#and the end scene is one my favorite comedic scenes in the series too

[weast-of-eden]

i present: my favorite eric bogosian scenes in netflix’s the get down (2016)

[yumeka-sxf]

Thoughts on Spy x Family: Family Portrait

I finally got around to reading the SxF light novel, Family Portrait...and I mean "finally" because it's literally been sitting in my shelf since it was first released in English back in December of last year! I was distracted by Code White and the SxF video game which came out around the same time, but even long after that, I was having trouble getting motivated to read it. For some reason, experiencing SxF in novel format instead of in anime/manga just didn't appeal to me, plus the fact that it's not written by Endo himself (these weird preferences of mine are also why I'm not into reading fanfics either). Don't get me wrong, in general I love reading stories in prose form too, but for a series like SxF that already has such an established visual identity, it doesn't feel as "authentic" to me if that makes any sense. But I did want to read it eventually, since it is an official part of SxF media and Endo did the illustrations and does acknowledge the book (he wrote a nice afterword at the end). So I finally sat down and read it in sections over the course of this week! I'll share my brief thoughts on each of the contained stories:

Novel Mission 1

Since this was the first story in the book, it took me a while to get used to experiencing the world of SxF in novel form. There were some things I felt would have been better conveyed in anime/manga, for example, one of the very first gags about Yor misinterpreting Anya's nature class as some sort of hardcore outdoor survival trip. As I was reading that part I was like "I get the joke, but it would have been funnier if I actually saw these images and the characters' expressions with Endo's comedic illustrations." It was also a bit jarring to hear the characters thoughts and feelings from third-person narration, but I got used to it. As for the story itself, it was Damianya focused, something I'm not particularly into, but I don't mind it either. I liked the rare, soft Damian moments, and the thing with the squirrel eating Anya's peanut trail was funny. I also liked the scene at the beginning where Loid and Yor feed Bond together while Anya watches.

Novel Mission 2

Oddly, this was my favorite of the stories! Of all the characters, I think the author nailed Yuri's unhinged thoughts the best - as I was reading, I couldn't help but hear every cringe thought in his voice, which is a good sign of how well the author gets the character! I actually chuckled at a few parts too, both from his insane Yor-obsessed and anti-Loid musings, as well as from his banter with Anya. The police interrogation scene was great and would be even better if it ever gets animated! I also found it interesting that this story has the first instance where we find out what Yuri thinks about Bond (that he's fat and useless - rude!) Also his first time hearing about Franky apparently...makes we wonder if Endo will make him feel the same way if these things ever come up in the manga.

Novel Mission 3

I liked this story a lot too! I think it worked the best in novel format out of all of them, probably because it was more focused on drama and emotions than comedy. It's ironic that the two official SxF stories that feature the deeper side of Franky's character - this one and the omake chapter from volume 13 - are both not even part of the main canon! Alessa would have definitely accepted Franky's job as an informant, but he felt that someone like her should only be surrounded by "beautiful things." The poor man really needs to see that inner beauty matters too, and he has that! I also think he should have swallowed his pride and told Loid the real reason why he wanted the disguise...not that it would have changed the outcome. Poor Franky.

Novel Mission 4

This was a cute Forger-focused story, but like the first one, I felt it had parts that would have been more effective in anime/manga form, for example, "hair monster" Yor and whatever hideous painting Felix ended up making! But despite that, it was still funny and cute. Though I do think the author went a tad overboard with Yor's flustered antics...they just kept going and going, lol. Also, like the movie, we have another scenario of Loid getting flung into the air by Yor but landing gracefully on his feet (though this instance was much tamer since she wasn't drunk and only pushed him instead of hit him). Again, maybe I would have appreciated the humor in this story better if I saw it in anime/manga with Endo's hilarious designs and expressions, but for what it was, it was enjoyable enough.

Short Novel

This extra short story would be perfect as a reintroduction story for a future anime season...maybe one day!

-----

Overall, the Family Portrait novel is a nice addition to the Spy x Family universe. Even though I feel the humor in the series is most effective in illustrated form, it's still nice to have more stories in the canon, especially ones that show new sides to the characters, like the Franky and Yuri stories. Like the movie, it's debatable if this novel should be considered true canon or not, but personally, I don't find anything in it that contradicts canon, at least not yet. So yeah, definitely check out the novel if you haven't already! 😁

[absolutebl]

BL recs (from any country) that don't have any s*x scenes? I'm too ace to enjoy them at all. Happy ending preferred, angst v welcome:)

BLs Without Sex Scenes

Oof, this is a hard one. Is a dead fish kiss okay? I do have a heat sorting on the spreadsheet of doom, and there are some with no kissing at all, but a dead fish kiss is in most of the HEA ones.

BLs with No Kisses

21 Days Theory (Thailand, YouTube) - the only thing I didn't like about this pulp was the fact that they don't kiss, so... yeah, this is my first pick for you. Very YA first love angsty, fantastic queer rep and side characters. RECOMMENDED

My Esports Genius Brother (China, Gaga?) - it's hella odd censored bromance but enjoyable. No real angst tho.

HIStory My Hero (Taiwan, Viki) - basically a BL with no sex or kissing, but also body-swap so is it BL? I can't remember the end but I think it's happy?

Silhouette of Your Voice AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan, ????) - this 2017 yaoi adaptation is a full on BL just no kissing at all. The source manga (I Hear the Sunspot) is a favorite of mine and the casting was decent. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for you (but not in general). Grey only.

Love of Siam (Thailand, ????) ALL THE ANGST, I'm pretty sure the most they do is hug, I could be v wrong though because too sad for me to ever rewatch. Very formative to the Thai BL industry.

The Lover (BL cut) (Korea ????) sometimes you can find the BL cut on YT, it has slapstick comedic sexualized moments that are maybe a little homophobic (or something), no actual sex or kissing, but no angst at all. (Korea's working some shizz out with this early offering.)

Kabe Koji AKA Kabesaa Doujin Sakka no Neko Yashiki-kun wa Shounin Yokkyuu wo Kojirasete iru (Japan, Viki) - I watched this and I was excited about it before it aired, but I seem to have expunged it from my memory and kept no screen caps in annoyance, so that's all I got.

Love in Spring AKA Spring of Crush (Korea, ????) - a crossdressing historical that flew utterly under the radar. I decided it just wasn't really BL, but it has BL aspects and it's kinda a little queer... or something. Grey only.

Evening Cafe (Thai pulp, YouTube) - No heat and no kisses, but a decent lead pair, about a boy who works in a cafe and the new employee who has a crush on him. That’s it, that's the whole story.

A Shoulder to Cry On (Korea, Viki) - Has no kissing and many people found it really good as @isisanna-blog reminded me, thank you). It certainly has ALL THE ANGST. (I did not like it at all, but I'm a terrible judge of this kind of BL.)

What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Japan ???) - this is such a lovely show, very warm and comforting and slice of life. There is very little angst, they too old for that shit, but little to no sexual content either. It's very warm and loving. A safe extremely yet queer show - and oh boy do we not get many of those. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Censored Bromances

So No Kisses (TM) for the gays but the hets might do stuff I didn't pay attention to. All these from China. Some happy, most not.

The Untamed

Word of Honor

Guardian

SCI Mysteries

Stay With Me AKA Addicted 2.0 (I never watched this so there may be rough play)

Mr CEO Falling in Love With Me

The Fairy Fox

Youth in the Breeze

Precise Shot

Advance Bravely

His Cat AKA His Cat Boyfriend

The Male Queen: Han Zi Gao

The "Ghost Boyfriend" series

Past Youth

I Go To School Not By Bus (Hong Kong short)

Recommended Shorts with no kisses, but cute & fun

The 8.2 Second Rule (Japan YouTube)

One Last Order (Korea, Gaga)

Love Advisor (Thailand, YouTube)

BLs with Dead Fish Kisses (maybe? only one, if any)

His the series: I Didn't Think I Would Fall In Love (Japan ????) - (NOT His the movie) this one has all the angst you could want in your whole life. ALL OF IT. Japan wins at emo, it's their THING.

Cherry Magic AKA 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii AKA Cheri Maho (Japan ????) - there's sort of some bed tussling and implied sex but you could imagine them just being snuggles for the mains, the sides have dead fish kiss. In general there's some angst but not much. It's fluffy and great. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Bonus: overt ace representation for one of the side characters.

Meow Ears Up (Thailand Viki) - sides may kiss? I enjoyed this pulp especially at the start, the premise is fun. I think my biggest complaint was lack of kissing.

My Love Mix Up AKA Kieta Hatsukoi (Japan Viki), a case could be made for a demi seme in this BL. So much frenetic angst around bisexual identity crisis. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

My Ride (Thailand Gaga) - my favorite Thai BL pulp the sides have a good kiss and the mains do kiss but it's v dead fish, not at all sexual, and it comes at the very end. Otherwise extremely chaste, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this BL, queer and complex and engaging.

I Want to See Only You AKA Kimi no Koto Dake Mite Itai (Japan ????) - This is a beautiful piece of cinema well acted, about two boys who are opposite personalities and grew up together. The only kiss is the one pictured above, v dead fish. Full review here.

Nobleman Ryu's Wedding (Korea WeTV) - 12th Night goes BL in this cross dressing historical that ended up feeling like a Cinderfella fairy tale, lightly dramatic and utterly charming. Full review. There is one dead fishy kiss at the end but it's otherwise aggressively pure.

If you like this last style of KBL (with a kiss at the end being okay, I have quite a few more to recommend). Until 2022, most KBLs only had one dead fish kiss in them, so you are pretty safe with pre 2022 KBLs. They tend to be quite chaste and de-sexualized. Other good examples: Wish You, Light on Me.

That's all folx.

Some of the above I may be misremembering (since I don't rewatch this kind of BL and my memory is shit). And I may have forgotten some too, so I hope comments with jump in.

Others to consider:

(source)

[musicalmoritz]

any Tsukasa headcanons? I feel like everyone sees him as this demon monster who has no personality aside from murder :/

Tsukasa is an interesting character for me because he’s actually my favorite Yugi twin but I hate when ppl try to justify his actions…however some people go the opposite way and treat him like he’s a heartless villain with no depth so I end up defending him. Ppl get weirdly ableist abt it too it’s crazy. Tsukasa Yugi they could never make me hate you.

Now onto the headcanons

• I’m a firm believer that Tsukasa is adhd coded (I have adhd and I recognize my own kind)

• Specifically bcuz of the scene where child Amane said smth to Nene abt how Tsukasa would lose it if they didn’t play his favorite game at the festival, and due to the way he acts in movie theaters

• There’s room for debate over whether or not it can be called “coding” but you’ll never convince me that boy was intended to be neurotypical (autistic Tsukasa truthers are also valid)

• Since Sakura compares him to a cat I like to imagine he gets really clingy and cuddly with ppl for like 30 mins and then flips a switch and tries to bite them like cats do

• From “somebody hug me rn” to “touch me and I’ll kill you” within the span of a few minutes

• He takes a very “when I’m bored but then I remember I have a sibling” approach to bonding with Hanako. If the Broadcasting Crew and Mitsuba aren’t interesting him, he’ll pop over to Hanako’s bathroom and annoy him

• Not the kind of torment we see in the series though, he’ll just make annoying noises or keep asking Hanako to play games with him

• He likes animals but he’s terrible with them. Too aggressive, think of those poor fish

• I’m an aroace Tsukasa intellectual. I cannot see him caring abt romance beyond mild curiosity and his perverted behavior in the series seems to just be to mess with people/get reactions out of them as he’s known to enjoy doing (as opposed to Hanako’s pervert behavior which is pretty genuine, albeit comedic)

• His favorite subject in school was geography

• He doesn’t genuinely like many people besides Amane. He has a soft spot for Sakura and Natsuhiko though

• This is so far from canon but I think it’s funny to imagine that the entity inside of him is the TBHK equivalent of Venom. There’s still some debate over whether the current Tsukasa is entirely the entity or whether they share one being and I lean towards the later but I have this crack au/concept where the entity is like a little devil on his shoulder

• Sakura: What would you like to eat?

The Entity: The souls of the innocent👹

Tsukasa: A bagel

The Entity: Nooooooooo👹

Tsukasa: Two bagels

• Again, definitely not how it works in canon but it makes me giggle

• He really likes pumpkins and pumpkin flavored things

• FNAF kid

• He’s a massive extrovert in the sense that he gets his energy from being around other people, and he much prefers to be in a group than alone

• If he’s alone for too long he gets bored and agitated so he can usually be found in the presence of Sakura, Natsuhiko, Mitsuba, Amane, Mei, etc.

• Sometimes he’ll even hang out with Yako (I feel like they’d get along seeing as they both have rather sharp personalities, and I don’t think she’d judge him for his violent tendencies the way others do)

• When he was alive he had a lot of friends, pretty much the polar opposite of his brother

• He doesn’t feel guilty often but when he wants someone to forgive them, he’ll bring them a gift like a cat bringing someone a dead mouse

• Sometimes the gifts are morbid, sometimes they’re normal

• He was closer with his dad than his mom, because while both of them were creeped out by him his dad tried to assume the best

• He’s very creative and likes to invent things. In another life he’d kill it on Shark Tank

• Because of this he really enjoys cooking! He’s surprisingly good at it when he’s not just making the most appalling thing he can think of

• He enjoys soccer (in a human au I like to imagine him, Amane, Kou, and Yokoo would all be on the soccer team together)

• Supernaturals don’t need to sleep but Tsukasa is the only one who doesn’t bother sleeping at all. Most of the others enjoy having some time to rest but he likes to remain alert 24/7

• He likes to play red light/green light but he says red light crazy fast to scare ppl

• If you were ever on a long drive with him he would 100% start singing “One Hundred Bottles Of Milk On The Wall” and not stop until you reached your destination

That’s all I’ve got for now, thank you for the ask!! I love Tsukasa sm

[tanenigiri]

I'm floored that people are still liking and reblogging the collage of BL and BL-adjacent works that I reviewed two (!!) years ago. I haven't stopped growing my collection of manga, so I figured I'd make a sort-of Part 2 with a collage of some other fluffy slice-of-life BL and BL-adjacent titles I've enjoyed ever since I ended that project.

While I don't have time to give them full-fledged reviews like before, you can find some of my quick thoughts on each of them under the cut. I recommend all of these titles just as much as the 18 I included in the first collage - if you liked any of those, give these 10 stories a try!

Hirano and Kagiura by Shou Harusono - From the creator of Sasaki and Miyano and set in the same universe, this series revolves around one of Miyano's senpais and the roommate that he's been shipping him with since the start. This is every bit as charming and wholesome as Sasaki and Miyano, though I think this is a lot more chaotic considering the more hilarious take on the main pair's dynamic. I did a more comprehensive review of its first volume here if you wanna check it out.

Candy Color Paradox by Isaku Natsume - I'm not usually a big fan of enemies to lovers - the tropes they work with are rarely my cup of tea. This is one of the few stories I've read where that dynamic works really well, though, with these two reporters clashing a lot early on but finding out that they're exactly what the other needs. I wasn't too sold on the first volume but the second one really brought me onboard - I thought they treated the personal conflicts of one of the main characters incredibly well there.

My Brother's Husband by Gengoroh Tagame - More BL-adjacent than BL, this tells the story of a man reconnecting with the husband of his late brother (and no, there isn't any romance involved at all - this is a family-centric story first and foremost). It doesn't focus entirely on dealing with this loss, though - it's also a look into the protagonist's own family dynamics and troubles, with his daughter being a very prominent character here a la Tane in Our Dining Table. One of my favorites of this batch as it has a lot of heart and soul poured into it.

My Love Mix-Up by Watanu Hinekure and Aruko - The most comedic title here, this takes the misunderstanding trope to a really funny direction and builds a really good story out of it. The main couple is very adorable, and their dynamic with the side couple evolves in such a fun way that I ended up seeing this as a story about the four of them that just so happens to have two couples. If you watched the live action, the manga has a slightly different take on the story, and of course it spends more time on certain plot points, but it has the same chaotic and hilarious vibe.

Hyperventilation by Bboungbbangkkyu - I've only read a few Korean BLs, but this one is easily my favorite of the ones I've read so far. This is a lot steamier than most of the titles in this and in the previous collage, but those scenes are surrounded by a heartfelt dynamic between its two leads who are realizing that the connection they shared back in high school was a lot deeper than they thought. If you've watched the animation of this title, the manhwa's pretty much that but in book form, but I did notice some differences in the manhwa that made the story stronger in my opinion.

I'm Kinda Chubby and I'm Your Hero by Nore - I was slightly wary of this title since body image issues are quite difficult to tackle, but it turned out to not really be the focus of the story - one of the protagonists just happens to be chubby, and while there is some discussion on it, this story focuses a lot more on his growth as an actor and his newfound dynamic with the story's other protagonist. It's a really sweet story at its core, and the pun is definitely intended as the other protagonist is a pastry chef lol. (I'm also not sure if I would consider this as BL or BL-adjacent, coz by the second volume (which is the latest one so far) they aren't really together, but you can definitely sense that their dynamic goes beyond friendship.)

That Blue Sky Feeling by Okura and Coma Hashii - Picked this up mainly because the story is by the same person behind I Think Our Son Is Gay, one of my favorites in the original project. This has a slightly similar vibe, where it focuses more on exploring homosexuality and identity instead of romance, and it does so with the same interesting depth that Okura did in the other work. This one definitely has more BL tropes than I Think Our Son Is Gay though, and I'm more inclined to call it BL than BL-adjacent.

I Want to Be a Wall by Honami Shirono - "Marriage of convenience between a gay man and an asexual woman" is such an incredible pitch that I picked this up immediately, and I really enjoyed it for what it is. Said asexual woman is also a fujoshi, and the man that her husband is crushing on (who is straight) is a prominent supporting character, so you can imagine the hilarity that ensues. This isn't a comedy though - it's very much a heartwarming tale about identity and finding joy in a situation that isn't exactly the best.

Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher by Tama Mizuki - Already the second title here that has the same two-male-leads-plus-child dynamic as Our Dining Table - do you see the clear bias hahaha. This is quite far from that story and My Brother's Husband though, and I honestly thought that this was going to be trashier than it was because of the title, but I really shouldn't have judged this book by its cover as it's a great story about family and building connections with each other. It ended up being closer to Would You Like To Be a Family? in that regard, but this takes the time to flesh out the relationship between the two protagonists and the child, creating a silly but heartwarming dynamic.

Hello, Green Days by Ayu Sakumoto - Stumbled upon this short story online, and it has stayed with me ever since even if it doesn't have a physical English release (yet?). The dynamic between the protagonists is really sweet, and how it weaves in the plant talk (one of the main characters is a botany major) into the story is very clever. I also did a more comprehensive review of this before, so check it out here if you want.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you found more titles to add to your to-read list.

[mikuni14]

My Love Mix-Up! - Ep 1

TBH - I was very optimistic about this adaptation for one main reason: because I was very wrong with Cherry Magic Th 😌 I thought to myself that since I was wrong to expect failure then and Thailand had successfully adapted my beloved Japanese version in its own way, employing my favorite actors, it should be the same in the case of Kieta Hatsukoi (new version, not copying the Japanese style, two of my favorite actors ), right? Right?

Unfortunately, I regret to say that I rate the first episode as "mediocre with a minus":

despite all my love for Gemini and Fourth, they simply don't fit these roles

the characters are "drawn with thick lines", stereotypical, without nuances (of course this can change)

the comedic effect is non-existent. I have recently watched series as a comparison, such as We Are or I Became a Main Role… (which was hilarious), not to mention the original version by Kieta Hatsukoi. The difference in fun is very clear

I'm not a big fan of cats in TV series, they usually look scared, what is wrong with dogs (ahhh, cat food commercials 😑)

the second couple, highly likeable in the Japanese version, did not make the same impression on me here. Half is actually not very nice, what about those weird comments about his own friends and classmates? Aida wasn't mean, he was silly and clueless which makes a HUGE difference

the episode was simply dragging, I found myself drifting off at several moments, the series simply couldn't hold my attention at times

Of course, I will give this series a chance, because it was only the first episode and the series can still gain colour (literally, because the series seems to be "pale and dusty"), and the plot can gain vigor and pace. But I'm really afraid that this series will not repeat the success of Cherry Magic. In general, I have the impression that this is not a series, but a marketing project created for a very popular couple, which can be seen by the number of advertisements and commercials. And this is not an isolated case. Is this where the Thai BL industry is heading? That the series will be created for advertisers, relying on powerful branded pairs? Am I reading too much into this? 😂

Because I don't think a lot of work went into this show (like Cherry Magic did). I have the impression that the Japanese version of Kieta Hatsukoi is quite faithfully copied and the Thai version loses because of this. I have the impression that it was assumed that all they had to do was take the plot of a very popular original series, hire Gemini and Fourth and they alone would make the series popular.

I like the Japanese version, which, if it weren't for the werid breakup scene at the end, would be one of my favorite JBL series. It's not a perfect version, but Japan did a great job of developing real, interesting characters who are generally nice, and the story, the comedic effect are very entertaining. The story and plot are fast, "dense" and something is happening all the time. Unfortunately, the Thai version compares unfavorably... 🥺

[esutonia]

a short tutorial on writing majima-speak

So ya wanna learn how to write Majima-speak, eh? Well, I gotta say, you’ve come to the right place. Or maybe the only place? Dunno how many tutorials’re out there fer this shit. Anyway, sit yer ass down and I’ll give ya the scoop on how to write yer favorite fun guy from Kansai.

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a fluent Japanese speaker. These are all the opinions/observations of an American whose only exposure to the Japanese culture and language has been through anime and video games. I have done my best to research all of these observations before just shoving them into this document, but I probably will make mistakes. Any actual Japanese speakers, please correct me. This isn’t supposed to be an educational guide on the nuances of Kansai-ben. This is only a general tutorial on how to portray the Kansai dialect in English writing.

What is Kansai-ben?

Kansai-ben (or Kansai dialect) is a Japanese dialect primarily spoken in the Kansai region of Japan. Pretty straightforward. Our good friend Majima Goro speaks a version of Kansai-ben that I lovingly refer to as Majima-speak. This is because he doesn’t speak true Kansai dialect—it’s a wobbly mix of Kansai and Tokyo (“standard”) that incorporates elements of both. Ugaki Hidenari, Majima’s voice actor, is from Tokyo himself, and doesn’t speak Kansai-ben natively. However, Majima has a lot of quirky Kansai-isms in his speech that make him stand out from other characters.

Therefore, the focus on writing Majima’s dialogue doesn’t have to be accuracy. We aren’t shooting for a 1:1 translation of Kansai to English, because: 1) that doesn’t exist, and 2) he doesn’t speak perfect Kansai anyway. The point is, we’ve got flexibility.

What makes Majima-speak different from regular Japanese?

There are a lot of cultural and historical nuances that I won’t get into, but in modern Japan, the Kansai dialect is perceived as more comedic or casual than standard Japanese. This is reflected in Sega’s localization of Majima’s voice lines: his are rougher, more crass, and generally funnier than other characters’ lines. If you end up taking nothing else from this guide, at least think rough, crass, and funny when writing Majima. It’s a good place to start.

So how do I write Majima-speak?

There are three tips that I keep in mind while I’m writing dialogue for Majima:

Make sure his lines show more emotion than other characters’ lines.

Use shortcuts wherever possible.

Don’t be afraid to get silly with it.

Let’s elaborate on these tips, shall we?

Make sure Majima’s lines show more emotion than other characters’ lines.

I’d like to use Kiryu as an example here, because he’s by far one of the stiffest-speaking characters in the series. For lack of a better term, Kiryu’s lines are prosaic—they sound more like they were written in a book than spoken by a person. Here’s an excerpt from Kiryu and Majima’s first scene together in Yakuza 2, edited for brevity. Pretend you don’t know what this scene looks like and focus on just the text.

Kiryu: It’s Kiryu. Anybody home? I know you’re here…Show yourself. Majima: It’s been too long…Kiryu-chan! You got any idea how lonely I’ve been since ya got outta the game last year? Oh, but I knew my Kiryu-chan would come home sooner or later! Kiryu: It’s been awhile, Majima-no-niisan. Majima: So, what brings ya here? Kiryu: The Tojo Clan…needs you. Majima: For fuck’s sake…What’s this BS now?! You’re a shitty comedian, Kiryu-chan. Kiryu: I’m serious. The Tojo Clan has never needed you more than now. Please.  Majima: No fuckin’ way. Kiryu: Please. Majima: You’re killin’ me, Kiryu-chan! I can’t stand seein’ ya like this! Kiryu: Please, Majima-no-niisan…the Tojo Clan is as good as dead without the Majima Family. Please!

Notice how Majima’s lines are much longer than Kiryu’s and noticeably sound like an actual person said them because they’re more casual. Kiryu basically repeats “please” three times, but each time Majima’s response is different. You’re able to tell that Majima’s incredulous, then annoyed, then upset at Kiryu’s request by the way he adds extra dialogue every time he says “no.” By contrast, you’re not really able to tell how desperate Kiryu is until he starts begging. The main disadvantage with writing is that you’re not able to convey images as clearly through text, so it requires more work to make a character’s emotions show through their dialogue. Majima’s lines are all about emotion, whether it’s real or exaggerated, so make sure the reader is able to tell how he’s feeling without seeing his face.

Use shortcuts whenever possible.

While conveying a character’s emotions through their speech often requires writing longer lines, this does not mean you should waste space or over-explain. The way you can balance this need for emotion with the need for casual dialogue is by using slang and condensing phrases.

English-speakers do this all the time in common conversation. We use contractions (I am = I’m), smash together words (What are you doing? = What’cha doin’?”), and add slang/idioms (“The hour grows late; I shall soon retire” = “It’s getting late, I’m gonna hit the hay”). The key to writing Majima-speak is to use every shortcut possible and then some.

If it’s hard to come up with dialogue on the spot, try thinking about how a guy like Kiryu would say a particular line. Let’s use the example of: “You always were the one guy I couldn’t read.” Then, think about what shortcuts you could potentially make to this sentence. It’s not much, but this sentence could be cut down to: “Y’always were the one guy I couldn’t read.” Doesn’t that already sound more like Majima said it?

Then, add some more emotion to this sentence: “Y’always were the one fucker I could never getta read on.” It sounds affectionate or aggressive, depending on how you spin it. And there you go! We just Majima-modified (Majimodified?) a Kiryu line. With the power of slang and shortcuts, you too can turn regular dialogue into Majima classics.

Don’t be afraid to get silly with it.

Majima’s a silly guy, so of course he’s gonna have his silly moments. The RGG localization team knows this and takes creative liberties to give Majima’s dialogue more life. My favorite example of silliness in translating Majima’s lines to English is this specific line from Yakuza 2:

Majima says: “Doya, Kiryu-chan? Kakko ee yaro?” Which literally translates to something like: “How’s that, Kiryu-chan? I look cool, right?” This line is dripping with Kansai-ben.

But the localization team chose to translate it as “Whaddya think, Kiryu-chan? Ain’t I red-hot?” Which I love. It conveys so much more about Majima’s character in the same amount of words and even adds some more context from the scene itself. They make a pun on “red-hot,” and while “cool” would’ve worked too, this would have made less sense. The point is, don’t be afraid to get wild with it. If it sounds cooler, is probably is. 

Finally, here’s a few miscellaneous quirks of Majima-speak and pointers that can help you get that much closer to imitating Majima’s style of speech.

Majima rarely uses “you” pronouns, instead preferring to use nicknames and titles like Kiryu-chan, nee-chan, oyaji, etc. This can be substituted for girlie, kiddo, buddy, idiot, etc. 

Don’t replace all the “you”s and “your"s in a sentence with “ya”s and “yer”s. It gets difficult to read if you abuse them.

Majima loves to swear. But again, don’t use them too liberally or you’ll sound like a 12-year-old who just learned what “fuck” means.

Goromi’s speech is a bit more cutesy than Goro’s, but she flips between masculine and feminine pronouns. For the purposes of writing Goromi that’s not terribly important, but keep in mind that she’ll frequently switch between masculine and feminine speaking patterns.

Don’t try to imitate Southern American English (if you aren't familiar with that dialect). I also wouldn't try it in general, but if it helps, it helps.

Edited to add: it's ultimately up to you to decide when/if Majima drops his accent. Personally I reserve it for when he's so emotionally vulnerable he can't keep it up, or when he's being so serious about something he just won't use it.

As a bonus, here is a brief glossary of Kansai-isms that I’ve noticed Majima using, with some examples of their use in context and some suggested translations. Most of these examples are pulled from Yakuza Kiwami 1 and 2, since that’s when he has the most speaking lines and has fully settled into his Mad Dog persona.

Ahō (idiot) = dumbass, bonehead

“Nishida, ya dumbass!”

Beppin (pretty) = stunner, knockout

“Well ain’t ya a rare dish?”

Honma (really) = damn, for real

“For real?! Who are you and what have you done with Kiryu-chan?”

-han (-san)

“Well, now it’s your turn, Legendary Info Dealer-han.”

Akan (not good/must) = gotta be, better not

“That’s why he’s gotta be strong.”

Uchi* (I) = ol’ Goromi, li’l ol’ me

“Just don’t fall too hard for me, okay?”

Ee (good/cool) = badass

“Ain’t I red-hot?”

Ikude (let’s go) = let’s do this shit

“Let’s do this, Kiryu-chan!”

Suman (sorry) = my bad

“This is my bad, Kiryu-chan.”

Anta (you, polite) = ya

“Y’know, up close…you’re pretty damn hot.”

Haw (not really a Kansai-ism but he does like it a lot)

“Haw?”

Nanyatte (what) = what the fuck

“Say what?”

Chau (wrong) = bullshit

“That ain’t what I’m saying.”

Dondon (also not Kansai-ben but he likes this one too. Basically “loud noise”) = clobber, beat the shit outta ya, crack some skulls

“It’s way better if ya fight it out.”

*Uchi is a stereotypical feminine pronoun used in Kansai-ben. Only Goromi uses this one. She also tends to waffle between watashi/ore pronouns.

[epickiya722]

If you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top favorite fics that you've written (feel free how much that you want to list)? Why they're special to you? Is there a specific inspiration when you wrote them?

Thanks if you want to answer....

I'll tell you, all my fics are special to me and most of the time, I find myself having fun writing them. Writing isn't just a hobby, but a way for me to release pent up feelings I have or express an idea that came to me.

To name a couple...

Beware of the Bunnies - It's the first fic I wrote for "if Miruko was Midoriya's mentor". It was fun writing that fic, especially when it's a fic for my two #1 faves. I honestly didn't expect the amount of attention I got for it!

Not Red, Black - I sometimes like branching out from writing warm-hearted, funny fics and this is one of those times. Another AU idea I had, but if Miruko and Midoriya were eldritch-like creatures and related. Unlike its prequel, this one stepped more in horror imagery and I think the direction the fic took.

Forbid a Woman from Being Great - Yes, another Miruko fic and one I actually wrote out of spite. When it comes to this fandom (as with any), is how double standard they can get. With Miruko, I have seem people hate her for being "too aggressive" or "too mean", but praise other characters for those same traits or even give excuses for their behavior. Or with fanservice, the same people who complain about it also thirst over the male characters getting bloody and shirtless. I don't hate characters like Dabi, Shigaraki or Hawks but I can't stomach how their fans act when it comes to Miruko or any other character really. It was actually a Hawks fan that irritated me enough to write this fic as well as get me out of the writing funk I was in.

An Absolute Menace - This is a fun little fic. It's part of a series of Class A and occasionally B partaking in antics. With this one, writing Koda as this troll was new, but fun.

Let's SK8 Over the Rainbow - This is actually a SK8 series that I wrote and it's still one of my favorites. It started off as a headcanon (Reki allowing Koyomi to paint his nails) and then spiraled into a collection of short stories themed around colors and I love colors so much. One of the fics, You're Lime Green Jell-O, I dove into expanding a character that only appeared once in SK8. Her name is Miki and she has green hair and I remember seeing her and going "You, you're getting some personality, a story, etc." Best decision ever. I just loved writing Miki and I think it was the first time I wrote a whole story for a character that only had two lines in canon.

Tu es le Moment Auquel J'appartiens - Another series I adore. I wanted to write some jealous Vanitas since I don't think I had seen a lot of Vanoé fics where he was the jealous one while Noé was more oblivious. Not at the time, I don't know about now since I haven't read a VNC fic in a long time. The title translates to "You are the moment I belong to" which is a line of lyrics from the anime's first ending song that I love so much.

It's the Pink Hair, Isn't It? - Do not get me wrong! I do love the AUs I see where Sukuna and Yuji are brothers, but the idea of this fic came from what if they were identical strangers and not related in the slightest. Even funnier, in the fic, Kenjaku and Suguru are siblings that look like twins, but Kenjaku is older. My favorite scenes probably have to be Kenjaku and Yuji interacting and Sukuna and Yuji meeting. I've also been cooking up a sequel so I can write more of Kenjaku and Suguru being siblings and Yuji's brothers and I do mean all nine older brothers. (I relate to Choso so much.)

Your Heartbeat Is My Comfort - Ever see a beautiful piece of fanart and you want to write a fic about it? That's what happened here. I saw this FushiIta art post here and it was like BAM! I had to write a fic. It was also another I didn't write something comedic, but more somber, bit of tragedy yet comfort in there.

Maybe Someday We'll Meet Again - I'm all for the Teacher Geto AU! However, this fic came from a what if scenario had Suguru and Yuji had met when they were younger and I always how Kenjaku was even aware of Suguru's technique. So I put both ideas together and thus this fic was born. It isn't dark, but little less comedic than others and I tried my hand at focusing on more of Yuji's strangeness and innocence here along with Suguru's character before he became a curse user.

You Are My Special - Again, another time I went for less comedy and fluff and tried with something else. I actually don't know how to categorize this one in terms of genre. SPECIALZ was stuck in my head for a long time and it got when I really started thinking about the lyrics and decided why not try writing something from Kenjaku's POV about Yuji? It may have took forever to write, but I'm glad I did. I actually wanted to write a companion piece of sorts but from Sukuna's POV about Yuji.

The Pink Sky and Cherry Blossoms - I actually just posted this fic and I'm glad I waited to answer this ask because of it. I was rereading the manga and came to Uro's fight with Ryu and Yuta and instantly fell in love with her character and thought about how would it have been like if Uro met my other favorite, Yuji? They have some similarities going on there and it was eye-opening writing those into this fic, especially with Uro's character. I wasn't around when that arc came out, so I didn't know how the fandom acted towards her, but for me, I just felt there's more to her than the surface. She's the Miruko of JJK to me as Yuji is the Izuku. Just as I would love for Miruko and Izuku to be a duo in a big sis-lil bro/mentor-mentee way, I love the same for Uro and Yuji.

The Craving That Paints Your Lips Red - The last fic I wrote for 2023 and a sequel to another fic, I wanted to try my hand at the horror again. But more tame, but still "Oh my gosh". I'm writing a post about it, but I have thoughts about Yuji and Sukuna's relationship and sometimes I have this feeling that Sukuna wants to corrupt Yuji, kind of like shape him to be the next him almost. Not for certain, but it's an idea that kind of struck me. For this fic, I wanted to explore a more horror fic side of Yuji housing the King of Curses. The best part of this fic for me is how I unintentionally stuck with the idea that Yuji keeps getting back up no matter how many times Sukuna tries to break him.

That list got longer than intended, but again, I have a lot of fics I have enjoyed writing! I'm glad to have talked about them and I thank you for asking! 💜

[bingoboingobongo]

task force 141 + favorite christmas movies

Characters: Simon “Ghost” Riley, John “Soap” MacTavish, Kyle “Gaz” Garrick, John Price, Alejandro Vargas, Rodolfo “Rudy” Parra

Warnings: none

A/N: sorta did this already with ghost but now it’s time for the entire team

john "soap" mactavish:

what can i say soap is a home alone kinda guy

he fell in love with them as a kid and he just never fell out of love

it's that sorta violent but still comedic and overly dramatized kind of humor that soap likes

plus he's a sucker for montages and you know home alone has a bunch of them

he's a fan of the whole series too

but the first one is definitely his favorite, just because it's classic

definitely gets freaked out by the bird lady in the second one (i think it's the second one)

and yes he's always wanted a home alone situation whenever he was a kid

he would literally pray for a duo of goofy robbers to try and break in whenever his parents weren't home

of course it never worked

but you know

a man can dream

he also knows all the home alone lore

and he freaked out when he found out macaulay culkin was married to brenda song

kyle "gaz" garrick:

so this goes hand in hand with my christmas songs headcanon

but gaz's favorite christmas movie is the grinch (2018)

bc 1. it has a fire soundtrack

2. it's got great animation

and 3. beneficiary cumberbun as the grinch was unprecedentedly good

he also doesn't like the live action grinch

he watched it when he was younger and it really scared him

like im talking it really scared him

he saw it in a hotel while his family was visiting new york for christmas

and then he refused to sleep on the wall side of the bed because he was scared the grinch was gonna come from under the bed in that sorta shadowy area between the bed and the wall and steal him

and yes he still sleeps on the lamp side whenever he stays at hotels now

even though he's a grown man

so yeah the grinch (2018) was a very welcome change to that

i mean the animation is so bright and cheery

what's not to love

plus he really likes how fluffy the grinch looks

and yes he watched it in theatres with his family so there's a lot of good memories associated with that as well

simon "ghost" riley:

so kinda similar to gaz

but ghost's favorite christmas movie is actually how the grinch stole christmas (1966)

for those of y'all who aren't up to date on the grinch movie release timeline that's the cartoon one

gaz doesn't like that one because that smile the grinch does in the beginning (you know what i mean, it's the one where his cheeks literally like migrate to his ears) freaked him out

but ghost actually enjoys that scene

he says it scratches an itch

he also likes the 1966 grinch because it brings him back to simpler times

he first watched it in school right before winter break

and then he went home and made his mom watch it with him over and over and over again

and so now whenever he has the chance he'll watch during the holiday season

it does make him a little sad though

you know since his mom's dead

anyways

john price:

price's favorite movie is charlie brown's christmas

he's actually a pretty big fan of the peanuts

is that what they're called? idk

so it's only a no brainer that the charlie brown christmas special brings him a special kind of joy

before he used to watch it on cable on christmas day

and then he got apple tv+ so now he watches it to get in the mood

guys this isn't an ad for apple i swear

he likes to cozy up with a blanket, some nice socks (he's a sock guy what can i say), a cup of tea or hot cocoa, and some biscuits

sometimes he falls asleep before the end tho

but it's not like he's never seen it before so it's fine

yet despite his love for the peanuts he does not have a charlie brown christmas tree

no his tree is always freshly cut down and usually pretty hefty

rodolfo "rudy" parra:

alright so this one also goes with my christmas music headcanons

but rudy's favorite christmas movie is the frozen franchise

and yes it's a holiday movie

he will fight you on that

in his mind snow + fire soundtrack = christmas movie

so yes goncharov would technically be a christmas movie by rudy's criteria

and yes he will fight you if you bring that up

he also really hates claymation

like really really hates it

it's too uncanny valley for him

like for it to be enjoyable it better be super duper obvious that the characters are clay

but even then it still catches him off guard

he also really likes christmas specials for like a bunch of shows

so after he's done with his frozen marathon he'll turn on his favorite shows and just watch the christmas episodes

and yes he does that for every holiday that has specials

alejandro vargas:

okay so potentially controversial opinion

but alejandro really enjoys hallmark movies

like it doesn't matter which one it is as long as it's a christmas hallmark movie he's down to watch it

he doesn't even know why like he's aware of how cheesy they are

but they've really mastered that feel good formula

even if each movie is riddled with plot holes

but even then that's also part of the fun too

like he enjoys inviting rudy or even the others over so they can poke fun at all the logistical impossibilities of the movie

and really that's what he likes when he watches the movies

the good memories he makes

ig it's true guys

the real lesson was the friends we made on the way

or whatever the saying is idk

he also likes the cheesy romance of it all

and also he doesn't tell anyone that he secretly enjoys the hallmark movies

with everyone else he pretends that it sucks

but he eats it up every time

and yes he always checks to see if the kiss happens at the same time

and so far it has almost every single time

[sweetchcolate]

I'm curious. What are your top 10 favorite shoujos of all time? (LN, Anime, Manga) Can you rank them from: I'll always love them and I'm very invested with them; to I like them, but I'm not very invested?

(why is it that the second someone asks me for anime recs or listing my fave series, I suddenly forget every series i ever read/watched lmao it is a curse)

Just as a reminder, these are series I either watched recently or remember at the top of my mind because of sheer popularity. Also, my bad in advance if it turns out some of these aren't shojo but shonen (reason I didn't include Skip&Loafer, for example).

With that out of the way, my top 10 fave shojos in order (that I would and have rewatched multiple times):

Revolutionary Girl Utena. A classic. It's got it all: the esthetics, the slightly surreal aspect of the world, the trope deconstruction, tackling rarely addressed issues (such as patriarchy, heteronormativity, the changes puberty brings to a teenage girl, etc.) as well as some... more sensitive ones (there's a reason there's so many trigger warning lists for RGU). Also, the music SLAPS.

SAFT (both anime and LN). Just look at my Sugar Apple Fairy Tale tag. I've liveblogged every episode of this show since I learned of its existence. I was looking forward to the previews. I fell into this head first and it was some of the best experience I had with a series! It was right up my alley: sunshine hardworking girl winning over the people around her thanks to her kindness and optimism + grumpy stoic traumatized man who becomes softer and grows thanks to her set in a semi-fantasy Europe-based world. I liked that both Anne and Shall had to deal with discrimination (Anne as a girl in a male-dominated industry, Shall as a fairy in a human-led society) and how the later LN volumes address those issues (instead of fairy slavery and sexism being just background lore). The show can be really pretty when it wants to, and the music is also very nice.

7th Time Loop (both anime and LN). Just like with SAFT, I'm obsessed. The anime is doing such a good job adapting the source material at a good pace, the quality is great, and the VAs are killing it. The LN also has very tight writing: the author has an eye for adding details that seem unassuming/offhanded at first, but end up being crucial. Rishe's and Arnold's characters and dynamic are phenomenal. Just look at my 7th time loop tag

Akatsuki no Yona (the anime/early corresponding manga arcs).

My Love Story with Yamada-kun at LVL 999.

Ouran High School Host Club (the anime). I'm a sucker for romance, but where OHSHC got me is with its humor. The first episode is a classic, and I will always love the light bulbs scene as each member of the host club figures out Haruhi is a girl. Tamaki is a riot, the perfect blend of goofy, perceptive, and introspective. He deals with some serious issues, but he never lets them drag him down or, at the very least, affect his precious ones. What's great about OHSHC too is the character growth in the second half of the show. The series lures you in thinking it's just a comedic slice of life high school romance only to hit you with some real feels when it reveals its characters' backstories, fears, and reflections.

My Happy Marriage.

Kimi ni Todoke.

Ones for a cute ride: Lovely Complex, Kamisama Hajimemashita, Akagami no Shirayukhime, Donten Ni Warau

Ones I've watched that were good, but lost interest in (mostly due to being too long or me catching up the latest release and not keeping up after): Skip Beat, Fruits Basket, Sailor Moon (the 1990s anime), Niehime

Ones I remember watching but won't ever watch again because I've outgrown the target demographic: Special A, Shugo Chara, Tokyo Mew Mew, Fushigi Yugi, Itazura Kiss

Ones I heard good praise for and want to check someday: Rose of Versailles, Basara, Colette Decides to Die

[maxphilippa]

If this "hcs, first impression and character development" thingy is still on

Can you do either Trophy or Suitcase 🛐

Trophy:

First Impression: Before I saw the series, I actually thought that Trophy was a girl. Mostly due to one of his popular headcanons. I saw him as an somewhat passive aggresive jock before doing so, judging solely from his scenes, but he really only got to that after arriving to the Hotel.

Character Development: We all know that he could have been a pretty graté character if he only had more time, so I would have liked to see him become an passive aggresive jock who's soft to those who we cares about and tries to help but is much more of a dick instead, and probably make him grow as a person thanks to Cheesy and Trophy. You know the whole "every character in II are stereotypes in a way" thing? Imagine Trophy becoming a better person for the comedic relief and the weakling. Him getting attached and being vulnerable. I would have liked to see him become one of the final contestants too. In terms of development, he could have definitely been like Knife. In my interpretation he's just an jock who's tired and kind of a dick but genuinely tries to become a better person at the end.

Headcanons: He's a jerd. A jock who's a nerd. He's awfully smart in things he likes/finds interesting. He knows everything about photography AND flowers. Knows how to cook pretty well too. He likes butterflies a lot, but finds ladybugs to be more charming, and bees are his favorite insect. He's generally pretty chill nowdays, just doing his thing but still has some of that ol' anger issues but he genuinely wants to get better for... Tissues and Cheesy. And Soap, maybe. When it comes to sexuality/gender headcanons, I actually don't know what's going on with him! But I think that he would be Parosexual to me! Polyamorous too! And meanwhile I hc him as cis and GNC, I find the hcs of him being trans (both transfem + transmasc or anything) pretty cool too!

Suitcase:

First Impression: "Oh baby, how much trauma can you hold before you realize that you didn't have to?". She looked so... sad. I had a vibe with her I don't know. She just got me in the way that Mic did but differently.

Character Development: Now, don't get me wrong. I absolutely love Suitcase's arc and her whole story with the Grand Alliance, and how realistic was the way she was portrayed since she's someone who cares deeply about her friends and just wants them to be okay with eachother and suffers from paranoia... but. I would have liked to see her go completely apeshit at Nickel AND Balloon because they kept on fighting and kept on dumping their stuff on her (even though Balloon had his reasons of course, she was already stressed enough). This is much more on BB's side but. Them actually standing up for eachother too. Suitcase building character thanks to Knife, maybe. Her putting Nickel in his place and make him realize that he was in fact, messing up. Them reworking their friendship. Suitcase being more confident on herself as well. Let her scream a bit. And hug her best friends. And talk things out with Nickel. As a treat.

Headcanons: She keeps stickers inside of her. She can chirp or hum like a bird. She likes to be held. She paints as a way to cope and process her own feelings. Ironically enough, I think that her favorite fish would be a golden fish. Thought of writing Nickel a letter but didn't since he should be the one apologizing/bringing it up. Has tried reconnecting with Knife. Likes to write poetry, isn't necessarily great at it. In sexuality/gender headcanons... Pansexual moments. Polyamorous too. Me thinks. I do like the hc of her being trans too, both transfem Suitcase and transmasc Suitcase!

[tibbycaps]

🎨 for the ask game? hope you have a nice day!

🎨 favourite piece of fanart? link it!

oh gosh it's so hard to choose just one. (you too btw :'D) went thru my rbs and here's a few bangers:

technically an animation and not fan art but this animatic by volcanocraft is my favorite life mcyt animation of all time. the style is just to die for, the song choice is perfect, and while lots of traffic fan art and animations tend to be very dramatic and theatrical (which is totally fine, it rules) this is sort of a rare case where the artist manages to perfectly encapsulate the inherent silliness and comedic effect of using minecraft to tell your story. the goofiness of the little minecraft characters running and jumping around like bugs is perfectly captured which i feel like is a hard vibe to get in art sometimes

fan art that resembles renaissance paintings and even takes inspiration from said paintings is so beloved to me (i minored in art history so its very dear to me). specifically sillyfairygarden and floweroflaurelin come to mind! (thello's life series designs are also very dear to me, as the costumes they design remind me a lot of shakespearian plays, and make me imagine the life series as a shakespearian tragedy being told on a stage. as someone whos url is a shakespeare reference this also scratches a very specific niche in my brain. their bigb design is especially gorgeous and reminds me of 1996 mercutio)

cherri's life series as an rpg series is a banger, it really makes you yearn for the game to be real, it's also nostalgic of a lot of old rpgmaker games i used to play as a kid which is probably why i'm so drawn to it

i LOVE this secret life scar by felix convexsolos because i think the scene of scar standing in the wheat field is one of the unintentionally coolest most cinematic scenes from the life series, the off-putting angle and his stone-cold expression captures his silent rage, unhinged and unpredictable energy in that series so well this double life fan art by ghost3a i'm absolutely obsessed with the colors and expressions, each pairing has different colors and the color choices for each pairing is so telling and the way each piece kind of fades into the next by having a hint of color at the bottom is awesome. i'm a sucker when it comes to bright contrasting colors used to convey emotions/feelings.

this last life mumbo by stackofeggs has always stuck with me because i feel like it captures red life mumbo really well; he's terrifying and dangerous with his end crystals but it also still kind of retains that wet cat energy mumbo always has. he's scary and unstable and fragile just like the end crystals

this bdubs by imflyingfish is SO COOL AND CUTE, the style is so unique and captivating and i love the choice to draw bdubs' building the earth arc as it's honestly the only fan art i think i've seen of that specific secret life moment

i'll end off by mentioning the Common Applestruda W, where i honestly can't even link a specific piece or i'd be here all day. but her color work and compositions are wonderful

[rescue-ram]

Trapper: 2, 6, 7

Hawkeye: 2, 22

Trapper

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Okay, cheating slightly because he is MY BOY and my answer varies a little by source material...

Book: I love what a COMPLETE FREAK he is. If you only read the parts of MASH and MASH Goes to Maine with Trapper I think it's worth it because he is such a hysterical lunatic, and he also gets exactly one (1) genuinely touching scene per book. The bit where Trapper and Hawkeye reunite after the war is low-key canon to me.

Movie: I love Elliot Gould's physicality. I also really like how he plays Trapper as shut off and withdrawn at first, then comes out of his shell (literally) for Hawkeye, then at the end it's like his sunshine is gone away as he learns Hawkeye is leaving, he's just physically folding in on himself.

Show: SO MUCH. It's hard to pick one thing. I love the Delight around Hawkeye, I love the times we cut over to Trapper kind of doing his own thing with random people at camp (my favorite was when he was playing pick up sticks with bar pretzels with the helicopter pilot in The General Flipped at Dawn), and I love the subtle but consistent strain of Righteousness that comes out across the series...

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

🤔 Genuinely unsure. I think one slightly silly but true thing is I am an enthusiastic but poor to mediocre player of multiple instruments, much like my boy...

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

I feel like I've been seeing a lot of sweet Trappers recently. And while I think it's easy to go too far into sweetness, he's a character where people have played to his bombastic, sexualized, and rough edged side for so long it's fun to see the sweeter sillier side of his character come out to play, especially in relationship to Hawkeye...

Hawkeye

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Easy answer but his sense of humor. Specifically the gallows humor, laughing in the face of death, quality he has. So many good Hawkeye moments, but the tragic and the comedic, come from his talent at identifying and playing off the absurd of his situation. (Also Marley I am still obsessssssed with your Not Dead Yet vid.... Totally captures that side of Hawkeye. I love that indomitable spirit struggling as a trope in characters, and Hawkeye is so so “look at the skill and spirit with which I rise from that which resembles the grave but isn’t!” coded...)

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

I am a well established hater of "poor widdle Hawkeye" syndrome. Love me some angst, but I really can't stand gratuitous woobification. I like spunky, confident, a tiny bit mean but with a big squishy heart of gold Hawkeye- and I do like angst, but very picky about the context...

[ejzah]

In lieu of writing a story, I decided to spend far too much time writing an essay like post on a topic that’s been on my mind recently.

***

Recently I’ve been thinking about characters who change over the course of a series. Particularly, characters who start out fairly normal or serious and then become increasingly more silly, ridiculous, or stupid. For instance, Frank Burns from MASH, Marty Deeks and Eric Beale from NCIS: LA, and Eric Matthews from Boy Meets World, and Tony from NCIS to name a few.

It could be argued that each of these characters had a comedic quality from the beginning. However, comedy was not their sole or defining characteristic. At some point though, the writers seemed to realize that they had a gift for comedy and leaned into that side. The problem is that this occurs with increasing frequency and often without reason.

Some start out as an antagonist, such as Frank Burns. In his first season, he’s described as a “fair” surgeon. He can be ridiculous at times, but is competent enough and mostly known for being overly by the book and military crazed. By the end of his run on the series, he’s a terrible surgeon, constantly makes a fool of himself, and finally ends up chasing after his now married mistress. In this case, instead of making Frank increasingly nasty or, he was made ridiculous to highlight why he wasn’t a suitable leader or surgeon.

In many shows that lean towards the more serious, it’s common to have a character who breaks up the angst, drama, and heaviness. Enter the likes of Eric Beale and Marty Deeks. Though they remained comparatively unscathed compared to some, both characters suffered in the name of comedy.

Eric Beale was a highly skilled tech operator who kept things running from behind the scenes and was critical to the team solving cases. Yet as the series progressed he went an eccentric genius to often odd and ridiculous.

From the beginning of his introduction, Deeks was established as a master at undercover, uniquely intelligent, and capable of using people’s assumptions about himself to his own advantage. Yes, he always talked a lot, but there was usually a purpose. Even in moments when he rambled, it was genuinely funny and not overplayed. However, as the series progressed the very writers who created this extremely intriguing, intelligent, and competent man, seemed to forget these aspects.

In an arc where Deeks is sent to the federal academy, we should have seen him excel. He had years of experience and knowledge compared to his younger peers. Instead, he seemed to forget how engage in arm-to-arm combat, fell asleep during an important task, and could barely keep up during a run. For many fans, this felt like a betrayal of a beloved character we knew.

Often, funny characters are sacrificed to promote a new character. Particularly as a series progresses, instead of letting the newbie gain popularity naturally, they force their merits by downgrading an established character.

You might be wondering, what’s the point of all this? Well, a lot of fans care when their favorite character changes drastically, especially not in a positive way. There’s a difference between a character who can be funny or has select silly/stupid moments, and one who becomes a caricature. We build fandoms our these characters. We invest hours and time, energy and love into writing about them, drawing, and discussing them. Of course it matters when it feels like that same character has been mistreated and disrespected.

I wish that before writers decide to go for the easy laugh, for the stupid joke, for the ridiculous, that they consider the impact on the character and show. It not only destroys your audience’s trust, but also makes it unbelievable when the character is given any content of substance.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

ok it’s time for dana to hoot and holler about zexal

finished ygo zexal for the first time last week and i absolutely adored it and am STILL thinking so much about it (as i will be probably for. a While now if my relationships with the other ygo spinoffs ive seen are any indication).....time again for me to do my little personal rambly yugioh series retrospective post as the brainworms truly start to set in. kattobingu feel the flow high five the sky build the overlay network let’s goooo!!!

more under the cut. a lot more lol. spoilers for a decade old anime, naturally

GOD. YEAH. THIS ONE MIGHT BE MY FAVORITE YUGIOH SERIES IVE SEEN YET. HOLY SHIT. 2021 Dana was really out here thinking Zexal looked kind of annoying (based on mild DL characters/plot osmosis) and not terribly interesting and I want to go back in time and shake her shoulders and say NO. NO YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. ZEXAL FUCKING ROCKS. every yugioh has some degree of Danabait to it (probably because. watching Duel Monsters as a child was the catalyst to what Danabait even is lol) but JESUS MARY AND JOSEPH Zexal is like being hit by one nuclear bomb of shit genetically engineered in a lab to make me insane after another.

THE ART STYLE. OF ZEXAL, FOR ONE. makes me absolutely rabid animal bonkers--I LOVE seeing the way the ygo art style has been honed and developed and evolved over time. YGO influenced my art style more than I can articulate, and then zexal comes in swinging with the ygo art style at its Most Zany. The EXPRESSIONS in this show!!!!!!!!! Fucking rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A MASSIVE CHUNK OF THE CAST DOESNT HAVE MOUTHS HALF THE TIME AND YET STILL ARE SOME OF THE MOST EXPRESSIVE YGO GUYS EVER!!!! Constantly making expressions I LOVE to draw!!!! and oh my god the COLOR DIRECTION OF YUGIOH ZEXAL?!?!? genuinely absolutely phenomenal and one of my all time favorites i’ve seen in any cartoon, western or anime. you mean to tell me we got a lighting and color budget now??? we get yugioh scenes looking like this??!??

THE BEST. THE BEST. THE BEST. OBSESSED WITH IT. ABSORBING ZEXAL’S COLOR AND EXPRESSION PROWESS. STEALING ITS POWER.

ANYWAY as usual with my ygo watching i was primarily watching the dub (absolutely thrilled to have a Completed Yugioh Dub to watch for the first time since DM, MAN.) but I did end up watching...over half of Zexal II’s sub; stuff just gets so absolutely insane with the Barian Emperors that I desperately wanted every possible inch of their lore so I ended up watching both (sometimes back and forth at the same type like an unhinged wild animal) for the full picture. I like Zexal’s dub a lot!! its comedic timing is ON POINT, EXTREMELY FUNNY DUB. and really like..all of the main dub VAs are so, SO good (as they usually are.) There are a lot of bizarre things they cut though, a lot of childhood flashbacks and little character moments and the like. It’s a shame! I can only imagine a lot of them were cut to leave more room for ad time which. Sucks a bit 🥴A lot of duels do whip a lot harder in the sub too, especially in the back half..... still though, enjoyed my time with the dub. there’s a remarkable amount of stuff i am SHOCKED they actually did keep in?!??! The car crash that killed Shark’s parents is just straight up presented as is with like one or two small cuts. A LITTLE GIRL’S DEAD BODY IS SHOWN?? ON SCREEN??? ZEXAL DUB!! KIDS LOVE IT SO!!! MY GOD!!!

ok enough on that. some breakdowns/specific points like I usually do with these roundups:

Stuff I Didn’t Like: always get this one outta the way first. There really wasnt a whole lot I straight up disliked with this one!! It’s extremely solid all around. It does, of course, have some...Choices, being made, like. Girag’s lips. and. Girag’s backstory. Love the guy but oh my god why did they do that to him 😭Yugioh Racially Questionable moments ride again!!! At this point it’s just par for the course, definitely not the first time a ygo has. Done stuff like that. Ah well. Worth mentioning though.

What’s really a shame is that Zexal has some of the COOLEST, MOST FUN GIRL CHARACTERS, and time and time again they just dont do anything with them!!!!!!!!!!!! IT’S SO FRUSTRATING. i LOVE rio but the poor girl is fridged for literally 2/3s of the series!! She’s in the hospital like five times!!!! Rio and Anna and Tori and Dextra and Kari are all like, some of my favorite ygo gals YET but they have maybe 5 duels between them. Konami let your girls DUEL CHALLENGE. PLEASE.

hm what else. I guess also the final showdown with the series “Big Bad” was. uh. kind of let down lmao. But to be fair I was positively spoiled last series with the Z-one duel lol. Can’t win ‘em all. As cool as the concept of “the protag and rival team up to duel the Big Bad” is, and as cool as Don Thousands Entire toxic manipulative dynamic with the Barian Emperors is for like the Entire Rest of Zexal II is, they just....don’t. Do much with him for that last Donny T duel?? Would have loved more backstory elaboration or just like. Anything. It was over so soon and I was like “...that was it??” HDFHGSDFG thankfully the last two duels of zexal whip like hell so we bounce back!!

i also kind of wish don thousand kept his sick as hell demon armor form but c’est la vie i suppose. sad! well there’s other guys.

Favorite Season: I actually have no idea how Zexal is split up into seasons, so I guess Fav Arc would be a better term? Anyway I loved the World Duel Carnival Arc, I’m one of like 5 people who actually enjoy tournament arcs but i think theyre FUN and this one is a blast. There’s Arclight Family Agonies coming from every direction and there’s the INSANE DUEL ROLLER COASTER and Vetrix is bouncing around being a little freak, it’s GREAT

anyway and then Zexal II came in and grabbed me by the head and threw me into the drywall

LIKE. MY GOD. ZEXAL HAS THE FUCKING EMOTIONAL PACING OF MORAL OREL. YOU HIT Z2 AND SHIT STARTS GETTING REAL AND GOING HARD AS HELL AND IM OUT HERE GETTING MY BRAIN SCRAMBLED. I love like. All of the arcs of zexal II it’s hard to pick a favorite but I DO really like just that first third or so where the Barians are just starting to show up and the horrors haven’t quite begun and everything’s so silly and Ray Shadows is Very There. gives me gx season 1 vibes a little bit. it’s a delight.

Favorite Characters: oh right I should. talk about that. pained smile.

i joke about this a lot but usually every ygo series has like. A Character That’s My Actual Favorite, and A Character That Makes Me Absolutely Insane (syrus vs. zane, leo vs. aporia, etc.) but, uh. this time I GUESS THAT’S JUST. THE SAME CHARACTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SORRY. TO BE BASIC. BUT WHY DID THEY DO THAT TO ME. WHY DID THEY PUT A CHARACTER IN ZEXAL WHO ALREADY LOOKS LIKE MY ART STYLE. ALREADY LOOKS LIKE I DREW HIM. AND THEN MAKE HIM FUCKED UP AND SILLY AND A SAD LITTLE JACKASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ABSOLUTELY NEFARIOUS!!!!!!!!! 2021 dana had no CLUE they were hiding this fucker in the back of one of the ygo spinoffs. never could have predicted it. vector’s genuinely one of the best ygo characters of all time to me. what if a yugioh character had the most absolutely bonkers expressions youve ever seen and he was constantly doing little bits and acting like a little funnyman and then the devil fucking Kills Him. he’s perfect. the madness has only just begun to infect me i fear.

ANYWAY other than The Carrot in Question, I fucking love like...all of Zexal’s cast; I think this is the first time for any ygo where a series just didnt really have any characters I straight up Did Not Like. it’s such a solid, colorful cast that just checks so many boxes for my fav kinds of characters. I didn’t think I was gonna like Yuma but I ended up LOVING HIM!!!! I LOVE SEEING A YGO PROTAG THATS LIKE..ACTUALLY BAD AT THE GAME, THAT GROWS BETTER AND STRONGER OVER TIME BUT STAYS SO SILLY. I love what Zexal does to “traditional” yugioh character archetypes--Shark and Kite are both such cool rival characters and the shit they do with Shark especially?!?! NEVER COULD HAVE IMAGINED THEM DOING THAT. WITH A YUGIOH RIVAL. KAIBA COULD NEVER.

Narrowing down a top five fav Zexal guys is so hard, they really came in swinging with Catostrophic Families AND insane alien guys, but after pondering I think I’d have to say rn it’s Vector, Shark, Nistro (my fuckin  MAN!!!!!!!), Trey, and Alito. Immediate runnerup also being Tori. I fucking love Tori, new favorite main ygo girl. She bore witness to All That Shit and never folded. SHe’s Yuma’s FRIEND his CONFIDANT his EMOTIONAL SUPPORT!!!!! Absolute boss. Yuma would be dead in a ditch somewhere by episode 20 without her around.

Favorite Duel: BEEN GOING BACK AND FORTH ON THIS A LOT but I think my favorite duel was and still is the Trey vs. Yuma duel in zexal I, it’s just fantastic. The COLORS AND LIGHTING!!!!! The stakes!!! The SICK DUEL ARMOR!! Trey literally threatens a world-ending murder-suicide because he wants his family to be proud of him and well i’ll just explode into bits all up and down the road about it. Goes hard as hell. Trey and Yuma’s dynamic is one of my favs in Zexal but that’s it’s own post.

I also love all of Alito’s duels (especially the tag duel with Nistro, which is one of the most atrociously danabait duels ever (slash pos) and his last duel against yuma, which ALSO has some of the fucking coolest shots and lighting of any yugioh duel to me) and the last duel between Shark and Yuma. Shit rocks.

Zexal is also pretty unique to me in that it’s the first time i can really concretely say ive had favorite EPISODES as opposed to just favorite duels. There are so many episodes left and right that just make my fucking head explode. The BASEBALL DUEL FRIENDSHIP GAMES EPISODE. The EPISODE WHERE YUMA AND SHARK ARE IN THE HOSPITAL. The “VECTOR GETS STRAPPED INTO THE ALIEN GOD THRONE AND MR. HEARTLAND IS BEING INSANE AND THE ARCLIGHTS ARE IN A SUBMARINE AND ERAZOR IS GOING TO FUCKING KILL YUMA’S FRIENDS” episode. THE. UM. THE EPISODE WHERE THIS HAPPENS

^BROKE MY WHOLE DAMN BRAIN IN HALF. I AM STILL RECOVERING FROM THE DAMAGE zexal II comes in swinging with episodes that just knock your tits clean off and you LOVE to see it!!!!

Miscellaneous Other Zexal Gushing: IT’S JUST FUCKING GOOD!!!! THERE’S SO MUCH TO LOVE!!!!! I love the cast, I love Yuma and Astral’s dynamic and just how much love is there. I LOVE yuma’s friend group, they are SUCH perfect dweeby little middle schooler weird kids. I love the ways Zexal parallels Duel Monsters (and imo takes a lot of elements from DM and does them even better), I love Yuma’s grandma and Kari, ABSOLUTE REAL ONES!!! I fucking love Orbital 7. I love the Number cards and how theyre just completely thematically not related to each other at ALL (sometimes it’s a bug! sometimes it’s a guy! sometimes it’s an entire floating civilization!!!) I love the ABSOLUTELY BONKERS RELIGIOUS MOTIFS AND SYMBOLISM FLYING AROUND IN ANY AND ALL DIRECTIONS. THEY DID THAT FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!! ASTRAL CHRIST ALLEGORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I just...adore how fundamentally Zexal is about kindness and hope and love, and also about how it’s so important to not lose yourself or your sense of fun as you grow up!! That theme absolutely EVISCERATED ME when gx came out swinging with it in its last season, and it’s GETTIN ME AGAIN HERE!!! IT’S ABOUT HAVING FUN!! IT’S ABOUT THE BONDS WE MAKE WITH OTHERS!!! IT’S ABOUT HOW CEASELESS KINDNESS CAN BE AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE THAT MAKES EVEN THE IMMOVEABLE MOVEABLE. yuma has SO much joy and love and forgiveness in his body and it makes me WAIL.

Duel Monsters really ends on this note of “goodbye” with Atem leaving, and it works well for that story’s themes of grief. Meanwhile I think it’s very special that while Zexal also ends on a goodbye with Astral leaving, it feels so much more like a “see you later.”  That hanging note of “we’ll meet again.” It’s so sweet. The themes of past and future at play really just make you root for these kids and hope they grow up into the best versions of themselves.

Also it’s so fucking funny that like All of the Cast That Died and Went to Hell Came Back Except Mr. Heartland Who Definitely Died For Real. gay WRONGS.

God. what else. I’m sure I’ll think of 8352389 more things I love about Zexal immediately after I post this. It’s just that good. So thrilled I gave it a go. I love you Xyz Monsters I love you Dyson Sphere I love you Vector’s dub and sub voices I love you Duel Monster Based Off of the Titantic I love you Dr. Faker’s absolutely insane character design I love you Barian World I love you Arclight family I love you Zexal II Dub Opening Song That’s Sung By Bruno 5D’s VA I love you YUMA AND FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!! ZEXAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cant wait to port all these kids to the college AU. it’s already happening. I love them so much

[flyingsquirrely]

Sins of the Father

WHAT a quest!! I've already played through the Myreque questline in RS3, but I really enjoyed the OSRS take on this quest. (spoilers for the Myreque/Vampyre questline in both OSRS and RS3 below the readmore)

I think it has my favorite characterization of the Player Character out of all the OSRS quests I've played so far. Normally, PC personality ends up either very reactive (they sort of blandly respond to the situation at hand) or going to uhhh extremes (Lunar Diplomacy pirate ship scene, my beloathed), but this quest found a nice balance where the PC is perhaps a bit too jokey in the face of darkness and danger, but it feels like a purposeful response to stress by lightening the mood, rather than obnoxious as it sometimes falls in other quests. It's more like a part of their personality, rather than the devs just throwing something in because they think it's funny or want to make a reference. Subjectively, I found this character much closer to how I imagine my PC (ik ik, that's not universal, hence subjectively). Also, it fits with the other quest characters, where Safalaan has a similar sense of humor and the PC's lightheartedness helps him deal with all of the unpleasant personal realizations he goes through during the quest.

Speaking of my guy Safalaan, loved his characterization as well, and his growing friendship with the PC. The conversations they have in the lab and before the final boss while looking over the drowned ruins of (presumably) the Everlight: 👌👌. They just felt so satisfying! We get to share our fears and stuff! I felt good feels! Good characterization!

Vanescula was a queen, as always, and Ivan felt more like a Real Boy in this iteration of the questline than in the RS3 version. Loved the team banter and the wary enemy-mine relationship between the Myreque and Vanescula. I thought that the tension between Veliaf, Safalaan, and Vanescula was really well done, and how each of the minor Myreque members have their own unique opinions and reasoning about the plan and Vanescula herself.

Also, I think this is unintentionally comedic, but I love that you can go up to the Vyrewatch in full combat kit + weapons specifically meant for killing vampyres, with which you have already killed a powerful vampyre and say "Send me to the mines!" and they just think you're really weird and do it. Like, the fight with Ranis was not private, there was an entire crowd there. Zero braincells on those guys.

There isn't much player dialogue choice in it (you know, the ones where the dialogue choice doesn't do anything mechanically, but results in some branching dialogue where the NPC's dialogue reacts to the PC's personality), but I did like the one where you can choose whether or not to call Veliaf out on his callousness towards Slepe because there are a bunch of Zamorakians there. I don't play my PC as Zamorakian, but they are Guthixian and they don't hate Zamorakians by default, so it was nice to be able to play into that.

I do wish we'd gotten a little more resolution about Slepe. I know there's more stuff going on there with an underground boss and stuff that I haven't done yet, but I think it could have used a quest of its own or maybe a short/medium follow-up.

(We won't talk about the month of Slayer grinding I had to do before I could kill Vanstrom. He hurts, and I am not an experienced PvMer.)

I think my hope for the finale of this questline (idk if we'll be getting one or two more quests in this series, it could go either way honestly), is that it does a couple of things:

Lord Drakan as the final final boss. tbh I found River of Blood (RS3) to be kind of an awkward finale, because Drakan is built up to be this terrible, extremely powerful enemy, but then you kick his ass in the penultimate quest and fight... mutated Safalaan as the final boss of the questline instead. Weird. I'd also accept Vanescula as the final final boss, as long as she survives it and we get to discuss the truce afterwards. She deserves it.

Ivan coming into his own legacy and playing a key role. In RS3 he doesn't get to do much in the last few quests in the series, which was a bit anticlimactic for him.

Give Safalaan A Break, Please. I guess they can turn him into a funky hybrid again, but please let me bonk him back into human shape and then let him take a nap. (he gives me such Ichigo-from-Bleach vibes, being a human+icyene+vampyre hybrid in River of Blood)

I want the Sunspear. I really like the lore of that weapon in RS3 and also how it implies that Efaritay is/was absolutely massive compared to humans.