#CREATORS: Japanese Creation Story

[literaryvein-reblogs]

hi hello! hopefully what im asking for isn't too obscure, but do you think i could i get resources/tips on how to write a being that was synthetically made/and or coded? Much thanks in advance/for the chance!

Writing Ideas: Synthetically-Made Characters

some character tropes

Artificial Human: A human being who was created artificially rather than born naturally.

Artificial Animal People: Human-like animals or animal-like humans created through science.

Artificial Intelligence: In fictional works, AI most usually refers to artificial general intelligence — a sapient, self-aware computer system capable of independent thought and reason.

Bioweapon Beast: You create your own attack animal, genetically engineering existing organisms or creating your own. Maybe this new organism would rather just be left alone, and refuses to actually fight. Maybe it goes feral and becomes a dangerous monster roaming the wilderness. Maybe it actually works perfectly, but those in charge of it are far from ethical.

Clockwork Creature: May be purely mechanical, or, if in a fantasy setting, there may be a blend of mechanical and magical elements.

Mechanical Lifeforms: A race of robots or robot-like creatures that are also considered a honest-to-goodness species of living things. They're just like your everyday living organisms, except they happen to have metal for skin, wires for nerves, and so on. They're often silicon-based as well. These may be robotic animals, plants, micro-organisms, or sapient creatures. If they are sapient, they would never wish to Become a Real Boy because, as far as they can see, they are as real as that boy. The origin of such creatures is often never elaborated on or unknown to the characters. It's not uncommon for them to have creators Shrouded in Myth and mystified or outright denied in a sort of reversed creationism that are later further explained in plot-relevant and shocking revelations, similar to precursors for organic species. Sapient mechanical lifeforms tend to react as one would expect when they learn the nature of their origin, usually in some kind of denial and anger. There has been a trend of portraying mechanical lifeforms as formerly organic races that roboticized themselves either as the next Evolutionary Level or simply to survive some world-ending catastrophe that affected them in the past. However, it's also common for such creatures to simply arise without a creator in a process comparable to evolution.

Puppet Permutation: A person changes into a living puppet. They sometimes can control themselves, but this is usually not the case. These puppets are often controlled by outside forces.

Examples

Frankenstein's Monster is one of the most classic and well known examples. While it is stressed at certain points through the original Frankenstein novel that the monster is an entirely unique species, he certainly has a human intelligence and personality. It is left ambiguous whether creating the creature was actually a bad thing or not. The creature suffers (and subsequently causes suffering to his creator), not because it was created but because the creator abandoned it afterwards.

Celtic Mythology: Blodeuedd, the woman created from flowers to be the wife of Lleu Llaw in Medieval Welsh mythology.

A Greek myth tells the story of Pygmalion, a man who shunned real-life women but craved that his beautiful sculpture of one would come to life. He loved it so much that he prayed to Venus/Aphrodite, the goddess of Love, to grant him that wish. After he kissed the ivory-carved statue's lips, Venus worked her magic and it came to life. This is seen as a literal "Breath of Life".

Pandora in Greek myth was a sculpture that the Gods made and brought to life.

Japanese Mythology: Any non-electronic item can become a Tsukumogami if it's cared for and becomes old enough, which are Animate Inanimate Objects. This can also happen to toys, giving rise to the Living Toys trope.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: An alien civilization created at least one sentient supercomputer, Deep Thought, for the purpose of answering philosophical questions regarding the meaning of life, the universe and everything.

The Hunger Games: During the rebellion which led to the creation of the titular Games, the Capitol bred a number of genetically engineered animals called muttations (commonly abbreviated to mutts) which were used as living weapons against the districts. From the Tenth Hunger Games onwards, they became a regular feature in the arena, with the Gamemakers using them either to kill the tributes directly or to drive the tributes together and force them to fight each other. Examples of mutts seen in the Games include poisonous snakes which are programmed to attack anyone whose scent is unfamiliar, carnivorous squirrels which attack in packs and werewolf-like creatures which have been created to resemble fallen tributes.

Victor Frankenstein (2015): Victor proclaims to Igor that they will create a man after their own image. The process involves stitching together dead body parts and reanimating the corpse with lightning.

Isaac Asimov often averted this trope quite harshly in his Robot Series and related works, preferring to think of robots as tools rather than people. He only imagined robots being roughly humanoid when they needed to be able to perform tasks which human tools for already existed and it wouldn't make sense to replace every piece of equipment when one robot could be made to use them. They were always built to the job, and sometimes that job made for very unusual designs instead.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Hi, here are some related tropes you can use as inspiration. More examples and information on these in the sources linked above. Hope this helps with your writing!

[centrally-unplanned]

Japanese website Forest Page is shutting down ~today, a tragic loss of "Heisei otaku memories", as so many are calling it. Launched in 2003, Forest Page was a "Geocities for mobile", a site that hosted user-created websites and gave them tools to allow non-coders to make them. In practice, it became one of the premiere places for fanfiction in Japan, with the stories hosted on author-created sites.

It wasn't quite the Fanfic.net of Japan, as for one the Japanese fandom just never centralized quite the way the 2000's western one did, instead being spread out over a half dozen or so sites. But additionally, it wasn't initially popular for fanfic so much as cell phone fanfiction, because in 2000's Japan the "cell phone novel" was a specific thing. These websites were being made for flip phones, not smartphones, and not only would people read them on those phones, they would often write them. None of that was very conducive to the creation and consumption of a "traditional" novel; so starting in the 2000's Japanese writers started making stories fit for the medium, namely:

Very short

A huge focus on dialogue and inner thoughts, with no/minimal description or scene detail

Using a limited POV of a specific character

Often employing the medium-as-message, like using emojis, structuring the story as IM's or emails, etc.

Also they all had huge gaps between lines, I'm not really sure what that is about:

Probably for readability on the phone given the small screen size? But it was absolutely part of the genre. A few of these novels actually made it big, got movie adaptations, people wrote articles about the "cultural phenomenon", it was the 2000's so Hiroki Azuma had a take on it of course, and so on. It slotted neatly into the vibe of the time of technology changing culture, paralleling discourse around otaku in the same era.

In fanfic those trends met up, and anyone familiar with fanfiction probably read that list of traits of the cellphone novel and thought "oh, this is perfect for fanfiction". Skipping out on description? I don't need it, I know what they look like already. Focus on conversation and POV? Perfect for shipping fics. Short lengths? Yeah, we are shortcutting to the good stuff, that is the point. Mirroring trends in the west, Forest Page's userbase was ~95% female, and the most common content on the site was romantic or edgy-dramatic stories in the franchises you'd expect. The closure page linked above actually summarizes the site's history by year, and lists the biggest fandoms:

Which is exactly what I would expect from a female otaku fanfiction website. Congrats to Pirates of the Caribbean for making it though, freeaboo's represent.

I do think the fact that the site was a website hoster as opposed to a fic hoster did align with the way the Japanese fandom was more "creator focused" and embraced the media mix more. There were "fic circles" a la doujin circles who made their own pages, people would make fanart, fan video games, and so own to host alongside it, and all of it was centralized to the creator; it made following them-as-a-person just a little bit easier. Most websites were simple text, but others did have the full Geocities experience:

Something that was somewhat common were basic visual novel concepts where the reader could make choices, or even insert their own name so they would be the "MC" of the story:

(Dream novels are in fact their own thing in Japan) My understanding is the site was quite popular through the 2000's and into the 2010's, though over time the "cellphone novel" as a concept fizzled out. People got smartphones, more people got PCs, and the constraints didn't make sense anymore - you can read ebooks and normal websites on your phone now after all. You can probably draw a line between these kind of stories and the webfiction/light novel boom of the late 2000's/2010's, something that was equally born on the internet, that streamlines the novel to "shortcut to the good stuff" but without the need to fit on a flip phone's screen. Though I will admit my own understanding of their histories shows them more as two sides of the same "youth demand for new literature" coin.

In 2017 Forest Page launched Forest Page Plus, a new service fully optimized for the smartphone era; but it did not transfer over all the old content, starting the clock ticking on the original Forest Page. My understanding is that in June they announced Forest Page was officially closing down; and from what I have gathered from reminiscing writers on twitter, they did not provide any easy, one-touch way to save any of the content, so people are archiving Wayback Machine links or sharing tips on how screenshot-save stories (I think the rub is they gave people a way to transfer content to FP+, but most don't want to do that, as places like Twitter & Pixiv are the content kings of this era).

As of tomorrow I would bet the large majority of the content will be gone; quite sad given both the quantity of stories there and how many got sometimes millions of readers. I am sure most of the biggest stories are archived at least, but particularly the early stuff was a very ephemeral genre, one that doesn't make sense to revisit once you aren't a 16 year old teen writing and reading fics on a flip phone in between classes. Which means another legion of the ghosts of the Wired is being born today. May we pour one out for a fellow online community that lived and died!

[the-amazing-digital-guardians-au]

The Amazing Digital Circus: Guardian AU

My TADC AU is now up and running! I will be making a poster, character cards, general art, and possibly comics based around the storyline. Here’s the information!:

Description:

Caine is the ringmaster and ruler of The Amazing Digital Circus, but there are some things that even he can’t control. NPCs go rogue all the time, often acting out and trying to genuinely hurt the circus members as they go on adventures. Because of this, Caine has always appointed two circus members he deems the most worthy to protect him and others from danger. They have been different over the years (mainly due to abstractions), but currently Jax and Ragatha are his Guardians. The two of them are more privileged than the regular circus members: they are allowed to wield weapons, swear, indulge in vices, and the like as long as they do so in private, do their jobs well, and don’t disrupt the "family-friendly" atmosphere of the circus. Caine trusts them…or so he says. And to make matters worse, it looks like NPCs are forming an uprising to overthrow Caine, led by none other than a revived Gummigoo! Travel through the colorful world of TADC, but covered in a grimy layer of violence, corruption, and deception.

Who will the story focus on:

Caine

Abel

Pomni 

Jax

Ragatha

Kinger and Queenie

Princess Loo, Gummigoo, and other/more NPCs as the canon Digital Circus web series progresses

Genre:

Religious and psychological horror

Comedy

Action

Philosophical(?)

Content Warning - Anything produced for this AU may have any of the following elements:

Religious themes

Implied/referenced torture 

Blood (No gore, but this may change in the future)

Mental health issues 

War themes

Gambling

Alcohol and Drugs

Foul Language

This AU is recommended for ages 16+. The creator of this blog is 18.

…Wait, there’s more?!

FAQ:

Can I make fanart?

Yes, fanart is encouraged and always appreciated! Just make sure to credit me as the creator when needed. Do not use my creations if you are hateful/racist/sexist/anti-LGBTQ or just problematic in any other way. I don’t want what I make to be associated with these things. As for NSFW stuff…I would prefer if you didn’t. (Okay, well…now that I think about it, sure, go ahead, go crazy. But please don’t send it to me, I don’t really wanna see it. And tag it appropriately! Be mindful of others!) Ocs are allowed!! Ships (Canon x Canon, Canon x OC, OC x OC, whatever) are allowed! Tag me in anything as long as it’s SFW. Seriously, do whatever you want!

What are the religious themes?

Christianity. I am a Christian myself, but I also really enjoy religious horror and researching different religions. Does Pomni represent Jesus in this story? Not really. But, I will be using themes/images of Christianity (like angels, for example) to enhance the horror. I also like studying Japanese and Chinese mythological figures, purely out of interest. I will never try to push my beliefs onto the audience in any way. People can believe in whatever they want!

Are there any ships?

Bunnydoll (Jax x Ragatha) is the main ship. It is mostly implied/referenced and nothing overly romantic happens. The story focuses on their emotional bond since they are both Caine’s guardians. If you don’t like the ship, please don’t be rude to people who do. And if you do like the ship, don’t be rude to people who don’t! There’s enough hate on the internet already. Just be mindful that we all like different things, and have fun!

How will the story be told?

Through comics, probably. It’s easier for me to write things in a document (as a script) and then draw, so it will take time. I will also make art on the side that may or may not have canon information or events. It depends.

What inspired you?

The 70s (lots of yellow, orange and brown colors), Skinnamarink, religious horror, vintage Las Vegas, vintage snacks, and other random stuff. I have specific inspirations for different characters. But my inspiration to even start this project is definitely @/burrotello and The Amazing Digital Fight Club AU. It’s awesome!

Can I ask questions about characters, the story, etc?

Yes, but if it’s an answer I don’t want to reveal yet…well, we’ll see what happens. Sometimes, I will make drawings where a character reacts or responds!

[starlostlix]

BSD 123 POSES MUCH TO TALK ABOUT!!!

spoilers under the cut!!

FIRST THINGS FIRST A NEW FREAKING CHARACTER!!!!! I got into the manga around chapter 100/101 so this is I think the first time i've witnessed a new character introduced in like real time (besides Gozen if he counts).

And here they are, Ueda Akinari! We've only seen a bit of their design but I loveeee their bob. Served.

(BTW i'm using the wiki mostly here so I do recommend searching up more about the author yourselves! this is just an overview)

So the author Ueda Akinari was a Japanese author/scholar/poet in the 1700s. His writings were often about supernatural powers and creatures - an early pioneer of the genre Yomihon. He has two main famous works, the one inspiring the character's ability being titled 'Ugetsu Monogatari', or 'Tales of Moonlight and Rain' - a collection of 9 short stories adapted from Japanese and Chinese ghost stories. Interestingly the character design has a scar on the left eye, which may link to how the real Ueda Akinari had temporary blindness before regaining vision in his left eye.

We learn that this character is the creator of Amenogozen, and has had no visitors since its creation 1500 years ago. They've likely been trapped in the divine being's core since the creation or not long after. There's a theory this could be 'that man' fyodor mentioned being who he had fought against previously, which i like the idea of. Anyways I am so so excited about this new character and what their lore may be!!! Here's how Fukuchi described the origin of Amenogozen for some more context :)

In other news we do have Atsushi and Akutagawa centric parts of the chapter. Focusing on Atsushi first, he is opening the door to the core and talking to the hallucination of the Headmaster.

I think we now have Atsushi truly rejecting the influence of the Headmaster on his life. For most of the story Atsushi has wanted to get the Headmaster's teachings and memories, and it's great that we could be seeing this happen. Although the way Atsushi reacts to the Headmaster saying he will be gone by even today is interesting. It looks kind of fearful, maybe fearing what would take his place and if something worse is on the horizon, or that he is so used to his presence that he wouldn't know what it would be like without it. But the Headmaster is gone when the door is opened, so maybe he's gone for good now? We will have to see.

Then, Akutagawa! His arc is so interesting right now and this only furthers that.

So Akutagawa is getting beat up by Gozen right now, and he's saying his vampiric healing is slowing and he could be minutes away from death... kind of insane dude. But even at this point he doesn't think of Dazai anymore!!! This chapter seems to have both parts of sskk freeing themselves from their previous abusers which I think it great parallels for them and great character development. Even more interestingly, AKUTAGAWA IS THINKING OF ATSUSHI!!!! THINKING OF HIS PROMISE NOT TO KILL PEOPLE FOR SIX MONTHS!!! THINKING ABOUT ATSUSHI'S ADVICE ON TRUE STRENGTH!!! THINKING ABOUT ATSUSHI'S SACRIFICE FOR HIM!!!

(also thinking of his mouth in the void... thinking of his lips akutagawa I know what you are/j)

And the focus on Akutagawa's eyes!!! THERES MORE LIGHT IN HIS EYES WHEN THINKING OF ATSUSHI!!! He then talks about how Atsushi is 'his ordeal', and he wanted Atsushi returned 'to me'... dude. Akutagawa is finally acknowledging his connection to Atsushi and how much he means to him and it's wonderful!!! The SSKK developments in recent chapters has been so good i'm so excited to see where it can go from here.

[I'm really excited for the direction the story is going right now it looks so interesting! It's late for me tho so I've ran out of more ideas now but I may add more tomorrow if I have any more thoughts.]

[funishment-time]

🔵 Kodaka BlueSky Q&As: Misc DR & Multiple Characters

⚠️ DISCLAIMER: Please be advised! Translations of all Japanese answers derive from a combination of Google Translate and my manager's three-quarters-remembered Japanese. We've tried our best to work out what he's saying, but there will be mistakes here and there. Do not take this as gospel!

To avoid spreading too much misinfo, where we're completely boggled about an answer, we've decided not to even make an attempt. We'll still list the post, but mark it accordingly.

➡️ AN IMPORTANT NOTE FROM KODAKA BEFORE READING:

First of all, the questions answered here are not official. Everything that is official is what is said within the work. In contrast, this is simply what Kodaka, the creator, thinks, and it is not the correct answer. Use this as a starting point to enjoy the depth of each character, or to say, "That's not right!" and enjoy it with your own interpretation. I think of this as a way of communicating with the characters who live in fiction. This is important, so please spread the word.

💕 FEBRUARY 2024:

Q: Out of all the characters that have appeared so far, who is your favorite visually?

A: As a fan, Haruko from FLCL. Among my own creations...hmmm, Monokubs lol and Enoshima.

/////

Q: Sorry if this has already been said! I saw a tweet saying that Fukawa Toko's novel "Before the Scent of the Sea Disappears" was made into a short film by Kodaka Kazutaka! Is there anywhere I can see it?

A: I don't have it..! I have the data on my PC, but…lol

/////

Q: Are you interested in making games in the world of Ultimate Talent Development Plan? I would like to see all the characters together. (Sorry my Japanese is not very good. I am using a translator.)

A: It's too early to tell. I'll continue to make more and more characters.

/////

Q: I love Ultra Despair Girls, but it's sad that so few people are playing it 😢 Are there plans for a port or remake for the Switch?

A: It's an absolute masterpiece! I'm proud to say that it has the heaviest storyline I've ever written, and the friendship at the end will have you in tears. And it's also pretty fun to take down all the Monokumas in one fell swoop. The controls are a bit rough in some areas, so I'd like to tweak them and re-release it. But maybe that last possibility is impossible in today's world...

/////

Q: What is your favorite chapter in the Danganronpa series?

A: Hmm, Chapters 1 and 6 of 1, and Chapters 5 and 6 of 2. Maybe Chapters 1, 5 and 6 of 3.

/////

Q: I love Danganronpa Zero, and I'd like to ask if there were any particular things that you were thinking about when you were writing it.

A: At the time, it was my first novel in about five years, and although I said "I'll do it" lightly, I wasn't good at writing the narrative, and after pushing myself into scrapping it many times, I finally managed to get it done by writing the narrative from the protagonist's point of view.

/////

Q: I got hooked on the Danganronpa series when I was in elementary school and am now a working adult!! Danganronpa is my favorite work of all time! Of course I played Rain Code too!! I love how Shinigami-chan grows and becomes more human as the story progresses! I wonder if a sequel to Danganronpa is really possible...? I'm also waiting for a sequel to Rain Code I'll keep waiting until I die! I love you!

A: From elementary school to working adult…! Thanks to Danganronpa, you've become a fine adult! Neither sequel is impossible. I'd like to expand more, get results from other new works, and make myself more valuable, and do it when it's best for me.

/////

Q: Are there any characters that have a secret backstory in any of the Danganronpa works?

A: For the most part, there are still stories that we haven't talked about.

/////

Q: This may be a question that can't be answered (it may have been asked already), but in the bad ending of Danganronpa, Togami holds a portrait of Fukawa, and there is a child of Togami? Will the truth about that ever come to light?!

A: With the loss of Kirigiri, and the decision to live together within the school, everyone had a change of heart and decided to join hands. Fukawa stopped belittling herself, and Togami stopped being arrogant, and the two started dating, but the next day Fukawa died in an accident. She died after choking on a dumpling, and Togami was confused, believing it was a curse from Celes. As Asahina comforted the depressed boy, things just sort of happened and Togami's child was born. Asahina loves children, and decided that this was her mission and she would give birth to everyone's children. And since that was all there was to do in the boring school life, everyone did it a lot. After that, she gave birth to more than 10 children, and the school flourished.

NOTE: This is the worst thing I have ever read.

/////

Q: I can't help but wonder about the night that Asahina, Hagakure, Togami, and Fukawa spent in the gym in Chapter 5 of Danganronpa. What were they doing that night?

A: I think they were standing in the dark gymnasium, each at one of the four corners, going around tapping the shoulder of the next person in the corner...

/////

Q: The "motivation video" that appeared in V3 featured someone important to each character, but it wasn't revealed who was in the motivation video for the characters in the main story. Did you have a set idea in mind of "this character is this person", Mr. Kodaka? Some characters talk about family or special people in Free Time scenarios, but there are also some characters who don't talk about such things, so I'm curious.

A: I had it set at the time, but I've forgotten about it...

NOTE: ugh

/////

Q: What's your favorite romantic pairing in danganronpa?

A: Monomi and Monokuma.

/////

Q: I love the scene in Chapter 6 of the original Danganronpa where the mastermind and the scissors girl (I will not reveal her name for now) meet and politely greet each other. Mr. Kodaka, are there any funny or gag scenes from the Danganronpa series or Rain Code that you like?

A: There are heaps of gag scenes and funny scenes, but when I first saw Monokuma and Monomi's comedy routine in 2 with their lines incorporated, I felt something otherworldly that I'd never heard before. We record out of order, so after incorporating it with the game, I was surprised at how otherworldly it was.

/////

Q: I would like you to publish profiles of Danganronpa Zero characters! Please do so!

A: Let's ask Spikechun! Spikechun reserves all rights! Let's all protest and demand that these profiles be made public!

/////

Q: In the summary of the materials for Danganronpa 1, there was a detailed description of the non-killers' punishments, but I wonder if those will ever be made into a movie...? I've been dying to see it 🥲

A: It's not exactly a good idea to capture people dying on film…

/////

Q: Who is the most popular character in Danganronpa? I would be happy if you could tell me one male and one female!

A: My personal opinion is... For guys, it's Shinguji. There are girls who are attracted to weird guys like that. For girls, it's Iruma. There are boys who are attracted to weird girls like that.

NOTE: I believe this is IRL, not in-universe, as Kodaka later answers who has the most friends in-universe, and it's not Miu or Kork.

🍀 MARCH 2024:

Q: Excuse me for asking a question! Who is the strongest drinker among Munakata, Yukizome, and Sakakura? 🥹

A: It's probably Yukizome.

/////

Q: Among the BGM used in the original, 2, and V3, is there any that you particularly like, Mr. Kodaka? I absolutely love New World Order from the original, DANGANRONPA SUPER MIX from 2, and V3 Discussion - SCRUM - from V3!

A: The punishment music was created first, and it created a Danganronpa atmosphere, or rather a playful yet serious atmosphere, so it has a deeply cryptic vibe.

/////

Q: I bought Danganronpa again on Steam and had my ex-girlfriend play the whole series, and she got hooked. This may be mentioned in other media, but are there any characters who weren't meant to die but ended up dying?

A: While I was writing, some roles were switched, but I don't think there were many changes to the plot. I think it was Nidai and Kuzuryu who switched roles...

NOTE: His memory is correct. Beta designs show a Fuyuhiko-like character who was meant to the the team manager, and a mafia guy who was a big Nekomaru-ish dude.

/////

Q: In the Danganronpa series, you get underwear when your bond with a character reaches its maximum, but whose underwear do you like the most, Kodaka?

A: Personally, I'm not interested in underwear. They're dirty.

/////

Q: I know you didn't write or supervise Danganronpa S at all, Kodaka, but have you played it since its release? And if you did, were there any event conversations that you particularly liked?

A: [From @/genoskissors: "エアプ is slang meaning he knows about the games content, but has not played it himself." Thank you for the correction!]

/////

Q: [A longer question, found here, that comes down to: "i'm curious how your writing with your world evolved in ways you may not have had planed..."]

A: The scenario changes a lot when I write it. It is live. Try writing it, move the characters around, and it keeps changing. Because the characters are alive.

/////

Q: Yamada and Celes seem to have been quite close during their school days, but how did they end up like that?

A: "I've gotten better at making royal milk tea."

NOTE: This is probably Hifumi talking.

🥬 APRIL 2024:

Q: Will you ever make a V3 animation? That could be so cool I’d love to see it so much.

A: That is a matter for Spike Chunsoft to decide.

/////

Q: Who is the character with the most friends in each of the Danganronpa games: the original, 2, and V3?

A: I guess Yamada, Koizumi, and Angie. I'm not sure if I can call Angie a friend, though.

/////

Q: Chabashira Tenko and I have the same birthday and blood type, so I'd like to know how a character's birthday and blood type are decided. I'm currently studying Japanese.

A: It's decided by fate.

/////

Q: Tired of answering questions about Danganronpa?

A: I'm not bored. I love Danganronpa. However, I may forget some things, so I don't want to answer carelessly.

🌺 MAY 2024:

Q: I think Harukawa-chan had romantic feelings for Momota-kun, but did Momota-kun see Harukawa-chan as a romantic interest? Or did he just see her as one of his "students," like Saihara-kun?

A: "I didn't realize it at the time, so I wasn't even conscious of it. If I had realized it sooner, things might have been different..."

NOTE: This is probably Kaito talking.

☀️ JUNE 2024:

Q: I feel like there weren't any characters in the original Danganronpa who were definitely able to cook, so who was cooking at breakfast and the like? I'd also like to know if there were any characters who could cook in the original!

A: I think they basically just used pre-cooked food, but I think Fujisaki and Yamada seem like they can cook.

/////

Q: How did you decide the seating order for the class trial?

A: Intentionally in random order so as not to create any patterns.

/////

Q: Are there any characters in 1, 2, and V3 who are not virgins? Sorry for the really vulgar question.

A: A rough estimate is a quarter.

/////

Q: Is it decided how old the characters in works such as Danganronpa and Raincode are? If so, how old are they?

A: Of course, Danganronpa is mostly in their teens. Raincode has a wide range, but even Yakou is in his 30s.

NOTE: This is kind-of hilarious, because I'm pretty sure it's canonically stated Yakou is actually in his late 20s...in something that Kodaka himself wrote. I'll have to go find evidence.

/////

Q: I'd like to know the recommended menu items at Hanamura Diner!

A: Fresh tonkatsu.

NOTE: Tonkatsu is a fried pork cutlet.

/////

Q: Were the Love Hotel scenes also supervised by Kodaka-san? When Ouma says that he doesn't care what Saihara does to him, is that what he says to make it possible for him to have anyone in that space under his control?

A: I did supervise it. But I left that to people who are good at that sort of thing and refrained from interfering too much, and I still refrain from doing so now.

/////

Q: Is there any trick to Tanaka Gundham's chuunibyou dialogue? I'm curious to know how you think of the unique expressions used by Saionji Hiyoko and Iruma Miu.

A: The insults come out super easily, but Tanaka's lines were thought out thoroughly, based on the light novels I've read, so it's exhausting.

NOTE: A "chuunibyou" is a kid, generally 12-13, who believes they have secret powers or a grand backstory. Gundham's a bit old to be a chuuni by Kodaka's own admission in the DR2 artbook, but that was apparently part of the charm (and why it was so difficult to write him). It's spiritual Naruto running.

🎇 JULY 2024:

Q: I'd like to know what underwear your favorite Danganronpa character wears, Kodaka-san.

A: Monomi's panties. Diapers.

NOTE: This is how rumors get started, Kaz...

/////

Q: Do Rain Code and Danganronpa take place in the same world? Do any of your games and works have a shared universe with another? Or are they all separate? 🤔 💭 I'm asking because I just had a dream about Rain Code today!

A: I won't make a clear statement. I am not sure what will happen in the future. Anyway, please spread the Rain Code around the world.

/////

Q: If Hope's Peak Academy had regular exams, who would have the best overall grades?

A: It would have to be Togami. Kirigiri has clear strengths and weaknesses and doesn't seem like she'd be good at things like art. However, when it comes to multiple choice questions, Komaeda who relies on luck is the strongest, Ouma steals the answers in advance, and Ki-Bo tries hard and is average, but is bad at calculations.

🌭 AUG 2024:

Q: when i played danganronpa there were times where i wondered about how some characters got along with their family, have you written/thought anything about a character's family background that isn't mentioned in the video games?even if it's something small i feel like it would be interesting to read

A: I think, but the fact that I did not put it in writing means that I left it to the player's imagination.

/////

Q: If Sonia and Fubuki met, who would take the initiative in the conversation?

A: Even though they don't match up at all, they seem like they'd get along really well.

NOTE: Fubuki from Rain Code.

/////

Q: When all the Danganronpa characters are gathered together, who do you think has the most aura?

A: It must be Ogami. I think everyone would look at her first.

/////

Q: Thank you so much for making "Danganronpa"!! 😊💓💓 Many fans have a special feeling for the relationship between Komaeda Nagito and Hinata Hajime. Is there a possibility that the two will become lovers in the future?

A: I have no plans to create anything that takes place after Danganronpa 3.

🍁 SEPT 2024:

Q: Are there many undiscovered super-high school level talents outside of Japan?

A: You could make a Danganronpa World War. 150 students are locked in a school, about 10 incidents occur at the same time, class trials are held here and there, and punishments are handed out one after another.

/////

Q: Are you afraid of bugs, Soda? I'd like to know who among two people can stand bugs and who doesn't like them!

A: Soda is not good with insects that suddenly appear, fly, or move suddenly. Sonia is fine with insects.

/////

Q: I would like to know Ouma's first words and reaction upon seeing an armed Keebo-kun!

A: “This isn’t like you!”

🎃 OCT 2024:

Q: Hello, Kodaka-san. You're probably tired of questions about the sexual orientation of characters. Komaeda in particular is one of the most talked about characters when it comes to this topic. It's actually a little sad that the fandom cares more about what gender a character is attracted to than who they actually are. This may be weird to ask after writing this much, but I want to ask out of pure curiosity: what do you think about couples in Danganronpa? I don't think any couples have ever actually been confirmed, is that intentional? There's been a lot of discussion about that topic, so I just wanted to know.

A: Like the Asahina ending in Danganronpa, there's the possibility that different people could become couples with different people. That's what makes it interesting.

/////

Q: Will the V3 characters be made into anime someday?

A: I'm not getting any offers...! I'm sure there are a fair number of people who would watch it...!

🦃 NOV 2024:

Q: I really want to see a world where Danganronpa Kirigiri is made into an anime or manga...

A: I want to see it too...!

/////

Q: Will Danganronpa 2 be made into an anime? This is something I've always wanted to see

A: I want to see it too...! I want it to be made without my involvement...!

/////

Q: A question about V3. I've heard a lot of speculation that in V3, the conclusions reached as a result of trials other than Chapter 1 are different (there is fraud on the part of the mastermind), but are there any chapters other than Chapter 1 where something different from the truth is said to be the truth?

A: It might all be a lie

NOTE: The question here might be a bit hard to understand, but it's basically asking if all of V3's culprits were actually culprits. A very peculiar answer.

/////

Q: I'd like to see a remake of the original Danganronpa with added theories and scrum debates, or a despair arc (school days)! I'd like to see it while the voice actors are still in good health.

A: That's true. But it's boring if it's just a remake. I would do it more like this...

NOTE: Don't quote me, but I believe "this" is what the question asks, i.e. he'd remake the game with added stuff.

/////

Q: Hello! What are Kuzuryu-kun and Peko-chan's best and worst subjects? I can't help but wonder!

A: Peko is good at everything. Kuzuryu is bad at a lot of things.

/////

Q: Why was the island in SDR2 named "Jabberwock Island"? I can't think of any other elements from Alice in Wonderland...

A: Yes, that's what inspired me to use the name metaphorically.

🎄 DEC 2024:

Q: What do you eat to come up with a character like Komaeda?

A: Meat buns in Kanai Ward

/////

Q: I think V3's punishments are similar to the original punishments, including the unused punishments, in many ways, but were you aware of that?

A: I think the second game wasn't that cruel, or rather it was mostly on the lighter side, so I wanted to make this one cruel.

/////

Q: Although they are both super high school level detectives, what is the difference between Kirigiri-san and Saihara-kun? 

A: Kirigiri is a better detective in terms of career, talent, and family history. 

/////

Q: Are there any good rappers among the characters? If so, who would it be? 

A: Hagakure or Kuwata or Soda or Ouma 

/////

Q: Mr Kodaka, In response to your question on Twitter, I would like to ask. Who have you considered as candidates to be your successor for Danganronpa? Back in 2020, you mentioned Uchikoshi might be a good candidate for being the creative director for Danganronpa. Taro? Hino? Takumi? Hashino? Kamitani?

A: It's a story about young people, so young people are good.

/////

Q: Do you remember that pot of aphrodisiac soup from Despair Arc? How would other characters react if they drank it? 

A: I want to make that doujin game and earn money.

NOTE: A "doujin game" being a kind of fan game. Basically, he's joking that the aphrodisiac soup with other classes is kind of a fan smut idea...but he'd still do it for the money. One way to get TooKyo out of debt, I suppose...

/////

Q: How did the trick in Chapter 5 of SDR2 come about that left many players in despair?

A: Famously, after months of having the planner in charge of the project come up with many ideas, and then losing them all over the place, he suddenly came up with the idea. It was built on his despair.

NOTE: This is another weird one that's hard to translate, but I think he's referring to himself as "the planner in charge of the project," so he's saying that he went through hell trying to figure out how to kill Komaeda.

/////

Q: Are there any characters in Danganronpa who believe in Santa? 

A: Souda, Gonta

[ceruleanskies48]

Final Scene for BES: Healing & Family

In yesterday’s post, I wrote about what I think would be a satisfying ending for Mizu. For today’s post, rounding out the last day (Healing | Family) of @taimizuweek, I wanted to share my ideal final scene for the series.

Mizu and Taigen are living a happy peaceful life on their ranch together. Ringo (and Swordfather if he’s still alive) is visiting since Mizu recently had her first baby—a girl. The baby is around 4 months old, and Mizu looks down into her eyes and sees that they are still blue, meaning they will most likely stay that way. While part of her is scared for her daughter’s future, she is filled with an overwhelming feeling of love and hope for her. She will be surrounded by a loving family that adores her (and her eyes), and thanks to recent policy changes (driven through by Akemi with Mizu and Taigen’s help after taking down xenophobic Lady Itoh), their daughter should have a much easier time than Mizu did growing up. 

There are a few reasons I love this possible ending. It bring Mizu’s arc full circle. Mizu's quest is not a typical revenge quest motivated by death (someone killing someone the protagonist loves) but rather by creation (the birth of the protagonist). Her life goal was to kill her father for giving her blue eyes, so passing that trait to a child of her own would show that she has learned to accept and even love that side of her. In addition, the better life that the child can look forward to would represent hope for societal progress. While in other stories, the idea of a badass independent woman settling down and becoming a mother might seem regressive, I think it’d actually be empowering for Mizu given this close connection between her struggles for self-acceptance and her feelings about parenthood. This would more profoundly illustrate her growth and healing than just killing her father (which the creators have teased is what Mizu wants but not what she needs for her arc). 

Finally, it would be fun way to reference the origin story of BES. In every interview about the show, Amber Noizumi talks about how they first came up with idea for the show when she saw their baby daughter’s blue eyes. In that moment, she was thrilled that their baby had this “white” characteristic that is coveted in modern Western society as being beautiful, which led her to reflect upon her own internalized racism as a half-Japanese, half-white person. This inspired her and Michael to imagine a blue-eyed girl in the opposite context, where blue eyes made her reviled as sub-human and demonic. 

Mizu learning to love her blue eyes and feeling positive about passing them onto her child would thus be a powerful way to wrap up her journey, showing that she has overcome her internalized racism and achieved self-love and happiness. 

[whencyclopedia]

Kagutsuchi

Kagutsuchi (aka Hi-no-Kagutsuchi) is the Shinto god or kami of fire and is also known as Homusubi. The son of Izanami and Izanagi, the fire god is the father of eight warrior gods and eight mountain gods, amongst others. Such a destructive force as fire in a culture where buildings were typically made of wood and paper resulted in Kagutsuchi becoming an important object of Shinto ritual and a frequent receiver of appeasing offerings.

Genealogy & Offspring

According to the 8th-century CE Kojiki ('Record of Ancient Things') and Nikon Shoki ('Chronicle of Japan' and also known as the Nihongi), Kagutsuchi-no-kami, to give his full name, was born from Izanami, one of the Shinto creator gods, but such was his fierce heat that he killed his mother in the process. His father Izanagi was not best pleased with this result and so lopped off Kagutsuchi's head with his great sword, the Ame-no-o-habari-no-kami. From the blood which gushed out over the surrounding rocks and dripped from the sword's blade and hilt another eight gods were born, all of them powerful swordsmen kami. The two most important of these martial gods are Takemikazuchi-no-kami and Futsunushi-no-kami, with the former being also a thunder god and patron of the martial arts who famously subdued Namazu the giant catfish that lives beneath the earth and causes earthquakes by flipping his tail.

Two other gods born from Kagutsuchi's blood were Kuraokami-no-kami, who is mentioned in the Manyoshu poem anthology (compiled c. 759 CE) as being a dragon and rain god. Another is Amatsumikaboshi, the kami of Venus, the Evening Star. Her alternative name is Amenokagasewo.

After Kagutsuchi's decapitation the story continues and from just about every body part of the fire god, from his left foot to his genitals, eight more gods were born. These were mountain gods which represented different types of mountains such as forested ones, those with moors, those far away, those possessing iron, those which provided passes to adjoining valleys and, of course, volcanoes. The stories of Kagutsuchi which include the creation of iron and swords may well be a mythological explanation for the arrival of iron and superior metal goods via immigrants arriving in Japan from mainland Asia at the beginning of the Yayoi Period (c. 300 BCE or earlier to c. 250 CE), many of whom may well have been warriors.

In an alternative version, or rather an added segment, recorded in the 10th-century CE Engishiki, before she dies Izanami hides away and gives birth to three more gods: the water kami Mizuhame-no-mikoto, the clay princess, the gourd, and the water reed. All four are instructed by their dying mother to watch out for Kagutsuchi and, if necessary, act to pacify him if he ever gets out of hand. The traditional fire-fighting equipment of the ancient Japanese was water, carried in a gourd, to pour on the fire while water reeds and clay were often used to smother it. Even today in some parts of Japan, there is a midwinter ritual where reed bundles are placed in the eaves of roofs so that they are handy if a fire should break out.

Continue reading...

[hervygervy]

Speaking of Chaos Kin, IIRC there's really not much elaborated on it apart from Idols, it's Japanese name being "Messenger of Chaos" and the note that "Chaos was the void where everything was created, including the primordial gods"

I don't know what you're gonna do with this information but I'm taking it as a sign that the Chaos Kin is simply a leftover from the beginning of everything

You know what, thank you for bringing this up to me because I did a little research and made an utterly fascinating discovery. A breakthrough, if you will. I think so, anyway.

Before that, yes, the Japanese name for the Chaos Kin is 混沌の使い (konton no tsukai) or "messenger/envoy/emissary of chaos" or however you'd like to put it. I would really like to know the logic behind the name change because both have pretty different implications. "Kin" inherently means "related to" which gives the impression that this creature is some kind of manifestation of chaos, while "messenger" effectively infers that this creature is an agent or bringer of chaos. Basically, 使い (tsukai) inherently implies that it's some kind of subordinate to chaos rather than being chaos itself.

As for chaos being the void from which everything was created... that's an idea from Greek mythology. The creation story goes that before Uranus and Gaea, there was just primordial chaos, from which everything kinda just came into being. Your idea is a fun one, but personally I wish people would recognize the fact that Kid Icarus isn't an adaptation of Greek mythology, nor is it trying to be. The creator of the original game, Toru Osawa, just so happened to have a vague interest in Greek mythology, and wanted his game to just be full of things he personally thought was cool (it was his first time ever making a game after all). Thus, all it does is take the general aesthetic of Greek myth as depicted in pop culture and takes some names of random figures and monsters. I mean, they literally took a skull with crab legs and called it "Ganymede" (spelled "Ganewmede" in game), so I would really not take any references to Greek mythology with any semblance of seriousness. This is probably just me, but I'm just really tired of people trying to emphasize the whole Greek mythology references thing because in reality, Kid Icarus is about as true to Greek mythology as Marvel's Thor is to Norse mythology. If you want something more faithful, I'd suggest trying some other game.

Anyway, originally I wanted to address your query on what the Chaos Kin is... and then I'll get to my epic discovery. Promise. In both the English and Japanese versions of the discussion about the Chaos Kin in the ground section of chapter 20, Viridi nor any other character seem to have any idea what it is other than that it lives in another dimension, eats souls, and has some terrifying powers. But, there's an interesting tidbit of information reserved for the Japanese version of the flight section of chapter 21. Remember the part of the level where some duplicates of the Chaos Kin show up? More below because this is becoming a bit lengthy...

Yeah, so this moment just seems to be a showcase of how the Chaos Kin's ability to create monsters is so great that it can even manifest lookalikes, right? Another piece of dialogue seems to support the idea that these are mere clones:

"Real deal" would imply that there's an original and a whole bunch of phonies, wouldn't it? Well the Japanese version describes them as possibly being just other specimens of the same kind of creature!

I'll translate:

Viridi: We're getting close to the Messenger of Chaos. But...

Pit: But?

Viridi: There seems to be a lot of lookalikes.

Pit: Wahh! That's too gross!!

Viridi: Is the Messenger of Chaos replicating itself? No, these are simply the same type of creature.

Pit: If such atrocious creatures are being mass produced, that would be unbearable!

Curious, huh? Oh, and because of this, of course the moment when the target Chaos Kin shows up has different dialogue:

This one's short. I'll translate anyway:

Viridi: Over there!

Pit: Full speed ahead!

Anyway, so I thought that was all there was to it. That I would leave you here today with only the information that the Chaos Kin might be its own whole thriving species. But ohoho... I found something crazy. Something wild. You brought up the idols, yes? So I actually haven't progressed that far in my Japanese copy of the game and thus don't have access to a lot of the idols. But for funsies, I decided to look them up. Shout out to the random YouTube account that uploaded a video compilation of all the idols in the year of our Lord 2023.

The English idol description for the Chaos Kin reads as follows:

"An evil being whose strange power may even surpass that of the gods. It is mindless, only possessing the desire to cause disorder and disaster. Long sealed in the Lunar Sanctum, the Chaos Kin is suddenly free to spread anarchy."

But the Japanese description:

「魂をフックに引っかけ支配する狡猾な邪神。神をも下す恐ろしい力を持っていたため静寂のアロンの月の神殿に封じられていた。文字通り混沌を好み、裏切りや争いなどを起こす。意志らしい意志は感じられない。支配された魂はむさぼり食われる運命。」

I would italicize this one too but italicized Japanese hurts my eyes, I won't lie. I'll italicize the translation!

"A crafty evil god that snares and controls souls with a hook. Because it held frightening power that would bring down even the gods, it was sealed in Arlon the Silent’s Moon Temple. It literally likes chaos and brings about betrayal and strife. It doesn’t seem to have anything like a will. Controlled souls are fated to be greedily wolfed down."

Just a reminder, "Arlon the Serene" is called "Arlon the Silent," and the "Lunar Sanctum" is called the "Moon Temple."

But did you see that?? The Chaos Kin is described as a 邪神 (jashin) or "evil god." You might remember this word from when we talked about it before... it's the same word used to describe Pandora! Regardless, what's important is that, apparently, the Chaos Kin is a whole deity! And there are multiple of the same species! Lovely!!

Out of sheer curiosity, I tried looking up the Japanese trophy description for the Chaos Kin in Super Smash Bros for 3DS, but it seems nobody on this planet has ever bothered to transcribe the Japanese text for them anywhere, and there is one lone video compilation of them in poop fart quality. I can barely read anything. I was able to make out one thing, and that's that it's described as a 生命体 (seimeitai) or "life form" which... honestly makes me question things more. Is this thing a deity or not? But at the same time, this is also just a Smash Bros trophy description that I can barely freakin' read. Smash Bros isn't really a source of canon, as I've already discussed in a previous post. Gotta get your info from the horse's mouth and all that.

So!! I'm going to conclude that the Chaos Kin is a 邪神, or "evil god," as written in its idol description. Absolutely wild. This information will rotate in my mind like a rotisserie chicken. This has so many implications. And there are many of them. Wow. Looks like we both learned something!

[wealmostaneckbeard]

Signalis and Dungeon Meshi: Unorganized Comparison

Both are about crawling through dungeons, fighting monsters, and picking things up to get into inaccessible places.

There's a pair of siblings and a lesbian couple, both are cruelly separated by powerful forces. The living half (Marcille Donato, Elster, Isa Itou, Laios Touden) is willing to do anything to bring back their loved one (Falin Touden, Erika Itou, Ariane Yeong) from the depths of the dungeon. The searchers are motivated not just by love but guilt too, a stubborn refusal to fail their beloved one last time by abandoning then.

Both stories are about the evils of anthropocentric ideologies. It is the inescapable first lense that we all see the world through. It is a subjective, selfish, and almost nihilistic view point. It is the belief that the universe cannot match the significance of humanities existence. For anyone who has loved another human, this is an easy ideology to embrace.

It's also the foundation for hierarchical authoritarianism which dictates that you are either a productive member of humanity or a nonhuman agent of a hostile universe. Those who try to view the universe as itself and not as a means of, or obstacle to, the gratification of human desire are put into the latter grouping. Those who conform are elevated to positions of power within the hierarchy. This is illustrated by the suffering of Ariane Yeong and Laios Touden. As well as the elevation of various political figures in Dungeon Meshi and Kommandant Falke in Signalis.

Both universes feature similar world building elements: a cosmic force grants individual humans their anthropocentric desires resulting in the formation of impossible things. In Signalis, bioresonance allows for the colonization of other worlds and the creation of replikas. In Dungeon Meshi, the Demon's intercession has resulted in the formation of different races, monsters, dungeons, and the magical arts.

And now we come to where the two narratives truly differ with each other:

The characters in Dungeon Meshi are able to triumph over anthropocentric thought and create a better world. Tragically, the characters in Signalis are not able to do the same and become trapped in a hellish existence. This isn't exclusively because of their traits, they are unconsciously conforming to a larger pattern.

In Dungeon Meshi, the natural world still exists and can be defended from corrupting supernatural influence. Even when the earth is devastated by magically augmented warfare, the world is big enough to recover. There are trained specialists, like the canaries, who are able to counter the expansion of dungeons and it's associated threats. Because magic is so important to the world dungeon meshi, knowledge is prevalent with a few severe restrictions.

In Signalis, Vineta/Earth was destroyed by the war between the Eusan Nation and Empire. The closest that people can get to nature is potted plants and a nights sky. The Eusan Nation limits knowledge about bioresonance so that no one can use that to challenge their authority. As a result, no one can understand what's happening during a bioresonance crisis.

In Dungeon Meshi, food preparation is a narrative focal point, it connects people to the world and each other. In Signalis, food is a secondary consideration, it is rationed out by the Eusan Nation, given to good citizens and denied to dissidents.

Ryoku Kui is a japanese manga creator and Rose Engine are a pair of german game developers. One could guess that the artistic differences between them are reflective of their nations history during a certain conflict that happened in the last century...

[scarefox]

highly specific tag list of my blog because I am one of those folks who sort everything:

Fandom specific tags so far:

QL history & education

making of nc scenes (about shooting kiss and love / sex scenes, interviews and making of)

fmv (fan music videos)

clapback to toxic fans (our favs tell you to touch some grass)

rec lists: legal free to watch QL, end of 2024,

Playboyy the series master tag list (... very big very specific)

cuddle cast (behind the scenes cuddle and puppy pile moments)

Benz hand content (don't ask)

Gun in rock and metal shirts is my kink

reasons why I love Taemin

reasons why I love James

Pit Babe polycule

GMM polycule

Playboyy polycule

moonjocore & jongwoocore (Strangers From Hell)

---

tags about random cool or interesting things:

workout motivation (is it about sport or is it about hot people doing sport? who knows)

Kitsune & Gumiho & Huli jing appreciation

kemonomimi (people with animal ears are my weakness)

badass dance choreographies

pole dance

acrobatics (has pole dance too but also other acrobatics stuff)

hot stuff (mainly erotica, fetish, and kinky stuff, some thirst traps)

B D S M

uniforms (it's a kink leave me alone)

gothic

visual kei

affectionate biting

lovely monster (monster, creatures & monsterfucker content)

merpeople (all kinds of water creatures)

makeup applying (it's just neat to look at okay?)

pretty nails (also neat)

gender envy

crop top appreciation tag

music

pretty (random things I find pretty and aesthetically pleasing)

bike content

free serotonin (go here if you are down)

good to know

writing tipps

drawing tipps

life motivation

visual storytelling my beloved

---

my creations:

my playlists (spotify & youtube)

my memes

my polls

my work (that tag is so dusted in haha... I am trying)

--------------

Not tags but my QL & general Asian Drama collection lists, you can see as recommendation

Best of the Best High Quality BL/GL/QL/LGBTq

struggling writer characters

Supernatural BLs/GLs/LGBTq

All the interesting GLs

Best hurt / comfort couples

BDSM, Kink & Fetish themed

Beautiful & Wholesome

Polyamory

Sport Dramas

the yearning™ list

Enemies to Lovers

Dramas about the Creative Industry

Romanticizes Work-Life for that sweet motivation we all need

stories that take place in rural areas

Thriller, Crime, Psychological and Horror

Be Gay Do Crime

A+ Cinematography

untypical QL lovers

Comedy and hilarious Trash (affectionate)

Historical Themed

insane stories for insane people

QL Dramas by country (Thailand doesn't have an extra list):

favorite Taiwanese BLs/GLs/LGBTq

favorite Japanese BLs/GLs/LGBTq

favorite Korean BLs/GLs/LGBTq

uncensored Chinese BLs/GLs/LGBTq

multilingual BL/GL/QL crossovers

special list:

Actors & Creators in the BL/GL/QL industry who are LGBTq+

[will be continued]

[misscoolisback123]

Things I Find Wrong With Lore Olympus

1. Minthe

I'm just gonna address the elephant in the room when it comes to the webtoon with this one, so don't come bitching at me. When I first started reading LO, I was puzzled that Hades and Minthe were dating in the beginning, but since this was a retelling of Hades and Persephone and Greek mythology all together, I didn't think much of it. When I researched stories and articles about Hades and Persephone, she's not that big of a deal. Yes, she seduced Hades and was turned into a mint plant by Persephone, but that's just it. She's a minor nymph in Greek mythology. Someone on the unpopularloreolympus subreddit said that Rachel Smythe got offended by the Hercules cartoon series in which Hades and Persephone are father and daughter. It's most likely that she got offended by Hades and his affair with Minthe, and so she created a punching bag of a character. Not only that, but her skin tone is red because red is evil to her, yet Hermes is red. I'm not saying she has to be any shade of green but make it make sense!

2. Leuce

Like Minthe, she was created to be a punching bag character for the fandom. Not only is she not canon to Greek mythology, but she didn't exist until the 1500s by an Italian poet. Rachel probably got offended by this as well and did the same thing with her.

3. Misuse of Allusions

What is an allusion? The simplest answer is that it's a figure of speech that makes a reference to literature, people, places, characters, etc. An example of this is from the ABC show Once Upon a Time. Zelena The Wicked Witch of West basically became Persephone she and Hades fell in love. A couple of other examples of allusions of mythology are Naruto and Attack on Titan. Naruto uses Japanese mythology for their power ups and other things. Attack on Titan uses Norse mythology to explain the founding Titan Ymir. Lore Olympus, however, does this very poorly. It might just be a minor detail, but the biggest offense of this is Hera.

I was shocked when I saw that Hades and Hera had once been a thing and were madly in love. Then Echo came along, and Narcissus was nowhere in sight. Basically, Hera replaced Leuce and Narcissus. Leuce replaced Minthe. Morpheus was depicted as a woman or a poor depiction of transgenderism. The founding titan Ymir Fritz was an allusion of Ymir from Norse mythology. Ymir from Norse mythology was the creation God. Ymir Fritz was a little girl who died as a woman. Her three daughters are based on Odin and his two brothers. Ymir from Norse mythology was male. Morpheus from Greek mythology was male. If you're going to make a comic on mythology, then you should get the details of gods and goddess right.

4. Erasure of Sexuality

Lore Olympus was first posted onto Webtoon in 2018. This was during a time when writers of movies, TV shows, series, cartoons, and anime were turning canonically straight and asexual characters gay and lesbian. There was also a very biphobic and transphobic edge to it as well. This was done in order for the creator to appear progressive. This was done to Athena, Hestia, Hera, Echo, and Morpheus. Athena and Hestia are both asexual in Greek mythology, and Hera is straight. Again, Morpheus was male. Echo is also straight as she was madly in love with a man who was madly in love with himself. Athena and Morpheus are both poor representations of transgenderism. Especially Morpheus. They're not trans but the fact that their genders were changed is saying something.

5. Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss

Lore Olympus claims to be feminist but it's not. Others have explained this in great detail. Persephone before she was married to Hades was actually a much different person. She had her own goals and aspirations. She didn't want to be known as a nepo baby. She was trying to find her own identity. She even begged Hades not to gouge out Alex's eye, but Hades went through with it. But then she started dating Hades, and things went downhill for both of them. Yes, they are the healthiest couple in Greek mythology, but Lore Olympus doesn't depict it as such.

Hades basically became an abusive slave owner, and Persephone became an immature girlboss. When she ran into Alex at the mall and intimated him, she looked as if she would wait until his shift was over to stalk him, corner him, and beat him up. The same with Leuce.

6. Rooting for the wrong characters

From the beginning, readers are led to believe that Minthe is the antagonist. At least one of them. But then Persephone changed drastically for the worst, and soon, people found themselves rooting for her.

7. No other retellings of Greek mythology

Lore Olympus was advertised as being about Hades and Persephone. But the title alone sounded as if it was going to be about others' myths as well. The only retelling of mythology was Eros and Psyche. This is due to Hades and Persephone being a part of their myth. But both myths were dragged for far too long. Psyche revealing that she was turned into a nymph by Aphrodite didn't feel exciting. The same goes for Gaia telling Hades and Persephone that Persephone has to spend six months out of the year with her mother for spring and summer and with Hades during fall and winter. Both of these plots could've been easily wrapped up in season, and seasons 2 and 3 could have been about other myths.

[nemonoonesuch]

Ergo Proxy References and Parallelisms Vol. III

This post was supposed to be longer, but for "reasons" I guess it will be shorter than expected. My apologies for the rush.

On this Volume:

DARKMAN

WW2

Train Stations

FOLLOW THE WHITE RABBIT

Navigation Map

City of the Sun

Douglas Coupland

Bilbul

DARKMAN

Darkman (the 1990 superhero-horror film directed by Sam Raimi) belong to different genre, and dwells into different tropes, it was an atmospheric influence for Manglobe and the creators of Ergo Proxy. The idea of the erosion of a main character with an eroded identity lies in the DNA of both stories since Darkman's protagonist, Dr. Peyton Westlake, loses his physical identity after a brutal attack leaves him disfigured. He uses synthetic skin to assume different identities, but his transformation also leads to a psychological struggle with his sense of self.

Proxies as shapeshifters themselves are no strangers to the habit of taking a human appearance to coexists among their creations. Vincent Law is the very well crafted human suit of a meek personality, antipodal to his more insightful but aggressive true nature as Ergo Proxy. Yet, even as a human, Vincent struggles to get to be accepted in Romdeau's Society.

On Meditatio XIV, the Proxy regent of Ophelia used his ability to shapeshift to create multiple identities for himself, and so, blend into society by taken multiple identities.

WW2

Not only the uniforms and vehicles, but the weapons of the survivor soldiers at Xharos Dome on Meditatio VIII remind us to the latest installment of Word War in our history.

At a point, a soldier has what is very reminiscent of a Walter P38, a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II.

Meditatio VIII

C&S Detective Special 2()19

One of the Weapons that Re-L Mayer uses is a C&S Detective Special 209.

This Weapon also dubbed as the "Proxy Killer" can be loaded with the FP bullets that have the lethal dosis of Amrita Disablers.

The design and name of this weapon is in homage to Rick Deckard's pistol (the LAPD 2019 Blaster) that was used by Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) in the original Blade Runner movie, to hunt down Replicants. Note: Several other characters are seen handling Deckard's gun at times, notably Rachel.

Train Stations

Romdeau Train Station System Map can be seen on Meditatio III, while Re-L Mayer tries to pinpoint the exact location of Vincent Law.

On the left page of her journal, a page with a time table can be seen. This kind of document is surely a copy of the ones published by the New York Transit Authority establishing the timetable of the trains of a given station. The one that's on the journal mentions "Stillwell Avenue" on "Brooklyn"

This is a 1955 exemplar

Also, on Meditatio I, on one of Romdeaus Train Station, a list of British location names can be seen on the board

DEPARTURE EXPRESS I Bromsgrove EXPRESS II Leamington SPA EXPRESS III Gatwick? LOCAL TRAIN IV Chepstow LOCAL TRAIN V Swansea EXPRESS III Leamington SPA LOCAL TRAIN VII Chippenham LOCAL TRAIN VIII Bromsgrove

Note: According to an apocryphal interview with Jonathan Klein, co-founder of production company New Generation Pictures, Romdeau was named Romdo to be reminiscent of London:

(JK) We were told to spell it "Romdo" by the Japanese producers. What isn't really explained in the show (although hinted at) is where these domed cities' names come from. What we were told is that they're re-interpretations of names of long-gone old Earth cities. So Mosk was supposed to be Moscow and Romdo was supposed to be London. I can't say why it was spelled "Romdeau" in the animation other than guess whoever animated the text went with the most logical spelling of the city, not realizing where the source of the name was supposed to come from.

The subtle similitude in Japanese allows space to that speculation.

ロムド Romudo/RomDeau/Rondo

ロンドン London

Navigation Map

The Map that Vincent uses on Meditatio VIII to get to Mosk dome is a collage of distinct maps, including a Chart of the Mountains nearby the Lake Geneva made on the XVIII century.

Some of the geografical features on the original map are renamed on the series:

Lake Geneva it's replaced by the Sea of Sleep, Geneva by Romdeau, and Mosq is placed on an iterated Aiguille d'Argentiere a few thousand miles southeast (contradicting the fact that the were traveling north).

So, the coastline it's safe to asume it was created for the show, and it's merely an artistic illustration of the journey. I have serious doubts that the creators intended to place the event of the series in meticulously placed cities, and I believe that the closer they tried was to play with names and cultural references to give the vibe of being in the European continent.

CITY OF THE SUN

Among the most peculia

La città del Sole o The City of the Sun is philosophical utopianist work by the Italian Dominican philosopher Tommaso Campanella, written in 1602. The City of the Sun described an ideal city inspired by Plato's Republic and the description of Atlantis in his Timaeus.

Structurally the city is protected by seven concentric ring walls, in reference to the seven astrological bodies known at the moment. Major emplacements of the city ass the walls celebrate major figures and achievements of mankind, similarly to Romdeau that names avenues, parks and streets as major political figures and philosophers of Western culture.

Inside the city everything is controlled for the collective good, with a high degree of surveillance and regulation. Similarly, Romdeau in Ergo Proxy is a highly monitored city where citizens' lives are managed by the government and the central computer system known as the "Collective", that rule the "Administrative Bureau.". Matters such as privacy are virtually obsolete, under these regimes.

Romdeau is a more dystopic realization of the toll of such an ostracism and over-regulated system, where even the reproduction is carried by an artificial Womb System.

The Design of the Domed City is also reminiscent to the old engravings of the Sun City.

SHAMPOO PLANET & LIFE AFTER GOD

The title of Meditatio XVIII and Meditatio XXI seem to be referencing two novels by Douglas Coupland: Life After God and Shampoo Planet.

Life After God, published in 1994, is a collection of short stories and reflections that wrestle with the idea of living in a secular, post-religious world. Coupland dives into the emotional and existential drift of a generation raised without traditional spiritual frameworks, blending nostalgia, alienation, and a quiet yearning for something bigger. It’s raw and introspective, often feeling like a personal confession wrapped in fiction.

Shampoo Planet, from 1992, takes a different tone. It’s a novel about Tyler Johnson, a young, ambitious guy navigating the materialistic, consumer-driven early '90s. It’s sharper and more satirical, poking at the absurdity of corporate culture, globalization, and the obsession with branding—shampoo being a recurring symbol of superficial perfection. Yet, beneath the wit, there’s a tension between youthful optimism and the creeping cynicism of adulthood.

MEDITATIO XXII: פלפול

Meditatio XXII "Bind (Bilbul)," is the penultimate episode of Ergo Proxy, a 2006 cyberpunk anime directed by Shūkō Murase and written by Dai Sato. The title "Bilbul" comes from the Hebrew word בִּלְבּוּל, meaning "confusion" or "bewilderment. And considering the revelations and dramatic turn of the plot in this episode, is perhaps the most appropriate name for the episode.

Bilbul in the hebrew context is a method of studying the Talmud through intense textual analysis in attempts to either explain conceptual differences between various halakhic rulings or to reconcile any apparent contradictions presented from various readings of different texts.

[marupunch]

Hello! May I please know what exactly are your thoughts on the craftsman and why you hate him so much? /genq

(I do agree with you but I want to know why so much hatred if you don't mind)

Don't worry and thank you for asking! Sorry this took so long but I wanted to deliver something complete and objective (I had to write this 3 times because the first one looked like a rant...)

Even though I don't like Craftsman, it's not like a "I hate the character" kind of hate, more like "I don't think he's a good person but I'll try to reflect that on my art instead of downright hating the whole character" kind of hate. There's actually some background on why I think like this so I'll try to be as objective as possible with my arguments to make my point clear.

Remember, this is just a personal opinion and it's okay if someone doesn't agree with me!

These are video game characters and we're all allowed to have different perspectives about them.

(...)

⚠️WARNING OF LOOOONG TEXT AND SPOILERS FOR ORIGAMI KING⚠️

It's important that we understand that Origami King is a game that relies a lot on Japanese culture to tell a story and that's why there's a lot of misunderstanding in the western part of the fandom about Olly and his character, motivations, etc. We must also understand that origami is a highly respected and important art form in Japan, therefore, its creation entails different guidelines rooted in the culture of this country.

Let's start with the most basic. According to the rules of this art, you are not supposed to write over origami. To be honest, you are not supposed to use any type of tool on origami other than the paper and your hands. I'm not saying that it is completely prohibited but this reduces the value of a work. See it as a form of "cheating."

Writing over origami gives an aspect of informality to your piece. And it greatly influenced how Olly perceived himself, since he took Craftsman's writing as something that reduced his value as origami and even ruined him, as a work of art.

In Japan, a very important aspect of society is how people perceive you, the image you give to those around you. Olly was supposed to be a king, immaculate and perfect, but he was tainted by the very creator of him. His image was ruined and his appearance became a symbol of shame.

Hence his fury towards his creator, which is more highlighted in the Japanese version of the game and is not hidden behind a joke of "All Toads are the same", as in the American version.

At the end of the game it is revealed to us that the message were words of encouragement and good wishes. But again, these are only visible once Olly is on the brink of death, as they were inaccessible in his normal state. They were good intentions, but they did a lot of damage, in the end.

It makes me wonder how the Origami craftsman, being someone who practiced this art every day, did not know such a basic rule. Or maybe he ignored it, but this also leads him to be a bit indifferent, since it doesn't seem like he had the implications of creating a life in general in mind, much less ruining an origami work.

Which also brings us to his motivations. In the game, Craftsman mentions, and I quote, "I don't get to celebrate my craft very often, so I might have gone a bit... overboard."

(Note: I'm the Spanish version, he says "Because people don't compliment my work very often." Yeah, that doesn't help my view of him.)

Although the general perception leaves us with a father-son relationship, Craftsman never refers to Olly as such, since from the beginning, he had created him as a craft, a way for people to praise his abilities, never having in mind a family or considering what responsibility it had to create a new life.

I think he never fully understood the concept of what it was to bring origami to life beyond them being talking dolls, a striking party trick, because also, seeing what Olly has done, he mentions to Olivia that he should never have used the Fold Of Life.

The reason she and Olly are alive in the first place. Even Olivia herself understands the implication of this comment, responding to her creator "Don't say that, I love being alive!".

It almost seems that for Craftsman, the Fold Of Life was just a creative choice about whether or not to put more detail into his creations. But for Olly and Olivia, that technique was their entire lives, literally. The choice of whether they existed or not.

Clearly until now there is a certain objectification on the part of Craftsman towards his creations, seeing them as just this instead of real children. And although there are vain attempts like the doodle on Olly or giving Olivia a weapon to defeat her brother, we can agree that they were not the most optimal tools to try to guide two children who he was supposed to protect. Not like his creations, but like his children. But so far everything is normal.

At least until the end.

Craftsman's first reaction upon seeing Olly's body is to appreciate the material with which he had made it. Yes, perhaps a bit of nostalgia in the creation of it, but ultimately it's a bit insensitive to mention that given that there is a life that has been taken, his son's life, again, showing the aforementioned objectification.

Even worse when, even if he's watching Olivia's expression, he congratulates her for "using the weapon he implemented in his design." At this point I'm trying to be objective, but this is a completely off-base comment. Not only does he not come close to comforting Olivia in a situation that is probably difficult for her, but he is too focused on what HE did to her that he barely does anything to support her beyond teaching her how to make a paper crane.

She just killed her own brother PLEASE just for once be a little emphatic

By the time the ending arrives, Mario seems much more affected by the loss of Olivia than Craftsman himself, who seems much happier for someone who should be mourning his creations.

I think that the scene in the Secret Ending is the closure of why I hate this character, because as I mentioned before, it dehumanized Olly and Olivia a little, treating them only as creations that served a purpose (making him gain recognition) only for them to end...

...being that. The key problem was never acknowledged, Olly and Olivia ended up being exactly what he wanted them to be.

As I mentioned before, this is my PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE about him. It's okay if people don't see him this way but the idea of Craftsman being this kinda insensitive and irresponsable parent makes a lot of sense to me. It just feels correct, specially after how Olly shows symptoms of trauma, like not wanting to see Craftsman's face again being the reason why he wants to get rid of all of the Toads, as mentioned on the Japanese version.

I'm not justifying Olly at all because I know he's wrong with a lot of things but the game tells you he's wrong. He gets his punishment and the whole character of Olly revolves around being a young, irrational king. On the other hand, the image the game gives you about Craftsman is a poor victim who didn't do anything wrong.

I think the worst part is that he never got a single punishment after this. Maybe being trapped in his basement but considering he was the one who started everything in first place, he doesn't seem guilty or even affected. I guess creating two gods, then having them both die in front of you it's just another day for Theofold.

TLDR; Craftsman is an irresponsable, insensitive and negligent father who traumatized Olly. Also a poop head. (?)

[mo-nee-ta]

Nabokov’s bugs, Urasawa’s noses

Shout-out to @lily2929 for noticing that Bonaparta drew Věra with a smaller nose!

One of my favorite tricks in Lolita (and not only in Lolita) is the false clues planted in the text for the over-eager reader trying to get into Nabokov’s head.

Some of these false clues are the superficial similarities between Nabokov and Humbert Humbert:

Of course, he is a European and a man of letters as I am, but I have been very careful to separate myself from him. For instance, the good reader will notice that Humbert Humbert confuses hummingbirds with hawkmoths. Now I would never do that being an entomologist.

For someone unfamiliar with Nabokov and his works, this may seem like an odd difference to focus on; instead of distancing himself from HH’s tendencies, Nabokov decides to talk about a very obscure detail that many readers will miss.

And this is exactly the point—the obscure details are where the beauty of the story is hiding.

In reading, one should notice and fondle details. There is nothing wrong about the moonshine of generalization when it comes after the sunny trifles of the book have been lovingly collected. If one begins with a readymade generalization, one begins at the wrong end and travels away from the book before one has started to understand it.

In short: If a reader is busy hyperfocusing on generalities that superficially connect HH with his author, they will miss what truly matters, and what truly matters is the bigger picture created of tiny details.

Urasawa did something similar by giving Franz Bonaparta/Klaus Poppe his profession: a brainwashing picture book author. A significant difference is hidden in a tiny but crucial detail: how they draw noses.

Just like Nabokov would never confuse a hummingbird with a hawkmoth, Urasawa wouldn’t turn an aquiline nose into a conventionally attractive one!

Bonaparta isn’t the only character in Monster who shares some similarities with his creator; another one is Tenma: A well-educated Japanese man born on January 2nd.

It makes me wonder—and this is only my speculation since I don’t know Urasawa, I only know his work and some of his public persona—if he threw in these attention-grabbing similarities only to distance himself from his creation in less obvious details?

[br3adtoasty]

Bonnie Dollie

A living, mechanical doll with a love for all things cute! Bonnie’s spirit is ever-flowing with childlike curiosity to learn more about humans and their behaviors. Her eagerness to take care of others has also earned her the role of “big sister” for many in Toytoriya.

Info

Japanese ボニー・ドリー

Twisted from Babyface (Toy Story)

Voiceclaim None

Gender Transfem (she/her)

Sexuality Bisexual (femme leaning)

Age 19

Birthday March 9

Star Sign Pisces

Height 197 cm

Homeland ???

Family Father (Creator)

Professional Info

Dorm Toytoriya @toytoriyadorm

School Year First

Class 1D

Occupation Student, Nurse

Club Sewing Club

Best Subject Biology

Other

Dominant Hand Ambidextrous +6 more mechanical hands

Favorite Food Doesn’t need to eat, likes the texture of cakes though

Least Favorite Food Again, doesn’t need to eat

Dislikes People being scared of her, Fire

Hobby Doll-Collecting

Talents Medical Treatment

Personality

Bows? Checked. Skirts? Checked. Heart eyepatch? Checked. Curled pigtails and an easy smile? ALLLLLL checked! Bonnie’s ready to take on the world with her ultra, super duper, immensely adorable charm— Errr, well, except for the, erm, extra appendages protruding from her back. Those can’t be helped. But that doesn’t mean she can’t feel cute!

Bright and bubbly, Bonnie likes to surround herself with cute stuff in hopes she’ll come off as less scary to her peers. Whether it be decorating herself, her room, or, in some instances, her friends, which often results in her giving them a makeover.

Stuck being a doll since creation, she naturally took interest in human nature, specifically biology. She utilizes the knowledge in this area to aid in the medical field and can be frequently found in the Infirmary, helping tending to other students. Always, with a smile.

Unique Magic: N/A

Fun facts ⚙️

- Doesn’t have a voice box installed. Is mute and uses ASL! (Or whatever the equivalent of ASL they have in twst) Her friend, Kath, usually helps with being her interpreter.

- Helps with making a lot of props BTS. Prefers to watch other students and cheer for them from backstage because she scares people off.

- Gives names to every doll in her collection and treats them as if they were her real children.

- Incredibly, physically strong. Could crush a watermelon with a single fist if she wants to.

- Always smiling no matter the situation. Resting :) face if you will. Also doesn’t blink.

Playlist ⤵︎

⭐︎ Breaking Things Into Pieces - Kikuo

⭐︎ OTOMEROID - VIVINOS

⭐︎ Mechanical Angel - Sunday Driver

⭐︎ Kawaikute Gomen - HoneyWorks

⭐︎ Wanna Be Human - Kakeru Yumeoi

[bleachbleachbleach]

Helloooo love your meta posts esp wrt to language so much!! It really has elevated my appreciation for the series by A LOT lol so thank you!

I have a question regarding ch 98 that's been bugging me incessantly: in the official translatjon renji says "all i do is bark at the moon", however in fan translations (and anime) renji is seen to be referring to a star. I am unable to find the raws anywhere to ascertain the finality of this conundrum so I was wondering if you could clarify what exactly is the 'object' renji is referring to here and lend us your thoughts?

Thank you for reading! I started this reread because I knew that the potential to really revel in this kind of stuff was already there, but I am really enjoying jumping into it full-on and wondering about and learning about a lot of extremely random things as I go. I'm really enjoying it!

[Bleach 098]

The Short Version

In the Japanese, Renji says, 星に向かって吠えるばっか ― which could be translated as "I’m just barking at the stars." 

The word he uses is 星 (hoshi), star, not moon. My guess is that the Viz chose "moon" because it’s more idiomatic in English to howl at the moon, and the phrase conveys that sense of lone wolf yearning/misdirection--particularly given that he’s talking about Rukia, and Rukia already has some moon imagery associated with her.

The catch is, the concept of "howling at the moon" also exists in Japanese; for example, there’s a famous modern poet named Hagiwara Sakutarou who wrote a collection titled 月に吠える、or, well, "Howling at the Moon." (You’ll notice the same verb, but 月 (tsuki/moon) instead of 星 (hoshi/star). But that's not what Renji says. I’d argue that it’s worth considering the idea that Renji was making a choice in not using that idiom! 

The Very Long Version

Stars and Moons and Monkeys and Tigers and Snakes and Dogs and-- oh my!

Tomes have been written about celestial symbolism, in Bleach and otherwise. I’m not a big celestial symbolism person, because they’re such BIG symbols I feel like sometimes they can feel very locked in, if that makes sense? Like X = moon and moon = Y and therefore X = Y. And while I love an extended metaphor, my preference is for very unstable, borderline sloppy referents. Which isn’t to say that celestial symbolism can’t be unstable and sloppy, too, and that’s what I really like about this whole Renji section. Renji is the KING of "imagistically, there is a lot going on here, my man."

As far as folklore is concerned, reaching for the moon might call to mind the story of the monkey reaching for the moon’s reflection:

The branch the monkey’s hanging from breaks and he falls into the water. His folly lies in failing to distinguish between what is real and what is illusion.

One one hand, this is fitting for Renji, our resident howler monkey. I don’t know how much baboon we’ve actually seen at this point, but we’ll see Zabimaru’s nue form very shortly. But of course Zabimaru isn’t just a monkey—he also has the head of a snake. And we have this dog imagery, coming from both Renji’s affiliation with Inuzuri and other body parts in some versions of the nue. And later we’ll have TIGER in the mix, too!!

There’s SO much going on. If Renji were a Project Runway creation, Tim Gunn would probably invite his creator edit—maybe choose one motif, one metaphor, one guy who will scan well on the runway.

But Renji exists in excess, he IS all those things, both in terms of his chimerical zanpakutou spirit and in terms of everything we’ve seen of him thus far: tearing through Ishida and Ichigo; herding butterflies with Rikichi; stunting with Rukia in jail; delivering Rukia to prison; getting stunted on by Aizen in a supply closet; being friends with Hinamori; tearing through Ichigo a second time; and now, finally, giving it all up and begging Ichigo: Just save her.

Bone Metaphors

The reader hasn’t seen it yet, but Renji knows what form Zabimaru’s bankai takes. In addition to all those animals and their potential allegories, we also have bone. In Renji's earlier line, there’s an idiom that I wish were preserved:

In the Viz, he says, "I’ll always be a stray dog." In the Japanese, his line is 「骨の髄まで野良犬根性が染み付いてやがるんだ.」Which could be translated as "I am, indelibly, a stray dog to the marrow of my bones /contemptuously." Or, more succinctly:

"I’m a stray dog to the bone."

I love this line because it’s reaching toward Renji’s challenge to Byakuya, insinuating still more layers to Renji’s multitudes.

Different Flavors of Disgust

Still thinking about Renji’s second act in this arc, I am also interested in his subsequent line. He says 厭になるぜ (iya ni naruze), or, in the Viz, "It makes me sick." But I was curious about the kanji 厭 (iya), because it’s more commonly written 嫌 (iya), which can be used as a negative interjection, or, pronounced differently, as the same word you’d use if you hated snails, or homework, or something―嫌い (kirai). Using the kanji 厭 is a less common spelling, though the meaning is similar. So I was like, well, what is the difference? According to this article, the kanji Renji uses is a lot more common in Chinese. If 嫌 is an expression of digust or hatred, 厭 suggests that you’ve specifically gotten tired of something (and are now disgusted with it). It’s the kanji you’d use to create the word for a pessimistic worldview, 厭世観 (enseikan). That is all to say, Renji has become sick and tired of it, and he’s about to change tack.

Failing Poetry 101

Coming back around to the original line, I really like Renji’s "I’m just barking at the stars" specifically because it doesn’t really reference any existing idiom, as might howling at the moon. "Barking at the moon" is an interesting middle ground, in that "barking" definitely feels more dog-like and howling more wolf-like; barking is less majestic, which fits with Renji’s description being derogatory of himself. Renji is not a poet in his use of loaded idioms but in his negation of them. And if Rukia can be described by moon imagery, she too contains multitudes and I think it's well within her power to be the stars, too.

Kira, as Renji’s most poetic friend, probably rolls partway into his grave whenever Renji says stuff like this, because it breaks poetic form. But I think he’s probably also kind of envious that Renji thinks this stuff up, because it’s fresh, new, off-kilter imagery, it is its own kind of poetry, and let's be real, the moon imagery market is fairly saturated. *frames moon with giant rebar hole in body*

So I’d say, "howling at the moon" conjures a certain kind of poetry, steeped in all the macro-folkloric meanings of the moon and dogs/wolves. "Barking at the moon" is kind of half-half. "Barking at the stars" is not a pre-existing idiom (or poem, or expected language), and conjures a completely different referent(s), the immediate of which is, of course, the volume’s own poem. Renji is out here Renji-ing it.

[Bleach Vol. 11 poem]