[is normal]

the once and future tumblr user. the prodigal son returns. nat, 21

[floralcavern]

The difference between male wish fulfillment vs female wish fulfillment in romance anime

There’s kind of a different gaze that can be targeted to in romance anime. 

In male wish fulfillment anime romances, there’s usually a much heavier emphasis on the male love interest’s pov than the female’s. Also, women tend to be much more.. objectified and there’s an unnecessary amount of fan service. An example of this is Rent a Girlfriend and Don’t Toy With Me Miss Nagatoro. It’s more about the male lead being hit on by.. really horny women than actual romance.

However, in female wish fulfillment anime, it tends to be more told from the female’s perspective. The way the male love interest tends to be written is to make him emotional and aware and.. kind, rather than objectifying him or even making them horny, because women.. we don’t really want to be lusted after like that, typically. We’re already objectified enough. My favorite example is Kimi Ni Todoke: From Me To You. Kazehaya admits he’s a ‘pervert’ but in a respectful way. The writer doesn’t make him fully pure or naive or anything like that. He’s still a teen boy. But in this series, the male character is written to be sweet, emotional, and aware but he’s not stripped away from his inherent masculinity (nontoxic masculinity!). Not just.. a guy, if that makes any sense. Meanwhile, in male wish fulfillment anime, the women are just women, rather than characters. Again, I hope this makes sense!

Now, I’m not saying all romance anime that’s written from the female’s perspective is the best! I think MY Love Story!! is a good example of this! The main character is a male and he’s a genuine, total sweetheart while still having a sense of masculinity! And the female character isn’t objectified! And I would even say even say that this show could be considered a male wish fulfillment romance, based on how it’s written.

And then there’s shows for both, like Kaguya Sama: Love is War. In this show, the two love interests have complete equal power in focus, making them feel completely balanced and real. Neither are objectified and both get treated like humans. Same with The Apothecary Diaries, if not more so!

Anyways, sorry for this ramble. I just really like (well written) romance anime. And I will leave off with a list of romance anime recommendations!

•Kimi Ni Todoke: From Me To You (adorable, fluffy, amazing character development, doesn’t beat around the bush the entire fucking series. Half of the manga is pining and the other half is the complexities of being in your first ever relationship as you try to navigate it all)

•Snow White With The Red Hair (amazing female lead with cool world building and interesting dynamics)

•MY Love Story!! (SO CUTE! Amazing show about not judging appearances)

•My Happy Marriage (Really wholesome Cinderella type story)

•Kaguya Sama: Love Is War (hilarious. I actually recommend the dub. Genuinely really sweet)

•Sasaki To Miyano (so sweet it’ll give you cavities)

•Tomo Chan Is A Girl (there is sadly quite a bit of fanservice in this. I’ve seen way worse, but ya. If you’re wanting something to watch with your parents, this may not be it. Mostly just close ups on boobs)

•Monthly Girls Nozaki (romcom that leans really heavy on the comedy more than the romance, but I love it too much to not recommend. Watch it in the dub, you won’t regret it)

•Fruits Basket (Really sweet)

•Toilet Bound Hanako (THE MANGA! READ THE MANGA! DON’T LET THE TITLE WEIRD YOU OUT, I SWEAR IT IS INCREDIBLE! READ!)

•Komi Can’t Communicate (I would, however, like to apologize for Yamai ahead of time. The entire fandom hates her, don’t worry. There’s also quite a bit of fan service in this one 😔)

•Toradora (haven’t seen it in a while, but it’s a classic lol)

•Horimiya (Another romance anime that doesn’t beat around the bush!)

•The Ice Guy And His Cool Female Colleague (SO. CUTE. AGHHHH. Despite it being ice themed, it certainly makes me feel warm and fuzzy)

•Love, Chuunibyou, and Other Delusions (so silly, amazing story about maturity while also keeping your inner child alive)

•I Want To Eat Your Pancreas (be sure to bring tissues! You will cry!)

•Kamisama Kiss (I really like the characters and world building in this one. Sadly, we’ll probably never get another season 😔)

•Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (SUCH A CUTE MOVIE! Amazing feel good romance that just makes you happy)

•My Little Monster (not my usual first recommendation, but it’s an overall fun watch… still so desperately want another season. False hope lol)

•Ouran High School Host Club (an absolute classic romcom. Another situation where I actually recommend the dub)

•Apothecary Diaries (AGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! …full stop. I love this show.)

•Princess Tutu (I LOVE THIS STORYBOOK SETTING! And Ahiru is so silly. She’s just a duck, she can’t handle all these responsibilities!)

•A Sign Of Affection (GEGERHSG SHHHH SHSVRVSBBSVSGWVVVV……… I really liked this show.)

•My Love Story With Yamada-Kun at Lv999 (I went into this show with low expectations because of the title only to come out giggling and kicking my legs, very cute show)

•The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity (the people who hate on this show can back off. Quit treating short women like they’re children 😭)

[ikenitycrisis]

Fic posted!

HARD LAUNCH

Ch 1.

Desc: Charles and Edwin have just started dating when Charles gets drunk and posts Edwin online for his followers to see. Suffice to say, this is not how he wanted people to find out.

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Tag train (sorry this took me like a month haha)

@iammissdistress @regretsofaghost @emi-the-gremlin @tipsyscone @fic-uratively @arrow-jsy @zmorak

[kikostarshine]

FEM FINRAL OMG

[altades]

he's like her pokemon

Also! I'm taking commissions, dm if interested

[allidrawscomics]

Get you a ship that can do both

[fukur0shi]

I want to tag mooty but also I don’t want to spoil her ajdhadksnd

[niekiddo]

Commission illustrations for the fic Zero Days Since Time Lost by alixdoeswriting on AO3

[khorazir]

The finished watercolour of our boys enjoying a walk in the woods.

[jinx-the-jester]

Who gave the Edwardian boy internet access

[jaysbraindump]

Dead Boy Detectives but make it Scooby Doo

[heavensghost]

You don’t have to belong everywhere!

[crystalpalacesasaki]

For @crystal-week Day 2: Friends

[lorastyrels]

We should stick together 🔍🖤

[diangelodork]

time for my nightly psychoanalysis of dbda!

tonight’s topic is payneland after charles’ (justified) outburst with the night nurse.

what always gets me about this scene is that niko and crystal were terrified. they looked so scared of him in this moment because they’ve never seen this side of charles. no one has.

the girls keep their distance as he backs her over the ledge. they curl up in on themselves and their body language indicates so much fear.

edwin, on the other hand, has known charles for decades and has NEVER seen him get like this. but he’s not scared.

he’s surprised at first, but he starts following them toward the ledge (albeit from afar). he’s not afraid of him. he’s worried for him. what on earth could’ve gotten charles to act this way?

he’s the first to speak after charles pushes her in. he says it was extreme, but i don’t think he meant the fact that he pushed her off, i think he means the emotional reaction that overtook him here. i think he’s moreso saying that charles reacted as though felt something far more intense than edwin anticipated, similarly to his shock when he finds that his emotional reaction to the devlin house was enough to get him stuck in the loop. i don’t think edwin has any doubts about the length this boy would go to protect him, so i don’t think he’s surprised at what he did to ensure that they wouldn’t be separated, he’s just worried as to what got him so viscerally upset.

charles then breaks down and, in his outburst, he says that he hates being dead.

i think edwin is deeply, deeply hurt by this.

there is literally no other way for edwin and charles to have ever met other than in death. they were born 73 years apart from each other and edwin died 57 years before he was born. if charles didn’t die, they never would’ve known each other.

further than that, though, i think he’s hurt that he didn’t do the job he appointed to himself.

edwin tells tck earlier in that same episode that he’s doing as many good deeds he can in case he is sent back to hell and can make his case for leniency. edwin went back to st. hilarions immediately after escaping hell. i think he already had that idea and that plan in his mind.

i think charles was supposed to be his first “case.”

i don’t think he actively thinks this way anymore, but there is a residual part of him that feels like it was his job to keep him peaceful as he passed (partially for the purpose of saying he did a good deed, and partially because he saw a sad, cold boy being bullied relentlessly just as he was and wants to help him in any way he can, even if it’s just a simple gesture to keep him comfortable as he takes his last breaths in what would normally be an excruciatingly painful moment as he’s dying of literal internal bleeding and hypothermia) and i think it hits hard because he feels like he failed.

i think he’s somewhat similar to charles, in that regard. charles feels like he failed when he’s unable to keep edwin safe, and i think edwin feels like he failed charles here.

that’s why it’s so desperate and sad when charles jolts away. especially if you realize that edwin likely had a very hard time without touch coming out of hell. centuries of torture and the last touches he got before that was when simon and his goons kidnapped him and strapped him down to a table as a human sacrifice. i’d say he probably had a hard time before that because he’s def autism coded and we tend to have sensory difficulties and his lack of desire to be touched most of the time leads me to believe that may have been something he experienced in his life.

i think it took a lot of work to get edwin to where he is with touching charles today and this feels like a rejection (me when i relate to edwin and im autistic and touch sensitive and have rejection sensitive dysphoria lol maybe im js projecting).

i think that’s what makes their conversation the next morning (beginning of E5 where charles tells edwin that he and crystal kissed) so important. edwin says something and it’s played off as a bit of a joke, but i think it’s a bit more heartfelt than that.

“it makes sense. given that you said you HATE being dead. of course you fell for a living girl.”

it’s not just snarky edwin there. it’s hurting edwin. in this moment he’s saying “you hate being dead, but we never would’ve met any other way. of course you wouldn’t love me. i’m just a constant reminder that you’re dead.”

that’s also why charles’ response matters so much to me. he says “when i was on that cliff, i was angry. right, do i sometimes wish that i got to grow up? sure. but if it had to be this way, i wouldn’t want to be dead with anyone else, would i?”

i think this eases edwin’s mind so much because i doubt that he wasn’t riddled with anxiety wondering if charles had a deep rooted feeling of resentment towards him that he hadn’t discovered yet. edwin is more anxious that we give him credit for. he’s incredibly brave, but the idea of charles being upset with him? hating him? it would crush him. that is the most important person to him. that’s his first and only love, but more than that, it’s his best friend.

i’ll bet you that his mind was filled, even for the time that it took between end of episode 4 to beginning of 5, with thoughts of “what if he hates me? what if one day he’ll realise he hates me? what if i’m not enough? what if he’ll leave me?” which is, of course, preposterous because charles loves edwin more than anyone has ever loved anyone else.

but he’s using charles’ tactic of joking through the pain in this moment.

and charles sees right through it because he knows that feeling better than anyone.

[jinx-the-jester]

Bro is LOSING the IDGAF war against a crow and a cat.

[wetfloor-sign09]

Why are they gorgeous

[crafteeauthor]

One of the things I mourn most about the 8 episode format is that we didn't get to see much of Montwin unfolding properly before the forest. They did really well given the time allowed of course but I would have loved to see them exploring the newness of it all together. Where's the filler clips of Edwin and Monty exchanging books and sharing their feelings through bookmarked passages and nervous glances. The clips of Monty trying to figure out how to ask to hold Edwin's hand. The clips of what ghosts do instead of coffee...

[sasakisniko]

Every Edwin Payne Scene (5b/?)