[ SECRET POST #5551 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5551 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.
[Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao]



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02.



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03.
[Venom]


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04. https://i.imgur.com/M0aDyxc.png
[OP warned for NSFW image]


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05.



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06. [SPOILERS for In Sound Mind]
























Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #794.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[case]

Name the fandom. And repeats, etc.

(If you think something in this thread is a troll, please ignore it! Conversation is fine, but OT wank makes stuff harder to keep track of in this thread. Thanks.)

Friday secret count

[case]

~40

(frozen comment)

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General comments → Off-topic discussion thread

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01. https://i.imgur.com/9q4XqaN.png
[Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao]

[(Anonymous)]

The author actually addressed this question, since it apparently comes up a lot: https://www.tiktok.com/@xiranjayzhao/video/7065056992443878662

[(Anonymous)]

I. I mean. I would legit love that story you made up there. Damnit, now I'm sad it doesn't exist. :/

[(Anonymous)]

I mean Abraham Lincoln: vampire hunter exists, so it's not as if no one does this, it's just kind of uncommon.

[(Anonymous)]

So...Nobunaga the Fool, basically? A lesser known anime which features characters named Oda Nobunaga, Jeanne D'Arc and Leonardo Da Vinci fighting King Arthur and Julius Caesar in space (sadly it is nowhere near as awesome as that description makes it sound).

[(Anonymous)]

I'm pretty sure that somewhere in all the hype around this before it came out, they said that the characters/story were "inspired by" the historical figures.

[(Anonymous)]

I'd like to thank the recent secrets about this book for taking it off my TBR.

[(Anonymous)]

I didn't know they were named after historical figures until after I read it. I didn't know it was supposed to be AU either. I assumed it was our universe, post-apocalyptic. I was actually relieved when I learned about the real Wu Zetian, because before I wasn't confident that the author viewed her main character as the amoral anti-hero that she is. Finding out she's inspired by a historical figure who was indisputably not a good person (admired, but not good) made me rest assured that the author was aware.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm getting major CinemaSins vibes from this secret.

[(Anonymous)]

But using famous names is just campy fun. I don't know about this book, if it's serious, it's no good. But if it's a fun fantasy it's charming

[(Anonymous)]

Okay so I'm confused. Every online media outlet reporting on this book seems to claim that the story is an actual re-imagining of that particular Chinese Empress. It literally says "historical reimagination of Wu Zetian" in many articles. Which would put this in line with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Journey to the West and such, as mentioned elsewhere in these comments. Not weird.

BUT this secret and other comments seem to indicate that the story is NOT an AU of the historical figure but something entirely original? And that it also name-drops other historical figures? From the same time period? From different time periods?

Like, which is the case? Weird or not weird? Or is the book a re-imagining of Wu Zetian that ALSO features AU historical figures from totally different periods of history for no reason? Because that would be the weirdest case, like you're trying to have things both ways.

[bookblather]

For the record, Xiran Jay Zhao uses they/them pronouns.

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02. https://i.imgur.com/m4AcTKg.png

[(Anonymous)]

Jaws the Revenge is far more boring in its badness.

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03. https://i.imgur.com/lbuItmb.jpg
[Venom]

[(Anonymous)]

Not quite sure how to react to this secret. I mean, Eddie/Venom kind of awakened the monsterfucker in me. Beyond the physical attributes, I love the way that they are so entwined and yet often at odds.

But I really don't like reading about relationships with codependent people (where one partner suppresses their own needs in favor of the other partner). Or even unhealthily interdependent relationships (where both partners feel they can't operate autonomously).

Part of what I appreciate about the fic is that it often deals with the two of them setting healthy boundaries for themselves. Physiologically, they're set up to be a total interdependent catastrophe, but because they care about each other, they find a way to make it work in a relatively healthy way. They recognize that they have different desires and needs and they negotiate rules.

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04. https://i.imgur.com/M0aDyxc.png
[OP warned for NSFW image]

[(Anonymous)]

My feelings are that this is complicated. I'm all for scanty ladies and men but if all the men are dressed relatively normally and the ladies are in bikinis on the battlefield, then I'm going to complain. Now, if a couple ladies are in bikinis but others are in fatigues and others dressed in full body armor, then it becomes something more along the lines of 'does the bikini match the lady's personality' which is a more interesting question to me, because yeah, look at any group of men or ladies. You're gonna get those who are dressed conservatively and those who are dressed practically and those who are dressed inappropriately and those who think every color ought to be worn at the same time and a lot of crossover between every option.

So basically, if the canon has a wide variety of characters and those characters are dressed in a similarly wide variety of styles then... cool. It's all good.

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05. https://i.imgur.com/A8hHVRd.png

[(Anonymous)]

i feel that way about most generic 'fantasy realism' if thats a thing. i can't stand ffxiv either for the same reason. anime characters pasted onto a generic fantasy realism world

i love the art of fantasy worlds that have their own unique style that doesn't try to be 'realistic' though. or does 'realism' with their own flair like borderlands

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06. [SPOILERS for In Sound Mind]
https://i.imgur.com/chO3Yge.png

OP

[(Anonymous)]

In entirely too much detail:

Virginia/Medusa is the Wild Card, because she “mirrors” other Personas. Medusa is Curse, obviously, but she’s not much of an offensive powerhouse—more about heals, debuffs, and reflects. Later Personas are Atlas (Earth, highly defensive) and whichever naiad I can hack together to have a story closest to hers (Water, since Greece doesn’t do Ice as an element.)

Allen/Icarus is Fire. He’s a jack-of-all-trades with a slight emphasis on speed.

Since Fire is taken, Max/Minotaur is Air, based on his Shadow’s breath attack. He’s all about the physical attacks that injure him as well as the enemy. Maybe a berserk spell as well.

Lucas/Cyclops is Electric. He doesn’t fit into game mechanics, but basically, he’s a sniper.

Desmond is the navigator/primary healer. The obvious choice for his Persona is Psyche, but I think Asclepius fits better with his self-diagnosed savior complex. He’s pretty much the glue that keeps the group together, and the main guide to Virginia figuring out how the Wild Card works.

Of course Tonia gets a Persona. The party needs a mascot. She uses Sphinx, and her element is called Aether, because Greece doesn’t really have a Holy element. She’s the magical attacker.

Virginia, who’s always afraid, probably gets something shippy going with Allen, who feels more alive when he’s afraid. He’s the one who intervenes when she’s about to stab herself.

Desmond’s Shadow goes down pretty early, so the villain is old Nyarly again, drawn in by the Shadow experiments.

Harpy and Centaur are early monsters. Nemean Lion is the annoying mid-game that’s immune to physical damage, and Hydra is the one that keeps healing. Procrustes shows up towards the end, and you do not want to get put on his bed.

Yeah, I’ve thought about this way too much, given I haven’t written squat.

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General comments:

(If the thread contains spoilery/triggery content please warn/post as 2nd comment so it collapses!
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Secrets you don't want to make...

[(Anonymous)]

... but you wouldn't mind if someone else made them for you! As always, including the fandom and full character names is a big help, and I'll try my best to use an appropriate image choice. Just to clarify - it's my intention to make all the secrets left in this thread, so even if they're not marked claimed, they will be made.

I'll monitor this thread until tomorrow's secret post goes up, so feel free to leave your comments until then!

Yours truly,

a secret maker

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Games thread!