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I find a way. Every single time.
No hate like it
TRUTH. What you need is imagination, and you don’t need to go anywhere to use it.
Yeah, sure, seeing new things is helpful as a fantasy writer. But. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that exposure to new things is the same as traveling. You know what else exposes you to new things? The internet. Documentaries. Books. Freaking Youtube. So when you’re bored of cats and cooking tutorials, go on an adventure!
You wanna write create some fantasy creatures but don’t know where to start? Go check out some videos The Weird Creatures Earth has Had.
Want some inspiration for your Super Evil Villain’s Villanous Deeds?
Or maybe you want some weird locations to kick start your Fantasy World Terraforming?
Or maybe you need knowledge of bunches of historical places and cities and cultures?
But maybe you’re basing fantasy on the modern world?
Okay but lets say you want to start from the same inspiration as GRRM? (and part two!)
That’s just the stuff I could quickly grab. Things I’m subscribed to, that I know offhand. There is So. Much. Stuff. Online.
The best thing about the internet is that it means its not just the fortunate sons that get to learn, and explore and imagine and write. We get to see stories from all over the place, from all sorts of people, who bring All Kinds of New Ideas.
I like you.
i know that he is the sweetest and guy thwarte is amazing but some of these facial hair choices (or the lack thereof) were not it
Cardan as a baby lol:
Does anyone know where can I get The Muse narrated by Tom Blyth? I installed the app but it did not offer me a free trial. please im BEGGING
hanajima and uotani are such important characters and i love the role they play. fruits basket was never about “getting the guy,” but i love how much the show acknowledges tohru is cherished and loved by her family, friends, AND kyo. it’s not essential for a shoujo manga to have well fleshed out female side characters that don’t exist to solely push the protagonist towards romance or to compete with her, but my god im glad fruits basket delivers. they are their own people, they aren’t just archetypes, they are treated as smart and competent. they also just feel so natural, like we obviously know their history with tohru but their interactions with her really demonstrate how much they know and care about each other.
sometimes it makes me sad how baby yuki was always reaching out to people and they always rejected him. ayame. akito. kyo. his own mother. it must have been like the sky opened up when he finally reached out to tohru and she reached back.
i was watching 1x3 for the pod and took note of a line i hadn’t paused to think about very much before. for context, yuki and tohru just walked home together, and yuki confides in her for the first time about how he feels trapped by the sohmas, is jealous of kyo’s ease around other people, and feels that he is bribing other people with false kindness so that they will like him. tohru gives him a speech where she basically assures him that his kindness is real and unique to him, and tells him that she really likes and appreciates his brand of kindness. this is how yuki responds to that:
this is very reflective of yuki’s view of masculinity and his own failings at it in a very interesting way. season 1 does tread on this topic a little, but it’s mostly focused on yuki’s issues with his appearance, and season 2 has a bigger focus on the internal workings of his feelings about masculinity and the expectations surrounding his gender and heterosexual romance. at this point in the story, we don’t know that yuki has issues with gender, though we start learning about it pretty quickly. takaya makes it abundantly clear that yuki has quite a lot of shame attached to being perceived as feminine, and even kyo knows that yuki is self-conscious about his “girly face.” but this is a surface-level observation on both kyo and yuki’s part; yuki’s issues with gender go much deeper than his insecurities over his appearance.
yuki’s idea of manhood reflects the sexist idea that women are emotional and men are not, and having tohru receive and process his emotions in a genuine and meaningful way makes him feel emasculated—he has feelings, which tohru can see now, and that does not fit into his idea of masculinity. yuki’s aspirational jealousy of kyo does, though: kyo is confident, he is strong, and he is angry, which is also one of the only emotions yuki allows himself to express this early on:
(from 1x2)
(from 1x3)
to yuki, and to many men struggling with the lofty expectations of manhood, anger is one of the only acceptable emotions to display. when you look at the men in yuki’s life, many of them are angry, and oftentimes it’s one of the few emotions they also allow themselves to express, and explosively so—kyo, of course, but akito and hatsuharu as well. but yuki isn’t as naturally masculine as people like kyo or haru, and that compounds on top of everything else he considers a personal failure. so when yuki exposes to tohru that he feels sad and isolated and anxious and she responds in such an emotionally open way, he immediately turns to self-loathing that he doesn’t have the emotional landscape he thinks men should have and that he couldn’t control himself enough to keep it in and pretend that he does. not only that, but he doesn’t judge tohru for this big emotional speech, or any other time she’s been emotional in front of him, further implying that it’s okay when tohru, a woman, has big emotions, but not when he does.
of course, yuki’s ideas about masculinity are societal and pervasive in that way, but this reaction also speaks to his upbringing. i wouldn’t be surprised if he is actually repeating something that was said to him in childhood (this statement smacks of his mother). in addition to that, yuki associates a great deal of shame with having emotions. during his childhood, his emotions were treated with disregard at best (ie ayame brushing him off when he reaches to him), and he was punished for having them at worst, ranging from verbal remarks to outright physical punishment (ie his mother slapping him in 2x21).
so the flip-side of this statement is in response to his childhood trauma; he feels the need to downplay his genuine emotions as a “complaint,” a reflex he learned to protect himself from punishment and abuse.
this line is a complicated one, especially so early in the story. yuki doesn’t begin to realize the deeper issues he has with his gender and the expectations he puts on himself regarding it until later, when he starts unpacking his feelings about tohru, so i thought it was interesting that he says this so early on. it is, of course, a reflex informed by his trauma, but it does speak to a deeper issue regarding performative masculinity in reaction to a perceived failure at living up to a larger societal ideal.
This is so interesting, especially the part about yuki possibly internalizing things from childhood/due to his mom. It really makes me wonder how his mom would perceive/think about Ayame’s rejection of typical norms of masculinity. Knowing her, she probably hates it and feels ashamed of him
Akito and Shigure Sohma Relationship: An Analysis
I’ve been a fan of Fruits Basket for many years. It was not my childhood manga or the manga I followed religiously throughout middle and high school. I read it through, was touched and pleased, then forgot about it. Then I read it again. And again. I always seem to come back to it at my darkest points, like a small ray of light with words of wisdom and inspiration that made me both laugh and cry.
One thing that always piqued my interest more than anything, though, was the dramatic, tension-fraught mess of a love story between Shigure and Akito Sohma. I think Akito’s gender reveal was one of the biggest shocks I’ve ever had in manga– though later it seems more apparent than at first glance.
I’ve read a lot posts and forums trying to delve into their relationship– and the questions are normally the same; Did Shigure sleep with Akito when she was a minor? Was their relationship intimate before Kureno? Etc. The one that stands out to me, however, is why exactly does Shigure love Akito? Akito seems to love Shigure because he was kind to her as a child, charming and indulgent– and later he manipulates her feelings with mind games. But why does a man, seven to eight years a girl’s senior, fall madly in love with a spoiled, destructive girl like Akito?
The manga only openly reveals his feelings after witnessing the dream of Akito; he states that after the dream, he wanted to possess the god of the Zodiac fully. It shows little else of their relationship other than snippets of Akito being a lonely and self-conscious child that Shigure cares for and comforts.
I think it’s imperative, at this point, to look towards others relationships with Akito. Many posts raise the question of why the dream made Shigure love Akito when it did not have the same effect on the others (Hatori, Kureno and Ayame). While first, it is important to point out that all of the characters are differecnt people. Characters like Hatori are drawn to more independent women (namely, Kana and Mayuko) while Ayame is an inherently selfish and self-centered child (he ignores Yuki’s pleas for help as children). That being said, I think it is obvious in the manga that Hatori does love Akito– just not romantically. I always got the vibe that Hatori sees Akito as his little sister. Someone precious and irreplaceable while not above being obnoxious and unlikeable. Hatori refuses to blame Akito for his eye injury and when Akito is upset by Ren’s mockery, he remembers her as a small child and holds her tightly against him in comfort. Meanwhile, Ayame is simply the kind of character who could not be bothered with Akito. As a child and teenager, Ayame does not see the issues and problems of the people around him, he is remarkably self-centered (a trait he eventually begins to grow out of) and does not understand well the needs of others. This also makes Akito dislike him and so a relationship does not form.
One relationship I tend to think people often misread but one that is key to understanding Shigure and Akito, is the relationship between Kureno and Akito. It is often inferred or believed that Kureno was not in love with Akito– I think that is a faulty interpretation of the text. I think that Kureno was, like Shigure, in love with Akito as a child. He found her endearing and wanted to spoil her, though unlike Shigure he is not nearly as possessive or manipulative. He says he couldn’t stand to leave her, that he couldn’t stand to see her weep, so he stays with her after the curse. Not only does he stay, but he absolutely dedicates his life to her in a way no other Zodiac member does. One does not do that without love; though not necessarily a healthy love. Kureno also sleeps with Akito. They have an ongoing, sexual relationship. Mind you, Akito is anyway between five and six years younger than Kureno and seven to eight years younger than Shigure. I sincerely doubt her first sexual experience, as a young girl who has been raised away from feminine ideals, was initiated by her. I also have trouble believing Kureno was her first sexual relationship– Shigure’s view of her cheating indicates that he felt he had the position of her lover before her and Kureno’s relationship began. With Shigure also being known for his promiscuity, it is likely he initiated a sexual relationship with Akito. That being said, Akito uses sex as a way to keep Kureno complacent as her companion. She does not seem to love Kureno the same way she does Shigure but she uses the same weapon to keep both men close; which is sex. That means that if she did in fact sleep with Shigure prior to Kureno, she saw something in Kureno that made her believe sex would work equally effectively on him, and she is right. You don’t see Kureno turning her down. He is sexually attracted to her or they would not be seen making love as frequently as they are. I think that by the time he has his meeting with Uotani, however, that he has fallen out of love with her. He sees the pain it has caused Shigure and he also sees Akito’s discontent with the relationship and he begins to fall for Uo-chan. He tells Tohru that Uo-chan is “the first woman he fell in love with since his curse broke”. Note that he does not say she is the first person he has EVER fallen in love with. Seeing as the Sohma’s are kept away from society for the most part, and knowing what we know of his and Akito’s relationship, it is inferred that the first woman he ever loved was indeed Akito. He, like Shigure, loves her with and without the curse. But Akito’s relationship with him is toxic for Kureno. Shigure can stand up to Akito in a way Kureno’s personality won’t allow, and so he suffers within their relationship.
The reason I’ve branched so deeply into everyone else’s relationship with Akito is to highlight Shigure’s off-page reasons for falling in love with her. Like Hatori and Kureno, Shigure sees the full picture of Akito’s trauma. He knows of the mental abuse Ren has heaped on her daughter since before she was even born. He knows she is hurting and desires affection as she is constantly seen demanding it from the older Zodiacs, “Hug me, Hatori!” and “Do you love me, Shigure?” That, paired with the dream of Akito as god, appeals to Shigure. He wants to spoil her with affection and love but his possessive nature also makes him not want to share her. Hatori might see her as a sister, but a sister can be shared, she can have other siblings. Shigure wants a deeper bond with her and to him, you cannot share a lover. So his affections become romantic and sexualized. He does not, he expresses, want to be her father and he does not want to share her equally with the other Zodiacs. And just when he thinks he has her in the way he desires, she begins her relationship with Kureno, who is unaware of Shigure’s feelings.
I think this act of betrayal arrests Shigure’s love for Akito; his anger and desire for revenge trumps his tenderer feelings for her and that is most of what we see in the manga. He has not stopped loving her so much as he pushes the love he has held and fostered for her for years, away and begins to try and manipulate her whereas before he showed his love through kindness.
What we see towards the end of the manga is not necessarily a change in the two but a reversal. Akito is more how she was as a very small child, not as angry and more truthfully affectionate and Shigure is gentler and more relaxed in the relationship, much like their original dynamic.
So why Shigure loves Akito is much the same as many relationships. He sees her heart, the whole of it– he sees her hurt, her love, her nastiness and her hate and he loves her through it. Their relationship is not a healthy one– though hopefully it can grow to be– but it is not out of nowhere either. Akito is not all bad and most of her childhood is spent being a kind child until her father’s death, her mother’s abuse, and the household’s constant enabling of her destructive and unhealthy coping mechanisms turn her into a mentally unstable bully. It’s not until she hits rock bottom– with the threat of actual repercussions of her behavior and actions– that Akito grows as a person and is able to separate unhealthy behaviors that she and Shigure can form the kind of bond they both desire.
Haha sorry for my long-windedness.
Reposting because this is a great analysis.
jacks never had a bad track. “Glad to know you’re thinking about me when you kiss your husband.” BANGER. “But for tonight, let me pretend you’re mine.” ICONIC. “I’d probably kill another man if I found him with you like this” LIFE CHANGING. “There is nothing of equal value to me”. UNMATCHED.
Isn't it funny? How none of them ever stood a chance? Isn't it hilarious? How none of it could've been prevented? Isn't it comical? How it was all so much bigger than themselves? Isn't it just hysterical? How it was always gonna end like this?
guys where can i find this collage from Pushing it Down and Praying in better graphic??
i really want to remake it in my room but i cant make out the text :((
I love birdwatchers they’re like “I just saw my ALL TIME FAVORITE BIRD SPECIES! I’ve always dreamed of seeing one in the wild! I am ECSTATIC!” and it’s the most boring looking little brown bird you’ve ever seen.
And I’m watching the video like “whoaaaa what’s it going to be! woodpecker? red-headed woodpecker? eastern whip-poor-will? northern mockingbird? it’s a Bachman's sparrow? oh, okay. neat.”
I feel like I need to show you a Bachman’s sparrow for this post to truly land.
Oooooh the most bird ever.
omg this is so me my favourite bird is the short-toed treecreeper and.
like. yea...
I’m sorry to admit this and I would never do it in real life because I have an immense respect for wildlife and specifically the delicate nature of birds. That is the most grabbable animal I have ever seen. It looks free for the taking.
when i was sixteen and insane for my shakespeare class final i had to do the “alas poor yorick” monologue at a competition and while i was doing it i had this insane thought of like. i’ve never been and never will be closer to experiencing hamlet’s mental state than i am right now. like of course all that stuff didn’t happen to me but when you’re 16-19 you kind of feel like all that stuff is happening, all the time, constantly
hamlet of denmark: i have a bad relationship with my family and their expectations are weighing on me and i’m worried my friends hate me and i’m really paranoid lately but maybe i’m just not getting enough sleep and i think there’s something wrong with me but i don’t know what and it’s making me push away the people i care about but it’s fine because i’m always right about everything and i always win and i’m going to live forever
high schoolers reading the play:
movie howl vs book howl (i like both of them)
One of my favorite parts about the writing of Howl's Moving Castle is how easy it is to write off all the things from our world at first as him just being a weird wizard™ (also thanks to bestie @jutenium for spotting this I wouldn't put it like that without you!!/pos). Sure, Sophie uses weird descriptions, but readers have every reason to believe them because of the way Howl is presented as a character. When Sophie says he wrote with a quill that doesn't need an ink, you wouldn't think it was actually a ballpoint pen, you would think Howl had just enchanted his quill so that it wouldn't need ink! When she adds that she can't make out a single word, you think he has matchingly terrible handwriting, but in fact Sophie has simply never seen a pen writing. When she sees the mysterious labels on his books, you think he's keeping a lot of obscure magical literature, but it's really just an encyclopedia and a guide like "Top 10 Rugby Tips." When Sophie notices the bottles in Howl's bathtub, you think they're some kind of magical jars where he keeps girl's hearts, but I'm almost certain that they're just 'Dove' and 'Head and Shoulders' that he's enhanced with his spells and put silly labels on. When you read Calicifer singing a song in a language Sophie doesn't understand, you think it's some kind of ancient cipher or code, but it's actually just a rugby song in Welsh that Howl sings when he's drunk. And finally, when you see the terrifying black door, which is completely shrouded in darkness, you imagine a passage to an eerie, mythical place, similar to what Miyazaki showed us - but it's just fucking Wales.