#perils of modern living

[gnossienne]

Not to be all 'Damn the Youths of Today' and such, but it truly is such a pleasure to engage in a discussion with someone with whom you disagree about a great many topics, and is a perilously lost art. Hearing another’s perspective and reconciling it with your own while continuing to be civil, and potentially even amicable, is so dreadfully necessary for us to make any sort of existence bearable. And in person, no less! The border between Good™ and Bad™ People grows ever bolder with increasingly less time spent interacting with the world outside of a screen, and nothing of substance can ever be said in 30 seconds or less. It is OK to have your mind changed, I promise you. Take your brains for a stroll, occasionally. What a damned waste of real estate, otherwise.

[hedgehog-moss]

(replying to this post)

That’s a good example of the perils of domesticating translations! It seems obvious that if you try to adapt an ongoing series by changing a main character’s hometown so it’s more local, at some point you’re going to run into problems, like a whole book where they visit their hometown, which will need an in-depth rewrite so it stays coherent.

The France-French translations of Baby-Sitters Club were still set in the US, so the characters had names that were slightly domesticated so as not to frighten French children, but not so much that it wouldn’t make sense for these girls to be American—e.g. Mary Ann became Mary-Anne vs. Anne-Marie in Québec French, and Dawn and Stacey became Carla and Lucy, which still sounds American to a French kid, but not as unconscionably American as their original names. (Part of it is finding names that won’t be difficult to pronounce—but the Famous Five kids had easily-pronounced names like Julian and Dick, and they still ended up heavily Frenchified, into François and Michel. And the books were set in Brittany in the French translations, instead of England, even though French kids could have handled reading a story that was set five metres to the left.)

I remember feeling puzzled about Nancy Drew at one point, because she’s such a household name in anglo literature and I’d never ever heard of her, so I was like, we’ve translated every other popular anglo series, why have I never seen a Nancy Drew book in a French library? And then I discovered that Alice Roy from the “Alice” book series in French was, in fact, Nancy Drew. It blew my mind—Nancy Drew is Alice!! omg, I did know her this whole time. I read somewhere that the French translation re-named her because French kids would have no idea how to pronounce “Drew” and because they would be more likely to associate “Nancy” with the French city of the same name, so it wouldn’t feel anglo enough. So, amusingly, it was a mix of domesticating and foreignising. 

One type of domestication that’s regrettably popular in children’s literature is “temporal” domestication—when you re-translate older books to modernise the language and remove references that would “confuse” today’s kids (not talking about changing aspects of the books that wouldn’t fly with today’s sensibilities, that’s another discussion.) In revised editions of the Famous Five books in the UK, “shall / shan’t” were changed to “will / won’t”, dated words like “horrid” became “horrible”, “trunks” -> “suitcases”, etc. It’s a form of domesticating translation—from 1950s English to modern English. Personally I’m not a fan of it, because in a lot of instances, “modernising” prose for children is synonymous with pruning it and dumbing it down.

In French children’s literature spatial domesticating is losing steam while this kind of temporal domesticating is on the rise—we now feel like French kids can handle reading about an English boy named Julian who lives in England, rather than making the story about François in Brittany, but apparently kids can’t handle reading about a boy who lives in the 1950s and speaks accordingly. In recent re-translations of the Famous Five books they changed the passé simple conjugations to the less complex present, and the “nous” to “on” in the kids’ dialogue among other things, to make the text less formal, more modern—and simpler. The Spanish revised editions have examples of both trends—George calls her father “Padre” in the original translation and “Papá” in the modern one (temporal domesticating—the UK reprints do the same thing, changing “Father” to “Dad”); the kids having tea was initially translated as “tomar el té”, while the new translation changed it to “merendar” (spatial domesticating—and sure, it’s a similar enough concept, but it erases cultural differences. If you’re reading about English kids you can accept that they refer to their snack time as la hora del té rather than la merienda...)

Idk, I think kids who enjoy reading can handle books about fictional children that don’t live and talk just as they do; identifying with people who are quite different from you is part of the fun of reading. I remember reading as a kid the Comtesse de Ségur children’s books which were written under Napoléon III, and the 19th century language was a delightful aspect of them—the fact that little kids my age used imperfect subjunctive in casual conversation was hilarious to me. I was saying in my previous post that domesticating your translation too much evinces a lack of respect for your reader’s ability to handle unfamiliar concepts, and I think we should try to have a little more respect for children in that regard.

[niawritesbs]

Time Off

TF 1-4-1 X POC Reader John Price, Kyle Garrick, John MacTavish, Simon Riley x Reader A break, they needed a break. Laswell knows they need the time off instead of worrying about Makarov and Shepard so that's what she gives them. Only, they don't have anyone to go home to that is, before one of their teammates invites them over.

"Time off? So suddenly?" Seargent Soap voiced everyone's thoughts to Laswell. She had just updated them on the whereabouts of General Shepard and briefed them on what actions to take when the topic of Makarov came up when she brought up them taking some time off. It stunned them to silence when hearing her bring up the cold season and going home to whoever may be waiting and if not take some time to take care of themselves properly.

"Yes Seargent and that's not a request it's an order I like you all but I'm getting sick of seeing your faces so take the time off and enjoy yourselves. Dismissed." With that, she shooed them out of her office and they all stood outside the door wondering what the hell they'd do with this time off. Standing more off to the side than the others, Ghost looked over at you seeing you were the only one not in distress at the order.

"You don't seem to be in peril Seargent, you got plans when you head home?" It was a surprise hearing ghost ask you such a personal question. Although he has gotten comfortable with his team, it is rather odd of him to ask. The others got over their initial shock and looked over at you now suddenly curious as well. You let out a sigh before speaking.

"No, I don't, I'm heading home to an empty home just like the rest of you. If you guys are so struck by what to do then why not come with me for the break? It gives me a reason to use all the groceries that get replaced in my home every two months." In all honesty, you asked them not only to stop them from being lonely during their break but to also stop yourself from being lonely as well. Like them, there was no one waiting in your two-story home for you so why not spend the lonely days to come with people you've learned to call family?

You trust these four men with your life should that day come and they do as well. It would be a way to strengthen that already tight bond you all have together and it would give you a chance to boast about your impeccable cooking skills.

"Are you sure? This is your home we're talking about, you sure you want us to intrude like that?" Soap was a bit reluctant to the offer because while he was internally excited at it, the last thing he wanted to do was intrude. How cute.

With a nod of your head and some light reassurance, they all agreed to go and split up to get packed and meet up at 1400 (2:00 pm) to leave for the airport. Soon, you five were all set and on a plane to the state you lived in and on the road to your home.

Your home was two stories and quite modern, away from most of the town but close enough to get supplies when needed, and surprisingly once the owners who originally rented it to you passed, your rent was dropped by a lot and eventually sold to you completely.

Walking inside you took your shoes off and looked around the entrance hallway feeling so much nostalgia. The men behind you followed suit removing their shoes and following you inside your home staying suspiciously quiet. In reality, they were nervous being in your home, you had told them it had enough rooms and a pull-out bed for them all to sleep over but they were nervous nonetheless. You set your bag on the dining table before walking into the kitchen looking through the cabinets to see fresh groceries with a note from the carrier that they were recently restocked. You made a note to increase their pay at the start of the next year.

"You guys can get yourself settled in while I pull some things out for dinner. There's one room downstairs and three upstairs. I'll set up the pull-out bed for whoever claims that one but you can put your things in the two other rooms. " You were already pulling some things out of the fridge after washing your hands, while you were talking to them and when you finished you heard shuffling and small grunts of acknowledgment to your words as the four men did as told.

Gaz and Price chose the two rooms upstairs while Soap chose the couch bed leaving Ghost with the room downstairs. As they were settling in, they all took the time to look around but not pry too much. They saw that your home wasn't really what they expected. No pictures of friends or family, no personalization even when Price stepped into your room accidentally thinking it was the guest room. The only way he knew it was yours was the neatly folded underwear on your bed that seemed like it was gonna get packed but never made it. When he turned to leave he caught glimpse of a pocket-sized picture of you holding a newborn baby laying on the floor by the end of the bed. It's not something he would ever guess he would see especially if it was you. He closed the door and said nothing as he found the correct room and got himself settled in.

While you began cooking you took a break while things were heating up to put your things away in your own room.

"You guys should go shower while you're at it, it'll be a minute before I'm done cooking anyway so might as well, right?" And so the night went on.

You eventually finished your cooking and you along with the four ate. It was quiet and awkward but eventually, Soap popped a question and you soon fell into lively chatter, Ghost and soap falling into petty banter while Price entertained it and Gaz chuckled quietly to himself. You eventually pulled out some whiskey much to Ghost's dismay. "I drink Bourbon" He defensively said, though, you could see the amusement in his eyes. He had his Balaclava on but the black makeup was removed when he showered and he felt comfortable enough to show us that much. Not like you all hadn't seen his face before but the point is made.

When you all were done, Gaz being the sweetheart he was offered, no, told you he was going to clean up while you relaxed. "You've been on your feet since we came so I got it, go relax." You could feel your heart clench at his words.

Ever since you got recruited for 1-4-1, Gaz had been nothing but a sweetheart through and through, not to mention a heartthrob when he threw in his small compliments with a shy tone. Price wasn't as bad, but the captain wasn't shy when complimenting or downright flirting with you. It wasn't the overly obvious flirts nor did say it in front of people but, he was quite the charmer when he wanted to be.

Soap on the other hand didn't care who was around, if you did an amazing job on a particular mission or any mission at all, he would praise you till you told him to stop. He loves seeing the twinkle in your eyes or the pep in your step when you got praised for doing a good job. It made him feel good knowing you were happy from his words. Ghost wasn't one to be vocal, everyone in and out of the task force knew that. He wasn't one to just compliment and praise for any small thing but, when it came to you, he would find himself biting back the overwhelming feeling of pride he felt. Whenever you did something right even when you second-guessed yourself when you take out more than one person at a time. He finds himself grinning under his mask and petting your head lightly, chuckling to himself at the happy look you sprung onto your face at the act.

They all slowly began to love your reactions and you as a whole. They became protective even borderline possessive when Shepard ordered you to stay out of a mission while the others were told to go. "They are a part of this team, where we go, they go no questions asked about it, so if you want us to do this I suggest you make your changes from now." Stunned was General Shepard hearing Ghost speak up like that. You had only been on the team for a couple months so he didn't think they were gonna get attached so quickly, boy was he wrong.

Now here you all are, spread on the couches tipsy and happy, chuckling at Soap's slurred speaking not even understanding the lad as his accent gets heavier. Relaxed is a word none of you would associate yourselves with, especially in your line of work, but tonight? Warm, comfortable, and happy in each other's presence? I would say this is the most relaxed they've ever been.

With your head on Price's lap and your legs on Soap's, Ghost sitting on the floor near the couch, and Gaz on the single couch, they all stared at your resting face, dark skin glowing under the light of the fireplace lit rid the chill that came with the upcoming season. They watched in a comforting silence as you succumbed to sleep, pressing your cheek into the captain's thigh and mumbling a drunken goodnight. A fluttering feeling filled their chest, they didn't know what it was but all they knew was that if anything happened to you, it would be over for them.

A break. They all needed a break, even you.

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Penguins on Parade

Edgar Allan Poe: i feel like there's been way too much drama here lately Poe: too many cranks just venting obsessions and paranoias! Poe: can't we just hear a nice, simple, old-fashioned horror story? HP Lovecraft: i-i've got one Poe: ...son of a bitch

Poe: ok howard let's hear it August Derleth: wooo! yeah! Derleth: go off Howard, you got this! Lovecraft: y-yeah ok Derleth: a-grade storytelling, right here! modern master!

Lovecraft: a premise occurred to me one night while in the throes of fitful sleep Derleth: yes! yes! tossing and turning! sweat that plot out Lovecraft: about an ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic Derleth: cold as ice! chilly like my willy, baby Lovecraft: p-please stop

Poe: ah, the South Pole Poe: a promising location for a doomed voyage Poe: not to spoil anything but Poe: they all drown in the magnetic whirlpool, right? Lovecraft: Poe: that resides at the bottom of the world, right? Lovecraft: Poe: perhaps they're slaughtered by hostile peoples of the inner earth?

Lovecraft: n... Lovecraft: no, there's a continent there Poe: oh, a fantasy story? fun!

Lovecraft: even the beginning of this terrible journey is fraught with peril Lovecraft: for they must encounter that most loathsome of all birds Lovecraft: THE PENGUIN Clive Barker: Barker: ah ha ha Barker: oh man Barker: let's fucking go, curtain up

Dean Koontz: i like penguins :) Koontz: stephen let me watch happy feet Koontz: it was funny Koontz: except for the seal Stephen King: we had to fast-forward past the seal King: and the orcas King: pretty much the entire second half Koontz: i like when they dance

Lovecraft: b-but these are no ordinary penguins Lovecraft: the average penguin is black AND white Lovecraft: a hideous mixture in itself Lovecraft: yet these massive creatures are ALBINO

Lovecraft: so pale as to be mistaken for snowdrifts at a distance Lovecraft: you might say they are passing for white Poe: uhh Derleth: shhh, let him cook

Lovecraft: t-the group found a perplexing frozen specimen Lovecraft: i-it was only when they discovered the ruins later that they realized it was a being of great intelligence Lovecraft: for, you see Lovecraft: the thing had no skull to measure

Lovecraft: millions of years ago, the Old Ones flourished upon the continent Lovecraft: they built a society dedicated to pure scientific achievement Lovecraft: yet, in the cruelest irony Lovecraft: they were overwhelmed by sheer brute strength Barker: lol Barker: get owned nerds

Lovecraft: i-it was a most grand civilization Lovecraft: accomplished universities. safe to slither the streets at night Lovecraft: and then a certain kind of creature Lovecraft: i shall not say whom Lovecraft: took over Lovecraft: and the property values... they plummeted

Derleth: okay look i'm getting a little sick of all of you calling Howard a bigot Derleth: i keep telling you he's simply a man of his time Lovecraft: the shoggoths were faceless slaves of the deepest black hue Lovecraft: possessing a fiendish malevolence to compensate for their lack of a brain Derleth: Derleth: oh and i suppose you're just going to take THAT out of context

Lovecraft: most chilling of all the shoggoths' attributes was their infernal piping Lovecraft: it imitated the structure of the Old Ones' music Lovecraft: but it was as if they spoke rather than harmonized it Lovecraft: and inserted coarse references to anatomy

Lovecraft: there were indeed some horrors in this house Lovecraft: and they were wet and gushy Lovecraft: no bucket or mop would suffice

Lovecraft: they escaped with their lives, yet Danford was tormented by visions of the shoggoth unto madness Lovecraft: for knowledge of the unknown has a terrible price, and death and ignorance are our only mercies Lovecraft: the end Derleth: Barker: Poe: Koontz: King: King: so, Dean, I have this DVD of Norm of the North

John W. Campbell: say, that's a pretty good yarn, but couldn't more happen with the shapeshifting Campbell: what if the shoggoth was able to fully mimic its human prey Lovecraft: fully ASSIMILATED among men? Lovecraft: there is cosmic horror, sir, and then there is simply bad taste

Thanks to guest writer my pal Morbiose for help with this thread!

[tyrantisterror]

It might just be me projecting my own bullshit onto something I like, but I think the popularity of both Spy X Family and Chainsaw Man is in part due to how they articulate the modern anxiety of how impossible it seems to live instead of merely existing.

Almost all the characters in Chainsaw Man are struggling just to get by, with Denji being one of the most hard-luck cases of any fictional character ever.  Dude sold his organs for money when he was a child, man.  The sheer abuse and poverty he’s suffered before the story even starts makes living in a shithole apartment eating ramen noodles seem like paradise, to the point where he’s willing to take on a life-threatening and utterly horrifying monster-hunting gig - one that’s far more dangerous and traumatizing than is normal for the Monster Of The Week genre - just to keep up that bare minimum existence.  Denji’s goals in life are incredibly humble - he wants toast with butter and jam, he wants to take baths regularly, he wants to get a kiss from a pretty girl and maybe touch her boob with her consent.  It’s, like, basic shit, basic animal desires, and the sheer amount of toil and mortal peril he has to endure get a fraction of that is staggering - and almost every other character around him is in the same boat, from Kobeni who’s taking up the same job not even for her sake, but to support her brother’s hopes of going to college and relieve her family of the “burden” of paying for her existence, to Power, who has to keep working as a devil hunter if she doesn’t want to be executed for being a fiend (i.e. a devil inhabiting a human corpse).  Everyone is suffering, everyone is clinging to life by their fingernails, and everyone’s reward for going through all this shit is to barely scrape by.

Towards the end of the first arc of Chainsaw Man, Denji, having finally decided to kill his evil boss who’s been exploiting his basic human desires to suit her own ends, proudly declares that he’s no longer satisfied with the minimum.  He wants to eat steaks every day, he wants to date a BUNCH of pretty girls, he wants to live, goddammit!  And that passion helps him do the impossible, a passion that everyone should be allowed to feel.

Spy X Family, ostensibly a cheerier series, has its characters begin with even less than Denji in some respects - because while Denji at least consistently hopes for a better, "normal” life, almost all of the protagonists of Spy X Family initially believe that a better life is impossible for them.  Twilight/Loid Forger became a spy because he essentially lost everything during the war, and has chosen to dedicate his entire life to this job - forsaking all thoughts of personal happiness in the process - for the sake of making sure no one else has to go through that again.  Yor Forger became an assassin at a young age to financially support her brother after they were orphaned, and believes the nature of her work and the blood it’s left on her hands makes a life of personal happiness impossible for her as well.  They are both people who think they are beyond saving, and in most stories this would be true - spies and assassins in fiction tend to live pretty unhappy lives, full of peril and loss, never allowed to settle down and live for themselves.

The child and dog they adopt are in similar situations.  Anya was experimented on by some shady group of scientists to give her psychic powers, which is a trope that, especially in anime, generally ends with said psychic child going berserk and having to be put down.  Bond the dog was likewise experimented on to make him be able to see possible futures, and, as an animal used for a science experiment, was destined to be treated as an expendable resource rather than a pet.  None of these four characters had any reason to think they could live a happy life, and all of them have a plethora of reasons to think such a life is beyond their reach.

Yet the great fantasy of Spy X Family is that it isn’t out of their reach.  These four weirdos find each other, and though the family they form is started under a pretense, each of them quickly forms a very real attachment to the others, often jeopardizing their own personal responsibilities (whether it’s spy missions, assassin gigs, or concealing their status as escaped psychic science experiments) for the sake of helping each other.  And while they struggle to live a “normal” life in the way other, “normal” families don’t, their unique skills ultimately allow them to live a life they enjoy nonetheless.  They find their own happiness in spite of a world that’s demanding too much of them.

Like, tonally speaking, Spy X Family and Chainsaw Man are pretty far apart - Spy X Family is a lighthearted slapstick domestic comedy, while Chainsaw Man is pitch-black-as-dark-as-it-gets tragicomedy with a HIGH body count.  But they’re both about characters who work their asses off without much compensation from the Powers That Be, and yet, despite everything, manage to reinforce their humanity by coming together and loving one another.  And I think that resonates pretty hard in this current climate.

[olderthannetfic]

In my professional field (translation), AI trained on human work to replace those same humans has been a thing for quite some time, so seeing it happen now in the art world is sad but logical. It's the same kind of very linear, very pragmatic thinking - that a creative product is only a mechanical sum of its elements.

As with AI art, in the beginning the product of the machine translation was unusable (at worst) or extremely awkward (at best). It improved a lot in recent years, but in the process of improvement introduced a sort of desensitization to quality, a concept of "good enough" that is rarely good. Im worried that the same thing will happen with art - that the cheapness and availability of AI production will not only push good artists out of the market, but it will also make everybody numb to clumsy, mediocre art.

Of course, for every translation that exists out there to be harvested and taught to a machine translation engine, an actual human translator has been (supposedly) paid. This is a major difference - no one is compensating the artists for teaching the machine. That's painful and unjust and it needs to be remedied asap. I just wanted to point out that there's one more level of crappiness to this whole thing - that we run a non-zero risk to live in a world that is visibly less beautiful, because more and more "small" tasks are given to AI to produce "good enough" art.

--

This is why I'm not concerned about this latest AI either. Or rather, I am concerned, but not in quite the same way others are.

I view all of this as equivalent to the fight against fast fashion. The issue isn't that automation or evil business practices exist. The issue is that consumers don't know to demand better and are unwilling or unable to pay for quality. Finding and fostering a fanbase that knows the difference is the only way forward.

The fast fashion world is already here and has been here in its full, extra shittastic form for a few decades (and in a lesser form for a couple of centuries).

The industrial revolution spawned aestheticism. The modern consumerist hellscape is spawning the neo-aestheticism of cottagecore and the slow food movement alike.

The desire to live in a beautiful world is not new, and it tends to rear up precisely when we're most afraid of the very real perils of automation.

[lemonhemlock]

Thoughts on otto?

i really enjoy komsomolka's take that otto is a failed girldad

i think both otto and tywin are deconstructions of machiavelli's prince. but otto is very much tywin-lite. he is not as ruthless as tywin, not as cold, not as sly. his schemes are childlike compared to tywin's. never in a million years would have tywin suffered such a fool like daemon for so long. otto is a conniver himself, but he does genuinely care for his duty to the realm on a conceptual level as well and he does care for viserys, both as his friend and both as an embodiment of the crown. that doesn't preclude him from doing all he can to advance himself and his own - he is a noble lord, after all.

otto gets a lot of flack in the fandom & we should totally acknowledge the imprint traditional masculinity has on the less-privileged around him. but i have this pervasive, terrifying feeling that otto is actually... he is our father!! you take any reasonably-gentle, reasonably-decent man, who loves his daughter, and put him into the shoes of the second son of a noble lord, in a fantasy middle-ages setting, and he becomes otto. and that's what i find so bloody tragic about otto - this is the story of a man who is separated by societal mores and structures from the one person he loves the most in this entire world - the apple of his eye!! his bbygurl! nobody wins under feudalism! nobody wins under patriarchy! not alicent, but not even otto either! would mine own father do that to me were he in otto's place? would yours? what a completely alarming idea!

otto doesn't completely understand alicent because he doesn't understand women, not fully, not ever & he never will because he lacks the psychoanalysis tools & the critical paradigm through which to objectively assess society & re-arrange his world view. every character in the show has this problem and faces this wall eventually. this is not otto-apologia or trying to find excuses for him, but, equally, not accounting for this in our commentaries does a disservice to all of us, because it utterly fails to account for how our behaviours and beliefs are constitutionally conditioned by socio-economical structures. a person living under patriarchal feudalism, where war is a common occurrence, medical science is rudimentary and mental health non-existent, making life itself a very perilous affair, is conspicuously NOT going to have the same beliefs as a person who has (hopefully) gained critical-thinking skills as a result of their university education in modern-day capitalism. no matter how kindhearted or empathetic they might be.

that is to say that otto genuinely believes he is doing the very best for alicent and for his house and for the realm. he is providing the realm with an exemplary queen, he is connecting the hightowers to the crown via blood and he is giving alicent away to (in his eyes) a kind, good, gentle husband. he is making her the most important woman in westeros with the most amount of power, should she learn how to yield it. he doesn't understand alicent's terror because he doesn't understand abuse the same way she does - viserys never yells at her, is never violent to her, always treats her politely, is a jolly enough man and seems like he'd be fun to drink a beer with. alicent now has all the wealth, all the jewels, the finery, the security and the obeisance of those around her. that's how otto conceptualises happiness and he is giving exactly that to his daughter. would otto agree that it would have been ideal for alicent to be a few years older before getting married? probably, yeah. but an opportunity like this comes only once in a lifetime and, as fucked up as this may seem, this is an act of love in his eyes.

alicent knows her father doesn't truly understand her, doesn't speak "the language of girls", but goes along with it because she is in an uneven power dynamic with him, she is young & inexperienced and is primed to trust that her father's decisions are for her own benefit. there is anxiety-inducing conflict here bc the reality doesn't live up to otto's idealized and superficial understanding of what marriage to viserys entails. what this means for her relationship with rhaenyra, her soul mate. but, even so, alicent knows that her father is the only person in the whole wide world who will love her no matter what & never abandon her, no matter their disagreements. people don't understand why alicent loses her shit when she loses otto. this is why! he is not viserys, he is not rhaenyra. the only reason he leaves is because he is banished. and she (unknowingly & without her sanction) pays a terrible price to get him back

alicent is otto's pawn but she is not just a broodmare to him. he wants to actively work with her. he includes her in his schemes. he allows her on the small council. they have their own power struggles & disagreements, but he mostly rules with her. he wants her on his team so bad. together, you and i will prevail. whatever our differences, our hearts remain as one. he honours their stupid bet and delivers alicent's v generous peace terms to rhaenyra himself. he has been bested by his daughter, he respects that & doesn't undermine her. she really is his queen!!

just bc daemon & rhaenyra oppose otto doesn't mean he is a "snake". daemon is a true nepo baby & incompetent in every job he gets handed. rhaenyra is pissed otto "spied" on her, but that's literally his job as Hand, to be on top on things, act like the CIA and inform the King of any potential trouble. he has his own faults, but i wouldn't call him the evil mastermind the fandom has decided he is

[wangxianficfinder]

Horror Compilation

~*~

Lan Wangji Sees Dead People by MountainRain898 (E, 42k, WangXian, Reincarnation, Soulmates, Past Lives, Ghosts, Abandoned hospital setting, Ghosts, Fake Kidnapping, or maybe accidental kidnapping is a better way of putting it, WWX and LWJ are both dead in this fic, They ARE Ghosts, A little bit of gore, Comedy Horror, Getting Together, Kissing, First Time, in this lifetime at least, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, two seconds of accidental public sex, also sex getting interrupted by someone for a sec)

Something at the Door by Pip (Moirail) (E, 50k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Modern Cultivation, background 3zun, Background Yi City trio, Intrusive Thoughts, Horror, Suicidal Thoughts, Temporary Character Death, Blood, Explicit Sexual Content, Mutual Pining, Angst with a Happy Ending, Mystery, Urban Fantasy)

❤️ A Corpse Called By Name by jaemyun (Not rated, 60k, wangxian, angst w/ happy ending, horror, humor, zombie apocalypse, zombie WWX, yunmeng trio)

Grandmaster of Demonic Party Games by Trickster_Angel (M, 50k, WangXian, Modern AU, College AU, Crack, Light Angst, Humor, Paranormal, horror, Slow Burn)

So Faithful, So Few (So Pardon, and Done) by azri (M, 3k, wangxian, post first siege of burial mounds, revenge, zombies, blood & gore, horror, not JC friendly, not cultivation world friendly, implied/referenced character death)

This Tornado Loves You by FeelsForBreakfast (M, 8k, WangXian, Horror, modern cultivation au, Pizza Hut, Humor, Mistaken Identity, Modern with Magic)

One and All of the Abyss by mondengel (Not rated, 1k, JC & WWX, wangxian, eldritch horror au)

🧡 i will find you again by Pip (Moirail) (T, 9k, WangXian, Modern AU, Haunting, Horror, Reincarnation, Fate & Destiny, author lwj, Haunted Houses, Happy Ending)

medium blues by darkterrible (E, 193k, WangXian, Horror, Spooky, Opposites Attract, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Ghosts, Necromancy)

the hollow tree by bleuett (M, 6k, wangxian, fantasy au, horror elements, reunions, yearning, happy ending, blood & injury, hurt/comfort)

a needle, a whisper, an insidious dream by pale_and_tragic (M, 19k, wangxian, WWX & WQ & LWJ, post-canon, fix-it of sorts, case fic, horror elements, nightmares, hallucinations, pining, getting together, hurt LWJ, aroace WQ, inquiry, empathy, suicidal thoughts, angst w/ happy ending, hurt/comfort, justice for WQ)

Phantom Leashes by mondengel (M, 3k, wangxian, vampires, angst, horror)

ghosts do not speak of lies and truth by LunaChi_KuroShihone (T, 6k, wangxian, burial mounds, canonical character death, body horror, horror, ghosts, major character undeath, demon WWX, angst w/ happy ending, fluff & angst, hurt WWX, cannibalism)

The Devil Bleeds Regret by greybird_crookedbranch (T, 4k, WangXian, WWX & JYL, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Nightmares, Self-Esteem Issues, Mild Gore, mild body horror, Graphic Description of Corpses, Mention of Canonical Character Death, all gore/body horror is nightmare related and not extreme, Hurt WWX, Protective LWJ, Literal Sleeping Together, No Smut, No Sexual Content, Non-Sexual Intimacy)

❤️ whipstitch by curiositykilled (M, 131k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Dysfunctional Family, Torture, WWX Lives, but basically no one else, Case Fic, Cultivation Sect Politics, Past Abuse, WWX Whump, YL WWX, JL Needs a Hug, JL Tries, Yunmeng Bro Reconciliation, Past Character Death, Body Horror, Non-Consensual Body Modification, POV Alternating, Flashbacks, Eventual Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Suicide Attempt, PTSD, Depression, Not A Fix-It, Mouth Sewn Shut)

shape me something new by perilously (E, 24k, WangXian,Sharing a Body, set in CQL canon but inspired by the novel, Non-Penetrative Sex, Masturbation, (kind of), Slight Canon Divergence, some horror-adjacent imagery)

in your skin by darkredloveknot (enheduane) (E, 10k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Getting Together, Horror, Body Horror, Blood and Gore, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Non-Consensual Body Modification, kinda??, Reflections over death and self-worth, mentions of canon suicide, Near Death Experiences, [Podfic] in your skin by flamingwell)

the field meets the wood by astronicht (T, 7k, WangXian, BAMF WWX, slight whump, Ritualistic Self Harm, Canon Era, Tang Dynasty style, Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, salt economics, Post-Canon, [Podfic] the field meets the wood by semperfiona_podfic (semperfiona), [podfic] the field meets the wood by jellyfishfire)

Le Sang du Cygne by Enfant_Loup (T, 23k, wangxian, blood & gore, violence, graphic depictions of illness, blood drinking, vampire WWX, whump, hurt LWJ, WIP)

💖 The Way You Tremble by themunchking (E, 6k, wangxian, murder husbands, vampires, blood, violence, supernatural elements)

Long Story Short: Ghosts Are Real by nenufares (T, 25k, WangXian, Modern AU, Slice of Life, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Getting Together, Canon-Typical Warnings, Ghosts, Horror Elements, Mentions of Blood, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, more lighthearted than it seems, Lowkey Reincarnation AU, mentions of nielan and xuanli, Background SongXiao)

a tide in two seas by occultings (microcomets) (E, 80k, WangXian, Modern AU, Modern with Magic, Post-Canon, Getting Together, Mutual Pining, Established Relationship, Mild Horror, Case Fic, mildly sci-fi, JC & WWX Reconciliation, First Time, Loss of Virginity, Married Couple, Love Confessions, Weird Plot Shit)

Chilling Visions by Moomsica (M, 80k, WIP, WangXian, Modern AU, Slow Burn, Fluff and Angst, Major Character Injury, Paranormal, Horror, Canon Divergence, Demons, Ghosts, WangXian angst, Eventual Smu,t Eventual Romance, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Murder Mystery, Mystery AU, Detective LWJ, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Gore, Mild Language, protective Jiang siblings, a slight mixture of the donghua and cql, Blood and Violence, ghost au, JZX is a lawyer)

Ominous by 3neetee (T, 5k, wangxian, pre-relationship, established relationship, character death, fae & fairies, changelings, dark wangxian, BAMF WWX, graphic depictions, suicide, implied/referenced domestic violence)

my eyes got used to the darkness by curiositykilled (M, 4k, JC & WWX, JC & WWX & JYL, dead dove do not eat, body horror, implied cannibalism, dehumanization, sunshot campaign, YLLZ, demonic cultivation, PTSD, suicidal thoughts, disordered eating, referenced animal abuse, [Podfic] my eyes got used to the darkness by flamingwell)

Three Months, but One Day Shy by mondengel (M, mind the tags, angst, gore, cannibalism, horror, [Podfic] Three Months, but One Day Shy by flamingwell)

our reflections as seen (when the water stills) by chatonnerie (E, 121k, WangXian, Modern AU, Tokyo Ghoul, WangXian, TW:Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, This is a ghoul au, but everyone is also in university, so dumb energy is peak, Gore, Body Horror, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Biting, both the gory, and the horny)

Live Thread: The Hauntedest Place by sami (T, 1k, WangXian, Modern AU, ridiculous future bullshit, Social Media, Chaos Gremlin WWX, under a fake name)

The Guests of Cloud Recesses by cafecliche (T, 10k, WangXian, Post-Canon, brief horror imagery, Grief/Mourning, parsing out your trauma and also your in-laws: now with ghosts, Fluff, Light Angst, I swear this is softer than the tags make it look, Case Fic, The Guests of Cloud Recesses by cafecliche The Guests of Cloud Recesses by cafecliche [Podfic] by Rhea314 (Rhea) )

rare the man who'll hold to faith by Fahye (M, 13k, WangXian, Canon, Identity Porn, With Apologies To The Chivalric Romantic Tradition)

The Piper of Yiling by theLoyalRoyalGuard (T, 18k, WangXian, Dark WWX, Pied Piper WWX, Canon Divergence, Fierce Corpse WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending)

to quench a flame by EHyde (T, 1k, WWX & JYL, dubiously consensual stabbing, golden core mutilation, Body Horror)

build me no shrines by occultings (microcomets) (M, 54k, WangXian, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, First Time, Getting Together, Confessions, Sharing a Bed, Hair Washing, Sentient Burial Mounds, Case Fic, Post-Canon, CQL Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Light Angst, Flashbacks, mild body horror, foot washing, Happy Ending, Non-Sexual Intimacy, ...then sexual intimacy)

every grave an offering by curiositykilled (M, 6k, WWX, Character Study, Burial Mounds, Trauma, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, MIND THE TAGS, Cannibalism, Survival Horror, handwavey magic, Canon Compliant, Animal Death, Dehumanization, Graphic Description, Major Character Injury, Angst)

when I look over my shoulder by cafecliche (T, 10k, WangXian, Modern AU, exorcist LWJ, medium wwx, vague The Conjuring AU, some horror elements, Pre-Relationship, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort)

I called your name 'til the fever broke by darkredloveknot (enheduane) (M, 9k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Witch LWJ, The Deep Dark Woods, Grief/Mourning, Falling In Love, Blood Magic, Age Difference, (the canon ish kind), Identity, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Slight horror, Amnesia, Cottagecore)

Wireless by mondengel (M, 5k, WangXian, Horror, Body Horror)

one person, two alone by eeriemedusa (M, 2k, LXC & LWJ, Background Pre-Relationship WangXian, LXC Character Study, Hurt No Comfort, Body Horror, Horror, Grief/Mourning, lxc's no good very bad seclusion, im not kidding this is sad, Canon Divergence)

Ad Oblivione by Baph, HikariNoHimeWriter (M, 70k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Temporary Character Death, POV Multiple, Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Identity Reveal, Golden Core Reveal, Cultivation World Critical, Not JC Friendly, Abusive YZY, Angst with a Happy Ending)

this twisted blood red thread of fate by HeavenlySkyfarer (E, 11k, WangXian, Obsession, Unhealthy Relationships, Body Horror, Dark LWJ, Dollification, Marionettes, Musical Cultivation But Dark AF, Canon Divergence, Blanket Permission)

honey, don't feed it (it will come back) by neoncoin (M, 14k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Eldritch WWX, final girl lwj vibes, Body Horror, Graphic Description of Corpses, Sunshot Campaign, Hurt WWX, Hurt/Comfort, Horror, Angst with a Happy Ending, YL WWX)

jiaozi by xiaolongbaobei (T, 4k, JC & WWX, MDZS Horror Zine Vol 1, Cannibalism, Sunshot Campaign, Coming of Age, Found Family) - outsider perspective; Sunshot Campaign AU; a female OC is taken in to work at Wei-gege and Jiang-gege’s dumpling shop—where meat is on the menu despite wartime privations. Oh, and Wen cultivators keep mysteriously disappearing.

Into the Woods: a Mo Dao Zu Shi Horror Zine Collection

Wei Wuxian Makes a Wish series by natcat5 (M, 119k, wangxian, major character death, underage, madoka magica au, modern w/ magic, time travel, high school au, body horror, self-harm, angst w/ bittersweet ending, time loop, mental instability, suicidal thoughts)

body and bone, hair and skin by Mikkeneko (T, 6k, WangXian, Dark, Horror, no main characters die onscreen but some start off the story dead, Canon Divergence, Grief/Mourning, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Zombies, Dysfunctional Grief Processing Through Zombies, Bittersweet Ending, WWX Needs a Hug)

nothing is safe. by eeriemedusa (M, 2k, background wangxian, major character death, sunshot campaign, horror, wen soldiers’ pov, bad ending (depending on who you are), battlecouple wangxian, canon-typical violence, blood & violence, fierce corpses) the POV of Wen soldiers being hunted by WWX; also a rare portrayal of WWX as a combat archer/sniper.

We Can Haunt Each Others' Dreams by arahith (E, 10k, LXC/JGY, post-canon, angst w/ happy ending, case fic, experimental style, canon-typical violence, unreality issues, implied gender dysphoria, animal sacrifice, WIP) a despairing LXC performs an experimental Empathy/Inquiry to commune with JGY’s soul.

Those 13 Years Were a Lie by AitchNKay (M, 11k, Attempted Suicide, Angst, mentions of offscreen rape, Canonical Character Death) - WWX spends the 13 Years of Mourning alive but incognito; not MXY friendly; mind all the tags!

~*~

[hiddenwwi]

One hundred years later, the scarred earth at the Vimy Ridge WWI battlefield has not healed. Large mine craters adjacent to former WWI trenches are only a faint reminder that WWI was a high tech, modern war with high tech, modern weaponry. The people of WWI were modern people, much like us today. They placed blind faith in the wonders of modern technology as a force of good and gradually came to feel invulnerable. Soldiers on both sides marched blindly into the world’s first modern mass destruction. They didn’t see the impending peril that lay right before their eyes and were numb to the consequences of the dark side of modern progress until they were all in the grip of apocalypse…with no way out. All the wonders of modern life that ordinarily made life efficient, exhilarating and powerful not only couldn’t save them from a scale of destruction that was beyond anything that could be imagined…these wonders of modern life were the very same technologies that were destroying civilization and humanity itself. We must never lose sight of what differentiates us as human beings from technology. We are not and never will be machines. WWI teaches us about the vulnerabilities of modern life we face today. No matter how sophisticated the manmade environments we live in become, what keeps us safe from mass destruction is human decency, human judgment and a sober view about the dark side of modern technology and human nature itself.

[gingerteaonthetardis]

WIP Telephone: "Spooky"

if you don't want to see what might become an increasingly long tumblr post, feel free to block the tag "WIP telephone." (i'll also be tagging it "long post," just in case. don't want to clog up people's dashes.)

when i logged on this morning and opined what to do with all the WIPs i know i'll never finish, it was brilliantly suggested that i offer some of them up to be collaboratively worked on by my pals here on tumblr. it's intended to be a tag game, of sorts, with each person adding maybe a hundred words (obviously, since my WIPs are all more than a hundred words, my starting excerpts are going to be… a bit longer than that, oops; and feel free to add more than that, if you feel like doing so) and then tagging someone else to add more, and so on, etc. etc.

if it's fun and anyone's interested, i'll do more, but i thought i'd start with something... 🍂 seasonally appropriate. 🍂 i'll be sharing additions as they come along!

also, tagging you for the next hundred words, because you're the one who started it all: dear @mrunmione (i'm not telling which doctor this is supposed to be; i'll let you pick!)

-

She hadn’t meant to say it.

“I’m not sleeping in here without you.”

In all honesty, she’s perfectly capable of sleeping on her own in a strange place; she’s done it plenty of times before. Living with the Doctor means getting used to sleeping in unusual spots. Hospital gurneys. Motel rooms in the far future where the beds float. Under ballroom tables, though that was just the once, and she’d had a lot to drink. The occasional jail cell.

Needless to say, she’s well acquainted with catnaps in odd places.

Only “odd” isn’t really the same as “haunted.”

And this place—wherever they are—is definitely haunted.

No matter what the Doctor says.

-

"Spooky," she decreed as they trudged up the damp path toward the house on the hill. "Think it's haunted?"

"There's no such thing," he insisted. The Doctor rolled his eyes in clear scepticism, but they both knew there was some reason the TARDIS landed them there. 

Entering through the unlocked door, they set about taking readings of the entrance hall and cramped lower rooms, all covered in dark wood and heavy tapestries. The decor was decidedly out of date, like something from a period film. No modern lighting, no electrical outlets to speak of. 

But though the place had something unsettling about it, it also seemed decidedly empty.

“This house is old,” the Doctor said, eyes intent, scanning over the low ceilings. “A few hundred years, I’d say. Maybe more."

When Rose wandered to the hearth, his supposition was confirmed by two small, framed sketches: two different women, their hair pulled back in artful ringlets and their faces set in gentle Mona Lisa smiles. One was dark and the other fair. And there were no names. 

They were both dated 1781. 

Before she could point them out, the Doctor was already running up the main staircase, rattling off jargon that she couldn’t even begin to understand—nonsense about atmospheric pressure and residual readings of… something—his voice too-loud in the stillness of the house. 

She trailed after him, only sort of half-listening. But as she turned the corner back into the hall, the whole place rumbled—and thumped, a sound like stones grinding against the bottom of a ship. The floorboards shook perilously under her feet, and she reached out on instinct, steadying herself against the base of the bannister.

“Doctor?"

The Doctor, of course, didn't so much as move. He remained stopped about halfway up the stairs, effortlessly balanced despite the unstable terrain. His head cocked and a half-smile on his lips, he said, "That wasn't a quake."

Of course not.

"What was it, then?"

His smile spread, becoming a full, face-overtaking, slightly manic sort of expression. "I have no idea."

To her very great alarm, he sounded delighted.

-

"Don't tell me you're scared, Rose," the Doctor laughs, sending the torchlight juddering through the darkness. "Look, it's cosy!"

"I'm not scared," she insists. "It's just—"

"Yes, spooky." It's a little too dim to tell, but she's pretty certain he's rolling his eyes. "So you've said." 

He'd picked her room for the night seemingly at random, nudging open doors until he found one with a suitable bed. And in the faint light, the bedroom does seem—nice. Less haunting, maybe, than the rest of the house. But still… off, somehow, in a way she can't quite put her finger on.

As she steps around him, careful not to cut off the wavering beam of the torch, she peers around, making note of all she can see: the crisp linens, the intricately carved wooden bed posts, the glint of polished glass—an oil lamp, she realises.

Something catches at the back of her mind, and she turns toward the Doctor with a frown already creeping over her face. "It's all sort of… clean, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's not musty or anything in here." Gesturing at the bed, she waits for the torch to illuminate the bedspread; startlingly, the coverlet is tucked down, as if someone had only just recently got in or out. Though, perhaps not. Maybe the last occupant of the house just really went in for turn-down service.

But then, she sees it, on the pillow…

She ducks down, looking closer at the little shadow against the pale linens. A faint waft of something carries up to her nose, and it takes her a moment to register just what it is: floral, reminding her faintly of Mickey's Gran.

"Lavender," she murmurs, thumbing over the little bundle of flowers, held together by faded ribbon. "It's fresh."

With a click, the torch light blinks out, and for an instant, she is overtaken by unstoppable, irrational fear. The Doctor is in the room with her, and as he's reminded her several times tonight, they've swept the whole house, searched every nook and cranny: there's nobody here.

But the wind howling outside the window, the faint blueness of the night, and the whisper of dry, bare tree branches scraping together all press in around her, thick as shadow, making her skin crawl and her breath catch.

The prospect of passing a whole night like this, alone with the dark and whatever lurks inside it, is almost too much to bear.

So, fine. She is a little bit scared.

Then there's a rustle, a scrape, a hiss, and then a match blooms with fire, lighting the sharp lines of the Doctor's face from below. He's grinning as he lowers the match to light the oil lamp.

"You're right," he says pleasantly. "This is spooky."

[anhed-nia]

Recently, someone asked me where I draw the line with horror movies. She expected that we all have subjects or scenarios that are a non-starter because they're just too scary, disgusting, or distasteful. I had a hard time answering her question, because that's just not how I operate; like, it used to be that I wouldn't watch any pseudo-snuff fare like FACES OF DEATH, but then I actually saw that movie and realized that I like it. I guess I'm circumspect about movies that focus on sexual assault, because that's the most likely thing to offend me if its "handled wrong" in my rather mercurial opinion, but that still won't stop me. Some people (usually parents) can't stand seeing children in peril, but I definitely don't have that problem. Generally speaking, the more you threaten me with a bad time, the more attracted I am to the challenge of enduring it.

But, with all that on the table--and I have no idea what this says about me--I have a hard time with body horror. And by that, I mean a different thing than what usually comes to mind. Like, often when my personal lord and savior David Cronenberg sends a movie to Cannes, we get all these reports back of walkouts and vomiting in the aisles, and like…I would agree that CRIMES OF THE FUTURE offers one of the most transgressive images ever committed to film, but I can take that. (I'll take it and like it!) However, I'm really afraid of modern slaptstick comedy. It's not that I'm too good for lowbrow humor, but so many movies by folks like the Farrellys and the Zuckers just amount to torture porn for me. They're almost always "funny" mainly at the expense of the body: Somebody always winds up in a situation that's like something out of SALO: 120 DAYS OF SODOM, shitting and pissing their pants, suffering unwanted sexual experiences, eating or drinking something they shouldn't be, and generally being corporeally humiliated to the point that if it happened to you in real life, you'd never come back from it. To me, this kind of material escapes the bounds of actual-comedy and becomes some sort of grim purgative ritual for humanity's profound and enduring sense of shame. There's no joy in the laughter I've heard when I consented to watch such things in group settings, just this weird, shrill, pre-nervous breakdown anxiety that I don't find it at all fun or funny to be around, or to experience myself.

It may also be worth mentioning that I'm somewhat emetophobic. Like when I saw that scene in POLTERGEIST as a kid, the fact that the guy was throwing up at all was just as upsetting to me as the otherworldly reason it was happening. This is a fear that I just-barely have under control as an adult who is forced to live in a body that must occasionally, for perfectly healthy reasons, reject something I put in it.

Anyway, TRIANGLE OF SADNESS is very good, and it has a point to make, and as someone who is not in the luxury yacht class of people, I have a feeling I should enjoy watching a bunch of rich parasites weeping and screaming while basting in their own juices. And as a devoted fan of the horror genre, whose purpose in life is to show you the thing you don't want to see, I should be the target audience for something that evokes such a crystal clear vision of hell. But honestly, I don't know how well I was able to appreciate it while my brain was just going, "Yup, this is pretty much the worst thing that can happen. The worst thing there is. And it's still happening. God I hope this never happens to me. Is it still going on? …yeah, it's not over. I wonder how long this can happen for. I wonder if this happened to you, if you would go through some kind of permanent psychological change. I wonder if that happened to the people who were trapped on that stranded, contaminated cruise that was in the news a while ago. I wonder if that's happening to me now, just because I'm watching this movie. Wait, is it still going on? …Yup, I guess so," etc. I started to get sympathetic cramps, and I felt my face tingling in a way that I only associate with having consumed poison. I started sifting through memories of other movies that made me want to slam on the breaks: certain of the Guinea Pig films, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, STREET TRASH, NEKROMANTIK 2 when they club the seal, the interminable rape scene in IRREVERSIBLE, Craig Zobel's devastating COMPLIANCE, the grand finale of CENTIPEDE HORROR… I think all of the competing candidates involved extreme violence, which I guess tells you something about how I rate the yacht segment of TRIANGLE even though there are no rapes or murders involved. As it dragged on, I wasn't thinking anymore about how great it was that all the selfish, destructive rich people were having their thin veneer of bullshit dignity ripped away; I was just thinking about how unhappy I was, and how it seemed like I wasn't going to be feeling better any time soon.

Actually I worried that I might have nightmares about TRIANGLE OF SADNESS, and I did. I had a dream that some friends and I saw it at a festival where there was mass sympathetic vomiting, and we later learned that Ruben Östlund had learned some things about human neurology that ensured that what he showed, and how he showed it, was guaranteed to make any viewer vomit no matter what--sort of like the mythical "brown note" that's supposed to make you shit your pants. In the dream, I wasn't sure if I admired his level of calculation, or if I just felt totally manipulated and ripped off by being forced to have a bodily reaction that had little to do with my thoughts and feelings or appreciation for art. And like, maybe option #2 is how I really feel about this movie!

That's not to say that the movie doesn't have strengths besides the extreme horror of being doomed to a human body. It's funny (in other ways), it's got a bunch of great performances, it looks good, and it's reasonably smart. But on that last note, I scanned a bunch of reviews from prominent critics that denounced it as a lite, too-easy version of this form of social criticism, and that may be true. I may not be intellectually equipped to really address that, but it could be that the movie's initial, visceral shocks overwhelm one's assessment of how sharp its philosophical commentary actually is. I'd say this matter requires further examination, but I can almost guarantee that I'll never watch TRIANGLE OF SADNESS ever again as long as I live. And I've seen CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST more times than I choose to admit.

PS I wanted to say something about how weird it is that we've all been sharing this collective dream about extremely rich people experiencing a personal apocalypse on seafaring tourist expeditions--I mean am I the only one who feels like they're going insane from the bizarrely close concentration of a whole bunch of movies and shows that do this exact thing? But now I'm just exhausted, so somebody else will have to work that out. I'll be too busy doing some soul searching about why I find movies that are drenched in blood, guts, and misery so much easier to take than what happens in TRIANGLE OF SADNESS.

[gnossienne]

A woman sits in a bus as she is evacuated from Irpin, Ukraine (x)

[alienlabor]

In an article for Collier’s Weekly entitled “Exclude Anarchist and Chinaman!” (1901), immigration chief Terence Powderly sought to assure the public of the government’s security procedures newly installed in the wake of President McKinley’s assassination by a U.S.born citizen of Polish descent. What is the link between the two banned categories of the article’s title? Though “the man who killed President McKinley was born, raised, educated and trained in the United States,” reassuringly, “the teachings which eventuated in the crime are not indigenous to the soil of America.” Similarly, “American and Chinese civilization are antagonistic; they cannot live and thrive and both survive on the same soil. One or the other must perish” (7). While Powderly’ s reasoning is uniformly circular in justifying their national exclusion on the basis of an assumed foreignness, the paired categories reflect a divergent articulation of ethnicity and politics. Powderly attributes the rise of anarchism in the United States to the southward tilt in European immigration—away from “hon-est, homeseeking Germans” (5) and toward troublesome Italians. His objection to Chinese immigration, on the other hand, rests on its posing an “appalling menace to American labor” (7). As twinned foreign perils, “anarchist” and “Chinaman” express different crimes against the republic—on e political, the other economic. To put it another way, the dependence of industrial profits on the exploitation of cheap immigrant labor was at the time rhetorically diversified into a political disturbance and a racial contamination. It is perhaps not surprising that, in being condensed into political versus economic terms, white ethnics should have gathered a reputation for being undocile workers and that Asians appeared incapable of political action.

Yet, in being jointly named, “anarchist” and “Chinaman” were strangely made to share an apparitional kinship. Powderly’s regime marked the vast expansion of immigration policing, and those labeled “anarchists” or “Asiatic” were the primary targets of increased official harassment. These subjects posed a particular visual challenge to border policing. Just as the “alien anarchist who presents himself for admission to our country at an immigration station on the coast or border” (Powderly, 5) was not too readily obvious, a new immigration apparatus of identification and classification began to be deployed on the claim that Chinese individuals were racially difficult to distinguish. Thus, when Powderly defends his measures as the only proper and effectual “guard against the invasion of this stealthy foe to lawfully constituted government and authority” (5), the point could equally well apply to anarchist s or Chinese.

The notion of the enemy alien who is ubiquitous and invisible is, on one level, the necessary illusion of any national security discourse and a function of its self-legitimation. On another level, “anarchist” and “Chinaman” are differently invisible: seldom were Chinese and anarchists mistaken for one another. Riis’s “man with the knife” remains unseen until his moment of attack, but one can always tell from the outset who is a “Chinaman.” The anarchist blends into the “mixed crowd” whose Slavic and Mediterranean character implied a spreading political radical-ism. The “Chinaman,” on the contrary, presents an obviously identifiable entity. He is not at all concealed in the crowd; his obtrusiveness has to do with the fact that he always comes as a crowd. The anarchist signifies the modern crowd’s riot potential; the Asiatic signifies its homogeneity. The Asiatic marks the crowd’s outward appearance; the anarchist marks its latent capability. (pp84-86)

Lye, Colleen. America’s Asia: Racial Form and American Literature, 1893-1945. Princeton University Press, 2009.

[kayas-kosmos]

Flowerpunk Bestiary - Brain Bird.

Introducing the brain bird.

This cute little ball of fluff is known for one thing - its uncanny ability to provide anyone who meets its gaze the power to only ever make the right decisions in life. However, this comes at a heavy cost.

Due to how small and vulnerable these creatures are, they have no choice but to team up with a larger host. The brain bird slowly starts taking over the host's capacity to make decisions and the host eventually becomes entirely dependant on this bird. Because of the bird's tragically short lifespan (average 1-2 years), the death of this bird spells disaster for the host. Eventually, the host either suffers a tragic crash in ability, often leading to horrible outcomes like a ruined life, destitution, relationship breakdowns, starvation or death.

The birds have been seen as a bad omen across cultures and have become the victims of brutal culling. However in recent years, they are highly sought after and are becoming increasingly difficult to find as the magical creatures die off. It is rumoured that the few that remain are owned entirely by the billionaire class. Many people have questioned why on earth anyone would want anything to do with these creatures, but there are throngs of individuals who are already at rock bottom - be-it because of addiction, debt or other modern-day perils - that would gladly give up their decision-making skills to have just a small taste of success.

It is heavily speculated that the birds are not acting out of malice. Cryptozoologists found that the birds form an extremely strong bond with the host, and it would appear that it is this devotion to the success of their host that slowly drains and eventually kills the bird in the end. Dissections of their brains have uncovered highly developed centres of the brain that play an important role in emotional intelligence and problem solving.

Skeptics have even claimed that the birds don't actually change the lives of their hosts at all, that in fact the whole thing is a scam made up by rich idiots trying to sell desperate people snake oil. The brain bird may be nothing more than a placebo effect.

Though not entirely solitary, the birds prefer the company of their hosts to one another. Mating season requires the bird to have their host transport them to the mating grounds for a week or so, where the birds show off their hosts to one another. The birds wit the most successful hosts are usually the most successful at getting a mate.

It is also unclear how these creatures communicate since they are completely mute and refrain from moving around too much. Presumably, they communicate telepathically, and some evidence that suggests this would be the needlessly-long staring contests the bird engage in.

Their diet consists primarily of seeds, nuts, berries and vegetables. In particular, they love water cress, broccoli and spinach.

Like most magical creatures, these birds have Mana-Ganglia distributed throughout their bodies, the highest concentrations of which sit behind their eyeballs. They are also speculated to be able to shape-shift into elf owls as their primary disguise.

[shoujoseiworld]

Winners listed for the Shogakukan Manga Award Over the Years

One of the 1st awarded shoujo was Fire! by Hideko Mizuno, an assistant of Osamu Tezuka.

Aaron Browning is an American teenager who gets sent to juvenile prison after being caught with a delinquent named Fire Wolf. He finds solace in music and later manages to sort-of bond with Fire Wolf himself, and he ultimately leaves to Detroit determined to make it in the musical industry. He leads a band named Fire! and sought to lead people to freedom with their music.

The hedonistic Aaron is neither a 'boy next door' character, nor a 'shining prince', and Sandra Buckley states that it was his 'non-conventional, rebellious behavior' that was part of the attraction for the fans of Fire!. 

It was innovative for shōjo manga by having the first sexually explicit scenes in post-World War II manga, and by having a male protagonist.

There are accounts of teenage girls queueing for the next issue to come out.

1970 award:

Glass no Shiro: The story is set in England. Malissa and Isadora are sisters in a poor family. One day, Isadora gets to know Malissa is a daughter of a noble family, who are searching for the missing daughter.

Isadora lies she is the missing daughter to get a castle and all the asset of the family instead of Malissa. After getting into the family, Isadora plans to get married to a crown prince in a foreign country. On the other hand, some people doubt Isadora is the missing daughter.

Malissa ends up getting to know she is the real daughter.

1975 award:

The Poe Clan & They Were Eleven by Moto Hagio, a pioneer of BL and modern science fiction manga. Both are/will be available in English (They Were 11 will be released by Denpa next year)

��The Poe Clan: Inside the village of Poe a mysterious noble family takes residence with their son Edgar and ill daughter Marybell. Edgar is quickly intrigued by Allan, the heir of a transportation company, who catches his eye by almost running him over with a horse. As the story unfolds a few residents of Poe slowly begin to wonder about the new family... The story is composed of 15 loosely connected short chapters. Time and place vary with each episode and events are not in chronological order.

They Were Eleven: The elite Cosmo Academy attracts applicants from every stellar nation in the galaxy. One young hopeful is Tadatos Lane, an orphan esper from Terra. The final stage of the academy's entrance exam is a perilous mission simulation aboard an actual derelict starship. The applicants depart for the ships in groups of ten, but when Tada's crew arrives on the Esperanza, they are horrified to discover that they now number eleven. As the test progresses, things go awry and the atmosphere grows increasingly tense. The crew members begin to suspect sabotage, and Tada appears to be the likely culprit.

1979 award:

Kaze to Ki no Uta (Keiko Takemiya's shonen manga To Terra... also won an award the same year). Another pioneer, or inventor, of BL. Kaze to Ki no Uta is also the series that inspired parts of Berserk. We dont have Kaze to Ki no Uta in English, but there is Terra e...

Kaze to Ki no Uta: Serge Battour is the son of a French viscount and a Romani prostitute, and despite his kind nature and academic talent, is shunned by his family and his peers due to the color of his skin. He begins to attend Lacombrade Academy, his father's alma mater, in the hopes that there he will find a place to belong. Gilbert Cocteau is, like Serge, the orphaned son of a wealthy family, and is infamous at Lacombrade for his beautiful and delicate appearance, lack of dedication to schoolwork, and habit of prostituting himself to other students. He has no intention to connect with any of his classmates, instead devoting himself to his uncle Auguste. Due to a shortage of living space, Serge and Gilbert become roommates even though Gilbert's antisocial nature has in the past made it impossible for him to room with anybody. Serge, being sociable and idealistic, is determined to be friends with Gilbert; Gilbert is only interested in either being able to manipulate Serge or push him away entirely. To the surprise of both of the boys, however, the two eventually form a deep, albeit generally dismal, bond that leads to a romantic connection.

1983 Award:

Kisshō Tennyo by the creator of Banana Fish, Akimi Yoshida.

Sayoko is a newly transferred student: gifted with rare beauty and mysterious and magnetic charm, she captures every student's attention. Among them, the introverted Yuiko and the grumpy Mari become friends with Sayoko, while Ryou, a known womanizer, wastes no time and tries to hit on her, unleashing his girlfriend's rage.

1984 Award:

Yume no Ishibumi by Toshie Kihara, another one of the Year 24 Group, and another BL manga pioneer. One of her best known works is Mari to Shingo. This is described as a series of short stories, with quite a few containing BL elements.

1985 Award:

Winners in the shoujo manga and then children's manga categories: Zenryaku Milk House & Asari-chan (which has 100 volumes btw, and was created by 2 sisters)

Zenryaku Milk House: Matsumoto Serika has just moved to the big city and is looking for an apartment. She doesn’t know much about this place, but it’s spring so what could possibly be wrong? She meets a woman in a kimono outside a very large house named Sakuragawa Suzune and they hit it off. Later that same day Serika is bemoaning that she hasn’t found a place to live when she runs into Suzune again, and Suzune suggests that Serika stay at her home. Serika accepts. Only one problem that she’s about to discover, that Suzune is one of three MEN living in the house…

Asari-chan: Short stories about Asari, a naughty, boyish, voracious, but also a very innocent girl.

1986 Award:

Purple Eyes in the Dark by Chie Shinohara, the mangaka of Red River. Rinko was born with a mysterious birthmark on her left arm. But when that mark starts to get darker, strange accidents begin to happen everywhere around her, involving even the people she cares about.

1987 Award:

Boyfriend by Fuyumi Soryo, the mangaka of Mars. In fashion college, she happened across Shogakukan's Rookie of the Year Contest & applied to raise money for the Souen fashion contest. She received an honorable mention & started to work as an assistant for Fuyumi Ogura.

Takatou Masaki is the second youngest of four sons, and seemingly a delinquent by nature. His hot temper has put a wedge between himself and his strict father, gotten him kicked out of one school, and tossed him at a school notoriously horrible for the one thing he's truly good at, basketball. A chance encounter with the willful Yuuki Kanako may serve as a catalyst for change, as the indefinable connection she feels with him draws them together.

1988 Award:

Genji Monogatari by Miyako Maki (general manga award) who created Licca-chan, which is a famous series of dolls in Japan. Wife of Leiji Matsumoto (creator of Space Pirate Captain Harlock).

Fancy Dance by Reiko Okano (shoujo manga award). Apparently she's also married to director Macoto Tezuka, Osamu Tezuka's son?

1989 award winners:

Papa Told Me by Nanae Haruno (shoujo manga award) All I know is this series makes someone I know cry every time she reads it. Same mangaka as Pieta.

Lovely Mari-chan by Kimiko Uehara (children's manga award)

1990 Award (tied):

Crest of the Royal Family by Chieko Hosokawa (which is still ongoing with over 68 volumes btw)

The main character is Carol, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed American teenager from a wealthy family with an interest in Egyptology studying in Cairo. When her mentor discovers the tomb of a young pharaoh, a curse is put on the excavation team and Carol. The curse sends her back in time to ancient Egypt, where she becomes embroiled in the affairs of Egypt and other ancient countries such as Assyria and Babylonia. Carol meets Memphis, a handsome young pharaoh whose tomb she excavated in modern times. Despite his headstrong, at first violent nature, they fall deeply in love. This angers Memphis's half-sister, the Priestess Isis, who has longed to marry him. Carol, due to her exotic looks and curious ability to tell the future, becomes a major player in ancient history.

Hajime-chan ga Ichiban! by Taeko Watanabe, same mangaka as Kaze Hikaru.

Okano Hajime is an ordinary - or maybe below ordinary - girl who was forced to take care everything in the family since she was young, because her family was very poor. Hajime had five younger brothers, who were quintuplets, and they were scouted by a music company. Thus, the realistic yet dreamy older sister had to try harder to watch over her restless brothers and to pursue her own idol, who was in the very same company.

1991 Award:

Makoto Call! by Kazuko Fujita Makoto is tall & a bit of a tomboy who's been doing modeling. She discovers she has one hell of a vertical leap & is persuaded to try out for a volleyball team. We follow her as she discovers her natural talent & desire to make the Olympics…

1992 Award:

Basara by Yumi Tamura Born under a prophecy that will liberate & unite Japan, Sarasa had to take her brother's place as the "Boy of Destiny." Fighting for the oppressed, Sarasa journeys across Japan to gain allies & defeat her enemies all while keeping her identity a secret

1993 Awards:

Bara no Tame ni by Akemi Yoshimura.

Yuri Makurano is an unattractive girl who learns her mother is a famous actress named Shoko Hanai following her grandmother's death. Yuri begins to live with her mother's family which consists of three children named Sumire, Aoi, and Fuyo Hanayashiki. Yuri is treated as a maid at the household, eventually bonding with the family and builds up unrequited feelings for Sumire. Later, she comes to learn the only blood relation she has to the family is Aoi, her half brother.

One More Jump by Michiyo Akaish.

Mikado Nanase was born into a family of ice skaters. Not discouraged by their father's death, she and her twin brother, Kou, aim for the gold.

1994 Award:

Baby and Me by Marimo Ragawa, same mangaka as New York, New York and Those Snow White Notes .

Young Takuya has it tough. After his mother passed away it has been his job to take care of his baby brother Minoru while their father, Harumi, works the long hours of the Japanese "salaryman." Takuya must sacrifice the playtime usually associated with childhood for the responsibilities of an adult. Cooking, cleaning, sewing and scolding are all now an integral part of the young boy's life. "All work and no play" has Takuya incredibly frustrated and resentful of his little brother. Will Takuya find it in his heart to love the brother who is causing him so much grief?!

1995 Award:

Boys Over Flowers by Yoko Kamio (shoujo manga award). Best selling shoujo manga of all time with so many live action drama adaptations.

Although Tsukushi Makino is from a poor family, she attends an elite school for the super rich, where her life has become intertwined with the "F4," the ruling boys of the school, in a whirlwind of love and confusion! [Viz]

Kocchi Muite! Miiko by Eriko Ono (children's manga award) Miiko brings us to see how things are from the eyes of a 5th grader.

1996 Award:

Kanon by Chiho Saito, who also worked on Revolutionary Girl Utena.

One day a 23-year-old Japanese musician travels to Mongolia in order to get inspirations for writing a piece of music. There he meets Kanon whose mother runs the "Hotel Kanon" in the desert. Kanon grew up in Mongolia, does not know who her father is and takes him for dead as her mother told her so. Then Kanon's mother who fell from a horse dies of injury. Before her death, she tells her daughter that she came to Mongolia because she could not stay in Japan as she had an affair with Kanon's father, a musician, who is actually still alive, and she asks Kanon to find him in Japan by becoming a violin virtuoso, but dies before telling her his name. Thus Kanon goes with the young man to Japan where she learns to become a musician in a music school run by Mikami, a handsome young man and worldwide very successful musician and conductor. Soon the younger sister of her mother gives her photos of three musicians, one of whom might be her father. Kanon's erring search for her father begins.

1997 Award:

Ceres, Celestial Legend by Yuu Watase. Same mangaka as Fushigi Yugi, Alice 19th, Arata: The Legend, Imadoki, and more.

Aya and her twin brother Aki thought they were going to a celebration of their sixteenth birthday at their grandfather's home, but the funeral-like atmosphere tips them off that something's not right. Their "birthday present" turns out to be a mummified hand--the power of which forces an awakening of unkown powers within Aya, and painful wounds all over Aki's body! Grandfather Mikage announces that Aki will be heir to the Mikage fortune, and Aya must die! But Aya has allies in the athletic cook and martial artist Yûhi, and the attractive, mysterious Touya. But can even two handsome and resourceful guys save Aya when it's her own power that's out of control?

1998 Award:

Angel Lip by Kiyoko Arai, same mangaka as Beauty Pop.

Mikina's father is the president of a modeling agency.  Mikina was once a popular child model, but due to an accident, she developed camera-phobia and gave up modeling. 10 years later, Mikina's father's company is going through some financial difficulty.  Mikina really wishes to be able to help revive the company, and one day, she received a mysterious lipstick...

1999 Award:

Bara-Iro no Ashita by Ryo Ikuemi, which seems to all center around the theme: "a rose-colored tomorrow. Ryo Ikuemi is friends with Aya Nakahara (Lovely Complex).

2000 Award:

Red River by Chie Shinohara.

Yuri, a modern day teenager who had just received her first kiss, is suddenly whisked away to ancient Anatolia where an evil queen wants her for a blood sacrifice. Luckily, the timely intervention of Prince Kail saves Yuri from the queen's grasp. For now. Kail promises to send Yuri back to her home, but the queen's persistent schemes to kill them both, plus their growing interest in each other, keep those plans delayed.

2001 Award (tie):

Kaguyahime by Reiko Shimizu, same mangaka as Moon Child.

On Kabuchi-jima, an island ruled by Princess Kaguya, ten children were raised as sacrificial victims. Several of the children thought they had escaped their fate when they escaped the island. But nearly a decade later, the kids are still dying in the order and at the time they would have as sacrifices... Their only hope now is to reunite and return to the island to seek out and destroy the source--the legend, the blood-lusting Moon Princess--before time runs out.

Yasha by Akimi Yoshida.

Arisue Sei lived as happily as any normal kid would, just him and his mother -- a particularly private woman -- on an outlying island of Okinawa. There were also his friends Toichi and Moichi. The only unusual things about Sei were his sharp instincts and high intelligence. But everything changed when his mother was killed and he was kidnapped by the people of Neo Genesis. Now, six years after the kidnapping, Arisue Sei has returned to Japan with the title of "Doctor" at only the age of 18, and he's not the Sei that his friends remember. There are bodyguards with him who protect him from others who wish to possess his superb intellect. He says he's come back to assist with the research at Rakuhoku University, where Moichi now works, but here is where the door to Sei's secrets just begins to open.

Pukupuku Natural Circular Notice by Sayuri Tatsuyama. A shoujo manga that won the children's manga award for that year. About a puppy named Puku Puku, owned by a girl named Karin. The story tells his daily life with all of his friends

2002 Award (tie):

Nana by Ai Yazawa.

Nana "Hachi" Komatsu hopes that moving to Tokyo will help her make a clean start and leave her capricious love life behind her. Nana Osaki, who arrives in the city at the same time, has plans to score big in the world of rock 'n' roll. Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they quickly become best friends in a whirlwind world of sex, music, fashion, gossip, and all-night parties!

Kaze Hikaru by Taeko Watanabe.

In the year 1863, a time fraught with violent social upheaval, samurai of all walks of life flock to Kyoto in the hope of joining the Mibu-Roshi--a band of warriors united around their undying loyalty to the Shogunate system. In time, this group would become one of the greatest (and most famous) movements in Japanese history... the Shinsengumi!

2003 Awards:

Love★Com by Aya Nakahara (shoujo manga award).

Risa Koizumi is the tallest girl in class, and the last thing she wants is the humiliation of standing next to Atsushi Otani, the shortest guy. Fate and the whole school have other ideas, and the two find themselves cast as the unwilling stars of a bizarre romantic comedy duo.

Mirmo! by Hiromu Shinozuka (children's manga award).

"If you read a message to the east aloud while you pour hot chocolate into a cup, a fairy of love will appear to fulfill all your desires!"

2004 Award (tie):

Sand Chronicles by ASHIHARA Hinako. After her parents divorce, Anna Uekusa and her mother move from Tokyo to rural Shimane. Used to the anonymity of city living, An can't get used to the almost overbearing kindness of the people in her mother's hometown. But when personal tragedy strikes, An discovers how much she needs that kindness.

We Were There by OBATA Yuuki.

The start of high school life. To the girls, that also meant the start of their love lives. For brand new first year student, Takahashi Nanami (Nana for short), it was no different... She happens to end up in the same class as the incredibly popular Yano Motoharu, who rumors say that two thirds of all the girls are guaranteed to fall in love with. But will that hold true for Nana, who says that if she had to choose between like or dislike, she'd say she dislikes him!?

2005 Awards:

Sonnanja neyo by Kaneyoshi Izumi, same mangaka as Doubt!!, Bitter, and Cold Game (shoujo manga award)

Animal Alley by Ryō Maekawa (children's manga award)

2006 Awards:

7 Seeds by Yumi Tamura.

In the immediate future, a giant meteorite has collided with earth. All living organisms, including mankind, have been wiped off the face of the planet. The government, who had foreseen this outcome, took measures to counter the worst-case scenario. In particular was Project "7 SEEDS", in which five sets of seven gifted young men and women were carefully selected and placed into teams (Spring, Summer A, Summer B, Autumn and Winter). Each participant was then put under cryogenic sleep in hopes of preserving the continued existence of mankind. When those men and women awoke, they found themselves suddenly thrust into a cruel world. While bereft and grieved over forever losing their loved ones, they sought to find ways to survive.

 Kirarin Revolution by An Nakahara.

Kirari Tsukishima is a beautiful young 14 year old. One day, she encounters a turtle stuck in a tree. She saves the turtle, but then falls after saving it. An idol from a famous group called SHIPS saves Kirari. Kirari falls in love with him at first sight. Kirari now wants to become an idol like him. She discovers that being an idol is not all fun and games, and that in order to persevere in both her love and career, she must overcome any challenges that fortune has in store.

2007 Award:

Boku no Hatsukoi o Kimi ni Sasagu. Takuma and Mayu's story began when they were only 8 years old. During his childhood, Takuma was constantly hospitalised due to his heart condition. He soon became friends with Mayu, the daughter of the doctor in charge of his case. Day by day they grew closer and closer. However, the summer when Takuma was 8, he made a promise to Mayu that he couldn't keep... Their story unfolds as they grow older and their bond gets stronger...

2008 Award:

Black Bird (shoujo manga award).  There is a world of myth and magic that intersects ours, and only a special few can see it. Misao Harada is one such person, and she wants nothing to do with magical realms. She just wants to have a normal high school life and maybe get a boyfriend. But she is the bride of demon prophecy, and her blood grants incredible powers, her flesh immortality. Now the demon realm is fighting over the right to her hand...or her life!

Naisho no Tsubomi. Each volume depicts a different heroine. 1 tells the story of Tsubomi, a 5th grader dealing with issues such as her mother's pregnancy, her 1st period & the strange feelings she's started to get when she's around boys.

2009 Award:

Machi de Uwasa no Tengu no Ko. Akihime is a seemingly normal girl attending junior high school, but she is actually the daughter of Ryokuhouzan's tengu. She lives with her mother in the human world, living a normal human life. However, her childhood friend Shun is constantly trying to convince her to go to the mountains with him, so that they can become tengus together. Despite his continuous urgings, Akihime refuses because she has feelings for her classmate, Takeru-kun.

2010 Awards:

Ōoku. In an alternative feudal Japan, a strange disease that only affects males caused a massive population reduction, leaving females to fill the vacant jobs, therefore changing the social structure. Now, 80 years after the initial outbreak with a 1:4 male:female ratio, Japan is a completely matriarchal society. Females hold all important political positions, and males are their consorts. Only the most powerful female--head of Tokugawa shogunate--may keep a harem of handsome and unproductive males, known as "Oooku."

Yumeiro Patissiere. Amano Ichigo is a 14-year-old cake lover. After meeting a lecturer, Henrie Lucas, at a cake buffet, she enters St. Marie Academy - a school that raises and cultivates patissiers. Not only is she placed in the elitist group with three princes of sweets, but she also meets sweets spirit Vanilla on her first day of transfer. Ichigo is air-headed, a total klutz, and a complete novice at cake making, but she's trying her best mastering one at a time in order to make her eaters happy.

2011 Awards:

Kids on the Slope (general manga award!)

Nishimi Kaoru has moved from city to city and school to school because of his father’s job, so having his first day at a new school was just routine for him. Being intellectual in addition to being a transfer student all the time, he has always been seen as an outcast. All he has had to do was bear it as usual until the next time he moved. But things were slightly different this time. First, he started to get close to the class president, Mukae Ritsuko, and secondly, unlikely as it seemed, he grew closer to Kawabuchi Sentaro. Sentaro was infamous for getting into fights, skipping class and was an overall bad boy. Strangely enough, the three of them find common ground in music, namely jazz, and Kaoru finds himself actually enjoying the new town.

Pin to Kona.

In the world of Kabuki, where family social standings are highly valued, Kyonosuke is inept even though he is born as the son of a duke of a famous household. Ichiya while being born in a family that has no connection to Kabuki, is trying to move from the absolute lowest rank to the top using just his ability. Through some kind of karma, these two completely opposite boys have fallen in love with the same girl, Ayame. That’s where the story begins. Kyonosuke, who wants to be liked by the Kabuki loving Ayame, cries tears of regret because he would throw away all his powerful connections if he could only have real ability. But what if Ichiya, who wants to be the center of Ayame’s attention, was adopted into a famous household…?

2012 Award:

Piece. One day, Mizuho, a university student, receives news that her classmate in high school, Origuchi Haruka, passed away. Mizuho doesn't remember being best friends with Origuchi, but apparently, Origuchi told her mother that Mizuho was her best friend. And now, her mother wants Mizuho to help her find the boy Origuchi dated during high school. Mizuho told Origuchi's mother that Origuchi was a very plain girl, and she was never seen with a guy, but her mother told Mizuho that Origuchi got pregnant and had an abortion when she was in high school. Mizuho was shocked, but she still starts asking her other classmates in high school and following the traces Origuchi left behind.

2013 Award:

Kanojo wa Uso o Aishisugiteru. Ogasawara Aki is the reclusive, idealistic composer of the popular band Crude Play. Discontented with his life and with no drive to succeed, he meets Riko, the 16-year-old grocer's daughter in a band consisting of her childhood friends, and asks her to be his girlfriend on a whim. Riko, young and innocent, agrees immediately, but worries about her new boyfriend, whom she suspects has just broken up with a woman he cared very much for.

2014 Award:

Joō no Hana. Long ago, there existed a land divided into four countries: Sou, Kou, Do, and Ah. The King of Ah took on a wife from Kou and soon thereafter one from Do, creating a shaky alliance between the three nations. When the Second Queen gave birth to a son, the King cast aside the sickly First Queen and her daughter Aki into the depths of the Palace. But as Fate would have it, Princess Aki encounters a slave named Hakusei, who has peculiar golden hair and sky blue eyes. He promises his life to her and helps her train in the Six Arts under the guidance of the enigmatic merchant Seitetsu. However, when Aki outshines the Prince during a hunt in an attempt to gain her father's acknowledgement, she sparks a war by besmirching Do's honor and drives the Second Queen to poison her mother. With nothing left but her faithful Hakusei, Aki is banished to the small country of Kou with a vow to return to Ah one day for revenge. But in the face of the mighty allied nations of Do and Ah, will the two survive long enough to carry out Aki´s vow?

2015 Awards:

Umimachi Diary (general manga award)

A letter comes to the three Kohda sisters in Kamakura, bringing the news of their father's death. A father they hadn't seen since he divorced and left home 15 years ago. Despite feeling indifferent about their father, Yoshino, the middle of the three, and Chika, the youngest, go to Yamagata to attend his funeral on oldest sister Sachi's request. There, they meet Suzu, their young and reliable half sister.

My Love Story!!

Gouda Takeo is a freshman in high school. Both estimates: Weight: 120kg, Height: 2 meters. He spends his days peacefully with his super-popular-with-girls, yet insensitive childhood friend, Sunagawa. One morning, on the train to school, Takeo saves a girl, Yamato, from being molested by a pervert. Could this be the beginning of spring for Takeo?

2016 Awards:

37.5°C no Namida. Momoko Sugisaki works for the Little Snow Sick Child Care Service, providing in-home day care for sick children. She has a hard time making pleasant facial expressions, and she struggles with the question of when it's okay to break the rules if it's what the child needs. As she grows through her personal challenges, she is able to make a difference in the lives of the young children and parents who depend on her.

Ijime (children's manga award) "Are you bullied? Harassed? Blind in one eye? Then, this story could happen to you."  

2017 Award:

Love Me, Love Me Not by Io Sakisaka (Ao Haru Ride) Yuna & Akari have 2 very different views of love: Yuna is someone who sees love as a dream & Akari is very realistic about her romance choices. Kazuomi & Rio are 2 boys who also have different views of love.

2018 Award:

Suteki na Kareshi. Kozakura Nonoka always fancied having a boyfriend. Upon entering high school, she was certain that she was finally going to get one, but fast-forwarding eight months to December, she was still single as ever. Desperate, she attended a goukon (a group blind date) where she met Kiriyama Naoya, whose first words to her was “You���ll never get a boyfriend.” Now, what would this strange meet-up lead to?

2019 Awards: 

Nagi no Oitoma. Ooshima Nagi is an 28-year-old office lady always trying to read the mood and fit in. Berated by her boss, taken advantage of by her colleagues, and betrayed by her boyfriend, Nagi quits her job and severs contact with everyone in her social circle in order to restart her life from scratch. Will Nagi be able to change herself, or will she fall back into her old ways?

My New Life as a Cat. Nao Kazushiro is a normal high school student—until he gets in a traffic accident and winds up in the body of a cat! At first, it’s all fun and games as he gets used to his new form, but then the novelty wears off and the hunger sets in. Luckily, he’s picked up by Chika, a girl his age, who gives him food and a home off the streets. She’s paw-fully sweet and pretty, but meanwhile he’s still in a furry feline body! Will Nao (now Nyao) ever get his human form back, or will fur end up flying instead of sparks?

2020 Awards:

Yuzuki-sanchi no Yon Kyōdai. The four brothers of Yuzuki family... are family? Friends? Opponents?

The Magic of Chocolate. A chocolatière who runs a shop. She can grant wishes to the troubled people who visit her shop -- if they give her something precious in exchange.

2021 award:

Do Not Say Mystery by Yumi Tamura (general manga award!) Follows college student Totonou who's dragged into cases he must help solve after the police bring him in for questioning on suspicion of murdering his classmate.  

[wrenlywofau]

The Legends of how Pyrrhia’s Tribes got their Powers

(Shout-out to this video that I based most of this on!!)

A common IceWing legend tell of a great Ice Dragon (notably never referred to as an IceWing) flying up to the auroras in the frozen night sky and touching them in order to gain animus powers. This Ice Dragon would’ve lived just after the scorching, when the modern tribes were still forming. She’s regarded as the first queen of what would become the tribe, and though her real name has been lost, it’s not uncommon to hear dragons referring to her as Aurora.

The first SeaWing animus, Prince Albatross, was born as the result of an IceWing prince and SeaWing princess some 2,000 years later.

NightWings’ abilities come from the three moons, which they say were once brothers born with different powers; Perception could read minds, Oracle could see the future, and Imperial could do both to a much stronger degree. It was once said that they watched over the tribe, but this story didn’t prevail much longer after Darkstalker’s time, when the NightWings moved to a new kingdom and stopped being able to see the moons. Hope is working to repopularize this tale.

SkyWing dragonets with firescales have only ever been known to be born on the summer solstice. For a long time, all eggs set to hatch on this date were killed, but after generations of no firescaled dragonets hatching, the tradition fell out of practice. By the time Peril was born, the massacre hadn’t occurred in years, with egg instead just being kept out of the sunlight on this day. It’s said that the first firescales, a dragon named Solstice, tried to force his way into power, and that legions of dragons died trying to stop him.

There is no set-in-stone tale as to how SandWings got their animus abilities. Some say they come from an IceWing hybrid, or a SandWing who followed Aurora into the stars, while others tell of the moons stealing them from the IceWings to give to the SandWings. Though the latter is the basis of why the SandWings worship the moons, few modern SandWings are aware of this origin.

————

History is written by the victors, and often without the intent of telling the full story. Take these legends with a grain of salt, most notably how they could easily be misconstrued.