#Toshio Lee

[dare-g]

Detroit Metal City (2008)

[discordiansamba]

lee loves his new job.

lee loved his job at the middle ring tea shop too, of course. he'd been happy there. he still missed his coworkers. missed the owner. missed his regular customers. he wonders if lin ever managed to attract the attention of that cute bookshop girl. he hopes yukio got into ba sing se university. he's a little sad that he won't get to see toshio's third child.

but serving princess azula is everything he could have hoped for- and more. there is a simple honor in his status as her personal tea server. she calls upon him twice a day- once in the afternoon, and once after the evening meal. sometimes lady mai will visit the kitchens in the morning, to have a cup of tea with him. lady ty lee is friendly, often congregating with the servants in a casual way.

(lee is never casual with her. it would be unbecoming of a commoner.)

if there's anything he's sad about, it is that he does not see father every day anymore. he misses the routine they had back home- misses cooking dinner for him each night. sometimes the kitchen staff will allow him to help with their daily meals. the first time princess azula eats his cooking, she is impressed. she is a kind employer- never hesitant with her praise.

when she returns to the fire nation, she plans to bring lee with her. you'll be the fire lord's personal tea server. won't that be wonderful? lee tells her that it is a greater honor than he deserves. the princess merely smiles and says that she cannot think of anyone more worthy than him for the position.

(he does not see the pitying look lady mai sends him.)

living and working together with jin almost makes up for not seeing father every day. when lady ty lee finds out that they haven't gone on a date in awhile, she insists to princess azula that she give him some time off every once in awhile. the princess smiles at his flustered face and apologizes. how silly of her not to notice. of course you can have some time off, lee. even the servants deserve time for romance.

they celebrate his eighteenth birthday together by visiting the theater. they each put on their best clothes- and lee cannot help but stare at himself in the mirror. he looks like himself. it's an odd thing to think. of course he looks like himself. who else would he be? he mentions it to his father, and the man smiles at him and lays a hand on his shoulder.

"you've grown into a fine young man, lee," he tells him, "-a proper man of earth. i'm so proud of you. your mother would be too, were she here."

his father embraces him. lee returns it, burying his head in his shoulder. all he has ever wanted was to make his father proud.

his date with jin is wonderful. the other servants tease them about it when they return. it makes him flustered, but it also makes him happy. in fact, lee can't think of a time he's been happier.

"i hope," he tells jin, "-i can stay like this forever."

[read-alert]

Another crosspost from my Instagram! This time for the Trans Day of Visibility!

Full titles under the cut

Poetry

Bluff by Danez Smith

Even This Page is White by Vivek Shraya

[Insert Boy] by Danez Smith

Maiden, Mother, Crone: Fantastical Trans Femmes ed by Gwen Benaway

Giving Birth to Yourself: Poems for Combat by Kai Cheng Thom

Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls by Kai Cheng Thom

Fantasy

Lead Me Astray by Sondi Warner

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Out of the Blue by Jason June

Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas

Historical

Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by AM McLemore

Most Ardently: A Pride and Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa

The Companion by EE Ottoman

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

Horror

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

Romance

I Think of You Often by Sienna Eggler

Their Troublesome Crush by Xan West

Drag Me Up by RM Virtues

Nonfiction

Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano

Self Organizing Men: Conscious Masculinities in Time and Space by Eli Clare and Jay Sennet

A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt

Miss Major Speaks: The Life and Times of a Black Trans Revolution by Miss Major Griffin-Gracy and Toshio Meronek

Indigiqueerness: A Conversation About Storytelling by Joshua Whitehead and Angie Abdou

The Appendix by Liam Konemann

Captive Gender: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex by Nat Smith, Eric A Stanley, and CeCe McDonald

Making Love With the Land by Joshua Whitehead

Graphic novels

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier

Across a Field of Starlight by Blue Delliquanti

Lumberjanes: Up All Night by ND Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Shannon Watters

Trans authors but (to my knowledge) no trans characters

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

All the Dead Things by Bear Lee

Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi

Miscellaneous

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor

Catnip by Vyria Durav

[lorirwritesfanfic]

The Fairytale Ball

Book: The Royal Heir Pairing: Liam Rys x MC (Jade) Characters: Liam Rys, MC (Jade), royal heir (Elise), Maxwell Beaumont, Hana Lee Rating: T Word count: 3415 Reading time: ~13min Summary: The Queen's Ball is the event of the year for the young generations. But Princess Elise isn't as happy everyone hoped she would be on her debut. Based on the prompt: @choicesnovchallenge: National Princess Day

Author’s notes:

Jade Bourbon-Rys, Elise Bourbon-Rys, Charlotte Amaranth, Zain and Gael Maldonado are creations of this author. The other characters belong to Pixelberry Studios;

This oneshot is part of Liam and Jade's universe, but I'm sure you'll have no problem reading it if you never read anything from my TRR series.

"One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three," Hana counted as she passed by, watching every young couple dancing in the ballroom. 

"Relax your shoulders, Toshio." Maxwell instructed, gently tapping a young boy's shoulder.

"That's beautiful, Marnie!" Hana praised another girl.

In the corner of the ballroom, Elise counted the steps as she tried to follow her partner's steps. Her mother and godmother always said Cordonian Waltz wasn't that hard. She just had to let her partner lead. Unfortunately, the dance partner Queen Mother Regina chose for her wasn't as good advertised. At least, not in her opinion.

"Ow!" The boy complained, wincing in pain.

"Sorry, Zain..." She said with a weak and apologetic smile.

"Is everything okay?" Hana asked, placing a hand on Elise's shoulder.

Elise grimaced. She knew her godmother wouldn't scold her as her grandmother probably would. But she still didn't wish to disappoint.

"It's alright, ma'am," Zain forced a smile as he continued to dance. 

How could he go on, given how hard she stepped on his foot? It was a mystery to her. 

The Queen's Ball was an annual ball/cotillion hosted by Queen Jade of Cordonia during Elise’s month of birthday to raise funds for the orphanages and community centers of the kingdom. It was a tradition in which all noble women she knew were involved and her mother was adamant about the princess joining the young couples dance this year. However, she couldn't say she was as excited to join as she hoped to be.

"One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two—"

"OW!" Zain whined. 

This time, however, it got a few other couple’s attention. The music stopped.

"Crap... I'm so sorry, Zain..."

"It's okay, Your Highness. I'm fine," the boy murmured.

"Watch out for Princess Klutzy, Zain!" A female voice in the middle of the room mocked. A voice Elise was unfortunately quite familiar with.

Suppressed giggles echoed in the ballroom.

Elise glared at Lady Charlotte, who replied with a smirk.

"That's enough." Maxwell called out, a rare scowl adorning her godfather's face. "Back to your places, everyone!" 

"Pay close attention to your partner, ladies. And don't forget your posture," Hana said, roughly straightening Charlotte's head.

Elise pressed her lips together to hide a smile when Zain winced again. 

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah... I'm kinda beat from football practice."

The princess frowned watching the boy kept dancing, trying to disguise he was limping slightly. 

"It's okay if you admit I hurt your foot. We can take a break."

"I'm fine, Your Highness."

"You don't have to play nice with me. And you don't have to call me Your Highness all the time. I don’t call Lord Zain of Bellmere."

"All right... If you let me lead, we'll do a lot better, you know," Zain suggested.

Elise smiled shyly. "Okay..."

Maybe she was overthinking again and just needed to chill. She had tons of dance classes over the years. Cordonian Waltz wasn't that hard after all.

For the next couple of minutes, things went smoothly between them. The princess even started to enjoy the dance and the company of the young Earl of Bellmere.

"One, two, three. One, two, three. Excellent! Now spin!" Hana instructed.

"Ready?" Zain asked.

"Yeah," Elise nodded.

But as Zain lifted her arm for the princess to spin, a couple bumped into them, pushing them both on the floor. 

Laughter rose in the ballroom as Hana and Maxwell rushed to help Elise and Zain.

"Damnit!" Zain complained, massaging his left foot.

"I'm so sorry..."

"Are you two alright?" Hana asked in worry.

"My foot hurts..." Zain winced.

Elise frowned.

"I told you Princess two left feet would hurt you." Charlotte snickered.

Something snapped on Elise as she heard Charlotte's voice again. Standing up, the princess stomped her way to the other girl and jumped over her. 

"Elise, no!" Maxwell yelled and darted to the princess, followed by the royal guards.

"You stuck-up bitch!" The princess bellowed as she mounted on the girl, grabbing her hair with both hands. 

Before Elise could do any real damage, four guards split the girls while the others sent everybody out. 

A few hours later

Steps and murmurs reverberated through the walls as Elise sobbed in her room. The Royal guard may be discreet, but the servants loved to gossip. By the time she locked herself in her room, the entire kingdom already knew she got into another fight with Charlotte Amaranth again. But having her name on the tabloids and strangers judging her was nothing compared to Queen Jade’s reaction. And the princess certainly didn’t want to face her mother now.

Just then, a gentle knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.

“Go away!” She whined.

Much to her disappointment, the door opened. 

“Hey, you can’t tell the King to go away.”

Elise sat up as she recognized the voice. The moment her father sat on the bed, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Dad!” She croaked.

“It’s okay, my Lil Bunny…” Liam murmured.

“Is it though?”

“I just talked to Lord Zain and his parents. He had already injured his toe during football practice. He just didn’t tell anyone because he didn’t want to be cut out of the team before Junior League started.”

Elise pulled away from the embrace. “But I stepped on his foot over three times!”

“Zain mentioned it, but he still doesn’t blame you. His doctor also said that landing on his feet when he fell most likely was the real cause of the injury.”

“Fine. Now what?"

“As we speak Maxwell and Hana are searching for a new dance partner for you. So now we have another matter to talk about..."

“Ugh…” The princess laid down again, pressing her face on a pillow. 

“What happened during the rehearsal?”

“You know exactly what happened," she grumbled.

"I do. But I still want to hear your version of the incident."

Her father had a point. As always. 

She then sat up again and began to speak. "I hate Charlotte!"

"Hate is one very strong word."

"It's how I feel about her!"

"Very well. Does it justify you mounting on top of Lady Charlotte to pull her hair and beat her up?" Liam arched an eyebrow.

"She said what happened to Zain was my fault!"

"Elise, you've had spats with her before, but it never came to physical fight. What happened this afternoon that made you cross that line?"

The princess looked down at her hands.

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

"She is a bully, dad."

"I see..." Liam said, not surprised to hear that Madeleine's only child took after her mother.

"I don't care when she says something about me..." Elise fiddled with the hem of her sweater. 

"Did she say anything about something else?" 

"Charlotte said Aunt Hana needs to grow a backbone. She put a melted candy bar on Sophie's seat to make it look like crap and mocked her in front of the entire school."

Liam's eyes widened in surprise. "That's why Sophie was upset today."

"The only reason I didn't beat that girl up at school was because Ava and Louis stopped me so I wouldn't get suspended."

"I assume what happened this afternoon was the last straw."

"Yeah..."

Liam pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"Are you mad at me?"

"No. I don't approve of what you did. This is absolutely not how we raised you and your siblings, but I understand your reasons."

"How bad is the press talking about it?"

"They're loving it. The rivalry between you two is being strongly associated with the one your mother had with Madeleine during my social season and engagements."

"Do they think Charlotte and I dislike each other because of a guy?!" Elise made a face. "Tabloids are so stupid."

Liam chuckled. "They usually are. Little did they know only Jade was fighting about a guy."

"Oh?"

"That's a story for later."

"Okay... What do we do now?"

"You go back to being my sweet daughter and future heir of the throne while your mother and I talk to the Royal Communications department to handle the press."

"But Charlotte's mom is the head of Royal Communications! Lady Madeleine will make it worse!"

"How so?"

"She doesn't like me."

"Madeleine doesn't like anyone in our family except Regina and Leo. But she's still loyal to the Crown."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Whoa..." Elise mumbled in astonishment. "Okay. If you say so..."

"You still have to apologize to her."

"Dad!"

"I'm not asking you to be friends with Lady Charlotte. Just be polite."

"But she—"

"Do it for Regina's sake. Your mother and I will be present to ensure you'll keep it civil."

Elise folded her arms. "How do you know Charlotte won't be the one to start a fight?"

"I was watching the rehearsal from the security cameras when the fight started. She can't win a fight against Sophie's turtle Pabblo."

Father and daughter exchanged looks and chuckled. 

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

“I don’t wanna dance anymore.”

"Pardon?"

"I'm not going to dance."

"Sweetheart, you've been talking about partaking in the Young Couples Dance for years," Liam tried to reason.

"I lost my dance partner, I'm the talk of the kingdom today... Maybe it's for the best." She gave her shoulders. 

"You know your mother won't like this, don't you?"

"Can you talk to her?"

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"I can try..."

"Thanks," Elise murmured, resting her head on her father's shoulder.

About an hour later

"She's not quitting!"

"My love..."

"She's not quitting, Liam!" Jade demanded, glaring at her husband from her vanity dresser mirror. "Our daughter is not a quitter!" 

"Elise doesn't want to cause a commotion with the press and the guests being in the same room as Charlotte."

"That's it?! Fine! I'll cut mini Madeleine out of the dance." Jade put down her face cream on the nightstand with full force. "There! Problem solved."

"Jade..." Liam called, staring deadpan at his wife.

"What? No one is gonna miss her anyway."

Liam suppressed a chuckle as he sat on the opposite side of the bed. "Regina won't be happy with this..."

"I don't care!"

"Don't you?"

The couple exchanged knowing looks.

Jade rolled her eyes. "Why do you always have to be reasonable?" 

"Somebody has to be. Plus, I know you don't want to have animosity with Regina."

"I created this ball for Elise! I'll be damned if I allow Madeleine's daughter or anyone to get in my daughter's way of having her dance!" Jade fumed.

"Did you truly create this ball for her or for yourself?" 

"You know precisely why this ball exists." Jade scowled.

Liam looked back at his wife and arched an eyebrow.

"Sure... Maybe I've been daydreaming about Elise's first dance with her high school crush for years. But I created the ball because she wanted to dress and dance like a princess."

"Jade, she is a princess. It's her birthright."

"This is not about monarchy and titles, Liam. Do you remember when we attended Calenvia's Baile de Debutantes? And the Queen's Debutants Ball in the UK? How mesmerized she was by cousin Manuela dancing with her girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's the only thing she hasn't experienced yet!"

"A fairytale moment."

"Exactly!"

"She was a five year old fascinated by fairytales. And I doubt her fairytale moment would come given how she barely seemed comfortable around Rashad's son."

"You don't get it, do you?" The queen pursed her lips in annoyance. "She has a Pinterest board with inspirations since she was seven. She booked herself an appointment with Galia Lahav to get an exclusive design for her gown. She may not have a crush on Zain, but they looked good together. We all saw the day she explicitly told Zain what type of flowers he should get for her corsage and his lapel!" Jade then stood up and sat next to her husband. "I'm telling you: Elise wants this. She cannot let go of her childhood dream just because that little project of Regina George pissed off my daughters."

"Hmm..." Liam pondered for a moment. "Fair point. But I guess we both know there's only one person who can convince her to attend," he said, giving his wife a knowing look.

"What if she thinks I'm forcing her to do it?" 

"You're fully capable of persuading anyone, my love," he said, kissing the back of her hand.

"Okay..." She heaved a sigh, resting her head on his shoulder.

Liam smiled as he once again realized how much his daughter took after his wife.

The next day

As the young princess finished her homework, Elise left the library and walked down the hallway, looking out the window. The Queen's

Ball night was near, so the servants began decorating the gardens, adding snowflake-shaped string lights on the walls and on the maze. The Winter Wonderland theme was her idea and she was completely sure it'd look amazing. Too bad it felt like a dream she would have to postpone for a while.

"Elise?"

The princess stopped in her tracks as she heard her mother's voice. They haven't talked since her mother left the palace to take Zain to the hospital. The queen looked furious then. Was she still mad at her?

The princess turned around to look at her. "Yes, ma'am."

"I heard you have a free schedule now. Follow me to the entertainment room."

"The entertainment room?"

"You'll understand why soon."

Oh, man... Was she going to use one of those educational videos just like the ones her parents showed Louis about STIs? Educational videos were part of her father's style of educating. Her mother's approach was a bit more straightforward.

Once they stepped into the room, Elise took a seat in one of the chairs on the back and Jade followed. On the cinema screen, small clips of Elise as a toddler dancing in the ballroom with the queen, watching her parents dance then joining them, clapping as she watched the first young couples and her dance lessons while growing up. 

As her eyes welled up, Jade changed seats to be closer to her daughter. "I know why you don't want to join the Young Couples Dance after what happened yesterday. Facing the press after a scandal isn't easy. But I want you to know why I created and have been hosting The Queen's Ball all these years."

"What?" Tears streamed down Elise's face. "But you always said it's an event to celebrate Grandma Eleanor and Grandma Elaine and help kids in need."

"I know. I'll keep mentioning them and their charity work they did because The Royal Communications said it'd be a good excuse to turn a ball into a charity event and attract more donations. But its first name was Fairytale Ball." 

"Fairytale ball?"

"Yes." Jade reached for her daughter's hand. "All I wanted was to give you a fairytale moment."

"Mom..." Elise threw her arms around her mother's neck and hugged her tightly. "Aren't you mad?"

"I should be." Jade replied, stroking Elise's hair. "I should scold you and ground you for weeks. But honestly? I wish I had slapped some people's faces during your father's social season and engagement to Madeleine."

"People?" Elise pulled away and stared wide-eyed at her mother. "Who?"

"Literally everyone in this palace except Hana and Max."

"Even uncle Drake?"

"Oh, sweetie... Drake was the worst sometimes..."

"Really?"

"We can talk about that later. Right now, I want to know what you want to do."

"I want the fairytale."

"Okay."

"But I don't have a dance partner!"

"Actually, Maxwell found three candidates for you. Next?

"Mom, there's the press…"

"Your father and I can handle them. What else?"

"I don't want to be anywhere near Charlotte."

"I can throw her in the dungeon." 

"We don't have a dungeon..."

"Well, not in this palace... But my guards can certainly escort Charlotte to Valtoria lower ground floor..." Jade commented with a sly grin.

"Mom!"

"I'm joking."

"You're so not!"

"You say it as if anyone is going to miss her..." 

Mom and daughter shared a glance and laughed.

"I want to dance. But I don't want to harm anyone in the process."

"I know..." Jade smiled, glad to realize how much her daughter had in common with her husband. "We'll figure it out. Now, onto more important things." Jade fished her phone out of her pocket and showed it to Elise. "These are your possible dance partners."

"A girl?!"

"And this lovely gender-fluid person who just won a scholarship at The Royal Dance Academy."

"Really?"

"What? We're keeping our options open just in case."

Elise looked at each picture, and though one person caught her eye, she prompted. "Mom, I don't know... Is there a way I can talk to them?"

The queen smirked. "I thought you'd never ask."

A few days later

Purple, blue and white lights tinted the Royal Palace walls as the guests arrived for the Queen's Ball, one of the most opulent events of Cornodia's social calendar. Among the many attractions of the night, young members of nobility and wealthy families across the world traveled to the Cordonian capitol to partake in the Young Couples Dance. Their hopes were to be introduced to the crème de la crème of world society, sharing their accomplishments and plans for the future. 

This year, however, the press was far more interested in news about the Royal Heir, Princess Elise Bourbon-Rys. After the incident between the future queen and Lady Madeleine's daughter, rumors about more spats, feuds between the princess's friends and her rival's at school and possible absence of both of them from the ball spread fast. Yet no one from the palace confirmed nor denied any information. Would the princess miss her own mother's ball? Or was it Lady Charlotte who took the fall?

"Your Majesties! A word, please!" A reporter chanted.

The king and queen smiled to the press, signaling for them to step closer.

"Good evening, everyone!" Liam replied.

"We hope you're enjoying the ball," Jade continued.

"Lady Charlotte just arrived with her family. Does it mean Princess Elise is still grounded?"

"Elise wasn't grounded. Queen Jade and I believe that encouraging our children to do volunteer work is a much more effective way to teach them about compassion and non-aggressive methods to deal with their feelings." 

"Can we expect the Princess to attend the ball then?" A paparazzi asked.

"Yes. Elise is preparing herself to join the festivities, just like all the other teenagers partaking in the Young Couples Dance," the queen affirmed.

"Aren't you concerned about another disagreement between the young ladies, sir?"

"There's no reason for concern. They've made amends that same day and they've been working together at the senior's shelter."

"Are they friends now?"

"What about the situation with Lord Zain?"

The reporters continued to ask more questions when the Queen's assistant approached her and whispered something in her ear.

"We would be glad to talk to you some more, but the first attraction is about to start. Please join us in the celebration of this magical evening honoring the children of our country," the queen stated before walking away with the king.

After outstanding performances of Cordonian Royal Ballet academy and a play presented by Queen Eleanor's children home, it was time for the Young Couples Dance. All couples were introduced by the herald and as soon as they took their places in the ballroom, musicians played a traditional Cordonian Waltz. The crowd eagerly waited for any kind of mishap or incident. Contrary to all expectations, the young couples gracefully danced to the song, making it another successful performance. 

"Maxwell and Hana did an excellent job with the kids this year," Liam commented.

"I know. Aren't they lovely?" Jade beamed as the couples spinned in perfect synchrony.

"They are. But there's one couple stealing all the attention though." The king nodded towards Princess Elise, who was all smiles to her dance partner. "Who is he?"

"Gael Maldonado, heir to the Ducado de Rivas."

"A Calenvian lord."

"Maxwell was betting on Amalas's child, but I saw how our Lil Bunny was like when she facetimed Gael."

"I see... Did Drake run a background check on him?" Liam asked, scrutinizing the boy.

"What would he—" the Queen then arched an eyebrow in amusement. "Are you jealous, Your Majesty?" Jade teased.

"No..."

"Liam..." 

"It's just a precaution."

"You don't say..." she grinned.

"Our children won't have a social season. We need to find out more about their possible..." Liam made a face as the boy whispered something in Elise's ear, making her giggle. "...suitors."

Jade chuckled, hugging the king's arm. "Honey, they just met. Let them enjoy the night with no pressure."

"Are you really not worried?"

"Why would I be? Look at them!"

Elise beamed as Gael spun her around and held her with back pressed against his chest.

The king then gave his wife a knowing look. "You already did a background check on him, didn’t you?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Jade reached for her champagne flute to avoid his gaze.

“Uh huh…” 

The king and queen smiled proudly, watching their eldest daughter dance.

[nicomrade]

1, 3, 6, 21? :o

thank u for the ask!!!! had to wait a day before answering so i could actually draw orz

1. what is your favorite color to work with? i think i like shading blue & white best! u can really push the colors a lot and add colorful highlights and really get a mood going. uhmm my favorite thing in the world is doing the eye whites a bright light blue like winter blue though. im addicted

3.what song(s) do you listen to when you do art? LOTS! i always have my playlists on OR for my comic work (thumbnailing & typesetting aside) i put youtube videos and podcasts in the BG to keep me focused. ill pick a playlist depending on my drawings mood/subject, my OWN mood, + if theres something special that day... like today is akagi day so its akagi playlist lock down uhm many such cases.

6.tag your favorite artists/inspirations! every piece in my #colors tag is there for inspiration... i also have a short #design tag cuz i always forget what my chara design insp tag is. i love uhm @/fashion-runways for outfit inspiration, scott pilgrim (comics) by bryan lee o malley are forever a huge comic-making inspiration, i also draw a lot from usogui - sako toshio and ranma - rumiko takahashi are two huge sources of inspiration for posing. love @/obligatorymorningfart too for.. chara design, composition, humor. uhm i draw a lot of inspiration from oil paintings as well i always lean super close in museums to stare at the brushtrokes & what order the colors were layered in.. i love oil paintings. DETECTIVE CONAN is also a huge writing inspiration though ive strayed very far away from murder mysteries i still have it in my heart. and of course FKMT's gambling fiction is among the best of the genre, and saw made me understand something fundamental about death games. i could go on but one last honorary mention to all the webcomics from the 2010s that people would upload on their own site for free, its all i ever read when i was growing up and its why i started making more fleshed out OCs and thinking about their stories. and finally the very first comic i fell in love with, gaston lagaffe :)

21.draw one of your original characters.

here they are... my awfuls... golden (left) & moki (right) r some of my oldest OCs, moki is the OG but im so biased to golden nowadays cause he SUCKS. they used to date, hes still bitter/heartbroken about it but shes so over it and thinks hes so funny hilarious when hes being entirely serious. they both suck honestly

[steel-10100]

it's time to introduce the new characters to you. this will happen gradually, a separate post for each character.

one of the OCs, whose image settled down almost immediately, although there were many drawings, but the changes from the first version to the current one are minimal.

dr. Lee works for the same company as Toshio (get ready, everyone there is connected with it somehow...), as head of research, i won't say in which field yet.

by nature, Lee is very calm, balanced and reasonable. he is far from the last person in society: in companies, the doctor often takes the role of a caring mentor with whom you can share your innermost things, so there is always someone around him (he has a lot of fans and admirers, if you know what i mean).

in reality, Lee is a man who is strongly self–directed, detached from society, even being in the very center of it. he is characterized by vivid emotions and impressions, dreaminess and carelessness, which he experiences inside or with someone he trusts. even though he makes an impression of duplicitous to some people with his supposedly feigned friendliness, in fact it has little to do with the truth. it is important to say that Lirio is an adult and self-sufficient person, besides being wise with experience, a well-deserved specialist, so his selfishness and romantic nature do not interfere with him in any way in everyday life. but how many hearts he broke... that's another conversation.

[derekfoxwit]

The Best Picture Oscar My Way (1980-1999)

Here’s Part 2 of Best Picture My Way (as started here). All information about my approach with this category can be found on that linked first part.

For convenience sake, I’ll relay this message. Only the films I add onto here as nominees will have listed nominated producers next to the movie’s title. (Here’s the Wikipedia page for the rest.)

1980

The Empire Strikes Back - Gary Kurtz

Raging Bull

The Elephant Man

Coal Miner’s Daughter

Ordinary People

1981

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Das Boot - Gunter Rohrbach; Michael Bittins

Reds

On the Golden Pond

Chariots of Fire

1982

Tootsie

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

Fitzcarraldo - Werner Herzog; Willi Segler; Lucki Stipetic

Missing

Gandhi

1983

Fanny and Alexander - Jorn Donner

Terms of Endearment

Scarface - Martin Bregman

Mender Mercies

The Right Stuff

1984

Amadeus (still)

The Terminator - Gale Anne Hurd

Love Streams - Yoram Globus; Menahem Golan

Ghostbusters - Ivan Reitman

A Passage to India

1985

Back to the Future - Neil Canton; Bob Gale

The Color Purple

After Hours - Robert F. Colesberry; Griffin Dunne; Amy Robinson

Ran - Masato Hara; Serge Silberman

Witness

1986

Platoon (still)

Misery - Rob Reiner; Andrew Scheinman

Hannah and Her Sisters

A Room with a View

Blue Velvet - Fred C. Caruso

1987

The Last Emperor (still)

The Princess Bride - Rob Reiner; Andrew Scheinman

Broadcast News

Moonstruck

Fatal Attraction

1988

Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Frank Marshall; Robert Watts

Rain Man

Dangerous Liaisons

Mississippi Burning

The Last Temptation of Christ - Barbara De Fina

1989

Do The Right Thing - Spike Lee

Driving Miss Daisy

Dead Poets Society

My Left Foot

Cinema Paradiso - Giovanna Romagnoli

1990

Goodfellas

Dances with Wolves

Edward Scissorhands - Tim Burton; Denise Di Novi

Ghost

The Godfather Part III

1991

The Silence of the Lambs (still)

Thelma & Louise - Ridley Scott

Beauty and the Beast

Boyz in the Hood - Steve Nicolaides

JFK

1992

Unforgiven (still)

A Few Good Men

Malcolm X - Spike Lee; Marvin Worth

Reservoir Dogs - Lawrence Bender; Harvey Keitel

Aladdin - Ron Clements; John Musker

1993

Schindler’s List (still)

The Piano

Philadelphia - Jonathan Demme; Edward Saxon

In The Name of the Father

The Fugitive

1994

The Lion King - Don Hahn

Forrest Gump

Pulp Fiction

The Shawshank Redemption

Eat Drink Man Woman - Kong Hsu; Li-Kong Hsu

1995

Toy Story - Bonnie Arnold; Ralph Guggenheim

Se7en - Phyllis Carlyle; Arnold Kopelson

The Postman (Il Postino)

Before Sunrise - Anne Walker-McBay

Braveheart

1996

Fargo

Trainspotting - Andrew Macdonald

Secrets & Lies

Jerry Maguire

The English Patient

1997

Titanic (still)

Good Will Hunting

L.A. Confidential

Princess Mononoke - Toshio Suzuki

Boogie Nights - Paul Thomas Anderson; Lloyd Levin; John S. Lyons; JoAnne Sellar

Lost Highway - Deepak Nayar; Tom Sternberg; Mary Sweeney

As Good as It Gets

The Full Monty

1998

Saving Private Ryan

Life is Beautiful

The Thin Red Line

The Big Lebowski - Joel and Ethan Coen

Mulan - Pam Coats

Central Station - Arthur Cohn; Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre; Robert Redford; Walter Salles

The Truman Show - Edward S. Feldman; Andrew Niccol; Scott Rudin; Adam Schroeder

Rushmore - Barry Mendel; Paul Schiff

Shakespeare in Love

1999

The Matrix - Joel Silver

American Beauty

The Green Mile

The Sixth Sense

Magnolia - Paul Thomas Anderson; JoAnne Sellar

The Straight Story - Neal Edelstein; Mary Sweeney

Man on the Moon - Danny DeVito; Michael Shamberg; Stacey Sher

Being John Malkovich - Steve Golin; Vincent Landay; Sandy Stern; Michael Stipe

[wroteonedad]

Songs for oddly specific occasions

I love listening to music. I love to play the same 10 songs over and over again, each for different walking situations whether that be the I'm running late for the train or I need to go to the shop and buy some more mushrooms, I will always have my headphones on as I complete my silly little daily tasks. I figured I would compile a little list of songs to listen to for those oddly specific occasions. You're welcome.

Songs I listen to rushing to work to pour Doom Bars for Dave

New Bottega - Torren Foot & Azealia Banks. (2023).

This song has a hard fast beat. Kind of the way that drum and bass makes a person feel after taking drugs, but you get the same effect on the way to your minimum wage job.

GOT UR NUMBER - v2 - bugcried. (2020)

A quite frankly poorly produced song that makes me want to run a mile with its harsh elements of hyperpop. Love it.

Buzzkill - Take Van. (2022)

Another song with a harsh hardcore beat. Feels fun in the same way it does when a family member would go 2mph over the speed limit.

Songs I listen to when I'm cooking up my mackerel fillets in sweet chilli sauce

Alien Crime Lord - The Voidz. (2020)

When I'm cooking I love nothing more than fun jumpy genres of sound and this is the one song by The Voidz that makes chopping a spring onion a fun experience

Why - Carly Simon. (1982)

What is so good about this song is that I can still hear it even if my extractor fan is on full.

Unconscious Melody - Preoccupations. (2014)

No thoughts, head quite empty music. A personal favourite.

Songs I listen to walking across the pop up bars on the beach

Do the Astral Plane - TOSHIO MATSUURA GROUP. (2018)

Nearly 10 minutes of jazz and funk bliss. Added bonus, a Flying Lotus cover.

Estrelar - Marcos Valle. (1983)

Heard this playing from the pop up bar last summer and became a favourite straight away.

Summer Madness - Kool & The Gang. (1974)

I think anyone who says they don't like this song are simply lying to themselves actually

Songs I listen to when I'm reading the book I've been trying to finish for a year

Audrey's Dance (Instrumental) - Angelo Badalamenti. (1990)

This song is simply the goated song on the entire Twin Peaks soundtrack and is so soothing

CHANCES (INSTRUMENTAL) - KAYTRANADA. (2018)

KAYTRANDA makes some of the most wonderful beats to grace the nation, any instrumental makes me concentrate.

No - Nicolas Jaar. (2016)

Nicolas Jaar has so many songs I could sit and be quiet to, but this is one of my favourites to simply unwind.

Songs I listen to when I'm getting ready to feel disappointed and whelmed in a club

Two of Hearts - Stacey Q. (1986)

Fun. Girly. Makes me feel like I'm in a time capsule of some form.

NEW MAGIC WAND - Tyler, The Creator. (2019).

If only the clubs around here played this instead of Drake.

Clear Air - Sevdaliza. (2015).

This was recommended to me by a Tumblr mutual over 5 years ago and still continues to be one of my favourite hype songs.

Songs I would listen to cleaning the glass washers at work if I was ever brave enough to play my music out loud

Babooshka - Kate Bush. (1980)

This song makes me feel like the most powerful woman on earth

Perseguido Por El Rayo Mixed - Pegasus & Peggy Gou. (2019)

I feel like I'm a character in a Mario game whenever this comes on

Shambala - Beastie Boys. (1994)

Mike Ehrmantraut I am looking at you

Songs I listen to as I walk by screaming babies in clothing stores

Bruce Lee - Underworld. (1999)

The song is so loud that it'll drown any loud noise out

Hallways - Grimes. (2010)

Grimes squeaks so much in this that the crying would blend in well

Atopos - Bjork. (2022)

Industrial sounding in a fun out of this world way

This is how I feel when I am walking around listening to any of these songs in any of these situations. Hope everyone enjoyed it :)

[countzeroor]

Episode 12: Shirobako

It's time to get further into the weeds when it comes to how anime gets made.

Referenced Links:

Jamie Lee Curtis wants to be in Live Action One Piece (after the strike): https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2023/9/22/jamie-lee-curtis-ready-to-lobby-for-role-as-kureha-in-live-action-one-piece

Anime Industry Figures referenced in Shirobako: https://blog.sakugabooru.com/2018/04/30/shirobakos-secrets-the-most-deliberate-anime-industry-references/

Gainax Alum talks about Production Committees: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2023-03-02/animator-supporters-project-posts-toshio-okada-criticisms-of-production-committee-system-with-/.195481

Shirobako is available Physically (Affiliate Links):

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3EfUMts

RightStuf: http://shrsl.com/47a6k

Next month we'll be covering Vampire Hunter D, which is available physically (Affiliate Links):

Amazon (Digital): https://amzn.to/459byFI

If you have comments on the show, please send them to the below E-mail address.

Opening: Donut by Anozira Bandcamp Link: https://anoziramusic.bandcamp.com/track/donut Used with permission

Subscribe to the Podcast: https://feeds.libsyn.com/444780/rss

Send feedback to: animeexplorationspod@gmail.com

Please support my Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/countzeroor Buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/countzero Watch my Live-Streams on http://twitch.tv/countzeroor

The latest episode of my podcast is up!

[wearepansies]

(Turns around slowly in office chair, petting my laptop) Im so glad you asked…

TIME TO FINALLY START THIS SERIES, GOING IN ORDER BOOKOLOGICALLY

Percy(11)- Walker Scobell(Young Adam, Percy Jackson)

Annabeth(12)- Grace Rolek (Connie from Steven universe)

Grover(?)- George Salazar (aka Michael from Be More Chill!)

Sally Jackson(32)-Christy Altomare(Anya from Anastasia the musical)

Gabe(37)-Danny Devito (Phil from Hercules, Mr.Wormwood from Matilda)

Chiron(?)-R Bruce Elliot (Master Makarov from Fairy Tail)

Mr.D(?)-Adam Sandler

Mrs.Dodds(?)-Pam Ferris(the Trunchbull from Matilda lol)

Lee (15)- Zach Callison(Steven Universe)

Clarisse(15)-Jessica Darrow (Louisa from Encanto)

Ares- David Wald(Gajeel Redfox from FairyTail, Toshio Ozaki from Shiki)

Medusa(?)-Pat Caroll (Ursula from the little mermaid)

Echidna(?)- Sonia Manzano (abuela from he casa grandes)

Luke(16)- Brad Swaile(Light Yagami from Death Note)

Nancy Bobofit(12)- Selah Victor(Chloe bourgeois from Miraculous)

Krusty(?)- Jason Schwartzman (the spot from across the Spiderverse)

Hades- I STILL HAVE NO IDEA

Poseidon- Shea Wigham(George Stacy from Across the Spiderverse)

Zeus- Luke Holt(Zeus from Epic the Musical)

out of curiosity, who’s everybody’s voiceclaim headcanons for different riordanverse characters?

[watchingalotofmovies]

When I Get Home, My Wife Always Pretends to Be Dead

When I Get Home, My Wife Always Pretends to Be Dead    [trailer]

The very descriptive title explains the funny set-up. But at its core it is a more serious exploration of the difficulties how to keep a successful relationship.

The wife's elaborately staged deaths are such a delight to watch. I want to recommend the movie to Michel Gondry. Another comedic highlight is the unexpected arm-wrestling match.

It gets a little too on the nose at the end. But that's okay.

Pleased to learn that "The moon is beautiful, isn't it" here is the Japanese equivalent to "As you wish".

A movie just the way I like it, a serious topic wrapped in many amusing situations. The film should be much more popular.

[moviesteve]

When I Get Home, My Wife Always Pretends to Be Dead https://bit.ly/3vCh9Fw Japanese screwball meets cute self-help in When I Get Home, My Wife Always Pretends to Be Dead, a film announcing what it’s about in its title. Every night, when salaryman Jun (Ken Yasuda) gets home from work, he finds his wife dead on the floor – killed by a knife, a bullet, an arrow, a stake through the heart. Chie (Nana Eikura) isn’t really dead, she’s pretending, and she absolutely expects her husband to play along and put on a fully convincing performance of finding her and falling to bits emotionally before he reaches for the phone to call the emergency services, at which point she will squeak open an eye, jump up, … Read more

[discordiansamba]

he wakes up the next morning with the sun.

he stares out his window blearily. finding out he was a firebender at least made his early rising habits make more sense. he made a mental note to try and properly learn it, even if he decided to stay as lee. he should probably try and learn more about the fire nation in general. it was as much a part of him as the earth kingdom was now.

he yawns, makes himself breakfast. he tries putting on the fire nation clothes he was given, and assesses himself in the mirror. they don't look right on him, he thinks. he changes back into earth kingdom green, and instantly feels more relaxed. he braids his hair and heads to work.

the regulars are thrilled to see him again.

lee's happy to see them again too. he'd missed them. he catches up to what they've been up to since he left. lin did attract the attention of that cute bookshop girl. yukio did get into ba sing se university. toshio lets him hold his third child- who promptly yanks on his bangs with impressive grip strength for an infant. owwwww.

as the day goes on, he falls into a familiar rhythm. jin drops by on her lunch break to see him. he takes his lunch break in the back, catching up with his coworkers. he tells everyone that he was asked to be the personal tea server of a high ranking earth kingdom noble, but that he'd missed ba sing se so much he'd decided to come back.

"you can take the boy out of ba sing se," one of them chuckles, "-but you can't take the ba sing se out of the boy."

it's true, lee thinks. even if he goes back to being zuko, he'll likely be forever reshaped by his time as lee. it's... oddly comforting, in a way. the life he built for himself here would still mean something, even if he returned to being a fire nation prince. part of his heart will always stay with ba sing se.

it's shockingly easy to fall back into old routines.

he wakes up at dawn, makes himself breakfast, then gets dressed and braids his hair. he goes to work. jin visits on her lunch break. he works until the evening, chatting with the regulars and making small talk with the newer customers. he stops by the market on the way home and buys ingredients for dinner- then goes home and makes it. he goes to the bathhouse after dinner. sometimes he runs into jin. sometimes he doesn't.

his life is peaceful. it's happy.

...but he's suddenly aware that something is missing.

he goes to the library on his first day off. he spends the entire day reading up on the fire nation, devouring every piece of information he can find. he learns about the hundred year war. prince zuko is a mere footnote in it, but it's always jarring whenever he's brought up. he reads the few books on firebending he can find.

he spends a lot of time with jin.

spirits, he thinks. he really does love her. and if he goes back to being zuko, there's a good chance he'll have to give her up. at the same time, he wonders if this is even fair to jin. lee doesn't really exist, but... he could make him exist. if what katara says is true, he'll wake up one day and completely be lee. he'll be no different from anyone else.

(it's comforting and horrifying at the same time.)

jin keeps waiting for him to talk to her.

he keeps putting it off. because even if he chooses to stay as lee, she deserves to know the truth. and he could still very well lose her all the same. before he knows it, his month here is almost up, and he still hasn't told her anything. he can sense she's getting impatient. so on their next shared day off, he works up his courage.

he spoils her that day. they go and visit the zoo in the outer ring- the one avatar aang made himself, apparently. they eat lunch at a food stall in the lower ring, then sit and watch the local player's current production about avatar kyoshi and chin the conqueror. in the evening, they eat dinner at their favorite restaurant. they end the night at the firelight fountain.

it's wonderful. it's perfect.

"jin," he tells her, "-there's something I need to tell you."

it's an odd feeling, telling his nephew about himself.

but it is clear that the young man sitting across from iroh is not his nephew- as much as he might have zuko's face and body. even with the knowledge of his true self, he still treats him as a distant stranger- one that he must be deeply respectful of, but still a stranger. katara has kept him abreast of the situation, though he suspects there is something the young waterbender has been keeping to herself.

looking at lee, he suspects he can sense what it is.

he tells lee of zuko's agni kai.

he tells him what lead to it. lee looks surprised at zuko's outrage at the planned sacrifice of young soldiers. he is not sure he can blame him- he can only imagine what zuko's reputation is in the earth kingdom. to them he was only a banished prince, disloyal to his father and punished for it without knowing the exact reason why. he had chased the avatar with the intent of turning him over to his father, and then had helped conquer ba sing se.

iroh holds nothing back.

he tells lee of zuko. of how he let himself be redefined by his anger after the agni kai. but he also tells him that he helped the avatar escape pohuai stronghold, even if his reasons for doing so were less than pure. he tells them of their life as refugees. he tells them of zuko's choice under lake laogai, when he freed appa.

he tells him of how he chose to ally with his sister during the coup.

lee listens to him quietly- but it is like he is being told a story about another person. someone he's never met. when iroh is finished, lee exhales, as if he's been holding his breath all this time. it has been some time since iroh started speaking, but there is still steam rising from lee's cup.

"he wasn't happy," lee says, "-was he?"

"no," iroh admits, "-not for a long time. not since his mother disappeared."

lee cannot meet his eyes. he opens his mouth and shuts it, like there is something he wishes to say, but cannot manage. iroh sighs, and gives him his word as fire lord that whatever he wishes to say to him, he can say it without consequence. lee takes in a deep breath, and slowly lets it out.

"i don't know," he admits, "-if I want to go back."

and there it is, out in the open.

it would not be the first child iroh has lost to ba sing se. this is perhaps a kinder way to lose one. zuko would not be himself, but he could be happy there. they will have to deal with lan-wei and azula, but if that is the path he wishes to choose... then iroh will support it. he asks him only to think about it before he makes his choice.

deep down, he has wondered if a distant promise of happiness was what finally made zuko surrender.

"lady mai tells me this is the royal family's personal villa," lee says after a moment, "-but I don't know this place. I've never been here before, but there are portraits all over the place of someone who looks just like me. i can't get comfortable here."

"...I think I need to go home. to ba sing se."

"and if you go," iroh asks, "-will you be able to make up your mind?"

lee nods. iroh heaves a sigh. in truth, he does not want to let him go. but his nephew must make his own decisions. he is eighteen now. nearly an adult. the last time iroh tried to force him into seeing things his way, it did not end as he'd hoped. not for himself- nor for zuko.

"then go," iroh says, "-one way or another, you will find the answers you seek there."

[ot9000]

家に帰ると妻が必ず死んだふりをしています。

Directed by Toshio Lee　李闘士男 2018 Japan

[soundgoodizer]

Song Of The Week #257 - Beautiful Green Wild Beast by Toshio Masuda

Sonus Ars Spotify Playlist

[rabbitmotifs]

——— A WEB WEAVING OF ERIC CHAPMAN AND ANTIGONE FUNN, WOODEN OVERCOATS

i. wooden overcoats, david k barnes / the sweet taste of death, beth anderson / and where were you that summer, francisca matos / the cinnamon peeler, michael ondaatje /

ii. david k barnes (2) / antigone, sophocles / the year winter became floral, cyanide skies / sophocles (2)

iii. david k barnes (3) / the asylum for wayward girls, emilie autumn / funeral parade of roses, toshio matsumoto / invisible monsters, chuck palahniuk / citrus szn, sophia rose / dialogues on love #4, sue zhao

iv. beth anderson (2) / david k barnes (4) / intimacy, angelica alzona / lee reum / david k barnes (5) / beth anderson (3)

v. the seven husbands of evelyn hugo, taylor jenkins reid / antigone, jean anoulih / david k barnes (6) / movie matinee, victoria crayhon / the affliction, marie howe

vi. david k barnes (7) / tumblr, nonblooming / aquarian odyssey: a photographic trip into the sixties, don snyder / king and lionheart, of monsters and men / david k barnes (8)