#and then saying 'oh you want to play a disabled person? here use this!!!'

[fakehelper]

Okay so this is something that I held off on saying outright because of Natalie and the sway she had over the RPC, but one of the reasons that we require fcs to have a large following if they're not already in the entertainment industry (or trying to be in the industry) on GPN is because it feels oddly dehumanizing and tokenizing to take people who agreed to be part of a documentary or are in someone else's vlog because they are disabled or an ethnic minority and trying to use that person as an fc for "representation". While there isn't an abundance of disabled actors, they are out there, and I would much rather use an actor or model than an activist or someone who is literally just disabled and happens to be in a video, because they're not trying to break into the entertainment world, they're just living their lives.

Not to mention, when those people are only in one documentary or an episode of a show about disabilities, you're not going to get a lot of resources anyway, so it's not sustainable to use them as an FC. Just, when you're going forward and making resources of normal non-famous people because you think they'd be "good representation," please think twice about why you're actually making those resources. Would your time be better spent gifing a disabled actor or singer or model who is actually famous or even someone who's trying to break into the industry, who will likely have more footage down the line and actually give people more incentive to use that FC? Or are you just trying to gif as many people as you can to say that you're inclusive?

[wonderjanga]

Marvel not Caring

I feel like the few times Billy needs to get something over with, he just doesn’t care. Like honestly, I’m going to connect this to my Marvel Compilations post. (In that post I just talked about how Marvel could be a clip farm and the potential vids he would have) Let’s say these are all from the 8 minutes and 47 seconds of the Big Red Cheese tweaking out vid. Cause why not?

One day, Marvel’s doing patrol. See, he wants to get it done with, hopefully with no major villain attacks happening, because Darla has a school play, and he wants to see her, even if she got cast as a tree. But of course, things didn’t go his way, especially just when he needs to start heading out for the play.

*vid opens up to Marvel floating in the sky looking down at a Female Villain*

Female Villain: *attacking people and causing general havoc*

Marvel: *looks around for any cameras and doesn’t see the one recording the vid*

Female Villain: *sees him and his about to do something*

Marvel: *winds hand back (as if he needed to) and backhands her like an abusive husband*

Any Nearby Civilians: *cover their mouths as they look away. A good chunk of them sped walked away*

Female Villain: *knocked the fuck out*

I’m telling you right now, a good chunk of the comments on that video were something along the lines of ““that’s not right,” I whisper to myself as I speed walk away” or ““You don’t hit a woman,” I think to myself as I step into the safety of my car and drive away.” All stuff like that.

The day after that…

Marvel: “I just ended the problem as soon as I could, guys! I don’t beat women!” Superman: “We know! We know, but did you have to it so… so ferociously?”

Marvel: “Ferociously?”

Flash: “Dude, you looked like you’ve been waiting to do that.”

Marvel: “I haven’t! It was just effective, and I was on a time crunch.”

Flash: “Time crunch?”

Marvel: “Yeah, I had to see this person I know go be in a play.”

Batman: “Hn. You could’ve just said you wanted to see your child’s play. I’ll admit I’ve done something similar when Robin was in a play of his own.”

Superman: “Yeah. If the play thing is true, that’s a valid reason for any father to do that.”

Marvel: *a little confused as to why they assumed Darla was his kid* “Uh, yeah. I didn’t want to miss it.”

Flash: “Who was it for by the way? Junior or Mary?”

Marvel: “Neither.”

*silence*

Marvel: “You guys don’t know her. She isn’t a hero.”

Flash: “Dude… you have another kid? Why do you never tell us these things about yourself??”

Then, there’s another clip of Junior and Marvel. Beast Boy recorded the audio for shiggles and hid behind a wall but was surprisingly met with:

Marvel: “Okay, you know what, Junior? I don’t care that you’re disabled. Put your hands up.”

Junior: “Dude, I am not fighting you. You’re stronger than me.”

Marvel: “So? You’re only a little bit weaker. If you paid Mary like five dollars, I’m sure she’d fight with you. Now anyways put your hands up.”

Junior: “She’s not even here! And, hey- hey- Stop that!”

A lot of crashes and bangs could be heard for about 30 seconds. The video then ended.

Then, there’s another clip of him and Mary sibling arguing, but of course, most people think that Cap’s her and Juniors dad. So, when they say certain things, people tend to view it more extremely.

Marvel and Mary: *arguing*

Marvel: *says something completely outlandish that you should absolutely not say to a child*

Mary: *barely blinks and says something right back*

Marvel: “Oh so help me Gods, if we weren’t related, I would scrape your face across the pavement.”

Mary: “Oh yeah? Well if we weren’t related, I would skin you with a butter knife!”

The two proceeded to continue arguing before they somehow make up mid insult and go get ice cream like nothing happened.

Bonus:

Black Adam and Marvel: *floating up in the sky*

Black Adam: “You know, you’ve never said anything remotely similar to that to me.”

Marvel: “What’re you talking about?”

Black Adam: “I would scrape your face across the pavement.”

Marvel: *nearly has a heart attack when he says that*

Black Adam: “You said that to the girl. You’ve shown more disdain for that girl than you have for I.”

Marvel: “Uhhhh…” *panicking cause he doesn’t know about the video*

Black Adam: “Do you… not take me seriously?”

Marvel: “No, no, no, of course I do!”

In this AU, Marvel doesn’t really throw much shade at his villains aside from the occasional comment and that’s it.

[hyukalyptus]

i'll be okay—yeonjun x fem!afab!reader. reader gets overstimulated and they have comfort sex lol. NSFW/MDNI!

cw. established relationship, afab!reader, chubby!reader implied, reader experiences sensory overload (but there is no specific disability mentioned), yeonjun has stubble ehehe, nipple play, cunnilingus, use of sex toys, unprotected sex (pls wear protection ppl), creampie , pet names (love, baby, jjuni), "i love you," reader wears a dress, lowkey lovemaking, kinda cheesy, i think that's it?  notes. so this is kinda supposed to be, like, as a result of sensory overload. i wrote this as a neurodivergent person who experiences sensory overload, but anyone can get overstimulated, so even if you aren't neurodivergent, you may relate to this! and remember- disability, overstimulation, and sensory overload are different experiences for everyone! no one experiences them the same, SO just keep in mind this is kinda as a result of my personal experience. thank u :3 smut under cut. wc. 1.8K

“I’m sorry we had to come home early,” you say, closing and locking your apartment’s front door. “It’s this fabric…” Tugging at the dress you’d picked out for tonight’s date, you shiver. You knew the fabric wasn’t your favorite, but the dress fit you so perfectly. It couldn’t be bad for one night, right? 

The combination of a stressful day at work, the cacophony of the bustling restaurant, the glaring city lights, and the dress' god awful fabric proved overwhelming. Sensory overload loomed over you from the moment you stepped into the restaurant, but you tried to push it aside, which is never a good idea.

You didn’t have to say anything. Yeonjun knew. He always knows. 

But you wanted to stay, to salvage the perfect date in the perfect dress. And oh how sexy did he look with his slightly grown-out beard, knowing how much you loved the look. Tonight was supposed to be special, and excitement radiated from both of you.

But some days are simply bad and this is one of them. 

“Don’t apologize, love,” Yeonjun says, draping his jacket across the dining table chair. “I couldn’t wait to get you out of that dress anyway.” You wanted to hug him, kiss him, do other things to him, but you couldn’t wait to get this fucking dress off. 

Exhaling a sigh of relief, the familiar comfort of your favorite t-shirt and shorts envelops you as you step out of the closet, finding him patiently waiting on the edge of the bed.

“How are you feeling?” 

“Better—still a bit, you know,” you respond, shaking your hands. “But I’ll be okay.” 

“Need some water?” You nod, watching him walk calmly to the kitchen. How does he always stay so calm? Always your rock. “Here you go, love.” Quietly observing as you settle, he says, “You did look really pretty in that dress.” 

Sitting up, you cross your legs, give him a gentle smile, and say, “Thank you, baby.”

“Touch?” 

Humming, you nod. Warmth spreads through you as his hand gracefully glides from your arm down to squeeze your thigh. Leaning closer, his thumb traces the apple of your cheek before his lips meet yours. 

“You’re always pretty though.” 

The kiss deepens and he leans over, guiding you to lie down as your arms naturally wrap around his shoulders. In his embrace, you find solace and a sense of security, appreciating the constant reassurance he brings into your life.

Every subtle move he makes sends a ripple of response through your body—his hand slipping beneath your shirt to rest on your waist, the delicate texture of his fingertips, even the slightest pinches. It all made you jump. He gently squeezes your tit, making a smile tug at the corners of your lips before swiping a thumb across your nipple experimentally. 

“Sorry—“

You hum, like nuh-uh, you’re not done yet before pulling him back to you. Breaths heavy and deep, he whispers your name as if to ask if you’re okay. He’d never want to overwhelm you, but you want him. 

Trailing his lips down your neck, you say, “I’m still really sensitive, so I’ll have to…you know, take lots of breaks.”

“That’s okay, baby…” Lips brushing your own, the hotness of his breath against your lips grounds you in the moment, hyper aware of his body on yours. “You know I’ll always stop when you need me to.” Tugging at the hem of your shirt—he always lets you take off your own shirt when you’re extra sensitive—his hands rub your waist, giving you time to adjust to sudden exposure. This definitely isn’t the first time you’ve had sex, but each time feels exciting and new. 

Peppering your skin with the sweetest, most sensual kisses until—

Fuck.

Your breath catches in your throat at his tongue against your nipple. A stiffness takes over and as usual, he notices. 

“Feelin’ okay?” He feels good…really good. But you’re still anxious and you still need to look out for yourself to make sure you don’t get too overwhelmed. 

“Yes—” you gasp as your eyes squeeze shut, letting his lips explore your body. He can feel it. That you’re okay. That you want him. But he wants you to say it. 

“More?” 

“Please.” 

“I need you to say it, love.”

Ah, he’s always had such a thing for consent. And you have too. Knowing—saying out loud—how much one wants the other is delicious. 

You chuckle and say, “Ask me first.”

Feeling his smile against your chest, your jitters turn into butterflies. “Love,” he says, peppering your skin with kisses. “I want to…” he starts, skating his lips across your tummy. “God, there’s so much I wanna do to you.” 

Making his way down toward your hips, you can’t help but run your fingers through his hair. “Tell me.”

“I wanna make you feel so good,” he whispers. “Wanna give you one of the best orgasms you’ve ever had. I wanna taste your pussy. I wanna fuck you so slowly it makes you crazy.” Watching how he places the softest kisses everywhere, you’ll forever know how much he loves your body. “Is that okay?”

You hum, giving him the okay to move closer and closer to your pussy, he watches your every reaction. 

Flicking his tongue over your clit, you gasp. You feel it all—everything. His slippery tongue, the cotton bed sheets sticking to your damp back, the uncomfortable position your pillow is forcing you into, his fingernails digging into your thighs, the roughness of his five o’clock shadow against your thighs. Its—

“Stop,” you say, pushing yourself away from him, taking deep breaths. “Too much—sorry…”

“Never apologize, love.” While you’re calming yourself down, he asks, “What was it?”

“Your…um, your little stubble,” you say, chuckling. “Sorry, you look so cute, but…”

“It’s okay.” He smiles reassuringly. “I just won’t eat you out. You wanna use a toy?” Before you can even answer with your simple nod, he’s opening one of the bedside tables. “Which one?”

“Surprise me.” Smirking, he pulls out your favorite bullet vibrator— “Ah, that’s the one I was hoping you’d pick.” It’s a comforting one. You know exactly what to expect from it and there aren’t any surprises, which is just what you need right now.

“How did I know that? You wanna use it or do you want me to?”

“You.”

“Tell me if it's too much, okay?” He starts it off on its lowest setting, slowly easing it onto your clit. Waves of relaxation wash over you, giving you the chance to calm down. He can tell by your moans that you want— “More?” You nod, answering with a quick mhmm and he turns it up to your favorite speed, hitting just the right spot. 

“Oh, fuck, that’s good,” you say breathlessly. Placing gentle kisses on your ribs, he’s getting you used to the feeling of him again. “Can you—” It’s like he read your mind. His tongue finds your nipple, going around it so deliciously. 

You start squirming, ready for more. 

“Jjuni…” you whine, back arching while you claw at his chest. “Need you. Please?” He doesn’t have to ask what position. You have a favorite for these nights. Simple, but effective—a nice kneeling missionary. You’re in a comfy position, he can see his cock going in and out of your perfect pussy, and he can touch your whole body with easy access to your clit. 

“Breathe for me, okay?” How did he know you were holding your breath? You force yourself to relax, his warm hands soothing you even more. He places a butterfly-soft kiss to your lips. “You’re so beautiful, babe.” 

“So are you,” you smile, watching him rub gentle circles on one hip while he slowly pushes himself inside you. “Yeonjun—”

“Fuck, you feel so good, love,” he says. “I’m gonna start moving, okay?”

Nodding, you grab a fistful of sheets at how simply incredible he feels. But—

“Wait, wait.”

“Too much?” Changing his pace, it feels— “How’s this?”

“Oh,” your chest heaves. “That feels good, yeah. Sorry,” you say nervously.

Truthfully, he didn’t mind this at all. He likes taking his time with you. The only thing he doesn’t like is that you feel like you’re burdening him with all the breaks and pauses. But he’s told you so many times, “You’re absolutely perfect, love.” 

You sigh and say, “I love you.” That wasn’t the first time you’d said that, not even that evening, but saying it during sex always turned him to putty. 

“I love you too, baby. So much.” Reaching for your vibrator again, he presses it to your clit, sending shocks through your body. And it feels…so good. But just for a moment. 

“Ah,” you sit up, pushing him out. “I need to take a break.” He nods, giving you space to take a few sips of the water he’d gotten you earlier. “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he smiles. “You wanna try being on top?”

“Nah, I like this position. If that’s okay?”

“Perfectly fine by me.” Spreading your legs again, he runs his hands over your waist, feeling you ground yourself again. “Ready?” 

Every step of the way, he’s so attentive to you and ensures you don’t get overwhelmed or more overstimulated than you already are. And he’s always been like this. Always. Even since the first time you slept together. Sleeping with someone you cared about for the first time was always overwhelming—so many things to think about—am I being too loud? Do I taste okay? Am I making them feel good? It was stressful. But he picked up on it immediately. 

He treated you perfectly. How you always wanted to be treated. He read you so well. 

Those questions inside your head turned into whispers from him—let me hear you, baby. God, you’re so fucking delicious. Fuck, you make me feel so good, love. 

“Jjuni, can you use my toy again?”

“Of course,” he smiles. “Feel good?” You nod again, edging close to your orgasm. As it builds, his whispers become more fervent. “You’re doing so good for me, love.” His voice is soothing, a constant reassurance that you’re in a safe and pleasurable space. Adding just the right amount of pressure to your clit with the perfect pace of his thrusts, your body finds itself in a whirlwind of pleasure and ecstasy as you reach your orgasm. 

The room fills with the subtle hum of the toy, the soft sounds of your moans, and his gentle breaths as he maintains his attentiveness. 

Coming down from your high, you catch your breath and say, “Please cum inside me. I wanna feel you. Please.” He nods, discarding the toy to the mattress, squeezing your tit, not only for himself, but he knows it comforts you. “Please.” 

His grunts get deeper, his thrusts get sloppier, and with a few final thrusts, he reaches his own climax, filling you with warmth and a deep feeling of connection between you. 

Placing a gentle kiss on your shoulder, he whispers, “You’re so perfect, you know that?”

“You are too.” 

“I’m always here for you, okay?”

tags: @https-yeonjun | perm.taglist: open! send an inbox to be added !

[raviolirash]

I definitely think Astarion would have a horrible ptsd reaction if Tav lovingly called him “mine”

But do you think he might also if he’s called sweet?

oh god this is such a... fuckfest of a topic to tackle. I think for both cases it would be situational because ptsd is a spicy meat-a-ball-a.

as with many of my posts this is about Spawn as oh boy i cannot be fucked with AA rn. he's in hell.

I think generally he'd be fine with pet names if it's from his partner. Sweet, mine, etc. Hell, maybe that word will be reclaimed now that it's used with love and adoration and he knows that you are equals. But. Random creepy strangers flirting with him and putting their hands on him is not something I can see going down well, and it either would turn into a bloodbath or a panic attack. or both. The banter with Karlach when he says "there were days I wished that everyone who touched me would catch fire" comes from pain that will take a very long time to fade.

It is never that black and white with these sorts of things anyway. One day he'll be joking about Cazador by saying something unhinged, next day he might lash out at the mere mention of the name. ptsd healing journeys is like dealing with a BMW driver. just predictably unpredictable as fuck.

Complete off the fuckin rails side note: I'm also in general not a fan at all of like, babyfication of characters who have PTSD. Or erasing every single aspect of their personality and only leaving PTSD Person. Some people's viewpoint on it is so black and white, Bad Apple could be played on it. it's like here is a summary of nonsense

"poor baby is always in pain, they constantly must suffer and have no joy in their life. everything makes them sad. :("

"i want to fix him with my pussy because in my selfish world i see that as an only cure. i am the only thing in their life. me."

"i refuse to accept this character until they're 'fixed'. <3 <3 <3 people's disabilities must be eradicated. you cannot be happy if you have any disability."

my first question will always be "Do you treat real people like this?"

[wc-confessions]

LONGGGGG ASK GUYS

Frankly I'm scared about how the treatment of disabled characters in this series is doing to kids' minds. I know WCUE is mostly used by younger kids but I occasionally play it from time to time and I have a decent amount of ocs with disabilities since I'm also disabled

Whenever I play as one of my ocs with disabilities two things happen:

-im ignored

-people are ableist towards my characters, either in or out of roleplay.

This isn't me saying "noo you can't have ocs that are bad people!!!!!" Because I don't think these kids realize how bad ableism is because I always have atleast one person be ableist towards my oc even if their bio says their oc is kind or something

I recently made an oc I like a lot, she's an older senior warrior that doesn't really want to retire, she's blind in one eye and has a really scarred up front leg that she can only walk on for short periods of time and I joined some roleplays here's some of the ableist things people have said to me while I was roleplaying as her;

"She should be forced to retire."

"oh please! She has a wounded front leg." (I have it clear in her bio that her leg is SCARRED)

"Sorry it's not realistic for a half blind cat to be a warrior u have to be the healer" (?? That makes no sense)

"You cannot mentor any apprentices because of your leg and eye"

I have an oc that is deaf and dosen't speak to much due to it, people have gotten mad at me for not speaking to them even though I have it in my bio my character dosen't speak much due to being deaf.

I have an oc that was born without eyes and I'm either ignored, denied a mentor, told to be the healer or had my mentors mysteriously need to leave once I tell them my character is blind Incase they didn't read my bio.

.

[incorrect-riordanverse]

It's really disheartening that Rick Riordan stance on the war I understand that he wants to be neutral on this stance but in my opinion by becoming neutral he only worsening the issue as many Palestines are dying that are mostly children, how the majority of Israeli are supporting the Genocide of Palestine, and how the government is trying so hard (but miserably failing) to justified the genocide. I will hold him accountable for what he said on this issue as during this period the choice is basically "you are with us or against us."

Part of me wishes he will realize what he said was wrong and understand the bigger issue that plays at hand. I will criticism for his actions as how can a man who promotes LGBTQIA and representation of minorities and disabilities in his books turn a blind eyes to Genocide of people. However we can only wait and see on his next move.

One last thing about your previous you said you don't group Riordan with other authors where do you would group him with? Also this is more on an opinion base answer but many people are boycotting companies that support Israel there as been another post on Twitter on boycotting authors. Rick Riordan happens to be one of them. Do you believed that he should be boycotted with other authors or he should be properly educated and apologized for his previous statement? If you believed he should be boycotted what do tou have to say to those who might have the mentality of "separate the art from the artist"

thank you for this ask, and i completely agree with you! it is extremely hypocritical of him considering what he preaches for in his books. i think he’s convinced he has properly addressed the apartheid by using very vague language that can be applied to anything, and in doing so, he’s addressed nothing really.

your first question on who i would group him with— probably other authors who are doing the exact same as him in their virtue signalling. i always like to link my other blogs to each other, so i don’t think it’s a secret that i have a red queen account and i’m pretty passionate about that. unfortunately, victoria aveyard is another fantasy author who has literally wrote a whole four-book series on the uprising against oppression but is now playing neutral in her address of the apartheid. rebecca yarros is in the same boat, although i haven’t read ‘fourth wing,’ fans have said there are large themes of oppression within the book. so if i had to group riordan it would probably be in the ‘i-like-to-write-about-it-for-profit-and-praise-only’ group.

in terms of boycotting, i think that’s a great idea! i would also like to remind everyone that the percy jackson tv show is coming out in a little over a month, but disney is a huge industry financially supporting israel as well ($2 million in funding), which is obviously far more damning than a poorly written address by one person. there is a boycott happening for disney as well— and the pjo show will be released on disney + . i implore everyone to not watch it on that platform!! personally i will be pirating it online (idk if i’ll get into trouble saying that here but lol oh well), because im pretty sure the boycott is only for withdrawing financial support, not simply consuming media.

i feel like separating art from the artist only works if that artist is… like, dead, and you’re using that art and its values as a historical insight to how the world was during its time. you can still like a piece of work that has a problematic artist, you can engage with the work (to an extent). but separating art from the artist barely works because either:

to engage with the art is to support the artist in some way, so that artist is making money based on your interaction with that (particularly in the case for singers and streaming of songs)

that artists’ views and values are so rancid that it’s literally embedded within the text itself. to ignore it is harmful.

harry potter is my all-time favourite example to use, because jkr is the scum of the earth, and her views are entrenched in her work. a lesser known example is sarah j maas and her books (she’s also not as dogshit as jkr, but then again, its not hard to be a better person than her). i’m not going to bag on these people for liking things by problematic people (would be hypocritical of me), i just think it’s cowardly not to address it when you come across it, or at least admit to it. to simply write things off as ‘separate to the artist’ is like purposefully turning off your critical thinking skills.

on whether boycotting or an apology is enough— if riordan did apologise and used specific language and not the nonsense he had in that blog, expressed his remorse for his ignorance and then actually did or said something to support the people of palestine then, yeah. that’s fine and that’s how we learn ig. but he should educate himself, too many activists, people from the arab community and especially palestinians are expected to be all-knowing and to educate everyone else on an already draining and personal tragedy. it’s been exhausting for me, i can’t imagine what they’re going through. if riordan (or anyone) needs to be educated, he should do it himself, and (at least in my opinion) i don’t think the info is very hard to find now. it’s just about weeding out the misinformation.

i think boycotting is a good idea as of now. it can serve to be a catalyst for self reflection for many people. also, as much as i hate most online discourses, talking about it online needs to happen. i don’t want these authors to forget, for a moment, about the ignorance they posted online during a time of international crisis.

[mirai-e-jump]

Boonboomger/Gotchard Film Pamphlet ft. Main Cast & Staff Interviews (translations below, long post)

Publication: July 26, 2024

Iuchi Haruhi (Taiya Hando)

For this film, the guests are HIKAKIN-san and Irei Himena-san. I'm together with HIKAKIN-san during the opening scene. I started watching Youtube when I was in my second year of elementary school, and have been watching him ever since, so I was really tense at first. Because HIKAKIN-san was playing himself, I was as nervous as I was during filming of the first episode, and it was hard for me to interact with HIKAKIN-san as Taiya Hando, not as Iuchi Haruhi……

In between filming, I had a chance to talk with him for alittle bit and told him, "I'm glad to meet you," to which he replied, "Same here, I'm also glad. Thank you!," and I was extremely moved.

Irei-san has a long career in acting, and I was particularly impressed by the delicate expression she showed when she was listening to the other's lines. Even when it wasn't my turn to appear, I was always studying Irei-san's performance. Initially, Princess Nicola's in a state where she can't clearly decide on what she wants to do, but then there's a scene where Taiya asks her, "Where do you want to deliver yourself?" This is a scene that shows a glimpse of Taiya's kindness and conviction, so I tackled it carefully. Before the performance, both Irei-san and I were quiet and concentrated the entire time, and I'm glad that we were able to perform this scene. Eventually, when Princess Nicola's prepared to make a decision, I felt that it overlapped with Mira in the first episode……I was really happy to see that Taiya's way of thinking was conveyed to Princess Nicola through Mira.

Also, a memorable scene during filming was when Taiya protects Princess Nicola. Since filming continued after this scene, I had to act as if I was properly protecting Princess Nicola, while also moving around to make sure her wig and hair accessories didn't fall off. In many ways, this one scene caused me some mental strain (laughs).

The climax of the film is the first six person simultaneous Boonboom Change, which includes Sakito Homura. Since it's a movie, I believe that one of its features is that there are many shots that show all six members. While filming, I had the feeling of, "I definitely want to see this on the big screen in theaters!"

Sakito's Miyazawa Yu-kun has alot of experience in stage plays, so I've learned alot from him, including vocalization, and I'm often inspired by him on set. Oh yeah, speaking of Yu-kun, when we shot the ending dance for this film at Fuji Speedway, only one part was filmed for him. He looked like he was ready to dance to the entire song, and seemed disappointed when he asked, "I'm already done?" (laughs).

The list of highlights are endless, from the Used Kurumaju that appear in the beginning of the film, to the wonderful guests, the location filming at the grand Fuji Speedway, the massive action, and the ending dance. It's a very lively "festival" film, so please make sure you have fun! _

Hayama Yuki (Ishiro Meita)

Chasshiro's highlight in the film is the part where he rewrites the program of the "Large Planet Destroying Missile" in order to disable it. Chasshiro's supposed to be super impressive, but lately, his crazy side tends to be what we focus on (laughs). Of course, that's what makes him interesting to play, but I believe that this film will reaffirm Chasshiro's superiority. Nevertheless, only in Boonboomger can such scenes be played out in an interesting way, like when Shirabe-san and Boonboom were fooling around, Chasshiro suddenly intervenes and says, "Give me a hand here!" (laughs). I took my performance extremely seriously, but I have no doubt that the audience will find these scenes interesting to watch. And at the climax, after disabling the missile, Chasshiro's the last of the six to arrive. This part is cool (laughs), so don't overlook it.

The first half of the battle between the Boonboomgers and the army of Used Kurumaju I was able to watch on site. It was almost a full lineup of all the enemies we've taken down so far. I had the impression that in the TV series, they struggled against every enemy, but in the film, they were able to defeat them one after another. I felt that the Boonboomgers had become stronger. Personally, I was happy to see Reizoko Grumer from episode 14 again, as it mainly focused on me and Mira (laughs).

I've been watching Youtube since I was in elementary school, so I was excited when I found HIKAKIN-san's name on the script's cast column. HIKAKIN-san is a very gentle person. However, during the actual performance, he suddenly started improvising, and I thought that this was to be expected of a professional entertainer. And, of course, when we first heard his live performance of "Boonboom Hello Boonboomger!," we all looked at each other. We were like, "It's the real deal!" (laughs). We were very excited. In the scene where we're watching HIKAKIN-san's video recording, Mira asks for his opinion with, "It's amazing, isn't it Chasshiro?," but he responds as if he's not interested. He was happy on the inside, and Mira surely saw right through him (laughs). Miu-chan does her best to play off me, so it's very easy for me to work with her.

I call Sakito Homura's Miyazawa Yu-kun, "Zawa-kun." Zawa-kun and I had been filming together in the TV series for about a month before we started filming the movie. So, I think the "six Boonboomger members" are beautifully captured in this film. Still, since Boonboom and Byundi also call themselves Boonboomgers, there are essentially eight Boonboomger members (laughs).

As this was my first movie, I was alittle nervous in the beginning, but looking back after filming finished, I enjoyed playing Chasshiro. I hope everyone enjoys themselves to the fullest from start to finish! _

Suzuki Miu (Mira Shifuto)

When I first heard from the staff that, "Mira is the main character in this film," I was shocked. When I actually read the script, I realized that everyone plays a leading role, but that Mira was given a very important role. In the first episode, Mira's determined to "take control of her own wheel," and now she tells this to Princess Nicola. I was happy to see Mira's growth, but at the same time, I felt alot of pressure to perform the role properly when we started filming.

I'm from the same agency as Himena-chan, who plays Princess Nicola. I've been in the industry for 12 years, while she has 14 years. I've known her name for a long time, but this was the first time we performed together. My impression of her was that she's dignified and mature. However, the more we talked, the more I could see how cute she was for her age. One day, when she had to choose between two types of bentos, she became seriously distraught. She was like, "Although I'd like to eat this one, the croquettes in the other one are hard to turn down……" I said, "Well then, how about if I take one with the croquettes in it and then give them to you?" She then said very innocently, "Eh, are you okay with that?" The smile on her face at the time was just too cute. It made me so excited that I almost died (laughs).

Still, when it came time to perform, I got alot of inspiration from Himena-chan, who has a longer career. Her reactions were too great, like she was doing them naturally. Her lines had alot of emotion. I was particularly careful not to make Mira's words sound like she was giving a lecture. I didn't want to "tell" Princess Nicola to listen to her story, rather, I wanted to create the image of Mira talking about her past on her own, and having it naturally resonate with Princess Nicola. What would the best way to express this be? I played the role while exploring the tone of my voice and the "pauses" in my performance. There were also scenes with the four of us, including Miyazawa Yu-kun's Sakito Homura and Byundi. When Mira asks for help, Sakito looks at her and Princess Nicola and says, "…Let's do this." At that time, Yu-kun's performance and Sakito's facial expressions were impressive.

I was also happy to be able to actively play as a "driver" in the film. I hadn't had an opportunity to ride in a car in the TV series for such a long time, so I thought, "At last, it's here!" However, I myself don't usually drive a car, so the staff gave me advice on things like how to use the gear stick and how to handle the wheel in a stylish way during the shoot. I think the footage gives a sense of a dynamic race, so please make sure you pay attention to it.

This production has the usual "cranked up" aspects, but as a human drama, it's a film worth watching. If those who watch it get the feeling of, "I also want to take another step forward," then that would make me very happy. _

Saito Ryu (Jou Akuse)

In this film, I was allowed to do flying kicks and backflips on a trampoline. I'd been appealing to Action Director Watanabe Jun-san for a long time with, "I want to do action," and now it's finally been realized. It was my first time stepping on a trampoline, so two days before the shoot, I was given some time to practice flying kicks and backflips so that I could do them before the real thing. Even though I found some parts to be difficult when I actually tried them, I'm happy that I did it. My muscles still hurt though (laughs).

What's more, I also experienced what's known as the "water fall" for the first time. I was surprised at first, but this is one of the best parts of playing a hero, and I thought, "Finally, it's here!" It seems that the staff wanted to give Jou's character a variety of challenges, so for my part, I'm grateful. The water was still cold when we were filming, but it was fun to do.

BoonBlack impresses me every time with the powerful action of Suit Actor Ito Shigeki-san. In the film, there's a scene where he fights one on one with Circuit Grumer, and he does a backspin kick, and his leg goes up very high. In fact, during filming of the movie, Shige-san taught me BoonBlack's role call pose. I'd like to perform in front of the fans someday.

My hobby is beatboxing, and it all began with watching HIKAKIN-san on Youtube. That's why I was very excited to be able to perform with him in this film. In the film, Jou says, "Amazing as usual!" to Genba, who "procured" HIKAKIN-san, but I think that might've been alittle bit of my true feelings coming out (laughs). In the scene where HIKAKIN-san was asked to leave because of the incident, only the two of us acted it out. Jou forces him out of the gate, and I felt really bad……

Director Nakazawa told us to "get excited" in the last scene, so we all got excited (laughs). Mira and Jou take the lead, and then Chasshiro and Genba join them, circling around Princess Nicola. I have no doubt that you'll feel our fun atmosphere. The ending dance was filmed at Fuji Speedway. The place is alot bigger than I had imagined when I stood on the actual course. After filming, we all watched the cars drive around the course, which was also cranked up. It was a very valuable experience.

As for the TV series, Zawa-nii has joined as BoonViolet, and the scenes and story are becoming alot more exciting. Please continue to support us from now on! _

Soma Satoru (Genba Bureki)

The scene where we confront the army of Used Kurumaju was the first thing we filmed for the movie. Simply put, it was spectacular. Given that there were that many Kurumajus lined up in a row, I couldn't help but suddenly exclaim, "Whoa!" Among them, I was personally happy to be reunited with Koinobori Grumer, who I fought in episode 10. Even in such a situation, Genba still shows a relaxed attitude, saying, "It's a revival festival, isn't it?" And even after the Change into BoonOrange, he always has a relaxed vibe to him. That was thanks to Ono Yukimasa-kun, his Suit Actor. There's also something sexy about how he handles his weapon. Since the movie will be shown on the big screen, I think you'll be able to see the differences in the actions of the six Boonboomers, the characteristics of each Suit Actor, the high level of their skills, and so on.

I was surprised at the development of the Boonboom Cars being controlled by Circuit Grumer. However, it's there that Genba shows his cleverness and creates an opportunity to turn the tables. There's a part where he holds up a pit board, but this one was surprisingly large and quite difficult (laughs). Also, since the Boonboom Cars would be added in later, I wasn't sure at the time of filming how the footage would turn out. After talking with Director Nakazawa and listening to his vision for the production, I tried to play the role while letting my imagination run wild. Director Nakazawa's direction was meticulous, and he would give me precise advice on Genba's facial expressions in each cut, such as, "It's like this now, but what will it be next time?"

As for memories of filming, I still really enjoyed being able to go to Fuji Speedway. Standing on a course isn't something you get to do very often, so it was a luxurious experience. After filming, we were able to observe a race, and every time a car passed in front of us at incredible speed, we all got excited and shouted, "Wow!"

Before filming for the movie began, we all used to talk about, "What kind of guests will be coming?" Sometimes, we'd also try to get the staff to spill (laughs). Then, to our surprise, it turned out to be HIKAKIN-san, and I was totally blown away (laughs). Furthermore, the setting of the film is that I, the "procurer," have procured him. I'm not sure what kind of negotiations he did, but……in any case, I think Genba's amazing (laughs).

Irei Himena-san, who plays Princess Nicola, was very lovely and was a healing presence to all the cast and staff members involved in the film. In the film, there's a scene where Genba sensed Princess Nicola's reluctance to discuss her situation, so he has to tell everyone. Genba's the type of person who acts by "anticipating" various things, so I performed this scene while thinking it was typical of Genba. I'd be happy if you pay attention to that. _

Miyazawa Yu (Sakito Homura)

It made me happy that Sakito Homura and BoonViolet could appear in the film (laughs). Originally, I wasn't informed on whether Sakito would be in the film or not, since I've only been in the TV series since June. When I received and read the script, the first thing I felt was the connection with the first episode and Mira's growth. Since I had watched the first episode as a viewer, I thought that Mira was trying to tell Princess Nicola what Taiya had told her back then. I think the real thrill of the Super Sentai series is that the character development is depicted over the long span of a year, and I thought that was exactly the theme of this year's film.

In this story, Sakito helps Mira and Princess Nicola. Since he works separately from the other five, his appearance is limited compared to them, but I feel that Sakito and Byundi were also able to commit themselves to the drama in a good way. For the scene with Mira, it had a more comedic "flavor" on set than what I had imagined in the script. It was also typical of "Boonboomger." On the other hand, I thought it depicted not only Mira's growth, but also the growth, or rather change, of Sakito, who gets up and says, "Let's do this" after hearing her story. And, there's also a moment of mutual understanding between himself and Byundi in the process of reaching that decision. I'm always conscious of expressing such scenes carefully and precisely.

In the scene where the six of them come together, Sakito's given the cool role of appearing while shooting at Circuit Grumer. It's not just that he's cool though. Sakito may appear to be full of himself on the surface, but I believe he's quite compassionate and loves people. I hope that you'll be able to feel the passionate feelings he has for his friends in this scene.

The weather wasn't very good when we were filming at Fuji Speedway, but when it came time to film the dance, the previously cloudy skies suddenly cleared up. No, it was because we're Boonboomger (laughs). The ending dance features myself trying to dance with the other five for the first time, as well as HIKAKIN-san, Princess Nicola, Boonboom, Byundi, and Shirabe-san, so please pay attention to it.

Thinking back on it again (after filming of the movie ended), when I was selected to appear in Boonboomger's TV show, I still didn't feel like a "hero" yet. When I did my first dub recording for BoonViolet, my feelings changed dramatically. Suit Actor Tsutamune Masato-san's actions were wonderful, and they helped me get my act together. And, of course, Byundi is indispensable for Sakito. With the character Byundi being created by Suit Actor Takada Masashi-san and Voice Actor Hanae Natsuki-san, I hope to express Sakito's relationship with him in an interesting way. _

Hashiyasume Atsuko (Saibu Shirabe)

I didn't know I was going to be in this film until I was given the script. Compared to everyone else in Boonboomger, I have a smaller role in each episode, so I just assumed that they had already finished filming (laughs). When I read the script, I found that Boon-chan (Bundorio) and I are quite close in some parts. When she's praised for her "good points" and becomes ecstatic, Director Nakazawa didn't give me any specific instructions, but I tried to come up with a pose on my own. After a cut was made and I received the OK, the Director copied my pose, so I'm glad I took a risk (laughs).

In the scene where I'm swayed by the vibrations, Boon-chan holds me as I'm about to fall, but at the moment I'm about to fall, I kept shaking my head back. Since my face wouldn't show up, we had to reshoot it multiple times. After that, Shirabe-san faints, but when she wakes up, she's leaning against Boon-chan. It made my heart race alittle (laughs).

Shirabe-san may come across as intimidating at first, but she also has a surprisingly cute side. In the film, ISA proposes a plan of "handing over Princess Nicola to the Hashiriyans," but Shirabe-san takes a stand against that plan. I struggled with how much emotion I should show here. I still didn't feel right as we went into filming the real thing, and Director Nakazawa seemed to feel the same way, as he asked me, "Want to do another take?" In the end, I feel that I was able to do a performance that I was satisfied with.

During filming, there were times when small children would peek over the fence at the site. Because of that, the cast members who had finished filming or who had time to spare took turns visiting them. Everyone was happy, and we had fun too. I thought maybe they wouldn't recognize me, but I was so thrilled when some of the children said, "It's Shirabe-san!"

The final part of the film really shows how close everyone is, and I thought it was a happy ending typical of Boonboomger. Shirabe-san was also in the swing of things, saying things like, "Boon-sama, you're wonderful!" I guess she must've felt a weight lifted off her shoulders after the incident was resolved (laughs). I was also happy that the three of us, Iuchi Haruhi, Boon-chan and I, were able to appear together in the final scene before the ending. I thought it'd be alright to look at the camera at that time, but then I thought it'd be more like Shirabe-san if it ended with her looking at Boon-chan. I discussed this with Fujita Yohei-san, who plays Boon-chan, and we tried to match it up.

It was also my first experience filming the ending dance. Although, I watch the broadcast every week, and I also checked the footage and tried dancing myself, so when I received the video to practice the choreography, I was able to dance to some extent (laughs). For filming, it was decided in detail who would dance each part, but no matter which part was mentioned, I was able to immediately respond with, "That's this one, right?" Please make sure to pay attention to us as we dance with overflowing smiles on our faces (laughs). _

Irei Himena (Nicola Keydoor)

So far, I've had little experience with productions aimed towards younger children. Given this, I was very happy to be able to perform in the Super Sentai series that my younger brother used to watch. Nicola's a kid who's unable to express herself properly, but through her encounter with the Boonboomgers, she's able to grow. I wanted to perform that process properly.

Wigs were prepared at costume fitting, and while it was available in pink and two other colors, among other things, I decided on pink based on the image I had of the role. The costume, which is reminiscent of a space suit, was also very cute. There was some talk along the lines of, "Will the heat be okay during filming?," but once filming actually began, it was neither too hot or too cold, and was very comfortable. That seems to be abit rare on site of productions like these (laughs). I feel that the role of Nicola Keydoor became more solidified in my mind through the costume fitting than the script reading stage.

I come from the same agency as Mira's Miu-chan, who I had many scenes together with in the film. This film was our first time working together, but it was fun that we shared alot of common ground, such as the fact that we had taken lessons from the same teacher when we were little (laughs). She also told me about the vibes on the set and the filming process, which was unique to tokusatsu productions. Miu-chan also had an action scene with Circuit Grumer, to which I thought, "Amazing!" Throughout filming, she watched out for me like a big sister.

Taiya's Iuchi Haruhi-kun was very calm. During the film, Nicola's at a loss when Taiya asks her, "Where do you want to deliver yourself?" That was a very important scene, and I could feel how serious Iuchi-kun was, so I naturally became more focused. After that, in the scene where Nicola makes up her mind, I acted it out after creating the flow in my mind leading up to her decision. In any case, everyone in the regular cast was always working hard. I was very impressed by that. Director Miyazawa's the type of person to ease your nerves, and he also explained to me in precise words the goals of his direction. Because of that, I was able to take on the daily filming without any fear.

One of the most memorable moments was riding in the Boonboom Super Car. We filmed the scene of my conversation with Miu-chan in the car, but the actual driving scenes were done by a professional driver. The location was also surrounded by nature, with scenery just as great, and the speed was fast and felt exhilarating, so I fully enjoyed the fun drive (laughs).

Performing in this film sort of reminded me of how I felt as a child. At the end, it seems that Nicola was given a Boonboom Changer (laughs), so if I get a chance someday, I'd like to Boonboom Change too! _

Director Nakazawa Shojiro

"This is the seventh Super Sentai series where Director Nakazawa was in charge of the first episode. What are your current impressions of Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger?"

Nakazawa: The characters on the hero side are each professionals with a rather mature image. In contrast, the bad guy's side is always developing some kind of ridiculous strategy every time……It's not that this is unusual to see in the Super Sentai series, as this kind of contrast has been around for a long time. However, from the point of view of a creator, there's no sense of "taking the high road" or "returning to basics." I'm not taking the approach that, "This is what Super Sentai's all about," rather, I'm working to create heroes in Boonboomger that are appropriate for this generation. The productions of the last few years have had strong personalities, and people may think that we've "gone back to the old days" if we do role calls every time, but we don't intend on trying to "go back" (laughs), we're trying to present new hero figures for the children of today's generation.

"The film has alot of content to take in, but one of the guest characters is a "space princess." Looking back on past Super Sentai series films, it would seem that this too is considered another "standard"……"

Nakazawa: There've been so many princesses, that I wonder how many there have been so far (laughs). Still, what I wanted to depict in this film was Mira's growth since the first episode. When princesses appear, they mostly interact with Red (laughs), but not this time. Mira, who was taught by Taiya the importance of "taking control of your own wheel" in the first episode, now conveys the same message to Princess Nicola, who's come from space. I wanted to create a character who's lost, who doesn't know where she belongs or what she should be doing, and as a result, she became a princess character, but she didn't have to be a princess. Such a character is changed through her encounter with the Boonboomgers. These days, I think there are many people in the world who are struggling with similar problems, so I hope that this film will give such people a supportive push. That in itself is one of the themes of Boonboomger, and as a movie, I wanted the story to appear as "Boonboomger" as possible

"When talking about "individuality," the film being shot on location at Fuji Speedway, the appearance of the peculiar Kurumaju known as Circuit Grumer, and the Boonboom Cars becoming the enemy, we thought that those ideas were interesting."

Nakazawa: Filming on location at Fuji Speedway was done around the time it had a tight schedule of races, so while we caused them an inconvenience, we managed to make it happen. To those who worked hard for us, I'd like to state my gratitude. We had a limited number of days, so we "targeted" that and went on location. Things were so tight, that if we didn't finish filming in 5 minutes, we wouldn't be able to wrap up in time (laughs). As for Circuit Grumer, since it's for a movie, we had the discussion of large scale Kurumaju, and so we thought, "If this is the case, why don't we make it a circuit monster?" It was unanimously agreed that it was "good," but I think it was such a grand idea, that we ended up restricting ourselves later (laughs). I think the conception for the Boonboom Cars to be the enemy initially came simply from the desire to see footage of the Boonboom Cars lined up at Fuji Speedway. Of course, with this being Boonboomger, I also wanted to do some car action, so I decided to have a setting where the Boonboom Cars are controlled by the enemy. The key point was how to intertwine footage of real cars and the CG Boonboom Cars. I hope you look forward to it.

"We were surprised by HIKAKIN-san's guest performance."

Nakazawa: While we received consent for him to perform in the film, we had a hard time deciding what kind of role we'd have him play. We thought about having him drive the Boonboom Cars in some way or another, but since he's not an actor in the first place, it was decided that him making an appearance as himself would be a better use of his talents than playing someone else. I was also grateful for his participation in the ending dance.

"Demon Thunder's voice is by Kishi Yuji-san, who was RedRacer in Gekisou Sentai Carranger (1996)."

Nakazawa: Kishi-san's been contacting me since the beginning of Boonboomger and asking me, "Call me in (for this series)" (laughs). However, I was trying to find the right role and right timing to call in Kishi-san. Then, since I also wanted Demon Thunder to have a profound feel in the film, I thought, "Let's ask for him here." It was as expected of him. He was a perfect fit.

"Seki Tomokazu-san is Circuit Grumer. He constantly says, "Vuuun! Vuuun!" (laughs)."

Nakazawa: Seki-san in particular was allowed to do whatever he wanted (laughs). On the other hand, due to the nature of his role, Kishi-san was often asked to hold back. However, there is one part where he messes around, so please try to find it (laughs).

"We heard that the voice of the "Large Planet Destroying Missile" was selected through auditions from among the main cast members."

Nakazawa: That's right. Originally, we had talks about whether the missile would speak, but then Scriptwriter Tomioka-san wrote in its dialog (laughs). We did an audition like event for the project through the TTFC. Watch the film to find out who was chosen.

"At the end, it seems that Princess Nicola's taken a Boonboom Changer back to her planet?"

Nakazawa: That was also Tomioka-san's idea. In Boonboomgers case, if Taiya makes a new one, it'll resolve that problem. Princess Nicola will surely be able to Change. However, we don't know whose Changer she ultimately took back. She may have gotten Mira's Changer and can Change into BoonPink, or maybe it'll be some other color (laughs).

"The army of Used Kurumaju also appear, but each and every Kurumaju is unique."

Nakazawa: The Voice Actors for both the Kurumaju and the Sanseaters have an amazing flow. That's how Seki-san was in this film, without fail, he always expands on the script. Of course, the script by Tomioka-san and his team, which were used as the basis, are also interesting, so everyone seemed to have enjoyed their performance.

"BoonViolet and Byun Diesel have also joined the series."

Nakazawa: In the film, Director Hayama, who shot the episode where Sakito Homura made his entrance, worked with me as Chief Assistant Director, and he helped me with the direction of Sakito and Byundi. Miyazawa-kun is very skilled at acting, and I hope that the original five members will become motivated by him. I'm sure that Sakito will stir things up in the film, and I'm looking forward to seeing the chemistry that's likely to occur on set with Miyazawa-kun's inclusion. Also, with the entrance of Byundi, I wondered if stuff like the relationship between Byundi and Boonboom will expand. From now on, the various rapid developments will continue, and I think it'll become harder to pass on. Without fail, please continue to support Boonboomger!

Motojima Junsei (Ichinose Houtaro)

-Towards the Future of Possibilities-

"Finally, the Summer film is here. How did you feel about the project?"

Motojima: The first thing I was conscious of was working together with DAIGO-san. He had already participated in the TV series as the voice of Kamen Rider Gotchard Daybreak, and when I heard that he'd not only be voicing, but also appearing in the film, I was thrilled to be able to work together with him. The first scene we filmed for this movie was the last scene. Houtaro's anxious about Future Houtaro parting ways on his own to defeat the Dark King, but he feels at ease after reading the picture book that Kudo showed him. I'd be happy if the audience could sense what happened to Future Houtaro, not from the dialogue, but from the expressions on Houtaro and Kudo's faces.

"The two major themes of this year's film are "the present" and "the future." Furthermore, the "future" is "another future" created by Houtaro's defeat in a past battle, and Houtaro's going to meet his future self there."

Motojima: The process of heading towards the future was very exciting. The scene where alchemy creates the Gigantliner was particularly impressive, and it features Kudo, Spanner, Sabimaru Senpai, Renge-neesan, Kyoka-san, Minato Sensei, and even Fuga-san. It's a scene that was truly created by "everyone's power," so I have a strong emotional attachment to it. I was also thrilled to perform the part where everyone shows their rings while standing in a circle, and after filming, we all took pictures of the rings together (laughs).

"However, the "other future" was already in a desperate situation."

Motojima: Kudo and the rest of his friends at the Alchemy Academy are no longer alive in that future. When I read the script, I was incredibly shocked. Furthermore, in the scene where Kudo loses her life, it's not Houtaro played by DAIGO-san, but me. During that shoot, Reiyo-chan was really crying as she played the role……Kudo always calls Houtaro "Ichinose," but only in that scene does she call him "Houtaro." I thought alot about what sort of feelings Kudo had put into that scene, and even I couldn't hold back my tears. We filmed that scene on the last day on location in Shimane, and we filmed it until the very last minute when we were getting ready to return to Tokyo.

-Two Houtaros, their motto is: Gotcha!-

"How was it filming on location in Shimane?"

Motojima: By being exposed to a new environment, I was able to approach the shoot with a fresh outlook. On the first day, we had time for sightseeing and went to the famous Izumo Grand Shrine. The soba we had for lunch was very tasty. The team participating in the "present" couldn't come to this location, so I bought matching necklaces for everyone at the shrine as souvenirs to take back.

"Please tell us about performing together with DAIGO-san."

Motojima: On set, we were together all the time. Whenever something happened, we would say "Gotcha!" to each other (laughs). When the first OK was given, DAIGO-san was the first to say "Gotcha!," and I responded with, "Gotcha!" That kind of exchange was very satisfying. This was also on location in Shimane, but I'll never forget the simultaneous transformation. The two of us discussed and coordinated the timing together. Through this process, I feel as if we've come together as one. Also, in the second half of the film, there's a solo transformation by DAIGO-san, and he did it by watching footage of me performing it, and then copying it perfectly. I feel somewhat grateful…….

-Bonds with our Friends-

"There's a scene where Houtaro and Rinne agitate Future Houtaro. We feel that this was one of the most important points in the film."

Motojima: That location is set up as the future Alchemy Academy. We actually used the same set, but in any case, the atmosphere is completely different. We're based there, and everyone's fighting, so among other things, weapons are placed there, and it's got a gory feel to it……However, that part also helped me to create the mood. As the weight of the past 20 years are weighing on his shoulders, Future Houtaro relentlessly says to him, "What do you know?!" Just imagining that, it makes me want to cry……But, as Houtaro, I can't afford to falter. Without hesitating, it's Houtaro who's able to say, "Let's fight together." I can only imagine the weight of those 20 years, but I don't understand it. No matter what kind of hell he's lived through, as Houtaro, I think he didn't want to give up on him, because it's the same "me" in front of him. I put those feelings into the dialogue in my own way.

"What about "Miracle Gotchard," the new form in the film?"

Motojima: It has a different feel from Rainbow Gotchard, which is all shiny, but I like the shimmer and the slightly extreme feel. Personally, I got the impression that this style is unlike anything that's been seen so far in Reiwa Rider. Furthermore, it's exciting that it'll evolve at the same time as Shining Daybreak. I was very enthusiastic about the recording session. As Platina Gotchard, I was conscious of creating a handsome, or rather, cool look, but this time, I mixed in some nuances of Steamhopper. I had the image of Houtaro, who's incredibly strong, but who also fights while having fun.

"Throughout the film, what message does Motojima-san wish to convey?"

Motojima: If you can feel the bonds he has with his friends, I'd be especially happy. In this film, for some reason, Kajiki also goes to the future with them (laughs), and in the future, he works with Clotho and Atropos. I think that such an unusual combination is one of the highlights of the film. In the future, Minato Sensei, Spanner and Lachesis are completely on the enemy side. Kumaki-san's performance as Alzard was intense. Fujibayashi-kun also told me that he put all his heart into playing Hellcrate. By having the usual enemies become allies, and allies become enemies, I believe that you'll feel the importance of "friends" even more. We're nearing the end of filming for the TV series, and we're taking it day by day, scene by scene, carefully savoring each shot we film. From now on, without fail, please continue to support Kamen Rider Gotchard! _

Matsumoto Reiyo (Kudo Rinne)

-Facing Rinne-

"In the "other future," it was shocking to find that the setting was that Rinne was already……."

Matsumoto: Rinne's final moments were very painful just from the script reading stage. Still, that's what I had to face. I think I was able to face it, but right before we started filming the scene, I couldn't stop crying. It was a scene where both Motojima-san and I were extremely focused. I think I was able to convey my feelings as Kudo Rinne during their final conversation before her passing.

"However, it seems that those words have been tormenting Future Houtaro for a long time."

Matsumoto: That's right. I was conscious of that, but during the actual shoot, my first priority was how directly I could express Rinne's emotions. I believe that because her feelings were conveyed to Houtaro, her words will remain in his heart forever. In that scene, Motojima-san was also completely immersed as "Houtaro," so it was easy for me to work with him. I once again admired Rinne's courage and ability to take action. Although it's the role I'm playing, I'd like to tell Rinne, "You did well."

-Future Houtaro-

"The role of the Future Houtaro was played by DAIGO-san."

Matsumoto: He was just as I'd imagined he'd be from hearing him in the TV series. He's very friendly and helps make his surroundings more exciting. During the filming period, it seems that he was also checking our SNS accounts closely, and when I posted about a local specialty called "akumaki," he asked me the next day, "What kind of food is it?" He said, "I'd like to try some." I was somewhat embarrassed, but I was glad to see such consideration.

"Unlike DAIGO-san's usual image, his role was quite serious."

Matsumoto: He shows a particularly relentless attitude toward Rinne. The weight of what he's carrying, the passionate heart in his chest…….I felt that DAIGO-san performed the role of "Future Houtaro" in a very deep way. It was easy for me to get into the role because there was a gap between when we were and weren't filming. During a test run, when Future Houtaro says, "What do you know?!" and grabs Houtaro by the chest, I cried even though I knew I shouldn't have. The Houtaro she knew wasn't someone who would raise his voice like that……As myself, I really felt that I couldn't control my emotions. Still, when I thought about it as Rinne, I thought she'd want to remind him of the old Houtaro. That's why the line, "I'll never give up or stand still," was said like it was bundled with kindness.

"What are your memories of filming on location in Shimane?"

Matsumoto: I got to ride on the back seat of Golddash during the scene where we're heading to the enemy's base! This was really fun! We also filmed along the coast of Shimane, and the scenery was beautiful. We also had a drone to take footage from above, so we had quite a long ride. I felt like I was on alittle tour (laughs). While I thought I was just acting, it seemed that my excitement came out on my face, and Director Tasaki said, "You were smiling so much!" It was a wide shot, and you can't see my expression, so it was okay……but now that I'm saying it here, you may see it (laughs).

"In the battle with Alzard, Rinne's "passion" could be felt."

Matsumoto: Kumaki-san played the role in a completely different manner from his usual performance as Minato Sensei, and it really moved me emotionally. Rinne must've felt that she and Minato Sensei had overcome many ordeals together, and that she couldn't forgive Alzard's words that trampled on that. What's more, Alzard tried to hurt Ichika-chan and her father. The line "I'm going to take you down!" was said in a rage. This time, there were many important lines spoken after the transformation into Kamen Rider Majade, so I hope that they'll reach everyone. In the final battle against the Dark King, there's a scene where Miracle Gotchard, Shining Daybreak, and Majade took turns saying their lines, and I think we were able to show our strong will to "unite together to defeat the Dark King." I was very particular to live up to the wonderful performance by Shimozono Ayumi-san, Majade's Suit Actor.

-Rinne's growth-

"What are your thoughts after looking back on filming?"

Matsumoto: The film deals with a heavy theme, but I believe I was able to give it my all. The atmosphere on set was great, and I was always able to relax. I even talked with Motojima-kun, who also said, "I'm glad it ended peacefully," (laughs).

"It really conveys the vibes that everyone's working together."

Matsumoto: Now that I think about it, we began filming with the final scene (laughs). I remember thinking about the scenes we were going to shoot, including the encounter with Future Houtaro, because it was the last of many experiences that we had yet to film. I was also happy to be able to film while in a yukata. It's hard to imagine this from Rinne in the very beginning, she was strict and stubborn, wasn't she? (laughs). I thought, "Oh, I see Rinne-chan has started wearing yukatas too."

"Please give a message to the fans."

Matsumoto: During filming of this movie, I always set the goal of, "Cherishing each and every scene while performing." The feelings she had during her final moments, the tolerance Rinne shows to Future Houtaro, and her anger at Alzard……..I also tried my best to play out the feelings of Rinne, who's been watching over Houtaro for a long time, even though she's no longer in his presence. If I was able to express even alittle bit of Rinne's growth, I'd be happy _

Fujibayashi Yasunari (Kurogane Spanner)

-Spanner & Kaguya-

In this film, I also play the role of Hellcrate on the enemy side. It was interesting that Spanner was the foundation of the role, not that he was completely different. I was also conscious of the contrast when transforming, for example, Spanner raises his right hand, while Hellcrate raises his left hand.

Unlike Houtaro and Rinne, Spanner himself doesn't go to the future. He and Kaguya are depicted as abit of a pair. Kaguya's the type that can be pushy, but Spanner's rather reserved. Maybe that's why they got along so well. The relationship between the two of them came about naturally in their own way. At the end of episode 35 of the TV series, Spanner says, "That should quiet things down for awhile," and for a moment, he glances at Kaguya with a smile. This was based on the development of the film. I think I was able to communicate well with Nagata Seiichiro-kun, who plays Kaguya. Coordinating the timing of the double transformation was also done by both of us. I wouldn't say those two are "best friends" (laughs), but it feels like they know each other's personalities very well, wouldn't you say? I hope you'll pay attention to our performance.

-Spanner & Hellcrate-

Director Tasaki told me, "I want you to play a classic villain," in regards to Hellcrate. I wanted to add something of my own, and after consulting with the Director, we decided to add abit of a narcissistic vibe. For example, when I first take off my mask, I was particular about the movements of my fingertips to express a narcissistic look. After that, we just pursued "the exact opposite of Spanner." Spanner learns to play chess from Kyoka-san to help keep his cool, but Hellcrate is the exact opposite. I also immediately imagined a scene where he loses his temper and yells while his face is scarred. The scar is something he feels inferior about, so I also included a gesture to try and hide it. The makeup artist was very particular about the scar itself, and went to the trouble of redoing the initial scar, saying that they weren't satisfied with it. I did my best to respond to their desires. As for the dialogue, I still like the part where I call out, "Kurogane Spanner!" It's not often that you get a chance to call out the name of the role you're playing.

Angel Malgam, transformed by Hellcrate, fights Kamen Rider Valvarad, so I had to do it in two separate recording sessions. What's more, there were also times in which Hellcrate was in a state of being masked, so it practically felt like I did three roles. This was quite a challenge…….I suggested Valvarad's catchphrase "Checkmate!" to Director Tasaki, and he made a place for me to include it. For Spanner, this line is essential. And then, the scream Angel Malgam makes when being defeated was also my doing (laughs). I wanted to express the unsightliness at the end of one's life as much as I could.

-Spanner & Gavv-

As Spanner, or rather, as Kamen Rider Valvarad, I was the only one who got to interact with Kamen Rider Gavv. In last year's Winter film, I also worked together with Kamen Rider Buffa, so the purple Riders seem to be connected (laughs). I was happy to be able to work with Director Sugihara again during the dub recording of Gavv's part. I've been calling myself a "Sugihara fan" ever since he filmed my first appearance as Kamen Rider Valvarad (episode 20 & 21). Oh, and during the Summer festival scene at the end, Spanner is seen eating gummies (laughs). Please make sure you pay attention to that. _

Nagata Seiichiro (Ho-Oh Kaguya Quartz)

-Beyond the Aurora-

Kaguya's first appearance was in an online spinoff, so at that point, I didn't think he'd be in the film (laughs). Later, when I appeared in the TV series, there was a scene where within the Aurora Curtain, I witnessed Kamen Rider Gotchard Daybreak. I wondered, "How is this going to link to the future?," and it turned out to be foreshadowing for the film.

I myself had a cheerful impression of Kamen Rider Gotchard's show. Of course, there are some heavy parts like Spanner's past, but I thought that things like the school story was overall fun. That's why I was excited by the "Future World" setting being depicted in this film. I couldn't believe that all of Houtaro's friends were gone……Still, I felt that it was definitely an exciting setting for a film. It's really hot to turn the tables on the worst situation. I couldn't wait to start filming

-Double Henshin with Spanner!-

In this film, Kaguya has alot of scenes with Spanner. He says, "You can also give me a hand," and I felt that their relationship had gotten closer throughout the TV series. They also do a double henshin, so please be sure to pay attention to it. Kamen Rider Legend has a simple transformation pose, but Valvarad has many movements. Therefore, for Kaguya's part, I tried to kiss my hand more slowly, and I also got the idea from Fujibayashi-kun to make up for the time difference by shaking my body alittle at the beginning (laughs).

Being on location in Shimane was also an unforgettable memory……I didn't have an appearance there though (laughs). However, I really wanted to visit, so I attended by paying out of my own pocket. The performance that was especially inspiring was the scene where Rinne faces her final moments. I could feel the sincerity in Motojima-kun and Reiyo-chan's approach. Fujibayashi-kun too, he played the role of Hellcrate in a lively manner. His performance was so passionate, that his voice echoed through the huge dome. Due to how the story develops, some other cast members were unable to come to this location, so they went to the Izumo Grand Shrine to buy matching necklaces as souvenirs to bring back. Shimane was a wonderful place. I'd definitely like to go back.

-Encountering Decade-

This film depicts not only the showy side, but also the sensitive side of Kaguya. This can be felt in the scenes with Kadoya Tsukasa. I performed with Inoue Masahiro-san before and was acquainted with him, but I've admired him since back in the day. There's certainly some parts that overlap with Kaguya's feelings for Tsukasa. I was impressed by the way Tsukasa recognized Kaguya's growth. That "chin grab" was improvised by Inoue-san. On set, the female staff members cheered (laughs).

That scene was carried by Inoue-san, but I was happy that Kaguya was finally able to call himself a Kamen Rider. Kaguya is originally an inhabitant of a different world from that of Houtaro and his friends, so he leaves everyone at the end of the film. I'm alittle sad about it, but I hope that I, as well as Kaguya, will have a chance to meet Houtaro and his friends again. The message of the film is that "the future can be changed." I think that Kaguya was also able to change through his encounter with Tsukasa. I'd be happy if people who see this film feel cheerful. _

Kabe Amon (Kajiki Ryo)

-To the Future World-

I didn't expect for Kajiki to go to the future with Houtaro and Rinne. Kajiki isn't often involved in the main story, but this time, he sneaks aboard the Gigantliner (laughs). The train scene to the Future World was made possible with the cooperation of Saitama Prefecture's Chichibu Railway, and along with Motojima-san and Reiyo-chan, the three of us were very excited to film it. Following that, the "Future World's Station" is at the site of the Former Taisha Station in Izumo City, located in Shimane Prefecture. This is the second time we've shot on location in a rural area, following Kyoto (episodes 9-10) for the TV series. The devastated world was ultimately created by 3D compositing, so while we were filming on site, we left it to our imaginations, wondering, "What kind of sight is unfolding out here?" I think one of the highlights is the numerous visuals that are different from usual. During our stay, we all visited the Izumo Grand Shrine and did sightseeing together, which was also a fun memory.

-Regarding the Guests-

There were scenes where I performed with DAIGO-san and Kojima Yoshio-san. DAIGO-san's character, "Future Houtaro," is still Houtaro from Kajiki's point of view, but there's still something mysterious about him. On set, when I was wondering how to communicate with DAIGO-san, he started talking to me. He's a very friendly person. Also, my waiting room at the studio this time was on the same floor as DAIGO-san's. When I left my room, I heard a singing voice and thought, "Huh?," and to my surprise, it was coming from DAIGO-san's room. I think I was probably the only one who heard it, so it was a precious experience (laughs). I also had fun filming with Kojima-san. When I arrived on set, he came out wearing those swim trunks (laughs). Of course, I knew that he was going to appear in the film, but the script described Kojima-san's Tajima as a "serious doctor," so to see him make his entrance looking like that……I was surprised.

Also, in the Future World, Clotho and Atropos are on our side. Kajiki's rarely involved in battle scenes, and even when he occasionally meets those on the enemy side, it's only to give a quick greeting, so it was abit strange to be in an environment like this, where we're always together. I remember talking to Clotho's Miyahara Kanon-san and saying, "It's weird for the two of you being together with us, isn't it?"

-Go for it, Riders!-

Normally, Kajiki gets "caught up in the middle of things," but in this film, he's present during important scenes. I also have the line, "As their best friend, it's my duty to help out Houtaro and Kudo." In the second half, I was also given the role of cheering on the Riders. In the script, we were all going to cheer, "Go for it, Kamen Riders!," but when I went to the set, it was changed to Kojima-san's, "Gan gan gan gan ganbare! Go for it, Riders!" (laughs). It seems that Director Tasaki and Kojima-san had a meeting beforehand and decided on that. I only learned about it on set, so I was also surprised. It was also alot of fun to cheer on the Kamen Riders with the children.

Over the past year, Motojima-kun's become a splendid "leader" who pulls everyone along. Reiyo-chan's acting was also wonderful……During the cheering scene, I felt those feelings rising up in me, and I did my best to shout them out with all of my voice. To all of you, I'd be happy if you could come and support us together in the film! _

Kamakari Kenta (Glion)

-How I should act to look scary-

Kamen Riders are figures children look up to. Therefore, I act as Glion with my first priority being to make him look scary so that children will think, "I hate him" or "I don't like him." Even with the way I look, I needed to plan on whether I'd stare coldly or look wide eyed, and after much research, including asking my own daughter, "Which eyes look scarier?," I decided to use the latter as the basis for my performance. I think the scarier Glion looks like that, the more the heroes will stand out.

For this film, when I heard that Glion was going to appear, my first reaction was, "Yes!" He made his "exit" during episode 27 of the TV series, so…..Whenever I heard rumors about the film, I always thought, "That sounds nice," but I never expected to actually appear (laughs). What's more, I was put into a good position again. I'm grateful for that.

-Glion's Secret?!-

I started filming for the movie with the beginning future scene. I haven't had much experience filming with a green screen before, but it was a big studio with alot of staff, so I was very excited about the large scale of the shoot, thinking, "We're filming in such an environment!" And, I was also able to work with our guest DAIGO-san from the first day. As Glion, I'm able to face off against DAIGO-san's "Future Houtaro." DAIGO-san's a very appealing actor as well. DAIGO-san was just as soft spoken as he was on TV.

In this film, I like the scene where I appear in front of the two Houtaros the most. I was excited about this part even from reading the script. On the actual set, I think it was even more impressive because of the added direction of "coming down the stairs." However, the stairs at the location were rather steep, and it was abit difficult to come down them in Glion's boots. Of course, I was concentrating on the performance, but I was alittle concerned while coming down, wondering, "Are my feet gonna get caught?" (laughs). I also felt that my "loud laugh" was increasing my "synchronization rate" with Glion, so in addition to that, when I tried to make facial expressions while feeling the vibes on set, that kind of laughter just came out naturally.

-Henshin! Kamen Rider Dorado!-

What made me most happy was my "transformation" into Kamen Rider Dorado. When I work on a film, I tend to value the atmosphere on set, and often won't make up much of my performance beforehand. That's why I tried not to think too much about the transformation until the day it was supposed to happen. Then, Action Director Fukuzawa Hirofumi-san came to me with the wonderful plan of, "Transform while avoiding the enemies attacks." I immediately went along with that plan (laughs). Also, I wondered how happy Glion would be when he got the card, since he said, "I'll become complete!" I tried to think about it and performed in my own way.

I also did the dub recording for Kamen Rider Dorado, which I tried to act out as if my emotions were exposed. I think that you'll feel a different side of Glion. When I was first shown the footage, I tried to voice it with an honest reaction and realized, "Ah, I can sound like this……" However, when we first tried the scene where Dorado torments Rinne, Director Tasaki told me, "It's way too scary, please try to hold back alittle more." Well, I understood that, but I wanted to completely go off (laughs).

This film is the story of Houtaro and his friend's efforts to change the worst future. The message is that no matter how hard it gets, it's important to have the courage and strength to take a step forward. As Glion, I played the "bad guy" role. If you have a child who says they prefer Glion or Kamen Rider Dorado more……I'll dye them gold! _

DAIGO (Future Houtaro)

-The Future of Kamen Rider-

"We were also shocked by your surprise "voice appearance" in the TV series, but this time, at long last, you're playing the role of Future Houtaro."

DAIGO: At my age, I never would've imagined that I'd become a Kamen Rider. What are the odds that this would happen, you know? I was happy when I heard about it, and responded with, "By all means, please let me do it."

"In the TV series, the true identity of Gotchard Daybreak was hinted at, but how did you feel when you finally read the script for the film?"

DAIGO: Since I had been following the developments of the TV show, first off, I was very shocked. I couldn't believe that Houtaro's defeat had actually led to the loss of his friends lives, including Rinne, Spanner, Sabimaru Senpai, Renge-neesan, and Minato Sensei. In addition, Houtaro continues to live, and even though he never gives up and continues to fight, he's incredibly burnt out. He's an almost completely different version of the Houtaro everyone knows. Speaking honestly, when I was wondering if I'd be able to play this role…..I was conflicted. However, in this film, Houtaro and Rinne, who come from 20 years in the past, remind Future Houtaro of what he's forgotten. I felt hope there, and as it's a film packed with charm, I decided to try my best to perform. I thought I could convey something that's valuable in life to all the children.

-On set with younger people-

"How were things on the actual film site?"

DAIGO: For me, Junsei-kun is the "Houtaro" I've always seen on TV. That impression didn't change when I came onto the set. Whether the cameras were rolling or not, "Houtaro" was always there. He's so much like Houtaro, that I think I'd be okay for him to change his name to "Ichinose Houtaro" (laughs). So, on the other hand, even though it's 20 years later, I wondered if I could play the role of Houtaro, who's actually 46 years old, but since the setting is that he's, "Burnt out from fighting so much," it was perfect (laughs). And then there's Rinne's Matsumoto Reiyo-chan. Rinne is also Future Houtaro's "hope." I thought she was no longer in this world anymore, and that he'd never see her again. She comes from the past and appears in front of him. That's why his feelings of "I don't want to lose her again" are so strong. Contrary to this, young Rinne's resolve is strong and firm. That's why eventually, Rinne's words will also move Future Houtaro's heart. Reiyo-chan herself is a very reliable and lovely person, and there are parts of her that overlap with Rinne. Even so…….they're both almost 30 years younger than me. They truly felt like the "new generation of young people." When you get to be my age, it's hard to only look straight ahead into the future, but I was under the impression that they were really moving forward with their eyes set on the future. I was able to gain lots of energy by spending time together with them.

-A "bond" with Director Tasaki Ryuta-

"There was also a transformation scene."

DAIGO: Ever since I did the dub recording for Gotchard Daybreak in the TV series, I thought, "I want to see myself transform." Speaking of transformation, it's been a dream of mine since I was a child. I wish I could tell this to my younger self (laughs). The Action Director came up with the transformation pose, and in the first transformation, the pose included my "One hand wish pose!" For a moment I thought, "Is that gonna be okay?" (laughs), but I was very happy to see it being incorporated in a natural way. I hope all the children will imitate it. Following the TV series, Gotchard Daybreak is being played by Asai Kosuke-san. Asai-san's movements and performance are truly amazing. I wanted to do the performance after transforming myself, but as expected, that wasn't possible, so I put alot of energy into the recording. Just watching the footage was hot, and as a result, I hurt my throat quite abit (laughs). After it was over, I sucked on a bunch of throat lozenges.

"Speaking of Directors, this film was by Director Tasaki Ryuta……"

DAIGO: That's right (laughs). 20 years ago, he was filming "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon," and my wife (Kitagawa Keiko) is very grateful for his help at the time. I never thought I'd be working together with him this time like this……it feels like fate. Having visited Toei's film studio this time, it was alot of fun talking about it with my wife at home (laughs). I always received precise directions from Director Tasaki on set, and he was very helpful in creating the character of "Future Houtaro." And then, I was also impressed by the way he directed the younger actors. By asking, "What were the feelings you felt in that moment?," and getting that person to think, he encourages them to grow. More than anything else, I was also inspired by his "human strength" that was used to powerfully lead the set.

"What are your thoughts looking back on filming?"

DAIGO: It's "SMG." That's "Super Miracle Gotcha." This personal experience was a series of precious "Gotchas" for me. I have a good feeling that I was able "Gotcha" with everyone I starred with and the staff, and personally, I was excited when I'd "Gotcha" in each and every scene. All that remains is to "Gotcha" with the fans. Let's share "SMG" this Summer without fail! _

Kojima Yoshio (Tajima Tetsuo)

-Memories of the Kamen Rider Series-

When I was a student, I vaguely remember that Kamen Rider Black (1987) was airing, and that everyone would play pretend henshin. My love for chameleons may have been influenced by the chameleon monster who appeared in Black's movie.

-Accepting the invitation to perform-

I was incredibly happy. When I started doing live performances for children, I used hero shows as one of my "templates," so I was overwhelmed with emotion. For this film, the character I was asked to play was as similar to me as possible, so it was easy to perform. However, Tajima Tetsuo's set up was that he was also a "brilliant alchemist," so that's where I tried to gather up all the intelligence I had inside me.

-The "That doesn't matter!" scene-

At the time of filming, I actually fractured the base of my right foot's pinky toe and it was still healing. However, I went ahead and did it with the mindset of "That doesn't matter!" Looking back, I thought that was a good thing to say (laughs).

-The "Gan gan gan gan ganbare!" scene-

With jokes, they can come back to life at the right time and place. This joke was created for use in a solo show 15 years ago, but I haven't used it much since then. I finally had the feeling of, "My turn has come." During filming, the "heat" on set rose dramatically. The response I got was satisfactory.

-Memories of Filming-

Since I was almost entirely in swim trunks, I was able to be completely open with everyone. I'm definitely "Piya" friends with all of them now. I didn't want the wrap up to come.

-If you had the chance to perform again?-

Next time, I'd like to play a role in which I was originally on the side of justice, but due to a certain event, I become evil. Through this role, I'd like to convey to children that "there's a fine line between good and evil."

-A Message to the Children-

To all the "Piyas" who came and watched! Thank you! Please "gan gan ganbare" with all your might at the theater! Even if you're worried about what people around you will think, remember, "That doesn't matter!" _

Tarumizu Ayane (Sakaki Ichika)

-Rising above Adversity-

For Ichika, the role I play, she's a very strong girl who loves her father, and who also has the ability to take action. Still, it's not simply about her strength, but the fact that she rose from adversity, and that gave me a sense of her unique strength. I also almost gave up on acting, so in bringing Ichika to life, I really empathized with her feelings. I was offered an audition to perform. I played the role of, "Someone who lashes out in anger towards the enemy who attacked her father." and the emotions naturally flowed out. It was the first time I had a response, or rather a feeling, that was different from the auditions that I attended before. That day just happened to be my actual father's birthday, so maybe it had something to do with that.

The first scene I performed on set was the one where I confront Alzard. Her father's been kidnapped, and Alzard speaks to her in a cruel way, and I was given acting guidance by Director Tasaki, who told me, "Raise the emotional levels like how the water levels in a dam rises." It seems that she didn't take Alzard's words at face value, and was instead trying to manage her emotions and make it work. Still, with that one word, I feel that I was able to erase Tarumizu Ayane and express my feelings as Ichika.

The real challenge was the action. I thought I'd be alright with the machine gun shooting scene since I like online shooters (laughs), but when I actually tried it, it was totally different. Also, there's some action scenes with Alzard, and Ichika's the one who gets beat up, but I learned kickboxing together with my father, so I think that helped. Furthermore, I couldn't believe that I had entered such a world when I saved Majade from fighting with Alzard. I was also given the opportunity to observe the filming of the Riders in action, and was overwhelmed by the speed, sharpness, and power of their movements.

-With my whole Heart and Soul-

In the scene where Ichika tells Rinne-san and the others of her determination of having them take her with them to Glion's stronghold, I received guidance from the Director that there "wasn't enough fuel." When I burned all the "fuel" in my performance, such as the weight of the mouth harp being handed to her, her hesitant state of mind right up to the last minute, and her anxiety about whether or not she'd be taken…….I felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Throughout filming, I became good friends with the lead actor, Motojima Junsei-san, and the heroine, Matsumoto Reiyo-san. Junsei-san was a hero on set as well. Once, during a lunch break, I spilled alittle of my bento on my costume. I was thinking, "What should I do……?," when Junsei-san followed up with me and said, "Ichika's costume is originally designed to be dirty, so I'm sure it'll be alright!" Not only that, he came with me when I went to apologize to the costume designer. I thought he was a really kind person. And now, for Reiyo-san……she's just a beautiful person! She's cute! She's pretty! I love her. I'll never forget the time when we were shooting the scene where I get drenched in the cold underground location, and she put a pocket warmer around my neck. I was also happy to find that we had many of the same tastes in terms of favorite games and music. She's like a big sister.

In my own way, I put my whole heart and soul into playing the role of Sakaki Ichika, who's trying her best to live in the future's devastated world. Please make sure you pay attention to the emotions that overflow when Ichika confronts Alzard, as well as the action scenes. After the battle's over, I'm sure that Ichika will be able to spend a happy life with her father! _

Inoue Masahiro (Kadoya Tsukasa)

-Expanding like the Universe-

For some reason, with the creation of Kamen Rider Legend, a sort of successor to Kamen Rider Decade, my fans were worried about me. They were like, "Inoue Masahiro must have some mixed feelings about this" (laughs). It's not like that at all, as I was actually rather happy about it. To begin with, I think it was the Decade project that led to the creation of Legend. I know Kaguya's Nagata-kun very well, and even though Decade and Legend, and Tsukasa and Kaguya all have similar abilities, everything else about them is completely different. What's more, it makes me happy that the world of Kamen Rider has expanded even further.

In this film, Tsukasa refers to Kaguya as "boy," and says, "You're still no match for me," but the amazing thing about Tsukasa is that that alone gives it a "story" feel. Although it's not depicted in detail, the story regarding Tsukasa and Kaguya alone could be made into a whole movie if it were. In the case of other past Riders, if they were to do a new film on the "XXth Anniversary," they'd first have to think, "I wonder what's going on now?," but in Decade's case, every time a new Kamen Rider is born, in a sense, the world of Decade expands on its own. Although the context is as grand as the universe itself, for this film as well, I only performed in it for a moment. As long as the Kamen Rider series continues, it might expand, but it'll never close.

……However, I only recently realized this (laughs). Producer Shirakura-san is amazing, as he came up with this structure 15 years ago. My comprehension is finally catching up to me 15 years later (laughs).

-Passion of the New Generation-

Similarly, I recently found out about Toei's amazing production capabilities. I painfully realized this when I tried to plan and produce a tokusatsu hero film on my own. It's already at a frightening level that they keep putting new works on the air at this quality, week after week, and for decades on end (laughs). When I went to this film's set, I noticed the rise of the new generation of staff. The Producers and on site staff have changed quite abit too. Still, the warmth with which I was greeted was unchanged. Within them were Director Tasaki and Cameraman Kurata-san, both of whom looked out for me 15 years ago. I was grateful for the opportunity to go back to basics every now and then. I could sense the passion of the young staff members to create something interesting going forward.

This time, I don't even transform into Decade (laughs), I only appear as Tsukasa and speak to Kaguya, but it makes me happy that having Tsukasa appear can be done without having him transform. It's a short scene, but it's one that allows you to imagine the relationship between Tsukasa and Kaguya, so please make sure to pay attention to it.

I also realized that I'm in my mid 30s, and I've begun to think more seriously than ever about how to live my life. These days, I believe that if you're in a public position and are superficial, people will immediately see right through you. From now on too, I'd be grateful if you'd continue to watch over me. When the time comes and you need me again, I'll always come through. _

Scriptwriter Hasegawa Keiichi

-Future Houtaro's "sense of loss"-

I saw the preview just now, and it had an incredibly "voluminous" feeling. There were parts of the script that were further developed on the set, and the results exceeded the imagination of what I wrote. I once again strongly felt that this film is about "combined strength." Houtaro's Motojima Junsei-kun and Rinne's Matsumoto Reiyo-san have grown remarkably compared to when we first started filming. Even when confronting Future Houtaro, played by DAIGO-san, they had a presence that was unrivaled. I felt their strength and resilience more than in the TV series, which really made me happy to watch. It was decided early on that the film would feature Gotchard Daybreak and Future Houtaro, so when writing the script, I started by imagining what Houtaro would be doing in the Future World.

For 20 years, Houtaro's endured loneliness and isolation, living in a devastated world while carrying his sins on his back. He has a great "sense of loss." Even though he's injured, he keeps fighting, almost as if he's torturing himself. The idea for the eye patch came from Director Tasaki. I wrote the scene where Houtaro loses Rinne with the assumption that Motojima-kun, not DAIGO-san, would play the role, since the scene takes place not far off from the present, but it was pointed out to me that this would make it difficult to distinguish between him and present Houtaro. The eye patch is a way to differentiate between the two, but it also instantly conveys that Houtaro's lost more "friends" than just Rinne and the others. It's a heavy setup, but that idea helped. While Future Houtaro's burdened with a sense of loss, Houtaro and Rinne, who have come to the future from the present time, confront Future Houtaro with their honest feelings, even though they face a hellish reality. And eventually, the three of them join forces to confront Glion.

-Both Gotchard's evolving at the same time-

I'm sure that everyone's looking forward to seeing the new film exclusive form in action, but as a Scriptwriter, I wanted to make sure that it made perfect sense. I'm very satisfied with the way we were able to depict both Gotchard's simultaneously evolving in this film, and that we were able to put the Chemies feelings into it as well. It was also difficult to create the climax. Simply fighting a giant enemy isn't enough. So I thought about it, and that's where the development of using the Gigantliner came in. One of the themes of this film is the "departure of young people." Just to clarify this, Producer Minato wanted to use an actual steam locomotive for filming, so we also tried to involve the Gigantliner in the last battle. I also made sure to express the importance of "supportive energy." In Gotchard, it's an element that's been built up from the TV series. In the film, Kojima Yoshio-san's impact was added (laughs), and I think it's the best "support" that says, "We can win this!" My goal was to make "a film that'll make you cry."

Even though I'm the one that wrote it, I cried almost five times during the preview (laughs), but I already can't wait to see what everyone who comes to the theater will think of the film. _

Action Director Fukuzawa Hirofumi

-Action to match the Drama-

As an Action Director, what's always important to me is to create action scenes that don't interfere with the story. I don't like when the flow of a story is broken as it progresses, and is like, "Yep, here's some action." Since action's part of the production, I think the emotions of the characters should be properly included within it. For example, I'm particular about each person's position. In this film, the three of them fight together, that being present Gotchard and Majade who go to the Future World, and Gotchard Daybreak. In such a case, who should be the first to come to the front in this scene? In fact, how will that change the timing? I think it's very important to think about that. To put it another way, instead of positioning the characters according to the action I want them to perform, the flow of the action is first created based on the context of their relationship and where they stand. Here, present Gotchard is the main character, so Daybreak's moving to support him…..among other things.

Even in everyday life, when taking a group photo for example, each person's personality comes out, right? There are some parts that are similar to that. I was always conscious of this when I was in charge of the Super Sentai series. However, in this case, what's difficult was that there are two Gotchards, one from the present and the other from the future. They're both the same person, but are different in age and experience. Still, I also wanted them to feel like they're the same person in some places. This kind of pattern isn't common, so this was one of the areas where I struggled. I also owe alot to Eitoku (Gotchard) and Asai-kun's (Daybreak) ability to play each of these roles. Also, Rinne and Majade are quite important in this film. When both Gotchards and Majade are standing side by side, I also thought alot about Majade, like where she should be and what she should do. On the other hand, Majade's solo fight against Alzard, an enemy with the same face as Minato Sensei, is also a major highlight. By doing it this way, Majade is now also seen as the main character for the entire film. Trying to find a sense of balance in this area was a constant struggle while filming.

-Realistic Battles-

The story of Glion's transformation into Kamen Rider Dorado involves Glion holding a flask, from which a card is produced, which he then uses to transform into a Kamen Rider……that's how the flow goes, but during that time, Gotchard Daybreak charges at Glion. I think this was in the script. I didn't want to stop the flow, so instead of showing the entire sequence of Glion's transformation, I included some action in the middle of it where Glion dodges Daybreak's attack. Since this is a film is aimed at children, I suppose there's a way to "lie" about it, and just show only Glion's transformation, but thinking about it realistically, the question arises as to whether Daybreak is just waiting on him. I'm always thinking about "whether it can be established or not." Of course, it's also important to make the transformation look cool and impressive, so I try to make it as compatible as possible. In the opening, we had Spanner suspended by a wire and made him hang and jump, but I really wanted to do more things like this. Action isn't just about fighting. It's cool to do it smoothly, not in an exaggerated or superficial way. If the height is too high, the realism will be lost, so if we can find a good place or location, we can do things like this.

In this kind of production, the most difficult part are fight scenes between non professionals, so I often have a stand in for one of them in order to keep the rhythm, but it was reassuring to have Clotho's Kanon. Of course, she's physically strong in her own right, but her ability to pull everyone along during one on one battles were very important. It makes a big difference if just one of them can perform action. This time, since Clotho's on the good guy's side, I was also aware of how she should fight. I hope you'll also pay attention to that. _

Director Tasaki Ryuta

"Please tell us what your goals were when taking charge of Kamen Rider Gotchard's film."

Tasaki: I received a variety of opinions and requests from all sides, and I had to select the best ones and give them shape as I went along, but first off, when I thought about the appeal of the main character Houtaro, and the Kamen Rider called Gotchard, there were many opinions that, "He's a hero you want to cheer for." I thought this was an asset of the show, and with that being the case, I decided to incorporate an element of "cheering." However, if we were going to go with that, I didn't want it to be some half baked, unexplainable production. I thought about how to do it in a way that would appropriately bring the film to its climax. And then, Producer Minato-san was particular about steam locomotives. Gotchard's standard form is "Steam" hopper, and we thought we could handle steam locomotives being on the big screen of this film. Regarding this as well, we felt that it would be a waste to have only a scene of the Gigantliner going to the future, so we decided to have the CG Gigantliner play an active role in the last battle as well.

"As for the filming structure, the fact that it was shot on location in Shimane is a major point."

Tasaki: One of the staff members in the production department is from Shimane, so he took charge in negotiating with the government and the film commission, and he was able to make things happen. The station where the Gigantliner arrives in the Future World is the Former Taisha Station, which used to be the nearest station to the Izumo Grand Shrine. Today, there's a private railway station nearby, and the "JR Taisha Line" itself, which used to end at the Former Taisha Station, has been closed for more than 30 years now, but it was great to be able to film the steam locomotive there. It didn't move, but we could get in and out of it without difficulty, and we also went to a place known as "Tatara Yamauchi." In the past, this area used to partake in iron manufacturing. Here, old tall buildings and tenements still remain, and they served as the exterior of the hideout for Houtaro and the others in the Future World. The take of both Houtaros transforming side by side was also done at this location. There was also bike riding in Shimane. The exterior of Glion's stronghold is the Izumo Dome. There was lots of scenery among other things that could only be filmed by going to Izumo, and it made this production more profound. The scenes of the steam locomotive moving was filmed with the cooperation of Chichibu Railway. We prepared 5-6 cameras and captured it from all different angles.

-The Impact of "Another History"-

"It was exciting to hear that, "Present Houtaro and Future Houtaro meet and fight together," but in reality, Future Houtaro's setting was that the past 20 years for him were extreme."

Tasaki: Since history has split off from Houtaro's defeat by Glion, there was a necessity to depict a clear distinction between the two. Also, we needed to depict a tragic element in the process of turning the tables on a hopeless situation. I believe that many of the visuals will shock those who are Gotchard fans. On the other hand, there are some redeeming features which create a sense of hope, such as Atropos and Clotho becoming allies, and a reliable friend named Tajima, played by Kojima Yoshio-san.

"Houtaro's eye patch, Rinne's final moments, and the three "Dark Death Masks"……Of these, Alzard, who has the same face as Minato, left the strongest impact."

Tasaki: Regarding Minato, he was on Glion's side for a long time in the TV show, and with that impression still remaining, if we did things normally, people would think, "Again, huh?" Besides, Kumaki-san's performance was important, as Alzard's insanity and cruelty draws out the rage of Rinne and the guest character Ichika. Actually, to that extent, I believe that Kumaki-san's efforts had created some positive effects.

"This was the first time for DAIGO-san, who plays Future Houtaro, to make a visible appearance. How did you feel?"

Tasaki: I could tell that he takes his work as an actor seriously. He would also read the book (script) in depth. I'm glad we cast him.

"When we think of DAIGO-san and Director Tasaki, we just can't help but think……"

Tasaki: I understand (laughs). It's because of "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon," right? Kamakari Kenta-san also appears as Glion in this. 20 years ago, I worked on "Kamen Rider Faiz" and "Sailor Moon" at the same time, and Kamakari-san's wife is Haga Yuria-san, who played the heroine in Faiz, and DAIGO-san's wife is Kitagawa Keiko-san, who played Sailor Mars. I thought it was a strange connection because in this film, there's a scene where Future Houtaro and Glion fight. Kamakari-san……Kenken-san's Glion is also wonderful. Not only is he cool, but he comes up with an interesting performance every time. It's also fun to film him.

"Speaking of those connected to Director Tasaki, Kadoya Tsukasa also makes an appearance."

Tasaki: While Decade is a special Rider who can commit to being in any Rider's world, I think it was inevitable since Kadoya's originally an eternal traveler, but now that Kaguya and Kamen Rider Legend, a kind of successor, has appeared, I think he may have finally found a place where he belongs. Kaguya's also a type of character that's never been seen in the Kamen Rider series so far, and Nagata-kun's got great style, so I think it'll be interesting if we can connect him to future productions. Oh yeah, speaking of Nagata-kun, he came to observe the Shimane location shoot at his own expense. He also helped the staff out with their work.

"We'd also like to ask about Kojima Yoshio-san."

Tasaki: As I stated in the beginning, I wanted the climax of the film to be the scene where everyone cheers for Gotchard and the others. To highlight this point, I approached Kojima-san with an offer, and he was very clever. He immediately understood what we were trying to aim for. We didn't do a costume fitting, mainly due to him wearing his "usual swim trunks" (laughs), but the main cheering scene was discussed remotely in advance. We asked Kojima-san to use his sense of language and rhythm to come up with phrases that would make children want to cheer along with him in the movie theater. Then, I was told that there was a joke he thought of from a long time ago that would fit this scene, and so, "Gan gan gan gan ganbare!" came about. He also did a demonstration on the spot, which I recorded and showed to the children who were going to perform it by saying, "I need you to do this," and they all immediately started imitating it. In Kojima-san's mind, I assume that he's developed a keen "sense of smell" for what kinds of things are popular with children. I'm sure he's had countless experiences doing this, so I'm glad we asked him to help us. I'm now looking forward to seeing the reactions of the children who will watch the film.

-A Glittering Moment-

"It's a film with many elements, but present Houtaro and Rinne are firmly at the center."

Tasaki: There's no doubt that both of them put alot of effort into this film. Before the film, the TV episodes I worked on were episodes 26 and 27, and 36 and 37, which were also stories about pushing Houtaro into a corner, but the film has a greater emphasis on Rinne than Houtaro. I thought the scene where she shows her anger at Alzard was especially good, both in her facial expressions and voice. Also, Tarumizu Ayane-chan's Ichika was great in that scene. In one cut, I felt that take 1 lacked alittle bit of her passion, so I stopped for a moment and explained again about Ichika's feelings at that time. Then, in take 2, her expression changed dramatically. Camera B's Sato-san was surprised when he saw her. He was like, "It's amazing how kids at that age can change so much in an instant." That makes us happy, but it also scares us. If we had compromised and said, "This is good enough," we wouldn't have been able to capture that expression. We would've let a great opportunity slip by. That's why it's important to believe and hang on. It wasn't just the actors, we were also constantly being tested. One difference between stage plays and film productions is that stage plays can be good or bad depending on the performance date, which isn't good, but in the case of film, young actors in particular may show a surprising brilliance only once in the production. For us however, we're very happy to be able to capture that moment.

Rinne's final moments were actually shot about an hour before our plane back to Tokyo from Izumo. The staff was naturally in a hurry (laughs), but both Motojima Junsei and Matsumoto Reiyo were so incredibly focused on their roles, that they didn't think about anything else. That is the wonderful thing about youth, don't you think? I felt it was a very effective scene.

[theminecraftbee]

On the subject of modpack recommendations, I made a custom one for myself a little while ago and i've been playing it nonstop since.

It's very chill, and lighter on the mods so my silly little laptop can run it without crashing. I put it together cause most modpacks are so complex and overwelming to my lil brain. I've found it a good mix of still feeling like minecraft, but having the benefits of the 'more' from the mods.

The lineup is: Create, Farmer's Delight, Sophisticated Backpacks, Waystones, Comforts (the sleeping bag mod), an animals mod called Naturalist, Xaero's Minimap/Worldmap, Decorative Blocks, Macaw's Doors/Trapdoors/Lights & Lamps/Bridges/Paintings for some more decor options, and Simple Hats (I wanted to wear a fox hat on my head. sue me). There's a few basic quality of life mods too, like AppleSkin and JEI, and some compatability add on mods for Create and the waystones to the maps, but that's it.

It's worked really well so far, and i haven't crashed at all-- though i have fallen victim to the massive sinkhole in the neighboring savannah I've been using as my strip mine and tree farm. I put keep inventory on, it's fiiiinnnneeeee-- I never like having stakes for death anyway, makes it too stressful. Let me throw myself from build height to bedrock without having to do the walk of shame for my stuff--

My game chugs a touch with Create, but all I had to do was turn down my graphics and be VERY careful to not dump out thousands of entities at once But that's just Create, really

oh, this can be a really great approach to playing modded too, especially if you personally know what mods you like and don't care about stuff like recipe compatibility! the main advantage of a 'true' modpack is normally that the good ones balance the recipes of the different mods to each other, and also i really prefer modpacks personally that have quest systems. but if your goal is to "play with mods" mostly, or, say, like you, you have a computer that can't handle heavier modpacks, or you just wanat a few things you like, this is a path that is DEFINITELY an option for a chill modpack!

i will say for those new to modded, here are some mods i recommend everyone include of the QOL variety, even if they're otherwise not doing many mods:

some variety of mimimap; xaero's is the one i'm most familiar with but choose your favorite.

if that minimap doesn't come with waypoints for some reason, get yourself a mod that adds waypoints.

quark. i never play modded minecraft without quark, if only for the rotation lock feature alone (never worry about which direction you're facing while placing a block again). you can go through quark's website to decide which features you'll enable and disable, and this is possible to do through an in-game gui, so even people who don't want to touch .json files can easily configure what quark features they do and don't use! it just adds... so many little qol things.

appleskin. this just makes the food bar more useful and shows you saturation. i don't know why vanilla doesn't do this.

jei (just enough items). you will ALWAYS WANT JEI WHILE PLAYING MODDED I CANNOT EXPRESS ENOUGH HOW HANDY THIS IS. a searchable list of every item in the game, which you can click on in order to see their recipes, and even automatically transfer items from your inventory to a crafting grid for that recipe! it's in every modpack ever for a reason! the larger the modpack, the more you're gonna want this!

a performance mod. personally i'd recommend not using optifine, as optifine is a mod a lot of other mods note break them, but if your particular pack is optifine compatible, go for it! most packs i've seen go with either sodium on fabric or rubidium on forge, but there are also other options! i'd just include at least one.

any other convenience you've ever had in another modpack that you want! personally, i need something like tom's simple storage network, drawers, or both to want to play a given modpack, because i get sad without storage, but maybe you only want to play packs with a variety of crops! maybe you think sophisticated backpacks or sophisticated storage are a requirement in your mind! maybe supplementaries or other decorative mods are a requirement to you! the world is your oyster! add whatever of those!

[toastofthetrashfire]

My Top Shows 2023

Doing this at the last minute but here goes--the top 10 shows I watched in 2023!

*Note: I rate my shows on a letter scale cause I don't like narrowing it down to a specific number. (S-standout As-Strong Bs-Fine Cs-There's some problems Ds-ooof)

1. Oh No! Here Comes Trouble

This one instantly became an all time favorite. It covers themes about grief and loss in a deeply empathetic and humanizing way along side the supernatural elements. I don't know if it's because I've experienced loss myself or because it's a universal experience, but I love shows like this that help you understand what it means to grieve and heal in a familiar yet new light. It reminded me a lot of Natsume Yuujinchou (another favorite) in that respect.

Aside from the larger themes, you have a distinct directing style, quirky sense of humor, well-rounded cast of characters, and excellent acting (the lead actor was also in Your Name Engraved Herein and he's just as standout here). In addition to all that, the show gives us a main trio of characters whose strengths are deliberately not their wits. This is used for humor but also to make more meaningful points about connection, empathy, and different ways of thinking (yes, I headcanon the main trio as neurodivergent).

Rating: S+

2. The Eighth Sense

This show! Another piece that is deeply rooted in exploring trauma and loss. This time within the framework of a romance. I'm usually pretty hesitant with stories that bring disability into romance, especially mental illness. There's a tendency to lean into the idea that love cures all and other not so great tropes. The Eighth Sense does a great job balancing that line, giving us romantic beats without wading into them uncritically. In the end, healing and love are things we choose not something guaranteed, but there's still an immense hope in that. I'm an giant sucker for shows that tackle both queer and crip experiences with nuance and grace, and the Eighth Sense hit that mark for me (so much so it even had me writing a little meta). On top of that it has beautiful cinematography and visual choices.

Rating: S

3. Moonlight Chicken

A beautiful show all around! P'Aof constantly knocks it out of the park with every show he directs, but I felt particularly strong about Moonlight Chicken. I adore the way it centers on themes of home and community. It even inspired some meta and a bit of personal reflection for me on what it means to choose home as someone who is queer and disabled. The show gives us the messiness that comes with navigating new and old relationships and somehow also the simplicity of it all. And of course, the show includes a Deaf character and handles his story with nuance and clear care.

Rating: S

4. Shadow

Singto, Fluke, and Fiat in a queer horror show--sign me up! It wasn't as scary as I expected, more psychological (which is good because I am so picky about what types of horror are too much for me vs what I enjoy). I loved the way the show played with time and reality and drew upon various religious practices to create a unique atmosphere. I also adored the attention to small details that make the piece ripe for analysis. I will probably be eyeing clocks and tech in many shows to come. It's also a show that is bringing up themes about queerness, mental illness, domestic violence, and historical trauma. I'm continually drawn to pieces that are queer and crip, so I suppose it's no surprise that this one drew me in too.

I know this show was divisive, about as many people thought it stuck the landing as didn't. I happen to land in the former category. I adore media that makes me stop and think, and given the amount of meta the show had/has me writing, I'd say it well and truly tickled my brain. The show didn't always go where I most wanted or expected but I think that challenged me even more to really think about what the show might be trying to do (my thoughts on that here, spoilers though).

Rating: S

5. Our Dining Table

Japan does a lot of things well, but I'm particularly fond of their slice-of-life. Our Dining Table fits right in there with food and found family at the center. It's warm and cute, but has a depth beyond it's soft exterior, delving into loss, loneliness, and what it means to be fully seen by those around us. All of this tied up in a queer bow. It was easily the show I was most excited to watch each week when it was airing.

Rating: S

6. Mysterious Lotus Casebook

Another one I fell in love with this year! While it has plenty of tropes, cutting through the core of all of this is the growing friendship between the main trio, especially between Li Lian Hua and Fang Duo Bing. Their relationship and personal growth as characters was really beautiful to watch, on top of it just being a fun show with a great balance of humor and drama. Plus Fang Duo Bing's mom 😍

Rating: S

7. One Room Angel

Another solid entry out of Japan. As much as I love Japan's bright slice-of-life offerings like Our Dining Table, they also excel at stories that don't shy away from heavy or complex emotional themes. And I'm noticing as I tackle this post that I really resonate with heavy themes. One Room Angel has it's lighter moments and own quirky humor. But it also tackles depression and suicide as it explores the journey of finding enough connection and meaning in life to keep moving forward.

Rating: S

8. I Feel You Linger in the Air

I Feel You Linger in the Air was such a beautiful show! I'm so happy we got a historical thai bl this year and that it was so so lovely. I really liked last year's To Sir With Love but it does have it's Lakorn/soap style that is a bit more of an obstacle for me. IFYLITA certainly has it's drama, but it feels more tightly drawn. Throw in a little time travel and beautiful love scenes and it was a delight to watch.

Rating: S

9. My Beautiful Man S2, Eternal

When I watched the first season of My Beautiful Man I liked it but wasn't exactly sold. I read a bit of meta from the community which changed my tune a bit. But it wasn't until watching season 2 and Eternal that something really clicked. I immediately went back and watched season 1 after finishing the film and oh boy did I fall in love. Not only do S2 and Eternal give us great character growth and forward motion to Hira and Kiyoi's relationship, and they feel like a natural expansion of the first season in the best way possible. What can I say, I love the whole series!

Rating: A+

10. Kiseki: Dear to Me

Kiseki: Dear to Me feels like an outlier to me. It's hard for me to put my finger on just what made it click for me, but I was so into it when it was airing. I recognize that plot wise this show is a bit of a mess, but at the same time it hit something just right in my brain. Perhaps it was the emotional intimacy the actors portrayed? They did a fantastic job drawing me in. Apart from that I couldn't take my eyes off of Ai Di's impeccable fashion choices, and the many many cameos were quite fun.

Rating: A+ YMMV

A few close contenders:

My School President (S) *split airing 22' and 23'

Tokyo in April Is... (A+)

Laws of Attraction (A)

Bed Friend (A)

The End of the World with You (A)

Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend (A)

If it's with You (A)

Our Dating Sim (A)

Love Tractor (A)

The Warp Effect (A) *split airing 22' and 23'

The New Employee (A) *split airing 22' and 23'

La Pluie (A-)

Midnight Museum (A-)

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

"Halloween at the Theme Park" pt. 1 Scarecrow Edition

Howdy hey :) Did you guys miss me? Sorry it took me some time to come back around BUT I'M HERE FOR THE SPOOKY SEASON. We're going to do a series of asks based on the same prompt of going to a theme park that does horror mazes in halloween (see: HHN at Universal Studio, Knotts Scary Farm, Fright Fest at Six Flags, etc). I'm going to do Scarecrows, then Rogue Party and finally Wolverine and Deadpool :). Other asks can delve into this prompt more if so wished.

TW: horror, horror mazes, theme parks, villain behavior, drugs, some suggestive content

General

He's an old man. Doesn't this seem to be a night for someone a bit... younger? The idea of gallivanting around a theme park with drunken 20 somethings looking for a thrill at 2 am... Of course he's normally awake at that time, it's more the principle of it. Genuinely he'll be surprised at the diversity of people that go and will cave if you ask sweetly enough.

Absolute curmudgeon about theme park pricing on food and merchandise. If you warned him at all ahead of time, he has wrapped and packed sandwiches he hid on his person. What, you think he's been a criminal this long in his life and he can't fool some minimum wage security guard looking for booze or weapons? Please, give him some credit. Eat your sandwich. Will not buy a souvenir unless it's something he noticed you were PARTICULARLY attached to.

Most places will give him a disability fast pass for mazes on account of him very obviously using a cane. Bum legs and long lines not mixing well and all that. This is a bonus for you given you're his plus one. If anyone has anything to say about him using a cane or in general being rude to either of you... The cane has a multi function of taking out knees. Which he will absolutely put on a routine of just being a clumsy old man to get out of it.

As for the actual horror of the horror attraction... He likes finding a good place to sit and watch the interactions people have with the scare actors. He wants to feel in the moment, listening to the banter and screams in the night. If any jump at him, he's much more likely to "talk" to their characters and interact than he is to jump or show much reaction. At most he gives a pleasant, knowing smile that nothing this person could do could ever compare to the horrors he's inflicted upon the citizens of Gotham.

He'll hold onto you when you go through mazes as some tend to be disorienting with lights (whether effects of a lack of). Tends to like mazes with a strong concept that you can follow the story throughout the attraction. No real preference for themes other than "oh god, not another clown." He's had enough of those in his career.

BTAS

You don't have to do a lot of convincing. Considering his field of study in fears and phobias when he was a professor, he finds horror mazes to be an interesting intersection of your interests and his. It's rather like running an interactive experiment as he's experiencing it himself. He likes to watch and gauge how much is being startled from a jumpscare vs. a true sensation of fear. You can practically see him taking notes in his head. Some of these might be good ideas to play off of for later...

He tends to scoff at the prices for any of it, from the spooky themed food to the merchandise around every corner- He still buys it, though. In his mind, this is a special thing for the two of you and he put money to the side exclusively for it. Seeing you get excited over any of the things he might buy you makes it worth it.

He gets a delighted sort of chuckle when a scare actor can manage to "get" him. For the most part he doesn't react strongly so someone getting his heart rate up is exciting! It makes him feel young again. Seeing you react gives him a bit of glee as well. He likes the feeling of you grabbing him in reaction. It's rather... well. He was never made to feel like a strong man in his life given his physique. It's comforting.

Traumatized from his time at Arkham Asylum and therefore will not want to do any mazes that are hospital or asylum themed. He finds them tasteless given the abuses many patients suffered historically and, in the case of Gotham, currently. And nothing with bats! No bat mazes! Shockingly, if there are mazes based on specific phobias, he's very excited.

He has a very small bottle of what appears to be spray sunscreen on his person, which is a very strange thing to carry since most of these events are at night. You might even wonder why until you see another guest being incredibly rude to a scare actor and security for simply doing their job. Then you see Jonathan spritzing the rude person with "sunscreen" as you walk by. It doesn't take long for the fear toxin to kick in.

Arkham games

He's unsure at first. It's not because he won't enjoy any of it, he's just positive he could do it better. What if it's disappointing because he's seen the city of Gotham bow their knees in terror to the master of fear? People going to this place for kicks? You and he should be the ones getting the only real fun out of other people being scared. (He will not admit that it's because he horribly dislikes being scared himself)

He'll say how expensive everything is but the moment there is a crow or a little scarecrow, there is a significant chance he's going to purchase it. It's for you, of course. He can rag on Edward for narcissism all day, but he can have his moments. It's cute, right? If you really didn't like it, he wouldn't. However, if you do, you have a new little friend. As for food... he might try to sneak something in. Either that, or he's scouring the park for the cheapest thing he can find.

Genuinely a little sore if any of the actors manages to spook him. It's so cheap, you know, just jumping at someone to elicit a surprise response (as if he has any place to talk). He could do it better. He could make this entire PARK QUAKE with fear- and you have to sort of put him back on topic this is fun. Is he having fun? Yes, he admits despite being embarrassed, it's fun.

It's when another guest is rude, bumping into you and laughing it off out of drunkenness. That's when it stops being fun. He couldn't exactly bring his glove set up to the park without raising many questions to security. He's also not ready to get his ass kicked by trying to hit the nitwit while he's unarmed. Yet you see him dig within his pockets and produce a small white bundle. Barely the size of a teardrop pinched between his fingers. Then he tosses it. It makes a loud crack on the ground behind the guest and sizzles a sickly green, releasing just enough fear toxin as the person turns around to give them a deep inhale. The two of you slip out into the crowd as they begin to have a panic attack.

In contrast to BTAS, will be a sucker for a maze that's set in a hospital given his own adventures that night in Arkham Asylum. Gives him all kinds of happy feelings seeing the ideals of that place twisted at the beck and call to fear. Sure, some might find it distasteful, but he finds it thrilling.

BTAA

You don't have to approach him, he already checked your schedule and bought the tickets. Likely to several parks. There is a faint chance he might be more excited to do this than you are. Absolutely offers you "product" to heighten the experience but isn't put out if you don't want anything. Oh, so you want to feel all of it raw and with clarity, hm? Sure, he wouldn't deny you that.

He can and will drop stupid bank on expensive souvenirs if either of you likes it. Talking about the kind of money he makes is so... gauche, so distasteful- But he's definitely making that kind of money so he'll tell you not to worry about it. In addition, being the weirdo gourmand he is, he's going to be trying themed food if there is any. Some kind of pumpkin concoction with fake eyeballs? He's on it.

Giggly when someone jumps at him. You can't tell if he's actually startled or overjoyed, or a combination of both. Either way, he's certainly having a good time. He'll absolutely try to get you in a situation where you get startled, whether it's by an actor or by himself. Hearing you shriek or gasp, oh it's delicious. There is going to be some very sneaky fondling there in the dark. There is a fair chance he'd have you there within some hidden spot in the mazes if he thought he could get away with it.

There's a group of young 20-somethings that cuts fast in front of you while you walk. You almost trip and one of them makes a smart comment to watch where you're going. It's annoying, but before you can say anything else, your partner tells you to wait back for a second while he talks to them. He speaks to the rude group and it looks like it's all smiles for a moment. You can't make out exactly what it is Jonathan is saying to them. Yet you can see their reactions turn from smug grins to uncomfortable and perturbed frowns. All while Jonathan continues to look so pleased with himself. It doesn't take long for the small group to disperse. He doesn't tell you what he said to them.

To be fair, he's going to like most horror mazes unless they don't meet his standards of story, sets, actors, scares, etc. HOWEVER, he will have a fondness for anything that has the hint or whiff of classic horror. It's a little too obvious to say he'd be thrilled at an interpretation of Basil Karlo's films in a maze format, but it's the truth. Unless it's done poorly of course, and then you'll hear about it for the rest of the ride home where he nitpicks the entire thing. Anything 80's slasher themed will also have him pick up TREMENDOUSLY. He's a little too excited. Expect a make out session afterwards.

[thedisablednaturalist]

I screenshotted the ask bc I blocked them bc I don't think they'd listen anyway and I don't need anymore of this shit in my inbox on my birthday

What a dumbass ask. It's not just MY experience. Its MILLIONS of peoples experience. (65 million is the estimate). I don't give a fuck if I can see the pores of a character or if theres perfect physics for trees blowing in the wind. Our wheelchairs are parts of ourselves and it is Devastating when seemingly no one cares about including us while marketing their games as the most diverse game ever made.

I don't give a fuck if the "physics are complicated" EVERYTHING in a video game is complicated. Making a realistic gun that lights up and has every mechanism perfectly rendered is complicated. Video games are complicated. Y'all would rather have 5000 animated clothing options than include 1 wheelchair. I'm not asking for them to include like, something benign and just for me. I'm not asking everyone to put one specific hairstyle that shoots fireworks out of my head in every single game. This isn't a frivilous selfish thing to want. This is something that MANY people are asking for. A dad asking modders if someone could make a wheelchair mod for their young daughter who's in one and wants to play Minecraft as herself. Disabled Stardew valley players who see all the amazing mods on nexus but there's like, I think only one mod that adds wheelchairs? (And yet theres hundreds that ADD A WHOLE NOTHER MAP and NPCS and yes, VEHICLES AND BODY MODS)

Also? I still play video games? I don't boycott any game that doesn't have wheelchairs?? I just get kinda sad and go oh well

Also, I'm not going to learn an entire new field that people literally go to college for years to master to make my own game. I'm out here trying to keep my area's streams from being filled with concrete and sewage. It's insulting to game developers to say "why don't you just make your own game idiot" as if it's that simple.

I'm disabled + chronically ill. I'm already doing too much and you want me to add on making an entire game to that? There's no logic in it. Like you're giving me the choice of "make my own game or shut up"

I do try to make my own content (as well as doing actual outreach and activism in the offline world). And the only games I've called out are ones that rake in millions of dollars and have large enough teams or enough money to bring more people on (I think I've only called out one actually). I support indie creators and boost their games when I am able to on this blog and my main.

Nice way to spend your time going after a minority (oppressed person? Idk) for pleading for representation in gaming. Get outta here.

[karin-miyoshi]

Do you think yuyuyu is ableist?

sheesh, talk about a loaded question

definitely opens up a lot of rabbit holes. ill give my opinion, but note im not the most educated on the subject itself so giving a definite answer is outside my scope.

ill put a read below, but for me, i personally think it isnt, but can be easily misinterpreted as is on a surface level.

tldr, ableism is discrimination towards those with disabilities.

the character in question most of the time when it comes to these topics is tougou, who uses a wheelchair in season 1 due to losing function in her legs. there are never any distasteful jokes made about this, and the show constantly shows various handicap friendly services throughout the show. something even more surprising is that these are never the core focus of the scene or pointed out, its always well integrated into the world as if it were normal (important).

just skimming through s1, we have:

wheelchair assistance integration for both cars and stairs

special swim courses for the disabled, not separated from the rest of the class

beach wheelchairs and separate assistants

now while we can assume a lot of these were due to her previous service as washio sumi, i dont think that would really be fair to the production team putting these in, and it really feels like theres a lot more heart than "yeah we put these for the big shock value realization later on". even after regaining function in her legs near the end of the season, tougou's priority was always towards yuuna and her recovery.

onto the next topic, which is the show taking away and then returning these characters functions throughout. whats important to consider here is what is considered tragic, is it the characters living without these certain functions, or is it the act of losing these functions themselves?

"It'll definitely improve. I mean, we haven't done anything wrong." (Fuu, s1ep9) again, no distasteful jokes made about their disabilities, and fuu even plays it off with her sick eyepatch. her worries instead stem from the loss of itsuki's dream, in the form of her no longer being able to sing. thats the key factor here, being punished for doing what is right, losing the ability to do what you could do before, losing the memories of the time you spent with your friends. (thats another thing i see with a lot of these arguments, they always bring up physical disabilities, but ive never seen one actually talk about ones regarding memory, arguably the most precious thing to them). tougou flat out doesnt remember sonoko at all despite being comrades in arms before, and understandably freaks out that the same might happen with her and yuuna.

now, understandably, the ending to s1 seemed super rushed, and them getting their bodily functions back seemed rather sudden. this put a lot of people off, and was really only explained in s2, which many didnt watch.

people should be allowed to grieve if they lose something important to them, and should be allowed to be happy if they get it back. personally, i dont think people realize the weight of their words when they say, "oh i wish karin wouldve stayed deaf, itd be really cool to see the club members learning sign language for it" or "yuuna in a wheelchair was really cute, i wish we saw more of it." yeah its a cool idea i guess, maybe something to see while theyre stil recovering, but forever? in a chase to see more representation, i hope they realize what they are wishing onto others eventually (even if fictional). while many with disabilities are satisfied with their life, they should be able to wish for better if they wanted to, its not like theyd wish their circumstances on anyone else, right? shouldnt the same apply here, to the girls who've actually lived both with and without disabilities?

just my two cents, hope this wasnt too hard to read! theres a lot more i could write up, especially regarding sonoko, but thats a whole other discussion i should probably save for another time

[trashpandato]

Vigilante

“This is the third Cadmus associate this month,” Alex says, frowning as she looks at the screen in front of her.

“I know.”

Kara is standing next to her sister. They’re reading the police report that Maggie sent over. It’s the third time someone has handcuffed a known member of Cadmus to a police cruiser while the patrol officers were inside a coffee shop on their break. The first two had already been on the DEO’s radar, but the third person’s connection to the terrorist group was unclear until Winn did some more digging and found a financial link.

“Clearly, someone has better intel than we do.”

Alex is unhappy about it. Sure, it’s good to get these guys off the streets, and without using any DEO resources to boot, but Kara knows her sister doesn’t like being in the dark about who might be behind these citizen arrests.

Kara bumps her shoulder against Alex. “We’ll get to the bottom of it. I promise.”

Alex nods but doesn’t look convinced.

The tension at the DEO spikes a couple of weeks later when not one but two people are found, this time handcuffed to NCPD’s front doors. Winn tries to find footage of the moment it happened from nearby security cameras, but he has to tell Alex that the cameras were not only disabled but any view of the front door area would have been obscured by a cloaking device he retrieved from a small ledge on the building itself.

“Clearly, whoever is doing this is not only way ahead of us, but they know their way around technology the DEO hasn’t even heard of yet.”

Alex is frustrated, and J’onn is concerned.

“We don’t know what Cadmus will do now that someone is picking off their members one by one,” he says. “It’s a provocation. They could retaliate.”

Kara agrees. Whoever is doing this is playing with fire. She’s worried about the city, worried that Cadmus might unleash one of their signature large-scale attacks in order to scare off this vigilante. She knows what Cadmus is capable of. Kara shudders as she remembers her last encounter with them, when she was kidnapped and forced by Lillian Luthor to blow out her powers and then had her blood drawn against her will.

She’s also worried about Lena.

Kara knows from past interactions that anytime Cadmus strikes, Lena is usually in the crosshairs somehow. Either as bait, or as a human shield, or simply because Lena is nearby, trying to foil her mother’s latest plans to do harm. She decides to pay Lena a visit to warn her.

When she lands on Lena’s balcony at L-Corp, she finds her hunched over at her desk. Kara can see the tense set to her shoulders, and when Lena turns around to greet her, it’s clear that she’s tired, like she hasn’t slept properly in weeks.

“Supergirl, to what do I owe the visit?”

Kara wants to ask how she’s doing, why she’s still at the office this late, wants to drag her home, cook her a real meal and force her to sleep. But she’s here on official business, not as a friend.

“I’m here to give you a heads up that Cadmus might be planning something.”

Lena tilts her head to the side, eyebrow raised. “Oh really? And what might that be?”

“We don’t know for sure. We just know that someone has been undermining the organization for weeks, making sure members have been arrested. We think Cadmus is going to retaliate soon.”

“I see,” Lena says, but she turns around and walks over to the small bar in her office and pours herself a drink. “And why are you telling me this, Supergirl? Do you think I know what my mother might be up to? That I’m involved somehow?”

When Lena turns around to face her, her gaze is hard and piercing.

“No,” Kara holds up her hands, palms out. “Not at all. I just, I’m worried. They’re dangerous and you’ve been hurt by them before.”

Lena’s features soften. “So have you.”

“I know, but I’m, well, I can take care of myself. I just wanted to tell you to be careful.”

Lena nods, but turns back to her desk. “I’ll take that under advisement. Is that all?”

Kara swallows. “Yes. That’s all.”

“Alright. Thank you for the heads up, Supergirl.”

The visit leaves a bad taste in Kara’s mouth. Something about how closed off Lena seemed doesn’t sit right. Over the next few days, she decides to keep an eye on her, and it’s during one of those unscheduled patrols when she hones in on Lena’s heartbeat. It’s too fast, too full of panic. Kara follows the sound in a flash and finds her in an empty warehouse near the port. Or at least Kara thinks it’s Lena, because the figure in front of her looks nothing like the Lena Luthor she knows. She’s clad black tactical gear, a mask obscuring her face, and she’s currently engaged in honest-to-god hand-to-hand combat with none other than Lillian Luthor.

Kara lands in the warehouse and her arrival throws Lena off. She turns toward the noise and Lillian takes advantage: she grabs a metal pipe from a nearby table and swings it at Lena’s head. The hit sends Lena stumbling backwards, and that’s when Kara puts an end to the scene playing out in front of her. Using her super speed, she incapacitates Lillian and calls Alex for backup.

Then she rushes over to Lena, who has taken off her mask and is hunched over and a little unsteady. Kara holds her up with a firm hand against Lena’s elbow and forearm.

“You. It’s been you all along.”

Lena doesn’t respond, just presses the sleeve of her shirt against her temple to stop the flow of blood from a cut on her head.

“Why?”

Finally, Lena looks up. “Because I was the only one with the inside information to bring them down.”

“You could have come to us. To me. We would have helped.”

But Lena shakes her head and freezes Kara in place with a firm look. “I couldn’t let her hurt you again.”

Kara swallows hard. She can hear the telltale signs of DEO vans approaching. She gives Lena’s arm a quick squeeze.

“Are you okay to get out of here? The cavalry is going to be here any second now. It’s probably better if they don’t find you here.”

Lena draws her eyebrows together in a confused frown, and Kara squeezes her arm one more time.

“You protect me, I protect you. I’ll take care of this,” Kara turns to nod at where Lillian is sitting slumped over in a chair. “No one needs to know it was you. Go and take care of your head, okay?”

After a brief moment of hesitation, Lena nods and scrambles towards the back entrance to the warehouse, out of sight just in time before the first DEO agents come barging in. Kara vows to swing by Lena’s place later with some ice cream and several of her patented Kara Danvers hugs to make sure Lena knows she’s not alone, that she’ll always have her back. Just like Lena always has hers.

[fernshawart]

Prompts to develop a cane user character

Hey there ! You may know me for this post, how to write a cane user character :

Over the past year, this post has gathered quite a lot of traction and people seemed to really enjoy it, and I thought I could do more to help all of my writer friends out there ! This time, I decided to give you a bunch of situations a cane user may face to give you some directions to go with your story, and a few exemples to add-on to the idea !

These are overall very focused on young cane users because that's what I am, but I feel like they can mostly be used for characters of all ages.

The character just got their cane. How do they react to it ? The way someone first reacts to getting a cane can say a lot about them. Exemples :

- They don't see it as a big deal, mostly like yet another test to see if something may work. It's kinda like swallowing a pill when you're sick and thinking "here goes nothing". After that, you can also develop on them being very pleasantly surprised that it worked or to stay with the nonchalant style, make them think "oh. It actually worked. Guess I'll be using that from now on"

- They get uncomfortable. They don't want to be seen as weak and look at them using a cane as a kind of failure to be normal. They may even refuse to use it despite clearly needing it out of pride.

- They get extremely excited and immediately try to make it THEIR cane. If it's a metal cane, they play around with the sliding part and move it around a bunch to see how it works. They may try to play with it like a sword to get used to having it in hand (and may even accidentally break stuff with it). If they like colorful outfits, they may doodle on it or add a bunch of stickers/charms to it.

- They take it in front of a mirror and try to pose with it to fully comprehend that this is them now. They can struggle with their vision of themselves because seeing this weird stick always with them now is really weird. But on the other hand, you can also make them try a bunch of poses and have them think "wait ... This is actually really cool. I love how I look now"

See how they react to other people's looks. If a character has a cane, especially when they're young, they're bound to get weird looks. There's always someone looking at you obviously thinking "Why the hell are they using a cane, they probably don't need it" or "Oh no, poor them, they don't deserve to be in so much pain..." What's their reaction to it ? Exemples :

- They get angry. They confront the people staring at them with a "what are you lookin' at, fucker ?!" or just glare at them. They do NOT want to be pitied.

- They get playful and try to act as if these people are only interested in them by their physique. "Oh, I know I'm good looking, but you can stop staring at me darling~" if your character is kind of a classy cane user, it gets really fun to play around it and after a while, their confidence may get a real characteristic of theirs.

- They feel miserable. They don't want to be pitied just because they exist. They're walking outside for five minutes to get groceries and people are pitying them, and that hurts.

- They really don't care. They've seen it all, and don't let the stares affect them anymore. If they did, it would probably drive them mad.

One thing that happens ALL THE TIME with canes is that they fall. And overall, it's really funny to watch. Watching a cane fall down five times in a row is an embarrassing situation and can make some fun interactions ! Exemples :

- The cane user is trying to have very serious talk with someone else. They walk towards them, sits down in a chair, glares at them, puts their cane down against the wall and ... It falls. They put it back. And it falls. They can stay as serious as they want, the other person in front of them is no longer afraid of them.

- The cane user is taking someone on a date at a fun restaurant. They try to sit down on their chair and put their cane away and it falls repeatedly and they start panicking to make it stay up. Their date is very amused by the situation and finds it cute and/or charming.

- The cane user puts their cane against the wall and it falls. Their friend immediately goes to pick it up, but they stop them from doing so by saying something along the lines of "Don't bother. It won't stay up." Or "Heh, it can't fall any lower now."

Oh no, someone is trying to steal your character's cane for some reason ! Maybe it's because they think it was left behind by someone else ? Maybe it has a high market value because it's made of gold ? Any way, they will have to do something about it. Exemples :

- they grab the cane back and just beats the crap out of the thief. You know, it's not rare to see stories where grandpas use their cane to hit people as a joke. But it works ! It's a heavy stick, and often made of metal. You're bound to get some good hits with that.

- They immediately panic and/or cry. Canes can be extremely precious to someone, often because of emotional value. It's something you wear every day, you can easily get attached to it. A lot of people even decorate it, so loosing something you crafted yourself hurts.

- They heavily play the victim to either make the thief regret their action, or people get on their side. It can stem from a genuine emotion, but also from acting if they want to just use the situation to their advantage. Either way, if someone has the audacity to steal from a poor "defenseless" disabled person, the crowd will most likely help them.

- They can just ... Not care much. I mean yeah it was stolen and it sucks but you know, most canes cost what. 12$ ? They're annoyed but they won't make too much of a fuss about it, and running to catch the thief may not be worth it if their legs aren't really healthy.

You know, if your cane user is a little young, some people are bound to think that they are "too young to be disabled". How do they react to that ? Exemples :

- They heavily mock the person who said that. What, just because you think someone is too young to be disabled, they're no longer disabled ? Ha, I wish it could work like that !

- They reply with a good old "If I break your legs, I guess you'll still be able to walk ? Cuz you look too young to be disabled too."

- They get doubts and question if they're really disabled enough to wield a cane. Usually, people only use it when they have big problems or when they're old ... Maybe that person's right ... (No they're not, of course)

- They get extremely serious and explain their situation is nothing to be discussed by people won't don't know them personally.

And that's it for today ! I hope you enjoyed this little guide <3 if this gets a bit of traction as well, I may write more in the future ! Good luck to all of the writers ~

Oh and one more thing ! Feel free to link your stories down below for everyone to look, will it be a Tumblr post, an AO3 link, a google doc ... I love to see your creations, and I think sharing ideas with people is a GREAT way to develop more varied representation.

And if you want to thank me in a way or another, you can always take a look at my art on Twitter (@FernShawArt) !

[oceansprompts]

Best of Daredevil: Cutting Edge

quotes taken from the Marvel novel, Daredevil: The Cutting Edge (1999) by Madeleine E. Robins // adjust pronouns and lines as needed.

Can I bring you a cup of coffee? I'm already on number seven or eight… I forget which.

Wouldn't you like a chance to go, I don't know, live on a beach somewhere, drinking rum punch or something?

I'd rather go to hell, I love this. This is what I do.

Don't look at me that way; I'm not the one who drank a dozen cups of coffee a day and never got any exercise.

Not bad for a skinny blind kid from Hell's Kitchen.

Not as flashy as Spider-Man, maybe, but not too shabby.

What is this guy, a zombie?

You moron, he's not the perp!

Okay, Mr. Off-the-Rack, what else did you leave behind?

It's okay, you've been very brave.

It was a kind lie, kindly meant.

Don't ever let me lose you.

Pleading "blind man walked into the door" again, your honor.

Yaaaay for the good guy!

So, he was the wall you ran into?

Triumph and hell, all at once. I wish you could have seen it.

How about dinner tonight? In a real restaurant. Like grownups.

Off to Rykers. Another day in Fun City.

Have fun storming the castle!

Maybe I should get Seeing Eye cat?

Well, of the two, I guess the brain's more important.

Doesn't it seem a little too tidy? The pink ribbons and all?

A problem? My dear, I trust you implicitly.

Who put this guy in a position where he can talk to the public?

Not me, I'm naturally suspicious.

Tooth extraction would be more fun than what I'm writing.

I can't smell anything, my food tastes funny…

I'm wasting away to a shadow of my former self.

Two-bit mouthpieces! He actually said that? Who writes his dialouge?

Why not just wave a big, huge red flag that says something suspicious here?

I will be the soul of discretion.

Try not to break any of your well-informed friends too badly loking for information, okay?

Right, everytime you come in to chat, I wind up doing renovations. New plate glass, new tables, new ribcage…

Are you just a discipline problem in the making, or do you have something useful to contribute?

Anyone got anything they want to share with the class?

Naughty, naughty.

No breakage, this time. They're learning.

A little judicious flattery can work wonders.

You're all flipping wild cards. That's part of your charm.

I don't like lawyers!

Call any hour of the day or night.

Don't throw the card away, I'll know.

Okay, hero, play brave, competent, [disabled] person.

Oh, I already do, but make me love him more.

He sounds like the kind of guy who pulled the wings off butterflies and tortured puppy dogs.

Basically, your overprivileged sociopath.

I wasn't always the polished gem you see now.

He has the business ethics of a piranha.

Judiciously applied, the business ethics of a piranha can be very useful.

Make it good, boyo.

If you like it hot, but I gotta say, man, you oughtta use a little caution.

I'm touched by your concern, but I promise you I'm well armed.

Well, the only thing to do with a bully and a coward is face him straight on!

Now it's time for bed, close your weary eyes and dream of me.

You're a darling, but I'm too tired to argue about it.

This is where I'm going to die.

You have great bone structure.

Well, look. The neighborhood avenger. Come on, you wanna play?

Spread the word, sweetheart.

I couldn't... fight him...

You stayed alive, you did the right thing.

Bullies... never give in to... bullies.

You did good, remember that.

Oh my, really bad night.

I don't deserve you.

You roll in here looking like someone shot your dog, so I figure I can be self-absorbed and ill-tempered some other morning.

Listen, sweetheart, whatever you did, it's not your fault.

If anyone's to blame, it' me.

I find I'm old-fashioned enough to prefer talking to a live human being.

Lies. All lies.

I don't think they're ever leaving. I think they like it here.

It's air conditioned, the coffee's free, they get to point and laugh at the poor people trying to work.

Nothing more than crushing piles of work. The usual. What's up?

You'll have to make this the "For Dummies" version.

Heartbreaking. You expect setbacks, but we were so close!

I mean, it worked ⸺ it just had this damned baggage with it.

Well, I'm over it. Grieved, moved on.

So you think because she's a babe that she's capable of planning murder?

Ow! Be careful! You don't know your own strength!

If I were afraid of you, would I be sitting here?

Thank you so much, I really look forard to proving I'm not the monster I'm sure I seemed the other day.

Reduces me to a screaming hormonal pulp?

Don't you think you ought to relax a little?

You really don't like being challenged at all, do you?

I have to do something, and this is what I can do.

My point is, I love you, and I don't want to have to bring you flowers at St. Clare's.

Be careful. That shiner is just beginning to fade; you don't need another, and I do need you. Okay?

Once again, it's all the fault of the guy in the tights, jeez.

It's as tired as I am.

Okay, genius, what now?

What are you gonna do, kill me?

Come on, I'm doing the best I can.

Stay alive, [name]. I'm here.

What are you, Iron Man?

Look, I'm going to close my eyes and rest for a while, don't let anything exciting happen while I'm out, okay?

Are you sure you're supposed to be scolding me in your weakened condition?

I was just trying to distract you from telling me you were right about it.

I hadn't planned on scolding you about that until you were strong enough to fight back.

You say the absolutely perfect thing sometimes. You really do.

I never know whether you're as clumsy as you seem, or just playing a very, very crafty part. Well, you're not dead yet.

That the way you treat all your dates?

Cosmic irony: man with no sympathy has a heart that beats sympathetically.

Hey... I'm one of the good guys, right?

Look at me. I look like... the Hulk's baby sister. And it's going to get worse.

I'm not stupid. I played a risky game and I lost. I lost it big and I'm going to wind up a monster.

Tell me about the colors.

Tell me what you hear.

Anyone here ever ask you what the most beautiful word in the English language is, you can tell'em: home.

Hey you, having a good time?

With you? Always.

We could rent a movie, then curl up on the couch together and ignore it.

That sounds good. We could even forget the movie.

Even better, I love you a lot.

That is what keeps me going.

[murdockmeta]

A Human Fly: The Importance of Daredevils Before Daredevil

I've recently watched a video on "human flies", a social phenomenon that peaked in the 1920s-30s, where people would go out and do death-defying tricks literally just because they wanted to. (At first. Money became involved later, of course.) They were called human flies (sometimes human spiders, human lizards, etc.) for their ability to climb up the walls of buildings so easily. They weren't just called human flies, though. They were also called daredevils.

The video I watched talked about how this phenomenon was so popular because of the role it played in displaying masculinity. Most of these daredevils were men, and at the time being seen doing these death-defying stunts was the height of manliness. And suddenly, while learning all this new information, all I could wonder is if that at all was related to Stan Lee's motivation behind the creation of Matt Murdock. Anyway, here we go.

Okay, so, gender roles and how they functioned in society around the first half of the 20th century are similar but also different from what they are now. There were stiffly set rules to what it meant to be a man that was entirely unrelated to genitals. These same standards are echoed in the modern day. I don't think it's a coincidence that Matt falls outside of those rules.

Obviously, Matt's blind. Disabled. And, as a fictional character, that had really heavy (negative) implications before the disability rights movement became more popular. You even see that reflected in the comics themselves. There's the implication that Matt is expected to live out his life unhappy, unmarried (which extends to not having children), and is helpless to such a fate. That is the complete opposite of what being a man in US American culture was in the 1950s and 60s. Matt exemplified what it was to not be a man.

Stan Lee, when co-creating this character, takes these concepts that absolutely oppose one another and he smashes them together. It feels like spitting in the face of standards and expectations. He says, "Oh, look, a blind man. A man that can't be a man. I'm going to take him and I'm going to turn him into something that is undeniably manly." Lee does this through this phenomenon that links back to human flies.

Being a human fly was about proving to the people around you that you were a man among men. That you were capable of physical feats that others only could wish to accomplish. And Lee grew up in a time when he was surrounded by these types of people as a child. Most of these people would travel to New York City, where Lee grew up, just to perform these stunts.

How masculinity was defined in that age was rigid. You had to be strong, you had to be capable, you had to have the ability to provide for your family. There were certain elements that also took away from your masculinity. You couldn't be too smart or bookish, you couldn't be too skinny, you couldn't be disabled. And being able to fit into these standards wasn't just about pride, it was about social status.

These human flies were often referred to as daredevils by newspapers. It doesn't seem like much of a reach for me to think that they could've possibly related to Lee's creation of Daredevil.

This strip is from the second issue of volume one.

It was revolutionary* (asterisk), to an extent, what Lee was implying with his creation of Matt's character. That you could be disabled and still be fully capable of accomplishing what society has deemed impossible for you or deemed you unworthy of. That you could represent the peak of masculinity (meaning you could be perceived as an equal to those around you) while having supposed qualities that strike you from it.

I'm not saying that that's a goal that every disabled/blind person has or should have. In fact, under a modern lens, I think it's very counterproductive. But, I think the social and cultural context surrounding the character's creation is important to understand. I think it's important to know why implying those things at the time was important to disabled representation.

Many people don't like or struggle to read older comics due to them aging badly. While I don't blame them, I think there would be less resistance if people stopped trying to interpret those comics through a modern lens.

Context is important. History is important.

(asterisk) *This is in relation to the time-specific era of disabled representation. This is not to ignore the problems with the representation of Matt as a blind man. I'm not saying or implying that there's nothing wrong with the original comics, in fact, they are incredibly ableist. I am simply focusing on the importance of that representation at the time of the issues being published.

Thanks for reading.