People are sleeping on the yandere x yandere trope, like what's better than being obsessed with someone who's just as obsessed as you are?
Another underrated trope is yandere x willing darling. Honestly anything where there's no fighting, not really into dealing with a bratty personality.
Don't even get me started on how CRIMINALLY underrated darling x yandere reader is like mmmm it's so amazing I wish there was more content available about it. I don't see very many games about that either, only the rare visual novel uses it 💔
Honestly seeing (mostly kataang and maiko shippers but not just them) say ppl need to move on from what Bryke did with book 4 air makes me genuinely mad.
When I first started watching the show I was basically bullied out the fandom for drawing Zutara fanart. I was either 11 or 12 at the time and it was during 2020. A bunch of people older than me were mocking me for my fanart, not even because it was bad (not that if they did it would have been justified) no, because it was of a ship they like. I was called a whole bunch of colourful names and slurs and got accused of some horrible things just for liking Zutara and it did affect me.
Now, imagine 12 year old me finding and watching Book 4, do you think that just because that was in 2008 it didn't affect me? No! Of course it did! If anything it made me feel worse, so much so I left the fandom for two years and I only got back into ATLA when I was 14, even then I have only recently started engaging with the fandom again. Just because it occurred in 2008 doesn't mean it doesn't affect people now and I'm sure I'm not the only kid who has been discouraged by that video. If you were a kid at the time or not, the video can and has had an affect on people.
Also, it's not like Bryke were kids when they did that, no, they were full grown adults using children's fanart to mock them. It was disgusting and the fact they have never apologized, as far as I know, is gross. It doesn't matter how long ago it happened because it happened and still affects people, I don't think people should be forced to move on just because you believe that it isn't a big deal or it was ages ago so they should be forgiven. If you don't care that's fine, but don't try to force people to feel different to how they feel.
If your a Zutara shipper who's fanart was in that video, I am genuinely so fucking sorry. That is horrible and I can't imagine how it could have affected you. I know if I was in your situation I would still be upset about it to this day because of how discouraging the video was. I know your probably not reading this but if you are I feel for you.
Also I'm writing this after trying for about two hours to complete the gosh darn pachinko machine level in super Mario sunshine so if I sound a bit emotionally charged it's because I have just spend the past two of so hours in agony ✌️
Edit: I forgot about the Azulaang and Tokka scenes in the video since I hadn't watched it in ages, you guys too I'm so sorry, that was so cruel for you guys too.
"i never could say no to you" is one of my favourite phrases in the entire english language because it's so casually cruel. even when it's spoken fondly or lightheartedly there's this dismissive implication of blame to it, like twisting a knife. whatever happens next is on your hands. i want you to know that i betrayed and destroyed myself for you.
I actually enjoy the way twst portrays men and that it's not filled with the typical toxic masculinity that's present in some media.
But I do hate how fans (non queer and queer) will immediately jump to labeling characters as queer because they are not the traditional presentation of a man. I see this happen often with Japanese media because the male characters will wear makeup and be more openly emotional. And this I feel like is a very American view of the characters(that the lack of typical masculinity= queer or female). Pretty men that put effort into their looks are for the female audience most of the time.
It's the reason I stick to non English speaking parts of fandoms,they won't be so quick to label a character gay or straight strictly because of the way they act or dress.
Just some thoughts from a person who is very cis and straight passing even though I'm the quite opposite. Queer people don't always present the way the wide western media likes to portray them.
[ Might be referencing this post? ]
TO BE CLEAR: There is nothing wrong with interpreting a character as queer. What is being argued as being “wrong” here is assuming queerness or straightness based on stereotypical traits.
Yes, the way Twst portrays men is refreshing. I would call it the platonic ideal of what women want men to be like irl. I don’t mean their specific flaws, the occasional toxic masculinity, or insulting “girly” things that comes through in characters like Epel or Ace. All the boys have got their pride. I mean having the ability to recognize their faults and work to improve on those + learn to be more emotionally vulnerable. The boys are conventionally attractive and wear makeup, have self-care routines, and dress pretty stylishly or have an interest in fashion or skincare. There is minimal shame associated with these things. Not to mention a lot of the characters are also shown to be good with children and/or polite and caring towards women figures in their lives (mothers, sisters, etc.). There’s masculinity present, but demonstrated in a way that is healthy or appealing in some way. For example, lots of characters are athletes or at least work out for some reason, or they act competitive to give the audience a laugh. Twst characters were made and written with the female gaze in mind.
While I’m sure that the western English-speaking parts of the world aren’t the only places with an overreliance on stereotypical gender identifiers, I have made the personal observation that its media tends to stratify gender pretty rigidly. There’s been more of a push to break out of those roles, but oftentimes I find that these instances lack nuance or fall flat with the messaging. For example, the strong, independent girlboss narrative is something we see time and time again—but usually at the cost of making her seem like the exception rather than a possibility for all women, or shutting out femininity as a marker of confidence and power.
Japan isn’t perfect either. They’ve made insensitive depictions and promoted traditional gender roles through their media too. But I also feel like the Japanese arts have expressed gender in a way that the west historically hasn’t. For example, kabuki performances involve men playing all the characters, regardless of gender. Later on, there would be all-female troupes who did the same. BL (boys love) started as a genre for sexually repressed Japanese women to express themselves, even though the characters romantically involved were men. “Crossdressing” often occurs in its media as a trope and irl in the cosplay community. Anime is known for its sometimes androgynous designs, or having girls or boys so pretty they pass for the other gender. Boys with long hair and lashes, girls wearing male uniforms and speaking roughly…
The west has had its own examples (like flamboyant rock stars and its drag communities), but to this day a lot of it is still heavily stigmatized. Maybe it’s because the gender performance is much “louder” in the west?? So it falls into the extremes rather than the middle grey area? It’s not like a conservative country like Japan doesn’t stigmatize performing outside of one’s assigned gender or doesn’t also have gender performance which is “loud” (they for sure do), so I wonder why its art in particular seems to explore the complications of gender and performing it in greater detail.
I’m probably not making much sense here. Someone with more of an understanding of history would be able to better provide a coherent theory.
I did reach out to a few Japan-based friends of mine, and their own theories were, as follows (some are word-for-word, others I condensed and summarized or translated as best I could):
“Anime is just a medium that allows for more messiness.”
“Japan already has tropes which would facilitate the mixing of genders. For example, there is a trope for a man that speaks and acts like an older sister, which does not exist in the west, where all flamboyant men would automatically be labelled queer.”
“Japan doesn’t have ‘exploring gender identity’ in the same way that the west does. We see it more as ‘they like that, then good for them’. We didn’t ‘know explore gender identity’ more explicitly until westernization.”
“It could be considered escapism or an idealized reality from real life conservative Japan (laughs).”
“Japanese media largely does not have the concept of representation. Whatever is portrayed in media is understood as one of the many possible gender identities/ sexualities out there and no one would go ‘I’m gay, but I’m not like that’. This lowers the bar of creators wanting to portray something different from the norm, while occasionally causing problems like misrepresentation and exoticising.”
“In America, there is an emphasis on what is right and what is wrong. In Japan, we value creativity and do not force people to think ‘this way is right/wrong’, so we don’t get as extreme responses. In America, you might get bashed for advocating heteronormativity, which leads to some people on the other extreme doubling down on their views because it’s hard to change so radically.”
“Our media isn’t as connected to social progressivism as it is in America. The good thing is that we have creative freedom. The bad thing about that is that change is very slow for us.”
Again, I’m not really sure what it is about western English-speaking (or, I guess, American specifically) fandoms in particular which leads to this very insular definition of gender and how it should be performed. It’s very odd, because, from my understanding, that part of the world is very socially aware (whereas Japan is not nearly to the same degree). I would have thought that the most socially aware countries would have the most nuanced depictions and understanding of gender.
I think it’s a good move for you to decide which parts of the fandom you want to frequent. I don’t think you’d gain a lot being in areas that cause ire and upset. I’ll always support and advocate for everyone curating their fandom spaces 👍
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Anon! I find this to be a really interesting topic of discussion, but unfortunately I don’t know a lot about it 💦💦 Hopefully I was still able to contribute in a meaningful way!
// This is literally the first time they managed to make Yui look genuinely pretty in a merch line, so PLEASE KEEP THIS ARTIST!!! She escaped the chopped curse!!!
when did the discussion from AI turn from "hey maybe don't just take peoples work so you can feed it to the plagiarisim machine and make money of off them" to "it's bad for the enviroment guys trust me bro and that's the only thing in the way of AI"
I can't be the only one hating the day before an exam more than the day of the ACTUAL exam
the day before you still have to study, but it's too late to learn anything new, so if you feel like there's something you lack there are no time for it. You have to revise everyhting and it feels os scary seeing what you know less and more of and not know what the exam will be about
if vampires existed in real life i think there would be shady companies advertising "organic blood" sourced from "willing donors" who are coincidentally all poor people being paid like $5 per blood donation. and like haughty vegan vampires who only drink a synthetic blood drink thats brewed in a way thats actively worse for the enviroment. and radical traditionalist vampires who go on tiktok and claim that true alpha chads have to drain and kill people and anyone who leaves their victims alive is a liberal cuck. enter the world of hypothetical insufferable vampire politics with me.
