#but really what we have here is the rashomon effect

[fideidefenswhore]

Do you think Catherine and Arthur of Aragon had sexual intercourse?

well, yes!

[caldera1000-7]

Okay...I don't know how long this will turn out but I've stumbled across some few things I've seen before said by others and it got me thinking again. I haven't really written out these thoughts so I'll write it here. While a lot of the time its easy to imagine Atsushi going on his way to be like Oda (the somewhat best example in BSD of living a meaningful life.) I think, just like many probably also have, that Akutagawa will be going down Oda's path and possibly even continuing/succeeding where Oda left off. These characters have a lot of parallels. But BSD in general has many MANY parallels... Projection...opposites, similarities, 2 sides of the same coins- well BSD always has a lot of things going on with characters. Noticably the duo generation thing with Mori and Fukuzawa, to Dazai and Chuuya to Akutagawa and Atsushi. But way more ties in than just them, we have Kyouka and Odasaku too, though not in any of the main duos - they impacted a lot or also show us a lot about the projection and the character changing. So as I was saying its easy to assume Atsushi may take down the Oda path with his seemingly good path of saving people. But despite that Akutagawa has many similarities/parallels to Odasaku and may be going down the same path, and maybe even succeed before death. "People live to save themselves."

Forgetting the hilarious faces of them in this moment. Ahem.

Lets start with some basics, I will try and keep this as short as well...whatever I consider short. Both were orphans, raised as killers somewhat, told their only value was in their strength and abilities. And both, despite everything, came to value life more than anything else, Oda went away from that path of killing. Akutagawa went with his promise of 6 months without killing. In beast and possibly the main universe too as a child Akutagawa went to kill those who killed his friends and harmed his sister claiming to "teach them the value of a life." Akutagawa is a very complicated yet also very simple character... I will still get to the talk about how the Rashomon effect could be seen in Akutagawa's character writing or other characters perceptions but thats for next time. Things people would note immediately are Akutagawa's seemingly no care for killing, for death, or for even his own injuries/illness. Thiss could be recklessness, this could be determination, it could be both. But that determination to continue, those goals to go forward... They must of all started somewhere. Its true he was a product of the environment he grew up in, he was the beast that lurked soundlessly as the world watched on but didn't care. A true stray dog... And no matter what "mentor" in the beast universe being Oda and in the mainline universe being Dazai - there is no real leash or ownership on this dog, as repetitive as it was in beast and now, Akutagawa really has always been going on his own paths in both universes with a fierce determination to meet his goal. He is always known as a wild dog, or a beast. And its true that time before dazai shot him thrice in the head he did kill the people Dazai wanted to interrogate (not excusing but still mentioning.) Now how could someone who kills so easily teach someone the value of a life? The same could be asked for Dazai, how could someone who didn't have much of a reason to live at the time give someone else a reason to live? Well he did, and at the time it seems the things he did in the mafia with his ability or missions kept him there, the risk of it all, and he put the same for Akutagawa. Akutagawa seeing this as saving, taking this example and wanting to give others a worth to their life or a reason for living (this already shows how much he values it, probably because he doesn't have much time left or had much years going for him in the first place...) but he did the same to Kyouka, saying both their abilities were for killing and killing would give them value. And he even says Kyouka had the same eyes as he once did, yearning for death, and full of darkness. But that changed, they both found someone to guide them, they both found an organization they can belong in. He was even glad for Kyouka, despite them being on such different paths now. He even once said to Hawthorne that dying in the name of love sounds like something noble/beautiful during the Cannibalism arc. So there definitely is much more to him than just killing, rivalry, jealousy, and dazai. His value in lives, him wanting to see and bring value to lives, and try going forward with his own. It is true Mori said once Dazai reminded him of himself. And Dazai possibly saw himself back then in Akutagawa (lost and wanting a reason to live), and Akutagawa saw himself in Kyouka. Akutagawa could see a mirror image/flipped version of himself or his past self in Atsushi which is why he called understanding him disgusting. And Oda probably also saw a bit of himself in Dazai.

So getting more to the point of Oda SakuNOSUKE and Akutagawa RyuuNOSUKE.

Both began as emotionless (and became like killers). No passion, no cruelty—just empty vessels, defined only by their ability to kill. Oda was a hitman with dead eyes. Akutagawa was a slum orphan with nothing but Rashoumon. They weren’t sadistic. They weren’t righteous. They killed because it was the only thing they were good at. And because, in a world that treated them like they were worth nothing, it gave them something that felt like value, especially for Akutagawa since someone showed him that way and made use of him/his ability.

(“I’ve been working alone as an assassin for as long as I can remember,” he began. “I’ve never wanted friends or a boss... but seeing a martial artist like you compromise your principles to save one of your men... It makes me kinda jealous. He must be the happiest guy in the world to have you as a boss.” - Light Novel 3 of Bungo Stray Dogs the Untold Origins of the Detective Agency. And yes, the manga adaption made me feel like going back to make some Oda references from the original LN.)

But that kind of existence is just survival, not living. It’s why no matter how strong they became, they never felt like enough. They both felt hollow, watching others form bonds they couldn’t have. Oda envied Fukuzawa’s loyalty and bond to others/a certain lolipop eating child. Akutagawa envied Atsushi, who was nurtured and cared for in ways he never was, despite both being so similar in more ways than one and even kind of in background/abuse/being orphans. That jealousy wasn’t just bitterness—it was recognition. They wanted something more. They just didn’t know what. And in Akutagawa's case he grew and kept growing, the more questions he asked got answered, the more the paths became clear to him, the more he could respect atsushi and see the true value in life not just his own but of others, and its worth in protecting. The real turning point for both wasn’t just strength; it was connection. Oda met Natsume. Akutagawa met Dazai. And for the first time, they saw another way to live.

That’s why, despite being one of the deadliest people in the series, Akutagawa might be the one who values life the most. It seems contradictory—he kills without hesitation—but that’s the paradox of his character I suppose. He knows what it’s like to have life treated as worthless, and that’s exactly why he fights so hard to prove that it isn’t. That slum-born kids lives that were taken weren't meaningless. That he isn’t meaningless. (I'm listening to his character song while writing this so I may unknowingly make references.) Oda’s arc ends in somewhat of a tragedy, even if he managed to give Dazai the push/advice he needed. When he lost his orphan children, he gave up. He told Dazai to live, but in the end, he couldn’t follow his own advice it seems. But Akutagawa? He’s still fighting. He’s still trying to prove his existence matters. A true stray dog, fighting his way through. Although its possible he may die at the end and possibly Dazai could too, I've been led to believe that he may end up fulfilling what Odasaku had wanted to show in a life with meaning, with value.

From here it was made even more obvious, or rather suspicious, and this path Akutagawa will be going down may actually be one of the best character developments for me. Oda told Dazai to keep living. But Akutagawa, in his own way, embodies that lesson even more than Dazai does. He is still living, still struggling, still starving for meaning like the stray dog he is. And that’s why, in the end, Akutagawa—not really Atsushi—is the true inheritor of Oda’s will. Or so I think. ....And I thought I'd end it there, BUT I don't want to make another separate post continuing this really... (I still might though.)

“People live to save themselves. You will understand that at the moment of your own death.” Oda chose to die for someone else, rather than living for himself. While that’s a tragic choice it’s also a bad choice with consequences, because now there’s nobody around to help Dazai and Akutagawa who also appeared in light novel two and who both needed him to some extent. However... Second chances don't usually occur in life, especially if you used one version/ending of your life saving another. Living to save yourself...living to give yourself a reason. Not for someone else, but for what you decide right?

Their lives are parallels but they’re also exact opposites. Akutagawa starts out by losing every orphan he was trying to take care of. Oda finishes his life when he loses the orphans who he was trying to raise and protect. Well besides diving too deep. Akutagawa in his very complicated still yet to be explained Knightly form... Seems to be protecting a child. In beast we see how well (through the suffering still and besides that training scene) he actually has been able to take care of those kids, or even in the mainline one he has always protected or defended the kids around him and his sister. Although in many senses both Akutagawa and Atsushi can be called selfish as I've said many times before and in previous things. They both have some very selfless elements and learn more on that too...leading to this parallel of Atsushi and Akutagawa, causing him to regain his memories from the one completely self sacrificing and selfless thing he's done. I've read an analysis theory again recently that I saw before, of Akutagawa and The Spiders Thread by Linkspooky (I think? Need to re-check) and it seems in a way Atsushi is that one spared spider but possibly also Aya, and I want to see how this all plays out.

Dazai may of just gotten the idea of helping Aku on this path after that no killing promise, or maybe he had a thought of it when he met/got to know Atsushi (because theres no way he could of predicted the future since that time in the woods but I get he means that since then Dazai hasn't given up his promise of helping Akutagawa live a meaningful life.)

Image dump as usual to get others and my own thoughts running.

Whether its a complicated bram-akutagawa situation or anything else Asagiri might explain this with along with his memory loss, these words are interesting nonetheless.

And yes, I won't shut up about his eyes. As much as I love Harukawa's art I do very much hope that Atsushi and Akutagawa's baby face moments kind of lessen with time, but I still love it anyways.

With how crazy things are currently, it may be a while till we get out answers or see further just how much Akutagawa grew/will act after all the events that has happened. Theres no way things can just go back to "normal" and have him being obsessed over his recognition with Dazai and wanting to kill Atsushi completely after this. Maybe they'll still have the death battle as promised and it will end up like in beast where the one lets the other go until next time or something. But in this growth competition or the little "I can't get behind Akutagawa now" that came outta nowhere from Atsushi or rather his own admiration or seeing just how strong Akutgawa is when he never recognised it himself because of Dazai. But now as it seems in a complicated knight form or not Ryuu has gone quite ahead, and now its time for lil Sushi to catch up.

[desaulniers-co]

I’m going to talk a bit about Shibusawa’s ability and what it says about Fyodor’s ability. Since Fyodor’s ability currently isn’t fully known and Shibusawa’s ability possibly reveals a lot about it.

(If you do not want to read my explanations about Shibusawa’s ability and want to skip directly to Fyodor’s ability, scroll to the ‘crime and punishment’ image. Tough I recommend reading the explanations)

So, from what we know in dead Apple, there’s a specific way abilities manifested when Shibusawa’s fog effected them. There’s two types of ones here. Normal abilities, and ‘physical’ abilities.

For normal abilities, manifestation takes the form of the persons ‘silhouette’ or shadow of the person because they don’t have their own form to take. They become a copy of their holder because they are part of them. They don’t really exist on their own outside of the user. So they still reflect what they are a part of.

By physical ability, I mean ones like Akutagawa, Mori, Kyōka, and Atsushi, who all have specific physical forms already. And their manifestations from Shibusawa’s ability take that form. These abilities that are summoned or are actual things already have a form. So they don’t become the shadow or ‘spirit’ of the ability, they become what the ability normally is. Part of this may be because the abilities have a “mind” of their own to an extent. Demon snow does things to care for Kyōka, and she couldn’t control it. Atsushi couldn’t control the Tiger and didn’t remember time as it, showing them as sort of ‘separate’ beings that are also one, including during the movie. Rashomon is ‘hungry’ and seems to have at least some level of sentence. Elise is clearly her entire own person, often arguing with Mori.

These ‘physical’ abilities keep the general same appearance as always in their manifestation, only they gain a gem on their head.

Now, why does the gem, the ability itself seemingly, appear on the head? I believe they’re placed in the head where the “brain” or “central” would be. Where the ability would, supposedly, be kept and controlled. In the mind.

So all abilities have their gem on their head, and take the form of their user if they don’t have their own physical form.

That is

Except Fyodor.

As you can see, Fyodor’s ability manifestation does not look like the normal manifestations. The skin is the same color as usual, the eyes are not glowing, and he has facial features. What is more resembles is the physical abilities. Keeping the exact same appearance, just gaining a gem on their body.

The gem is not located on the forehead. It’s located on his hand. Gems are assumed to be placed on the central ‘control’ spot of the ability, which is why the others are located on the head. Implying that the ‘brain’ or control for this ability is not in his mind, but in his hands. In his touch.

These both seem like small differences chosen for the appearance of the scene. But I believe they imply much more and could explain the mystery of his ability.

Fyodor kills someone with bare contact. His morals and beliefs are a large part of his character as well. Morals and beliefs, and people being killed based on what one believed about them, is also a large theme in the actual Crime and Punishment. (I cannot speak too much on the book, I’m still reading it currently)

I believe his ability and himself are not the same. His ability is not something he can control. It is a ‘conscious’ thing, a physical ability, just like ones such as Elise and Demon Snow. The best way to explain this is the quote the image is from.

The true Fyodor says, “I am crime.”

This means he is the law, he determines what is a crime. A judgment is made based on his morals and beliefs, a set of rules he has created and put into place.

The ability says, “I am punishment.“

This means, literally, the punishment. The consequence that is given based on what the law decides for the crime. The punisher has to give the punishment deemed fair based on if the law has convicted them.

The Punishment, death, will be cast on someone based on what the law, Fyodor’s morals and beliefs, say about their Crimes.

The ability takes punishment into its own hands. When Fyodor comes into contact with someone, a quick judgment is made based on whether he interprets them as a criminal or ‘sinner’ without his knowing or intention. The ability does it for him. Based on that quick judgment from his morals, he decides if the person will be killed or spared. That’s why some die by his hand, such as Karma, and others don’t, such as Nikolai.

This is why it is a ‘physical’ ability. It has its own consciousness, choosing to punish or spare a person without Fyodor’s conscious thought of it. He made the rules, the set of morals a person would be judged with, the crimes. But he does not actively decide if one is to be punished for them or not.

Crime and punishment go hand in hand. But they are not the same. They effect each other, but one can not have total control of the other. This is how I perceive Fyodor’s ability.

Please keep in mind this is all theory/hc based on a single scene, don’t take it for fact!! I am happy to further discuss with people and hear others theories or ideas :))

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Backup Drummer

Right off the bat, we follow up a note from last time. Kuma's upping the ante on being an unreliable narrator. Now we're doing it a second time. A nested flashback. Fun! I love this, same with the idea it's a pointless exercise. Tragic though it may be, the idea these letters never find Bonney is such a great narrative nugget. Type of thing where...well, I was gonna say you see a flash of static that was there intentionally to cover a key detail but we did that one didn't we?

Seeing this flashback start to fray and break down is interesting. We keep seeing it and now I definitely think we'll have shenanigans upon our return. That's not the only bit of narrative peculiarity though. There's another beat that caught my eye even more:

We've done the "static" effect. Covering up a detail with sound effect Kanji. This one feels more like...listening to the radio at the edge of the station's rage. When it starts to intermingle with another station on the same frequency. This is such a weird little blip. "A smart hawk hides its claws" is a great idiom for all this then we shift to a brief moment with Stussy going oddly philosophical. She went too quiet during the time between the cutaway and this flashback, don't forget her. If there's another "Rashomon" break from the main story she might be a good one. Especially with this weird little adjacent element of a potential relative for Kalifa. It is odd how we get Lucci, Kaku, and a replacement girl. Not to mention the three brothers. Sabo was in Vivi's story, Luffy Bonney's, and the OG Stussy has already been around Marco so Ace fitting in isn't that much of a stretch. Still think Rashomon & Riddles is one of my better ones.

Don't forget she gets tied up in the Tamataebako thread too. Bonney is sorta inherently tied up with Urashima Taro by default with that power while we're at it. Likewise with Vegapunk, but that'll be a little secret for later. Which means now we have to get to Bonney's grand escape. That was our deal. Bonney's really horning in as someone who can fill this open role we've identified. What does our story have to say here?

Distortion. Who does "becoming Nika" remind you of? Club, white hair, doggy form, tboy swag...it smacks of Yamato's Oden fixation. Credit where credit's due, I can argue Kiku threads the needle of these Egghead characters, but Bonney's a good mix of Carrot/Kiku/Yamato as well. Still, this plus the narration feel a certain way to me. Like they're really, really reasserting Bonney as a rival. Her own captain. Someone who could have taken Luffy's place if he wasn't here. Fair is fair, our main narrator being unreliable has happened too. With the redacted announcement of the Luffy v Kaido battle. But this makes me wonder how much we'll even focus on Bonney if this flashback continues. Remember she's the third Supernova this arc set up to end her saga.

We'll get to Luffy & Kuma tomorrow, but I have a last thought on Bonney. With all the Thriller Bark elements floating around, did she lose her crew to the buzzsaw of the New World? As in, end up like Moria? Interesting parallel on the table at least. I always thought Yamato was intriguing from the vantage point of like, being perfect if Luffy did blunder into the New World too early and meet the same fate. Yams is a great person to bail you out and start a new crew. Not like anyone wanted that outcome but you can't forget Moria's shadow hanging around. Potentially even literally given the Blackbeard ship could be stolen.

[fictionstudent]

"Rashomon" is such a messed up film, I loved it

I don’t usually see classic films—or anything made in the nineties. For some reason, their bad cinematography had always irked me, and their camera angles disgust me to this very day.

In the last couple decades, technology has advanced at a fast rate. And you can really see that if you’ve seen these classics. They just have a different vibe to them. And as someone who consumes a lot of latest cinema—and anime—it’s actually really tough for me to accustom myself to the cinema of that time.

But, you know what, my university doesn’t care. They made me watch Rashomon, a film by the legendary Akira Kurosawa.

For those of you who don’t know who Akira is: firstly, shame on you. Secondly, he’s one of the most influential Japanese directors who is known on an international level. His films were brimming with professional creativity and they really influence many directors. In fact, he’s the sort of director whose films are studied in film-schools.

I knew the director and what sort of a legend he was, so I was really excited for the film. But considering his last film was in ninety-three—and Rashomon, by the way, released in nineteen-fifty—I was kinda… expecting myself to not like it…

I loved it.

So much that I can’t stop myself from writing this blog and yapping about its themes and plotline and characters and direction and all that technical stuff.

***

#01 - Plot

You know how we start reviews here, lol. So, the movie Rashomon follows a priest and a woodcutter contemplating in a shrine, under the rain. A commoner arrives, all drenched up, and begins making fire and drying himself and his clothes as he tries to make small-talk with those guys. He noticed it—the two men were genuinely worried about something. So he simply asked what the case was.

The woodcutter starts yapping about how bad the humanity is, how evil is spreading all over our tongues. He told the man the story is more horrific than war, famines, murders. The story is about how he, in the middle of the forest, witnessed a samurai’s hat, a woman’s hat, an amulet, a bunch of cut ropes, and… a dead body.

He did the obvious—inform the authorities. And what happens next is… quite absurd. So absurd that I can’t explain it here. And I don’t even want to. Just know that there are different characters—a bandit, a woman, a samurai. And all tell their side of the story about how the death of the samurai took place.

And their accounts vary too differently from each other. The bandit talks of his valor, the samurai of his despair, and the woman of her innocence.

But here’s the catch—the accounts don’t match with each other. All of them have different stories to tell. And then—spoiler alert—the woodcutter tells how he himself had lied; he had seen the whole scene unfolding, but refused to tell to the court. His account seemed to be the most trusted one, but since he had his reasons to not reveal this story to the court, you can never be too sure.

In fact, the film is known for this—you never know the truth about what actually happened. You just hear from the characters—and they won’t tell you the truth. They have their motives to lie. Rashomon Effect, a screenwriting technique where an incident is shown by different characters’ differing—and even contradictor—perspectives is loosely based on this film.

The writing of the film is done masterfully, especially in terms of the plot. And the setting justifies it—the story is based on a couple centuries ago, so you can't really know the truth if the people are not lying, because the technology isn’t so advanced yet.

***

#02 - Characters

The characters are absurd. Some of them are even screwed in their minds. And no, I’m not joking.

The bandit just cared about his image. He told the court how he lured the woman into his charms—which seems highly unlikely—and how he didn't even need to kill her man. And he told her how, after dishonoring her, he cut the ropes of the man and went for a fair fight for the woman and defeated him. The guy was just flexing shit he didn't do.

The woman, on the other hand, knew what happened with her was not acceptable. She knew that society wouldn't see her as a victim. She knew she’d get side-eyed. So she tried to convince the court of her innocence. She cried crocodile-tears. She begged for mercy. For forgiveness. And she tried to appear as innocent as she probably could.

The samurai… Imma talk about him later. But yeah, as the woman had predicted, he said he didn't see the bandit as the convict, but rather believed that his wife was at fault.

These guys are messed up in their heads. The bandit was too dumb and full of himself that he just flexed his physical and mental muscles. As is later revealed, the woman was at fault too, and she used her wits to get her husband killed. And then she ran away. And the samurai’s whole belief system was all around the place.

These characters so obviously symbolize different sorts of evils that are present in society. And the different reasons we lie. We lie because of these three reasons—we don't understand the truth, we wanna hide what we did, and we wanna make an image for ourselves. The samurai, the woman, the bandit.

***

#03 - Themes

The story tackles a number of themes, the most obvious being what’s truth and what’s lie. And, on a deeper level, why do we even lie.

The film is an example of… those kinda films where characters are really screwed up, the story is really screwed up, and all the stuff that happens needs to be psychoanalyzed. Like Chainsaw Man. Or something like that. I hope you kinda get what I’m trying to say. This sort of story may not be realistic, but it seems to explore the darker sides of humanity and is based on simply complex characters who are screwed in the head.

The film answers a pretty important question—why we lie. There are different characters, different perspectives on the murder, and none of them seem true. Every one of these characters seems to be lying one way or the other. Even the most unbiased, trusted account—that of woodcutter’s—could be false, since it’s revealed how he had his own reasons to lie.

You don't know the truth. Not even in the end. You don't know who to believe and who not to—that’s what the film has taught you.

All these characters had different sort of motives to lie. The bandit tried to show what kinda womanizer he was and how clever his plan was. He tried to do the impossible, get what he knew he couldn’t get, and still came out victorious.

The woman, on the other hand, tried to convince the court how she did nothing wrong—in fact, wrong was done on her. She even tells the court how sinful she felt, and then tries taking her own life because of it.

The samurai, who had died, was contacted through a spirit-medium. He told the court of the despair he felt, the sense of shame he was drenched in, and the loss he faced after the incident. He said how he saw the real face of her wife that day, which depressed him so much that he killed himself. For the sake of the plot, let’s say all that spirit-medium stuff was real.

Everyone had a reason to lie. Everyone wanted to show themselves in a particular way—the bandit wanted to show how clever he was, the woman wanted to show how innocent she was, and the samurai wanted to show how depressed he was. The woman put all the blame on the situation, the bandit on himself, and the samurai, oddly enough, on his wife.

Another theme I saw being well-approached was that of patriarchy. I mean, the story is set in Japan centuries ago. There were a lot of talks on the honor of a woman. The samurai didn't see how his wife was raped, he believed it was his wife’s fault. From his account, you can’t say he hated the bandit—the rapist—one bit. But he despised his wife. He told the court how his wife switched sides, even though the woodcutter’s account says how her wife freed him after being raped and begged him to kill the bandit. But the samurai refused to fight him for a ruined woman.

Those are not my words, for the record.

Also, the woman then, quite shrewdly enough, attacked their male-egos and made them fight a duel. Where the bandit killed the samurai. And she ran away from the place after that.

The samurai’s story tells us how messed up his patriarchal beliefs are. And how the woman quite easily made him fight for her just with a simple you’re-not-a-real-man-if argument.

And, according to the woodcutter, they didn't even know how to use swords—something that none of the two guys ever told the court. Rather, they were busy telling how quite bravely they fought.

So, on a thematic level, the movie is quite well-thought. I still believe there must be a lot of themes that I’ve completely missed—that’s how dense this story is.

***

Conclusion

Watch the film. I didn't want to, but I’ve given you a lot of spoilers. And because of this alternating between what to hide and what not to, I did a pretty messy job. So I want you guys to watch the film. And then come back here again, on this blog.

And yeah, I hope you guys have a good time reading it. I yapped too much, but I wanted to yap more, lol.

[chaos0pikachu]

Oof, ok I have a lot of questions for this post and I'm hoping we can all have like genuine discussion about this.

First off, I think folks would benefit from reading from more academic sources about the history of Japanese BL, like this article by Meiji University professor Fujimoto Yukari: The Evolution of “Boys’ Love” Culture: Can BL Spark Social Change?

While it may be tempting to associate Takumi Kun with "the first BL" I would disagree since many other works predate it - Kaze to ki No Uta is an animated film that came out in 1987 after all and no, I don't believe we should be separating animated works from live action works if we're discussing Japanese cinema history. I also don't think fandom can have a discussion about the origins and history of BL without acknowledging it's shojo roots.

I also find it historically inaccurate to say BL only started to emerge in the early 2000's when it had been thriving since the 80s with the expansion of doujinshi works - CLAMP have been making BL or at least BL adjacent works since the 80s and 90s with both their Captain Tsubasa doujin & series like Tokyo Babylon (1990) and X (1992) - not to mention the launching of several BL magazines like Be x Boy (1993).

But the big contention I have in regards to the information presented in this post is this bit:

Here’s the thing, the Japanese have a very specific taste to their cinema. They have a style and lens that they stick to and (with a few noted exceptions) they pretty much haven’t deviated since the 1950s.

Can you provide any sources for this? I ask, because the idea that a country's cinema hasn't changed in over 75 years having gone through multiple wars, various cultural upheavals, and expansion of technology, is a rather baffling claim to make without any sources to back it up.

This is followed up by:

In film style there’s atmospheric (cinematic and sweeping, think Kurosawa) vs live action manga (think cartoonish + sound effects, stylized framing and staging techniques meets slapstick).

Can you provide some examples of which of Kurosawa's works you're thinking of here? Or what you mean more specifically by "atmospheric" it's a really general and broad term here.

Atmospheric isn't often used to describe Kurosawa's work in film circles in my experience and research. Atmospheric isn't even a film genre, it's the use of visual and auditory techniques to create a specific tone in a film. It's a combination of cinematography and production design, it's a film technique not a genre nor does it equate to "cinematic" or "sweeping".

[Often if one hears "atmospheric film" the association is going to lean more towards smaller scale and/or more introspective films: Blade Runner, In the Mood for Love, 2001 Space Odyssey, Solaris (1972), almost anything by David Lynch.]

For Kurosawa's work it is very dependent on what work we're discussing; his most famous works in American/western culture is certainly his period piece dramas: Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, The Hidden Fortress, Sanjuro, Rashomon, etc. I wouldn't call Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, or The Hidden Fortress "atmospheric" at all, cinematic I can agree with, but it's not at all an introspective film. It's an action adventure film, almost all of Kurosawa's period piece films are action dramas or action adventures. I mean, The Hidden Fortress inspired Star Wars lol Matashichi & Tahei are not characters I would associate with sweeping atmospheric cinema.

This contrasted with "live action manga" is also strange considering Japan's cinematic history of adapting manga to the screen for literal decades.

For as long as America has been adapting novels for the big screen, so has Japan been adapting manga and to equate "live action manga" with slapstick which cartoonish sound effects and thus comedy is doing a huge disservice to that history.

Lone Wolf and Cub and Lady Snowblood are neither slapstick nor comedy and both were released in 1972 and 1973 respectively; both are based on manga. There's also the more well known and popular adaptions like Death Note, Attack on Titan, Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, Blade of the Immortal, Boys Over Flowers, GANTZ, City Hunter and so many others. None of which would qualify as "slapstick".

This is pretty thorough misinformation to be propositioning without anything backing it up. This also, once again, ignores the existent of animated films in Japan's overall cinema history.

If the definition of "atmospheric" is cinematic and sweeping and "live action manga" is cartoonish and slapstick, where does Mamoru Hosoda's work fit in here? Hideaki Anno? Makoto Shinkai? Keishi Otomo? Ryusuke Hamaguchi?

Where does the High & Low film series or the Fable series fit into this dichotomy? What about films like Tag (2015) Battle Royale (2000) or Kingdom (2019 & 2022)? Where does Godzilla (1954), Shin Godzilla (2016), and Godzilla Minus One (2023) fit?

How can you look at those 3 Godzilla films - not to mention the Toei Monsterverse itself - and claim a majority of Japanese cinema falls into two categories and "haven't deviated since 1950"?

Everything seems to be bifurcated in Japan. Now, on a very few occasions they can tread the line between the lanes, and borrow bits and pieces from different approaches, but most of the time they stick to those lanes pretty cleanly. 

Once again, I have to ask if you have any examples or sources to back this claim. It's a rather massive generalization to make on an entire country's cinema history that goes back as far as the late 1800's. I know you list some BL examples like Cherry Magic vs The Novelist, but your claim isn't just about Japanese BL - which I don't feel confident in agreeing or disagreeing I think @ineffable-opinions has more historical knowledge in this regard than I do - but about "Japanese cinema" and Japan as a whole.

Another thing to know about the Japanese film industry?  They take little to no interest in or guidance/feedback from the international market. They do not care. Their attitude, when something like Cherry Magic does well outside of Japan is… oh do the internationals like that one? How quaint. That’s special. Should we consider… distribution? A second season? *yawn* how tiresome.

Once more, it's the generalization I'm taking issue with here. Do you have sources to back this up?

Hirokazu Koreeda's Monster (2023) was nominated for multiple international awards including: Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Asian Film Awards, British Independent Film Awards, the fucking Cannes Film Festival, Munich Film Festival, and others. Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car (2021) was nominated for an Oscar, as well as various Asian film awards and won 3 Cannes awards. Godzilla Minus One (2023) and The Boy and the Heron (2023) just won Oscars at last years ceremony. You don't get nominated nor win these awards without at least small bit of campaigning.

Part of the backlash against Devilman (2004) was in part because American Hollywood was showing up and out against Japanese films of the time. Dynasty Warriors wasn't created solely because a Japanese game studio is hella obsessed with the Three Kingdoms story. Nintendo and Gamefreak wouldn't set numerous Pokemon games in non-Japanese places if they didn't care about their international audience.

There's like, so many Japanese films on Netflix - , HBO Max has almost Akira Kurosawa's filmography (or at least his most famous films) available, Mubi has some of the best and difficult to find Japanese films available on their platform - like Taboo - Amazon has loads of Japanese films and series, Disney & Hulu are jumping on the anime and Japanese tv series train, Crunchyroll is thee hub for anime including animated films.

So clearly distribution isn't an issue nor is not caring about their international audience. If that was wholly true Crunchyroll wouldn't run a simulcast for various series like My Hero Academia or Demon Slayer.

The issue more likely is that studios that produce BL series either have a hard time selling to distributors or getting a good deal for the rights to the work itself. Gmmtv more than likely didn't have the contract on lock for world rights which are different from domestic rights to a property. Distribution deals are complex and have a lot of factors involved.

While I think it's stupid of Netflix to not snag Semantic Error for a distribution deal - tho they did snag Heaven's Official Blessing as did Crunchyroll - that speaks more to corporate execs not seeing the monetary benefit in queer media (especially lower budget queer media) more than Japan being a scary isolationist country.

Look man, I'm not trying to be pendeja, but I twitch hard when it comes to grandiose generalized statements that spread misinformation.

Japan has a hugely diverse and interesting cinema history, as a country it's industry has had one of the most notable and vast impacts on cinema globally. It didn't achieve that by being stagnant imo

but idk man maybe I'm wrong and Japan has been stuck in a crystalized state for a 1000 like Link in Breath of the Wild

Hi fave bl encyclopedia ❤️

So my question is about Japanese bl, like I don’t understand it! Please help 😭

So I know japan is like the motherland of yaoi and they pretty much started it all, and they make some pretty graphic and explicit bls ( which is not my cup of tea tbh), but then they also have shows like cherry magic and keita and the most recent KEI X YAKU (I am watching this one rn, and I actually like it so very much) but for the life of me I can’t figure out why these shows are made with zero intimacy between the main couple, not even a simple innocent kiss?!

are these shows considered more mainstream? Are the yaoi only allowed in fandom space? And not in mainstream media?

Just why are these shows made the way they are?

Don’t get me wrong CM and KH are two of my absolute favorite bls of all times, but I still don’t get just… WHY?

Hi! 

The Weeds of Japanese BL 

So I am going to go off of this blog post on the history of Japanese BL and yaoi and only bother to repeat myself if strictly necessary. 

Top 10 BLs Out of Japan - top 10 plus history of BL (part 1 in the series on the history of BL)

Otherwise there would be a lot of rehash. 

So my question is about Japanese bl, like I don’t understand it. Please help! 

So have you read the above post? Because if you haven’t reading that will at least give you some kind of foundation for your understandable confusion.

But part of most people’s misunderstanding over Japanese BL actually has to do with the nature of Japanese cinema. 

Here’s the thing, the Japanese have a very specific taste to their cinema. They have a style and lens that they stick to and (with a few noted exceptions) they pretty much haven’t deviated since the 1950s.

In film style there’s atmospheric (cinematic and sweeping, think Kurosawa) vs live action manga (think cartoonish + sound effects, stylized framing and staging techniques meets slapstick). 

In yaoi there’s light (sweet, clean, bright, airy) vs dark (erotic, serious, gritty, rough). 

In the sexual sphere there's prudish & chaste vs kinky & explicit. 

Everything seems to be bifurcated in Japan. Now, on a very few occasions they can tread the line between the lanes, and borrow bits and pieces from different approaches, but most of the time they stick to those lanes pretty cleanly. 

I can’t figure out why these shows are made with zero intimacy between the main couple, not even a simple innocent kiss

Generally speaking, the shows that are very light very sweet and very bright, cartoony, with lots of slapstick elements will have little to no sexual contact at all: so Cherry, Mix Up, Ossan, Same Difference, Mr Unlucky, Our Dining Table to fall into this category.

They'll owe a lot more to Shōnen-ai (which is turn has a lot to do with Bildungsroman) which means it's more gentle and tends to be a journey of self discovery for the uke - undertaken by younger characters (or younger acting/seeming innocents), and thus (like YA) much less sexualized.

(I am not going to comment on KEI X YAKU since I didn’t watch it because it appears to be a bromance.) 

are these shows considered more mainstream? 

Sort of, it’s more that they’re just considered a different category. Like how USA draws a distinction between the amount of sexual content that is allowed in a sitcom versus a soap opera. Similar kinds of topics, frameworks, filming style, and target demographics dealt with, but expectations around nudity and sexuality are way different. Different air times and lengths too. 

This doesn’t seem weird to me because I grew up with soaps vs sitcoms. But if I step outside of my upbringing, it’s odd right? The nature of the sexual content is so different, but they’re mostly both family dramas with a ton of romance. And then the “late night” (read sitcom timeslot) soaps came along kinda blending the two. Ah... the 90s. 

Where was I? 

Okay so, why are they different? Because Japan thinks of them differently. 

Another thing to know about the Japanese film industry? 

They take little to no interest in or guidance/feedback from the international market. They do not care. Their attitude, when something like Cherry Magic does well outside of Japan is... oh do the internationals like that one? How quaint. That’s special. Should we consider... distribution? A second season? *yawn* how tiresome.

Which is why a JBL will drop locally, get mad pirating and illegal subs and such, and then about half way through suddenly show up on a distribution platform like Viki or GaGa pretending it has always been there.

Can you sense my frustration? This is why backlist is so hard to get hold of too. But it KEEPS happening. 

Like Japan just forgets about us.

Which is probubly because THEY DO. 

Japan cares about their own internal market interest and style way way WAY more than any other BL producing country. (I would argue including Mainland China.) 

Japan respects Japan’s taste.  

PERIOD. 

End of discussion. 

Look at the HAIR.

I rest my case. 

When I talk about the fact that Japan has an unchangingly firm point of view? This is what I mean. 

Set your expectations based on what Japan has done in the past, because that is what they will do in the future.

You will never be disappointed. They will hold steadfast to their traditions, the good, the slapstick, and the kinky. 

Are the yaoi only allowed in fandom space? 

Cherry Magic I would call both mainstream, popular, and live action yaoi. 

Plenty of yaoi of this type (and back in the day) has very little on page kissing (or anything else for that matter), either. There is a whole sub-genre of sweet, or even clean, yaoi. Which is not to say it didn’t piss me off that they couldn’t actually kiss in Cherry Magic. Especial with that elevator fake out and the dead fish kiss from the side dishes. Very disappointing. 

Might be expense involved. Talent ain’t cheep in Japan, might be too costly to have them kiss. 

Or they just being coy teases about it. 

Basically they brats, and we in a non-con kink relationship where they promise but never deliver kisses in some kind of weird passive aggressive D/s dynamic. Also, VERY Japanese.  

Oh shit, my dating trauma is showing. 

Ignore that last bit. 

Just why are these shows made the way they are? Don’t get me wrong CM and KH are two of my absolute favorite bls of all times, but I still don’t get just… WHY? 

I know it is super frustrating. I would like it if they just put at least one kiss in there too. 

Here’s the thing: I happen to like Japan’s lanes, even as I am frustrated by them. Because when they do it well, they are square root of it all. 

Get it???

SQUARE root? 

Because, ya know, no kisses = so square. 

Okay I’m pushing it. 

But also the other lane gives us kisses = great = MURDER DEATH MUTILATION!!!! 

Oh, Japan. 

Here’s some interesting stats on Japanese ‘s BL (or more properly LAY - live action yaoi) for you: 

As of early 2022, there’s still only about 55 of them. 

High heat erotic LAY & pinks: 21 

Light cheerful LAY in which there is little to no kissing, or it’s very dead fishy: 21 

LAY that managed to be very yaoi but actually strike a balance between the two: 12 (and I include all the Takumi-kuns in here and they seriously might not qualify because... Takumi) 

I just did the count for this post and it’s wild how even the split was. 

(I’m missing some and not all are really BL, but with a sample of only 50+ it’s not really statistically viable anyway). 

If you want to really understand how Japan adapts yaoi you should delve into Love Stage!!: 

Read the yaoi manga 

Watch the anime 

Watch the Japanese live action adaptation 

Watch Thai BL adaptation

It’s a pretty informative experience. Tells you a lot about Japan’s relationship to the industry and genre that they started and how yaoi is treated differently in the different mediums. 

But honestly, the answer to your question is gonna really frustrate you. 

This is all just Japan being Japan, and it’s the way they approach BL. Because it’s the way Japan approaches cinema. 

Because, in the end, even if we call it BL, Japan is always going to do LAY, and that is kind of its own creature. The starter to the sour dough, not the bread that results. 

Because Japan is always going to pick their lanes and stick to 'em. 

Having said that, here’s some LAY that actually manages to have all of the things we expect from BL including kisses! 

Seven Days  

Given 

Life: Love on the Line

Restart After Come Back Home AKA Risutato wa tadaima no ato de

Utsukushii Kare AKA My Beautiful Man

That last one is absolutely amazing. See me lose my tiny mind over it and how it manages to be SO yaoi and SO Japanese and SO WONDERFUL despite everything. Or perhaps BECAUSE of everything. 

Utsukushii Kare is a BL that actually no other country could make. It’s PURE uncut Japanese live action yaoi and it’s AMAZING partly because of that. 

Mr. Unlucky (AKA Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai!) is an interesting test. 

I, and many other aficionados of LAY, expect it to have no kissing. But it’s already odd in that it got its distribution sorted before it started airing. Like a goddamn adult. This is confusingly un-Japanese of it.  

If Japan produces this as a slapstick comedy, in the vein of Kieta Hatsukoi (AKA My Love Mix Up), but it actually has decent kiss like Utsukushii Kare? It means Japan, whether it likes it or not, is finally being influenced by the popularity of Korean & Thai BL. 

But if it doesn’t give good kiss, it means they are still sticking to their established traditions. 

And this being Japan, my money is on the later. 

Let’s see how much crow I eat in a month.

More on Japanese cinema here.

(source)

[thebookdragonshoard]

August Reading Recap

I read 8 books this month, here they are in order and with ratings + short thoughts. ✨

No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai

5/5 ⭐️ - A long, beautifully written suicide note and introspection to the human condition. I originally picked this book up because of Bungou Stray Dogs and now I’m so glad I did. This book sucker punched me, stole my glasses, and called me a little bitch. Yozo Oba’s struggles with his own humanity, or his believed lack thereof, rang a little too true in my heart. I loved the cynicism Dazai was able to write with while also keeping this poignant. After researching Dazai’s past a bit after finishing this book. I cried. Will definitely be rereading this book again, it’s one of my all-time favorites.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

4.5/5⭐️ - This was my first time reading The Hunger Games, despite being 20yo and this book being a staple in the lives of many in my generation. I only wish I read it sooner. Panem being based on the American Government, the muttations at the very end of the games (seriously wtf), Peeta’s leg. My jaw was on the floor.

The Nature of Witches - Rachel Griffin

4/5⭐️ - I read this in one sitting. I was falling into a reading slump and this book dragged me right out of it. I enjoyed how the main character’s personality and outlook would change with each season as her powers shifted. A very good fall read, in my opinion. I also enjoyed how this book was a commentary on climate change and the effect humans are having on the world.

The Setting Sun - Osamu Dazai

5/5⭐️ - Another five star read for the month. courtesy of Osamu Dazai. once again. He is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. The snake analogy in this book. I am STILL thinking about it a week and a half later. I again love the cynical despair Dazai is capable of portraying while also making this a book that can speak to people of multiple backgrounds, regardless of class. age, gender, or even era. It’s a book that had an impact nearly 80 years ago, and it’s a book that still has an impact now.

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

4/5⭐️ - The fig tree analogy kidnapped me, threw me in the trunk of its car, ran over said car with a monster truck, and then tossed the wreckage into the Mariana Trench. Great read that gives insight into the uncertainty of life, especially as a young woman, and the distorted views of the world that can lead to. One girl’s struggle with her place in the world and what she’ll do with her life accompanied by her experience in an asylum and receiving electroshock therapy. However, the ending did leave me a bit unsatisfied with how abrupt and open-ended it was. I have more thoughts on the fig tree analogy posted on my feed, if you’re interested.

Rashomon and Other Stories - Ryunoske Akutagwa

3.5/5⭐️ - Not going to lie. this was a bit of a let down. I’m not usually a short stories kind of girl, but I picked this up because of Bungou Stray Dogs. For the most part, this collection of short stories didn’t have much that stood out to me, but the stories inside are still enjoyable. I found them enjoyable, relatively easy-to-digest short stories and while I admittedly didn’t understand the underlying concept for some of them, I enjoyed them nonetheless. I particularly liked In A Grove and The Martyr (poor Lorenzo.)

Good Girl, Bad Blood - Holly Jackson

3.5/5⭐️ - If you’ve seen my previous posts, it should come as no shocker that I’m not a huge fan of this series. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that it’s bad! I found it to be an enjoyable read, but I only really started getting into when the plot twist rolled around in the last 50 pages or so. I think all the hype for this series, and this book, gave me such high expectations that the reality didn’t quite compare. However, I did read the American version. We love Stanley Forbes though and that was certainly a tear-jerker.

Seraphina - Rachel Hartman

5/5⭐️ -Once again, another five star read! I love dragons, hence the blog name. And this book was such a unique take on dragons in fantasy that I found it quite refreshing! This book quickly sucked me in and had me falling for the characters in less than 400 pages. Court politics, forbidden love, music, and draconian governments. Plus, a look into the complexities, intricacies, and maladies of emotions. And just how human are they?

✨bonus review✨

I couldn’t finish this post without also including a review for the sequel to Seraphina, which I started the first day of September and finished tonight.

Shadow Scale - Rachel Hartman

5/5⭐️ - Are we surprised by this rating? Well, we shouldn’t be. Once again: dragon lover. With the sequel go Seraphina, we get to dive further into the world of draconian politics and explore the world this wonderful duology is set in. Another thing this book does well is the representation and diversity amongst the characters. SPOILER: There’s even a dash of polyamory sprinkled in with the main character, and as a fellow polyam, this made my heart SOAR. This duology has thoroughly enamoured me and I will never regret spending the $4 at the thrift store to purchase them both. By far my favorite thrifted books to date.

[sofarraway]

The Rashomon effect: when the same event is described in significantly different—often contradictory—ways.

It's pretty clear how things ended in the webtoon. But not really in the live-action adaptation. After all, it doesn't make sense that Seo Moonjo said almost the exact same words twice. They couldn't both be real, nor could they both be hallucinations. One had to be real, while the other had to be a mere hallucination—which was practically Jongwoo's attempt to lie to himself. Just like what they said in the Rashomon, "It's human to lie. Most of the time we can't even be honest with ourselves." So Jongwoo hunted down everyone else there, killed them one by one. Then went back to the 4th floor, where Moonjo and unconscious Jieun waited. He freaked out when he realized that he, too, enjoyed killing. Moonjo touched his neck, praised him, and then left him there. To his broken mind, to him hallucinating—and that's when Jieun regained her consciousness, witnessing her boyfriend got lost into his own delusion. Nevertheless, I have to emphasize here that Jongwoo never tried to trick his mind into believing that Moonjo killed all those residents. He was fully aware of what he's doing, and even thrilled when he did it. The only thing he was hallucinating about was him killing Moonjo. Because in his mind, killing him was the only way to end this madness. The only way to 'save himself'.

With the theory above, everything would be in line. Everything would make perfect sense. Except for the facts that the detective practically announced Moonjo's death to the thug, and for Officer Soh's reaction when she saw Moonjo at the hospital *sigh in delusional*. (Well she seemed so sure it was just hallucination. Besides, that's not how a police supposed to react to seeing a fugitive, wasn't it)

So I guess it's the other way around: the killing was real, and the living and breathing Moonjo that Jongwoo saw when they're in the torturing room was hallucination. But that doesn't really fit into the puzzles, in my opinion. Because Moonjo's hair was wet when Jongwoo killed him (while Jongwoo's hair was supposed to be the wet one, since he was the one who went to the rooftop). It doesn't make sense that Officer Soh hallucinated about him either, she was mostly assaulted by Nambok instead of Moonjo. She's not traumatized enough—at least not by Moonjo—to hallucinate him.

If I want to keep my delusions, I can say that the detectives lied to the thug to make sure he told them nothing but the truth. I can say that they also didn't tell Officer Soh that Moonjo survived because they didn't want to involve her even further into the case. I can also say that the police filtered the information that went to the media about a fugitive running lose. But all those would be too... irresponsible to be real? Haha.

And if I really really really want to keep my delusions... I can say that both versions of the event only happened in Jongwoo's head (especially considering what happened in the webtoon). Sksksks halluciception skakjdheuf.

[365days365movies]

31 (Films) to Life: End of Year Round-Up I

Well, here we are: the start of another year of movies!

Geez, 2022 was interesting. Changed up the format from doing daily films and monthly genres, and focused mostly on films in one genre: crime. Aimed for 31 films, and out of that goal hit...24. Which, honestly, not too shabby. Didn't get as many reviews out as intended, but that is honestly OK. Was a busy-as-hell year for me, so I'm pretty well satisfied.

So, what did I see last year, exactly? Well, this post is about to be a round-up, which includes the films I wrote about, and the ones I didn't get the chance to. And at the end, I'll get into my plans for 2023. So, before I hit the "Keep Reading" button, here's the full list of crime films I saw in 2022.

M (1931); directed by Fritz Lang

The Maltese Falcon (1941); directed by John Huston

The Third Man (1949); directed by Carol Reed

Rashomon (1950); directed by Akira Kurosawa

The Killing (1956); directed by Stanley Kubrick

Cool Hand Luke (1967); directed by Stuart Rosenberg

The Italian Job (1969); directed by Peter Collinson

The Godfather (1972); directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Chinatown (1974); directed by Roman Polanski)

Dog Day Afternoon (1975); directed by Sidney Lumet

Taxi Driver (1976); directed by Martin Scorcese

Scarface (1983); directed by Brian de Palma

Once Upon a Time in America (1984); directed by Martin Scorcese

Thelma and Louise (1991); directed by Ridley Scott

Reservoir Dogs (1992); directed by Quentin Tarantino

Casino (1995); directed by Martin Scorcese

Heat (1995); directed by Michael Mann

The Usual Suspects (1995); directed by Bryan Singer

L.A. Confidential (1997); directed by Curtis Hanson

American Psycho (2000); directed by Mary Harron

Catch Me if You Can (2002); directed by Stephen Spielberg

Monster (2003); directed by Patty Jenkins

The Departed (2006); directed by Martin Scorcese

Zodiac (2007); directed by David Fincher

And there you have it! Now, this upcoming short set of summaries (behind the Keep Reading wall) may be a little too long for one post, so we'll split it up a little bit. But in any case, let's get this started!

M (1931), dir. Fritz Lang - 92%

This one, you can check out my full recap and essay about if you're curious, but here's the summary: I loved this movie. Lorre's brilliant as the titular killer, the simple story is well-constructed and effective, the ending is beautiful, and the film as a whole is so impactful. Direction and shot composition is top-notch, the sound and music usage is genuinely revolutionary (having essentially invented the leitmotif), and while it's not the most iconic-looking film, it's still brilliant. PLEASE check this movie out if you haven't already.

The Maltese Falcon (1941), dir. John Huston - 92%

Holy shit, I forgot I tried writing that whole review in noir-speak. Anyway, here's another classic film that I really like! Haven't seen many noir films, especially prior to this year, but this was a great one to start with. Definitely the prototypical noir detective movie, complete with Bogart's private eye, Astor's dangerous love interest, and the twists and turns that come with the genre. Beautifully shot, excellent plot and writing, wonderful music, and great acting. No complaints; check this one out.

The Third Man (1949); dir. Carol Reed - 96%

Holy shit, this movie! Absolutely my favorite Orson Welles performance, and that very much includes Citizen Kane. He's extremely good in this movie, which is a sort of non-traditional noir in a number of ways. The cast is perfect, from Cotten to Valli to Howard to Welles (especially the last one). Plot is perfect, and contains more twists than I know what to do with. Directing is great, if a little overly-tilted at times. Production and art design is beautiful. Music is...a lot of zither music. It's...it's a LOT of zither music. As I'm typing this, the score is BACK IN MY HEAD, and I haven't seen this film in 10 months. Let that shit sink in. And yeah, watch this movie, ASAP, please. You won't regret it, I promise you that.

Rashomon (1950); dir. Akira Kurosawa - 100%

It's a perfect movie. A trope-maker, and revolutionary film in its own right, this movie...dear shit, this fuckin' movie. No words. Nothing needed. Just trust me when I say watch this film immediately. It's stellar. Man, I hit a lot of bangers early on this year.

The Killing (1956); dir. Stanley Kubrick - 90%

First of all, before anything else...fuck Sherry. And secondly, this movie is a great one, too. Still have more Kubrick movies to watch, but this one was absolutely worth it. Nail-biting and anxiety-inducing, yes, but also with one of the strongest plots I've seen thus far this year. A fantastic heist movie, it's only real weak points are a kinda normal production and art design, and sorta forgettable music. Other than that, it's an amazing film that people don't talk about. And, honestly, they really should. Check this one out if you're into heist movies and classic films!

Cool Hand Luke (1967); dir. Stuart Rosenberg - 90%

First one of these I didn't post a review on! And honestly...yeah, I'm OK with that. This Paul Newman vehicle is complicated to describe. On one hand, it's an interesting character study full of interesting characters. Newman's Luke is a great example of a rebellious character forced to face consequences for his actions, only to revert to his original nature, Frog and the Scorpion style. It's technically a trope-originator in that way, or at least a major trope-definer. And with a number of interesting supporting characters, especially George Kennedy's Dragline and Struther Martin's Captain, this is a surprisingly memorable movie...in some ways.

But it also...isn't that memorable? Don't get me wrong, there are a number of moments that come to mind in my head, as well as some shots and compositions that are great (the sunglasses of the Captain come to mind immediately), but it's also not exactly Lawrence of Arabia. Rosenberg and Hall are fantastic as director and cinematographer, for sure, but not always the most memorable and iconic. Also...there's the car wash scene. Like, I get the point of that scene, but it definitely cuts through the tone in a way that puts a weird taste in my mouth. Is it an effective scene for what it's trying to do? Um...yeah. Very, very much so. Possibly TOO much, in fact. And I realize that this is a huge nitpick that shouldn't make me give points off for editing, but it speaks to a weirdly inconsistent tone in some places. That scene isn't the only example of that, is all I'm saying. Still, excellent film, check it out if you're into prison movies.

The Italian Job (1969); dir. Peter Collinson - 92%

Holy shit, this movie is fun! I genuinely love this film so much, even if it has its flaws here and there. Other than being a movie that was absolutely made at the cusp of the 1970s, it's one of the most British heist films I've ever seen. And that's not a bad thing in the slightest, believe me. But, it may be an acquired taste for some. But that said, here are the main things to know. This is a British heist film that stars Michael Caine and features a lot of car tricks, as well as one of the most iconic film endings of all time. And that about covers it. Michael Caine is the most Michael Caine you'll ever see him, and if you ever wondered why he was cast as Austin Powers' father in Goldmember, this movie will make you understand why. Supporting cast is also very good, but everyone takes a passenger seat to the car stunts, which are some of the best care stunts I've ever seen on film. If you want Ocean's Eleven with cars, this is the movie for you. Love this one.

The Godfather (1972); dir. F. F. Coppola - 100%

Cliché? Absolutely. The obvious choice to praise universally? For sure. The most mainstream, boring, dull, basic bitch film I could possibly like? Yeah. Yeah. BUT I DON'T GIVE A SHIT, BECAUSE IT'S FLAWLESS. Even if I didn't think this movie was essentially perfect, there isn't really anything I can say was wrong with this movie, in my inexperienced opinion. Cast and acting? Perfect. Plot and writing? Twisted and perfect. Direction? Iconic and perfect. Production design? Immersive and perfect. Music and editing? I CAN HEAR THE THEME SONG RIGHT FUCKING NOW, THIS MOVIE IS PERFECT. And you gotta understand, I put off watching this movie for YEARS because I thought it was gonna be boring. And then, I watched it. And post watching it? It's amazing. Watch. This. Movie. NOW.

Chinatown (1974); dir. Roman Polanski - 96%

...I saw a lot of good movies this year, OK? Look, this is also an excellent film, despite its reprehensible director. Just divorce the art from the artist and all that, and go into this movie completely blind if you haven't seen it. Taking it from me, it's essentially perfect. Only issues I had were that the Production Design wasn't particularly distinctive, and the music was mostly forgettable after the fact. And those were nitpicks. Watch this movie!

Dog Day Afternoon (1975); dir. Sidney Lumet - 90%

Did...did I watch a bad movie this year? I mean...yeah, I did. Black Adam sucked. And, like...Violent Night was...well, no, I liked Violent Night. Ooh, I was forced to watch Minions 2: The Rise of Gru, which was mediocre at best! I...OK, OK, look, you've heard this before at this point, but...watch this movie, OK? Another heist film, based on a true story this time, as well as being a benchmark in LGBTQ film representation, this film is a great one. Maybe I didn't like an acting performance, maybe the plot wasn't perfectly accurate to real life, maybe the cinematography wasn't always iconic, and maybe it could've used literally any music...but it's a great movie. Watch it.

Taxi Driver (1976); dir. Martin Scorcese - 90%

The "good movie" train keeps chugging forward with this one, because yeah...Taxi Driver is also fantastic. Truly one of the best character dissections I've ever seen, as well as a fascinating look at one of the most dangerous and crime-ridden environments in American history, Scorcese makes a really morally complicated film with...well, frankly, troubling consequences and implications. I didn't put out a review on this one (sorry, got stuck in the wasteland that is my Drafts page), but this film was partially responsible for Reagan getting shot, fun fact. And that may be because the shooter partially identified with Travis Bickle, who is a troubled and fascinating character. And for the record, the rest of this is fantastic as well, but De Niro's Bickle and Scorcese's NYC are the most prominent and most important parts of this movie. Love this one, too. Watch this film if you like character dissections!

Scarface (1983); dir. Brian de Palma - 90%

OK, so...is this the most stereotypical college-age dumb jock poster-in-the-dorm-room movie in the fucking world? Yeah. Yeah, it really is. But is it a great movie despite that? I mean...holy shit, yeah, it's a very good movie. Sure, Italian actor Al Pacino playing a Cuban immigrant is a weird casting choice that's aged poorly in today's sociopolitical landscape...but he's also really fucking good at it. Seriously. Over the top, absolutely, but an extremely enjoyable watch all the same. Watching him slide into depravity and chaos when he already started there is fascinating, and Pacino just EATS the movie with how hard he chews the scenery. Look...it's a fun fucking movie to watch, and that's not even talking about the iconic lines, the supporting cast, the well-structured plot and story, the iconic costumes, and every other enjoyable part of this ride of a movie. I resisted watching Scarface for a LONG time, because I associated it with college-age fuckbois, but...shit, it's a good movie. Watch it if you haven't seen it.

OK, lemme pause here. Part Two coming next!

[chalkrevelations]

So, Word of Honor, Episode 36 (and “Episode” 37) again, because I want to do a little bit more unpacking of this, particularly with some of the extra material and information that people have been able to point me to.

Spoilers, obvs. For right now, I mainly want to pull out this bit of my initial reaction to 36 & 37, because I think it remains a key point for me:

It would be nice, though, if the connective tissue from 36 to 37 made any sense. Or existed whatsoever. Just, like, throw me a bone, show, some kind of explicit hand-waviness that actually gets mentioned for why Ye Baiyi apparently was not as smart as he thought he was and didn’t really know what he was talking about when he was doomsaying about how one of the pair will surely, oh surely perish. None of this “Sooooo, they managed to figure out the technique and master it?” from some random shidi who never actually gets an answer. I mean, the door was left open for fanwankery on this one, with what looks to be a very last-minute conceit of all this being a story told by grown-up Chengling to his disciples, which begs the question of how much of what he’s telling them is totally accurate, given any number of issues …

I do feel like there’s an interesting meta thing going on here, in that the entire show has been about – let’s be honest, it was never really about the plot – queer-coding this couple in ways that supposedly fly enough under the radar that people can handwave them as Just Good Friends and Brothers (I mean, I guess) with a Bury Your Gays tragic ending (ugh) for good measure. And Chengling is telling a story in-universe that seems to conform to some of this same formula. And yet, we all know well and good that these guys were husbands … So are we supposed to carry the same assurance out of the show, on a meta level, that what appears to be happening in the story at the end of Ep 36 – what we discover we’re learning through Chengling’s story-telling, isn’t really the truth? Just, look: While we’re getting the Good Friends and Brothers push, there’s stuff like obvious voice-over work that doesn’t match the much more queer version of what the actors actually said, which is apparently blazingly clear to any viewers who know Mandarin and can manage to lip-read. The show has literally put de-queered words into these characters’ mouths. You can’t trust what you hear. But apparently the show has also made this obvious enough that, if you’re a good enough speaker of the language the show is being told in, and you have a good enough eye, you can see what is actually going on. Are we being taught to trust our eyes more than our ears, are we being told that what we’re being told – by the end of Ep 36 on a meta level, by Ye Baiyi-through-Chengling’s-story on an in-universe level, and by what we learn about what happened from Chengling’s story, itself, also on an in-universe level – is inherently untrustworthy, but that if we “speak the language” of this show well enough, and have a good enough eye, we can decode it and see what “actually” happened and is later made explicit in Ep 37? 

So, that’s a lot, but the reason I wanted to pull it back out is because I feel like this no-homo, surface-level, smoke-and-mirrors effect that gets layered over a queer bedrock of “reality” is precisely what the show did with its ending, and I want to approach that on a couple of different levels. Particularly since I’ve seen several reactions from other people who didn’t seem to have seen/didn’t have access to the extra of “Ep” 37, or who also found it difficult and vaguely unsatisfying to make the leap from Ep 36 to full belief in, and commitment to, “Ep” 37.

When I first posted this, I was really leaning on the idea of a classic Rashomon effect, given that we see – imho – a final Zhou Zishu/Wen Kexing scene in Ep 36 that’s filmed to lead us to believe that Wen Kexing died, with a subsequent cut to Zhang Chengling wrapping up a telling of the “story” of ZZS and WKX to his disciples. The easiest fanwank on this is that all of what we’ve seen so far has been Chengling telling the story of ZZS and WKX to his disciples, making him an unreliable narrator who in fact doesn’t know the truth of what really happened. I was actually reminded of the contrast in The Untamed (god, I don’t need to warn for spoilers for The Untamed, do I, we’ve all seen Chen Qing Ling at this point, right? Anyway, SPOILERS FOR THE UNTAMED) between the cliff scene in Episode 1 when they make it look like Jiang Cheng stabbed Wei Wuxian, leading to his fall off the cliff, and you go back later and realize this is the version that the storyteller was telling to the people in the teahouse vs. Episode, god, what is it, 33? When we see the cliff scene in “real” time, and discover that’s not what actually happened, that what happened is that Jiang Cheng stabbed a rock and Wei Wuxian shook himself free of Lan Wangji’s grip to fall to his death. You can’t trust what you hear. Also … well, we’ll get back to Chengling in a minute.

The second level of uncertainty to unwind is Gao Xiaolian calling bs on Chengling’s story. So, I felt like the kid who’s practicing his forms in the snow and being coached by ZZS in “Ep” 37 might actually be someone, not just a random kid, and that might be important, but I could not for the life of me figure out who he might be. I wasn’t aware until I watched some of AvenueX’s wrap-up of the show (I think that’s the first place I heard this info pointed out) that this kid is supposed to be the son of Gao Xiaolian and Deng Kuan, and the dad who comes to take him home is Deng Kuan (formerly Da-shixiong of Yueyang Sect, who – let’s face it – Gao Xiaolian really wanted to marry). Seriously, I spent so much time making fun of ZZS’s stupid facial hair tricks in this show, and then they actually do just put a dumbass mustache on a guy, and I completely don’t recognize him. I have to admit, the mustache threw me enough that I had no idea that was Deng Kuan (well, and maybe only seeing him for three episodes also helped). But if that’s Deng Kuan, and if the kid is his and Gao Xiaolian’s son, then she would have some reasonable standing to know a story detailing WKX’s death was bs.

 Finally, and most crucially – thanks to everyone who directed me to resources (including AvenueX and other fans who were able to do some translation) who were able to talk about the voiceover work in this final ep, because when I talk about how you can’t trust what you hear, but if you speak the language well enough and have a good enough eye, you can catch what’s really going on? When I talk about de-queered words being put into these character’s mouths? Apparently, this is what happens to Chengling in the final scene. That last scene - and the story he tells his disciples - apparently DOES provide the connective tissue from Ep 36 to Ep 37, but you can’t trust what you hear. Apparently, this is one of the places where you can see something different from what you hear if you’re able to lip-read, with Chengling telling the disciples something much closer to the idea that two people who love each other equally can equally support each other through this cultivation technique and both come out alive.

In the AvenueX discussion of this (Livestream #21, starting around 1:22:30), there’s an additional tidbit about the use of the word “cauldron” – I believe by Ye Baiyi - to describe one person in the pair, a word with a specific and widely-understood meaning within the genre that’s not necessarily known outside of the genre with, yes, sexual connotations. (Come on, slash fans, don’t tell me you don’t giggle every time you pass a perfectly innocent Jiffy Lube auto shop, at something that the mundanes don’t think twice about.) Apparently, “cauldron” is in the script, I believe it’s in the English subs, and it apparently was in the original Chinese subs, until too many people started talking about it and how it had been slipped past censorship, because it’s a perfectly common Jiffy Lube auto shop, right? and then it appears Youku went back and changed the character in the Chinese subs to something that doesn’t even make any sense. So again, we get an example of a case where if you’re a good enough speaker of the language this show is being told in – in this case the vernacular of wuxia – with a good enough eye, you can catch what’s really going on. Something that then gets no-homo’d. And has some nonsensical de-queered meaning laid over top of it. How many times do we have to do this until we learn the lesson that you can’t trust what you hear?

 ANYWAY, I’m wondering if the visuals are important, too: Something we see in the last scene with ZZS and WKX in Ep 36, when WKX is either unconscious or dead (CLEARLY UNCONSCIOUS), is that ZZS – twice – doesn’t let WKX’s hands fall. He catches him by the wrists and then catches him again by the hands as WKX’s hands start to slip away from ZZS’s hands – aaaannnnd end scene. I have to wonder if that’s not a subtle but important detail, that we see ZZS refusing to let WKX physically slip away, and maybe, by implication, refusing to let WKX slip away from him into death.

Also, again with Ye Baiyi – in the flashback when WKX is yelling at ZZS, Ye Baiyi says “No one dies!” as he comes bursting into WKX’s sickroom. And then even reiterates it – “No one dies before me!” But then the voiceover during the qi transfer, he’s supposedly going on about here’s how WKX is going to have to kill himself to save his husband? I think the script has dropped the ball in a few places, but that would really be a tremendous flub. That also deserves some unpacking, but I’m running out of free time right now.

So, just some additional thoughts. I will probably have more, but next up, I think, will be a re-watch from the beginning.

One last thought, tho’: What’s the likelihood that Nian Xiang is Actual A-Xiang and Goa Xiaolian’s/Deng Kuan’s kid is Cao Weining, reincarnated?

[leia-organaa]

thank you so much for being so supportive during this whole fiasco. the overwhelming negativity against KSH here on tumblr is hurting me very much i mean i tried really hard to be neutral on the situation because it really does seem nothing more than a relationship that soured which is a very human and very natural experience but its so hard to log onto this website without being exposed to such stark one-sided opinions.

obviously neither party is a saint: purity culture is part of the problem but what bothers me about reactions on tumblr are that we're constantly talking about making mistakes and learning to forgive ourselves despite them and the dramas we watch deal with this constantly but when it comes to applying these morals to real life we judge so hard so fast it's nauseating really.

im not even saying KSH was the complete victim here. im not even going to talk about the whole believe the victim but only when she's a woman hypocrisy. obviously he has overwhelming influence and power and let's say for the sake of argument that entire dispatch article was fabricated in his favour due to said influence and power. let's say he did treat her badly. but are we really going to ignore forgiveness as a virtue? are we really not gonna let him move on? are we really going to look at his mistakes and continue to let them define the rest of his personality? we only talk about believing in second chances but never act on those beliefs. we really are the best lawyers for ourselves and the best judges for others.

the whole would you believe in a potential liar or potential abuser argument is so messed up in so many ways because it downplays the effects of just how much lies have the potential to harm someone. so its always better to stay neutral in such situations or just take a step back if you cant make sense of it but taking a stance and judging outright is never the answer.

i really truly pray for both the girl who has been hurt by what she had to go through and what she is currently going through - she's dealing with a lot too because of one lapse in judgement and an inflammatory post even after she's apologised for it. and also for KSH who's lost so much he's worked for so fast. the real perpetrator in this entire story is neither one of them, it's us who overpower both of them in number and use our harsh words to trash them over something private that didn't deserve our judgement or even our attention in the first place.

im just so sick and tired of all the anger on my dash i feel like deleting my account because i can't deal with it anymore but thank you for being bold enough to talk about it on your blog and taking the time to read all the word vomit here i mean i had to take it out somewhere and your blog seemed like a safe space so im sorry if this bothered you but i hope youre doing better than i am.

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to reach out. I agree with this 10000%. I noticed that people here immediately jump to conclusions and judge others based on one singular event, without complete context and background. I think it’s okay and even good that people immediately listen to victims — but I also think it’s important to not immediately condemn, and to know all facts before passing judgment. You do not have to cancel or condemn at the onset in order to support someone.

I think the KSH case is highly illustrative too of people’s biases. Whether or not you’re a fan, once you hear two sides, it would be natural for you to take a step back and think. There’s that classic Japanese film — Rashomon — that shows that there’s always different sides to every story, and you’d think people understand this. But no, unfortunately people (especially here on Tumblr) are stubborn, and refuse to reassess initial sentiments towards a situation because such reassessments affect their beliefs and world views. And you’re right. People here ignore the fact that he apologized, and she accepted his apology. That’s what matters — it’s not up to us, all these outsiders and onlookers, what we think. What matters is that they settled their problems. It’s not up to us to judge them.

Both parties have been thrust into the spotlight over and over again because the media there loves milking things til they’re bone dry. People on Tumblr don’t seem to realize how vicious Korean media can be — how easily they can paint one side as a villain with their mere choice of words. Yellow journalism is real, and exaggerated celebrity scandals are common.

I really do hope that this whole issue dies down soon. He’s an amazing actor, and he has brought a lot of joy and comfort to people in these trying times. He deserves a break, but more than that he deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt, even (and maybe especially) with his silence.

[caldera1000-7]

Not a big post this time maybe a draft-post and pic/info dump before a continuation/long talk about it. But anyways:

We all should know Atsushi's motivations which stem from his past/hallucinations of the people who have impacted his life and haunt him somewhat. As his character got over it it changed from the Orphanage Headmaster to sometimes Akutagawa to Dazai. But most importantly I was focused on this hallucination (the guy in his mind which is technically created by himself so its kind of his own thoughts.)

"It all comes down to imagination. Every bit of it." "Your hypocritical goodwill, your childish imagination... You cannot understand anyone else. And this, you doom them."

And it was quite true, he has always been thinking of himself or "saving others" in order to keep his existence having meaning or relevance. His "saving others" is giving him not just a purpose or meaning but its also a mindset of "if I don't save them, then am I really allowed to live?" sounds...familiar. "If I don't defeat you, if I don't become stronger...I'll just go back to being something Dazai-san discarded." Yep. The 2 sides of the same coin. The Yin-Yang duo my favorite characters. Ahem, moving on. This was true because Atsushi as we have seen has been shown to be empathetic at times but mainly his drive when saving those people were selfish or stems from a place of if he doesn't then he is worthless. Now I know we all probably know this and how its similar to Ryuu's killing etc. etc. But Atsushi projecting his past self onto those he saves, also kind of shows how little he would come to understand them, and mainly just understanding they are in need of help like he was. The scene with Lucy when he threatened to let her and everyone else stay trapped in her room forever. The scene with Kyouka where he jumped out with her and the bomb. This selflessness has always been from a place of selfishness or at least thats what it seems like. His understanding of others...Well he seems to make quite a few assumptions mainly to Akutagawa, but we see how their views and respects for eachother change with time and learning.

The funniest part which I will still get to when I feel like writing a lot more...is the rashomon effect being used on Akutagawa as a character... Everyone seems to just have this "views" of him, thinking he has enough, that he is enough, that he IS strong, that he HAS status... when he thinks he doesnt have enough because of Dazai not acknowledging it and ever since Dazai said that Atsushi is better. People always seem to have this ideas about Akutagawa, these assumptions too, even with that scene with Margaret but I'll get there another day. Right now, Atsushi falls into those views of Akutagawa, even saying that he IS better than Akutagawa, assuming that he fights just to make others fear him. Its all "meaningless" (says the boy who fights an endless battle of self worth and saving others which essentially will end up the same as a life of killing others because both will make you fight endlessly to feel worthy of living - oh! Does that sound familiar? Remember Odasaku's words to Dazai... If they're both the same, at least saving people would make it a bit more beautiful isn't it?) Atsushi here is also deciding from himself that this may be meaningless, just deciding for someone else, truth or not, shows how little he bothers to understand others too. Akutagawa on the other hand could be on the assumptions side too though he is more envious on the fact Atsushi has all he has wanted and still dwells on the past. But after this interactions in the fight with Ivan and many after that... Akutagawa always tried understanding him more, and even during this scene before fighting Fritzgerald Akutagawa said he understood atsushi and it disgusted him. Akutagawa is a character of constant questions. Its always "Why me?" or "Why him?" or "Why do you fight?" always wondering and wanting to understand before he can decide. This was just a funny detail that contrasts their characters too in which Atsushi just hops to what he thinks and goes along with it if it saves people or himself. I really like them both. (Not as shipping, but in canon.)

[rintarous]

try again — a. ryuunosuke

SYNOPSIS | realizing nothing has changed between you and your ex, you thought it would be better if you two would just try again.

GENRE | ex to lovers!au, fluff, angst??

A/N | first piece for bsd omfg im shaking fr,,, takes place around dead apple time lmfao hhhhhh kyoka doesnt exist in this sooo ur ability is demon snow???? fuck i hate this so much lmfao also p.p.s this is my gif teehee ++ ty mal for beta-reading this HAHAHHA i will now [rest] after posting this cs i am: shy good day

“hurry up and go!” you hissed at atsushi who was struggling to turn off the safety on his gun while you were trying to fend off demon snow. atsushi lets out a yelp as he fumbles with his gun. before atsushi could pull the trigger, demon snow was shoved away by no one other than your ex, akutagawa ryuunosuke. 

akutagawa stands up from the ground with a huff. “akutagawa!” atsushi exclaims, aiming his gun towards the boy. akutagawa clears his throat, making brief eye contact with you. you stared at him with an uneasy expression on your face. it has been awhile since you last saw the boy you once loved.

“what a pathetic weapon” akutagawa deadpans, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat. “no pea shooter is going to have an effect on her” he emphasizes the last word, her, motioning to rashomon who seemed to have a mind of its own just like demon snow. just as rashomon struts in, you felt demon snow’s presence behind you.

before anyone could attack, the weretiger has pounced on rashomon, sending it to the other side of the street. “how amusing.” akutagawa comments, “let’s see who comes out on top” an amused smile on his face watching his ability take on his proclaimed enemy’s ability. 

“now isn’t the time for that!” atsushi interjects. as the two was about to start bickering in the middle of an ability battle, demon snow takes this chance to make a move on you. you easily blocked her katana with your knife just in time. 

“there should be a secret passage nearby for the mafia brass!” you managed to let out. akutagawa scowls, knowing you were right. “tsk. let’s go, jinko” he calls out to atsushi as he runs towards the restaurant. atsushi looked like he was deep in thought. whether or not to follow akutagawa or help you with fighting your own ability. 

“hey-” “just go! i’ll be there, i promise!” you cut him off, knowing how long he decides to make a decision. you manage to shove demon snow far back but she was quick on her feet. “all right..” atsushi then follows akutagawa. 

you bought yourself some time after sending demon snow flying. you immediately run towards the restaurant that had a secret passage and swiftly maneuver around the bar, barely managing to get inside the elevator and just before demon snow could get you, the doors closed. 

“phew” you huff, catching your breath. “tsk, how weak” you hear akutagawa comment. the air was thick and stuffy. it’s almost like you couldn’t breathe. it was pitch black in the box too, making the situation far more worse for you and akutagawa. you wanted to avoid him as soon as possible but with the given situation, you can’t. 

“this emergency passage was built in case for a gifted attack. the fog won’t reach us here” akutagawa states. hearing his voice again sorta made your heart ache. you truly missed him being around you at all times. 

“what is that fog?” atsushi asked. “dragon’s breath” you hear akutagawa reply.  you focused your attention on the buttons in front of you, not wanting to hear anything. trying to clear your head and getting a hold of yourself. you’re not gonna let some stupid boy change that. your mission is how to get your ability back and that was it. 

“y/n,” akutagawa calls. you felt your breath hitch hearing your name slip off his tongue like that. it felt like home to you almost. “with neither of us having abilities, you could finally kill me just like what you said that night” he says. emphasizing on the word ‘that’; reminding you of that painful night you’re sure you’ll never forget.

the night you two broke things off. the night you never thought would come in a million years. 

you didn’t utter a word and continued to stare at the buttons in front of you. akutagawa tilts his head to the side “what’s wrong?” he taunts. “don’t you have a score to settle with me?” his words laced in venom but you knew better. he was testing you. he was testing if you had the guts to kill him. 

atsushi scoffs, “y/n-chan doesn’t think of you anymore!” he butts in. akutagawa felt his heart drop when atsushi mentioned that. ‘have you moved on from me?’ was a question that asks himself repeatedly. his feeling of hurt instantly changed into anger. how dare this nobody speak for you.

“want to end this while we don’t have our abilities?” akutagawa challenges him. “stop right there” you interrupt the two boys, standing in between the two of them so they don’t start lashing out. you sent a look at atsushi before turning to akutagawa. “cut to the chase. do you know how to get our abilities back?” 

akutagawa lets out a chuckle. ‘what was so funny?’ you thought to yourself. “that’s the first thing you say to me in months?” he then clears his throat once more, “but yeah. i know a way” 

“what is it?” atsushi exclaims once more. “defeat the ability, it would come back to the owner” akutagawa shrugs. he looks at you then to atsushi, “are you that uninformed?” he rolls his eyes. you stare at his face for a bit. your heart racing as it seems like all your memories with him are crashing down on you. did you miss him this much? 

“what is your plan?” atsushi’s question bringing you back to reality. “the same as ours” you respond knowing akutagawa well. akutagawa hums, “i’m going to shred shibusawa’s organs and end his life” akutagawa swears. “why? is there any other way to save yokohama?” he asks the question towards atsushi. 

“we won’t kill!” atsushi declares. “that’s not what the armed detective agency does” he continued. akutagawa lets out a sarcastic laugh. “how funny.” he laughs, “you really are something, jinko” 

“y/n understands what this job is all about” akutagawa suddenly looks at you. you two make eye contact and for a second there, you see his eyes soften at the sight of you. you quickly look away to hide the blush that was now forming on your cheeks. “she’s a former port mafia, after all” he sighs, remembering his golden days shared with you.

“i left the mafia to see the light of day, we talked about this already” you spoke, “i left the mafia to join the agency” you take a deep breath before looking at atsushi dead in the eye. “but the mafia killings are different from the agency’s. there’s a difference” you say.

akutagawa can’t help but smirk a little at your statement. knowing you were at his side rather than his enemy and your colleague. “y/n-chan…” atsushi stares at you in disbelief. “this wouldn’t have happened if dazai-san didn’t join the enemy side” akutagawa claims, “i’ll be the one to kill him.”

atsushi yanks out his gun and aims it at akutagawa. you don’t know what came over you but in one swift move, you jumped right in front of your ex boyfriend, shielding him from atsushi. akutagawa stares at you for a moment. ‘you still haven’t changed one bit’ he thinks to himself.

“i’m not letting you kill dazai-san!” atsushi yells. “and i’m not letting you kill him either” you snap back at atsushi. “y/n-chan.. why?” atsushi questions. from behind, akutagawa smiles and he was almost ready to hug you right there. “just.. don’t kill him. that’s my job” you dismissed. 

before atsushi could say anything the elevator doors opened. akutagawa moves around you, not missing the chance to at least touch you in any shape possible. his touches still have that lingering feel to it and leaves you behind with atsushi in the elevator. “we’re not going with you” atsushi claims. 

akutagawa doesn’t say anything and walks towards more into the darkness. the elevator dings, ready to close the doors when you put your hand over it and rush to akutagawa. “i’m going with him” you tell atsushi. “eh?!” 

in the end atsushi tags along with you. you walked beside akutagawa with atsushi trailing behind you. “y/n-chan, why are you following him..” you hear atsushi dread . “it’s simple. he has information” you look back at atsushi, “he’s a powerful asset and we both have the same goal” you say, turning your attention to akutagawa. 

akutagawa watches you from his peripheral vision before noticing the familiar cellphone dangling on your neck. “you still have that cellphone your mother gave to you?” he asked. you don’t say anything and walked faster. “mother?” you hear atsushi ask.

akutagawa stops in his tracks and faces atsushi, “you haven’t even been told about that?” rolling his eyes, akutagawa turns his attention back to you. “oy, wait for me” he calls to you, picking up his pace to walk next to you. atsushi can only stare at the two of you with a million thoughts running in his head. 

“what was the shortest route again?” you ask akutagawa beside you. “0505” he answers back. you hummed and continued to walk beside him. “i see you still haven’t changed” akutagawa starts, “i figured you would be an entirely different person by now” he shrugs. you bit your lip, not knowing how to respond. “you’re still the same y/n i know” you hear him utter under his breath. 

“that’s cause i still have unfinished business with you” you blurt out. unable to hide the truth anymore. you wanted him back more than ever and meeting him again just proves it. 

akutagawa shuffles closer to you and grabs your hand. “when this fiasco is over, how about we try again?” he proposes quietly. only loud enough for you to hear. you squeezed his hand, a tiny gesture that means a thousand words and makes his heart race over and over again. 

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Hidden Scenes for a Snowy Queen

Doing something kind of simple because Christmas is gonna be slow. If you celebrate hope you're having a Merry one. We're having some friends over for lunch, making a big pot of curry! Tomorrow we'll have what I guess you could call a tale of two girls out of time. Today...it's been a while and I don't think I ever did this just all at once. Yesterday we talked about how Kuma's alternate vantage point flashback sets a precedent because that's what makes Kiku's role in Wano weird. You could do that so well. The key is having specific points an attentive reader can guess at what may come up:

A bit of a weird one but one you gotta mention. Getting through having such a big presence in the arc and never opening up about the month at Tsuru's Teahouse. Focusing on what that blank slate revealed about what you really want. Coupled with more of her own perspective on Bakura Town.

End of Act 1. Cutting off the way we do leaves a lot of room to have said more than just what happened to Luffy. Taking responsibility is a big, believable thing to add on.

Night with Chopper at Tsuru's is a blank check for character building, but mainly showing what we know about being the quiet leader of the breakout plan.

Where were you when the gang went to rob Yasu?

Don't sleep on Luffy being a sharp dude who probably thought of Iva the second he heard what he heard about Kiku in Udon and would know now's not the time. Especially when Act 3 for him gets tied up around a foil for Kiku that doesn't understand the concept. All of this weird way of going about things is because our core point revolves around tact, etiquette, sensibility.

Ending Act 2 gives you a lot of little ones with plenty of room to play with. Returning the Nidai Kitetsu, how the Sunacchi element comes back up and honestly just having a friendly time in the grove. Something got her to "Torao-san." Biggest thing that makes me wonder though is just into Act 3, how the armor scene is so weird but couched in mentioning Jinbei followed by an interesting interlude for Tsuru that drops a big, if understated reveal for Kiku. That piece of context, Tsuru letting her think she was getting away with being incognito, is critical because it's an existing example of this kind of storytelling.

Special note how the flashback in general is perfect. Casually folding Izo in makes it a big, big deal for Kiku and we get pretty much her whole life...except for the interesting personal drama points you'd expect based on the character we'd set up. Specialer note for leaving a perfect opening to roll Shanks & Buggy into when you found out about big bro's decision.

Then this one could go a lot of places but how we seed the idea that Kiku was maybe a little more Toki's retainer by the end. She doesn't talk about Oden much, there's a nanny vibe with the kids that makes sense if you think about it, the actual Rashomon-style subtle reveal of where she was in the jump forward scene. But it was already hinted from here in the example of how Toki rehabilitated Oden's image:

The Raid is a different beast altogether. It's showtime, there's no trick. Kiku just has the odd one out internal Akazaya emotional journey that bounces off the Straw Hats. Did you notice or was there too much going on? Yamato is the star right? Don't think about the enormous butterfly effect potential if he hadn't dragged Luffy away from meeting up with his samurai buds. Seriously, you have it here, all the potential in the world. Luffy plus the samurai could have beaten Kaido quick, Yamato dragging Luffy away hampered that but it was a necessary step to setting up the Awakening. This all fits as an interpretation of Toki's prophecy. Essentially, "Play your part even if you're unaware of the deeper meaning. Because the world depends on what happens tonight."

And of course finally, the aftermath. Skipping Ryokugyu when the fight makes a specific note of "people about to leave shouldn't be here" is one thing...adding that to Ryo hammering the other shoe dropping on the caste theme with Urashima? Playing coy with you and that absence as we set up our endings for Carrot & Yamato?

I still don't know what to think. None of this is new, I was saying it by the end of Wano. While we've been on Egghead a while it was always playing with similar themes and now this Kuma flashback started and ended setting important "precedent." Our idea for a plot resolution looked a lot like how Ginny saved the day at God Valley and Kuma showed us how much POV can change what you thought you knew. We'll get back to the why tomorrow but it felt worth it to reiterate why there's so much potential. I know this bag of tricks has been out of style for some time but it just feels like ground I've seen other series walk so well, the only innovation is letting the trans girl be the mysterious ingenue rather than her vain, worldly foil.

But of course...nothing is weirder than this girl hopping over into the Academy universe and doing the exact same thing, just way less subtle. You already had Kikuhime & Kamatari hanging around a girl that just on her own started off being one of the most meta characters in a silly series where 4th wall gags are a rare final frontier. Call it copium or hopium or whatever cool Gen Z slang you wanna use, I'm ready to keep huffing it well into a new year at this point.

[cakers-2000]

~Little Nuisance~ (Akutagawa X Fem!Reader)

I’ll hopefully have Dazai finished tomorrow, for now have some of the salty bean Akutagawa!

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

"And who are you?"

You smiled nervously at the man who towered above you. His face was cold and devoid of any emotion but pure anger. What was his problem?

"Uh, I'm (Y/N). I'm supposed to meet Mori in his office... Do you know where he's located?"

"Mori?" His face contorted in displeasure and before you could even process it a black shadow like figure surrounded by red shot out towards you, the end sharpened and aimed directly at your throat. "What's your business with the boss?"

"I-I-"

"Akutagawa you bastard!"

There was a loud crunching sound and a chair flew straight towards the man you now knew as Akutagawa's face. The black shadow shot upwards and tore the chair to pieces, effectively protecting him from any harm. He turned around, seeming to recognize the voice as you knew it as well.

Chuuya was charging forward, eyes blazing with anger aimed directly towards the other man. You knew how Chuuya could be sometimes so out of fear, without really thinking you jumped in front of Akutagawa, protecting him from the shorter boys wrath. Akutagawa was surprised at your actions, but hid it well.

It took all of Chuuyas strength to plant his feet on the ground and stop himself from charging headfirst into you. He stopped just inches away from you and Akutagawa, the angry look still in his eyes.

"What the hell do you think you were doing bastard!? You could've killed her!"

"I'm sorry, do you two know each other? I don't have the time for your trivial shenanigans at the moment Chuuya."

"Huh!? Why you-" You gave Chuuya a warning glance and he let out a long, shaky breath as he tried to contain his rage.

"Akutagawa, she's my... sister."

"Sister..." He didn't seem to truly believe the other boys words but didn't argue against it, continuing instead to annoy him. "I thought I recognized that awful attitude." He locked eyes with your own and scoffed. "Why is she here? You know the boss's rules."

"She's a new recruit." Chuuya spoke through gritted teeth and you let out a small, practically inaudible sigh. Why did he have to make such a big fuss about everything?

You listened to the two boys fight for a little while before your eyes fell to the clock hanging above the doorway behind Chuuya.

"Huh? You bastard I'm half the man he-"

He stopped mid sentence as he felt your hand gently grab onto his coat and pull to grab his attention. He turned slightly to face you and you pointed up at the clock. "We're late."

"Shit you're right."

His shoulders drooped, not looking forward to the task at hand. "Alright let's go."

He turned away from the other man who stiffened slightly but still held his cool composure.

"It was nice meeting you, uh..."

You stood in an awkward silence for a few seconds before he broke it with a sigh and averted his eyes from your gaze. "Akutagawa."

"(Y/N) let's go."

Chuuyas voice was harsh and you laughed nervously as you scrambled after him. "Coming!"

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

"So I see you've already met each other. How wonderful."

You glanced beside you, unable to take your eyes off of the familiar black and white haired man. He was standing at attention, his eyes glued to Mori who sat at his regular spot behind his desk. Chuuya on the other hand was standing directly next to him, his arms crossed over his chest as he gave the two of you a disapproving look. You were nervous. You hadn't even been in the Port Mafia a month, were you already in trouble?

"Um, Mori-Uh no, boss, sorry," You rubbed the back of your neck shyly and Mori slightly laughed but gestured for you to continue. "Boss, why are we here?"

"Ah, you're just like Chuuya here aren't you? You won't even humor me for a few minutes..." He held a pout on his lips and you watched Chuuya roll his eyes. "I've brought you here because we're making a slight adjustment to your... schedule."

You narrowed your eyes at him, unsure of his plans. "What do you mean by that?"

"Chuuya here has quite a lot on his plate as of late so we've come to the decision that you will no longer be placed under his supervision."

"So then what now?"

Mori leaned back in his chair, resting his leg on his knee and clasped his hands together. "While it did take some convincing Chuuya and I have decided it would be best if you were transferred under Akutagawa's supervision." (One quick look at Chuuyas face told you that he was, in fact, not convinced in the slightest).

"What!?"

Both you and Akutagawa shouted out in disbelief at the same time, which only made Mori laugh once again.

"Calm down now you two. Akutagawa all you have to do is show her the ropes. Whenever you leave this building I want her with you."

Akutagawa let out a 'tsk' but didn't argue against him. "Yes sir."

Mori fixed his gaze on you and you tried your hardest to stand at attention (though truth be told you were extremely bummed out). "And (Y/N), all you have to do is listen. You'll be learning the same things you learned with Chuuya, all I ask is you show Akutagawa the same respect."

"Of course boss..."

"Great! I'm glad we all see eye to eye." He held his hand out towards Chuuya and the smaller boy reached into his pants pockets and dragged out a folded piece of paper. "Akutagawa." He stepped closer to Mori who handed him the paper before shooing him with his hand. "Get going now."

With nothing left to say Akutagawa turned on his heels and stalked out of the room. You shared a glance with Chuuya before rushing after the boy who hadn't even bothered to wait for you.

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

"Sooooo where are we going?"

Akutagawa coughed into his hand and said nothing. You were currently walking down a narrow alleyway and he had said nothing to you since you first left Mori's office nearly two hours ago.

"Akutagawa-"

The boy quickly came to a halt and you had to grind your feet in the ground to stop yourself from colliding into him.

"Aku-"

"Be quiet."

"Excuse me!? I-"

You were abruptly interrupted by a loud banging sound behind you. You turned to face the noise but were met face to face with a man charging straight towards you with a metal rod held above his head. You didn't have the time to move out of the way and so you fruitlessly covered your head with your hands and waited for the impact.

Instead there was a loud shout behind you.

"Rashomon."

And the black shadow figure that he had used against you the day you met shot out from his side, slicing through the man with ease. You stared in complete and utter shock. This was what Chuuya meant when he said he could've killed you. This man really could if he wanted too. He let out a small sigh and turned away from you, continuing on down the alleyway.

"We're almost there."

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

"Intruders! Barricade the entrance! Don't let him in!"

The men had just managed to barricade the door closed and lock it tightly when a black figure punctured a hole through the steel and Akutagawa stepped through, his gaze fixated on the man standing on the railing above the rest.

"Wh-Who are you!? How did you break our door down!?"

"Are you Roxas?"

The man let out a 'tsk' noise and slowly backed further from the boy. "What's it to you?"

Rashomon shot out towards the man, the jaws of the creature grabbed hold of the man's lavish coat and dragged him down to your level before slamming him into the wall. It held him in place while Akutagawa slowly moved forward and you followed after.

His men stood in an uncomfortable silence, none willing to challenge the man that had their boss cornered. All except for one. He had quietly dragged a knife out of his coat pocket and was charging straight towards Akutagawa who had at this point made his way over to the man and was holding him to the wall by his shirt collar.

"Akutagawa look out!"

You grabbed the gun from your side which had been given to you by Mori and pulled the trigger, slightly flinching backwards as the loud bang reverberated throughout the warehouse building you were trapped in.

Akutagawa had turned to face you, confusion evident on his features though it turned to one of slight amusement once he saw the man writhing in pain on the ground, a bullet in his shoulder and your shocked facial expressions. He dropped the man to the ground, watching as he curled into a cowardly ball and strutted back towards you.

"So you do have some fight in you."

"I-I didn't know what else to do..."

He let out a humm noise and turned his head away from you, though you swore you could see the small trace of a smile. "I have to admit, I didn't think you had it in you."

He had no idea what he was smiling about. Or why he had even approached you to begin with. He couldn't even explain his own feelings. He glanced in your direction, a smile on your face as you were nearly jumping in your spot with pride. He felt a momentary surge of emotion welling up inside of him, but it turned to dread the second he heard the sound of a gun being cocked right behind his head.

"You're Akutagawa huh? The Port Mafias dog?" The man let out a cocky laugh and smirked. "I should've figured they'd send you." He pressed the cool metal right onto his head and Akutagawa's scowl only worsened. "I'm gonna finish you off right here and now." His eyes fell to your form, the look of pride no longer there and your gun dropped to the ground in fear, in fear that this man would hurt him. "I'll leave your girlfriend here alive to deliver a little message. It would be wise for the Port Mafia to leave me and my men alone."

His finger slowly pressed on the trigger but before he could fully press onto it Rashomon shot outwards and sliced straight through the man's body. He turned back to face the mangled corpse of the man, a scowl on his features.

"And Mori had said to bring him back alive..." He let out a long sigh and shook his head before turning back to face you. "We'll just have to tell him there was a change of plans."

He walked past you but you stood still, staring at him in awe. How could he be so calm?

He turned back to face you, eyebrow raised as you continued to do nothing but stare. His words snapped you out of your trance.

"Let's get going."

You nodded and rushed over, walking side by side out the door.

The last thing you heard was the loud screaming of the men behind you as Akutagawa's Rashomon tore them to bits.

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

"Akutagawa that was so cool!"

Your eyes were lit up in pure amazement as you walked next to the boy back towards the Port Mafia base. He stared over at you in disbelief though a small smile forming on his lips thanks to your words of praise.

"Was it?"

"Well yeah! You destroyed those guys! All it took was one hit from your demon thing and they were down and out!"

He laughed slightly at your enthusiasm though he tried to cover it and play it off like a cough. "It's called Rashomon."

"Well whatever you call it, I thought it was awesome."

You smiled brightly up at him and he tried to cover his face with his hand as he continued to cough though it was futile as you could still see the small hint of red on his cheeks.

Akutagawa... blushing? Was that even possible?

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

"Akutagawa! Welcome back!"

He smiled as he heard your shout from his living room. He shook his head slowly as he closed the front door behind him. This was nothing new. You always showed up at his place, no matter what time of day. He turned around and spotted you walking towards him, arms outstretched and ready to hug him. He rolled his eyes but hugged you back, enjoying the warmth of your embrace.

"I missed you."

He had been gone for longer than usual this time and he had to admit, he felt the same, though he would never admit that. "You're so needy."

You stayed in peaceful silence for a while, knowing that he was only teasing.

That is until he sighed and gently pushed you away from him. "(Y/N), I have to ask you something."

You looked up at him, head slightly tilted in confusion and he smiled warmly at you, a very rare occurrence. "I want you to date me."

You laughed at his poor choice in wording and shook your head. "Are you asking me, or demanding I be your girlfriend?"

He laughed as well and placed his face in front of yours, so close your noses were touching and you thought your heart was going to leap right out of your chest. "I won't take no as an answer."

"You know Chuuya won't be very happy."

"I don't care."

You laughed even more at him and nuzzled his nose with your own. "If you say so... We'll give it a try."

With one quick motion, out of pure joy, he placed a sweet kiss on your lips. His kiss was rather rough, as if he truly was inexperienced but you didn't mind. When he finally let you pull away from him, out of breath but smiling brightly you couldn't help but giggle.

"Geesh Akutagawa, give me some breathing room."

"Sorry..." You could spot the blush creeping onto his cheeks and you reached up to pinch him.

"You're so cuuuute."

He frowned, the color only worsening. "I am not."

"Are too."

And thus began your roller coaster of a relationship. You had to admit, Akutagawa could be a handful, but you loved him all the same and you would put in the time and effort to show him the beauty of what life and love had to offer.

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

Taglist:

@redflannel​

[just-a-tiny-ghost]

The "tip of the hair” thing from anime characters.

We all know these characters who have funny hair color ranging from bright pink to sparkling white, passing by mysterious purple. It’s almost an unspoken rule not to ponder too much on the color of characters’ hair, because it’s so cool!

Here are some theories/possibilities on the reasons behind the tip of the hair!

(Please do not take any of these seriously)

Warnings: please do not take this seriously, fight scene, 5 scenarios within the theories, last scenario being just plain mean… (~4k words)

Characters: Kita Shinsuke, Kocho Shinobu, Yushiro, Tokito Muichiro, Yashiro Nene, Ishigami Senku, Akugatawa Ryuunosuke, Zenin Naoya

1st part: It’s naturally like this. “The ‘natural’ hair color”

It’s just like childhood blond people.

The people who are born blond, live through their childhood being blond and then, treason. Their roots start to darken, spreading the brown over the blond and they are no longer Primrose but Katniss. And it’s difficult, you know, to explain that they are blond because they are going through a strange phase where they no longer know the color of their own hair (*sniff*, just kidding).

So, it’s just like this, the roots are brown but often the tip of the hair is of a lighter color (blond, even ginger in certain places). You take this, and you reverse it, making so that the roots are lighter, and tips are darker.

Example: Kita Shinsuke, Haikyuu

Here you have baby Shinsuke, with the same natural hair color as when older.

(psst, imagine also if during summer his hair darkened more, just like people have them more blond).

It’s a new kind of molecule. (Part 1)

There was a mutation, the melanin mutated help! Other than the eumelanin (dark/brown) and the pheomelanin (red/yellow), another one appeared giving people crazy (cool) hair color! What’s more is that this one actually moves.

Example : Kocho Shinobu, Demon Slayer

Notice first, this beautiful purple. What do we also notice? The ratio and the defined line, just as if all hair should go from black to purple at the same exact point.

This is NOT a coincidence; this molecule can travel. I will explain that; so, we notice that younger Shinobu’s hair are shorter than when she is 18/19. However, as her hair grow longer there is more purple that is appearing? Shouldn’t there be lesser purple? No and we can thank this new, heroic molecule.

New systems developed inside the follicle, and they can sense, perceive the ratio of the colors. As the hair grow longer, more of this molecule will be created and sent to the extremity of the hair, allowing Shinobu to always have the same black/purple ratio on all the affected hairs, which explain the clear line as they are roughly the same length.

It’s a new kind of follicle. (Part 2)

And a lazy one at that! While working efficiently at the beginning, it soon becomes so lazy that it thought about just letting the regular black/brown/ginger/blond color instead of continuing working hard to color the hair a beautiful shade.

Example: Tokito Muichiro, Demon Slayer

(In his case, the follicle just forgot)

The Marie-Antoinette syndrome

The Marie-Antoinette syndrome is when someone hair suddenly turn white due to an intense stress.

The name came from folklore about the hair of Queen Marie-Antoinette of France (1755-1793), who during the night before her execution by guillotine, had her hair turn white in her cell due to stress.

The Marie-Antoinette syndrome could have had another name as Thomas More in 1535 also had his hair suddenly whitening the night before his execution, there were several cases of the syndrome throughout history, but no research suggests that we can lose hair color overnight. Yet, stress do cause hair to whiten, not overnight, but progressively.

Example: (well, might as well go with the same manga) Yushiro, Demon Slayer

I’m actually pretty sure this is due to stress as before meeting Tamayo he was sick and he may have had a time where all his hair were black, but the stress just came back when he realized how much he loves Tamayo and how many potential rivals he could have (lol). (assuming his hair continue to grow, but we know it’s not *sigh*)

So, this was all for now for the “natural” hair color part. Now, just imagine them just after they cut their hair.

You tilt your head sideways, examining Shinsuke’s hair while sipping your juice from under the shadow of the peach tree.

The sun was scorching, obliging him to wear his hat while gardening but not preventing you from taking sneak glances at his new hairstyle —diligently cut by his grandmother— the missing black color at the tip of his hair still slightly disturbing you.

When you saw him that day, your accustomed-to-seeing-him brain went into a frenzied panic assuming a non-existing threat from the sudden change in the pattern of his hair. You, without having a choice, followed behind this archaic brain of yours, metamorphosing into a stuttering, eyes-avoiding mess when your heart won the fight with your brain and decided that this would fluster you.

The day was spent in his bedroom, playing with his hair sometimes brushing them in the opposite direction, their straightness prickling your palm sometimes just rolling a strand between your fingers, eyes prying for even the tiniest spot of black leading you to conclude that they had all been cut off.

Your view of your boyfriend is suddenly blocked… by the face of said boyfriend. The blank stare on him was too much, as it was all he saw whenever he turned around to check on his resting girlfriend, leading him to come nearer.

“Hey, are you feeling all right?” He approaches his hand to you head, brushing your baby hair out of your face. “Even with a hat and sunscreen, maybe the sun was too strong? We can go inside and rest if you want to.”

You pull him to sit next to you, taking his hat off by the process and raising your head to scan the sky through the branches and leaves protecting you both.

“Nah, I’m okay,” you reach behind you and dive your hand in the cooler, grabbing a cool bottle of water, “you should drink a little though and we have to go back soon granny is going to worry, and I don’t want her to come outside to search for us in this kind of weather.”

You battle a little bit and screw off the cap to hand the bottle to him, which he takes and grace your fingers with a kiss right after.

“I am still not used to not seeing the black tips in your hair. Sorry I was staring,” you apologize.

He laughs it off, internally relieved that you were not mad or rehearsing a prank forged with the twins in your head.

He still had some influence on them and intimidating them was not a problem. He also could retaliate without an ounce of guilt.

But while he could scold you —it is fun to see you being apologetic and trying to be forgiven, your pranks were rather mild too—he could never be mad too long, as your pranks were just, well kind. If the twins are not involved.

“I can understand. Look at me as much as you want, I’m here for this as well after all.” He stands up and pulls you up after closing and putting the strap of the cooler on his shoulder.

“Let’s go home.” And you follow him, carefully placing both of your hat to protect you from the sunrays.

“Wait a little bit and you will see; the roots will grow black at first and it will soon be as usual.”

“Really?!”

Three days later, his hair was green, courtesy of the twins giving you ideas.

2nd part: It is not natural.

Well, we could just say, it’s the power of something that made it like this bla bla bla (well, I mean it’s the author who chooses).

But nah, it’s no fun if we do not make theories! Because the world is… *whisper* conspiracy. Let’s forget the wig too for now.

Well, let’s start with something basic: it’s simply dyed.

Maybe the characters just thought it was cool to have them dyes like that and this could work for a lot of them, even in the less recent times as people started to dye their hair even 1500 BC. 300 BC prostitutes in the Roman Empire already dyed their hair blond too, using ashes of burned plants or nuts and in 2014 artificial-looking hair color became a trend! (https://www.byrdie.com/hair-color-history)

Exemple : Yashiro Nene, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun

Nene-chan obviously is a hopelessly romantic teenager, and I am sure that she wants to follow trends just like she wants a boyfriend for the sake of, well, having a relationship at the beginning of the story.

So, pretty sure that with Aoi’s influence (she has the real power… help) they decided to dye the tip of her hair green in middle school.

(psst, PS: Aoi also tried to dye one strand green but her hairs were too dark, we can only distinguish the color when focusing)

(re psst: Akane directly noticed it).

Okay, a little funnier now. It’s because of an experimental failure, so a new kind of chemicals.

Example: Ishigami Senku, Dr Stone

So, we know that he is a science nerd. And we know that he experiments a lot. Let’s just imagine mini-Senku, seeing his father and wondering why the hell does he resemble a radish? 

Then, mini-Senku trying to synthesize a greenish hair dye (because he wants to look like a leek), but failing, not because it doesn’t take the color, but because it stays.

Do you know what’s even funnier? He failed it when he was young, like ridiculously young (he is in first grade here, so 6/7 years old and already a fan).

So just imagine 5/6 years old Senku, just having his hair up and green one day and he understands that they will always be like this.

It’s due to their power <3

Maybe kind of a side-effect of their power, we could think of Todoroki (Shoto) whose fire side have red hair and white in the ice side, so simply a cool consequence of cool powers.

Example: Akugatawa Ryuunosuke, Bungo Stray Dogs

Okay, so this is cannon, I’ve decided so. We all know he was poor, but like slums poor so he could just not afford to buy hair dye also there is no point in doing so.

BUT! During one of his fight, it happened. Rashomon ate the melanin at the tip of his hair. And since then, he decided it was cool and will keep it like this forever.

Scenarios! (･ω<)☆

“A-are you sure it’s like that?”

“Of course, it is, just trust me Nene-chan~”

They were clearly messing things up. The shower curtain laid there, ripped off its place, soppy and stained green at some places.

The sink, crowded with various face products, hair accessories, nail polish and a myriad of different-colored eyeshadows from just as much different pallets. Clothes lingered on the floor, creating little mountains of fabric and you were wise enough to avoid stepping on one in fear of being stabbed by a lost hairpin.

In the middle—rather the left corner—of this mess stood your two friends, the stool having been knocked off by a panicked Nene made you worry about her tripping on it. Facing her was a smiling Aoi hands stuck on too-big plastic gloves and a bottle of hair dye in her hands.

“I thought I told you both to wait for me,” you sighed. “Here Aoi-chan, gimme the bottle and the gloves. Nene-chan, catch this.”

You threw your package to her, which she missed, and the cloth unfolded revealing the cape you borrowed from your father’ barber shop. You hanged the curtain up again and went back to the now wearing the cape Nene— you just named teepee-Nene.

You slipped on the gloves and verified the mixture they prepared. Deeming it good and usable, you began to separate the strands of Nene’s hair, clipping some up and untangling some burdensome ones.

Then, as she already applied the protecting product, you began to spread the dye on her tips, visualizing the lovely ombré she wanted.

From the corner of your eyes, you noticed Aoi growing bored by each new stroke of brush.

“Do you want have a dyed strand too? Though it could not take well because of the color and the washing you just did,” you offered.

“Yes!” she eagerly accepted, immediately pointing at a random point on her head. “Plus, we can trust you at one hundred percent!”

“Of course,” you chuckled, “I am used to do this.”

“You did most of your colors by yourself, yeah?” Nene asked.

“Yup,” you confirmed. “But my parents were okay with it, were almost encouraging me to do so, bleh. Contrary to some middle-schoolers I know.”

You yelped, escaping from Aoi’s traitor finger that just poked your side. Nene grinned, “Well, as miss high-school first year helped us, you are an accomplice. Don’t think you can escape being punished with us, (Y/n).”

Shaking your head, you went back to her, lightly pinching her arm through the cape and focusing on your task with the girls’ chatting serving as your background noise.

_____________________

“We should dye your hair too, (Y/n)!” The girls’ eyes sparkled.

“No do so kids.” You discarded the dye bottle in your hand. “The dye doesn’t work anymore, should have requested this sooner.” Ignoring their complains, you walked out of the bathroom, walking to the kitchen for some snacks.

It was an ordinary day at the Ishigami household. Byakuya had checked his list, little shoes at the entrance, check. Clean living room and table, check. A walking Senku-sized mop, check. Groceries for dinner, check.

Byakuya turned around, checking again. Ah, he forgot the yogurts. Would it be weird to go back to the convenience store? They could skip yogurts for once, it wasn’t essential. What was important, however…

“Senku!! What happened to your head?!” He dashed to his son, grabbing his shoulders. “Did you get hurt? Wait you didn’t actually dive into a suspicious liquid right?” He paused. Then thought. He stared at him. “No, even if you want to test something you can’t just bath in it.”

Senku stared right back at him. And bonked his head.

“No I didn’t, I’m not stupid,” he reassured his father. “It’s hair dye,” he pointed out.

“Aah, I see…” He patted his hair before standing up. And tossed the child on his shoulder while ordering, “We are going to wash it away, immediately.”

_____________________

It wasn’t right. It didn’t go away.

“Why is it still stuck?!”

“I don’t know!! But stop, I’m going bald!! Help! He is trying to age a child! Human experiment!”

“I’m not, it doesn’t want t-oh, it’s disappearing.” Indeed, the water was now tinted a green color after streaming through Senku’s hair.

Byakuya sighed in relief. “Luckily it’s going away,” he started, “though it’s seems the tips already took the color in.”

Head down, Senku wrung out his hair and broke in a smile while confirming by himself Byakuya’s affirmation. “Yeah, I started by dyeing them first. Wanted to look like you.”

Byakuya froze. ‘He wanted to look like me?’ He glanced at his reflection. ‘I do have two hair colors.’ He grabbed a towel and spoke, “But you know, it’s not good to dye your hair this young. Come here, I’m gonna dry them.”

The child’s hairs were still thin, but the long strands would thicken later with no doubts. Byakuya was wary of his own strength too, as a child’s head remained fragile looking, Senku was still five after all. But this wouldn’t prevent him to mess with it a little bit.

Taking the hairdryer and a hair comb, he disentangled some knots here and there, added hair wax at each strand he lifted up until they were all up and with a radish-like form except from a tiny seaweed at the front.

“Tada! Here is my masterpiece. Keep it will you?” He ran away. “I’m going to the convenience store; I forgot the yogurts!” he shouted. “Tidy the bathroom up for now, thanks!"

_____________________

“What they didn’t know though,” the narrator started, “is that the chemicals would keep him looking like that, proudly wearing the same hairstyle 3,700 years later, a unique hairstyle, a relic from the modern era they knew.”

Akugatawa was in a dire situation. A kind of situation he had been in plenty of times but could be the last one he lived through just like all the other ones.

The enemy was strong, not physically exceptional, but having grown enough muscles to defeat three or four kids like Akugatawa attacking him together.

It wouldn’t be a problem, for he was blessed with Rashomon, if only the man he was fighting wasn’t an ability user as well.

The worst, being that he didn’t underestimate him nor was he stupid as he cleverly used all the aspects of his ability, taking each openings Akugatawa dropped by inadvertence, creating numerous opportunities from them and further damaging the child’s body each time.

Akugatawa was certain now, that his enemy couldn’t be taken lightly and though it was pointless to ponder on this now, as he didn’t know if he would survive this fight, he was concerned on why someone this strong would be going after him.

The answer to his questioning could be a threat to his relative safety, as well as his sister’s and the other children’s.

He dodged, the outline of the shadow almost piercing through his head, its razor-sharp edges flaunting death in front of his eyes.

After many failures, he finally began to uncover the trick to resist the unknown ability. The man had been sending his shadow after him for some gruesome minutes now and Akugatawa recognized some patterns, his body learned to dodge and bend to escape even one blow.

But his knowledge stopped there, he couldn’t pinpoint how to stop the enemy, how the ability worked.

All kind of ability had some king of mechanism, he learned. His depended on his clothing as the beast was formed from it. If put naked in front of an enemy, he would be dead meat; separated from any kind of fabric he was just as vulnerable as he was as a newborn.

Yet, even when having Rashomon by his side he was struggling against the stronger, the more experienced ability user.

While the origin of the enemy’s weapon was his obviously shadow, he had no ideas how to make it disappear nor did he know how to stop the connection between the user and his shadow.

He blocked an attack—at least Rashomon could touch it—and the beast’s fangs tore through the black foggy blade making a bee line to the enemy’s neck.

From under him, the man defended himself. This action cost him his life as Akugatawa found his long-awaited solution.

Another attack, not from the ground—he learned that when closer to him, the enemy could raise his shadow as he wanted—but from above him.

He lifted his head; the tip dangerously close to him.

It allowed Rashomon to successfully break the crystal hidden underneath the layers of shadow, the blade shattering apart the moment the crystal was damaged.

Now that he found out the way to get rid of him, Akugatawa could unleash his beast and let it freely destroy the destabilized enemy in front of him.

_____________________

The enemy was gone and Akugatawa staggered to his home, the distance being longer than what he recalled. Having reached the entrance, he collapsed on the ground after seeing his sister quietly waiting for his return.

He woke up some hours later, the night had installed itself in the sky.

Something was strange however, as his sister was staring at him, eyes sparkling. He wondered why until she pointed at a strand of her hair that was framing her face and taking it, pushing him to mirror her actions with his own.

Indeed, where the black melanin was supposed to be, was now hairs devoid of color and white like an old man’s. His gaze trailed up to find out only the tip lost its color, the pattern where the colors met looking like sharp teeth.

“Big brother,” Gin started, “could you do the same for me? I want white tips too! And you must do the same at the other side, it would be prettier if it symmetrical.”

Did his sister just ask him to chomp her with Rashomon?

Bonus: Zenin Naoya <3<3<3, new technique

Hang him head down.

First, you lure him into the garden, being a submissive, obedient and sweet wife, you want your dear husband who is finally at home to relax and you have prepared a surprise for him <3

So, you lead him to the garden, where you prepared a magnificent, grandiose gallows!

Not understanding the reason why it’s here but being arrogant enough for at least a hundred men; he asks his silly wife why something so grotesque was in the garden she adored to take care of

You smile sweetly and lean in to kiss him (him allowing you to do so of course, you couldn’t do this if he was not spoiling you but he was really good with you), wrapping your arms around his neck

Then, you let go of his neck, watching him slowly fall back.

“Oh, dear!” You chuckle after hearing the loud bang his head produced after kissing the ground

You grab the collar of his cloth with one hand, the other one patting the back of his head, fingers finally grazing the little bump, consequence of his fall.

You slam it. (´꒳`)♡

Then you drag him behind you, playing a little bit among the moist grass and zigzagging to admire the pretty flowers you took care of during all the times you had an affair with boredom behind your husband’s back.

1st step. You tightly tie the rope around Naoya’s feet, slipping his sandals in his trouser for him to be able to find them later, how thoughtful you are

2nd step. You get the basin you already prepared and then, you pour the hair dye inside of it

3rd step. You use your delicate arms to lift him up, pulling on the rope with the mechanism you prepared, only do this now or he could die from having too much blood going to his head. Again, you are a model for all wives with your thoughtfulness.

4th step. Let the tip of his hair soak in the hair dye and you can even use it to decorate your husband’s clothes ( ´ ▽ ` )

5th step. Let him dry here, he will take the dye in and have beautiful hair tips. When he wakes up, he won’t be calling the servants because of his pride but then take a little time to come off the gallows. And then, he will be so thankful towards his wife he might want to kill you without ever divorcing! (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄)

But you leave the garden before he wakes up, you want to surprise him.

You take your luggage, join the man/woman (dear boredom) you are actually having an affair with and get out of the house. You want him to fully experience his marriage after all, you will offer him the experience of being cucked.( ◡‿◡ *)