I am BEGGING people to recognize that sometimes their favorite piece of media is Bad and Dumb, and that's okay! And good art can and does exist outside your comfort zone!! There really does seem to be an "all or nothing" attitude around art: either you like it, and therefore it is Perfection and Untouchable, or you dislike it and it is the Devil himself.
Like. I promise. You can love that 80's/90's nostalgic film to your heart's content and recognize that it's still dumb as a stump and/or problematic. And it's also okay to be Uncomfortable with a piece of media, but also recognize its merit and simply go "not my cup of tea." AND WHILE YOU DON'T HAVE TO PROVIDE A DISCLAIMER, it's still important to recognize it within yourself that some of your faves are Trash/Problematic/Dumb/etc, and employ critical thinking that does not automatically create an "us vs them" mindset.
It's okay. Watch your shitty movies. Read your trashy novels. Indulge in your shitty shows. Embrace the trash. Do not cast stones, blah blah blah. Be free.
Go check her out or I'll go to your house and sit on your chest.
Context for this piece under the cut. (In the form of an impromptu ficlet, kinda.)
Ochaco comes home from hero work one day and finds all the lights are out, even though Deku should be home from teaching by now. He is home, but he's in the bedroom, sitting on the bed... crying?! And not the heartwarmed fountain crying.
She takes off her visor and rushes to his side, asking what's wrong. He doesn't look at her as he answers, he stares down at the scars on his hands and forearms. Unbidden, his subconscious told him those scars are hideous. Evidence of his countless failures. The markings of a freak. A worthless, disgusting, unwelcome pariah.
Then his hero pulled him from the darkness with a kiss on the scar under his eye. She told him the truth. The actual truth, not the ravings of an abused psyche. She reminded him of all the people he supports, all the people he inspires and teaches. She reminded him of all the people he's saved. Of Eri and Tokoyami and Kota and All Might. Of her. She reminds him that she would likely not be there in that moment if it wasn't for him. She kisses another scar and tells him those scars are the marks of a hero. Of a man who would rather burn than let a child come to harm. Of a man who would give everything he has and would ever have just to give someone else a chance at happiness. She kisses another scar.
Of a man she loves with all her being. Of a man who saved her life, who she strives to be like every day, who never gave up on his ideals and whose iron will and pure heart changed the world for the better.
She looks at him and tells him a fact he knows and is still struggling to accept, even after all this time; she loves him. She loves him as he is and nothing will ever change that.
He begins to cry harder, not because he doesn't believe her, but because he does. He believes her and he feels her boundless, gracious love for him and what can he do but weep in the face of this angel who has blessed his life and all its days?
She kisses his scars as he sobs, as if to apply balm to his inner wounds. She knows she cannot take all the hurt away in this moment, but she will be there to comfort him all the same. Because she is his hero, just as he is hers.
(So uh... that was not exactly what I had intended to write, but... well there you go! CHECK OUT ASUNYAN!)
The most self-indulgent (and explicit) thing I’ve written is now on AO3 🫣
Description: When Inuyasha comes back cursed with amnesia, and Kagome has to deal with the frustrating ordeal of getting her husband to believe that they are married.
Manga: 10 volumes
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Favorite Character: Ann, Ann's grandmother, and Asa
Favorite Pairing: Ann x Daigo
Pros: Gorgeous yet simple artwork, devastating emotions, and sympathetic characters even when they do or say terrible things.
Cons: ???? Honestly, the only real con was how damn difficult it's been to read the whole series! Hence, why I ended up buying it on eBay nfsngdf
Recommended for: Teens dealing with heartbreak, or 30+ something women (like yours truly lol) who had a devastating first love
~~~
This series..... took me fucking FIFTEEN YEARS to finish! But holy shit, it was 1000% worth it!! 😭😭😭
If Fruits Basket was my generation's devastating shoujo series, Sand Chronicles was my personal Roman Empire. Even after my "hiatus" in 2014 (aka, there was NO ONLINE SCANS of any volumes past 7!), it lingered in my mind. I can name manga that made me cry on just one hand; Sand Chronicles is on that list for good reason. It is an incredibly grounded series, no magic, no supernatural elements (not even implied ones like Kyoko's "demons" in Skip-Beat), no world-saving stakes. It is simply the journey of one girl's trauma and grief over losing her mother in the worst way possible.
Spoilers and trigger warning below the cut:
Losing a loved one to suicide is devastating, but to a 12 year old girl, losing her MOTHER to suicide is.... indescribable. Ann's trauma and guilt carves into her actions and desires throughout every step of her life thereafter. From clinging to her childhood sweetheart, to leaving her small town to stay with her estranged father, from breaking up with said sweetheart and rebounding with an old friend, from impulsively getting engaged to a cold man, to nearly attempting suicide herself in the end....
Ann's actions are never demonized, other than by herself. I felt her pain, her conflict, her trauma every step of the way, and it is palpable. She isn't a bad person, by any stretch, she is only painfully, heartbreakingly human. This manga does not hold back its punches; it reminds me of Fruits Basket that way, even so far as delving into other generational traumas of Ann's rich friends and the skeletons in their family's closet.
Ann also has the telltale signs of a people-pleaser, with how much she desperately tries to keep the peace and watch over her friends, even to the detriment of her health and other relationships. Again, it hearkens back to her mother's suicide: she feels guilty for unwittingly driving her mother over the edge (she didn't, obviously, but that's how she FEELS), and tries to atone by watching over her friends. And her friends are not guiltless either; Shika at one points baits her with suicidal comments, terrifying Ann to the point of a mental breakdown. Fuji pushes his feelings until she caves; and Daigo, her beloved first love, snaps when she broke down crying.
Everyone is flawed, but still so lovable. Ann is funny, kind, and supportive. Daigo is a big doofus, great with kids, and a determined worker. Fuji is self-reflective, reserved, and compassionate. Shika starts to self-sabotage when a family secret is revealed to her, but is still loving and kind in her heart, and learns to step away from the toxicity. All four are bond together, messy feelings and inter-personal relationships alike, and it is so beautiful and raw and real.
(Note: The manga is also genuinely HILARIOUS. Like Fruits Basket and Clannad, in-between all the angst and drama is hilarious shenanigans, comic relief, and quirky character moments.)
When I read this manga at 19, I felt compelled by this characters and their journeys; rereading and finishing it at 34, I felt SEEN and stripped raw of my emotions. It won't be for everyone; some people might even be turned off by how emotional and angsty these kids are. But for me, there's intrinsic value in stories like these. It's more than just relationship drama, it's more than just growing pains, even though those are also explored and given the spotlight. This is LIFE, and dealing with trauma and our parents' sins, and learning to find meaning and value even when we feel like we're groping in the dark.
Sand Chronicles left its handprint on my heart all those years ago, and now that I've completed it, it is forever cemented in my Top 10 Manga of all time. Cannot recommend enough.
sometimes you see Takes™ that make you go "mmmhmmm okay yeah i see we both interpreted that differently based on what the show gave us, but i see how you arrived at your ideas even if they're different from mine," and then sometimes you see Takes™ that make you go "brother what show did you even fucking watch"
There’s a quality that certain books/movies/TV shows have that leads me to say, “Yeah, I can see people making fanfiction of that.” It’s something to do, I think, with how tight the story is, how much feels open-ended or like it could be elaborated on.
Something like Breaking Bad, for example, has low squiggability (that’s what I’m calling this quality). It’s tightly written, the characters are consistent, there’s little left to interpolate or extrapolate. Obviously, people DO write fanfic of Breaking Bad, but it still has a low squiggability score. Whereas something like Supernatural has a high squiggability score. Fantasy and science fiction often have high squiggability scores. This suggests squiggability could also be related to worldbuilding and potential for people to borrow a premise or setting.
And sometimes you’ll read or watch something and you’ll say, “Ah, low squiggability,” and then you’ll open tumblr and find out that everyone else seem to think its squiggability was very high indeed.
canon is what happens in the text. e.g. merlin tries to poison morgana
a headcanon is a fact that you have personally made up as an elaboration of canon. it is your invention. e.g. i think morgana and gwen had a teenage lesbian situationship before the events of canon. or, i think modern morgana would love evanesence.
an interpretation is how one reads the existing text. it is not an invented fact nor is it a headcanon, it is a reading. e.g. i think merlin tries to poison morgana out of misplaced self-hatred. or, i think that one line was delivered with suppressed malice and shows a nuanced relationship.
fanon is the general fandom’s accepted headcanons and interpretations that elaborate or recontextualize canon. e.g. merlin is a badass waif and morgana is a bitch.
these are all different words with different meanings.
I actually like the changes the anime is making from the manga. Namely in regards to Kail and Yuri’s relationship. While the desire is still evident between them, they’ve toned down the overt sexual elements which will hopefully make their dynamic more romantic. At least for me it was somewhat a struggle to get the connection between the two when most of their “bond” was purely physical. Only issue I could see with the changes would be someone innocently expecting wholesome romance from seeing this and then being surprised at some of the content in the manga. I like though that they’re keeping Kail’s confident personality and Yuri’s sweetness but making him less, let’s say aggressive, towards her. We’ll see if they change it as it goes on but I’d rather have Kail who’s clearly intrigued and interested than the one who’s just driven only by lust.
I’m also hoping that Yuri will be less two-dimensional in this adaptation than she felt reading the manga. It often came across like she was merely an object to be passed around between the rotating carousel of men who desired her and then the people who worshiped her. While there was a semblance of “empowerment”she was little more than a lucky person and didn’t have much the mind for leadership beyond being from the future. That being said, I’m not for pulling the opposite of the damsel in distress and making her a “girl boss” either or just a bossy girl more like it. Hoping they emphasize how she starts off a foolish young woman who makes mistakes but can learn from them and become a grown, mature lady. Just don’t want it to be a constant string of naivety.
I’m impressed so far too with the animation, the vibrant saturation and bold stylistic choices for emotional scenes remind me a lot of early 2000s shojo, in the best way but also mixed with the crispness and smooth movement of modern anime. Overall I’m hopeful the anime will do some of its own original work with the story while staying true to the good points of the manga.
Three years ago, I made two polls asking the same question. I consolidated them as best as I can and made a new and (hopefully) improved poll! Happy voting! ❤
idk guys sometimes you just have to accept a ship dynamic is unhealthy, insane, and sometimes abusive. and its not real people so those factors just make it interesting
please stop unfolding the origami crane and smoothing it out bc you got worried the paper was hurting from the bends
