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harborpointeblvd · 2 years

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I’m starting over on my rec list

I ended up dropping some of the comics I’ve recommended before, so I’m only going to recommend completed stories from now on.

A Shoulder to Cry On (Dongmul)

When Dayeol is framed for assault by Taehyun, he nearly loses his archery scholarship. But instead of feeling the least bit remorseful for nearly ruining Dayeol’s life, Taehyun starts to torment Dayeol even further.

I can’t tell you how much I hated Taehyun in the beginning of this story, but by the end, my heart belonged to him. I usually don’t like assholes with sad backstories as love interests, but Taehyun is the exception.

Trigger warning for self-harm.

Official English translation available on Lezhin.

Fools (Yeongha)

Shounen Ai - After overhearing a fight that new student Jeongwoo had with his boyfriend, college senior Eungi finds himself becoming increasingly confused about his feelings toward Jeongwoo. Jeongwoo, meanwhile, fresh out of a long and rocky relationship, isn’t ready to act on his feelings toward Eungi. Commence awkward not-dates.

This is the most relatable depiction of the uncomfortable early stages of a romance that I’ve ever seen. It also shows how trauma from past toxic relationships can affect new, healthy ones. But it’s never too heavy-handed about it. It’s really funny at times, but also has its fair share of angst.

In the official English translation, their names are Edward and Justin, but I think it’s weird when they do that.

Official English translation removed by author from all official platforms.

Heesu in Class 2 (Lily Zuzu)

Shounen Ai - Despite both being big dumb idiots who don’t know anything about relationships, Heesu and his next door neighbor Seung Won agree to help each other out with their respective secret crushes. Little does Heesu know, he is the real subject of Seung Won’s affection.

Heesu’s and Seung Won’s best friends are the best wingmen, and extra points for one of them being a well-written female character. My only complaint is that I wasn’t interested in the second couple at all, but if you tend to like side pairs, you’ll probably like them.

Official English translation available on Lezhin.

How to Hate Mate (Reck, Yeongha)

Alternate Title: Hate Mate

Shounen Ai - Two years ago, Subin drunkenly confessed his feelings to his straight roommate, Hyunwoo. After that, Hyunwoo left for his mandatory military service, and Subin hasn’t heard from him since. Just when Subin is finally ready to move on, Hyunwoo reappears and things get complicated.

Listen. Hate Mate hurt me in a big way. Don’t read this if you’re looking for the warm fuzzies, because you will not find them here. I loved this story for its realism. All the characters are seriously flawed, and even though it ended the way I hoped it would, nothing feels fully resolved. This comic will hurt you and skip the aftercare. Anyways, have fun.

The authors announced that they are working on a second season, so I guess this one is technically ongoing. But if I don’t like the new ending, I’ll pretend season 2 didn’t happen.

Official English translation has been removed from Lezhin.

Just Kidding (Cho Hyerim)

Alternate Title: A Strange Joke

Shounen Ai - Min Kim is an unremarkable college student who is firmly in the closet. Sijun is a heartthrob who, for reasons Min can’t fathom, has taken a sudden interest in him. As the two grow closer, Min can’t help but wonder if their connection is more than friendship.

This story holds a special place in my heart. It will have you ugly crying in one chapter and ugly laughing in the next. Min and his friends are a bunch of drunken dumbass college students in the best way.

Trigger warning for grooming.

Official English translation available on Pocket Comics.

Roommates (Young Seok)

Shounen Ai - Kisub just needs to crash on Jinwoo’s couch for a few days, or months, or forever. Which is a problem, because Jinwoo has secret feelings for Kisub, and they’re bound to come out eventually.

Roommates is just too funny. The art style and story are pretty simple, but it has a lot of funny little details that make it relatable. Jinwoo is affected by the tiniest things that Kisub does, like putting a medication patch on his neck. Oh if he were an icy hot patch against that neck…

The second season is a new story, completely independent from season one. It’s not as light-hearted as the first season, but like it too.

Trigger warning for sexual assault in season 2.

Official English translation available on Tappytoon.

Shape of Your Love (Park Nodeok)

Alternate Title: For Your Love

Shounen Ai - Jung Yohan thinks unrequited love is for idiots, but joke’s on him, because he’s the biggest idiot of them all. When Yohan realizes that his upperclassman Moogyeong has feelings for another guy, he makes it his mission to get the pair together. But the more time he spends with Moogyeong, the more he resents Moogyeong’s secret crush.

Yohan is easily the best thing about this manhwa. He has the greatest facial expressions. There is a spinoff involving two side characters from this story, but I haven’t read it and I don’t plan to.

Official English translation available on Pocket Comics.

Someone Else’s BL Manhwa (Bbobariee)

Shounen Ai - Loner by day and cross-dresser by night, Kim Seunghee has managed to keep his double life a secret, until he’s caught in drag after a bad date by class president Park Seungtaek and class trouble maker Lee Kyubin. I’m not even gonna spoil who the pairings are, because it’s not immediately apparent.

Seunghee is a bit of a brat, but that’s part of his charm. He’s not for everyone, but he’s my favorite character. All of the characters turn out to be different from how they first seem, which I adore. There is a HUGE portion of the comic dedicated to the side pairing (hence the title) but both the main and side pairings are cute as hell.

This was one of the first BL comics that I read, so there’s a nostalgia factor there for me. I honestly love it too much to be objective about it. Do I love it because it’s good or is it good because I love it?

Official English translation available on Tappytoon.

Soulmate (Bing Ke Ran, Wenzhi Lizi)

Shoujo Ai - 27-year-old Yu Qi has been dating Yuan Zi since college, but Yuan Zi’s health has been declining. When Yu Qi wakes up one morning ten years in the past, in her 17-year-old body, she decides to use it as an opportunity to meet Yuan Zi sooner and prevent her illness. Meanwhile, 17-year old Yu Qi wakes up in her present-day body and doesn’t know Yuan Zi.

This is such a sweet story. The girls are so cute together, and I love everything about Yuan Zi. A beautiful romance that will make you believe in soulmates.

Official English translation available on Tapas.

Unintentional Love Story (Pibi)

Shounen Ai - Wonyoung is fired from his job after being falsely incriminated in a corruption scandal. By sheer luck, he happens to run into the company chairman’s favorite ceramic artist, Yoon Taejun, who has been living under an alias. He’s told he will likely get his job back if he could convince Taejun to partner with the company. Wonyoung tries to get close to Taejun without revealing that he knows his true identity. What he doesn’t plan on, though, is falling in love with Taejun.

This one is where the DRAMA is at. The story doesn’t ignore the fact that the relationship was built on a lie. It hurts so good.

Official English translation available on Lezhin.

#a shoulder to cry on #fools manhwa #heesu in class 2 #how to hate mate #hate mate #just kidding webcomic #a strange joke webcomic #roommates webcomic #shape of your love #for your love manhwa #someone else's bl manhwa #soulmate manhua #unintentional love story #manhwa recs #webcomic recs #bl recs

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stingslikeabee · 1 year

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❛ when i think of you i smile, and when i smile i think of you. i don’t know if it’s the thinking that makes me smile or the smile that keeps me thinking. all i know is i’m always thinking of you and smiling. ❜

cheesy pick-up lines . accepting

The day had been reserved for a day trip to Kyoto - despite living in Osaka for a few years, the hostess had not often taken the train to the former Japanese capital for the typical sightseeing. Not even Melissa could explain why - she was the curious type, but it was always complicated to align her schedule with the one of her friends (mostly other hostesses) to get a day off and visit the neighboring town, as close as it was.

Ryuji had looked comically appalled at the news that his girlfriend hadn’t been to some historical landmarks - as much as he was a proud Osakan, the yakuza nonetheless was a loyal supporter of all the wonderful things that Kansai had to offer. The patriarch had volunteered to be her guide, taking Melissa through some of the famous pathways in Kyoto and to a couple of the temples she couldn’t miss.

It was late autumn - and the view from the Kiyomizudera was absolutely breathtaking. The woman had gone towards the railings guarding the places nearby the entrance where many tourists (like herself) gathered to take in the view, colored so beautifully in shades of red, orange and yellow. The sun setting on the horizon cast a golden glow over everything, and the brunette smiled at that - it reminded her of Ryuji, in fact, even if the man was just at her side.

Particularly after being introduced to the ink on his back - a golden dragon was the strongest association she had to her boyfriend; it had been very hard to keep a smile out of her face when visiting the Kinkaku-ji before because of the color of the walls, but the actual place wasn’t as interesting as the shrine they were visiting now - there was so much more open air and room to walk (as interminable as the stairs leading to the place felt).

Melissa then moved her gaze from the horizon to him - and found Ryuji looking at her instead, smiling as well. He looked so at peace - so content. The girl canted her head with a cute huff of laughter, pressing her hands over his and speaking up after the few minutes of genuine wonder at the postcard-worthy landscape.

“What happened? What is this smile for?”

The yakuza offered a chuckle of his then, before speaking up. “When I think of you I smile, and when I smile I think of you. I don’t know if it’s the thinking that makes me smile or the smile that keeps me thinking,” the patriarch elaborated, being surprisingly open and candid about his feelings for her. Ryuji then moved his hands, one of them escaping her tender hold but only because he reached for her face next, cupping the brunette’s cheek and brushing a thumb over skin before following up, “All I know is I’m always thinking of you and smiling.”

“Ryuji...” the girl murmured, evidently surprised with his honesty - he was more often than not a man of actions rather than words, but hearing him voicing these feelings made her immensely happy. The hostess’ visage translated it all perfectly - the astonishment was promptly replaced by immense tenderness, and one of her hands was raised so Melissa could beckon the yakuza closer with a finger.

Ryuji obliged - and the brunette met him halfway for a kiss on the lips, closing her eyes to the beauty of the scenery that had turned secondary to his moving confession. Still, Melissa was mindful of the place for once - a huge tourist spot, close to his home turf. Anything more intense than her grateful and sweet kiss would be reserved for later.

“I can only hope I’m able to make you smile like this every day, then,” the hostess murmured in response and then snuggled closer to his taller frame, seeking to embrace him and welcoming the protective feeling of one of Ryuji’s arms around her frame. Being enlaced like that was more than just being safe - it felt like she belonged, as displaced as Melissa had felt for most of her life in Japan.

“What do you think about coming here in one year? We’ll see if I’ve kept my promise then!” she offered with a laugh, and his booming voice sounded in agreement with a chuckle of his own and a gentle squeeze of his girlfriend. Melissa felt like the happiest girl in the entire world right then - as if nothing could go wrong... A dangerous assumption when one dated a yakuza patriarch, as the woman was about to find out a few months later.

#kansaisdragon #v: Yakuza #cheesy pick up lines #replied #some main verse goodness!#with a teeny tiny bit of angst #:')

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stevetonyweekly · 3 years

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SteveTony Weekly - May 9

Happy Sunday!! Here’s what I’ve been reading this week. As always, leave your fic authors some love if you read and enjoy their stories!

**Indicates my recent favs

~*~

pretty little thing by areiton (MCU/2K)

Steve isn’t little. He isn’t fragile and precious, a treasure to be hoarded. Maybe he never was, but now, now, now with his too big body and his broad shoulders and miles of muscles--

Now he sure as hell isn’t.

It was the Fourth of July by seratonation (Proposal AU / 12K)

Based on The Proposal. Steve has been Tony’s assistant for 3 years when he finds out that Tony is actually not American and is going to be deported. Tony talks Steve into getting married but Steve insists on seeing his family first. Tony invites himself along to make sure his plan doesn't go awry, but unfortunately Steve’s family is actually pretty amazing.

Object: Matrimony by BladoftheNebula (A/B/O /38K)

Omega Tony Stark craves adventure and an escape from the life his parents have planned for him in New York. He places a listing in a marriage catalogue to seek a match with an alpha out West, and Sheriff Steve Rogers answers his advertisement. But finding a nice alpha doesn't mean it's all smooth sailing from there...

- A Mail Order Bride AU -

***Papa Don’t Preach (Series) by FestiveFerret & SirSapling (Ultimates/102k)

"Whoever did this has a reason, and Stark needs to be with someone who can protect him. He won’t exactly be able to protect himself like this.” Fury looked at the baby consideringly. “No, it’s you, Steve. Besides, he likes you. Suck it up, soldier, you’re stuck with him.”

Treasured by HashtagLEH (Warlord AU/9K)

No one in Manhattan spoke their language – or at least, no one fessed up to it – and so all of the negotiating was done with Natasha acting as translator. Steve didn’t think it mattered, because he had told the ones who would leave the ship earlier that day that he had no intention of accepting any treaty, that they would lay siege to this city before the week was out.

But then Natasha stilled beside him at something that Stane had said to them, and Steve focused in, more alert. Something was wrong, he could feel it, but he didn’t know what with everyone speaking what may as well be gibberish all around him.

“He offers an unmated, untouched Omega,” she told him, not taking her eyes from the bald man at the other end of the table.

An unmated – what? He wanted to trade an Omega? Did he not have any idea of an Omega’s value? Surely his resources would be better spent whisking the Omega away to safety before the city was set to waste.

Natasha was looking to him for direction, confirmation, he didn’t know. So he told her, his voice placid and even and giving nothing away. “Accept the negotiations. Don’t let on that I want that Omega the most."

***Take My Heart Clean Apart by Mistmountainking (MCU/13K)

He’s tired, so tired of waiting, tired of touches with no meaning, tired of holding his breath when Steve’s in the room, tired of keeping this love to himself.

“I can’t—I can’t, if you don’t mean it.”

***

Tony comes home exhausted after an SI event. Steve acts as welcoming committee. It's an old, careworn routine they've perfected over the years, but tonight ends up going in a very different direction.

And the world keeps spinning by Perpetual Motion (Comic/15k)

He considers everything he knows. His keys don't work. Bucky's in his apartment. There's a gun to his head. He doesn't have his phone or his Avengers tag. "I died."

T is for Thong by Elspethdixon (Marvel616/2K)

Naked might actually have been slightly less distracting. Tony was… almost wearing… a tiny, tight scrap of red fabric that most definitely didn't hide anything.

***Orbiter dictum by schmevil (MCU/7K)

Steve is at the sink, washing the few dishes that pizza for two generates, when he realizes that Tony is in love with him.

Nothing important happened today by thedevilchicken (MCU/17K)

Steve's stuck in a time loop. Sometimes he's not sure he wants to get out of it.

***Off grid by Letterblade (MCU/7K)

Steve and Tony go camping, bears are the greatest threat facing America, and tick tweezers are the best invention of the decade.

Some form of electricity by FestiveFerret & SirSapling (AU/57K)

Steve doesn’t know what he’d do without Tony, and thank god he has him, because after getting the phone call that Bucky’s alive, everything is a blur. But Tony gets him there, all the way to Germany. It isn’t until he’s watching his friend lie motionless in a hospital bed that it really hits him.

Bucky is coming home, and he’s coming home broken.

The stark-tangled man with a crappy plan by Serinah (A/B/O / 13K)

*At first, it seemed to be an easy job: find the O, secure the O, and hand him over to his guardian and the fiance. Simple. Unfortunately, the omega wasn't onboard. At all.*

OR:

Steve has to return a runaway omega to his guardian Mr. Stane.

Stories we never tell by ashes0909 (A/B/O / 32K

One could argue, it was none of Steve’s business. The omega was obviously bonded to the alpha, even if the bond was one-way. That bite was all society needed to overlook the transgressions that Steve had witnessed on the sidewalk. But Steve wasn’t society, and waking up decades in the future, he’d been disappointed by what had changed and what had very much stayed the same.

As hoarded as gold by FestiveFerret (Soulmate AU/12K)

Steve wakes up in a new world, in 2008, and joins the Avengers where he finally gets to meet the man whose name has been imprinted on his skin since birth. But Tony Stark is closed-off, distant, and disinterested. While Steve is trying to come to grips with finding out his soulmate doesn't want him, he can't help but notice the decline of Tony's health. Worried about his heart after the arc reactor, Steve steps up to help him, but when Tony confesses what's really wrong, it's not at all what Steve expected.

Patience by FestiveFerret & SirSapling (AU / 8K)

Try as he might, Steve just couldn't seem to paint the arc reactor quite right. And it was driving him crazy.

***Love’s such an old-fashioned word by AnnieD (MCU/11K)

Steve gets the very brilliant idea that he and Tony should date, but Tony needs some convincing.

I saw cap kissing santa claus by Mizzy (Marvel 616/7K)

When Tony dressed as Santa for Queen County Hospital's annual toy drive, he wasn't expecting Steve to recognize him...as Iron Man.

Disjointed by veryvincible (Horror /16k)

His hands— cold, clammy, lightly trembling— reached for the glass of water on his nightstand. His grip was tight; he knew he would drop it if given the chance.

It was lukewarm against his lips, and wholly unsatisfying. His forearms shook slightly with the tension, the tremors in his hands causing a noticeable shift in the water. It had a syrup-y quality to it as it dipped back and forth in its glass, almost, though he hadn’t noticed the difference in texture as he drank. The longer he stared, the lower the viscosity, as if it noticed him perceiving it and willfully moved with less ease.

Christmas affair by Neverever (MCU/6K)

Tony thinks that Steve will be proposing to him after many years of living together, except that Steve has a secret that could ruin it all.

Unknown caller (Do Not Engage) by gottalovev (Non-Powered/13k)

Steve had one job: exchange a couple of texts with a guy who thought he had Natasha's number, and let him down gently. It ends up being a lot more complicated than that.

***Genesis by teaberryblue (Ultimates/35k)

Reluctant to make the truth about their secret weapon known, the American Government tells the world that Captain America is a man named Steve Rogers. According to public record, he died, tragically, in 1945, and he became legend.

In 1998, the Avengers find a body trapped in ice.

She's alive.

Her name is Eve.

She has Captain America's shield.

#stevetony weekly #stevetony fic recs #stevetony #stony #superhusbands #steve rogers #tony stark #captain america #Iron Man

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pochiperpe90 · 3 years

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Beware of the thief

How do you become the longest-lived criminal in the history of Italian comics? For LUCA MARINELLI it all started as a child, at the zoo. Before the eyes of a panther

«The cold determination of a panther that silently approaches its prey: this is the expression I tried to instill in our Diabolik's gaze». When Luca Marinelli frowns and lights up the panther's eyes - the writer has had the opportunity to get a taste of it during the interview - the first instinct is to flee that look: too intense. It will be him, armed with a dagger and dressed in the famous tight black jumpsuit, with a hood that leaves only the icy eyes uncovered, to interpret the anti-hero born from the imagination of Angela and Luciana Giussani - the two sisters of Milan well known in history as the Queens of Terror - in the awaited cinematic adaptation of the comic directed by the Manetti Bros. (Ammore e malavita), in cinemas from December 31st.

«Fifty years in the homes of Italians. 150 million copies sold. Impressive numbers. Diabolik is an icon, it belongs to the IMAGINARY of hundreds of thousands of people"

During a walk along the Kreuzberg canal in Berlin, his adopted city since 2012, the Roman actor explains that the choice to be inspired by the feline for the interpretation of the character is not accidental. «Fans will know that Diabolik takes his name from a panther. Their meeting, which lasts a few moments, is significant: after a high-tension face-to-face, the feline decides to spare the boy, almost as if he had smelled a fellow in him. The panther was one of my favorite animals as a child. I remember like it was yesterday the day my parents took me to see it at the zoo, and my amazement in front of that creature, that night-black mantle, shiny and iridescent, with bluish reflections, and that deep, rhythmic breathing. Finally, particularly indelible in my mind is the feeling of sovereign calm that emanated from the animal». “From the beginning, I had a good feeling about this film,” continues the actor. «The first meeting with the Manettis, which I have been following with interest since the time of Zora the Vampire, took place in Rome, in the neighborhood where both Antonio and Marco and I grew up. They explained to me that they had a very specific vision of the character's personality, but that they would like to see what I could offer them. We auditioned together, which was very useful in igniting the spark of collaboration. I have a clear memory of that day and the subsequent exchange of emotions and thoughts. When I later found out that I was chosen for the part, I was very happy».

Luca Marinelli is certainly not new to acting challenges. From the dazed Mattia in ‘The solitude of prime numbers’ (2010), the character with whom he conquers notoriety, over the years he engages in roles that are not very easy, very different from each other ("The only thing they have in common is my nose", ironically, pointing to his face), showing great versatility and an extraordinary capacity for psychological identification. Among his most convincing interpretations, that of the Zingaro in ‘They call me Jeeg’ and that of Martin Eden in the homonymous film by Pietro Marcello, with which he won, respectively, the Silver Ribbon and a David di Donatello as best supporting actor and the Coppa Volpi as best actor. But dealing with a myth like Diabolik, the object of an almost sacred cult, is a new challenge.

«Fifty years in the homes of Italians. 150 million copies sold. Impressive numbers. Diabolik is an icon, and for this reason it belongs to the imagination of hundreds of thousands of people. If you think you can satisfy them all, you start off on the wrong foot: you risk that the final result is not what you really want to stage, but I'm sure the public will not be disappointed, or at least I hope. You will see how much love and respect there was in implementing this transposition", explains the actor, who speaks with full knowledge of the challenge of interpreting an icon: in 2018 he plays a true sacred monster, Fabrizio De André, in ‘Principe Libero’ by Luca Facchini. A friend told him: you're crazy to take this part. But he, careless, immerses himself in the biography of the singer-songwriter, ventures like a shrink into the maze of his psyche, and he returns to the man of that icon, receiving critical acclaim for that insidious role. The only flaw, some malevolent purists observe, is his Roman accent.

Despite being a comic book hero, to face Diabolik, the actor «decided to avoid any comic characterization of the character, trying to give a convincing representation from a human, psychological point of view. Who is this mysterious man, who with his criminal findings terrorizes the rich city of Clerville? What vicissitudes lead him to become a king of crime? Questions that have become the starting point of my research. For months and months, my flat was flooded with comics, scattered all over the place. And for every hundred I read, the Manettis - who I suspect know all the 800 and more numbers in the series - were ready to lend me as many». Day after day, Marinelli has thus sneaked into the lair of the King of Terror: he spied on his objects, opened his wardrobe, rummaged in his drawers. “I fell in love with him, unconditionally, without giving in to the temptation to express a condemnation or an acquittal. It is a precious lesson, which was passed on to me in the Academy: never judge your character. You risk that a distance will form between you and him which, I play hard, is negatively reflected in the quality of the interpretation».

The result is a film that is radically different from the first film adaptation, directed by Mario Bava, in 1968. "Among its strengths, there is a fascinating 1960s aesthetic, made up of machines, costumes, places and a thousand technological inventions of our Diabolik», he says. “To my great pleasure, I was involved in the discussion of the character's look right from the start. Particularly difficult was the development of the mask and the legendary black suit, designed by Diabolik himself and equipped with fantastic characteristics, not repeatable in reality. An almost impossible mission, but after weeks of attempts, thanks to the collaboration of all departments, we arrived at a result that was very satisfied: we did it by working together. I want to emphasize the all together. When you work with the Manetti Bros., this aspect is deeply tangible: everything takes place in an atmosphere of great exchange and collaboration. Many have known each other within the crew for years, and one almost has the impression of having been adopted by a large family, rather than working on a normal set ».

“Who is this mysterious man who terrorizes the rich city of Clerville? What led him to become what he is? For months these questions have been my RESEARCH"

The film - which the Manettis defined as "darkly romantic" - will also tell, to the delight of fans, the prodromes of the love story between Diabolik and his partner in crime, Eva Kant (Miriam Leone). "Two special, different people who first sniff each other with suspicion, only to recognize each other as soul mates," he explains. “I really like their level of complicity. Diabolik, however, is a very tough and reserved character, who rarely shows a feeling: this is certainly one of the differences, perhaps the clearest, between him and me. I am his opposite: as a good romantic and empathetic, I confess, I often cry. I think that doing so can be an important moment of openness, growth and awareness, which we should learn to actively seek. Are you feeling down? Play the saddest song you know and give yourself a treat: enjoy your tears, a friend once told me. Holy words: woe to keep everything inside. You run the risk of walling yourself up alive behind a senseless wall of hardness».

Although "very interesting", the actor prefers to gloss over future film projects out of luck. "At the moment my wife and I (the German actress Alissa Jung) are very busy with our association: we are about to open the headquarters of PenPaper-Peace in Italy, the association founded by Alissa in Germany, with which we built two schools in Haiti after the disastrous earthquake of 2010». As the actor launches into the memories of his first trip to the Caribbean island, the weeping willows of the Kreuzberg canal that framed the interview mentally give way, for a moment, to the lush vegetation of the Caribbean. «Indelible memories. Two years after the disastrous earthquake, I found a country on its knees, surrounded by rubble, pain and despair, but also many smiles and a contagious desire to live", he says. As the name of our association suggests, all you need is a sheet of paper and a pen, and you can give a child education, and with it a possibility, a future. And this not only in Haiti, but all over the world. At the moment we are focusing on a project in Italy that will support the boys and girls who are going through this difficult period of the pandemic».

GQ Italia

Just wanted to translate this interview for the non-italian’s fans ^^ (sorry for my English)

#Luca Marinelli #interview #diabolik #english #translation #magazine #GQ Italia

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fourangers · 3 years

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Hi Fourangers,

First of all, I love your blog so much. It's like going through a history back when Naruto Manga chapters were released weekly and your reviews were so Golden, Hilarious and spot-on. Am a new fan though (especially an SNS fan), I just got into this fandom only this year. I don't know if you'll answer my ask, but I just wanted to try and ask you few questions and I pray that you might answer me....

1. Since you've written in a post that you were active in the eastern part of the fandom, How was chapter 698 received in Japan? Because this is the chapter I inherently realized they both love each other. Yeah, I was too late but somehow whenever they interact with each other in previous chapters I always find them to be 'Weird' for just to be friends. Chapter 698 is just blatantly obvious that they love each other. Considering Homophobia and Shounen genre, I have no idea how it was perceived over there back then in 2014.

2. Which scene made you to ship SNS?

3. As an SNS'er how do you feel about the ending, where everyone was married off when they were just 19 just to make some shitty sequel??? As a new fan, I felt betrayed and It would've been perfect if they had stopped at chapter 699, leaving an open ending.

4. How do you face with the accusation about Naruto and Sasuke as brothers and we, SNS'ers are Incest shippers??? I don't care about that Indra and Ashura thing. But Naruto himself told he considers Sasuke as his Brother couple of times. And in Chapter 699, Sasuke acknowledged, 'He finally understood what it meant'.... It's the only thing that confuses me and I don't even have an answer!!! Plus, Kishi himself gave an interview that he based Sasuke on his Brother... I really wonder how he gave such an interview when he literally made them wear necklaces with each other's faces.

5. How was Naruto and Sasuke's sexuality perceived in the fandom back then??? Man!! Kishimoto just made lot of comic reliefs on their sexuality by making Sasuke on Sai jutsu, Naruto not interested in Icha Icha but making Reverse Harem no Jutsu, Naruto was angry when Konohamaru made Boy on Boy jutsu whereas he had no problem with him doing it. LOL. And all those homoerotic posters. What do you think about their sexuality, personally??

6. Why did Kishi had to develop their bond as Soulmates with some unintentional or intentional romantic undertones, if he was eventually going to pair them up with girls??? He easily could've gave many such romantic tropes to other girls and keep the bond between N and S as purely friendship or brothers. It still would've made sense.

7. Final one, Was Naruto really Nosebleeding when Kurama made a joke about Sasuke's kiss in Chapter 572???? We had a lot of heated discussion with other shippers where they claim that it was just a splotch of snot.

Sorry for the lengthy ask....... I am so eager to know your answers and I don't want to spam your ask box by sending multiple asks.

Thanks 😊😊😊

Hey yo! Welcome new SNS fan! I'm so glad that you joined us and I'll try to answer as best as I can. I'm not very active here on tumblr (except browsing lol) but your ask was such a delight to read.

1. I honestly don't remember. I think I didn't follow the japanese boards until the eventual 699-700 disaster. People were craving for reactions and I was curious about it too lol. And well...it's been years, I doubt I'll be able to find the reactions from that time. Imo, most readers don't care much about pairings, they just wanted to read about power-ups and abilities and the basic Naruto Vs Sasuke. Though there are some backhanded jokes about how gay Naruto is for Sasuke.

2. Hah. It's going to be very anti-climatic but it was when Naruto and Sakura were eating in Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto just used Rasenshuriken against Kakuzu and he busted his arm. Sakura was healing his arm and her attention was focused on Naruto. I used to be a NaruSaku shipper so I thought "Oh hey! This is the moment that Naruto would have a candid romantic moment!" But nope. He talked about Sasuke. And I was already getting suspicious about Sasuke's feelings towards Naruto ya know? And the whole "SASUKE IS MIINEEEEEE" in Orochimaru's lair. It was that moment I thought "you only have Sasuke in your head don't you, Naruto?" and started shipping SNS.

3. Hooo boy was I surprised when it was suddenly revealed that they had the basic heteronormative, boring marriage with bunch of clones of themselves. Everyone thought that it was almost like a bad fanfiction come true and some thought that it was fake. It was a pandemonium lolololol. I also thought that it was too lame to be true and lo and behold, when it came true I was floored. And then whenever Kishimoto threw new material, I got insanely pissed off because S*arada and B*ruto becoming pairing material is ok because they are a girl and a boy, and then they paralleled with Naruto and Sasuke which are only FRIENDS because they are both men. ARGH. Open ending was what Kishimoto planned from the very beginning but wrote a sequel to earn more money.

In that aspect, I made peace with it because of the whole anime/manga industry. I learned that, as a mangaka, you don't earn a lot of money with selling books, but rather with merchandise and profiting with sales right. And that guy have a family to raise, have two kids (which is hilarious about how B*ruto movie is his self-insert story), he needs a steady income. Also, I read reports about how anime studios are so poor and animators don't receive a decent income not to mention they are overstaffed and tired, and B*ruto is a good money cow for them to earn money so they can invest later on other anime they have more passion about it. So even though I hate this story with a strength of thousands suns, they are putting meal on people's tables and making them pay rents. I'm ok.

4. Lemme roll my eyes because in the Last movie they said that Hinata is related to Kaguya and so is the Uzumaki and Uchiha clan so they are all related woo hoo. But in the aspect of brothers because reincarnations bla bla bla, didn't Naruto himself said that he's no longer that brother, he's himself? Hmm...I gotta re-read it. One day. Maybe. lol. But I'm sure that he said "Sasuke is not my brother but I'm sure we'll understand well as friends" so there. Honestly, there are a lot of interviews out there and a lot of them are fake, so I'd always take the interviews with a grain of salt lololol. I do know from artbooks that Kishimoto wanted to create Sasuke as a rival-esque character and that was it. As he was developing Sasuke and Naruto's relationship, since he liked the whole yin-yang concept, whenever he wrote Naruto's story, Sasuke's was developed at the same time as his shadow.

5. I can tell from Naruto Forums (I used to participate back in that day) MOST of the non-shippers thought it was gay as hell, but you know...it was a relic of that time. While they thought it was gay, they didn't put too much thought about you know? Because it was shounen, and we knew that it was a joke that it couldn't be taken seriously. Of course, in the SNS fandom, we did make more analysis and there were a lot of instance when Naruto and Sasuke's sexuality was questioned. Some other non-shippers also thought that Naruto was totes gay for Sasuke (including a IRL friend).

Imo, Naruto is definitely bisexual in my view. Sasuke I think he's asexual or gay. He's attracted to Naruto, but mostly because of his connection to him, not because of his physical attributes, so yeah...asexual. Or Pansexual. Sasuke is more complicated lmao. Imo, Naruto could be pansexual too, come to think about it. Yeah, I guess both being pansexual can be valid.

6. He developed Naruto and Sasuke being soulmates from the very beginning, that was proven in his comments in artbooks and in the manga. He probably created with the intention of making it purely platonic, going beyond physical ties. Then he shot himself on the foot by drawing Naruto thinking about Sasuke on bed, talking about how Sasuke is cool, meanwhile Sasuke waxing poetic about how Naruto saved him. What gives? Lol. Yeah, I think he got too enamored writing their relationship that he didn't have time to write romantic ones. What I noticed that Sakura's popularity never was really high, so I could see some editors putting their fingers all over it and making her less relevant. Also, Kishimoto didn't know how to handle her, so when she got her time to shine was the whole fake confession disaster. Coupled with Kishimoto sexism and, in his words (Kurenai's flashback), women are useful to spout more babies, women was never really relevant in his story, unfortunately. Even Kaguya who was technically the big bad boss, was never really fleshed out in comparison to Madara. So the null het romantic moments it's not because he wanted to elevate SNS moments, it's more about how he's incompetent about it. It's either Hinata slowly elevating to a relevant status because forced interaction (Pain's sacrifice and Neji's death) or Sakura being obligated to be pining over Sasuke because she's a girl. It's even more painful to see that, if we ignore B*ruto, both girls are shown to be just talking with their kids and dusting shelves, basically being housewives, even though thorough the story (especially Sakura) it was implied that both of them have much more potential than being their husband accessories.

7. It was a splotch of snot. I can confirm myself lol. Whenever the chapter is out and fans would scan it to scanlate it, the editor usually would amp up contrast to max. So usually the lines get much more thicker than usual, when you read the official release which gets straight from the source, you can notice how the lines are more delicate.

Oh lol...but then we also have a lot of controversy about translating style. THAT one is a whole new can of worms to open.

Man I had fun answering your questions! Please send more :P

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itsclydebitches · 4 years

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Why do you like Lore Olympus? I'm genuinely curious because I've seen a lot of harsh criticisms toward the comic, from its inaccuracies regarding its use of Greek Mythology to the plethora of harmful queer stereotypes. I tried reading it myself but honestly, if you took out all the Greek Mythology references and naming, it just seems like another "far older man courts a barely adult woman" love story with bad queer rep thrown it.

Happy to explain! Let’s tackle what’s perhaps the most complicated aspect first.

As a former Classics major I can tell you that there is no “Greek Mythology.” Meaning, there is no singular Greek Mythology that can be referenced and consulted in any uniform way. Which is a really difficult thing to conceptualize in an age of print publications and careful record keeping. Unsure about whether Harry ever cursed Draco with such-and-such hex? Re-read the Harry Potter books to find out. Want to claim that Sherlock was horrible to Watson and frequently insulted him? We can comb through Doyle’s shorts stories and novels, tally every insult, and find out. These are canons and, as messy as the term “canonical” has become with more adaptations and transmedia storytelling, most characters have a set, fixed existence that we can return to and use as evidence. Not so with Greek Mythology. Born of oral storytelling, there are a hundred different versions of every myth, some changes more stark than others. Some of those versions were written down. Then written down again (differently). Then written down again (differently still). Then we realized they were almost all being written down by men and huh, I wonder if that has any impact on how they framed the story (spoiler: it absolutely does). And all of this doesn’t even take into account the issue of translation. Regardless of what Ovid may have put down on the page, you’re going to get a different experience depending on whether you read Melville or Gregory. There’s a reason why everyone was so excited over Emily Wilson being the first woman to translate The Odyssey into English. Her perspective and her experience as a woman by default changes the way she approaches the text. Even something as simple as a single description can have a HUGE impact depending on how it is translated. Take this excerpt from a NYT article:

“The prefix poly,” Wilson said, laughing, “means ‘many’ or ‘multiple.’ Tropos means ‘turn.’ ‘Many’ or ‘multiple’ could suggest that he [Odysseus] is much turned, as if he is the one who has been put in the situation of having been to Troy, and back, and all around, gods and goddesses and monsters turning him off the straight course that, ideally, he’d like to be on. Or, it could be that he’s this untrustworthy kind of guy who is always going to get out of any situation by turning it to his advantage. It could be that he’s the turner.”

Is Odysseus a poor victim turned around by monsters and fate, or is he a schemer capable of turning it all to his advantage? It all depends on how it’s translated and whoever wants to make a case for Odysseus being a “good” or “bad” guy can point to this translation as evidence… or another. Or another. There are just too many versions for anyone to definitely say what these gods and others are “really” like.

I put so much emphasis on this because the biggest criticism I’ve seen leveled against the comic is the characterization of Apollo. He would never rape Persephone! How dare you twist his character like that! Except Apollo isn’t a character that exists in a fixed canon. He belongs to an overwhelming corpus of complicated, contrary, contrasting myths… and yes, in some of those he raped. Arguably. It, again, comes down to translation and interpretation. Take this excerpt from Nancy Rabinowitz’s paper “Greek Tragedy: A Rape Culture?”

Creusa, raped by Apollo years ago, conceived a child and abandoned him… For the purposes of this paper, I have to address the question of whether Creusa was in fact raped by the god. Hermes mixes the terminology in the prologue; he asserts that the god Apollo “yoked the daughter of Erechtheus in marriage (γάμοις)”, but he also says “by force (βίᾳ)” (10-11). Ion later (1524-25; cf. 341, 325) wonders whether Creusa was really raped, or whether she was just alleging that the god took her by violence to cover up an indiscretion of her own – a similar situation could be imagined in our own day, where false allegations may arise from young girls’ fear of confessing consensual relations to their parents. Lefkowitz argues that women tend to cooperate in their seduction by a god. While it might seem obvious that Ion is simply wrong, there is the further implication that though Apollo raped Creusa, she also desired him” (11-12).

So if we’re looking for evidence that Smythe’s interpretation of Apollo is the “correct” one, it exists… depending on what you read and how you choose to interpret it: whether a mortal woman can ever truly give consent due to the power difference between her and a god, whether it was safe to say no, whether she might have lied to protect herself, whether it was something a part of her desired but perhaps didn’t entirely want, etc. It’s that last bit in particular—those difficult questions—that Smythe explores in her comic. Persephone wants to explore her sexuality. She wants a way out of her virgin obligations. But she’s also pressured into sex by Apollo. He doesn’t stop when she expresses discomfort. She doesn’t feel safe asserting herself and telling him to stop. It’s rape, but it’s a far more complicated situation than the rape scenario of “Evil man forces himself on woman in the back of an alleyway” and Smythe treats the tragedy with nuance and respect, even in a comic filled with so much humor.

The people I see most upset about Lore Olympus are those who talk about the gods and their associated mortals as if they’re characters out of a book. They read one version once—or maybe two—and, as is natural in the 21st century, decided that This Is How The Story Goes. Even though every academic would be losing their mind over such definitive statements as, “Such-and-Such would never do this.” That’s simply not how records this ancient, sporadic, political, and downright messy work. So as someone with some knowledge of how Greek Mythology functions, I’m not at all put off by the comics’ “inaccuracies.” Because they’re simply not inaccuracies, just interpretations. Not liking those interpretations is fine, but that doesn’t mean Smythe was wrong for providing them.

As for the rest, I’ll try to limit myself to bullet points:

The age difference between Persephone and Hades is definitely A Thing and I admittedly didn’t realize that was the case when I started reading. I assumed that Persephone, like most of the cast, was hundreds/thousands of years old and just had a child-like personality. I basically realized around the time Hades did that she’s so young. That being said, the issue of age differences changes for me once you reach such insane ages. That’s why I still ship Ozqrow: Ozpin is hundreds of years older than him but at that point he’s going to be older than everyone. Always. Limiting his ships to only those who are close to Ozpin’s age means you can’t ship him at all (unless you ship him with Salem post-grimm pool and… no). It’s a similar situation with Hades. Yes, there are plenty of gods his age that he could date (and indeed he does) but he is always going to be thousands of years older than Persephone. She can literally never catch up to him, so if someone has an issue with the age gap then they have to accept that it will simply never go away. They can never be a couple in which case yeah, then the comic just isn’t your thing.

Really, I think the bigger issue is not the gap itself but Persephone’s age, period. Again though, I appreciate that Smythe treats the situation with a great deal of respect. This isn’t a story of a much older man hunting a younger woman. It’s the story of a much older god who, like me the reader, assumed he had fallen for a slightly younger goddess… and then freaked out when he found out he was wrong. He’s called out for his ignorance. Others are incredibly protective of Persephone. They both try to stay away from one another and find themselves struggling. Which, to be frank, is an interesting dilemma to me. And it’s one I’m more interested in with gods as characters as opposed to humans. Because it feels less predatory to me. A man going after a much younger woman is threatening in part because we’re mortals who have so much to lose, including our youth. If you enter an abusive relationship that alone is horrible enough, but it also means you’ve lost all those years and all that experience to toxicity. When a god goes after a much younger goddess… they’re kind of static. They have eternity stretching out before them. Persephone potentially “losing” ten years to a relationship with Hades just isn’t the same thing as a mortal losing ten years to a relationship of their own. Gods, though they seem quite human, simply aren’t and thus for me questions of morality and what’s ethical in any given situation changes. We have a cast who, when Eros gets upset and murders a whole bunch of humans, Zeus shrugs and says they’ll just make more. Their concept of right and wrong differs from ours and it invites the reader to apply that to every situation: is it as wrong for an older god to go after a 19yo goddess as it would be for an older man to go after a 19yo woman? Many readers may decide it is—to some extent the text decides it is—but the story still possesses ambiguity and invites the reader to grapple with it. That’s compelling.

Connected to this, I like how much agency Persephone has throughout the series. She’s very much a character who defies expectations, particularly when it comes to her sexuality. Far from being a meek, vulnerable woman who is preyed on by Hades, she is making constant, active decisions about her own romantic and sexual encounters. Even if that decision is just acknowledging how unsure she still is: does she want to remain a virgin? Does she want Apollo? Does she want Hades? Is it okay to make out with Ares? Wear this very short dress? Get drunk? Explore a city? Invite this person over? Have feelings for your boss? Persephone is grappling with a lot of questions that don’t have easy answers and the fact that the story gives her the room to do that grappling is fantastic. I’ve spoken before about my dislike of the Strong Female Character—someone who is not just physically intimidating but who also never, EVER hesitates. She knows precisely what she wants and she’s going to take it! Which is a great portrayal of one kind of woman… but I’m not that kind. I hem and haw and am anxious like Persephone. So for me it’s refreshing to see a story that paints uncertainty as strength. She’s allowed the space to be unsure and confused and is never belittled for that.

Honestly I’m not sure what the issue with the queer rep is? Beyond the fact that Lore Olympus doesn’t seem to have any (unless I’m forgetting some. Very possible). Which, admittedly, is far from great, but if I dismissed every story due solely to a lack of queer characters I would limit a lot of my potential media. So for me, personally, that’s not a deal breaker. Taking a stab in the dark, I’ll make an assumption that people are upset about certain characterizations like Eros? Which, fair. But we also have the flip side that effeminate, flamboyant men do exist. It’s another complicated, touchy subject, but there’s a fine line between enforcing stereotypes and acknowledging that those stereotypes often do arise out of something. Some people hate the media image of the queer kid decked out in rainbows. Other people look at their own wardrobe and backpack and go, “Actually… yeah. That can be accurate.” For me stereotypes are primarily an issue given their prevalence. It’s an issue when that’s the only way queer characters are portrayed, but Lore Olympus doesn’t have that problem because, again, it’s focused on het relationships. Eros might potentially be a (non-confirmed?) queer stereotype… or he’s a battle-hardened warrior who also likes to gush about gossip while baking, the sort of complex gender portrayal that people claim to want. It depend on how you approach it. So no, Lore Olympus isn’t breaking any ground with queer rep but, as said, I do appreciate how it treats sexual assault—among other sensitive, relevant issues. It’s a trade-off. No piece of media is going to be perfect. I could say the same thing about so many great stories. The Mandalorian doesn’t have any queer rep! No, it doesn’t, but it is giving us a fantastic story about a bounty-hunter turned dad that challenges a number of Western gender assumptions so… trade-off.

I likewise enjoy that characters call one another out on shitty, toxic behavior without completely losing who those characters are. (Again, supposedly who they are based on the lecture I gave at the start lol). Meaning, it would be kind of weird if Zeus wasn’t a womanizer. That’s what we expect of him, so changing that would likewise change one of the most fundamental aspects of what makes Zeus-Zeus in the general public’s perception of him. But we still have scenes of Hera and others calling him out on that shit, so it’s a balance between modern sensibilities and character expectations.

The characters overall are just wonderfully complex. Persephone doesn’t seem so at first glance, but that’s partly the point: she’s nothing like what everyone assumes she is and it’s those assumptions that she’s learning to push back against. But overall Smythe has a real knack for emphasizing the human (or god) complexity. We hate Eros for helping Aphrodite punish Persephone. Then we feel bad for him because of his sob story. Then we pull back because he’s called out for being a dick and making himself look like the victim. Then we come to the realization that his side of the story was still accurate in many ways and finally end on… he’s flawed. He’s just a flawed person. He’s not a saint. He’s not the devil. He’s a guy who screwed up one moment and did something good the next. Perhaps it’s just me coming out of the nonsense that was Volume 7 of RWBY, but it’s refreshing to read a story where that complexity is emphasized and (most) flaws are forgiven while still being acknowledged.

Overall I just find it to be a fun, entertaining story! lol. The artwork is beautiful. The humor is great. There’s a nice balance between plot and introspection. There are issues with the series, sure, but none thus far have kept me from enjoying the experience of reading it. I fully support anyone’s right to go, “Nope. Not for me.” For any reason. But I also feel like Lore Olympus is a good example of Tumblr’s recent emphasis on pure media: it must be PERFECT. Otherwise chuck it in the bin. Lore Olympus does a lot of the things that people on this site call for. Respectful depictions of assault. Emphasis on mental health. Storytelling from a woman’s perspective. Numerous types of woman characters. Being careful about who engages with sensitive material and how (each chapter that contains such issues has a trigger warning at the start, impossible to miss). Lore Olympus does a lot right… and some things wrong. Which is what we would expect of any good story. So it feels disingenuous of me—if not outright dangerous—to paint it as worse than I actually think it is. I want media to continue to improve, but I also don’t want to scare off authors from even trying because they were raked across the coals for not creating perfection. Smythe, to my mind, is definitely trying and that should be acknowledged.

#Anonymous #rape tw #lore olympus #greek mythology #mymetas

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another-mexico-oc · 4 years

Text

The most used Mexico´ cliches in fanfiction and comics (And surely this can apply to any other OC)

Traducción en Español: AQUÍ

DISCLAIMER:

This post DOES NOT intend to throw shit and attack specific authors or their work, so out of respect we will not mention names. If you have read my other posts you will know that this only has the purpose of entertaining and to give a personal opinion.

Also, this does not intend to be a manual or guide on how to write a good comic or fanfic. It is only a compilation of repetitive elements found throughout these works.

Now, let's continue ...

Hi! How are you doing? I hope you are safe at home, and in case you have to go outside take your precautions.

I have been in Hetalia's fandom for more than a year, and the Countryhumans' less than a year, and both my cousin and I have seen and read enough material from Mexico's OCs, enough to compile in a list the most popular cliches when reading a fanfic or comic which involves this character. As I said at the beginning, this is not a guide of what to do and what not, but we invite creators to find new ways to tell the same stories (or even new ones) differently and to not fall into the predictable.

( Perhaps it is because in my university career one of my teachers was very demanding with coherent scripts and stories, and that she tended to review them 10 times before giving the approval, that I became very demanding with the creation of stories and characters. But that's my personal issue! )

Sarcastically, this should be called "The clichés that cannot be miss for your Mexico´ story" :

1. The Mexico´OC was created ONLY to be the love interest of another character (the author's favorite):

In the same way, the author´ comics and fanfics will be of the romantic genre, and it will involve his favorite ship (or his various ships if he/she is a multi-shipper). Making a brief conclusion, there are few works in which Mexico stands out as a character, without having the love interest, or the famous harem, as the main plot.

And if you were curious, here is a chart that shows the most used ships in the Hetalia´ case, although in 2020 it may have slight changes:

(Denmark and Norway?! I have never found any fic about them being paired with Mexico)

2. María Sue and Gary Estuardo:

More cliché this could not be. Even when I´m mexican myself, I realize that the representation of my country has received the Mary Sue treatment by the fandom, both in Hetalia and in Countryhumas, and mostly by the latino and mexican community. I already talked about this HERE, but I'll summarize it:

Regardless of whether Mexico is a man or a woman:

- They will be the center of the universe, all the characters will kiss the ground they step on, they will be the most cute person in the world, without flaws, and their greatest virtue will be his or her ethereal beauty that will make everyone to fall in love with them, with just an eye blink.

- It´s never their fault and they will never face the consequences of their actions, e.g. causing WW3. What's even more, he or she is just a poor victim of the evil countries that want to take advantage of his/her territory.

- Having got laid or dating half of the world will not cause them serious consequences or a negative reputation.

- Personality? Oh my, that´s very complicated to write, instead I will narrate how my female Mexico arrived at the restaurant with a dress that highlighted her feminine attributes and how her long and abundant hair made more than one person to sigh; Or how my male Mexico wore tight pants that showed his perfect toned legs, and that when he smiled he made blush every country.

If it was a parody, I'd accept Mexico to be a Mary Sue or a Gary Stu. But usually the authors want you to take the story and the character seriously. So... nope.

3. Plots taken from soap operas, or telenovelas:

Believe it or not, there are authors who have admitted that their Mexico´ fanfics are based on mexican telenovelas. And the worst thing is that telenovelas have the most cliche stories in the world! Think about it, you have a good and humble, but kind of dumb person, who in this case is going to be Mexico, who falls in love with a handsome and rich person, who will obviously be a first world country, but there is someone who wants to finish their romance. You also have forced marriages, fights, misunderstandings, slaps, super dramatic scenes, passionate scenes, cheesy titles...

Mix all this elements together, and you will get:

For comedy purpose, we will be using my OC)

4. The fanfic or comic always, ALWAYS, has to start with a world meeting:

I propose a challenge for you and your friends. Gather together and search for Mexico fanfics, no matter the fandom where you all came from. Take a shot, or put a coin in a jar, for every time the first chapter begins at a meeting.

And almost always it is here where the author builds the romantic story, examples:

“It was a normal day in the boardroom, everyone was arguing while Germany (United Nations if it is a Countryhumans fic) tried in vain to put order and discipline. Only a nation was waiting for a certain person with brown skin and delicate features, to enter through that great door… ”

“Suddenly, a brown skin girl with black and curly hair (Seriously guys, where did you got the idea your average mexican girl has natural curly hair?!) entered the room, and the entire room went silent. Everyone who was there had something to do with that young lady, and seeing her there, turned into a full woman, left them stunned. She was gorgeous.”

Another cliché, but this one can be in any story, is: "Realizing that it was getting late, he got up, took off his pajamas, groomed, combed his hair, and put on his yellow shirt with his ...". There are several ways to start the story without the famous world meeting and the character's morning routine.

5. The harem and love triangles (or any other geometric shape):

This cliché could not be missing either. There are a lot of Mexico x TheWorld´ fanfics. As I said before, I am not against the shipping and the harem of Mexico, each one is free to ship whatever they like, as long as there is respect between the community.

But even when an author wants to focus on a single couple, let's take for example Canada x Mexico, he necesarily has to include USAMex and RusMex as secondary couples, and at some point it gets exhausting and reforces the Mary Sue treatment. It seems that for many authors, Mexico's international relations automatically translate into a “romantic relationship”, and not into a friends or business partners one.

And also, the construction of the relationship it feels sometimes very empty. The author doesn't give time to show how they become a couple or how they found the chemistry in the other. In the third chapter they are already making out!

6. The toxicity:

Oh yeah.

I don't blame this clichá, my cousin and I concluded that healthy relationships are rare in Hetalia and Countryhumans. Practically all countries have one or two flaws that at first sight makes them look toxic. And in Mexico's fanfics and comics, particularly those involving USAMex, the character gets involved in a possessive and codependent relationship.

If Mexico is not a dominant male or a femme fatale, it will be a submissive character who will allow all kinds of abuse. Or in each chapter he or she will doubt about his/her relationship, and will make their partner jealous.

To write a healthy relationship, you must work on the characters' strengths and make them both face their flaws, but instead, the authors take these flaws and make them the basis of the relationship.

7. The party´ chapter in which things get ... heavily crazy:

Okay, so we have our first chapter at the world meeting, where we establish the main couple. Now what we need is the stage for the lovebirds to confess their love ... while being drunk. In many works we will find the countries gathered at a party (usually a Latino party), and the author will narrate all the crazy events that occur, including how Mexico and his sweetheart, will confess their feelings after having taken a few bottles, and sometimes this gets to ...

8. The chapter (or chapters) + 18

This is almost a requirement for many fanfic´ writers, and is always written in the same way. The author will narrate you in detail from the moment they begin to undress until the climax moment.

9. Spain will never stop calling Mexico "New Spain", despite the fact that more than 200 years have passed since the country's independence and its recognition:

And in the case of Hetalia, Mexico must have the same last name as Spain: Hernández Carriedo. Yes, in the same way that United States last name is not Jones, but Kirkland, like its ex-colonizer England; or that Belarus last name is Braginski as his brother Russia, and not Arlovskaya.

Also, although Spain continues to call Mexico "New Spain", he will never call Argentina "Rio de la Plata" or Colombia "New Granada". Similarly, England and France will never call America and Canada "13 Colonies" and "New France" respectively. It seems to be something exclusive for Spain and Mexico.

10. Repetitive references and jokes, or lack of knowledge about the country.

Paco the chihuahua dog, Mexico and Sudamericans fighting over the avocado´s name, Mexico having flashbacks of his/her past with the Aztec Empire and with the USA when they were colonies, Mexico complaining about his/her rulers and corruption within the country, Mexico crying over Texas, Mexico demonstrating his/her beautiful culture to other countries …

Not to mention when someone makes an Mexico OC and his knowledge of the country is very basic: tacos, sombreros, Day of the Dead, always hot climate, the wall issue with America, Aztec and Maya as the only ancestors of Mexico, Texas, burritos... Sorry if I sound rude but, those people need to read and investigate more, and watch less movies where Mexico has that yellow filter.

11. Bad translations

Okay, this is something exclusive of the spanish speaking fandom, but I´ll tell you what´s their issue.

Some author had the brilliant idea to make the dialogues of the countries in their respective languages, followed by placing the Spanish translation in parentheses, and from there many followed suit. The problem is when you notice that they don´t speak or understand the language, and instead they use the Google translator, obtaining results like this:

There have been several occasions when I am reading America and England´ dialogues, and it makes me want to write in the comment section: “DON´T USE THE GOOGLE TRANSLATOR! ” I wouldn´t know what to say from the rest of the countries, since my French is very basic,and I have hardly learned one phrase from the others languages.

My advise for these authors is to find a person who is fluent in the language and who can help them with the dialogues. Or even better, try to avoid this cliché, because at the end of the day people will only read the translation, and it is already implied that each country speaks in its respective language. Also doing this is very pretentious.

The less you can do is to add in the dialogues well know words, like adiós, hola, bonjour, ciao...

12. Changing the canon personalities. Or worse: turn a loved character into a villain.

I already said this HERE too. Basically, for the author to make his Mexico an empathic character and to make other countries to fall in love with him or her, they must conveniently change their canon personalities. This applies more in Hetalia than in Countryhumans, since this last one belongs to the community and nobody can establish what is canon and what is not. On the other hand, in Hetalia the characters already have their own personalities, and neither plays the role of villain. And there is a big difference between being an antagonist or a villain, but I´ll let you to investigate it yourself.

This cliché is closely related to the Mary Sue treatment, because if I want readers to empathize with Mexico, I must turn another character into an evil person who is going to put him through hardships. And normally this character is the United States or America, whatever you call him.

If I want Russia or Germany to fall in love with Mexico, I must rewrite their characters and throw out the unstable part of Russia, and Germany's little experience regarding romantic relationships, just to make them the most romantic and sentimental people in the world.

✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥ ✥

There you have it! I think I already roasted 80% of Mexico fanfiction and fanart, but is not like they are going to dissapear with this post. On the good side, for every time I cringed reading some of these works, I have saved a good amount money, you must try it. I should try an aside blog where I criticize bad fanfiction... But at the moment, that´s all for today! See ya!

#mun says #personal opinion #hws mexico #aph mexico #hetalia mexico #countryhumans mexico #fanfiction reviews #clichés

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recentanimenews · 4 years

Text

Bookshelf Briefs 9/30/20

Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, Vol. 6 | By Reai and Suki Umemiya | Seven Seas – Another series down to “once a year” release—I had to jog my memory at the start to recall what had been happening. Many things are going wrong for our heroine, who is trying to be strong and tough but is also starting to break down, and I felt that the scenes with her and Dean struck just the right balance of comforting and letting the heroine cry without making her seem weaker. This sets the stage for her comeback, which is extraordinary. (And also has a corrupt Church, a constant in Japanese light novels, though at least here there are also honest and good religious people in it.) That said, eventually Dean’s identity will come out, and I do wonder how this very good “villainess” isekai will handle it. – Sean Gaffney

The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Jack Flash and the Faerie Case Files, Vol. 1 | By Yu Godai, Mako Oikawa, and Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – A faerie switched at birth for a human child, Jack never fit in in either world. Only in the mortal realm could she earn money for anime collectibles, however, so she decided to make herself into a tough, capable woman like her literary heroes and set up shop as a detective. Together with her fellow changeling, Larry the werewolf, Jack takes on supernatural cases in New York City. In this volume, Lindel tasks them with tracking down a missing dragon egg. I liked the resources Jack uses to obtain information, which include a dapper theatre ghost and a spell with components of rat whiskers and taxi tires because “Nobody out there knows this city better than them.” I still found this a bit hard to get into, though, especially the parts involving a perpetually tearful off-off-off-off-Broadway actress and her pickpocket boyfriend. Still, I will check out volume two! – Michelle Smith

Black Clover, Vol. 22 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – At long last, this interminable arc comes to an end. I enjoyed a lot of it, but I cannot deny it should have been about two volumes shorter. Most of the book is taken up by shonen battles, with the villain being nigh unkillable, the heroes almost breaking themselves to stop him, etc. Fortunately, the day is saved, and even the Wizard King turns out to be… sort of alive again? Shota fans should be happy. Asta fans perhaps less so—the sheer amount of damage done to the kingdom in this arc means someone has to be blamed, and give Asta has the “dark evil magic” it’s gonna be him, especially when he takes the incredibly obvious bait they use to get him to fight. Oh well, if Asta were smart, this wouldn’t be Black Clover. – Sean Gaffney

Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, Vol. 3 | By Nanashi | Vertical Comics – Part of the problem with titles like this and the other teasing works (Takagi-san less so as Nishikata doesn’t fall into the category) is that they are, at heart, the classic “extroverted girl acts overtly extroverted to bring introverted guy out of their shell,” and that’s not really a plot that feels comfortable in the Gen Z days, where you’re more likely to say “why doesn’t she just let him be in his quiet, safe space?” And by she I mean they, as Nagatoro’s two friends appear far more often here, which offers some good two-way teasing action, as they clearly see her crush on him, if not why. It’s still sort of hard to read, but if you pretend he’s more OK with it than he actually is, this is cute. – Sean Gaffney

Failed Princesses, Vol. 1 | By Ajiichi | Seven Seas – The concept of “popular girl meets unpopular girl” is a common one in yuri manga, and we do indeed hit several of its tropes in this first volume. The amusing thing is that Kanade, the shy outcast girl, is perfectly aware of how things are supposed to go, and keeps pulling back a bit to try to save Nanaki from, well, making herself an outcast by associating with the wrong people. The best part of the volume is that Nanaki really doesn’t give two shits about any of that, and seems set on making Kanade her best friend… and also making her over, which backfires a bit as Kanade cleans up nicely. I hear this gets a bit dramatic later, but for the moment it’s a cute and fluffy proto-yuri story. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 12 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – The first story in this volume is another “Rikka tries to make people understand Kotoko is an evil Machiavellian schemer,” this time with one of her ex-classmates, but again the response seems to be “we know she’s a manipulative bitch, but she’s a good person anyway.” The larger story, which will continue into the next book, seems to be a chance to write Kuro and Kotoko as an actual romance, as the man we meet here and his relationship with a yuki-onna… as well as his penchant for attracting misfortune… very much parallel them. That said, they’re very cute together, which is why I hope he avoids the murder charge he’s now being investigated for. Still a favorite. – Sean Gaffney

Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 8 | By Petos | Kodansha Comics – The author knows what people want to see, but also knows that the best way to get readers is to drive them crazy by not showing it. We finally get what we’ve been begging for here, as Tetsuo asks Sakie out on a date. (This is after rejecting Kyouko’s love confession, both because she’s his student and also, as he is forced to admit, as he likes Sakie.) The stage is set for the date… and the rest of the book is thus spent with the three main student girls going to Kyouko’s for a fireworks viewing and meeting her family. They’re good chapters, and I really liked showing how difficult Kyouko has it as a dullahan in terms of everyday life, but GOD, please get back to the teachers, I beg you! – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 16 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – The series has gotten to the point where the more rewarding chapters are the ones as part of a larger arc. Not that the one-shot chapters are bad—though Maki’s journey to India may be the most pointless thing in this entire series to date, we do get Chika’s iconic “shut up or I’ll kill you” here. But the larger arcs, featuring Miyuki and Kaguya attempting to date without interruptions, and setting up Ishigami and Iino for a romance—though given the number of limbs broken in this book, and Iino’s own horrible lack of self-awareness, it may be a ways out—are better. This series is still hilarious, but we’ve come to read it more for the heartwarming moments. Heck, there’s even some serious drama here. Very good. – Sean Gaffney

Nineteen | By Ancco | Drawn & Quarterly – Although it was translated and released second in English, Nineteen is a precursor to Ancco’s internationally award-winning manhwa Bad Friends. The volume collects thirteen short comics originally published in Korea over a decade ago which absolutely remain relevant to today’s world. While understandably not as polished as some of Ancco’s later work—one can observe her style evolving and growing over the course of the collection (which is fascinating)—the comics still carry significant emotional weight and impact. Nineteen includes diary comics, which tend to be more lighthearted, as well as harder-hitting fictional stories, many of which also have autobiographical inspiration. As a whole, the collection explores themes of young adulthood, growing up, and complicated family relationships. In particular, there is a compelling focus on the relationships among daughters, mothers, and grandmothers. Some of the narratives can be rather bleak, but a resigned sense of humor threads through Nineteen, too. – Ash Brown

Ran the Peerless Beauty, Vol. 8 | By Ammitsu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Shoujo manga that has couples getting together BEFORE the end of the series is inevitably going to have an arc dealing with how far the lead couple should go now that they’re dating, and this is Ran’s turn, as she and Akira and their friends go to a beach house Ran’s family owns and have some beach fun. Unfortunately, the cast gets winnowed down one by one until it’s just the two of them… and her overprotective father, who arrives in time to provide the cliffhanger and no doubt ensure that nookie does not ensue. Not that I think it should—these two kids are even purer than the couple from Kimi ni Todoke, and I think they should mature a bit more before going further. Plus, watching them blush and kiss is wonderful. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – Having spent our first volume establishing that our found family can really come to love each other deep down, this volume shows off how they are also, at heart, fundamentally awkward and unable to socialize normally. This is unsurprising—hints of Loid’s life we’ve seen show him as a war orphan, Yor is a contract killer, and Anya basically grew up being experimented on by bad guys. As the school soon finds, this leads to issues. The second half of the book introduces Yor’s sister-obsessed little brother Yuri, who turns out to be a torture expert for Loid’s enemies. As always, half the fun is that everyone except Anya has no idea who their real selves are, and the cliffhanger tells us we’re in for some hilarious family fun. I love this. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 | By Tatsuya Endo | VIZ Media – After a brief spell atop the waiting list, Anya officially makes it into Eden Academy. Loid is anxious to progress to the next stage of his mission and, believing there’s not much chance in turning Anya into an elite scholar like his agency wants, focuses instead on having her befriend the younger son of his target. It does not go to plan, of course. Anya is very cute in this volume, and I also really appreciated how Loid genuinely listens to Yor and values her input. The arrival of Yor’s brother, a member of the secret police, is going to be a fun complication, and another cast member with a secret, but my favorite part of this series is probably always going to be how much love these three are already feeling for each other. So unique and good! – Michelle Smith

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, Vol. 6 | By Tomo Hirokawa, based on the story by Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – The weakness of this manga is the same as always—it’s written to tie into the games, and features several characters I just don’t recognize, which can be a problem given this is the big final let’s-save-the-world ending. That said, this is still a decent SAO title. Kirito gets to be cool and badass, but because this isn’t written just by Kawahara others do as well, and it’s a nice balanced effort that focuses on heroine Premiere. I also really liked the point where all the NPCs are worried when everyone has to log out for several days for maintenance. While I’ll still remember this as the “SAO only everyone is alive” manga, I enjoyed reading it, when I wasn’t confused. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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tabloidtoc · 4 years

Text

Entertainment Weekly, February

Cover: Daniel Craig and Rami Malek of the James Bond film No Time to Die

Page 1: Contents

Page 3: Sound Bites

Page 4: Editor’s Note

Page 8: The Must List -- Jodie Whittaker on Doctor Who

Page 10: Q+A with James Taylor, The Magicians

Page 11: The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood, Tame Impala

Page 12: Gillian Anderson on Sex Education

Page 14: All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace, Ask Ronna, AJ and the Queen

Page 15: Requiem for a January

Page 16: My Must List -- Reba McEntire

Page 20: First Take -- DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and Legacies

Page 23: Mary J. Blige and LaToya Tonodeo in Power Book II: Ghost

Page 24: Cover Story -- Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film No Time to Die, with Daniel Craig and Rami Malek and Lashana Lynch and Lea Seydoux

Page 33: Winter TV Preview

Page 34: Star Trek: Picard

Page 37: Edie Falco on Tommy, For Life, Katy Keene

Page 38: Rob McElhenney on Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet

Page 39: Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, High Fidelity, Duncanville

Page 40: Outlander

Page 41: Rosario Dawson on Briarpatch

Page 42: Better Call Saul, Locke & Key, Cherish the Day, Gentefied

Page 43: Homeland

Page 44: What to Watch

Page 46: Exclusive excerpt as author Suzanne Collins takes us back to the 10th Hunger Games in her hugely anticipated prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and gives us President Snow’s origin story

Page 50: Margot Robbie on Birds of Prey

Page 54: As he prepares to finally return to his signature film role in Bad Boys for Life a candid Martin Lawrence looks back on his struggles with fame and why he’s ready to step back into the spotlight

Page 58: The Murder That Changed Reality TV -- when Megan Wants a Millionaire contestant Ryan Jenkins killed his wife in 2009 it created a crisis for the industry. How Jenkins’ crime impacted the way reality shows are cast

Page 64: Octogenarians Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin of Grace and Frankie redefine what it means to have a senior moment

Page 68: The Awardist -- Industry veterans and a comic-book villain reign supreme among the 2020 Oscar nominees at the expense of a fresher and more diverse slate

Page 70: If I ran the Oscars -- the Academy’s run its own show for 92 years but EW’s critic has some ideas for rebooting the big night

Page 71: Guest Column by Alma Har’el -- The Honey Boy helmer whose tweet about Golden Globe nominations went viral slams the lack of women in the Best Director races, Dustin Hoffman remembers Midnight Cowboy’s unlikely Oscar journey

Page 72: They were nominated together 45 years ago for The Godfather Part II and now Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino are back in the race for The Irishman

Page 73: Confessions of a red-carpet warrior

Page 74: News and Reviews -- The Gentlemen

Page 75: Sundance Film Festival preview -- hotly anticipated films take on pressing issues in our current culture wars

Page 76: Dolittle

Page 77: Women on the Verge -- A fresh wave of female filmmakers aren’t just waiting for Hollywood to meet them halfway -- they’re stepping up with some of the most engaging and original cinema of the year

Page 78: Oral History -- Any Given Sunday -- Oliver Stone, James Woods, Bill Bellamy, Lawrence Taylor, Al Pacino, LL Cool J, Jamie Foxx, Aaron Eckhart, Matthew Modine, Terrell Owens

Page 85: Location, Location, Location -- San Francisco -- Always Be My Maybe

Page 87: The Shot -- Lost in Translation -- inside the creation of a classic scene

Page 90: TV -- The Good Place

Page 91: Remembering Criminal Minds

Page 92: Comedy of My Life -- Zach Woods -- the gentle comedy assassin/Silicon Valley alum returns with sci-fi farce Avenue 5 and black comedy Downhill

Page 93: 3 questions with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Vikings

Page 95: Q+A -- Kumail Nanjiani

Page 97: Entertaining Weekly -- rib-sticking, Outlander-inspired, gluten-free, vegetarian comfort food in Outlander Kitchen: To the New World and Back Again by Theresa Carle-Sanders

Page 100: Music -- While making his first album of all new material in 19 years with his band The News, Huey Lewis was struck with Meniere’s Disease, but the heart of rock & roll is still beating in the 69-year-old star

Page 102: 3 questions for Tones and I, Little Big Town

Page 103: Stupid questions with Ozzy Osbourne

Page 104: Green Day

Page 105: Selena Gomez

Page 106: Books

Page 108: Q+A -- Laura Linney

Page 109: How two fascinating new novels The Resisters and The Cactus League reinvigorate and complicate America’s national pastime

Page 110: Westworld alum Charles Yu explores Asian-American stereotypes in pop culture with his audacious new novel Interior Chinatown

Page 112: The Bullseye

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softspiderling · 5 years

Text

swanky fortune - teaser part six | t.h.

Summary: confessions in an alley, surviving a shovel talk and saying good bye

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Warnings: nada

Masterlist

COMING THIS THURSDAY, 22ND OF AUGUST, 12 AM ICT!!!

Tom‘s eyes widened comically.

“What?” he asked. “Really?”

“Are you kidding? I literally told you when we first met,” you pointed out and he sighed, shaking his head.

“No. It’s not the same.”

He looked upset. You were confused, because didn’t understand what was going on. Was he… Upset because you liked him back? Wasn’t he supposed to be happy about that?

“It’s different when you like me because I’m your celebrity crush. I want you to like me because I’m me, not because I’m Tom Holland.”

You scratched your head with your nails, unsure if you were able to follow his train of thought. “… But you are Tom Holland.”

“You know what I mean,” He squinted his eyes at you, trying to figure out if you were messing with him or not.

“I do, actually, yes,” you sighed and stepped closer to him carefully.

“I like you, Tom, family person, dog person, Harrison person. You’re a bit of a dick, to be honest, but when it comes tough on tough, you take care of your friends, your family, of me.”

You said the last part more quietly and Tom gave you the softest look, a small smile growing on his face. Wow, you were sure you were going to die.

He took your hands in his and laced them together, almost shyly. “And people say it’s complicated to date in our time,” he joked, squeezing your hand.

“I like you a lot,” you said and he furrowed his brows at your answer.

“Why do I sense a ‘but’ coming?”

“But-“

Tom sighed before you could continue, his face falling a bit at your sullen tone.

Author’s Note: I know this teaser is tiny, but I didn’t want to spoil too much, because this chapter is CONTENT packed!!! Wanna find out what happens next? Read swanky fortune part six this Thursday!

Add yourself to my taglist here!

Bolded means I couldn’t tag you for some reason. If that is the case with your user, please shoot me a message so we can figure out the problem!

Taglist: @littleraton // @kingjvngins // @fangirlingisajob // @yourbiggestspiderfan // @fandomdarlings // @jeffsbarbershop // @americasmarauders // @yourwonderbelle // @noobmaster63 // @eridanuswave // @incorrect-things // @thollandx // @lala-florez // @theefactorygirl // @xidaughterofthemoonix // @sweetdarlingholland // @arichella // @let-me-luve-you // @cxtetxm // @pmvelez97 // @monjvn // @procrastinatingismybiggestflaw // @gotmyhandonmyheart // @tapptaptap // @dah-knee-cuh // @1-800-back-off // @milkandpepsi // @xoxomandoo // @how-the-heck-is-bucky // @shaygrace825 // @asix122747483 // @wheres-mccall // @nightxshadex201 // @lovcyou3000 // @trustfundparker // @softboyparkerr // @photoshopart15 // @yourdaisys // @twinklestqr // @thewinterslut // @snowxbarryxendgame // @fangirling12566 // @lost-in-translating // @chaoticharmonyqueen // @sunflowercth // @thatphandomchick // @psychicforest // @llamasaurousmaddie // @fandomdarlings // @unfortunateshelby // @skyfall8600 // @yeahimcrying // @spideys-gurl // @one-big-fangirl // @imagine-lovebug // @professionalphangirluniverse // @zabdisamor // @palindrome-teddy // @axa-vega // @btsgot7crackheads // @angelicshinigami // @mrsfortune1306 // @spicy-mango626 // @thorsvotary // @boughs-of-hollie // @magicalturmoil // @overdramaticdepressedteen // @tomhollandismyspiderman // @tomshufflepuff // @trustfundparker // @evelyn120700 // @sincerelygmg // @the-surviving-revolutionist // @darktwistydiamond // @tomspidertingle // @jackiehollanderr // @jsusofsburbia // @nerdyandproudofitstuff // @laureharrier // @beautifullydisconnected // @afangirlwashere

#swanky fortune #tom holland #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland fanfic #tom holland fic #tom holland imagine #tom holland x reader #peter parker #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker fanfic #peter parker fluff #peter parker imagine #peter parker x reader #softspiderling

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tazzmanien · 5 years

Text

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System Review

Okay let see, as some of you know I only started to read this novel because Mo Dao Zu Shi left an empty spot in my heart and I needed a quick fix. Well, quick it was, fixing did not happen. Why you ask? Because instead of one obsession, now I have two. So before I write my review just a little thing I really need to get off my chest, SV was not as good as MDZS, but I never expected it to be and it was still very great. That’s all the comparison I’m gonna do. If you want me to compare more let me know and I will gladly do it. It seems I love to write about those stories.

Sorry for the length of the review, I’m just that obsessed. And warning: SPOILERS AHEAD

Looking at the novel overall, it was a very fun read, with a few really sad elements and lots of weird love story aspects and colorful characters. It was very easy to read, even though it had its weak parts, I laughed so much that I would recommend it to everyone.

The good:

I can’t say much about the writing quality, as I was only able to read the translation. But the translation seemed like it’s easy to read, so I’m guessing the original is similar. The development of the story was easy to follow, even though it started off so weird, that I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to understand a single thing. The story had everything I love, from scifi to fantasy to horror to love to friendship to family, like a really fun mix. Usually mixing too much doesn’t always turn out good, but this writer is really good in combining all the elements.

I looooooved the whole part with the system. I adore stories where a regular boring human gets dragged into a story (book, movie, whatever) and needs to survive without being discovered. So much potential for humor and disaster. And this is exactly what this book has delivered. I was laughing so much while reading. I will also write about this in the bad some more, but even though we never get to know what the system is, it was written in such a matter that I was easily able to accept the fact that there is this weird system, like in a game, telling our main protagonist what to do. And that says a lot. I’m usually one of those people complaining when things don’t get build up properly or explained well. So I must say, you got me here.

Overall all the parts where the novel would cross to the real world or characters go from the real world into the novel were so entertaining that I’m so hooked now and would love to read more stories with such elements.

Characters, oh those were the most fun to observe. Well the writer did not invent anything new. You have all those characters with all sorts of typical strengths and flaws and sad backstories, like in any other story. Like not a single character would contrast with all the existing characters of any other story, except for the fact that the writer switched things up so much that it felt quite new. You ask what I mean? Well look it is quite rare to see this weird combination:

The main character is this normal millennial dude getting dragged into a fictional story where he is supposed to play the villain. Our main is nothing like a villain would be, he has so much heart, but is also completely unaware of it, that is hurts observing him. Being a decent human being and the fact that he doesn’t want to end up deformed like the original villain would, he does everything necessary to get on the good side of the other main guy (who is the protagonist and good guy of the original novel). Now, being someone from our boring normal world, who never fought or did anything remotely similar to what the villain in the story did, you would think he would be a complete disaster in the body of an immortal cultivator of a Xianxia novel. But funny enough he isn’t! He is a composed, wise and strong person on the outside who seems sophisticated and educated and detached from all failure caused by feelings of any sorts. But on the inside he is just what we expect him to be, the most panicking weird dense idiot I’ve ever seen. He is soooo relatabel on the inside it hurts. But on the other hand he is also so far from what anyone of us would be in such a situation, as he seems to have everything under control on the outside even though he is such a mess on the inside. He almost never breaks character and he manages to solve all problems somehow. I would have died 100 deaths if I were him. I even suspected that the moment he got dragged into the novel, he snatched Luo Binghes halo as a new protagonist (halo: like the main protagonist simply never loses and cannot die and gets everything he wants in the end). Just think about it, how else would he have managed everything he did. Everyone even loved him by the end of the story! I could write books about this character, but I’m sure you are already annoyed so I will keep it short. I love Shen Qingqiu with all my heart and I aspire to become like him one day.

Lets get to my demon boi Luo Binghe. He is originally supposed to be the “good” guy of the story. Come on guys, have you ever read a story where a demon who kills and has a harem is a good guy? I was so confused while reading the summary of the novel that I thought, they must have misunderstood things, but no, they didn’t, he actually is this really bad demon who does really bad things and still is the most lovable thing ever to exist. He is like a Labrador when with his Shizun (his teacher and our main guy Shen Qingqiu) and a killing hell hound when with anyone else. He is strong, intelligent, most handsome and charismatic bastard, but such a lovely little smitten princess for his Shizun that it’s comical. One simply has to love him. So of course our Shizun never stood a chance in not falling for him.

And this exactly if the best thing about the story and it’s main plot to be honest. Those two idiots getting together, while one tries to “rewrite” the original story so that he gets his happy end. Who would have thought that this “I just want to survive and would do anything to do so” strong teacher, yet weird millennial and straightest straight to ever straight in straight history would fall for the bad and strong demon boy who falls to his knees and cries of love every time he sees his Shizun. I know many stories where the teacher and disciple fall for one another and very often they are opposite in character. But those two idiots are so weirdly colorful that opposite would not even beging to explain how complicated their relationship really is. Depending from which angle you look, they could seem like the complete opposites or like a mere mirror reflection of one another. Or depending on where your own heart stands, you could say they don’t fit together at all or you would think they are the all time biggest OTP. And I adore this complexity!!! It drives the story.

Some other characters of the story were also very well written and gave the story some much needed drive. And like with our mains, no character was simple or regular. The whole story about Airplance Shooting Towards The Sky is just so... I have no words really. Maybe one day in the future I will write about him, but for now just take my word for it, that some other characters were written amazingly. I truly think that the writer has a brilliant talent in creating beautiful multidimensional characters and I must say this is the best thing about reading her novels.

All the other side plots were good. Some were needed to help the overall story line and others were just a nice cherry on the top. But the main plot remained the best in the end.

Also the subplot or let’s call it the actual meaning of the whole novel is so brilliantly implemented that you would not focus on it when reading, but still fully understand it nevertheless. It is like a criticism and love letter to fandom in general. It is so self aware that one gets whiplash at times.

The bad:

I had quite some open questions at the end of the novel and even though in general most characters were created brilliantly, many characters were left out in the end and many story lines were simply never really developed much. So let’s just say Shen Yuan would have went nuts reading it ;) (Shen Yuan is the millennial getting dragged into the novel and in his original life he used to review novels and complain a lot about this particular novel)

I was so happy that there were the extras to the novel, that gave us at least a little bit of background information about some characters and a few nice moments between our main pair. I mean in the main novel the pair does get together but then out of the blue the story ends and we don’t even get a real confession or anything of that sorts. Yes yes, I know the fact that our dense Shen Qingqiu is willing to stay with Luo Binghe and says it out loud is a huge confession of its own, but you know I really would have loved to read about a kiss or something, because I’m a sucker for those.

Still even with the extras, some plot holes remained and the one that sticks out to me the most is THE SYSTEM. What the heck is it? Where does it come from? What’s the point of it? Who controls it? Like any information about it would be really nice? Don’t get me wrong even without this information I was easily accepting its existence, but now that I’ve finished reading everything, those questions start to bother me. Well I guess my own head canon making machine will have to work now. A pity I’m not good at writing, otherwise I would overflow AO3 with them, just to fill the holes.

I also feel like, if I had not read another Xianxia before or if I had not a general understanding of the whole fantasy part, it would have been a difficult thing to imagine the world the story took place in. All those peaks and all those “magical” happenings (cultivation stuff) would have confused the heck out of me. I’m just guessing a) the novel was written for a specific reader group who already understands the general idea of Xianxias or/and b) the skills of the writer weren’t as developed as they are now back when she wrote the book.

And even though many things were not explained or plot holes remained, still some chapters were dragging. But to be honest I don’t want to sound a though I’m complaining to much, as the overall flow was still very decent.

Conclusion:

I love this novel, even with all its flaws. The main characters will forever have a special place in my heart. I will definitely read it again one day and I would recommend it to anyone in the blink of an eye.

On a side note, I feel a little reluctant in hoping for an adaptation of the story in China, because of the censorship. If you censor the whole love aspect of our main pair, the story would loose so much of its beauty in my opinion that it would be just okay. I know the actual main plot was not the love story, but I admit this is what I live for. But who knows, The Untamed managed to end up like a beautiful interpretation of Mo Dao Zu Shi, maybe the manhua or a donghua or a live action adaptation of SV would turn out better than I can imagine. I’ll stay open minded.

#scum villain #scum villain system #scum villain self-saving system #scum villain's self saving system #luo binghe #shen qingqiu #shizun #airplane shooting towards the sky #mo xiang tong xiu

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harborpointeblvd · 4 years

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another rec list no one asked for

I read more good stuff, so I’m doing this again. Here’s my first rec list if you’re interested. I’m going in order from most lighthearted to most likely to have you writhing in pain, so here goes.

Cool Doji Danshi - ongoing

Or, Play It Cool, Guys

This one is not a romance, just a comedy, but it is still cute as hell.

Four guys with very different personalities have one thing in common. They're all total space cases. You know when you do something embarrassing like realizing you’re walking the wrong way and have to do an awkward 180 on the sidewalk? I try to unlock my house with my car remote on a fairly regular basis. Well that’s these guys’ entire lives. They all handle their clumsiness in different ways, and as they start to encounter each other by chance, they learn from each other’s actions, and it’s just fucking delightful.

Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai Vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko - ongoing

Or, A World Where Everything Definitely Becomes BL vs. The Man Who Definitely Doesn't Want To Be In A BL

This is not a BL (yet?), but it’s definitely for people who’ve read BL. A plain-looking man knows he lives in a BL universe, but believes himself to be a background character. Until his plain-looking younger brother gets a confession from his best friend, and our main character learns that nobody is safe. He spends his days avoiding BL tropes so he doesn’t get caught up in a BL romance.

If you like parody and meta humor, you should check this one out.

Karasugaoka Don’t Be Shy!! - complete

Izuhara Sou and Shinba Tetsuji are the leaders of two rival crime prevention groups (good guy gangs!). Izuhara admires Shinba, who came to his rescue once when he was a kid and inspired him to help others. However, anytime he comes face to face with Shinba, Izuhara gets nervous and acts like an asshole.

This is a short one, so I can’t say much more about it, but it’s hella cute and you should go check it out.

Three Men, One Chinchilla - ongoing

It’s complete in Korean (54 chapters), but only 13 chapters have been translated so far. I actually bought the raws. I paid actual money to read a comic in a language I don’t know. It was too weird for me to even guess what was going on, but it was worth it just for the facial expressions.

Ham Un comes home to find a chinchilla in front of his door, and it gets weirder from there. After finding the chinchilla, he meets the adorable Seung and the sketchy Namhae, and hilarity ensues. I don't want to spoil the experience of reading the first few chapters so I'm not gonna say anymore, but it does have supernatural elements.

Seung calls Un “Onion”, so their ship name is Seunion. No one else is talking about this comic here, so I get to make that call. This webcomic has everything you could want in a BL. Cute nicknames. Comedy. A chinchilla.

But.

It hasn’t updated in over a month. *update - This manhwa has been picked up by another group (and I’m in the group, not that that makes a difference)

March Third - ongoing

I think this one is complete in Chinese, like 150+ chapters, but it’s only translated up to chapter 97, and hasn’t updated in a while. I still have hope that another translator will pick it up.*

A historical comedy that follows military officer Mr. Buddha as he tries to woo the stage actor Mr. Red.

This is one of the funniest comics I’ve read, for serious. Someone suggested this one when I asked for recs similar to 19 Days, and this one is it. Don’t ask me how a historical comic set during a war is like 19 Days, it just is.

*Update: It’s been picked up! It’s translated up to 107.

A Strange Joke - *complete

Or, Just Kidding. I started reading under the title A Strange Joke, but I’m now reading the official English translation, and they call it Just Kidding.

Min is an unremarkable college student who is firmly in the closet. Jun is a heartthrob who, for some reason, has taken an interest in Min. Sehun is Jun’s friend who is also on all of the cover art. I’m sure he plays a major role later on. It’s only translated up to chapter 18 right now. But it’s so funny, I had to give it a mention. Min and his friends are a bunch of drunken dumbass college students in the best way, and Min is the dumbest of them all.

The official translation is on Pocket Comics, and you get a bunch of free points just for creating an account and daily gifts for logging on.

Fools - complete

After overhearing a fight that new student Jeongwoo had with his boyfriend, college senior Eungi finds himself becoming increasingly confused about his feelings toward Jeongwoo. Jeongwoo, meanwhile, fresh out of a long and rocky relationship, isn’t ready to act on his feelings toward Eungi. Commence awkward not-dates.

In the official English translation, their names are Edward and Justin, but I think it's weird when they do that.

Update: Fools is being remastered in full color with an updated art style, but I still recommend the original.

Unintentional Love Story - *complete

I’m pretty sure this one is complete in Korean, and has something like 55 chapters.

Wonyoung is fired from his job after being falsely incriminated in a corruption scandal. By sheer luck, he happens to run into the company chairman’s favorite ceramic artist, Yoon Taejun, who has been living under an alias. He’s told he will likely get his job back if he could get Taejun to partner with the company, so he tries to get close to Taejun without revealing that he knows his true identity. What he doesn’t plan on, though, is falling in love with Taejun.

This one is where the DRAMA is at. The story doesn’t ignore the fact that the relationship was built on a lie. It addresses it, and then addresses it, and as of chapter 35, is still addressing it. It hurts so good.

How to Hate Mate - complete

Or, Hate Mate

Two years ago, Subin drunkenly confessed his feelings to his straight roommate, Hyunwoo. After that, Hyunwoo left for his mandatory military service, and Subin hasn’t heard from him since. Just when Subin is finally ready to move on, Hyunwoo reappears and things get complicated.

A Shoulder to Cry On - complete

Or, Cheer Up Boy. Or, Comfort the Boy. There are too many alternate titles, but I like A Shoulder to Cry On best.

So a LOT of fiction will do this thing where a character will just be truly horrible, but when their tragic backstory is revealed, they’re supposed to be absolved of all guilt. I HATE that. I hate it to the point where just introducing a tragic backstory actually makes me hate the character more, because I anticipate that happening.

That being said, Taehyun is one of the biggest assholes I’ve ever seen as a main love interest, and his backstory got to me. It made me like him, and I’m ashamed for not standing by my principals. It helps that he’s not immediately forgiven for bullying Dayeol just because he had a bad childhood, but still.

What I’m saying is that this is fucking sad and you should read it. But I’m recommending this with a big fat trigger warning for self harm.

#cool doji danshi #zettai bl ni naru sekai vs zettai bl ni naritakunai otoko #karasugaoka don't be shy!!#a strange joke webcomic #just kidding webcomic #three men one chinchilla #march third #fools webcomic #unintentional love story #hate mate #how to hate mate #a shoulder to cry on #comic recs

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hugotontheonbiquiffinarians · 4 years

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Arthur & The Myth of Sisyphus

(Arthur/staircase juxtaposed to Sisyphus/rock)

As disclaimer, this may be a generalised statement/inductive analysis, not unique to his diegesis. Will probably be too verbose for some to read, but writing is organic as breathing for me and if I don’t discuss my beautiful clown husband at length, I might very well be caught with a bruised and desiccated lung lol (as you can probably tell, academia is hæmorrhaging into my casual diction)

I’m typing this, more or less, to illustrate my (possibly exhausted) perspective on how significant the staircase is to Arthur’s narrative. Specifically focusing on how it relates to Sisyphus and his eternal struggle to push a cumbersome stone uphill. (Says this all the while knowing I’ll lose said focus by the end of this, oops) That being said, this also just might be some cathartic release in the form of diluted research.

All things considered, with an economy that appears to teeter just so on the verge of instability, most, if not all, may resonate with the impending sense of futility that accompanies society’s defective concept and subsequent flawed execution of ‘adulthood’, including, but not limited to: excessive demands imposed by draconian academia, 9-5 corporate mandates exercised to excess; in addition to parenthood (if applicable). All for the sake of feeding continued survival in a universe where life is erroneously scrutinised under myopic scope of legality. Summarily, we can all embrace solidarity in our respective sharing of adversity, attended by a seemingly endless, merciless journey towards acceptance.

Arthur is my most current muse within the fictional realm (irreplaceable, to boot) so this character study might be more gratuitous than enlightening, but, in essence, I often like to conceive him as a resounding echo that’s effectively sound in giving voice to the voiceless; whispered and indistinct though it may be. However, it could be said that the power of his presence resides, not in the delicate, understated nuance of his vocal tone, but rather the elegant and passionate language of dance pronounced by his feet. Namely, the Sisyphean task of climbing that emblematic staircase.

Whether suffering a daily, if not arduous, ascent one derelict step at a time, or dancing a rhythmic descent to liberation, Arthur’s soles bespeak of a soul that’s been tormented relentlessly throughout the near 40 year span of his existence. Heels throbbing with Weltschmerz, the resulting ache of his travails would often appear as little more than a numbing nuisance to be rubbed away upon a less whimsical return as the prodigal son. In this way, the audience might compare Penny’s impact in Arthur’s life to that of the onerous stone that plagues Sisyphus. Despite being an absent force to her son’s oppressive intimacy with these formidable steps, there is something to be said for the manner in which concern is essentially a wisp in the void when her child’s health utters a silent plea, a murmured urgency, for attention.

Perhaps, we could all agree that a fraction of Artie’s extroverted anger towards Thomas was only partially misdirected. As a means to demonstrate the implied difficulty Arthur expresses for emotional release, especially so for repressed anger, it would have been interesting to witness a scenario in which he doesn’t heed Penny’s request whilst hiding behind a closed door. Given the egocentric brush that paints a broad stroke to her demeanour, would he be vindicated in raising his voice a few decibels ? If for no other reason than to dispel frustration by virtue of necessity. Of course, this isn’t to undermine the fact that Arthur displays potential signs of regressive behaviour (not exclusive to his circumstance but nevertheless germane). A hapless symptom of afflicted childhood incited by an inflamed basis of Nature v. Nurture.

With nearly all sense of identity drifting aimlessly as unanswered queries, there could be reason yet as to why Arthur adopts his Carnival and Joker personas. Beyond factors of aspiration and affinity alone. As someone (myself) who could be classified with mild alexithymia, all the while being fairly averse to labels, the concept of employing alter egos solely to assist in self-expression may not be uncommon, if not muted in translation. In a way that isn’t explicitly stated, we could infer that Arthur enforcing a purpose to evoke genuine smiles and laughter is a means to compensate for those of which he was deprived during his formative years. Speaking as an armchair psychologist, there could be evidenced an intimation of placebo effect for the presence of Pseudobulbar Affect. While this syndrome affects the nervous system and is hence more physiological than psychological, the nature of its infliction could be considered as a bridge between the two.

Certain conditions, of which remain unknown, from his childhood may have contributed to the development of this condition, emphasising a noted relation to thinking patterns. My theory is that any measure of neurosis is directly proportional to the degree of physical complications that may manifest. Arthur is a fairly sensitive man. A rough sketch of this attribute can be observed even whilst Arthur is gallivanting as Joker. In fact, one could even venture to say that his identity is actualised in this form. Cliché ? Yes. But, no less pertinent. Furthermore, a deduction might be made in which Carnival alludes to being a medium that balances the dichotomy between Arthur/Joker.

Yes, these may be points that have been proposed ad nauseam 😶 You also may be wondering: Exactly what role does Sisyphus play in this ?

Ultimately, I’ve come to the conclusion (hagiography) that Arthur, while emotionally sensitive, hardly translates that sensitivity to his visceral being. Revisiting the first bathroom scene, maybe one could see the gloomy reflections of Atlas and Sisyphus reflected in one burdened man, lost in soulful dance. Summarily, he could never strike me as one to admit defeat. To succumb to the siren’s lure of quietus. As illustrated by every Joker rendition before him, Arthur Fleck is no different in how his philosophy materialises. Blending the colours of absurdism and nihilism. While the assertion seems contradictory, considering Arthur’s initial intent to commit suicide on live television, I do believe his animus was strictly encouraged by his comedic inspiration, opposed to an active desire.

Fundamentally, this leads me to my final point (although, admittedly, this isn’t the end, I could literally talk to death about this man, and I will). The contrast of comic styles between Arthur and Murray. This might be the understated controversy of discourse, and my perspective on the matter may be unpopular, if even acknowledged, but just to clear the air, the following assumption isn’t meant to excuse him or his actions. Rather, to offer perspective. If you observe carefully, you might notice that there’s no distinct disparity between Murray and Arthur’s sense of humour. Given the era and its dogged appeals to censorship, Murray’s delivery could be regarded as nothing short of condensed and disguised. As our dear Artie reiterates, comedy is indeed subjective, but, as a matter of course, the brand that either presents isn’t particularly risible given context.

As an audience, we only know Murray on a superficial level. We know he’s a comedian. By the end of the film’s duration, we might have dismissed him as the stock bully. His humour was cruel, callow and sadistic when dispensed towards a man who deemed him a pillar of admiration. However, similar could be said for Arthur’s execution. Consistently morbid and sardonic, these elements of comedy that provoke laughter for Arthur comprise a vague semblance to Murray’s comedic anatomy, despite how patently trite and puerile the latter’s jesting was, when delivered to our undeserving victim.

Arthur was thoroughly justified in his feelings of despondency and disenchantment. Yet, objectively speaking, depending on either side of contention, one’s perception may be determined by whether or not his sensitivity was merely exaggerated when juxtaposed to a comedian who was, more or less, just doing his job; albeit questionably. Unprofessionally. We couldn’t know exactly what Murray was thinking or precisely why he invited Arthur on his show. Surely, public humiliation wasn’t his prime agenda. Curiously enough, I seemed to detect an air of indifference expressed by him when Arthur confessed (*insert delusional gif*). As if it was to be expected.

Ipso facto, with how the sequence pans out, there may have been the possibility of Murray personally investigating the subway murders and considering Arthur a suspect, consequently aiming to extract his confession (a reach, I know ! ) but, maybe not...

Not when the theory of Arthur contriving delusions, having been situated in Arkham the entire time, chimes as possible reasoning.

That, in itself, is a paradox...

...Will we ever ?

#arthur fleck #joker #joker 2019

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ifridiot · 5 years

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Now That I’m Flawless (fic)

Word Count: 1900 Fandom: DC Comics Rating: Teen and Up Warnings: No Major Warnings Apply Relationships: Thad Thawne/Ulf Alexeinovitch Characters: Thad Thawne, Ulf Alexeinovitch Additional Tags: Past Abuse, Angst, Comfort, Fluff Summary: Ulf thinks about all the wrongs he’s done.

Note: For those who are unfamiliar with Ulf, please read his write-up, found HERE. Written for @reluctant-reflection or @skittering-roach whichever blog actually gives you notifications <3

Ulf knew he was, as far as anyone else was concerned, a creature of rather grey morals.

If it came to pleasing his Keeper, he could justify murder, or worse. Willin’ to do pert near anythin’, that’s how Henry had said it, wondering and awed and a little afraid, as if the idea of holding that kind of power over another person frightened him.

Maybe it had. Henry had been a good man, kind and gentle and sweet, a better man than most who’d lent Ulf their warmth. Wonderful, in his own way, but he’d also been a weak man. Power, even just the power of a handgun, had never sat easy on his shoulders. Henry had wanted peace, and Ulf had given it to him as best as he could; Ulf had loved him as he’d never known he could love a person -- not like he loved Papochka, not like he loved the brush of heat that kept him sane, but heart to heart.

Henry had loved him as a person, taught him that he was allowed to just live. Memories of him were old now, the man over thirty-years dead, but he’d been the last to truly treat Ulf as a person, not a weapon or a pet.

The last, of course, before Thad.

Of course, things with Thad had been rocky at times. They’d fought, bickered and butted heads, and Thad had dragged his feet on anything that came close to feelings. An emotional anorexic, and yet there was a certain like calling to like in that, wasn’t there. Ulf himself often shut his feelings off, because feelings couldn’t always help him make his Keeper happy.

Thad hadn’t wanted to be his Keeper. Ulf had been able to tell that even as he’d started to slowly bond to him. Thad hadn’t wanted anything long term, and if Ulf had told him what was happening, to his mind and to their bond, he would have bolted.

It had been… difficult. Horrible and selfish and when Thad had left, Ulf had felt such a surge of grief, but under that misery hadn’t there been a thread of relief? A nod to his being free of the lie by omission, free of dancing around the bond he needed but didn’t dare cement. No more grudging late night confessions, no more traumas slowly revealed, no more sharing the weight of their pain.

No more kisses, no more sweet human warmth.

He doesn’t remember the months that followed very well. They are cold times, and the cold times blur together; he may as well have been running the tundra again, little more than a child, alone and lost and scared of what was happening to him. Ulyana told him that when she found him, he’d done horrible things to himself, but nothing his accelerated healing couldn’t fix, nothing she couldn’t help him repair.

But before she’d found him, after Thad had left? He knew people would have gotten hurt -- people always got hurt when he froze, because he didn’t understand his strength and all people read to him as a threat. Ulyana said, best not to think of that. Best to focus on the bright things, best to concern himself only with healing.

And she had fetched back Thad for him. She had found him, and he had returned to Ulf, the fragile threads of their bond still spooled out between them, not quite broken yet.

Thad, who remembered that Ulf loved Valentines Day, who knew he hated red wine but adored champagne on a special night, who convinced Ulyana to keep Ulf busy for a day so he could find them a room with a perfect view, a room that, if Ulf peered from the window down at the street, he could for a moment trick himself into feeling the joy of a free-fall.

Thad said he loved Ulf, and as the weather warmed, as Thad willingly spent more time simply being close to Ulf, calm and steady and grounding, Ulf started to understand that all along he’d meant it.

Sometimes in his head he hears the music box, the low rush of it flying through the air and the sad, bright sound of it breaking against the wall. Thad, with his speed and his level-headed cool demeanor, could have caught it. He simply leaned to the side and let it pass him, smashing against the wall, and in Ulf’s head, he’ll always be able to hear him so coldly say how he hated when Ulf got that way.

Ulf hated it too. To be angry with a Keeper was unthinkable. After the things he’d suffered with James Denegler; the neglect, the torment of being locked away and left alone to half-freeze, the pain, the murder -- through all of that, he’d done everything to please James when he was allowed to be at his side. Everything to win his approval, anything he’d asked and more. He’d hated the man, known him for a monster, but he was a Keeper and he’d been bound.

It was only Thad who thought him person enough to be treated like everyone else. Before the music box, before what Ulf thought of (only half joking) as their breakup, Thad had been willing enough to be physical with him, to touch and hold and kiss, but he hadn’t known what a need it was for Ulf, and Ulf had been so afraid of losing the first person to treat him as a true equal that he hadn’t told him.

Ulyana had gone and found him, Ulyana had explained as well as she could, and Thad had come for him anyway. Thad had understood enough to know that Ulf needed him, and he’d come for him. Who else in all the world would have risked their skin that way, dealing with him half-wild, frightened and freezing over.

“Stop that.”

Blinking, Ulf frowns and slowly tries to sit up, putting a little space between them without his hair tickling at Thad’s throat. He’s both surprised and comforted when Thad presses a hand against the back of his head, gently keeping him close, encouraging him to settle back to laying tucked up to the speedster’s side.

Only once Ulf has settled his head back on Thad’s shoulder does he speak again. “You’re thinking about something upsetting. I don’t need to be a mind-reader to know.”

Of course he doesn’t need to be. It’s not even the bond that translates it; it’s just Thad. He’s observant, and he cares enough to have learned all the quiet tells to Ulf’s mood. He treated him like a real person, one allowed to be more than something pretty and powerful. Thad, like Henry, gave Ulf agency and respect, but unlike Henry, Thad was not afraid of the bond, now that he knew about it. He wasn’t afraid of being the finger on the trigger of a weapon like Ulf, he wasn’t afraid of Ulf, he wasn’t --

“Ulf, come on,” he says, carding fingers through the silvery strands of his hair, soothing and warm. “Knock it off. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nichego, is fine, I’m fine.” Ulf says, and fumbles, pressing his lips together and drumming his fingers against Thad’s chest. “Only… do you. Would you be happier, had we not met?”

Thad hums in thought. He rarely mocks Ulf when he can tell that his worries are sincere. He can be a bastard, but in many ways, he is a good man, too. “I think, all things considered, I’m pretty much happier now than I’d have thought possible. So no.”

Chewing on the inside of his cheek -- he can almost remember the feel of the scars that had been there when Ulyana had first found him -- Ulf pulls away again, sitting up so he can look at Thad properly. “You are sure? I have… been ugly, many times.”

“I think we’ve got two different definitions of ugly, then.”

Ulf huffs, moving smoothly to straddle Thad’s stomach, pinning him to the swaybacked motel bed. It creaks and complains every time either of them moves. “You were not happier to be back with your… You called it Cradle? Safe and quiet and… unbothered?"

A warm hand presses to his cheek, soothing where it might have been demanding. Thad is still under him, unmoving except for to rest his palm to the curve of his cheek, looking up at him with soft, golden eyes. “I thought about you every day. Safe and quiet and lonely is what I was.”

“So it would not have been… better… for us to have never… been us? You would not be happier not having known me?”

“Would I be happier never having met someone who loves me despite knowing me at my worst? I’m going to need some time to mull that over, I suppose, you’ll have to get off me so I can think.”

Ulf scowls, but he knows there’s no real venom to it from the way Thad chuckles, even after he slaps gently at his shoulder. “I am being serious! I lied to you, I took… advantage of ignorance, I kept you in the dark so you would stay. I was bad, I was deceitful, I tried to… sneak into your life. This is not joke to me!”

Thad’s fingers curl against his face, gentle pressure that Ulf couldn’t fight if he wanted. When he curls down close, Thad easily smooths his hair back, hand pressed to the nape of his neck now, leaving them only centimeters apart.

“You did.” Thad says, easy and gentle. “You withheld vital information that would have helped shape our relationship, knowing full well that any added variables or complications were liable to send me running. You saw me, as me, and you were honest enough with yourself to know that you could not trust all of yourself to me and keep me. Because when we met, I was a coward, and an idiot, and a jerk, as you often reminded me, when it came to anything involving emotions.”

“I have never called you coward.”

A grin, easy and sweet. “Perhaps I’m paraphrasing.”

“I am afraid you will come to resent this. My needing you. Loving you.”

Closing the distance between them, Ulf isn’t sure if Thad pulls him down or sits up, only that the mesh of their lips is the source of a perfect warmth in his chest, the closing of a circuit, the completion of a promise. It’s a good kiss, sincere and powerful.

“I would have to be a fool to resent any part of you.” Thad says softly, those bright eyes locked with Ulf’s. “Do you think I’m a fool?”

Ulf can’t quite help the soft laugh, relief and fondness seeping into the exhalation. “Well, a fool, perhaps not. An ass, on occasion…”

“But an ass you love?”

Cursing under his breath, he can’t help laughing again. And when Thad draws him down to kiss again, he goes easily, no struggle, no hesitation. Because they’ve both been idiots, and they’ve both suffered, and they’ve earned this, the sweetness, the laughter, the ease of being with just one other person who treats them like they are a person.

They are imperfect, they are a perfectly matched pair of fools. But the love is flawless, and it feels like the only thing in the world that matters for the moment.

#neoma writes #Ulf #ulf alexeinovitch #thad thawne

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transhumanitynet · 5 years

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Machiavelli and Nietzsche, Philosophers Foreshadowing the 21st Century

l. Machiavelli has been for a half millennia reviled as an unscrupulous philosopher when it is unfair to presume that a philosopher who was raised in the 15th century and died in the year 1527 could subscribe to 20th-21st-century ethics. Machiavelli’s Europe was a continent where the devoutly religious would sometimes practice excruciatingly painful torture on heretics. Next, to them, Machiavelli was practically benign. Machiavelli can be considered the first modern philosopher in that he deliberately, cautiously attempted to escape the philosophical clutches of the past.

Machiavelli’s 15th-century focus was much narrower than Nietzsche’s, yet more incisive. In comprehending the 15th and 16th centuries when Machiavelli lived, religion is paramount in doing so. A nominally religious public perceived itself as virtuous and along came Machiavelli to tactfully tell the public otherwise. However, he did so not merely to criticize, but also to demonstrate a ‘better’ (expedient/pragmatic) way, to educate readers in how deceit can be, “the bodyguard of truth”–Winston Churchill

Machiavelli did not reject religious values, often he ignored religion; sometimes he transcended religion. One might write that Machiavelli anticipated a 20th-21st-century hollowing-out of religion by subtly advocating a well-balanced religiosity. In Machiavelli’s formulation, pious religion has its place albeit is no longer central. In the 15th and 16th centuries, this was something new for a well-known philosopher to expound.

At any rate, Machiavelli wasn’t Galileo, hinting that the Earth was not the center of the cosmos and, by extension, that humanity was not at the epicenter of God’s concern.

What is critical in understanding Machiavelli is how he understood how being moral– even so much as trying to be ethical–both an individual and a nation risk being ruined or destroyed by more ruthless individuals and groups. Machiavelli’s political advice anticipated the ideology and ‘realpolitik’ of Talleyrand and Bismarck.

15th century Machiavelli shared with 19th century Nietzsche a mittel Europa outlook. For brevity’s sake, one cannot go into how 15th-16th century Italy, divided into numerous nation-states and city-states, influenced Machiavelli’s philosophy. That Rome, the center of Catholicism, is on the Italian peninsula needs no comment; and that Machiavelli was influenced by Rome and its faith is not difficult to appreciate. The Protestant Reformation was late in his life and did not have much effect on him.

Machiavelli in ‘The Prince’ and other of his published works, never advocated that a potentate ought to abandon ethics, he advised that a ruler should not allow devout, pious considerations to hinder the prince (which means Principal) from obeying his conscience as a ruler. Machiavelli wrote in ‘The Prince’:

“Everyone agrees that a prince should have all good qualities, but because that is impossible, a wise prince will avoid those vices that would destroy his power and not worry about the rest. Some actions that seem virtuous will ruin a prince, while others that seem like vices will make a prince prosper.”

Don Corleone, the fictitious Godfather, said eloquently, “let your friends underestimate your virtues, and your enemies overestimate your vices…keep your friends close, and your enemies closer”

The corollary is probably the most famous quote from Machiavelli, “it is better to be feared than loved…”

The legacy of a bad ruler is complicated but not hopeless; the duty of a person of conscience is to mitigate as much as possible an inherited legacy lacking in conscience. Now it is valid to write that Machiavelli was not promoting positive ethics of any sort: however, this would require a book to explain. Even then it could not accurately summarize 5,000 years of records revolving around secular mores and faith-based conventions.

Suffice it to write that Machiavelli though exhorting less for effect than Nietzsche, was exploring the limitations of ethics. Machiavelli did stress the importance of states being militaristic; for him, the states of Italy could only survive and thrive through military preparation. All the same, Machiavelli did not promote militarization for the sake of militancy alone; rather, his 15th-century upbringing commanded him to be militaristic for patriotic & nationalistic ends. He, like Nietzsche, has had his militaristic imperialism excessively emphasized by his critics. Nevertheless, by the lights of the 21st century, Machiavelli cannot be perceived as any sort of a peace lover.

Today in a time when so many uses ‘Machiavellian’ to denote a person or group lacking scruples, it must be remembered how the same people who detest Machiavelli and his militarism pay taxes to fund WMDs capable of destroying the biosphere. Machiavelli’s sin was to a lesser extent the same as Nietzsche’s: not being diplomatic enough. Even though ethics are used as a means to an end, such is not supposed to be confessed to a broad uncomprehending public. And both Nietzsche and Machiavelli agreed on the public’s lack of comprehension.

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II. Nietzsche’s philosophy was wide-ranging, covering art, history, music, politics, religion– and well nigh everything under the Sun. One of his more popular concepts is that of the Übermensch– the ‘superman’. The public has exaggerated Nietzsche’s ‘superman’ to be physically superior (e.g. the Superman of comic books, TV, and films). In his famous book, ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, published 1883, Nietzsche did suggest a goal of being more evolved.

Though naturally a superman is expected to be strong, a superman is also aesthetically and to a lesser degree, ethically ‘evolved’. Or to be more exact: ‘over’– that is, above & beyond. For Über translated from German means over, as well as ‘superior’. The overman rises above and beyond the herd aesthetically, intellectually, and sometimes ethically. Ethics were less important than intellect and aesthetics to Nietzsche, because for starters Nietzsche, though he did not reject religion altogether, did think religion frequently sacrificed strength and intellect in the service of ethics. Nietzsche felt that Christianity, being a prominent example of faith, excessively emphasized meekness and weakness. Meek in the sense one is humble before God and weak in different ways. Most commonly, weak-minded. Weak willpower is another factor in why and how Nietzsche critiqued religious morality. Nietzsche wrote, “God is dead.” Nonetheless, he did so to impress; and though this is nothing more than a hypothesis, he might have been looking to the remote future. By the second half of the 19th century, it became apparent science would be important in the 20th century and would alter religious beliefs and practices. Nietzsche writing that God is dead appeared original to a public not familiar with deism and by the interwar period, the majority of educated Europeans did think God was dead or dying. It must be reckoned in interpreting Nietzsche that he frequently wrote in a flowery Mittel Europa style.

Due to his influence on 20th century educated European God-is-Dead public, Nietzsche is sometimes held partially culpable for the rise of totalitarianism, another instance of exaggeration. Nietzsche can not be held responsible for totalism any more than the historical Christ can be blamed for excesses committed in His name. In the book of Matthew verses 34-36, Jesus preached,

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household…”

Scarcely ecumenical, let alone filial. As Nietzsche was a Nazi icon, he has been widely associated with Nazism; however, if he had lived three more decades he would have considered Nazis to be guttersnipes. Nietzsche’s weltanschauung (welt-anschauung translated from German is world-view) meant he saw the world filtered through a 19th-century Mittel-Europa prism. Nietzsche attempted heroically to escape such a mindset, but there is no way someone living in 19th century Europe could truly escape. Not for long. Nietzsche tried with all his strength to transcend, so much so that it might perhaps have cost him his sanity, or at least what the definition of sanity was via the primitive psychiatry of the late 19th century. He died in the year 1900.

What Nietzsche did was incorporate 19th-century European weltanschauung in his own expansive world view. One might with accuracy write that Nietzsche comprehensively surveyed the world and attempted to transcend the past. For better and, naturally, worse. Worse because in forcefully transcending the past, one brings into play various unintended consequences.

Nietzsche, like Machiavelli, is not easy to categorize; though as we have seen above, Machiavelli was more politically oriented than Nietzsche. One of Nietzsche’s more infamous exhortations concerned, “the magnificent blond brute, avidly rampant for spoil and victory.” The above quote, in particular, illustrates Nietzsche’s origins and bombastic style more than substance. To be a 19th-century European male, one had to some degree accept imperialism and racism. Otherwise, a man risked becoming an outcast. The 19th century saw the rapid conquest of empire for a number of nations in Europe and elsewhere.

The “Eisen and Blut” (Iron and Blood) values of Nietzsche’s contemporary, Bismarck, could not have allowed Nietzsche to be overtly pacifistic. Nietzsche would have filed his draft card away, not burned it. Nietzsche’s most salient negative trait was his misogynist weltanschauung, the chauvinist in,

“the magnificent blond [male] avidly rampant for spoil and victory”. Nietzsche wrote that women ought to be treated with a “whip”. Nonetheless that he loved women as individuals and that his devoted sister took care of him, indicates Nietzsche’s dislike of women was derived from his bombastic, for effect, to impress-the-reader style. Nietzsche lived a bit before the era of Suffragettes. Plus, Bismarck’s ‘Blood and Iron’ left little room for femininity– ‘feminism’ still meant cosmetics, coiffure, gowns. Also, twelve decades after Nietzsche’s demise, men still dominate women. Hypocrisy has always been, “the homage vice pays to virtue”– Francois de La Rochefoucauld.

Machiavelli and Nietzsche, Philosophers Foreshadowing the 21st Century was originally published on transhumanity.net

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