#I may change hikari's design a little bit but I think it's looking pretty good. added the ear piercings bc of the wonderful fan art I got!

[jackgoodfellow]

More WIPs from a project that was supposed to be a quick joke and is now A Whole Thing!

Here is a preliminary Hikari, and Samo's big brother! He has also escaped his genre, and he is not aware that most of the things he says sound incredibly threatening! Although only Hikari seems to notice anyway. (Luckily for Hikari, he really is a nice guy!)

@adamofingolstadt - a Hikari for you! 😊

[standbowed]

“I’ve been careful,” Hachi mumbles, somewhere halfway between assurance and protest against Hikari’s well-meaning advice. It's true that she's not a fighter by design--people haven't ever had enough of an issue with her for her to have much--if any--practical experience (she's pretty good at soothing tempers before it reaches that point--making herself small so others don't feel the need to prove themselves bigger by taking her down a peg), but... does that mean she's a lost cause from the get-go? She wants to agree with Hikari's assessment so Hikari doesn't have to worry about Hachi getting too big for her boots just because she has a stand, but there's a part of her that wants to prove she can do--well, something, anything of value so she's not dead weight for Hikari to worry about in the opposite direction, either.

"...I've been looking out, where I can. And I try not to use Driver 8 where other users can see it, either." Driver 8 is smaller--speedier, but she worries it's less of a heavy-hitter as a result (she's been thinking about stands like RPG characters as of late, with main stats and dump stats that dictate their classes, though it's probably not that one-to-one in reality). "...But I didn’t know that one was yours, and I thought it was going to…”

Attack you, she thinks, and Hachi may not be particularly strong, or daring, or clever–but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to be--or try to be, even if her heart lodges itself in her throat as she makes her fumbling attempts where she can.

Regardless, the change of topic is a welcome distraction, even if the claim that accompanies it sounds more than a little bit ridiculous to her ears.

“Cool…?” she echoes under her breath, belatedly and with more than a little doubt as Hikari takes her hand to guide her. Hachi follows on autopilot, thoughts spinning in her skull like a skipping CD, stuck on loop over the concept of being talked up in such a way. Now this one definitely sounds like the kind of thing someone says just to make you feel better; Hachi can be comfortably described with a number of adjectives. Neurotic, sure. Helpful, more than occasionally. Funny, sometimes (not always in the ways she intends to be, but she'll take a win where she can get one). Talkative, often. Annoying, at times (see: talkative). But Cool? Cool is not her usual fare. If Hachi has ever been in the same room as Cool it's been a case of catching some lingering speck of it that wafted off someone else.

And really, she should be paying more attention to what Hikari is saying and not just letting herself be guided along, only her brain is working overtime trying to imagine Hikari extolling Hachi to her coworkers for her coolness, of all things. That's insane. Maybe more insane than the stand stuff. Or not quite, but it's a very accessible sort of absurdity that feels safer to dwell on than all that other stuff right now.

...And by the time she shakes herself out of this meandering string of thoughts, Hachi is struck momentarily speechless at the jarring sight of the Foundation building looming ahead of them after what seems like no time at all, and her eyes all but bug out of her head.

"Aghh, er--did I zone out so long that I didn't notice getting into a car with you, or did you do a..." And here she uses her free hand to make a series of unusual, harried gestures through the air (capped off with a too-whimsical wiggle of her fingers, like some sort of stupid little cartoon wizard). "...Stand. thing...?".

"Lemme clarify," she eased as soon as she saw Hachi's posture change. No doubt that came off a little rude. It wasn't intentional, and her stomach had that cold, guilty feeling settling in when you say something you don't mean. "Most Stand users, an' most Stands, are geared towards combat, or have a utility fer combat. Fer example, I have a friend that can control an' manipulate fire... an' another friend that's basically the law of thermodynamics personified. I didn't say it was weird, moreso unexpected, 'cause... Hachi, yer not a fighter." Which also amped up her protectiveness over Hachi by about 75%. "That's not a bad thing by any means, but it jus' has me a li'l nervous 'bout yer wellbein', 'cause this means that if a rogue Stand user sees yers out an' about, they could see ya as a possible threat." An' try t'eliminate you. The last part goes unsaid, but the serious tone in her eyes tells it all.

Of course, a solution to that would be to teach her some self defence and help her train her Stand's capabilities later down the line. Aaaand the fact she had to tone town her strikes immensely because lord knows she would not be ready for a full-on Stand sparring session. Things to keep in mind for later, if this whole thing worked out and Hachi was adequately filled in on everything enough.

"Developin' one means you've got a strong will, one way'r the other, even if yer not a fighter. That puts our whole, uh-- the little flower slight-of-hand thing when we first met into perspective, actually..." in which Hachi had a mini panic attack which worried Hikari over her for the next ten minutes. "But this means y'have a first-class ticket t'see a lot've cool stuff now. I've been braggin' 'bout how cool y'are t'my coworkers so I'm pretty sure they'll love you. M'boss also won't care, it's all good."

She does take Hachi's hand delicately, though, and gestures her head to a street corner. "First thing worth've note, we gotta get there quick. I'm gonna blow that li'l mind've yers out the water with this manuever, which is a surprise tool that'll help us later." And with that, she leads her along at a manageable pace, shutting her eyes and focusing. She pictures the Foundation's building in her head, and turns the corner with Hachi in tow. It could only ever work distances over 10 meters, and never within a fight, but it was singlehandedly the most useful way to travel that this fucked up timeline ever gave her.

When Hikari opened her eyes, they had just turned the corner along a hedge bush... revealing the Foundation building in front of them, like they had been there the entire time.

They had traveled, in a split second, within the folds of reality... all the way across town.

[shihalyfie]

02′s themes in relation to its finale

By “finale” I don’t mean “epilogue”, but rather the final battle and confrontation that make up 02 episodes 48-50. Generally speaking, 02 is a series that is much less about progression of plot events as much as it’s about theme and message, and my feeling is that this becomes increasingly so the deeper you get into its second half and approach its ending. Narratively speaking, we need a big, bad enemy to beat up in a fight, but if we shift our perspective a bit, what does this finale say as a close to 02′s themes and concepts?

The thin boundary between good and evil

Our major enemy for the first half of the series was the Digimon Kaiser, who was later established to be the very naturally kind Ichijouji Ken -- which is a pretty massive swerve, considering that most series with “reformed villains” would usually make them a bit of an edgelord who happens to be a little nicer. But instead, the series goes very deep into the psyche of what could make such a kind child be tipped over the edge, and, even though it’s all revealed to be accelerated by supernatural interference, it’s made very clear that his own trauma and insecurity was most of what did it.

So, anyway, it’s revealed in the end that the “final mastermind” behind it all was none other than Vamdemon, an effective midboss from Adventure. Vamdemon’s popularity aside, this initially seems like a very strange choice. But looking at some statements about 02′s initial planning is somewhat revealing: the original planned concept for the final boss was a Digimon that would ultimately be reduced to only “an idea” (and was rejected on the grounds of being too gory for the Sunday morning kids’ timeslot). When you think about this original concept of “a Digimon that had been reduced to only an idea,” that explains the initially odd-seeming combo of defeating a Digimon with the combined power of idealistic positivity, because it’s a plot point that would certainly make more sense if said Digimon had been reduced to a spirit of malice.

However, the interesting part about this is that the replacement for this original final boss was not Vamdemon but Oikawa and his lackeys, which means that, substantially, the real “final enemy” of this story is actually Oikawa, and the ideological questions he poses for the Chosen Children and those around them. Vamdemon may be the “mastermind” from a plot perspective, but, ironically, his important role is actually to define Oikawa’s narrative -- and, as if to drive this in further, he’s not even voiced by his original voice actor from Adventure (Ohtomo Ryuuzaburou), but Oikawa’s own, Morikawa Toshiyuki (and this voice change is actually pointed out in the series proper, too).

So why Vamdemon and not just a random spirit of malice? Well...

Vamdemon’s presence specifically establishes the precise moment in time Oikawa lost complete control of himself -- and, more widely, establishes the connection between himself as a “Chosen Child who could never become one”. Prior to this episode, we knew that Hida Hiroki’s death and their shared childhood had some relevance to Oikawa’s downfall, but the August 3 “Odaiba fog” incident in 1999 is the exact moment where everything could completely crash down in front of Oikawa’s eyes, with Hida Hiroki having just died, and Oikawa personally witnessing Digimon, the Digital World, and the Chosen Children (and boy, the way this scene is framed with him right next to the waterfront, you might even wonder what he might have done with himself had Vamdemon not interfered...). The Digital World didn’t have a huge amount of contact with the world before then -- in fact, Oikawa not being able to make much contact is a huge part of his character arc -- which basically leaves this as one of the only moments you can have this exact moment of Oikawa being ready to go over the deep end in this way. All of his regrets, of never being able to make proper contact with the Digital World, of Hiroki having died and left him alone, are ready for him in this exact moment -- as his own lackey Archnemon had said earlier, “human weaknesses are easy to manipulate.”

Moreover, of all of the “entities of malice” that made up Adventure’s villains, Vamdemon’s the only one who brought it all the way over to the real world (where the majority of 02′s conflict is set). This brief moment of contact with the real world was established in 02 episode 14 to be the defining moment of “contact” that would lead to Daisuke and Iori becoming Chosen Children. Particularly in the case of Iori, you can see the parallel -- Hiroki’s death and the resulting incident here would shape Iori’s strive to become a model citizen and a hero as a Chosen Child, whereas the exact same incidents shaped Oikawa’s descent into villainy.

Oikawa’s “sacrifice” in the end is not really a sacrifice in terms of sacrificing his life -- it’s said outright that his body is deteriorating, and so he would have died either way. What Oikawa does sacrifice is the ability to take one more step and make proper contact with Pipimon -- it is explicitly stated that he has to use the power of the dream world to grant his wish, meaning that he would never be able to take a proper step into the Digital World as a human, and therefore would never truly be able to have his initial wish granted in the way he originally wanted.

Thus, Oikawa leaves off with one last “regret” -- that, perhaps, if things had been different, he could have been just like the Chosen Children, going on “adventures” like them. But Iori points out right after that he did achieve his dream in some sense -- he got to reunite with the Digital World, and he did get to meet his partner, and so: it’s all about mentality. All of what happened to Oikawa was because of his own closed-in way of seeing himself and his place in the world, instead of being able to move on productively from his perception of what he “could and couldn’t do”.

In the end, Iori, the one who had once been so cold towards the idea of anything remotely associated with evil, is the one to guide him to that answer, and the other Chosen Children, who had previously not been very sympathetic towards him, still grieve over his death because they understand what it means to have a partner, and the sense of loss it would entail to be separated from one. It’s the one commonality they all can understand, and in the end, none of them were really all that different; it was just what they chose to do with what they had.

This is especially because we see extensive flashbacks of Oikawa in 02 episode 47, and his design is that of a completely average adult in 02, nothing like the “look at this instant villain!” design he had during the course of the series. Oikawa was, for all intents and purposes, a completely average person who had dreams that he shared with his friend, dreams that they carried into adulthood -- it took this little to push Oikawa over the edge, and yet the things that did it were the exact same things that, in a different context, Iori took to become a Chosen Child who fought him on the other side.

False happiness and pointless fixations

Tying into Oikawa’s fixation with “regrets” and an unhealthy mentality about his own position, Oikawa blames his inability to go to the Digital World in 02 episode 48 on himself being a “tainted adult”, not recognizing that it’s his own having fallen off the deep end that’s the likely reason he’s being rejected. Oikawa is, effectively, maintaining a fixation on “regrets” and a past he can’t get back; he’s still stuck on the image of his happy childhood playing with Hiroki, and all of the things he “couldn’t do” as a child after having his initial contact with the Digital World cut off. The ending reveals that he had met Pipimon before, and so you can interpret everything he’d done beforehand -- including creating two Digimon that are ultimately his “minions” more than they’re his actual “partners” (and were ultimately ripped away from him by the very same malicious spirit that represents his nihilism) -- as an attempt to reconnect with that partner, even if it resulted in him forgetting his actual purpose.

Beyond that, the Chosen Children themselves are momentarily sidetracked by a “fixation” of sorts --

02 is a series about “accepting things and moving forward”, so each of the illusions presented by BelialVamdemon have to do with a fixation that’s holding each respective kid back:

Takeru’s idea of seeing his family together again might not be completely impossible, but it’s probably not happening anytime soon -- and, as far as 02 episode 17 and 47 showed us, relations are at least improving and everyone else is doing a much better job of actually moving on and accepting the current state of affairs than he is.

Iori’s fixated on the idea of being able to please and be with a father who’s long dead (again, his issue is technically the same one Oikawa’s fixating over).

Hikari’s fixated on a future idea and dream that she wants to see pass, which won’t happen unless she can proactively work towards it now (and the 02 epilogue itself establishes that getting there won’t be all sunshine and roses).

Miyako’s fixated on her surface mood of stress and a desire to escape it, only to be confronted with the fact that it doesn’t actually make her all that happy either.

Ken’s fixated on ideas of “punishment” and “forgiveness” that ultimately won’t get him anywhere.

In the end, the one to avoid it is the most “forward-thinking” of all of them, Daisuke, who’s least likely to get caught up in such fixations. But even he has this to say:

Daisuke understands that not everyone is as simple-minded as him, and that’s not inherently a bad thing -- it’s just that when you need to go forward, you need to go forward (and people who exploit others’ weaknesses against them are still unforgivable jerks). You need to accept that things are the way they are at current, and use the information you get from it to keep moving forward and do something productive with it rather than clinging onto things you can’t have to the point you can’t do anything. Nobody was giving anyone shame for having those internal worries that BelialVamdemon plagued them with -- it’s just that staying in there forever, instead of moving on with important things they had to do, wouldn’t be good for them either.

Hence, that’s what Oikawa actually sacrificed -- he had a choice to use his final moments to spend his remaining short time with his partner that he’d spent so long unconsciously chasing after, but he instead decides to do something to help the Digital World and reverse some of the damage he’d personally caused instead of continuing to fixate on that regret. At the very least, he can continue to be with Pipimon in some other sense, even if it’s not what he originally wanted.

The pressure to be a “perfect person” as imposed by society; the conflict between that and pursuing one’s own happiness

In the last section, I mentioned that Oikawa was the kind of person who fixated on regrets about what he “couldn’t do” during his childhood. You can identify a bit of what was leading up to this in the prior episodes:

We learn in 02 episode 47 that Iori’s grandfather Chikara made the mistake of barring Hiroki and Oikawa from getting too deep into their connection with the Digital World, considering it “nonsense”, which led to the two of them becoming disconnected from it and continuing to wistfully chase after it -- which also led to Oikawa being driven further over the deep end when Hiroki, the only person who understood that, died.

Moreover, Oikawa ended up developing a complex not entirely unlike the Kaiser’s fixation with being a “perfect” person in the first half -- and, just like how he blames his inability to enter the Digital World on being a “tainted adult”, he fails to have the self-awareness that it’s this exact nihilism keeping him out of it, taking even further offense at the idea of him being a “tainted existence” (because of what he’s embracing) and deciding that his reaction needs to be sinking even deeper into it. And while he implants the Dark Seeds into the children with the intent of exploiting their power, he also indicates that he thinks he’s doing them a favor by enabling that ideology of “becoming a perfect person” within them.

Remembering that the final battle in this series is not necessarily about the physical fight as much as it’s about the ideology that Oikawa espoused, in the end, what Oikawa really “implanted” in these kids along with the Dark Seeds was the pressure that they should sacrifice their happiness to be “perfect” people. The Chosen Children reach out to them by asking about their dreams, and the children list off careers that have certainly gotten their parents scorning them for not being “good enough” for them, or gotten them mocked by other people (Hiroshi says that he gave up on his manga artist dreams because people laughed at him for it). In the end, “the pressure to be ambitious” is pressure in itself -- what if what you really want isn’t ambitious as much as it’s something that makes you and others happy (like, for instance, ramen making)? And especially when you’re a child -- shouldn’t this be the time when you enjoy yourself to the fullest?

This is even alluded to in Ken’s Spring 2003 track, in terms of how he and Osamu weren’t able to enjoy their childhood because of that pressure:

You were demanded to grow up fast, weren’t you, Brother? Because we were always being evaluated and compared by someone, we didn’t get a chance to have more freedom. We didn’t have any chances to run down an alley because we felt like it, or pull up weeds, or tumble around… meaningless things, things that didn’t bring any value to us at all. Just like the cat napping on the roof… we weren’t able to fully enjoy any everlasting freedom.

Like Ken and Osamu, the Dark Seed children accepted the Seeds because they decided that it would be better to trade in their happiness in exchange for getting closer to that ideal of “perfection”, only to destroy their own selves in the process. Which is accentuated when acknowledging their own selves is what leads to them meeting their own Digimon partners.

Takeru had said, earlier, that the Digimon will appear if you wish them to -- and given that a Digimon partner is a metaphor for the inner self, it says a lot that the point here is “the key to connecting with your partner is to connect with your actual self”. Like how Ken managed to reunite with Wormmon in 02 episode 23 by accepting everything about himself and resolving to live with it, and how Oikawa will later meet Pipimon after having come to terms with what he was actually looking for the entire time.

And in the end, what we see of Vamdemon isn’t really all that different from the original “reduced to an idea” concept we got from the original 02 final boss concept -- remember that BelialVamdemon has effectively become the incarnation of Oikawa’s own nihilistic ideology; perhaps he took on a lot more than just a voice actor! Actually, the whole sequence in 02 episode 50 with everyone listing off their dreams and destroying BelialVamdemon part by part is relatively similar in substance to the original proposal (the staff must have been really attached to that idea). And, hence, why what destroys him for good is the combined feelings of everyone together, resolving to move forward instead of chasing after meaningless things.

Oikawa ultimately recognizes that what was holding him back was his own mentality -- everyone here, Ken, the Dark Seed children, and Oikawa himself, all thought they were becoming “strong” and “perfect” people by ignoring them, but instead ended up as pawns for others, and all of these people could have found better ways to cope with their problems through embracing themselves and finding support, and would have come closer to those “dreams” while they were at it. Instead, Oikawa exploited others and clung onto shallow symbols because he thought that kind of straightforward idealism was an impossible route for him, and locked himself out of all of it. But in the end, he’s able to do something -- he’s able to use his “dreams” to have the Digital World healed -- and with that, is able to have his last moments in happiness.

Incidentally, back in 02 episode 49, Daisuke had even outright said that there’s no inherent issue in striving for self-improvement (after all, both Adventure and 02 were about people slowly getting past their insecurities and becoming better people). Daisuke himself is a person who’s improved a lot over the course of this series! But that’s something you need to do on your own terms and in a way you’re comfortable with -- not forcing yourself into the mold of an “ideal person” at the expense of losing everything about yourself, like Ken, the Dark Seed children, and Oikawa all did at some point.

[tsunflowers]

no one asked or cares but I did finally match songs to all my idol ocs so I will be sharing those with you

basically they are inspired by underrated (? maybe not) idol anime akb0048, I never gave them a unit name and just refer to them as “space idols.” officially they travel between planets and space stations performing concerts but secretly they also smuggle items and information into areas that have harsh governments. all their names are stage names/codenames so I haven’t thought about surnames for them. also I didn’t draw these I made them in a dollmaker

ako - accha koccha game (idol time pripara)

ako’s a dancer who puts on really energetic performances with a lot of audience interaction. I think her voice is probably a little less cute than nino’s but the energy of this performances matches the energy I imagine for ako. ako’s one of the original members of the group and was chosen for her heartwarming backstory of growing up on an impoverished planet rather than a specific skill that would aid in their secret espionage mission. she’s very engaged with fans and usually wears a handmade item from a fan in every performance. she’s part of the main trio with hime and yuki

izumi - identity (aikatsu friends)

izumi was really hard for me to place bc she has more of an adult image than most anime idols but is also quirky and silly. so I went with the quirky image for her and matched her to mirai’s song about how it’s good to be weird. I hate the outfit in this performance and it doesn’t suit izumi anyway but the vocals and dance are good. izumi joined the group in the second wave once the main trio had gotten some popularity and while she’s a great singer and looks good in everything she is also an engineer who specializes in a) robots and b) breaking into places. she’s a trans woman with cool big sis energy and is dating hikari. the two of them are in robo trio along with ayame

hikari - cutie breakin’ (prichan)

cutie breakin’ was the first boyish idol song that came to mind and it suits hikari bc their specialty is dance. I can’t see them wearing a joutfit like suzu does though. they joined in the second wave as a hacker and intended to stay offstage as much as possible but they came to really enjoy dance to their surprise. the idol image isn’t really for them so they tend to look annoyed when dolled up for concerts and photoshoots but some fans think that adds to their charm. they’re nb and dating izumi, and they’re in robo trio with her and ayame

ayame - dream colored energy (prichan)

I picked this song for ayame mostly based on the lyrics about being a guiding presence and helping others but I think rinka’s soft voice suits her. ayame is the one who gives robo trio their name bc she herself is a robot. btw robo trio is not an official or even a fan nickname, it’s a nickname used by me and the idols themselves bc ayame being a robot is a secret. there are not a lot of lifelike humanoid robots in the setting and since ayame was liberated from someone who bought a robot that looks identical to a human woman for nefarious reasons they just pass her off as a human. it’s working pretty well bc no one expects you to steal a state of the art robot and put her in a popular girl group, especially without advertising her as being a robot. she’s really sweet and caring with mom energy but she can be super weird about it bc she’s fascinated by human bodies

yuki - do you remember love? (macross)

I was like “i cant just say my character is voiced by iijima mari” but for yuki I definitely imagine her having the voice of a retro idol and one whose voice is soft but resonant. lynn minmay was the first character I could think of fitting that description. yuki’s the vocals of the original trio and has a surprisingly arresting stage presence on her own but prefers to fade into the background a bit when performing in a group. she, ako, and hime actually grew up in an orphanage on the same planet and were already friends before joining the group. she’s pretty quiet unless you get her going on one of her favorite subjects, namely her hobby of building and collecting figures. everyone else is always arguing about whether or not they can let her talk about it openly to fans bc they don’t want nerdboy fans to latch onto her in gross ways but also they are sick of hiding her gunpla every time they do “backstage” videos

aoi - I am the best (2NE1)

aoi is kind of the main character to me. she was the last to join and they tried to market her as a naive new girl briefly before realizing that she is loud and knows too much so they just let her be annoying and sexy. since she has a sexy image I had to go for something outside idol anime but I don’t know any idol music so I had to go for this one which is iconic to me. idk if aoi would wear any of the outfits in this mv but she would certainly rap about being the best. her previous dance experience was actually all ballet so she loves to pull out ballet moves with no warning. her defining character trait is that she has fun. although she also has a darkness to her past bc when her mom fucking died she revealed that she had been one of the secret donors behind this idol espionage project and she wanted her daughter to help with the project any way she could so of course aoi was like “I will dance in stiletto heels and high waisted shorts. to honor my mother’s memory.” shes in chill/newbie trio with tsuki and rie

tsuki - dreaming bird (aikatsu stars)

I also thought about a yurika song for tsuki but yurika has a rock edge that tsuki lacks. tsuki is a singer above all else and has a powerful voice. she can dance but she prefers to simply stand onstage and sing. her family was really rich with millions of credits or whatever but they lost their entire business in a spaceship fire during which tsuki was trapped under burning wreckage and ended up damaging her legs and lungs. now she’s a cool cyborg with artificial lungs that let her sing without breathing but she has no money and no family. so she was like “I’ll make it big using my one talent!” and ended up getting noticed by the space idol project

hime - open your heart (aikatsu friends)

hime may not be the protagonist in my eyes but she has the energy of an idol anime protagonist and is the glue holding this group together. so I had to pick a protagonist solo for her. she probably has that kind of cute singing voice too. I liked the lyrics to this one so I picked it. hime is kind and loving in a way that’s kind of unreal. she’s always positive bc she’s like “I got out of the rough situation I grew up in, I made eight great friends, I have literally millions of fans, how can I not be grateful?” her quirk is to always wear a crown. she was picked to be the center of the group at the very start and that hasn’t changed. she is the center of the nine person group as well as the main trio

rie - hip (mamamoo)

rie’s another one who’s too cool and sexy to get an idol anime song so I gave her a kpop song I know and like. it’s really catchy and danceable and I think rie would wear pretty much any of the outfits in the mv. rie is actually mostly paralyzed and primarily interacts with the world through an experimental robot izumi built that’s basically a mobile hologram projector. either she can control the exact movements of the robot while making pre-programmed gestures with the hologram or have the robot stand still or follow a programmed path while controlling the hologram as she would a real body but she’s become really adept at using it. she’s really stylish and loves designing clothes for everyone but she has to be extra careful about her own so the accessories don’t clip through her body while onstage

[venus-says]

Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart Episodes 01-23

*insert Mayumi Gojo's voice here* MAX HEAAAAAART

(yes, I know I'm late, these past few weeks have been really messy, bare with me please)

Max Heart is a season I never had a lot of memories of, a huge part of the events of this season mixed with the events of Futari wa, for the obvious reasons, so coming to this was a new experience almost like it was my first time, and I enjoyed it.

Everyone knows sequels are very difficult, they rarely surpass their predecessors. I think Max Heart is a good exception to this rule, of course, it may be kinda unfair to affirm this since Max Heart isn't all that different from Futari wa, but I see it as a good improvement to the original. It still has the bad points that Futari wa had, but they managed to pick on the good stuff and bring it up a notch.

I think one of the things Max Heart does better than the original is its overall theme. When you look at Futari wa it's kinda difficult to pin-point what is the main theme it's trying to work, is it good vs evil? is it hope? is it friendship? is it just a nice story of two girls growing up? Maybe it's just to me, but this was never cleared in my mind. In Max Heart, however, I could find a pretty clear theme, at least for this first half.

Max Heart it's a show about emotions, actually, it's a show about people's feelings and (on a pretty small scale) how to understand and empathize with them. And in these first 23 episodes, it has done a pretty decent episode in showcasing different situations where the girls had to stop and think about not only their feelings but in the feelings of the others as well, good examples of this are Episode 13 with Nagisa and her Mom, Episode 17 with Honoka and the members of the science club, Episode 19 with Hikari and Nagisa, and episode 21 with Hikari and that random boy running away from home that appeared in the episode.

The plot this time around feels a bit weird, I don't know if this is the impression the general public has BUT, to me, it felt like they were a bit lost. For example, in the first half of Futari wa, you could clear arcs being made and you could pin-point when an arc started and when an arc ended, in Max hear (much like in the second half of the original season) I couldn't make this distinction. This isn't a problem per se, but the plot does feel wonky at certain times. However, I still like it more than in season 1, there the plot was basically there's this villain trying to end this magical dimension, go defeat that villain. While in Max Heart the plot resolves around trying to revive the Queen before that the villains could resurrect the Dark King, it's simple but it works, it's a more objective goal than in the first season and I think this is the reason why I liked this first portion more than I liked this same period of Futari wa.

The cast of the show has pretty much remained the same, Nagisa and Honoka are still the same characters from Futari wa but you can sense that they've grown and matured a little, a good part of that can be seen as they play the leading roles of their respective clubs and what I like is that they didn't make them magically smarter or more efficient just because they became older, they are there in inspiring positions but they both have their doubts and insecurities that makes it all more real, relatable, and interesting.

Hikari comes as the only new addition to the recurring cast and she's great, she's a bit robotic at times, which is comprehensible after all she's probably an existence that only came to life after the Queen perished, but she still is very cute and a pretty good character. What I love the most is that we're seeing her on a journey of discovering her own self which is something that is always exciting to see. I always had in mind that Hikari was a boring character, but she's actually pretty interesting and a great plus one in the show.

The fairies... are the fairies. Mepple and Mipple didn't change a single bit, they're still the same as they were in episode 1 of the original show. I'm very annoyed at how they reduced the Guardian and the Elder to two game-addicts that exist only to make jokes and give exposition, especially after seeing in the past season how great of a character the Guardian could be. Though I think it evens things when you consider the Heartiels exist in this season and even though their roles aren't all that big they all still have lots of personalities and is a joy to see them, from the ones that appeared so far my is Intelligen because she's a savage and is very fun. The other fairy that helps to balance things out is Pollun, that surprisingly has been the best fairy in this show so far. Since the events of the last season and since him becoming Hikari's partner he has grown quite a lot, the whining is still there, but it feels less annoying because we can see how genuine he is especially when it comes to his relationship with Hikari. I never imagined I'd say this, but Pollun is a good boy and he deserves a pat in the head. XD

Now, if there's one thing the characters department leaves to desire is in the villains. First, we're again going against the Dark King and his followers and that's boring, second their designs are even more generic than the seeds of evil, at least those could work well if you tried to sell them as a co-ed idol group, these ones just look like a mess, none of their designs stand out, THERE'S A GUY WHO'S BASICALLY SHADOW IRUKUBO, THEY ARE THIS LEVEL OF UNIMAGINATIVE I don't even remember their names, it's sad. The only thing they have going on for them is the butler Zakkennas that retain their greatness from season 1, also sometimes it's fun to see the evil guys babysitting the boy that will become the Dark King. Other than that? They're boring as hell.

But if the villains' department has let us down, the visual department was in their best shape! I looooove all of the new designs and updated visuals the sequel got over the original. To begin with, the toys, while none of the devices, collectibles, and miscellaneous items from season 1 awakened my consumerist spirit, most items, if not all of them piqued my interest. From Mepple, Mipple and Pollun new commune forms to even the copy of that notebook they had in season 1 all toys got a very charming design, I think my favorite is the Queen Chairect, I love how extra that thing is and how it both looks like a vanity mirror and the Queen's throne, that's genius. Another thing that was upgraded and I really like are transformations and attacks, I love Black and White's transformation for Max Heart, it's so vivid, so powerful, so dynamic, it's everything their original transformation wanted to be AND MORE. Luminous transformation is quite good as well, is a very good contrast to NagiHono's more active transformation and it's pretty beautiful as well. While we're on this I love the redesign Black and White got, it's not that different from Season 1 but it's enough to make it stand out, I also love that even with Luminous addition they didn't lose this sense of unity in their costumes, they're still very different from each other but there are enough similar elements to tell that they are a team. Whoever was in the design department for precure in 2015 was on top of their game, for sure.

I'd usually end these with a portion dedicated to talking about the episodes in specific, but I already mentioned everything I had to comment on specific episodes here and there during this post so I don't think it's necessary. Instead, I wanna highlight something that I'm not sure if I mentioned in either of my posts about Futari wa that is the music! Sadly there was no insert sing in these episodes and the BGM is more or less the same as the one in the original anime, however, I would feel very bad if I had posted this without mentioning that the Max Heart version of the opening is the best version of DANZEN Futari wa Pretty Cure and nothing you say will make me change my mind. Also, while I still don't like the ending song (both endings are probably the most dated thing out of these seasons) I do think this one is an improvement in comparison with the ED of Futari wa.

In conclusion, Max Heart is a pretty solid sequel, at least up until this point, and I'm very happy I'm rewatching it now, much like with original series I've found a new admiration for this season that I didn't know it existed inside my evil heart, I hope the second half won't drop the ball and make me regret saying these things. XD Anyway, what are your thoughts on Max Heart? Have you rewatched it recently? What were your impressions of it? Let me know down in the comments. If nothing happens the post closing the book on Futari wa must come on Friday or Saturday and I'll be back on schedule for Splash Star on February 5th, let's pray things to go my way in the next few days. I'll see you, folks, around, bye-bye~

[ladyloveandjustice]

Summer 2018 Anime Overview: Revue Starlight

(Also known as Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight).

Karen Aijou is training at her school to put on the annual Takarazuka play, “Starlight”. She’s shocked when her childhood friend, Hikari, suddenly appears. She follows Hikari into mysterious elevator and finds her engaged in an even more mysterious sword fight with another student that’s preceded over by a talking giraffe for some reason. She’s told that this is a competition between “Stage Girls” for the title of “Top Star”. Karen sees that Hikari is in trouble, and quickly dives to her rescue, remembering the promise she and Hikari made to become stars together. Now Karen is involved in a truly strange competition...

I was super sold on Revue Starlight from the first episode. Girls fighting with swords? Takarazuka? A random giraffe? Utena references? Nice animation? This show was made for me, clearly.

And I came out of it satisfied. It was pretty surreal and pretty gay and that’s what I’m here for. It’s hard to explain exactly what the series is about without giving away some major plot twists, I’ll put it like this- it’s very much about two girls trying to upend the vicious, cyclic system they are caught in and there are definite themes of adolescence and identity. And some characters are not what they seem. I’m always down for that.

After all, the “Top Star” system only lets one person be at the top, while the others get their dreams crushed- but Karen wants to stand together with someone. There’s a lot of light critical examination of how Takarazuka in particular is structured here- I’d really suggest checking out these posts by Atelier Emily which dig deep into the subject. Basically, there’s this understanding in Takarazuka that the “otokoyaku” (the woman who the male roles) will be top star and its the “musmeyaku” (the woman playing the female roles)  must support her and consign herself to secondary status.

As Emily puts it “ [The musumeyaku must be] the perfect feminine foil so the otokoyaku’s masculine performance would stand out more in relief, [...], all while taking care not to skew too much into a romantic interest, so that young women in the audience can still imagine themselves in the arms of their favorite otokoyaku top star. Furthermore, they cannot achieve top star themselves, and must ensure that their talents do not outshine those of their otokoyaku partner.”

This whole dynamic plays heavily into the show- Claudine and Maya are the top otokoyaku/musumeyaku pairing in the school, yet it is Maya who gets all the attention while Claudine feels frustrated and like she’s second best. She wants to outshine Maya, but it seems like she just can’t. Meanwhile, Karen has this idea she and Hikari can be a couple who share the stage equally, which threatens to destabilize the entire system.

The series does not just examine Takarazuka but the nature of theater in general though, with the last episode in particular digging a little into the role the audience plays. It’s also touches on adolescent anxieties- we see characters coping with fear of the future and growing up, we see Mahiru struggling with her unrequited crush on Karen and her jealousy of Hikari and childhood friends finding their bond straining...of course, as expected of a series where a giraffe watches girls engage in sword fights while singing, these conflicts are expressed in a fantastical way much of the time.

Before I go further, I should mention some cool things the series did that I really need to go back and examine- there’s a lot about the show I feel I haven’t grasped yet, and I feel I need to rewatch it before I’m able to grasp it completely. BUT I GOTTA GET THESE REVIEWS OUT BEFORE I DIVE INTO THE NEW SEASON, so this is what you get.

 One thing I missed out on is that the songs the girls sing while fighting are really connected to themes of the episode- unfortunately the release I watched did not translate them, so that was lost on me. The credits sequence was also an evolving one, the lyrics would change and it would focus on a different girl or pair of girls each time- but again, not translated, so I feel like I watched an incomplete version of the show. But I will get the whole package someday because I think it’s really cool the show did that.

 I was correct in guessing from the beginning that this series takes a ton of inspiration from Utena and also from Yuri Kuma Arashi (the director actually worked on that show) but this is very much its own thing. There are scenes in the first half that seem like they’d fit in with Love Live! or some other idol show, with girls just goofing around and ~following their dreams~, but the back half leaned way farther into the plot and metaphorical significance of the bizarre stuff that was happening. 

I think the main thing Revue Starlight has going against it is character- Karen doesn’t really change much over the course of the show. She matures and is challenged a bit yes, but not in a significant way. The Karen of episode 12 makes the same decisions and has the same goals as the Karen of episode 2 essentially did. There’s not that much to her other than her determination to become the top star with Hikari, as well as her very broad “cheerful, ditzy and persistent” I’m-the-main-character-of-an-anime deal. 

Hikari is a bit more complex, with some backstory and reveals about her character in store, but she also isn’t anything we haven’t seen before in a lot of ways. It was hard for me to get as invested in their relationship as I wanted- they’re just fine as characters, and they serve the themes of the show fine, but they’re so broadly sketched and kind of nebulous the emotional connection is not quite there for me. 

Which is too bad, because they are EXTREMELY Gay. Don’t expect any kissing or anything ground-breaking, but the stuff they say about each other is like you know. “I only want you by my side/be with my forever/YOU’RE MINE, EVVVVERYTHINNG 222222 MEEEE THE REASSSSON I LIIIIVE IS FOR US” that sort of stuff that leaves little doubt. 

The gay doesn’t stop with that.There’s also the fact that Mahiru’s is as blatant as she can be about her huge crush on Karen (she uh. goes looking for an indirect kiss at one point) and she sees Hikari as her rival, and is pretty much clearly correct. All of the other girls are clearly paired up and you’ll have them referring to each other as “my [insert name here]” or saying other stuff that barely qualifies as subtext and suggestively dancing with each other.

Like I said, nothing ground breaking, but it’s good as far as “It’s-not-as-text-as-I’d-like- but-really-barely-subtext” gay stuff goes.

Most of our background lesbians are just a lot more interesting than the main ones, but we’re not given enough time to connect with them as much as I’d like either. Their arcs could have been more fleshed out, especially the arc of one surprising major player. I think a series with so much going on and such a big cast to explore maybe should have been a twenty-six episode deal so it could dig a little deeper with the characters and build up to things a little more.

So yeah, if I’d talk about the quality of my emotional connection and the strength of the characters and narrative and in how incisive it is, it’s not nearly as good as Utena (which I wasn’t expecting it to be, THAT’S A TALL ORDER) and more on the level of its other major influence, Yuri Kuma Arashi. It is a lot more thematically cohesive than YKA and without the deeply uncomfortable aspects, thankfully. The series may have moe character designs, but it remains classy and never indulges in blatant fanservice that I can remember. 

There’s plenty of other things to touch on- there’s what  seems to be light examination of the ‘bury your gays’ trope, as we find out the play “Starlight” is about a pair of HEAVILY-queer-coded-girls whose story ends with them tragically cut down and separated, and the series engages with what that show means for these girls acting it out and whether they’ll have to meet the same fate.

 Honestly, it’s the kind of series you could write loads and loads of analysis for, so if you like stories you can interpret a lot and read a lot of things into, this is probably your jam. I’ve loved the discussion this series has encouraged- I advise checking out the Afictionado’s posts on the show! I can’t wait to read more about everyone’s perspectives on the show as I revisit it!

So yes, my final verdict? it’s a good show, and if you’re like me and you love stuff that centers around the relationships between girls, if you love stuff that’s full of symbolism and action and weirdness that looks at the construction of fiction and fighting unfair systems and if you think Takarazuka and musicals are cool as hell- definitely check this one out. I recommend it and there’s really nothing offputting about it I can think of. One of the “Top Stars” of the season for sure.

I’m excited to give it a rewatch and pick up all the things I missed the first time. Right now, It’s not in my top ten or anything and I can’t say it moved me deeply. it was just a bit to nebulous in a lot of ways- but its definitely a worthy addition to the “lesbians with swords” genre, and in the end, what better compliment can there be than that?

[starlitfunkster]

After a nearly sleepless night yesterday, only spent working on this and having fun on SBURB Sim... I have finally nearly completed the main characters of this AU.

The only one’s not completed yet is (Y) Quarters and (Y) Cans. I might figure something out for them soon, but for now...

Here is the nearly completed Demon / Angel AU (aka Light N Dark Stuck). And yes, I did intentionally not design them because there is too many. And also yes, I did my self-insert Fan kid for this AU, as she is a new God-Tier learning more about herself everyday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

H = Hikari, or Light counterpart Y = Yami, or Dark counterpart (You might notice that Clover (Y) doesn’t exist… he does though. Just as Clover Melody, mostly due to his code matching Anne’s. Though that is intentional. He is also a Rogue of Light, with Anne being a Heir of Heart. More on that in their bios.) John Egbert - Fairy Prince of Winds/Breath - He doesn’t really act like a prince, instead being pretty goofy and cheerful (also wanting to be as free as everyone else). Enters the tournament thanks to Anne Melody being nearby (who had no connections with demons or angels at the moment), and his friends helpful sprite’s. His attribute is Breath/Wind, and he has 15 fairies that fly with him (all of which also help Anne). Rose Lalonde - Clairvoyant Fortuneteller of Light - Her predictions usually come true, as she can see into the future. Her class as Seer does allow that. She has an affinity with giving lucky charms to other people, mostly because it shares the good luck with the others around her. Jade Harley - Half Dog Space Traveller - She loves thinking about space and researching about it. While her ‘friend’ (more like guardian) isn’t against that idea, he seems to be awaiting the fact that she is gazing out towards Snowman. Her space abilities lets her breathe in space, and also move planets around.. she hasn’t had any purpose using those powers though, as she has friends to look after! Dave Strider - Striding Knight of Time - While he was one of the few kids that have ascended, he is mostly still a knight in training. This is because he has to make sure John stays safe, and also that he becomes the best Knight of Time ever… well sort of. Sometimes he’s a DJ at a club in the ‘Middle Lands’ where Demons and Angels can hang out with the ‘Mortal’ beings. Probably one of the best DJ’s at this particular club called the Twilight’s Timepiece (Yes, I came up with that name and I really hope you guys have any better ideas-). Jane Crocker - Maiden of Life - A woman who uses her Life magic very efficiently, mostly towards the forest where fairies reside in. Nature blooms around her, and she is one of Lady Lalonde’s favorite humans due to her liking life. Not that Lady Lalonde should ever pick favorites… Roxy Lalonde - Lady Robin Hood - She steals from the rich to give to the poor. Those being the carapaces who are suffering from the more richer carapaces that are ‘above’ them. WV appreciates her kind and social nature towards everyone, so much that it’s hard to suspect that she would steal for the poor! Her void powers make sure that no rich carapace suspects that she was even there. Jake English - Young English’s Hopeful Page - Yes, Lord English’s personal Page, and also one of Dave’s students. He is mostly learning how to harness his abilities as a Hope user. I mean, what could Hope do? Perhaps he keeps everyone sane in secret, but who knows. Dirk Strider - The Prince of Love(?) - Whilst he is an incubus, or at least an half-incubus half-human hybrid, he has no interest in love. Unfortunately though, his fake interest in love attracted the attention of a pretty immature incubus. Said incubus wants to learn all he can about love… and also learn about some maturity. Anne Melody - Inheritor of Emotions - A girl who wants to inherit her own emotions, and also who wants to share her ideals with other people. She thinks everyone should be true to themselves, and seems to appreciate John being true to himself. As she always says: “You should always learn to accept yourself with those who are close to you.” Clover Melody - Incubus of Luck - The luckiest of all the incubi, this one seems different from his other universe counterpart. In fact, he has more self-control then them. They also love spreading luck to other people through friendship. Itchy (H) - Angel in Training - He.. really isn’t used to being an angel. He is like a curious young boy whenever asking about the Muse of Light and Space.. or fairies. For some reason, he is attracted to figuring out the fairies and learning all about their magical abilities using the Aspects. Doze (H) - Dream Watching Angel - Typically he will be found fondly gazing at one of his followers to peer into their dreams. If a dream is about to go into a nightmare and he happens to take a liking to you, he may use his powers to change that nightmare into a dream. Though that usually is rare, yet exciting when that does happen… except the people he typically likes cannot remember their dreams all the time. Trace (H) - Clairvoyant in Training - While he can gaze into the past, he mostly has to rely on Fin (H) when it comes to fortune telling. Rose also aids in helping him learn more about clairvoyance and thus, fortune telling. Really he has a lot to learn for now. Clover (H) - Angel of Luck and Wheels - Test your luck as he says! He may spread luck, but only to those who dare, those who accept themselves for who they are and push themselves to the limit! He also runs a gameshow in the ‘Middle Lands’, though nobody ever remembers the name of it. (Or it’s because I can’t think of anything right now) Fin (H) - Master Clairvoyant - He can see into the future, thus meaning he must teach Trace and Rose all about clairvoyance. His eyes glisten with the cosmos, and he seems really interested in teaching them about future sight powers and especially clairvoyance. He is also though, pretty laid-back and straight forward. Though that doesn’t mean you should mess with him! Die (H) - Voodoo Master of Yin - While he is a master of the light as a whole, he still has yet to understand the dark. This causes him to be a bit chaotic sometimes, mostly because he just wants something bad to happen to him. It doesn’t help that he keeps getting good omens… Crowbar (H) - Co-Leader of Angels - While he does lead the main angels, he works under Snowman and mostly serves Lady Lalonde.. despite never seeing her in person before. He wields a 1/2 Crowbar, though he has never been seen hitting anyone or anything with it. It’s possible he may just be a pacifist though. Snowman (H + Y) - Mother of Angels and Demons - While she has raised the demons and angels of which she helped create, it appears that she mostly focuses on the human children called ‘God-Tiers’ that everyone appears to focus on. She focuses on two in particular though… Stitch (H) - Tailor of The Angels - He is well, the tailor for the angels! He makes their uniforms, and lives in the ‘Middle Lands’ with the other Tailor. They seem to work together, as they are just two no-nonsense men who just want to be helpful to their respective people (and possibly respected). Sawbuck (H) - Defense Master - He and his dark counterpart are teachers to various individuals who want to learn how to defend themselves. While he focuses on the straightforward defense mechanisms (and also strife specibi), he also seems to have a nack for gazing out into space for seemingly no reason. Oh well, it’s probably because Gamzee is a bad influence to his class. Matchsticks (H) - Raiser of Phoenix’s - Yes, this guy raises actual phoenix’s. No joke. He owns about 20 of them, and has a penchant for keeping these beautiful beings safe. One of them though has a broken wing, but that won’t stop this guy from watching over them! He even helps out the Phoenix with the broken wing.. talk about a very caring angel. Eggs (H) - The Fairy King - Yes he is the King of the fairies. He is less dumb than his demon counterpart (and slightly older too), and yet is more prone to worrying due to his son being a little bit rebellious. He has to be reminded by his Moirail that this is just normal for kids his age. But you never know! Biscuits (H) - Holy Pastry Baker - Eggs (H)’s friend and probably one of the better Holy Pastry bakers. He helps Jane out when she needs a particular recipe, and seems to go to a particular Troll’s hive whenever possible in the ‘Middle Lands’. (That being a Fan Troll: Durhal Bepsom) Also he’s probably one of the more sweeter angels to talk too. Quarters (H) - Angel’s Archery Master - He’s probably one of the best archer’s the angels ever have, and he also teaches archery to the other angels. And also Equius! Although that is sort of failing due to Equius being so STRONG and working on controlling his strength.. that and also two of the angels pick on him because he’s a demon interested in archery. This Quarters though says that they really aren’t ones to talk, as another demon that he knows is also interested in archery, but couldn’t come due to being too shy. Cans (H) - Master of The Fists - He is teaching very strong demons and angels to control their strength, and also teaching them how to be brave and fight back against monsters. Was once a human like all the others, but was killed by a very unfriendly ‘Graceful Assassin’. Itchy (Y) - Immature Incubus - An incubus who wants to fuck anybody near him. Though he has to try and be more mature than that, and also have some self control to him. He is trying to learn that from The Prince of Love, though maybe he should just learn from someone else… Doze (Y) - Sleepy Jinn - He is mainly asleep in his lamp, in which it has magic within it to show him the outside world even while trapped in his lamp. When he is summoned from his lamp to grant a wish, he will warn that user to not abuse his powers. Unfortunately a majority of mortals that end up using his powers (and keeping his lamp) tend to lose themselves. He does however, keep a mirror that can release the user from his curse (usually activates at around 4 or 6 wishes out of 13), however he himself cannot use it. Someone close to the user or the user themselves must use the mirror so the user can gaze into it and free themselves from the curse. Trace (Y) - Lamia Whom Retraces Pasts - Yes, he and Fin are males, and yes those two sometimes choose humans to mate with when the pheromones are picked up. Most of the human women that are mated with do not get pregnant, as that is very rare.. Oh and he can also follow past trails to find potential friends/mates (depends on the gender). Fin (Y) - Lamia Whom Predicts Futures - While he too is a male, he never really told his friend that he can technically reproduce as well. He typically chooses his mates sparingly, as most of the human mates do not live for long due to him and Trace having to coil them. He will also gaze into space just to think about the victims he took the lives of. Die (Y) - Voodoo Master of Yang - He is the more miserable counterpart to the Voodoo Master of Yin’s chaotic personality. It’s mostly because he can only see bad things, and wants something good to happen to him for once. He also has very bad luck, even with Clover Melody’s help. Crowbar (Y) - Co-Leader of Demons - He is technically the leader of demons, trying to keep them in check. Especially when he has to keep Itchy in check so he doesn’t.. you know. He is pretty calm, a bit too calm, but I guess you have to be in order to not let the madness consume you. Stitch (Y) - Tailor for The Demons - As said before, he works with the Tailor for The Angels in the same building. And also as said before, he is a no nonsense man. Will not hesitate to smack (Y) Itchy with his cane (always next to him at all times) if he hears one more inappropriate remark.. Sawbuck (Y) - Shield Master - He can create psychic shields to protect him from magical attacks, and he typically is seen teaching people how to protect themselves from magic attacks. Trust me, it’s very good for people to learn that in the ‘Under World’ because a lot of demons in hell use magic attacks.. especially ‘Shadow Magic’. Matchsticks (Y) - Lord of The Fire Pits - He has so many fire pits and so many followers that it’s even surprising that Crowbar can keep this guy in check. Maybe it’s because he is (somewhat but not that much) a bit of a flirt to ladies, and happens to be protective towards the weaker Fire demons, especially Nepeta and (Y) Biscuits. Eggs (Y) - Raiser of Slimes - He raises all kinds of slimes near his home area. This home area is full of various slimes, all of which based on the slimes from Slime Rancher. He loves raising them, and yet sometimes his slime ladies tend to huddle near (Y) Biscuits due to his warmth. Biscuits (Y) - Warmest of All Fires - He is the warmest of all fire demons, and seems to enjoy being close to his friends (and possible family) as they use his warmth for well.. warming themselves up! It’s kind of cute when the slime ladies and some weaker fire demons curl up near (Y) Biscuits for warmth. Quarters (Y) - Cosmic Ambassador - Cans (Y) - Mammoth of Strength -