#i put off reading a study in steampunk for. a long time for absolutely no reason

[pyrothecary]

i love when i stumble upon something i really really like after reading a bunch of stuff that isn't for me. SUCH A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

[dangermousie]

Mousie’s absolutely subjective, very biased Top 10 web novels list

Please note that this is hardly aiming to be objective, if one can even be properly objective about a work of fiction. It is 110% based on my preferences, which means this list is heavy on the angst and has nothing set in the modern day. It is also heavily danmei-centric, even though I read way more het romance than danmei, because for whatever reason, most of the danmei I’ve read has been insanely good.

10. Return of the Swallow - one of the two non-danmeis on this list. Smart and nuanced and with a large cast of characters. Our heroine is a long-lost daughter of the family that is brought back in and has to cope with familial struggles, crazy royals, court intrigue, invasion et al. It’s SO GOOD! There is romance with the sexy smart enemy general but honestly, it’s the heroine that is the main selling point for me.

9. Transmigrator Meets Reincarnator - the only other non-danmei novel on this list, this was my very first web novel and what drew me into this insanity. This is just a ton of fun, probably the lightest novel on this list, not an ounce of angst to be found. But it’s hilarious and features competent heroine and tsundere hero and I will always love it for opening a new world to me. Anyway, our heroine transmigrates into the novel as the female lead. Unlike the original lead though she doesn’t want to seek adventures and angst - she just wants to comfortably live with the wealthy, nice husband heroine has. Alas, said husband is no longer nice since he has previously lived this story where he was betrayed by FL and then transmigrated/reincarnated into the past. Oh well, the heroine opens up businesses and makes friends. And eventually, her husband realizes his wife is way different this time around. This actually doesn’t have much romance, not until close to the end, but this is so fun I don’t care.

8. Lord Seventh - I am only partway through this so far, but it’s already on the list because it’s smart and somehow intense AND laid-back (not sure how this works, but it does) and is honestly just a really really solid and smart period novel, with the OTP a cherry on top of a narrative sundae. Plus, I love the concept of MC deciding he is not going for his supposedly fated love - he’s tried for six lifetimes, always with disaster, and he’s just plain done and tired. When he opens his life in his seventh reincarnation and sees the person he would have given up the world for, he genuinely feels nothing at all. (Spoiler - his OTP is actually a barbarian shaman this time around, thank you Lord!)

7. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (MDZS) - oh come on, how are you even on this tumblr if you don’t know MDZS/The Untamed? This was my very first danmei and it’s so much fun! I love everything about it - the unreliable narrator, the looping structure, the main OTP, Wei Wuxian’s laidback, traumatized insouciance, everything. Anyway, the plot in the event you somehow transported here from 2005 is that the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Wei Wuxian, was defeated by the righteous sects over a decade ago and fell of a cliff to his death. Only now that same Wei Wuxian opens his eyes in another body and everything that was supposed to stay in the past starts again.

6. Heaven Official’s Blessing (TGCF) - people either love its meandering narrative, picaresque structure and cast of thousands, or find it a detriment compared to much more compact MDZS. I love it even more than MDZS for those very qualities. It does have a rock-solid, darling OTP, but what really elevates it to me are the MXTX trademark combo of snarky/light tone hiding a ton of trauma underneath, the insanely intricate world-building, and what it has to say about the nature of grace and goodness. Xie Lian is one of my top 5 web novel characters and probably in top 10 from anywhere. Oh, and while MXTX’s stuff is not as angsty for me as Meatbun’s or even Priest’s, there are always exceptions, and there is one chapter in this novel that pretty much broke me and sometimes I still flashback to it and feel unwell.

Anyway, what is it about? There is a commotion in the heavenly realm - Xie Lian, the Crown Prince of a long-destroyed kingdom, has ascended to Godhood. That in itself is not so exciting. However for Xie Lian this is the third time (!!!!) as he’s ascended and lost his godhood twice prior. And now, the biggest joke of the divine realm is back, throwing the heavenly realm into chaos. And elsewhere, Hua Cheng, one of the four most powerful demons of that Universe, sits up and takes notice.

5. Golden Stage - my perfect comfort novel. Probably the least angsty of any danmei novel on this list (which still means plenty angsty :P) It also has a dedicated, smart OTP that is an OTP for the bulk of the book - I think you will notice that in most of the novels in this list, I go for “OTP against the world” trope - I can’t stand love triangles and the same. Anyway, Fu Shen, is a famous general whose fame is making the emperor antsy. When he gets injured and can’t walk any more, the emperor gladly recalls him and marries him off to his most faithful court lackey, the head of sort of secret police, Yan Xiaohan. The emperor intends it both as a check on the general and a general spite move since the two men always clash in court whenever they meet. But not all is at is seems. They used to be friends a long time ago, had a falling out, and one of the loveliest parts of the novel is them finding their way to each other, but there is also finding the middle path between their two very different philosophies and ways of being, not to mention solving a conspiracy or dozen, and putting a new dynasty on the throne, among other things. It always makes me think, a little, of “if Mei Changsu x Jingyan were canon.”

4. Sha Po Lang - if you like a lot of fantasy politics and world-building and steampunk with your novels, this one is for you. This one is VERY plot-heavy with smart, dedicated characters and a deconstruction of many traditional virtues - our protagonist Chang Geng, a long-lost son of the Emperor, is someone who wants to modernize the country but also take down the current emperor his brother for progress’ sake and the person he’s in love with is the general who saved him when he was a kid who is nominally his foster father. Anyway, the romance is mainly a garnish in this one, not even a big side dish, but the relationship between two smart, dedicated, deadly individuals with very different concepts of duty is fascinating long before it turns romantic. And if you like angst, while overall it’s not as angsty as e.g., Meatbun stuff, Chang Geng’s childhood is the stuff of nightmares and probably freaks me out more than anything else in any novel on this list, 2ha included.

3. To Rule In a Turbulent World (LSWW) - gay Minglan. No seriously. This is how I think of it. it’s a slice of life period novel with fascinating characters and setting that happens to have a gay OTP, not a romance in a period setting per se and I always prefer stories where the romance is not the only thing that is going on. It’s meticulously written and smart and deals with character development and somehow makes daily minutia fascinating. Our protagonist, You Miao, is the son of a fabulously wealthy merchant, sent to the capital to make connections and study. As the story starts, he sees his friend’s servants beating someone to death, feels bad, and buys him because, as we discover gradually and organically, You Miao may be wealthy and occasionally immature but he is a genuinely good person. The person he buys is a barbarian from beyond the wall, named Li Zhifeng. It’s touch and go if the man will survive but eventually he does and You Miao, who by then has to return home, gives him his papers and lets him go. However, LZF decides to stick with You Miao instead, both out of sense of debt for YM saving his life and because he genuinely likes him (and yet, there is no instalove on either of their parts, their bodies have fun a lot quicker than their souls.) Anyway, the two take up farming, get involved in the imperial exams and it’s the life of prosperity and peace, until an invasion happens and things go rapidly to hell. This is so nuanced, so smart (smart people in this actually ARE!) and has secondary characters who are just as complex as the mains (for example, I ended up adoring YM’s friend, the one who starts the plot by almost beating LZF to death for no reason) because the novel never forgets that few people are all villain. There is a lovely character arc or two - watching YM grow up and LZF thaw - there is the fact that You Miao is a unicorn in web novels being laid back and calm. This whole thing is a masterpiece.

2. Stains of Filth (Yuwu) - want the emotional hit of 2ha but want to read something half its length? Well, the author of 2ha is here to eviscerate you in a shorter amount of time. This has the beautiful world-building, plot twists that all make sense and, at the center of it all, an intense and all-consuming and gloriously painful relationship between two generals - one aristocratic loner Mo Xi, and the other gregarious former slave general Gu Mang. Once they were best friends and lovers, but when the novel starts, Gu Mang has long turned traitor and went to serve the enemy kingdom and has now been returned and Mo Xi, who now commands the remnants of his slave army, has to cope with the fact that he has never been able to get over the man who stabbed him through the heart. Literally. This novel has a gorgeously looping structure, with flashbacks interwoven into present storyline. There is so much love and longing and sacrifice in this that I am tearing up a bit just thinking of it. If you don’t love Mo Xi and Gu Mang, separately and together, by the end of it, you have no soul.

1. The Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun (2ha/erha) - if you’ve been following my tumblr for more than a hot second, you know my obsession with this novel. Honestly, even if I were to make a list of my top 10 novels of any kind, not just webnovels, this would be on the list. It has everything I want - a complicated, intricate plot with an insane amount of plot twists, all of which are both unexpected and make total sense, a rich and large cast of characters, a truly epic OTP that makes me bawl, emotional intensity that sometimes maxes even me out and so much character nuance and growth. Also, Moran is my favorite web novel character ever, hands down.

Anyway, the plot (or at least the way it first appears) is that the evil emperor of the cultivation world, Taxian Jun, kills himself at 32 and wakes up in the body of his 16 year old self, birth name Moran. Excited to get a redo, Moran wants to save his supposed true love Shimei, whose death the last go-around pushed him towards evil. He also wants to avoid entanglement with Chu Wanning, his shizun and sworn enemy in past life. And that’s all you are best off knowing, trust me. The only hint I am going to give is oooh boy the mother of all unreliable narrators has arrived!

The novel starts light and funny on boil the frog principle - if someone told me I would be full bawling multiple times with this novel, I’d have thought they were insane, but i swear my eyes hurt by the end of it. I started out being amused and/or disliking the mains and by the end I would die for either of them.

[asleepinawell]

Book Recs

I was gonna do one of these at the end of the year, but I’ve somehow managed to read 26 books this year already (12 novellas, 14 novels), almost all featuring queer authors and/or characters so this is already a long list.

Note: There’s a few on here I was kind of meh about, but in most of those cases it was a ‘book might be good but it’s not for me so i’ll mention it to put it on people’s radar anyway’ type of thing. Insert the usual necessary tumblr disclaimer about all of this being only my opinion and your opinions are valid too etc etc.

In order of when I read them:

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir - Fantasy novella from the author of gideon the ninth that’s a twist on the classic princess trapped in a tower waiting for a prince story. Quite fun. (novella)

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht - Dark fantasy about revenge and magic. m/m couple but like I said it’s pretty dark and twisted all around so definitely not a happy queer romantic story. My opinion was interesting premise that could have been executed better and probably should have been a full novel to embellish on the world building potential. (novella)

A Memory Called Empire & A Desolation Called Peace - Arkady Martine - Probably tied with murderbot as the best things I read this year. Scifi, f/f couple, wonderfully done exploration of what it means to fall in love with a culture that is destroying your own. More of the many queer anti-imperialist books that have come out recently and certainly some of the best. The second one is a direct continuation of the first. (2 novels)

The Tyrant Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson - This is the third in the Baru Cormorant series (The Masquerade) and was my favorite so far. The second and third book were originally one book that got split I believe and the second book didn’t stand alone as well (though was still great), but the third book really made up for that. Dark fantasy world starring a queer woc whose country and culture is destroyed by the imperial forces of that world colonizing and assimilating them. She vows revenge and decides to work her way up within her enemy’s ranks to enact it from within and bring an empire to ruins. Really really fascinating study of so many different aspects of our own world and the systems which enable and allow bigotry and how bigoted and violent narratives are used to control minorities. This is definitely a darker series and I was particularly impressed with some of the commentary on the racism prevalent in non-intersectional feminism as depicted through a fantasy world. Can’t wait for the last one to come out! (3 novels, 1 forthcoming)

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells - There’s six of them--5 novella and a novel--and the first is All Systems Red. Told from the point of view of a self-aware droid/android that is rented out by a corporation to provide protection in a dystopian capitalist hellhole future that isn’t that unlike our current capitalist dystopia but is in space. Muderbot hacked the chip that controlled it and instead of going rogue just wants to be left alone to watch its favorite tv shows. Murderbot is painfully relatable and the books are both funny and poignant. Highly recommended. (5 novellas and a novel).

Winter’s Orbit - Everina Maxwell - This was a m/m romance novel with a scifi backdrop of royal intrigue. Generally I’m more into scifi with a queer relationship in the background than vice versa, so it wasn’t my favorite, BUT I think it was still well written and someone looking for more of the romance angle would enjoy it. Has all your favorite romance tropes in it, especially the yearning. (novel)

The Divine Cities - Robert Jackson Bennett - Three book series. I’m very conflicted about this one. Set in a fantasy world where an enslaved nation overthrew the country enslaving them and now rules over them. It’s a story of what happens after the triumphant victory and within that it’s also a murder mystery tied into the dying magic of the conquered nation. It also has a six foot something naked oily viking man fist fight a cthulhu in a frozen river. The second book was by far my favorite, mostly due to the main character being brilliant. My conflict comes from the fact I don’t feel like the story treated its women and queer characters well. Like it had really great characters but it didn’t do great by them overall. That and the third book didn’t live up to the first two. But still definitely worth a read, can’t stress enough how cool some of the world building was. (3 novels)

Into the Drowning Deep - Mira Grant - This might be the only one on here I disliked. It’s got a doomed boat voyage and creepy underwater terror and monsters and a super diverse cast of characters, but I just didn’t enjoy the writing style. While having a diverse cast is great, there were a lot of moments where it felt like characters were pausing to explain things about themselves that felt like a tumblr post rather than a normal conversation you might have while actively being hunted by monsters. I also bounced off all the characters. But a lot of people seem to have liked it so if you’re into horror and want a book with a f/f main couple then maybe you’ll enjoy it. (novel)

Dead Djinn Universe - P. Djèlí Clark - Around the early 1900′s, a man in Egypt discovers a way to access another world and bring Djinn and mysterious clockwork beings called Angels through. As a result, Egypt tells the British to get fucked and Cairo becomes one of the most powerful cities in the world. So Egypt, magic, djinn, a steampunk-ish vibe, oh and the main character is a butch queer woman who enjoys wearing dapper suits and looking fabulous while she investigates supernatural events. Her girlfriend is also mysterious and badass. And she has a cat. There’s three novella (one of which technically might be considered a short story) and then the first novel. You should absolutely read the novellas first (A Dead Djinn in Cairo, The Angel of Khan el-Khalili, The Haunting of Tram Car 015). Super fun and imaginative series. (3 novellas and a novel, more forthcoming)

River of Teeth & Taste of Marrow - Sarah Gailey - From the book description

“In the early 20th Century, the United States government concocted a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. This is true. Other true things about hippos: they are savage, they are fast, and their jaws can snap a man in two. This was a terrible plan.”

Queer hippo riders!!!! Very much a western but with hippos. Main couple included a non-binary character. Loved the first one. The second one I was more meh about due to one of the characters I was supposed to like having obnoxious man pain that a woman had to take the brunt of the whole time. Also there were less hippos. But queer hippo riders! Definitely read the first one, and they’re both novellas so no reason not to read the second as well. (2 novellas)

A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers - I may be the only person who hasn’t read the long way to a small angry planet at this point, but I did grab her new novella and I loved it. It made me want to go sit out in the woods and feel peaceful. The world it’s set in feels like a peaceful post-apocalypse...or diverted apocalypse maybe. Humans built robots and robots gained sentience, but instead of rebelling they just up and left and went into the wilderness with a promise that the humans wouldn’t follow them.The remaining human society reshaped itself into something new and peaceful. It’s the story of a monk who leaves their habitual monking duties to go be a tea monk and then later wanders into the wilderness and becomes the first human in ages to meet a robot. Very sad there’s no fan art yet. (novella, more forthcoming)

The March North - Graydon Saunders - This was such a weird book that I’m not sure how to explain it. The prose style is hard to get used to and I suspect a lot of people will bounce off it in the first chapter. There’s no third person pronouns used at all and important events get mentioned once in passing and if you blink you’ll miss them. Set on a world where magic is extremely common to the point that rivers sometimes run with blood or fire and the local weeds are something out of a horror movie and most of the world is run by powerful sorcerer dictators, one country banded together (with the help of a few powerful sorcerers who were tired of all the bullshit) to form a free country where powerful sorcerers wouldn’t rule and the small magics of every day folks could be combined to work together. The story revolves around a Captain of the military force on the border who one day has three very powerful sorcerers sent to them by the main government with the hint that just maybe there’s about to be a big invasion (there is) with the implication of take these guys and go deal with this. The world building is extremely complex and very cool...when you can actually understand what the fuck is going on. There is also a murder sheep named Eustace who breathes fire and eats just about everything and is a Very Good Boy and belongs to the most terrifying sorcerer in the world who appears as a little old grandma with knitting. It had one of the most epic badass and wonderfully grotesque battles I’ve ever read. But yeah, it is not what I would call easy reading. Opinions may vary wildly. I did also read the second one (A Succession of Bad Days) in the series which was easier to follow and had a lot more details about the world, but overall I was more meh about it despite some cool aspects. The chapters and chapters of the extreme details of building a house that made up half the novel just weren’t my thing. (novels).

The Space Between Worlds - Micaiah Johnson - In this world parallels universes exist and we’ve discovered how to travel between them, but the catch is you can only go to worlds where the ‘you’ there is already dead. This turns into an uncomfortable look at who would be the people most likely to have died on many worlds and how things like class and race would fit into that and what we would actually use this ability for (if you guessed stealing resources and the stock market you’d be correct). The main character is a queer woc who travels between worlds with the assistance of her handler (another queer woc) who she has the hots for. She accidentally stumbles on a whole lot of mess and conspiracy and gets swept up in that. Really enjoyed it. (novel)

Witchmark - C.L. Polk - Fantasy world reminiscent of Victorian England (I think?) where a young man with magical gifts runs away from his powerful family to avoid being exploited by them. He joins the army and fights in a war and comes home to try and live a quiet life as a doctor, but a murder pulls him into a larger mystery that upturns his life. Also he’s extremely gay and there’s a prevalent m/m romance. This one was a fun-but-not-mind-blowing one for me. (novel, 2 more in the series I haven’t read)

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon - This was one of those that everyone loved but I couldn’t get into for some reason. I tried twice and only got about halfway through the second time. It’s got dragons and queer ladies and fantasy world and all the things I like, but I wasn’t that invested in the main story (which included the f/f couple) and was more interested in the smaller story about a woman trying to become a dragon rider. There are few things that beat out a lady and her dragon friend story for me and that was the storyline that felt neglected and took a different turn right when we got to the part I’d been waiting for. But, I know a lot of people whose reading opinions I respect who loved it, and if you like epic fantasy with dragons and queens and treachery and pirates and queer characters then I’d say you should definitely give it a try. (novel)

Bonus: I didn’t read these series this year, but if you haven’t read them yet, you should.

Imperial Radch (Ancillary Justice) - Ann Leckie - Spaceship AI stuck in a human body out for revenge for their former captain, but that summary does not come close to doing it justice. Another one examining imperialism and also gender and race.(3 novels)

Kushiel's Legacy Series - Jacqueline Carey - This is two series, six books total, and starts with Kushiel's Dart. Alternate universe Renaissance-y Europe in a fantastical world where sex isn't shameful and sex workers are respected and prized. Lots of political intrigue and mystery. A lot of BDSM and kinky stuff too (the main character is a sexual masochist, oh and also bi!). I first read this series when I was fifteen or sixteen and it definitely made a big impression on me. Same author also wrote the Santa Olivia series which I’d also recommend. (6 novels)

The Locked Tomb (Gideon the Ninth) - Tamsyn Muir - I mean, if you follow me, you know. If you don’t follow me you still probably know. I’d have felt remiss to have left them off though. Lesbian Necormancers in Space. Memes! Skeletons! Biceps! Go read them. (2 novels, 2 forthcoming, 1 short story)

Books On My To Read List:

Fireheart Tiger - Aliette de Bodard

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water - Zen Cho

Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse

This Is How You Lose the TIme War - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Ninefox Gambit - Yoon Ha Lee

Also, if anyone has any recs for scifi/fantasy books starring queer men (not necessarily having to do with a queer relationship) and written by queer men I’d love them. There’s a lot written by women, and some of them are great, but I’d love to read a story about queer men from their own perspective.

[the-cookie-of-doom]

Good morning! Whats your favorite show/movie? Who are your favorite characters? Why do you like them so much? Also!! Did you have a good sleep?

Okay so I was a film major for a while, and I have opinions. 

Penny Dreadful 

I love this show. Like, so much. I adore it. I can not get enough of that show. Just all of the imagery, and the fantastic writing and acting. The episode intro alone is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Eva Green is a goddess and I love everything she’s been in. The take on classic horror stories is So Good, and it actually became the inspiration for my Gay Frankenstein story! (Started as a stitch AU, and then went completely OC after I had Ideas) but the show itself is so intimate? I think it’s largely that the period they’re in, everything was so repressed and restricted. So when the characters break out of those moments, it’s more meaningful. And the love-hate relationship between Ms. Ives and Malcolm in season one? Exquisite.  I could literally write essay’s about this show, but I’ll restrain myself and just say: it’s the best ensemble show I’ve ever seen. The characters come together, but they also each have their own distinct lives that sometimes intersect, but in s2 especially, are quite separate. They are constant with one another like ensemble shows usually portray. Also gothic horror and romance? My absolute favorite. 

Anything by Guillermo del Toro

This man Owns My Entire Soul. I’m not even joking, everything he writes and directs is perfection. Crimson Peak is probably my favorite (I have a stitch AU for this too ;) ) because again, Gothic horror and romance. I’m a slut for that shit. Also Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain? Delightful casting. I think it’s obvious by now that I love tragic relationships, so their dynamic is *chef’s kiss* amazing. they’re so damaged. And this quote right here is one of the BEST things I’ve ever read: 

“But the horror... The horror was for love. The things we do for love like this are ugly, mad, full of sweat and regret. This love burns you and maims you and twists you inside out. It is a monstrous love and it makes monsters of us all.”

Engrave that on my headstone, please?? I’ve got a sort-of Dorian Gray AU (it’s delightful) that’s basically built on this entire premise. Mitch makes the mistake of falling in love with Stiles, and does many terrible things because of it. Mostly to himself, at least. 

I think my love of Crimson Peak is very closely tied with The Shape of Water. another beautiful movie, I could wax poetic about this forever. it was beautifully written, and such an artistic movie. I love the way it was filmed, and the set design, and all of the subtle imagery. Such as Elisa’s apartment being cast in cooler tones, it always felt very damp and had evidence of water damage, compared to Giles’, a mirror image of her own, in more warm tones. This is another one I could (and have) write essays about. There is so much packed into this movie, from the themes on toxic masculinity and entitlement, to the conversation on queerness and race and disability, and how all the various relationships are portrayed. Like. there is so much to pick apart in this movie. 

Aside from that, ofc Hell Boy deserves an honorable mention because i grew up on those movies. I’m pretty sure the Golden Army especially is responsible for who I am today, given all the lore on the fae in that universe. Wow, that explains so much about me... Also one of my first WoW characters was an elf named Nuala xD I still have her, too, and it’s been like 12 years lol

Near-Future Sci-Fi

Sci-fi is one of my favorite genres, I am a huge nerd for theoretical and astrophysics. But my favorite kind of sci-fi is the stuff that still takes place on Earth, rather than epic battles in space. Ex Machina and Annihilation are at the top of that list. Alex Garland is another writer/director that I love. He has the same kind of approach as del Toro, where he puts a lot of fine details into his work. And I love that it’s very cerebral; there are so many layers to Ex Machina. My English 101 prof actually refused to analyze it in class when I suggested it to him, because he didn’t think my class could. Basically handle? Dissecting that movie? Because a lot of it comes across as very surface level, but in some cases when you look deeper, it’s actually suggesting the opposite of what you might think at first glance. (And he was right, my fellow students were awful. I miss that class though, it was one of my favorites T_T Mr. Ryder was an awesome dude and super chill.) 

Morgan is another good example. As you can see, I fucking love androids lol. Which brings me to another of my all time favorite movies: Cloud Atlas. I could literally watch this movie endlessly, I love it so much. The acting, the writing, the filming, all of it is top notch. And one thing they did in the movie that didn’t come across in the book, was reusing the same actors through the different eras in the book. That was just so neat, because it really encapsulates how connected these souls are, as we follow the threads of their story throughout time. If you haven’t seen the movie, I can’t recommend it enough.  

Another one I always think of alongside Cloud Atlas, even though they aren’t related at all, is Predestination. It’s a great movie that explores the idea of fate and free will in a really clever way, utilizes time travel in a very organized way that I think was neat (think Umbrella Academy. They even use briefcases! As you can see, I love sci-fi bureaucracy, it’s fun. In fact The Bureau is another movie I enjoyed) and the main character is actually, explicitly trans, which was cool. You basically get to see the entire story of their life, and I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s just. So good. Mindfuckery galore. 

Shoot, and I almost forgot! Arrival! That is one of the best movies, and another one I could watch nonstop. It focuses on mathematics and linguistics and I swear to god, I almost altered my entire college course because of this movie. Amy Addams is brilliant, Jeremy Renner is so soft and nerdy, and again, it has an amazing take on time travel. I am very particular about how time is handled in Sci-fi, and this portrayal was one of my favorite. (Most of my physics studies have been dedicated to the theory of time, so like. Strong Opinions.) 

Fantasy

Stardust! It wasn’t until Good Omens can out that I realized Neil Gaiman is responsible for most of the stories I loved as a kid lol, and I had no idea he wrote stardust! But that is such a beautiful movie (I have a Stardust AU lol) and it’s definitely one of my comfort movies. Captain Shakespeare is one of the best characters ever, bless Robert de Niro. I would die for him. Fun fact, i had no idea Ipswitch was a real place until like. 2019. I 100% thought it was made up for the movie 😂

Alongside Stardust, I’ve always loved The Golden Compass. It’s fantasy, but also with that old-timey steampunk science feel, which is so fun and surprisingly difficult to find! 

Mortal Engines also has the same kind of feel, and it was such an epic movie in every sense of the word. I’m a little sad that after all the work that went into it, it didn’t get a dedicated following or fan base, because I feel there’s so much potential in it. But at the same time, fandom tends to gather around media that has plenty of flaws for us to repair with gold, and there wasn’t much room for that in Mortal Engines. 

I’m going to put Jupiter Ascending here even though it technically fits with the sci-fi, because that section is long as fuck and also this movie has such a fantastic feel. Mila Kunis? beautiful. The CGI? beautiful. Eddy Redmayne? One of the best villain portrayals i’ve ever seen. The whole oedipal vibe he had was immaculate, as was their portrayal of reincarnation, and just. The world building. GOD. I get so weak for through world building. Also the fkn intergalactic bureaucracy when they’re basically at the space DMV? One of my all time favorite scenes in movie history. 

Horror

I have very little room in my life for horror. As I said, I have strong movie opinions, especially when it comes to horror movies. I don’t like how most of them rely on cheap jump scares and overused gore and gratuitous rape scenes, instead of, y'know, actual good writing. 

Which is EXACTLY why I adore It: Chapter 1 & 2. It has none of those things, but still manages to be so terrifying. They are my favorite horror movies, and I’m saying this as someone who has genuine childhood trauma bc of the novel. Like. I couldn’t shower/take baths alone until I was almost 10 T_T When I was 6-7 and saw kids play by storm drains, I would run over screaming about how Pennywise was going to get them. Like, I had issues man. I was terrified to see the first one, and wouldn’t go until I could go with my best friend after she had already seen it, so she could warn me when something scary was about to happen 😂

And, one of my favorite aspects of the movie, and the thing that gave me Mad Respect for Any Muschietti? The way he filmed Bev and her father. They have a character who is literally being molested, but they never once have to show it. And yet their interactions are still so viscerally upsetting to watch. Sexploitation puts me off of most horror, and the fact that Muschietti doesn’t use it here, even when it would be actually somewhat justified? *chef’s kiss*. I love him. 

I love horror as a concept, I’m just really picky about it because I expect the writing to be good. I don’t like short cuts. But in a lot of cases, even if I don’t enjoy the movie itself, I love to watch analysis videos on youtube! I love to see the philosophy and symbolism in different horror movies, even if i don’t like to watch the movies themselves. It’s a fun hobby. 

Misc. 

Then in general, some other stuff I love in no particular order:

The Internship (Bless Dylan, Stuart is such a bitch and I love him) 

American Assassin (ofc. The writing itself is eh, but Mitch is my man) 

Dylan’s episode of Weird City. (I actually have a lot of feelings about this one. Jordan Peele is another amazing writer/director, I really need to catch up on his works.) 

Dorian Gray (*chef’s kiss*)

Rogue One (Makes me cry every time) 

WARCRAFT (Obviously this is a fav. It made me so happy, words cannot express.) 

Coraline and most other stop motion animation. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for that. 

Literally anything associated with Tim Burton. Fun fact, when I was 12 and in middle school, I planned to decorate my future house inspired by tim burton. Like, i had Plans. 

Most adaptations of Alice in Wonderland!

So! this got long as fuck! But you said you like that kind of thing lol 😂 I had kinda Eh sleep since I was up so late lmao, and I kept waking up (as usual, rip). And I’m so mad I go up for nothing! The dude I was supposed to show my listing to never showed, and is refusing to answer my calls >_> It’s been 2 hours now, and I still haven’t heard from him. But whatever, I already have a full price cash offer on the house so who cares. And that means I can play WoW all day, now! 

[citrucentric]

Cranberry

The ideal Holmes is tall and dark with sharp edges and an intelligent look to him, but also posh and with a sense that you could fold him into origami if you really tried. Dresses well, but wouldn’t look out of place sprawled dramatically over a couch in a dressing gown with a pipe and surrounded by drug paraphernalia. Once made a pillow fort and sat in it to think. Caught somewhere between handsome, pretty, and weird looking. Emphasis can be on any of the three. CANNOT have facial hair.

Holmes Adaptations

S-Tier

Miss Sherlock (Yuko Takeuchi) - 95%

You’ll notice, of course, that nowhere in the earlier description did I say Holmes needed to be white, a man, or even human. None of those qualifiers or the lack-thereof prevent someone from looking the part -- it simply becomes necessary to compare them to the characters around them. And when I picture a female Sherlock Holmes, Yuko Takeuchi embodies the exact image in my mind. Her sharp edges, piercing eyes, and impeccable fashion, along with the powerful weird energy she brings to the role, fit Sherlock perfectly. She does look more than a bit like she could kick my ass, but more in the manner she dominates the room, which is perfect for the character.

Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett) - 85%

I haven’t watched this adaptation, though I’ve been meaning to get around to it. So this ranking is based solely on screenshots and promotional images. And honestly, as ugly as i find this guy, he totally nails it. He even kind of looks like the illustrations in the stories. I won’t give him a perfect score because his hair could be darker and his face is a little small, and there’s just barely something missing. But as far as “canon” Holmes adaptations go, he’s the cream of the crop.

A-Tier

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (Benedict Cumberbatch) - 80%

Definitely the more accurate of the two Cumberbatch Holmes designs, the sleek fashion and slicked back hair complement Cumberbatch’s angular build and “somewhere between pretty and just weird” face. He’s tall, dark, and posh. If there’s anything holding him back it’s simply that even dressed up properly, there’s something still a bit modern looking about him.

Fate/Grand Order - 78%

Given that his design and presentation are a direct reference to both Brett and Cumberbatch’s portrayals, it’s a given he’d place so highly. It’s really hard to nail down a 2D Holmes, especially in the anime style this game employs, since it has a tendency to prettify characters by default. True to form, FGO Holmes is far neater and more precise than I’d like. But he’s by no means a bad design, and depending on the image he can really hit the spot for me; he’s definitely a chart topper in the realm of 2D Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes: The Furtive Festivity (Gregory Johnstone) - 75%

There aren’t many Holmes that we only get to see as an old man, in no small part due to the ACD estate’s notoriously malicious copyright practices. Johnstone ranks so highly not due necessarily to the details of his look, but the overall feel he embodies. This Holmes is soft, affectionate, more than a little floppy. His hair and costume portray a man well grown into his eccentric life, and his face is sharp and mature enough to suggest the brains underneath; even if that’s more wisdom than intelligence in this particular story. This is a Holmes designed by someone who really loves Sherlock Holmes, and it definitely shows.

BBC Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) - 75%

Cumberbatch’s features still naturally suit Holmes well, and he’s tall and striking enough to cover the rest. But this isn’t a rating of his acting performance aside from the visuals it supplies; it’s hard to modernize Holmes, especially since it makes perfect sense for Holmes to gel well with the changing times; he was always a man ahead of his era. BBC Holmes’s trademark trenchcoat and curly locks aren’t traditional Holmes, but they suit him well enough.

Yuukoku no Moriarty - 73%

The long hair is an unorthodox take, but I'm certainly not complaining. YnM's Holmes definitely nails the youthful scientific exuberance of an early Holmes. It's clear they were going for a sort of BBC/ACD mix, but with their own spin. Pretty -- he is an anime boy, after all -- but all sharp edges and full of energy. Decent, way better than most anime Holmes designs manage.

B-Tier

Basil of Baker Street [The Great Mouse Detective] - 70%

Comparing the character to those around them is especially important when it comes to non-human characters, who naturally don’t have the same features. Putting Basil next to Dawson makes this abundantly clear, as they make a perfect portrait of Holmes and Watson. For a mouse, he’s thin, angular, even a little ratlike; all decisions that suit Holmes well. I have some complaints about his ensemble, though; while the dressing gown suits him well, his normal brown coat and hat don’t work so well with his fur; the monochrome look makes him come off a bit scruffy and unrefined.

A Study in Black - 68%

Rules are made to be broken, they say; here’s a Holmes with well maintained facial hair and who’s shorter than Watson, and yet I can without question say they were the right decisions. This Holmes takes a very different design approach than any other on this list, even the other modern takes, but he embodies the spirit of Holmes much more than if he’d tried to match every detail. Holmes is still gaunt and striking, eccentric and fashionable. He looks absolutely great.

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (Robert Stephens) - 62%

Stephens in this role is, I have to say, far too soft. But he’s playing a different sort of Holmes, and I can’t resist keeping him here. There are some parts of the look he has down; he certainly looks high class, and the softer elements of Holmes’ character look good on him. Holmes’ traditional costume, the hat and coat, look out of place on him. But that suits the message of the film, and may very well have been intentional.

C-Tier

Dai Gyakuten Saiban - 58%

Not the only blond Holmes on this list, but it doesn’t suit him as poorly. From a character design standpoint, it looks very good. As a Holmes, it’s unorthodox. He’s not gonna be a chart topper with it, but I wouldn’t rule it out. This Holmes’ real problem isn’t his coloration, merely that he’s much too conventionally attractive. His jaw is a bit too wide, curls a bit too lovely, the peek of lavender under his coat a bit too rich, and I can’t look at him for too long without blushing. Do some cocaine and get back to me.

Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) - 55%

Now, this one might be controversial. I don’t think Rathbone Holmes looks very good. I can’t put my finger on why; his head is the right shape, his nose very sharp, though his face looks very smooth and he seems overall vaguely packed in. Like he was plucked out of the sky just before walking on set. The shapes are all right, it just seems off to me. I guess what I’m getting is that his look is too obviously produced. He looks too much like an actor portraying Holmes, rather than Holmes. But I know he’s gonna be the guy a lot of people swear by, so I won’t defend this placement too hard.

Sherlock Hound - 45%

Really, what is up with the monochrome design on some of these cartoons. Sherlock Hound has the darker hat to make up for it, though, so it’s a little better. Applying the same rubric as Basil to him... doesn’t get the same results. As far as I can tell, this just looks like a normal dog. And a scruffy light-furred one, at that. There’s a contrast between him and Watson, sure, but it could’ve been pushed further. At the end of the day this is an average guy dressed as Sherlock.

D-Tier

Herlock Sholmes [Code: Realize] - 40%

This is a very pretty anime boy. I’d pick him first in whatever dating sim this is. ...Wait, this is supposed to be Holmes? How can you tell? Look, I know it’s hard to make an anime boy Holmes. Holmes’ key design elements aren’t his costume or his hair, they’re the things that make him unpolished. And anime dating sim boys don’t like to be unpolished. But really, this is just a steampunk boy who likes tea. Nothing here reads as Holmes to me.

Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) - 35%

Now, I love this movie. RDJ got me back into Sherlock Holmes when I was younger. And as this character, he has a very specific and well designed look. ...Does that look gel with canon Holmes? I don’t think so. He’s rough, he’s scruffy, he’s short and wide and strong-jawed, and he refuses to go for a clean shave. I like him a lot, but he’s not very Holmesian. He does, however, nail the eccentricity and his costume design works for him well. I do like a messy Holmes. So I won’t go any lower than this.

F-Tier

Basil [Blush Blush] - 28%

So, he’s got the outfit. There’s that. But otherwise... This is just some soft ugly anime boy cosplaying Sherlock Holmes. He doesn’t have a single trait that works in his favor. On top of that, he’s got the same problem the other Basil on this list had -- the all monochrome light brown just looks weird, and not Holmesian at all. And this boy doesn’t have the excuse of literally being a mouse. This is just an ugly design.

Elementary (Jonny Lee Miller) - 25%

Now, I've only watched a few scattered episodes of Elementary. Partially because I'm morally opposed to shows that only gender-flip half of the duo, partially because I’m absolutely outraged by the travesty they made Moriarty. But this isn’t a bad character, per-se.

But, like, this is just some dude. This isn't Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes [Clue] - 23%

I love Clue so much. That probably doesn’t surprise anyone. I have the season pass in this game, which automatically gives me every DLC character they add for free. So I was super excited to hear there was gonna be a Sherlock crossover. ...But this is just ugly. Another light haired square-jawed monochrome asshole pretending to be my favorite character. There’s nothing Holmes about this. (The rest of the designs in the pack are no better, but this isn’t about them.)

Skylar Holmes [Blossom Detective Holmes] - 20%

Now, Blossom Detective is a show that I famously disliked so much I immediately sat down and screenwrote my own Holmes cartoon on the spot. And Skylar certainly feels like she should be in the “part 2″ of this list, but a Holmes she is.

She's cute and she accessorizes well, but she's just not Sherlock Holmes by any stretch.

Sherlock Shellingford [Milky Holmes] - 10%

Now, look how cute she is! Sherlock Shellingford, present and accounted for. She’s got TWO Sherlock names so you know she’s the real deal. Now, this is just an objectively good design. She's exactly what she needs to be to serve the role she plays!

And that isn't Sherlock Holmes. Sorry.

Holmes & Watson (Will Ferrell) - 0%

Get out of my house.

Holmes Archetypes

Not all Holmes’ are meant to be the Canonical Sherlock Holmes, of course; some are just neat references, or characters who naturally fit into his role whether the author intended it or not. Let’s address them here, and remember that not looking the part doesn’t really reflect negatively on these ones as they’re stand-alone.

S-Tier

Dylan Reinhart [Instinct] (Alan Cumming) - 90%

Dylan is so point for point Sherlock Holmes that it’s hard to call him an archetype and not a straight adaptation, or possibly a rip-off if I’m being harsh. But I’m not supposed to be rating him by portrayal, just looks - and he’s really good. He’s the exact right blend of weird looking, though not as angular as he should be. His sharp eyebrows and nose and high hairline work fantastic, and he wears a suit very well. He’s a perfect little bundle of posh and nerves, and though he’s not perfect the fact that this isn’t actually supposed to be canon Sherlock Holmes makes this placement very unsurprising. He wouldn’t look out of place on the other list.

Hubert von Vestra [Fire Emblem: Three Houses] - 85%

Oh? What’s that? You don’t think Hubert von Vestra is a Sherlock Holmes archetype? Okay, then explain to me why he uses the word “sentiment” exactly twice in his supports. Atheists 1, Church of Seiros 0. Anyway. Let’s start with the obvious. Hubert looks like Benedict Cumberbatch. But, he looks like a vampire Benedict Cumberbatch who did a lot more cocaine. And if you don’t think Sherlock Holmes should look like a vampire, youre lying.

A-Tier

None yet. Please submit your Holmes and I will add them.

B-Tier

Heinwald [Dragalia Lost] - 67%

I would never look at this design and think "well, that's Sherlock Holmes". Heinwald looks more like a zombie or the bride of Frankenstein, very Halloween. His look being so specific does come at the expense of his Holmesness, but he's still got more than a few traits down and he’s an absolute treat.

L Lawliet [Death Note] - 65%

This is a very, very weird looking man. Key points: dark hair and eyes. gaunt, sharp, and mostly angular (though with a softer face). Extremely foldable. This man could 100% pass for Holmes, if someone else was dressing him. Put him in a suit, comb his hair? Yeah. It’d really work. But until then, he’s just most of the way there.

Kyoko Kirigiri [Danganronpa] - 63%

Kirigiri really gets jilted here, because she could be much higher. Unfortunately, she has to be part of a series that with only a few exceptions just reuses the same face and body for most of its female characters. Kirigiri definitely has the sharp and focused feel she needs to pass for Holmes, and she dresses well. The white hair is the opposite of the dark he usually touts, but it’s striking. Unfortunately, put her next to any other character in her series, and she blends back in.

Miles Edgeworth [Ace Attorney] - 60%

Feels a little weird to put Edgeworth on here when the actual Sherlock Holmes is in his game, but he fits the character much better if not the narrative role. So let’s go over the looks. His jaw is a bit wide, but he’s very pointy, and I certainly have never gotten the impression he’s a physically strong man. He’s very fashionable, and with his big cravat and sharp hair he makes a cutting silhouette. I’d say he needs a bit more to really nail the look, though.

C-Tier

Will Graham [Hannibal] (Hugh Dancy) - 45%

Despite being a noted Hannibal Lecter fan and possible homosexual, I still haven’t watched Hannibal. I’m taking people at their word that Will is a Sherlock; I definitely would have assumed otherwise looking at him. He reminds me deeply of BBC’s John Watson, and it’s hard to see anything else. But I don’t hate his look; he reads as clever, he looks good in darks, and I wouldn’t complain to see him cast as Holmes. He’s better than some of the lower-tiered canon Holmes actors, anyway.

Ranpo Edogawa [Bungo Stray Dogs] - 40%

This is another submission, and I don’t know who this boy is. I really doubt he’s actually a Holmes, given that he’s named after a real non-Doyle writer, but I was begged to include him. Let’s go. I really like his outfit. He’s got an aesthetic I like. Is it Holmes’? No. This kid looks like he’d fit way better as a Baker Street Irregular; maybe he should audition.

D-Tier

Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) - 35%

Take everything I said for Robert Downey Jr, and just mess up his hair a bit more. House is scruffy, poorly put together, and not wearing anything that costs over $100. As a Holmes, he’d work as one of his disguises; I wouldn’t be super surprised if this guy suddenly cleaned up and looked the part -- but it would take a lot of cleaning. I love his look, though -- again, he isn’t trying to be canon. House is an explicit Holmes parallel, but he’s still his own character.

F-Tier

Walnut Cookie [Cookie Run] - 20%

Given how much “Holmes costume” and “Detective costume” are conflated, it’s possible this gingerbread baby isn’t even supposed to be a Holmes reference, but I’ll take her. She’s an excellent design - but a standalone one. Shes too soft, warm, and curly looking to pull off canon Holmes.

[mediocreronpas]

Izuru, Kiibo, Junko, Korekiyo, Hoshi, Tanaka, Ouma, and Angie with a cuckoolander/SHSL Fantasy Writer S/O

These two were so similar that I decided to combine them, hope you don’t mind.

- Mod Teruteru

Izuru Kamukura

- He feels like you should be less interesting.

- But you kind of aren’t.

- The way you kind of just wander around aimlessly for hours is amusing.

- How you can turn a trip to the mall into an amazing and well detailed fantasy story is a skill that you have that he thinks is cute.

- You start yelling the introduction when you open your front door and search for a piece of paper.

- He would read your stories and piece together what outings they were.

- A story about picking up a queen and king to take them to a safe house when them and their kingdom was being attacked… that time Sonia and Gundam had to get their house gassed due to termites and you let them stay here for the week.

- One about a wood elf and a drow elf being forced to judge an eating contest between two trolls by the human chef the trolls captured to make the food… When Akane and Twogami had an eating competition at Teruteru’s house and Hanamura forced you and Izuru to stay in case something bad happened.

- Keeping you out of trouble while you were in a floaty state was something else he did.

- He basically kept you from doing anything weird.

- Not that you knew what you were doing.

Kiibo

- He’s so confused by you.

- How could you not know any kind of human standards when you started living in the human world from the very beginning?

- He doesn’t know why you think magic exists either.

- There’s been plenty of scientific studies from thousands of years ago that proved magic to be non-existent.

- He’s shown them to you

- But no.

- The chocolate you get in your basket every year is from a rabbit, and the gifts you get that aren’t labeled from anyone is from santa.

- He does like it when you write stories with someone you say was inspired by him.

- Like a steampunk robot boy and his faithful teenage inventor.

- Or an ancient stone guardian in the shape of a teenage boy.

- When doing things weird, Kiibo doesn’t know when to stop you.

- Usually it’s too late.

- But he enjoys learning about regular human life with you.

- So that’s a perk.

Junko Enoshima

- She loves how you just kind of float around the halls.

- You’re never really sure what your next class is, and neither is anyone else.

- Especially since you call them things like scrolling and training.

- You light up when Junko knows that the things you are talking about are english and gym.

- When you walk on the street together you spout descriptions about them as if they were stone roads filled with peasant owned stalls. Then you looked at Junko and described a beautiful pink haired queen being forced to walk the peasants road because her horse carriage was in the shop.

- Then Junko would tap into her queen persona and yell “Bow down peasants! Your queen has graced you with her presents!”

- You love it when she changes personalities, by the way.

- You’ll play along with whatever she pulls with full enthusiasm.

- Even if you both get in trouble.

- Which is an aspect she loves.

Korekiyo Shinguji

- He finds you extremely interesting.

- The way he met you was the first interesting thing.

- You were just sitting in an empty classroom all by yourself, staring at the ceiling.

- He kind of just sat at the opening of the door until he decided to approach you.

- And when he did you snapped out of your little trance and scooted backwards a bit so your back touched the wall.

- “After his long winded observation, the onyx haired vampire decided it was time to introduce himself.”

- Shinguji put a finger to his mask covered mouth.

- “Oh? Am I the onyx haired vampire?”

- “His stance was fierce yet sophisticated. Though it intimidated the elf a bit, it also intrigued them.”

- You stood and looked him in the eye.

- “‘They got up from their resting spot to make themselves look more dangerous.’ My name is F/N L/N. I am a lythari in search for the Glass of the Forgotten. Have you seen it in this area by any chance?”

- You were kind of confusing him, then he realized.

- “You mean this pair of glasses I found in the other room?”

- As soon as your sharp eyes met with the glasses, they became soft and friendly. You had come out of your magical adventure status and into your regular head in the clouds one.

- “Hmm? Can I have those please? A friend of mine lost them. I can’t remember which though…”

- Since your first meeting, you had kept hanging around Shinguji, in search of things that you could turn into fantastical stories.

- This just gave Korekiyo all the more reason to study you and your ‘magical’ antics.

Ryoma Hoshi

- He is constantly pulling you from possible embarrassing situations.

- A lot of face palms are in order.

- You even wrote a book with the two of you as inspired characters.

- “The most deadly sin of all.”

- It’s about a reckless satyr and their intelligent gnome partner in search of the demons of the seven deadly sins, Greed (Togami), Wrath (Nidai), Gluttony (Akane), Lust (Teruteru), Envy (Hajime), Sloth (Himiko), and Pride (Ouma). So they can defeat them, collect the relics they hold and summon the devil king so they can kill them once and for all.

- It’s already a bestseller.

- So much so that you and Hoshi get recognized on the streets and complimented on for the general descriptions of the characters and the lovable arc the gnome goes through as he tries to get over his past as a criminal so he can get closer to the satyr.

- Whenever this happens your imagination explodes and Hoshi has to stop you from yelling some sort of line you would write in a book.

- You love calling Hoshi’s tennis matches battles.

- He sometimes wishes that he was up there to stop you from yelling stuff like, “Go Hoshi! Smite the beast right through the heart!”

- But he appreciates the enthusiasm.

Gundam Tanaka

- At first he thought you were just playing along with his act.

- Then he noticed how you were doing it all the time.

- You always stayed in a floaty state of mind until Gundam went into character.

- Then you became somewhat of a supervillain with a super intense voice.

- You were kind of like, all of what Gundam wanted to be when he was younger.

- You once sang a rock version of “You’re Welcome” from Moana to him while pretending to be a demi god.

- He absolutely loves the things you’re willing to do to prove that you were magic.

- Wait are those his deer?

- Whenever you weren’t in your state of magic and adventures, you barely knew what was going on.

- You’ll just switch from badass relentless supervillain to a little soft rabbit who was dropped off in the middle of who knows where.

- Whenever this happened, you would walk over to Gundam and quietly ask him what you need to do.

- Gundam gets fuzzy feelings when he thinks about this part of your personality.

- But for some reason when he thinks of your villain persona, he feels like he’s getting a burst of adrenaline.

- He can’t decide which one is better.

- So he asks you what you think.

- “‘The high elf scratched their head in confusion. They didn’t really know how to answer this.’ Well how about, ‘They said in a low voice. ‘You love both sides equally instead trying to like one half of a person better than the other.’”

- Gundam thought on this for a bit, then he laughed.

- “You are correct as always S/O. It was foolish of me to ask such a question.”

- Then you went back to your fluffy state.

- “Mm, I don’t know. It was just something I came up with on the spot. You don’t have to take it seriously.”

- Then Gundam laughed some more and caressed your face.

- “Its okay. You’re right. I should love all of you. Not just some of you.”

- “Thank you.”

Kokichi Ouma

- You started off as rivals.

- In your eyes, you began your meeting with him with a duel. He had insulted your mechanical friend and you wanted revenge.

- You constantly referred to him as a black hearted halfling who used his magic to lie and manipulate people.

- While he called you a delusional asylum escapee.

- When he tries to mess with you, you tend to have your head in the clouds and unknowingly ignore him.

- When you do this he starts whining loudly.

- When he did this the first time you snapped out of your trance and glared at him.

- “The mighty high elf angrily stared at her rival for interrupting their peaceful visit to their mind palace. ‘You’re lucky I don’t blink you to the Ethereal Plane.’ They growled. ‘For what reason do you have for interrupting me?’”

- Then Ouma blinked at you and smiled.

- “I was just trying to save you from your own insanity. One more minute inside your own head and you would have gone bananas for real!”

- You continued glaring at him.

- “Or maybe not. Who knows, I am a liar after all.”

- You laughed.

- “‘The opinion of my sanity is my decision and my decision alone.’ Then the high elf smiled. ‘There’s no room for any opinion even close to one made by a shorty like you.’”

- But you both learned to settle your differences.

- You stopped calling each other names. You agreed to stop making fun of Ouma’s height as long as Ouma stopped teasing your soft kitten like side.

- And whenever you went to your soft side, he...sometimes lets you know what’s going on.

- Not always.

- I want to make that clear.

- You would always cross your arms and make a cute huff when he didn’t

- Which is why he didn’t often.

Angie Yonaga

- She always finds your strange mannerisms as a blessing from Atua.

- Whenever you began spouting whatever about two pixies traveling the world together, she would out her hands together and says two or three words in a language you don’t know to thank him.

- She loves and triggers your soft side a lot.

- “Uhh, Agnie, can you please help me write my next book. My fans are getting antsy.”

- “Okay S/O! Do you want to pray with me? Atua may have some good ideas he wants to share!”

- “Ah, okay.”

- Then you and Angie would get into a prayer session.

- Thanks to Angie’s prayers, you have written plenty of amazing books.

- But this was mostly because some of these prayer sessions can last for a long while. And when they end you’ll just sit down and write mindlessly then publish a book without really knowing what it was about.

- As long as Angie had helped you, you thought it was a good book.

- Which she found really cute.

[curiouslylazy]

Fic Recs

Fic rec days is back and I made another recommendations post because authors deserve all the love ever. Once again this is 100% haikyuu and 84% KuroKen.

Things Beyond the Skies by amorevolous

2/?

KuroKen, KiyoYachi

I am so so so so so excited for this piece. Magic and steampunk is such a good mix that leads to a really cool atmosphere and tone. We got a little bit of baby!kurokens and they were perfect and precious. But Kuroo has clearly grown up now and I’m eager to learn what caused the changes. All the characters so far are written well and Yachi is gonna have a main role, how exciting is that? Please read this and heap a ton of love at it because it deserves all the attention.

Five Times Ushijima Wakatoshi Absolutely Lost His Shit by desdemona (LydiaOfNarnia)

1/1-Complete

UshiTen

Cute, fun, and hilarious with just the right amount of angst to make an impact. This has one of the best Ushijima and Tendou dynamics that I’ve ever read. Absolutely one of my favorites. 

Step by Step by dgalerab

5/5-Complete

KuroKen, BokuAka, KageHina

A wonderful piece that covers the developments in Kuroo and Kenma’s relationship from first meeting to becoming a couple. I love how balanced the relationship is and how it’s made very clear that they both need each other. Kuroo is shown as having many insecurities and is so easy to sympathize and connect with. I wanna surround him with hugs and Kenmas. He’s also a dense idiot at times and that’s always wonderful. Also great smut so it’s a win all around.

quiet company by doxian 

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

A super interesting premise with excellent execution. It’s a bit bittersweet but ultimately a wonderful, sweet read. I love it a lot and enjoyed it very much.

chamomile and carnivorous plants by Ellessey

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

A cute, sweet, and soft confession story and a delightful read.

come a little bit closer by Ellessey

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

The sequel to chamomile and carnivorous plants, this follows Kuroo and Kenma’s sex life. It also has the added bonus of Daichi suffering.

The Long Road by Esselle

¾

KuroKen

I still can’t perfectly put into words why I love this so much but it’s my current obsession. I’ve read it so many times by now. I really like the time period it’s set in and how that’s worked into the story. Kuroo is just the perfect amount of cool and stupid. Kenma is badass and delightful. Lev is precious. The smut is beautiful and perfect.  Easily one of my favorite kuroken stories of all time.

The Wedding Hall Shuffle by icespyders

3/3-Complete

KuroKen

I was pretty sure this was on my previous rec list but it wasn’t and honestly that’s a crime because this is absolutely amazing. It’s one of the cutest kuroken fics ever. Wonderfully romcom with great dialogue and humor, this is perfection. 

teach me the way home by icespyders

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

A wonderful character study on Kuroo that follows him from middle school to college, and does so very well. I love how it captures Kuroo’s vulnerability, particularly when he’s not with Kenma. This fic is quite ambitious in that it limits itself to a certain setting. The range of things it accomplishes in that setting is very impressive.

Static by icespyders

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

A lovely piece about Kuroo and Kenma meeting after many months of silence. It has the perfect mix of angst and sweet. 

eulogy by ilgaksu

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

This piece is so so beautiful and yeah the tags are scary but it’s so worth it I promise. It’s one of my favorites and such a wonderful, emotional ride. The ending is perfection, please read this.

Something More by inkandwords

6/?

BokuAka, KuroKen

Starts off really cute and then hurts you a lot. I really like how the bokuaka started off. The friendships are also very important and A+++. I really liked the friendship between Bokuto and Kenma.

Questions of Style by Kaiyou

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

Super sweet, domestic, fluffy kurokens set in the Just Desserts/The Sweetest Thing verse. Works great as a stand alone but easily draws you into the world. 

Chasing Truth by Kaiyou

60/?

KuroKen, BokuAka, Tokyo ot4, IwaOi

This story is so amazing and I’m very glad to have it in my life. The setting and details of this verse are complex and well thought out and very well fleshed out. Relationships are developed at a great pace and mixed well with the plot, it never feels like one aspect is being given greater importance. Characterization is great, I’m quite partial to Kenma because he’s such an awesome badass. I love learning more about the characters and delving into their backstories. The smut is wonderful (and plentiful). The action is amazing and there’s never a dull moment.

Raise em high and bring em low by Kaiyou

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

Delightful, delicious smut set in the CT verse but can easily be read without knowledge of that (amazing) verse. I love the dynamic in this because Kenma is in complete control and that aspect is made relevant outside of their sex lives. It had wonderful moments of sweetness and devotion.

Thicker Than Blood by kylar

23/?

KuroKen, IwaOi, BokuAka, DaiSuga

Yakuza AU, how cool it that?! The romance aspect has a great pace and wonderful development. The plot will constantly have you tense and on edge, it’s great. The friendship between Kuroo, Bokuto, and Oikawa is wonderful. Side ships get a good amount of time and development. I’m very excited to see how this plays out.

when it rains, it pours by kythen

1/1-Complete

UshiTen

Soft, sweet, adorable ushiten with Tendou as a mermaid. I loved that Ushijima is a botanist. A very fun read.

Noon, on a Thursday by lovelyleftovers

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

Kuroo being vulnerable and Kenma having to take care of him is super important. This is a lovely piece that is easy to connect to on a personal level. Kuroo and Kenma are written really well and it’s so clear that they care deeply for each other.

Cosmotropolis by meyghasa

11/11-Complete

KuroKen

A really cute piece with great characterization that does more with the android concept  than turning them into maids. It has a pretty cool well thought out setting as well. Great smut too.

died in my dreams by MTrash (Makaria)

1/1-Complete

UshiTen

The setting is a really cool sci-fi world and Ushijima is a cop and Tendou is sort of a criminal and it’s so so good. The backstory  will absolutely make you sad, but you will be all the more happy that they have each other now. I love how Tendou sneaks his way into Ushijima’s life and how they grow to trust and care for each other. 

shut up and dance by Mysecretfanmoments

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

A cute, sweet read with a little bit of  smut thrown in. I love Kenma being a tease and Kuroo is wonderfully blushy and adorable. Every character written was written wonderfully. A super fun piece.

i built you a home in my heart by newamsterdam

1/1-Complete

KuroKen, YakuLev

This magnificent piece showcases important moments in Kuroo and Kenma’s lives and how their relationship grows during these moments. It’s absolutely beautiful. I love seeing the sweet moments and also the challenges and how they work through them. It’s also super cool to see the contrast between the kuroken and yakulev relationships as they develop.

anything not saved will be lost by newamsterdam 

5/7

KuroKen

A lovely getting together story. I’m not usually into canon compliant stories but this is absolutely wonderful. The characterization of everyone is perfect and the kuroken makes my heart ache. Kenma and Kuroo care about each other so much and it seems like they know everything about the other, but they don’t. I love that it reinforces the fact that communication is very important, even if you’ve known someone your entire life there’s still things you can learn about them. However this piece also shows that Kuroo and Kenma do know a great deal about each other and that can be a huge comfort for them, or lead to problems when you wanna go the avoidance route. The pacing is great, even if I just want to smush their lips together, and I thrive off of the conflicts. Also great Nekoma bonds which is a huge plus. 

pride falls by newamsterdam

8/10

IwaOi, KuroKen

The sequel to the magnificent curiosity kills. This covers Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s side of the story while continuing to grow the kuroken. A lot more characters are added into the mix and the ensemble cast is handled well. The magic and universe is really interesting and it’s developed even more in this story. This piece hits so many emotional notes. Also we get baby!iwaois for a bit and they are precious and perfect.

kiss me like you mean it / all my little words by newamsterdam

12/?

Various

A delightful assortment of oneshots that are sweet, cute, fun, passionate, and hit many emotional notes.

At least let me take you to dinner first by Nimbus_Cloud

2/2-Complete

KuroKen

Virgin Kuroo and sexually experienced Kenma is one of my favorite things ever and that aspect is handled perfectly in this. Great characterization and a super cute budding romance makes this an excellent (re)read. Amazing smut is also a huge bonus.

Dial 119 by Nimbus_Cloud

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

I love this AU a lot, seeing Kuroo and Kenma’s relationship develop was such a joy. Kuroo is such an adorable dork and I love that Kenma has to make many of the first moves. Again, excellent smut with it.

As You Command by Nimbus_Cloud

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

A delightful royalty au smut piece with the perfect amount of feels and backstory thrown in to get you hooked.

Fun for you, fun for me by Nimbus_Cloud

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

(╯✧∇✧)╯

[smut with Kenma in control is the best kind of smut]

Common side effects by notallballs (notallbees)

1/?

KuroKen

Kuroo runs into Kenma  for the first time in quite a while.They are both certainly changed people. I am so ready for the wonderful angst and really excited for this on a whole. I really like how the characters are written so far and there are a lot of things I’m excited to find out about.

Open Your Heart, Open His Eyes by risquetendencies 

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

A super cute confession fic with an awesome superhero backdrop. Kuroo being a dumb smart person is always the best.

Making Time by risquetendencies 

1/1-Complete

AkaKen

Delightful smut with Kenma topping!! And I love the glimpses you get of their relationship.

Ghost in the Machine by shions_heart

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

Adorable, sweet, and funny with an office setting. Kuroo is precious, Kenma is wonderful, and it will hit you with feels when you’re not expecting it.

Rough Draft by shions_heart

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

A falling in love story with novelist!Kenma and chef!Kuroo. It’s soft, sweet, and a very fun read.

Polaris by shions_heart

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

A really cool setting and premise that makes you want more from this world. This is all about finding/returning home and it fills my heart with emotions. A lovely, super fun read.

Character Development by silvercistern

9/9-Complete

BokuAka

This is such a fun, emotional, funny, ride filled with perfect characterization, and love, and affection. Probably my favorite bokuaka ever. Their relationship develops so well and seeing that from Akaashi’s point of view is great. The fake dating aspect was so much fun. Whenever there was kuroken it punched me in the chest with affection and joy. The relationship between Akaashi and Kuroo was so so good. Even the super minor characters were written really well and true to character. This has so much reread value too, I’ve read it many times and have yet to tire of it.

Sayuri by silvercistern

10/?

IwaOi, MatsuHana, KageHina, AsaNoya, TsukiYama, KuroKen, BokuAka, DaiSuga

One of the best ensemble pieces in this fandom. It quite easily accomplishes the task of making the reader care about every character. In particular I really love Suga and Akaashi. They are awesome. I am always partial to Kuroo and Kenma, and they certainly don’t disappoint. And the iwaoi is a delicious kind of pain. Heist AUs are always so much fun, and with this cast it’s guaranteed to be amazing.

you’ll never walk alone by skittidyne

1/1-Complete

Nekoma, mild KuroKen

Nekoma team fic!!!!! This was written right on the heels of Nekoma’s defeat to Fukurodani and at this point we did not know about the third Tokyo spot. It’s from Kuroo’s point of view and it shows his grief really well. I loved the third years dynamic in this. I loved all of the relationships in this. 

and i would have saved juliet by skittidyne

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

This was posted right on the heels of Nekoma beating Nohebi and I feel like that detail is quite important. To put it simply this piece is hauntingly beautiful. From the dialogue to the characters to the pacing, everything is lovely. Absolutely read the tags so you know what you’re getting into. The baby!kurokens were super cute. The concept that the story revolves around is very interesting. I really love how the romance developed. This packs quite the emotional punch and honestly I teared up a bit just typing this out. I have no regrets though, and would read this a thousand times over, it’s absolutely beautiful. 

that’s what you get (for waking up in vegas) by skittidyne

1/1-Complete

MatsuHana, IwaOi

A ton of humor with excellent Seijoh dynamics. I loved the accidental marriage aspect. A super fun, light read. Or reread.

on the eighteenth by skittidyne

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

A spy AU mixed with fake marriage AU leads to an incredibly fun time. Excellent characterization as always and Kuroo suffers. Is there anything else a person would need?

kozume kenma’s guide to getting free drinks from supernatural persons (results may vary) by skittidyne

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

《《o(≧◇≦)o》》

[This is so many of my favorite things mixed into one and I love it so much! So much delicious steamy smut. Kuroo is a werewolf and that makes things so much more interesting. Everyone is written perfectly. In particular I really love Kenma’s attitude towards sex. And not to spoil the ending but it’s one of my most favorite things ever. This is a magnificent gift onto the world]

thieves in the night by skittidyne

2/2-Complete

KuroKen

A super silly prompt leads to a super charming and cute fic. Kuroo is a very bad thief and Kenma is a very done (not) victim. I love how their relationship develops and how Kuroo is a precious, perfect dork. I loved Lev and Yaku and I adored Kenma. The humor was amazing, the dialogue was great, and the smut was the very lovely bow on top. Truly, this is a treasure.

Kuroo Loves Kenma by twuke

1/1-Complete

KuroKen

A delightfully smutty piece.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Princess Principal 1 | Youkai Apato 2 | 7O3X 2 | Mahoujin Guru Guru 1 | Classroom of the Elite 1 | Saiyuki Reload Blast 2

Princess Principal 1

Welp, it’s a war plot, which normally fares badly with me, but it looks like female anime James Bond, which normally goes down well with me because I loved the Alex Rider and Young Bond series growing up.

Wah? It-It’s English!

Wa-hey! Kajiura. That probably explains the English song (because wasn’t he on Re:Creators too?). Update: No, Re:Creators has Hiroyuki Sawano.

Sometimes this is England, sometimes this is Germany. It’s strange exactly how well the German and English parts go together.

Black Lizard? Like Edogawa Rampo’s phantom thief?

That metal object called Cavorite…it reminds me of Shaun Tan’s The Lost Thing. Haven’t read it, but I love the style of it.

*shakes head* Only in anime would you have ninjas in steampunk London.

Oh gosh, lil bun girl’s voice is whiny and my ep keeps freezing for some reason that isn’t buffering but otherwise I’m impressed. It’s solid in most ways, and the music is perfect for it! It might be just the thing I need to brighten up my season alongside Katsugeki.

Amy Anderson is an English name so I don’t take much issue with it, but it just sounds a lil’ cliché.

There’s CGI in this, but it’s hard to spot because it’s disguised so well.

Who the heck is Kimble? Update: They explain who he is later…

The last man that gets his butt kicked by the ninja girl…LOL.

This ED is English, too...but what the heck is a “dancy conspiracy”?

Youkai Apato 2

I noticed Yushi used haikei (Dear Sir...) which is very formal.

I swore “cigar” was referring to giving Reimei one, but heck. Cigar is his dog…wolf…canine, dangit.

Antiquary? Eyepatch man has no real name???

Oh gosh. Please just get me out of here, I’m not interested in Hard Drinking Party Girl number 384123847098…

Long haired Hase!!! Oh. His name’s Ryu? Okay then.

H-Hey, this just stated that being a weeb is a two way street. It’s vaguely reassuring, actually…

The anime staff didn’t even bother to show Yushi stopping the bleeding. So was it Yushi or was it the removal of the spirit that stopped the bleeding, or what, exactly?

Why are you worried, Akira???

The lunch is from Ruriko, isn’t it?

In the end, I think I’ll say (and I think Yushi would say too) Ruriko is best girl.

Kuri? So that’s the kid’s name…

There’s something ultra sad about Yushi going, “What is a mother, anyway?”

This is still the subpar show it was last week, but it’s a keeper until I decide the lineup. I did indeed get my long-haired Hase, which is a bonus.

7O3X 2

Urgh, they bring the memories of the first ep right back. Can people please stop using fanservice as an incentive to watch more, as engrossing as it may be for certain parts of the audience?

There appears to be someone shoving Mari from behind at the end of the OP…

Wasn’t Napoleon born in Corsica?...Yup.

You gave a question about an anime term…in anime. *rolls eyes* That’s real bottom of the barrel stuff, but the answer is “absolute territory” (zettai ryouiki).

That’s cute, Shiki has an electronic dictionary…

Holy moly! The zettai ryouiki joke worked on me! Plus Gakuto likes zettai ryouiki! Guh!!!

Zettai ryouiki works less and less the more you see it, like a joke. So a zettai ryouiki gag would naturally be the same.

Actually, I think quiz bowl isn’t that popular with girls because some girls are afraid to be geeks, as unfortunate as that is. It kills diversity in certain circles…like the IT industry…

There seems to be a blanket of sadness over this reunion between Mari and her friend.

“Home field”. Dang, opposite answer!

Cache what? Oh, uh, i-it’s a type of wraparound clothing…I know that style, I just didn’t know it had a name.

Recession? Oh dangit! I studied stagflation a few months ago! It happened during the 1970s in America, which is one factor as to why Japan became such an economic powerhouse at the time.

English folk songs? (Really?) I dunno who wrote them, so…I learnt something today.

So Mikuriya Chisato (just another darned reason to watch this show) is a fairly typical shonen rival. Smug as all get out. Not like I’m cursing myself, he’s not hot but he’s easy on the eyes…

Dangit Mikuriya! I was gonna Mallory too! The question is who said “Because it’s therez’ to “Why climb Mount Everest?”, right?...The question is “Why climb the mountain?”, but same diff, people.

Ramsar Convention? Never heard of it.

Sugar honey ice tea, this one seems to be a group based on historical stuff. Congress Dances appears to be a movie based on the Congress of Vienna.

LOL, the scat question was funny just from the strange sounds. The noises that should have followed “doo bee doo bee” must’ve been “doo ba doo ba” then.

Oh! “In the manner of the chapel” is acapella! I thought it looked like something I knew. (Hah, it does help for me to be a former pianist sometimes, eh?)

Dangit, I thought I knew the Newton one, but I blanked out. CV stands for “character voice” – naturally I’d know that one.

Ah, the tale of the underdog. Always makes for riveting drama, it does.

Gahaha! I was completely lost on the literature questions, but man, I laughed so hard at the zettai ryouiki joke. Seems they were building up to something after all. Plus, Chisato’s so amazed, I laugh even harder, that smug butt.

Oh yeah, I wonder why Shiki was in his school uniform, even though Mari wasn’t?

The silhouette from last time is present. Probably a transfer student into Buzou who’ll help the quiz team, knowing anime…There’s Yukirin (or whatever her name is), with the glasses on her head and the scarf around her neck.

“After stripes, Fukami’s preferred-” – I’d presume that’s “After stripes, Fukami’s preferred style of headband is what?” or something like that. You can see she’s wearing an American flag headband in this segment, so I’d say stars or plain pink (like you can see sometimes, like in the ED). Wha-huh? Why does Gakuto know that??? Oh no. Does that mean it was a fanservice question, about Fukami’s panties??? Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, noooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*panting and trying to recover from the previous realisation* This show’s boilerplate. It’s got good things to offer, but it also has…*shudders* fanservice. Persistent fanservice. Depending on how bad the new entries this week are (the entries in question are Mahoujin Guru Guru, Classroom of the Elite and Gamers), there may be a chance for this to go on hold (because that’s what I do to shows I can’t be certain about).

Mahoujin Guru Guru 1

ANN said this was alright, so I’m using it to determine whether I should stick on with some of my boilerplate shows (specifically Hina Logi, which doesn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy inside despite its attempts at schoolgirl SoL, 7O3X, which is fun to play with but has fanservice and Youkai Apato, which is overall lacking).

Holy anime, Batman! This thing’s 24 minutes! (I kinda knew that from ANN categorising it as such, but that still had an element of surprise when I saw it on CR.)

The cutesy artstyle doesn’t suit this show. It would be better doing a Gugure! or OPM thing with switching between two styles (chibi and detailed).

Uh, subbers? Why is “Boering” “Jimina”???...Oh, okay. Jimina can mean a lot of different things when in different contexts, but it would mean “boring” in this context, so they went with a deliberate typo on “boring”. I see.

It’s already making me laugh at the mention that this sign would make great firewood. I foresee great things from this show.

Bado’s basically an “I took an arrow to the knee” guy, right?

“No reply. It’s just a corpse.” – LOL.

Oh gosh. Not the magic granny! (sarcastic)

Yeah, I kinda lost interest, but that’s because this is meant to riff off RPGs and ye olde fantasy, right?

You can’t just ride on weird faces alone to carry your humour. I can see how this is funny, but I’m not laughing simply because I find the overreliance of funny faces to convey humour is a bit overused.

Oh. They did it again. Ainshent = Ancient.

Suddenly, these guys go the DN Angel route with the training. Well, it’s better to start in medias res than to have to train from no power at all…

I think it works better with dramatic voice acting. Read the “the money covers that” quickly like the “spoken by” of an ad, then read the “all you get is cash!” with a voice that you use to tell scary stories…and you’re set.

Oh gosh. It’s fanservice, and right after I was complaining about it in 7O3X too…

Arabian blonde girl is so shiny, I can’t see…*bumps into something*

See? I knew he’d take the sword! Not only do they spoil that in the promo material and the eyecatch, Heroes Prefer Swords (to quote TV Tropes)!

Okay, Karamatsu-Nike. Hold up.

No, the counter guy said it was a heavy iron sword, right?

A-hey. So Nike switched to the dagger? Yeah, I thought I saw that dagger previously too, but he’ll probably get the sword someday…or maybe he just bought both. I don’t give any cares for these guys.*shrugs*

This thing is produced well, but mmhmm. I saw an inbetween fram of bishie eyes, and I like me some bishie eyes.

Wait, the monster always wanted to do a monologue? Guess that’s all kinds of villains’ shtick, not just big baddies. (almost laughed, but that kind of joke dies too quickly)

Was that mage perhaps…*gasps* Magic Granny? Noooooooooooooo!

When did he notice her?! (almost laughs, but not quite)

There’s a Laughing Man, an Anpanman and the word shippai (failure).

Well, as a comedy it fares better than Hina Logi, but because it’s a high fantasy parody, it’s sucking at its own job. Sorry, but I’m going to put you on hold. I think I need to reevaluate you with the sound on. Sometimes, I felt like I should laugh, but didn’t because I genuinely couldn’t find a reason to, either, which is kinda rare for me when it comes to comedy. I can see why people like it though.

Classroom of the Elite 1

For some reason, this has glowing reviews, so…let’s see what the hype is about.

Okay, you’re quoting Nietzche. *side eyes* If there’s two things I know about Nietzche, it’s 1) he has some good quotes under his name and 2) he always comments on the state of humanity’s evil. I love to quote the “if you stare into the abyss…” thing, so at least you have my attention.

Classroom of the Elite…Episode…what? It’s a Classroom of the Elite episode. We know that already.

*Googles furiously* I knew it! “Heaven does not make one person above or below another” is a Fukuzawa quote (from An Encouragement of Learning, which I had to learn about from nkhrchy)! However, using two quotes in succession has less effect than just one.

I think it is in my country, you get fined ifyou get caught not giving up your seat to those who need it (including elderly people), so I see the girl’s viewpoint more.

Oh great. *sighs* I start to wonder where the show will go as soon as I see Seiji Kishi. All of the man’s works I’ve seen so far are hit or miss. Ranpo Kitan had a terrible plot but eyecatching visuals, while Tsukigakirei was plodding enough to make me yell at the screen a lot.

Was that a bear in a uniform? I wanna see a bear in a uniform the same way as Mechazawa (Cromartie)!

Man, these pink eyes are weird.

This brunette seems to be a future class rep. You can see it written all over his mannerisms and dialogue…which is exactly what protag thought too, it seems.

The phone’s like a PayPass…?

Horikita? Like that 3rd year?

Fairy Mart, LOL.

*sighs* Of course he’d focus on her assets…urgh.

Doesn’t “uji” mean something along the lines of “surname”, come to think of it?

“Quilsilver” (sic).

Gah-hah (half laughing), it looks like Starbucks! Guess that’s not surprising, knowing how some girls are into their skinny mocha lattes with the soy milk and quinoa. Then again, that’s stereotyping, so that’s mean.

Ayanokouji is hard to read, but I can predict his thought process like we’re completely in sync (which I guess is meant to happen in a show like this). Horikita’s pretty expressionless too, meaning this comes off similar to Sagrada Reset – there’s potential, but the quality of the character writing is hard to determine.

I think Horikita suspects Kushida wants to hang off the dudes. Like something out of Legally Blonde.

Only a dude writer would make a girl mention her underwear so casually…*grumbles*

Since I read ANN prior to watching this ep, I knew the twist, but it was handled competently enough.

“Sapere aude” appeared during the ED. It means “dare to know”, and was first mentioned by Immanuel Kant. I learnt about it in politics, and heck, for a series that relies on lofty quotes like this, it does make sense to include it.

The words in the ED, if not Japanese, are German and Latin, along with a sentence or two of French and some English (because I spotted “…the root of evil”).

This style, that involves a lot of pink…I should’ve known is was Seiji Kishi and Lerche. It vaguely smacks of Ranpo Kitan!

I’m not sure what way this is going to go, but I can say I’m at least intrigued because there does seem to be some strong writing behind this. That means Hina Logi is going on hold.

Saiyuki Reload Blast 2

The gangster feel of this is great, y’know? The perfect way to kick back any day. (Unfortunately, if you want to know how I’m going on Gangsta, I still have it on hold…that was a lil’ subpar compared to what I wanted to cling to that season.)

Just out of interest… Well, here’s a better indication. That’s a pretty long road trip. However, the distance between Adelaide and Darwin (both Australian cities) is longer (3030.61 km or 1883.13 miles or 1636.4 nautical miles if measuring by driving distance on the same site as that second link), so…the Saiyuki guys have no right to complain.

“A salt lake…So a lake filled with salt water.” – You don’t say…I bet there’s a specialised term for that in Japanese, but still.

Float? Like the Dead Sea?

It’s funny how these guys use both magic and science. It’s something I’ve been trying to write ever since “The Future is Crimson”, because being able to combine both into a show smoothly indicates you’re a great writer (at least, in my opinion).

Like, enough with the camera blood splatter and “shooting through” the camera. Otherwise, I’m happy with this battle scene.

Seeing ancient China through a Japanese person’s eyes instead of through my parents’ Chinese version of jidaigeki-style live action dramas is…really something else. I think that’s one reason I’m so attached to this. (In case you’re wondering, yes. My parents watch a lot of old Chinese live action dramas. My dad especially is fond of things involving Mao Zedong or Deng Xiaoping if not those weird period dramas I just mentioned.)

They have credit cards in this period. That’s…hilarious! Then again, we’re talking about dudes with a dragon/jeep and a gun in what seems to be ancient China. Go, anime! (partially halfhearted) (shakes head knowingly*

The more the enemy lady (who appears to be Gyokumen) talks, the more I think of Queen Beryl from Sailor Moon and the more I get hit in the nostalgia. Ah, the 90s. Those were some good days of anime.

Gahhaha, the Sanzo party is full of debauchery, yet I can see why they’ve spawned so many anime seasons and specials.

“Looks like you did get here in the nick of time.”

The Sanzo party sound so unmotivated when they go, “Urasai”.

These extra things really ain’t funny, but…well, it’s almost like seeing an AU of these guys in the modern day. Including, and up to, watermelon smashing. An anime can’t go without at least one watermelon smashing scene if it’s got a beach episode...or it’s summer, which is just a big excuse to show a beach scenario anyway.

Update: After much thought, I regret to say that 7O3X and Youkai Apato are going on hold. The Reflection, which I intended to check out originally, will probably be out on the 29th while I still have Gamers! on tap next. 

[thephilosophersapprentice]

[clears throat] h i l m n o q s t w v z because i'm a terrible person

My brain tried to resolve that into “Hi I’m noquist” and I was what.

H: How would I describe my style? Descriptive. Overly flowery, but in a gritty sort of way. Detail-oriented. My friend suggested “Tolkien” but I was like nah it’s more of a cross between Tolkien and C.S. Forester (if you don’t know who that is. AT LEAST READ ABOUT HORNBLOWER BEFORE YOU COME BACK. And consider watching the movies with Ioan Gruffudd.)

I: My guilty pleasure… writing friendship scenes. Generally between characters from two different fandoms. I know, I’m weird. I don’t do the shippy ship. Instead, I like reading about people being platonic and awesome.

L: The weirdest AU I’ve ever come up with… well, the three-way crossover with Doctor Who, Hornblower and Forever is up there, as is the Doctor Who/Star Wars one. But the absolute weirdest AU I’ve ever come up with was to genderbend Anakin and Obi-Wan and put them and Ahsoka as officers on a privateer during the Napoleonic Wars.

M: Premises… let’s see… Well, there’s a couple of stories experimenting with gods as relates to science–specifically, people using science to create gods. They have nothing to do with most of my fanfics, honestly. They’re all original stories. Other than that, I have a steampunk/gaslamp story with a sort of Nazgul-like villain (aka human beings who were corrupted by Evil and Necromancy and Misuse of Magic-type stuff.) It doesn’t sound as awesome as it is because I haven’t mentioned any characters specifically.

N: Yes. It’s a very specific feeling, the ache as you search for something and then realize it doesn’t exist and then realize again that you wouldn’t be the right person to write it. Unfortunately, I can’t think of any specific examples at the moment.

O: It depends. Sometimes the plot comes first and the characters come later. Other times I’ll have characters but no plot and it comes to me slowly. I don’t really have a preference for one way or the other. It’s easier if I know the characters first, though.

Q: Discarded projects. Well, discarded scenes happen in every project (I had to delete my favorite scene from my screenwriting final project last year), and I generally have a couple of documents just full of snatches, vague ideas, because I hate to waste anything, and inspiration comes so dear. But my first discarded project… Probably the plotless Star Wars post-Original Trilogy fanfiction that sprawled out to 425 pages and had no defined direction or structure. Most of my other projects end up salvaged into another shape, but the Robin Hood retelling is awaiting new inspiration and the Arthurian legends novel about Lancelot’s son became a retelling of the legend from Mordred’s point of view.

S: Any fandom tropes I can’t resist? Well… Most AUs are hard to resist, particularly a well-envisioned historical AU. I’m not into coffee shops or very into high school/college AUs (though, I will read Hornblower college AUs so long as they’re not too shippy. I keep headcanoning Horatio as being ace, despite the source material saying otherwise. I even have my own Hornblower college AU where Horatio, Archie and William are all members of a study group. Horatio’s going into science with an advanced mathematics degree, Archie is undeclared and William is a history major.) I’m also a big fan of character development and particularly missing scenes (I was so mad that we never get to see the Doctor just being a father to Miranda in “Father Time” but more about that another time.) Fantasy AUs, sci-fi AUs or paranormal AUs–it kind of depends on what it’s trying to do and what it does manage to accomplish, but I do like them.

T: Tropes I can’t stand… well, I don’t read smut for one. I also don’t like a lot of ships because I personally can’t see them ever happening. I don’t particularly care for straight-up romance but I will read romance if it’s a subplot to something else (i.e. a crime thriller or suspense.) A lot of genderbend which has the potential to be fantastic turns out terrible because of poor writing or insufficient fleshing-out of the concept, or maybe just because the writer doesn’t have enough imagination, and that’s really sad to me. I also dislike omegaverse or whatever it’s called.

V: A secondary character I want to see more of: I HAVE TO PICK JUST ONE?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? If Obi-Wan and Ahsoka qualify (because Anakin Freaking Skywalker hogs the bloody spotlight all the time), I want to see more of them teaming up! I like Captain Jack Harkness, but the fanon has actually done right by him. I like Martha Jones. She seems to be unpopular, which annoys me because she is awesomeness incarnate. I like Mace Windu and I feel like he’s way too underappreciated, and portrayed as stern and unimaginative, which he definitely is not. I also like Elrond and I wish there was more fic about Elladan and Elrohir because what’s their story? I NEED TO KNOW MORE GUYS. Also there’s Claire Temple but apparently she’s going the rounds of Netflix superheroes so maybe that one isn’t justified. But the number one secondary character I NEED more fanfic about is the unnamed (?) priest from Daredevil because he’s seen a lot and I want to hear more of his advice and about his experience, which we won’t necessarily get from the show because, even though it’s Netflix, there’s still time constraints going there. And that’s really the fantastic thing about fanfiction, right? You can go anywhere or do anything and don’t have to worry about losing your audience because your audience practically selects itself. You can write about really niche things that would never make it on TV or as a book and people will LOVE IT.There’s also a few OCs I’d read fic about because I got to know them in another fic (about the canon characters) and I want to know more about them too.

W: Sometimes a general prompt isn’t enough for me. I tend to prefer the absurdly specific ones, because they will spark off concepts where general ones won’t.

Z: Major character death–better known as the biggest point of contention when it comes to fanfic. Yes, I have written it. Yes, I condone it, but mostly in one-shots because I can’t imagine living without those characters for long. There are a few characters who are ABSOLUTELY OFF-LIMITS, though: mostly supporting cast who deserved better, such as Foggy Nelson and Ahsoka Tano. I also can’t forgive anyone who wrote Jack Frost getting killed off or Steve Rogers either, and if you killed off Falcon I’d probably come and smack you with the frying pan of my URL because you can’t possibly have a good reason for doing that… Yeah, there’s a list.