idk how to tell you this but utena is far more influential than young royals could ever hope to be. please watch it it will change u

Hi anon!

I guess you're referring to my tag at that poll? You are right, I haven't seen Utena, and I'm sure it's great! But in my corner of tumblr we are obsessed with Young Royals, and even more right now that season 3 is just around the corner, and I was just thinking we should have our say as well 🤷

And when it comes to influence, well, it hasn't reached me yet, so I've not been influenced by it at all. Which means I get to have an opinion that differs from yours.

I wish you a very nice day with your own obsession! And maybe I'll give Utena a try after YR s3, and maybe it will change me as well? Who knows?

May Created Works Round-Up: 8 New Works by Our Creators!

Our monthly “created works round-ups” are Duck Prints Press’s opportunity to spotlight some of the amazing work that people working with us have done that ISN’T linked to their work with Duck Prints Press. We include fanworks, outside publications, and anything else that creators feel like sharing with y’all! Inclusion is voluntary and includes anything that they decided “hey, I want to put this on the created work’s round-up!”

Check out what they’ve shared with us this month…

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And Then There Weren't Nine (shhh) by firefly124 / @firefly124

fiction || mcyt-evolution smp || no ships || general audiences || no major warnings apply || 607 || complete

summary: The portal they'd found in the maze under spawn had promised them freedom. Instead, Jimmy'd lost his best friend, and nobody was talking about it.

other tags: characters gone missing, watcher/listener lore

AO3

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We Are Not Wise by Lucy K.R. / @boomchickfanfiction

fiction || the scum villain's self-saving system || m/m || shen yuan/luo binghe || teen & up || no major warnings apply || 52,243 || complete

summary: Transmigrated into a version of Proud Immortal Demon Way where cultivators manifest their own souls into spiritual weapons, Shen Yuan finds himself sort of kind of…accidentally blackmailing Shen Qingqiu into taking him on as a disciple before Luo Binghe joins the sect.

That should give Shen Yuan plenty of opportunities to make sure nothing goes wrong for his favorite protagonist, right? RIGHT!?

A story of twists, turns, hope, despair, and soul swords.

other tags: Utena-Inspired Setting, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Shěn Yuán Transmigrates into an NPC

AO3 - TWITTER

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Love Like You by Lucy K.R. / @boomchickfanfiction

fiction || the scum villain's self-saving system || m/m || shen qingqiu/luo binghe || teen & up || no major warnings apply || 19,132 || complete

summary: Luo Binghe grows up in the shadow of his father, the red beryl Tianlang-jun. He loves his mother, and he loves his gem family, but there's something missing from his life.

Enter the enigmatic, elegant, beautiful Shen Qingqiu--a pearl who quickly cements himself in Luo Binghe's heart.

Unfortunately, their quiet days spent side-by-side on planet earth are quickly drawing to a close. When the appearance of Blue Diamond and his human pet changes everything, can Luo Binghe find a way back to Shen Qingqiu?

other tags: Steven Universe AU, He/Him pronouns for gems, mild body horror

AO3 - TWITTER

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to live without regrets by Shadaras / @shadaras

fiction || guardian (tv 2028) || f/f || ya qing/zhu hong || mature || no major warnings apply || 3,245 || complete

summary: Zhu Hong goes back in time. With greater experience and knowledge at her disposal, she makes choices she hopes will help everyone she loves to live without (as many) regrets.

other tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Established Relationship, Developing Relationship, Post-Canon to Pre-Canon, Non-Linear Narrative, Light Dom/Sub

AO3

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Cicada Sings Amongst Bamboo by Shadaras / @shadaras

fiction || 陈情令 | the untamed (tv), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | módào zǔshī - mòxiāng tóngxiù || f/m || qin su/lan qiren || teen & up || no major warnings apply || 14,000 || complete

summary: Qin Su is given a second chance at life.

This time, instead of the sweet-faced soldier who rescued her during the war, she chooses the Cloud Recesses. And, to everyone's surprise, she chooses Lan Qiren.

other tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Courtship, Time Travel, Second Chances, Recovery, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, References to Canonical Rape, This Burn Could Be Slower

AO3

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Desperate For It by unforth/Nina Waters / @unforth

fiction || the husky and his white cat shizun || m/m || chu wanning/mo ran || explicit || no major warnings apply || 4,116 || complete

summary: Chu Wanning is walking, alone, down a narrow alley when he's assaulted by a man far too powerful for him to resist.

Chu Wanning should have known better than to get into this situation.

After all, it's happened before...

other tags: Modern AU, Consensual Non-Consent, Rough Sex

AO3

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Drinking Vinegar by unforth/Nina Waters / @unforth

fiction || scum villain's self-saving system || m/m || liu qingge/shen qingqiu || mature || no major warnings apply || 3,439 || complete

summary: Most days, Liu Qingge goes to System Shock Bookstore to pick up the BL titles that Liu Mingyan wants, and he definitely DOESN'T go to System Shock Bookstore to ogle the cute twink owner Shen Yuan.

Most days, by the time he leaves, Liu Qingge resolves to never go back. He's never going to get what he wants, not when Shen Yuan is so obviously interested in the beefy guy who works at the store's cafe.

But, of course, Liu Qingge always goes back...

(Liu Mingyan might kill him if he doesn't pick up her pre-orders, after all...that's the only reason...)

other tags: Modern Setting, Idiots to Lovers

AO3

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Dawn by unforth/Nina Waters / @unforth

fiction || mo dao zu shi || m/m || lan wangji/wei wuxian || general audiences || no major warnings apply || 1,325 || complete

summary: Exhausted, Lan Zhan returns to his tent after a long day of battle during the Sunshot Campaign.

And, on his pillow, he finds a letter that cannot possibly exist.

other tags: Time Travel, Canon Divergence, Second Chances

TUMBLR - AO3

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Happy reading!

Who We Are: Duck Prints Press LLC is an independent publisher. We work with fan creators to publish their original work. We are particularly dedicated to publishing stories and art featuring characters from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Love what we do? Sign up for our monthly newsletter and get previews, behind-the-scenes information, coupons, and more! Want to support the Press, read about us behind-the-scenes, learn what’s coming down the pipeline, get exclusive teasers, and claim free stories? Back us on Patreon monthly!

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Doll without a heart

So I just finished binging you and a bunch of other utena meta posts and I saw your post (at least I hope it was your post, otherwise that's embarrassing) about how what utena and the student council wear is not what they're actually wearing but more how they see themselves. Like, utena sees herself as wearing booty shorts and the princely jacket but in reality, she's wearing the boys uniform. Then I saw someone else's post (I'm pretty positive it was @louchan but if not than that's doubly embarrassing) talking about how the students are drawn as way more mature than they are. Like, kozue and nanami especially. They are thirteen but they look more like juri than tsuwabuki and his little friend, even though they really only just got out of the elementary school. Also, there's the ridiculous size differences between everyone: if I'm remembering correctly, akio is a head taller than [I always forget his name, the non-nanami kiryuu sibling], who is a head taller than utena, who is a head taller than anthy who is double the size of tsuwabuki.

But I think this size difference, besides being stylization, can also be added to your theory. Nanami and Kozue see themselves as more mature and adult than they actually are, when they're closer in age to tsuwabuki than juri. Utena sees herself as a prince, so she's taller than the other girls in her age range. The not important kiryuu sees himself as the all important student council president, so hes taller than everyone else (and is slightly larger than saionji, his second). Akio towers above everyone.

And I feel like this size difference doesn't exist outside ohtori: my favorite utena and anthy reunion pic is the one where we see them with their foreheads together, gazing into each other's eyes. Utena isn't bending down; their size difference no longer exists. Yes, anthy can be standing on a stool or something, but I think them being the same size outside of ohtori symbolizes their character growth: utena no longer feels like the high and mighty prince, and anthy has grown from being the little, powerless princess.

First of all, thank you so much for this ask.

In case it wasn’t obvious I love hearing people’s thoughts about this masterpiece. So much of Utena’s viewing experience is subjective, which means it’s always wonderful to hear how others interpreted the show.

I love the idea that the characters physicality is being impacted by Ohtori’s surreal existence, and that the characters could look entirely different in the real world!

As for the posts you are responding to, they weren't by me!

I actually haven't reblogged or posted any meta I myself have written (as of yet?)

I have however reblogged a few posts centered around the outfits in the show and their symbolism:

There is this one on the color symbolism of Utena’s costumes by @nothing-suspicious-in-there

This one that posits that Utena’s costume is imaginary and then takes a look at the Student Council’s uniforms by @stripedroseandsketchpads

Building off the previous post, this post examines Nanami’s costume within the same framework (again by @stripedroseandsketchpads)

This is a quote from Ikuhara about Utena’s uniform

I am having trouble locating the one about size differences right now. If someone links me to it I’ll add the link here!

This ask is making me think I should work out some sort of tagging system to make it easier to go back and find posts focused on particular topics/characters/themes!

And just to round this all off, here is the picture of Utena and Anthy you were referring to, just because it’s a lovely image of them:

I posted 2,649 times in 2021

271 posts created (10%)

2378 posts reblogged (90%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 8.8 posts.

I added 2,785 tags in 2021

#epic art - 1383 posts

#yugioh arc v - 358 posts

#videos - 206 posts

#gifs - 157 posts

#the world ends with you - 135 posts

#revolutionary girl utena - 131 posts

#ib game - 107 posts

#ib - 107 posts

#the last unicorn - 102 posts

#lulu answers - 99 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#reiji has not given himself the luxury of letting himself care but he does he does so much if he did not he would not be standing where he i

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

sharing this TWEWY fic concept here too:

Somehow Joshua actually does get defeated by someone, but he manages to escape grievously wounded. He knows he has very little time before he succumbs to his injuries and the person who attacked him becomes Shibuya’s Composer. He manages to drag himself to Neku, shoves a gun into his hand, and says “kill me before these wounds do so you’ll become the Composer instead.”

Neku, of course, protests, but for whatever reason Joshua can’t heal himself from the damage he took, and he refuses to let that person who attacked him become Shibuya’s Composer. Neku is the only person he trusts to care for this city. Besides, if Neku becomes the Composer, he can use his powers to bring Joshua back as a human -- then Neku and Joshua can work together (and sigh, yes, the peanut gallery can team up with us too) to track down and defeat Joshua’s would-be murderer.

Neku reluctantly agrees, and as he takes the gun, hands shaking as he points it at Joshua, Joshua grins at him, bleeding out on the floor, and whispers “I guess we’re even now, huh, Neku?”

69 notes • Posted 2021-07-09 05:19:01 GMT

#4

spider isekai is hilarious because everyone's like "the appearance of this spider monster is a huge deal and has political ramifications and we all think its working for the other guys" and in the background kumoko is sitting on a hammock like "man....i'd love some Fruit"

73 notes • Posted 2021-05-16 00:33:06 GMT

#3

*cups hands and shouts from the back row* Give us some more opinions on Anthy Himemiya!

ok first, anon? you're a delight. thank you for humoring me lol.

and...god what can I say about her that I haven't already said a million times? Anthy is amazing. She's one of the most fascinating characters in all of fiction imo. She comes from a narrative where everyone is a metaphor and no one is real and at the end of the story she decides she's going to be real. And so she just straight up fucking leaves and says i'm done being a metaphor, I'm done being a fairy tale, I am going to get rid of the trappings of the lie I've been living by taking off my fake glasses and letting down my hair and taking off the school uniform for a school I've always been too old to attend anyway, and I'm going. That last line of hers when she leaves Akio is so powerful. "I'm going now." That's it, and that's all she needed to say. No explanations. No goodbyes. No even slight acknowledgement of Akio in that sentence. She centers herself for the first time. "I'm going now." She could just as well be speaking to the air or the wall or to the silence as much as she's just saying the words out loud to make them real. Maybe she's not even talking to Akio at all. Maybe she's just stating a fact.

God. I'm emo now. Anthy Himemiya fucking rules.

79 notes • Posted 2021-07-14 03:54:31 GMT

#2

y’all think about how reiji’s plan was “jump across dimensions with a bunch of teenagers and approach the nearest, highest government in this new, unexplored dimension to inform them that there is an invasion coming and they should ally with us” and then he did it? and it ended up working? absolute madman

100 notes • Posted 2021-05-18 01:12:27 GMT

#1

I just saw someone refer to Mary Hunt from Villainess as a useless lesbian and i think we need to roll back on the memes for a moment and realize that Mary Hunt is the opposite of a useless lesbian. Like she doesn’t freak out and get flustered when her object of affection shows interest in her, she takes initiative lol she had detailed plans for how to scoop Katarina out of her engagement and go on the run with her the second she was given an opening. If anything Mary Hunt is the poster child for competent lesbianism lol

104 notes • Posted 2021-02-24 06:09:39 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

Author Interview

I was tagged by my lovely friend @awhiskeyriver!

Name: Scarlett

Fandoms: TOO MANY. But I've written for Naruto, Star Wars, Captain America, The Hunger Games, ASOIAF, Harry Potter, and Utena. You can expect some A Court of Thorns and Roses fic coming your way soon as well...

Where do you post? AO3, FFN, and tumblr.

Most popular multi-chapter: Depends on what platform and metric we're using. On AO3, Asking Price has the most comments and kudos, but In Times of Peace has more bookmarks and hits. On FFN, The Valley of the End has by far the most reviews and readers who are signed up for alerts, while In Times of Peace handily wins by views and favorites. And to throw tumblr a bone, my drabble A Pauper's Grave has the most notes here.

Favorite story you've written so far: I know it's cliche to say "that's like asking me to pick a favorite child!!" but it's kinda true. I'm going to cheat and pick one each from my three main fandoms. Out of my SasuSaku works, it's probably Back to the Beginning (which is no one else's favorite story lmao but that's okay). For Reylo, hands down it's Things Not Seen. And for Stucky, a perfect soldier.

Fic you were nervous to post: Tbh unless my mental health is in a really bad place, I'm not usually *that* nervous to post. Not because I think everything I write is fantastic (it isn't) and everyone should love it (they won't). I get some jitters every now and then, but my creative writing workshops in college were so nerve-wracking that by comparison posting fic online is pretty simple. Waiting for review notifications in my inbox is nothing next sitting in silence, not allowed to say one word, while my peers and professor dissect my story right in front of me 💀

How do you choose your titles? It varies, but most often I either reference something in the canon or shamelessly rip-off poetry and song lyrics.

Do you outline? Yes, almost always, but with varying degrees of success lol

Complete: I have 68 complete works on AO3 but there's one SasuSaku fic on FFN that I haven't cross-posted (out of laziness) so... I guess I have 69 🙈

In progress: Answering that question will depress me, so I'm pleading the 5th.

Coming soon: I have so many things in the works it's stupid. But on top of my currently posted WIPs:

A SasuSaku & NejiHina feudal AU that fits within the Distant Star universe, co-written with @reylotrashcompactor.

A smutty oneshot in the Gathering Stones 'verse that takes place between In Times of Peace and For Everything There Is a Season.

A Feysand, Nessian, and Elriel canon-divergent fic series for A Court of Thorns and Roses, also co-written with @reylotrashcompactor who recommended those books to me knowing damn well I'd become multi-shipping trash.

Do you accept prompts? Sometimes! Not at the moment, though.

Upcoming story you are most excited to write: Right now it's apparently the ACOTAR fic because RTC and I have written 20,000 words on it in like a week???

Upcoming story/stories you are most excited about: It's absolutely @awhiskeyriver's fic The Tutor. Which is the Odesta installment of her AMAZING college AU, the Panem Nightlocks series!! If you're an Everlark fan and you haven't read The Bet yet, what are you even doing with your life?

I'm tagging @flowerslut @juuls @murd3rm1ttens @thewayofthetrashcompactor in case any of y'all want to participate!

I did this several years ago, and I thought it would be fun to do again now that many of my ships have changed. Consider yourself tagged if you want to participate, though I’m also tagging @kingofterrors specifically.

First, list your top 10 ships without reading the questions below.

Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe

Shallan Davar/Adolin Kholin/Kaladin Stormblessed

Amity Blight/Luz Noceda/Willow Park

Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett

BoJack Horseman/Diane Nguyen

Anthy Himemiya/Utena Tenjou

Chandra Nalaar/Nissa Revane

Harrowhark Nonagesimus/Ianthe Tridentarius

Jade Harley/Rose Lalonde

Keyleth/Vax’ildan

Then answer the questions.

Do you remember the episode/scene/chapter that you first started shipping 6? Nope! I mean, I guess I kind of shipped it before I even watched an episode? I went into RGU knowing that Utena/Anthy was a thing, but I wound up disappointed that it wasn’t as much of a thing as I expected, or at least not the particular type of thing I expected. It wasn’t until I rewatched the series while reading the Consulting Analyst that I began to appreciate Utena and Anthy’s relationship. But I can’t pinpoint a particular moment during the rewatch where it clicked for me.

On a side note…goddamn, I really demoted these two, huh? They used to be my #2 ship. My backup OTP. Maybe I’m due for another rewatch.

Have you ever read a fic about 2? Yes, but the cosmere fandom is small. I’ve read only a handful of Shakadolin fics out of the like…few dozen handfuls that exist. Haven’t found anything that particularly strikes my fancy.

Has a picture of 4 ever been your screensaver/profile pic/tumblr? No. Maybe I should do that more often...Beaujester would certainly be a fun screensaver.

If 7 were to suddenly break up today, what would your reaction be? I have very little interest in catching up on the Magic story, so I can’t give an answer that’s grounded in canon; I don’t even know whether they’ve gotten together yet. But in general, I fucking love stories about relationship drama, so it’d probably be a net positive for me—provided that the quantity of queerness in the story didn’t decline as a result. (I.e., Either they got back together, or at least one of them started dating another woman.)

Why is 1 so important? Eh, the #1 slot hasn’t changed since last time, and I don’t feel like explaining it all over again. Tl;dr: it lets me vicariously relive the experience of being a young teen and falling in love for the first time.

Which one has the strongest bond? I think that honor goes to Connverse. There’s something immensely powerful about Best Friends To Lovers, and Steven and Connie have worked really hard to build a lasting relationship. Utena and Anthy are a strong runner up, but I feel like a lot of their bond isn’t sustainably strong. Not yet. Their canon interactions exist in a tangled web of lies and manipulation and non-communication, and the hard work is still before them.

Which ship has lasted the longest? Okay, I think I previously misinterpreted this question. I suppose it refers to the length of each relationship and not (as I originally thought) how long I’ve been shipping them.

…then again, is this question assuming a canon status? Or is it asking which ship would last the longest, were they to get together? Least likely to break up? That just feels like a reprise of the last question. Okay, I’m going with my original interpretation.

I think I’ve been shipping Connverse for longer than anything else on this list. I could be wrong: Homestuck precedes SU on my fandom timeline, so maybe it’s actually Jaderose. But I don’t think I shipped Jaderose right away, while I shipped Steven and Connie pretty much immediately.

How many times, if ever, has 6 broken up? When it comes to post-canon Utenanthy, the fandom, from what I’ve seen, tends to focus on the Healing From Akio’s Abuse angle and the Fluffy Domestic Life angle. Understandably so! But I think this trend has left me with the impression that Utena and Anthy have a mostly uncomplicated post-canon life. And, well…

Their canon relationship is so fucking unhealthy. Anthy spends almost the entirety of the show deceiving and manipulating Utena, while Utena speaks for and over Anthy without ever listening to her. And like, sure, Akio’s out of the picture now. That’ll definitely make things easier. But Anthy is still vindictive, passive-aggressive, and utterly disinclined to communicate her feelings or preferences. Utena is still headstrong, quick to anger, and not a good listener. They seem to be outgrowing these traits by the final episode, but that isn’t the kind of thing that happens overnight.

In short, how many times do I expect them to break up—messily, unable to put the past behind them, each feeling hurt and betrayed and seen in the worst possible way while she drives a knife as deep as she can into the other’s heart?

If the world was suddenly thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which ship would make it out alive: 2 or 8? My first thought was that Harrow and Ianthe obviously win this round. I mean, come on, they’re necromancers. However, Shakadolin have the skill set to not only survive a zombie apocalypse, but rally other survivors as well. Kaladin scouts for stragglers and flies them to safety, Shallan Soulcasts food and medicine, and Adolin organizes defense of the camp perimeter. There’s a chance that Kaladin succumbs to zombie-apocalypse-induced depression, but the other two are good at helping him through it. And let’s be real, Ianthe probably caused the apocalypse in the first place.

Did 7 ever have to hide their relationship for any reason? Tfw you date someone from the same tightly knit friend group slash superhero squad as you and neither of you wants to tell your other friends slash co-heroes because damn that’d be awkward so you pretend nothing’s happening until one day after a particularly close battle you kiss each other thoughtlessly in an oh-thank-god-you’re-alive kind of way and then you realize everyone else saw and you start to explain yourselves only to learn that everyone already knew. They all knew.

Is 4 still together? Bold of you to assume they got together in the first place :'c

Is 10 canon? Yep! A pleasant surprise, honestly, since I shipped them long before I had any idea that they’d end up canon.

If all 10 ships were put into a couple’s Hunger Games, which couple would win?

Okay, time to rank power levels again. Also time to collapse two triangles into lines.

Jade/Rose

Harrow/Ianthe

Connie/Steven

Keyleth/Vax’ildan

Shallan/Kaladin

Chandra/Nissa

Jester/Beau

Amity/Willow

BoJack/Diane

Anthy’s magic is such a goddamn wildcard that I have once again removed her and Utena from the rankings.

By far the most powerful remaining competitor is Jade Harley. She can instantaneously teleport herself or anyone else to any location in the universe; shrink, grow, accelerate, and decelerate anyone or anything; and generally manipulate the fabric of spacial reality. She also has the hit points and damage output of the GREEN FUCKING SUN. And if by some miracle you manage to kill her, she comes right back to life unless her death is suitably Just or Heroic, conditions that I don’t expect to be met often in the Hunger Games. Rose is mostly a liability, and I expect that Jade, not wanted to take a chance on the god tier clock, would focus her early efforts on protecting her girlfriend. If they both survive the first few minutes, Rose’s Seer powers suddenly become a huge asset. She’s the only person who can see into the future, except Jester (whose foresight via divination is extremely limited) and maybe Amity (we don’t really know how oracle magic works, but it’s probably not as powerful as a fully realized Seer of Light).

I won’t break down the power level of everyone else, because it would be kind of boring to get into the nitty gritty. Just imagine a line between 5 and 6; each couple above the line has at least one person with some kind of Extreme Damage Resistance, while everyone below has a normal vulnerable meatsuit.

That said, there are a two people worth mentioning.

Steven’s rank has improved considerably thanks to the later seasons, especially SU Future. He’s been shown to rival White Diamond and even the Cluster in power level. And he’s much more willing to use his power offensively. Nevertheless, I think his surest path to victory is to slow down time and run the fuck away. I don’t care how much power the Rose Quartz gem has in it (and it’s clearly a fuckton); neither shield nor bubble would hold a candle to fusion of two dying universes. If he can find his way to relative safety, he can use his empathetic powers to push Jade into grimbarkness, opening up the door to a Just death. Then he could kill her by possessing her. It’s a long shot, but technically possible. Sadly, Connie is probably dead no matter what.

Beauregard is the dark horse because she could, in theory, stun all the key players—Jade, Harrow, Ianthe, and Steven if he doesn’t run—with a single round of attacks before anyone else reacts. The Green Sun probably grants Jade an ungodly bonus to Con saves, but the necros have negative Constitution as a rule, so there isn’t too much luck involved. If it works, you’re suddenly left with a fight between people of roughly the same power level, and it’s anyone’s game…for six seconds.

BoJack and Diane die immediately, no matter what.

Has anyone ever tried to sabotage 5? Yeah, BoJack has.

Do you spend hours a day going through 3’s tumblr tag? Not enough content to spend hours per day in the tag, but I certainly have it bookmarked c:

If an evil witch descended from the sky and told you that you had to pick one of the ten ships to break up forever or else she’d break them all up, which ship would you SINK? The witch already came and she broke up BoJack and Diane, making the show 100 times better than if they’d ever boned or dated.

I was tagged by @violetikigai​ ! Thanks!

Rules: Name your top 10 favorite female characters from 10 different fandoms and tag 10 people. 

Doesn’t need to be in any particular order.

(Note that a couple of these are afab characters who can be reasonably interpreted as outside the gender binary, but are officially referred to with she/her pronouns in canon, hence their inclusion. For the record, I am myself nonbinary and these characters are very important to me for what they represent to my identity)

1. Anthy Himemiya - Revolutionary Girl Utena

Probably one of the most complex female characters I’ve encountered in media. I’d like to see more women in fiction as messy and multifaceted as Anthy.

2. Kino - Kino’s Journey

No surprise to anyone who knows me. They’re very important to me - I think most people have one character they feel a strong affinity and identity with, Kino is mine.

3.Echo - Pandora Hearts

Ahh, Echo. Like many characters in Pandora Hearts, she had a drastic and unexpected development and one of the ones that got me most emotional.

4.Sophie Hatter - Howl’s Moving Castle

Image from Ghibli’s film adaptation, though I specifically refer to the Sophie of Diana Wynne Jones’ phenomenal novel. Her Sophie is so plucky and funny and just Had Enough. I love her.

5. Someone-san - Our Dreams at Dusk/Shimanami Tasogare

This character encompasses so many of my feelings regarding gender and sexuality and relationships. I’ve never felt quite so seen.

6. Yona - Akatsuki no Yona

What can I say besides outstanding character development? I’ve fallen behind with this series, but I still love my girl.

7. Chloe d’Apchier - The Case Study of Vanitas/Vanitas no Carte

Honestly, sometimes it’s a bit of a toss up between Jeanne and Chloe and Domi. I feel a bit spoiled to have three female characters I really like in one series, but Chloe pulls ahead because she’s had my favorite character arc in the series thus far.

8. Hideko - The Handmaiden

Not a lot I can say about Hideko that doesn’t spoil the story and its twists. But like, you should watch it, since it’s a masterpiece.

9. Yoko Nakajima - The Twelve Kingdoms

The isekai protag to end all other isekai protags. Modern isekai wishes it had what The Twelve Kingdoms and Yoko had.

10. Eva Heinemann - Naoki Urasawa’s Monster 

I actually hated her at first, because she came across so shallow, but she ended up being so much more than she seemed. Eva’s such a flawed and complicated person and only becomes more so as her character gradually reveals itself. She feels like a fully realized individual, which is so unfortunately rare for women in fiction, especially side characters.

I’ll tag (if you want to): @johnnylethal​ @zacrathedemon5​ @cyanwings​ @likepotato​ - Yeah not 10, sorry, but anyone else is welcome to jump on.

Kase-san and Morning Glories, a Blu-Ray review

(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, don’t take anything I say too seriously.) Just the facts 'Cause you're in a Hurry! Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP): 29.99 USD How much I paid: 19.99 USD. Animation Studio: Zexcs Licensed and Localized by: Sentai Filmworks   Audio: Japanese Audio with Subtitles and English Dub available.   English Cast: Bryn Apprill as Yui Yamada, Morgan Berry as Tomoka Kase, Apphia Yu as Mikawa and Luci Christian as the Teacher Length: 60 Minutes Number of Discs: 1 Blu-ray Disc Does this come a digital voucher to redeem?: No. This only has the Blu-ray disc. Are there plans for a DVD release: Not as of the writing of this review. Bonus Features: Japanese Promo, Japanese Trailer and trailers for other Sentai Filmworks’ licensed shows.   Notable Localization Changes: In the English Dub, Yamada refers to Tomoka as “Kase” as opposed to “Kase-san” in the original Japanese. “San” is an honorfic, similar to Mr. or Ms. While it makes sense for Kase to refer to Yui as Yamada in both the English Dub and Original Japanese, omitting the “San” for Yamada suggests a familiarity when the original Japanese suggests that Yamada addresses Tomoka formally. The rest of the dub script stays close to the original. My Personal Biases: I like other shows in the Shoujo Ai genre such as Mai Hime, Mai Otome, Maria Watches over Us, Strawberry Panic and yes, even Kannazuki no Miko/Destiny of the Shrine Maiden.   My Verdict: Beautifully animated, wonderfully composed, well voiced acted and so sweet you may have to get tested for Type-2 Diabetes afterwards, Kase-san and Morning Glories feels like a benchmark for longtime watchers of Shoujo-ai. Despite the high price tag and short runtime, this is an absolute must buy for loves of Women Love Women. Kase-san and Morning Glories, a Blu-ray review

I honestly don’t think new Shoujo-ai fans realize how lucky they are right now. Given a plethora of options as well as their own section to look for, the history of Yuri anime has been an attempt to balance the romantic side of the relationship with the fanservice bits. You youngsters don’t know how good you have it. We didn’t have Bloom Into You. Hell, we didn’t even have Citrus, Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid or Sakura Trick. In fact, before the 1-2-3 Punch of Strawberry Panic, Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl and Simoun in 2006, Kannazuki no Miko was considered the pinnacle of Yuri Anime. But in 2018, Yuri anime seemed to make a comeback in full force with the 1-2-3 punches of Kase-san and Morning Glories, Bloom Into You and, yes, Citrus. The three adaptations of manga titles managed to be an oasis in the desert after titles such as Simoun failed to find an audience, Sweet Blue Flowers ending on a cliffhanger and Whispered Words bombing so hard, it was rumored to have killed the Yuri anime genre for years. Even titles after that such as Yurikuma Arashi and Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid didn’t manage to find a larger audience other than the converted niches they were aiming for. But with Kase-san and Morning Glories, seeing the theatrical and home release of a love story manages to give even a cynical sourpuss like me hope for the future. Here’s a review of “Kase-san and Morning Glories”. Plant appointee Yui Yamada and athlete Tomoka Kase have recently started dating each other. As Yamada becomes anxious when she is unable to spend time with Kase, Kase explains how she came to admire her. Later, Yamada invites Kase to her house, where a serious development almost takes place. During a school trip to Okinawa, Yamada becomes embarrassed when she sees Kase naked, leading Kase to worry that she wants to break up with her, but they manage to clear up their worries the next day. Later, as Kase is set to go to a sports university in Tokyo, Yamada has to decide where their future relationship goes. One of the strengths the OVA (Original Video Animation) has is the foresight to get to the relationship in question. See, where other Yuri adaptations tend to adapt from the very beginning, Kase-san goes straight into the meat, taking place after the initial chapters and instead adapting from when Kase and Yamada have already started dating. There, we get montages of everything a couple goes through: miscommunication, the first time coming into one’s room, playtime at the beach and the fear of separation. The God is in the details. Studio Zexcs makes every color pallet, every movement and every composition work. It’s a splash of warm colors that emphasized by the music and carried by the voice actors to make you really feel that these two are in love. When Kase is kissing up Yamada’s arm, it’s a subtle movement that moves your heartstrings. Just the same, seeing Yamada become nervous and giddy for thinking about Kase really does tell you “Wow, these two girls are crazy for each other”. Sentai Filmworks did the localization of the series. Byrn Apprill (who you might recognize from another Yuri title this year, Himeko Momokino in Citrus) voices Yamada and she does a pretty good job at it. Granted, her Yamada voice tends to be really squeaky, but Apprill imbues the role with enough range to tell the difference between each situation. Morgan Berry (who voiced Tokaku Azuma in Akuma no Riddle aka the Devil’s Riddle) as Kase manages to capture the tomboyish nature of the character, but I was rather struck on how she managed to handle some of the more subtle scenes with enough nuance to do both the original character and Japanese voice performance justice. One thing I should note is the use of honorfics. In the manga and original Japanese, Yamada refers to Tomoka as “Kase-san”. For those not fluent in Japanese, “San” is a sort of title one gives to address formality. For example, in Revolutionary Girl Utena, Anthy uses Utena-sama or Ms. Utena to call her formally. In the English Dub, Yamada calls Tomoka as simply Kase. This (inadvertently and unintentionally) suggests a hint of familiarity not found in the original Japanese. See, it makes sense for Kase to refer to Yui as Yamada, because it suggests that Kase’s more causal and open to the relationship while Yamada calling Tomoka Kase-san suggests that she’s still, subconsciously or not, keeping her at a distance. It’s just a personal nitpick that bothers only me. THE ORIGINAL JAPANESE WITH SUBTITLES IS AVAILABLE. CAVEAT: As a package, Kase-san and Morning Glories is rather thin. Aside from the OVA, there’s no additional features other than the Japanese Trailer, Promos and commercials for other Sentai Filmworks shows. But I’ve always been of the party that, at times, an artwork can justify short content for a worthwhile experience. “It’s not what a movie is about, but how it’s about it” said the late Roger Ebert. And for 20 bucks, I more than enjoyed the 60 minutes I had with Kase-san. It’s a short experience, but one that’s worthwhile. Verdict: For any Shoujo-ai fan out there, it’s an enthusiastic Full Price!

I JUST FINISHED THE REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA ANIME AND IT KILLED MY WHOLE FUCINH LIFE. WHERE IS MY CHILD UTENA AND ANTHY IM FUCKIN HAPPY FOR U, U HAVE NO IDEA okok breaaathiiiing. I have classes in 6 hours. My heart is on the floor and I need content, any tips? Also, should I watch the movie? The homestuck ending didn't hit me this fucking hard in the head w/ the ending. Also do u have opinions on the ending of utena? I sorely need to hear someone's else on this (1/2)

(2/2) oh and thanks?? Ur anthy malice tag was what piqued my interest in the anime, but I'll pass for callmearcturus ask box too, because a gifset in their blog was the last drop in the glass that drowned me in utena hell. But anyway, love u and thanks! Have a nice day/night :*

Ok so (1) ha ha you forgot to hit anon the second time so now i get to follow a new Utena blog >:))But (2) Watching the movie will not help you at FUCKING ALL in understanding the ending other than making some fairly obviously implied things more explicit but the entire movie is a goddamn trip so I do definitely reccomend watching it, if only for the lesbians and eye candy and surreal symbol dream logic. It’s a fun watch.I have opinions on the ending of Utena, but like...Utena’s literally as dense as Homestuck and as meaningful to me, I could spend years of my life talking about Utena. If you have particular questions, it would help. For now I’ll say that I think Utena’s Gnostic references and themes are as important to it as Homestuck’s. Akio and Caliborn are directly comparable as Yaldabaoth figures, and Anthy and Calliope are directly comparable as Sophias. It’s incredibly fascinating stuff to consider. So if you’re interested in both properties and want to figure out their endings in more detail, I suggest looking into that stuff.I swear this isn’t on purpose, but I’m actually posting the next Homestuck video in the next couple days, which happens to go into the Gnostic stuff in some detail. That might be a good place to start, if you’re interested. At least that’s what I intended it to be, so I certainly Hope I succeeded! I WILL SAY THIS MUCH: I think Utena herself is perfectly fine. She just left Akio’s world, but Akio’s world is not reality. Anthy went to find her. And find her she will. You can’t deny a goddess, after all.

ps: @alotofmomos @nelfes hey looks like our efforts helped reel one in!!! Anthy’s Malice >:)

30 things about me

tagged by @ladynorbert so let’s get started. Nickname: Too many to mention, but the one I go by is Kat, and the oldest by far is Taffy. Additional backstory for that one is that when my younger sister was learning to talk, she couldn’t say Kathy and it just stuck.

Name: Katherine Gender: Female Star Sign: Sagittarius Height: 5′10″ Time: 7:35 pm Birthday: December 5 Favorite Band: I don’t deal in favorites much since it can rise and fall based on my mood, but the ones I’m most excited about right now are Rubix Kube(because I saw them in concert last night) and Ninja Sex Party(because I get to see them in concert later this month) Favorite Solo Artist: Cheating with top three: Mika, Meatloaf, and David Bowie.  Song Stuck In My Head: Herp de Derp from Schmoyoho (go listen to it, they’re amazing!) Last Movie I Watched: In theaters Spider man Homecoming, at home Disney’s Descendants 2. Last Show I Watched: The 100 When Did I Create My Blog: April 16, 2013, maybe I’ll tell you the story of why later ^_~ What Do I Post: Honestly? Whatever I want. Mostly fandom-ish things(i should make a list of all the different things I’m a fan off) reference stuff for later, and stuff important to me. This one is my personal blog so I don’t put restrictions on it like my other blogs.  Last Thing I Googled: Gemmies (so glad a coworker asked me what they were, ‘cuz I will google anything and everything I don’t know, and nobody needs to know all of my history. (❁°͈▵°͈)    ) Do You Have Other Blogs: Yes.  Do You Get Asks?: Only spam asks. I haven’t really set myself up to be much of anything with all of the randomness I post. Why Did You Choose This Blog Name: It’s one I created eons ago to roleplay on Gaia Online with, I didn’t want to keep RP’ing as Mara Jade as I had been doing on message boards, and since Gaia was a bit more anime/manga-ish at that point I decided to combine the names of 2 powerful female characters from manga I was reading at the time. Rei from Yumi Tamura’s Chicago, and Utena Tenjou from Chiho Saito’s Revolutionary Girl Utena. Blogs You Are Following: 219 Followers: 161 Favorite Colors: Greens and Blues Average Hours of Sleep: 6-8 on average. Lucky Number: ......? Never understood this question, the numbers I tend to like the most are 13 and 42. (you know why) Instruments: None at the moment. What Am I Wearing: Green shirt and khaki capris How Many Blankets I Sleep With: At least one at all times. Middle of summer, 90 degrees, still need a blanket. In winter usually 3 or 4 depending on how cold it gets.  Dream Job: Self-Employment (a cop out I know, but the best term for what I want to do) Dream Trip: Japan. Favorite Food: Pizza, Sushi, Chocolate (I love food, and it was hard enough to narrow it down to these three) Nationality: American Favorite Song Now: Why must you do this to me? (all of the Descendants 2 soundtrack) I’m going to answer with my karaoke go to. I love singing along to songs and having fun, but singing alone in front of everyone? So scary. So the few times I go to these events, inevitably I end up singing Meatloaf’s Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through to start with. It’s so calming and inspirational to me it gets me through that fear of singing alone in front of strangers.

Tagging 30 people…I don’t have many friends on Tumblr who haven’t done this already, so forgive me for only tagging 2- @worlandsarchive and @criticalfumbler

ok I don’t think there are any security questions in here so why not

Tagged by my sister @prodigaldaughteralice​. Also, tumblr is bizarrely laggy so now I'm typing long posts in a text editor like it's 2005...

1. Coke or Pepsi: I don't actually dislike cola any more, but I also don't drink it enough to have an opinion or be able to tell the difference.  Anyway, I'm white so I can hand anything to a cop and be okay :p

2. Disney or Dreamworks: I can't tell if Dreamworks actually hasn't made anything good lately, or if knocking Dreamworks has just become a meme.  But their old stuff was good.  Disney always makes a few really good things, and then a lot of dreck.  But I kind of resent them from keeping anything from passing into the public domain, as long as their lawyers have money.

3. Coffee or Tea: I probably drink more coffee per day, but tea is the one I have opinions about.  I drink coffee with a lot of milk and am just looking for something that doesn't taste nasty; tea we keep a lot of varieties of and pick based on how we're feeling.

4. Books or Movies:  In the abstract I tend to prefer books, but I enjoy both.  

5. Windows or Mac: I typically prefer Apple stuff and my primary computer will probably always be a Mac.  But it is one of my someday goals to build a PC to act as a media/game center.  

6. DC or Marvel: I'm not that invested but I think there's more Marvel stuff I like.

7. X-box or Playstation: I've always had Playstation consoles but I have nothing in particular against the XBox line that I know of.

8. Dragon Age or Mass Effect: I stopped playing DA:I when I learned Cassandra was straight and I've never had access to the ME line of games.  But I'd still give this to ME since my partner loves them and he's showed me hilarious stuff from them.  

9. Night Owl or Early Riser: I really enjoy being up late, sleeping, and being up early, so I think my chronotype is officially "gets all her sleep in a time machine".  But when I was really little I was a super early riser and I wouldn't be surprised if my body eventually shifts back toward that.

10. Cards or Chess: There's a running joke about me hating chess but I'm not that into card games either.  

11. Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate for most purposes but my test of an ice cream brand is whether or not they can make a really good cream or vanilla.

12. Vans or Converse: I haven't really found either to be supportive enough for me to wear.

13. Lavallan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar: Apparently this is a DA thing?

14. Fluff or Angst:  I don't really like either if it's just that and no plot.  But I guess I'd go with fluff because lately I don't like even very good media that are just All About Pain.    

15. Beach or Forest: Forest, but the beach can be beautiful too.

16. Dogs or Cats: I prefer cats but dogs are pretty great.  If I had a giant house with a big yard I'd give my cat his own personal army of large dogs to ride into battle.

17. Clear Skies or Rain:  I've lived somewhere really rainy for eight years and I loved it, especially since I'm light sensitive and sunburn super easily, but lately I've been really into clear skies for weird psychological reasons.  (OK, not that weird: someone I care about a lot passed away and then we kept having storms and rain.)

18. Cooking or Eating Out: I make the majority of the food we eat, and lately I've been trying to spend more of our food budget on good food to cook and less on going out to eat, but there's a great food scene here so I really do enjoy going to restaurants and food carts.  

19. Spicy Food or Mild:  I like it when the person at the spice store is like "it scares me that you're buying this"

20. Halloween/Samhain or Solstice/Yule/Christmas: Christmas is my favorite holiday.  My family tends to come together and most of us have time off from work to spend together, and then we get to both give and receive presents, and the cookies are good.  Kids don't come by where I live and I was never into Halloween parties, so Halloween kind of fell off after I got too old to trick or treat myself.

21. Little too cold or little too hot: Little too cold -- but lots too hot.

22. Superpower: There are others that would do more good in the world but for myself, flight or time travel.

23. Animation or Live Action: There are a lot more live action things than animated things, so it seems unfair to compare them.

24. Paragon or Renegade: Like I said I haven't played ME so I never had to pick.  In general, I usually want to play evil as amoral/practical, and way too many games instead present save puppies vs kick puppies, which pisses me off.  Also, when it seems like you're picking good for less reward vs evil for more, but you KNOW that good gives you a better reward down the line, it really saps the meaningfullness of the choice.

25. Bath or Showers: On a daily basis showers are way more practical.  I do like a nice bath now and then especially if my muscles are achy, but our tub isn't really deep enough to get comfortable.  Also I get bored in the bath and have to listen to music or something.  

26. Team Cap or Team Ironman: No, you move!  Which is weird because I otherwise find Iron Man a way more interesting character.

27. Fantasy or Sci-Fi: Lately I've been picking up more sci fi but I don't have a hard preference.

28. Fav Quotes: I could make a post at least this long with random quotes I like.  

29. Youtube or Netflix: They fill pretty different roles though I know YouTube is trying to get into the business of movies/tv and original content.  

30. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson: Harry Potter was a generational thing, Percy Jackson came out after I was too old for it.  

31. When I Feel Accomplished: When something works out, particularly if I get praise for something I've been trying very hard to do.  Lately I got praise for my coding style and was told that I'm personable and easy to work with, and both of those made me really happy because I've been putting particular effort into them.  

32. Star Wars or Star Trek: There's a special place in my heart for the original SW trilogy but there's much more of the Star Trek verse that I'm into.  

33. Paperback Books or Hardback: I usually buy paperbacks because they're cheaper and easier to carry around, but really beautiful hardbacks are cool as art objects, and more durable.

34. A world without literature or music: Would probably mean some fundamental change in the psychology of humans.  Even dictatorships tend to have state-produced art to use to control the people.  I don't think it's sustainable to have humans and not have some of them trying to make art.  

35. Who was the last person to make me laugh: My cat being cute.  Are you gonna tell him he's not a person?

36. Sour or Sweet Candy:  Sweet, I've never gotten the point of sour candies.

37. Believe in aliens?: There is probably some form of life somewhere but I have no reason to believe it's interacted with or been exposed to us.

38. Dawn or Dusk: Probably dawn, but I see a lot more of dusk.

39. Piercings or Tattoos:  I see more people with a lot of tattoos that I think look good, than people with a lot of piercings that I think look good, but that is my personal aesthetics and obviously nobody made that choice to appeal to me.  I have pierced ears and want to get a (particular) tattoo on either my wrist or ankle someday but it keeps getting pushed down the priority list.

40. Girls? Hot?: Is this a choice or a song reference or ...?

41. Snow or Fog: I have a thing about snow because snow shut my city down repeatedly over the winter to a downright embarrassing extent and it probably accelerated the wear on my car.  In a city with decent infrastructure I'd dig snow.  Fog is pretty until you have to drive in it.

42. Sleep facing the wall or room: I share a bed so I always sleep facing the outside of the bed, I don't care which side I'm on.

43. TRC of AFTG: All Google tells me is this is some series I've never heard of

44. Horror or Drama: In terms of movie classifications, drama.  But again it's much broader.

45. Orcarina of Time or Majora’s Mask: I haven't played either, the only Nintendo products I ever had were DSes

46. Living in nature or city: I think about this a lot, nature appeals to me but I can't actually handle living in a remote area.  

47. Any addictions: TBH this is a weird question to put on a lighthearted quiz, like it's written only expecting caffeine and "lol this fandom pairing" answers but it's actually very personal information?  

48. Languages:  English natively.  Still pretty good at Japanese though I'm a bit shy about actually using it any more.  I can passively understand some Mandarin but I don't tend to speak it myself because I probably couldn't keep up with a conversation.  (Though I feel like a donk because people speak Mandarin around me a lot and I feel like they should know I understand like 60% of their conversation?)  French and Latin didn't really stick at all.  I can discuss who's making the coffee/tea in Korean and I'm trying to learn more, it's a goal of mine to get in a real class when I'm out of grad school.

49. What music do I listen to: I draw from a bunch of different genres, the core ones are probably indie rock, k-pop, and electronic. Then I tend to be picky about which artists I actually like.  Since I got a streaming account I've been enjoying trying out a lot of new stuff.

50. Fav mythical creature: uh do mindflayers count?

51. Safe zone: My apartment I guess?  That's where I can change into sweatpants and not feel self-conscious so let's go with that.

52. First fandom: I think it was Utena.  That was definitely the first one I was really into and old enough for the internet for.

53. Cartoons or Adult Shows: No matter how you define cartoons there's way more "adult shows" than that, unless maybe you mean "adult" shows, in which case this question gets even odder.

54. Current music: Dishwasher Noises by My Old Tiny Dishwasher.  It's an ambient classic AND gets most of the dishes mostly clean.

55. Favorite starter?: I'd better go with the one in my car so it doesn't get offended and act up.  (Litten though.)

56.  What would your witch’s familiar be? Maybe my cat, or maybe a floating land octopus.  Or a hawk.  But that might eat other people's familiars.  

Hey wants a good tag to find war era Pearl stuff?

Hm, there isn’t really one designated tag for that, sadly. I think I’d search for “renegade pearl” or “terrifying renegade pearl” (though that phrase/nickname was introduced fairly late in the game when The Answer aired, so might not be good for finding older stuff). But just using “rebellion era” or “war era” should help, too (also in places like AO3), and the Tumblr search not only taking into account tags but also the body of the post could work in your favour here.

You could also look for stuff related to specific episodes that dealt with or brought up some of that, such as Sworn to the Sword (about an even split between Knight Pearl content and Pearl getting wrecked in various ways, usually including swords and impalement and Utena references, so maybe watch out if that’s not your jam) or Rose’s Scabbard (100% Pearlrose content, 95% angsty) or Bismuth (those war stories they reminisce about, man) or, again, The Answer (a small but persistent group of rebels!).

Feel free to reply with suggestions!