#like the heroine's journey has many great elements

[pikachu-surprised-face]

"Female characters can certainly have characteristics found within The Hero's Journey, but it would be difficult to apply characteristics found within The Heroine's Journey to a male character because they generally can't and don't relate."

"The Hero already has power as a man. The Heroine battles not only the conflicts at hand within the story, but is also dealing with the prejudice of being a woman."

ah yes. men just don't know what it's like to aspire to be in a more priviledged position, quite possibly requiring a betrayal of the self, eventually reclaiming initial values, skills or attributes.

men?? dealing with prejudice?? not having power?? has never happened, ever.

just. women can relate to element's of the men's journey, but men could never understand those female woman elements of a story. men and women are just so different, lol. men could never relate. I am a progressive btw.

[simpfiles]

Sweet Paprika

a sexually repressed workaholic business woman enlists the services of the office’s fuqboi to help her be comfortable/confident enough sexually to seduce the man of her dreams. despite being only 12 issues the plot is jam packed with all the typical hallmark tropes but with a pg-13 rating (for the american release) and characters that hold more depth than expected.

the series is shockingly vanilla for a comic about devils and angels, which serves more for aesthetics and puns than lore or plot purposes. but there are two possible trigger warnings to be cautious about and that’s the initial slut shaming that’s prevalent through the first six issues and an emotionally manipulative ex.

the art is beautiful and stylized in a colorful cartoonish way that doesn’t take itself too seriously. it’s a shame that half of pages are over saturated by text that go to great lengths of spoon feeding the reader exposition. while the ending does resolve itself rather quickly, the journey was a fun ride. if you’re looking for a feel good comic with a happy ending then look no further. i laughed, i cried, i gave it a 4 out of 5 stars and put the spoilers part of my review below a read more.

i will come right out and admit my bias for this comic is deeply rooted in the fact that found myself projecting on to so many elements of this story it was insane. paprika’s relationship with sex, dill’s relationship with his father, anisette desire for recognition, even paprika’s trash ex, burnet, it was like mirka cherry picked aspects of my life and rewrote it into a romcom.

but aside from that, i really enjoyed how all the characters in the series whether protag or antag were given a chance to be more than just their archetype. no one is inherently all “good” or “bad” or too far beyond redemption (even brunet >:I) and speaking of characters i just want to gush over a few of the main players.

paprika. sweet sweet paprika. i love her so much. as far as romcom heroines go, she’s not as intolerantly volatile as some of the hallmark ones. i appreciate that she tries clear up misconceptions through actually talking to the other person and actually admits when she’s in the wrong (something that seems to be an impossible task for most  hallmark heroines). her need to always clarify “petting included” is also a lil fun gag.

dill. need me a dill pickle sandwich amirite?? [[BRICKED]] i shouldn’t like this man as much as i do. he has all the makings of a typical fuqboi manchild and yet his desire to be “good” and pathetic allure has me captivated. also his communicate skills are next level. he stands talls where all other romcom heroes fail and i respect him so much for that + cute doggie uwu

za’atar. look, i don’t love him but i get it. he has a nasty temper, and a perfect mixture of possessive but still respectful. i like the contrast between his romantic life vs work vs the version that paprika has made up in her head of him.it’s very multifaceted. and i LOVE how nervous in bed he is. it’s not that he’s inexperienced but gosh, what a loser. i am once again captivated.

burnet. hate him. wish he had a worst fate.

anisette. bby girl bby girl. ty mirka so much for making more complex than the Bitch(TM). she’s still an archetype but a good one. i wish her nothing but love and happiness. i enjoy that she brings out a different side of za’atar and was able to be with him without being the “second” choice.

like i said, the ending was way too rushed bu this is one series where i’m glad everyone gets a happy ending (expect for burnet. die) and that’s a testament to just how great the characters are.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

4.25/5. Releases 9/12/2023.

Vibes: classic romcoms with a new spin, uptight anxiety man meets freewheeling lady rake, and friends to lovers the way it should be done.

When Josh and Ari meet, he's dating her roommate (the same roommate she's sleeping with). It's years before they're able to reconnect on the right foot, and only after major blows in their personal lives. As they grow into best friends, the inevitable tension between them turns into something totally different...

I'm really loving this string of contemporaries that take clear inspiration from God Tier romcoms. I don't think you need to be a When Harry Met Sally fan to enjoy this at all, but I do think that fans of that classic snark and feels sensibility will find this hard to resist.

Quick Takes:

--I do really want to touch on those WHMS comparisons, though. I'm a fan of the movie, and if you're a fan, there are certain lines and moments in this that will be clear, never-obnoxious nods. They're not lifting--it's definitely a tribute. However, I also think the book does some really interesting things by throwing a more contemporary spin on the story. Like I said, Ari and Josh meet in a love triangle of sorts--you know Ari is bi right off the bat. And that's always a thing that influences her journey and development. This is an m/f romance novel in which the heroine's bisexuality never feels fetishized or plugged in.

You also get a lot from Ari being the person who's okay with casual sex... only to have her heart crushed by love on more than occasion... while Josh is the one who seeks a solid relationship constantly, while never connecting with anyone on a deep emotional level. There's a gender flipping element that works really well here. The idea of Ari being a commitmentphobic snarker isn't something you see in many books. She's a truly "problematic heroine". She makes bad choices, she hurts people, she needs to grow the fuck up. At points, even I was a little frustrated with her. But the story is so much more satisfying in the end because Ari needed to work on herself.

--And of course, Josh is a great hero. I found him so................... much. He's big, he's shy and uptight, he just wants to settle down and be someone's someone. He could cook. Oh, and he can totally paddle your ass and call you a bad girl over the phone! Yes! (There is a moment over text in this book.... you're not ready.)

--There's a great sense of New York, New York in such an affectionate, romcom-y way? The setting is very lovingly done, and it adds to the sense that you're sort of stepping back in time.

--I've been very vocal about my antipathy towards friends to lovers. I'm not a big fan, generally speaking. I think it suggests a sluggishness and lack of desire and action from the hero and heroine. It often falls back on the idea that "I just didn't see you like that [for five years]" which is just hard for me to believe. But here, while Ari and Josh get to know each other over years, they're not truly friends for toooo long before the levee breaks. A good while, yes; but just enough for the tension to bubble through, never too much. Also, they clearly never see each other in a sexless way. You get so much longing, so much desire in this book, with neither Josh nor Ari ready to admit it.

--Another really nice thing about this book is that for the bulk of it, Josh is 34-35 and Ari is around 29-30. Neither one has their life totally figured out. They're both still stumbling through life and picking up and trying again. It's really nice to see, and fuck anyone who says this is New Adult. These people are adults, figuring their shit out, taking the time they need. That's normal.

The Sex Stuff:

I could have used maybe one or two more scenes, and one scene does cut off oddly early. However, when these two go off, they go OFF. I really liked the way they interacted through sex. It seemed like a kind of truly honest communication between them, and I found it really touching (and hot).

This book ends on a note I was delighted with--it really feel like I was watching an old school romcom come to a close. I had a great time.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dial Press for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[mysticaltheoremseeker]

BOSTH Background Info

Posting some general timeline stuff for Billions of Stars That Hide:

- Sonic still has his movie backstory, having been found on Mobius by Longclaw as an orphan and taken in by her before unwittingly leading the Echidnas back to their home and Longclaw sacrificing herself to save him. Except instead of the ring portal sending him to Earth, it sent him hurtling into Oneirogea, where he was eventually found by Tom and Maddie (who are both members of the Supersidia and its Great Houses, the reigning defensive, scientific, and mystical organizations within Oneirogea within the known Terra Hypnagogica) - it was with them that he would spend the next 10 years.

- At some point whilst he was wandering - before Tom and Maddie found him - Sonic was saved from an attack by several Negative Energy entities by a wanderer of Oneirogea - Frances the Dreamer herself (the 'main' heroine and focus character for a lot of stuff in the overall worldbuilding of Terra Hypnagogica). This ultimately motivated him to want to become just like her some day, becoming his heroic idol on the same level as say Batman, or the Flash.

- Tails spent most of his early life on Mobius, itself a war-torn planet rife with conflicts between various kingdoms and powers. Mocked and belittled for his two tails as well as extraordinary intelligence and having left the orphanage, he lived outside of the village for the most part and kept to himself - barring cases where he was inevitably accosted and bullied when he left his home. Circumstances changed following 1)  managing to detect and catch footage of Sonic in action, 2) being made aware that Knuckles, the last of the Echidna and greatest warrior in the galaxy, is now hunting for Sonic and 3) the gradual increasing Necrium (Negative Energy) invasion of Mobius and its reality managing to start showing the creeping signs of encroaching upon where Tails lives. The former motivating and inspiring him greatly, and the latter forcing him to search across the worlds of the galaxy for Sonic, before sheer chance breaches the dimensional divides, eventually leading to him ending up in Oneirogea where he meets Sonic and his parents, who he informs of the situation.

- Knuckles stays mostly the same; having lost his entire tribe in a mad bid to reclaim the Master Emerald and restore honour and being the last remaining Echidna, he was left with the grim purpose on his head of finding out where "Longclaw's apprentice" had hidden himself and prying the secrets to the Master Emerald's location straight from him, leading him on a journey through the various worlds of the galaxy hunting for Sonic. Ultimately, around the time he wins gladiatorial match shown in the Pre-Quill comic and recruits the hunters to aid him, Knuckles understands that Sonic isn't IN the galaxy and begins to question whether or not he's even capable of succeeding in his quest.

It is around this time that information provided by an anonymous benefactor (unbeknownst to Knuckles at the time - the source coming from Viralborgian elements acting outside his reality) is sent to Knuckles that tells him of where he might find his quarry and he is given the means to cross the planes and enter one of the many realms of Oneirogea - it is at this point that the growing strength of the Negative Energy on Mobius, lacking any natural counteragents, reaches a head and numerous entities begin to show up in the middle of the already conflict-engulfed world, worsening the situation. Knuckles is left unaware of these happenings, with his focus devoted solely to finding Sonic and acquiring the Master Emerald no matter where they may be. 

- Knuckles successfully manages to track down Sonic to the Oneirogean instance of Green Hills and demands to know where the Master Emerald is - Sonic, having lived in Oneirogea for the last 10 years of his life, obviously having no idea what he's talking about - which rapidly leads to them coming to blows. From here, things mostly follow the events of the movie's plot, up until Sonic and Knuckles (the latter being unknowingly guided by the aforementioned 'anonymous benefactor' that aided him before) reach the Labryinth and uncover the Master Emerald, battling over the right to claim the sacred artifact. Having disturbed and broken the wards preventing the temple from being tracked or located during their entrance and struggle, the Labryinth becomes utterly bathed in a sudden tide of Necrium as multiple Negative Energy entities (including the Oroliagor, an extremely dangerous Necrium based phantasm, amongst others) manifest within it, culminating in Knuckles' 'benefactor' - a Larsagul, manifesting and incapacitating both Mobians before claiming the Master Emerald and causing the temple to collapse on top of them. Sonic manages to successfully save Knuckles, and is in turn saved by him, but they are too late - the Larsagul has already left with the Emerald.

- With the corrupted Master Emerald in its possession, the Larsagul uses the unlimited power of the artifact to shear apart the walls protecting the reality Mobius exists within. Within mere moments of doing so, Viralborgian agents manifest all across it - including the descent of an apparition of Mathryonic. The reality is considered lost, with many surviving Mobians having to flee into Oneirogea as their universe is collapsed and added to the ever-growing power of the Imperium.

- Through their combined efforts, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles manage to find and confront the Larsagul, having enhanced itself into an even greater monstrosity with the Emerald's reality-warping capabilities. They successfully manage to separate and purify the M.E. from the demon, but not before it lashes out with a  dark curse aimed to kill Wachowski, shattering the emerald in the process and revealing the 7 Chaos Emeralds within. Merging with his body, the positive energy of the emeralds is enough to grant him access to the power of the Super Form - with it, he successfully destroys the Larsagul and purges the Necrium contamination from Green Hills. Following this, Sonic gives up the cosmic power of the Emeralds, which promptly scatter out across the planes of Oneirogea and Knuckles merges the shards of the shattered M.E. back into one whole.

- Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails then resolve to protect the Master Emerald and reality - but Knuckles is plagued by the fact that his actions ultimately caused the destruction of Mobius and their entire universe due to being blinded by his own pride and ambition, allowing himself to be manipulated in the process. Tom, Maddie, and Sonic offer to take both Tails and Knuckles in, to live with them in Green Hills which now has an increasingly growing population of Mobians migrating there following the fall of Mobius. 

- Knuckles and Tails initially find it hard to adjust to family life - both plagued by the traumas of their pasts as well as Knuckles feeling immense guilt for 'causing' the destruction of the lives of so many - but gradually begin to warm up to the idea of it with the help of Sonic and their new parents. Sonic tells them all he knows of the Supersidia and how involved Tom and Maddie are with it, further encouraging his new brothers as he tells them about life in Oneirogea. The three brothers eventually decide to work under the Supersidia semi-officially themselves, becoming renowned heroes over time.

- BOSTH proper starts.

[lucid-fate-if]

What are the ROs' favorite love stories or romantic fairytales, and do they try to emulate it in their own relationship?

Not all the ROs are romantic fairytale type of lovers, leaving only a few left. Specifically Dante, Fai, Saeko and surprisingly even Zephyr!

Dante - Would most likely be obsessed with Aladdin. Specifically the romance trope between princess Jasmine and Aladdin himself. For Dante, the most captivating aspect of Aladdin's love story lies in the way it subverts traditional class distinctions, with a lowly hero boldly pursuing a woman from the upper echelons of society.

Trope - The romance trope present in Aladdin is the classic "Rags to Riches" trope. He wins the heart of Princess Jasmine, who is initially hesitant to marry someone outside her status and class, but eventually falls in love with Aladdin for who he is, not just for his newfound wealth. This trope is popular in romance stories because it emphasizes the idea that true love can transcend social status and wealth.

Fai - The little mermaid is his favorite! This fairytale might be a good fit because it highlights some of the qualities mentioned, such as shyness, a love of animals, kindness, a love of reading, and the inability to express words an emotions. It also touches on the theme of wanting to connect with others and the struggles that can come with communication barriers.

Trope - He's drawn to the idea that true love can transcend any obstacle aswell, but more on an emotional aspects rather than social standards like Dante, even one as seemingly insurmountable as the mermaid's inability to speak.

Trope - "The Snow Queen" does not fit neatly into a single romance trope, as it is primarily a tale of friendship and adventure rather than a traditional romance story. However, there are elements of the "rescue romance" trope in the relationship between the main characters Gerda and Kay. Gerda sets out on a perilous journey to save Kay from the clutches of the Snow Queen, who has imprisoned him in her palace of ice. Along the way, Gerda braves many dangers and obstacles, displaying her courage and devotion to Kay. When she finally finds him, he is cold and distant, having been bewitched by a shard of the Snow Queen's magic mirror. However, Gerda's love and tears are able to break the spell and restore Kay to his former self. In this way, the story of "The Snow Queen" has elements of a rescue romance, with the hero and heroine being brought together through a shared experience of danger and hardship.

Saeko - The fairytale that would fit this girl would be "The Snow Queen." The main character, Gerda, is also shy but brave and determined. Like the girl in question, Gerda is fiercely loyal and protective of those she cares about. The Snow Queen herself, who is initially portrayed as a cold and unfeeling character, also shares some similarities with Saeko. Both characters appear aloof and unapproachable, but ultimately have a good heart and are capable of great compassion. The story of "The Snow Queen" also explores themes of love, friendship, and the power of emotion, which would be relatable to Saeko's experiences of being less familiar with emotions.

Zephyr - The fairytale that would fit this description is "The Tin Soldier." In the story, the tin soldier is a strict and disciplined figure who follows the rules and serves as a royal guard. He is renowned for his strength and appears unapproachable and mean, much like the described guy. He is also very territorial over the paper ballerina, whom he cares deeply for. The tin soldier is not emotional and doesn't like to show weakness, much like the described guy who doesn't like emotions because he sees it as a weakness.

Trope - The romance trope present in "The Tin Soldier" is the unrequited love trope. The tin soldier is in love with the paper ballerina, but she doesn't reciprocate his feelings. Despite this, he continues to love her and is willing to sacrifice himself to protect her. This trope is common in fairytales, where one character harbors strong feelings for another, but the love is not returned, creating a sense of tragedy and unfulfilled desire.

[thelittlepalmtree]

It's really annoying to see all the jokes about like "why would some 500 year old fairy man fall in love with an illiterate 19 year old??" Because like 1) just say ACOTAR like this isn't a common trope. 2) Did it ever occur to you to analyze WHY women fantasize about men who are centuries old? Because that part is not specific to ACOTAR.

The truth is that in fantasy romance the majority of the story is FANTASY including the romance tropes. And what makes fantasy great is that you don't have to experience it. Enemies to lovers is an incredibly popular trope but like 90% of people probably don't fall in love with people they initially disliked. And personally, that is my worst nightmare, that someone I intensely dislike is secretly harboring feelings for me. Romance is not about real love which is a fulfilling and difficult process that requires a lot of discomfort.

Romance is rooted in the true heroine's journey in my opinion. In MOST MAJOR (I didn't say all so don't tell me that some 200 person tribe in Australia is the exception) cultures the majority of women were relegated to the domestic sphere. Most of our women ancestors relied entirely on their father and then their husband for their social and economic status and had little means of choosing their partner or leaving him. So while men experienced the hero's journey and fantasized about war and monsters (things most men would not want to experience in real life), women fantasized about a husband who could maintain a high social and economic status but was also totally devoted to her and their children. They fantasized about difficulties that could test such a partner and prove he would prioritize them and fight for them. And of course, because women are and were the oppressed class these stories were seen as silly or frivolous while the heroes were seen as intellectual and universal.

So what does this have to do with the 500 year old vampire, fairy lord, wizard, etc? Well the fantasy here is that you would have a partner who waited his entire centuries long life for you. He has infinite stories to tell and yet he finds you fascinating. He may have been with other women but they all fall away when compared to his one true love. He's also usually rich and powerful because, again, women historically relied on their husbands for riches and power. The added element in modern romance is that he elevates the heroine to his level without her having to take centuries to work at it. She benefits from his experience.

You might be thinking "but it's so unrealistic that he would fall in love with a nobody like that." Well it's unrealistic that Odysseus was the only man who could string his bow, it's unrealistic that Theseus defeated a minotaur with string, or that Batman can outwit superheros, or that Luke Skywalker defeated emperor Palpatine. In "real life" all of those characters would likely have died in the first leg of their journey. But we, as a whole, don't find those stories to be offensive because a relatable character completes a remarkable task, in fact that's literally the reason people like those stories.

Wait, wait, I know the next complaint, "Well it encouraged girls to be attracted to old men." Somehow I don't see you complaining that marvel encourages little boys to put on costumes and fight crime, or that Percy Jackson teaches little boys to wrestle aligators. We're all very concerned about little girls looking for five hundred year old magical men to fuck. Maybe that's because you don't think girls are as smart as boys. Maybe it's because we don't teach girls or boys how to be safe in relationships. Either way, the issue isn't the romance, it's how we raise our children and the many other ways we educate young people. Is it possible that some stories in the genre are problematic? Of course! But that's a features of stories not of a particular genre.

You can say you care about women, but at the end of the day this is just another way to tear down femininity. You're doing the same thing the patriarchy has always done, discrediting something that women experience together because if it belongs to us it must be destroyed. How silly and ridiculous and even dangerous for any woman to think that she could be loved by a powerful man. How petty and frivolous for women to have dreams of their own. It's only a literary tradition as old and varied as language itself.

If you don't like the trope, that's fine, but don't act like it's any more ridiculous than the dumb shit men havr obsessed over for centuries.

[amaramiyu]

[Review] Pointe

Author: Brandy Colbert

Synopsis: Theo is better now.

She’s eating again, dating guys who are almost appropriate, and well on her way to becoming an elite ballet dancer. But when her oldest friend, Donovan, returns home after spending four long years with his kidnapper, Theo starts reliving memories about his abduction—and his abductor. Donovan isn’t talking about what happened, and even though Theo knows she didn’t do anything wrong, telling the truth would put everything she’s been living for at risk. But keeping quiet might be worse.

Spoilers Ahead!

Trigger Warnings: Eating disorders, mental health and sexual abuse.

First of all I must express that this is a great debut novel it’s a real page-turner. The combined elements of ballet, suspense, mystery, and the contemporary setting tied together beautifully in Pointe.

Our main heroine 17 year old Theodora “Theo” Cartwright throughout the novel is on a journey of self-discovery and has to come to terms with not only what happened to her friend Donovan, but also that she was essentially raped/sexually abused by her boyfriend who is a child predator/pedophile when she was only 13 years old and he was 26 years old (he told Theo that he was 18) at the time. Theo experiences so much pain and heartbreak and I felt her pain and suffering as a reader. She’s a talented ballet dancer and one of her class’s star students. I’m glad Theo had such supportive parents throughout the whole ordeal as well.

Hosea Roth is Theo’s main love interest a senior high school student who attends the same school as her and is the school’s local drug dealer. He moved to Chicago from Nebraska. He has musical talent and is Theo’s ballet class’s new piano accompanist. Hosea and Theo come to like each other and emotionally connect with one another. They also happen to bring out the best in each other in a way. They eventually start making out and sort of begin dating each other in secret behind Hosea’s girlfriend’s back. Ellie is Hosea’s public girlfriend and Theo is his private girlfriend. Unfortunately, Hosea kept making up excuses for why he couldn’t break up with Ellie, and eventually all of this sneaking around comes to a head. 

The author did a fantastic job of easing the reader into the story and sprinkling in key pieces of information as the story went along. 

Recommendation: I highly recommend Pointe it’s a great realistic fiction contemporary YA novel that touches upon many important subject matters. Also, I can see this being adapted into a limited TV series or a film. 

[asphodelical]

The Great Anime Rewatch of 2022 - Part VI

Kino’s Journey

First watched: May 2012 Rewatched: June 2022

Original rating: 8 New rating: 4

Holy fuck this was so boring. What an absolute chore. It’s trying to be deep and profound, but the execution is juvenile. You can’t try to be subtle, and then have your talking bike just ask the philosophical question at the end. It’s like a kid’s show where at the end they say, “and the moral of the story is…”

__________________________________

From the New World

First watched: 2013, original airdate Rewatched: June 2022

Original rating: 8 New rating: 8

It’s still a compelling, story-driven narrative. The two main things holding it back are its inconsistent pacing and lackluster characters. Saki is a really boring heroine, and everyone else is simply uninteresting. The villain? Great. They’re the exception. There are so many great and terrifying ideas here, and From the New World was absolutely worth revisiting. (The insert song in episode 16 was terrible. though.)

__________________________________

Macross Zero

First watched: October 2011 Rewatched: June 2022

Original rating: 7 New rating: 4

This Macross takes itself so seriously. Too seriously. Its characters are really basic and unmemorable, as is the music. But I do appreciate tht deviation from the franchise’s usual J-Pop idol route. Plus the animation holds up really well. Even the CG is still acceptable. 

__________________________________

Eden of the East

First watched: October 2011 Rewatched: June 2022

Original rating: 8 New rating: 5

I like the story, but don’t give two shits about the characters. I’m also probably the only person who doesn’t like the first episode. Why? Because throwing pennies at a distant fountain at the White House, giving a stranger your clothes and abandoning your luggage is all fucking stupid. And Saki is unlikable. Everyone goes out of their way to do things for her, and she doesn’t ever thank them, or do anything for them in return. 

__________________________________

Samurai Champloo

First watched: June 2011 Rewatched: July 2022

Original rating: 8 New rating: 5

Another rating change that crushes me. The nature of episodic storytelling means that not every episode is going to be great. (The exception is Mushishi.) But when the show is being helmed by Watanabe Shinichiro, it’s painfully obvious when an individual episode is directed by him, and when it isn’t. After a dazzlingly cool first episode, it never really sticks to consistent tones or motifs. Some of the episodes have diegetic hip hop/rap elements, some of them don’t. Sometimes the writers remember Fuu has a cute flying squirrel friend, most of them don’t. Very few of the other directors were able to embody Watanabe’s signature flair. One of them, unsurprisingly, was Yamamoto Sayo. 

Aside from the inherent inconsistencies, the main trio doesn’t really do anything for me. It feels like an unbalanced party and something is missing. Jin is surprisingly dull, and I don’t think the writers ever really knew what to do with him most of the time. Mugen and Fuu have fun banter, but on their own, their stories aren’t too compelling. However, Fuu is undoubtedly the heart of the show. It’s her goal that initiates the journey, after all. 

However, Samurai Champloo never felt like a journey to me. The comedic episodes are way better than the dark, dramatic ones. But I never felt like I really got to know these characters. In the end, you could pare down the show to about half its length and not lose too much. 

[yurimother]

The Best Yuri of 2020

2020 was hell in every way, and many of us are looking forward to new possibilities and advances in 2021. However, the year brought us many small moments and gifts worth celebrating. Among these, the explosive growth and change within the Yuri genre are among the most precious and most outstanding achievements. This second century of Yuri opened with a bang, as phenomenal new works, creators, and moments made their mark and helped change the future genre.

This annual list is a celebration of just a handful of the fantastic titles, people, and events in Yuri. There are likely some even greater ones that did not make the list because there is so much content in both English and Japanese that even I cannot keep up. However, among the troves of treasure, these titles stood out as shining examples of Yuri excellence. Some were released this year, others were recently adapted into English, and still, others are established titles that rose to prominence to dominate the conversation and my mind this year, but every one of them is worthy of being on this list and in your heart.

Here is the Best Yuri of 2020!

15: The Curse of Kudan Remastered

Japanese Yuri visual novel developers show no sign of slowing down as they continue to push to new heights and try new ideas. These are the same amazing people who brought us the delightful educational Yuri game The Expression Amrilato and the hilarious and surprisingly queer OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbando’s. However, this most recent release, The Curse of Kudan Remastered, is their best work yet. Released near Halloween, this game brings a new edge of dark mystery and the occult to Yuri audiences worldwide.

The Curse of Kudan is available on MangaGamer, JAST USA, Denpasoft, and Sekai Project.

14: Adachi and Shimamura

English audiences were finally treated this year to Hitoma Iruma’s long-running and wildly successful Yuri light novel series, Adachi and Shimamura. Although the story struggles to gain traction, dedicated readers’ have their patience rewarded with a sweet tale full of gay pining. Alternatively, you can jump into its stellar anime adaptation, with gorgeous visuals and realized characters you will actually be willing to put up with the annoying Yashiro just to see where the title characters go. The series shows no sign of slowing down either, as the manga adaptation is coming to Western audiences next year.

Adachi and Shimamura is available to stream on Funimation. The light novel series is published by Seven Seas - https://amzn.to/3rTSZTK

Honorable Mention: Happy Go Lucky Days

The OVA adaptation of Fragtime got most of the attention this year. Still, director Takuya Satou and Pony Canyon also gave us this much-overlooked “love is love” anthology movie based on Takako Shimura’s manga (Sweet Blue Flowers, Wandering Son). The first short in the film, “Happy,” is easily the best Yuri anime of the year. It follows the beautiful yet realistic queer love story of two women hooking up at a mutual ex-girlfriend’s wedding, only for the relationship to blossom and warm viewers’ hearts. Sadly, while stylized, the budget demanded the animation cut a few too many corners. Additionally, the subsequent stories are at best tedious and at worst alarmingly problematic, which is why Happy Go Lucky Days only gets an honorable mention.

The OVA is streaming on HIDIVE

13: Mieri Hiranishi

The Yuri scene has many colorful creators with a breadth of different ideas and stories in the genre, yet few have provided as much humor and joy as Mieri. This talented creator spectacularly tumbled into the scene with her manga essay The Moment I Realized I Wasn’t Straight, which embodies the brutal honesty and realism of Nagata Kabi and matches it with exaggerated hilarity. She continues to chronicle her painful struggles of being a butch girl in love with butch girls in the monthly series The Girl that Can’t Get a Girlfriend. Alternatively, you can follow her on Twitter for just as much heart and laughter.

Read The Girl that Can’t get a Girlfriend on Tapas and Webtoon.

12: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

My Next Life as a Villainess has what can only be described as volcanic bisexual energy. Every character protagonist Catarina Claes encounters is entirely enthralled by her. Of course, she is far too preoccupied with her quest to avoid doom flags and change her ultimate fate to notice any romantic interest. The series is rewarding and well structured, as views are just as focused on how Catarina plans to avoid certain doom as they are with the various romantic misses her band of companions cooks up. While the “friendship ending” did not capitalize on its Yuri potential, it was perhaps the most satisfying possibility for this crazy harem, at least until season two comes out, which looks, unfortunately, to be significantly less queer.

My Next Life as a Villainess is streaming on Crunchyroll

11: Love Me for Who I Am

Kata Konayama’s manga series is less Yuri than a general LGBT work, but it has a lesbian character and explores her identity and struggles in great detail. Few titles before have captured the exciting and nervous waves of emotions that young people feel as they explore gender and sexual identities and try to find themselves. This heartfelt and extremely queer series rubberbands between cute moe dress up to tragic and gripping backstory, keeping readers on their toes the whole time.

Love me for Who I Am is published by Seven Seas - https://amzn.to/3rTSZTK

10: A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986

Oracle and Bone’s debut visual novel, A Summer’s End, is set in a vibrant and electric 1980’s Hong Kong. Drawing inspiration from classic Asian cinema, music, and fashion. The worlds of Michelle, a young office worker, and a free-spirited woman named Same collide. The two struggle to comprehend and accept each other’s feelings just as they struggle against society’s expectations and prejudices. An incredibly thoughtful and touching adventure, the creators incorporated vital contemporary elements include Asian LGBTQ rights and growing political unrest in Hong Kong, into this illustrious game.

The visual novel is available on Steam.

Honorable Mention: Goodbye, My Rose Garden

In the same vein as A Summer’s End, Goodbye, My Rose Garden is a beautiful period piece that incorporates LGBT views into its shattering narrative. The story follows a bright-eyed immigrant, Hanako, wanting to make a new life in England as an author at the dawn of the twentieth century. She takes a job as a maid to noblewoman Alice, but their relationship takes a turn when Alice asks Hanako to kill her. This poignant tale is beautiful and an honest depiction of love and its conflict with responsibility and society.

Goodbye, My Rose Garden is published by Seven Seas Entertainment - https://amzn.to/3hFSyaG

9: Shio Usui

Usui’s hit Shaikaijin Yuri manga Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon could easily take this spot even though it is not even out in English until February 2021. The manga is already making waves and receiving constant praise. The characters and their journey to discover love and self-acceptance are as charming as they are relatable and grounded. However, it is the creator, Usui, who really deserves acclaim. Not just for their work on Doughnuts, but having a second serialized story, Onna Tomodachi to Kekkon Shitemita, in monthly Yuri magazine Comic Yuri Hime simultaneously. It is even more remarkable when you consider these two iconic stories are Usui’s first long-running works, as they only contributed one-shots before.

8: Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka

Bloom Into You is possibly the most iconic Yuri series in the past decade, and while the manga deserves its own place on this list, the best thing to come out of the series as a whole is easily the light novels. This trilogy by Adachi and Shimamura creator Hitoma Iruma dives deep into supporting cast member Sayaka. Readers are treated to a delightful journey as she discovers her sexuality, experiences heartbreak, and finally finds herself breaking free and falling in love. With the help of gorgeous illustrations by Nakatani Nio herself, Iruma masterfully captures Sayaka’s unique voice and emotions in this wonderful series. Whether a fan of the originals or not, every Yurijin must check out Regarding Saeki Sayaka.

The light novel series is published by Seven Seas - https://amzn.to/3hFSyaG

7: Our Teachers are Dating

The best a Yuri can get. This workplace romance follows two teachers at the start of a new relationship taking nervous yet enthusiastic first steps, including saying I love you, going on their first date, and even sleeping together. It is so heartfelt and salacious that readers will squeal the whole time. Additionally, our heroines are supported in their relationship by everyone they know, their students, colleagues, and even the principal. It is a perfect world for these two lovebirds! Our Teachers are Dating would easily be number one or two in any other year, but the competition is fierce in 2020. So even though this is only number seven, it is still a master class Yuri manga.

The manga is published by Seven Seas Entertainment - https://amzn.to/38XY3O9

6: Amongst Us

Who would have thought that a comedy alternative universe story spinoff of a fantasy action series would be the single best Yuri webcomic this year? Shilin’s astounding artwork illustrations the hilarious and irresistible journey of girlfriends Blackbird and Veloce. These two eccentric young women get into all kinds of everyday mischief that bounces between tender and touching romance, completely outrageous comedy, and downright thirst-inducing sorcery. Seriously, you should buy the first volume for Veloce’s back muscles alone. The storyline skips between time, but both their established relationship and their meeting as teenagers are adorkable and captivating.

Amongst Us is available online free on Webtoon and the comic’s website. The first volume is in paperback on Shilin’s site.

Honorable Mention: Éclair

There are a lot of Yuri anthologies out there, and they have done some beautiful things. Many focus on themes like Syrup. Others collect a series of stories by an author into one bound work. However, out of all of them, Éclair is the most successful. ASCII Media Works took some of the genre’s most extraordinary creators and let them do whatever they wanted, and the results are spectacular. The incredible talent behind Éclair somehow packs a full volume’s worth of story and character into just a few pages with every chapter. While the first volume came overseas a few years ago, Yen Press gave Yurijin a gift this year by releasing the entire rest of the series in which readers can get lost.

The anthology series is published by Yen Press - https://amzn.to/38XY3O9

5: I’m in Love with the Villainess

A small trend of isekai Yuri with villainesses emerged recently, and I honestly had few hopes of I’m in Love with the Villainess. The series is pretty popular, but I often find that this does not denote quality, and with isekai having some institutional issues, I suspected this would fall flat. Then the volume three cover showcased an incredible accomplishment, allowing for a lesbian relationship to blossom into a family with children, and it blew me away. Finally, I read volume one and realized that the series has incredible character, some of the best world-building I have ever seen in a light novel, thoughtful discussions of inequality and societal issues, and most impressively, open and frank discussion of queer identity and life Yuri has ever seen! This one is something special.

The series is published by Seven Seas Entertainment - https://amzn.to/3nedvdZ

4: The Last of Us Part II

Yes, I know this one is not Yuri and that a portion of the population despises this game and will likely be exceptionally angry at me for including it. However, I maintain that it was an incredibly challenging masterpiece. Naughty Dog did not take the easy route out and delivered one of the most devastating media experiences I have ever seen. As I said in my article about the game, playing it changed me, and it sticks with me to this day. The Last of Us Part II earns its spot on this list because it pushed boundaries more with LGBTQ inclusion than any other AAA game. From brave inclusion of LGBTQ themes to queer characters and storylines at its center, the game changes gaming and it will never go back.

The Last of Us Part II is available on PlayStation 4

3: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

She-Ra feels like the culmination of all the LGBTQ progress western cartoons have made over the past few years. From The Legend of Korra to Steven Universe, young people are finally seeing more LGBTQ people represented on the small screen. This epic fantasy concluded with an amazing and powerful lesbian romance, delivering on its queer promise and revolutionized representation in a trope-defying crescendo.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is streaming on Netflix

2:  The Conditions of Paradise

The greatest single Yuri work of all in 2020 was the English release of Akiko Morishima’s breakthrough manga, The Conditions of Paradise. Initially released in 2007, this anthology detailed the love between adult women. It was in every way a manga ahead of its time, and seeing it finally get a small piece of the recognition it deserves overseas is a true gift. The fact that we can own this legendary piece of Yuri history and Morishima’s other anthologies is nothing short of a blessing from the Yuri goddess.

The Conditions of Paradise is published by Seven Seas Entertainment - https://amzn.to/38bh4xq

Honorable Mention: Otherside Picnic

This eerie sci-fi horror series combines the best of pulse-pounding thrillers, complex and intelligent hard science fiction, and exciting Yuri romance. Author Iori Miyazawa spends as much time crafting a well-paced and intriguing narrative about a mysterious world where occult creatures roam as he does establishing two believable and grounded heroes in Sorawo and Toriko. The romance between the two may be slow to start, but their chemistry is undeniable and as the stakes and story build, so too does their relationship. Not only are the light novels incredible, but the series’ manga adaptation is coming soon to the West as well as an upcoming TV anime in early 2021.

Otherside Picnic is streaming on Funimation. The light novels are published by J-Novel Club - https://amzn.to/3niiv1g

1. Yuri subgenres

For a long time, Yuri was not a genre of its own, but elements of romances or bonds between women found in other works. Now, thanks to an increasing library of works, the advent of social media, and a wider audience, Yuri is a genre on its own, with many creators telling different stories in different styles. However, 2020 saw the continued emergence of something extraordinary, subgenres. Yuri is now so vast, we can actually categorize the works within. Depending on their characters, like classic schoolgirl romances or spicy shakaijin office affairs, their world, such as fantasy or isekai series and thrilling science fiction adventures, and even other elements within. One of my personal favorites is the feminist Yuri that emerges from titles like Sexiled, where women celebrate the accomplishments of other women and dismantle power structures stacked against them. Now, no matter what kind of Yurijin you are, there is something for you to love.

I am happy to leave 2020 behind, but I bring with me a renewed love and admiration for Yuri. 2021 looks to be a somehow even better year for the genre, and I am thrilled to experience every minute of it that I can. Yuri has transformed into something far greater than I ever thought it would be, and let us all enjoy its evolution and expansion together in 2021.

[variousqueerthings]

Daniel LaRusso: A Queer Feminine Fairytale Analysis Part 1 of 3

Disclaimers and trigger warnings: 

1. These fairytales are European, although there’s often overlap in themes globally. I know European fairytales better, which is essentially the reason I’m not going to branch out too far. I opted to also stick to Western movies so as not to narrow things down, but also in particular “waves hand towards all of Ghibli” amongst many others. There’s a reason the guys in Ghibli are so gender.

2. TW for discussions of rape culture and rape fantasies

EDIT: FUCK I’M A GOBLIN CHILD! FORGOT TO PUT A MASSIVE MASSIVE THANK YOU TO @mimsyaf​ WHO HAS BEEN THE NICEST, KINDEST EDITOR ON THESE THOUGHTS AND CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH TO THEM AND GENERALLY IS A WONDERFUL PERSON!

Part 2

Part 3

1. Introduction

I recently wrote a little thing, which was about Daniel as a fairytale protagonist – specifically one that goes through some of the kinds of transformations that are often associated with female protagonists of fairytales.

I used quotes from Red Riding Hood, Labyrinth, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Dracula, which, as an aside – the overlap between fairytales, horror, and fantasy and the ways each of those genres delve into very deep, basic questions of humanity and the world is something that will always make me feral. I will be generally sticking with fairytales though. Also I am very excited about some of those Labyrinth concepts going around!

I’m going to use “feminine” and “masculine” in both gendered (as in relating specifically to people) and non-gendered (as in relating to codes) ways throughout this, depending on context.

To be binary for a moment, because sample-sizes of other genders are low, women are usually able to fall into either feminine or masculine arcs, although sometimes the masculine-coded woman can become a “not like the other girls” stereotype and the feminine-coded woman a shallow cliché – in both cases they’re also under more scrutiny and judgement, so it’s always worth asking “is this character not working for me because of the writing or because I have ingrained biases? (Both?)”

Men don’t often get feminine-coded arcs. Because. Probably a mix of biases and bigotry. But there are some that seem to have slipped beneath the shuttered fence of “Sufficient Narrative Testosterone,” and Daniel LaRusso is one of them.

2. Some Dude Comparisons (Men Doing Manly Action-Hero Things like being trans symbolism and loving your girlfriend… seriously those things are hella manly, I wish we saw more of that onscreen…)

a. Neo

Much like Neo The Matrix, whose journey is filled with transgender subtext and specifically and repeatedly references Alice In Wonderland, Daniel doesn’t go through quite the kind of hero's journey usually associated with Yer Standard Male Hero, especially the type found in the 80s/90s.

Neo is my favourite comparison, because of the purposefulness of his journey as a trans narrative and the use of Alice. But I’m sure there are other non-traditional male heroes out there (but are they trans tho? Please tell me, I want trans action heroes).

Neo “passes” as a socially acceptable man, but online goes by a different name - the name he prefers to be known by - feels like there’s something inherently wrong about the world around him and his body’s place in that society, and then gets taken down the rabbit hole (with his consent, although without really “knowing” what he’s consenting to) to discover that it’s the world that’s wrong - not him. And by accessing this truth he can literally make his body do and become whatever he wants it to.

Yay. (The message of the Matrix is actually that trans people can fly).

Neo is – kind of like Daniel – a strange character for Very Cis Straight Guys to imprint on. He spends most of the first movie unsure about what’s going on, out of his depth, and often getting beaten up. He is compared to Alice several times and at the end he dies. He loses. He has to be woken up with true love’s kiss, in a fun little Sleeping Beauty/Snow White twist. Yes, after that he can fly, but before that he’s getting dead-named and hate-crimed by The Most Obvious Stand-In For Normativity, Agent Smith, and being carried by people far more physically capable than he is (people who also fall outside of normative existence).

Trinity and Neo in The Matrix. The fact that a lot of the time neither of them is gendered is something. Literally brought to life by true love’s kiss.

I’m not about to argue that Daniel LaRusso is purposefully written along these same thought processes, so much as the luck of the way he was written, cast, directed, acted, and costumed all came together in the right way. And this is even more obvious when compared to That Other Underdog Fite Movie That Was By The Same Director as Karate Kid.

b. Rocky

The interesting thing about Rocky is that he is (despite being a male action icon) also not written as a Traditionally Masculine person. Large portions of Rocky – and subsequent Rocky films – are his fear and insecurity about fighting vs his inability to apply his skills to another piece of work and wanting to do right by his girlfriend (and future wife), Adrian. The fighting is most often pushed onto him against his will.

Much like in Karate Kid there is barely any fighting in Rocky I. Most of it is dedicated to how much Rocky loves Adrian and the two of them getting together. The fight is – again like in Karate Kid – a necessary violence, rather than a glorified one (within the plot, obviously watching any movie like this is also partly about the badassness of some element of the violence – whether stamina or the crane kick, it’s all about not backing down against a more powerful opponent).

Rocky is played by Sylvester Stallone. He’s tough, he’s already a fighter (albeit in the movie not a great one yet), he’s taking the fight for cash – so although he’s also soft-spoken and sweet, you’re aware of the fact that he’s got those traits that’d make a male audience go “Hell Yeah, A Man,” or whatever it is a male audience does watching movies like that… cis straight men imprinting on oiled muscle men sure is a strange phenomenon, why do you wanna watch a boxing match? So you can watch toned guys groaning and grappling with each other? Because you want to feel like A Man by allowing yourself to touch the skin of other men?

Apollo and Rocky in Rocky III. This sequence also includes prolonged shots of their crotches as they run. Sylvester Stallone directed this. This was intentional. Bros.

Daniel LaRusso is not built like that. But that doesn’t really have to matter. Being smallish and probably more likely to be described as “pretty” than handsome, and not having a toxic masculine bone in his body does not a feminine archetype make. It just makes a compelling (and pretty) underdog. 

c. Daniel

So where does the main difference really lie? Between Rocky and Daniel? Well, Rocky has the plot in his hands – Daniel, largely, does not. Rocky is acting. Daniel is reacting or being pushed into situations by others. Just like our boy Neo. Just like Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Snow White – just like some of the women in some contemporary(ish) fairytale films like Buttercup (Princess Bride), Dorothy (Wizard of Oz), or Sarah (Labyrinth).

This isn’t a necessary negative about stories about girls and women, so much as looking at what it is girls and women in fairytales have/don’t have, what they want, and how they’re going to get it. It’s about power (lack of), sexuality (repressed, then liberated), men, and crossing some taboo lines. It’s also about queerness.

3. The Karate Kid Part One: Leaving Home

Daniel LaRusso is a poor, skinny, shortish kid (played by a skinny, shortish twenty-two-year old) who doesn’t fit in after having been taken away from the home he was familiar with against his will. Not every male protagonist in a fairytale leaves of his own will, and not every female protagonist leaves under duress – Red Riding Hood, for example, seems perfectly happy to enter the forest. However generally a hero is “striking out to make his fortune,” and generally a heroine is fleeing or making a bargain or being married off or waiting for help to arrive. She is often stuck (and even Red Riding Hood requires saving at some point).

Daniel then encounters a beautiful, lovely girl on the beach, puts on a red hoodie (red is significant), is beaten up by a large, attractive bully, loses what little clout he may have had with his new friends, and generally has a mostly miserable time until he befriends and is saved by Mr Miyagi. To do a little Cinderella comparison: Miyagi is the fairy godmother who pushes Daniel to go to the ball in disguise as well, and that disguise falls to pieces as he’s running away.

Then Daniel asks for help, Miyagi gets him enrolled in a Karate Tournament, and starts teaching him. Daniel wins the tournament and gets the girl, the end.

While Daniel has chutzpah and is a wonderful character, none of the big events are initiated by him, except for the initial going to the forest/beach (and within all of these events Daniel absolutely makes choices – I’m not saying he’s passive): Lucille takes them to California, Miyagi pushes him to go to the dance, Miyagi again decides to enroll him in the tournament and trains him, and only because Kreese doesn’t allow for any other option, Ali is the one who more often than not approaches Daniel, and even their first encounter is pushed by Daniel’s friends.

Daniel really is at a dance/ball in disguise and receives a flower from a girl who recognises him through said disguise, it’s unbearable! It’s adorable! I get it Ali, I fucking get it!

Daniel’s main journey within this – apart from not getting killed by karate thugs (love u Johnny <3) and kissing Ali – is to learn from Miyagi. He’s not necessarily a full-on feminine fairytale archetype at this point, although there are fun things to pull out of it, mainly in the context of later films and Cobra Kai: the subtext of karate and how that builds throughout all the stories, the red clothes, the themes of obsession, his being targeted by boys whose masculinity is more than a little bit toxic and based on shame… more on all that coming up.

He doesn’t technically get a home until they build him a room at Miyagi’s place, but he definitely leaves the woods at the end of this one, trophy lifted in the air after being handed to him by a tearful Johnny and all.

And then they made a sequel.

4. The Karate Kid Part Two: Not Out Of The Woods Yet

Daniel’s won the competition, Kreese chokes out Johnny for daring to lose and cry, more life-lessons are given (for man without forgiveness in heart…) and Daniel and Ali break-up off-screen, confirming that TKK1 was not really about the girl after all, which, despite Daniel and Kumiko having wonderful chemistry, is also an ongoing theme. Daniel enters the screen in The Most Baby-Blue Outfit seen since Tiana’s dress in Princess and the Frog? Or that dress in Enchanted? Maybe Cinderella’s (technically silver, but later depicted as blue)? 

(Sidenote: At everyone who says Sam ought to wear a callback to that suit,  you are correct and sexy).

Surprise, Miyagi’s building him a room.

Double-surprise, Miyagi needs to go to Okinawa.

Triple surprise, Daniel reveals he’s going with him, because he’s his son dammit.

The Karate Kid Part Two is maybe the least Daniel-LaRusso-Feminine-Fairytale-Protagonist of the three, because it’s not really his movie. Daniel runs around with Kumiko (aka the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen), continues to be The Best Non-Toxic Boy a middle-aged Okinawan karate master could ask for, lands himself another Built Karate Rival (twice is just a coincidence, right? Right?), and eventually doesn’t die while wearing red again – twice: When Chozen almost strangles him to death at the Miyagi dojo and then during the final fight. The Saving Of The Girl (both the little girl in the storm and Kumiko) actually puts him in a more traditional masculine space than the previous movie did, even if the main theme of the film is about compassion and kindness and by the end, once more the boy whose masculinity is built on rockhard abs and matchsticks is on his knees. Daniel just has that power over big boys. It’s called kick/punch them in the face hard enough that they see stars.

There’s an aside to be made here about how much Daniel really is an observer in other peoples stories in this, although he is the factor that sends both Chozen and Kumiko into completely different directions in life (Chozen and Kumiko main characters when?) Anyway he comes out of it presumably okay, despite being almost killed. Maybe a few therapy sessions and he’ll get over it. Too bad Terry Silver is lurking around the corner…

5. The Karate Kid Part Three: The Big Bad Wolf

Alright people have written Words about the third movie. It’s fascinating. It’s odd. It’s eye-straining. It’s like olives – you’re either fully onboard the madness or it’s too off-putting for you (or you’re like. Eh, don’t see what all the fuss is about either way...). It’s basically a non-consensual secret BDSM relationship between a guy in his thirties (played by a Very Tall twenty-seven year old Thomas Ian Griffith) and a 17/18 year old (played by a shorter twenty-eight year old Ralph Macchio).

Also recently we got more information on Mr. Griffith’s input on the uh… vibes of the film. Apparently it wasn’t just The Sweetness of Ralph Macchio’s face, the screenplay (whatever that amounted to in the first place – release the script!), the soundtrack, the direction to not tone it down under any circumstances, the fact that Macchio categorically refused to play a romance between himself and an actress who was sixteen, no: it was also TIG coming up with fun ways to torture Daniel’s character and suggesting these to the director. Clearly everyone has fun hurting Mr Macchio (including Mr Macchio).

The point is that aaallll of that amounts to that Intense Homoerotic Dubiously-Consented-To D/s subtext that haunts the movie and gives a lot of fun stuff to play with. It’s also a film that – if we’re analysing Daniel along feminine-coded fairytale lines recontextualises his role in this universe.

The Fairytale goes topsy-turvy. Through the looking glass. Enter Big Bad Wolf stage right. Karate is a metaphor for Daniel’s bisexual awakening. 

“Oh, when will an attractive man touch me in ways that aren’t about hurting me?” he asks after two movies of being hurt by boys with rippling muscles. “Why do men continue to notice me only to hit me? Do you think wearing red is making me too noticeable? Anyway, Mr Silver looked really good in his gi today.” 

Daniel’s diary must be a trip.

[class1akids]

people say Hori doesn't let Ochako have a character outside of Deku, but I think it's kinda unfair because if she was a guy nobody would complain. Katsuki's character is arguably more dependent on Deku than Ochako and I see little complaints. the little moments where Katsuki does have development outside of Deku, Ochako has as many of them. and for Katsuki the more time passes, the more his development resolves around Deku, which isn't the case for Ochako (who has a lot more scenes without Deku)

Well, there are many Bakugou stans too who are less than thrilled with Bakugou’s development as of late being so focused on Deku only (maybe we are just in different circles) and seemingly not having an endgame for his character that is not somehow about Deku. 

And arguably, Bakugou had many other people important in his arc - Aizawa, Kirishima, All Might, Best Jeanist, Todoroki, Endeavor -just to name a few, and his actions or actions around him have been pushing the main story a lot. I feel also that while the focal point of his development in the latest arc is Deku, the growth is fully about Bakugou. It’s his fight against himself - trying to confront and come to terms with what he’s done, understand why he’s done it, atone for it. Deku doesn’t even realize yet that Bakugou is doing it. And I’m sure that it will mean a lot to him one he does, but I think Bakugou needs to do it more for himself, to be able to break through the mental crap that’s bogging him down and become truly great like he wants to be. 

While for Uraraka, there is much less in terms of real development. The people who pushed her are Deku, Bakugou, and maybe a bit Aizawa, and it’s mostly in little pockets on the sidelines of main events. But the biggest force is Deku: the entrance exam, the first battle trial, the Cavalry battle in the Sport Festival, the Provisional Licensing Exam, the aftermath of the Overhaul arc, the JTA - even her new costume upgrade when they are not together, her new move - it’s all about Deku. 

Also, to me, her arc going from wanting to be a hero for job security and to be able to support her parents, to becoming a hero who saves because she can’t not - and it’s not a job, it’s who she has become as a person is much more important and interesting than the crush stuff. It would deserve to be fleshed out better, and not always being inspired by Deku, but let it be a more two-way street. Because that’s another difference - it’s true that Bakugou’s character is greatly influenced by Deku, but the reverse is true too. Bakugou has always been Deku’s yardstick in his hero journey, he copied his moves, he learnt his drive to win, he built him up as his image of victory. Deku barely ever seems to spare a thought for Uraraka. 

The stuff about having to suppress her crush to me feels a bit shoehorned to make her and Toga somehow into foils. Basically, it feels to me that a lot of the elements that make them foils don’t really come organically from Uraraka’s character, but rather it feels like the narrative really badly wanted to make a parallel there. Like not everything needs to be arranged in neat boxes and full circles. 

Having a crush is not like having a quirk with desires that’s harmful for others. It doesn’t have to be an obstacle in character development. The mental energy Uraraka seems to be expending on suppressing that crush just seems ridiculous to me. 

And I think these differences are the reason that fandom jokingly refers to Bakugou as the main heroine rather than Uraraka. 

[beyond-far-horizons]

hey, so enemies to lovers is my favorite troupe as well, but why its so difficult to find something good with this troupe?? latelly i am getting very disappointed with anything that says enemies to lovers, so do you have any recommendations, like books, fanfics, games? i am down for anything that has drama and good writing

WORD!

Okay I have very little time as I’m on a busy MA course but briefly - 

I think the reason this trope is done badly is that it’s hard to get right. Also people’s mileage varies  - we see this across fandoms all the time with what is seen ‘problematic’ and policed etc. That’s part of a much wider conversation. For me I just wish people had a more nuanced understanding a) that stories can influence society sociologically esp if the trends in the words of Pop Culture Detective as ‘pervasive and unquestioned’, but also b) many people know how to separate real life from fiction and not only is it great escapism to experience a range of different things, I’d argue in some ways to some folks it could be vital archetypally. In other words, I wish we could be a bit more forgiving of other POVs and more appreciating that what works for some doesn’t work for others in terms of enjoying Enemies to Lovers and villain-shipping specifically. For myself I adore a good Sexy Bad Guy, but in RL if I had a dude want to kidnap me and act that way without my consent I’d be like ‘f-off mate’ LOL.

 But I digress...

Hard to recommend without knowing what fandoms/media you are into and what versions of Enemies to Lovers you like (sadly I don’t have time to go through this even though I’d love to). Enemies to Lovers can be two basically good people on different sides of a fight or it could be shipping the altruistic protag with the (sexy) villain. Is it slash or heterosexual? I think I saw you weren’t a fan of love triangles which is another major potential element of this dynamic.

I like a lot of different versions of this trope but one of the major things I personally enjoy is an empowered altruistic heroine with agency in a pairing with a Sexy Bad Guy, esp if there is also a Sexy Good Guy who is his rival/frenemy. Now I know you said you don’t like love triangles but to me it depends how it’s written. For me I hate the YA ‘boring best friend’ vs ‘douche bad boy’ with bland heroine defining her identity between them, instead of being on a journey of discovery about herself and her world which the love drama aids in. It’s also about how these things get resolved as well. For me several things I really enjoy is a) sexual tension between heroine and villain b) cat and mouse games whether via fights/chases/political intrigue or all of the above c)philosophical conversations about the nature of life and humanity - I need my heroine/hero to CHALLENGE the villain AND vice versa. I want them both to grow and develop as a consequence. d) I want BOTH sides to be tempted by the other and there to be major angst but the tension remains because both sides are strong characters with deep convictions - I loathe a heroine for example that just excuses her villain’s actions because he’s hot or he’s changed (without reflection or atonement) or something. I also nowadays don’t really enjoy the ‘I need you to make me into a better person’ - nah mate do that yourself - she/he can inspire you but it needs to come from within (I love this about Zuko from ATLA  - he never needs Katara in this way although she clearly inspires him.) I need more than superficial stuff, I need deep reasons and emotional developments to justify their growing connection. THAT’S what’s interesting to me. Or if it is just the villain’s charisma I want to see the heroine deeply conflicted about that because it clashes with her powerful sense of self.  This is why slow burn is also key for me (also great opportunities for UST and angst hehe). Unless of course you are just looking straight for some X rated stuff which...fair play...most of us have done it. 

I’m not sure what you are looking in the trope but as for suggestions for the above dynamic some of the best fanfics I’ve ever read are ‘World Under Siege’ by @nofearofwaves (Loki and Jane Foster in Thor/MCU - slow burn - goes on to its sequel, canonverse set from the end of Thor/Avengers) and ‘The Cave’ by ‘Masksarehot’  -(Amon and Korra from Legend of Korra - fantastic conversations and very hot without being too porny.)

I also attempt to write a lot of Enemies to Lovers or containing that theme in some way. Fandoms - Naruto, One Piece, ASOIAF, DMC, ATLA, Harry Potter (my only slash pairing is young Dumbledore and Grindlevald but that is more friends/lovers as its the beginning of their connection) and Yu-gi-oh. 

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4317571/Girl-of-Blue-Fire

Some are finished, some are WIPs , some contain the fore-mentioned love triangles, some don’t. Obviously my best works are the later ones so you could check that out if you want and look at my faves??

Lastly in terms of some good canon stuff...like we’ve said it’s rare but I’ve heard good things about Children of Blood and Bone (i have it to read) whose canon enemies to lovers theme was inspired by Zutara in ATLA. Zutara also has some fantastic works but the canon story unfortunately short changed itself IMO. If I think of anything else I will add it...

Hope that helps and good luck!

Ps I’m also writing a TON of original SFF fiction centring on this theme - my latest has...wow...about 4/5 canon enemies to lovers pairings ( hetero, slash and fem!slash) with huge amounts of fanon potential so hopefully one day we will have more.

[incorrectadsom]

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Review (No Spoilers)

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue follows the winding tale of Addie LaRue a girl made immortal through a Faustian deal, but is also cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Three hundred years later, she finds someone who can remember her.

Style.

The most remarkable trait of this book is the style, a style I will call neither good nor bad, but characteristically Schwab’s. This book’s writing is what happens when Schwab is no longer tethered, freed, if you have read her other works, her Villains or Shades of Magic series, you will be intimately familiar with it. Rife with wistful metaphors and long, winding monologues like circling hallways. You will notice however, they’re usually cut short in her past works, you might not have noticed it then, but you’ll notice it after reading this book. Because they never stop in this book, they stretch on and on, and as she returns to her favourite turns of phrase again and again until they’ve stuck so far in your head you wonder how she thought of so may metaphors for the colour green. That’s the thing about this book that still wins my heart, this is Schwab condensed. This is Schwab’s meandering, wistful, nostalgic style first and characters and plot second. This is a book of atmosphere.

I was thinking of splitting this book into a list of pros and cons, but there are no objective elements in this. It’s biggest pro for one reader, a reader who wants to escape to ancient French villages and fantastical New York art exhibitions and Chicago speakeasies will also be the biggest con for a different type of reader, a reader who needs a villain to best, a conflict around every corner, a suspense to hang in the air. And suspenses are hung, but then you’re whisked away to a new land as you watch your heroine journey throughout history.

My best recommendation for you is to go to a bookshop and read the first page. If you like it, read it, if you don’t, don’t. You won’t have met the characters, not really, and you won’t have grasped the world, but, it’s most pervasive element, it’s style, is bared for the world to see from it’s very first pages. I mean this with no malice behind it, but I don’t think this is a book that could “win someone over” halfway through, if you love the first page, you’ll love it through and through, if you think it’s a tad boring, well that might stick too. When I see criticism of Schwab’s style, sometimes I agree with it and sometimes I merely understand it. They say she procrastinates plot progression, circles around the story more than she tells it, words flowing out of pages like a waterfall with no drains. For a few of her books-namely Vengeful and A Gathering of Shadows- I did feel pinpricks of annoyance. I felt I’d been promised an action packed plot and was stuck with a several page monologue about abstract concepts of freedom and power and yes, it was beautifully written, but isn’t this in the middle of an action scene? For this book I felt no such annoyance, because this book doesn’t have that promise of fast paced scenes and villains to defeat, and when that wistful, meandering style is the entire book, you can go along for the ride without wondering when the heroes will make their way out of their newest predicaments.

There are some downsides to this, in my entirely subjective opinion. Obviously for people who simply don’t like this type of style, perhaps people who adore the tight framework and near perfect pacing of Vicious may find Addie not as well suited to them. Despite my fondness, a downside is the several times I found I had turned two pages at once and not noticed, either finding myself in the exact same scene or assuming it had ended a page earlier. There are very few pages you could skip over and realise you had missed it by it being mentioned in future prose, while in some of her other works, the status quo changes constantly. In Vicious I was hungry, there was an overwhelming need sowed by Schwab to hear Victor and Eli’s past. In Addie, reading is less like running for my life and more like a lovely ambling stroll down a garden path.

Characters.

This section will be much shorter, congratulations if you’ve made it this far.

What is there to say of Addie LaRue? If you’ve read the Shades of Magic I would say two words, Likable Lila. Lila Bard and I have a complicated relationship, I love reading of her, I love her wit, but if we met in real life I’d keep a wide berth. Many readers have even less favourable ideas, her actions are often played as recklessness, but cross the thin line of “stubborn” to “stupid.” Addie captures that stubborness, that wit, but I was never annoyed with her, never thought I couldn’t have been pushed to do what she had. The slight internalised misogyny inside of Lila has also vanished in Addie, which is a great relief. To someone who hasn’t read Shades of Magic? Addie is someone so desperate for freedom she’ll ask it from anyone, from people she knows she shouldn’t. Reckless, yes, but you grow a respect as you see all she endures.

Luc. Awful. Amazing. Beautiful. Hideous. A real and true dark grey and you’re still not sure if it’s really grey, you’ll never be sure. He’s pitch black at first and Addie splashes like a drop of white, but did it truly lighten him? Or was it a trick of the light? Flowery prose aside, do I want to fuck him or kill him? It changes from moment to moment.

Henry. One of the rawest characters, and despite the pages and pages of Addie, his moments, his glimpses, make me empathise with him most. Best description I can think of is just, heartwrenching.

Bea. Please date me.

Sam. Please date me.

Robbie. I know he isn’t Robbie Valentino from Gravity Falls, but... Isn’t he though? I was honestly too distracted as I read every line of his dialogue in TJ Miller’s voice. It was a problem.

Overview.

I know I may have sounded a tad harsh in this review, but I felt I needed to bring it to attention to warn readers who know themselves well enough to know this won’t be their cup of tea. But I truly would recommend this to any reader who feels they can enjoy stories without high stakes, stories with beautiful prose transporting you to awe inspiring locations, stories about the journey and not the destination. And isn’t that how a book about an immortal should be? Never about an unreachable destination, but an infinite journey?

[oswincoleman]

Here is a new great interview with Jenna Coleman for Shondaland. 

Some particular highlights, that haven’t already been repeated 1000 times are the following: 

EZ: You had recordings of her real voice. So, in playing a real person, did you feel pressure to mimic her?

JC: Actually, I chose not to. I found a different person, on purpose, with a Quebecois accent [to mimic]. Marie-Andrée, in the voice clippings I was listening to in particular, had such a good English-speaking accent — I think because she spoke a lot of English when she was actually in jail. It’s a very specific voice that if I’d mimicked, I don’t think would have dramatically worked. I found a different Quebecois accent, which was my access point. That’s always a challenge when it’s somebody who’s very, very well known — you have to worry about mimicking or parody.

EZ: And were you able to let that prep go once you got on set?

JC: That was the key, I think. That’s how I wanted to work with Tahar. And, to be honest, how you always want to work when you arrive to set. So much of the process was about removing the technicality so you’re then free to just be the character. And working with Tahar was such a joy. I feel like the two of us — we didn’t really even need to talk that much. We just got each other and felt very safe with each other. He’s very, very respectful. It meant that we could explore and play between the different parallels between them. He made it very easy. He’s very compelling, but all my friends are terrified of him now. They don’t want to meet him!

EZ: Really?

JC: I keep telling them he’s actually a very nice guy.

EZ: What was it like to explore the same character over so many years of her life?

JC: It was such a joy. The arc of the character is so fascinating. In the space of eight episodes, she transforms and changes and shifts so much. Even telling it through a costume journey, a hair journey, a makeup journey — it was one of the really appealing aspects of it.

EZ: The fashion is killer. Is there going to be a resurgence in 1970s fashion after people see this in the U.S.?

JC: I feel like there’s a certain element of that that’s happening in the U.K. There was something that said apparently the sales on eBay of '70s clothes had gone up like 70 percent while it was on air. Let’s see if it takes off in the U.S. But in the U.K. it definitely has. And I have never had so many messages about costumes either. It was completely unexpected. I think it’s because they’re so authentic, and they’re so lived in. We had a lot of really original vintage pieces and glasses. It’s had a lot of love. We looked a lot at Bianca Jagger. And a very dark, brunette Brigitte Bardot. Especially when she goes to Paris towards the end. It’s all there in the [real] images, in the photographs of them. It’s a fascinating period.

EZ: Marie-Andrée is one of the more complex female characters I’ve seen on TV lately. Do you find these sorts of roles come around a lot these days?

JC: For me, landing in my inbox, this really felt like a gift. The world is definitely opening up. People want to see the messier side of women. As opposed to “Is she a strong heroine, or is she a victim?” People are getting a lot more interested in exploring all forms of women. Nobody wants to see a perfect person anymore because they just don’t exist.

[ninja-muse]

i’m trying to branch out and read outside my genre (fantasy) do you have any book recs for someone whose heart is in fantasy but needs to see what else is out there?

Hi anon! Thanks for the ask! Fantasy’s such a wide genre, and this is such an open ask, that I’m mostly going to be recommending books with similar feels or themes from other genres, to push you a little outside the fantasy bubble and introducing you to different genres and types of storytelling. If you have a favourite subgenre or trope or author, I can maybe get a little more specific or offer read-alikes.

Also, I don’t know if you knew this before asking, but fantasy is my favourite genre too, so some of these recs are books that pushed me out of the genre as well, or that I found familiar-but-different.

And this is getting long, so I’m going to throw it under a cut to save everyone scrolling.

Science fiction

the Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold - This is space opera, which means it’ll have fairly familiar plots except with science-y things instead of magic. There’s an heir with something to prove, heists, cons, and mysteries, attempted coups and assassinations, long-suffering sidekicks, and a homeworld that’s basically turn-of-the-century Russia but with fewer serfs. It was one of the first adult sci-fi books I read and genuinely liked.

The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey - I finished this recently, and the second book of the trilogy just came out. This is post-apocalyptic sci-fi, but not grim or particularly complex. (Some SF gets really into the nuts and bolts of the science elements; this isn’t that.) Basically, Koli’s a teenager who wants more than his quasi-medieval life’s given him, and finds himself in conflict with his village (and then exile) because of it. I could see where the story was going pretty much from the start, but I loved the journey anyway.

The Martian by Andy Weir - This doesn’t have much in common with fantasy, but it’s my go-to rec for anyone who’s never read science fiction before, because it’s funny, explains the science well, and has a hero and a plot you get behind right away. In case you haven’t heard of it (or the film), it’s about an astronaut stranded on Mars, trying to survive long enough to be rescued.

Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh - This is an alien first contact story, about a colony of humans in permanent quarantine on an alien planet. The MC is the sole social liaison and translator, explaining his culture to the aliens and the aliens to the human, and working to keep the peace—until politics and assassins get involved. It’s been over a decade since I read this, so my memory’s blurred, but I remember the same sort of political intrigue vibes as the Daevabad trilogy, just with fewer POVs.

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor - One from my TBR. It looks like dark fiction about women, outcasts, and revenge, which sounds very fantastic and the MC can apparently do magic—but it’s post-apocalyptic Africa.

Speaking of political intrigue and sweeping epic plots, the Expanse series by James S.A. Corey has both in spades. Rebellions, alien technology, corrupt businesses, heroes doing good things and getting bad consequences, all that good stuff. It takes the science fairly seriously, without getting very dense with it, and will probably register as “more sci-fi” than my recs in the genre so far.

Oh, and Dune by Frank Herbert is such a classic chosen-one epic that it barely registers as science fiction at all.

Graphic novels

It’s technically fantasy, but assuming you’ve never picked up a graphic novel before, you should read Monstress by Marjorie Liu. Asian-inspired, with steampunk aesthetics, and rebellions and quests and so many female characters. It’s an absolutely fantastic graphic novel, if you want a taste of what those can do.

I’d highly recommend Saga by Brian K. Vaughan. It’s an epic science fiction story about a family caught between sides of a centuries-long war. (Dad’s from one side, Mom’s from the other, everyone wants to capture them, their kid is narrating.) It’s a blast to read, exciting and tense, with hard questions and gorgeous tender moments, and the world-building somehow manages to include weaponized magic, spaceship trees, ghosts, half-spider assassins, and all-important pulp romance novels without anything feeling out of place.

Historical fiction

Hild by Nicola Griffith - Very rich and detailed novel following a girl growing up in an early medieval English court. It’s very fantasy-esque, with battles and politics and changes of religion, and Hild gets positioned early on to be the king’s seer, so there’s “magic” of a sort as well.

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry - A widow goes to the Victorian seaside to heal and reawaken her interest in biology. Slow, gentle, lovely writing and atmosphere, interesting characters and turns of plot. Doesn’t actually deliver on the sea monster, but still has a lot to recommend it to fantasy readers, I think.

Yiddish for Pirates by Gary Barwin - The late-medieval Jewish pirate adventure you didn’t know you wanted. It’s funny and literary, full of tropes and set pieces like “small-town kid in the big city” and “jail break”, and features the Spanish Inquisition, Columbus, the Fountain of Youth, and talking parrots, among other things.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - A thousand pages about the building of a cathedral in England, mostly focusing on the master builder, the monk who spearheads the project, and a noblewoman who’s been kicked off her family’s land, but has several other plots going on, including a deacon with political ambitions, a war, and a boy who’s trying so hard to fit in and do right.

Sharon Kay Penman - This is an author on my TBR, who comes highly recommended for her novels about the War of the Roses and the Plantagenets. Should appeal to you if you liked Game of Thrones. I’m planning to start with The Sunne in Splendour.

Lady of the Forest by Jennifer Roberson - Either a Robin Hood retelling that’s also a romance, or a romance that’s also a Robin Hood retelling.

Hamnet & Judith by Maggie O’Farrell - A novel of the Shakespeare family, mostly focused on his wife and son. Lovely writing and a very gentle feel though it heads into dark and complex subjects fairly often. A good portrait of Early Modern family life.

Mystery

There’s not a lot of mystery that reads like high, epic, or even contemporary fantasy, but if you’re a fan of urban fantasy, which is basically mystery with magic in, then I’d rec:

Cozy mysteries as a general subgenre, especially if you like the Sookie Stackhouse end of urban fantasy, which has romance and quirky plots; there are plenty of series where the detective’s a witch or the sidekick’s a ghost but they’re solving non-magical mysteries, and the genre in general full of heroines who are good at solving crimes without formal training, and the plots feel very similar but with slightly lower stakes. Cozies have become one of my comfort-reading genres (along with UF) the last few years. My intros were the Royal Spyness novels by Rhys Bowen and the Fairy Tale Fatale books by Maia Chance.

If you like your urban fantasy darker and more serious, and your heroines more complicated, try Kathy Reichs and her Temperance Brennan novels. Brennan’s a forensic anthropologist, strong and complicated in the same ways of my fave UF heroines, and the mysteries are already interesting, with a good dash of thriller and a smidge of romance.

Two other recs:

Haunted Ground by Erin Hart - The first of four books about a forensic anthropologist in Ireland, who’s called in when the Garda find bodies in the peat bogs and need to know how long they’ve been there. They’re very atmospheric—I can almost smell the bog—and give great portraits of rural Ireland and small-town secrets, and since not all the bodies found in each book are recent, they also bring interesting slices of the past to life as well.

A Burnable Book by Bruce Holsinger - This is essentially a medieval thriller about a seditious book that’s turned up in London. I liked the mystery in it and that it’s much more focused on the lives of average people than the rich and famous (for all that recognizable people also show up).

Classics

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift - I swear this is actually one of the first fantasy novels but few people ever really class it as such. Basically, Gulliver’s a ship’s doctor who keeps getting shipwrecked—in a country of tiny people, a country of giants, a country of mad scientists, a country of talking horses, etc. It’s social satire and a spoof of travelogues from Swift’s time, but it’s easily enough read without that context.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - Another, slightly later, fantasy and satire! Even more amusing situations than in Gulliver’s Travels and, while it’s been a while* since I read it, I think it’ll be a decent read-alike for authors like Jasper Fforde, Genevieve Cogman, and that brand of light British comic fantasy.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare - Also technically a fantasy! I mean, there are fairies and enchantments, for all it’s a romantic comedy written entirely in old-fashioned poetry. It’s a pretty good play to start you off on Shakespeare, if you’re interested in going that direction.

On the subject of Shakespeare, I would also recommend Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, and King Lear, the first because it’s my favourite comedy, the others because they’re fantasy read-alikes imo as well (witches! coups! drama!).

the Arthurian mythos. Le Morte D’arthur, Crétien de Troyes, The Once and Future King by T.H. White, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain, etc. - I’ve read bits and pieces of the first two, am about 80% sure I read the third as a kid (or at least The Sword in the Stone), and have the last on my TBR. Basically, these stories are going to give you an exaggeratedly medieval setting, knights, quests, wizards, fairies, high drama, romantic entanglements, and monsters, and the medieval ones especially have different kinds of plots than you’ll be used to (and maybe open the door to more medieval lit?) **

Beowulf and/or The Odyssey - Two epics that inspired a lot of fiction that came later. (There’s an especial connection between Beowulf and Tolkien.) They’re not the easiest of reads because they’re in poetry and non-linear narratives, but both have a hero facing off against a series of monsters and/or magical creatures as their core story.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - The first real science fiction novel. It’s about the ethics of science and the consequences of one’s actions, and I loved seeing the Creature find himself and Frankenstein descend into … that. It’s also full of sweeping, gothic scenes and tension and doom and drama.

* 25 years, give or take

** There are plenty of more recent people using King Arthur and associated characters too, if this "subgenre” interests you.

Other fiction

Vicious by V.E. Schwab - I don’t know if you classify superheroes as science fiction or fantasy or its own genre (for me it depends on the day) but this is an excellent take on the subject, full of moral greyness and revenge.

David Mitchell - A literary fiction writer who has both a sense of humour and an interest in the fantastic and science fictional. He writes ordinary people and average lives marvelously well, keeps me turning pages, plays with form and timelines, and reliably throws in either recurring, possibly-immortal characters, good-vs-evil psychic battles, or other SF/F-y elements. I’d start with either Slade House, a ghost story, or Utopia Avenue, about a ‘60s rock band. Or possible The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, which I fully admit to not having read yet.

Devolution by Max Brooks - A horror movie in book form, full of tension and desperation and jump scares and the problems with relying on modern technology. The monsters are Bigfeet. Reccing this one in the same way I’m reccing The Martian—it’s an accessible intro to its genre.

Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson - Contemporary fiction with a slight literary bent, that doesn’t pull its punches about Indigenous life but also has a sense of humour about the same. Follows a teen dealing with poverty and a bad home life and drugs and hormones—and the fact that his bio-dad might actually be the trickster Raven. Also features witches, magic, and other spirit-beings, so I generally pitch this as magic realism.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones - Another Indigenous rec, this time a horror novel about ghosts and racism and trying to do the right thing. This’ll give you a taste of the more psychological end of the horror spectrum.

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia - A good example of contemporary YA and how it handles the complexities of life, love, and growing up. Follows the writer of a fantasy webcomic who makes a friend who turns out to write fic of her story and who suddenly has to really balance online and offline life, among other pressures. Realistic portrait of mental health problems.

Non-fiction

The Book of Margery Kempe - The first English-language autobiography. Margery was very devout but also very badass, in a medieval sort of way. She went on pilgrimages to Jerusalem, was possibly epileptic, frequently “saw” Christ and Mary and demons, basically became a nun in middle age while staying married to her husband, and wound up on trial for heresy, before talking a monk into writing down her life story. It’s a fascinating window into the time period.

The Hammer and the Cross by Robert Ferguson - A history of medieval Norse people and how their explorations and trade shaped both their culture and the world.

A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor - Travel writing that was recommended to me by someone who raved about the prose and was totally right. Fermor’s looking back, with the aid of journals, on a walking trip he took across Europe in the 1930s. It’s a fascinating look at the era and an old way of life, and pretty much every “entry” has something of interest in it. He met all sorts of people.

Tim Severin and/or Thor Heyerdahl - More travel writing, this time by people recreating historical voyages (or what they believe to be historical voyages, ymmv) in period ships. Severin focuses on mythology (I’ve read The Ulysses Voyage and The Jason Voyage) and Heyerdahl’s known for Kon-Tiki, which is him “proving” that Polynesians made contact with South America. They both go into the history of the sailing and areas they’re travelling through, while also describing their surroundings and daily life, and, yes, running into storms and things.

Hope this helps you!

[violent-optimism]

Rey as a Palpatine and Why it’s Grown on Me

Hello my lovelies!

I think it’s been quite a while since I posted any kind of essay on here. Between work and other things I honestly haven’t had much time for it. However in recent days I’ve felt very motivated to work on a very particular kind of essay; a subject that I’ve been stewing over since December of last year.

Obviously from the title you already know what I’m going to be talking about. I’m not going to deny that this is a rather heated subject for some Star Wars fans, particularly those who disliked this plot choice and The Rise of Skywalker in general. As per usual in my essays, my goal is not to change anyone’s mind or argue over who’s opinion is “more right”. Plain and simple, this is just going to be me talking about MY thoughts and MY observations about Rey’s journey and lineage in The Rise of Skywalker. I hope this doesn’t need to be said but if you read something in this essay that you disagree with, I politely ask that you keep it to yourself and move on. At the end of the day, we are just talking about a movie, and this is all just for fun.

Now, with that being said, let’s get started! This essay is definitely going to be a bit more structured than my usual efforts and I hope this will result in a much more straightforward and clear-cut essay. Enjoy!

 1.      My Initial Reaction

 While I don’t want this to be a major part of the essay, I do think it makes sense to start this off with a little story about the time I first saw TROS in the theatre. I can remember it pretty well. My whole body was tense, my eyes glued to the screen for what I knew was about to be some kind of major reveal in the story (even if it felt very late in the film for such a scene). Then came those shocking and irreversible words from Kylo Ren: “You’re his Granddaughter. You are a Palpatine.”

Wait…what?

My mind recoiled at this statement. My heart sank into my stomach with complete rejection. This can’t be right. He must be lying. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit. A man behind me just snorted with laughter and I can totally see why. Rey being related to Palpatine sounds more like a crazy Youtube fan theory than something that could actually be canon in the Star Wars universe. We had always thought she might be related to Luke or even Obi-Wan, but…Emperor Palpatine? Darth Sidious? No, just no.

So yeah, suffice to say that my first reaction towards this plot twist was not very positive. I admit that even once the movie was over, I still didn’t like this reveal. I don’t even think I began to warm up to it until my 3rd or 4th viewing of TROS. I had become so used to the idea that Rey had no special lineage and she was just a very force-sensitive girl from nowhere that it was extremely hard to let go of that. And honestly, if JJ and everyone else involved had chosen to keep it that way, I would have been perfectly content. So why…you might ask, has Rey’s true lineage grown on me in the last several months?

Now, don’t get me wrong…there’s still a part of me that thinks it was a very odd choice to introduce a reveal like this considering what happened in the previous installment. However…this fact has already been discussed to death and this essay is intended to be more of a story exploration rather than a critical film review. So let’s talk more about Rey being Palpatine’s Granddaughter and how I have actually grown to love the idea.

 2.      Rey’s Journey

 Throughout the trilogy, Rey has had to overcome quite a few challenges in her path to becoming a Jedi. Her journey has been one of mostly self-discovery and personal growth. In The Force Awakens, Rey discovers that she is strong in the force and can do things she never imagined. In The Last Jedi, Rey’s strength in the force grows stronger and she learns to accept that her parents were nobodies and that some things do not turn out the way we expect.

And so, thematically, it would almost seem like Rey has reached the end of her character arc. This is Rey at her most powerful. There’s nothing left to learn, and there are no more secrets to be revealed…right? Well, we know that this is not the case. Even from the first scene with Rey we know that something is wrong. She knows that something is wrong. There is a darkness inside of her; she fears for her destiny and who she is meant to become. It’s not until later that we understand why these feelings have come to the surface.

Up until TROS, we didn’t truly know who Rey was or where she came from. However, by this point in the story anyone should be able to describe her as a character. Kind. Brave. Resourceful. Curious. Compassionate. Strong. Rey has proven time and time again that she is an incredibly kind and capable individual who wants to do the right thing. Although both TLJ and TROS strongly hint towards Rey possibly turning to the dark side, we know that our protagonist never actually would because we know who Rey is.

And this a huge reason as to why the Rey Palpatine reveal works so well for me. There is an incredible juxtaposition with Rey being the most heroic, kind-hearted person imaginable, and yet she is related to the most evil man in the galaxy. There is something deeply profound about the last living Jedi having Sith blood in her veins. Part of the reason why this reveal is so shocking is because the two characters are complete polar opposites in terms of good and evil. Rey is absolutely nothing like Palpatine and so the familial connection seems impossible. It doesn’t just seem like an unlikely truth, it feels entirely incorrect. And yet, that is also what makes it (again, in my opinion) so interesting and bold.

 3.      Meaning and Impact

 Apart from giving Rey one last emotional challenge in the final installment, I think this choice was made for other reasons as well (3 to be precise).

1.      It made Rey even more similar to Kylo as he too is grappling with the dark influence from his Grandfather

2.      This decision subverts a long-existing trope in fantasy stories

3.      Used to further tie the 9 films together as a story about the Skywalker and Palpatine bloodlines

Since The Force Awakens, it was made very clear early on that Rey and Kylo were connected in some way; their destinies were intertwined. Although this was further explored in TLJ, we would not truly understand just how similar their journeys would become until the final installment. The dynamic between Rey and Kylo is infinitely interesting because at first glance they seem like completely opposite people, when in reality they share a very similar struggle, especially in The Rise of Skywalker.

Both Rey and Kylo experience the overwhelming darkness of their respective families. Kylo even says it quite bluntly before the lightsaber duel on the ruined Death Star: “The dark side is in our nature, surrender to it.” He is quite obviously trying to use Rey’s lineage against her in an attempt to turn her over to his side. What makes this so interesting is that we know Kylo himself is not yet completely taken over by the dark side. Despite his evil deeds, he has always been conflicted during this story.

When Rey finds out that she is related to Emperor Palpatine, she becomes withdrawn, angry, afraid and unstable. This is the closest to the dark side that we have ever seen Rey at. Indeed there are some moments where she almost seems to be channeling behaviour that would be more suited for Kylo (snapping at her friends, using anger as power). Although Rey eventually comes to her senses and realizes what is happening to her, she was clearly affected by her Grandfather’s dark influence, just as Kylo was.

 Despite the fact that both Rey and Kylo come from families with a history of the dark side, the film makes it very clear that one character’s lineage is far “worse” than the other. This is where the subversion of a common fantasy trope takes place. Now, to be clear, this is only my interpretation and I don’t claim this to be exactly what the filmmakers were going for; however this subversion is yet another reason why I enjoy the Rey Palpatine reveal.

How many times have you watched a movie or a TV show where a character’s lineage was a significant part of the story? It’s probably more times than you can count on one hand, right? My point is that the idea of a character’s lineage/family history becoming a main plot element in a story is nothing new, we’ve seen this before a million times. For example, in Disney’s “Tangled” (2010) Rapunzel learns that she is the long lost princess who was taken away from her family when she was an infant. Disney influence aside, does this sound somewhat similar to Rey’s story? Yes, it absolutely does…but not in the traditional or conventional sense.

This is where Rey Palpatine (for me at least), becomes extremely appealing. This reveal is like the evil, twisted version of a heroine discovering that she is the secret heir to a royal family. And instead of the protagonist being overjoyed and enlightened by this information, the reveal comes with great personal shock and emotional turmoil. In this case, Rey is the Granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine, which essentially makes her Sith royalty if we’re being really comparable. Am I the only one who (for lack of better words) thinks this is insanely cool? Not only is it a direct subversion of a very common story trope, it directly ties into Kylo’s arc and it also parallels Luke’s family revelation in “The Empire Strikes Back.” Coincidentally, this also makes Rey’s journey similar to Luke’s in that regard, but I’ll get back to that later.

Now as you’ve probably heard before, as we look back on all 9 films in the Star Wars saga we can see that this is clearly a story about the Skywalker and Palpatine families. Granted, the Palpatine bloodline is largely unexplored in comparison to the former. We know that Rey’s Father was the son of the Emperor, but we still don’t know his name or who he really was. Ultimately this information is not relevant to the story as a whole, but it’s clear that Emperor Palpatine has been pulling the strings throughout basically the entire saga.

More specifically, Palpatine himself has always been tied to the Skywalkers. He seduced Anakin Skywalker to the dark side and later tried to do the same to Luke. Via Snoke he was also able to turn Ben Solo, who shares a dyad with Rey, Palpatine’s Granddaughter. It kind of comes full circle and it’s really quite clever in my opinion. The Villain of the ST is related to the Heroes of the OT, and the Hero of the ST is related to the Villain of the OT (Did I just blow your mind?).

Put simply, Rey being a Palpatine makes a lot more sense thematically when you examine the story that came before her. Families are complicated and messy, especially in Star Wars. Rey’s experience echoes this, but in a much darker and harsher way. Her journey is meant to resemble Luke Skywalker’s in many ways, but their stories do have differences. In Luke’s case, he actually got to see and interact with Anakin, the real face of who his Father was. Anakin Skywalker was certainly not a perfect person, but in his last moments he turned to the light and saved his son’s life.

Rey, of course, did not get to experience a moment even close to this. Palpatine is about as evil as evil gets. There is no hope or chance of redemption. She was forced to look upon her own flesh and blood and see nothing but a monster. It would be unfair to turn this into a competition of “who had the most devastating family reveal”, but the point I’m trying to make is that Rey and Luke’s journeys are undeniably similar, which serves to further strengthen the connection of Skywalker and Palpatine in these 9 films.

 4.      Conclusion: The Power of Choice

 I feel I must end on the note of choice, because this is how The Rise of Skywalker chooses to end. Despite everything I have mentioned and how much I have grown to love the idea of Rey Palpatine, there is something that I love much more than this: Rey Skywalker. Even just reading it or saying it out loud fills with me an indescribable amount of joy.

To put it bluntly, Rey did not have an easy life. In fact, she probably had one of the most challenging upbringings of any Star Wars protagonist. Yes, Anakin was a slave at a very young age, but he also had friends and a mother who supported him. Luke was even better off with a relatively normal childhood, friends and parental figures who loved him as if he was their own son.

Rey had nothing and no one.

She was forced into a life of struggle and hardship, not by choice, and certainly not by her parents’ choice. Although they loved and cared for her, she would never feel this or know it to be true until much later in life. Rey did not choose where she came from, nor could she choose who she was related to. This is perhaps the most powerful and meaningful message that one could take away from the Sequel Trilogy: You cannot choose the circumstances of your childhood, nor can you choose who you are related to by blood. However, you can choose your destiny, you can choose who you want to be, and you can choose who you consider to be your family.

Rey had all the makings of a villain, but she chose to be a hero. A Sith that chose to be a Jedi. A Palpatine that chose to be a Skywalker. It doesn’t matter where you come from, only where you’re going. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide who you want to be. That is a beautiful thing.

Well folks, it took me a long time to get here but we’re finally at the end. I hope this essay was able to make some kind of a comprehensible point. Even if you didn’t agree with anything I said, I hope it was still something that made you think. It was quite a lot of fun to really delve into this topic and explore every microscopic detail. I sure hope it made sense, and if not, I’ll try to do better next time.

Thank you so much for reading! Bye for now.