As the proud owner of an ancestral pureblood mansion, I must say that the prospect of Ministry flunkies invading my home in order to “inspect” it has always horrified me. Although I am not, of course, in possession of any illegal artefacts, I have no faith whatsoever that the Ministry can tell the difference between my perfectly legal family heirlooms and the dangerous dark artefacts that they are actually authorised to take. In that light, your suggestions to Lighten my mansion were most welcome — and indeed, only this past week, a Ministry inspection barely glanced around my pale blue, well-lit foyer, smiled at the clean house-elf under orders to look pleasant, and exchanged a few pleasantries with me when I asked about the welfare of his family, before giving me a friendly nod and departing! Truly, your suggestions have preserved the sanctity and privacy of my home, and for that I cannot thank you enough.
—Lady Greenest-Grass, Appreciative Reader
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We are very glad to hear that our advise has eased the strain of living in such tumultuous and occasionally actively hostile times! You truly have outdone yourself and we hope your discrete strategies will pay off for years to come.
(Not to mention that pale blue, while certainly not as heart-warming an evil color as pink nor as vigorously misleading as orange, is a perfectly tasteful color. Well done! We are inspired by your creativity and careful balancing act.)
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Something I alluded to in this week's Ichi review was that while I've been invested up to this point, I haven't been as completely immersed as I had been with Undead Unluck or Cipher Academy, which both captured and held me from ch.1 all the way to the end
I decided to chase that and analyze why Ichi wasn't connecting with me the same way
Looking back at chapter 1, the thing that hooked me was the setting; a world where only women can wield magic, and do so by passing tests posed to them by monsters who embody the individual spells. Even ignoring the premise that a man manages to break the status quo, that core concept alone was enough to spark my curiosity
From there, each chapter continued to expand on that setting - giving examples of the types of monsters we'd see, teasing the process of finding and facing them, showing glimpses of the society built by the women who use magic, their tools and their fashion, but something was still missing
Every week I found myself asking "what are we doing this for?" What was the grander goal, and who was going to stand in the way?
It wasn't until the most recent arc with the introduction of the World Hater that I really got the answer to that question - one of the monsters, moreso than any other, wants to destroy everything. In turn, our protagonist, more than anything, wants to kill it - regardless of whether or not it would save lives, he just knows it would be fun. It's a fairly simple goal, but a compelling one nonetheless, allowing me to not only be invested in the setting, but now also in the plot
But something was still missing
And it was only during this chapter that I realized what it was. Desscaras, The Strongest Witch, faced with a situation that her strength won't help her overcome, chooses to be open and vulnerable, and suddenly that something wasn't missing anymore
I was finally invested in the characters
I thought Ichi was interesting enough, for sure, with how unhinged he was and the themes that his philosophy suggested for the series, but I didn't know what the intentions were for his arc. Desscaras was silly and fun to watch, but I didn't have a good read on how she would contribute to the narrative. Kumugi was the only one I particularly saw thematic potential in from the get, which is why I latched onto her pretty quickly, but it was clear she was meant to be a slow burn and wasn't going to be getting a ton of focus for the foreseeable future
In other words, everyone in the cast had an interesting hook, but no one had shown any real depth yet, at least not to the extent that I wanted
But now I can see it
The flaw in Ichi's philosophy that makes him reckless with the life that he supposedly cherishes so much, the weakness in Desscaras' heart that necessitated she become the Strongest in the first place, and the connection forged between the two of them
Granted, I also said from the beginning that I expected that sort of connection to come up between Ichi and Uroro, so it's not like I couldn't envision how this story would deepen its cast, but just imagining how it would do it and actually seeing it happen are two different things. Now that we're seeing the bonds deepening between two characters, we're likely to start seeing it happen with others more and more often, though likely still fairly slowly
Now that I have a clear picture of how the cast will grow, I can definitively get excited for it rather than just projecting a hypothetical that I hope to see
I think this is also why there are so many manga in Jump that I don't get excited about
I didn't care for Kagurabachi from the beginning because I didn't care about the setting, plot or characters. It was only during the Rakuzaichi Arc, which really started focusing on the characters, that I started feeling invested, but I still don't care about the setting and only slightly care about the plot. In the Samura Arc, though, I'm starting to care a bit more about the plot, and I can see a bit more of interest in the setting, but I'm still not there yet. If it can clinch that, I'll be all in
There are other factors that matter, of course - art style, pacing, themes, etc. all contribute to my enjoyment, but I can look past the art and pacing if everything else works, and I can only care about the themes if I like at least one of the previous factors
By analyzing my experiences like this, I'm getting a clearer picture of my tastes and how I define the quality of a work. Hopefully this framework will help me better articulate my opinions going forward and give me a better approach to appreciating what I read
I read fanfiction for smut. Let’s start there. Not for character development, not for literary analysis, not for some highbrow reason. For smut. And I’m not pretending it’s anything else.
But the funny thing is, the more I read, the less that explanation fits.
I’ve read classics. I’ve read philosophy. I’ve read poetry. And nothing — not one damn thing — hits me the way a really good fanfic does.
Some of them shouldn’t even be that good. They’re written for free, usually in the middle of the night, by people who will never get paid. And somehow, they create worlds that feel more real than books that took years and money and editors.
And sometimes, it’s better. Not “better written,” not “better canon.” Just better for me. Because it reaches into places the original never could.
Maybe that’s what I mean when I say fanfiction is art. Not the kind that gets awards or hangs in galleries. The kind that catches you off guard. The kind that feels like it wasn’t made for anyone else but you.
Here's an example. I’m reading crimson supernova by serenadewave. Almost half a million words. Ten months of someone’s life. Philosophy, love, kinks. Sometimes it’s too much, but I can’t stop. No editor, no publisher, no one saying, “this will sell.”
I still read it for smut. I won’t pretend otherwise. But that’s not the whole truth anymore. Somewhere along the way, it stopped being just about that. It became something else — a place I keep coming back to because it reminds me what stories are supposed to do.
I don’t know what makes a piece of writing cross that line from good to unforgettable. But sometimes, in the middle of a long fic, at three in the morning, I find it.
And that is the moment I enter the Zone. The world fades, and it’s just me and the words.
Girls and their emotional support quote they read when they were 13 in a fantasy novel and that's when they first felt like a quote was written just for you
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it's very personal opinion but some of yaoi manga readers (as i see) think they have the best aspects and taste in manga but the all other readers suck and be fetishist. umm but no?? i don't support any specific genre, i also have my favourite and least favourites subjects in the stories but i can't claim any of them is the best and i can't expect that everyone needs to give their attention???
in addition, the other thing which surprises me every time that some readers hate "female" writers. yes toxic writers exist and we don't support them but NOT all straight female artists are bad. you see something toxic on the story and claim the artist is female or straight. you don't even check properly before talking.
a whole different point but well written toxic stories also can help people to understand the whole experience without having it. you just didn't read the good ones as i assume. also if the behavior is not supported and normalized, it can be talked about it.
i can't understand actually, you wanna hear claps just because you've just read something non-toxic? you have the best taste? you know the healtiest book? good for you. now let people enjoy their things.
