#i guess the twist was that out of the two non-main characters

[egophiliac]

(Geats 20 spoilers)

speaking of being hilariously bad at predictions...

I was SO convinced that the twist was going to be that nobody was the Desistar, it was all just to psych the players out, that actually having it turn out to be, like, a real thing completely blindsided me. you got me again, children's show!

[yanderecrazysie]

Twisted Zoo: Chapter One

This is based on the stories of a keeper reader with the octotrio by @ashensgrotto and @merakiui .

Also @twistedcece @ursinaw  @thisisafish123 and @cenatour wanted to be tagged! Let me know if anyone else wants to be tagged for future chapters. If you no longer want to be tagged, please tell me!

Summary: You’re a brand new zookeeper at The Halfling Zoo- a place where half-animals live in captivity. Your job is simple- feed them and study them. Your main worry is that one of the more dangerous halflings might kill you. 

Unfortunately, that may become the least of your worries.

WARNINGS: none for now

Note: All characters are aged up, since there will be mature themes in future parts.

Also, I can’t promise I’ll finish this. I suck at finishing stories.

Thank you for everyone on Tumblr and Quotev for guessing! A lot of you have gotten ones right but there no one's gotten all of Heartslaybul (which makes me worry I did badly there)

Now, onto the Hyenas, Lions, and Wolves!

Prologue here

Next chapter here

—----------------------------------

Since the wolves were right across from the lions and hyenas, you would be expected to divide your time equally between the two for your first official day at The Halfling Zoo. That was a pain, since all three of those species were more active at night. 

“You’ll be doing today’s morning feedings, right?” a woman in the zoo’s uniform asked you.

“Yes, for the lions, hyenas, and wolves,” you replied cheerfully.

The woman gave a sigh of relief, “Thank goodness- the lions always look like they’re about to kill you if you make the wrong move. Good luck!”

You stared blankly at her retreating figure. You really wish she hadn’t said that, because now you were absolutely terrified to step foot in that enclosure. Mr. Crowley had said to you yesterday, among all the other welcoming ramblings, that you had to go into each exhibit and give the food directly to the halflings, as opposed to leaving the food near the door and waiting for them to come and grab it.

After the zoo keeper’s “encouraging” words, you decided to give food to the hyenas first.

The hyena halflings were easy to spot- the group of seven or so male halflings sat in a group, talking and laughing loudly. There was one boy in the center of the crowd, waving his hands emphatically as he conversed with his peers.

As soon as you approached the hyena halflings, the mood immediately shifted. The halflings took several steps back, the conversation ceasing at once, all of them staring at you through weary, distrustful eyes.

That’s right- male hyenas are submissive toward females since they are usually aggressive and stronger.

“It’s alright!” you tried to speak as soothingly as possible, putting down the bucket of steaks so you could raise your palms in a non-threatening manner. They watched you carefully, still distrustful.

Finally, the boy from the center of the crowd put his hands behind his head and strolled up nonchalantly, grabbing a steak from the bucket. Although he acted like it was no big deal, you didn’t miss the way he eyed you with a fearful gaze and skirted around you as though you might explode at any moment. 

The other hyena halflings caught on and, walking around you with extreme caution, they managed to fish their meals out of the bucket. The hyena from before came back for a second steak and, not long after, for a third. 

“What’s your name?” you asked him as he fished around for the best steak left in the bucket.

He stopped searching and turned his gaze on you once more. He seemed to size you up for a moment before saying something softly. “What was that?” you asked.

“Ruggie,” he said softly, his ears turning inwards and an annoyed pout making its way to his face.

“I like that name!” you said cheerily. Ruggie eyed you dubiously and finally pulled a steak from the bucket, racing back to the other hyenas. On his way, he looked over his shoulder at you, his gaze uncertain.

You felt like you had made progress.

Now it was time to feed the lions, and the thought made your feet feel like lead. You were not looking forward to a lion halfling murdering you over a steak. 

A part of you wondered if some of the halflings really did prefer this life- or at least, the food. You had learned in class that halflings preferred to eat human food, although they could stomach their animal counterpart’s diet. Halflings, no doubt, preferred these still-warm cooked steaks over raw meat.

You picked up the bucket of steaks and began your journey across the faux savannah. It really was hot in the exhibit and the heavy bucket seemed to weigh you down considerably. Sweat beaded on your forehead and you found it even harder to push yourself across the distance to the lions.

When you finally arrived in front of them, you could feel yourself trembling in fear. In a shaky voice, you called out, “Who wants steaks?”

All of the lions’ eyes turned immediately to the lion halfling lounging across the rock above them. Ah, I get it. They won’t eat until he eats.

Slowly you approached him. You weren’t sure if he was awake until one green eye cracked open and lazily regarded you. You gulped and reached into the bucket, closing your hands around a steak and holding it out to him. He remained lying there, but his eye closed once more.

You began to set the steak next to him when blinding pain shot up your arm, causing you to promptly drop it on the rock. You looked down and saw that the back of your hand was bleeding from four long streaks. The king of the lions was now sitting up, glaring at you, blood dripping from the claws of his right hand.

“How dare you approach me so casually?” he snarled.

You weren’t sure what to do, so you sank into a bow, and murmured, “I’m so sorry.”

The lion gazed down at you, a mixture of surprise and amusement in his eyes. He laid back down, closing his eyes, “Whatever. The rest of you can eat.”

Lions rushed forward, clamoring around the bucket to get the best steaks. The lion on the rock did not reach for his own steak, choosing instead to go back to sleep. You were sorry you disturbed him, and not only because you were now nursing a heavily bleeding hand. The wound was surprisingly deep and you hoped that they had a first aid kit in the office.

A very small lion cub halfling with red hair bounced up to you. Your heart instantly melted at the sight of such an adorable little thing grabbing a steak and smiling up at you. So cute!

“Uncle Leona! Uncle Leona! Are you going to eat your steak or can I have it?” the little halfling asked the lion on the rock.

The lion- Leona, you guessed- glared down at the cub and snatched the steak out of the his reach with a warning growl. While the guttural sound was enough to make you shake in your boots, the cub merely giggled and took a bite of his own steak.

The bucket was empty by the time every lion had taken one. They were big steaks, but you weren’t sure it would be enough to keep them full. You headed back to the keeper’s door with sweat rolling down your cheeks. The heat and dryness may be perfect for the lions and hyenas, but you could barely stand it.

As soon as you were back in the keeper area, you made a beeline for the water cooler. You poured yourself a cup and downed it in a couple seconds. Panting, you filled your cup a second time. You sipped the water a little slower this time, feeling its cooling effects soothe you.

You headed for the nearest first aid kit, conveniently hanging on the wall near the exhibit’s exit. You had a feeling you weren’t the first to need it. You took some bandages from the case and wrapped them around your hand, hissing a little at the pain the pressure caused.

You were ready to face the wolves now. And, as you made your way into their enclosure, you noted with relief that the warm was crisp and cool- the exact opposite of the previous enclosure.

Goosebumps rose on your skin, but you knew that, by the time you had made the trip with the heavy steaks, you’d probably be sweating again. Sure enough, the labor took its toll on your body, your arm aching as you switched the bucket to your other hand.

Deep in the forest now, you could sense eyes on you. Relieved that you had finally found the wolves, you collapsed to the ground. Unprofessional, maybe, but greatly needed. You sat on the soft grass as the wolf halflings began to approach you.

A few had their lips drawn up in a snarl, and one of them called out, “Who are you? You’re not our regular keeper.”

Another wolf was quick to say, “But she’s brought food. Isn’t that all that matters?”

You raised your hands in a peaceful gesture, “I’m a researcher and I’m the one dropping off your food for this morning.”

That seemed to satisfy the wolves. Some of them still glared at you, but they all took their steaks. You looked around at the pack and was surprised to see, among all the gray hair, a head of pure white.

The wolf wasn’t glaring at you, but his expression didn’t give away how he felt at all. He seemed to be eyeing you warily, much like the hyenas. You fished out a steak and held it out to him. His eyes widened a little and he approached you.

“Thank you,” he said in a gruff voice, taking the steak from you. Before you could ask him his name, he disappeared into the crowd of wolves. You weren’t sure why your mind had picked him out from the others, except that his hair was a different color. A little embarrassed by your reaction to him, you held out a steak to another passing wolf, who growled at you in response.

As soon as the enclosure door shut behind you, you sank to the ground, exhausted. That was only the morning feeding- you had a full day (and part of the night) of studying and documenting behavior ahead of you.

[leavemebetosleep]

do you have any good fluttercord fic recs?

OH BOY DO I. In no particular order (except of when I thought of them):

1: Non-Entity by Captain Wuzz: An AU in which, instead of being turned to stone, Discord was shot in the head with a magic arrow that takes away his sentience and magic for a 1,000 years. Fluttershy mistakes him for a wounded animal and brings him home. I loved it so much.

2: Chaotic Neutral by C-Puff: The magic is starting to fade from Equestria, and the Main 6 and Discord go on an adventure to find out why, and reverse it. A bit of AU, in the sense it was written before the show was done, so it diverts in some places because of that. Super sweet, and I love the character development here.

3: Time is Taller than Space is Wide by Dott. Can also be read on Ao3 if you prefer. Soulmate AU (?) fic with a Groundhog Day style twist. I rarely see fics play with the idea of what if Fluttershy and Discord's friendship had started when they first met, so this is fun.

4 & 5: Blank and it's sequel Reconnection by @geekcat. Can also be read on fanfic.net. AU in which, before Discord can choose friendship over ruling Equestria, Twilight remembers a "reformation" spell. He is stripped of his free will, and Fluttershy does her best to bring him back. If you don't like the idea of Twilight being a villain, you might not like this one, but I think her villain arc in this is done in a perfect way for her character. It's super heart wrenching in many places, but in a good way.

6: Our Fair Lady of the Chaos Lord, also by GeekCat Can also be read on fanfic.net. Fairy tale inspired AU in which Fluttershy is a princess who's father is pressuring her to marry noble knight Sir Big Mac. Wanting to be sure he's a good person, she makes a deal with the Chaos Lord, letting herself be "kidnapped" so she can test his character. You can guess who she falls for instead. Honestly I've enjoyed all of GeekCat's fics, so they're getting an extra mention. Check out the rest of their fluttercord fics if you like any of these.

7: The Draconequus with the Dragon Tattoo by A M Shark This is a major case of, strange premise, kick ass results. Basically an AU based off Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson, with Discord as Lisbeth, and Fluttershy as an amalgamation of Mikael and several other characters, but focusing more on the murder mystery aspect of that book, and less on the...everything else. If you're familiar with GwtDT, don't worry, there's no rape scenes. Again, it's more about the murder mystery part. If you're not familiar with GwtDT, then don't worry again, because you don't need to know the original to enjoy it. It's just Discord and Fluttershy playing detective and solving a murder together. It has two sequels, but I haven't read them yet, and it didn't feel right to rec something I haven't read.

8: The Corpse Bride by Bad Horse. Dark fic. No relation to the Burton movie. Fluttershy dies in a tragic accident, and Discord brings her back from the dead as his zombie wife. Her friends (sans Pinkie) are horrified. Has a fantastic twist ending. If you like some of the darker stuff, def worth a read.

Bonus: Comic rec: The Last Adventure by Eveeka. Taking place after the final defeat of Tirek, Cozy, and Chrysalis, Discord gets into a depressive funk after shouldering the hatred from Ponyville citizens for his latest actions, but also because his friends seem to never be available anymore. He starts to think maybe Equestria would be better off without him, as he can't seem to exist with out making everyone miserable, and decides to hide away in the Everfree forest. Fluttershy, worried when he doesn't show up for tea, asks her friends for help, only to discover there's a monster running lose there he and the rest of Equestria might be in danger from. This fic has two endings, so keep reading even when it seems like it's over. You've got one more ending left. This one nearly made me cry.

[jade-kyo]

Non-Red vs Blue fans guess the fake fact: results!

Find the og post here

Alright time to finally review the results! Correct answer is at the bottom of this post for those not interested in all of the results and explanations!

So the most highly voted option at 23% was Elijah Wood which I’m sorry to say is incorrect! Elijah Wood was a voice actor in the series. He played the role of Sigma! What this big name actor is doing in a random web series I have no idea but it’s still one of the wildest things to me.

Now the aspirin overdose comes in with 17.3% and got mentioned a lot in the notes and it is also incorrect. However I will admit to some poor wording on my part because it was actually an allergic reaction not an overdose. That’s a genuine oopsies on my part 😅

Florida sinking into the ocean gets a 10.1% and is also incorrect! The state of Florida does in fact sink into the ocean and it’s implied this was to cover up the disappearance of Agent Florida (who is also the guy who dies from the aspirin)

The gay guy, who’s name is Donut btw, becoming Jesus comes in with 8.3% and is in fact very real. He even walks on water. It was wild and tbh I barely remember it cause it’s from a season I dislike but it was too wild not to include.

With 7.2% I can say for sure that the giant killer robot is indeed dressed up in cute hats! Specifically a sombrero! Also the robots name is Freckles.

CPR for a bullet wound in the head gets 6.7% and is in fact considered effective medical care. Now I will say this later gets retconned and it turns out the guy didn’t actually get shot in the head the bullet just grazed him and his armor locked up making them all think he was dying- hence the choice of word being considered. The characters fully believe it but the CPR did not actually save him cause he wasn’t even hurt to begin with.

The crazy love triangle comes in with 4.7% and is also very canon and is exactly as it’s said. There’s literally just this insane love triangle for like two seasons- honestly the only love triangle plot I ever enjoyed.

With a solid 4% I can say that there is in fact canon mpreg! Hurray? Idk man this one’s exactly as it sounds. Dude got knocked up by an alien.

In last place with 2.5% of votes is the main character dying repeatedly. This is also incorrect. First off this guy is named Church which very funny on its own. Secondly it’s actually one of the first running jokes in the series how much this dude dies. Until it’s not a joke 🫠 also a few people pointed out RvB doesn’t have a main character and while I agree I felt it was simpler just to call Church the main character for this poll since it’s designed for people who haven’t seen RvB and I would argue that the majority of the narrative centers around Church even when he’s not there.

And now for the correct answer, coming in at third place with 16.1% is Caboose is god!

Now I will fully confess to being sneaky with this one. This is actually a joke made within the series but it is not true at all. Caboose is not actually god and the platypus is just that fucked up. I knew nothing I could come up with would be able to match the absurdity of this series so I decided to twist a few words so that way everything seemed equally fucked up.

And that concludes the poll! I will now leave you off with a few honorable mentions that did not make the Final Cut:

They have a Spanish speaking robot. None of them speak Spanish.

He’s a ghost but not actually a ghost but actually a highly advanced computer program

Woman has mega beef with an AI copy of her dead mom

The highly advanced computer program can’t aim for shit

The first 5 seasons were revealed to actually be a prolonged torture session

Dude chases his dead gf through multiple iteration of the same memory

Woman developed a sibling like bond with an AI copy of her extremely neglectful father

[tachosnachos]

Thoughts on hierarchy up till ep 5

This show is trying to be what it’s not. You tried, you made an effort and you failed. I’m literally rooting for none of the main characters. The only people I root for is Hera and WooJin. I understand that Hera was supposed to be the antagonist, but Jae I is such failure of a friend that it’s stupid to consider her a good character. Nothing the befell her is warranted. And she’s done nothing that’s evil enough to be thrown to the fire. What? Dating her best friend’s ex? Honestly, idc enough to empathise. Woo Jin is actually a nice guy here, just wished he wasn’t screwing their teacher. Teacher’s a lunatic but I could care less about her plot.

The worst part about this show is Jae I and Rian. Their acting, their lack of chemistry, the lacklustre romeo juliette-esque relationship that absolutely makes no sense. I don’t give a damn if their family’s competing because logically if they are the two top family’s in the world, how would them dating each other be “scandalous”. We’re not in the victorian era. That shit makes absolutely no sense.

Also, the guy’s a fucking bully and her liking him that much just makes me question her morals. She’s supposed be empathetic but it’s not giving. She’s worse than a bystander, she’s an apologist.

I forgot which episode but there was a scene where Kang Ha and Rian was having a stare of. And Kang Ha was all like “this must be the gaze my brother saw” and I spit out laughing. The boy wasn’t giving threatening look, he was giving confused puppy. I was like “Kang Ha, you have to tell me what we’re looking at. Am I supposed to feel threatened?”

Kang Ha is a weak protagonist. He doesn’t look like has a plan. None of the things he has done seem to work. This is supposed to be a revenge plot, but he’s literally affected because of a girl. He knew this girl could be a suspect for his brother’s death yet he still helped her? Why?? Rich of you to criticise other kids for not having a spine when yours is non existent.

The plot twists were so obvious it wasn’t even a guess. I just expected all of us to know by then that when they did the whole reveal, all I could do was roll my eyes. None of the supposed “secrets” warrants the death of another kid. Like so what? You guys hooked up? You’re rich you can fucking cover it up!

Honestly, it’s so stupid. I don’t know if it’s because I finished lovely runner before this and I was blessed with great acting there that I feel immense disappointment here, but honestly like I feel the writers gave up half way. What a waste of a good set.

[anthurak]

9S is the final boss though? Like his whole arc after 2B dies is him going insane until you get to the final fight with A2 with her being the obviously better choice.

Alright, ‘cracks knuckles’ guess I’m finally talking about those Nier takes I’ve never gotten around to.

Yes, you are correct. Which is why I call 9S a ‘blemish’ and not something that outright ruined the game for me.

It’s still annoying when you get into later parts of Route B when 9S starts stumbling onto all the big lore and backstory reveals with even Commander White dropping into emphasize how important what he’s finding is. As if the story is saying ‘aren’t you a smart and special little boy, 9S, for discovering all these important things’. Which combined with 2B dying at the start of Route C, makes it feel like, as I said, 9S is getting the ‘he was the REAL main character all along!’ treatment. Particularly when we consider that 9S gets to be the PC of both Route B and half of Route C, whereas 2B only gets Route A and A2 only gets half of Route C, effectively meaning that 9S technically gets the most screen time, story-wise.

Add on the fact that, as I said in the original repost, 9S reads and acts like literally every generic, cardboard-cutout self-insert anime protag-guy, to the point where some of his dialogue with 2B that I think the game wants us to interpret as ‘flirting’ feels like it’s out of a goddamn visual novel, and you can see why I consider him pretty insufferable.

It also doesn’t help that every time I’ve revisited Nier: Automata, I’m always finding 2B more and more interesting and compelling as a character. Just as an example, has anyone noticed that despite being seemingly the most ‘professional’ and loyal to the YoRHA cause on the surface of the three PCs, 2B is actually the most merciful of the three to the machine lifeforms? Like how when you first encounter non-hostile machines, 2B doesn’t want to attack them, stating that there is no reason to attack those that aren’t attacking them. Or how 2B is actually the MOST open of the three to talking and working with Pascal, whereas A2 is at first extremely distrustful and 9S just wanted to attack him on sight.

And yes, I really like A2 as well. Unfortunately the way her route is constructed means that she feels just as much like a replacement for 2B as she does a separate character in her own right. Which combined with the shorter length of Route C, makes her character feel a bit truncated.

And yes, 9S rapidly revealing himself to be a crazed, murderous incel simping for 2B the moment she dies IS in and of itself a great, twisted and interesting character turn, and I wholly agree that A2 having to Old-Yeller him is absolutely the better choice for the final battle. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really change everything else I’ve been saying up to now. Or the fact that 2B absolutely got fridged to make it happen.

Personally, for a long time now I’ve felt a better way to do the post-‘everything’s gone to shit’ reveal that we see in Route C would have 2B not actually dying but instead taken by A2 and eventually purged of the logic virus, though with 9S still wholly BELIEVING that 2B is dead at A2’s hands. Say, A2 still stabs 2B, but it turns out to be non-fatal.

From there, Route C follows A2 and a weakened/regaining-her-strength 2B working together. Likely with some fun gameplay twists were-in you’re switching control between the two. All the while, 9S is deteriorating even further than what we saw originally, to the point where even when he learns that 2B is alive and sees her again, he just goes into an even more crazed ‘you abandoned me!’ and ‘you left me for her!’ mode.

Which actually ends up leading to 9S mirroring Eve’s own crazed obsession with Adam and the rampage he went on after the latter’s death. Which in turn at first leads 2B to believe that 9S has some lingering virus infection from Adam and Eve from when they were holding him captive and that is the source of his madness, meaning that 9S could still be saved.

Of course, in a tragic twist, it is revealed that it ISN’T something lingering from Eve, but rather that 9S is deliberately re-infecting himself with the virus. That the true source of 9S’s madness is simply his own twisted obsession with 2B.

Which in turn leads to a final boss fight of 2B and A2 fighting a now-monstrous 9S. A fight which culminates in 2B and A2, with the help of Pods 042 and 153, hacking 9S in an extended trippy hacking sequence.

A sequence which culminates in 2B/the player having to hack into 9S’s menu and actually forcibly uninstall his OS-chip in order to put him down for good. Complete with you/2B effectively having to fight the ‘Are you sure?’ confirmation box which becomes progressively more crazed and unhinged, until Pod 042 mentions that you can force-uninstall the chip through some seemingly simply method like holding the button. Or perhaps something equally zany like switching control to A2 to uninstall the chip while the confirmation box is ‘occupied’ with 2B.

Thus, we still get a tragic/bittersweet ending of 2B being forced to kill 9S, but this time for good with the sense that now she can finally move on. Also this version would absolutely have 2B and A2 becoming a couple.

So yeah, that's a... few of my takes on Nier. Heck, I didn't even go into the AU I've had percolating for a few years now wherein 9S is expunged from the story entirely, 2B is partnered with 60 and is a bit of a yuri-harem-protag and there is frankly WAY more world-building than is necessary.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi Raven! Have you seen the Disney 100 Jack birthday card art that has been circulating around yet? Any thoughts on the paintings? I think I remember you mentioning that the portraits would be good for figuring out what inspirations more ambiguous characters like Jack were twisted from.

The idea that the background frames for the new birthday series would reveal the explicit Disney reference for each TWST boy was popular fandom speculation when Platinum Suit Jamil was initially teased, NOT something actually ever confirmed, stated, or even implied by official TWST sources. Some people were also speculating that maybe the background frames were just the respective G7 of each boy's dormitory. We only had Jamil to go off of at the time, which didn't give us a lot of clear information since Jamil is both very clearly twisted from Jafar but is also in Scarabia, a dorm which has also has Jafar as its representative from the Great 7.

Then Platinum Jacket Ace came out in late September and seemed to continue the pattern of "the background shows one image that shows direct inspiration for the TWST boy"; there were heart card soldiers in one frame, which is what Ace seems to be twisted from. This made a lot of fans hype to finally get character inspiration confirmation for more ambiguous characters like Jack (which has been an ongoing debate in the fandom for years now).

***Spoilers for the main story, as well as Jack's Platinum Suit initial art + related discussion below the cut!***

... However, that ended up not being the case as soon as Jack's Platinum Suit card preview was released. Which brings us to today 😅 I think you see what the "issue" here is, right??? How can Jack, a wolf beastman, possibly be based on Rafiki, a baboon??? Mmmm, I don't have really anything to add regarding the actual frames? It is what it is, and though I will admit it got my hopes up when Jamil was first revealed, I also suspected it would be a long shot given how eclectic ("borrowing from many sources") some of the characters are.

I guess it was presumptuous for us to jump to a conclusion when we only knew about Jamil and even when we also knew about Ace; the problem is that two in a row doesn't make a pattern, just a coincidence. We need at least three to establish a pattern, and Jack here disrupts it. What we actually see here is that the frame to our left (the character's right) is likely just the painting the birthday boy chooses as a decoration for the Guest Room. (It is listed as “[Character’s] chosen painting” in Sam’s shop.) Alternatively, maybe some boys will have their character inspo if it is very clear (like how Jamil is twisted from Jafar) while the non-determinant characters like Ortho will get some other Disney character from the same film (ie Pain/Panic, the Fates, etc.) rather than a single specific inspo.

I think the TWST fandom is like... very fixated on picking ONE exact character that corresponds to each TWST boy just because the dorm leaders (ie the most iconic group in marketing) have clear inspirations. That expectation then gets extended to the rest of the cast, even though it's not true that everyone only takes inspiration from their own films--even the dorm leaders make references to and allude to various Disney properties. There's no harm in debating, having your own interpretation, or drawing parallels for fun, but it gets to a point where it's... fruitless??? To try to come to a firm conclusion on the subject. It may be less contentious to accept that some of the cast are a blend of inspirations, ideas, and motifs. Even the more "concrete" characters can functionally serve in multiple different roles or as correlates to many different Disney characters. Azul is twisted from Ursula, but he is also able to be Jamil's "Genie in the Lamp" (a line which Jamil actually uses to refer to Azul) for book 4. Vil is twisted from the Evil Queen, but he is the hero Hercules when he sacrifices his youth to rescue Idia from Tartarus. At the same time, you could argue that Ortho (who is very Pinocchio-esque, going from robot to "real boy"), also has Hercules traits and Vil is serving as a dual role as Megara, the damsel in distress. (More on that in this post!)

None of the TWST characters are bound to one movie or to the characters they're supposedly based off of, and this works to the IP's advantage. It allows each character to feel like their own person, not just a copy of or a reinvention of one Disney counterpart.

[horizon-verizon]

You’re a whole coon, of course Rhaenyra hates women, especially Black women, she tried to murder a 16 years-old Black girl, slut shamed her, called her racial slurs, and linked Nettles “ugliness/attractiveness” to her Blackness. Rhaenyra literally acted like a pathetic pick me in regard to Daemon and Nettles. If given the chance, Rhaenyra would have enslaved her. TB must truly despise Daenerys to compare her to Rhaenyra, they couldn’t be more different. (The way Rhaenyra is never mentioned in Dany’s chapters and GRRM has never discussed them in conjunction with the other, finally y’all can thanks HOTD for turning her into a progressive and flawless Mary Sue).

And really an insanely privileged white woman dying after putting a bounty on a lowborn Black’s girl head should be a good thing right ? We just gon have to celebrate Rhaenyra death with Nettles.

If you say so, anon, I guess I'm a straight up coon. 🤷🏿‍♀️

I suppose arguing how no one can be a feminist in a medieval world is coonish. I guess that pointing out how unconstructive it is to go "she wasn't a feminist so we shouldn't care about any possible effect her coming into power like the men before and after her have been able to will have an effect on other noble women's power to maybe implement some pro-women stuff in their own domains" to us analyzing why/how Rhaenyra is important to the history of Westeros and Daenerys is coonish.

I guess it's coonish of me to flout so many non-Nettles arguments of Rhaenyra's supposed bad leadership and amorality not once, but TWICE (that I remember), where it clearly just veers into straight up sexism: HERE and HERE....thus coming into why I even bother defending Rhaenyra (in some points).

It's not like I haven't already wrote several time in several posts how Rhaenyra's trying to get Nettles' head reveals much about the Targ-Andal paradigm she grows up in and tries to use to bolster herself through her going after Nettles to the end. It's not like I don't see how essentially different Daenerys and Rhaenyra are as people through the Nettles event as well as how they grow up and come into their positions of power and how/why they desire those roles:

It's not like I haven't already written about the Black Jezebel stereotype at least three times, including on Twitter and here. It's not like I have defended Nettles not just from "dettles" stans but also from people who call themselves Rhaenyra stans while bashing on Nettles and Mysaria, totally misunderstanding both characters and what even a supporting character is.

But sure, I'm a coon bc I don't want to ignore the journey of Rhaenyra's downfall and make distinct where she decided to destroy another woman vs her being the victim. Sure, I'm a whole coon.

And for the last fucking time, "compare" does not always or only mean "these two things are exactly alike and I will show you how"! "Comparison" analyses means that you will list out what traits or developments two things have, what inspirations, and see how they differ and how they don't. And through such a process, you will find out how many and how well/or not these two or more things are alike and how.

For Dany and Rhaenyra, I never said these girls/women were the same person. I said that both women, as women in male-designated positions of power, have to deal with people in world AND out of world must contend with misogynist feelings towards of their not deserving power or leadership on account of their gender, no matter what sort of characterization either had BECAUSE even with the main series not being like F&B, not being a history book, PEOPLE IN THE FANDOM STILL TEND TO MISREAD OR TWIST DANY'S ACTIONS AGAINST HER CHARACTER AND GRRM'S INTENT. Rhaenyra is meant to contextualize that very experience into a real event of catastrophe, she was set against ever since she was 10 bc she was female and another, older woman wanted power denied to her directly bc she was a woman. This is a fact, you nor I can change that. There is a difference between what we learn from the events to make the conclusions of who should rule ideally and what we should shoot for VERSUS thinking of the situation at hand for what it would have been like for the character.

F&B (having been written after the main series) continues even this "analysis" phenomenon; what do people choose to believe when it's a woman at the center of their stories?! No matter her real circumstances or their knowledge of things not present in their understanding of the world and of history?

I also mention, several times, how it is here, Rhaenyra's end, where the Targs lose their dragons because they have assimilated into the intenser patriarchal paradigm already mentioned to the point where they weakened their women's positions by denying them their autonomy and political powers...which plot sequence wise leads to the end of the dynasty as whole and Dany's exile. I'm must be a coon to not want Nettles, a 17 year old, to fuck a 50 year old, esp with her being his bio daughter. No, anon, I am too repulsed with direct vertical incest (parent-child, grandparent-grandchild, etc.).

Then there is how the Bloodstone Emperor and the Amethyst Empress and how the former usurped tha latter and plunged the entire world into mythological "darkness"--thus leading up to the importance of the Azor Ahai, aka Dany, directly seems to reflect how another brother--Aegon II--usurped his older sister--Rhaenrya--and thus the world loses a strong magical tool against darkness "dragons". An obvious link....

In fact, I tend to repeat how different they are as people! There's this whole thread talking abt the very thing I despise abt some critiques of Rhaenyra. I even say many times that Rhaenyra couldn't have the throne after the Nettles letter, that at that point, there needed a "refresh". Up until then, there was simply more reason for us to not think her a real terror except for maybe Addam and Alyn. But I have my misgivings there and it comes down to timing and grief.

No, Rosby and Stokeworth do not count and why? I already wrote why, but for someone who doesn't stan Rhaenyra or is not a fan of hers but actually stans just Daenerys--the previous ozymalek says:

I have myself said several times how I disliked how they rewrote show1Rhaenyra to make her a much less assertive version of herself, and I agree with others how they made her female-friendless. No matter how amoral or moral she was, similarly to Dany, people have written her sexistly in the show. I believe that this is CENTRAL to the point of F&B, how people refuse to see the point of it.

Finally, I really don't see how the hell show!Rhaenyra even is a Mary Sue or a NLOG, bc for the first, she displays no skill she excels over others at. A Mary Sue is:

Show!Rhaenyra, for some reason, seems "perfect" to some people. Esp with Luke saying so in epi 8. I never felt that way, I always thought she (older, not younger) was too meek and that is her great flaw---due to the sexist writing, but if kept at face value, that's the great flaw. Other definition: Who is inserting themselves into her character on the show? you got proof?

A NLOG (not like the other girls) is a Cersei like character who goes out of their way to destroy/diminish most women who are competitors for their power or destroy any semblance of socially-defined femininity and socially-coded feminine "weakness" so as to appeal to the male authority and get privileges. Problem is that EVERY SINGLE FEMALE MONARCH AND WOMAN IN SOME SORT OF AUTHORITY OVER MEN IN EVERY SINGLE PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY had to convince their male supporters that they were the one they should follow to some degree more than any male heir or candidate--during a time where they had to either fight for their "birthright" or they were planning coups (Catherine the Great), came into power through some accident, or whatnot--that their rule was in it for them. There is no pattern of woman-hating or self-hating to define Rhaenyra as a NLOG, where she consistently tries. NLOGs tend to hate women even in their own "race" or group for perceived acts of upheaval and destabilizing their positions of power. Alicent was and she uses misogyny to do so, so Alicent is not Rhaenyra's victim; other way around. Rhaenyra has all reason to despise Alicent, justified even. It's more than the positions, it's the whole targeting since 10 deal and trying to espouse Rhaenyra's inherent unworthiness for power.

So Rhaenyra deciding to do the Rosby/Stokeworth bit is her seeing how her greatest ally, a sexist man, has basically all her ships during wartime and insisting she does not give those girls their father's seats is Rhaenyra choosing wrongly, yes, but something I don't think that you or a small number of women would bow under considering the other shit she was going through. Yes, even black/PoC women. Again, this is not about Nettles but about women vs women (yes with them all being white or white-adjacent) bc I know that this will be the next thing some will say as a counterargument to what I'm saying here.

You are correct, however, in how similar Rhaenyra's behavior abt Nettles is pick-me-ish and NLOG concerning her intent to turn Daemon back to her and how this was her seeing Nettles as competition for "control" over Daemon, who was one of her principal military commands as well as her romantic partner...and like i said once before, this is a reflection on how this Andal-Targ patriarchal paradigm makes its own female "terrors" through misogyny. To ignore the process is to endanger its justified repetition. Yeah, Rhaenyra ends up becoming like Alicent in that way after the consistent losses, and I mean defaulting back to destroying another woman for a simulation of power. This doesn't mean that she was a feminist or that she didn't intend on using the Black Jezebel reasoning to get rid of "competition" to feel more in control. It does mean that her behavior reveals her enmeshment in the xenophobic, aristocratic, patriarchal Targ-Andal feudalist paradigm that she chooses to use to, again, construct more feelings of power at a time where she seemed to feel she was losing more and more--after the betrayals and the deaths of her sons in that moment. And yet if there is anything to be extracted from her narrative it is how that built-in classism (the companion and parent of racism) can become the thing these women default onto to retrieve/gain the agency & power denied to them. I believe this is also where you can draw a core similarity to Cersei, who is rather the starkest extreme example of that classism making up for her internalized misogyny through her Lannister Exceptionalism.

The discourse has to include how we, the readers, over-blame Rhaenyra for things she has either very little control over or what she had no control over and for trying to, again, assert herself (before Nettles). She's a reflection of her times and situation; doesn't mean she isn't still a victim. You don't need to like her. I never asked for people to do so. I don't care if you do or not, I've never needed that. Just don't lie or twist information or ignore clear patterns GRRM establishes that are also important, or try to erase the lines of harm done to her and undo the work GRRM is doing to point out this pattern of misogyny that contextualizes one very key aspect of Dany's journey: sexism doesn't care how good or classist you are, you are a woman so you will be subject to disenfranchisement, distortion of facts, and destruction...if you are not like Dany, who intuitively and "rationally" discovers lanes of power while reintegrating her being to the natural process and relationships between herself and her dragons for the ecological benefit of the entire world (the Others, again). Unlike Rhaenyra, Dany doesn't fall into the ideological "trap" or the noblewoman's save-grace of exploiting of lowborn people AND dragons but intelligently seeks other non-exploitative ways to use her dragons and those inspired by he bravery. This again, does not erase or override the sexism and specific elements of gender politics that tie these two together.

It's a paradox, not a contradiction.

[thelostgirl21]

Jaskier, The voice of the Continent,

meets

Radovid, The Voice of the Fandom...

Seriously, it's like they decided to have a character fall in love with Jaskier, and finally tell him everything we wish someone would have told him since the beginning of watching this show...

You gorgeous, loyal, empathetic, caring, devoted sapioromantic pansexual bard with a heart of gold and the voice of a freaking angel, that sees others as they are, and brings out the best in them often at your own expanse...

It was high time someone finally saw you, too - caught a glimpse of the pain and weariness you carry in your heart (yet keep downplaying and brushing aside, afraid that others would be made to feel bad about it and stop enjoying having you around to keep them entertained if they paid too much attention to it) - and took the time to remind you that you are, indeed, enough...

Radovid kept insisting for a song...

And you gave him one...

Not a song singing his own praises - with the goal or making him more sympathetic or famous to an audience (so that the world could see him and care about him the way you do)...

Not one asking him for what he yearns for, while being frustrated and heartbroken over him apparently being so set on self-sabotaging that he's unable to return the love of those that do love him...

No, for once, you decided that you were done "entertaining others", and singing about what you think they want you to sing...

Instead, you chose to sing a song about what you need and yearn for in life...

And he learned it...

Jaskier sang to him before he left the palace, and Radovid freaking learned Jaskier's song by heart, after having attentively listened to every note and every word he sang only once...

How's that for a pie without filling?

They somehow managed to turn that new ship into a whole freaking Cruise Line in just 4 episodes!

Don't get me wrong, I do love Geralt and genuinely think he was attempting to push Jaskier away out of both self-hatred and a desire to protect others from himself in Season 1... But the things he said, and the way he used to treat Jaskier, still hurt him, affected his sense of self-worth, and left some scars.

I'm therefore not drawing comparisons to bash on Geralt and Jaskier's own relationship, but because I love the healing opportunities that Radovid's hopefully genuine romantic interest in Jaskier are providing.

i.e. They better not pull some sick twist on us, by having Radovid be revealed as a cruel, scheming villain that took advantage of Jaskier's goodness, feelings, and needs for his own gain; because I've a feeling heads would be found in boxes!

Just let him have his big gay spoon, alright? Or little spoon! But I kinda want Jaskier to be the one spooned with someone firmly holding onto him with no intention of ever sending him away right now, so...

Also, what's the new name of that ship, Jaskovid? I'll go with Jaskovid...

I also found it very interesting, from a LGBTQ+ representation standpoint, that they are seemingly going the route of a polyamourous pansexual character that might be somewhere on the gray-romantic spectrum.

i.e. That Jaskier would specifically need to experience a sapioromantic connection - be attracted attracted to one's wits and insightfulness - in order for him to experience any desire to enter a romantic relationship with them.

Will Jaskier remain polyamorous, both romantically and sexually, should Radovid himself be monoamorously romantically/sexually exclusive, and the two of them choose to fully commit to their romantic connection?

I guess we'll have to see!

But I still thought it was a very nice nuance to bring to the character.

And I could see this going many different and equally interesting ways!

Jaskier could enter a deeply committed romantic and sexual relationship with Radovid, with one, or the two of them, remaining romantically and sexually non-exclusive (ex: one of my polyamorous friends has a main romantic/sexual partner that they live and share their lives with, and another one that they regularly go on romantic dates with, but without the need for them to build their lives together, or see each other as often).

Jaskier could enter a deeply committed romantic and sexual relationship with Radovid, with one, or the two of them, staying romantically exclusive, but enjoying sexual polyamory with lovers that they have no committed romantic connection to.

Jaskier could be revealed as being more ambiamorous than polyamorous, and be completely comfortable and happy being in a romantically and sexually exclusive relationship with a monoamorous partner.

As an ambiamorous panromantic demi-pansexual myself, I've personally discovered that, while I'm comfortable being in a romantic polyamorous relationship, sharing an exclusive romantic and sexual relationship doesn't feel forced, nor like I have to make any efforts and deprive myself of anything I enjoy, if I so happen to be romantically and sexually attracted to a person that isn't polyamorous.

It's like my monoamorous v.s. polyamorous instincts are naturally determined by the preferences of my romantic partner.

i.e. In the absence of any romantic connection to my sexual partners (that I do need to share a strong emotional bond with, however), however, I'm sexually polyamorous.

If the sexual desires occur in the context of a romantic connection with a monoamorous partner, I genuinely stop experiencing any sense of romantic and/or sexual attraction towards anyone else than that partner.

If the sexual desires occur in the context of a romantic connection with a polyamorous partner, however, then it's like my heart and my body will naturally remain open to forming multiple committed partnerships with other people, often with one of those romantic/sexual partnership being perceived as a domestic/life partner.

So, with Jaskier, it's perfectly possible that he might lose all interest in ever romantically and/or sexually having relationships with anyone other than Radovid, should Radovid be revealed as a being a romantically and sexually monoamorous individual himself.

Just like he could be polyamorously romantic and sexual all the way, and being unable to offer Radovid any exclusivity (which wouldn't make the romantic connection they share any less real, deep, nor valuable).

Whatever path that relationship takes, however, as long as the love and empathy between them remains genuine and real, I'll be extremely happy!

[animereviewsbykyranskye]

My current top 15 Anime and why

Because why the fuck not. I'm doing top 15 so that I have some variety behind it. Otherwise I would just be gushing non stop XD

Apparently numbers go big now - AND THEY GO SMALLER IF YOU TRY TO TYPE IN THE SAME LINE AS THEM???

comparison:

15

15 -

DA HECK????

(Edit: I was going to colour all the numbers because I wanted a rainbow. WHY THE FUCK FOR THEY CHANGE TO SMALL WHEN YOU COLOUR THEM??????)

Guess the titles of the anime get a small heading. Anyways. Onto the actual list!

15

Technoroid OVERMIND

Ayo. Starting out with a really random one. So if anyone were to look at my Anilist then they might be a bit confused. I decided I'd keep movies out of here as well as anything I haven't specifically finished. Also takt op. Destiny needs a re evaluation.

Anyways. This premise is so sick and I feel like they managed it really well. The characters were all really fun and the music was fantastic which is honestly the most important thing about Idol shows. I really like idol shows but often struggle with the stupid drama in them that just leads to seasons upon seasons that didn't need to happen or wouldn't actually happen.

In this they're just androids. The fantasy twist works so well for the genre and I honestly don't know why it isn't done more often. This way they can bullshit the drama and it actually makes sense.

Honestly my favourite character was Kite. He was great and his voice always gave me shivers. Especially his piece in the closing. Damn.

I don't want to go into full reviews with this, rather just gushing about things I like and stuff. I really don't think this got the recognition it deserves - probably because of it's deviation from the norm - but it would be cool to get some sort of sequel.

(Edit: There's a manga releasing apparently. Imma check that out.)

14

UniteUp!

Continuing on with the trend of idol animes apparently. UniteUp! was so good. As I mentioned in my Reviews while I watch of the show, it felt so grounded and real that other idol shows just don't seem to capture. These were all real people with real problems dealing with real life.

I also like how we had such a large cast of characters but it never really felt overwhelming as they focused on group dynamics and specific individuals rather than trying to cram every single person into their own arcs.

Once again the music was fantastic and by god was this show pretty gay. Honestly I don't know what the sentiments of others are, but the Anela duo definitely weren't straight and neither were Akira and Daiki. That bath scene says it all.

Anyways. If you want a fun time with a really solid idol anime, please check it out. I saw earlier that we're getting a season two soon. I am so looking forward to it.

13

Trigun Stampede

Damn! I don't even know what to really say about this one. The visuals are absolutely stunning - there is no doubt about that. The score and the characters are excellent. And how dare they leave us on that cliff hanger.

I have absolutely no history with this story and still need to watch and read the originally but I am really looking forward to seeing how the story adapts between the three.

You can ask my partner. I've already said we're watching everything trigun related as soon as we are done with our current show.

I'm really looking forward to season two. And especially seeing how this all pans out. Apparently there will be tears according to the fandom. Concern.

12

Re-main

Damn this show came out of nowhere for me. I watched it quite awhile ago and have been meaning to rewatch it again.

The premise is definitely a sports anime but honestly so different. All because of one thing. The fact that he is an amnesiac is such a fascinating concept to work with - especially with how he was before (trying not to spoil - can't remember when this comes up in the anime)

And then the ending?? Damn. They seriously set up that cliff hanger and I really hope this show gets a sequel.

I really can't say too much about it without giving away some spoilers but damn does it change up the formula and do it so fucking well.

11

Given

Given is great. Such a pure but heartbreaking portrayal of love on one side with such conflicting but also nurturing views on the other. Having the different realtionships throughout this is really well done how they all bounce off of each other. Especially when they entertwine it with the music.

As it is said. That is how they communicate - through the music.

I'm busy catching up with the manga and really hope the anime continues with it.

Also the fucking is just fucking gorgeous. It has no write to hit you that hard.

Also - something else that shouldn't be allowed to hit you that hard. Damn Mafuyu has had a difficult past. We love how he learns to heal and grow with Uenoyama at his side.

Anyways, moving on.

10

Bakuten!!

Okay. Who said a sports anime could be this pretty.

I love the art style and the music throughout all of this. I love the portayal and the evolution of these character - seriously all their arcs are great. The interactions of the team is so tangible and real.

I watch a lot of sports anime and I often struggle with some of the drama used within the sports - it feels like the only thing that ever fuels the story is the matches. Whereas in Bakuten - the character seriously fuel the story. You can understand their motivations much more than just - I want to play this sport and be the best!

I also feel like they really captured everything really well in the movie. The whole concept of wanting to sore is great and really well executed.

I also love the interactions they have with the other team. It's not just a once off competition or practice match that they face each other. We actually get tangible characters for the whole team and see how much they two teams are similar to one another. It's a very healthy rivalry that isn't normally this expanded on in sports anime.

9

Sasaki and Miyano

Yesssssss. These two are just absolutely amazing. Their whole story arc and relationship is just tooth rottingly sweet. They bounce off of each other so well.

And I love the fact of how slow the actual story is. They meet at the start of Miyanos first year (from what I know - I still need to read the novels) and sasaki's second and they only end up confessing just before graduation happens. It really plays out well and is so healthy.

There is no problematic elements like in so many BL stories which is such a breath of fresh air. And the fact that sasaki is very specific about making sure to maintain boundaries to ensure that miyano is comfortable is also excellent.

On a slightly different note - I still need to see the Hirano and Kagiura movie. Been dying to watch it. I've been keeping up to date with both manga and both of these stories are amazing. I love the dichotomy of the two stories and how they are coming to their own realisations of their feelings in honestly very different ways.

I also recently watched the dub of the anime due to some videos on tiktok. Fucking hell it is absolutely hilarious. Kellen Goff as Sasaki has no reason for being that good. Seriously. Damn.

8

Link Click

On a completely different note. Damn this one makes you questions your own morals and reality as you know it.

I really don't want to get into this one much as I do believe watching it blind is the best way to go.

The art style is fantastic and that opening hits like a truck it is so good. The characters just click (pun not intended) and you just understand their motivations and don't know which side to side with most of the time. It brings about such high moral dilemmas that will seriously mess with your brain sometimes and there is one episode that will likely make you cry.

Anyways. Season 2 has just started airing and I am so ready for it.

7

Buddy Daddies

Why did a show about two queer platonic dudes who adopt a child while beings assassins hit so damn hard.

The show jumps between episodes with backstory and episodes with them just being good dads and it is balanced so well. This anime won't end up getting a sequel most likely with how it ended but damn I wouldn't say no to one.

Rei is my favourite character and I relate to him far too much. His interactions with the world are so fascinating and his whole arc with Miri is honestly some of the best media I've seen.

I absolutely loved watching this show weekly and it always brightened up my day when I realised a new episode would be up.

If you would like further thoughts on this one then check the Reviews while I watch on it for more chaos.

6

No Game No Life

So. This was the first ever anime that I ever watched. It was a random recomendation from a friend. Look at where we are today.

This show is honestly just so fun. The characters are silly and the whole plot is just absolute chaos. I really enjoy the games aspect and how it was all incorporated into the world.

I can't even really say much about it. It is just a guilty pleasure of mine and will always hold a special place in my heart.

Also. Please can it just get a second season already.

5

Assassination Classroom

So. Unlike everything else on the list - this one I only finished really recently. My partner and I were watching it together. And to put it out there straight away. I cried. That ending was far too emotional.

I really enjoyed the humour throughout the whole thing as well as the constant underlying dread of the whole situation.

They also really played out Koro-senseis backstory really well. The teasing to it was excellent. I must say though that one of the twists seriously came out of left field. Like damn.

I've just recently bought the boxset and am reading through the manga. Once again. It's absolutely amazing.

Also the openings of them all jumping are absolutely fucking hilarious and you can't tell me otherwise.

If you want to know what officially sold me on the show was just in the first episode. (Note we watched in dub)

Don't ask me why but I found this to be the most hilarious thing ever. The absurdity and the line delivery was magnificent. I annoy my partner by quoting it atleast once a day.

4

Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan

Speaking of comedies. This show has no right to be this good. The absudist dead pan comedy in the middle of whats meant to be a TV show is such a random premise but just works so well.

Due to the nature of the show, the characters are extremely relateable. I especially love Kumatani and Kikaku.

If your on the same side of anime tiktok that I am then you have definitely seen/heard snippets of the dub.

I think this was the first anime that I originally watched in sub and then tried it in dub and actually enjoyed it. (I often find that whatever I originally watched it in is the only one I can watch it in - it's very difficult for me to change it)

The voice acting on both sides just works perfectly for the show. And that final episode and how they did it was the best thing ever.

Please just give it a try.

3

Angel Beats

Okay. Time for a hard hitter. This comedy like assassintaion classroom is fucking excellent but will make you cry, like damn.

In complete and utter contrast to No game no life, this was the second anime I had ever watched. I had found a video that gave some suggestions and thought I would give this one a try. When I say it destoryed me, I mean it literally. I constantly think about the end of this and I absolutely love revisiting it.

The twist and turns along the way are fascinating and I love how each one alters the characters and the narrative. Each of the characters feel unique - even the lesser developed side characters - with fascinating and complex backstories.

The whole thing just makes you question your own place in life.

2

Moriarty the Patriot

Another one I just randomly tried because I saw a video on tiktok. The first episode immediately pulled me in. I thought it was just going to be some simple detective story (At the time I didn't know much about Sherlock Holmes and who Moriaty was so I didn't have any of that to guide me into this story.) But nope.

I keep saying this but in this one I really mean it. The characters are built so well. The dichotomy between William and Sherlock - as the fandom would probably agree - is just amazing. How they bounce off of each other - i don't even know how to really descirbe it.

Honestly just go watch it.

And if you enjoyed the anime - please go check out the manga too. If the anime was done well - then the manga is done to lamost perfection.

This show was what got me into reading and then eventually buying manga. I now have every single one that is out.

1

Yuri!!! on ICE

Did I make the title gay? Yes.

Okayyyyy. This is just going to be me going on about how much I love this show. Bare with me.

So I was in an anime watching slump just before I picked up this show. I had been seeing some videos popping up talking about it and decided to give it a try (this was in 2020)

I immediately fell in love with this show. Literally everything about it. I ended up rewatching it three times over the course of a week. It got to a point where I was so upset that there wasn't more content for it that I just cried for half a day. (Ask my partner - it was chaos)

This show is the reason I now read fanfiction - all because I found a way to technically have more content for it.

This show holds such an important place in my heart that I sincerely cannot express it properly.

If you've never watched it - go give it a try. It would mean a lot - and hopefully one day we might get a season two.

----

Thanks for reading, if you managed to get to this point. I find it interesting how my explanations managed to slowly get shorter throughout the list as I just started becoming more emotional than factual.

I hope you enjoyed it and maybe grabbed a recommendation or two. If you'd like to know more or hear me ramble on more about anything in particular then please let me know.

[always-wizu-you]

Hello everyone, today I wanna talk about the people behind DanPri characters (a.k.a. their VAs/seiyuu, though they do more than just voice act). Some kind of introduction I guess.

Sorry for reposting this, I accidentally posted it when I saved the draft :(

So without further ado, let's start! :D

Seiichirou Yamashita

Nicknames: Seichi (Koba, Reiou), Sei-chan (Tatsumaru), Yamashita-san/kun (Kawai-kun, Uzawa-kun, almost everyone else) Birthday: May 21, 1992 Hometown: Hiroshima Agency: Office Osawa Some well-known roles outside PriPara: Touken Ranbu - Yagen Toushirou & Aizen Kunitoshi Horimiya - Toru Ishikawa Twisted Wonderland - Ace Trappola

Shougo's voice actor, the most normal one among WITH in a glance. His voice is generally low-to-mid tone, but he's also good at voicing mischievous early-teen boys. Seichi chose to be a voice actor because he's always loved acting, but he actually longed to be an actor. However, he sees voice acting as the most realistic path for him.

Seichi debuted from 2012, but it wasn't until 2016 that he started getting main roles. A year later, he got the role as Shougo. When he found out about PriPara stage play, where the main casts' VA also act on stage, he basically told the director that "If there's a stage play for DanPri too one day, I'm available (wink)". And yeah, that dream was no longer a dream, as he got to be Shougo's actor on the stage play.

Role in WITH: Tsukkomi (the "normal one")

If you watch them enough, you'd know that Kobatatsu and Reiou are known to be fooling around while Seichi reminds them to behave. He gets them to be back on track in radio shows, free talk sessions in lives, etc. However, according to Koba and Reiou, he's actually more carefree than it seems, and sometimes went out somewhere on his own without notice. In some fan reports, Seichi's often seen to be the one being doted on the most, and Koba-Reiou admitted through a Q&A session that he's the one that feels like the youngest despite being the tsukkomi.

Tatsuyuki Kobayashi

Nicknames: Kobatatsu (fans/almost everyone), Ta-tan (Seichi), Tatsuyuki (Seichi) Birthday: April 21, 1989 Hometown: Chiba Agency: avex Some well-known roles outside PriPara: King of Prism - Ace Ikebukuro Twisted Wonderland - Cater Diamond Paradox Live (Stage play) - Satsuki Ito

Asahi's voice actor, literal personification of bright morning sunshine on stage. He's actually more of a singer and stage actor than voice actor. He started his career as a singer after winning the 7th Anisong Grand Prix in 2013. You can see some footages of it on Youtube (here's the digest of his performances). After debuting as a singer, he also started acting on stage plays since 2016.

Kobatatsu's career as a voice actor started in 2015, and Asahi is his first non-nameless supporting role. His voice is generally mid-to-high, and he's good at playing cheerful, happy-go-lucky characters. Seichi said that Kobatatsu has a habit to talk in childish voice outside from work.

Role in WITH: Main performer + co-mentor(?)

Due to his background, he's the most experienced stage performer among WITH members. And because of that, he became the "main dancer" of WITH, especially during their early days. He also helped the other two on learning choreographies (e.g. Tick-Tock Magical Time for their first solo event) and on performing in general. Seichi and Reiou said that they learned a lot from him during the rehearsals of their stage play.

Reiou Tsuchida

Nickname: Tsuchi (Tatsumaru), Reiou, Tsuchida-san Birthday: January 6, 1993 Hometown: Hokkaido Agency: 81produce Some well-known roles outside PriPara: Ensemble Stars - Tsukasa Suou VS AMBIVALENZ - Taiyo Haruno & Subaru Takaya

Koyoi's voice actor, one of the funniest guys in the industry. He started his career as voice actor in 2012, but he doesn't have that much leading roles yet. He has quite distinctive voice, but it's pretty versatile. Reiou started becoming more well-known after voicing in Ensemble Stars in 2015, and he got the role as Koyoi in 2017.

Although he seems so unserious, he's actually very multitalented. He's good at imitating other people's voice, drawing, making stories, singing, and so on. Reiou even drew WITH members on their birthday back in 2020 (here's the link: Shougo, Koyoi, Asahi). He started working on his own manga since 2023 and self-publishing it on his Twitter.

Role in WITH: Ghost-director

I've written about how Koyoi's past story was developed from Reiou's idea, but that's not the only thing he contributed to WITH's back story. He proposed many ideas for WITH Stage as they rehearsed, e.g. the dance battle scene between Koyoi and Shinya and DARKNESS SOUL duet scene with Shinya. The director originally asked him to do Koyoi's solo song on that part, but Reiou felt that it'd be more fitting to involve Shinya more.

He also came up with a concept for Quest Milky Way performance during their #IIZE Tour in 2019. Reiou asked the audience to light up their penlights in their own color instead of WITH's members, because WITH were going around the galaxy in that song, and the penlight colors represent everyone's colors as the "stars" (idols) in the galaxy.

Kentarou Kawai

Nickname: Ken-chan (Seichi), Kawataro (some fans and DanPri members), Tono (Uzawa-kun), Kawai-kun (almost everyone) Birthday: April 7, 1997 Hometown: Tokyo Agency: Japan Music Entertainment

Shinya's voice actor, a newcomer who debuted in 2019. He focuses more on being an actor than voice actor, so his only role as a seiyuu is Shinya so far. He's especially close with Uzawa-kun, often goes out together and even invited Uzawa-kun to his family's home. Some fans called the two of them "Tarotaro" (from Kentarou and Shoutarou).

WITH members often praises Kawai-kun as a very earnest, polite, and hard-working kid. He's also a certified sword-fighting actor, and showcases his fighting skills through videos on his SNS accounts (example here). Among all DanPri casts, he's the one that often holds streaming to interact with fans via Instagram Live.

Shoutarou Uzawa

Nickname: Uzawa-kun (almost everyone), Taroumaru (fans) Birthday: January 22, 1997 Hometown: Chiba Agency: 81produce

Ushimitsu's voice actor, also a newcomer who works in the same company as Reiou. He has mid-to-high tone voice. He's voiced many supporting roles in anime, movie dub, and games. Before working under his current company, he was under Japan's children theater company.

Uzawa-kun is a Pretty Series fan, and he was really excited to get the role as Ushimitsu. He's also the one who played Adopara the longest (or, rather, the only one who really played it) among DanPri casts. He's really close with Kawai-kun, but due to the long stage play rehearsal, he used to call Kawai-kun "Tono" (Master) everywhere, even when they meet outside work.

Tatsumaru Tachibana

Nickname: Tatsumaru Birthday: April 21, 1991 Hometown: Fukui Prefecture Agency: Stay Luck Some well-known roles outside PriPara: The God of High School - Mori Jin Aoashi - Eisaku Ootomo Kabukicho Sherlock - Toratarou Kobayashi

Mario's voice actor, an experienced stage actor who started his career as a voice actor in 2019. His natural voice is mid-to-high and sounds mild. He started acting since the age of 10, joining his father's theater company and performing with traveling troupe. He became the theater company's chairman in 2010-2015 before deciding to reside in Tokyo and work there.

Like Kawai-kun, he's also a certified sword-fighting actor, in addition to specializing in playing as a female on stage. His career as a voice actor is still quite short compared to his acting experience, but he's been climbing up in popularity and started getting more main roles. Among all DanPri casts, he's the closest with Seichi due to having voiced as main characters in a series together.

Oh, and he also has a youtube channel, although it doesn't seem to be that active lately.

[jessaerys]

ok finished utopia uk. many mixed feelings about season 2, mainly about the quality of the writing. obviously the show never got finished so there's a chance that it could have all come together if the story had wrapped up, but so much of the middle of season two felt very written off the seat of their pants. meandering? throwing spaghetti at the wall. sooo many new characters introduced and discarded, so many main characters extremely underutilized, so many main characters playing reactionary roles rather than active ones. even though it's trying to be, for a lack of a better way to put it, hardcore with all the onscreen violence we see, it was difficult for me to take it seriously and i can't quite put my finger on why... season 2 felt VERY underbaked under the shiny surface (the gorgeous, visually stunning surface) so the themes of "do the ends justify the means or perhaps killing people... bad?" felt really stretched thin in a way that makes everything cartoonish if you so much as stop for a second to think about the logistics. which is fine, many great shows have asked for that level of suspension of disbelief, but what annoyed me about it is that it kept introducing high stakes situations (we have to find this one guy we know absolutely nothing about!) and resolving them frictionlessly in the same episode. also the "just kidding, the interesting, non-violent genocide is out, an actually straightforward violent genocide is IN" twist was really emotionally anticlimactic. to me. very that "satan's scarier older brother's friend's neighbor" vibe that people make fun of supernatural for. you get the feeling that the writers have a kind of childish morality underpinning the entire premise that robs the concept of all of the philosophical nuance it could have. i desperately wish i cared more about becky and ian but s2 felt like they were the main characters merely out of obligation. oh christ alive there's a 7 (seven. seven?!) hour video essay with millions of views on youtube i guess i'm watching that. anyway i love jessica and pietre with all of my heart wish i could pick them out of the narrative and like, actually develop their personalities. hilariously i now feel like rewatching mr robot because at least those characters did feel like real people who are not just puppets without lives when they are off-screen. sorry that's really mean to reiterate i REALLY liked the show fgjkdfgjkgjkdgkjdgkjdfgkjfdgjgdfdfgdj if i didn't i wouldn't be so frustrated with its shortcomings. also the soundtrack fucks tremendously. it has got to be said

[sonnet141snz]

Council meeting (part 1/?) OCs

Ok sooo I finally done it! This is the first time I’m posting original content here and I’m quite nervous about it, but these characters just wouldn’t stop banging inside my head so I just had to do it. But anyway, don’t mind me lol

This story is set in a world where each high born fey family has some sort of supernatural ability. The two main characters are Aiden and Callum. (They kinda hate each other at this point by the way) Aiden is the crown prince and has ice powers. Callum is a metal manipulator and is the fourth son of the Daewynn family.

Anyway I’ll stop rambling now. If by any chance anyone is interested I can do a more detailed description of the two of them, but for now that’s it I guess :)

Needless to say, minors DNI. And please don’t reblog this on non kink blogs.

———————————————————————

“Well, we’ll close the damn gates to the humans then. They belong in the battlefield anyway, not the capital.”

In the opulent council chamber, tensions simmered as Aiden seethed at Lord Brandel’s callous disregard for human life. Each word uttered by the arrogant noble grated on Aiden’s nerves, reinforcing his disdain for these Council Meetings. Discussing warfare strategies was grim enough, but enduring the self-righteousness of Brandel was a trial in itself.

“Didn’t your own men die in that same battlefield, Lord Brandel? Do the lives lost on that battlefield mean nothing to you? Or has your heart turned to stone along with your ambition?”

The atmosphere in the chamber grew stiflingly hot, mirroring the fiery exchange between Aiden and Lord Emyr Brandel. With a regal bearing, Brandel rose from his seat, fixing Aiden with a steely glare that bore into him like searing flames. The intensity of his gaze conveyed a sense of disdain, as if Aiden were nothing more than an errant pup caught in the act. Such animosity was no surprise; as members of the pyrotechnic lineage, the Brendels, harbored a longstanding rivalry with Aiden's family, their ambitions for the throne smoldering beneath the surface like dormant embers awaiting ignition.

“I am not having my honor questioned by a boy, ” he practically roared.

A boy? A boy? He had only celebrated his 125th birthday a fortnight ago. It wasn’t his fault that he hadn’t aged as… “gracefully” as Brandel.

A wave of fury swept across Lord Brandel’s features, his expression twisted into a mask of seething rage. Aiden couldn’t help but relish the prospect of a confrontation, a flicker of amusement dancing in his eyes despite the solemn setting of the Council Chamber. With a subtle smirk playing at his lips, he welcomed the challenge, his demeanor betraying an air of nonchalance even as he wielded his power to cool the room, casting a literal chill over the heated exchange.

“I am not questioning your honor, Lord Brandel. I’m denying its existence.”

At the far end of the table, Aiden’s gaze fell upon Callum, who raised his eyebrows, a sly smirk playing at his lips. Engrossed in his own amusement, Callum manipulated a sphere of gleaming gold he always seemed to carry around everywhere.

With a deft flick of his wrist, the sphere morphed itself into the likeness of a dragon, sigil of the Brandels, a crown atop its head.

Aiden couldn’t help but glare at him but decided to say nothing about it.

“You little— we shall hear what the King has to say about this.”

“No, we shan’t. This meeting is over.” Aiden said.

The members of the Small Council stood, Lord Brandel being the first to storm out of the room, Callum being the last. Or at least he would have been.

“You’re not that funny you know?”

Callum looked over his shoulder, the little golden ball morphing itself into a necklace, a pendant that looked like a shield hanging on it.

“Oh, I know I’m not. I found your reaction far more entertaining, Your Highness.”

Aiden closed the distance between them and could have sworn he saw Callum shiver a bit. Most people did though. Not exactly out of fear — although he supposed some did — it was a reaction that most individuals exhibited in his presence due to his cold nature. But not him. Not ever. Callum (and all members of his House for that matter) seemed immune to the chill that often accompanied Aiden’s proximity, a trait attributed to metal manipulators’ ability to withstand extreme temperatures. It struck Aiden as peculiar that this was the first time he truly noticed Callum’s appearance that day. Flushed cheeks and a reddened nose hinted at exhaustion, while the dark circles beneath his eyes betrayed a weariness that was uncharacteristic of the typically too composed nobleman. As Aiden prepared to respond to Callum’s taunt, he detected a distant look in his eyes, scrunching the scar that marred his features. Stretching from his left eyebrow to his lower right cheek, the scar served as a stark reminder many unanswered questions. Aiden couldn’t help but wonder why Callum chose to retain the scar, especially when Healers of house Mosseye could easily erase its presence. It puzzled him further, considering Every metal manipulator he’s ever known has lost at least a finger or two, and he was sure Callum did too. So why wouldn’t he have this one specifically healed? All his fingers were there, and he didn’t seem to carry any other scars, not visible ones anyway. So why —

“— nkggt! Nggxt!” Callum’s shoulders shuttered with the effort. He stayed in place for a few seconds as if in anticipation, but finally decided to turn back around as he lowered his arm.

“Sorry.” He murmured, probably out of mere habit.

Well, this was decidedly out of character. Men like Callum never showed their “weaknesses”, maintaining an ironclad facade even in the face of death, especially not in front of Aiden. Though he sensed that something was amiss, he opted to ignore it, seamlessly steering their interaction back to their usual banter.

“I don’t believe I reacted in anyway, Lord Daewynn.” He knew Callum would hate the use of his title.

“You certainly surprised me,” Callum remarked, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. “Watching you stand up to Brandel was rather entertaining. I must admit, I didn’t expect such boldness from you.” He gave a wet sniffle as quietly as he possibly could and rubbed his knuckles at his nose.

“Well maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

“Huh- nkggtchu!

Another sneeze. This time it was only half successful and the goblets still on the table rattled, their stems trembling with the force of the disturbance. Even the chandeliers above swayed, casting flickering shadows across the room. Looking around with raised eyebrows, Aiden decided it was clear that he could no longer ignore the peculiar occurrences unfolding before him, not after the unsettling display of Callum’s wavering control over his powers.

“Alright, what’s the matter with you?”Aiden inquired, his tone softening.

Callum, who was rubbing at his nose, stopped almost immediacy and snapped back to reality “What do you mean ‘what’s the matter’ with me?”

Unfortunately for him and without his consent, his chest jumped and he uttered a barely audible stifled sneeze once more, even more forceful than the last three. Aiden only stared at him for a brief moment said “You know, you really shouldn’t do that.”

For how long has he been doing that anyway? If his powers were starting to go haywire like that, probably for quite some time. Aiden couldn’t help but feel pity for him. Being the lord of one’s own house couldn’t possibly be easy, especially when it wasn’t a role one had anticipated. Aiden always know he’d be king one day. It was different for Callum.

Growing up, Callum was very much the youngest son. He pursued his own desires and hobbies without restraint, unburdened by the weight of responsibility or duty. Truth be told, this independence fueled Aiden’s apparent disdain for him. Not the fact that he was arrogant and “oh so powerful”. Not the fact that he almost always won when they sparred at the Training Pit. Deep down, he knew he was just jealous of the noble who had always marched to the beat of his own drum.

Only a few years ago, when his older brother and father died in battle, he became lord of house Daewyn, given that his three older brothers had all taken oaths to serve in the King’s Guard, they were barred from inheriting any titles or assets and father any offspring. It was a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of life, and it left Aiden grappling with a mixture of emotions, including a begrudging respect for the burden Callum now carried.

“Do what, sneeze in front of my prince? I’m so sorry Your Highness, but I can’t exactly help it, can I?”

Aiden rolled his eyes “What I meant was attempting to be overly polite about it. It's not as if you've ever done that before anyway.”

He might not exactly like the guy but he wasn’t that cruel. It weirdly bothered him to see Callum look so miserable. Besides, it was not that fun to taunt him when he was in such a state. He was not one to kick a man when he was down.

“I assume you don’t want to get stabbed by every piece of metal in this room, so I’m afraid I have to.”

“You, showing concern for my well-being? How flattering,” Aiden remarked, raising a hand to his chest to emphasize his statement.

“Not really, no. It just would be such a nuisance to kill the Crown Prince, so I’d rather avoid it. I do enjoy my freedom.”

“What makes you think you could ever kill me, Daewynn?”

Callum raised an eyebrow “I don’t know, the last time we sparred perhaps?”

Aiden chuckled at that.

“Fair enough.”

For a moment they just stared at each other until Aiden realized that his cold nature might not be exactly helping Callum. Suddenly, he felt surprisingly guilty for lowering the temperature so much when Brandel tried to defy him.

“Go rest, Daewynn. You look like you need it.”

The only response he received was a brisk nod before Callum exited the room. Aiden remained behind for a moment, his gaze lingering on the now crumpled goblets adorning the council table, before eventually making his way back to his chambers.

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Give me a character: Chris Kent ;)

How I feel about this character: Freaking Freaking Freaking LOVE this little guy. He’s been though a whole lot both in universe and out and yet he’s remained an absolute awesome goober I want to read about over and over again

All the people I ship romantically with this character: I pair him with Thara Ak Var albeit with the twist of the two actually being contemporary as the two are kids having innocent crimes he’s on each other rather than the whole timey wimey age up silliness (and unfortunate implication riddled) stuff they did in the comics. Crack Pairing (I guess) wise, With Mar’i Grayson

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Fanon based mostly but A Very Close Friendship with Jake Grayson and a tightly brotherly bond with Jon Kent are my answers here XD

My unpopular opinion about this character: If you’re gonna make him a brother to Jon, I prefer him being a kid albeit only like two years older than Jon, rather than making him a teen like some fanarts have made. Also also I don’t care if it works as a parallel between the House of Zod and House of Kent, making Chris into Lor Zod post Flashpoint was a major misstep imho

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: As the obvious is stated above, Please PLEASE bring back classic Chris Kent into the main continuity again. I wanna see him kick the crud out of Zod.

Thanks of the ask @pin-crusher2000

[mirambles]

Little Women - The Ending

What a wild ride this drama was! When you watch too many KDramas there is a constant cynic in you wondering if the drama with a solid start will derail after it hits the mid way mark - or will the finale be a disappointment. Every episode of Little Women upped the level of mystery, thrill, sinister plots, character twists and you kept wondering if the writer and director would be able to tie all the loose ends or will it make no sense at all and leave us infuriated.

The plot twists were largely unexpected, to maintain such consistency over 12 episodes is near impossible, getting 1-2 plot twists right amongst 20 odd is a big win for the writer. It means she had us glued, she had us guessing, she had us theorising and she kept blowing our mind and surprising us. Jung Seo Kyung deserves a standing ovation.

Before I jump into the main characters and their ending - just wanted to put it out there that every single actor/actress in this drama - whether the role was big or small, brought their A game to this drama. This is what great direction and writing can do!

However it left me baffled that people are actually lamenting and disappointed that InJoo and DoIl didn’t get their ‘happy ending’ - are you effing kidding me? Did we even watch the same drama? The romance is a side plot - it didn’t even exist or even if it had , it would have no bearing on the story. Please stop obsessing over this non existent plot point. DoIl was a side plot. Let it be that - don’t make the drama about him.

I will re-emphasise this - a drama made by women for women. The story was about the 3 sisters who loved each other immensely and would go to any lengths to protect each other, the story was about the heiress who went rogue after being denied her right by patriarchy, the story was about a friendship between two young girls wanting to free themselves of their family burdens, the story was about a woman’s revenge to avenge her mom’s death. The story was about these women fighting their battles - winning some and losing some and the men were a side plot, they were mere pawns and let them be at that. Don’t make a woman’s life about the men in her life.

The ending was poetic in many ways - Won Sang A bringing about her own destruction. Her guilt over her mom’s death, her anger at being discriminated channeled in the wrong way. Uhm Ji Won was brilliant, simply brilliant in shifting those expressions and her cold calculated behaviour sent chills down my spine.

In Kyung was the smart, principled one, but was equally reckless and impulsive; however she realised in quick time the importance of holding back the important cards to play at the right time. I’m also glad she realised that brain producing alpha waves is the right choice over her heart racing. Nam Ji Hyun was stellar and I haven’t seen her look this gorgeous in any drama of hers. She slayed the pants look in this one.

InHye - everyone hated on her and her selfishness but she turned out to be equally selfless - never ever forgetting her sisters’ love and sacrifices. Once she found her path, she made sure her sisters were in a comfortable place just like she was. She was a great friend to HyoRin and helped her escape a life that would have been pure hell, and who knows might have tipped her to the dark side. How valuable is their friendship to each other.

InJoo being in the apartment alone - this scene was the most poignant one in the finale for me. How often do we define our happiness by the people in our lives? How often do we forget to place ourselves ahead of others? The grand-aunt did deliver some wisdom nuggets to InJoo. InJoo who loved her sisters and her life was only about them, was now by herself; still loved by her sisters, but free of the responsibility to take care of them, free to live her life. She wasn’t lonely, she was just relieved. Despite all she was put through, her innocence and naivety were not damaged. As @kdramaplaybook on twitter said she grew but she stayed the same.

The consistency in the characters throughout the drama was impressive. DoIl loved his money and he probably liked InJoo too l, but if he had left it all for her - it would be so cliched and inconsistent and hence I liked where it ended. Maybe they will meet, maybe they won’t , there are other fish in the sea. InJoo needs to finally live her life, happiness is not always being with your loved ones, sometimes it also lies in letting them go to pursue their happiness and putting your own happiness first. InJoo can do whatever she wants to be happy - even if that means spending all her money on buying truckloads of lipglosses and icecream.

I may need to write another long post in praise of Kim Go Eun’s performance as InJoo in this drama - she nailed every expression, but most of all I loved her expressions when they changed in split second from ‘There I got you’ to ‘holy shit did I mess up again’. I love Nam Ji Hyun, but Kim Go Eun had the meatier role and she did full justice. Having watched quite a few dramas of hers, this is by far her best one.

The background score and the cinematography were two equally powerful characters in this drama and I can write pages on every shot , frame and scene where they took the story ahead or warned us of the upcoming twist or shocked us to the core. They elevated every frame of this drama. As my friend @KdramasSlump on twitter said - this drama was pure art.

The drama praises would be incomplete without praising the director Kim Hee Won ( also directed Vincenzo) and writer Jung Seo Kyung of this drama. Sure men write good thrilling plots, but women write thrilling plots with equal emphasis on emotions , life’s lessons and well etched characters. Kingdom was a case in point and now it is Little Women.

This drama has so much to be spoken and written about - the social commentary in it, life’s hard hitting truths in so many dialogues, it could well be another long post. It will be a long , long time before I get over this drama and multiple rewatches will happen to discover more hidden meanings behind every dialogue and scene. When a drama sucks you in and engulfs your mind like this - you know the team has delivered a masterpiece, what’s more wonderful is that an all women team delivered it and I will forever be rooting for more of this to happen!

If this drama doesn’t get all the awards - I’m staging a revolt!

[koddyroddy]

Funhouse Speculation on DFF

I love horror, and I absolutely love guessing who the unknown killers could be in a horror story. Dead Friend Forever is perfect for this type of diversion!!!

I have to share my wild speculations on this wonderful little show, even if I'm proven wrong later (that's part of the fun). Heeheeheeheehee.

I'll start my speculations assuming there's only human killers (for now).

Who is a killer? My guess at the Episode 4 mark--

Jin!!!!!!

(plus Top for obvious reasons)

Hear me out!

We are one third of the way through the series, and there's so much more story to tell. Per horror film tropes--the first third we often get red herrings (that may or may not end up being true).

First, let's deal with the two most suspicious characters.

Phi and Tan: Are they the killers? Options:

Phi and Tan are the killers, perhaps as revenge for Non's death and/or they are working with Non.

Phi and Tan are red herrings to make people think they are the killers when they just aren't.

(Variant of #2) Phi and Tan are not the killers, but they were friends with Non and wanted to learn about what happened to him. Still not the killers.

Phi and Tan are red herrings at first but one or both end up being one of the killers as a reverse uno later in the show. In this situation, at some point in the show's middle third it will be revealed that they are not the killers in some "decisive" way. The reverse uno comes in the last third with the final twist revealing No, He (They) Is (Are) the Killers!

At this point, they're just too obvious, so I'm skeptical of them as the killers. That said, Tan seems the more suspicious of the two.

Next, Por: Is he a victim or one of the killers? Thoughts:

In many horror films, one of the killers often ends up "dead" earlier in the story only to reveal themselves to be very much alive at the story's climax. I mean Por did basically impale himself on that tree branch. I admit the stomach wounds seem real, so who knows. The thing I'm looking for now is whether or not his body gets moved to an out-of-way place. If they move the body, then the chances of him being a killer increases. After all, he'd be able to freely move about if no one is watching his body.

Question though--who exactly would be his primary target? Hmmm.

On to Tee and Fluke: Killers or the primary targets? Thoughts:

These two are breaking under the pressure! They both seem more likely to become killers in the mania of the situation than to be the original killers. Tee seems like a primary target, if he actually was Non's main bully, but I'm not 100% sold on that.

For Fluke, it's interesting that this entire situation seems almost designed to push his buttons. That said, if Por is one of the killers, then Fluke would be the obvious accomplice. Who would be their primary target?

Now, let's discuss Top: Top, Top, Top. Thoughts:

I think he's faking the crazy.

Consider this--Top when he gets off the bike outside the house:

He looks pretty clearheaded to me. What's unclear is the state of his shirt. Speaking of...

The shirt doesn't look as green in the first picture as it does in the second when he's come into the house and is starting to "seizure." Plus he doesn't have the traces of green vomit on his face in the first picture (which is easier to see when you watch the show as opposed to looking at my crappy screenshot).

As I said--he's totally faking it.

Of course, I'm currently speculating on the killers being wholly human. All the supernatural stuff I'll save for another post. At this point, he's "killed" Por, so the question really becomes Who Is His Accomplice? Por and Fluke? Seems a little unlikely, but you never know. Also, if he's the first killer revealed, then he's not the mastermind.

Regarding his primary targets--hold on that.

At last, we have Jin and White: Final boys or the ultimate masterminds? Thoughts:

What a juxtaposition these two make. Honestly, it's hard to tell which is more suspicious.

With White, as the story progresses, he seems more and more like the final boy. BUT! Why would the killers target him? He wasn't a part of the original group who knew Non. Often in horror, the final girl/boy is someone that the killer saves to the end because they are the primary target. Why would anyone target White?

That said, the main person I can think of is Top. In the first episode, there was that joke about Top joining Tee and White in a threesome. Is there tension there that has yet to be revealed? Is White Top's primary target for taking Tee?

To flip it, is Top helping White get revenge for his--I don't know--big brother Non? I could totally see that. Maybe it's White that Top wants, and so he's helping him exact revenge. It is Top's freakout that lead to Tee freaking out, after all. I like White as the final boy more than him being a killer, so the question is who is the second (or third killer?) and who is he targeting?

Then we come to Jin.

At the beginning, Jin had more markings of being the final boy, but over time, he's proven to not be that helpful. I have no memory of him contributing anything positive to their situation. With his dislocated shoulder, he's now turned into a damsel in distress. There's potential backstory per the show's trailer that Jin liked Non. Could he secretly be the one planning revenge?

Also, so much of his story seems to revolve around Phi, almost as if they're trajectory is separate from everyone else's. With so much more story to tell (two thirds of the show!), I wonder how they're return to the group will go.

With horror tropes in mind, Jin seems the least likely candidate, which is why he's the most suspicious to me right now. This is totally just gut feeling, with barely any logic around it. I fully admit it.

But wait, what about Non? I need more information. He could be the red herring.

...

I have many more thoughts as I speculate away, so I'll likely post further once I collect them. There's a lot to think about regarding the supernatural aspects (are we going to get a Blair Witch ending?) and the sexual dynamics (are we going to get a Captivity ending!?!?). Now that's a thought.