#I know that DBZ is the poster boy for this but

[maguro13-2]

Cloverworks' Newest Delinquent Show

[Sadness by Fumie Kumatani plays]

Cloverworks : *sobs* Oh what have I done? I tried everything to live up for this. I have messed up the Promised Neverland show and I'm a total nut job. Except for DITFXX that purposely failed to live up to it's reputation, but why did I even think about making a Gecko Endings, they're not the same as Gainax endings. Oh wait, they always do that to Gainax, but what's the deal with having a new show that less greater than something? While collaborating with Wit Studio was no concern of mine, I wonder what new show that I am currently adapting?

*DING!*

Cloverworks : Oh I know, I'll make a hottest and newest show to the addtion by adapting a shounen manga from Kodansha and this is gonna be perfect for the greater good. Get the animators ready, I think we just got ourselves a new show to be unveiled. It's got to be better than Darling in the Franxx. I think we got something our minds.

"meanwhile later..."

Takemichi : Now that I finally got married to the girl of my dreams, I sure hope that the other studio behind the Spy X Family show is definitely the one that is making a new show. So I'm glad that I finally getting to see this new show from Kodansha since the first two nights at studio linden. Hmm? I wonder what Dress Up Darling Studio is up to now.

Mikey : Uhh, Takemichi. You might wanna look at this. I believe they unveiled a poster showing Cloverworks's new show.

Takemichi : That's cool and all, I hope it's not Dress Up Darling or anything.

Mikey : Nope. They just made a delinquent anime that is adaptation to another delinquent manga.

Takemichi : Wait what? (they turn and see the poster)

(ADVERTISEMENT : INTRODUCING CLOVERWORKS'S NEWEST AND HOTTEST SHOW WIND BREAKER)

Takemichi : OH HECK NO!

Mikey : Well, you definitely say that were officially out of the question. After all we are delinquents, you know. The studio behind Spy X Family show did made another delinquent anime show that is based another delinquent manga.

Takemichi : I see your point tho. It's a great set up that the studio behind Bunny Girl and Spy X Family made a new show about delinquent brawler. That's something interesting. By the way he's literally strong, dude! I mean come on, what does being strong have to do with that in order?

*WHISTLING*

Yor Forger : (yelling while falling)

*DBZ SFX : CRASH*

Takemichi : Oh my God! Are you okay? What happened?

Yor Forger : Does this look like that I am okay?

Mikey : What did you even do to yourself.

Yor Forger : I tried to go arm wrestling on these fellas, but...they threw me off into the air and beaten me in 10 seconds. I gotta hand it to ya, this is not what I desperately think about having an arm wrestle with those boy who were gave me an ass whooping. I mean, I met this Hakura Sakura person, and I discovered that he was into brawls and cool parkours. I mean, dude! He's like another me, that is a delinquent version of me what do you think about that?

Mikey : I mean you look great going in parkour. Parkour likes you.

Takemichi : Even though, we may know not about Cloverworks' new show, it's a great set up the studio behind your show and the Bunny Girl had amazing detail that this was going to be a cool new show.

Yor Forger : why thanks. I always did of being a professional assassin. But despite being an action girl and loving housewife, I declare that this would be all too cool for me. Anyway, could anyone take me to the hospital? I think I'm in constant pain.

Takemichi : Yeah, I think you might wanna deal with someone else in the picture.

Mikey : Let's just get her to the hospital.

Yor Forger : Hope this would be good to make a coverage on my insurance.

[Iris out]

"WIND BREAKER THE SERIES!"

"ANIMATED BY THE CREATORS OF SPY X FAMILY AND BOCCHI THE ROCK!"

"NOW STREAMING ON ANY DEVICES"

"ONLY ON CRUNCHYROLL!"

[writing-in-mermish]

The Romances of Journey to the West

I have not read Journey to the West.

I know the basics of the story and from what I am aware it isn’t really romantic. At all. Sure it’s got some side plots where romance might be an element, but not in the main plot.

So why are there so many stories based off of it that one of the main focuses is Romance???

I do not know the answer to that question, and wont be trying to answer it (sorry????). Instead, I’m going to talk about the media I’ve consumed based of off Journey to the West and their romances. Enjoy!

I thought it might be fun to do them all in order of when I consumed them (especially because I plan to add to this when I realize something new is also a JttW remix), but I don’t actually remember what order I started them in so we’re just going with obviousness. Starting with the most “Well, yeah.” and ending with the most “wait what?”.

first...

The New Legends of Monkey

I actually never finished this one (how many times can I say that in this post, ha ha ha....), and it’s probably the one I’m least likely to finish (but I’ve got a compilationist in me so we’ll see).

It’s basically a straight forward retelling from what I watched, the main difference that I could see being Tripitaka’s characterization and gender. They made him a girl which felt like an excuse to add a romance between the monk and the Monkey King, though it only ever hinted at things as far as I got, so maybe it never happened (the tags on this gif suggest otherwise though). Tell me in the comments if you watched it I guess.

The acting wasn’t great and I dropped it pretty soon in, so I don’t have much else to say. They also made Sandy a girl, so maybe they were just trying to make it more diverse or something. IDK.

The Epic crush of Genie Lo

This book was freaking amazing and I totally recommend it (and the sequel, it’s a dualogy so both books are out, no need to wait!). It’s the only one I’ve finished at the time of making this post.

It’s kinda the outlier because instead of a romance between Tripitaka and the Monkey King it’s a romance between the Monkey King and Genie Lo (who I won’t explain her character because of spoilers). It’s super fun and interesting.

It’s set in modern day after all the events of JttW took place, which also makes it different from all the rest, and definitely not a retelling. It uses all the same characters instead of just the character dynamics and plot.

They could have nixed the romance because it’s not the main thing but it’s really enjoyable so I ain’t mad (but it’s kinda more important in book 2). Also a different take than all the others so, props to the Author.

A Korean Odyssey

This is the only K-Drama in the mix and I had to watch a few episodes to realize what it was. I’m nearly done with this one (started it in October and was zooming through but have slowed down due to NaNo). Another one I’d recommend (in fact, all the rest of them I probably recommend, tNLoM is the outlier here).

Out of the ones that are more obvious and use the same names, this one is the most different since it’s Korean instead of Chinese. Instead of Tripitaka they just use Samjang, and they use the Monkey’s title, The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, a lot more.

This one is also modern, but with the lore that they’ve dropped, is not set after the JttW but is the JttW, without all the traveling though. Also, instead of moving scrolls from point A to point B for The Merciful Goddess Guanyin (who hasn’t seemed to show up at all), they’ve been shoved together by The Devil King (who wasn’t as big of a player in JttW from what I know, but is one of the main characters in this). It’s very funny and emotional, like most K-dramas I’ve watched.

the romance is integral to the plot because instead of being trapped with a circlet that gives him headaches, The Monkey has a bracelet that makes him fall for Samjang and hurts his heart when she’s in danger. This causes much shenanigans which range from annoying to funny to heartbreaking. Good stuff.

Inuyasha

Into the Shojo! You may have heard that this one is Journey to the West-esque (If you run in those kinds of circles) and it’s definitely the most obvious of the ones I’ve encountered. I’ve only watched the anime (still working on it), so if the manga’s different, I didn’t know.

It’s got the five man band, the non magical Trip. character who sets free the Monkey character and the circlet analogue (aka “sit boy!”). Also, we’ve got an actual journey and a magical item that they need to protect and get to a specific place.

It’s both modern and set in the past (portal fantasy!) which is fun. Especially since her family gets to know, and she goes back for school every once in a while.

The romances in this are also semi integral to the plot (it’s shojo, what did you expect), and it’s quite enjoyable. It’s got comedy, action, drama, and cute romance. (Also, it’s randomly getting a squeal after a decade I think.)

Kamisama Kiss

I didn’t realize that this was JttW until after starting the manga, which I picked up after I finished the anime because it ended on a cliff hanger (I have some thoughts about that phenomenon too, but that’s for different and much shorter post). I really liked the anime and am making my sibling read the manga with me now. (they just corrected me and said I offered and they said yes, but saying I made them is funnier so whatever.)

Instead of being a cool monk or having the reincarnated soul of someone special, our Trip. for this one is just a nice girl, down on her luck who is given the divinity of a deadbeat kami who she saved from a tree. And instead of a magical item to bond her with the Monkey character (who is a fox spirit) they are sealed with just a kiss. (Hence the title)

The romance is semi integral, but oddly enough, I’d say less than in Inuyasha. Sure it weighs on their minds a lot, but the main plot is about Nanami trying to be a good kami and take care of her shrine, not her perspective love interests.

Fun show (and manga). Very goofy, cool world building, compelling characters, and good drama when it showed up.

and finally...

Yona of the Dawn

this one might be more believable than the last one, but I realized it later and feel it’s got slightly less similarities with the original source material. Another one that I watched all the anime and now have started reading the manga with my sibling due to the cliff hanger. (I’ve noticed more differences between anime and manga in YotD than KSK, not important, but interesting to me).

The monk is a princess in this one, and her and five man band are mostly reincarnations of dragons, which is why they join her party, to protect her like their counterparts did. They’re all compelled by ancient blood. Strangely, the character I’d ascribe to Monkey king is not a dragon and is only compelled by loyalty (and love).

It’s got the epicness, historical-ish setting, and the journey, but instead of getting a MacGuffin to it’s destination, they’re escaping death and trying to restore a kingdom.

Romance is very complicated in this one. Very compelling and I’d say on the more integral side. Affection and it’s many forms are explored along the journey. There are many dynamics and they all have their own complications. It’s good.

(also, I hope to cosplay Yona some day)

So... yeah. That’s it. If you got all the way through this, thanks.

[chil2de]

hihi this is for my 🥰 anonie you may scroll if u are not them :) or read idk it’s up to you haha

whenever i try responding to your ask tumblr just crashes and decides to not exist, so here’s this instead!! i pulled up google docs and read ur ask line by line and responded that way <3

pls stop ur making me blush HSBFFHBSD

i don’t mind either way baby! if you wanna spam my inbox or if you wanna chat in dms, that’s completely up to you (: i’m totally okay with either i promise, so don’t worry ab it. oh, and! i have a tiktok, though i religiously detest tiktok and absolutely purely hate it and wish for it to burn to the ground, the jjk fandom is extremey funny on there. and the cosplays— AHEM. idk if you’d prefer to talk to me on there so that way your url on tumblr is still unknown to me? even if you want it anyway, just gimme a shout and say its you or sumn. if you don’t have it thats okay <3 but incase you want it, it’s @y_uutaswife and i have the same pfp :)

LMFAO PLEASE this is such a summary of me i hate it- it’s so accurate too? i don’t wanna go up to them… want them to go up to me, but i also don’t because, well, then what…? what do i say LMFAO

and i know right? so sad he didn’t get mentioned more / had more animated scenes. i won’t lie i flew to yuuta like a moth, ever since we got those crumbs of him in the anime i sat there respectfully waiting.. seriously, i’m unsure why but i’ve never felt so invested and compelled by a character in such little time. and even now when i rewatched jujutsu kaisen last week to polish up some of my characters, i sat there like an absolute bumbling idiot just replaying his scenes :( he just looks so cute and soft but i can’t wait for his actual design bc that was him before.

i tried making a schedule once but it just didn’t work so i’m glad i broke out of it. but plssss <3 thank you🥺 no honestly this brought me so much relief and pure serotonin. i think i’ve reread your ask ab 5 times already because you’re genuinely such an angel and it makes my heart wanna explode out of my chest <333 we need more people like you i wish everyone was so mindful and kind hearted like you dear anonie

BUT BESTIE WHEN YOU SAID TEENAGE KEVIN FROM BEN 10- STOP. LMFAO i am so so sorry i could not stop the ugly cackle that ripped out from me, the neighbours must think there’s a witch residing next door

i won’t lie i couldn’t stand watching ben 10 whenever it came up on cartoon network orsmth i just switched the channel and said no maams, not today

i love how times were so simpler as you said it was just you know wholesome fluff wanting to hold hands, etc- but now when we got men like yuuta? toji? OOF

i’ve been watching anime for a little over 3 years now so i’d love to give you some recommendations whenever you do have the time but we once again stan the same characters😭 literally down to a t BAHAHA

flaming hot piping ball of angry ginger aka chuuya nakihara is hands down one of the best characters in bsd <3 i like dazai, i guess, but he’s got the same type of personality as gojo and i think i would honestly get fed up being as an intj, it’s just a no from me

todoroki is one of my all time favs <33 he’s the second anime crush i had, first being levi (of course, i mean. why wouldn't he be?)

before tumblr and gintama i actually wrote a whole fic on ao3 for todoroki, which i think was my first public piece anyway? it’s kind of funny how the reason i got into writing was purely because i got fed up of sifting through ao3 and i went “alright. if no one’s gonna do it, i will.”

ALSO MAAMS YOU’RE FROM ENGLAND TOO???? i know this may not be extremely obvious because i tend to keep my works neutral (i tend to write in the standardised american way save for the main words like, ‘favourite’ ‘colour’ etc because i don’t want people reading things in a british accent… even though mine isn’t very noticeable, it’s just very standard, not chavvy or essex etc, it’s honestly a pet peeve. thats why i use pants, mom, grocery store) and we have freaking nothing, as you already know!! there’s a hmv near me and i was SO excited to see their anime collection just to see it was chock full of mainstreams like one piece, naruto, dbz 😐

but i managed to snatch an aot poster for £3!! and it’s really big too! it’s bigger than a1 so it’s a chunky boy

i don’t plan on wearing the merch outside because i’m just self conscious like that, i don’t hate human interaction and i’m not socially inept but i’d rather not answer mundane questions from people who don’t watch anime… also my waterstones is always sold out 😭 they almost never have any good manga and whenever they do it’s in the middle of the series, like book 7 or something..

yeah they totally have a statue of him! they’re doing a jjk exhibit in general. and at the train station they have cutouts of the characters, they might be to size too? ‘m not sure about the height or anything but i do know that they’re there. there’s also a haikyuu store that shows the players hand prints and you can put your hands flat against the displays to see the difference 🥺🥺🥺

going to japan in general is such a bucket list for me, there’s so much i wanna try but i’d love to go when the cherry blossoms are in season!

let’s call it even and we both buy each other merch then we can take some really cool photos :):) i’ve seriously been checking their website every day to snatch a few prints so i hope that you can grab ahold of some as well! u want the window seat on the airplane when we go shibuya?

love you!!! take care of yourself :))

[themadmanandhisbox]

Top ten fave characters

I was tagged by @namesonboats, thank you!

Rules: List your favorite character from 10 different fandoms then tag ten people.

Oof this will be tough. Most fandoms I have multiple favorite characters but I’ll give this a shot.

Star Wars: This is an incredibly tough one. If you’ve played Jedi Fallen Order you know how amazing Cal Kestis & Nightsister Merrin and they quickly became one of my favorite ships. But if I had to choose only one character from the universe it would be Din Djarin/The Mandalorian. His character is just so badass and awesome and goes on forever. Watching his character development over the 16 episodes as he becomes a father to Grogu. I could be here for a month with all the reasons Din is amazing so I’ll just leave it short here.

Naruto: This is another tough one but Minato Namikaze has always been my favorite character. Dude was such a gentle badass. In the Ninja World where leaving your friends to die instead of saving them to complete the mission was what you were suppose to do, and The White Fang was dishonored after choosing his comrades over the mission, Minato was so badass during the Third Great Ninja War that all the other nations had flee on sight orders if you saw him. He killed a thousand ninja in the blink of an eye and then was back home in an apron cleaning dishes for Kushina. Absolute badass. Getting to see him with Naruto during the 4th Great Ninja War was so great.

ATLA: Ugh so tough. It really comes down to Sokka and Azula for me which isn’t surprising since Sokkla is my OTP. But I think if I had to choose just one it’d be Sokka. So much of who he is as a goofy, smart, kind hearted, intelligent dumbass, is who I’ve been/tried to be in my life. I relate to both Sokka and Azula which is why I love them both so much and this answer could vary from day to day tbh.

Mass Effect: Liara T’soni. Such a badass awesome character. Every playthrough I tell myself I’m finally going to romance Tali and yet I end up romancing Liara again >.>

Star Trek: Captain Sisko. Sisko was just such a badass powerful character. Picard was the federation poster boy. He was the one Starfleet held up and said “look! Look how well he represents our utopian ideals!!!” which is great and all. But Sisko. Sisko was the man who had to make the hard calls, who had to get his hands dirty and do things that don’t fall into that morally perfect little garden the Federation liked to believe itself to be. He had to make harsh calls, do hard things, to protect utopia. In The Pale Moonlight will forever remain one of the best episodes of Trek and nothing will ever be able to change that.

So… I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover up the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But most damning of all… I think I can live with it… And if I had to do it all over again… I would. Garak was right about one thing – a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant. So I will learn to live with it…Because I can live with it…I can live with it.

 Sisko was a good man making hard choice in a brutal war the likes of which the Federation had never imagined. He had to make the hard calls to protect not only the Federation but the Alpha Quadrant as a whole. As soon as the Dominion had pacified the Federation and Klingons, they would have turned on the Romulans for sure.

Stargate: This is a tough one. Growing up I always admired Samantha Carter. Smart, clever, charming, badass, every bit a warrior as the men. It was inspiring to see a well written female character who was one of the smartest people on Earth, who was compassionate yet firm in her believes, capable of defending herself and her team mates. The Stargate franchise spawned so many great characters but I think if I had to choose one it’d be John Sheppard. A lot of considered him an O’neill lite, and he definitely had a little bit of O’neill to him, but he was different enough and his own character that I really enjoyed watching over the 5 years of Atlantis. His willingness to put his own health and safety aside to rescue his friends and team mates(See S5E01 “Search & Rescue” where despite the fact he’s got internal bleeding and probably a whole litany of other problems, he goes on the rescue mission for Teyla, disobeying a direct order from Sam while also telling her he had more respect for her than any other CO he’d ever served under). It’s that sort of selflessness coupled with his humor, charm, wit, and his ability to come up with clever ideas that leave Rodney frustrated he didn’t think of that, that makes Col. Sheppard my favorite.

SPOP: Catra. Thank you for coming to my TED talk xD

Battlestar Galactica: Lee “Apollo” Adama. This is another tough one like most of my choices, as RDM’s nuBSG had so many amazingly developed, flawed, characters that made them seem like actual, real human beings. But Apollo was my favorite I think. Smart, skilled, compassionate. Strong moral compass... for the most part(we’ll gloss over his affair with Starbuck while married to Dee). I will never not feel bad for him. I think part of him truly did love Dee, just not as much as he loved Kara, and as soon as it looked like he was rekindling the spark with Dee she killed herself. And then they finally find Earth the Second, and it looks like he’s finally going to get to settle down with Kara like he’s always wanted, poof, she’s an Angel and has completed her purpose. Bill is off burying Laura, and he’ll probably never see his dad again. Dude went through so much character growth, so much pain and hurt and ended up alone.

Dragonball: I grew up watching DBZ so it’s always had a soft spot in my heart. And my favorite character has always been a tie between Future Trunks & Vegeta. But I think I’m going to give it to Future Trunks. He was such a badass. His entry was sooooo badass, the way he dismantled Frezia and his father with his sword. When he got back to the future after the Cell Games he wasted no time killing 17 & 18 and then Cell. He was a take no bullshit, don’t fuck around like Vegeta, Goku, and SSJ2 Kid Gohan(All I can think of anymore is Dragonball Z Abridged where Gohan gets so mad at himself for letting his Vegeta show xD) Not to mention kid me for whatever reason was super enamored with his seatbelt buckle style belts he used. Idk why but like 10 year old me thought that was the coolest shit ever.

Teen Titans(the good one not GO): Raven. I always loved Raven and she’s been my favorite TT since I watched the OG show. Her character development throughout the show was amazing. Going from thinking she was too dangerous/weird to love to having friends and a family. Will always be my favorite and it’s not even a contest.

I’m not going to tag anyone in this because but if you see this and want to play, feel free to tag me as having tagged you! Thanks so much again for tagging me!

[risottostitties]

Hi! First time here to ask haha! Any HCs for La squadra with an Otaku s/o? Like she watches anime and even buys merch in secret cuz she's scared they might find her hobby lame and immature? (Also,what will be their fave anime? And genre?)

Oh boy let me tell you I have some THOUGHTS about these boys and their taste in anime

La Squadra with an Otaku s/o

Risotto 

at first he’s gonna be kinda confused, not gonna lie. Growing up the only ‘anime’ he knew was like, Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z but at that point he was too old to really get into Pokemon, and he never considered DBZ anime because it aired next to cartoons and stuff.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t appreciate s/o and their good taste. He’s the kind of guy who wants to learn about what interests the people he loves, and he loves you. So he’d honestly enjoy late nights spent binge watching your favorites.

Comes to realize that DBZ was low key his gym goals for the early years of him working out. If you bought him a ‘Swole like Goku’ tank he’d probably wear it to lift in, ngl.

Knowing your favorites he’d probably look to merch for his go to birthday or Christmas gifts. Considering the hobbies and interests of some of his co-workers, a scantily clad waifu figure is honestly a welcome change of pace.

Depending on the style or aesthetic of the anime (ie, is it goth) he would be down to couples cosplay, although he wouldn’t be comfortable with you posting pictures of his face or any identifiable features of him online

His fave is probably the original Dragon Ball Run, followed very closely by DBZ for the nostalgia bit. Something deep like Full Metal Alchemist (Brotherhood and the original) would also appeal to him

Is also a big fan of Beserk, disappointed by the anime. And Vinland Saga, not disappointed by the anime.

Partial to Princess Mononoke as well. He likes some Ghibli films, isn’t afraid to admit it. Thinks the score for Spirited Away is bomb af.

Prosciutto

Prosciutto doesn’t really get it at first either. Honestly? He probably didn’t know the difference between cartoon and anime until you explained it to him.

Unlike Risotto he might be a bit more judgey if you try to get him to watch some with you. So you gotta hit him with the real classics. 

But similarly to Risotto, he at least makes an effort to try and indulge in the things you like. He might not be as patient, but he tries.

Probably wouldn’t do cosplay himself, but would hunt down exclusive seasonal merch to gift you. He’d take careful stock of your collections and do some research to pick out only the finest figurines and posters for you.

Would buy that hella expensive premium bandai apparel for you too, might even pick something subtle up for himself if he really liked the show it came from.

Also back on the cosplay note, if you agreed he’d find the highest quality cosplay possible and have you model some of his favorites for him.

(In particular if you were comfortable in fem clothing, Faye Valentine gets him going)

He loves Cowboy Beebop. 100%, wants to watch it again as soon as it ends. Everything from the characters to the story to the music and the fliud animation that has aged like fine wine appeals to him. Prosciutto is a man who likes the finer things in life. He oozes class. Cowboy Beebop oozes class and prestige.

Also likes Maasaki Yuasa. It was his idea to go see The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl in theaters.

In general his tastes tend to lean towards arthouse type anime or bona fide classics.

Pesci

Pesci knows anime and has been doing his absolute best to keep it a secret from the rest of the gang because they already tease him enough.

He’s one of those secret weebs, you gotta know where to look. Your best bet is to look at his accessories. Is there a watch with a certain symbol from an anime you recognize? A lanyard with a familiar print? Something subtle that isn’t immediately noticed by people not looking for it.

He has a secret box in his room full of blue rays from his faves. He watches them sometimes when he’s home alone. There’s nothing X rated in there obviously, he just doesn’t want people to know.

Thank god he has you.

The two of you probably bonded pretty fast over your mutual love of anime. Hell, you being such an open and proud Otaku probably gave him a bit of confidence in expressing his interests too.

Yall are the weeb couple. Yall definitely go to conventions together. Couples Cosplays, the whole thing.

He’s a sucker for Shonen just as much as he is for the really good heart wrenching painful ones. 

He watches Boruto because he loves Naruto so much.

He would also tear up at Clannad.

Dango Daikazoku triggers almost a pavlovian response of heart ache.

So does Secret Base.

Ano Hana is probably his favorite, although even you’d need to pry it out of him. Its one thing that Prosciutto gives him shit for liking anime, its a whole different ball game if he found out Pesci liked girly anime

Fromaggio

He knows what hentai is. That’s about as far as his knowledge went before yall got together.

He thinks its pretty interesting though, so he’d be down to watch some with you.

Turns out he really likes action shonen. He got really, really into One Piece. Like, instantly. He likes the fact there’s so much to watch/read before he’s caught up too.

Another boy that would couples cosplay and be really into it. Especially if it continued into the bedroom.

He’s pretty go with the flow, so he isn’t picky about what y’all watch. Even if it isn’t his cup of tea he’ll sit through a few episodes on a night with you.

Fromaggio can’t tell the difference between a high quality figure and a shitty one. Its a crap shoot what he buys for you. Its more a process of ‘oh, so likes this character’ rather than checking the seams and paint quality and how dynamic the pose is/interchangeable parts. 

Definitely buys way too much in the dealers room because of this.

He tries his best.

His fave is probably One Piece, liked bleach a lot but never read the manga, Yu Yu Hakusho is another one he really enjoyed. The Dark Tournament arc had him at the edge of his seat and hype as shit.

Illuso

Had a passing knowledge of anime before dating you. Knew what it was, saw a few of the mainstream ones, thought they were enjoyable, moved on with his life.

Your dedicated interest in anime would surprise him at first, because he always figured it was kind of a niche thing.

Would snoop around your collection of manga/figures/plushes in the mirror world while you sleep.

Winds up reading a lot of your manga like that (he’s good at reading in reverse because of his stand)

He finds he appreciates the art style of 80s-90s manga a lot more than he does the modern stuff. He really got into Ranma 1/2 and thinks Rumiko Takahashi’s artstyle is excellent.

If you asked him to watch Inuyasha with you he wouldn’t say no.

Probably wouldn’t want to do couples cosplay, but he definitely has an appreciation for you in cosplay.

You could talk him into going to a con if you caught him in the right mood. It’d be a hard sell though.

Has a surprising enjoyment for J-Rock. 

Inuyasha is high on his favorites list, as is Ranma 1/2. Also a fan of Ghibli movies although its pulling teeth to get him to admit it.

Melone

This man has watched so much hentai in his life.

He probably actually knows them by title honestly.

He enjoys anime too, and is not ashamed unlike Pesci. Everyone already knows he has unconventional tastes there is nothing to hide here.

Melone enjoys traditionally feminine anime, especially Sailor Moon. That one has a special place in his heart as he has memories of his sister watching it with him when he was much younger.

Its more of a decompress thing than anything else, so he doesn't tend to favor heavy anime with dense plot and more mature subject matter.

He likes Maid Costumes. On you, on him, it doesn’t matter.

Doesn’t know a whole lot about merch and what makes something higher quality but he learns fast. Between you and him the Dealers Room at cons won’t know what hit them.

Is the type to preorder a figure he knows you’d like. And maybe one for him.

Buy him this and he’s putty in your hands for a month straight (SFW don’t worry) https://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Sailor-Moonlight-Memory-Locket/dp/B00UA9XB48

Sailor Moon is his favorite as I’ve said before, his favorite sailor scout is Rei. Is also a fan of Ano Hana, Violet Evergarden, and Toradora although he needs to be in the right mood to watch them.

Ghiaccio

He went down the Fate rabbit hole and we haven’t seen him since.

The gender bending grates as his soul but he is addicted regardless. There’s just so much dense lore that he can’t seem to stop going.

But also seeing how much care and attention is paid to the historical background of a lot of the servants is intriguing to him. Its the perfect blend of accurate and harem trash that infuriates him but also leaves him needing to know more.

He hasn’t played every game but he has Grand Order on his phone and has sunk an ungodly amount of money into the gacha trying to get his favorite (Its Jeanne Alter, in case anyone was wondering) and has seen all the anime (His favorite is the cooking spin off because its surprisingly calming to watch)

Fate Zero is probably his favorite ‘serious’ Fate adaptation. He enjoys the gravitas of the Holy Grail Wars (and hates how it was tossed out the fucking window in UBW/Stay Night/Heavens Feel) and the ritual aspect to the summoning and foreshadowing of future events as well as hints at a deeper magical lore in the universe hit all the right spots in his lizard brain.

The fact every fate anime has a different version of Saber (or a Saber Clone) pisses him off too.

He really loves Fate. And will scream about it for hours at you.

Getting him to watch or talk about anything else is like pulling teeth but he eventually relents because he loves you.

Its difficult to get through a single episode without him grumbling about something or another, but he tries once he sees its important to you. He does his best not to outright insult your favorite anime.

Can appreciate high quality merch as well, probably collects Jalter Figures himself.

If you’re comfortable in fem clothing, Cosplay Jalter for him and he will literally ascend then and there. Keeps pics on his phone. Would probably make it his background. He’s weak

Outside of Fate he finds he enjoys high fantasy shows. Historical fantasy pisses him off too much, and straight up historical drama would also have him grasping for inaccuracies.

Full Metal Alchemist is a non-fate series that he really loves because of the world building. The movie Maquia was one he enjoyed as well. Likes every Miyazaki film, don’t tell anyone. Cried (and raged) when Ushio died in Clannad.

In general he just likes really good world building. It has to be good otherwise he’s going to spend the whole time picking it apart.

[still-heta-trash]

What Hetalia Means to Me

Howdy folks, Lady here.

Hetalia was the first fandom I was actively in and the fifth or sixth anime I'd ever watched and from the very first episode I knew it would consume my life for a very long time.

Suddenly, it was my everything.

My room at the time had several posters and scrolls adorning the walls but I had two very large ones that combined would've taken up a whole one: The Great Wave of Kanagawa and that god damned Paint it, White! poster I bought at my first Comic Con for a criminal price, but to me it had been completely worth every cent. I did so many things to earn good girl points to get my parents to take me to Hot Topic to buy more Hetalia shirts than I really needed (and most of those I still have!) I had a Hetalia wallet (it's pretty busted now and I'm saddened to say they stopped making them) and had even worked on my own casual cosplays. Needless to say, I was very heavily invested.

While it most certainly made an impact on my wallet, Hetalia affected my life in many other ways as well. Drawing fanart and even creating my own Nyo! America AU ask blog (if I remember correctly she was a fallen angel, and although my art was absolute crap at the time she'd gotten pretty popular) led me to discover art, which was something I had zero interest prior to and is now a big part of my life. Writing self insert Hetalia fics pushed me to get better and better at writing and has led me to realize my passion and dream to become a publisher author. It gave me drive when I had none.

But the biggest way Hetalia impacted me was definitely socially.

I had a really, really, really difficult time maintaining let alone gaining friends. Still do, to be honest, but I made so many friends throughout the years because of Hetalia.

The people I want to talk about most are Ton and Tay.

I was a new student at a school in a different area than what I was used to and living with my mom and her new boyfriend and his son (neither of which I really got along with) and was really nervous. I had given up all of the few friends I had had for years at my old school and was so scared that I would be alone for the rest of the school year.

Then Ton, who was basically class representative, took me on a tour of the school.

"Hey, um, I don't know if you knew this, but that's a Soul Eater necklace you're wearing. Would you by chance be an anime fan?"

You bet your ass my face widened in to the biggest grin.

I had confirmed that I was then brought up my all time favorite at the time, which, I really don't think you need me to say again.

And like that we were best friends.

I went over to her house all the time after school and even dated her older sister for a bit (my first lady friend btw, who was also a Hetalia freak) and most of our conversations were centered around the show. Of course, that wasn't all we had in common, but it was a big one.

Skip ahead maybe a month or two in and Bam there's another transfer student. A boy this time. With pale blond hair, soft blue eyes, dark blue rectangular glasses, great with computers, kinda serious but laid back at the same time- yeah we thought he was just really in to Estonia and was playing the part but the closest thing this kid had ever experienced with anime was seeing a DBZ poster in his cousin's room and maaaaybe an episode or two of Pokémon. This dude even had the haircut down and for a while I was convinced he was a mega fan and was just screwing with us, but nope. Was just a really weird coincidence.

And of course, we never left the poor guy alone and only ever referred to Tay by his actual name when in reference to him to other people. Surprisingly he was cool with being called Estonia all the god damned time, especially after we showed him a couple clips of him. As far as I know he never got in to Hetalia, but he thought it was kinda funny how close in nature and appearance they were so he let it slide.

Of course, that didn't mean we didn't annoy the crap out of him in general, but every single time he'd attempted to hang out with another boy in our grade and/or below, he just came back to us after a bit. I think he secretly found us rather endearing but was way too embarrassed to admit it (he was a tad bit "tsundere-ish", as Ton had put it) I mean, as much as he complained about Ton and I, he always made sure to stick around and defend us if someone said anything. Not gonna lie, I had a tiny crush on him. Looking back he most likely had one on me too but at the time I thought he just didn't like me as much as Ton.

So he was our Estonia and Ton and I had decided that I was Lithuania (since I had always worn my hair in a long side braid and looked relatively similar to his Nyo counter part) and she was Latvia because she was ridiculously short and sweet and also because he was the only one left. Unlike poor Tay, we were still Ton and Lady, but we made lot of weird fanfics with the concept.

For the rest of the year this would be my gang. We did pretty much everything together and we'd all helped each other grow academically. We loved each other more than any other non family member any of us had ever known at the time.

Unfortunately after the school year endee we all split up and never heard from each other again.

My mom dumped her boyfriend and I went back to my old school district. Ton lost the password to her Paigeeworld and Wattpad (both of which I was forced to delete because of a rather unpleasant grounding) so after a week or so in to summer. Last time we would ever talk was the second week of school via my mother's phone. As for Estonia...

Ton and I honestly had no clue what happened to him. He was supposed to attend the same school as her, but he just disappeared without a trace. Ton had his address but he wasn't there. He was just... Gone. No note. No final goodbye. Just... nothing. And like that, nearly a year of friendship had vanished with him.

It still saddens me to this day about what happened, but I don't regret a single thing (well, except maybe finding out Tay's email) but I can say I owe it to Hetalia.

Hetalia gave me passion. Hetalia gave me skills. Hetalia gave me friends. That's why even though I hadn't really given it a second thought until recently, it will always hold a special place in my heart. Thank you, Hetalia.

You're more than just a silly little webcomic or anime to me.

And thank you, the one who read this stranger's story till the end.

Stay frosty, folks.

[squiishiichaos]

How I Would Revise KH3

I’ve seen quite a few of these going around since the game was released, and I thought of waiting to release it, but  since it’s already written--these are just some ideas from one writer to the fandom of changes I, personally, would’ve made in order to make KH3 more epic than it turned out to be. 

Please Note: SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

1.  I’m sure a lot of people took issue with the teasing Sora took early on from his friends, not to mention the scolding he got from Yen Sid, but it actually sets up nice for scenes later on, explains the Odd Behavior of the Organization toward Sora in this game, and really could’ve been used for some great character and relationship development. 

Because after being almost Norted in 3Ds, I believe our Golden Boy would likely have some issues he needs to work through.  Beyond getting back all of his main character super powers and becoming the next New True Keyblade Master, he almost became one of the Organization.   That has to be a hit for someone who has spent the last 9 games practically the poster boy for Guardian of Light. 

Having him feel self-doubt and evolving that for the fights later on in the game would have made him feel less flat as a protagonist. 

Especially when we have Marluxia and Larxene showing up everywhere, basically ignoring him like a flea, and telling him, “we’re not here for you.”  After all the threat he’s posed to them--after knowing he’s part of the many lights gathering for their clash at the final battle--you’d imagine that they’d be more inclined to engage him and give him a better reason to fight than, “oh, these princesses here may be made of Light, we’re not really sure and we’re kinda just seeing how it goes down.”

Have Sora feel the impact of those interactions.  Like, “I’m not even worth their time,” level impact. Hell, have a scene in the gummi ship post world, calling up Kairi on his new phone, saying, “Hey!” And have her immediately dropping the smile she got, putting on a face and asking, “Sora, what’s wrong?”  When he tries to say, “I’m fine!” and dismiss it, have her tell him he’s not.  Say, “you wouldn’t be calling me if you were.”   

Have Sora try to call Riku and not be able to get ahold of him.  Just dialing and dialing and dialing, and him feeling neglected and abandoned.  Have Kairi speak to Riku on the phone, because it just so happens to be during one of their breaks in the Dark Realm, and her discussing Sora’s odd behavior.  Make them care, damn you!

*AHEM* Moving on...

2. Riku & Mickey save Aqua early on.  Like, I’m talking Prologue level, KHII.9 early on. 

In the realm of darkness, when they run into the Demon tide, after Riku escapes because of his Replica and Mickey gets trounced, have Aqua appear as the master of those Heartless. 

Since Mickey is hurt, Riku fights in his place and gets walloped after a short playable fight where you get her to half-lifebar and it ends.

As Aqua goes to finish him off--because new keyblades are hard--Mickey shouts out, “Aqua, don’t!  Think of your friends!”

As Aqua gives her monologue about being abandoned and forgotten and alone, have him go, “No one’s forgotten you!  Ven and Terra still need you!” 

“Need me?  Where were they when I needed them?!  Where were you?!  You don’t know what this pain I feel is like--to be forgotten and dismissed--none of you do!” 

Then have Riku chime in, “I do.”  As he stands up and readies his keyblade for another battle, have him stare her down and say, “I once gave up everyone I cared about for Darkness, and I struggle every day to keep it at bay.  But in every darkness, there’s an even stronger light. If you won’t fight the darkness yourself, then I’ll fight it for you!” 

After you finish the initial battle, instead of immediately getting back her light, the duo subdues her and they bring her back to the realm of light. 

Have a Futaba (obligatory Persona 5 reference, sorry) moment for Aqua.  Let her ascent back to Light mean something!

At first, she feels like she failed Ventus and Terra.   Nothing anyone says can help that.  And they all are trying to get ahold of Sora, but he’s busy and he needs to be there!   When he finally answers his phone in the gummiship, Riku tells him the good news and he hops back to the Tower. 

When he arrives, Ven’s heart reacts to Aqua and she immediately reacts.  But Mickey, Axel and Kairi don’t know.  They’re still riding on the moment Aqua smiled for the first time because she found out that Kairi was okay!  That she’d done something right!  Maybe she wasn’t a failure?

But then Sora walks in, and she does not trust him.  He looks like Vanitas and that face haunts her.  After all that darkness, she can’t see him--she only sees those glowing yellow eyes and that sardonic smirk, and it takes all of them holding her back to keep her from casting anything more than a measly couple of low level spells at him before they all tell her it’s okay!  That it’s Sora, the key to Ventus’s awakening.

And Aqua goes up to him, and they’re both apprehensive, but eventually she takes a nice long look, sees through the mirage and smiles, tearfully, at him. 

They agree to go help Ventus while Mickey and Riku stay behind to help train Kairi and Axel.

****Before we continue, I need to make a minor addendum here.  

No Hyperbolic Time Island bullshit for Kairi and Axel.  

They are on the fucking ropes to get ready for this shit.  Thrown into the literal fucking fire, training day in and day out every second of every day to get ready for the throw down they’re now part of.  

Every previous cutscene of them is more emotional because they’re exhausted, slouching against a rock, a wall, a chair, a fucking bed!  They don’t even know what time it is, but they’re sitting there, chatting away and crying because this is the hardest they have worked in ages, and they don’t know if they can do it anymore.  Merlin is merciless.  Yen Sid is biting.  They are on a crunch and there is no time for playing around!  

****Make those scenes so much better for everyone.  They were wonderful, their interactions, but make them real, fuckers!  This is a warzone, and this isn’t DBZ!

*AHEM*

3.  Aqua awakens Ventus. 

After her and Sora find Ven, they begin a ritual of waking, but Vanitas feels Ventus’s heart pulsating inside Sora and he attacks.  Sora tells Aqua to keep reaching for the connection while he holds him off. 

Obviously, Sora gets his ass kicked.  Absolutely destroyed. 

Aqua steps in to protect Sora/Ven, and kicks the ever loving shit of Vanitas, but then he fakes his defeat and sneaks up on them as they rush to finish the waking. 

As Vanitas goes to strike Aqua, the last vestige of Ven inside Sora commands the teen around and gives him one deciding blow before his heart exits Sora and leaves for its home.  Vanitas--knowing he’s finished here--leaves, promising them the fight of their lives come their next meeting. 

Ventus awakens and him and Aqua share a cute scene where Aqua tells him she’s sorry for being late and failing to protect him.  Ventus is just like, “Aqua...it’s alright.  You saved me, and now, we can find Terra together!”

Sora breaks the mood when he swoops in, and Ventus goes apeshit (because it was his heart reacting, not his actual conscious >.>)!  Fucking pulls out his keyblade, ready to put down Vanitas for the last time, but Aqua is like, whoa, it’s just Sora!  He’s been keeping you safe in his heart this whole time!

And Sora, confused, is like...the fuck?

So, Aqua suggests he go back alone and they’ll follow along soon enough.

4.  Back at the tower, Riku asks Sora how it went, and Sora recounts his near death experience at the hands of Ventus while Riku is like, Darkness plays tricks on people, as does sleep.  Give them time, they’ll pull through. 

5. Now, with 2 out of 3 found, Roxas and Namine (and Xion) still missing, it is crunch time, people!   So, I had a few playable options I thought up.

First off: Yen Sid’s tower becomes a hub world.  If you leave the hub, you can fly off as Sora to do the Disney worlds and restore balance and peace while he continues to level up his Main Character Plot Armor Powers.

Second Choice:  You can choose to bring Riku or Mickey with you on these missions, but they’re just kinda there as links.  Like, the Sora, Donald and Goofy screen time should not be revoked, so they’re kind of just finisher commands that show up randomly while the 2 of them are doing recon on the Organization. 

Third Choice: You can play as Kairi and Axel and spend ludicrous hours trying to beat Aqua and Ventus while running for your goddamn life at Yen Sid’s tower.   Legitimately, I’m talking, Beginning of Birth By Sleep and KH1 style battles.  You get a potion or something if you win, and you can kick ass as everyone’s 2 favorite Redheads.  *BONUS* Kairi finally gets to be a badass.

6. Once all the remaining Disney worlds are complete, we get to the FINAL PART: 

7. PREPARATION TIME, BABY!

For starters, Nomura, show them, ya know, actually preparing!

Ven and Aqua, sweating, clearly having just finished sparring or practicing magic and shit, talk about Terra and have their Wayfinder Moment.  I liked their dialogue choices here, so, keep those the same, just make it feel more excited and build the anticipation!

Axel sits on his tower, his new clothes beside him as he contemplates the fact he’s almost earned them.  Saix shows up and that all happens, with Axel calling his keyblade on him, and Saix being like, “Yeah, okay, save it for the morning, when you’re at your best.”  With a sidelong look at the suitcase he’s clearly ignoring. 

Donald and Goofy practice together, and the King arrives to commend them on all their hard work.  To be honest, I don’t even remember if there’s a scene between the three of them here, and if there is, cool!  If not, then, shit, put one in.  

Now.  The big shit. 

The Destiny Trio.

We cut to them all sparring on the shores of Destiny Islands.  Kairi has learned a thing or two from Aqua, but she also packs a real punch.  Riku utilizes his dark flare and other like abilities to enhance their light and build resistance to such attacks--teach them how to prepare.   Sora is his normal badass self, dodging, attacking, and being a good sport.   Mind you, this probably all devolves at some point into a fucking hysterical mess when Kairi drenches the boys with Waterza (which she just learned, the badass), and Sora tackles her into the Ocean as payback while Riku tries really, really hard not to die of laughter. 

After they’ve recovered, Riku excuses himself to sit on the beach so he can have his little chat with Repliku while Kairi and Sora go over to the tree and talk.   

When Kairi grabs the Paopu fruit, it’s just one--because it says share a paopu fruit, not two, you dipshits--and Sora was about to reach for it, too.  The two share a smile as they’re like, “This way, no matter what happens tomorrow, we’ll always have each other.”  

They share it, and then Riku--who is a fucking ninja, apparently--shows up and places a hand on both of their shoulders like, “It’s about fucking time.”   Sora and Kairi share a impish little smile and together, they hold up the shared Paopu to him.  He’s at first taken aback, but he softly smiles and the SCENE ENDS!

8. In the Keyblade Graveyard (I swear I’m almost done), here are the changes I’d make.

First off, when everyone is attacked and whisked off and Sora finally gets that moment where the self-doubt reaches its final form, have him, I dunno, react to losing his friends before Kairi!  Like, calling out names and reaching for them and growing increasingly terrified!   Especially after he just watched all his friends get wrecked by Terranort. 

I would completely erase the Final World Bullshit, because it felt like they just put it in there as a way to explain the fact Sora’s story was coming to an end and Kairi heart stuff when they didn’t know how else to do it, and that just felt sad.  BUT IF I MUST KEEP IT TO MAKE YOU HAPPY, then I propose that you don’t talk to Namine in the land of the Dead.  You instead talk to Chirithy and Strelitzia or whoever the fuck the other chick was, and then you gather yourself together and Sora tells Chirithy, “my friends are calling me back!  I have to go help them!”  While Digimon’s Kairi is like, “yeah, cool, but if you die again, ain’t no one coming up here to save you, dude, so don’t be fucking stupid.”

Since Riku has natural resistance to Darkness (thanks to his backstory) and Kairi is apparently God in this game, Sora only saves Donald and Goofy while they save Ventus, Aqua, Axel and Mickey separately.   Then, together, the whole group goes back to the graveyard, and instead of going through fucking time travel paradoxes that make no goddamn sense, Nomura, the characters regroup and are like, “okay, now, it’s time for the final showdown!”

9. The Gauntlet of Endless Cutscenes

Riku beats up fake Riku himself without Sora, but Sora shows up in the end to help hold off Xigbar while Repliku tears fake Riku apart for the whole Namine scene.  Sora is like, “you good, bro?” and Riku’s like, “Sure, gonna go kill Ansem,” and they part ways. 

Aqua and Ventus beat up Terranort themselves.  They are the ones who release his soul back to his body as Sora arrives to provide backup against Vanitas.   Terra, Ven and Aqua fight Vanitas while they tell Sora to go assist the others. 

Axel and Kairi fight together--for real, though.

Give these 2 badass Redheads the chance to kick some serious ass against Xion and Saix.

Sora arrives and they’re both worn out because they’re new to this and keyblades are hard, so he wards off Xion until Saix does his thing, then the rest is PRETTY MUCH THE SAME, except Kairi doesn’t get kidnapped. 

Because Roxas, Xion, and Sora stop that shit in their tracks (because I want Kairi to be the Touched by Fire badass she always deserved to be, dammit), but when they fail, Kairi swings at him and Xemnas does his teleportation bullshit and knocks her out because, goddammit, she did her best!

Xion and Roxas tell Sora to go while they beat down Saix, and then there’s the Sea Salt trio’s reunion. 

Sora goes to Riku and Mickey (I skipped him because Mickey needs no one’s help, and I would assume Sora went there first to help him and he was like, “the fuck?  I don’t need you!  Go assist everyone else, ya dunce!”), and when he tells them that Xemnas took Kairi, Riku chastises him for his sloppiness. 

Together, they defeat Ansem, Xemnas and Young Xehanort, after which, when Xehanort pulls out Kairi, we get a blast to the past of BBS while the 3 of them try to get her back without delay.  But, Xehanort uses his newly forged no name keys to hold them off while he imbues Kairi with a piece of himself for the final showdown (Because I think DarkKairi is the only way you can kill her and it be okay.  Also, they did hint at the whole princesses of light choose the light bullshit in the Disney worlds, so fuck it, if Nomura can’t keep his canon right, fuck you, I don’t have to keep it right, either, so there.)

This leads to Sora refusing to fight another of his friends, because he has done enough of that in this revised version, and dammit, he can’t do it again!  So, Riku does it for him, because he won’t let anyone else he cares about fall to the darkness. 

But he gets his ass handed to him.  Sora, seeing this, has to fight.  Like the Brother My Brother scene from Pokemon the First Movie (may it rest in peace).  

After the ensuing melee forges the final key--because who the fuck needs Xehanort, am I right?--Xehanort (hah) goes to put an end to Riku and Sora, but Kairi steps in and protects them, sacrificing herself in the process.   

Devastated, Sora goes after Xehanort while Riku stays behind with the other warriors to stop Kingdom Hearts. 

Shit pans out as seen, and after the final battle, Sora mourns Kairi and says he’s gonna go find her.  Shit pans out as seen and Riku still tells them to let him go, but he also leaves him with a snarky, “and if you get lost again, I’ll just pull you out like I always do,” roll of the eyes and everything. 

BRO HUGS FOR EVERYONE!

10.  Okay, so the Ending. 

Everything is the same, except that Kairi and Sora both disappear as Riku leaves the others behind on the beach to go see them.  Leaning against the branch they sat on, he picks up a fallen paopu, looks off into the distance and there’s a glimmer in his eye before the screen

Cuts

To 

Black

ROLL CREDITS!

[solitaryhoneybadger]

I took Kairi to Rose City Comic Con yesterday. It was ok- not as much stuff as last year. We got most of the stuff we wanted, but the fees on things left a sour taste in my mouth.

Kairi got her commission by Amy Mebberson- Psycho from Roger Rabbit. It turned out awesome, and Amy even put it up on her Instagram account where it’s racking up ‘like’s like crazy. This is my favorite commission by her so far. The red background is perfect. Then we went to Stan Sakai’s table to get my Art of Usagi Yojimbo book signed. He didn’t say much and did it fast. Kairi got a pin from his table. Then we went to the celebrity area and got the D.Va and Mercy Pop figures signed. This is where I started to get a little irritated. A lot of celebrities were charging certain amounts for signatures on items. Like a photo cost less than a poster, and a “collectible” cost more than those. Pop figures were specified as collectibles, and cost $10 more than photos. This doesn’t make any sense since you can’t really define what a collectible is, and it’s not like signing a plastic window takes any more effort than signing a glossy photo. Still, I didn’t want to tell Kairi no, and come back with Zojo’s Mercy un-special since I told her about it so much leading up to this. D.Va’s voice actress doesn’t seem to have much experience talking to kids since she talked to Kairi like she was way younger. Mercy’s was a little better. I told her that the signature was for my youngest daughter, and that she was 4. She thought it was adorable when I told her that she calls Mercy “Halo Girl”, and she wrote that on the side window. Then she asked how I knew Kairi, who was standing next to me, and I said “she’s my oldest daughter”. She looked flabbergasted and said it was crazy because I look so young. I need to start doing hard drugs or drinking or something. Everyone thinks I’m in my early-20s whenever they ask how old I am.

Linda Blair’s scheduling had some kind of communication error and she wasn’t there on time, but was coming 3 hours later. I was going to get her to sign the Regan Pop figure for a friend as a Christmas present. He even sent me a message right before I left, asking if I could get it for him and he’d pay me back. I was going to get it for him and lie, saying I didn’t have enough, so it’d be a surprise in a few months. I went back into her line close to 4, then went up to see the fees paper that was on her table since it looked like the ones at the Mercy and D.Va tables. Despite the website just having an 8x10 photo and autograph listed at $30 and NOTHING ELSE, she was charging different amounts for all kinds of stuff. She wanted $60 for a Pop figure, $80 for something else, etc. I felt defeated and just let. What really blows is my friend came to the convention center right after we left, since I told him he could use my badge to get in if he wanted, but I’m one of those weird flip phone people, and didn’t have access to my messages when he arrived. This made me feel double bad. But when I told him about the sudden “this costs this much” thing, he was disappointed too, and said she pulled something similar at another convention. I get it- the site only lists the photo, but god damn, mention SOMETHING about celebrities possibly charging more for non-photo items.

After that, we just walked around one more time, in case Kairi wanted any other things. She went with some more cool pins and I got a weird blue King Kong one from a table that had a lot of good stuff. I’m trying to not really collect anything any more, and know that the whole pin thing is limitless, but I liked how weird this one was.

Sorry @xdreadkittenx, I checked David Mack’s table twice at different times and he was out both times. I feel like a hack for not being able to get anything for you too, but everything we went for was a success.

I didn’t get any cosplay pictures aside of one of Mercy for Zojo. Kairi was creeped out by a Silent Hill nurse, and thought that it was going to follow her. There were some good Gravity Falls and Over the Garden Wall ones, but my favorite was a little boy, probably 3 or 4, who was dressed up as Goku. The original, Dragon Ball, Goku. Not stupid DBZ. His hair was gelled up in a practical way, not trying to be accurate, with big chunky spikes. He was happy and running around having fun. He even had the monkey tail.

[burnouts3s3]

Yu Yu Hakusho, a review

(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, don’t take anything I say too seriously.) Just the facts 'Cause you're in a Hurry! Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for Season (MSRP):  80 dollars for the entire series on Digital. 80 Dollars for the entire series on DVD. Animation Studio: Pierrot Licensed and Localized by: Funimation Entertainment Audio: Both English and Japanese Audio available Price per episode: 2 USD per Episode when bought digitally. 1.40 When bought in a season. (20 Dollars when bought per season vs 56 Dollars when bought individually). Length per Episode: 25 Minutes on average. 21 Without Intro and Ending song. Number of Discs: 4 DVD Discs per season. 16 DVD Discs in total. Episodes per Disc: 6 or 7. Bonus Features: Trailers for other Funimation licensed shows. Also on: Blu-ray, Hulu, Crunchyroll and Funimation Now, paid subscription services that allows dual language streaming of select shows. How much I paid: 160 Dollars/USD. (80 for the DVDs. 80 for the digital licenses for the show). Number of Episodes: 112 Episodes My Personal Biases: Gather round, old Toonami Faithful. Back in the 2000’s, I followed Hakusho closely when it was released on Toonami and Adult Swim. So, you can imagine, I’m heavily biased in favor of this series. My Verdict: Yu Yu Hakusho represents the last of an era. Not only is it a classic from the 90’s, but it’s a lean, matter of fact Shounen Anime that probably has the least amount of filler during a time Dragon Ball Z spent endless days on the Namek Saga. Still beautifully rendered, great score, fast paced action and one of the few Funimation dubs that manages to be more interesting than the sub script and you have one of the last few anime out there worth seeing. Buy it! KEEP IN MIND: Anime series and Western Television have very different formats when selling shows. While Western TV Seasons have one story arc that ends and begins within the season, Dubbed Anime is usually released in multiple volumes and releases. For example, While Yu Yu Hakusho each as 28 Episodes per season, Story Arcs, such as the infamous Dark Tournament Saga, beginning and ending points not found in an individual season. Author’s Note: The following review will be a review of the dubbed version of the show localized by Funimation Entertainment. While the majority of the scenes remain unchanged, the Funimation translated script contains additional dialogue, observations and jokes not found in the original version. Please keep that in mind. WARNING: SPOILERS Yu Yu Hakusho, a review

"And so it all begins. This boy's name is Yusuke. He's fourteen years old, and is supposed to be the hero of this story. But oddly enough... he's dead."

Yusuke Urameshi is a delinquent more likely to get into fistfights with classmates than attend class. Scolded by everyone, from his alcoholic mother to childhood friend, Keiko, to his principal, Yusuke ditches school. But when a young boy is about to be hit by a car, Yusuke literally dies protecting the child. As a ghost with the help of a surprisingly cheerful Botan, the Grim Reaper, Yusuke learns that there was something of this life worth living. When Yusuke returns to life, he becomes a Spirt Detective, assigned from Spirit World to hunt down Rogue Demons. With the help of his classmate, Kazuma Kuwabara, and two enemies turned teammates, the Fox Demon reborn Kurama and the mischievous Hiei, Yusuke faces a whole slew of opponents he’d never thought he’d face. Has it really been 25 years since Yu Yu Hakusho first debuted in Japan? It’s hard to imagine Yu Yu Hakusho being made the way it was. This 112 Shounen Anime series managed to end on a complete note. Think about other shows in the genre. Shows like DBZ, Naruto, Bleach and One Piece manage to have over 200 episodes each and filled with filler and theatrical released movies. Other Shounen shows like this, like Soul Eater, manage to end on 26 episodes or around 50. But then there’s Yu Yu Hakusho, a show that had over 100 episodes with little to no filler but never achieved the merchandising empires Dragonball and Naruto had. Even Bleach, a series that had popularity drain out by the end of its run, was able to span more episodes and had more theatrical releases. One of the key successes was limiting the cast to a group of familiar but complex faces. The Team of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei and Kurama were all memorable, but the interaction within the group was so great that it could span a couple of episodes. Each had a different morality and perspective. The Main character was a smart-ass with a potty mouth with a deep sense of morality, Kuwabara seemed to have a strong sense of honor and persistence, Kurama had a collected calm of a general while Hiei was always getting into trouble for his own reasons. Not only did the four manage to make each scenario interesting but the interaction with one another is something to be written about for the ages. One of the things I found surprising was how beautiful the animation manages to hold up. Granted, it still uses 90’s tricks such as speed lines and fade outs, but each fight seemed not only well choreographed but colored and detailed in a way that made me come back to watch more. Add to that, Togashi’s emphasis to make fights more strategic and detailed, and I found myself rewatching old fights again and again. Looking back, the fights always thrilled me but as I grew older, I appreciated Kurama’s fights more. That’s not to say Yusuke’s, Hiei’s or even Kuwabara’s fights were bad, but they generally devolved into “who’s stronger” fistfights with fireballs. Kurama’s usually revolved around a sense of strategy and out smarting his opponent with plant based wapons. The series got a number of dubs but the most famous one by far is the English version by Funimation Entertainment. I know Funimation gets a lot of flak for its translation issues, but Yu Yu Hakusho manages to use localization to its benefit, in that they make Yusuke, the loud mouthed delinquent that had little cares for the world, extremely likable and funny. Fans will recognize veteran voice actors such as Chuck Huber (who voiced 17 in Dragonball Z) as Hiei, John Burgmeier (Who voiced Tien) as Kurama and Chris Sabat (Who voiced Vegeta, Yamcha and Piccolo) as Kuwabara. Each shows a surprising amount of range as each character (especially Sabat) and manages to rival their Japanese counterparts. But Justin Cook steals the show as Yusuke Urameshi. That’s not to say Nozomu Sasaki, Yusuke’s Japanese Voice Performer, does a bad job, but Justin Cook manages to bring Yusuke to life thanks to some adlibbing and great comedic timing. (While Cook voiced Yusuke, he also acted as the Line Director at Funimation).

The Funimation Script took liberties from the original source material and added additional lines not found in the original version. But, I feel this is one of the times where it benefits the scripts as well as the personalities. Yusuke’s additional dialogue not only manages to be funny but also solidifies the fact that if Yusuke were a real person, he’d be a pain in the ass to deal with. The soundtrack is a masterpiece. Another Yusuke, Yusuke Honma, composed the soundtrack. It not only managed to be dramatic, but comedic, emotional and powerful at the same time. Struggle of Sadness manages to be one of my all time favorites to listen to.

The clear fan favorite out of all the story arcs is the Dark Tournament. When Yusuke is forced to compete in a life or death tournament involving some of the strongest demons out there, he’ll have to gather up his teammates and duke it out with some of the series most memorable opponents. It not only manages to be a good tournament arc, but also a great training arc and a lesson in mortality vs immortality. If nothing else, get the Dark Tournament saga. Verdict: Do you like Shounen Anime? Do you like owning a series and paying far less than for other long running series? Are you a fan of 90’s anime? IF you’ve answered yes, Yu Yu Hakusho is definitely a show to check out. Don’t let this one miss you! Full Price!

[dollarstoremorticia]

Rules: you’ll have to tag 15 people at the end of this challenge.

Tagged by @nerdyskeleton 

Five things you’ll find in my bag:

1. My glasses (I don’t wear them unless I absolutely have to which means almost never)  2. Chapstick 3. Those headphones that go in separate ears instead of on your head.  4. My 3ds in case I get bored or just don’t feel like socializing any longer 5. Probably a few dollars in change because my wallet doesn’t have a change part so I just throw it in there.

Five things you’ll find in my bedroom: 1. Like almost all of those DMMD Plushies that cost like $50-$150 (I did not buy them. My mother bought them for me.) 2. Too many posters. I know theres DMMD, Guardians of the Galaxy, HTTYD, DBZ, and there’s like one random Hetalia one too. There’s a OPM one in the hallway that kinda goes into my room 3. A giant dinosaur plushie that my grandpa got somewhere.  4. The only closet in the house which is fun when people need things when I’m trying to sleep 5. Fuck i don’t know... I have a shitload of puzzles in there. 

Five things I’ve always wanted to do: 

1. Learn all of another language. Like damn I know little bits of like 10 so I need to just pick one and learn it. 2. Pay off at least one of my nanas bills because we’re poor as fuck and I get to hear about it every day so why not make our lives a little bit better. 3. Get at least one tattoo. Probably more.  4. Learn some sort of legit fighting technique that’s not the weird hell that my dad taught me 5. Go to a country or state that’s not in the general area of Pennsylvania. I just want to see somewhere thats not here.

Five things that make me happy: 1. Those free lollipops at the bank. 2. Shiba Inus. Well actually all dogs but a Shiba Inu will most likely cheer me up at all times 3. Dick Gumshoe. He is my good good boy. 4. Any free food or just getting food when I didn’t ask for it. I will like you if you give me food. 5. Rain. Rain is good.

Five things I’m currently into: 1. Ace Attorney. Literally this game will be the death of me probably 2. Team Four Star in general. Gaming channel and Abridged content. All of it. I made the mistake of rewatching the abridged broly movie and now I’ve spiraled back into that hell. 3. Space/astronomy. I will love space until I fucking die probably. Especially exoplanets. Please rocket me to HD 189733b so I can be stabbed immediately with glass rain. 4. Cross stitching. I fucked up by downloading that app. I now can actually cross stitch in real life and that’s horrifying to me. 5. Descendants. Literally its a Disney movie what have I done.

Five things on my to do list: 1. Fucking Finish Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia 2. Finish this goddamn cross stitch.  3. Please for the love of god write something again. Preferably one of those Ace Attorney fics I was thinking about but finishing the old Haikyuu one is also an option. 4. Find a better job. Mostly so my mother doesn’t make me move back down for the summer but also because i might kill my boss if I stay there (But who am I kidding I’m not leaving. I’m staying there forever probably) 5. Remember the shirt I want and actually buy said shirt when I get my next paycheck.

I talk too much, and once again I’m not actually tagging anybody but if you want to do it I’d be happy to read it.

[sorayahigashikata]

Chapter 75: "If 'Douche and Turd' was a Western."