#I don't even watch soccer but it is the sport I am most familiar with seeing people spectate at insane levels of every single emotion

[kacievvbbbb]

Watching Dressrosa and seeing Zoro watch Luffy's colosseum battle on the screen I was suddenly hit by the fact that in a Modern AU he'd probably be the most obnoxious kind of soccer fan.

You know the one that probably picks a new favorite team every match and is only a soccer fan when they are actively watching soccer. I can honestly just imagine him screaming at the screen and being all dramatic at the team talking about honor and shit. No actual practical knowledge of soccer though.

I just think he and Mihawk would just be the kind of people that like sport in a Modern AU they are athletes themselves but they also just like competition and adrenaline and so sports. Except Mihawk atleast attempts to possess a basic knowledge of the rules and plays of sports he watches while Zoro will watch a sport he's never heard of in his life, chooses a random dude that's "got guts" and root for them so wholeheartedly you'd think he's supported them all his life.

All this to say that goth family watches the World Cup as part of "family bonding time" and

-Mihawk is rooting for 3 separate countries, the 2 that his data says are statically most probably going to win and his home country cause he has some "patriotic pride". He watches intensely but never actually reacts to anything.

-Zoro is rooting for whichever team is playing against whatever team Mihawk is repping at the moment. He has no stakes in this longterm whatsoever exceot that he gets his fill of trolling Mihawk, sports adrenaline and on the rare occasion his team wins he gets to be a smug asshole to the man who raised him 😌. He screams at the T.V so much you'd think he had money on the line.

-Perona liked the idea of styling cute matching jerseys so much so that she forgot how much she hates watching sport. She is very bored and unhappy and hopes that somehow both of them lose. She judges the outfits (the jerseys) of different countries and their coaches on a scale that only she really understands but all must suffer through.

-Shanks is there because this is the only time Mihawk will hold his hand even though he is squeezing so hard his bones might be ground to dust. (the only indicator that Mihaw is affected at all by what is happening). He's bar hopper he's used to seeing random sports he doesn't understand played on green fields running in the background of his mild buzz to drunken fool binge. He's just glad to be included.

[shadow-princes01]

A new face in Hawkins-Part 2

A/N: Here we go, part two. And I'm afraid it's gonna have a third one, I still can't cope with the fourth season finale, so please have patience with me. I promise I'll finish it. Thank you all for liking the first part so much, I really didn't expect anyone to read it. I hope you enjoy this bit too.

Talking to Max you discovered more things about her friends, but not too much. You could see it was hard for her to share things about herself. You figured if you wanted to keep having someone to talk to during lunch you shouldn't press any further. But then she said something that caught your attention.

"A basketball game? And that's an important event?" You were a bit surprised. Nobody cared about high school sports in your country, only the parents of the players came to the games.

"Here it is, almost everyone is staying later in the evening to watch the game and cheer for the team" She said, looking into the distance.

"Are they gonna go?" You asked, pointing at the Hellfire guys with your head.

"Them? Oh no, tonight they have this big D&D thing, they're gonna be real busy. How about you, do you want to go? See what the hype is all about?"

"Oh no, I have things to do. My training starts today, and I will be too tired to do anything after that"

After saying that a thought crossed your mind. Why would Ann tell you to meet her at the parking lot after class? She was sitting with the basketball team so she most likely knew about the game. Then you realized what her intentions were. She would have droped you home and then come back so she wouldn't have to take you with her. It's not like you were dying to go, but after realizing how much she didn't want to be with you, it hurt a little. You decided you needed to clear up your mind, so after excusing yourself with Max you left the cafeteria. You started walking towards the woods behind the building. After walking for a while you found a picnic table. It seemed like a good spot to sit down and relax, after all your first day had been very eventful. You were breathing in the fresh air when suddenly you heard a branch crack behind you. You jumped out of your sit and turned around ready to fight whatever was coming your way when you saw a familiar looking pair of eyes.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down girl, I'm not gonna hurt you. Didn't mean to scare you there but you are on my spot" Said Eddie, looking at your raised fist with amusement.

"Sorry, I didn't expect to see anyone here" You said, settling down again where you were previously sitting.

"Well, I didn't expect to find anyone in my secret spot ether."

"Oh, sorry, I'll leave then" You stared to get up when he rapidly stopped you.

"You don't have to go, I just come here to get some peace, and you look like you need some, so you are welcome to stay. That is if you don't mind spending time with the freak of the school" He winced a little when he said that last part.

"Well, I don't see anything freaky about you, so I think we're good on that part. Besides, I'm not that popular here myself, and its only my first day, So who knows, I might take that tittle from you in a few days" A sad laugh escaped your lips and he looked at you in a way you couldn't really describe.

"I thought I hadn't seen you around. Well, I'm Eddie Munson, leader of the Hellfire club, guitar player and almost high school graduate. Nice to meet you milady" He bowed before you while saying that, which made you laugh a little.

"I'm y/n, I'm a transfer student from Spain, nice to meet you"

"Spain? How did you end up coming here of all places?" He asked while sitting down in front of you.

"Well, I got a sports scholarship and long story short, here I am"

"Sports? What do you do, tennis? soccer?"

"Swimming"

"Ah, a mermaid before my very eyes. How come you're not with your team mates, or the other sporty people?" He said, you could sense the dislike in his voice when referring to them. But then again it didn't surprise you, you had witnessed the cafeteria scene.

"Well, I haven't met my teammates yet, and people have been avoiding me all day, so I just thought if I was gonna be alone, at least I'd find a quiet place" You lowered your gaze, looking at your hands on your lap.

"Yeah, people here tend to be assholes. Though I don't get why they would avoid you. You are clearly pretty and judging by your t-shirt have a good music taste"

You looked at him and saw the gentle look in his eyes as he said that. You could feel he was being sincere, and that made you smile. Then suddenly he took his hands to his chest and fell backwards, as if he had been shot. You jumped out of your seat but then you saw him get up as if nothing happened. You couldn't help it, you started laughing uncontrolably.

"What was that? I almost shit myself?" You asked between laughs.

"Your smile was so beautiful it almost killed me, but I recovered." He said as if his words weren't making your heart go faster than it had ever been "Do I have leafs in my hair?" He started picking them off his hair and you just stood there looking at him.

"You are really strange Munson, but I like you" You said, and intermediately regretted it. You just met this guy and you were saying you liked him? But his next words interrupted your panicked thoughts.

"Likewise milady, you are different from the people around here"

You looked at him while he was twisting his hair between his fingers. You were going to say something else but then you realised something.

"Shit, what time is it?" You looked at your whatch, you were going to be late to your first day of training "Fuck, I have to go, I'm gonna be late. I was great meeting you Eddie, hope we see each other again bye" You took of runing towards the school.

"WAIT, I DIND'T GET YOUR... name" You didn't hear him say that. He stood there for a few minutes, looking ate the place where you had left off running with a smile on his face. His only thought was when he would see you again.

[saotome-michi]

I don't mind fans calling Yoi revolutionary since shows that hit big get called revolutionary by their fans, but it bothers me when people call it fujobait. Madoka is called a magical girl anime for males tho the author said he didn't have a target audience, it was a show for everyone. Yoi has all the usuals of a Yamamoto anime: the eros story, nudity, sexiness, pole dancing, etc. IMO, Yoi is for female figure skating fans rather than fujoshi since they focus more on skating than anything else.

Does it though anon? Personally, I don’t think it does. I’m a female figure skating fan and YOI’s coverage of skating has been disappointing. The animation budget seems to have gone to Viktor/Yuuri scenes rather than the skating scenes, meaning the competitions have been tedious to watch what with their mediocre animation making all the routines seem the same. Other sports animes like Haikyuu, Cross Game, Kuroko no Basket, Slam Dunk, Hajime no Ippon spend their budget making sure the sports scenes look good so as to engage the viewers. The only skating scenes that look nice in yoi are the viktor/yuuri stay with me in the first and last episodes and again, the reason for that seems to be more for viktor/yuuri than for skating. You can argue about budget but in that case the staff should’ve been smart about it instead of biting off more than they could chew.

(warning: long reply ahoy)

The story also suffers narratively, because although Kubo/Yamamoto have tried to fit in 4 min backstories for the other competitors, they’re not really integral to the story and don’t do anything to raise the tension of the competition. YOI never makes it quite clear why skaters get the scores they do, you’re just supposed to accept it because “technicals? Yuuri skated with more love?? So and so skated with more artistry??” But like how are we supposed to know when their routines all seem the same and we never go into the details? Most of the time the results just seem to be whatever the creators need to move the story along. As a figure skating fan I was looking forward to them explaining the technical elements (the differences between jumps, spins, step sequences, program requirements, etc) but they never really did. Were they required? No, but again it would’ve helped viewers to follow along with the competition if they had some couch figure internally commenting on the different programs (like other sports animes do).

Of course, I’m only one person with only my own opinion, and you’re entitled to your own but I just wanted to explain why I find the figure skating in this anime disappointing. In addition, certain things the staff have done, such as incorporate choreography from Virtue/Moir into the ice dance routine in ep 12 without giving credit, and Kubo’s inappropriate tweets regarding male skaters, have turned me off yoi overall. it’s possible to enjoy a piece of work on its own while acknowledging the creator’s faults, but so much of yoi fandom behavior is worshipping the creators and I’m just not about that…

Pushing that aside for now, I’d say that the anime was targeted towards fujoshis and female skating fans. Because why only aim for one? But yoi definitely derives a lot from BL works (http://saotome-michi.tumblr.com/post/155242878489/is-yoi-bl-though-like-what-is-bl-even-and-when)and women who enjoy BL works definitely make up most of the fandom so… saying YOI is for fujoshis really isn’t wrong? I can understand why ppl get bothered by “fujobait” since it’s usually used as a derogatory term but to me it’s more of a marketing thing. Like, do you think the sparkling pretty men and shiny lip gloss moments are intended for the enjoyment of gay/bi Japanese men? Hell no, it’s for the women who enjoy seeing that kind of stuff.

As for this being a Yamamoto Sayo anime, you’re right that Michiko to Hatchin and The Woman known as Mine Fujiko both featured sexual elements, nudity, etc. and tbh I’ll have to do some more analyzing to get to the heart of why YOI’s sexual elements bother me and those two show’s don’t. But I think it has to do with the sexual/seductive elements in MtoH and Fujiko not coming across as fanservice. Because those elements fit their setting - Michiko to Hatchin takes place in the seedy parts of a fictional country based on brazil. Mine Fujiko hops around the world as a criminal who uses her attractiveness to achieve her goals. Their sexual elements had a purpose in establishing setting or character, and weren’t heavily focused on in a way that made it clear they were for the audience’s enjoyment. On the other hand, the sexual elements in YOI aren’t necessary and are clearly intended to stir the target audience up.

Also if we’re going to talk about Yamamoto then we also have to talk about Kubo. Most ppl only know about her manga Moteki, but she drew several doujinshi in the late 90s involving RL Japanese soccer players (http://www.mandarake.co.jp/information/2009/01/23/21sby05/index.html). There’s nothing wrong about that in itself, but it suggests Kubo is familiar with the BL audience and knows what she’s doing when she writes Viktor/Yuuri enacting traditionally romantic gestures.

Finally it’s funny that you mention Madoka. I don’t know if you’re aware of this anon, but this is something that happened maybe two years ago. The blog fandomsandfeminism posted a presentation they’d made called “Anime and Feminism 101”, which went into what was feminist and not in anime. Because of course a non-Japanese person unfamiliar with Japanese culture thought that they could be an authority on this. Tumblr user hisanakagami, a Japanese trans woman, commented on this post and basically tore it apart. You can read her arguments here (http://cancerously.tumblr.com/post/77750279190/hisanakagami-hisanakagami). hisanakagami later got so much hate for her comments that she ended up leaving tumblr. (A downright shame and an example of how western fandom trying to use anime in their ideas of social justice can turn out fucked up).

One of the things hisanakagami stated was how the magical girl trope was a major contributing factor to the popularization of moe. She touches a bit on how Madoka can hardly be considered a “feminist” series when you look at the historical context and it’s position within the market.

I understand anon that you are not calling Madoka feminist. I am not trying to put words into your mouth. What I’m trying to get at is that your disagreement on Madoka being an anime for males disregards the things hisanakagami talks about and it’s a similar situation with your stance on yoi. Can Madoka and YOI appeal to wider audiences? Yes, but the cultural history behind their tropes/etc and the markets they tap into, are what make this whole “___ is progressive” argument over-simplistic and frankly baffling.

One last note before I sign off on this ridiculously long reply - all popular shows might get called revolutionary, but yoi is probably the one where we get bashed on the head with that word over and over again. Just try googling “yuri on ice revolutionary”.