#And to just give a general no- it can only be committed by samurai

[fast-moon]

I'm 30 years late, but...

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine originally aired when I was 10 years old. I loved Next Generation when I was a kid, so I gave DS9 a try back then... and immediately grew bored of it. They weren't going to new planets or having space battles, they were just sitting around in one place discussing space politics, and there wasn't even anyone funny like Data to hold my attention. So, I stopped watching after a couple episodes.

But, since I keep hearing it ended up being the best Trek seres, I've decided to go ahead and give it a full watch-through. Maybe now that I'm 40 and have more life experience under my belt, I can appreciate it more.

Turns out I do! I've finished the first season, so I'll give a run-down of what I thought of the S1 episodes below the cut:

1-2. Emissary: All right, I actually understand the premise this time which completely went over my head as a kid. The Bajorans were under Cardassian occupation for decades, the Federation showed up and drove them out, now the Federation is in control of the Cardassian space station DS9 to help the Bajorans rebuild and return to self-governance. But wait! Turns out there's a wormhole that goes to the other side of the galaxy here and it's suddenly become prime space real-estate! And the wormhole is inhabited by... mysterious non-temporal entities that spit out a magic orbs from time to time and the Bajorans worship them as prophets.

3. Past Prologue: Garak is queer-coded like whoa and gives Bashir a taste of his own medicine about not respecting boundaries. Is also possibly like a quadruple-agent. And tailors a fine suit. Also, Kira got a haircut. There's rats on spaceships?! Oh, that's just Odo. Okay. Still, the fact that he considered that a convincing disguise means there's rats on spaceships?!

4. A Man Alone: A guy backstabs himself and blames Odo for it.

5. Babel: Poor overworked O'Brien gets so stressed out he starts speaking in tongues. Then it turns out it's contagious. And it turns out that it's because someone sabotaged the station decades ago with a dyslexia virus and then just kind of forgot about it.

6. Captive Pursuit: This actually touches on a moral question I'd been wondering about if we ever end up with sentient AI: If something is bred/programmed to like being oppressed, is it more moral to remove it from its oppression even if that makes it miserable, or to return it to its oppression if that's what makes it happy? This episode chose the latter.

7. Q-Less: A surprisingly boring Q-centric episode whose only shenanigans involved a space stingray Vash was trying to sell off. Q really does miss Picard.

8. Dax: Oh, another philosophical thought-experiment: If you committed a crime and then get reincarnated in a traceable manner and retain all the memories of your previous incarnation, can your current incarnation be held liable for your previous incarnation's actions? This episode decides it doesn't want to answer this because she's not guilty, anyway.

9. The Passenger: Bashir becomes even more insufferable and nobody notices.

10. Move Along Home: Samurai hippies come through the wormhole and demand everyone LARP with them whether they like it or not.

11. The Nagus: Quark falls victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is "Never get involved in a land war with Asia". But only slightly less well-known is this: "Never get involved with a Ferengi when profit is on the line".

12. Vortex: So... Odo just lets a guy get away with murder because he has a sob story and claimed he knew others of his kind? Just because he was wanted unjustly on his home planet does not change the fact that he murdered a guy for hire. Also, Odo can get knocked out by a rock?

13. Battle Lines: Remember that "Great Divide" episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender that everyone hated? No reason.

14. The Storyteller: O'Brien goes down to Bajor to fix the pipes, becomes God.

15. Progress: Kira has to go convince a Boomer to leave his land because they need the resources to rebuild the planet, but he's all "I got mine, screw them." She humors his sexist behavior all episode, then burns his house down.

16. If Wishes Were Horses: Bashir wishes for his own personal side-piece Dax, and real Dax is weirdly okay with this because "boys will be boys". The conflict in this episode is literally solved by thinking happy thoughts.

17. The Forsaken: Odo gets sexually harassed so reports it to HR who just laughs him off because they think it would be good for him to get laid. Then he gets stuck in an elevator with his stalker and it's revealed just how physically strenuous it is for him to maintain his human form all day, and yet he has never been afforded any accommodations beyond a bucket to sleep in. This poor space slime, no wonder he's always so grumpy. #JusticeForOdo

18. Dramatis Personae: TNG's "The Inner Light", but stupid. Once again Odo has to save the day because he's immune to the humanoid crazypox that seems to infect the station every half-dozen episodes, and yet they still just can't find it in their effects budget to adjust station operations enough to allow him the minimal comfort of not having to contort himself into human form every day until he collapses just to do his job.

19. Duet: I am a sucker for "Did the janitors on the Death Star deserve to die?" sorts of moral discussions, and this episode delivered that very well. Also, I'm in lesbians with Kira.

20. In the Hands of the Prophets: Lady who doesn't even have kids at the school nevertheless takes issue that the children aren't being taught in accordance to her religious beliefs. It's been 30 years since this came out and nothing changes.

All in all, a decent season 1. It does show its age in places, especially in its treatment of female characters, and being written before the internet and smartphones caused seismic cultural shifts that its vision of the future failed to take into account. But still, I'm liking it now that I actually understand what's going on. On to season 2!

[deadite-central]

In my defense this took so long because a school is KICKING MY ASSS and any coherent thought I could make was used up during my mock exams. Anyway, Zou

Zunesha is such a cool creature?? Person??? Entity?????? Either way, the idea of a nation on the back of a giant elephant is so cool, and generally one of my favourite settings in all of One Piece. The idea that it’s constantly moving so you can only get there if you have someone on it is so good and will add layers onto the later traitor reveal in Wano

I’d be really mad at myself if I didn’t mention this, so you know. Ryunoske’s drawn out sacrifice and death is one of the funniest moments in all of One Piece and I generally can’t even look at these pages without smiling. It’s treated with such over the top emotionality

On Zou itself we get to a bunch of funny stuff, and not only do we get a proper introduction to Law’s crew, we also meet Wanda and Carrot, the latter becoming a very important character in the following arcs

Obviously this is One Piece, so things can’t be too good. Again, I think it’s really interesting how the idea that Zunesha moves and is hard to find is put into our heads again and again, just for Jack to somehow keep appearing there. Like I said, it’s already pointing smoothly to the future traitor reveal. What Jack does is also incredibly cruel, and the minks still not saying a word about Raizo shows their commitment and loyalty

And of course, we kick things of for Whole Cake Island, with Sanji getting pushed into an impossible situation, and his backstory reveal slowly planting its seeds already. His expression is so sweet here, and WCI is gonna have his kindness as at the forefront, so it’s important for his last encounter with the Straw Hats so far to be a bittersweet goodbye

When I first watched Zou, I was completely prepared for a liar reveal plot with the Straw Hats knowing about the samurai, but instead Oda picks a much more interesting route, with the minks having pretended that they don’t know the samurai. It’s a neat choice, which knowing about on my read of this arc made Dog Storm’s and Cat Viper’s actions that much more honourable

Zou is an arc filled with so many reveals that I won’t dive into, as most people already talked about them, but I think the biggest emotional punch is put when we learn of Momonosuke’s full situation. This child has been put with an impossible weight on his shoulders, and just like in Alabasta with Vivi, Luffy wants him to ask for the Straw Hats’ help in defeating Kaido. It’s such a good scene

For my final thoughts, Zunesha absolutely obliterating Jack’s ships is so monumental, and not only are we getting teased about the voice of all things again, but also I gotta give props for this page. Zunesha looks TERRIFYING here and that sells Jack’s defeat so well

[ace-reviews]

Spring 2025 First Impressions Digest

GREAT:

A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof:

rest your cheek on her tiddy

Anne Shirley: excellent adaption of well-loved classic novel i've never read

Apocalypse Hotel: it's like if the good part of wall-e was a slice of life anime

Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive?: yeah, but this show doesn't think so

KOWLOON GENERIC ROMANCE: sci-fi mystery about nostalgia set in a place that used to exist but doesn't anymore

Lazarus: it's directed by shinichiro watanabe

Witch Watch: excellent adaptation of a really good manga

GOOD:

Food for the Soul: cute women doing cute things club anime but it occurred to me after i finished up my first impressions that the whole episode the main character goes on and on about how she's afraid of trying new things but the episode opens with her trying a new thing

mono:

FLUFFY FLUFFY

Once Upon A Witch's Death: fun main character with clear motivation that might be a bit too shmaltzy for some people

Summer Pockets: it's an adaptation of a key visual novel that gives you everything you'd expect from an adaptation of a key visual novel

Yaiba: Samurai Legend: very old school shonen in both the good and bad ways

ZatsuTabi: wish i could go to japan

OKAY:

Catch Me At the Ballpark:

if youre going to translate a loan word you could at least not do it wrong

The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows: at least Our Hero doesn't condone slavery

Teogonia: would be good if the production was better

GOOD BAD:

I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!: absolute garbage and hates women but at least the shithead main character gets reincarnated to gundam instead of dragon quest for once

Please Put Them On, Takamine-san:

yes bra

Yandere Dark Elf: it's about a dark elf who is yandere

BAD BAD:

#COMPASS2.0: fuck off with your hashtag in the title

The Beginning After the End:

if your 2 year old has only just learned to walk and can only vocalize without babbling or talking you should consult your pediatrician

The Dinner Table Detective: not even mamoru miyano can make me care about a rote mystery with a detective who commits the mortal sin of being an actual cop

The Gorilla God's Go-To Girl: just watch witch watch

The Shiunji Family Children: it could be good bad if it was less well made

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside By My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom: boring collection of oversaturated webcomic tropes

The Unaware Atelier Meister: boring collection of oversaturated anime tropes

I STARTED TO WATCH THIS ONE BUT DROPPED IT AFTER 2 MINUTES BECAUSE THE SHOTABAIT ONE'S PUBESCENT SCREECHING WAS MORE THAN I COULD TOLERATE

Classic★Stars: ugh

[carterkeller1234]

Late Post: Shin Sekai Yori Pt. 2

We've come to the conclusion of this tumultuous and telekinetically-charged discussion of eugenics and class division, what a ride it has been. For starters, the entire finale was a perfect conclusion to the entire "Shonen A" depiction that has been showcased throughout all fiends with the Messiah being an ultimate culmination of the unknowable aspects of children in the perspective of Satoru and especially through Saki. The Messiah being essentially a tool for Yakomaru's rebellion only further showcases the similarities between the PK humans and the queerats, as they both use the same telekinetic abilities to establish dominance on the other class, signifying that despite their outward differences they are one in the same as a society. Alongside this, we begin to see the inherent hypocrisy present in this version of Japan, with them perpetuating a eugenics based civilization but looking down on the queerats for committing morally questionable actions like the lobotomizing of the queerat Queen while they erase the children that don't meet their criteria. These episodes do phenomenal work in showcasing how each side is a reflection of their opposition with them possessing the same mentality and desires, but in the case of the queerats because they loss and are seen as inferior they are declared the evil faction. This entire final portion of the show is so drenched with ethical dilemmas and consequences, with the moral greyness being showcased in all of the characters, Squealer starting a revolt that leads to the death of many innocents, Saki potentially jeopardizing the world to save Satoru and essentially sacrificing Kiboumaru, and especially seen with Kiboumaru's reveal that his tribe was collecting nuclear armaments to effectively eliminate all opposing forces to his colony. This moral grayness contributes to the themes of sacrifice and redemption that each character goes through, being signified most clearly with how Saki and Satoru's child serves as the ultimate representation of the humans redeeming themself. In spite of all of the terror and fear that the PK children and "Shonen A" fiends represent, they are still the future and represent the next generation and the future that can improve. The anime even ends with the sounds of children laughing and Saki writing a letter while pregnant, being both visual representations of how despite the potential unknowing aspects of them, children are what change everything.

It's interesting to note that Squealer/Yakomaru sports a classic feudal samurai armor, given that he's meant to be the reflection of humanity. This draws up the parallel between his rebellion effort fueled by the same sense of pride and ego that fueled many of the lords of the era for which the armor comes from. It is meant to give him a noble appearance but this sequence only further showcases the dichotomy between his outward exterior of friendliness to Saki and Satoru and the inner lying will he'll go to to achieve his goals (i.e. destroying the Goat Moth colony stronghold).

Aside from just being a really cool shot, it further illustrates the "Shonen A" visage that many of the fiends in this show possess, showcasing the sheer fear associated with these unknowable figures, especially in the case of Saki. This perception of children through this lens of horror is the very overarching theme that this society discusses how it can effect the development of children to begin with. Of course it's only further showcased with the ensuing rampage that the Queerat Messiah wreaks through the lens of Saki and Satoru.

This is the scene that put everything into perspective, with Satoru revealing the queerats to be originally humans without PK abilities but in a state caused by genetic tampering. This is only made more impactful with this having the hindsight of Yakomaru's rebellion and trial, showcasing that he was justified in his quest and that they really were human. This scene serves to conclude and only further emphasize the class divide commentary that the show handled with the queerat plotline.

[multitec001]

The Ultimate Hand Tools Guide and Review: Multitec Takes Center Stage

When it comes to hand tools, Multitec Tools isn't just a brand; it's a legacy that spans generations, honed by a relentless pursuit of innovation and quality. Headquartered in the bustling heart of Delhi NCR, this Pan-Indian supplier has etched its name across the nation, quickly becoming a household name for professionals and DIY enthusiasts alike.

The Unsung Heroes: Wire Strippers

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Screwdrivers: Your Magic Wands

It is not so large a thing to start with, however pack a powerful punch. These trusty mates are similar to a magical wand you can hold in your hands to deal even with the most hard headed screw forgivers. In the design of the blades and handles, the multitec screwdrivers are worlds apart, with the blades sharp enough to make even a seasoned tech maniac shed tears of joy.

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Cable Cutters: Battling with Unruly Wires

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To give you a better understanding of the breadth of Multitec's offerings, here's a quick rundown of their product lineup:

Product Category

Product Types

Wire Strippers

Automatic, Adjustable, Heavy-Duty

Screwdrivers

Flat, Phillips, Torx, Precision

Hex Keys

Ball-end, L-shaped, T-handle

Stainless Steel Tools

Pliers, Snips, Scissors

Nippers & Micro-Shears

Flush, Semi-Flush, Angled

Pliers & Nose Pliers

Slip-Joint, Linesman, Long-Nose

Cable Cutters

Ratcheting, Insulated, High-Leverage

Power Bits

Drill Bits, Nut Drivers, Impact-Rated

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Embrace Precision and Innovation

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Multitec's passion goes beyond the product to find itself in the other services offered. The manufacturing facility in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, which is one of the most advanced and updated ones, truly speaks of their commitment towards quality. Craftspeople, who are highly trained in their trade, diligently manage all stages of production, from the factory floor to the finishing touch, in order to produce quality tools of the highest order.

However, it gets Multitec ahead of the competition that their fanaticism for innovation makes them go beyond what we expect. They are not the kind that sit back and be content with what have been achieved in the past, rather they keep on moving forward. They always want to be at the forefront and this has seen more features as well as technologies that improve their tools.

Take, for instance, the very ergonomic design. Multitec realizes that comfort is what matters most when operating through tools and, therefore, this is the reason behind the precision craftsmanship of their products ensuring that the hand fits the tool seamlessly. This reduced fatigue while at the same time increasing productivity.

And durability would come to mind. Multitec's tools are built to stand anything, it is because of they only use the most finest materials and modern manufacturing methods.

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[officialscaramouche]

ayo feel like doing a gorou confession fic for me? pretty please with sprinkles on top (you know that fucking tiktok)

Ofc Pizzato anything for u my dear 🥰

Pairing: Gorou x gn!reader

Warnings: slight angst

Word count: 1,969

You heard a couple friendly knocks on your office door, eyes glancing to the clock to see it was a little past noon and you knew exactly who it was. “Come in,” you chime, putting down your pen and stretching upwards with a smile.

“Helloooooo!” You hear as the door swung open, Kazuha flaunting an envelope between his fingers. “Letter time!”

You sweep to your feet and give him grabby hands. “Give it to me!” He chuckles and places the thin paper into your hands. “Tell me who it is already,” you giggle as you rip it open and slide the letter out.

“No,” he sighs, rolling his eyes. “I keep my promises.”

You quirk and eyebrow before you fold open the letter. “Even if I bribe you with dango?”

Kazuha smiles. “Even if you bribe me with dango.”

You grunt and groan but it quickly stops when you unfold the letter, reading the contents.

Good afternoon, cupcake, it starts. You blush at the pet name. I hope your day is going as well as mine. I’ve just won the office lottery! I’m going to ask for more snacks in the break room. That way, everyone benefits too! Specifically though, I want more sakura mochi! The ones you made for us were delicious. Share your recipe? :3

I adore you, your secret admirer.

You squeeze the letter to your chest and squeal, your face warm from blushing and your heart pounding against your chest. “Oh, Kazuha, whoever this person is, I really wish they’d come up and confess!”

Kazuha tuts and wiggles his finger. “But then the mystery wouldn’t be there anymore.”

“Screw mystery!” You squealed, gazing down at the illegible and scratchy handwriting, the mysterious stains and fur all over the page. “I’m ready to hear these words in person.”

Just then there was a knock on your door and a quick turn of the knob, one of the top brass leaning against your door frame. “Good morning, Chatty Cathy’s,” sang a familiar voice and ear twitches.

You wave while Kazuha bows, hiding the letter behind your back. “Good morning, General Gorou.”

The tail behind his back wagged discreetly as the two men share a knowing glance. “Kazuha,” the general clears his throat. “May I speak with you?”

The samurai nods his head and gives you a little wave as he walks out the door. “Bye boys!” You sing, tucking the letter back into the envelope and putting it away.

The next day, as routine, a little past noon you heard three friendly knocks on your door. You excitedly put your pen down, closing your ledger and standing out of your chair and onto your feet. “Kazuha,” you grinned. “Come in!”

He pushed the door open with his back, lugging a big box with some plastic sticking out from the top. “I’m just a mule to you guys aren’t I?” He groaned, lifting the box up and onto your desk. “This is ridiculous.”

You stood on your tippy toes to try and peek inside the box without being obnoxious. “What is it?” You hum, getting more and more restless.

“Your letter, what else?” He kind of snapped, letting out a deep sigh and rolling his eyes. “I wish he’d confess too. That way I don’t have to carry these things.”

You pulled back the top of the box that was just out of your reach. “Here,” pushing your hands away, Kazuha tore the box apart to expose a giant basket full of goodies and flowers. “The letter.”

Kazuha snapped the taped-on letter from the plastic and handed it to you. Wasting no time at all, you rip the envelope open and unfold the letter.

Dearest [Y/N], you’ve pierced my heart like an arrow through a target and I simply cannot get you off my mind. I heard from the grapevine that you wish for my confession. …Maybe I shall do so in the near future? It’s not that I do not want to be yours, but rather that you make me quite nervous. Still, we see each other for terribly brief moments but these moments are the most precious to me. Hopefully I can muster up the courage to finally tell you how I feel. In the meantime, please accept these treats and toys imported from across the globe. My favorite are the dog-shaped biscuits.

Your shy admirer.

Looking up from the letter you find Kazuha stuffing his face with some chocolatey cookies from within a tin box labeled ‘Fontaine.’ “Are those good?” You ask, reaching in and stealing one.

“Mhm,” Kazuha hums, taking a bite out of the one in his hand. “I’ve never had Fontaine chocolate. I guess the rumors about being the best were true.”

You melt under the sweet taste and crunchy texture, thinking that if your crush’s letters had a taste, it would be like this. “This is so nice,” you sigh, eyes sparkling as they gaze upon the basket. “Do you think he’s going to confess to me?”

Kazuha stares out the windows of your office that peer into the rest of the building, watching a certain general spill water on himself and the resistance leader. He takes another bite of a cookie. “Maybe.”

You squeal in delight and spin around in joy. “My heart’s beating so fast! I hope he does it soon or I’ll explode!”

Kazuha chuckles and playfully shoves you aside. “If you explode, I’m eating all of your snacks.”

“No! They’re mine!”

Weeks— almost a month— go by with no further letters. Kazuha stopped coming by, whether at noon or otherwise. The only knocks you got were visits from Kokomi about the budget or from other soldiers carrying reports and receipts from spending. Your heart ached at the sudden lack of contact, wondering if you had done or said something wrong.

Maybe your eagerness was intimidating and this mystery man just wanted someone to flirt with without commitment. Maybe he got bored of you. Maybe he didn’t want to talk to you anymore.

Regardless, you wanted to try and spark it back up in case you’ve stepped on some toes without realizing. That night when you got home, you tossed the ingredients for sakura mochi into a bowl and got to mixing.

The office ate everything you brought before lunchtime rolled around. With such great success, you had confidence that he’d reach out to you tomorrow, if not today.

But alas you were left in silence once more, leaving your heart to crumble and ache. You were quick to recover, considering you never met the guy— let alone knew his name. But you had no time to be worrying anyway, because in a couple of days one of the squads were returning from the front lines and you needed to factor in medical costs. Apparently they took a hard hit when Sara Kujou showed up with her samurai. Kokomi was depending on you, and you didn’t want to let her down.

You spend these few days really crunching the numbers, making sure that every wounded soldier would get the basic medical necessities with some left over for any miscalculations. With every i dotted and every t crossed, you stuffed your report into a fancy envelope and handed it to Kokomi. “Thank you [Y/N] for your hard work under such a sudden timetable.” She thanked, tucking the envelope under her arm. “The team should be arriving tomorrow, so I will be submitting this for review immediately.”

You bow respectfully and offer your thanks for praise. “It’s no problem at all, Her Excellency. I was given ample time to prepare the balance sheet.” You begin to turn when you’re stopped once again by her.

“Before you go,” she smiles softly. “Would you mind helping out at the infirmary? We’re short handed right now with the sudden intake of Delusions.”

“Of course, Her Excellency. I will be there whenever you need me.”

You weren’t specialized in medics but you had helped around often enough to know the basics. And anyone could become a master at immediate medical attention after doing it so many times.

The flood of gurneys was a little disheartening to see, but you were still thankful for all that they do for the greater of the country. It must be scary being at the front lines, but everyone knew what they were signing up for.

You catch sight of Genera Gorou and Lord Kazuha chatting with Lady Kokomi before you were assigned to a batch of wounded soldiers, feeling a little bad for harboring ill feelings toward the young lord for disappearing. ‘You could’ve at least told me that you were leaving,’ you thought as you rinsed the injured area.

“I can take over from here,” the head medic stepped in, slipping on a new pair of gloves before getting a closer look at the soldier before you. With most of everyone patched up and recovering, the medic team was able to take control of the infirmary once again.

You wash your hands and check the clock. A little past noon. It’s funny how at this time you would’ve waited with bated breath for a couple of knocks. But not anymore.

You step out of the infirmary and find Kazuha and General Gorou sitting outside on the benches there. “Oh, hi boys,” you say surprised.

Kazuha grabs and shakes your hand. “Thank you for helping out our soldiers,” he says seriously.

“Oh, it’s not that big of a deal,” you mutter. “I do this all the time.”

A calloused hand pushes Kazuha’s away and shakes your hand firmer, harder. “No, [Y/N],” Gorou says with a sort of oomph behind his words. “These are my men…my family. They would be suffering if not for your help.”

You look to the side uncomfortably, a little put-off by the tension in the air. “And that’s why—!” Gorou continues, suddenly eight decibels louder. You hold eye contact with the general, his face darkening into a deep red flush, his eyes glassy and ears twitching. He squeezed your hand harder and shut his eyes. “M-My C-C-Cupcake!!! P-Please let m-me take you on a date!!!!”

Kazuha winced at the loudness of his friend, covering one of his ears but still smiling nonetheless. The people walking by stared and mumbled, but it didn’t matter as you felt your heart pound against your chest. You felt your eyes well with tears as now your face flushed red, the general cautiously opening his eyes to see your trembling lips and pathetic pout. “A-Ah! [Y/N], don’t cry!!”

You tug on his hand hard, pulling the man into your arms and squeezing him tight. You sobbed into his chest, hearing and feeling how frantic his heart was beating as well. “You idiot!” You shout into his battle-worn chest. “Don’t disappear without telling me…”

Gorou caressed the back of your head and chewed on his lip, his tail drooping with guilt but twitching with excitement for being in your arms. “Did I…scare you?” He whispered tentatively, choosing his words carefully.

You pull away and wipe your eyes, Gorou watching you closely and holding tightly onto your waist. “I thought you got tired of me…because I stopped hearing from you.” Gorou frowned and cupped your face, thumbing your cheeks gently. “I even made sakura mochi and I didn’t—”

“You made sakura mochi??!??!!! Is there any left?!?” Gorou’s jaw dropped. He let you go to turn and run to the break room, halting before running back to embrace you once more. “Heh, uh…” he chuckled nervously. “I’d actually…rather hold you like this…”

You couldn’t fight the smile that spread across your cheeks, flushing your body against his chest. “That’s okay,” you giggle. “There aren’t any left.”

You had no idea that his ears could flatten sadly like that.

[demonslayedher]

Hi! I keep seeing people commenting again and again that Rengoku's "Umai" comes from "ancient samurai did it to enjoy every meal as if it were their last one", but I can't find a reliable source on that. Do you happen to know if that's true or it's just one of those fandom rumors that spread around and everyone believes them? Did the Rengokus used to be samurai?

I have... never heard this????? Granted, I don't stray from under my Tumblr rock when it comes to interacting with the wider KnY fandom, so that might be part of it. But I also have been a nerd for samurai since long before KnY might have been a twinkle in a gator's eye, and... I still have not heard this??????? Granted, I am but one nerd on the internet, so there's of course plenty I don't know. So I went looking into this on the Japanese interwebs, found a good handful of articles on the epistemology of the "umai" Rengoku uses and how the usage meaning can vary depending on the kanji it's written in, and...

Again, that's not to say there's not something out there, but I couldn't find anything that implied that this started as a samurai-specific phrase with a highly specific meaning behind praising a potential last meal's tastiness. Setting aside the question of the word "umai," though, there is a lot of meat to this interpretation, though. There is a lot of samurai and Zen influence at work in Kyojuro's character, the Rengoku clan, and in Kimetsu no Yaiba as a whole.

Let's start with the question of whether or not Kyojuro (and everyone else in the Rengoku clan) is a samurai. I don't think this is an appropriate phrase for a number of historical reasons as well as reasons in canon. First, to my knowledge, the use of 侍 "samurai" in KnY is limited to context of swordsmen from warrior families (武家 "buke") who would have acted under the title of someone who is a career warrior under the service of a warlord. Child Yoriichi uses this phrase when addressing Michikatsu, saying he wants to be the "second strongest samurai." This is appropriate for them, for as warrior family, they have the social expectations of samurai to live up to. This was back in the Warring States period, but the definition of samurai was a building block of the whole social structure in the Edo period, and being tied in with politics would be problematic for a family committed to an unrecognized/secret organization. The Rengoku clan had their own illustrious family legacies to maintain, their own master they already served separate from whatever warlord is in power, and their own dire mission unrecognized by the political world. Rather than samurai, most of the time the demon slayers (or demon hunters, as they were more commonly called in Yoriichi's day before "Corp" existed as a military phrase) were referred to as swordsmen: 剣士 "kenshi." This is how Yoriichi referred to the Rengoku ancestor who found him after Uta was slain. That all being said, the Rengoku family clearly would had been influenced by samurai culture, so much so that acquaintances might assume they are of the samurai class. Besides the general attitudes, there are many subtle details that make the Rengoku household seem like a buke. You know how excited I was when watching the movie and I saw the garden in Rengoku-san's flashbacks and was like, "ahhhh, look at that, only evergreens, no fading flowers, that is totally a garden appropriate for a samurai abode." "But wait!" you might say. "Cherry blossoms represent the evanescent nature of the samurai, scattering in youthful warrior glory!" Pssh, yeah, that makes it a real inauspicious thing to have in your garden. Sometimes you want a symbol of a samurai's undying loyalty and stuff instead. But the constant awareness of death? Yeah, totally a samurai thing. And that's part of why Zen was so popular with samurai/swordsmen. The more you dig into the samurai psyche about death and constant preparation for it (as well as the struggle to be stoic about it, as opposed to fearing it or being too eager for a glorious death), the more fascinating things you find. Even proper hygiene for making sure your head is a fitting trophy from the battlefield! One method of stoicism found in Zen is mindfulness, and it's actually been on my mind lately how so much of Breath users' abilities does stem from mindfulness (emphasis on the five senses, embracing mundane chores like Tanjiro tending rice as it cooks, heck, even the tree-like state), which would lend itself very well to the interpretation that each meal should be appreciated like your last.

Like, that's one reason the tea ceremony was so popular a practice among samurai too. It draws you attention to the moment. And it's pretty realistic that you'll never encounter a moment like that again with the people you're gathered with. It's the same sort of the approach, and it can absolutely be applied to eating. There is a lot of more general focus throughout KnY on meditation being a source of strength, be it training under waterfalls, Genya repeating the Nembutsu prayer or Ruka practicing Kankagari (meditation done by expectant mothers in the Rengoku clan, staring at a hanging lantern). Breath itself is so, so, so, so closely linked to meditation. It's as though Gotouge is trying to extol the virtues of mastery of the self, and how running away with our passions (perhaps well-meaning, but misguided) is what will make demons out of us. And Kyojuro, who sees good reason for being sad over his father's state, stoically chose mastery over his own emotions. He does not let his potential inadequacies become a passion that rules his heart, and this gives his mind the freedom to adjust quickly to new situations. Kyojuro does tend to live in a state of being in the present, and that means being mindful of an grateful for the details of everything and everyone around him. He accepts not only that he may die protecting his juniors, but that he might also grow old and weak. He neither seeks or flees from either course.

To become a demon would be to let oneself be consumed by passions, ultimately losing that appreciation for our delicate existence. Maybe I wouldn't call him a samurai, but I would feel comfortable calling Kyojuro a 武士 "bushi" (warrior) (albeit the over-idealized bushi mindset took through writings of people who could only look back and admire samurai of the past, and project themselves onto them a bit, but I digress, that's an interesting but irrelevant topic). Not every samurai was a good one, especially as we trickled through the peaceful Edo period, being a samurai was just a happy accident of birth that landed you a civil service position. But for someone who accepted a bushi lifestyle, they accepted that death might always be near. While it's very easy for bushi idealism to be taken to a fanatical level (and for politics, it always has been), KnY lifts up the best of it, with mindful attitudes to strive for even without death constantly down our necks.

[armansanimeaddiction]

Samurai Champloo : A Tale of Two Ronin

By standard expectation, Samurai Champloo is a show that shouldn’t work. Our three heroes have no common goal nor traits, the show doesn’t really show any progression beyond the plot stumbling into the last two episodes. But in spite of that, the saga of Mugen, Jin and Fuu manages to capture something profound within all of us ; the meaning of life.

Ok, the meaning of life is a fairly big topic, and one that at face value seems to have been disputed time and time again. But the most potent of these studies is the field of existentialism, or more simply the study of existence. Existentialism was born of the anxiety of Søren Kierkegaard, whose anxiety caused him to ponder about how humans find meaning in what seems to be a meaningless existence. His works laid the groundwork for generations of philosophers to debate their own views on the subject, and for me to write this essay.

On face value, it would seem Samurai Champloo has very little to do with the meaning of life ; after all it's just a story about three vagabonds wandering around Edo Japan, looking for the samurai who smells of sunflowers - a flower which doesn’t really have a smell. Yet our main trio manages to encapsulate the introductory passage of Kierkegaard’s “The Sickness Unto Death”

The first member of our group is Mugen. Translated from Japanese, “Mugen” means “infinite”, which so happens to coincide with a Kierkegaardian concept. The infinite, according to Kierkegaard, is a sphere of being which corresponds to possibility; the capacity to change oneself and to be unbound. But one can get lost in the infinite, living a life of experiments and falsehoods that never get the legitimization than if you had committed to those ideals. We see this reflected in Mugen ; from the day he was born, he has never been told what to do and has always lived life on his own accord. But as a consequence of this, he has never been able to find satisfaction in friendships and ventures, always drawing himself away from the situation. When he reunites with Koza, it's clear to us that she wants the connection with Mugen, but having this unbound desire to move on from everything, he can’t stay with her. However, he is transformed through the story after having the honour the bet made with Fuu to accompany her on the journey; confronting his own demons of commitment. 

We then move onto Jin, whose name can be translated as “human” in English ; the finite, whose life will most certainly come to an end. For Kierkegaard, the finite is a regard for necessity and the definite in life. To live bound by rules which correspond to the reality of the world. Jin is held prisoner by these phantoms of the past ; he lives by a romanticised ruleset of the bushido, which he was excruciatingly ejected from at the hands of the one he respected the most. To lose oneself in the finite is to live a life where change seems impossible ; where one becomes confined by societal shackles, where no alternatives exist. Time and time again, Jin never makes the decision he wants to make, rather he does something because his ideals have told him it is the right thing to do, but it is not necessarily what he wants to do. He has never had friends, because his code forced him on a path of isolation to uphold honour and courage. Only after having been put in a situation by Fuu where he has to socialise with these other outcasts does he fulfil his own desires for once : he experiences love, he enters the red light district, and above everything else, he finds his first two friends.

Whilst Mugen and Jin represent opposite sides of the same coin, Kierkegaard exaggerates that it is the tension between these paradigms which makes us human and gives us meaning to our life. It is not an easy journey, it takes a lifetime to find this balance. And this is no better exemplified than the overarching theme of the show ; a mindless journey. Sure, their intent is to find the samurai who smells of sunflowers, but ultimately the stakes are much greater than that. Nearing the end of their time together, Fuu reminisces that she wants the journey to go on forever, as she knows that eventually they’ll split up to discover their own selves. And she knows this will definitely happen because discovering the self is a journey one can only experience by themselves, and that you yourself are the only one responsible for this. Mugen and Jin have known this their whole life ; Mugen was born on the Ryukyu Islands, barren and desolate. He could only ever rely on himself for his own survival, by and large after having been betrayed by his brother and having to fend for himself ever since. For Jin, his skill with the sword was second to none, sequestering himself from his peers, and eventually forcing him to kill the ones he loved the most for the sole purpose of his own survival. He has never been able to trust anyone with his life, just as Kierkegaard wrote ; you are the one solely responsible for your life.

No doubt, this is not an easy task. There is a large amount of anxiety associated with discovering the self ; it requires one to deconstruct who they are, with no guides to help you nor any standards of success. The path to individuality is a lonely one, where endless possibilities give rise to disorientation on how to balance this act of life. Jin and Mugen initially have no desire to be involved with Fuu’s antics, and had the bet not gone the way it should have, they would not have begun this path of existential understanding

For Kierkegaard, this anxiety is a necessary one for the pursuit of selfhood. Existential anxiety represents awareness of one's freedom of possibilities, and having the power to actualise one of them. Being solely responsible for one's future. This freedom is a double edged sword however ; knowing that you are the only one who can do anything about your self can cause a great amount of despair. The greatest of which is the sickness unto death ; an attempt to undo oneself of their self, to lack what it means to be human, all whilst not being aware of it. In the opening scenes of the show, we see Mugen and Jin ready to lay down their lives ; they have no respect for themselves as they don’t know what or how to live for. They succumb to the sickness unto death because they don’t know how to live, and refuse to accept that they don’t. But by the end, when our trio part ways, we see that they have changed. They now understand that they can change and they don’t have a set arbitrary goal ; they are now content with just existing, having experienced what it means to be a self with one another. 

Mugen initially was controlled by despair over the earthly. He was a glutton, whose first interaction with Fuu is getting her out of a sticky situation in exchange for 100 dumplings.  He has a constant infatuation with women and does anything to get with one. Early in his life, this was his friendship with Koza and Mukuro. But when he lost this connection, he thinks that the accompanying emptiness he feels is a result of such a loss, not realising that an inner hollowness was there all along: he lacked a self and tried to compensate by projecting their identity onto something external and finite. Ever since, he has never been able to fill this void. For Jin, this was a despair over his ideals. They are all that he had ever known, and to see them shattered in front of him causes him great misery, so much so that he shuts himself from others so that he can’t experience it again, not realising that he is more than those romanticised ideals. This is the extent of their sicknesses unto death ; a tragedy which subconsciously prevented them from moving on.

But in spite of this, they find new goals, higher goals which are immaterial. These goals are expressed by their passionate commitment to a style of life. Having experienced this journey, they find a new higher goal ; to explore the world and all the things that happen in it - the characterisation of them being content with their existence. It is important to note that they are not at the end of their journeys towards their goals, but they are at least now on the right path.

To reach their goals, they have to withstand trial and tribulation that comes with it. This is no better exemplified by the multitudinous fights they partake in, but the most distinct of these are the final fights they have. For Mugen, he confronts a demon of the past in Umanosuke, whose fighting style is as hectic as his own. To overcome him, he has to take a leaf out of Jin’s book and use a plan to defeat him, metaphorically demonstrating his growth as a self. Similarly for Jin, in his confrontation with Kagetoki, he is unpredictable so that he can land a killing blow, letting go of his strict bushido code for one glorious moment. 

Whilst Kierkegaard never directly addresses it, he implores the reader to be themselves, and experiment with their own life views. This is reflected with the stylistic choices of the show. Whilst this can be somewhat attributed to making the protagonists stand out, Samurai Champloo’s supporting cast is vibrant and colourful, so giving our main trio an even more distinct look demonstrates how different they are to the crowd and how they live life by their own accords. This can be further attributed to their styles of fighting ; Mugen adheres to no code and break dances mid fight, incorporating wacky movements into his fights. Jin on the other hand is constantly refining and reading his enemy to be able to take them down in one swift strike. These stylistic highlights demonstrate how our protagonists do not fit in with the standard societal mould demonstrated to martial artists or even just being a human in Edo Japan.

But there still remains one glaring question ; how does Fuu fit into all of this?

Fuu seems to be like a Kierkegaardian ideal. She isn’t perfect, but she is everything that Kierkegaard describes to be someone on the path to selfhood. She demonstrates qualities of the finite in being able to follow the expectations of society, but she doesn't let this impede on her own views. Her dream is immaterial - to find the samurai who smells of sunflowers - so she doesn’t despair (on a grand scale) over the material wealth they find along their journey. Through Fuu, Mugen and Jin learn what it means to be human, to have dreams and desires. And Fuu does see an end to her dream ; she has a tearful reunion with her father, who she ultimately forgives despite him abandoning her and her mother, showing that she also grows as a person along the journey too. She learns to become more assertive, adaptive and understanding of others too. The journey to selfhood is not one that can be achieved in a short period of time, but we see that Fuu makes significant progress on it throughout the time of the show.

So what can we take from this? It’s that we should discover the nature of our self, learn what it means to be a self, and to live life for our selfs. The journey of life will have an end for us, but it’s what we make of it that matters. 

“Do you want to take a leap of faith? Or become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone?”

[kirisaki-daichi-scenarios]

How generous is imayoshi, hananiya and seto with their money? Are they invested in economy in general and do they spoil their s/o with expensive gifts to brag or rather not because they're cheap? I want answers to this because I've always been interested in the kirisaki daichi being a rich school (i just tossed imayoshi into this, although I've always seen him as some kind of bohemian nomad lol, my headcanon. If you want, please let me know your thoughts on that as well! Imayoshi is a treasure)

Seto Kentaro

lowkey seto strikes me as the kinda rich person who has no idea how much things cost

as in, he doesn’t particularly buy much anyway - scrolling through online shopping sites tires him out, let alone going outdoors to buy something in person

but when he does buy something, half the time it’s for way more than what he should have paid for it (to be fair, that’s probably also cause he’s grown up in tokyo, so is used to higher prices)

long story short, seto has ‘academically intelligent but very much lacking in any common sense’ energy

as far as spoiling an s/o goes, don’t expect much from seto - he won’t shower you with gifts, majorly cause he wouldn’t know where to start

but, on your birthday/valentine’s/etc, if he gets you a present, it’ll probably be on the more pricey side (but very good quality, will last you a while though)

Hanamiya Makoto

if you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time, you’ll know that i hc hanamiya not coming from a particularly well-off family (see more info here), so he’s somewhat on the stingy side

he buys himself books secondhand (also necessary cause he reads pretty fast), notebooks too, and he doesn’t spend unnecessarily ever

cause he probably doesn’t have time for a part-time job, with his commitment to the basketball team (though i wonder if he occasionally gets editing gigs or some similar freelancing work in the summer to earn a little extra cash), and he doesn’t want to spend his mother’s hard-earned money either

anyway, with that in mind, it’s no wonder that hanamiya keeps gift giving to a minimum - and he’s also more likely to give you a gift that’s cheaper, but definitely something you’ll like

honestly the only time hanamiya might buy something more expensive is if he’s out with his rich boy buddies, but that’ll be bought 100% with his own savings

Imayoshi Shouichi

imayoshi’s vibes are so whack that he definitely has some bohemian vibes (though more in the sense that he’s Mr Reject Modernity, rather than being exceptionally creative/optimistic)

i do feel like imayoshi knows a good amount about economics (hell i think he knows a good amount about everything)

but the fact that he doesn’t bet money despite being pretty knowledgeable about horse racing, makes me think that he’s careful with his money

i'm guessing imayoshi’s from a solidly middle class family too, so he wasn’t raised to be a lavish spender either

plus, it’s very possible that he either grew up in osaka, another city in kansai, or maybe even the countryside - either way, life in tokyo will have proven more costly

again, don’t expect him to shower you with gifts but do expect the occasional very weird gift, and the occasional lack of a gift on a birthday or whatnot

he’s not massively stingy though; he has a collection of very random shit in his room that he paid for, for no particularly reason (alongside a bunch of cheap and broken glasses that he used to wear)

imayoshi’s room be like: some very high quality fishing gear, some very cheap and poor quality fishing gear, a random piece of god-knows-what that he fished out of the local river, a wind-up radio (from susa? for susa? no one will ever know), a bunch of horse racing magazines that he paid very little for, some samurai films that he paid a suspicious amount for

yeah what can you expect from imayoshi really

[aforrestofstuff]

Been a hot minute since I did one of these. A good friend of mine gave me a suggestion on my discord:

So yeah this required a lot of research because I only eat like 3 things lol. Obligatory crack warning.

Tornado of Terror: Ice cream because A: it’s good practice for her esper powers to control a semi-liquidous substance and B: her constant rage has actually raised her default body temperature an additional ten degrees, so eating ice cream is a good way to cool off. 

Silverfang: Oatmeal raisin cookies because he’s an old fuck. He likes chewy things because his teeth are held together by sheer force of will but also indulges in that extra crunch of the oatmeal to remind everyone in the old folk’s home just who the fuck they’re messing with. 

Atomic Samurai: Any dessert-flavored cocktail that is made up of around 90% alcohol and 5% violence. 

Child Emperor: Kid eats sweets for breakfast lunch and dinner, dessert to him would probably be a head of broccoli drizzled with a light yet flavorful dressing. Either that or milkshakes, because I get the feeling he doesn’t get to enjoy them too often... and of course they remind him of the good times with Zombieman. 

Metal Knight: Only eats pre-packaged nutrient bricks and has not tasted anything sweet nor enjoyed a food morsel in at least 17 years. 

King: I headcanon King as a huge momma’s boy who doesn’t get to eat a lot of homemade food because he fucking sucks at cooking and makes enough money to eat out all the time anyway, so his favorite dessert would probably be every and any home-cooked treat his mom makes for him. 

Zombieman: I’ll be honest, I thought this dude hated sweet things but after reading that manga extra of him drinking sugar with a side of coffee, my opinion has switched. His favorite dessert would probably be something extremely decadent and sweet, like one of those 1000-calorie Dairy Queen sundae-shakes jam packed with chocolate and cookie crumbs. Or an entire fucking lava cake because this dude’s metabolism is faster than the speed of light and he’d probably stomach something like that just to see if he can, since apparently he’s all about breaking his own limiters. A friend of mine once ate three-dozen pot brownies in one sitting while speedrunning Mario 64 and I think Zombieman would be able to do that without the aid of the munchies. I know Zman internally insulted Pig God one time for well, eating like a pig but give the dude some alone time and an all you can eat buffet of sweets and he’d find himself in the same situation. 

Drive Knight: Does not have a favorite food in general due to this motherfucker not installing tastebuds on account of them not being necessary to commit all degrees of murder. 

Pig God: Oh my god. More like what isn’t this dude’s favorite dessert? Pig God has lost the ability to dislike anything he puts in his mouth because eating has pretty much become his main source of income, so it’s safe to say that if he can swallow it, it’s his favorite food. That includes desserts, but I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t partial to pudding. Just pudding. Bread pudding, chocolate pudding, strawberry pudding. Pudding. 

Superalloy Darkshine: I’ve said this before but my boy Darkshine only eats the most obnoxiously healthy foods out there, sometimes over health-ifying those foods himself in his kitchen/protein meth lab. His favorite dessert would probably be one of those ancient bread seed logs and only because he’s allowed to put .2 ounces of stevia in it.  Either that or literally just any fruit ever.

Watchdog Man: Those pumpkin-flavored dog treats because my man gets paid 2 cents an hour at the Hero Association and the poor mf in charge of payroll has forgotten he exists so he’s grown accustomed to eating only the dog-related foods people leave to him as offerings on his weird pedestal thing in City Q. 

Flashy Flash: Doesn’t really have an affinity for sweet things on account of how fucking awful life in the Ninja Village was. He never got the opportunity to develop a sweet tooth because of all the basic ass food he’d be eating. Almost all desserts listed here would give him a heart attack, like making a Victorian era child drink McDonald’s sprite. It will not sit right with his spirit. His favorite dessert would he any vaguely sweet fruit with wine, or a coffee that is 90% creamer.

Genos: Something in my spirit is telling me he’d enjoy anything strawberry-related, although Saitama doesn’t like them. This leads to them falling out while a shortcake bakes in the background. Im kidding, obviously. But seeing as how ONE has a very “go stupid aaaaaaaa” attitude towards writing, it would be a very tame end to their relationship (assuming there’s gonna be an end) compared to all the other shitdick stuff happening in this series. Zombieman’s ass has been out for like 8 chapters, you can’t tell me shit.

Metal Bat: Kiddo snorts protein powder for breakfast, probably. He’s ripped as hell and his diet reflects that sorta, with a hint of seventeen year-old craziness thrown in there. Bitch eats like a violent stoner sometimes because he knows his metabolism can handle it and he won’t die from food poisoning nor food coma. However, his favorite dessert would be creme brûlée because it’s the only food you’re required to beat the shit out of before eating, and we all know he loves bonking stuff.

Tanktop Master: Over health-ifys shit like Darkshine, just to a lesser degree. However I also HC him as a huge momma’s boy, and if said mother is supportive in his endeavors to become the world’s swolest man, she’d definitely make him something both sweet and healthy. However, I’d doubt he care about slipping up on his diet every once and a while. He’d probably enjoy a soft serve here and there.

Puri-Puri Prisoner: his palate is very limited on account of being in literal prison. However, he doesn’t really hate it there for some reason, and I’ve even stated in a previous hc that he sometimes gets specialized meals in the cafeteria due to his status as a hero. His favorite dessert would probably be whatever chocolate-flavored sweet brick they can shit out. Like, motherfuckers get really creative with their ingredients while locked up and there’s a bomb ass recipe for chocolate cake floating around that I’ve tried and can confirm it’s 10/10 not bad. I’m getting off-topic. His favorite dessert is whatever asshole he’ll be eating out of that night.

Saitama: Even though he’s poorer than.... fuck, I don’t know. He’s broke but he still indulges in the prestige shit here and there. He’s got a massive sweet tooth even though he’s ripped as hell, hence why he eats so much fruit because it’s the only sweet thing he can afford to ingest without losing his gains. His favorite dessert would be anything banana-related, but nothing as decadent as say, dark chocolate. Probably banana foster waffles. I don’t know why that popped into my head, I just know Saitama would like them.

Garou: motherfucker could shit on a rock with sprinkles on it and call it dessert. His favorite, though? Sweet, sweet victory. And candy bars.

[makiiato]

Heyyyy you wrote that people can ask you about your ocs, so what's the selection? ^^

@skullchicken WOW I JUST SAW THIS AAAAHH

Please ask me about my OCs! I have a lot of them, but I'll tell you a little bit about the main ones, most of which were created as Shadowrun characters.

(Descriptions and lots of cool art under the cut!)

Vip3r, elf technomancer.

A former street kid from the Redmond Barrens, she thrived after being adopted into a relatively well-off corporate family and given a formal education. She excelled academically and even received a partial corporate scholarship for host design, but she overheard her parents worrying about how they'd fund the rest of it, she decided to take matters into her own hands and pick up a shadowrunning job... which went south nearly immediately and landed her in prison. She was then transferred to MCT custody as a test subject for some wildly unethical technomancer research, which her parents eventually discovered, and struck a deal with the company to enter a contract of lifelong loyalty and silence in exchange for her freedom. She found out about this years later, and immediately resolved to help them the same way they'd helped her.

Vip3r is the only TTRPG character I've played who's actually been able to play through a full personal story arc. Although she's kind of in pseudo-retirement for now, she's absolutely my favorite OC and is sort of my main, iconic character.

(art by @nightingales-thighs)

Voltage, elf street samurai.

Voltage is a loud-and-proud Ancients member who loves violence, elven death metal, hot girls, and her motorcycle, Caroline (seriously, if it were legal to marry a motorcycle, Voltage would do it without hesitation). She's dumb as a brick but generally well-intentioned and fiercely loyal to the people she cares about.

(art by @ossifer)

Killjoy, oni face/off-sam. (Sometimes I make characters who aren't elves, if you can believe it.)

When Killjoy's parents died, they left a massive debt to the Yakuza for her and her brother Koji to inherit. Restaurant work barely pays the bills as is, and Koji is an irresponsible dickhead, so Killjoy took up sex work and then shadowrunning in order to make ends meet.

Killjoy's story carries a lot of themes that are really personal to me; mainly a disconnect in how others interpret your identity versus how you want to be seen yourself, and the inherent horror of being a worker in a hypercapitalist society.

(art by @foxglovefaun)

Llolfaen, drow cleric of Llolth. (Sometimes I make characters for other games that are not Shadowrun. Also shocking, I know.)

Llolfaen was born to a noble house that prided themselves on their devotion to Llolth. To show this, each family under this house would dedicate their firstborn daughter to the priesthood. Being one of those firstborn daughters, Llolfaen was brought up to be a priestess and holy assassin for Llolth, seeking out heretics and giving them one chance to recant before slaughtering them. One target she was sent to kill was the matriarch of a rival house, and in carrying out this commission, she sparked a war between the two houses that ended in the near-extermination of her own. She prayed to Llolth to preserve her, and in answer to her prayer, she opened a magical portal that transported her to a small island nation on the surface run by a corrupt theocracy which is pretty much the worst place on earth, and was told that if she could survive here for a hundred years, she would be taken back to the Underdark and given dominion over this rival house.

Llolfaen is my character in an evil campaign in which the player characters are working for an organization that serves Asmodeus, and seeks to topple the established theocracy. My intent when I created her was to make a character who would be totally fine with committing atrocities and think that she was in the right the whole time, and I figured one of the easiest ways to do that would be to make her a product of a society with some horrifically twisted morals that she just accepted as normal. She's a horrendous narcissist who doesn't see anyone around her as people (save for her party members, sort of, and only because they're more tolerable than anyone else in this godawful country), and I'm having such a good time playing her.

She's actually becoming a better person in play as she starts to care about other people, which is... shocking.

(art by a friend who I don't believe is on Tumblr)

[orihara-infobroker]

Bushido, Honour and Ghost of Tsushima

Now that I’m done crying over a horse (I WILL NEVER BE OVER THIS), let’s talk about Shimura and Sakai and the definition of honour to a samurai.

Because the story tells us that Jin has no honour and is a bad samurai but that is from the perspective of Shimura and the samurai like him. There is no good ending for Jin, not because he doesn’t have honour, but because he defied the authority structure. Basically, it’s politics.

I believe Jin is actually the one with more honour and that Shimura forsakes his own honour on the beach when he pursues a course of action that leaves Tsushima (and the mainland) open to invasion. Because without Jin’s willingness to adapt, Tsushima would have been lost, no question. 

The principles of the samurai “code” - bushido - weren’t truly codified until Miyamoto Musashi wrote about the samurai class in his later years. This was in the 1600s. Ghost of Tsushima takes place in the 1200s, well before Musashi’s writings. Which is not to say that the samurai didn’t follow a code of honour but that code could vary from clan to clan, region to region. What was functionally the singular unifying factor was that the samurai were warriors and they were nobility. 

Now, as we all know, the role of nobility has historically been a very divided one. There are the ruling class who believe that their job is to take care of the people and there are the selfish pricks who are rich and entitled and abuse their privilege. Now, I’m not saying that Shimura is abusing the peasants but it is made very clear that they are not his priority. His personal honour (or perception of what honour is) is more important to him than the lives of the peasants. Even the lives of his own soldiers are less important than their perceived “honour”. And Shimura makes it clear that the will of the Shogun (yaaay politics) is more important than the lives of the people. Even his own “son”.

Jin exemplifies the noble who understands that his role is to protect all of his people. He is the people’s hero because he cares about them. He earns their respect and loyalty in a way Shimura cannot because Shimura sees them only as subjects to rule over, not people to care about. 

Further, in the game, Jin does some very “ninja” things. Using poison, assassinating, attacking from behind etcetera. Well. The shinobi as a class didn’t really come into being until the Sengoku era (around the late 1400s, early 1500s). So the criticism levied on Jin for his dishonourable behaviour is somewhat amusing because while samurai did have a general belief that assassination was dishonourable and that you should meet your foes on the field of battle face-to-face, they weren’t opposed to using non-conventional tactics to win battles. They just didn’t get their own hands dirty with it.

Now, if we were to talk about the principles of bushido as they have been interpreted through Musashi, there are nine principles by which a samurai should live his life:

1. Do not think dishonestly. 2. The Way is in training. 3. Become acquainted with every art. 4. Know the Ways of all professions 5. Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters. 6. Develop an intuitive judgement and understanding for everything. 7. Perceive those things which cannot be seen. 8. Pay attention even to trifles. 9. Do nothing which is of no use.

These are the principles that were later further reimagined as the eight virtues of bushido by Nitobe Inazo in the 1800s and are what most people see in reference to bushido today:

Righteousness (義, gi) Be acutely honest throughout your dealings with all people. Believe in justice, not from other people, but from yourself. To the true warrior, all points of view are deeply considered regarding honesty, justice and integrity. Warriors make a full commitment to their decisions.

Heroic Courage (勇, yū) Hiding like a turtle in a shell is not living at all. A true warrior must have heroic courage. It is absolutely risky. It is living life completely, fully and wonderfully. Heroic courage is not blind. It is intelligent and strong.

Benevolence, Compassion (仁, jin) Through intense training and hard work the true warrior becomes quick and strong. They are not as most people. They develop a power that must be used for good. They have compassion. They help their fellow men at every opportunity. If an opportunity does not arise, they go out of their way to find one.

Respect (礼, rei) True warriors have no reason to be cruel. They do not need to prove their strength. Warriors are not only respected for their strength in battle, but also by their dealings with others. The true strength of a warrior becomes apparent during difficult times.

Honesty (誠, makoto) When warriors say that they will perform an action, it is as good as done. Nothing will stop them from completing what they say they will do. They do not have to 'give their word'. They do not have to 'promise'. Speaking and doing are the same action.

Honour (名誉, meiyo) Warriors have only one judge of honor and character, and this is themselves. Decisions they make and how these decisions are carried out are a reflection of who they truly are. You cannot hide from yourself.

Duty and Loyalty (忠義, chūgi) Warriors are responsible for everything that they have done and everything that they have said and all of the consequences that follow. They are immensely loyal to all of those in their care. To everyone that they are responsible for, they remain fiercely true.

Self-Control (自制, jisei)

Now if we look at either of these lists, we can see that Jin does not lack in honour. He does not stray from the path of the samurai. Quite the opposite, Jin exhibits exemplary personal responsibility. Shimura, on the other hand, while not without honour and generally consistent with Musashi’s guidelines, does stray far afield of the virtues. In fact, I would argue that his strict adherence to the “rules” as he perceived them is actually what makes him less honourable than Jin. He cannot perceive things in any way other than the one he was raised with and that is his downfall - and nearly the downfall of Tsushima. 

Which, historically is not inaccurate. (Not that you should be looking to Ghost of Tsushima for historical accuracy. In fact, please don’t... XD) During the actual mongol invasion of Japan, the mongols sailed from Korea and took Tsushima as well as Iki Island then proceeded to land at Hakata Bay. These islands simply did not have the number of troops sufficient to defend them against an entire fleet.

What actually defeated the mongols was not samurai honour (or Jin’s sneaky shinobi tactics). It was weather. During the battle at Hakata Bay, the mongols decided to retreat to their ships at night to avoid being ambushed by the Japanese. And because the troops were on their ships and out to sea when the tsunami hit, the mongols lost nearly half their fighting force. They retreated and, much later, planned a second invasion, following a similar path as the first. They attacked Tsushima and Iki again, routing the samurai and murdering many of the islanders. They moved against Nagato and Hakata Bay but this time the Japanese were better prepared for them and they were forced to return to Iki and other small islands. The Japanese counter attacked by launching raids on the mongol ships. As the Japanese continued to push them back, keeping them off the mainland, the mongol fleet was once again defeated, not by samurai, but by weather. A great typhoon struck the fleet and devastated it. The mongol commander fled, leaving many of his troops stranded on Taka Island where they were rounded up and killed by the Japanese. (Note this is a condensed summary of the invasions. There is obviously more detail to the actual events.)

Amusingly, what did come out of this war was a growing respect and fear for the Japanese from the Korean, Chinese and Mongol nations. The mongols, in particular were quite concerned by the Japanese swords. The Japanese, however, found that these earlier katana that they were using were inconvenient to use when fighting in close quarters against large numbers and responded by refining them.

Anyway, the history lesson aside, Jin’s story is a tragedy but it’s also an absolutely wonderful samurai story because it shows the lengths a truly honourable samurai will go to, to fulfill his duty to his principles and to his people. 

[notebook-13]

…Look, I know nobody really cares about Overhaul’s characterization, but I spent enough time puzzling over wtf is his deal while I was watching the anime that I may as well make a post about it. Especially considering how he’s come up in recent chapters in relation to Twice and Hawks, one thing that strikes me about Overhaul is that he wants to be normal, and to accomplish that, he tries to change the world instead of himself.

On the surface, Overhaul’s goal was to establish himself and the Hassaikai as the rulers of the underworld using the anti-quirk serum, thereby repaying the “debt” he owed the Hassaikai boss for giving him a home, but I think there’s more going on.

Overhaul’s goal was to eradicate the belief that human lives have inherent value. He planned to do this by destroying quirks, since he perceived them as the basis of people’s belief that they matter.

Since Overhaul’s dialogue is confusing, here are two other translations of his lines:

“Because people are endowed with these things called ‘quirks,’ they can dream. Dream that maybe they can be someone that matters…they’re all sick in the head! So wipe that smile off your face! Thanks to the power of that girl you were trying to save, everything you’ve worked so hard to cultivate…has just been reduced to naught!” (Ch152, mangastream)

“The diseased…have been given quirks, and that lets them dream. Thinking you can actually become something is an illness of the mind. It’s funny! With the power of that girl you’ve come to save, everything you’ve worked to cultivate…has now gone to waste!” (Ep74, Funimation subs)

Basically, people want to matter, and they use their quirks (symbolizing individuality, and human deviation more broadly) as proof to say they do. So when Mirio loses his quirk, Overhaul’s reaction isn’t, you’re cured, you’ve been purified, you’re normal now. His reaction is, now you are worth nothing, you are a good-for-nothing deku, the illusion of value your life held is gone, everything you held dear was actually a lie.

I think that’s why Overhaul can use his quirk with impunity without seeing the hypocrisy. He essentially views people as infected mice infatuated with their own disease, but he knows better! He knows everyone is worthless! So he’s the only one who’s immune to this mental disease of ~being special~, he doesn’t get any delusions of grandeur, he’s the only one great enough to change the world—etc. When Shigaraki removes his quirk, Overhaul’s illusions are torn away the way he was expecting from Mirio.

But Mirio stands up to Overhaul and asserts that he still chooses to find value in his life without depending on whether he has a quirk. That’s the underlying reason why Overhaul is repulsed by heroism: it’s built on the ideal that people matter, their suffering is bad, they deserve to be saved, and so forth.

These are concepts Overhaul resoundingly rejects, for reasons never explicitly stated, but I think a fair interpretation is to say Overhaul’s noticed that he’s different from other people, and he’s afraid it means there’s something wrong with him. This fear is on par with an existential terror, so he can’t acknowledge it directly, but it drives him to go above and beyond to prove he is a normal person who does belong in the Hassaikai, specifically, and in society more generally.

First, for context:

^^ Regardless of how the yakuza are in reality, in Japanese pop culture their image is two-faced. They can be chivalrous gangsters (honorable criminals who offer shelter to outcasts and uphold the vestiges of samurai culture) or they can be villains (relentless hypocrites who prey on outcasts and commit staggering violence). Even down to the clothes they wear, the boss and Overhaul embody these two yakuza archetypes, and accordingly, they can’t coexist.

At the core of their power struggle is what it means to be a yakuza, and whether Overhaul belongs as one.

This reaches its climax when Overhaul tells the boss about torturing Eri, and the boss tells him it’s time for him to leave the Hassaikai. Overhaul puts the boss in a coma because he can’t bear to be rejected and branded a deviant for his cruelty (“straying from humanity,” “soulless heresy,” “how little do you think of people?”). The boss pretty much outright tells him there’s something wrong with him.

Overhaul never talks about why he thinks so lowly of people. It could be any tragic event in his life, whatever went down before he met the boss, sure, or even just the simple fact that his quirk enables him to disassemble and reassemble people like objects, but I think the answers are in the material Horikoshi emphasizes: in his relationship with the boss, whom Overhaul fixated on as a kid.

The feature that strikes me most in Overhaul’s relationship with the boss is the (lack of) acceptance between them. Overhaul seeks the unconditional acceptance the boss offered him as a child so intensely that I can’t help but think there’s a deeper motive: validation. The “debt” Overhaul feels is an imprecise label for his discomfort; he feels pressured to earn his place in the yakuza because, on some level, he recognizes that he doesn’t belong here among chivalrous gangsters. He consequently overcompensates, though going to such extremes just underscores he is different, but he wants to win the boss’s validation that badly because, without it, Overhaul feels like a freak. He’s afraid that there’s something wrong with him. This emerges most pointedly in his “germophobia.”

Given that he 1) literally breaks into hives and flies into murderous rage when he’s touched, 2) considers heroism and quirks to be a disease, and 3) breaks into hives multiple times purely from the force of his emotions—I think his phobia shouldn’t be taken at face value.

In some way, Overhaul is “allergic” to society. He doesn’t belong in this world, among these cultural values, which is why he seeks to change society.

“return humanity to normal”

^^ Overhaul wants to change the world to match his version of normal, and, remarkably, the fact that he believes it’s more feasible to change the world than to change himself says leagues about how immutable he believes his differentness is. By destroying quirks, Overhaul wants to make everyone the same: worthless. He resents that other people even want to be different because feeling like there’s something wrong with him is his greatest fear.

Shigaraki is Overhaul’s main foil, but…there’s a reason why Twice introduces him.

Twice (narrating): There’s no place for insane guys like me in society. As for the people who heroes like to save…yeah, they’re always the good, virtuous ones. Anyway, I finally accepted me for me and decided to make myself useful to the League of Villains because I wanna be okay with being me. What I’m searching for now is other people just as crazy as I am. The aimless wackos looking for a place to belong… [Overhaul debuts, complaining that he’s surrounded by sickness] Twice: (staring at Overhaul) But now those nutjobs are starting to carve out a place for themselves in this world. Twice: “Okay… To ask…or not to ask?!” Twice: Whether it’s us or the heroes, everyone’s starting to take on a different look nowadays. Knowing who you are is what really matters. Who you wanna become…what you wanna do… It’s real, real important.

Ch115, viz.

Twice’s narration frames Overhaul as someone who’s just as freakish as he is, and it foreshadows “a place to belong” as a key theme of Overhaul’s arc—a theme that Overhaul’s first flashback (to when he met the boss) cements. Overhaul wants somewhere to be accepted and belong precisely because he’s a “crazy wacko” with no place in society. Usurping the boss is Overhaul’s attempt to carve out a place for himself in the world, to fashion the Hassaikai (and society at large) in his image.

Twice’s narration also highlights how Overhaul doesn’t know who he is or what he wants, and consequently, he turns out to be a humungous hypocrite who can’t uphold even a single of the principles he professes. He double-crosses the boss, he isn’t sure if he wants to commodify quirks or eliminate them, and he can’t accept that he, like everyone, is worthless. He’s so afraid that there’s something wrong with him that he instead insists that everyone else is “sick,” everyone else is wrong, not him, he’s the only normal person. Unlike the LoV, who are more or less okay with being outcasts, Overhaul sets out to correct this difference because he can’t bear it.

…And Twice’s foiling underscores Overhaul’s lack of emotional attachments. It’s ludicrous to think Twice would ever lock Shigaraki away and then release him after Twice’s clones have toppled society. Overhaul’s interest in the boss is as a source of validation to help him repress his fear that he’s abnormal, not in the boss as a human person with feelings.

While fighting Deku and Eri, Overhaul recalls putting the boss in a coma. He follows up his flashback with these lines:

Overhaul: “None of you are looking at the big picture here!! What I’m annihilating is the world itself!! Its very structure!! So a pathetic little would-be hero driven by his emotions…reaching out for whatever petty sense of justice he stumbles across [meaning the status quo]…can’t stop me!!”

Ch158, viz.

The “none of you” is very telling—Overhaul is referring to the boss as well as Deku. He resents the boss, and his resentment of heroes is partly a sublimation of that—both Deku and the boss are driven by compassion Overhaul lacks, which disturbs him, so he needs to lash out and tell himself that his motivator, "logic,” is normal.

But regardless of the underlying reason, his most important motivators are that he doesn’t value human lives, and that he feels alienation because, on some level, he fears there’s something wrong with him for that. (<– the boss basically tells him so, by spurning him for being cruel.)

^^ When Deku delivers his final blow, knocking off Overhaul’s mask and sending him crashing to the ground, Horikoshi reveals Overhaul’s face for the first time. It’s a plain face; the mask hides no quirk-related anomaly; ironically, Overhaul’s "remedy” to his phobia (the plague mask, to stop himself from breathing the same air as others) makes him look like more of a weirdo than if he went without it.

His flashback here gives us a glimpse of what it is that inspires Overhaul. Overhaul remembers walking in the rain in the boss—a memory that prompts him to make a last stand…but also, a memory that causes him to break out into hives. Once you look, it’s clear he has no hives before he remembers it.

This is a positive memory, but it’s also an intensely negative one.

Because, deep down, Overhaul knows the boss will never thank him again. Out of buried resentment for the way the boss withheld his acceptance and made Overhaul feel like a freak, Overhaul made a point to trash everything the boss loved—he turned the Hassaikai into villainous bastards and carelessly offs the boss’s devotees, he followed through on his evil plan to use Eri as the base for his anti-quirk serum, and he, uh, put the boss into a coma. He even rejected the name “Chisaki,” the name of the strange man who tried to be a yakuza but whom the boss discarded anyways, and named himself after his quirk in order to “remake” himself into someone new. Clearly, like everyone else, he’s invested in his quirk as a crucial aspect of his identity –.–

But embracing his “true nature” isn’t enough when Overhaul knows that the boss will never accept him again, when he is still different, which is why Overhaul wants the world to change to match his views on humanity, so that he’s normal.

Another time Overhaul spontaneously breaks out into hives is when Shigaraki leaves him.

No hives when Compress and Shigaraki touch him to remove his arms. Overhaul seems to be in shock. But Shigaraki’s words finally penetrate.

“You should just sit back and watch!! Have a nice life!”

“I just want to repay the debt I owe you. So please, just sit back…and watch.”

It’s these words from Shigaraki that prompt Overhaul to break out into hives, probably because, by sheer luck, Shigaraki quotes Overhaul’s last words to the boss. Before putting the boss in a coma, Overhaul told him to sit back and watch—one problem with that being, obviously, that someone in a coma can’t watch. So (again by sheer luck) Shigaraki actually does Overhaul one better and fulfills his words better than he did.

Similarly, Shigaraki is stealing Overhaul’s life’s work—just like how Overhaul stole the boss’s life’s work, the Hassaikai—and Overhaul’s quirk, just like how Overhaul stole Mirio’s…but Shigaraki steals them better than Overhaul did. It’s Overhaul’s lofty ambition to use the quirk serum change the world, to establish himself as normal and at the center of his new society, that serves as the basis of Overhaul’s self-esteem.…and it’s Overhaul’s quirk that gives Overhaul his name.

By removing his quirk, Shigaraki strips Overhaul of the name he gave himself. He’s no longer Overhaul, and he’s not even the boss’s man “Chisaki” anymore—he’s the nameless child on the streets whom everybody shuns. The outcast, the reject, someone who can only sit on the sidelines and helplessly watch.

Overhaul’s arc ends on the contrast between them. Overhaul is introduced as the mature, more methodical villain who threatens to supplant Shigaraki as AfO’s successor, but the story unmasks him as an irredeemable, reprehensible hypocrite who can’t stand by anything. Shigaraki, however, proves he’ll stand for what little ground he ekes out, and he copes with his resentment over his outsider status by openly acknowledging it and bonding with fellow outcasts to forge their own home. 

Ultimately, I think the core of Overhaul’s character boils down to 1) he doesn’t believe that people matter, 2) he feels intense alienation and isolation, and 3) he’s afraid he’s abnormal. How those three things interrelate, which of them is cause and which is effect, is flexible. I figure his hatred of quirks stems from one of these, probably (1).

Power is another consideration, one that I didn’t look at in my analysis since I think his thirst for power is his attempt to belong/alleviate his sense of abnormality by gaining status. And, though I think Overhaul is framed as a sociopath-like person whose lack of empathy is innate, I think there could be a solid characterization made for his extreme lack of empathy being a consequence of nurture, like he feels like a freak due to a childhood tragedy.

Miscellaneous Overhaul details;

Overhaul doesn’t seem to break out into hives when he touches dirty inanimate objects, like the floor; his phobia of “dirtiness” is focused on people.

His phobia is implied to have escalated or begun during adulthood. He didn’t seem to wear a mask as a kid, nor did he seem to break into hives before the canon timeline (Overhaul has no hives in any of his flashbacks, even when he’s cutting Eri or surrounded by gore).

Overhaul begins to wear his plague mask after a major argument with the boss over proper conduct for a yakuza.

Despite being Overhaul’s father-figure, the boss called him “Chisaki” instead of “Kai”—he might’ve been too traditional/stuffy to use Overhaul’s given name even when he was just a kid.

Mirio reminds Overhaul of the boss, which is why their fight gets so personal.

Overhaul hates Eri so much because they’re similar—both are “aberrations” who don’t belong. Eri is emphasized as a mutation who was rejected by even her mom, and the boss explicitly links their quirks…except that Eri has what he wants: the boss’s acceptance and a “normal” compassionate disposition, the latter of which he viciously leverages against her in order to punish her for it.

And also like…by virtue of being a young, little, helpless, sweet girl, meaning that she’s the perfect victim heroes always want to save more than anything, her life is disproportionately valuable to people, and that’s the sort of sentimental value Overhaul wants to destroy.

More reading;

If you somehow want to read even more about Overhaul, I only vaguely remember what these analyses are about bc it’s been a while since I last saw them, but each of these should have an interesting perspective on him.

Youtube video “The Beauty of Kai Chisaki” about the Buddhist context of Overhaul and the Shie Hassaikai.

A second youtube video called “Eri’s Quirk Explained with Philosophy” (about Overhaul, Eri, and the return to innocence) are both worth checking out. 

^^ I won’t link them directly because I’ve heard tumblr filters posts with external links out of searches.

Overhaul lost because people cared about his victims.

Linkspooky interprets Overhaul’s phobia as evidence of his repressed guilt, and they’ve also compared him and Shigaraki.

This conversation about Overhaul’s motives.

[legendoftheghost]

Jin Sakai + NSFW Headcanons

He may embrace a casual fling or two, but he highly gravitates to exploring his sexual side within a committed, long-term relationship. He loves being in a relationship and his sex preferences include consistency; his partner can ask for whatever he or she wants, and he will willingly learn new ways to get his partner off. Like everything else in life, Jin takes sex as a challenge — a way to go broader and deeper, learning more about his significant other and exploring new sensations together.

A lot of sex has to do with desire, mood, and acceptance. Jin may appear secure, in control, and confident; but up close and personal, things can be quite different: insecurities and confusion can quickly bubble to the surface when there is poor communication - or worse - dishonest verbal communication. Once all of that is out of the way, however, Jin’s partner’s best bet is to learn about him and then try to instigate curiosity. Emotions are good - and beyond necessary in sex - but it’s still only a part of him. 

Jin is more interested when his partner is actively wanting him and participating, rather than passively being involved. A more responsive and engaged partner who has his or her own ideas and preferences when it comes to sex is far more alluring than the alternative - and especially if their desires align well or he/she encourages Jin to explore something new together. What is most interesting to Jin about sex (other than the physical pleasure in general, of course) is learning the best ways to satisfy his partner and himself. 

Most of the time, though, Jin will stick with a base of activities and positions he knows to be mutually pleasurable, including enough variety to not make every encounter the same. One of my areas in which he would challenge himself (and his partner, to an extent) was to see how many times he could make him/her orgasm before either he/she begged him to just finish by having his own climax, or he would know if he didn’t have the energy to keep going indefinitely.

His own motivations are a combination of vicariously enjoying the pleasure he would be able to give his partner (and watching / hearing / feeling his/her reactions) as well as improving yet another skill set. Jin would definitely escape into his Se guided by Ni during sex, and it’s certainly a nice place to go to forget the rest of the world for awhile and just focus on the present time and interaction.

He participates in sex because of a few practical reasons; first, it’s good for health, it’s a great stress reliever and it’s an enjoyable activity in general. Second, He likes to have fun in bed and he is not burdened by some prudish restrictions. Third, he is kind of perfectionist in whatever he does; the same goes for practicing sex. Having invested time and energy into getting to know his partner is crucial in his romantic/sexual life and he believes it’s a mutually enjoyable and rewarding experience.

He is well-endowed and uncircumsized, with a slightly curved up penis. 

From his strenuous training as not only as a samurai, but as the Ghost on the run, Jin has extremely high stamina and will be able to go on for more than a few rounds if his partner is up for it. 

His preferred positions are; The Victory position, Doggy Style, Shoulder Hold, Lifted Missionary, and Lotus 

Climaxing isn’t the goal of every sexual encounter for Jin. For some partners, it can create a lot of pressure. Touching in sensual ways or connecting in whatever form works for him and his partner is enough to build closeness.

[revchainsaw]

Ninja Assassin (2009)

I love the idea of applying horror movie logic to other kinds of things. We've had our fill of vampires and werewolves, don't get me started on zombies, but we fail to often imagine ourselves in the worlds of other genres, and comprehend just how frightening some things they present may be. In a world where highly trained killers can come out of any shadow and slaughter you without mercy, why should we limit that kind of play to only a martial arts film. Though many may disagree with the dear reverend here, I think Ninja Assassin is what happens when you apply horror movie rules to a martial arts film, and that's pretty neat! but does it do this well. Let's take a look.

The Message

Ninja Assassin is a 2009 action film that stars Korean pop star Rain as Raizo, a renegade ninja on the lamb from his vengeful and supernaturally deadly clan, the Ozunu. The Ozunu are also the target of a sharp and fearless interpol agent named Mika; as she is about to break the lid on an investigation regarding several unexplained high profile assassinations across the world. Through the events of the film the Ozunu ninja clan are agitated and become increasingly active. This over the top ninja action eventually brings Raizo and Mika together.

Mika and Raizo decide to combine her resources with his insider knowledge of the group to bring down the Ozunu clan once and for all. In a bad ass bloody spectacle all of the Interpol forces that Mika can muster are brought down by the ninja clan, and Raizo and Mika are brought face to face with Raizo's old mentor and father figure Lord Ozunu.

These events may seem rushed but actually the film intersperses them with flashbacks about the tortures and discipline Raizo went through as a ninja child growing up in this clan and being shaped into these insanely effective killing machines we have witnessed throughout the film. It also reveals how his spirit was never completely broken and bent to the will of the tribe, and his eventual rejection and escape from them.

Raizo does exact his revenge on the leader of the clan in the climactic battle, but in the melee Mika is supposedly fatally wounded. She is however spared due to a freakish medical condition that is foreshadowed earlier in the film: her heart is on the wrong side.

The Benediction

Best Sequence: They Fucked Up!

Without a doubt the scene that everyone thinks of when they think of Ninja Assassin is the sequence where Interpol attempts to commit a military style raid on the ninja clan and in turn they get absolutely fucking slaughtered. It's a pretty long sequence but you don't even really need to see the rest of the film to enjoy it. Just google Ninja Assassin Raid Scene and I'm sure you'll have a pretty good time just watching these Fed's getting fed their own asses. It's probably some of the best ninja action ever put to film.

Best Kill: Uneven Load

Somebody attempts to carry out an assassination attempt on our hero Raizo in a laundromat. Their head is later discovered when a thumping dryer starts to bleed. The dryer door is opened a a bloody head just tumbles out. It's pretty darn hilarious.

Worst Concept: Anatomy! My Only Weakness!

The heart on the right hand side thing is pretty stupid. For one thing the heart is slightly more on one side of your body but a direct shot to the chest is still pretty likely to kill you. It's a real condition called Dextrocardia but it was used as kind of a Deus ex Machina in this film, and the film makers seemed pretty proud of themselves for "foreshadowing" it in an earlier scene, and I use foreshadow very loosely.

Best Aspect: We Don't Think You're Dumb

Ninja Assassin attempts to do the Grindhouse thing that was very popular around this time, by taking a concept like Ninja Action Movie and playing up the gore and the extreme nature of the action as far as they can. I have to give the film makers props for playing the plot straight too, the bonkers grindhouse action of a movie can only be winked at so many times before it just becomes too stupid to care about. The characters can totally play the story straight and the audience doesn't need them to plant their tongues firmly in their cheeks for us to get that it's supposed to be absurd. So very good job Ninja Assassin.

Worst Effect: Look at all this ... Blood?

However, the movie would have benefitted greatly from an exorbitant amount of fake blood. buy gallons of the shit, throw it everywhere!!! please! I know it was cheaper to do the CGI blood but it looks bad and is way less fun, I want the practical effects version of this movie. I want actors slipping in the shit.

Best Effect: Shadowy Figure

A combination of CG and Camera Tricks was used frequently when our villains appeared on screen. The ninjas in this film had a power to jump in and out of shadows, to almost teleport using darkness, to watch the silhouettes of the assassins materialize from every dark corner and narrowly cast shadow was a pretty freaking sweet and unique little touch that added a lot to the menace the ninja clan represented.

Best Concept: Their Ninja Way!

As mentioned earlier the Ninja in Ninja Assassin are a lot less like a group of martial artists, or poor farmers rebelling against samurai warlords like in history. These Ninja are the way you thought about them when you were 7 years old. They are almost a category of mythical being, like a vampire or a Pegasus. They have their own distinct look, powers, and rules. I really wish we had gotten a sequel or a spin off of this. The way Ninja operate in this film is so damn American, and so damn fantastic. It's utterly absurd but that's just what the doctor ordered in a dumbed down action flick. I want to see more of these kinds of Ninja.

Summary

Ninja Assassin is a movie that sadly, you will not hear many people bring up. Everyone was talking about it for like a week after it came out and then it disappeared. That's not terribly hard to understand. Raizo is not a particularly distinct character, and in a world where Anime is so readily available to give audiences this kind of over the top ninja action, this hour or so long film really doesn't stand out. I sincerely believe if it had relied more on solid landing action choreography and practical effects for it's violence it would have had more of an impact on audiences. But it's as fleeting and material as a spray of computer generated blood, and that's a shame. I think we should petition to get Raizo put into the Mortal Kombat games, because that is exactly where he belongs. I predict that cult film status will eventually find it's way to this movie, once the kids who saw this when they were far to young, finally start making movies.

Overall Grade: C

[gizkasparadise]

kdrama rec/review: bridal mask

KDRAMA AND CDRAMA MASTER LIST OF REVIEWS

Series: bridal mask / gaksital Episodes: 28 Genres: historical, action, drama, romance, tragedy, people screaming each others’ names in all capital letters 2006 anime style Spoilers in the Rec: im going to try to avoid them. im really, really going to try. but no guarantees If You Like, You’ll Like: zorro, robin hood, v for vendetta, chicago typewriter, vigilante shit, kate beaton comics on My Nemesis, mr sunshine, watching people become progressively unhinged, bad guys that become good guys, good guys that become bad guys, Parallel Narratives, cat and mouse games but they’re both cats, 2010 hair in a 1930s world, people in a room together internally thinking does he know that i know that he knows?

Rank: 9.5/10

GAKSITALLLLLLLLLLLLLL PREMISE

set during the japanese occupation of korea in the 1930s, bridal mask centers on lee kangto, an absolute shit weasel. like. good god, what an asshole. anyways.

kangto is a korean police officer who is employed by the japanese--meaning he’s essentially a rat/turncoat to his own people and supporting their colonization and abuse of power. it’s especially fucked up because kangto’s older brother was tortured so much by japanese police officers that he’s essentially lost his mind. people hate kangto. straight up hate him. 

as a lieutenant in the imperial police, kangto’s been working to catch members of the korean resistance movement, but left and right he’s been thwarted by...

THE BRIDAL MASK (gaksital in korean)

a mysterious figure who wears a mask resembling a korean bride’s traditional makeup. bridal mask is essentially zorro, fucking up shit left and right and generally making kangto lose his shit. he makes it his goal to be the one to apprehend and arrest this mysterious figure. seems straightforward, but as kangto’s search for the bridal mask continues, and the people around him are drawn into the hunt, it’s clear that shit’s not what it seems.

MAIN CHARACTERS

lee kangto/sato hiroshi/lee young

a korean man who works for the japanese as a police officer. 0% approval rating from the koreans and maybe a 5% approval rating from the japanese. kangto’s initial goals for joining the police force were to help his family get out of poverty, but his morality���s been cha-cha sliding progressively darker the longer he works for the police force. he becomes obsessed with catching the bridal mask and everyone would like him to really quit being an asshole but he will not.

catch phrase is bingo! takes over the nightclub stage when he’s feeling swaggy. would shoot the love interest. shoots pretty much anyone wearing a mask, really, then yells about it

oh mok dan / mild spoiler: esther / spoiler: boon yi

a patriotic korean woman associated with the independence army, mok dan commits acts of subterfuge and gathers intel against the japanese forces. her day job is a performer at a circus, where she lives and hides out from japanese officials whenever shit goes awry. when lee kangto sees her getting saved by bridal mask, he assumes she’s the bridal mask’s lover and therefore intends to use mok dan as The Bait. mild spoilers it turns out she was once childhood friends with lee kangto’s best friend, kimura shunji 

wears many amazing suits. has no problem with spitting or shooting. fears no boxes. can take a punch or 5. basically my dream girl it’s fine

kimura shunji

a japanese man and kangto’s best friend. coming from a family of influential, imperialist asshole samurai cops, shunji is the black sheep as he works as a music teacher for korean children, and is generally against the corruption and abuse of power when he sees it. basically the only one kangto’s never a straight up asshole to, including his family. the two practice what appears to be kendo together (i know jack shit about martial arts), and shunji’s a capable fighter. my default is to assume shunji is everyone’s favorite character, because he is my favorite character :’D, but if not i think he’s definitely the most compelling in the series.

wears bowties when he wants to dress to impress. rides bicycles both happily and tragically. has a thing for a childhood friend who saved his nanny. will give you a ride home after you’ve been tortured. save this man from his family. 

ueno rie/ra ra/ spoiler: chae hong joo

a korean woman from a rich family that was murdered by the independence army who later became a gisaeng. as a gisaeng, she crosses paths with a very important japanese man who later adopts her into his family. because the japanese police keep fucking up the apprehension of bridal mask, her adoptive father calls her to korea from japan in order to kill the vigilante

stealth fave?! will step all over you and makes grown men cry. hyper competent and hardcore. bridal mask’s best dressed (try again with the bow ties next year, shunji). men are weak

the bridal mask GAKSITAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the mysterious figure either ruining or making everyone’s day. dramatic horse escapes. dramatic rescues. generally just drama. symbolically destroys japanese flags/insignia a lot. GAKSITAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SOME SUPPORT CHARACTERS SELECTED BY HOW MUCH THEY ARE MY FAVORITES 

mok damsari

mok dan’s father and a general in the independence army. v good at being rescued dramatically. knows how to make an exit and also bombs. dispenses life wisdom when he’s got free time in between rounds of being torture

lee kang san

kang to’s older brother, who joined the independence army and was tortured by the japanese police to the extent that he’s now lost his mind/severely mentally ill. dude just needs a hug or 20 and to never chase after a car ever, ever again because it makes me sad.

katsuyama jun

ueno rie’s bodyguard, which is amusing to me because she can clearly kill anyone she needs to, so it’s kind of like he’s a butler as well. stoic af, says maybe 20 lines in the entire series, but look, he’s cool

i dont like any of the japanese police officers because they’re dicks so they don’t get a feature :| 

Drawbacks

the production value is something you gotta settle into LOL. there’s the cheesy martial arts sound effects, sometimes it skews a little narmy, but once you get used to it and once the show gets progressively darker (and how) you adjust and then don’t notice it

my main #1 beef: mok dan starts to disappear in the last fourth of the series. like she’s still there, but she’s doing bullshit like making soup and just sitting at a table with nothing to say. as a character that’s so important in the first half, it’s severely disappointing the route that her narrative takes toward the end/she does become something of a satellite character even though i still love her

there are main character deaths--more than one. some people would say the ending is bittersweet but to me i think it’s straight-up sad (which is fine with me/appropriate for the story, i just know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea)

there’s torture and for the most part it’s shown / it’s not off-camera

shit gets dark. the first handful of eps might lull one into thinking is something like zorro or robin hood, but there’s a lot of fuckery and death by the time you get to the end

Reasons to Watch

i mean, it’s fun! which is a messed up thing to say about a dark show, but there’s a lot of twists and the show’s an extended game of cat-and-mouse that’s a good time because the audience knows certain things but the main characters don’t. the drama of it all!

Now That’s What I Call Character Arcs. kang to + shunji’s respective character arcs are amazing and are referred to as the best part of the show for a reason. you’ll hate and love them both throughout the series and it’s great. shunji was my favorite

i love both the female leads a lot. they’re totally different in personality and the sides that they’re on, but they’re both compelling and they have their own troubles and goals to work through 

one of the main characters looks around the chaos happening and decides to just fucking leave all these people behind forever lmao i love it

acting is great! some people knock on mok dan’s actress but i thought she was perfectly fine for the character 

i’ll admit, i’m into characters who become progressively unhinged and the actor who plays the character who does is so so A+

there’s romance but gd does it get dark sometimes. this is a plus or a minus depending on who you are lol

Final Thoughts.