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i-guess-im-into-this-now · 21 days

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The Apothecary Diaries

S1E19 First Watch

Here's where I watch The Apothecary Diaries for the first time and give my thoughts, analysis, predictions, and occasionally I stumble into a joke.

To start at the beginning:

Episode 1

My character/locations cheat sheet

Suiren - Jinshi's attendant

Lakan - strategist. Maomao's biological father.

Lihaku - the military officer who took Maomao out of the Rear Palace

Jinshi is thinking about the conversation he had with Maomao about meeting Lakan. He looks so concerned; he can't stop thinking about that look in her eyes. Things are in such an uncertain place between the two of them. The gulf has widened, and threatens to widen further.

Jinshi is hiding so many things from Maomao, he likely thinks he's protecting her, but what he must do to keep those secrets threatens to drive the two further apart. Sharing his secrets would also drive them apart. And the current situation is not tenable. Disaster looms for Jinshi and he knows it.

Gaoshun tries to redirect Jinshi's focus to a ceremony that he's required to perform later that afternoon. Maomao figured out Jinshi has been doing something ceremonial during her time here, a purification ceremony, I think she said.

Lihaku has learned to turn to Maomao to solve mysteries.

Lihaku: We've got a problem on our hands.

Do we? It's funny that he thinks she has any responsibility in this. I mean she will certainly step up to solve this, but she in no way is obligated to.

Something about the Maomao-Lihaku dynamic is really entertaining to me. Maybe it's because their interactions are so transactional. They are each a little disgusted by the other, even if they sort of respect one another. But they can really only connect on their desire to solve a mystery, which Lihaku presents now.

Various seemingly unrelated misfortunes have befallen the palace in the last year. Everything could have been leading up to the theft of some ceremonial items, and the only clue is the presence of a tall court lady (or man).

Maomao: When many coincidences manifest one on top of the other intent emerges in the overlap.

I happen to remember the presence of a suspicious man who was around at the death of Sir Kounen and the poisoning of the court official who oversaw the warehouses. So perhaps we will get some answers about who this man is soon.

I also can't forget that Lakan investigated the warehouse fire and found that ivory pipe that started the explosion. He also was the one who got Gaoshun to look into the poisoning case of the palace official who ate toxic seaweed. Given how astute he is, Lakan is either involved, or has this mystery figured out and is letting things play out for some motive that I can't determine. Also, it seems that Lakan would like Maomao to solve this case. But why? What does he gain from that? Having her involved puts her in danger. Is that what he wants?

Because Maomao is stepping into a real conspiracy now. It's about as dangerous position as she has ever been in this show.

Jinshi shows up. LOL. He's scary when he's jealous, and Lihaku has no trouble reading the situation, so he books it out of there. Maomao on the other hand doesn't bother to try to read into Jinshi's behavior and proceeds as normal.

And it occurs to me now that the storytellers are being a bit meta.

Maomao: When many coincidences manifest one on top of the other intent emerges in the overlap.

Because they gave us this quote from Maomao right after they just got done telling us Jinshi is about to perform a ceremony, and that someone has stolen some ceremonial items. A coincidence? Not likely. The larger conspiracy that Maomao is trying to solve right now, was all for the purpose of getting to those ceremonial items. That's a whole lot of work to do if you aren't setting up something big. Something like trying to murder a prince maybe? And I may be back on my bullshit again, but I don't think so. I don't know who or why or how, but I can feel it in my story-loving soul, someone's aiming for our beloved male lead!

Actually there are any number of people who could be after Jinshi. He's in a terribly vulnerable position. By birth he is in the line of succession to the throne, but due to some deception he was removed. Anyone who discovered his identity and wants him out of the way could be behind this. He's got all of the vulnerabilities of being a prince, but not all of the protections. Or this could have to do with his duties as the palace manager. He presides over cases and hands out judgements, perhaps someone feels he did so unjustly and wants revenge? Or it could be anything, this is a fricking palace intrigue story, after all!

Lakan is an obvious suspect, but I don't think it's him. He maneuvered Maomao to get involved in this. Why would he do that if he were behind it all? It's more likely that he wants her to unravel it. Why not just expose this conspiracy himself? Is he actually trying to help Jinshi? This is such a twisted up tale.

Jinshi: What was the nature of your rendezvous with that office?

That Jinshi sees Lihaku as a romantic rival will never not be funny to me. There is just nothing at all between the two.

Maomao offers to tell Jinshi about what she discussed with Lihaku. I'm so glad she offered! Last time she solved a mystery she didn't share it with Jinshi, and they've been in such a weird place, I really wasn't sure she would want to do this. Is she taking pity on Jinshi because he's acting jealous, or does she want his thoughts on this mystery?

Actually, I think Maomao does her best mystery solving when she works with Jinshi. He is encouraging and supportive, and she thrives with that. Perhaps, this mystery has her really stumped or worried, and so she's relieved to bring it up with Jinshi. And it feels so good to watch these two working through this together! It's like watching a simpler time from and earlier episode.

After presenting the facts to Jinshi, Maomao quiets. Jinshi thinks it's odd that she isn't eager to solve this case. I do too.

Jinshi: You're not excited by this?

Maomao lets out a frustrated sigh, like he's not picking up on something, and gives the following explanation, though it sounds like a begrudging recitation, rather than honest:

Maomao: I am but a humble servant, I fear. I exist only to do as I'm told.

Jinshi gives an almost exasperated response.

And then Jinshi seems to have an "a-ha" moment right after that, and offers her an incentive for taking the case... I'm thinking Maomao is angling to get something she wants out of this. Perhaps Maomao took Suiren's words to heart last episode.

Suiren: You may appear apathetic, but you're keen. You know where you stand, and how to play the game. Suiren: If you view everything in terms of status, then you'll miss opportunities.

It seems Maomao is eager to solve this case, but she's not going to do it for nothing this time. It's an opportunity for her to gain something she wants.

And Jinshi is almost giddy to make an offer to Maomao. He knows she's going to love what he has in mind. Maomao is comically over the top when it comes to her enthusiasm for medicinal ingredients, and she freaks Jinshi out when she climbs up on his desk and laughs maniacally in his face. Gaoshun has to pull her off. Jinshi and Maomao are so delighted with themselves and each other, it's a beautiful moment of harmony, which Gaoshun isn't sure is better than having them at odds.

Serendipity (coincidence or something more?) has landed Maomao in the records archive with exactly the person who can help her solve her mystery. Because this particular court official knows all about the Board of Rites that oversees ceremonies, he used to work on that board. Yet another one of the "coincidences" that Maomao is looking into has a connection to ceremonies. Seriously, that's a lot of foreshadowing, something bad is about to go down at this ceremony, huh?

It seems that someone went to an awful lot of trouble to take out two officials who oversee the ceremonies and stole some of the ceremonial equipment. Plus this official in the archives was demoted when he raised questions about the safety of these ceremonies. "An accident waiting to happen," is how the official described it. What a convenient way to take out an important person and make it seem like a coincidence. Maomao remembers yet another coincidence that involves the three brothers who work at the metalsmith that creates ceremonial items. This has to do with that ceremonial tool that had me worried from a couple episodes back no doubt. The one Lakan made sure to bring up to Jinshi. I don't have the details figured out, but Maomao does, and she's starting to worry now.

No, she's not worried, she's terrified. Someone has had a plan in the works for over a year, to assassinate a high ranking noble Jinshi (she, like me, already knows it's him, even if she won't admit it). And Maomao only just figured it out. She's not sure if she will be able to get there in time to stop it, but damn it she's trying! Girl is about to bust open a huge conspiracy!

Run Maomao! Run! Go save your prince!

Ah shit. Her status means she can't enter. But! Jinshi is in danger, right now! She can't back down.

Maomao: I'm just a servant with no authority to speak of. But if something happens it'll be too late for anything but regret!

Oh brave Maomao! This guard is threating her with his giant cudgel but she's not giving up. And what an image! Little Maomao on the steps standing up to the big armed guard who looms threatening above!

She accuses him of being in league with the saboteur. And that does it. He bashes her in the face! Oh shit! That guard comes down the stairs and I'm pretty sure he's trying to kill her. The other guards think so too, because someone is able to stop him. Maomao meant to provoke him, as a means of creating a commotion, but it's not enough to disrupt the ceremony. And Maomao is pretty messed up from that blow to the head.

Maomao is pushing through by sheer force of will, unconsciousness threatening to take over. She ignores the pain, and the danger, and stands back up because she needs to save someone's life.

Maomao is a goddamn hero, y'all. This persistence in the face of overwhelming odds, in pursuit of a noble purpose; it makes for great characters. And in a love story it's romantic as fuck.

But no matter what she says or does, it's not enough. She doesn't have the status to disrupt this ceremony.

But Lakan does.

Friends. I can't breath. This is peak drama.

Lakan is pretty intense for a moment with the guard, when he says:

Lakan: You have hurt her.

Maomao doesn't turn around, claims she doesn't want to see who it is. But she knows it's Lakan. And she knows his presence here is not a coincidence, as nothing in this episode has been. But there isn't time for that, she needs to move quickly. She is permitted past the guards, but how to stop the ceremony without being executed for it later?

There isn't time to think it through, she sees the disaster is moments from happening and she simply runs and tackles the officiant of the ceremony out of the way, as the giant apparatus comes crashing down.

I am so here for this moment.

Maomao realizes that she made it in time. Realizes her leg is injured. But she is addled from the blow to the head, because as soon as she sees Jinshi she asks for the ox bezoar that he offered. Girl, this guy is going to give you his whole life.

And of course it's Jinshi. It had to be! Maomao looks a wreck, with her face swollen, her nose bleeding, and her leg broken. But she's alive, and because of her brilliant mind, and bravery, so is Jinshi.

Jinshi is in shock. Trying to comprehend what the fuck just happened. Perhaps only moments from losing his shit, once he knows which direction to lose it in. He sees the state Maomao is in and he's on the verge of tears. So am I.

Maomao: I don't understand. Why is Master Jinshi here?

I'll allow her this confusion right now because she just got smashed upside the head, but later when she's recovered, she's not allowed to deny who and what Jinshi is any more. It's too fucking much at this point.

Maomao is disoriented, but she's done what she came here to do, and now she can let herself fall unconscious. After all Jinshi is here, he looks awfully sad, but he's capable and kind, he'll take care of her.

Jinshi is so distraught to have her fall unconscious in his arms. He does call her "Maomao," this time, as he begs her to stay with him. That lost little "please" at the end is going to stick with me for a long while.

Every person in this room, is useless in a crisis. There are at least a dozen people standing around doing nothing.

Jinshi leaves with Maomao in his arms. He doesn't acknowledge anyone, including Lakan, who looks rather shocked. Shocked because Maomao got hurt, when he didn't intend it, or shocked because Jinshi responded differently than Lakan expected? Or did he think she died? In any case, one of Lakan's well planned strategies didn't work out how he intended. I don't know if Jinshi is even able to spare a thought as to why Lakan might be here, or what his role in this whole event might have been. To me it seems, Lakan knew what was going on, but that he wasn't behind it. Perhaps his interest in bothering Jinshi was to try to help him? I don't know. I'm sure we will find out more about Lakan's role soon enough.

There are a lot of people that saw Maomao force her way into the building and save Jinshi's life. And a lot of those same people saw Jinshi walk out with her in his arms. And everyone of them showed Jinshi deference as he left. Too bad that Maomao missed it. Will it matter that people saw this, does it mean anything in this setting?

Is there symbolism happening right now? Probably! I also wish I knew what the lyrics to this song were.

Maomao is bleeding and broken, unconscious, but without her actions, it would be Jinshi who is hurt, or more probably dead. A trail of Maomao's blood trails behind as Jinshi leaves with her in his arms.

Jinshi has to be thinking about how Maomao ended up being there just in time to save him. If it truly were just an accident, then there would have been no way for her to know about it, which means the crashing apparatus was planned. That someone tried to kill him. Jinshi has to know that there are people who would like him dead, perhaps people have even tried to come at him before. And for much of this show we have seen Jinshi try to keep Maomao away from the more dangerous parts of his life. Today, what he feared has happened. Maomao was injured, because she got tangled up in the danger that is Jinshi's life. But if she hadn't he would have died.

So what will Jinshi do? Will he push Maomao away to keep her safe, so she doesn't get hurt again like she did today? Or will he let her in now? Tell her his secrets and keep her close? How can he best protect Maomao, by pushing her away or pulling her close?

And what will Maomao do when she wakes? She can't deny who Jinshi is any longer.

Also, will whomever is behind this be discovered? Will they try again?

To start at the beginning: Episode 1

Next episode: Episode 20

#apothecary diaries #the apothecary diaries #maomao #jinshi #jinmao #jinshi x maomao

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incorrectcoldflashblog · 15 days

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Answer the Questions and Tag 5 Fanfic Authors

Thank you so much to @kitkatt0430 for tagging me <3

1. How did you get into writing fanfiction?

Well, I got back into Coldflash in a big way a couple years ago, and kind of got frustrated not really seeing anything new in the tag, lol. Desperation is usually my biggest motivator to do anything. If I had unlimited new Coldflash fics coming out, I probably would never have written my own tbh.

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

Just the one. I used to do translations for a different fandom, though, so maybe two depending on if translating counts.

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

My own? Only a year and a half. Translating, maybe roughly ten years.

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

I probably write more now, but you wouldn’t know it because I’m such a slow writer!

5. What is one way you’ve improved as a writer?

Oh, I feel like my English has definitely gotten better since I started writing regularly. I always felt obligated to put a little disclaimer at the bottom, like please be nice to me, this isn’t my first language, lol. I feel a little bit more confident about it now (although I still obsessively google every sentence and word).

6. What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I mean, thanks to Chapter 4 of What Happens in Vegas I know now way more than I ever needed to know about tornado sirens, considering we don’t have them in my country, lol. I also ended up doing extensive (and totally pointless) research about the ancient Sumerian city-state of Ur (located in the South of what is now modern-day Iraq), which is where Len/Cold was supposed to be from in my AU where he was a genie. For those who are unaware, Ur fell in about 2000 BC and had a very famous poem written about it. Here is the cheery opening of 11 stanzas of misery:

For the gods have abandoned us

like migrating birds they have gone

Ur is destroyed, bitter is its lament

The country's blood now fills its holes like hot bronze in a mould

Bodies dissolve like fat in the sun. Our temple is destroyed

Smoke lies on our city like a shroud.

blood flows as the river does

the lamenting of men and women

sadness abounds

Ur is no more

7. What’s your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

I always appreciate when people point out the parts they liked. But honestly I’m happy for people to comment at all, especially on older fics :)

8. What’s the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

I don’t know that anything I’ve written can be considered fringe, lol. I do have a Lisa/Iris WIP, which I assume would be more of a rarepair, but I only have one scene written for it so who knows if I’ll ever finish it. I guess the Genie AU was kind of strange.

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

Longfics ;-; God, I’ve gained so much respect for people who can do that consistently for 60+ chapters, or over multiple fics in a series. My longfic isn’t even that long, comparatively, and I still feel like I will never get it done.

10. What is the easiest type?

One-shots, my beloved.

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

On my laptop. I just use Word and I prefer to write in the morning, which isn’t super ideal because it only leaves me the weekend to really get into it.

12. What is something you’ve been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

I’m too nervous to start more longfics at the moment because I feel like two is my absolute limit but I’d love to be able to write both the TATBILB-inspired fic I had in mind and the Future Fic that I sometimes play around with. I’d have to finish at least one of my longer projects first, or maybe try to get the whole thing written before posting it but I’m usually too impatient to do that!

13. What made you choose your username?

My username is captainicecube and I picked it because it’s roughly how Captain Cold was translated in the French dub. They translated it as Captain Glaçons (Captain Icecubes), which always makes me laugh whenever I think about it because it’s so stupid XD

Tagging @crestfallercanyon @joanthangroff @tiger-in-the-flightdeck @softboydepot and @moriavis

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dweamofsweep · 6 months

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Final few drawings from this sketchbook now that I’m recycling it! Kind of sad because this particular notebook was one I used as a little kid, it has some suuuper old and embarrassingly bad (but funny) drawings in it.

Also just going to put this here; I know something kind of blew up here over the weekend in this corner of Tumblr. Dr. Tezuka has been dead for several decades now, so we will never know exactly what “ending” he thought about for Tenma and Astro further than how they got separated and never really permanently reunited throughout his numerous re-writes and loose canon tendencies. That’s up to us to parse and make meaning of and potentially imagine beyond for ourselves as audience members of the series, which many fans have done over the years (And even any other official work done after Tezuka’s passing, like AB2003 and ATB, Pluto etc are basically the same thing). I believe we are allowed to disagree with the evaluations of media that others come up with, whether just in our heads or posted publicly! However, it is not our job to budge every last person’s opinion on the internet. We may “see” each other on a somewhat regular basis because, let’s face it, this fandom is pretty small, but at the end of the day none of us know everything that informs the meaning being made by the others — and we are not obligated to disclose such personal information for any reason, in real life or online. To give you an example and offer up something about myself, Astro as a character resonates with me in large part because he stands on the border between one group and another; although he is certainly a robot, he lives his life as a human would most of the time, creating a split between himself and other robots while still not being accepted fully into human society. It gives him a unique opportunity to bridge the two together, but as a result he can never be entirely one or the other. The reason why I find that fascinating is because I am a second-gen immigrant Asian-American, and it forms some parallels with the way I feel in my own life, having been raised more American than Asian. Also, my parents are culturally Chinese-Indonesian, but ethnically appear Chinese (as do I). I will never be fully accepted into native Chinese, Indonesian, or Chinese-Indonesian communities because I act too much like an “American” despite my appearance. I will also never be fully accepted into the American community I live in because I still cling onto some of my heritage, and of course also because of my appearance. But maybe due to my experience in both worlds, the chances have increased that I could foster greater empathy, interest, or understanding between them, and Astro gives me hope for that.

However— I wouldn’t expect anyone here to know that (or even remember after reading it — it’s fine, you can purge the info from your brain LOL) even if it does affect my readings of certain scenarios and stories. If someone were to post something that doesn’t acknowledge or reflect the perspective I have, I can feel any type of way about it, but I have to remind myself I don’t know where they’re coming from and to try not to take it too personally, since they don’t know where I’m coming from either. Maybe someone has had the exact opposite experience from me, maybe they just haven’t been in any comparable situation to begin with, they could also be a lot younger or older, or from another part of the world — on the internet you really just don’t know, and a person doesn’t really have to tell you if they don’t want to. Personally, once I’ve said my piece, I’ve said it. If someone disagrees with me over the same point repeatedly, and I considered their viewpoint but decided to retain mine, I don’t continue to engage them, because I know it gets unproductive sooner or later (neither side changes their mind or learns anything new, if anything we both just become more stubborn about our own arguments because we have to keep making the same one over and over). I do think about Tezuka’s and other artists’ work very seriously, as an artist myself and an aspiring professional, and I believe that’s a valid angle to come from. Yet I often just draw things on a whim despite the aforementioned, and as embarrassing as it is to admit, most of my drawings have very little meaning. I just post on here hoping it might make someone else a bit happier to see it; I suspect that many others in the community do the same. (Obviously if I misrepresent something severely in my own work, which I hope I will not but you never know, I want someone to tell me about it, but I didn’t think this was the case in the particular situation happening now.)

and… I will freely admit to sharing outlandish internet takes both as a kid and as an adult, then changing my mind and looking back on it, as well as my behavior in general, later with regret 😭 it will happen again, I’m sure… perhaps this is one and I should have kept my mouth shut, but I hope this at least gave some of my perspective. If you want to probe any further into my thoughts or ask for clarification you can!

#Astro boy oh boy

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acourtofantumbra · 7 months

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Was doing a deep dive for a future post about *gestures wildly* witches... Manon's lineage... cross-world connections... something I've found that feels actually tangible, maybe. Anyway, despite only dipping a toe into the ToD reread so far (I am not a ToD hater lol I'm just busy) I found myself checking a moment from KoA and took a nosedive into something immediately shinier. But it was so sudden I didn't have time to do my usual highlights/scribbles on my (currently dead) ipad so... enjoy my measly Kindle highlights.

I KNOW many folks have beautifully analyzed SJM's repeated character names because at one point SJM herself basically said, "I keep a record of all of them and I know what I've used."

I've seen folks flag important repeats for years now (we've seen this film before, A+ work, it keeps me up at night!), but the heavy hitters have been Briar, Thanatos, Cormac and even Ruhn (you know... the Erilean mountains and the hottie who knows 3 things).

So it stands to reason that repeated names might deserve some extra scrutiny... And I pray we get some pay off with that in CC3.

Anyway, as I'm pulling at the thread of ToG witches via our (my) favorite queen - Manon - I hadn't realized I fully forgot her dad's name. Frankly, of all the plot points from ToG, Manon's story's specifics were the haziest... except where Dorian is concerned I'm a mere mortal... and that has me suspicious regardless. Anywayyyy, as you can see above, it's Tristan. Tristan Crochan.

I cannot fully explain the cartwheel flip my brain did thumbing through the roladex of SJM's characters... because Tristan Flynn was not the energy my brain was ready for after reading this really sad passage about Manon's murdered family.

On my first read of the SJMU I went ACOTAR (long break between the original and ACOSF) -> CC -> TOG. And on my first TOG read, this passage triggered no alarm bells. I probably just didn't remember Flynn all that much. But after my CC reread... oh. I remember him. Don't you worry.

Now I am fan of Flynn. He's got a rakishness I simp for, I root for him and the dragon, and clocked his lordship woes despite having what we've all decided is a "hot dad". He's a good time. And Flynn feels like someone to watch! He makes an appearance in not one, but two, CC bonus chapters... and he's got a crush on the aforementioned dragon, who either was introduced for no reason or is gonna be a key player going forward. Or SJM is fucking with us. I don't have the answers.

But what I'm struck by Tristan-wise is a) the similarity in the little physical descriptors we get - brown hair, brown eyes and b) not actually Flynn-related... but a deeply similar sounding story to none other than the Autumn King. Daughter you didn't know was born to a woman you claim was your real love... check. Searching far and wide with a singular focus on recovering your daughter... check. Having another kid out of obligation and duty to continue on important bloodlines... check!!!

It might not have anything to do with Flynn at this current moment... but it's not implausible. Lord Flynn is of course a beloved frat-pack member living in a dump with his fellow bros. He specifically pops up in these bonus chapters going through the motions necessitated by his aristocratic bloodline. His mom/family is eager to marry him and his sister off - of course he seems miserable about the whole idea. But also resigned to it? It seems complicated. TLDR there's a world where Flynn's like "woof, yeah I gotta get married off but the heart wants what it wants!" There is precedent!

Also, I've been 👀 Flynn since it was flagged that he has "super rare earth powers" not commonly seen in Valbaran Fae... first off, what does that mean? Second, hot?!

Well I've done it again, so many words and nothing really of note to take away haha. I'll be honest, my mind was not in a Tristan Flynn headspace!! I'm kind of bogged down in my own thoughts about the witchier women of this multiverse... but in my dragon theory speculation Flynn popped up again and I really can't explain why random dead ends are turning up Tristan!!! I'm not mad about it, but I wish I understood.

#sjm multiverse #throne of glass #cc3 #sjm multiverse spoilers #sjm theory #manon blackbeak #tristan flynn #tristan crochan #crochan witches #rhiannon crochan #crescent city #house of sky and breath #kingdom of ash #autumn king #bryce quinlan

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the-chihayafuru-landslide · 1 year

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In Defense of the Ending of Chihayafuru [PART 1]

Well I never thought I would be writing something like this because mainly I wanted to use my blog to discuss Taichihaya because that’s all my biased ass is interested in is the romance. I’m a consistent bitch through and through, unlike some of y’all. But I feel this topic is a bit more of a pressing matter since currently people over on twitter have been fist fighting in PQRT over the ending (still lol). Which, you know my ass couldn’t stay out of because I love pissing myself off and being boo boo the fool.

Posting this again just as a petty reminder since I am sore winner.

One of the best tweets in recent memory was someone calling Taichihaya a tacked on wattpadd romance and was Suetsugu selling out to thirsty fans. I truly think it’s lovely people think that Suetsugu had so little integrity and would would spend 15 years on a manga and throw it down the drain in the final chapter! Nah, if that was the case and she genuinely wanted to placate everyone, I think she would have picked the friendship route. (Especially since Arata won the most recent online [ rigged ] popularity poll lmao I’m sure she was nervous as hell when that happened) If there was no romance conclusion then both Taichihayas and Chiharatas alike would be shrugging our shoulders and fighting in the parking lot behind a Burger King till the end times. Honestly, I’m so glad we don’t live in that timeline because I don’t think I could handle being a Taichihaya solider against these absolute units. Their stubborn persistence in their own biased reading of Chihayafuru is truly remarkable despite the thousands of arguments that have been thrown at them. I wish I was so uncritical in my life because my thoughts are constantly oscillating when presented with new information to try and get to the closest version of the “truth”. Which requires you to admit when you are wrong and not be blinded by your own hubris. Heh (I’m realizing now why people don’t like me considering I say shit like this completely straight)

Before we address some of the writing criticisms that have been thrown at the ending, let’s get this obligation out of the way: the ending is not perfect. No singular piece of media is and can ever be. But for what Suetsugu managed to accomplish and (IMO) hitting every necessary story beat in 80 pages is actually very impressive. I’ll be honest, I was at times shaking my head wondering how she could do it.

Suetsugu was writing this manga for 15 years and was trying to get to the ending as quickly as she could (originally she wanted it to end it in 49 volumes but got convinced by her editor to stretch it to 50 volumes which thank god). So using the words of someone else (who every so often says something that I regrettably agree with), I think we can all afford to give this mangaka a bit of grace.

At the same time no matter what the conditions were for the ending’s creation, the ending still is what it is and that doesn’t make it above criticism. But some of the criticisms I’ve had the pleasure to read (derogatory) have made me want to rip out my hair. I can’t even be nice, y’all are just being fuckin purposely obtuse, hypocritical, or partaking in bad faith cinema sins level criticism.

I can understand being frustrated as hell that things didn’t resolve the way you thought they would (trust me I’d still be crying to this day if Taichihaya wasn’t canon) but the actual hoops people have tried to jump through, like criticizing things that UP UNTIL THE LAST CHAPTER DID NOT BOTHER THEM IN THE SLIGHTEST, so they can point to anything other than what they are really mad about: that the ship they wanted to see didn’t end up happening and that Arata and Chihaya’s relationship not being romantical in the end has apparently no merit unless Chihaya told him EXPLICITLY at the end what a special little boy he is. I’d have more respect for some of you if you just came out and said it outright instead of being like every other theme and arc was also ruined by Chihaya’s confession lmao. I guess that’s just Chihaya’s power as a protagonist to ruin her own story by confessing. SHE IS A QUEEN IN EVERY SENSE. But of course people don’t want to say they were upset about the shipping b/c they spent how long (years?) tearing down those dastardly Taichihayas for only caring about that! Oh how the turntables.

Now I’m a chaotic individual and this entire thing is written purely in spite (I’m reading Skip Beat so I’m living my Kyoko fantasy) but before we get into the meat of my arguments; I’m going to break down the criticisms I’ve read about the ending into three categories:

1. Unresolved Plot Points

2. Unsatisfying conclusions to plot points

3. Things we should have seen but didn’t

I’m going to be discussing all three types of criticisms loose and free because thankfully I am not in academia anymore. So it’s going down, I’m yelling timberrrr. I just want to mention, with added emphasis, when I am discussing the criticisms filed under the third point- “things we should have seen but didn’t”, I want to acknowledge that it is ok for people to be sad about not seeing the thing they wanted to see. Even if thing wasn’t that important, and didn’t actually ruin the story.

I too had many things I wanted to see that Suetsugu did not feel necessary to include. Like yeah sure, I got my ship and even my crack ship (Arata x Sumire shippers manifesting their ship out of thin air like they were rubbing a lamp) yet I am greedy as hell. For all of our suffering as Taichihaya shippers (me for like 6 months some people for a literal decade) with Taichi and Chihaya being purposely kept apart in the story for literal years; at the end when they finally are a couple I wanted to see Taichihaya dating fluff and also their wedding (the way I felt so emboldened by reading the spin off for Eden No Hana that I truly believed it could happen). I should mention real quick that I sorta think ending a story with characters getting married is at this point a bit outdated and also kind of idk “tacky” yet the fervour I wanted to see a Taichihaya wedding made the feminism crawl back inside me and die. My life is filled with contradictions.

However, with things we want to see, to judge whether or it was necessary and or good to be included in the story we have to ask ourselves these questions: what does it add to the story? Is it necessary? What themes does it build? Is it redundant? Is it fun? Does it help resolve plot elements? Does it build characters? Etc etc etc

I actually do think some Taichihaya dating fluff would have been a nice way to wrap up the ending on a nice positive outlook for Chihaya and Taichi’s future together and provide a bit of breathing room after all the trauma and depression that’s happened (WE WERE SUFFERING FOR 100 CHAPTERS AND ALMOST 10 YEARS). I WASN’T EVEN ASKING FOR ANYTHING THAT DEEP IT COULD BE TAICHI AND CHIHAYA WALKING SIDE BY SIDE FOR A SINGLE PANEL HOLDING HANDS.

This could have been us and I would have been satisfied BUT NOooooo

IT would have been fkin nice, yet it wasn’t completely necessary. We kind of /got this/ with the slight time skip the end. You just have to squint your eyes and read it through subtext (something apparently Taichihayas are good at lmao).

With the final pages of the story we got: Taichi and Chihaya confirmed to be dating, them wearing tasukis together in the final spread (y’know as they did before as a team lmao), and Chihaya’s random hair change suggesting maybe they went on a date beforehand… Yeah these things suggest that the two of them are doing well despite living in different cities, attending different universities, and not even being able to see each other since they started dating (fk me up). Does it hurt me that’s all we got in the ending? You know it does. Do I completely agree with Yuki Suetsugu’s writing choice? No. I WANT A MORSEL OF FLUFF OF SOMETHING I AM A STARVING VICTORIAN CHILD AND I NEED A SINGLE CRUMB. The way we only got a single panel in the spin off chapter and it Taichi and Chihaya in the same tournament just a different angle… IT IS A CRIME BUT don’t worry about me, I’m completely fine yep CoOl as a cUcumber. We as a fandom expect nothing so we bounce off the walls when we are served air.

Ok what was the point of this rant? Oh, that we all want to see things for fun even when they don’t serve a purpose because it makes us happy and isn’t the point of stories… enjoyment? However, I’m going to be a dick and shit on your dreams because I didn’t get everything I wanted, why should you lmao.

But again, I do understand the lamenting at least.

Alright now I’m done the intro (if you can call all of that nonsense an intro) let’s discuss the actual criticisms. Again this is in no particular order and I won’t be addressing every single criticism I’ve ever read (like not even gonna touch the 2chan comments about Chihaya being a sl*t because I don’t feel like giving misogynists the time of day lmao) just the ones I feel like.

[ 1 ] Taichi’s Arc Was Ruined by Chihaya’s Confession

You know this would be the first thing I would address because I am the number one most die hard annoying Taichi fan (or at least I hope people think of me as so). I actually have an unfinished twitter thread on why Taichi’s arc wasn’t ruined, which will someday see the light of day, so for now I won’t go in as much detail (LMAO unfortunately this isn’t at all concise, the things I do for this fictional man).

Taichi’s character was apparently supposed to be the personification of a loser and Arata a winner. Y’know because Arata was bullied in his childhood and in a stylized reality that means you get everything you have ever wanted and the person who bullied you can never be redeemed instead has to be punished by the universe forever for the crimes of his youth. It’s just and completely fair, yes, if you make one mistake when you are 10 it will define you for the rest of your life.

Ok jokes aside, I think the majority of the fandom /kind of/ understood the vague outline of Taichi’s arc: it was about taking a risk and not being a coward. It actually takes a kind of vulnerability to actually put effort into something: whether that be a relationship or a sport because all of your hard work could literally amount to nothing. Losing only hurts if you care about winning. But winning only feels like a win when it is earned (maybe that’s why nobody cared that Arata got Meijin because his ass was at times too OP lmao). This applies both Karuta (Taichi’s initial belief that there was no point in taking Karuta seriously because he could never beat Arata) and in love (he dated some random girl he didn’t care about b/c it was easy).

So in that sense, I somewhat agree with Taichi’s arc was about appreciating the journey “to love that desperation” to keep trying and not take the easy way out. That getting rejected after you confess your feelings to the girl you’ve been in love since childhood and losing by a huge margin of 18 cards fkin sucks and will hurt so much; but that doesn’t make any of the time spent on it worthless. Not only that, but you can and should still keep trying. (In Karuta I mean. If you get rejected please don’t be like Arata and say lmao I’ll try again because I’m moving to your city to be closer to you)

Even though Taichi had a tenuous love/hate relationship with Karuta, At the end of the day, it still gave Taichi everything that is dear to him: his friends, teachers, and the dream to bet his whole youth. Hence why I will fight to say I that I do like the hug with Arata b/c Taichi finally got acknowledged by his rival (or his core). It just stings after Arata smoked Taichi’s ass with an 18 card victory lmao. Like on the one hand yippee Arata acknowledged him… on the other Arata giving a hug still reads a bit patronizing sorry idc. I love and hate the hug. I look at the panel of them hugging and I’m like aww my babies :) then I read the whole arc and I’m liek TAKE YOUR FKIN HUG ARATA AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS. Sorry I got off topic there. (Unfortunately this is neither the first or last time that will happen).

The ending wraps up Taichi’s arc perfectly because he spent the whole manga not really having a firm Karuta “dream” (goal?) of his own (he kind of does but it’s too complex to get into right now so for simplicity’s sake we’ll say this). He watched his friends make a pact to become Meijin and Queen and though he basically facilitated this moment, he was not included. The “outsider”, the one left behind while Chihaya and Arata had bond through their Karuta dream.

No Taichi did not need to be symbolically made the reader at the end of the story- this was the perfect use of the childhood imagery to show how Taichi felt like the worthless one in their friend group.

Taichi had every reason to quit Karuta after he got his single win against Arata (and also because Chihaya had “rejected” him). Instead, seeing his friends accomplish their dreams inspired him to keep trying. (Hence his practice swings in the hallway). Then at the end of it all he challenged Arata that he would come back next year and take the Meijin title, throwing himself back into Karuta after his most devastating 18 card loss. The difference now from before lies in Taichi’s motivations. Before he wanted to win for other people: he wanted Suou to visit his family and he wanted to see Chihaya’s win from the closest spot. Which is not necessarily a bad reason to do things, but a central theme of Chihayafuru from the first chapter is making a dream for YOURSELF. So when he finally challenges Arata at the end it’s the perfect ending to his arc because he’s doing it for nobody else other than himself. He’s already lost the chance to win Chihaya’s love through Karuta and Suou has visited with his family that he’s been avoiding for all these years.

Alright so now that we’ve covered his Karuta arc, so what about the romance arc? Obviously, Taichi was a loser there too because he got rejected after confessing his feelings to Chihaya (until Chihaya pulled an uno reverse at the end).

Immediately after getting rejected, Taichi distanced himself from Chihaya and also the club completely cutting himself off from all of them (mostly). But this action was never narratively treated as Taichi trying to punish Chihaya. SO MANY PEOPLE interpreted this action as emotional manipulation since OOO he hurt her feelings. Yeah, her feelings were hurt and so were his? If he was actually manipulating her, then he’d have to have some underlying goal he was trying to accomplish? Taichi was basically like me very sad and right now I don’t want to be around Chihaya anymore or my friends or the sport I loathe (but love) because I’m not a superhuman robot and I do have feelings and those feelings right now are suffocating me fdkcnkjac. HE NEVER ONCE ACTED LIKE THIS WAS SOME MASTER SCHEME TO GET HER TO LOVE HIM OR TEACH HER A LESSON AS REVENGE FOR HURTING HIM. He just needed space because he wanted to figure out who he was and also at this point his perfect grades were suffering. Chihaya’s rejection wasn’t the only thing that made him quit the club anyways- he was already going through a downwards spiral LONG BEFORE THIS starting with his loss against Chihaya at Yoshino. Chihaya’s rejection was just the final drop in a cup that was already too full. It was going to spill over regardless and Chihaya’s love wouldn’t have saved him.

In fact Taichi never brought up his rejection to her at all. The only scene that we got where Taichi truly acted poorly (and even then it didn’t really affect Chihaya) was when he derived some satisfaction of knowing that Chihaya was hurting because of him. It’s a very real emotion even if it’s an ugly one; which I’m sure we’ve all felt at sometime in our life… But it’s a feeling which he himself feels guilty about having. Because maybe… he doesn’t actually… Want to hurt Chihaya? But because he thinks the worst of himself, the fact he even felt momentarily good that she might be hurting too, makes him not want to ever be apart of Chihaya’s life anymore (he can’t go back). Yes this is all apart of his master scheme where he selfishly thinks that he doesn’t even deserve to be in Chihaya’s life! Taichi the incel or whatever.

Taichi and Chihaya did eventually start mending their relationship slowly and gradually over the course of the last 100 chapters. Taichi came back to watch Chihaya win against Arata, he apologized for ditching the club, they cleaned the clubroom together (things accumulated), and then they played as a team in the Qualifiers and Challengers. Taichi had time to process the rejection but based on the final chapter, and tbh EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER AFTER 205, seeing Chihaya and Arata side by side accomplishing their dreams and looking like an amazing couple (y’know thing he wanted for himself) hurts him even if he is also simultaneously happy for them. Taichi is written like a human being and not a happy go lucky robot that can take every single L in life and be better off for it.

Part of Taichi’s initial motivations for becoming good at Karuta were toxic: he wanted to get good so that Chihaya could notice him and then maybe she would fall in love with him. Since Taichi knew Chihaya was a “Karuta Baka” and seemingly only got flustered when she saw someone with skill (for example her first “crush” was on her married sensei LMAO).

Like was Taichi himself CLEARLY THINKS THAT CHIHAYA NEEDS A KARUTA MAN TO LOVE. Which he’s kinda right about at least initially lol.

So for Taichi actually the most important thing was not to “get over” his love for Chihaya, in fact what Taichi needed to find his own reasons to play Karuta outside of Chihaya’s love. Almost like it might have been linked to a void speech Or sOMething.

In the end, he FINALLY picks himself and his feelings by moving away instead of doing everything in his life for Chihaya’s sake (and lol he was never gonna stay in Tokyo just for Arata be serious). Which to me is not a bad idea, considering how much of his feelings he still carried the distance would help him be able to move on. It would not be good for anyone for him to remain in Tokyo being completely miserable and jaded while your two friends are in the beginning stages of their relationship (cause yeah Taichi the #1 strongest Chiharata believer in the manga). He was stepping away at least partially for their sakes as well.

Nor do I consider his decision to leave Tokyo a “cowardly” move? Taichi is leaving behind his life, his friends, his sensei(s), and his family and moving to someplace completely new. That takes bravery. Arata at least has a support network in Tokyo (outside of Chihaya and Taichi even!) like Hydro, Nishida, and the Shirinami society… who tf does Taichi even know in Kyoto lmao.

Unfortunately Taichi was not completely ok by the end of the manga. Sorry, it didn’t fit into your neat little timeline for when you thought Taichi should be comfortable being the third wheel for his two Karuta baka friends. He has the self esteem of a broken kite. Badum tsssss.

Nor was it like he dropped the news that he was moving away with the intention of hurting Chihaya even more and manipulating her to fall in love with him.

Taichi if he was still in his villain arc: “don’t call me. Don’t come to my house. We’re done.”

In Taichi and Chihaya’s final conversation in the clubroom Taichi doesn’t hide that he’s moving and states he simply needs a change of scenery but assures Chihaya that they will surely see each other again because they will always have Karuta. That is the exact same promise they made to each other as they were kids; a promise of everlasting friendship through their shared passions.

Sure, one could argue, because he wasn’t in Tokyo, they wouldn’t be as close as they before the break up and therefore he “didn’t really give her their friendship back”… BUT TAICHI AND CHIHAYA WOULD NEVER BE AS CLOSE as they were in high school!! In high school they were able to see each other every single day. BUT even if Taichi had stayed in Tokyo, all of them (Arata included) would be going to different universities. They would all be busy with their own studies and would probably only see each other at the Shirinami society (if Taichi and Chihaya only remained friends). So to be honest the distance only really stings if they decided to date (which they did so fk me upppp). Like it’s part of growing up, you don’t get to see your school friends as often anymore. It sucks, but that’s the way life is. But that doesn’t mean your friendship is worthless because you don’t live in the same city anymore? WE HAVE CELLPHONES.

We can debate all we want if Taichi wouldn’t have moved to Kyoto IF Chihaya confessed earlier but ultimately it doesn’t change the fact that in the end he put his feelings first. Which is what he should do!! HE SHOULD NOT ROLL OVER AND GET STEAM ROLLED BY TRYING TO LIVE HIS LIFE SELFLESSLY FOR ARATA AND CHIHAYA FCK YOU.

Off topic rant: but when Arata announced to Taichi that he was moving to Tokyo why did people think that it was something Arata did for Taichi? At that point TAICHI DEADASS THOUGHT TO HIMSELF SCREW YOU ARATA YOU’RE MY ENEMY. Arata did not know how to read the fking room it was lowkey embarrassing for him!! He didn’t ask Taichi if he wanted him there he assumed that they all wanted the trio back together. At this point in time TAICHI DID NOT.

However, the most important reason why it didn’t ruin Taichi’s arc is that Chihaya’s confession is not framed as Taichi’s “reward” for being cool with them being friends. Chihaya’s agency is at the forefront of her confession - it’s absolutely her choice. It’s the culmination of Chihaya’s arc of self discovery and finally being able to express her feelings with the help of her friends and finally knowing what those feelings are. She had been pondering her damn feelings for Taichi for 100 chapters like I’m very sorry that you missed it- but that’s on you

Just because it’s an annoying trope in other media where the rejected boy was the one the protagonist wanted all along does not instantly make it bad when it appears in a story… you have to look at how it’s executed. I know you some of you wanted a “progressive” story where the rejected boy “friend friend” would continue just be your closest friend even after getting rejected. But if that’s what you wanted, we got that with Arata? So like… huh. Why does it NEED to be Taichi? Is the universe who has it out for him or is it you because you hate him.

Chihaya’s confession wasn’t about Taichi’s feelings nor Arata’s but hers and hers alone so stfu about it “ruining Taichi’s arc” bitch ass what? It only ruins his arc if you were grading it under the incorrect assumption that Taichi’s big lesson was that he needed to be a loser in every aspect of life while Arata is a special boy who did nothing wrong ever therefore gets everything <3 IT WAS NEVER IMPLIED THAT SUETSUGU WAS WRITING TAICHI THIS WAY NOR IS THIS THEME THROWN OUT IF TAICHI IS THE ONE WHO GETS LOVED BACK? WHY DOES HE NEEDED TO BE A LOSER IN EVERYTHING?? HE ALREADY LOST IN KARUTA AND MADE PEACE WITH “LOSING” IN LOVE. I think it’s better actually that disappointment in life was split between two characters (Arata and Taichi) because it’s realistic that every character faces some disappointment in their life and has learn to cope?

Which is a perfect Segway to my next point:

[ 2 ] Arata needed to be formally rejected (again but better)

In the hell that is Chihayafuru discourse land where there are clowns on either side of the argument: there are two camps when it comes to Chihaya’s “answer” (or not a reply) to Arata’s confession. There are those who believe that Arata was never rejected that Chihaya instead said “wait until after I am Queen and then I’ll reject you” and there are those who believe Arata had already been soft rejected in ch 173.

It was funny the collective breakdown the other side had when Suetsugu said in a now deleted tweet that Arata had been soft rejected here and he knew it… THIS WAS HIS RESPONSE? SO MUCH FOR THEIR BOUNDARY RESPECTING KING

I was, of course, in the camp that believed that Arata had been soft rejected in this moment because Chihaya said “this is what’s up right right now” and mentioned nothing about having feelings for him. She just wanting to accomplish her dream and be the best in the world at Karuta. Saying “I’m focusing on other things” is actually not an uncommon way to let down people in Japan since it is more polite than saying outright that you’re not interested. Moreover, Chihaya never asks him to wait for a response… You’ll notice he says all of that about “coming closer” to her unprovoked. But I’m not discussing whether or not this was a rejection (this time). For the sake of the argument, let’s say Arata wasn’t rejected here… Then what.

This is apparently what people wanted Chihaya to say to him:

“Arata I realized at chapter 93 that I will always love you and Karuta but I actually lied to myself. You see I wanted to bait the omniscient presence that watches over my life because I like making people look like clowns. But yeah, don’t worry not all is lost I do love you but maybe like a friend though not a lover. Even though your confession was the one I preferred because it was like a marriage proposal. Anyways at least you’re Meijin and I am so utterly grateful for you all you’ve done for me like introducing me to the sport. Thanks so much for being the biggest support of me like when you made a team so I could beat your ass. Anyways learn how to use your phone ok? Love ya but not that way bye!”

Ok sorry LOL moving on. So the camp that thinks Chihaya did not reject Arata in that moment, did everyone think that Chihaya’s answer to his confession was “yes” and that she knew in that moment but she wanted to wait until after she had accomplished her dream to tell him so? GOD IT’S SO HARD TO EVEN ADDRESS CRITICISMS OF THE ENDING WITHOUT HAVING TO BREAK DOWN WHY THESE BELIEFS HAD NO PROPER FOUNDATION TO STAND ON TO BEGIN WITH. Because if Chihaya knew in that moment that she loved Arata back, wouldn’t she have said “this is an answer to your response” or MAYBE she would have said something along what Rion said to Makoto.

LIKE SENSEI DIDN’T PUT THIS IN FOR FUNSIES IT WAS TO TRY AND HELP PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER YOURSELF. “IS IT BETTER NOT TO SAY THIS NOW?”

So anyways, Chihaya did not promise after becoming the best in Japan that she would respond to him with a yes. In fact, she never said she would respond to him at all? So…

With the two added pages off in the Tankobon, it became clear that Chihaya didn’t even have all of her feelings sorted out by the time she became Queen. So we can simply write off Arata needing to be formally rejected directly after he won Meijin because Chihaya did not know yet how she felt. Thank you so much Suetsugu for that.

Which even if she had fully sorted her feelings and decided that she loved Tacihi… I agree with the notion that it would actually be super shitty for Chihaya to ruin probably the best day of Arata’s life with a rejection? Like “congrats on the win buddy, anyways I don’t love you! Ok BYE”

Like why would you think that is a better outcome for him? But I get it, this would be the last moment Chihaya and Arata would see each other before uni because of the simple fact he lived in Fukui so if she was going to say something in person then it would have to be there.

But thankfully Arata gave Chihaya a little more leniency, to you know, let him know how she felt (if it was any different) when he moved to Tokyo. So quite frankly it’s not even like he asked her to respond to him after she became best in the world EITHER.

So then the alternative to telling him in person would be to what… Text Arata the moment Chihaya and Taichi started dating? PLEASE HOW WOULD A TEXT BE BETTER? I don’t know, YOU GUYS ALWAYS SAID Arata was apparently pretty chill waiting too? So it’s not like he was urgently fading away and they were so heartless for not texting him the MOMENT they got together. What is he, the Jesus in their relationship?

I just wanted a reason to put this meme here

So I think honestly the best thing was in fact to tell Arata TOGETHER the next time Taichi and Chihaya saw him in person. Chihaya did not need to pull him aside alone and have a deep conversation and tell him his worth to her as a friend? Their relationship would actually remain the same because the thing Arata did want the most was a future where the three of them (the trio) could be together whereas TAICHI WANTED A FUTURE ALONE WITH CHIHAYA.

Like for example Taichi even though he had more time to process his rejection it’s not like him and Chihaya ever had a heart to heart about what happened either so it’s odd you think Taichi would have not needed one but Arata should have?

I also think Arata probably won’t need as much time to process the rejection because he’s already been established to brush off adversary quickly. Plus let’s give him a little credit he’s been waiting for almost a year for a response for his confession like… The guy should have had time to think perhaps Chihaya’s answer would be no with how long it took to get back to him. Does that make him a bit pathetic? Yeah. And that’s ok because I love a pathetic man.

Taichi’s presence was probably also needed because when you think about it last time Chihaya tried to reject Arata he said “just you wait I’m coming to be closer to you”. SO maybe she thought oh if my boyfriend is here he’ll take it as a clearer no… BUT THEN ARATA STILL MADE THAT JOKE ABOUT WINNING HER AT 28 REGARDLESS. Like Arata my little bi disaster please you’re not helping your own case cdndkncj. But honestly no hate to Arata using comedy to cope. WHY DO YOU THINK I AM SO FUNNY?? I learned at a young age if you make fun of the way people make fun of you that their insults hurt less. Wow I’m dropping my trauma in the essay about the ending of Chihayafuru I’m so classy.

But the biggest thing is CHIHAYA SHOULD NOT HAVE TO REJECT ARATA BEFORE CONFESSING TO THE GUY SHE LIKES. Like you guys are fricking weird placing more importance over Arata’s feelings INSTEAD OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS?? IT’S HER ARC OF SELF DISCOVERY AND I WOULD NOT HAVE EXPECTED HER TO GO BACK AND TALK TO TAICHI BEFORE ACCEPTING ARATA’S CONFESSION EITHER.

It’s funny coming from the people being like “I SHIP THE SHIP WHERE THE GIRL CLEARLY LIKES THE GUY AND YOU LOSERS ARE NOT RESPECTING HER AGENCY CAUSE SHE REJECTED THE OTHER” the way that broke down when the character picked the one you didn’t like or even consider could be still in the running.

So no, the story didn’t need Arata to be re-rejected in a more formal manner in the ways you guys are suggesting. However, I do think some aftermath for Arata’s story was actually necessary as he didn’t feel like he fully “grew up” compared to Taichi and Chihaya. Then my wish was granted because in the spin off chapter we see Arata coping with his heartbreak and moving to a new city without the expectation having his childhood trio back again.

LIKE in the spin off Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata’s relationship is honestly the best it’s ever been? They text each other more frequently (Arata learned how to use his cellphone) and Arata even talks to Chihaya without stumbling over his words and being awkward. It was so refreshing.

Obviously Arata was hurting a bit. After all, it was his first heartbreak and he spent idk 2 years with a crush on Chihaya? Now that he’s in Tokyo he’s feeling… lonely. Which is ironic because when he was in Fukui he felt loneliness because of the distance. Even so, moving to Tokyo was actually good for him because he is making new connections. Now he has a super cute girlfriend named Sumire who finally can appreciate HOW HOT ARATA IS and be the little spoon he has always wanted. The end! <3

I know most people hate the idea of “pair the spares” but Arata and Sumire have the most compatible zodiac signs so it’s not MY fault it’s written in the stars??? But honestly they aren’t “paired” together in the end, just that hey life moves on and Suetsugu is saying there are plenty other opportunities for love (except Suetsugu did confirm to me personally that Arata and Sumire got married so sorry bye).

Unfortunately there is more to say about Arata’s rejection though (which I am breaking up into smaller points).

2.1 - THE TONE OF ARATA’S “REJECTION”

I think one of the biggest problems with Arata’s “rejection” (or simply the confirmation that he didn’t get another shot when he moved to Tokyo) is the tone. I don’t think Suetsugu intentionally meant to make it funny (I can’t say for sure)… However, the abruptness of it IS SO COMEDIC FUNNIEST PART OF THE CHAPTER FR.

Like when I first heard that Arata was rejected by Chihaya and Taichi telling him they were dating, I actually thought this can’t be serious and someone was making a joke. BUT IT WAS REAL. It goes from a beautifully deep line from Chihaya’s confession to Arata saying “WAIT A SECOND YOU TWO ARE DATING??” THE WHIPLASH SDKJNDKJ

Like I’m sorry IT IS SO FUNNYYYYYY the million periods on that one page was for me because I was in disbelief.

I think the problem here is due to the absolute ROCKET SPEED pace of the final chapter. For whatever reason, everything needed to happen in the final chapter with little breathing room. I don’t know if I agree with that writing choice… I think the story could have benefitted from stretching this stuff out over 2-3 chapters.

In my perfect world, there would maybe be a bit of set up and wouldn’t go from profoundly beautiful line that had me wiping my tears to comedy? Maybe have Chihaya and Taichi planning to tell Arata to show that they care about him? (Even though their expressions say that they feel very guilty and awkward about it). So then it feels less like a joke and more like two friends awkwardly trying to explain to their friend that they are dating and break his heart gently.

To be honest who even knows if Taichi and Chihaya walked up with the intention of telling him they were dating (again what is he a parent they need permission from?) Maybe Arata saw something and inquired? Maybe they were caught off guard and were going to tell him after the tournament or something. Again, it’s not clear LMAO. What was important were these two facts: that the story ended with Arata knowing he wouldn’t have a chance with Chihaya and that Chihaya and Taichi did in fact start dating.

So for those who thought Arata’s feelings of love were very serious and profound and deserve to be treated with respect I can understand hell I can even respect why the comedic tone of his “rejection” would upset you. Even I was slightly /expecting/ a private conversation… not whatever this was.

However, again I think people projected that Arata’s feelings for Chihaya were a lot deeper then what they actually were. Perhaps this abrupt reaction is meant to say that his feelings were not as deep as people thought and he is a person who is able to brush it off and be happy for his friends? I guess he has more emotional maturity in that way… But he still has to make his stinky little joke. He’s 18 years old and I forgive him.

It’s his growth!! He looks like he’s about to throw hands with Taichi but instead he sticks with his incel joke!

I do get also why people were led to believe there would be some epic conclusion or at least thoughtful rejection because Arata still confessed to Suou that he was playing alongside the girl he liked. So it’s the result of the love triangle being kept so strictly ambiguous to the bitter end (after 246 you should have known but ok) that really did make some people look like clowns at the end. I admit, it could have easily been me, in your shoes. But I acknowledged my clowndom at every turn, so if it all backfired on me I could have left with a morsel of my pride.

So essentially yeah I think the tone being comedic was /probably/ the wrong choice. (Again what happened wasn’t comedic it was the abruptness which was comedic). However the tone was fine for me though. I liked having a little laugh after all of the trauma this manga put me through. Arata king you’re the funniest little guy fr.

2.2- ARATA’S STINKY JOKE

I don’t hate that Arata made a lighthearted joke and teased Taichi one last time after getting rejected (like the demon of Karuta he is). What I hated is the content of the joke. It felt very “wink wink nudge nudge” to the reader- like haha Taichi and Chihaya are long distance now and their proximity was THE ONLY REASON THEY FELL IN LOVE! (It never was).

You see I am of the belief that Arata blamed things outside of his control (living in Fukui) rather than focusing on the things he could control. Like responding to fking emails or text messages OR GIVING CHIHAYA YOUR NUMBER AND NOT TAICHI, BITCH BOY?? (I’m fine).

Like he is like “I am so lonely because I am not next to my friends” instead of trying to make friends with the people who lived around him too? Like ARATA I really feel for you, because you just like me fr.

So yeah, Arata’s joke did not land for me. It could go, and I would be happier. Also it makes Arata look like he didn’t have his moment of growing up even though his he was managing his negative emotions very well while his heart was being stomped on (those who know, know).

Let me reiterate, I don’t hate the fact that he made a joke, just that particular joke I dislike. My joke of choice: “haha you guys only announced it now because you want the Meijin to fumble in the tournament, nice try I’ll smoke your asses”

2.3 WHAT ABOUT CHIHAYA’S GROWTH?

This is the only argument I can /somewhat/ get behind. That if Chihaya had been able to reject Arata in a more formal manner then it would show how much she has grown. Yes, because one of Chihaya’s central themes is that she doesn’t know how to express herself at least in words and has a difficulty forming connections with people.

That’s why she clings to Karuta because it makes it easier for her to connect. However, I’m not too too mad that Chihaya still continues to have difficulty expressing herself. She told Taichi she loved him with a simple “I love you” and she rejects Arata with “I am dating Taichi”. Though simple, in both cases they clearly express Chihaya’s feelings.

That brings us to the whole thing of people being like “BUT SHE WROTE ARATA POEMS!!!” Like it’s some kind of GOTCHA that Chihaya always loved Arata and the author “forgot” INSTEAD OF IT BEING PURPOSEFUL? The point was her poetry was VERY BAD and that she still even there couldn’t express how she was feeling very well. SHE COULDN’T WRITE A POEM.

So while Chihaya has grown it is not so on the nose that by the time she leaves high school she is a perfectly articulated person with an elegance to with her words… Sometimes that is a struggle you work on for your entire life. The point is she has grown from the start, instead of forgetting Arata’s confession for like what was it 6 months? She makes sure to tell him the minute she sees him in person. Eyyyoo. Also she continued to reflect on her feelings and thought about love not just being the person you want to play in Karuta but something more profound.

I also think the bond that Chihaya and Arata shared was about as clear as the bond Taichi and Chihaya shared. Chihaya never explicitly discussed how important Taichi was to her to him EVEN IN HER CONFESSION… so why should she have to tell Arata that he’s important???

Then there was this idea that Chihaya needed to “earn” back Arata’s friendship after rejecting him (by telling him of his importance). DO YOU PEOPLE EVEN HEAR YOURSELF?? You said Taichi shouldn’t have quit the club, he should have suffered through it and not received a single thing from Chihaya but yeah Chihaya needed to EARN Arata’s friendship. BE SERIOUS LISTEN TO THE WORDS COMING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH AND THEN REFLECT ON YOUR OWN SHORTCOMINGS!! I CAN’T DO IT FOR YOU NO MORE.

Like there is just so many double standards for the way people wanted Arata to be treated vs. how they were cool with the way that evil villain Taichi was treated.

TL;DR

Arata did not need a private conversation with Chihaya where she reassured him of his worth as her friend or their platonic love. It parallels the simple way Chihaya communicated her feelings with Taichi. Arata did however need to be given time to “grow up” but it did actually happen in the bonus chapter. We see how the three of them have mended their friendship despite going down different paths- they are united though Karuta. I do think there is some merit to the idea that Arata’s rejection would benefit from a few more pages of set up so the tone wouldn’t be so comedic.

Overall there are some flaws in how Arata’s rejection was executed but nothing that breaks the story. Unless you were very invested in the seriousness of Arata’s feelings of love. You guys said you can’t find your soulmate at 18 you know that applies for Chiharata too right??

I’m crying because I’ve only really broken down two points of criticism and yet I’ve been talking shit for so long. SO unfortunately there will be a part 2 to this discussion that I will write /someday/ because I have only just scratched the surface. Just it probably won’t happen very soon because I AM TIRED GRANDPA.

But if you do want to see it like you’re gonna have to respond to this wall of text otherwise I won’t do it this took me so fking long LMAO.

SPECIAL THANKS TO @/AIMEEEFACE ON TWITTER FOR BOUNCING IDEAS AND I MAY HAVE INCORPORATED SOME OF HER THOUGHTS HERE ON MANY OCCASIONS

Thanks Charles Outty

#chihayafuru #Chihayafuru manga #chihayafuru spoilers #chihaya ayase #taichihaya #chihayafuru thoughts #taichi mashima #Chihayafuru ending #Chihayafuru ch 247 #manga #arata wataya

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galaxythreads · 8 months

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Is there anything specific to figuring out what to write for the start of a story? People say like “start while the characters are doing something” and it’s good advice but idk how to figure out *what* they’d be doing. I loveee your writing and clearly you know how to get past this so..

Great question! Thanks for reaching out :)

What people mean when they give that advice isn't have the characters be making a sandwich (although that is a great option) it just means have your character already immersed in the world. Don't wait to give them a thumbs up that they can go.

For example, using my own writing, lets look at what I consider to be one of the worst openings and one of the best:

So in If Lost, Please Return To Peter (which I have actually edited out the worst of this like 2 years ago, when it was posted and was the bare bones it was awful), here's the opening paragraph:

"Peter is pretty terrible at making friends."

and like this part is good! It asks a question. Why is peter terrible at making friends? Why are we thinking about this? How is this relevant to what's going on?

and then it immediately gets bogged down by the following paragraph:

"Okay, understatement: Peter and making friends crosses over that line of "beyond horrible" that hits that stage where other people are embarrassed for him. It's wondrous. Honestly, he doesn't even know how to approach people; Ned accidentally dumped his jug of water on Peter's painting when they were in second grade and, feeling guilty, Ned had followed him around apologizing (though Peter had long forgiven him) and it sort of moved on beyond that to actual friendship. Michelle just started showing up wherever he and Ned were towards the beginning of the school year and acted like it was a coincidence."

Why do we care about this? We don't. It drags the story. It's not relevant to what's going on. And what is going on in this scene that is the point/task I want the characters to do? Loki is on top of a roof about to jump and Peter is going to talk him out of it. It's a really heavy scene. Opening with something light-hearted wasn't a bad choice, but the problem comes here:

it takes me 5 paragraphs to have Peter do anything, which is yawn. This paragraph that I'm pointing to should have been the opening sentence because PETER IS DOING SOMETHING. We are ENGAGED in the story. I could have put the following five paragraphs literally anywhere else in this scene and it would have worked so much better. He literally just thinks for paragraphs and paragraphs at a time.

Like to be clear this isn't unreadable. People will and do make it past terrible openings. Clearly. I wouldn't have nearly the ao3 following I do if they didn't, lol.

Okay, so we have that.

then there's FOUR MORE PARAGRAPHS OF THOUGHT BEFORE WE HAVE ANOTHER ACTION

so we are now like 8-9 paragraphs into the story (this would be page 3-4) and Peter has done this:

Thought and thought and thought (which is bad because he's not distressed and has no reason to be caught up in his head)

Yawned

fired a web

and said a single line of dialog.

It takes until almost page 5 before Peter and Loki interact. Which was the task of the scene. the Point. I know when I was younger and more inexperienced, a writer I knew told me that the story couldn't start until page 3 cause you needed to know the character, so I felt an obligation to just ramble and ramble until I got there before finally feeling relief that the story could pick up. Like if you go read the rest of the one-shot, the pacing is much better. Because that's what the problem of this opening is: the pacing. That's why it's important to have your character start with doing something because it helps with the pacing. Usually that something the character is doing is a task they need to complete and once that task is over, the opening scene is also over.

so compare that scene in the one-shot to this one from Scar Tissue, with is an Avatar the last airbender fic I'm working on right now. Chapter 1 is one of my favorite openings I've ever done.

"Despite Aang’s frustrated insistence ten minutes earlier, Sokka is not beach moping. He’s sitting, calmly, thinking very hard about how miserable he is. There’s a difference. And it’s not even a beach. Agna Qel’a doesn’t have anything that really passes for a beach anyway, just what feels like an endless amount of docks and ice, so there."

So this is the opening paragraph. The character didn't start doing something. Sokka is not making a sandwich. But what I HAVE done to pull the reader in is two things

a) I've made it funny. People are automatically drawn into something that's a little funny. And it also answers the question of whether or not our senses of humor are going to match like immediately. I have a really dark sense of humor in writing that not everyone enjoys and this subconsciously answers that question right away.

b) I've made you ask a question. Why is Sokka beach moping? What is beach moping?

c) Sokka is already tethered down. He mentions that he's been talking to Aang, which implies that this scene has not existed inside of a void. Something happened right before the scene started. In my acting class, my teacher refers to this as the "before moment." What happened BEFORE the scene started? This is a great question to ask yourself when you start an opening scene. Because the before moment lets you know why you are starting it at that exact moment.

Okay, good first paragraph, then it continues:

"Not beach moping.

Impossible to be beach moping, technically.

“Are you still beach moping?” Katara, behind him, already sounds exhausted. More than that, she sounds pre-done with Sokka’s feelings, and they’ve barely spoken today. This is just some task she needs to check off before she can go to sleep, and the idea of being that much of an annoyance makes something desperate curl in Sokka’s stomach with panic.""

^ What did I do here that was different than the Peter one? Read that, then read this:

Okay, understatement: Peter and making friends crosses over that line of "beyond horrible" that hits that stage where other people are embarrassed for him. It's wondrous. Honestly, he doesn't even know how to approach people; Ned accidentally dumped his jug of water on Peter's painting when they were in second grade and, feeling guilty, Ned had followed him around apologizing (though Peter had long forgiven him) and it sort of moved on beyond that to actual friendship. Michelle just started showing up wherever he and Ned were towards the beginning of the school year and acted like it was a coincidence."

Peter rambles on something that is not relevant. Does painting ever come up in that one-shot? No. It does not. In the Avatar fic, Sokka beach moping is the point of the scene and is the inciting incident of hte story. The task I've just assigned Sokka is a conversation, which is the EXACT SAME TASK i gave Peter in the one-shot, but unlike the peter oneshot, it takes Sokka like one and a half paragraphs to do something:

and Sokka's is relevant to what's going on. The conversation has started. Peter still has like 4 more pages to go with rambling and doing nothing. The reason I chose these two scenes to compare and contrast specifically is because they both have the same thing: they're really really thought heavy. But the difference is how relevant those thoughts are to the story I'm trying to tell. For Sokka, it's that he's depressed about anxious about the aftermath of a battle and losing his girlfriend. For Peter, it's...not that. HE thinks about paintings with his friends, he thinks about May, he thinks about ANYTHING EXCEPT THE POINT OF THE SCENE.

If you've ever heard someone complain that it's taking forever to get to the point, this is what they mean. It's not so much that the scene is long or rambly, it's how relevant it is to your story. Sokka is beach moping. When Sokka's conversation about WHY he has been beach moping is over (whether or not he reveals that to Katara isn't really relevant), that scene is over. The point of that scene is that Sokka is moping and BECAUSE he is moping, he finds Iroh and Zuko floating in the water. It sets up Sokka as a character FIRST. Then the inciting incident of the story. PEter's current mental state wasn't set up, which is what those rambly thoughts should have done instead of tell us childhood stories.

Here's another opening that I really like from Not One For Chocolate Anymore, I See: (why does this title have I see, has it always had I see?? lol)

anyway, so this communicates the same thing: Setting, character, TASK.

They're in a walmart parking lot on Christmas morning, very early, it's cold, the character is Tony, Tony is looking for Peter. When Tony finds Peter, the opening scene is over.

Same thing in Scar Tissue:

Setting, character, task:

Setting: Agna Qel'a, the dock, it's cold.

Character: Sokka

Task: Beach mope, talk to Katara, deal with panic attack.

Ideally, the first couple of paragraphs (within the first page or so) should provide those three things ^

which is why this opening didn't work

setting: ??????????????????

character: Peter

Task: ??????????????????????????????

I don't love the opening of You Screamed For So Long We Forgot To Care Anymore and it's kind of because it takes a second for the story to roll forward:

Setting: ?????????

Character: Clint

Task: Calling Jane, see where Thor is

---

TL:DR

Give your character something to do that immediately engages them in the story. Don't wait around to get to the point bogged down with useless details. Give us the setting - even if the setting is that the character doesn't know where they are - who the story is about, and the task the character is trying to do. Even if that's making a sandwich.

But also bare in mind that people will and do read through some of the worst openings on the planet and then later find those same terrible openings deeply comforting. (If anyone changed the terrible opening on my beloved fics that I have the sentence structure memorized on, I would be devastated.) Most people make it at least half-way through chapter 1 of fics before giving up, so as long as you can engage them by that point, you're good. I don't love all my openings and it IS something I am still learning to do better because it's definitely a skill you need to develop. But guess what! You CAN develop it. What really helped me was when I started paying attention to the openings of my favorite fics and figuring out what they were doing and then mimicking it.

A huge part of becoming a better writer is deconstructing writing and then regurgitating it in your own style. Did that answer your question? You can say no, absolutely, but I just want to make sure I was actually helpful. XD

---

ON FIGURING OUT WHAT THEY'D BE DOING: setting up your character's current place, then the inciting incident. Remember, the first chapter of a multi-chapter fic (first scene-ish of a one-shot) is setting up WHY the story happens. So what they'd be doing should be relevant to why the story happens. That's why I had Sokka on the beach, so he could find Iroh and Zuko. THat's why I had Peter out fighting crime so he could find Loki and they'd talk. And Tony was in the parking lot to find Peter, and etc, etc. The task they're trying to accomplish is the reason that scene exists at all, if that makes sense?

#writing #galaxy's writing #writing tips #writing advice #as always please remember you can ask me anything about writing my ask box is always open :) <3 #anon answered

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femme-malewife · 24 days

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Hiii can I ask you something?

haha it's fine not to answer (don't wanna impose)

But I've been following you for a while and first, I wanna say you're amazing, you really helped me going through my last semester bc I got really obsesed with lipxlip, and most of the fics were written by you and I kinda read between 2 to 4 per day to lift my spirts which really helped me to just go and go (I just saw you everywhere and I loved it to the point of just going to your profile and started reading since the oldest fics to try to not lose any)

And I sometimes read in your profile that you're also strugling (sorry if I get some English words wrong, but I wanna be the most sincere with my words by not going to the translator now) and mann I got to really hate some of the clients at your place, people suck, but you're doing your best and that's something that should be acknologed (be noticed, be understanded, be recognized as a person and not as a simple servant to serve their needs, a person with interests and fears and you know... just going through the day just like they are, like god... it's free to be empathetic to others)

I saw one of your posts where you talk about someone requesting fics or something (sorry not remeber the exact situation) but I wanna say that it's beautyful your own ideas and alternative universes and wathever was written (or could have, I still think that even those words that didn't get to be written are beautiful bc you thought of them and I hope they made you happy and made have you have fun just as it makes me happy and excited to read whatever you share with us -> your readers)

I don't want you to feel obligated to write just bc someone requested that of you, it's an activity that makes you have fun (and I think it makes you feel a lot of other things but I'm not a writer, and I respect you for that, bc feeling what the characters feel and understanding is not an easy task to acomplish, especially bc I think you portray them really well)

And bc I don't want a misunderstanding, you're amazing for who you are (whoever you are) not just bc you made the days of a stranger in the internet by writing fabulous stories, but bc you're a great person and don't ever let anyone tell you the oposite.

And haha man (I use man as a in a neutral gender), I don't think I have enough words to express myself (in English or in my native tongue) but I hope some of it gets to you, even if it's only a little.

Andd... haha sorry if I exctended too much, bc I feel like my question is too short for all this words and I sure will feel aukward later (not good with feelings and expresing myself) but can I ask how did you get started/found with lipxlip? And also yuumori?

Again, sorry if this is a weird ask, not really sure how it works but I think they're usually shorter 😅? I guess I just needed an excuse to say you all this. Again I don't wanna impose, you don't have to answer, I just hope you're fine and healthy and continue to be

Saludos. 😄

Pss: Last stage was incredible, and your last fanfic of them was also great (you've made me take notice of the little things that I didn't pay attention to, like that they really had bruises at that first concert of the MV and gave me an answer at why they were crying at their special place and that I didn't even notice at first that was their special place at first, and made me realize by your fanfics how important and big of a deal it's to share your safe place, which later develops in the safe place of yours and also that person you shared it with)

OKAY . WOW . SO

Anon I just want to preface this by saying not a whole lot makes me teary- gut wrenching fics, shows, movies, etc...many of them don't do anything for me aside from get a laugh out of me, but this comment I had to reread twice to make sure I was reading it correctly. I was just gonna fuck around on the writing part of Tumblr for the lols and I was super caught off guard. So congrats to that, you definitely made me tear up from this. It's definitely one of the sweetest things someone's ever said to me. 🥹💜

Also, thank you so much for reading my fics! Some are just silly little ideas I jotted down for the lols, and other ideas rotted my brain. I'm definitely more proud of some rather than others, but I'm glad you enjoyed them all(?) nonetheless!

For me, writing is both a form of escapism and a fun hobby that I've had since I was a little kid~ you know, in elementary we had like 20 vocab words per week and we had to either write them down + their definitions and use them in a sentence, write them all down 5 times, or write a short story including 10 of those words. You can probably see which one I went with~ but anyway, yeah, writing is really fun for me.

If it ever gets too stressful or I end up hating it, I end up abandoning the work, yet usually I can't find it in me to delete it. Sometimes I end up hating the work (multichaps, usually) only after its done but then it grows in popularity so I just kinda go "well, fuck it and fuck me, I guess?" and keep it. Other times, I go "well, this ending could have been better..." and then think of other ways I could have written it...

As for how I got into lipxlip??? I saw the thumbnail for Yume Fanfare, clicked, and it altered the course of my life. I started learning Japanese solely because of lxl, my dude. After that, though, I watched their other videos and kinda floated around a bit, and then the movie got announced and bam. I was sucked into the world of Honeyworks and they still keep an iron clad grip on me to this day...

Yuumori is an uninspiring story, really...sometimes I get trailers for anime on yt and I just so happen to get a yuumori trailer. I waited until it began airing, watched it, waited for part 2, watched it, then left it...and recently, I was vibin with a friend online and we were exchanging anime ops, and I remembered yuumori's first op and I was like. Damn this shit slaps!!! And I rewatched the show...and then they had an iron clad grip on me. So...saw trailer, watched it as it aired, forgot about it, then came back to it solely because of the opening lmaooooo.

Anyway, I hope this answered everything..??? Again, though, thank you so much for your kind words~ it meant a lot !

#I feel like im forgetting to add smthin hmmgg.....#o well #wow my response was long jdsjksahdjasda #im ngl I feel a bit shy posting all of this... hjdshs #I promise u tho anon I'm not nearly as interesting irl as I seem online im mean and antisocial asf :" I wanna retire early #become a millionaire eat hot chip and lie #anyway uhhh thanks again !????#anoask

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bradshawsbaby · 3 months

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Dahling, if you're down to discuss SVAA, I will gladly oblige and again thank you so much for letting me do that little fic, if you want any more down the road, just say the word and it shall be done. In the meantime, might I share some thoughts/thots about our dear Hrodebert??

-I firmly believe his father Iosephus's story parallels that of Maximus in "Gladiator", Germanic general who was taken captive and forced to fight as a gladiator. Not sure if it'd be too historically accurate, but perhaps he rose in the ranks and married Hrodebert's mother and taught his youngest son everything he knew. When one particularly cocky statesman in the Forum dared to say his father needed to force him to man up, Hrodebert simply said, "unlike yours, my father didn't force me to be a man......he lived and let me watch him."

-Iosephus scraped everything he had together in order to buy wifey!reader her freedom. He knew what it was like to be a slave and to be used as such and any time someone insulted him, all he had to do was show the Celtic tattoos on his wrist and essentially tell them to go fuck themselves.

-Wifey and Hrodebert got married during one of the summer festivals. It was a beautiful ceremony with friends and family and since the festival was in honor of Juno, the temple priest also married Gallus and Sabina as well as Carnifex and Phoenix. Needless to say, nobody went home sober that night either (lol).

-The bathhouse sex is amazing as always, although it's always a risk of getting caught which he doesn't mind, unless his mother and father or any of the other familial couples happen to have their little spots in the rooms next door. That's happened a few times in the past (lol).

My dear this is my little gift to you. It's all I've been thinking about and I was having major feels that I just had to tell you about, especially since I've been listening to "Now We Are Free" on repeat reading SVAA (lol).

Aww, I’m glad you’re enjoying the story and having fun making up your own headcanons for the characters!

In the context of SVAA, Hrodebert is originally from Germania, but has been enslaved in Rome since he was a young boy. He hasn’t seen his family since he was torn away from his homeland in childhood. Because he’s so good with numbers and figures, he’s risen to the position of steward within Atticus’ household, but at the end of the day, he’s still a slave and has been stripped of his freedom the same as Sabina, Phoenix, and the Pugiones.

That’s not to say that he doesn’t find his own small ways to fight back against his oppressors, which we’ve seen tiny glimpses of and will learn more about in future chapters 😉

#si vis amari ama ⚔️#Ancient Rome AU

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elegyofthemoon · 9 months

Note

6, 9, 14 for the female character ask game!

ZORUA MY CRYFEST PAL LOL thanks for the ask :>

female character asks

6. A female character who got done dirty by the narrative?

So tbh, I actually barely remember how DR3 actually went, but my gut tells me Chiaki got done super super dirty in DR3 (but DR3 was quite a mess as an anime iirc)

I guess now that I think of it maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought, but the DR3 Despair Side was very heavily fanservicey that I had a hard time stomaching it, so when it came time for Chiaki's death scene, it came off more as torture porn than anything. And they did just torture this girl for a whole episode before she dies and that was just AWFUL to sit and watch

The only reason why I say it wasn't as bad as I thought is more because I think like. narratively speaking, Chiaki does wind up being a little NPC within the recovery game that the rest of her class gets put in after they become the Ultimate Despair, and I like that in a way she continues to live on with them as "someone that they all treasured".

...OH Okay so I think I remembered what happened. So the villain of the entire game series decides to use Chiaki and torture her live on camera and that footage was used to drop everyone in her class into despair which led them to become the Ultimate Despair, but idk. It's Dangan Ronpa. It's never going to be super pretty or light and it's pretty 😬as a series, but it certainly was hard to stomach that's for certain --

9. A female character you started out disliking but came around to?

hm... Ada Vessalius

THIS WAS ALSO NOT HER FAULT BTW I think when I was first reading Pandora Hearts, I was maybe like??? 12 ?? I thought she was such a crybaby without really understanding her feelings, but I think later down the line, when I came back and actually paid attention and read the manga, I actually really love Ada!! She's such a sweetheart and she has such funny moments (this sweet girl being into black magic after the disappearance of her older brother for 10 years).

She doesn't come to mind very much but alsdjfh I do love her character a lot haha

14. An interesting familial relationship with female characters? (Mother and daughter, sisters, etc.)

Before I start. Don't read this if you're at all interested in playing the game "Her Story"

...How about twin sisters who commit a murder together?

I don't have a photo for this but Hannah and Eve from the game "Her Story"! Their story is also the type that kinda haunts my brain from time to time, but they were separated at birth because the midwife lied that one of them died and stole Eve away. But the two wind up discovering each other and fucking around with the fact that they look similar.

But their story gets filled with jealousy because they had a rule that they both must be equal to one another, so when one person steps out of line, the other becomes angry and they were just terrible to each other.

It becomes the main source of conflict later when Hannah gets married to both of their childhood sweetheart Simon (because they would switch out during the date with the sweetheart >_>), and well. Simon had cheated with Eve and Eve got pregnant, so Hannah knew (somehow I forgot why. I think it was that she had suspicion for a while because Simon and Eve were seeing each other a few times after Simon and Hannah had a big fight), and well. Murder happens.

But the twins wind up helping each other to clear up the murder or be each other's alibi and just 😬How far an obligation of a sibling would go? Or that you're saving someone who makes up half your identity? Selfish? Selfless? idk It's a fun story and honestly I'm not doing this justice. This story is just better experienced firsthand

#answered #zorua adorable #ok im tired now im gonna go run off and watch ghost files :)

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mint-yooxgi · 1 year

Note

so i’ve been reading your yandere au again… classic…. but i keep getting so fixated on the scene when hwa imagines reader pregnant for even just a second…

do you have any thoughts on the guys and breeding kink or even just actually what they’d be like with pregnant reader? i feel like it would be protective ot8 times a thousand plus a little jealousy over which one of them actually is the father lol

anyways i love your work!! no problem if you’re too busy to answer or don’t take messages like this anymore [🍬]

All of them have one on the down low, low key but only for the OC. It’s another aspect of fully claiming the OC as theirs, which they all absolutely love to do, but not all of them are immediately gonna think about it in the moment unless OC starts begging for them to claim her in this way and fill her full of them. That being said, both San and Seonghwa would go feral if she did start begging for it since they are the two with the most glaringly obvious breeding kinks. Yunho is surprisingly really into it, too, more than he thought he would be. Hongjoong is another that would go feral for it, but more so the claiming/begging aspect of it rather than the actual outcome of it. Jongho has to be in a specific mood for it to really affect him and for him to get desperate about it, but other than that, he’s pretty normal about it. Wooyoung just gets super needy and whiny about it in the moment, but it turns him on more knowing how desperate the OC is for him in this way rather than a full on breeding kink. Mingi and Yeosang... doesn’t really do much for them, but they do also enjoy the claiming aspects of it, and if it gets the OC off, they are more than happy to oblige, even if it’s not necessarily their cup of tea. That being said, get Mingi really riled up and focussed on the claiming aspect, and he will go feral about it.

As for how they would be with a pregnant OC... yeah, definitely protective, but only slightly more so than usual since they are super protective over them already. Super caring and literally would pamper the OC, doing whatever they could to take care of them to make sure they don’t strain themselves. A little jealousy initially about who impregnated them, but they’d get over it in time. Also because the OC would whoop their asses over it. Cue smug bastard that actually got them pregnant, though.

But as of right now, it’s canon they never actually try for a pregnancy, even after the events of the story.

#ask #yandere ateez #Related To: Hotel California #demon au #🍬 anon

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azsazz · 4 months

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okay i was reading through your blog and i saw this anon commenting on azriel in midnight muse and saying that they don't feel bad for him and that it's a "you made your bed now lie in it" situation but it really rubbed me the wrong way for some reason.

is azriel being petty and immature in the story? yes. is reader also being a little petty? yes. that's the trope. but besides that what i think everyone meant when they said they felt sorry for azriel is that he was completely ditched by his friends. regardless of the reason, if your friends know you're not comfortable in the same presence as someone else and then lie to you to get you to go hang out with that person then they're being bad friends. this is a story and the point of it is that they'll get together so it's kinda fine here but if in your own life your friends do this to you, no matter how petty or dumb the reason for not liking or wanting to be in another person's presence is, they're bad friends and straight up don't respect your boundaries. i think what the batboys should have done was just let him know she was going to be there and still invite him or even tell him that they really wish he would come if they wanted him to go and then he'd make that decision himself. same with being left behind at the end, obviously no one is obliged to their friend's time but it read as they usually spend that time together so azriel literally just assumed that was what they would be doing and it is sad to see him be left behind alone, maybe the anon that sent that never felt like that but it sucks to not be invited or even being told of your friends plans, being left out sucks and cassian barely gave him a goodbye or spared him a thought when he left. again, all they had to do was at least let him know. and what rhys tells him is true, they didn't give the girls a chance and should apologize but they don't have to be friends lol. the story is supposed to end up like that but if this was a real situation the only thing azriel is doing wrong is not apologize for the initial fight, he doesn't have any obligation to be reader's friend even if cass and rhys are. no one is obliged to be anyone's friend ever. and, again, it feels kinda shitty of rhys to basically tell him "either be alone or go put up with this person i know you don't like" to be able to spend time with them. honestly, i don't even think he was as sad at being alone but more that his friends just brushed him off like that. i don't know but it feels like lack of sympathy (that i unfortunately have had to deal way too often) to just say "well azriel was an asshole a couple times so he deserves for his friends to not respect his boundaries and leave him behind". also rhys is going more because he's trying to fuck feyre than bc he actually thinks they should apologize or get along with their neighbors. i swear im almost done but, unlike reader, we get an inside of azriel's mind and it's in absolute shambles. he just had something really traumatic happen to him 1 or 2 years ago and is still having a lot of trouble dealing with it, he had that dream of being a tattoo artist which he might have to give up on because of it. literally has to wear gloves and gets scared when someone grabs him from what is probably ptsd. so i dont know, i feel like he's allowed to have bad days and it's not like he's actually bullying her or anything, it's mostly a coupe of unpleasant conversations but they go both ways.

to finish, everyone in this story is doing things wrong in my opinion. aside from the initial moving and party thing which was pettiness all around. reader is probably the one less in the wrong but she also has a grudge against azriel based on first impression (which is the same one he has one her). azriel should have just moved the damn bike and shouldn't have been annoying when she got locked out either but he has no obligation to be her friend. rhys shouldn't have talked to azriel like that, yea az should apologize but he doesn't have to be friends w reader and feyre just because rhys wants to get in her pants. feyre is kind of doing the same thing with reader, she knows reader doesn't like rhys so she should have told her she liked him, that scene of her avoiding her gaze at the picnic.. come on. feyre also didnt tell reader that az was going to be at the picnic which again reader is not obliged or should be forced to hang out with someone she's uncomfortable with. and even cass isn't being at best in my opinion, he also didnt tell az reader would be at the picnic (or reader that az would) or that he'd be going to do whatever their plans were and (maybe im being a little petty for this) but going out of his way to be friends with fey and reader is fine for the story but if my bestfriend went to try to be friends with someone they know i dont like i'd be hurt and confused, with everyone in the world you seek out the person you know your friend doesn't like? it's a weird thing to do. i get the vibe that he didnt even consider this but considering your friends feelings i something you definitely should be doing.

also correct me if i'm wrong but i didn't think azriel was playing music loudly to annoy reader, i read it as he plays music loudly to drown out his thoughts and when he's drawing or whatever. which is still not a great thing to do when you know you have neighbors and he should invest in some noise cancelling headphones but it's not him being intentionally malicious.

I think the great thing about this is that we can look at it in so many different ways that more than one person can be correct about how they perceive what’s going on. Everyone is young and still learning how to navigate these relationships, and yeah, certain people might be approaching it all from the sense where they’re like, i want to date this person, of course i need to get along with their friends and i want them to get along with mine because i don’t want to sacrifice those relationships. Which is understandable as it is fucked up. Lust can be a bitch sometimes.

There’s many ways that this could have all gone and who is going to say what or what they’re not going to say. I’ll say this, I’ve been in circumstances where once someone is in a new relationship i’ve seen and been treated like shit because of it. They’ll drop you, lie to you, do anything basically because they’re like head over heels for the new person they’re seeing. They’ll beg you to hang out with them even though you don’t care for them because they want you to be a part of what’s going on and they want you to get along with that person. And yeah, i’ve hung out with people i haven’t liked before for a friend because i’m her friend and i should want to support her. Even if I didn't like the person, it was later a mutual choice not to hang together because I didn't care for him. It sucks sometimes, but it for sure happens.

Azriel has a lot of things going on in his head for him, the music does help him drown them out, but there have been some times where she’s pounded on the wall for him to be quiet and he’s made the music louder, so there’s a bit of both going on, but we can’t blame reader because she has no idea what’s going on in his life, nor does Az know what’s going on in hers. They’re just two people who had run into each other under the wrong circumstances, because initially we saw the reader think that he was a good looking guy, but his actions turned her off from him.

Yeah, everyone’s being a bit of a dick right now in their own ways and I'm sorry if that has upset you in any way. I thank you for bringing up your feelings as well because the different perspectives and how people are reacting to my work is very helpful to me, so thank you for sharing your thoughts! 💙💙

#midnight muse #ask azsazz

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2af-afterdark · 5 months

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On a lighter note, I got into Nu:Carnival a few days ago! So far I've mostly been grinding and trying to clear as much of the current events and their stages as I can, but I've loved what I did read of main story. Especially Eiden.

I am shamelessly admitting that the Salacious King card preview was singlehandedly what made me finally start playing (I downloaded the game a while back, like a few weeks or so, but couldn't bring myself to start). I need that man. I'm honestly so fucking down bad for Eiden, it's kinda embarrassing. I hope I'll eventually get his other SSR card, too. He's just so!!! Ugh, I want to be his maid. Loveable bastard.

Also, I ended up wanting to adopt Garu and Karu as my little brothers and now I am mentally preparing myself for the awkwardness of reading H-scenes with them, lol. My boys... I just want to pamper them, cook tasty food for them and give them headpats daily (even at the risk of having Karu bite me for it)! Let me take care of them! Please!

In conclusion: I can finally understand what your Nu:Carnival posts are about, yay ＼⁠(⁠^⁠o⁠^⁠)⁠／

And also brainrot about even more characters in your inbox. Oops.

— 💛

I love Eiden. I cannot explain to you how many times I pulled last year to build him up to 3*. He is such a little freak (affectionate) and a complete sweetheart that genuinely wants the best for all of the clan members. I adore him and will always do my best to get his cards (they only come out once a year, so thankfully that's a rare time I have to whale). I also loooooove how some battles actually require me to use strategy or switch out my team based on what a card's benefits are. I actually feel like getting many cards serves a purpose in this game!

And, uhhh, yeah. Salacious King is... fuck. I am dumb looking at him. I'm so fucking gay. But, just a heads up, Galactic Mist Eiden (lat year's card) will likely get a banner than requires sorcery gems (the red gems that are hard to get if you're f2p). 2 gems for a 1x, 20 gems for a 10x. Nu:C is unique in that you don't get increased pull rates for a 10x so you can draw a few 1x if you really want. But... yeah, not a cheap card to try and pull the second time around.

Garu and Karu.... AHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA

I mean.... Good for you (no one tell 💛 about what to expect later in the game)

Also, please simp in my inbox. I love talking about fictional characters. I adore them all so much. I am legally obligated to scream about them (especially Kuya, Blade, and Rei). I am also a massive Aster and Morvay defender (I was in the trenches begging for more cards and scenes with them before we got Galactic Mist Eiden and their SSRs).

#❖ 💛 anon #love letters ❤️#nu carnival

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sailor-aviator · 5 months

Note

Hello 👋

I just read your post on why you're closing your requests and I suspect that it was the request I submitted last night that may be the one you're talking about. As such, I would like to formally apologize for not only the way I requested the story, but also for neglecting to say please and thank you in this case. I'm sorry for writing that entire specific scenario, I just got a little overly excited about the idea and had to get the ideas out. But mostly I would like to apologize for what I said about your characters, I truly didn't mean to insult you or your writing, but reflecting on my words, I understand where I went wrong and how it could come across as insulting and for that I'm deeply sorry.

So in an effort to lighten your load, I would like to formally rescind the request and hope you feel no pressure to work on it now or ever. Also feel no obligation to accept this apology or even respond to this ask, I just truly wanted to apologize for the way I went about everything, and I'll keep in mind what you said in regards to how to request stories in the future for other writers going forward.

And for what it's worth as late as it may be, please have a wonderful holiday season and thank you for all of the beautiful works you've given the Fandom ❤

Hey! Sorry, I've been at a work Christmas party all afternoon and just got back to the office.

So, to start, I want you to know that you were a very tiny rock on top of the mountain of other things that have been getting on my (and others) nerves about some things that have been taking place in the community recently. So, don't feel like I was singling you out! And requests weren't closed because of your ask, it really was mainly because I have about fifty sitting in my inbox at the moment lol

I think the idea sounded amazing, and you sounded very excited/passionate about it! I think it would be amazing if you took the idea and brought it to life because if you're that passionate about an idea/project, then the only person who will do it justice is you! And you might find that it's something that you really enjoy doing!! Don't worry about if it's good or if you think you can't write, writing is supposed to be fun, and I guarantee there will be people who read it and engage you with it! Because, again, it sounds like an amazing idea!!

Also, thank you for the apology. Not a whole lot of people on here would have taken the time to reflect and send one in. In fact, a lot of people would have either unfollowed or simply sent in a message stating that I was being unreasonable or that I should just be grateful for the interactions. So, yes! Thank you! I hope my post hasn't discouraged you from sending in requests in the future because authors do really love getting requests (I know I do, and I hated having to close them for a little bit lol) and interacting with you guys. Our works wouldn't be where they are if we didn't have people reading and engaging with them.

Anyway, have a wonderful holiday season, Nonny! Thank you for reading, and have a happy new year!! 💛

#answered #anonymous #hey nonny nonny

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tortoisebore · 1 year

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silly question, maybe, and I'm asking it anon because I don't want you to feel obligated /at all/ to answer (or to feel pressured to read my fic, lol) but.

my question is, how do you deal with the "pressure" of posting on ao3? I reckon for you it can be quite a lot of pressure to have so many people reading your fic / waiting anxiously for new chapters, and feeling that pressure when you're writing.

for me it's kind of the opposite - I post my stuff publically to ao3 but I barely get any hits/kudos/comments, which I know isn't the be-all-end-all of fic writing (I loooove fic writing and would continue to do it either way for my own enjoyment) but it can feel a bit daunting sometimes to post something and not feel insane pressure to /live up to high standards/.

like, I'm not delusional (most of the time), I won't be the next zeppazariel or moonymoment or whatever, but it does feel like a lot of pressure to write something PERFECT in order to be "allowed" on ao3 and receive comments and feedback and word of mouth, you know?

idk this became really rambly but I just figured you might have some good insights into this as you /seem/ really smart and I value your thoughts? anyway hope you're having a good day x

hi!! this is NOT a silly question 🫶 i’m speaking from my own experience so please take it all with a grain of salt and know that those feelings of pressure and discouragement and that need to meet a certain standard are reeeeaalllll and we all feel that at some point when doing anything in the realm of creativity

i have a very specific mindset when it comes to not just writing, but literally everything i create. i went to an art school and had all of my work ripped to shreds in public critique from age 17 on, so i built a very thick skin early and learned to separate myself from my artwork and designs. it sounds very cold, but it was/is necessary in my career and i’m thankful for it now!

all that to say i’ve carried pieces of that mindset into my creative hobbies. when i do something like write fic or make art just for the sake of making something, i’m coming at it from a place of “this is for me and me only.” i don’t find myself looking to other people for confirmation that i’m doing well because if i’m enjoying what i’m doing, that’s all that matters!

i feel like it sounds kind of arrogant to say this, but because of that, i don’t feel pressure surrounding writing fic. i write when i want, i write what i want to see, and no amount of comments asking for updates is going to change my process or make me feel guilty for taking “too long” between updates. i have a whole entire life outside of this (as do you!) and for the most part people understand that you’re a person with a hobby just trying to do something fun.

i’ve also been in fandom spaces since i was a very young teenager and i feel very familiar with the way people act surrounding fic and fic authors, so i knew what i was getting myself into when i posted the first chapter. i expected it to not be seen by many people, i expected negative comments, and i expected lots of backlash about the story not being finished when it was posted (for some reason people hate wips now????). i just got extremely lucky that someone liked it enough to post about it on tiktok, and then on twitter, and it took off from there.

i also don’t really keep track of hits/kudos other than getting the kudos emails (but i do read every single comment i get on ao3!). those numbers don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things and i try not to let them get into my head when i’m writing. i’ve also been extremely lucky in that i think i’ve had one singular kind of negative comment on the entire thing?? and it was someone that just didn’t seem happy with the slower pace of the story. i was able to look at that and be like “great, it’s my story and i don’t care <3” and move on from it quickly.

i know that this is not a universal feeling and that most people do not feel this lack of pressure and anxiety surrounding posting their work. i have such a specific set of experiences that’s led me to this level of comfort surrounding sharing my creative endeavors, and i know it’s probably not helpful to hear, but that’s how my brain has worked behind the scenes about this!

if i had any actual helpful tips to give, i think the biggest one would be to write from a place of self-indulgence! you’re going to be most passionate when you’re writing things for you, and that’s going to come through in your work. other people are out there looking for the exact things you want to write, they just haven’t found it yet.

((also use ao3 tags liberally 🫶))

this was so so so rambly and probably not very helpful i’m sorry fhfhffhfjfh if you ever want to talk more pls dm me or send another ask if u want to stay anonymous!! 💕💞✨🫶

#u ask tortoise answers #anon #i’m so so sorry this got so long and weird #i also have lots of thoughts about ‘celebrity’ fic writers #and how fandom culture surrounding fic authors as shifted so much since the pandemic #but that’s a topic for a dm i think

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bahamutgames · 6 months

Text

Super Afterthoughts Wonder

Game: Super Mario Wonder (October 20, 2023)

Console: Nintendo Switch

Only 2 days until the most important game of all time comes out. And I only have 2 big games I haven't written any thoughts about yet... Hmmm... could I pull it off and have a clean video-game related plate come this Friday? Maybe! Probably not though.

Regardless, now that Mario Wonder has sat for a little bit and we're past the honeymoon phase, I've been wanting to talk about it for a bit. So why not? Let's go ahead and spill the beans (petals?) about this new Mario adventure!

As always, this isn't a review. So please don't read it as such. This is just me throwing up my thoughts because I can't stop talking so damn much about video games. Seriously, I think it's a condition. So please don't use ANY of my afterthoughts as a guide on if you should buy the game or not.

SPOILERS FOR SUPER MARIO WONDER BELOW! YOU MIGHT NOT THINK THERE'S MUCH TO SPOIL, BUT IF YOU'D RATHER NOT SEE, DON'T READ!

Opening

So as some of you may be aware, I'm a little into Mario. For various reasons I've fallen out of love with the series, but for most of my life it truly was my favorite franchise of all time. So, while I'm not as enthusiastic about the series nowadays, I still keep close tabs on it and will check out whatever catches my eye (usually the main series games and the RPGs though those has been kinda out of a sense of obligation lately lol)

However, Wonder looked like another winner. And at first I was probably gonna pass it by cause I'm exceptionally broke atm. But my awful Mario brain got the better of me, so I caved and picked up Wonder! And now we're here, $60 poorer than before!

Stuff I liked

But anyway, I like the main series Mario games, pretty much all of them. And while I PREFER the 3D ones, I also love the 2D ones and have a soft spot for them (Super Mario World was my first game ever afterall) and as such, I actually enjoy the NSMB games, yes especially U (my least favorite is 2). And this game really looked like what I wanted from the next entry of the series. Continuing what New did right, while finally taking the chance to spread its wings and actually embrace a new direction with unique enemies rather than kinda just doing what had come before, regardless of how solid that was.

And, yes! I'm happy to say Wonder delivers on that amazingly! Everything is such a massive step up from NSMB. Massively improved art, creative new enemies and gimmicks being the focus rather than a fun bonus (if that makes sense lol), brand new sounding music, and something a little more story focused. But, it doesn't lose what made NSMB great, it still feels like the next step rather than abandoning what came before. You can notice this especially with stuff like Nabbit, Ala-Gold+Bucken Berry, and a focus on multiplayer.

So where to begin? The game looks GREAT, I love the forced perspective thing it has going on, the whole thing is GORGEOUS. The music is fun and energetic. The new enemies are delightful and fun (my favorite is probably the firework Bob-omb but there were a lot of greats like the slimes, baby thwomps, and sea cucumbers). I really loved that this game had a big focus on story too. I was surprised to see it actually have dialogue, a lot more than you would expect. There's set up and context to almost every world with some fun explanations on what's happening in each world. And it really helps add in a small way to making the world feel alive.

This game also FEELS great to play. This is almost a guarantee with Mario but they knocked it out of the park with this one. It's been a bit since I've played NSMB but this just feels so smooth and nice to play. Everything flows together nicely, the levels are fun and charming, I LOVE that there's tons of characters to pick (I played the whole game as Peach and I was SO happy to see Daisy be there finally.), and I really enjoyed the powerups. Drill was super fun but I actually think Bubble turned out to be the star of the show. It sounds like a kinda stupid or not particularly useful ability but MAN you get some mileage out of it and it's so fun to use imo. And I also really liked the badges! A lot of stuff in this actually felt a bit like it was inspired by Mario RPGs, and while this may be a coincidence, the badges feeling like something from the RPGs was certainly a great bonus. They're all extremely fun but I got SO much out of the parachute cap, and I basically used it the whole game with very few exceptions.

And of course, the main draw of the game: Wonder Seeds! Usually when I see something like this, it almost always immediately registers in my head as "stupid gimmick shoehorned in to put something on the back of the box" and that's what I thought about these at first. And while that might be what they are, they're actually FANTASTIC! Almost every level has a totally unique Wonder Seed effect to itself with very few repeats. And they're all a ton of fun, you genuinely don't know what'll happen next and it kept the game very fresh and fun the whole way through! My favorite was the slime one (for Slime Peach) but I also loved the top-down camera one. The whole game had lots of fun stuff like this, and even fun side levels I wasn't expecting to see such as Break-Times where you do a more relaxed challenge, or Treasure Hunts where you find coins hidden in a level. These sound boring but were actually a blast!

Which leads me into my final big positive and maybe my favorite part of the game. The multiplayer, no sadly I didn't get to play a lot of the game with local co-op. I'm talking about that online multiplayer. Specifically the ghost thing. When I saw this in the trailers I thought it would be a feature I only use once or twice then turn off the whole game. No. I LOVED this mode and had it on the WHOLE game! I'm not exaggerating when I say this added something so magical to the game that I really had never considered before. Having this multiplayer mode where you can't interfere with anyone, but you can still work together from afar was SO fun. Sometimes I'd meet people and we played the level together, or I'd find standees that hinted about secrets (huge for treasure hunt levels), or you'd just see someone and goof around with them a bit before being on your way. Regardless, it was a BLAST every time I got to be around others in this game. My favorite situations are when me and another player would go through a whole level, particularly through tough sections, and constantly revive each other to get to the end. It may seem small, but it genuinely made an already fun game SO much more fun of an experience and I genuinely hope we get to see this more going forward. Imagine a game like Bowser's Fury but sometimes you'll just randomly run into another player like Journey or something. And then you both fuck around for a bit, exchange items, and go about your way. Again, it sounds small but I think it was easily my favorite part of the game!

Stuff I didn't like

So, naturally, as is the case with all games. I don't think Mario Wonder is perfect. There's a few issues I have with it. First and foremost: It's kinda short? Like, I'm pretty sure it's shorter than NSMBU. But I can look past that because, hey, quality over quantity right? Other small issues include the Elephant power, while cute, and allowing for some fun water carrying stuff... Is kinda boring honestly. You get a surprising amount of mileage out of a short melee attack, but overall I think Bubble and Drill totally steal the show from it, considering it's the main power-up of the game.

Secondly, considering this game is REALLY themed around music. I kinda feel like they don't make enough of an effort to make the game... super music themed? Like, obviously it IS. But I feel like it could be MORE musically. I genuinely didn't really even notice the music theme until I reached the final battle. And while the game does have some FANTASTIC music levels that genuinely got a big rise out of me when I encountered the first one. I kinda feel like they're not that exciting, at least in terms of the music cause the visuals for all of them are great. But like, Piranha Plant Parade is SO good and is so loud and in your face. But I genuinely do not remember the music in a SINGLE other musical level, which is a disappointment. There was a King Boo Opera and a Halloween Rave. I should remember those, right??

Lastly, and I think most importantly. The biggest issue I had with Mario Wonder, and what is certainly the biggest disappointment of the game for me: The Boss Battles. There's certainly a good amount of them. About 5 I think, with a few mini bosses if you REALLY wanna stretch the definition of Mini Bosses. 4 of those fights are Bowser Jr. and then the final boss. And while they're fine battles. The desert fight and the final boss being particular highlights... That's... just such a let down? Mario games have been pretty good with their boss variety lately. 3D World had LOTS of fun guys, Odyssey had some of my favorite fights in a while, Bowser's Fury had a FANTASTIC boss that lasted the whole game, even NSMB when it recycled the koopalings, did do new fights with them every time and sometimes included new stuff like a Kamek boss or a giant Sumo Bro. But this? Just 4 bosses that are all kinda the same? It's sorta insane to me. 2 worlds don't even have fights! I was actually so utterly confused by this, it genuinely felt like I did something wrong and wasn't getting the real ending to the world. It's super weird and while it doesn't ruin the game, I look forward to those boss fights a lot so it certainly was a let down.

Final Thoughts

Mario Wonder is a FANTASTIC game that, once again, like Bowser's Fury, makes me VERY excited and hopeful for the future of 2D Mario games. I don't think it's perfect, and I might still have a bigger soft spot for some earlier 2D Mario's, but this game is absolutely at the top of the list and is a FANTASTIC entry to the series. I have TONS of confidence in the next 2D Mario if more of this is what we can expect in the future. Just... Please consider making some boss fights for next time? Please?

===

Thanks for reading! This one might be a little disorganized. But I figured I got time while I wait for work DMs. So why not churn out another afterthoughts, right? You love reading me talk about games in a super chaotic and disorganized fashion, right? RIGHT!?

Well, regardless, I love writing them cause I love talking about games. I heard it might be a condition. But don't quote me on that.

Things are looking up for Mario it seems. I'm interested to get my hands on some of the new stuff coming out for the series soon. I'll keep you posted on if I try any of it out, of course. We'll see how it goes!

That's all I have for now, go out and play damn good platformer!

#2023 #Thoughts

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