Modified this ask meme to stuff I'd feel more comfortable answering. Feel free to ask (you can write in a number(s)), or use yourself!
In your opinion, what’s your best fanfic?
In your opinion and without looking at any numbers, what’s your most popular fanfic?
Is there any fanfic that makes you super happy to reread and remember you wrote that?
Is there any fanfic that makes you super embarrassed to reread and remember you wrote that?
What’s the fanfic you most want to continue (unfinished or no)?
What’s the oldest (longest since last update) fanfic you most want to continue (unfinished or no)?
Have you ever written for a fandom without watching/reading/playing the source material?
Have you ever written for a fandom without reading other fanfic for it?
Have you ever written a fanfic for a concept you know someone else has done before? How did it impact your writing process or feelings after posting?
Have you ever written a fanfic and decided never to publish it? Why?
What’s the biggest change between your style when you started in fandom and today?
What’s the biggest change in your taste between when you started in fandom and today?
Have you ever purposefully written one fandom/fanfic idea over another because you knew it’d be more popular?
Have you ever stopped writing a fanfic/for a fandom because it wasn’t receiving enough attention?
What’s your most underrated fanfic?
If you had to pick one fanfic/scene/chapter of your work to describe your entire portfolio to a stranger, which would you pick?
Have/Would you ever rewrite a fanfic? If yes, would you take the original down?
If someone starts kudosing and commenting your fanfics in a spree and has a few works of their own, would you go look through theirs?
Has there ever been anyone who’s made you freak out because they read your work and followed/bookmarked/commented?
What’s the nicest comment you’ve ever gotten?
What’s the meanest comment you’ve ever gotten? Do you think the reviewer intended it?
What aspect of your writing do you most enjoy to see praised?
If you could only ever write crossovers or single-fandom fanfics ever again, which would you pick?
If you could only ever write for a single crossover or a single fandom again, which would you pick?
Does the division of your writing across fandoms line up with your reading? What’s the biggest discrepancy?
Do you continue to write for a fandom after you’ve moved on or do you focus solely on the new one?
Who’s the one character you’ve just never managed to get perfectly right?
Who’s the one character who shines without you even trying?
Is there any particular character whose scenes always wind up being longer/more frequent than you expected? Does the quality hold up?
Was there any fanfic that you wrote that really surprised you in the fandom reaction? Was it just by the numbers or did they take it an entirely different way?
Have you ever written a ship into a fanfic without meaning to?
Have you ever purposefully bashed a character/ship in a fanfic?
Have you ever purposefully written something you know your readers would find uncomfortable/would not enjoy? If yes, why?
Do you consider yourself to have a readership?
If you cross-post your fanfics on multiple sites, do you have a favorite? Are there certain fanfics you would only post on a specific site?
How many views has your most popular fanfic gotten?
How many views has your least popular fanfic gotten?
Do you subscribe to/bookmark/kudos/comment more stories than you have received?
If you had to call yourself an author of a single genre, what would you pick?
If someone you know in real life who isn’t involved in fandom asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first?
Does anyone you know from outside of fandom know you write fanfic? Are they involved in the same fandom too?
Has anyone in your life ever read your fanfic just because you wrote it?
Has writing fanfic had a significant impact on your life? Would you say it’s entirely positive?
hey, can i please ask you if i there's pictures of the characters in the s-classes that I raised novel, i mean like the characters that didn't showed up at the webtoon like Japan and China characters. and if yes can i have them because it's really a need.
I'm going to assume you mean official art (like what I collected from publicly available official posts here). And I'm not sure which characters you mean, because there are a lot, especially including characters in China, even if we ignore everyone from Hong Kong. To my knowledge, there isn't any official art of the Chinese or Japanese characters. Only the main cast (and other universe versions of them, like the I think one piece of Puppeteer), which is mostly the South Korean characters, get official art. I think Park Hayul is the most distant from the main cast to get any official art, and it's one piece, and Park Hayul is decently central to the latter part of the novel. At a certain point in the novel, they also stopped including character portraits, and just had text profiles. Most art in the novel is of Yoojin, Hyunje, Yoohyun, and/or Peace.
Folks have done fanart of Huang Lin and I think of Shishio, but that's all I remember off the top of my head. lanquedd did this pretty Song Taewon, Sung Hyunje, Huang Lin (using a fan design of him), and Han Yoojin fanart back in 2024:
And they did another one here:
And another:
A solo Huang Lin piece by lanquedd:
And another:
Another:
And another:
And another:
There's this Sung Hyunje / Han Yoojin / Huang Lin piece:
There was a very brief uptick in Huang Lin fanart around this time for whatever reason (I think it was lanquedd just really liking him and encouraging others to draw him). I don't even think Huang Lin was that particularly active in Side Story (he popped up every now and then), fans were just drawing him slightly more on twitter.
lanquedd also commissioned on4103518727167 for some Huang Lin fanart in 2025:
Onlyraii (who did the second official novel cover art) did this fanart of Shishio back in 2020 (this was 2 years before their cover art was released):
And another:
I think Bgakseong did a Shishio piece back in 2024, but has seemingly deleted it (and browsing for Shishio fanart is kind of hard, even when I search with his name in Korean, given most of what's online is Shishio Makoto from Rurouni Kenshin).
And I don't recall anyone else (other than Young Chaos, Crescent Moon, and the kids, and that's mostly Gyeol) getting fanart, at least not that I've seen. But I also only really follow folks who make fanart of Yoojin, Hyunje, and sometimes Yoohyun, Yerim, and Noah. Folks outside Korean twitter tend to only do fanart of the main cast, not characters from Japan or China.
The main Young Chaos official novel art (I forget which volume it's from, but I think it's one of the first half, since the novel switched artists after that):
There's a bit of Young Chaos fanart out there (if you see a Yoohyun with a long ponytail, more traditional clothing, and carrying a sword in his hand, usually that's Young Chaos). Young Chaos, Source!Yoojin (I think), and Sung Hyunje fanart:
There is one piece of official art in the novel with source!Yoojin, while being held by Young Chaos, and it's in Volume 35:
Fanart of the three of them by onlyraii:
And some of Young Chaos on his own:
Source!Yoojin and Sung Hyunje:
Some Crescent Moon fanart:
Another:
carry a part of me and keep on climbing top of the ladder's just a place for dying
[ID: Digital fanart of Crescent Moon from S Classes That
Another:
for YMER zine
There's way too much Gyeol fanart out there to stick in a tumblr post, so I would just suggest browsing if that's what you're looking for. The fandom is most active on twitter outside Postype, though there are some folks who've shared a bit on Blue Sky Social. If you see fanart from the fandom and it features a small pink dragon, a child with pink hair, or a child Hyunje with wings (not fairy!Hyunje, a child version), that's probably Gyeol, because those are all popular fan designs of him. Also sometimes Hyunje with pink hair, based on the time Gyeol transforms to pretend to be Hyunje (because he retains his pinkness).
You are always free to learn to draw yourself or commission someone if you'd like fanart of them!
What do you think about the take that Horus is like a manchild? Imo while I do see that he's particularly wise and kind (+ his power literally incl knowing stuff...), he seems very childlike and immature to me as well
I would say the person saying that hasn't read the manhwa and is incapable of viewing people complexly or considering context. They, and perhaps you, likely view Horus' selfish and childish moments in his romantic relationship - which adults can in fact experience - as the entirety of his personality, while ignoring the moments he is often the "adult" in the room (e.g., Seth's sentencing, where Horus watched and only intervened strategically, multiple times, putting himself on the line to do so), solves problems others struggle with, cares for other individuals, including his mother and Seth, keeps a cool head while others fail, and is demonstrably intelligent, including playing the long game on multiple decisions (e.g., tricking Seth during match 2 did not scream "immaturity" to me, that was rather hard and he pulled it off, in part due to Seth letting his arrogance and anger get ahead of him), while risking his life for those he cares for. His primary superpower is also literally knowing things other people don't (his flying is a blessing from Nut, it's not his superpower, which he was born with). He also acknowledges dangers and keeps that in mind when navigating difficult situations. That's not "manchild" to me.
This is perhaps most readily exhibited in his relationship with Hathor. He is polite to a fault with her every occasion he's around her (except in Thoth's temple, where she's mocking and antagonizing him, and he responds in kind). He doesn't play up her interest. He accepts her gift, while warning his mother about it, in private (though he is, initially, optimistic about the mirror's utility). The worst that he does with this very fractious and political relationship - which is pointed out in his conversations with Isis and Seth about it - is avoid her. He does play hooky with his responsibilities to chase Seth for romantic reasons, leaving his mother in the lurch to manage what should be his responsibility, including, namely, dealing with his potential political marriage to Hathor. However, as Isis and Seth point out: Hathor is the favored daughter of Ra, and angering her is very dangerous. Isis, and Horus by extension, have little political backing, and relied on Ra's support to regain the throne. Outright rejecting Hathor might anger Ra, and endanger their position. Horus in particular, unlike Isis, is a demigod and very weak, with 2/3rds of his power being borrowed from others. Hathor is a full goddess, and, potentially unknowingly because she's a spoiled brat and doesn't think all that deeply about most anything, is abusing her position by pursuing Horus. It's a very classic, "A is taken in by a household/teacher out of charity, and an heir of the household pursues them romantically, in a way A is unable to properly refuse out of fear of losing everything" situation. Horus avoiding it is the best strategy of many bad ones. Even Isis in S2E4 cautions him about how to properly reject her.
Another aspect when considering Horus' attitude to his responsibilities is how he was raised and lived for hundreds of years. An important element of Horus' background is that he was raised to take revenge. That is why he was born: not out of love, not because Isis seemingly wanted a child, and definitely not because Osiris wanted one. Not even seemingly by accident. He was born out of revenge: his mother's revenge. At no point has his life been his own to live. From birth they were on the run from Seth and his followers, while Isis breathed vitriol into his head, and he promised to help her. This lasted hundreds of years. The moment that ended, he was granted kingship over an entire nation and its gods. After partaking in a series of tests that nearly killed him multiple times. Given Isis takes over the throne with him, it makes sense, to me, that he, as a dictator, might take a vacation to chase after his romantic interest, leaving the throne in the far more capable hands of the woman who managed a throne and war(s) for a very long time prior to Osiris' suicide. If Horus abandoning his throne - relatively briefly, given he's, you know, immortal - is what is labeling him as a child, well, he's a dictator. By the nature of the position, he can do whatever he wants. His job is to be the strongest, not necessarily rule well (we'd like it if he was a good king, but there's nothing requiring him to be one, nor any real definition of what a good one is, particularly considering his mother was in charge of culling the population for a very long time). Seth didn't lose the throne because he was a bad leader. He lost because he was outwitted and let his anger and self-hatred get in his way.
In re: leaving Isis in the lurch: there's a moment after the second match that makes me... less sympathetic than I might be to Isis' plight in re: ruling alone. To be clear, I don't dislike Isis. I think she's a fun character. However, in S1E27, the way she specifically and viciously dresses Horus down for challenging her in a relatively minor fashion is alarming, "Why are you looking at me like that? Are you trying to say that this competition isn't fair? Are you blaming me right now? This competition isn't about fighting with honor!" I've also personally been in the middle of a parent whispering vitriol out of "affection" in my ear in a moment of weakness (Horus was heavily injured in S1E27). It's disturbing, at best. I cannot imagine living that for hundreds of years. Leaving Isis to the throne she wanted and her revenge, especially when he wants no part of it, makes sense, to me. It was Horus' stated position from the get-go anyway ("We didn't come here looking to kill you. We're here to reclaim our lost sovereignty." - Horus to Seth while supporting Isis in S1E4). He did his part.
Horus' jealousy and territoriality and basically brattishness in re: Seth is also something I imagine pops up here. The caveat here is that Seth is, to a degree, into it, so it's a consensual kink. Wanting your partner to spoil you is pretty normal in a relationship. Not everyone is into that, but it's not unusual. Horus also acts young at times (e.g., in Thoth's temple when he screws up with Seth) because he's literally the younger partner in the relationship. He is learning. He learns. Seth encourages him to learn. As shown in Amunet's temple, Horus was also aware he had issues controlling himself, but was making efforts to do so. Seth encourages him to let go (Horus: "Of course I held back in front of you." Seth: "Don't hold back." - S2E107). There are few situations I can think of where Horus exhibits his brattishness outside his romantic relationship.
"But Anubis!" someone might say. Again, this is contextual. Yes, Horus is deeply angry at Anubis, somewhat offsetting his anger at Seth and himself on Anubis, and focusing all his jealousy on Anubis. Initially, anyway. Horus self-avowedly wanted to be Anubis. He wanted to be brought up in a life of ease, with parents who were both alive and loved him and didn't spew vitriol in his ears for hundreds of years. So there is jealousy there. Adults do in fact experience jealousy, it's not just something you experience as a child. I think when you consider the fact that Anubis, who lived a life of luxury, came to complain to Horus for more, based on the life Horus has lived, you might understand why Horus is somewhat less sympathetic to Anubis' situation. Imagine you've lived a life on the run, hungry, unclean, sickly, surrounded by death and horror spurred on by the crown prince's father, watched your mother work herself to ruin, lived with the knowledge that your father allegedly was murdered by the crown prince's father... and then one day the crown prince, an adult (considering Anubis is hundreds of years older than Horus, who is also hundreds of years old) raised with relatively little cares, come to you, sobbing and demanding you help him. Anubis is a person who has literally everything. And when you consider that the times they're living in are different. That, you know, beating your children is fine (children have limited rights in most parts of the world, you are essentially considered your parents' property until adulthood, and corporal punishment was legal against children for much of history, and was only made illegal in certain cases relatively recently). That Horus can ignore what Seth did to Anubis and otherwise view Anubis as a spoiled rotten child begging for even more from someone who has little to begin with... His treatment of Anubis before Anubis' ascension is understandable. This is on top of the fact the entire conversation where Horus dismisses how Seth treated Anubis takes place after Sekhmet tells Horus some part of what Seth sacrificed to Osiris for Anubis. Horus was already not sympathetic to Anubis, and he's less so after hearing what happened on the night Osiris died. When Horus nearly kills Anubis in his bedroom, it's not just jealousy, it's also fury at what Seth's gone through on Anubis' behalf.
A central part of Horus' feelings about Anubis is that Anubis is a danger to Seth. Horus cares about Seth more than just about anyone in the world, other than Isis. Thus, Horus views Anubis in light of that affection. Repeatedly, Horus witnesses Anubis endanger Seth and/or Seth endangering himself for Anubis. First, in Khemmis, Seth drinks and drugs himself into a stupor out of pain over Anubis, in a way Horus acknowledges left him vulnerable. Anubis literally made Seth miserable to the point Seth nearly lost his mind and life. Second, Anubis is the one who brings an army into Heliopolis, to dethrone and potentially imprison, torture, and/or murder Seth. Yes, Horus is part of that army. Yes, this helps Horus. It doesn't mean Horus can't acknowledge the danger Anubis poses to Seth by doing that. A weapon is a weapon. Third, Horus knows, to some degree, what Seth sacrificed on the night Osiris killed himself, on behalf of Anubis. Fourth, Horus witnesses how Seth endangers himself during the third match, because of Anubis, not just with the sword but also with the curse bracelet. When Horus and Anubis confront each other in the desert in S2E31, and Horus says, "This is why I've never liked you. . . . I knew it the moment I first saw you. I knew you would become shackles that would cause my uncle to suffer.", there is first reasoning behind it. He's not just being a territorial brat here. He knows, and has seen, recently, with the way Anubis treats Seth in the desert, just how dangerous Anubis is to Seth. And Horus does not want the person he loves most to be hurt. Yes, Horus pouts a bit while being lectured in S2E58... while pointing out that Anubis is dangerous to Seth specifically. Which is canonically true. That Seth is in denial about this does not make it less true. As proven shortly afterward when Horus witnesses Anubis attempt to kidnap Seth and then brutally injure Seth in S2E59. As Horus points out when Seth defends Anubis, "Have you forgotten he nearly killed you?" - S2E60.
Horus did bad things to Seth too, and he is pushy and ignores Seth at times. However, that doesn't mean he owes Seth asking Hanekate for help for someone who's a danger to Seth. Yes, it's played up as him kind of throwing a tantrum (for comedy because it's, you know, a comic). But literally, if someone you liked asked you to help someone you didn't like, who's endangered and attempted to murder someone you cared about... it's not precisely childish to just say, "No." Seth also intentionally pissed off Hanekate to get out of the set-up Horus went to a far degree to get him into. In terms of drama, they're about even at this point.
And ultimately, Horus is, after a fashion, correct: Osiris uses Anubis to drag Seth to Duat. It's something Horus pointed out in S1E27, when asking where Anubis' allegiances lie and why he does what he does, "Did Isis ask you to do this? Or... ...Did Osiris order you to?" Horus knew from the start and was right to be wary of Anubis' allegiances, and that concern only grew over the course of the narrative. Even ignoring the danger to Seth, Osiris as an entity is a boogeyman of his own whom Horus is seemingly wary of, and then he learns more about what Osiris did to Seth. The end of season 2 is Horus' worst nightmare made manifest. That doesn't give him license to act bratty whenever he does in re: Anubis. But we know from the entirety of the story that he has plenty of reason to act the way he does in regard to Anubis prior to that moment. The end of season 2 is just what he feared most happening, and part of why he fought so hard to distance Seth and Anubis in the first place.
In re: Khemmis, I don't think it's beyond the pale for a person, regardless of age, to be curious and act a bit selfishly. He wanted to know what the true big bad he's been told about his entire life is like. The person who is central to his reason for existence. Not only because Osiris never wanted to have kids, and thus Seth's involvement in Osiris' death is the only reason Isis had Horus, but also because Seth is the person upon whom Horus is meant to take revenge. And Horus has lived a miserable existence up until this point to get to that goal. Wanting an out or an end or answers makes sense in that respect. Living a temporary fantasy where he was wholly loved and supported rather than seen as a vehicle for revenge makes sense, given the life he lived. And ultimately, it is Horus, the younger individual, who realizes it isn't any good, and leaves, returning to his mother (S1E62). He made the responsible choice. That does not smack of immaturity to me.
In re: choosing not to fully ascend, sometimes we do selfish things for love. And given ascension is a very personal choice, I think this is fine. This choice is only childish in the sense that his ascension is considered the "adult" thing to do. And why? Because he's destined to be the sun god? To rule Egypt? To take revenge for Isis? All of these are things that have nothing to do with what he wants. They are things he would do for others. Why is it selfish to want to be loved? To want to be happy? Even if it is, why is that particular brand of selfishness a bad thing, especially when it comes to something that involves your literal physical being? In the moment he loses Seth's curse on his age, he realizes the weight of his decision, and is horrified. He's afraid, but he makes a very calculated decision not to ascend. It's a very adult thing in its own right. Dangerous, yes. Foolish, perhaps. But childish? I don't really think so. He literally physically comes into adulthood in that moment and makes an adult choice. Horus takes command of his own autonomy. He is allowed to make choices about that without being labeled as a child for doing so. In a story that is centrally about autonomy - whether it's Seth's over his choice in partner, Isis in being a woman in a patriarchal society, Nephthys losing control over her own mind and then taking it back and deciding for herself how she feels about Seth, Anubis and Horus being the heirs to powerful parents - this is a particularly powerful choice.
Horus understood Seth was basically committing suicide by proxy during the trial and tried to talk him out of it: "This is why I no longer wish to see the two of you add fuel to the fire. And I too will never again do something so terrible to you. I absolutely refuse to do so. So please... Please stop trying to harm one another. You two are siblings. You share the same blood. Please stop this competition so that such tragedies do not repeat themselves, Uncle." (S1E58). He doesn't want Isis to be hurt more. He doesn't want his family to keep fighting. This is a very adult moment and wish, in a competition where Horus is heavily handicapped - despite Seth's handicap, Horus is still a demigod, while Seth is a thousands of years old, seasoned god of war - and thus at extreme risk. It is a foolish decision that risks everything. But it is one he makes all the same, because he has people he cares about and he wants to fight to protect them in the only way he knows how.
Horus tries to talk Seth out of using the cursed bracelet, not for his own advancement, but because it's dangerous to Seth (S1E63). Again, he cares about Seth, and he puts his life on the line to try to keep Seth safe. A child would flee in fear. Not grab a weapon that works by gravity and threaten the most powerful being in his vicinity to try to stop him from killing himself.
Horus has shown he's capable of diplomacy. With Seth, Isis, Hathor, Hanekate, and others. He can handle administrative tasks. He can perform difficult tests. He can act professionally in public settings (e.g., the trial). He faces his fears, he studies, he modifies his behavior accordingly. This is not, to me, a sign of immaturity. People can be smart and also have moments where they aren't constantly serious.
Horus can be playful: he does have some fun with Seth after the caravan cave. He also does his best to keep Seth from dissolving. While arguing with the foreign god, he makes pointed comments about the foreign god's agreements. He responds to Seth's arguments with his own points. He supports Seth when Seth is sickly and carries him to the only person he knows might help Seth. He lies to do it, betraying Hanekate by having her treat the man responsible for her daughter's murder and the murder of so many whom Hanekate cares for. It's not childish so much as just cruel. It's a selfish choice, which he often makes. I think framing stuff like this as "childish" downplays the danger that powerful men pose to women in patriarchy. Horus, even as a demigod, is a dictator with superpowers who holds power over a disabled mortal woman like Hanekate. And he abused it.
In re: trying to get Seth to eat in the temple, we see Horus trying repeated avenues to get Seth to eat literally anything, and Seth is shown as fussy and self-harming (by not eating, he is rejecting healing, even if Horus doesn't know this is because eating brings up Seth's trauma). That Horus tried to make light of it to trick Seth into eating isn't that surprising. Seth was acting childish. Horus returned the behavior, at best, but with the intelligence of trying to trick Seth into helping himself. We see his fear of what could happen to Seth when Seth's illness gets worse in S2E38. There's a lot at risk. Horus will do anything, even debase himself, to try to help Seth get better. Watch a parent feed a child sometime. It's similar.
In re: leaving all the birds with Seth: Horus knows the risk the foreign god in particular poses to Seth, and the various dangers Seth has gotten into on his journey. Leaving Seth a literal army to protect himself - which Horus used to rescue Seth from FG's caravan before - is understandable. That he turns back from Heliopolis when he sees his mother is awake and apparently in charge is a measured choice. One he makes a bit quickly, but it's measured all the same.
Much of their time going to and being in Hermopolis features Horus being curious about history, including that of his family (Nut is his grandmother, after all), and being wow'd by Seth's history. He loves Seth and is awe'd by him. Adults can experience awe. And his conversation with Seth about Seth's issues with eating, where he's connecting the dots in S2E88, is very adult. He spends a ton of time looking after Seth, trying to help him, and ultimately they form a partnership and work together. They talk a lot to each other, have heart to hearts... As shown in the scenes in Amunet's temple and Thoth's temple, Seth is into what Horus does in the bedroom, too, and when he's not into it, he makes that clear. But when Horus isn't in the bedroom, by and large, he's just supportive.
Horus is also careful with how he talks to Nephthys, despite his jealousy. He could ignore Nephthys, attack her... but instead, he's wary of what he doesn't know. Conflicted, again selfish, but thoughtful in his own way. There's a lot going into this relationship: Horus doesn't fully understand what mirror!Nephthys is or how he should react to her. On their first meeting, he doesn't fully know if she's real or not, and he has reason to believe there's more at play than he understands. At the time, he and Seth were enemies. Telling Seth that a version of Nephthys was trapped in a mirror was a risk. Telling Isis might be less of a risk, but his relationship with her, as pointed out earlier, was difficult. Talking to the imprisoned Nephthys was also risky. He ultimately does it, but they didn't have all the time in the world to discuss everything, seemingly, especially since Horus was recovering from nearly dying. And Horus leaves her light before he leaves in Hermopolis. He doesn't know how to get her out, but he at least gives her that. He also tries to encourage her, despite his own stake in her staying where she is. He doesn't tell Seth until it's too late, but that conversation would have likely never gone well to some degree. Does this whole thing speak well of him? Not entirely. But he does decently in a bad situation largely out of his control. It's not immature so much as a mess the best person couldn't navigate well, played up for narrative drama.
At worst, Horus is a bit naive and overly trusting due to his youth and people, including Isis, Thoth, and Seth in particular, keeping information from him, sometimes manipulating him for their own ends. He is aware of his position as a piece other people want to use, and he prefers to use his own ability to chase after what he wants instead. He's a king, he can do that. He has mortal feelings, so yes, he is flawed and often selfish. That doesn't make him a child. That makes him a person in a story about how gods are capable of feelings and wants, and Horus more than anyone else, is a "link between the gods and humankind." (S2E44).
There's a lot more to say on the topic, but I think I've done enough here. So no, I don't view him as a "manchild". He's a complex demigod king who strategizes and lives in a highly political and dangerous environment, and tries to take what few pleasures he can in it, while looking out for those whom he cares for.
your ennead analyses sustain me. do you think when thoth repeatedly used the phrase "blinded by love," he was aware of the double meaning, given that he probably knew what was going to happen in the near future?
I'm glad my ramblings are enjoyable <3
In re: Thoth: Anything is possible! This premise has actually been sort of brought up by Horus before (albeit not worded this way), going all the way back to S1E62 in the flashback when he was chatting with Anubis after talking with Sekhmet on the night after the second match:
There's also a big emphasis on connecting love and eyes in the manhwa. When Horus and Nephthys are brainwashed/controlled by the mirror/their feelings of love are being manipulated by the mirror, their eyes glow, and they can't act as they otherwise likely would. Horus was blind to his self-control, and Nephthys was blind to her feelings for Seth. Hathor's mirror, which can manipulate such feelings/emotions of love, is something someone has to look into with their eyes in order for it to work. Horus' eyes are also the first part of him that Seth loved, and it's when Horus sees Seth (and more significantly looks into his face) that his worldview is changed, versus simply listening to the stories from his mother.
There definitely seemed to be a warning in Thoth's words to Horus in S2E124, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was a prophecy or something.
I just wanna say I love reading your Ennead chapter analysis! I started a few chapters ago and now reading your thoughts on each point has become part of my routine every time an episode drops.
In the latest one there's something you said about Nephthys not knowing the nature of Seth's feelings regarding Horus, and that reminded me of something I'd been wondering about. During their second encounter Nephthys correctly deduced that Seth is the one Horus loves, but then that scene cuts away and we never see what Horus says next. The next (and last) time we see Horus and Nephthys in the temple, they're by the exit he's giving her the jewel and feathers to keep. I'm kind of dying to know how that conversation went 😂 😭 But also maybe something about that convo could have tipped her off?
(And it reminded me how their first encounter had part of their interaction hidden for later, with Horus denying her request point blank before leaving, and it changed our understanding of a few previous moments.)
...Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. But anyway thanks for always sharing your thoughts!
Cheers! xo
Thank you so much <3 <3 I'm honored <3 <3
CW: mild spoilers for S2E133 of ENNEAD:
I'd love to know more about what happened in the mid-conversation pause between S2E100 ("Was the one you saw in the mirror... Seth?") and the apparent end of Horus and Nephthys' conversation in S2E118, when he leaves the jewel and some feathers there. Horus definitely could have said something to her between those moments, but what it exactly is anyone's guess! Explaining anything about his relationship with Seth is certainly possible, though it feels kind of mean. After all, to mirror!Nephthys, she and Seth are still married and she still loves him, and Horus would be a love rival. Horus telling Nephthys that he's going to leave her behind again and go romance Nephthys' husband, while Nephthys is imprisoned in the dark, is just kind of not really his style alkdjalj I think at best he maybe elaborated on his feelings a little...? Or just stayed silent and let her imagine. Plus, his wishes doesn't necessarily translate to how Seth feels about it (one-sidedness is a thing). He could of course say that Seth kissed him and they're together, but that would still be really mean and feel out of character. But who knows! We did already get a little bit more of the conversation at least to mirror the original mirror conversation, with S2E118, so that might be all we're getting. But if they did talk more, it could be something Nephthys herself might bring up next episode or in some later episode! It could be part of why she, while being aware Horus is a potential love rival, still wasn't hostile to him while he was leaving. Or maybe she's just like that as a person, especially after living so long before being trapped in the mirror and then being trapped in the mirror for so long. One issue in the story is we see so little of her true personality outside S2E98 and part of S2E99. The rest of the time we're really only seeing her potentially after she was brainwashed by the mirror or her memories in the mirror were cut off from the rest of her.
Another facet is that Horus and regular!Nephthys talked during/before Seth's sentencing, in the flashback in S1E69 (when Horus convinced Nephthys to speak at the sentencing), and Nephthys witnessed Horus stepping in to "knock Seth out" and cradle him when he went berserk. Recombined, with the realization that Horus likely turned his back on her after the first match because of his affection for Seth, Nephthys might put two and two together, and realize that Horus is someone who plans to stick by Seth's side. It still says nothing about Seth's feelings on the matter (though that Seth went along with Horus' gambit during the sentencing speaks volumes, assuming Nephthys knew or could at least guess that Seth would have had to voluntarily go along with it, rather than Horus' knock-out was legitimate), but even if Nephthys and Horus said nothing to each other outside what we see in S2E100 and S2E118, there's at least some reason why she might be saying what she is in S2E133 about Horus' apparent feelings. That's part of why I wrote what I did in the post.
Just saw your karaiko post and love it! Oh, have you seen the update for Famiresu? I can't believe it. So excited for this! Are you KyoSato shipper too? Love their dynamic so much!! Are you an old man yaoi or age-gap BL fan?
I'm glad you liked the post <3 And yes, I am up to date with Famiresu Iko! I'm enjoying it immensely. And it makes sense for what we've seen of the characters thus far. Satomi in Karaoke Iko was dealing with complicated coming of age feelings that seemingly only kept on in some form while Kyouji was gone (and maybe stuck in prison), and have continued through Satomi's adulthood. I think he's still trying to figure out how specifically he wants to be with Kyouji, but he definitely wants to stay with Kyouji, in a close manner, as he said previously.
I am a KyoSato shipper, and would like to write fanfic for them while Satomi is in university. Not sure what form it'll take at this point, but we'll see where inspiration takes me.
I love a lot of m/m and BL featuring older guys, and I definitely lean towards stories these days featuring at least one lead in their 30s, 40s, or older! 10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40 by Mamita is one of my favorite BL (and she writes lots of stories with older guys, like Wanna Be My Dress-Up Lover?). And I generally love older coming of age stories, like I Didn't Mean to Fall in Love by Minta Suzumaru, which is about a guy dealing with turning 30 (and there are other great BL out there featuring tired guys in their 30s, like The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter by Yatsuki Wakatsu, My Younger Knight Takes Care of Me in Another World by Nekonomori Shima, and The Troublesome Guest of Sotomura Detective Agency by Sakae Kusama). Jealousy by Scarlet Beriko is also great in how it focuses on a guy in his like 40s or 50s, with an (eventual) boyfriend of similar age. And ah, Oni to Tengoku by Aga Naomi with art by Oyoshikawa Kyouko is one of my favorite BL. And Yan Wushi is like late 40s/early 50s in Thousand Autumns by Meng Xi Shi and he's a fun, terrible older man, menacing poor 30-something Shen Qiao :3 For m/m, The Boy by Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock also features an older top I think in his late 30s. Taejun in Unintentional Love Story by PIBI is also like mid-30s if I remember correctly? I think the leads in Midnight Rain by CTK are also in their 30s or so, or at least one of them is. Lan Wangji is like 35 or so in Mo Dao Zu Shi by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, and Xie Lian and Hua Cheng are both 800+ in Heaven Official's Blessing.
I love a lot of age gap m/m and BL, like Thousand Autumns, Lover Boy by ZEC, and a number of the other things I mentioned above, and I've written plenty (and plan to do more). There's a lot of fun things that can happen there, especially with younger tops and older bottoms (though I don't mind the reverse, either). It's part of what makes Horus/Seth in ENNEAD fun, given Horus is a hundred or so years old, and Seth is thousands of years old and also was married and raised a child, and that creates a vast difference of experience between them.
@richislittlecircus replied to your post "Thoughts on the live-action adaptation of The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, Episodes 3: Risk Assessment . . . ":
Idk i started the book but i kind of dont like the writing style? At least now at the beginning. I cant really immerse myself into it.
That said ive only read like two pages so far but usually if i dont like the first few pages i dont enjoy the reading of the rest.
What do you think about the writing style of the book? Does it get better (or am i judging it too hurshly)
This doesn't really have to do with my comment that the books are better than the show, which is a subjective opinion anyway, but it's cool you're giving (I assume) All Systems Red a shot!
It depends on what you didn't like and your own mileage when it comes to reading. Generally though, my rule of thumb is, if there's something you're not into in a story at any point to the point you don't feel like continuing, it's fine to quit, no matter how deep into it you are.
I don't specifically know what it is you don't like about the writing style, so I can't tell you if something you don't like is going to go away/change, particularly in a way you like, especially since you've seemingly read so little of it. If you don't like first person narration, that doesn't change. I'm not a fan of first person myself, but I think Wells does a good job of writing it to the point that I'm comfortable with it. She's one of the few authors I can stand doing it, and I think that in itself speaks for the writing quality.
If you don't like reading an anxious, unreliable narrator's perspective, there's no getting around that. If you don't like critiques of capitalism and somewhat gritty dystopic science fiction, or you don't like the humor, the story may not be for you. Or maybe the story just isn't grabbing you for whatever reason. I have no idea.
Personally, I think The Murderbot Diaries is one of the best pieces of science fiction writing I've ever read. It's not perfect, but it is incredibly well-written. It is also one of the most approachable examples of hard SF, which again speaks for the quality of its writing. I've read other hard SF that we call doorstoppers because they're so huge. Murderbot's beauty is that it's so short and yet so dense while also being approachable by a lay reader. The writing doesn't "get better" at some point to me because it's already excellent from the beginning of All Systems Red. I first read the novella in one sitting (well, standing, as I opened the book as I walked into my bedroom and then stood in the doorway until I'd finished reading it). And after the first trailer for Murderbot dropped last month, I reread All Systems Red in one sitting. It has one of the best openings I've seen in a story. The overall novella and series is funny, fun, and just extremely well-written from start to finish. The cast is fun and plots are very enjoyable. Murderbot is an extremely relatable character. I actually think the earlier entries are the stronger part of the series, though I enjoyed System Collapse, the most recent entry, well enough. And I liked Murderbot enough to pick up some of Wells' other works, including Ile-Rein, Raksura, and The Rising World, though I think Murderbot is the best written (followed by at least the earlier parts of Raksura). I've even written fanfiction for Ile-Rein, and I'd like to write some more for the series, and I have one ship I'd like to write for in Raksura (though I don't recommend anyone read Ile-Rein, honestly; if you want more Wells, read Raksura).
That being said, Murderbot will not be for everyone, for any number of reasons, and what I enjoy is not necessarily going to be what you enjoy. If the opening is turning you off, then it's probably not for you. I don't love all of Wells' works (which is why I don't recommend reading Ile-Rein, even though, after Murderbot, it's maybe what she's most well-known for, as The Death of the Necromancer won a Nebula award), so I can understand not being a fan of at least some of her writing (though style wasn't my issue in Ile-Rein, nor was style the core of my issues with The Rising World).
Hey! I'm new to the ENNEAD fandom and have been on a fic binge for the past few days. I've noticed the tag "AU 19" on a lot of your fics. Would you mind explaining what that is?
Welcome to the fandom! I hope you enjoy any fanfics you try!
The number system refers to the age rating between the two different versions of ENNEAD: the 19+/Complete/Mature version and the 16+/Older Teen version, which contains censored and sometimes new and more safe for work scenes. 19+ tends to be used on the original Korean listings (it's why there's typically a little 19 on the covers when you buy episodes on places like mcomics or Ridibooks):
("Complete" is how the 19+ version is referred to in Korean: 엔네아드 (ENNEAD) [완전판] (the brackets say "Complete Edition"); it's complete in that it hasn't been modified for younger audiences like the 16+ version has)
Tappytoon doesn't use an age rating for the 19+/Complete Edition, originally sticking to "Mature" for its translation of that version (this has been changed to "Steamy"). Seven Seas also calls it Mature, which is designated for age 18+, likely because Seven Seas is a U.S. company and Korean ages start newborns at age 1, not 0, so a 19-year-old Korean would be 18 in other countries (like the U.S.). The English translation of ENNEAD didn't begin until March 10, 2020, which was shortly before season 1 concluded in Korean (by that point, ENNEAD had been ongoing for at least around 3 years). It took a long time for the English translation to catch up, and by that point, both the post-season 1 AUs were out. There was fandom outside Korea prior to the release of the official English translation (e.g., in Japan, which got a translation of the 19+/Mature release starting February 28, 2020), and I imagine most people differentiated it based on the 19+ and non-19+ ratings.
"AU 19 ENNEAD" is one of the fan-designed tags to designate fanfics related to the alternate universe short story extra for the 19+/Mature version of ENNEAD season 1 about Horus becoming king and keeping Seth prisoner. The AU is non-canon and based on an earlier draft of ENNEAD that Mojito scrapped before creating the current version of the story, and is available as episodes 74-75 of season 1 on the 19+/Complete/Mature version.
It was also included in an extra booklet in the Taiwanese box set of season 1, and is included at the end of volume 6 of the Panini German physical release, and the Mature volume 6 of the Seven Seas English release.
The 19+/Mature AU is sometimes referred to as AU 19, to differentiate it from Tiny AU, a fan name for the AU attached to the 16+/Older Teen version of ENNEAD season 1, where Seth is sentenced to become tiny (which is available as episode 74 of the 16+ English translation, and at the end of volume 6 for both the Older Teen and Mature English physical releases, and the German physical release).
The 19+/Mature AU is also sometimes called R19 AU (e.g., Rated 19, again for the age of the story version), Gaiden 19 in Japan, or as I prefer, Dark King Horus AU, because it's more specific in the same way "Tiny AU" is and doesn't require knowledge of the rating system.
I only have the tags for AU 19 ENNEAD/Dark King Horus AU on two fanfics, my one-shot for ENNEAD Week 2022, which is set within the 19+/Mature AU universe, after what's shown in S1E74-75, and my longfic, As Long As You're Mine, which is set after that. This is in comparison to my Tiny AU fanfic. At the time I posted my first 19+/Mature AU fanfic, I only found one other fanfic for the AU, so I used the tag they used, which was AU 19 ENNEAD. There were apparently two other fics at the time, in Chinese, both of which referred to it as the r19 AU. Other folks seemingly followed suit after the English fics.
