#(TOEI I'VE BEEN SUPPORTING YOU)

[watchingblsnowandforever]

Hello!!

I'm back to crack posting about my favourite shows and/or characters! =D

We Are ep 8 was gold. It had comedy, friendship, silliness and romance in the absolute perfect amounts.

Warning: long post 😊😅

This scene with Peem and Matt is peak comedy. I rewatched it so many times hehe

Phum: I'm gonna ignore every inch of space to stand right beside you. <3

Peem: *bombastic side eye*

Also Peem: *leans into him*

Khaofang woke up today and chose violence 😭👍🏼

Let's be honest though, that was not the sibling we'd expected to throw fists.

Meanwhile, Toey: that's my hia Fang 😊

Isn't that the million dollar question Mick 😭

If they got together already, how would the series run for 16 eps 😭

Toey with his hias ^ (also Matt edging him on like he's in a competition I'm dying 😭)

Toey with his P'Q:

However savage Q may be, he still shares the same braincell with his friends 😭👍🏼

IT WAS SO MEAN OF THEM TO MAKE MATT PAY WHEN THEY'VE HARDLY EVEN TAKEN A SIP! T-T

Peem before, when Phum even touched him: LET GO YOU ASSHOLE

Peem now: *fond, indulging smile* what do you want to do?

*shakes head with a sigh* boys in love ay

The motorcycle 'hold me tightly' trope being reused with a bicycle aka how to make them sit even closer

Peem saying so-so when Phum asks if he looks handsome: Peem, babe, you were the one who called him handsome first remember? 😭

What secretly. Phum was about as subtle as a football directly hitting your painting (yes I think I'm very funny).

With all due respect, please get the f out and let my boys be. Please and thank you. :)

^This is the answer to any question about Pun. 😭👍🏼

This scene is so, so beautiful. I am absolutely loving how they’re giving friendship/platonic love as much importance as romantic love because yes. I've been waiting for a bl like this forever (or at least since I got into bls hehe-). Bad Buddy and MSP came close, but We Are took the trophy. They love each other so much. Kill for each other? Nah, they'd go together and make that person's life living hell, and that would make my day.

I really really love that they're still so silly with each other in college, and are close to and comfortable enough with each other to be able to be childish and play in the middle of the day, to be each other's safe space.

This friendship is so precious and close to my heart. Even more than the romantic parts of the story, this is what makes me want to watch this series every week to see what new shenanigans they've got up to.

I love them. So much.

Beer is me, I am Beer.

Smiling at them so softly. Oh, he knows. And he ships. 👍🏼

This scene was also so beautiful.

They've finally started acknowledging that there's something between them.

I think more than Phum being unable to express himself, he's taking small steps to guage how Peem reacts. He wants them to be on the same page before he takes the next step.

Like with the kiss, he didn't hesitate to talk about it, to tell how much it means to him and then kiss Peem again. But he waited until Peem kissed him first, and till he was sure that Peem wanted to talk about it.

I really like this about him. He's not taking a step back per se, just making sure that when he takes a step forward, he's not leaving Peem one step behind.

Phum explains again and again how Peem is his safe space (his dialogues this time reminding us of Peem's little speech to his own friends and Fang talking about why he likes Tan with Phum), to make sure Peem knows.

It's already been told to us how alone he's been most of his life, so Peem and his ragtag group of friends is very new for him, but it's fun, and it not only brings him closer to Peem but also a friend group - a support system he didn't really have before. Sure, he has Fang, Beer and Mick, and Tan, but it's nothing like this silly little group that puts paint on each other then plays with water and gets almost black out drunk on a regular basis.

Also, did anyone else notice the two matching rainbow coloured jars behind Peem here? No? 👀

Simp. (affectionate)

I always love these call scenes where one of them somehow travels through his cell phone to land in the other's bed hehe

Peem is so done with Phum and his branded fashion outfits 😭😭

"You were born in Thailand."

Pond and the "I'm Thai" meme 😭

wait.

A bl lead realising he likes someone (his romantic interest) all on his lonesome??

Colour me surprised!

I actually didn't think I'd get to see this happen ever in a Thai bl, but good for him lol

So that's that for this week! If you've gotten this far, thank you so much for reading! 😊

Here, have a bubble tea 🧋

[calciumcryptid]

There are several posts making jokes about Chain, Peem, Pun, and Q's reaction to Tan calling Fang teerak despite Tan calling Fang his future boyfriend to their faces. Now, I know these posts are meant to be humorous, but I'll never stop dissecting We Are so allow me to provide a genuine explanation.

PART I - The Set-Up

First, we need to understand why the other four didn't bat an eye at Tan calling Fang his future boyfriend. Fortunately, the series shows us why they didn't react. It is episode five Tan proclaims Fang as his future boyfriend; however, it was episode four we were given the explanation for their lack of response.

In part three of episode four, Tan initiates a celebration with his friends in Peem's backyard. The people present are the Core Five high school friends (Chain, Peem, Pun, Q, and Tan) and Toey, who was invited by Peem. After some shenanigans, Tan announces to the group he initiated this celebration because he has a crush on someone and will tell them who it is once they start dating.

The crux of this moment is in the reaction of the other Core Five verses the reaction of Toey (the outsider). After Tan announces this, the rest of the Core Five are not amused. Peem and Q are visibly shaking their head in disbelief, Peem even grimacing, and you can see Chain look away and set his drink down in the corner. Peem even goes as far as to say "Is that it?".

This establishes something real quick: They are used to this type of announcement from Tan.

Toey isn't, as he is the resident outsider who was invited on a whim, which is why he seems confused and lost on why the others aren't providing their support. Fortunately, Q provides explanation.

Q: You've said something similar many times, but then you break up two months later.

Q states, clearly, that Tan is a player (which is ironic considering what is revealed about Q later in the show). Tan even confirms this when he points to a startled Chain, saying that he isn't as bad as him, and later proclaims "I swear, I'll quit being a playboy" when he tries to reassure his friends this time will be different.

Once again, Toey, as the outsider, is the only one to visually support him because the rest of the Core Five (who have been friends with Tan since high school) have heard this before. Although Peem seems to come around by the end, it is in a very jovial and teasing way which implies he might not fully believe Tan despite supporting him. Which, makes sense, if Tan dated so frequently that dating for only two months was a noticeable pattern.

Now, what about the festival?

PART II - The Loy Krathong Festival

In Episode Five, Tan introduces the rest of the Core Five to the Engineers and Fang. When he gets to Fang, he leans toward his friends and says Fang is his future boyfriend.

There is no reaction from the rest of the Core Five. The closest one to react to that proclamation is Peem, who looks back at his friends before he greets Fang formally as a senior; however, it could be argued this reaction is more at Fang being Phum's older brother. The second closest to a reaction is Chain, who seems to provide a slight smirk though it might just be the camera angle.

Now, remember what was established in episode four: The Core Five know Tan is a playboy, Tan even admitted to it, and don't seem to take his new crush seriously. They aren't reacting, because they aren't taking Tan seriously when he says he wants to date Fang.

Now, as much as I'd love to leave this part here.

I can't.

PART III - We Are Has Problems

As much as I love We Are, it does have problems. The difference between We Are's problems and other series problems is We Are's problems happened due to external forces.

To put it simply, We Are was in production hell.

Now, you might believe I am referring to the scandal, but I'm actually referring to something I see continuously regurgitate. I am unsure if this is true, but from I've gleaned the director P'New wanted to make We Are for around five years but couldn't get the production off the ground. Naturally, this would lead to a lot of rewrites and refinement as he continuously work-shopped it (Please take that with a grain of salt as I struggle to find confirmation of these rumors).

The thing you can't take with a grain of salt is the scandal.

To make a long story short, Poon was let out of his glass case as a last minute recast for Pun. Any potential progress in development and production for the series had to be redone. Please remember the fault of this doesn't lie in the cast and crew, but the actor they had to replace. Regardless, Poon acted his little heart out and we are better off for having him in GMMTV's circuit.

The problem is production hell is still production hell, and if you compare We Are's announcement trailer with the offical trailer you'll notice it has significant story differences (mainly with QToey, but there are indications TanFang got minor changes). I have my own theories on how the re-shoots impacted ChainPun's storyline and screentime (since groupshots would have to prioritized above any duo or solo scenes which might have left some scenes cut).

That is great Calcium, you are probably thinking, but why are you go on a tangent about We Are's production?

Simple.

It caused narrative inconsistencies also known as plot holes.

Remember how I mentioned QToey's storyline seemed to completely change? Yeah, I mentioned that because in the same episode there is an major plot hole with the QToey storyline that isn't as easily ignorable as the TanFang one.

In Episode Five Part 4 of 4, Toey asks if anyone wants to a float a krathong with him. Besides Q and Toey, the characters that are present in the scene are Beer, Chain, Fang, Mick, Pun, and Tan. When Toey asks the question, the rest bully Q into floating one with Toey; however, they are react in a way that indicates they are aware of Toey's crush (pointedly looking and nodding their head towards Q).

Small problem, three of them don't learn Toey has a crush on Q until part three of episode six, and the one person who we can safely assume is aware of Toey's crush at that point (Matt) is absent!

Yet, Chain, Pun, and Tan react as if they are aware, but in the previously mentioned part three of episode six they are shocked to discover Toey's crush! Why, then, are they acting like they are aware and trying to push them together in part four of episode five? You can't even blame this on them potentially going along with Beer, Mick, and Fang's reactions (who might know about Toey's crush) because then it wouldn't make sense to have a pointed zoom on Chain and Pun's faces.

Fang isn't even subtle, he is staring directly at Q but I guess if anyone present would know it would be Fang, but it is implied that Toey disappeared after graduating high school and they officially reunite onscreen at the festival so at minimum Fang would know about the post-it notes but not who the post it notes belong to-

*deep breath*

The point is, Tan saying Fang is his future boyfriend out loud and the group still being shocked at the amusement park is a plot hole brought about by production shake ups.

Tan even says, explicitly, in episode four he won't tell his friends who the crush is until they are officially together. While TanFang get together in episode five, Tan tells his friends Fang is his crush before the actual confession scene. If that doesn't scream plot hole I don't know what else does.

[fuck-i-like-too-much-stuff]

PART THREE TO MY NOT-SO-SMALL-ANYORE ADDITION TO THE PROFESSOR PEEM AND PROFESSOR Q TAG

Part one and two:

Ao3:

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The airport is three hours away from the university, the flight is one hour away from the airport and Peem is about to bring earthquakes with how much his knees are bouncing up and down under the table.

“Hia, are you okay?” 

“What?” Peem, having grown too accustomed to only being called Professor Peem these days, startles on catching sight of Toey in the staffroom.

“I asked if you're okay.”

Before he could answer, a group of his students accumulated at the door, seeking permission to enter.

“Come in, you guys. Are you here for submissions?” 

They don't answer, feet dug into the floor and eyes trained onto Toey. 

“Guys, I get that you're all fine arts students and must observe the world and what not. But the staring is getting out of hand these days with you lot.”

Again, no answer. This time, however their feet move backwards and take them on the same path they had arrived from. 

“What was that all about?” Toey's eyebrows move towards each other and Peem almost laughs at the proof that he is not the only one who sees his students acting weird. 

“Hell if I know. They've been this way for four weeks now and I still can not fathom why.”

“And what's going on with you? Jae Fai and Hia Fang told me you haven't been taking care of yourself.”

“I'm fine, Toey. He's coming back today. And I'm fine.”

“Alright. Then I'll go prepare for my lecture.”

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.

.

Peem had been grateful to not have any lectures today. Peem had been grateful to be in the staffroom and do personal consultings for an hour and then proceed to do the gradings Q unloaded on him, after complaining about how not a single one of them was in sequence. Till an hour back, that was.

Peem was now contemplating his life choices of putting the gallery on autopilot to become a professor. A professor, who is either being pitied or hated by the first years, because if Q hadn't asked him to rearrange the assignments, he wouldn't have had anything to do. Hell, even Toey has more work to do than him and he gives two guest lectures a year which are both just additional guides.

He can't be hated, right? He did pretty well the first two years. This is actually just Phum's business trips taking a toll on him. Yes, that's it. He will be back to his normal, not nauseated and not puffy eyed self in just a couple more hours.

Couple more hours, that's doable.

“Professor Peem?” He realizes his eyes have been shut closed for the past ten minutes. 

“Yeah?” He looks up to find the teacher's aid peeking through the door.

“Professor Q is asking for you. Could you please go to lecture hall C.”

The hallways he walks through fall into a gradient of heavier and heavier silence as he nears lecture hall C. 

“Prof Q?” he asks, leaning into the deadly silent class. 

“Professor Peem. Yes, please come in.” While Peem can't ever digest his best friend of twenty years talking to him with this much respect, in their professional environment he has learned not to trip over his feet because of it.

“You mentioned that our students have been behaving somewhat weird these past weeks, right?”

“Yeah… what's going on?”

“Let's hear what one of them has just said. Right, Wai?”

Peem turns to find Wai amongst the students, everyone does the same and eyes converge on the boy sitting with a look that could compete with ghosts and win.

“Professor, I'm- we are so sorry. We didn't know- we didn't understand, or actually even try to understand anything. We're so sorry.”

“Okay I'm fed up of asking what's going on, it's the only question I've been asking for four weeks now. So will someone please tell me what on earth is going on?” The irritation in Peem's voice cracks through his throat and for the first time in four weeks, he is not getting a single eye contact from his audience.

“Remember the theme sequence they all messed up and I asked you to help with correcting it? I mentioned it in class today and it turns out it wasn't a mistake or a misread instruction.” Q's voice feels as if it was dipped in melted metal.

“They've been convinced that you and I were dating, that I cheated on you with Toey and left you to go with him to Europe.”

If Peem was nauseated before, he does not know how to describe the current pit in his stomach. “Is this what- is this what the looks, all those pity filled looks, were about? You all thought, not that it was any of your business, that Q cheated on me.”

“Who cheated on who now?” A voice pierces through the suspended tension of the room and Peem truly does not believe in the ground anymore. There standing in the doorway is his boyfriend, who did not cheat on him in the very least, with a bouquet of roses. His boyfriend, for who's presence his entire being had been aching for two whole months now. His boyfriend, who looks much more confused than Peem is himself.

.

.

.

 “How was this any of their business in the first place? We were never once interested  in Prof Po's love life.” Q has been fuming for the course of the past forty five minutes in which they have managed to cancel class for the rest of the day, and leave.

“And to be honest, we didn't even care about it. It's a professional relationship.”  

Q and Toey's apartment is just a seven minute drive from the Uni, making it extremely convenient for Peem to crash on a comfortable sofa right after a long day Although right now, its a comfortable sofa in addition to his boyfriend's side, and arm and hands and scent and existence.

He knows and agrees with Q with his whole heart, and he knows so do Toey and Phum. However there is only so much agreement one can do in his state. He nods off to sleep, the first deep sleep after weeks.

The next thing he recalls is waking up the door closing on the opposite side of the car, watching Phum make his way to his side and open the door for him.

“I told you, I can open the door for myself.”

“I know you can. I, as a gentleman, just don't feel like letting you.”

“And you do, as a gentleman, feel like letting me walk all the way to the front door and then through the hall and to the bedroom-” assuming his mumbles aren't coherent enough to make it to Phum's ears, he tries to climb out of the car. 

His feet don't touch the ground, Phum is carrying him up to the front door and through the hallways and to the bedroom and not once did Peem's feet come near touching the ground.

“You didn't have to do that. I was only joking.”

“I don't mind an excuse to carry my boyfriend around- just as I don't need an excuse to sit on his lap.”

Maybe there is more agreement Peem can do in his state.

[magicalgirlagency]

Have you seen the Leaked Experience post about why there aren't new magical girl series ? I still think that Puella Magi Madoka Magica hurt the magical girl genre after reading it. I never thought it killed the magical girl genre like the post talks about just hurt the genre. I also still think those dark edgy magical girl series are bad for the genre. I've always been worried that Precure might be the reason why we don't see new magical girl anime and this post confirms that Precure is one of the reasons why we don't see new magical girl anime especially ones for girls. This is why I think we need to support the Acro Trip anime really hard when it comes out cause its the first magical girl anime for girls in a long, especially if we want more magical girl series that are for girls and aren't dark and edgy.

My feelings are similar, except that I don't think Madoka Magica has killed the genre, because if it did, then we wouldn't have this whole renaissance going on right now. Either that, or a majority of the Magical Girl series now would've been either grimdark, horny on main or both. The grimdark "boom"* was nothing but a cheap tactic to make easy money, because it was clear from the get-go that those series weren't made with a feminine audience in mind.

The biggest issue with Madoka Magica, is that it just shows how ignorant the audience is when it comes to the genre, how many people are quick to dismiss it as "glittery, frilly and girly stuff". They overlook the fact that Usagi develops PTSD, Bloom is a genocide survivor, Ichigo is a bio-weapon, and so on.

As for Pretty Cure, the argument doesn't stick to me, since it's not popular in the West, though there has been two attempts at english dubs, but both were horrendously americanized, so they didn't last long. I think it's Toei Animation's fault for not expanding the market on the franchise like what they've done to Sailor Moon.

*The word is in quotations, since all of those attempts have failed to grab anyone's attention on the long run and its many shameless displays of violence have made Madoka Magica look tame in comparison.

[bearhyuck127]

series review

Spoiler warning!!!

we are the series -

This show is so cute.

I can definitely see myself coming back to watch this as a comfort show.

Pisses me off that it took phem and peem up until episode 13 to start dating.

Q and toey are so cute I want to rip my hair out omg. Definitely my favorite side couple.

So sad it's ending soon.

8 out of 10

I give this rating because it took so long for the main couple to get together. Also I feel like it was dragged on a little longer than it should have. But the acting is great ( as expected from pond and phuwin) and I keep coming back for more.

My stand in the series-

BROOO

This show most definitely keeps me on my feet.

I don't understand why Joe would go back to the people who basically killed him.

I tried so hard to like ming but the second he chained my man how up I lost any liking I had for him.

I was a passionate Joe and sol supporter but when I saw how sad and helpless ming was I couldn't help but feel bad for him. ( I know I'm insane)

After finding out that Joe was in this joe's body he knew he had to make things right and I'm proud of him for all the sacrifices he is making right now.

9 out of 10

I give this rating because it's genuinely a really good series. Sure I kick and scream like a mad person but that's just apart of the experience.

I know that Joe will choose ming in the end because I've seen the trailer but its still nerve racking.

That are so foul for not giving the teaser for the last episode. I have to sit through the week in pain.

This love doesn't have long beans-

The way I've waited so long for this.

When I saw the announcement I was in school and I tried my absolute best to keep calm.

I've been obsessed with sailubpon since pit babe and I'm so happy that they have their own series.

Not to mention Garfield and benz. I'm so excited to see how there relationship develops.

I find the fact that the restaurant is actually babe's house from pit babe so funny.

8.5 out of 10

I think it's only fair to give this rating.

The first episode just came out but I'm already in love.

And like I said I waited so long for this series.

I'm so excited for next Friday.

I am definitely not excited about the "love triangle" though sigh.

My love mix-up

I cannot stress enough how much I love this series.

I love how fun Geminiforth make every series that they are in.

The confession was soo stressful though.. because what do you mean atom confessed got scared and tripped, ended up rolling down the hill with kongthap and then kongthap got bit by a snake...let's just say I was out of my bed for the whole thing.

I'm so ready for mudmee to confess because her and half are so cute.

9 out of 10

This series is so refreshing after the trauma I get from my stand in.

I can never get bored with geminiforth and I will always support them in all of their projects.

Sunset x vibes-

im not going to lie I wasn't too interested when watching the first episode but I let a few more episodes to come out before continuing and now I like it.

It's definitely something to watch when I'm bored every Saturday.

The friend group does kind of annoy me a little bit.. they blackmailed people that are way higher up in the business than they are which kind of gave me the ick. I understand that they were worried about their friend but I wouldn't go around blackmailing people. I'm pushing through though and I'm looking forward to the development of Sam and yo though.

I love moss and bank and I've wanted to see them in another series again for a while now.

7.5 out of 10

Though I like how the show is developing I have a few problems with it.

I wish they added translations for the jewelry scene but then again that could just be my streaming platform problem.

I will always love anything moss and bank do and this is no hate towards anyone!

Love sea-

oh. my. god.

This show has me in a chokehold i swear.

Again with the friends though omg! Mook girlie I promise tongrak will be ok if he has a man in his house.. I mean look at mut.. all I have to say.

I find the whole nook and vie situation is so cute though I'm so ready for them to get together.

Also these scenes man... they need to let us breathe. LET US BREATHE.

8.5 out of 10

I love fortpeat sooo much.

The difference between their characters in love in the air and love sea is funny but I live for it.

So ready for mut to show tongrak what love actually is.

Also money doesn't buy love guys 😔

Those are all the the shows I'm watching right now..it's a 9 to 5 job I swear... ( Please I need more shows ☹️) If you have any recommendations I will gladly take them. Sadly I can only watch on iqiyi and YouTube though so please stick to shows that air on those platforms please and thank you 🫶🫶🫶

[moonlightbeamu]

I've been working on a personal project that I wanted to yap about a little bit. This will be a bit long-winded, but it's my damn blog and I don't really care if anyone reads, to be honest.

Anyway, a few years back I bought a Sailor Moon season 1 DVD set from a Japanese-owned rental shop that was liquidating its stock. I was hoping it'd be a copy of the JP DVD set, but it turned out to be an exact copy of Viz's monstrosity from 2014. For anyone who doesn't know, that set is infamously terrible. The picture is ROUGH. Here's an example frame to show just how bad it is:

Like... what's even going on here? First of all, the aspect ratio is wrong. It's got what you might call "pillar boxing." Basically, they've embedded the 4:3 frame into a 16:9 canvas. In this case, it's an obvious sign that this set is a downscale of their blu-ray version (Which is its own nightmare). On blu-ray, this is correct practice since the BD standard only supports 16:9. On DVD, this results in the picture losing ~30% of the horizontal resolution, as well as rendering it unplayable on a traditional 4:3 display- ya know, the type of display this content was literally created to be played on.

The luma and chroma (lighting and colors) are also terrible. But not terrible in the usual "DVD copy of a broadcast VHS from 1992" way- that would be a significant upgrade from this- but in a, "how did you manage to include several types of degradation from various different types of sources?!" way. Here's an example of what it should look like:

This frame is from Viz's Pokemon DVD box set that was released around the same time. It's literally just a digital copy of a VHS from 1998. It's dull, blurry, and beautiful. There is very slight pillar boxing as an artifact of the telecine process (The tape was made by literally shooting a projector screen with a 90s TV camera). Note the significantly higher resolution compared to the Sailor Moon shot, as well as the more accurate colors. THIS is how you'd expect Sailor Moon to look on DVD. But... it doesn't?

Somehow the SM shot shows significant red shift (Colors are SIGNIFICANTLY redder than they're supposed to be), which you'd expect from film assets that had been stored improperly over long periods of time. Yet we know from Viz's statements at the time that they weren't allowed to use the film assets... Which is why it looks so shit, according to them... But then they'd be giving us a scan of, presumably, a betamax tape from 1992 (Japan was big on beta). But that would look significantly better than what they released? So how does a beta tape end up with film degradation? Unless Viz is saying that Toei literally created a brand new telecine of aged, badly-stored film to give them in 2014?

For comparison, here's my attempt to "fix" the SM footage for my own personal use:

It's not perfect, but it's significantly better. I was able to do this using free software in my spare time. How did Viz fuck up so badly? Is it really Toei's fault like they said? It's truly one of the great mysteries of anime fandom.

[shihalyfie]

So uh...Digimon Seekers being a web novel will be interesting.

It's an interesting format for sure. I'm guessing they're trying to find a way to keep "constant content" going in light of the loss of the anime timeslot and all that (the card game's doing well, but there's only so much it can do by itself).

Speaking of which! Let's talk about the elephant in the room, which is Digimon losing its timeslot and Ghost Game not getting a follow-up anime! In previous occasions, every time Digimon lost a timeslot and the anime went on hiatus again, that meant the franchise was in danger of dying (again), but...as of earlier this year, Digimon is now Toei's third best-selling IP internationally. So it is highly doubtful that the anime is going back on hiatus simply because things aren't doing well.

So, what's actually going on?

We're used to the idea of "Digimon should run back to back if it does well," and that's true of series that are explosively popular (which Digimon is not right now, even if it's not on the verge of dying either), but in actuality, the Fuji TV 9 AM slot is a high-demand one to the point most franchises don't get to run for three years on it consecutively. That kind of thing is rare enough that Japanese fans familiar with the timeslot have commented that Digimon has probably accomplished a lot getting to keep it for the last three years. There are only two IPs that have ever gotten to run for four consecutive years or longer on that slot: one is Dragon Ball (I think "not being as profitable as Dragon Ball" is hardly something to freak out about), and the other is Digimon itself.

That financial report I just linked says that Digimon is Toei's best internationally selling IP including overseas sales. While we've had a lot of reports recently about Digimon's financial success, they all specifically note that it means internationally and not just Japan -- and, granted, that's still important especially because Toei and Bandai have been trying to aim for more of an international market in recent years, but that's what's telling us that the video games and card games are what's carrying Digimon now, not necessarily the anime, which currently has very little influence outside Japan besides the Crunchyroll simulcast (and probably some East Asian language dubs), and I imagine that doesn't contribute very much. And the Adventure: English dub doesn't seem to be coming out anytime soon...

Like I've said, the card game is doing great, and sets have been coming out in Chinese and Korean as of late.

So while I'm no financial analyst, I'm guessing they've decided to put a hold on the kids' anime right now because it's not a very good outlet for their current best option, which is to focus more on building an international market and solid base. That doesn't mean kids' anime will never come back, and it also doesn't mean the franchise isn't already in a much better situation than it was when Frontier, Savers, Xros Wars, and Appmon ended, because the recent success of the video games and card games gives them a lot more of a foothold to do more business ventures, and maybe they can funnel that into actually getting partnerships to dub future kids' anime if they want to do that again. Moreover, it's true that in the past, the franchise would hit life support every time the anime stopped, but that's because the franchise was dependent on having a running anime for attention, which is not the case now because the card game has been doing fine independently of the anime. So I think it's pretty easy to understand that having an ongoing kids' show won't be the best option for them at the current moment, and meanwhile Digimon Seekers is coming out in multiple languages at once, so you can see what the strategy is here.

Of course, I think much of Digimon's best content is in the kids' shows, so I hope it comes back (and I'm certainly not a huge fan of the idea of the only anime we get being from that pipeline that's focusing on nostalgia stuff with Adventure branding), but that's how I see it for now.

[tsuki-sennin]

Episode 40 of HiroPre! A play wedding, how precious~! Now don't worry, despite initial worries about Toei making it weird, this is all above board and wholesome. Very wild of them to make this the episode there's a delay for though, but I guess life's just funny like that.

Spoilers, I guess...

-I see Sora likes BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs.

-Sagely studies~!

-Oh ye gods, weddings.

-Ohhhh, worldbuilding!

-An all night party following an announcement of engagement. Don't even need to dress up.

-Quite a fun time, actually, I wish weddings in our world were that easy. And it might just be you two up there next, Mashiron~!

-...I have to wonder how polygamy works up there.

-Y'know, now I've got much more PreCure knowledge accrued, I've noticed that the casts have gotten smaller over the years.

-It's not necessarily a bad thing, mind you! It certainly makes sense, as the teams get bigger you'll have less time to devote to big supporting casts, but this has a side effect of us feeling isolated to our heroes.

-We still have plenty of weirdos to go around in Hirogaru Sky, but having more of them stick around more often would be fun. How's Berryberie doing?

-Just sayin', we would've really benefited from a Masukomi, Kaoru, or even a Yuriko.

-Ah, the cake. All the motivation you need.

-Kinda like Booster in Mario RPG.

-Royal wedding, yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

-I'm sorry Elle, I don't care how much cake we eat or how shiny your cardboard crown is, nothing can make me give a crap about a royal wedding. In my junior year of high school, people were really going wild for Harry and Meghan, and I had no idea who these people were so I just kinda had to sit there in the corner.

-I see Ageha disagrees.

-Tsubasa-kun, your bowtie is somehow a brighter red than your jacket's orange.

Ageha: You're doing great, boy~! Just think of the doves flying out~! Tsubasa: No talking during the ceremony!

-Best of friends!

-Ageeeeee~!

-That was nice, wasn't it?

-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand there's the rub~!

-I have to hand it to Murase, Tsubasa sounds genuinely terrified here.

-I don't think Yoyo can officiate anything, so

-You should marry Mashiro twice over, Sora.

-I suppose it's not too surprising Elle could develop a crush on Tsubasa, considering he's like... the only boy she knows. Still though, I get why some people were put off by this.

-Frankly, I'm really surprised Toei haven't been doing a Dipper and Wendy ship tease thing with Tsubasa and Ageha. Thank god they haven't, by the way, that was always the worst part of Gravity Falls.

-I guess Toei knew that would be a little much, especially with the (quite understandable mind you) backlash Nozomi and Coco's relationship gets nowadays.

-Nightmare time.

-King Bitchin' Mustache can add Shotgun Papa to his list of titles.

-Even his own parents!

-He has been left comatose.

-That looks like quite a heavy book, I'm impressed she can carry it.

-"Nooooooooooooo?"

-It's always the simplest sentences coming from a kid that kill you, huh?

-Ladies and gentlemen, the bird boy is dead!

-Ageha appears.

-In the pursuit of great knowledge, one has neglected their friendship. A tale as tragic and old as time.

-That uh

-Might've been a good thing to let him in on earlier, Ageha.

-Skearhead appears.

-A wedding beast.

-Majesty leads our charge today.

-Skearhead's not even talking today!

-Oh, nevermind.

-Aaaaand she's caught!

-That Wing, ever gallant a knight and pal.

-Oh cool, team attack. Paralleling the cake cutting.

-Knighthood is much more fun than marriage.

-Friends and family forever!

-I'm... perplexed! I was expecting 24 minutes of mid cringe comedy, and got a fun and sweet exploration of these two characters' friendship instead on top of well executed cringe comedy. What a ripoff.

-I guess if I had to bitch about anything, I think having them talk as Wing and Majesty more would've been a fun way to tie the battle into their conflict.

-Speaking of which, the battle was pretty dang weak, they... absolutely could've done more with that. And why pick a church bell, Skearhead? Like, diegetically. In-universe. Watsonian argument. I usually don't mind this kinda thing, but like... a bell and a holly wreath are very specific imagery to just conjure up out of nowhere, but I think it'd make a lot more sense if Skearhead weren't just... seemingly slapped into the script because they needed a monster fight that episode.

-Like, Skearhead happens to see Elle and Tsubasa's play wedding and considers playing mind games by preying on Tsubasa's worries about the whole thing, or hell, even just wreaking havoc at someone else's wedding to draw out Pretty Cure would've been good enough for me.

-Anyways, forget all that, we're celebrating a harvest next time!

-Hi, this is Mashipan. I'm out looking at the fall colors. Please leave me a message, and I'll call you right back.

-Monda jumpscare.

-Business as usual, we see!

-See you next tiiiime, maybe!

[duhragonball]

GT was obviously terrible, but in keeping with your positivity page, do you think there is something that the series, overall, had something going for it that was genuinely good? Like, an actual good idea, or is it just utterly irredeemable?

I've been saving this ask for last, so I guess we'll make this my final word on GT for the time being. I've got more stuff to cover going forward, and I don't want to get bogged down on old business.

If you're asking if GT could be "fixed" in some way, I think it's possible, but it would take a lot of work and it ultimately wouldn't be worth the effort. Toei would need to rewrite and reanimate just about everything, sort of like how they remade "Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans" in 2010.

The thing is, they improved "Plan", but the finished product still wasn't all that great. They basically took a low quality, hour-long adaptation of a video game story, and turned it into an okay-ish half-hour version in HD. Now imagine Toei doing that thirty-odd times, and that's probably what a "GT redux" would look like. You could tighten up the story, give the supporting characters more spotlight, make the battles more exciting, but in the end you're still retelling this tale that didn't exactly light the world on fire the first time.

And it's easy for fans like us to say "Well, they should take the team that made DBS: Super Hero and have them remake GT." But that would be a major undertaking, and I'd rather see those resources devoted to making something new, not remaking something old. It could be done, but it probably never will, and that's probably for the best.

But what you're really asking is if there's anything genuinely good about GT. When I consider the series in a vacuum, I think the answer is probably "no." There's some screencaps I took throughout this liveblog that look very pleasing. This one of Goten, Trunks, and Palace keeps springing to mind:

There's some others I could point out, and maybe one of these days I'll put together some sort of gallery, but they're mostly few and far between. I find them more enjoyable when they're stripped of the context of the anime they came from.

I also really like the idea of Pan as this feisty 110-year-old lady.

And some of the character designs are pretty cool. Baby right before he gets killed, Bulma's outfit in Episode 2 and 3, and Omega Shenron looks like a big deal, even if he failed to live up to the hype.

But you might have noticed that I'm kind of scraping up little things from the edges of the main story. That's because most of the "best" of GT is a mashup of things culled from better works.

Baby borrows heavily from several other DBZ characters and plotlines. What makes him unique is his dream of "Tuffleizing the universe", but we never get to see what that means or how he feels about it. He just wants everyone to have a "bad guy smirk" like he does all the time.

Super 17 is just Fusion Reborn and the Androids Saga crushed up and poured in a blender. It's especially insulting to me because that's some of my favorite stuff from DBZ, and Toei went out of their way to make a crappy version.

The closest thing GT has to any sort of throughline is the idea that the Dragon Balls are inherently dangerous. The Black Star Balls shows that if they're not made properly, they can blow up entire planets. Then the classic Dragon Balls turn evil, proving that there is no proper way to make safe Dragon Balls. This is a pretty shitty premise for a show with the word "Dragon Ball" in the title. In the finale, Trunks assures Pan that the Dragon Balls will return some day, but why would he want them to return? After all the destruction they've caused, you'd think Trunks would be relieved to be rid of the dumb things.

So what does that leave? The show itself is rotten, and Toei would be foolish to try to repair or remake it. What does it offer to the fandom?

And I think the answer to that is: Inspiration.

Marron is barely in GT at all. I meant to talk about her more, but I was surprised to find that she has even fewer appearances in GT than I remembered. She shows up in the Baby Saga for a couple of episodes, and then she's with Krillin and 18 when 17 attacks them, and that's it. And yet, there's a lot of fans out there making content about teen Marron and/or adult Marron. I don't know a lot about it, since I'm not particularly interested myself, but what does intrigue me is how it had to have started with the version of Marron we see in GT. Fans saw her, wanted more, and made their own version. Sometimes they stick to the GT design, and sometimes they steer clear of it, but it's always a response to the GT portrayal, one way or the other.

I won't lie, I've gotten some ideas from GT in the past, and I've developed a few new ones now that I've rewatched it again. The video games have done a better job presenting Super Saiyan 4 and the main villains than GT itself. A fan could probably write a kick-ass fixit fic about GT. Maybe someone already has. And there's plenty of smaller fics out there, shipping the younger characters, or just giving them the attention they didn't get from the source material.

I mentioned this before, but a lot of Luffa was inspired by my frustration with GT's refusal to give us Super Saiyan Pan or Bulla. Luffa's flash forward 1000 years into the future has a lot of resemblance to Goku's inscrutable presence in Age 890. Pan going from Age 4 to 110 had a lot to do with Keda going from 9 to 99 in my fanfic. The trick is that when I do it, I'm trying to give those moments more dramatic weight, something they sorely lacked in the TV Special and Episode 64. I think the Marron fans and Goten shippers are coming from the same place.

So it's dishonest for anyone to say "Oh, well you borrowed ideas from GT, so that means you actually thought GT was good." No. It's more like salvaging lumber from a collapsed barn and using it to build your own barn. GT is a challenge. You watch it and the show takes all your favorite characters and makes them suck and suck, and it's so disappointing that it basically dares you to do something better. Every time I think about the Shadow Dragons, and how that should have been a slam dunk for Toei, I start to think about how I could do it right. And maybe one of these days I will.

Alan Moore sums it up a lot better than I could, when he gives writers the advice to read bad books for inspiration. There's a lot to be gained from analyzing a bad story, because it helps you understand what went wrong, and how to avoid the same pitfalls in your own work. And I think that goes for bad anime too. That's why I'm here.

And there's always diamonds in the rough, too. GT #43 is one of the worst of the worst. It's just a terribly animated episode, and yet it somehow includes this gorgeous shot of Vegeta. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. And as Diamond Dallas Page always says: That's not a bad thing. That's a good thing! Bang!

[mysticdragon3md3]

Time for my picks for what i might want to buy from this recent WonHobby event.

Even though I've narrowed my interests down to these, i dont have much motivation to spend money on them.

Sure, i like Spy x Family, but I'm not absolutely obsessed with it. I already bought all the Forger Nendoroids. Even when i first saw this winter coat Anya Nendoroid, my immediate reaction was feeling secure that i could save my money from buying her. My need to buy the announced Anya faceplates set lasted longer, but already, I'm beginning to think i could painlessly save my money from buying them.

And though i freaked out when this Kamen Rider Nendo got revealed, that was more because of what it meant. Kamen Rider is one of Bandia's big figure lines. I NEVER thought they'd let Good Smile Company make Kamen Rider figures. Though the IP actually belongs to Toei, they've just been so entrenched with Bandai, especially the Kamen Rider brand, which often creates toys first, then writes a series around Bandai's toy designs.

I'm not actually set on buying this Shin Kamen Rider Nendoroid. My favorite riders are from the latter Heisei. I'd rather save my money for my actual favorite characters; not just for my favorite franchises.

I already did all that. I paid my collector dues, supporting a franchise, buying their figures, despite the specific figures not being my favorite characters, just to encourage GoodSmile to make more figures of that franchise. Most of my Touken Ranbu figures aren't my favorite characters. I just wanted to send Good Smile Company the message that there is a demand for male figures, they should make more, and specifically should make more Touken Ranbu Nendoroids, particularly of the Date-gumi.

And GoodSmile got the message. They created the Orange Rouge brand, specifically citing the sudden demand for male figures. We also threw up a fuss over Nendoroid More sets giving accessories to only female characters, with none for male. We had to badger them into making Nendoroid More grooms to go with the Nendoroid More Brides. Do you remember when all the Nendoroid More Dress Up sets were only female? Because, i do. I own both the Pajamas and Swimsuits sets, which are older Nendoroid More sets, before GSC realized we also wanted male figures and accessories for them. That was back when series would get Nendoroids for their entire female main cast, but leave out the male character, even if he was the protagonist. Back in the day, Konosuba would have gotten Nendoroids for all the girls, but would have left out Kazama. Re Zero woukd have gotten Nendoroids for their entire female cast, but would've left out Subaru. I know, because i remember when their Nendoroids were announced, and it was kind if surprising. Even Bandai Tamashii Nations described in a Forbes article, that their competition (obviously GoodSmile) specialized more in female figures, leaving male characters open for Bandai to make into figures instead. That has changed. And thankfully. Now Nendoroid More sets are equally male and female. The medical Dress Up set, the Suits sets, the Coming of Age Ceremony sets, the maid/butler sets, etc. (Though their attempts to rebrand their flatter chest Nendoroid More bunnygirls as bunny boys, was pretty weak. Even 10 years before tha5 bunnygirl set, the sculpt in an older Nendoroid like Combat Butler Hayate proved they already knew how to sculpt a male body differentlyfrom female. And those flatter chested bunnygirls were clearly not it.) Male chatacters are now just as likely to get Nendoroids as female characters.

I got off topic, but---i don't need to pay my dues anymore. I've spent enough money. That's why i didn't buy all the FE3H figures, even though I'm desperate for FE3H Nendoroids. And i dont plan to buy Nendoroid Shin Kamen Rider, simply in the hopes of encouraging GoodSmile to eventually make latter Heisei Rider Nendoroids.

Plus, i dont have that kind of money anymore. In fact, i should have been stingier from the start! I have so many Nendoroids of characters that i don't care about. And I'm too socially anxious to resell them. I was so sure of my anxiety and sentimental inability to let go, i threw away all their plastic packaging. So i really can't sell them now.

So, no. I didn't buy the Edelgard Figma and the Bernadetta or Lysithea PopUpParades. I even let the Nendoroid Donatello preorder come and go. And I'm probably not even going to buy these personal picks of mine from WonHobby Gallery 2023 Spring.

I'm afraid that if this lack of motivation to buy figures continues, I may get out of figure collecting soon. I just don't feel motivated to spend the money anymore, even on things that (vaguely) interest me. What if soon, I stop collecting Nendoroids? ;o;

I feel kind of like I'm so dead set on FE3H Claude and Dimitri Nendoroids, that they're the only thing I want to spend on. Until Good Smile Company finally makes some FE3H Claude and Dimitri Nendoroids, every other possible figure expense is just going to feel like money that could be going towards my anticipated favorite characters. And I'm way too obsessed with them right now, to not think that way. Every interesting figure that isn't them, is just going to be "not as comparatively worth the money, as a Nendo Claude/Dimitri would be". I'll be asking myself, "Why isn't every figure I buy as intensely wanted as my favorite characters? Shouldn't every figure in my collection be a captivatingly precious character to me? Why would I guy a figure of a character that I don't love as much as Claude and Dimitri? Considering how expensive Nendoroids are, especially nowadays, I should only be getting Nendoroids of my absolute favorite characters." Considering all that, so many new figures that get announced, just can't live up to those standards, and I just lose the motivation to spend money on them.

But also, I recently finally finished cataloging the figures in my collection and it was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY more expensive than I thought I had spent during these past few years. Truly, it was my manga collecting, all over again. After seeing that number (which I will not disclose, out of SHAME), I just feel so much less willing to spend money, unless a figure is a character I love so much, that they COMPEL me to spend money on them.

Unfortunately, I'm beginning to lose hope that Good Smile and Intelligent Systems may ever make FE3H Nendoroids. I even gave in and made custom FE3H Claude and Dimitri Nendoroids. That reminded me, that it may have been almost 10 years between my custom Nendoroid Kikyo and the announcement of the official Nendoroid Kikyo. What if Good Smile eventually makes FE3H Nendoroids, but it's like 10 years down the line?!? ;o;?! Even more reason to rely on customs instead. I was so happy to have my custom Nendoroid Kikyo, for all those years before her official Nendoroid. So it seems that either way, whether FE3H gets Nendoroids or not, it'll be worth investing more into honing my custom Nendoroids Claud and Dimitri.

But should I lose hope? Just a few days ago, Good Smile announced a brand new Fire Emblem static scale figure. Not a rerelease, but a new figure. It wasn't Fire Emblem Three Houses, but it was a Fire Emblem Figure. Also, over the past few months, Good Smile announced SEVERAL other Fire Emblem static scales. If Intelligent Systems is investing more into their licenses becoming figures, it could be a good sign that FE3H Nendoroids could happen soon.

[misakarose]

no worries about answering late! take all the time you need. i'm sorry to hear that life's been stressful, but i'm glad you've got a great support system to get you through.

i've been alright, mostly busy with work. i've been trying to find time to edit and write more, but it's been hard since it's always crunch time before the holidays. once everything settles down, i'm looking forward to relaxing with a cup of tea and catching up on anime!

speaking of anime, what are some of your all-time favorites? or, if you're more of a manga reader, what are some of your all-time favorite manga? hope you're having a great day/night!

- your animanga secret santa

yeah, the holidays are always pretty crazy. it's my favorite time of year but it can for sure be stressful jdhsg;akdfhjg I'm with you though, trying to find time to edit more, as well as find motivation for it... I wish I wrote more! I used to write like crazy and I still absolutely love to do it, I just never have the motivation to do it these days. I don't even remember the last time I actually posted something I wrote. I hope you find that extra time to express your creativity!! I think it's really important to indulge in your creative side... now if only I could actually live up to those words myself lmao

my all-time favorite manga/anime is World Trigger!! it's not super popular or well-known outside of Japan, which is an absolute crime. it deserves so much more love and appreciation. ;-; I highly suggest to check it out if you have time!! the original season of the anime is hit-or-miss, toei didn't do a good job at adapting it, but seasons 2 and 3 are *chef's kiss* amazing, and the manga is fantastic all-around!! I personally suggest reading the manga and then watching seasons 2 and 3, but there are good things about season 1 so... whatever floats your boat. Jin Yuichi is my all-time favorite character and I wish I had more people to scream about him with jaehrg;oaseghr

other favorites of mine include Jujutsu Kaisen, Boku no Hero Academia, the To Aru series (mainly Railgun), and Madoka Magica. there are others that I really enjoy but those are definitely at the top. what about you?? what are some of your faves?? ❤️

hope you're doing well~!!

[izzyizumi]

“ Spell My Name With An ‘S’ ” / ( or an “O”,��“U”, “H” ..... ) Digimon Adventure’s Ko(u/h)shiro(u/h?) Izumi Edition

BONUS:

“ Kōshrō ”

[abysscronica]

Anime Expo 2022!

Hey guys! As many of you already know, I've been to this year's Anime Expo in Los Angeles this July. I wanted to share my experience with you guys, hoping someone will find it useful if they want to attend themselves, or just fun to read.

I'll also talk about the overall organization and the pros and cons of the festival.

Note: this is a long-ass post, so if it's too much for you but you're still interested in the topic, please skip to the very last paragraph because it sums up what was the most important to me & my feelings about the experience.

Anime Expo (AEx) is one of the biggest anime cons in the world, and it takes place annually in Los Angeles. After two years of suspension (COVID, of course) it came back this year with tons of guests and panels.

Despite this being my first time attending such an event in US, I'm no stranger to big cons. In fact we have an even larger festival in Italy (Lucca Comics & Games) that I've attended multiple times and served as my frame of reference for AEx (I've been to minors ones around Europe as well).

AEx lasts 5 days, and I highly recommend buying a ticket for the whole con. If I remember correctly, the price for one day is 70 dollars, whereas the price for 5 is 140 (+taxes), and 70 bucks for one day are just... not worth it in my opinion.

If you don't live in US, or you buy your ticket late, you cannot have the badge shipped. So the day before it started, we went to get our badge and activated it (the badges are personal and used to check in and out of the con every day). There were a lot of people but the lines were actually quite fast. We also had to do a different line to show our proof of vaccination/negative covid test to get a plastic bracelet that was needed to enter for the whole duration of the con.

But... they didn't actually check our proof of vaccination. At least when we went there, the employees (or volunteers, I'm not sure) were actually just putting the bracelet on anyone without checking any document. Theoretically masks were mandatory inside the con, but this rule was also hardly enforced. So it was covid-safe only on paper.

The first day I was SO FREAKING EXCITED I forced my friend to wake up super early so we could be there just in time.

AEx is basically structured with a few key halls: one for the merchandise, the exhibition hall (cosplays + games & gaming area), and the artist alley. They have TONS of stands and booths and they become extremely crowded. Every one of these is as big as several football fields. Here's my hot take on them:

Merchandise. Noooot particularly worth it. Compared to other cons, the merch is overpriced and not very diverse. You don't really find little rare, obscure things, it's more the same main things over and over. Funko pops everywhere, Pika chu plushies, Luffy's strawhat... the same stuff has different prices according to the stand, so if you see something you like, I advice you take a look around before buying it, especially if it's something somewhat mainstream. My suggestions is to aim to official booths (ex. Toei) to get official merch, possibly exclusive or early releases.

For example, I've got a con-exclusive Law's funko:

I paid 17 dollars, just to find it at 12 in another stand 20 mins later.

I also got the One Piece x Nyan volume 1 collection from the official Toei OP booth, which is extremely difficult to come by outside Japan:

But that's about it. Normally I get a lot of stuff at cons, because they have good deals or you find figures that never show up online, but for AEx, this was not the case. If you believe it, I found more specific things in Little Tokyo (a mini Kamazo figure!) than AEx.

Artist alley is much more original, but it's mostly posters, pins, and jewelry. I would suggest to buy more stuff here because it's unique and you'd be supporting small artists.

As for the Exhibition hall, I'm not much of a gamer, so we didn't spend a long time there, but my friend got some pretty sweet deals for merch for LoL or Genshin Impact. There was also a stage were I think fan-made plays were happening? Unfortunately they were not noted in the official program, we realized too late that most of the info is actually given through the app, so we missed a few things. I know that at some point there was a re-acting of Yu-Gi-Oh first episode, slutty musical style, where Seto Kaiba repeatedly called himself a bad bitch. I MEAN WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT I LOVED IT OH MY GOD!!

Anyway, if merch, games and cosplay is all you're after, then a one-day ticket is enough to explore the majority of what AEx has to offer, but then I actually recommend go to some other anime festival, because you can find better stuff.

What really makes AEx are the panels and the events. So every night you have to check the schedule for the following day and plan your visit.

There are panels happening all the time, in various rooms, and remember that each one has a line that will require you to get in at least 30 mins before. This timing depends on the popularity of the panel. For very popular panels or main events, you may have to get in line 2 to 3 hours before, or you won't be able to enter.

That's a very important thing, be prepared to spend A LOT of time queuing up.

We've gone to countless of fan-organized panels that were a lot of fun: from workshop on how to create a kaiju cosplay, to a trial-like debate for controversial characters (ex. Sasuke Uchiha, Chrollo, Doflamingo). We had a blast. Some ended up being boring (explanation for the tarots in Persona 5, sounded cool but was meh).

We randomly entered "Guess the Pokemon" (even if I only know Gen 1, lol) aaaand were surprised to find Jason Paige there (he's the original singer for the American Pokemon opening)! He not only sang the song, but he also took a selfie with us!! ❤️

Then I very smugly entered the "guess the opening" contest, and the best ranking I was able to achieve in the course of one hour was 100th (out of around 250 people). So I humbly but not so graciously accepted my defeat. 🥲

As for the main events, the biggest stage was reserved for official sponsored shows/interviews with guests from oversea. They had quite a few voice actors from both USA and Japan. I was able to assist to a Q&A with the original producers of Ranking of Kings, AND the voice actor of Tanjiro from Demon Slayer!!

THEN I managed to get into the official One Piece Red event (by lining up 3 hours before). RogersBase hosted the interview with the Japanese producer. 🤩 Then the American voice actors for Shanks and Brook joined in. It was simply amazing.

One of the panels I enjoyed the most was a smaller one though, the One Piece DnD live session, mainly because I often follow the series on youtube. It's DM'd by Rustage, and the players are Tekking101, Briggs, 2Spooky and Lost Pause. They were funny af, and all so terribly nice. They spent a long-ass time signing autographs and taking pics with the fans before and after the panel.

Which brings me to my next topic: it's possible to meet content creators walking around the con! There are a lot, and most of them go about their day there like any other fan. But between the facemasks and the amount of people, it's hard to recognize them or even walk into them. (keep in mind that the biggest anitubers like the trio from Trash Taste are basically treated like VIPs, you won't likely find them walking around among common mortals).

For some miracle, I met Tekking, who is my favorite youtuber. I knew he was around but as soon as I saw what was the setting, I realized it would be almost impossible to actually see him. And then BOOM, we caught him chilling by himself outside where we were also chilling to catch a break. 😂 I was so excited & nervous it was actually my friend who walked up to him.

Tekking was SUPER nice! He talked to us for a few minutes, we took a pic, and he even said "thank you for being a fan", and I was like 😭😭😭 why you so precious 😭😭😭 thank you for the amazing content!!

I also met Rustage the last day! He was walking by us, and I went like "OH, RUSTAGE!" without even thinking. He was also WAY TOO nice, he stopped to talk to us for a while, and this was shortly after he hosted a panel AND spent at least one hour taking pics with fans, so he must've been super tired. But because of the sudden interaction, my brain was so bugged I told him he shouldn't put pineapple on a pizza. I wanted to be swallowed by darkness, but he's way too cute to be human and laughed it off. 😫

I am SO SO grateful I had the chance to interact with such amazing content creators, people I watch on yt all the time and often cheer my days up when I'm down. ❤️

After 8 pm, the 18+ panels start, so you have to get a separate bracelet to attend by showing your ID. There are some parties, like Steve Aoki's concert with anime music remix, which unfortunately we couldn't attend because the tickets were sold out. Then there was the stand-up comedy night, super f*cking funny. Then there's stuff like yaoi, hentai, shipping panels.

AA. the last day actually finishes around 4 pm and a lot of stuff is over or sold out, so never get a one-day ticket for it, it's definitely not worth it.

Another important recommendation from my side is bring your own food. There is an embarrassing low number of food stands, so the lines are absolutely awful. I'm talking 3-hr-long lines to get a sandwich or a bobba tea. There was ONE shop selling coffee for like 100k people, you do the math.

I have no idea why they didn't take more contractors for food and drinks, there was plenty of space they could've occupied. That is an unsolved mystery for me.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the cosplayers! There were MANY, from shitty to astonishing. Here's me chilling with Ulti and Page One:

Alright, I think I touched upon all the things I wanted to share! I forgot something for sure, so I might do some satellite posts later on. Feel free to ask anything!

Overall, it was an AMAZING experience. It's like being izekai'd into a magical world of dreams filled with like-minded people. Everyone is excited, enthusiastic and ready to make friends. You will receive random compliments (a girl actually complimented the smell of my body spray??). A giant pikachu will hit on you (true story). You'll have the chance to meet creators you love. EVERYONE is free to express themselves, you wouldn't believe the amount of cross-dressers and LGTBQ+ people around, it filled me with joy to see how much of a safe space that was! So prepare your cosplay or those gadgets you love but never get to wear in your everyday life and take a break from reality! ESPECIALLY if you're in your early twenties and live around LA, this is a chance to make a huge amount of friends and living your best life.

[wolfhowls]

Purple Noir Week

This Fanfic is part of @purplenoir-week (see their tumblr for details).

Day 2 - Swap

Shortcutter

Summary

When Ladybug asks Purple Tigress to take her place during a patrol (because Marinette is busy preparing a birthday party for Adrien), Juleka discovers by accident the identity of her feline companion, and not only. She finds out how hurt Chat Noir is that Ladybug keeps him in the dark. So, even thanks to the Miraculous lifting her confidence, Juleka decides to help him, like he did when she needed support (Guiltrip). But things aren't as easy as they look…

Miraculous: tales of Ladybug e Chat Noir - Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, SAMG Animation, De Agostini Editore, Nelvana, Cartoon Network Studios All rights are reserved to their owners.

With a yawn, Juleka walks off the Liberty gangway and heads off to school. She didn't sleep well at all the previous night, continuing to mull over Chat Noir, Adrien, Ladybug and Marinette. Even as she walks towards the Collège Françoise Dupont, she keeps thinking about it.

“If Adrien is really in love with Ladybug, Marinette has no hope. It would be so sad. Already breaking up with Luka was traumatic for her, just imagine if they hadn't broken up by mutual agreement. On the other hand, Ladybug doesn't seem to care about Chat in THAT sense, and it's Adrien who is upset... so I could push him towards Marinette! Yesterday I saw that he kept looking towards her house, and at the picnic we had on Heroes' Day, he spoke so highly of her. Or maybe ... "Juleka can't hold back a smile. "Maybe I've been hanging out with Alya a little too much ... I'm starting to ship them too."

Absorbed by these thoughts, Juleka passes in front of Tom & Sabine's Patisserie and is almost knocked out by a storming Marinette, who rushes out the door with a croissant in her mouth and an apple in her hand. Juleka watches, bum on the ground, as her classmate stops at the pedestrian traffic light and waits for green, continuing to run on the spot.

With half a smile, Juleka approaches Marinette and waves at her. When the pigtailed girl sees her she swallows her brioche and exclaims, “Hi Juleka! Are you also late? That's unusual!"

"Hi, Marinette, we're not late!" replies Juleka, frowning as she takes her cell phone and shows it to her friend.

Marinette suddenly freezes, burying her head in her shoulders. "Phiew ... I must have seen time wrong ... we're not late. Well, makes a change, I can look for the best place to sit in the art room! Today Pierre Rocheux will come to the school to show us his work the statue commissioned by the Collège!"

The traffic light turns green and Marinette runs across the street, heading towards the school gate. "See you later, Juleka!" she says. Then, going up the stairs, she looks at Tikki in her small pochette and whispers, “I really hope that one of the models will be Adrien…”

Juleka stands still, watching Marinette, then shakes her head and follows her. The girl is about to pass the gate of the building when she sees the Agreste's sedan leave, after having let Adrien out, her gaze following the blond as he crosses the sidewalk to enter the school.

Before climbing the stairs, Juleka nods to Adrien, and he responds with a smile as he gets closer to her and greets her with a warm, "Good morning!" Then, he looks at the school gate just in time to see Marinette disappearing behind it and adds, a puzzled look on his face, “Did I just see Marinette? Wow, she's on time for once, what happened?"

Juleka responds to the greeting with a shy “Hi”, then muffles a giggle at Adrien's remark about Marinette. “It's the sculptor's event today,” she explains, taking a look around. Eventually, she looks at Adrien and asks, “Do you have a couple of minutes? I would like to talk to you."

"Uh ... yeah, okay! Of ... of what?" says Adrien, his hand reaching the usual spot behind his nape. The girl doesn't answer and goes up the stairs, moving to a corner of the courtyard. Adrien can only follow her, a bit wary of the way she's looking left and right as if to ensure that no prying eyes would be spying on them. "I hope she won'ìt say that Ladybug is mad at me ..." he thinks as he gulps dryly.

"Adrien, maybe it's none of my business but .. I know you feel bad about…her…always rejecting you. I think maybe you should ... Well, look around, you're a—" Juleka pauses, blushing slightly and lowering her voice "...handsome boy and…"

Adrien interrupts her "...and a superhero, which messes things up with the love apparently…or at least did so with Kagami, everything went wrong with her because of that. "

"It's already difficult as it is... if he interrupts me it gets even worse...what do I do? Do I throw the bomb and run?" thinks Juleka. Then she looks at him, takes a breath and starts again, "Let me finish, please..." Her gaze softens a little as he raises a hand to his nape apologetically. "Why don't you try to, for example, change targets?"

Adrien looks at her, making a face. "Kagami told me the same and she ..." he starts, but Juleka puts a finger on his lips and shushes him.

"There's a difference here, Adrien. I may recognize that you're a handsome boy, and I may want to help you because I'm your friend, but I won't throw myself in the mix because, no offense, but you're not my type."

What she says causes Adrien to blush deep red. The boy's gaze is lost for a moment, then goes back to looking at Juleka. "Ok, you're probably right, sorry Juleka. But where do I find someone like Ladybug?" He seems lost in his thoughts for a moment and then he continues, stretching a finger up for every count on the list: "She must be cute, intelligent, brave, always ready to help others, sweet..."

As he carries on with his list, Juleka smiles softly and holds his gaze. "Come on, Adrien. I'm positive that there are lots of girls who are cute, brave, altruistic and sweet, right? For example…what about Marinette?You were the one who told her that she was our 'Everyday Ladybug' at the picnic we had on Heroes' Day! Besides, she's been so down since she broke up with my brother…"

Adrien widens his eyes for a split second, then says in a low whisper, "Uh, well, she's…well she's very pretty, all right. But I always seem to embarrass her, maybe because I'm famous? Maybe because of my father? You know, when Jagged, uh, your dad, showed my pictures on her wall, the day he did that program at her house, I mean, I asked her if...and she said she sees me as a friend." Adrien pauses. "And then...Don't tell anyone but some time ago she told me she was in love with Chat noir-me. I was very surprised, I didn't think Chat Noir was her type!"

Juleka gasps. "What? And silly me wanted to provide him with a bombshell revelation…"

The blond, again looking blankly in front of him, doesn't seem to notice her reaction and continues, "Then I explained to her that, well,, I love Ladybug, and his father was akumatized!" He cringed. "You have no idea how scary Tom Dupain is when he gets angry!"

“I'm not surprised…” mumbles Juleka.

“After that, I spoke to Marinette and she told me that she understood and that she could get over it and when I told her I, Chat Noir-me I mean, wanted to stay friends with her, she agreed to it," concludes Adrien, glancing nervously at his cell phone.

“Well, if her declaration of love to Chat Noir surprised you, if you thought that Chat wasn't her type while instead she told him that she loved him, don't you think it could be the same with Adrien-you too?" insists Juleka, thinking, "If Marinette finds out that I'm saying this to him she'll kill me stone dead..."

Adrien rubs one of his feet against his ankle, nervously. "Seriously, I don't think she likes me...and she's always, um, tense when I talk to her."

“Maybe she's just a little intimidated by how perfect you are? Sorry if I say so, Adrien, but sometimes you're a little too…Mr Perfect. You should learn to let yourself go a little!"

He stretched the hand he carries his umbrella with towards Marinette. She tentatively takes it from him, a little hesitant. The fingers of the two teens touch and Adrien for a moment has a strange sensation, not at all unpleasant. Marinette grabs the umbrella's handle and it closes on her head. A moment of hesitation later, Adrien bursts out laughing, immediately imitated by Marinette herself.

Adrien blinks a couple of times, back to the present, and again reaches with his hand to his nape. “N-no problem, Juleka .. They already told me that. Do you think I should…"

Plagg peeps out from inside Adrien's shirt. "Kitten! Don't even consider the idea of flirting openly with her like you do with Ladybug, or Pigtails will combust for embarrassment!"

"Shush, Plagg, and stay hidden!" snaps Adrien, turning as red as a tomato.

Juleka chuckles, covering her mouth with one hand. “Seriously, Adrien. If you don't try, you will never know. When Ladybug gave me the Tiger Miraculous, you have no idea how scared I was of not making it, but I did!"

"Juleka, you do know Marinette better than me..." says Adrien tentatively, looking for the right words. "Do you think she might have a crush on me?"

Juleka cringed. "Uh! N-no, well, I d-don't really know…" J

At that, Plagg rolls his eyes. "Polite reminder that you're late for school now," he says sarcastically. "Kitten, you don't want to keep your fans waiting!"

“Stop it, Plagg. And hide, I already told you. But you're right, we will be late if we don't go!" Adrien cuts short, walking towards the staircase leading to the inner courtyard.

Adrien and Juleka enter the art room just before the bell rang and take a deep sigh of relief, as even though there were no regular classes that day, the Headmaster gives them a dirty look.

Marinette turns to the door, immediately giving her attention back to Alya, as soon as she realizes that Adrien is waving at her.

When everyone has taken their seats, Principal Damocles clears his throat, takes a microphone and begins to speak, “Dear students! As you know, the Mayor has decided to donate a statue to our school that will symbolize the act of teaching. The work has been commissioned to the famous sculptor Pierre Rocheux, who decided that he will take as models two of our students, a boy and a girl. In the past few days, we have asked your parents for permission to send your class photos to the artist, who has already made an initial selection of candidates. The legal formalities have already been taken care of, so today we will be informed of who the two lucky models for the statue will be. Rocheux's work will be exhibited in our internal courtyard at completion." The man pauses for effect and points to a figure next to him. "But it's time to let the artist speak."

A middle-aged, grizzled, medium-sized man comes forward. He has a head of gray, neatly combed hair that reaches his shoulders, and a gray beard, accurately groomed and equally long, tied from halfway on in two parallel braids.

He takes the microphone and after having politely greeted the students and the teachers gathered around him, he begins, “Today I'll choose the two models for my work, as Mr Damocles has very kindly explained. I already have some ideas, but I much rather make my mind by seeing the models in person rather than just basing myself on a photograph."

He turns towards the center of the classroom, towards two platforms; one is empty and one contains a rectangular-shaped object, covered by a cloth. The sculptor reaches out and removes the cloth, revealing a block of white marble and solemnly explains,“This is the raw material. I brought it with me because marble is not all the same, as Michelangelo rightly said, every block hides a sculpture inside of it and the duty of the artist isn't to forge the work of art, but rather to reveal what is already hidden in the block. Now I leave the microphone to Professor Damocles, who will explain much more eloquently than me the whole process."

As the headmaster picks up the microphone and pulls an envelope out of his jacket's pocket, Adrien hears Chloé giggle and whisper something to Sabrina.

Mr Damocles opens the envelope and clears his throat again. “Mr. Rocheux indicated the following students as possible candidates for the role.

Boy: Adrien Agreste, Michel Bernard, Marc Enciel. Girls: Chloé Bourgeois, Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Colette Gauthier. Those whom I called, please come forward."

All eyes fall on Chloé and Marinette, in the front row of the classroom, while the other two boys, he taller than Adrien, faded sweatshirt and black jeans, short black hair, gray eyes and a regular face and the girl of Alya-like build, long brown hair and dark eyes, black miniskirt and beige blouse, step forward from the fourth row.

Marinette hears her name and gasps, forgetting to breathe. “Oh my God, what now? It's impossible that the scuptor chose me. Plain ole me…with Adrien? Oh my God! Now what do I do? I'm not wearing my lucky socks! It's going to be a disaster! He will choose me and Adrien, I will fall on him, breaking that beautiful nose of his, his father will take him out of school, he will hate me for the rest of his life and we'll never have a house, three children and a hamster named..."

"Marinette!" calls Alya, nudging her in the ribs. “Close that mouth of yours, girl, or you'll catch the flies! And don'ìt stand here like a dummy, go! They're waiting for you!" She points at the group of teenagers already gathered next to the artist and the headmaster. The pigtailed girl gets up and with a tight smile walks away from Alya, who whispers, "Smile more naturally, it looks as if you have a stroke, Mari!"

"Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous," protests Chloé, as expected. "I don't want to share the choice with these two peasants. ESPECIALLY Dupain-Cheng. I don't even know who the other one is after all…" she says, making a dismissive gesture with her hand.

The Headmaster approaches her. "Miss Bourgeois, the choice has not yet been made, it could be you or any of the other two girls the one to represent ..."

But Chloé interrupts him, hissing a grumpy, "Tsk! Wait for me to let my daddykins know that you put me in competitions with tww peasants! Daddy's the mayor, he's paying for this. He obviously would withdraw the donation if I wasn't chosen." Then, ignoring the headmaster, she approaches the sculptor, pointing her index finger straight at his face. “And you, Mr. Pierrot or whatever your name is, choose well. Which means you only have one choice. Moi. And Adrikins."

Hearing that nickname Adrien stiffens, and Marinette gives Chloé a fierce glare.

The sculptor shrugs and doesn't even bother to answer to her. "Could you guys please get in line here?" he asks, pointing at the empty platform.

The aspiring models line up next to each other, looking all a little nervous. Well, all except Adrien, whoìs perfectly still and at ease, and Chloé, who insead looks grumpy, humphing haughtily with her arms folded across her chest, a finger tapping rhythmically on her other arm, in sync with her right foot tapping the floor.

Rocheux reviews the boys, his gaze shifting between their faces and the block of marble, then he asks, "You two, girls, would you mind untying your hair?"

Marinette doesn't mind taking off the rubber bands and letting her black hair fall over her shoulders. As she does that, Adrien's gaze reaches for Juleka who points to Marinette with a slight nod of her head. The boy turns mechanically where the girl is pointing at, ending up completely unprepared to the vision coming to his eyes as his gaze locks into Marinette's. He gulps awkwardly, thinking, "she looks so beautiful with her hair down!"

But he doesn't have the time to check on his feelings, because Chloé starts protesting and raising her voice. "Of course I'm not going to do that. Do you even realize how much it cost me to have my hair styled this way? I won't destroy a perfect hairstyle for a stupid statue. Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. Just wait for Daddykins to know about all this. He won't be happy at all!” Then, in a fit of rage, she leaves her place in the queue and walks to Sabrina, stretching her hand in front of her. "What are you waiting for you idiot? Give me my phone!" Then she grabs the other girl by the arm and haughtily walks out of the classroom.

Juleka, Alya, Nino, Adrien and Marinette follow her with their gazes, having the dread feeling in the pit of their stomach that soon they'll have to face another akumatized victim.

"Hmm," mumbles the sculptor, again observing the boys for a long moment. He simulates a kind of rectangle with his hands, framing the marble and the boys one by one; then he approaches the block and knocks on the surface with a wooden hammer.

The only one who doesn't seem to mind is Adrien,while the others are obviously very nervous and nearly hold heir breaths.

After a time that seems interminable Rocheux declares "I found the features hidden in the raw material of this block." He turns to the audience briefly, and then to the models. "You," he says and points to Adrien, who nods. "And you", the sculptor continues, pointing to Marinette, who feels her knees getting weak and risk fainting, promptly supported by Adrien just next to her.

As soon as the boy's hands touch her sides, Marinette regains her balance and blushes violently. "S-sorry, it's just…it's hot here," she mumbles, fanning herself.

Juleka takes Rose's hand next to her and squeezes it, while with the other she raises her thumb up towards Adrien, who looks a little baffled but doesn't complain.

After dismissing the other aspiring models with a handshake, Rocheux introduces himself to the two chosen ones and begins to explain how he will proceed.

Immediately a buzz of chatter arises from Marinette and Adrien's classmates, until the Headmaster silences them with a cough.

"Okay. What are your names…oh yes. Adrien and Marinette. Get on the platform, please," urges the sculptor, placing a wooden cube to one side. Adrien goes up first and stretches out his hand to Marinette. She takes it without thinking too much of it and the boy, as she climbs, bends over and touches her fingers with his lips, causing an "ooh" from Rose and a couple of other girls. Marinette blushes violently and stands still for a moment, then removes her hand as if it were burnt.

Rocheux makes the two try various poses, taking pictures with an old Polaroid camera and observing them critically. Adrien follows the instructions to the letter, as he's used to do that during photoshoots, while Marinette is more clumsy, as well as not being able to look Adrien in the eye and feeling quite warm in the face each time he approaches her, so much so that at a certain point she starts to fan herself again with both her hands. "Did they turn up the heating?" she mumbles to herself. Adrien stares at her and whispers “No, Marinette, the temperature hasn't changed at all. Are you alright? You look a little flustered!"

She cringed at the remark. “G-great! Never been better! " she screeches, her voice a couple of octaves higher than it should have been.

The other students look at the two curiously for a while, but eventually they lose interest and the classroom empties slowly, leaving only the sculptor with Adrien, Marinette and their classmates.

Suddenly Rocheux approaches the two models, frozen in a pose, and blurts out “Here's what's wrong! Too many clothes! Adrien, take off your shirt, Marinette, your blazer. And take off any jewels too. They ruin the symmetry of your couple!"

Adrien and Marinette look at each other, blushing violently. "What?" they ask at the same time.

The sculptor glares at them. "Come on, you've heard me. We don't have all day!"

"Well, he's not that bad," thinks Adrien as he obediently takes his white shirt off. "He's no different from Vincent or Giuseppe. Marinette seems very nervous, though… maybe I can try to say something to take her mind away from it." As he thinks that, he looks softly at his friend and leans closer to her, whispering into her ear, "Look on the bright side, Marinette. At least you won't feel too warm anymore!"

But Marinette blushes a deeper shade of red. "Yes, but..." she starts to say, then she bites her lower lip and looks at Alya, who's now standing next to her, stretching her hands towards her expectantly. A gleam of comprehension flashes in Marinette's eyes, and the girl takes off her blazer and purse, handling them to her friend with trembling hands. Then she sighs and, looking straight into Alya's eyes, she removes her earrings and places them carefully in Alya's palm. She only relaxes when her friend mouths back at her something that sounds like, "Don't worry!" and winks at her.

Just as Adrien was scratching his head and starting to wonder what would Marinette have to worry about leaving her earrings in Alya's hands, Juleka approaches him and grabs his arm, glancing very seriously at his ring. The two exchange a nod of understanding, and the boy gives her the shirt he had already taken off. Then he slips his ring solemnly from his finger and entrusts that to her too.

When they return to the platform, the two teens try again the pose that the sculptor had requested last, but Rocheux is still dissatisfied. “Oh dear, that's what it is! It's these stripy lines.It won't work, I can't concentrate on my creation. Adrien, take your t-shirt off."

The boy obeys without thinking too much about it but as he reveals his naked torso, he hears Marinette swallow hard next to him.

"Don't stare, don't stare, don't stare" she repeats into her head like a mantra, but eventually gives up. "Gah! Too late!" she thinks with a sigh as her gaze locks to Adrien's bare chest for a long moment, her face feeling hotter and hotter, until she nearly jumps out of her skin when the sculptor addresses her instead,

"Can you do the same please? Those flowery decorations are very distracting too," the man asks.

Marinette looks at him, then she gives a quick glance at Adrien's face. The boy is in full model mode and features an indecipherable poker face that Marinette feels to envy with all her heart. “Get a grip, Marinette! You saw even more than this that day at the pool, and you weren't even half as embarrassed as this. What's the difference? And besides, I'm just a friend to him! " she thinks, as she grabs the hem of her top with one hand, while the other holds the vest she's wearing underneath to not flash too much skin unnecessarily. So she takes her top off, tossing it on the floor. Adrien's expression falters when he catches a glimpse of Marinette's bare belly and navel, and suddenly the boy starts getting very distracted by the freckles that the girl has on her shoulders. "Come on, Adrien, what's happening to you? You've seen her already in her pajamas and bathing suit, this isn't that different after all!" he thinks, but he can't prevent a pink blush to dust his cheeks and the ridge of his nose.

Satisfied, Rocheux tells Marinette, who's by now at the edge of self combustion, to sit down on the cube. He hands her a box, telling her to give it to Adrien, and telling Adrien to kneel on one knee in front of her with his arm outstretched. They are about to try a different pose when the sculptor puts down the camera and takes his cell phone from his pocket, muttering an apology and gettin out of the classroom.

Adrien and Marinette exchange an embarrassed look and Adrien tries to relieve the tension again. "He looked happier now," he says, pointing to the door behind which the sculptor seemed to be having a heated conversation on the phone. "You'll see, we'll be finished soon." Then he looks down at his bare chest, his hand running to his nape. "Uh, I'm used to it, it's nothing new to me. You, on the other hand, are doing very well for being your first time!" he says, in an attempt to reassure her.

"Ah y-yes you're fin—er, I mean, it's fin—I mean, thank you Adrien! But I'm not good at all," she replies, stumbling over her words

"That's definitely not true, you're very good!" he retorts, winking at her playfully. “To be completely honest with you, I've never had so much fun in one of my father's photoshoots. You're creating the mood, Marinette. You're fantastic!"

What saves Marinette from a heart attack (because her heart is threatening to explode in her chest as her gaze gets lost in his beautiful green eyes), is the commotion that comes from outside.

Suddenly the door swings open, literally torn from its hinges, and before anyone can react, a figure enters the room. It has the same hairstyle as Rocheux but wears a purple leather apron, has a beret and holds a chisel “You. Don't waste my time! I'm Shortcutter, and I'm in a hurry! Hold on still, you are perfect like this! " he orders Marinette and Adrien, then points the chisel in his hand towards them, hitting them with a beam of light.

"Marinette, watch out!" Adrien acts instinctively and rushes towards his classmate to take her out of the beam's trajectory, but he doesn't have his superpowers to protect him, so they both end up hit. With a dull thud, a bas-relief featuring the two teens wrapped in a tight hug falls to the ground.

Juleka throws herself on the ground as soon as she sees the door open and, taking advantage of the hustle and bustle, drags herself on her elbows and all fours, managing to slip into the bathroom adjacent to the art room. A black dot immediately reaches her, as Plagg appears in front of her, panic in his electric green eyes. "Bangs, I have a feline you'll have to change…feline…" he exclaims, pointing to Adrien's ring, which she holds in her hand.

Juleka looks at it, looks at Plagg, then puts the ring on. "Okay, Plagg." She shoots him a determined glance. "But don't ever call me Bangs again, okay?" she hisses, but immediately after smiles at the Kwami "Come on, tell me what to do. And be quick, Ladybug will need our help!"

Plagg gives her a sideways glare, then explains the basics to her. Juleka whispers, "I can do it!" and then says louder, "Plagg, Claws out!"

Alya swears between her teeth. "Damn Chloé, why is she ALWAYS the one to be involved?"

She drags Nino with her and manages to hide both behind a screen just in time. From the classroom come screams and a series of thuds. Peering from under the cloth, the two see that the classroom is now full of bas-reliefs of running students.

Alone in the now empty classroom, Shortcutter shouts, “So, where do I find Miss Bourgeois? I want to make her life easier, I'll give her a PERMANENT hairstyle!” Then he turns to look around. He stops outside for a moment, then re-enters the room, heading towards Nino and Alya's hiding place. "Gotcha!" he exclaims, throwing a beam towards the floor.

Alya closes her eyes and crouches defensively on the ground, thinking, "Here, it's the end!" But as she thinks that, she realizes that actually, she can move. She opens her eyes again just to see to her horror that a bas-relief portraying Nino stands now in the space between her and the door. The rest of the classroom is deserted.

“Now you will deal with Scarabella,” she growls. “I won't allow you to petrify my friends! And especially not Nino, he's my boyfriend!" Trixx peeks out of her pouch but stays put, while Tikki gets out of Marinette's bag and joins them.

"Tikki, Spots on!" whisper the brunette.

+++

Part 1 | Part 3

[arcaneranger]

Final Thoughts - World Trigger Season 2/3

World Trigger, from austere beginnings, made a surprise revival in 2021 and just blew nearly all of its competition out of the water.

I've talked about this show before, a very long time ago, but getting a full, higher-budget continuation this year was not something I'd ever expected to happen. World Trigger was originally aired before the perpetual-animation concept had really and truly fallen apart (sorry, Boruto and Black Clover) and aired over seventy episodes in its first "season", which clearly was meant to keep going, except that the author of the manga had to take an extended break from the project. Without any new manga chapters in sight to come back to, the show was cancelled.

But despite being initially ridiculed for its fairly poor production job (even for a Toei Animation joint), World Trigger had steadily been gaining an audience interested in its writing, worldbuilding, and its extremely interesting fight sequences.

In most other shounen anime, the main characters will simply develop brand-new superpowers as the plot needs, or through character development, or even just naturally as the show goes on. World Trigger's bread and butter lies in the hard rules of its universe, which basically runs on "what if Midichlorians but not stupid" rules. People have varying levels of energy capacity and a certain number of ways to use it, with their "trigger" abilities largely being shared powers that must be combined or utilized in interesting ways to fight against their enemies, and each other.

This leads to tons of extremely cool and unexpected moments where characters come up with plans like making a giant energy meteor that crashes into a shopping mall by just increasing the input of a regular environmental-destruction attack, or using a trigger that's meant to let you change your angle mid-air to create a fearsome pinball attack that bounces a projectile in a thousand different directions.

And then you have the main character Osamu, whose defining traits are that he's pretty decent at strategizing and has a far-below-par energy capacity that he must find a way to work around and make useful, which leads him to investigate less-used support powers that can combine well with his unique team in order to make himself useful in combat.

This show manages to juggle that with a massive cast that rivals any sports anime, and yet gives you a total sense of who everyone in a fight is and what they're capable of by the end of it. These two seasons cover the rest of the "Rank Wars" arc that pits the human characters against each other in squad battles to determine who gets to go on a mission to a neighboring planet, and every single one of these fights is incredible because of how many different ways the story is able to set them up and pay them off.

I really can't say enough good things about World Trigger, and while I think it's got a while to go before we get to the meatier and more emotional parts of the story, I'm immeasurably excited to have it back, and have the possibility for more of it in the future.

9/10.

[asknarashikari]

So in Zyuohger, Yamato claims that ghosts aren't real, despite meeting Takeru Tenkuuji, Kamen Rider ghost himself. Here's a minific idea (it could be just your thoughts XD): Yamato reacting to kamen rider ghosts, and knowing everything there is to know about him (including the many times he's died and how he died on his 18th birthday)

You know... even though they did team up, I don't think Takeru mentioned that he was... well, actually dead. Or that those floaty things that came out of the thing he used to change form were the literal souls of famous people.

Also, it's kinda funny how you asked for this prompt, because Ghost is rather infamous for having Takeru narrate what happened to him... in EVERY EPISODE. In fact... you can hear the narration for yourself here, in the 2nd episode of the show, with official subs courtesy of Toei themselves!

Some mild spoilers for Ghost, so beware. Though it is a five year old show at this point lol

"Wait, what?" Yamato asked, his jaw on the floor as he absorbed the last sentence he heard. "You can't be serious, right?"

"...I am?" Takeru replied, looking baffled at Yamato. "Why did you think I called myself Ghost?"

"I thought it was just a random name you took!" Yamato flailed. "But you're telling me, all that time, you were actually a ghost?!"

"Yup," Takeru replied, shrugging as if it was no big deal. "Walking through walls, can't eat dinner, the whole shebang."

"B-But..." Yamato said. "How can you fight, if you were a ghost?!" he asked, trying to work it out in his head and coming up with nothing. "Never mind that, what even happened to you that made you a ghost to begin with?!"

"Oh, um, well you see, on my eighteenth birthday I received a gift from my late dad-" He pulled out a strange orb-like object from his sleeve. "This thing, called an Eyecon, which allowed me to see these monsters called Ganma. One of them attacked me, and I wasn't a match for them... so I died?"

Yamato blinked in disbelief. "You died... on your birthday... What kind of rotten luck...?"

"Oh, but then this strange old man appeared! He told me if I gathered 15 of these things, which had the heroic spirits in them, I would be able to come back to life!" Takeru explained further. "That's how I became a ghost and a Kamen Rider!"

"...I think I need to sit down." Yamato said, clutching his head as if he were dizzy and grabbing onto a wall to support himself as he slid to his knees. "So... You died. And you became a ghost."

"Well, technically, I died several times, but yes. "

"Several times!" Yamato said, his voice going high-pitched. "And you use souls to fight." He blinked. "Those parka things we saw before...?"

"Hmm, yes. Masamune, Benkei, Edison, Robin Hood, just to name a few... oh, and my dad, too."

"You used your dad's soul to fight?!"

"Yup. With the Toucon Boost Eyecon." Takeru hummed. "It had my mom's soul too."

"Both of your parents!" Yamato yelped. "How can you keep saying all of these things with a straight face?!"

Takeru shrugged. "I've been through a lot, I guess? I mean, I fought Pacman..."

"Okay." Yamato sighed. "I think I've heard enough." He looked at Takeru. "Your life is even crazier than mine and I've lived with the Zyuman for a year."