatever this is. im not the greatest writer (barely one at all) but i personally would make these changes:

dont make hime and some other older and/or experienced characters acknowledge elza to the extent they do. with aikatsu so heavily revolving around feelings and intent i cannot fanthom how anyone would say that perfect but soulless perfomance (and focusing on perfection in the first place) is truly perfect. elza cant be the worlds "greatest idol" because she doesnt really break through, she just maintains the status quo (as a rich person i guess it is in line with her character) to perfection. her brand does look amazing and i think admitting that and her perfomance skills is good and neccesary; but i think its weird for hime to refuse her yet somehow not see that she lacks the fundamentals aikatsu likes to preach about (friends/rivals, individuality, emotions and all that which dont get me wrong i love)

following point 1, i would love to see elza perform more and actually break overtime (maybe it will happen and i will be glad if so). similar to yume's power the perfectionism WILL destroy you and eat you inside (if we are talking about some realism here but even in terms of simple childrens lesson), it would make so much sense for her to one day collapse and have to build up all the fundamentals from the ground up (which is not even that hard to do, she is obviously surrounded by people who genuinely like her and she *is* passionate, just in the wrong direction)

no way people actually like her. skills aside, she is nasty to people she perseves as worse than her...personality is a staple thing for an idol, she doesnt even hide being a mean girl??? if even two cases of her being rude got known i feel like she would lose a lot of fans (happened irl at least in k pop several times!!). maybe its too realistic of an approach for aikatsu but it would make sense for her to be two faced, at least

thew thing i hate the most about aikatsu - they dont commit to the antagonists being antagonists at all. the stakes in dreaka arc were so high (according to the show itself!! they literally set it up as a job competition situation) and then it was just a big nothing because wow dreaca idols are actually good and we all get jobs. i get that being a bigger person for mc is the route they take (and with ichigo it genuinely made sense, she is just like that with everything) but no one being even a little hesitant about their supposed rivals?? not even mentioning how mary sue most of dreaca episodes were (again, especially seira) where they got the jobs just because they were the new characters. the conflict was set up and then not developed at all!!!!! either make them so evil im allowed to hate them and not cheer for them or dont make them so mean spirited in the first place, esp now with eliza. i hate that they make it seem so serious but then you are supposed to be like wow i love these new girls. LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER

ambiguous and morally grey characters are great dont get me wrong, but what aikatsu does is just inconsistent with what they themselves set up the show to be. i loved the first season of stars because the rivalry and conflict was there with yume and laura but it wasnt showed as laura just being a rival and nothing else. even if they werent friends with yume (or more from what i see lmao) i would take it because her growth arc is amazing. there were no antagonists but the stakes were still high and it was interesting to watch. i think the most beautiful aikatsu arcs come from similar place: admiration, chasing someone out of reach, battling yourself and *friendly* rivalry. i love akari's story even though its a weaker season compared to the first one because it was mirroring ichigo's arc so much

all of that yapping basically to say that antagonists in aikatsu are always inbinsible somehow: no matter how good the mcs get, no matter how many "thinking" mistakes that were already overcome by mcs they make they never fail and it pisses me off because its just not following the universe?? world logic?? rules. i get that power of love cant make you sing better irl but fuck its such a central theme in aikatsu that i refuse to believe they suddenly decided not to apply it to elza for any reason other than "she is better because we said so"

[astronnova]

Okay but I wouldn't purely blame LMK for the flanderization of Tripitaka. All the flanderized depictions in fan works I've seen are from people who actually read the book and made fan art of the original source. And both versions of Trip develop into better people, anyways. Also, it's a little hurtful to say that most people don't analyze what they read, no? Granted, it's a kids show so much of the fanbase are minors, but like...kids will be kids.

my bad that it came across as hurtful! thats not my intention, i meant it as more of an objective viewpoint on something that's become widespread online and irl then just an insult to people.

unfortunately, a lot of people within the uhhh lets say 15-early 20s range dont... dive as deep into literature as they should. you ever heard of that one meme about "the door is blue because the author liked the color blue" ?

this is just one of many, and you couldnt go anywhere online without seeing somebody make this kind of joke. schools dont even really teach deep analysis of literature recently (i should know, ive been in multiple english lit classes and most of them don't dive as deep as you could and should. the only one that does that is with my most recent professor), and this stuff happens in highschool. yknow, during students most formative years of learnin stuff.

kids shouldnt just get a free pass on choosing to ignore the main point of a piece of literature because "kids will be kids". literature is the backbone of critical thinking, most people develop that skill through reading, and stories have a greater purpose, especially classical ones, than just "heres a show that provides constant stimulation with no reason".

i probably sound a little crazy or something, and im not articulating this as well as i could due to me taking *checks notes* two melatonin like 30 minutes ago BUT anyway tldr for that section is that a lot of people just dont dive deep into literature and its true meaning. a lot of folks like only looking at the surface level bits because its so much easier and simplier than writing an 1000 word essay about the importance of a certain theme within a piece of classical literature or something

steering this back to monkie kid,

the thing i explained above i think is one of the sources as to tripitaka, and sun wukong's, flanderization within the monkie kid fandom. instead of looking at the characters with the original intent of the religious text, its looked at as more of a "well he did X so he's a bad person". its too literal for a religious allegory. trying to apply strict "real world black & white morals" onto characters like this just wont work and will end with every character from the original jttw with the label of "bad person".

i could go onto a whole rant about how the recent decline of deep analysis of literature is the reason so many people seem to prefer "childrens cartoons" (because of the easier to understand morality/lessons) over, say, classical work or hell even some modern classics. this isnt an insult towards ppl that like "kids cartoons" btw, like look at my whole blog its just about cartoons LOL . i think theres more than just that one reason as to why people, at least online, gravitate towards childrens cartoons (likely because theyre more fantastical rather than trying to cater towards "adult gritty realism" and are animated, which is hard to find nowadays with all this "live action remake" junk), but i do think its one reason.

again, my bad if i sound like an ass or something or if i dont make sense, its like 12 am and i shouldve been asleep like an hour ago but im easily distracted LOLOL . but yeah, i think the source of the flanderization is just people misunderstanding the point of the original text and trying to apply modern storytelling conventions to something thats meant to be a big ass metaphor for enlightenment

[floofz]

THANKS FOR TELLING ME YOUR THOUGHTS !!

i don't have many thoughts about the ep but it was. Something. to watch. i sorta knew what was about to happen because i saw you talking about it on the dash but My Fucking God. i don't know whats up with link click and their fifth eps but they sure do like putting all the strong topics into them. i did liked? enjoyed? a lot the realism it was treated with though

also my brain sort of died halfway n i spent a nice hour trying to figure out what was happening with lu guangs ability in this ep

that theory about one of the siblings taking control of him during that brief time period sounds very interesting?? i wonder if that's what happened or if the bad connection is due to lu guang's current health or a third secret thing

also another thing but i?? really like the way link click distracts you from the culprits. i spent the ending of ep4 n half of ep 5 thinking that the culprit was gonna be the cat ears dude n they also seemed to be playing onto it at first. i don't know. it's cool

wahh thanks for asking about my thoughts in turn newayz !! you're very cool

bro omg youre so right LINK CLICK AND THEIR FIFTH EPISODES. thanks for reminding of THAT one in s1 😭✌️ nah but fr it was A Lot. s1 ep5 was absolutely devastating made me cry like a baby and then we have s2 ep5 which is just. on a whole other level of hard to even watch.

I AGREE WITH THE CONFUSION ABOUT LU GUANGS ABILITY THOUGH. like its sooo... inconsistent. we dont know a lot about it from the get go anyway but i also sometimes wonder abt the logistics of the dives and if lu guang is surprised like cheng xiaoshi by what happens but then in other instances we see him knowing exactly what happens?? idk. suspension of disbelief ig. it is a time travel show after all so theres bound to be some inconsistencies. i try to just enjoy the show and not think too much abt the logistics of lu guangs ability.

also to your last point i knowwwww right?? the first time i saw this man and noticed the beard shadow i immediately thought it was that henchman guy from qian jin, just in the past. and thats also how the siblings have this connection in the present to him now. im still kinda sus abt him though. bet on link click to first make us think hes the bad guy, then the good guy, and then it turns out hes the bad guy again and actually that henchman dude. it is an interesting choice to give him the same beard shadow as him. link click, istg ur making my hairs turn grey.

anyway thank YOU for asking my thoughts on this ep too, i love talking about this show!!! tickles my brain in all the right ways GAHH. im so excited to see whats in store for us next week

[randomalistic]

I think monsters university is my favorite prequel ever If we exclude five night s at Freddy’s 2

Spoilers obviously .

Ok no but genuinely they made that movie so fucking good for no reason and I forced my parents to rewatch it with me lmfao. I’m too tired to go off about Sully and Mike’s characters in the movie but they’re surprisingly complex and I REALLY LIKE THE CONFLICTS THEY GO THROUGH UGHH.. thar friendship🥹 also Jesus crhist the scene where they scare the adults gives me chills every time because it’s so fucking good AND WHEN THEY TALK AT THE LAKE… and after Mike finds out the difficulty was rigged…

I’m eating it up so much I love when 2 guys Hate eachother at the start but then become so genuinely vulnerable and understand eachother by the end after they formed a strong friendship

I’m not even gonna get started on the monsters inc world as a Concept because it’s like the best and cleverest worldbuilding ever so I’m already Very invested in that. But the stakes were so high here and they were so vulnerable and th. Sobs.

AND. Holy fuck

Mike works SO hard and he’s belittled and stepped on repeatedly and his dreams are basically Crushed Multiple Times throughout the film and yet he perseveres. And at the end he DOESNT “win.” He doesn’t get back into the scare program. He isn’t scary and he will never be scary even though that’s all he wants EVER. Mike works like 100x harder than Sully to try and be scary whereas Sully is scary without trying because he just Looks like that. And that’s so fucking real dude .... it reminds me a lot of learning disabilities and disabilities in general. “You’re not scary, but you’re fearless” I’m gonna explode

It’s so disability positive, and NOT in a super “my disability is actually awesome and gives me an advantage!” Kind of way ( that message in itself isn’t Terrible but it’s missing realism and it’s a little over-positive) but yeah the fact it DOESNT do that is GREAT. Because disabilities DONT give you an advantage in most things. Having a disability means you have to work extra hard to be level with everyone else and it’s exhausting. The special thing about Mike is that he’s able to exceptionally plan and think ahead and he’s really intelligent despite not being scary. (Aka his disability)

This video puts it really well better than I can lol but GRAAGHHH this movie is so fucking good thank you 2013 pixar. It’s always such a joy to revisit and it’s one of my favorites and I love it

[cohozuna]

one of the biggest things i had to come to grips with art wise is that i can do realism pretty well but just completely fail at anything stylized. sure i can make a pretty picture from what i see but what does it matter when the only thing people take from it is "waow so good thought it was a picture" yeah its a compliment but its one that makes me feel awful bc i realize i do not want my shit to look like a picture. i FUCKING SUUUUCK at drawing and that isnt me being hehe quirky artist who says they cant draw and actually can i mean this shit is difficult as fuck and nobody would understand the extent to how awful i am at actually drawing unless they see me try to. all of my finished pieces were absolutely painstaking and i see ppl do the stuff that takes me many hours much quicker and with more personality with about the same experience shit makes me insane i am trying to learn but my god its like my brain just does not want to cooperate with me it makes it so so hard because i just have an awful mental block. genuinely used to just draw effortlessly (albeit not as well so at least i AM improving somewhat) but now even the simplest shit just overwhelms me. idk what it is. i like to think im pretty good with paintings but god it is so so difficult to do what i wanna without it taking far too long. i am so jealous of ppl who can do quality sketches on a whim. ive noticed i do a lot better blocking out a silhouette and then drawing lines over that when i sketch. makes me think im just not very line-brained?? stupid way to put it idgaf its 5 am. i dont wanna just whinge and cry about it but it is truly aggravating and so deeply frustrating to feel like im regressing in my ability to Just Draw because its undoubtedly a psychological thing. ive just been in this rut for yrs now its awful. thinking about buying a sketchbook again tbh

[jiamiuxin]

daiya no ace anime reflection/review

**spoilers!!**

im at a point in my life where i have a lot of free time at the end of the day and i find myself filling that slot with anime.

for the past two weeks, ace of the diamond has taken up a big portion of my mind as i found myself falling in love with the team and its players.

about a month ago was when i started a roll on watching sports anime. i caught up on haikyuu, binged blue lock and ao ashi, and finally spent another good chunk of time on free!!. ace of the diamond was no new title to me, yet for some reason i kept it on the back burner. i dont know why; whether it was the art style, the then-seemingly long list of episodes, or the fact that it was baseball. maybe it was all of them. when i burned myself out trying to find another anime, i finally settled on giving DnA a chance.

today, as i have finished all 176 episodes (no OVAs yet!) i confidently say it's one of my top, if not the top, anime ive seen so far.

i noted a few things as i progressed through the series: strong points, cons, favorite characters, and a few personal thoughts.

i will start off with the cons head on. daiya's is, i guess i could say, notorious? for its "annoying, loud, benchwarmer" MC. one genuine complaint i do have is the lack of animation quality in the third season. there were many still shots with voice overs, though i felt a little more satisfied with the animation towards the end. also, to a smaller extent, the anime is not as complete as the manga.

anyway, i think the slow burn is actually a strong point, as many others point out. indeed, it is the very low lows that make the highs so high. don't get me wrong, i love a stupidly powerful MC, such as mob psycho 100 or OPM, but the realism gives DnA its charm and relatability. when others say "season 1 is bad, season 2 is good, season 3 is amazing," they are not lying.

DnA's charm not only lies in its realism, but also its character development and character interactions. brotherhood, leadership, and teamwork are all themes throughout the anime. the way the third years cared for their juniors and the way the juniors fought to elongate their seniors' summers was beautiful, heart-wrenching, and gut-punching to me, a recent college graduate. these types of moments are not uncommon in sports anime, but something about DnA's execution made it so much more..emotional? relatable? whether it was due to convenient timing or the fact that the sheer amount of episodes made me feel like they were actually my own friends, i just felt so much more compelled when watching daiya.

on the topic of my personal emotions, as i said, the themes of graduating/retiring really hit home for me. but that made daiya all the more special to me. both personal relatability and just watching everyone's hard work made it so easy to sympathize with their determination. maybe it was the countless scenes of them heaving and gasping for air; or the scenes where TJ made their frustrations so visible and vulnerable. as a watcher, i did not see myself rooting for some characters in a show; normally, i'd take a normal stance with the expectations that the "of course, the MC team will win." i saw myself rooting for my friends. in addition, knowing TJ, we can never be too sure on how seido's games will actually go. everything comes down to the realism. it's daiya's realism that made me feel their passion, made them so relatable, and made it feel like they were actually at high stakes. i truly, rarely never cry when watching an anime. besides assassination classroom, no other anime has made me so emotional. not only that, but daiya made me cry several times. the amount of immersion is insane.

to no surprise, my favorite character is miyuki. he was the know-it-all. he was essentially the rock of seido with his calls. i often found myself wondering how strong seido would be without miyuki. no disrespect to ono; as he proved, and as kataoka also believes, ono is also reliable. but miyuki was just built different bro. anyway, i appreciated his character for not only baseball iq, but his rapid maturity into the captain role, and his flexibility with his juniors. i found his personality very admirable and his logical approach to situations both relatable and reliable. other characters i particularly were fond of were chris and kuramochi. if okumura had more screen time, i could also see him climbing up my list. as someone who had no prior baseball knowledge, daiya/seido as a whole, but particularly chris and miyuki, gave me a newfound respect for and fundmental understanding of baseball.

i think one last thing i wanted to note was that i really don't read manga. but for daiya, im definitely gonna pick up the manga now. i have never done this before for an anime, even others i really liked--hxh, haikyuu, one punch man, etc. i just never felt compelled to read the story further beyond the anime. but for daiya, this is something im willing to do. i just love it that much.

if you are having second thoughts or are debating on watching DnA, def watch it if you do not mind slow burn and can take a realistic approach. on the other hand, i do not recommend if you want to see an OP MC.

~

i am truly a nobody, especially not a professional anime critic LMFAO but i just wanted to vent my thoughts of daiya somewhere :) these are just my personal opinions