#not again...... i'm not strong enough

[kyuhu]

pwetty

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

More silly MXTX polls to mull over for the week:

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

Jeanne d'Arc, Shepherdess – Jules Lenepveu // Not Strong Enough – boygenius

[galedekarios]

my honour pt save file was corrupted by all those hotfixes and broken patches.

i was in act iii...

i'm.......

[is-that-sand-in-my-waffles]

I'm like an ominous beacon of repressed sadness

[imminent-danger-came]

I was rewatching s2 last night, and ohhh man mk looks over mei so much it's not even funny. times mei has been ignored:

maybe you need to really listen! (during the blindfold ep)

mk just? grabs stuff she's using out of her hands all the time? (video game ep)

maybe you shouldn't skip the tutorials? (video game ep again)

the way he addresses her in dumpling destruction and then immediately pushes her aside for tang

i honestly remember it lowkey kinda bothering me on first watch but now it's REALLY egregious on rewatch. are you scared? I'm so scared. do you WANT to end up like shadowpeach MK

2x03 is so rude because the whole fucking episode they're like "MK you don't listen" and it's so true. He doesn't. Pigsy literally points it out again at the end of 4x14 with the whole sun screen bit:

Pigsy: "Tch, don't bother, I've been telling him that for years but he LITERALLY never listens." Sun Wukong: "Yep! That's how we role."

-

THEY'RE SO FUCKING RUDE. "That's how we role." We. We????? Wukong and MK???? Like WHATEVER. FINE. (("I told you going against the Jade Emperor was a bad idea, but no. Wukong doesn't listen to ANYONE! He just does whatever he wants" Like shut up. Shut up!))

MK gets so stuck in his own head ("You're all stuck up in your own head! None of this is your fault!" +1 to the MK ignoring Mei counter from 4x08) and I think that really contributes to his s2 scramble to get more powerful.

LIKE:

MK: "Stop? Now? Never! I just have to try harder. It's just like the Monkey King said! *laughs manically* I just need to get stronger!"

(2x06 Game On)

VS

MK: "Why didn't he just stop, right here? He was already so much stronger than anyone ever needed to be!" Macaque: "Wukong didn't think so, he always felt he had to be stronger—more immortal."

(4x11 A Lifetime of Mistakes)

-

(Bonus thing between eps 2x03 and 2x06, look at 0:42 in this video for MK hearing Mei but not listening to her. Because of course that's what he would do. *head in my hands .png*)

The terrible s2 choices both Wukong and MK make in relation to their friends is just absolutely delicious after 4x11. Like, OH. This has been a lifelong pattern of Wukong's—paranoia is one of his fatal flaws (paired with his terrible communication and self-sacrificial nature), and while he had the power to stop LBD before he still feel's the need to go after the Samadhi Fire to stop her now, and to protect MK.

Hold on look at this parallel that I don't know what to do with:

MK: "Ugh, I can't do it!"

Mei: "It's alright MK—you did it before, you'll do it again!" Sandy: "Yeah! Maybe it's like Monkey King said: the power will come when you need it most!"

(3x04 The Winning Side)

-

MK: "What! But you said the Samadhi fire was the only thing that could stop her!" Sun Wukong: "I KNOW WHAT I SAID! But I've beaten her before I'll- I'll do it again! Mei was right—I need to stop dragging you into my fights, all of you."

(3x10 The Samadhi Fire)

-

Wukong and MK's reach for power inspires a lot of fear in me! It does! Because, well, MK's current reach for power is going to lead him to his Monkey Form, and uh:

Like I'm scared. I'm scared!

"All doomed to play a role in tearing this world apart!" ; "This is Azure's utopia, and this barren wasteland is the price he paid to build it." ; "I'd do anything for my friends! But at the cost of the world?" "I'm sorry pal, ain't NOTHIN' worth that price!"

[elusive-outhouse]

i am twelve years old again and kicking my legs and giggling my feet

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

THE BEST OF SHENKO 1/?

The end of the world has a way of reminding you of all the things you forgot to say do. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (2021)

[gallalctyka]

drinking night aftermath

[grison-in-space]

Since the dental Tribble has been on a strict no kibble, no crunchy, no chewing diet. (In a week or so she'll be allowed to use her teeth again a bit more, but no one wants to see a dog get dry socket.) Spouse feels that canned dog food (perpetually on hand to make into pupsickles) is not experienced as filling enough, and we do know that Tribble has done better on grain inclusive foods for the past decade, so... the rice cooker has been simmering with chicken stock rice too bulk out the canned food all week, and Matilda and Benton have both gotten a fair bit of overflow rice as a treat.

Unconnectedly, tonight happens to be my first night alone as the sole human all evening in quite a few months. Matilda has been doing her job of enforcing bed, of course, but I can also rely on other humans to help make routine happen if she's too tired to be on it.

If I was worried that Tilly hadn't worked out her evening routine enforcement functions before now, I shouldn't have been. I don't think I've ever seen a dog so excited to move the evening along towards the part where dinner and the good cookies are.

[franstastic-ideas]

Concerning the anime adaptation of I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons:

In 2025, an anime adaptation of this web novel turned light novel turned manga is set to air, which will naturally result in the series reaching a wider audience. This story presents itself as a classic shoujo, a tale involving a determined crown prince earning the affections of a tomboyish daughter of a duke who has no interest in becoming royalty.

But the reality of the situation is... it's not.

I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons is, in actuality, far more akin to a psychological horror story, except the narrative is casting the female protagonist's predicament (being abducted and held captive by the male lead despite her many, many pleads and protests) in a decidedly comedic and romantic light.

My intention behind writing this post is not to tell anyone they shouldn't watch or read; however, the synopsis definitely misleads potential readers and viewers, and I believe those who expect a sweet love story from the synopsis should be informed of exactly what they're stepping into.

Let's begin with the official synopsis:

Duchess Leticia Dorman has been betrothed to Crown Prince Clarke since age seven. She was once a rambunctious and free-spirited child, but the strict education she’s receiving to make her a fit future princess has really put a cramp in her lifestyle. Her only hope is that the prince might someday take an interest in someone else—so when Clarke shows up to a royal ball with an unknown woman at his side, Lettie is overcome with delight, presuming her dream has come true and her engagement has been broken off! She wastes no time retreating to an easygoing countryside life, but her newfound peace is cut short when the prince shows up and claims she’s still his fiancée! Clarke is determined to win Lettie over and marry her, while Lettie is determined to resist his charms and escape! Who will emerge victorious in this heart-pounding battle of wills?

The premise sounds relatively innocent enough, no? I was under the impression the prince's persistence would involve him gently wooing Lettie in an environment she felt more comfortable in. But this is not at all what occurs.

Here are the important details:

The princess training Lettie endured is tragic. At age seven she was taken away from her parents and friends, and for ten years and ten hours a day, she was subjected to emotional and even physical abuse from her instructors. Lettie herself states she almost gave up on life itself, but everyone behaves as though she's being overly dramatic about the experience.

The prince claims to have loved her ever since they met as children and that the other woman at the ball was someone he brought to make her jealous, which backfired spectacularly. But he quite literally kidnaps Lettie from her countryside getaway with the assistance of her brother. He drags her kicking and screaming towards the carriage and then separates Lettie from her maid, claiming the two are "too close".

Lettie makes several blatant attempts to escape the castle he's imprisoned her in, and her desperation is portrayed in a purely comedic manner with the other characters becoming exasperated with her, telling her to give up and taking pity on the prince for falling in love with such an ungrateful young woman.

Absolutely no one at all ever considers Lettie's feelings in the matter. She is deemed by not only the cast but the narrative itself as unreasonably stubborn for not abandoning her desire for freedom and accepting the prince's affections, so she can produce heirs like a good little princess.

Lettie's brother is, pardon my language, a total bastard. He wants his sister to marry the crown prince, by any means necessary*, so he can ingratiate himself to the royal family. In any other story or one less warped, he would be depicted as the villain, but the narrative presents him as a lovably conniving older brother who wants best for her.

*By any means necessary involves Lettie's brother attempting to coerce the prince into assaulting her. And the only reason this doesn't occur is because, while forcing kisses and other forms of intimacy onto his unwilling bride to be is something he considers fine, apparently this is where he draws the line. And his refusal to not do so is depicted as a deeply romantic gesture rather than literally the barest form of human decency.

And none of the above would be any issue whatsoever were it not for the narrative itself making light of these events. This story would have been a spectacular tragedy or psychological horror were it presented as such, but it's not.

This is not the author pulling a Puella Magi Madoka Magica on the readers and viewers by leading you to believe it's a purely cutesy shoujo and surprising you with elements of horror. I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons insists there is no horror present rather than simply lying in wait.

Once again, none of this is to dissuade anyone from reading or watching this series, but rather to inform. I would hate for someone to stumble into this story and have an adverse reaction to the gratuitous amounts of noncon content when they were led to expect a sweet shoujo romance instead.

My Personal Opinion:

I've stumbled across some doozies before, but... this definitely has to be by far the worst "romance" I've ever read. I wish Lettie could have managed to run away successfully, perhaps eloping with a cute farm boy, or even enjoying a happy single life in the country. If the anime receives any attention, I hope fanfic authors will do what they do best and give the girl a better ending.

Preferably one where the prince is forcibly wed off to someone else regardless of how much he protests and her brother dies a dreadfully embarrassing death.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

A Blorbo You Treat Nicely, Right?

[hakusins]

hyv: releases pink foxian male

my sleep deprives ass delulu ass: .... ERI!?!?!

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

Of my 2% capacity to be attracted to anyone, my type is like 90% women, 5% pretty men and 5% men you would swear are super fucking manly, and never questioned being straight and cis, but are now suddenly *stressed* that they can't figure out why their attraction to me [fully socially interpreted as a woman and labelled that way up until relatively recently] feels incredibly fucking gay

[meggydolaon]

something that bugs me about Frieren is that the adventure of the Hero Party to slay the Demon King famously took 10 years... what about the return trip....?

[danielpowell]

I'll never be over Archive 81 season 2. The Outpost crew is just beyond anything. Clara. Lou. Caroline. Dan. Yes, even Rat at times. The dynamic was unmatched and gods, the tapes kill me every time. Reflection, Retaliation is imprinted into my cranium. I'm also so shattered that I actually enjoy the opening of it now. Like Dan nailed the screams, holy shit. If I think anymore about the season I might get too weird-