#but s1 has some masterpieces

[mydaylight]

I was thinking about Bertha Russell again and I think I prefer s2 as far as Bertha's characterization goes, I feel she got to do a lot more stuff and was given more interesting scenes once they got over the hurdle of Bertha getting into Old Money society, BUT s1 wardrobe is probably superior for me

[ihatebiden]

Should I watch riverdale or is it more fun to continue to learn things abt it from posts with no context

riverdale is such a fascinating experience man im not sure how to explain it but it truly isnt like anything else on tv it rides the line between mediocrity and most entertaining thing in the world in such a weird fucking way it takes both a super ironic and completely earnest approach to everything and it gives the show such a captivating appeal. i think the best thing for me is the fact that you can never tell to which degree anything on there is just smth the writers wrote just to write smth vs what was intended as an actual critique of smth or as smth with substance and with things to say. bc they genuinely bring up some very interesting things right like for example for profit prison systems and how they are used as cheap labor by rich ppl, and how the law often doesnt actually represent justice but is used by institutions and powerful ppl as an excuse to get rid of ppl who criticize them in some way or underprivileged ppl even if they havent actually done anything wrong (or at least more wrong than the more privileged ppl around them). but all of that is presented in a way that makes you say wait did they really mean this in that way or am i just reading too much into things. but also this type of thing comes up so often that youre like well all of it cant be a coincidence right they have to have at least thought abt some of those. and while youre thinking that on screen theres an evil organ harvesting cult that is also a dnd parody. anyway i think this screenshot really sums it up

[sleepybugeyes]

I read through all of Elias/Jonah's dialogue (as you do) plus some relistening and mentions of him, so here's a big list of some fun things and behaviors I noted!

I thought he made a lot of eye puns/jokes, but he only does it once in mag161, however he does enjoy making jokes. "Creativity never was their forte." from mag80, "You want my account? My sworn testimony? My statement?" from 82, "If you die, I’m afraid you probably won’t be able to claim your expenses." in 116 and "I only have two eyes, after all." in 120. no one ever laughs at his jokes only he finds them amusing

His last words telling Jon a sarcastic or mocking "good luck" are mirrored earlier as he also tells Basira good luck the last time he sees her, and Martin, as he's getting arrested

He loves gloating. "I forget how new you all are to this." from mag92, "Coffee is not as good for disguising tastes as you might think." in 98, "She’s hoping that even if I see it coming she’ll still be able to overpower me. She’s wrong, of course," in 102, "A masterpiece, isn’t it?" abt his panopticon in 158 and of course his whole monologue in 160

He does his budgeting on tuesdays and his scheduling on wednesdays

He also likes getting lost in work

in mag40 he makes up proper incompetency (said he didnt know how the fire system works, while he later admits he was actively waiting) just that once, but more so he acts like he doesnt get the full picture (doesnt know whats in the tunnels, whats strange about the institute) or acts too late and apologises (not stepping into jon's stalking behaviour). Which makes me think he is quite fine letting people think less of him but unless he has something to hide hes not actively looking to give the impression

in mag92 elias slides the papers for basira across his desk, but you don't hear him take them out before, meaning he prepared and got ready for this before he called the police

in general he's a very preparing man, Lukas steps in when Elias is arrested so has has control over who'd run it. in mag118 he says he prepared something to hurt martin (my speculation is that he likely has some trauma that could hurt you prepared for any person that could cross him, just in case he needs it). When he gets arrested he has something prepared so he doesnt get killed and ofc s1-4 is preparing Jon for his grand ritual

Elias admits the idea for his ritual kinda fell into place after Getrude didnt do anything about the people's church in march 2015. He shot Getrude and appointed Jon shortly after so "when you came to me already marked by the Web, I knew it had to be you." is pure dramatics as Jon was hired 4 years prior

also he got his ritual in 2018 so he managed to acomplish his life's goal in only 3 years, love his grindset 🔥

We never get a number for how many people Elias has killed in his ritual, the real life millbank has held over 1000 people at once, but id imagine his one panopticon held less than a whole complex

its really interesting to me in mag92 that hes SO sure they all know he's talking to them of his own free will. is he just that dead set on being in control or making sure they take no credit for his confession

there is a clock in Elias' office (but it's only heard in mag98)

He has killed people but Elias is very much not a blood thirsty person. Getrude and Peter are both surprised when he results to that. He's very much just ruthless and does not care, if to get his way he has to kill someone. It doesnt seem like he's ever happy to do so, maybe this is a quirk of being eye aligned and getting rid of any type of knowledge is painful (he does for example never want Tim to die at the Unknowing), or he just finds covering those murders up a hassle

for the Unknowing Elias books them all hotel rooms, how thoughtful

something cute to me that Jon was too good at the Eye that Elias couldnt meet him face to face post coma

In mag158 he implies that even Institute employees not in the archives are tied to it, at least enough that they could suffer or die if it burned down

between finding other people just as tools to watch and discard and saying empathy holds you back he was definitely a very very lonely man

He is a very breathy person. He sounds breathy when he talks. He takes deep breaths to ready himself and before he uses his powers. And he often breathes through his nose before speaking or during pauses

He has said Jon's name 62 times, only twice calling him "Jonathan" and called him archivist 25 times (24 in the mag120 statement, 1 in mag138 and 1 in mag161)(he also kinda calls him The Archive in 160)

other fun amount of words: know (65 times), see (42), martin (35), detective (20), eyes (20) and eye (9), afraid (9) and "bullshit" (1)

its still insane to me they added all of those sound effects of Elias' cuffs in prison, thats something fun to appreciate. It also means its canon he gestures quite a bit!

[imjustavenuxwithaboomerang]

watched the s1 finale with my sister two days ago (but it was like semi-late when we finished watching and then some shit happened the next day so i didn't post her thoughts until now):

"vander would go on my hear me out cake"

"she has the fighting equivalent to blue balls. she's all revved up and no one to punch" (about vi when jayce left her with the gauntlets)

"i think you're just talking out of your ass" (about silco after renni's son died)

"i would've had your son killed for this" "i would've punch him in the face cause who the fuck does he think he is"

"you could go back to noxus if you like to talk about it so much" (about ambessa)

"with respect, i don't give a shit what any of you think of me anymore" "period, kind of attractive of him to say, just that though. i don't forgive how you've neglected viktor"

"this is a dinner party from hell"

"i was hating him but now i feel bad for him" (about heimerdinger)

i jokingly called the show a masterpiece sometime after we finished watching and she went "i wouldn't say that" so do with that what you will

"kay but the thing is, nothing he said was wrong" (about finn after he died)

"are they flirting?" (about jayvik when they were on the ledge)

"i feel bad for her but i'm not sad that he's dead" (about jinx and silco)

the credits rolled and she went "i'm sorry what" which is so me-watching-arcane-for-the-first-time-coded of her to do

"there's too much moral greyness for me"

okay and then i had her list her top 5 and bottom 5 characters (she struggled to find three more top characters after the first two, probably tells you a lot about her viewing experience)

top 5:

vander: "he has clear morals and he's just trying to protect his people and he's a good father figure"

ekko: "he's the little guy, when we first meet him that is, he's like a tech wiz. and for him to build this place, i'm proud of him"

caitlyn: "she's an actual good enforcer like she's actually trying to listen to the people"

viktor: "he just wants to help people and he's looked over a lot and downgraded so he tries not to do the same"

claggor: "he's just a homie, he's a ride or die, literally, i don't know, he just has a special place in my heart" (that "literally" was UNNECESSARY)

bottom 5:

silco: "he is the archenemy. he is persona non grata. he. killed. vander. so- he's also a crime lord who doesn't care about his own people. silco doesn't have a code. silco has no scruples"

sevika: "sevika is just annoying. why she tryna kill vi all the time? i mean vi's tryna kill her but-"

marcus: "i hate a crooked cop"

jinx: "the crimes. like the killing of those six cops, and the almost killing of caitlyn, and the kidnapping of cailtyn. like she's obviously a pawn of silco's so that's why she's lower than silco but she did some crime independently"

ambessa: "ambessa's a bad mother"

special mention: deckard: "he is bad, he was really creepy and a predator" and any of silco's goons (reason is obvious i guess)

and these are her thoughts on some of the characters who aren't in either of those lists (no ranked order, just the order she spoke about them):

jayce: "i don't care about [him], you're a bad friend and i hate when people are bad friends"

mel: "you're kind of two-faced but i do feel bad about the situation with your mom"

vi: "i'm still upset with what you said to powder but i like that you're trying to make up for it but unfortunately words stick"

cassandra: "booo *thumbs down*" (that's it i guess i don't-)

mylo: "booo *thumbs down* i feel bad that he died but he was really mean to powder"

heimerdinger: "i judged him quickly cause he was a bit annoying but by the end, he had a warm place in my heart and i always go back to him in the orchestra" (the scene with ray chen's insert)

sky: "i feel so bad for her. it's also kind of a commentary. even without meaning to, the man destroyed her to save himself"

tobias: "he cares about his daughter and what she wants and realizes there's a time and place for chastising"

episodes 1 and 2

episode 3

episode 4

episodes 5 and 6

episodes 7 and 8

[crisiscutie]

Apocalypse AU

After playing a lot of The Walking Dead Game (Play S1, it's a masterpiece) and some The Last of Us (Part 1 is also amazing), it made me start thinking about an Apocalypse AU featuring Fluffy Sephiroth.

Let's say that JENOVA somehow got out into the world and managed to infect the Lifestream and most sources of mako energy. Naturally, those who drink or have physical contact with these resources or an infected individual will undoubtedly turn into a JENOVA monstrosity, following the traditional zombie lore that we all know. Through, I think how the infection works in this AU would be more similar to how it does in the current FF7 canon, combined with elements from TLOU, with there being different stages of the J virus affecting the host. From the beginning stage of freshly-turned human runners who couldn't fight off the infection to full on monstrosities in the later stages.

Sephiroth would naturally be immune to this considering his genetic makeup, of course. Maybe he'd even develop or discover a plaguemaster type of ability, but this aspect will only be explored later in the AU's storyline, once everyone has a better idea of what they're dealing with.

I think one of the most interesting things for this AU is a short-haired Adult Sephiroth, using a similar hairstyle he had as a teenager. I can already imagine his darling and children expressing shock that he ditched the high ponytail for it 🤭. Prepare for the incoming comparisons to Kadaj by baby Lucrecia.

Anyway, Domestic Darling wouldn't be immune to the J virus since she isn't like Sephy and possibly even more vulnerable to the infection because of what she already has inside her. She already has to maintain her will. But now, any bite, scratch or contact with infected water and etc... will be enough to get her to turn.

Anyway, I just thought this would be a neat idea to expand on and I wonder what you guys think about it. It'd be interesting to see Sephiroth's family trying to navigate an apocalyptic world, just like the Cetra did when JENOVA first arrived...

[ao3cassandraic]

When angels overplay

Angels, playing a human role new to them, routinely overplay, in delight at their own cleverness and the sheer fun of roleplay. (Demons mostly don't. Crowley only piles role upon role on Bildad the Shuhite because Aziraphale prods him into helping con the angel posse. Until then, Bildad's basically just some guy -- if a guy who asks some rather foreboding leading questions -- to Job and Sitis. In s1, Hastur la Vista looks awful, but plays his role at Megiddo tolerably well; it's Warlock's child-outing-the-naked-emperor bit rather than any solecisms on his part that mess up his scene.) Angels just can't seem to figure out that sometimes less is more.

Muriel totally overdoes the Human Police Officer schtick -- Mrs. Sandwich clocks them just from a moment's glance at them, and so does Aziraphale -- because Muriel doesn't really know what they're doing so they think the thing to do is MORE OF IT. They kinda even know they don't know, but they have to get the job done so they just soldier (heh) right on. When Aziraphale pretends to buy their disguise, they are visibly thrilled.

Aziraphale totally overdoes the investigative-reporter schtick with the publican in the Resurrectionist. He settles down once he's getting some actual useful information, but the way he tosses around journalist jargon at the start is just as overegged as Muriel's Inspector Constable bit, and it comes from the same place of delight in roleplay.

Aziraphale's West End stage-magician career is also a masterpiece of Overegging It (when he isn't a basket of nerves, anyway). He only gets away with it because stage figures are allowed to be mega-flamboyant.

Here's the fun bit. Y'all ready for the fun bit? Here it is.

This applies to the Metatron too. He overplays his role as Kindly Oh-So-Human Appreciator of Aziraphale.

Oh, he does pretty well, the astute manipulative formerly-human-himself sod. He gets by Nina, no problem. The latte for Aziraphale (miracled or not) is a great gambit. He gets by Crowley, even -- Crowley's huge, huge, HUGE mistake is letting Aziraphale talk to the Metatron alone. (Crowley's contempt for Muriel's overplay, which he extends to angels in general, does him a very bad turn here.)

But then the Metatron says something that ground my brain-gears to a halt on my very first s2 watch. "You’re a leader, you’re honest, you don’t just tell people what they want to hear."

I'm sorry, are we talking about the same angel? The angel Aziraphale? The angel who flatly refuses to lead his troops in s1? The lying liar angel who lies lyingly even to the archangels and God Herself? The angel who when at odds with Heaven's archangels invariably finds a way to tell them what they want to hear, even if he has to convince them they want to hear it?

That angel?

Look, sure, it's meant as flattery, but the thing is, I don't think that is even the kind of angel Aziraphale wants to see himself as. He's not Michael or Uriel or Shax or Furfur, jockeying for empty titles and authority. He knows he's dishonest, and he's actually pretty honest with himself about it -- he confesses his lies to Crowley more than once over the millennia! He goes along to get along because it mostly works for him (and, of course, because he is always, always afraid).

But the Metatron clearly expects Aziraphale to buy this overegged line of utter boardroom-bafflegab bullshit. (Oxshit. Whatever. It's shit.) And the old boy's pretty damn pleased with himself at how well he thinks he's doing; he just oozes self-satisfaction.

I continue to hope Aziraphale doesn't buy it. He doesn't buy it. He does his standard go-along-to-get-along thing until he can get back to the bookshop and try to (codedly, codedly, anxiously, anxiously, the Metatron is still near) ask for Crowley's help.

I'm willing to be wrong about this; it's possible this is a cue to the audience -- rather than to Aziraphale -- that the Metatron isn't to be trusted. I don't think I am wrong, though. I think the Metatron went too far and Aziraphale (who is intelligent) caught it. Or possibly he'll catch it in (deus et Amazon volent) s3 when he's had a moment to consider.

P.S. I love that for all the swirling uncertainty about the details, the fandom has quickly -- and I believe accurately -- settled on the Metatron as the hate-sink string-pulling villain. We also seem to be pretty much agreed that there's one or several cons happening around the s2 ending, though again we're all over the place on the details. It's funny! I love y'all!

[readreactrant]

"Love, or Something Ignites" might just be the best goyuu fic ever!!! let me explain!!! (Thoughts and Review)

Some quick context but cuz this review was already going to be pretty long without my flashback sequence so pls scroll down to the red text if you don't want to hear my history of opinions with JJK and its ships.

I've been deep in the goyuu tag since the beginning of the year, which I found kind of strange at first since I watched S1 way back in 2022 and did not give much of af about the whole show.

I kicked my feet a bit at SukuFushi,  tried to like it more, and even searched out a couple of fics but they just weren't giving AT ALL.

At the start of 2023 I watched jjk 0 and I was kinda hyped to get back into the show, but my shipping heart still ached for something to latch onto so I went on AO3 and picked up the first fic I found. Surprise, surprise, it was a goyuu fic featuring role reversal. I wouldn't say I liked it but it did tickle something in my brain I would have explored if I wasn't neck deep in my bakudeku era at the time.

Then S2 happened and it all just sorta clicked for me. Before then I'd mainly been a SukuIta believer, I didn't frequent their fics but I DID gobble up their twincest doujins like I was starved when I had the time. 2nd cour of S2 coming out practically sealed Goyuu for me, I'd always felt there was a bit of something I saw between them but Yuuji screaming out for Gojo in that last frame...just...*chef's kiss*

I didn't go back to rewatch S1 where a majority of their reactions were like some diehard fans would but the clips and screencaps I've come across now and again are enough to solidify for me that yes! They are made for each other!! (Hope the wrong stsg fans don't find this ◉‿◉)

I'd really love to go on and on about their dynamic but this was supposed to be about my February fic of the month, "Love, or Something Ignites" by lainebee.

Like I said, I've been deep in the tags and the only others I think that come close to this one are "No Sanctuary" by eddie01 and both world's sequels.

Now I'm not saying there aren't other good ones, like I'm just halfway through the hundred and something AO3 pages of their ship tag, so there's a lot I've yet to see. Still, this is a sorta subjective review and I just hope to spread the word of this masterpiece and maybe meet others who've read it so we can fan together in the comments.

(Now that's all out of the way, there will be mild spoilers and also warnings for; omegaverse, mpreg, and voyeurism so let's hop to it (✿^‿^)

The fic is set in a historical Japan au where Yuuji and Sukuna are brothers, with Sukuna being much older and ruling over a kingdom in the south. Thing is, he's constantly at war with the Gojo clan cuz these two mfs are just built like that in every verse. Shit happens and they come to a truce and as a sign of goodwill Sukuna offers Yuuji, his recently presented omega brother, as a gift (I honestly thought Yuuji was like 16 or 17 but he's 19 so like whatever idc (╥﹏╥)

"So what's the problem?" you might ask, well aside from the obvious marriage of convenience plot, Gojo doesn't give a fuck, he's still hung up on Geto (kinda tho, it's complicated but they aren't in love) and he's pretty much intended to go through it for show.

But that's not the end; not only do our boys have no feelings for each other and have never even met, but THING IS... Sukuna has demanded a public consummation cuz he's a bastard like that and we love him for it. Worry not there's no fucking on a stage for everyone to watch...just fucking in a 'room' for a handful of witnesses to watch from behind those dresser screen things (vocab not working lol).

The fic is definitely kinda long and tho there are some slow-burn vibes a lot of it essentially takes place in ONE FUCKING DAY. My first assumptions going into this were, "pacing issues???" and "oh the author is going to either insta love them, make them fuck and spend the rest of the fic doing fluff, or they will fuck with some angst then spend the rest falling in love."

Color me surprised when yeah, they did fuck but that was one or two chapters from the last of about nine.

You expect this kind of shit to feel rushed as fuck but the writing is so fucking divine that you never feel like putting it down. There's always so much going on but time is never wasted dwelling on one subject for too long, it's fast, it's funny, and the characters and setting are constantly giving the energy you know and love from the original show but probably two times better.

One of the things I noticed a few GoYuu writers struggle with is accurately reflecting Gojo cuz he's actually an enigma and arguably one of the most complex characters in the show with a broad range of emotions. He doesn't particularly fit one kind of vibe whereas for everyone else you can pick one or something close to it. Gojo on the other hand goes from one end of the spectrum to the other pretty quickly and that's super hard to capture and explore, especially when it comes to the shorter smutty fics (Not complaining too much tho, I live for the E rating.)

I love the direction the author chose to go with him, and it feels so true to his character, his immature but his teasing doesn't feel over the top or come off as exaggerated. His status as the strongest is just told but shown to us with the way he behaves and I like that we get instances of him getting work done despite knowing he's a rebel. It reminds us that yeah, he's working to make the clan the way he wants but he's just going along with what he has to in true Gojo fashion.

Yuuji, is totally something else, it's implied that he actually killed people...and I don't think we got a paragraph of him feeling guilt over it but that's somewhere toward the end so forget it. Yuuji is the absolute sweetest here and I adore every scene he's in along with how bratty he tends to be with Gojo. It's not frequent and most of the time he's pretty respectful but when he's not...Yeah. His inner thoughts and his conversations with most of the other characters really bring life to the story and you literally feel you're right there with him through it all.

Then there's the smut...oh. my. fucking. GOD. It's absolutely delicious. If you were iffy about it being omegaverse, I beg you to actually consider it cuz all probably more than four thousand words of it are fucking precious.

I had no idea I'd be into sex with some commentary when I began reading but the conversation from the characters picked was spot on and even added to the spicyness.

My favorite part is when Yuuji moans like a fucking pornstar and the zenin guy (forgot his disgusting ass name) goes "The boy is a whore."

Like boohoo bitch just say you wish you were getting all that, I wish I was (╥﹏╥)

If you're still iffy about the Omegaverse trust me it's not that big of a deal, the focus is mainly on Gojo and Yuuji trying to find some mutual ground to get on so the consummation isn't fucking awkward but by talking, joking, and getting to know each other something even more starts to blossom.

There are definitely traces of insta love but I personally see it as a weird mixture of attraction and possessiveness but this book is just like the prelude to the main course which is the second part in the series which I'm not done with yet but fucking hell...all the intrigue and tension that you will find in Love, or Something Ignites, gets doubled with more angst and mystery in the second fic, along with goyuu being stupid as well as stupidly in love.

So give it a try, and if you have, let me know what you think. I'd usually say where the tiny flaws are but for this book there are none...unless you count Yuta being Maki's mate instead of Rika's but that's my personal hill to die on. Let me know if there's a fic you want me to write about and I'll maybe get to it

Well, that's all from me today, it's 3 am and I'm fucking exhausted.

[ivypendragon2]

My hot takes about cobra kai as (I hope) a not biased viewer:

- Everyone is kind of exaggerating everything that happened between Mijagi Do and Tory. People are looking way too much into it saying things like “Daniel clearly wanted Sam to win” “They should have gone straight to Tory when she left” “they betrayed her”, etc. First of all, none of these people were saying shit when Daniel and Johnny left Robby with Kreese (who ten minutes before tried to kill Johnny AGAIN), but apart from that, this show clearly doesn’t believe in going after this kids when they are upset. Second, they needed Tory to feel alone for the plot…there is nothing much to it, this show is not a masterpiece they are doing what they can with what they have. Then, saying Robby should have gone after Tory, like Devon or Johnny or Sam. Would I have loved that? Yes, but if that were the case we would NOT HAVE A PLOT and idk, she just lost her mum what is Robby supposed to tell her? How can he comfort her? How would YOU comfort a person that has never let anyone help her o comfort her? Tory has showed more than one time that she pushes people away when they try to help her, and even if she was getting better, this season is about the main characters repeating their bullshit again (ejem Johnny and Daniel). And apart from that, he is a 17 year old boy, Devon is even younger, I wouldn’t know what to say either. Some people want and need space too, you know? And Tory had a brother, maybe they thought she was going to him. I try to understand all the characters, not just the victim.

- “Daniel only wanted Sam to win” yes, we have seen during all season Daniel showing a clear preference for Sam (even positioning her above the boys which is…debatable because her technique is beautiful and precise but she is not as agile as the rest) and yes, it was kind of insufferable because he didn’t even put Tory in the list and she is a BEAST. But, as a matter of fact, I don’t think him stopping the fight had anything to do with that. He just saw Tory as a little girl who just her mum, a little girl who probably hadn’t slept or eaten well in days. And he also watched her been more brutal with his daughter, which Tory once left in the hospital with stitches too. And everyone keeps saying “Johnny was right! Let her fight with anger!” But one, that’s his daughter in the mat, and second, please remind me how things go when this kids fight with anger and pain. The school fight? Miguel falling? The spikes bracelet? Dimitris arm? Kenny and Anthony? Robby vs Keeny? The apartment fight? Tell me, is it really worth it? These kids getting seriously hurt? To me, it’s not. They should have tried to find another way.

- Hawk vs Dimitri? Everyone saying Dimitri is a traitor makes me LAUGH because you all don’t like it when things turn around, huh? Dimitri didn’t even left a scratch on Hawk, he did was cobra kai has been doing since S1 (use their weaknesses against them). But when Hawk injured Robby you all said it was part of the tournament, that it wasn’t a big deal. When Miguel used that injure against him, it’s justified. I could keep on with that, but I will just let it there. I was waiting for Dimitri to finally do something for himself.

- Miguel’s fanboys are the worst. Crying about Miguel not winning 😭 baby Miguel has won time after time Robby earned this fair and square. His technique is awesome, his agility, his kicks, and the actor literally did all of this for his character. If you can’t respect it for Robby, at least do it for Tanner.

- why is everyone thinking Tory will be with Kwon? You really think Tory will just straight forget what Kim did to her? You really think she just will be all friendly buddy with them? She needs them and they need her, that’s all. And Tory clearly loves Robby, it’s not so hard to understand, they are building everything for them to end up together like they did with Miguel and Sam last season.

- Daniel was INSUFFERABLE WITH MIJAGI LET THAT MAN REST IN PEACE.

- Why is everyone making it look like Miguel being in the wait list is the end of the world? Doesn’t that happen to most kids in the USA? And if they are short on money…get a job? Like I did? Like most of us do? I love Miguel, I really do, but they are making it look way worse than it actually is. He is smart and dedicated, if standford says no, well keep going.

- Hawk being nerfed is full plot.

- people really think a focused Miguel can win easily against a focused Robby? We have seen since s1 that focus is Robby’s main problem but when he focus…he was literally smirking while fighting Miguel man he is a force to be reckoned with.

- Someone needs to explain to me why Johnny hasn’t kicked Daniel in the face yet.

[neerons]

Hi! How are you doing? I wanted to ask if you know some stories that are similar to MK. It can be another game, manga/webtoon, or even movies/series/dramas. I want to read or watch a similar story with an interesting plot and deep stories, but not too complicated. The storyline has to be logical/coherent and well written. The characters must be strong and have interesting personalities, good developments and if possible, good relationships too. I don't have a particular theme in mind, but I'd like some romance in the story (the two lovers are equals). If you have some recommendations or if someone else has some stories to share, I'm interested! Thank you ❤️

Hi! I'm very good thank you. I hope you're doing well too ❤

I'm not going to help out much when it comes to other games, webtoons, movies or series as what I play, read or watch in these categories don't really fit Masquerade Kiss' universe.

Anyone is welcome to leave recommendations as well. Try to tag @ himawari ⬆ for visibility so your comment can be seen

MK is pretty unique so not everything I recommend is even 50% close to being similar to MK, so I mostly rely on core details that match.

However when it comes to mangas/animes, there are ones I can instantly think about, and some others that have similarities as well. Some of them don't involve romance but I tried to think of ones who do.

Black Butler

If you're looking for something similar to Kei's route, let me introduce you to my favorite anime and manga ✨ Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji ✨

It doesn't involve the romance you're looking for, but the story is deep, linked to religion and a sexy demon butler, with one of the main characters (Ciel) having a very similar past to Kei. It's actually the only one I can think of that is so similar to MK overall, but it's definitely darker.

It involves the same things we see in Kei's route in general: rejection of religious faith, demons (but here an actual one), philosophy about what being a human is, child abuse in a religious setting, being left as an orphan, and another thing very similar to Kei that I will not spoil as it is a big plot twist in the manga. (But tbh I wouldn't be surprised if the writer in charge of Kei got inspired by Black Butler)

(However, keep in mind that if you watch the anime, you need to look up the episodes that are adapted from the manga so the plot stays coherent (the anime has some parts of S1 and S2 that were invented, and you should avoid watching those, unless you want to, if you want to understand the actual plot)

The Apothecary Diaries

The romance is not completely established yet even in the manga, as it is slow burn. However the FL is extremely interesting and strong, intelligent as well as very funny. The ML is equally as good, and both have a very interesting relationship.

I recommend this one especially for the "equals" part you're looking for, but the era they're in in this universe doesn't fit MK's. But the story is quite deep and not that hard to understand

Spy x Family

This one is linked to spies and assassins, and family life in general in a cold war setting. I realize as I'm writing this just how much I suck at doing these masterpieces justice btw.

Anyway, the characters are extremely good. The story, with all its comedy and funny moments, is also quite profound as you have characters start to understand what love is (kind of similar to MK as well in this aspect?) and well, it's about ✨ spies ✨ I like to compare the MK Boss and Twilight (the ML) as they're incredible at their work.

The romances are not well established as well in this one but they're slowly building.

The era is also a bit different, but it's not too shocking

Kaguya-sama: Love is War

This one is also a funny one. The FL and ML and side characters are all amazing and well written. It's an elite high school setting. It's not dark like the others ones I've mentioned and is more of a comfort anime/manga.

I think the characters' banter can be similar to what we're used to see in MK, and it's a lovely, although frustrating at times, slow burn

7th Time Loop: The Villainess enjoys a carefree life married to her worst enemy!

I almost tired my fingers out typing that title, but this anime has a really good romance with a very independent, strong, intelligent and capable FL, with a strong, cold but actually tender ML.

Not the same era as MK again, but it's another one with both leads being equally as good and having a good relationship (although it's not easy at first). The FL's belief in justice and her kindness are also similar to our lovely MK MC as well.

I don't know if you have already watched or read those, but that's mostly what I could think of. Sadly, I have yet to find one very similar to MK's glamour, sensual, funny and dark vibe myself but I hope I helped you a bit, and if I didn't, then I'm sorry and I hope you'll find something good!

I guess the Mission Impossible movies that the MC loves so much are actual inspirations for MK? So you might be interested in those if you haven't watched them.

The movie or series about Hannibal Lecter with Mads Mikkelsen for Kei's route as well? Although I haven't watched it myself so I don't know if it was an inspiration, and it's gore, so be careful with the warnings

I could recommend you French romantic movies that MC would enjoy and that would be similar to MK (as MK heavily implements French references in its content), but I won't be able to guarantee there'll be a translation for you to understand, so I'm giving up the idea

Thank you for the ask, and have a lovely day/night ❤

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

Mate I don’t even know what to say about House of the Dragon anymore like what the actual fuck is going on 💀 Daemon is having nightmares about eating out his mother’s coochie? What do you mean Alyssa isn’t shown with dirty blonde hair and mismatched eyes and a crooked nose like in the book? I’m pretty sure there’s zero history of Targcest between parents and children, like even they don’t cross that line?!?

That scene aside, this season is making last season look like a fucking masterpiece which is quite a feat frankly. It’s not even a case of “they’re whitewashing TG/demonising TB”, it’s the fact no one seems to have any free agency on this show and everything is an accident or just not happening. Why the fuck is Daemon STILL at Harrenhal?!? It’s been three episodes of him doing nothing but have weird fucking dreams, I know there’s lots of characters to cover by MY BROTHER IN FUCKING CHRIST?!? It’s so boring to watch 😭

Before anyone comes at me for “just wanting action” or whatever, that’s not my issue. I enjoy the politics of it all when it’s well-written, I think it’s necessary to have episodes where there’s not necessarily battles and it’s more focused on the characters, but I frankly do not need three entire episodes of Daemon looking lost and having weird ass dreams. I did not need that whole dumbass Septa!Rhaenyra plot, I didn’t need those nasty Alicole s3x scenes, etc.

My sister is a general audience viewer and she’s bored - which is insane because House Targaryen has always been her favourite house, hands down. I’m someone who has read the entirety of Fire & Blood and who has a Daemyra themed tattoo on my leg, this was my big show I was excited for this year - and even I’m bored watching it. For the entirety of S1, I never looked at my phone while an episode was on except for when there was an ad break - this episode I feel like I spent 60% of it on my phone, and of the other 40%, at least 20% was just watching because I had some ice-cream in hand. I can’t even imagine how bored the GA are if even I’m bored watching it.

This isn’t about teams because literally all the characters are being done shit at this point - and this isn’t the actors’ fault, I’m fully blaming the writing team.

[k-s-morgan]

hello katrin :) im on yet another hannibal rewatch and i was wondering, do you think there was anything that could have changed Hannibal’s mind about hiding will’s encephalitis and/ or framing him? Or would he always do that? Ty!

Hi! I hope you have a great re-watch, 'Hannibal' never gets old, it's a masterpiece!

I'll start answering in reverse - it'll make more sense in the end.

With the framing, I think Hannibal never intended to actually frame Will. It grew to be a necessity - he was forced to do it in Releves (E12 of S1) because Will got too close to the truth without being ready to accept it. I’ll copy one of my posts about it.

Hannibal has been actively trying to make Will realize he’s a killer and make it easier for him to accept it. He’s been planting suspicions around him but not the actual evidence. He wanted to back Will into a corner where he would have to either self-destruct out of guilt or to say ‘fuck it’ and embrace who he is. He and Will discuss it in E5, when talking about the Angel Maker: “Angel Maker will be destroyed by what’s happening inside his head. You don’t have to be.”

If Hannibal wanted to actively frame Will, he would have started taking much more decisive actions. Like with Sutcliffe: the FBI immediately determined that Will didn’t kill him. Hannibal was in a hurry, sure, but he could have planted at least some actual evidence. He saw for himself that Georgia was completely out of it, so he could at least paint Will’s fingers with blood and give the knife to him; better yet, he could quickly kill Georgia and set Will up for double murder. That would be very easy to do.

Similarly, apart from Sutcliffe, Hannibal tries to make Will believe he killed Georgia’s friend Beth (not seriously but he deliberately talks about it like that to make Will at least consider it, to which Will protests). He always uses the available victims to make Will accept the idea of him being a killer a little more. He uses various approaches, including reverse psychology and direct faulty suggestions for that. He affects Jack’s opinion to create a bigger distance between him and Will, hoping that Will will become fed up with such treatment sooner and accept the other side of the veil.

At the same time, Hannibal never actually does anything that could really set Will up. He does it only during Releves, after Will refuses to listen to him. Will insists he’s going to take Abigail home because he can catch the Copycat, and Hannibal tries to talk him out of it. Then he is shown as frustrated and upset after Will storms out - he closes his eyes in defeat, as if forced to do what he would have preferred to avoid. That’s when he uses the recording and plants the real evidence.

Hannibal is crying when talking to Bedelia after Releves. Mads said Hannibal is always emotionally genuine and I don’t see a point in this scene unless it’s to show that he’s genuinely upset. His plan of a family got delayed, he was forced to set Will up, and Abigail went into hiding. Hannibal voices his annoyance at Will for that, so to me, it once again shows he didn’t want it to happen. He found how to twist this situation to his advantage but I don’t think it was ever his big intention. As a back-up plan in case of an accident or if no methods worked and Will continued to deny who he is - maybe, but I don’t think Hannibal was ready to give up and use this option then. The circumstances forced his hand.

That’s what Mads said: “There was never the intention to frame Will for anything, but the problem was that the arrows were starting to point towards Hannibal.”

So, I think Hannibal would have done the same if he was forced to relive this situation one more time because there wasn't much else he could do. Will was becoming too dangerous too quickly, way before being ready to accept his darkness and by extension Hannibal.

As for encephalitis, that's a really interesting question. We know Hannibal wanted Will to Become. He viewed Will clinging to limitations and denying his true nature as something very harmful, so he tried to shatter these limitations by using encephalitis as an opportunity. The sicker Will was, the less control he had, and the more chances there were of him snapping, acting on his urges, and killing someone. In addition, by losing time, Will couldn’t confirm to himself that he hasn’t murdered anyone. I believe Hannibal was waiting for him to become fed up with all this and decide to go dark because it’s easier than fighting. 

It was very traumatic. Technically, Hannibal could have done something different. He could have chosen a long-term strategy instead of being impatient and wanting Will to jump through his Becoming ASAP. So Hannibal could tell him about encephalitis, secure even more of his trust, and then continue his careful pushing and probing of Will's boundaries. Sooner or later, he'd have succeeded because the darkness was lying dormant in Will and it waited to be awakened.

The problem is, Hannibal was more enamoured with the idea of Will as his partner in S1 than with Will as a real person. He didn't grow to genuinely love him yet, and this is reflected in his approach. So if Hannibal faced the same situation, I think he would have done the same. However, if he went back in time with the knowledge he already had, loving Will as he does starting with S2, then I think he would chosen another way. He would have taken all his mistakes in consideration and made sure to form their bond in a more considerate way.

The question is, could it have happened before Will figured out who Hannibal was without being ready to accept it? Or, were Hannibal to choose a milder approach, they would be destined to go through hell anyway because Will would discover the truth while still wanting to catch the Copycat, resulting in yet another rift between them?

Maybe, despite everything, what happened in canon was the best thing in the long run: it ensured that Will and Hannibal both accepted the inevitable fact of being soulmates after going through all possible obstacles; Will Became, realized he can't live without Hannibal, and now after his half-hearted murder-suicide attempt, they are free to start a new, better, freer life together, finally learning what happiness is. At least I hope so!

[fronzie]

Birds of Valhalla analysis

okay so birds of valhalla ep 3 dropped tonight (meaning bvz 6 is possibly in the making if not gba please take a break!!!) but I wanna go over some things. Birds Of Valhalla is written and mostly voiced by @goodboyaudios

THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS TO THE SERIES EPISODE 3

so the memory stuff, we’re going through the different series gba has. we had Ulysses/Odysseus and Poseidon/Neptune in a conflict with the telescope. where are they from? The Alien God series with Little One/Pandora. With Ulysses in the ‘Fourseen’ and Neptune from Pandora. But oddly, it’s a moment of despair. Neptune holding Ulysses back from seeing his family because of the ‘trial’. We can tell this is post 7~ years with the mention of the ‘sea witch’ Calypso with quote;

[6:38 - 6:48 - Valhalla’s Hidden Secrets Revealed by Twin Ravens ft. DadeAudio & GavVAyt]

“ you seem pretty content with that sea witch~ ”

“ calypso… how did you know about that? ”

So tldr, we can say that the memory is a moment of despair and conflict for one party whether it be a king and a cheater begging with a space god or a space pirate standing up against a genocide.

Bring in Episode Three; Twin Bird Boys Find A Sword. I want to believe that it’s a new version of Yargwen’s sword but idk. To the main lore, this is when Mortallous (?) loses his arm. Because of Pre Space Pirates genocide of the Octopoids. While in the hallucinations, the words “Stop….You’re scaring me.” flash on the screen as someone (we can guess it’s Yargwen) gasps slightly. This could be a relation back to Space Pirates. I forget the exact episode but S1 Kalamos says that to Yargwen when he and Paradise are arguing about god knows what.

FOUND IT. I FOUND IT. Episode 3 Season 1 of Space Pirates, Rescuing an Octopus Boy from Pirates! (ft. KindredSpiritASMR and DandyArtVA) [M4A] - Timestamp is 9:42 - 9:46

“ Yargwen! Stop. please… you’re scaring me. ”

Now this may be just me overthinking but what if the flash is a reference to the line Kalamos said? Mind you, Mortallous and Yargwen fight because of the genocide of the Octopoids. Which Kalamos was. SO MAYBE

THEORIES FOR LATER BoV EPISODES;

i think we’ll see important lore snippets from finished gba series. we got Fourseen/Pandora, SPS. Maybe MoTH next hopefully with a skull? (like frank rip my guy) or maybe the Querian Saga I need to listen to? Or who knows! May even be a reference to another series he vas in like Bought by a Noble by Siren Son or the Mobster Series by Ycey Narrates! Wait. Maybe we might even get a little teaser for a possible new series in the memory snippets! Who knows!

if you made it this far thank you for reading my insane ramblings. it’s ~22:09/10:09PM and i have an exam tomorrow so yeah. if some of my phrasing makes no sense that’s because im really really tired. gba if you’re reading this hello again!! please remember to take breaks in between all of your masterpieces knowing how drained someone can be after working so long :)

[neolynne]

Pit Babe episode 9 rewatch/live commentary (part 2)

When i say that Pavel was born to play this Babe, it's his emotional scene that first comes to my mind, both here and in ep 10. The rawness in his acting, the sadness and hurt in his face, his eyes and his voice....it's a masterpiece when it comes to portraying grief.

How much betrayal can someone go through before it break them entirely?

I like to thing that the reason Charlie isn't right there from the beginning is because he was calling Alan/Jeff to reassure them and to tell them that he found Babe.

I kwon that a lot of fan are saying that we were robbed of the kiss....but i kinda prefer that the scene end with Charlie just hugging Babe through his grief

Side note n°???? but it look like Pavel and Pooh give the best hug in the world

Now that was a cathartic scene....even if slapping you kid is a big no no

10 years, approximately ? .......And if that the case, why did Way wait so long to make a move ???? Why did Tony wait so long to ask Way to make a move ??????????????????

And that answer my question from episode three ..... i'm just an idiot who doesn't pay enough attention......or maybe i'm just so feed up with Tony and Way bullsh*t since my fist time watching PitBabe that i just ignored everything that this man said in this scene.................

And this is when i stop myself from doing a Sugar Daddy joke......

It break my heart every time Kenta watch Tony be violent toward one of the "golden child" and he has that expression of bewilderment. As if every time, he cannot process the fact that Tony violence can be directed toward anyone else but him......and yet we know that he assisted to thing that are far worse than that......

Does he (Tony) have power too ? And what is his subgender? (And if he's an enigma.......did he plan to......with Babe ?......Why did i ask myself this question, why ?!!!!!!)

At this point, even Hannibal could be a better adoptive father.....maybe............(yes, i rewatched Hannibal S1......sue me)

This expression on Kenta's face, he know what happen to people when Tony doesn't give them another chance

What does Way says to Babe in ep 10 ? that he would never hurt Charlie because he know that Babe's loves him? Well, guess that was a lie. Because i'm pretty sure that telling Tony about Charlie power, making Tony transfert his plan from Babe to Charlie, count as hurting Charlie and subsequently as hurting Babe.

Fuck you Way

Charlie.....you know that what you just say is not true.....

Babe is so tiny in this scene

"on my life" he says, while planning his own death.....

How long was Alan just standing there while NorthSonic just ignored him ?

They both so invested in this ! Trying to get Alan to say something

I really wish we had the scene where they learn what Way did

That some good advice, happy that Alan listened to them

Aaahhh he's so cute.....and they both look so fluffy

I can imagine Kenta reading Alan message like 😐🤨😑

Jeff look so young in this scene

Tell him Uncle !

2 minutes ago you didn't want him to read your text and now you give him your phone ???? Uncle.....

We need more daring/flirty Jeff

So, in Jeff vision we got : Dean attack on Babe, Kenta attack on Pete, Charlie in the ambulance, Jeff with the kids, Winner pointing his gun at Babe and Charlie, Tony with the katana, Winner after he got beaten....

Boys.............

Creep

Même Kenta il en crois pas ses oreilles

Whoever put Pavel in this black t-shirt, thank you

Hiiiiiii Dean!!!!!!!! I missed you so much!!!!! you're so cute

North is so happy

I wanted to believe him so badly 😭

And they had to throw that little look between Dean and Charlie

...................he seemed so sincere.................

😭😭😭

Happiness look so good on them (ft the original trio 🥹)

What type of content do you think they put on the Xhunter channel??? We already have the live streaming, the little interview.....Sonic fashion vlog "get ready with me for the next race" ?

And do you think that the people watching North and Sonic Youtube content ship them ??? Because i would ! And maybe they read the comment, read the fic and watch the edit while lying in bed, kicking they feet and giggling like little kids (and the most oblivious people on Earth)????? Or worse, they make the edit themself !!!!!

Yes he is !!!! So handsome, so cute.......

Babe is so gentle

His hand on Charlie stomach and the little caress

Échange de bons procédés j'ai envi de vous dire

And welcome back "mama"

it's the tongue for me

Pooh's voice.....🫠

Both "Now matter what happens, you're the only reason i'm here" and "He's still warm, Charlie must not be dead yet" sit at the same table. And this table is called "let's emotionally destroy a potato" (i'm the potato)

Hi Winner 🤭

Why is he so loud!

This scene is right on top of my s*x inf ront of a mirror list, just below the one from "My beautiful man/utsukushii kare~eternal~ the movie"(my other all-time favorite BL......really, if you have not watched it, you should...and don't let the whole stalker thing stop you, the main couple are both crazy for each other)

Charlie keeping his gaze on Babe....work of art

Yes Charlie, use your hand!!!

Thank you Pavel

Don't listen to him Charlie, you did good....also, even if winning would have been great, it wasn't really the plan, right ?

Give it to us!!!!!!!! Change, you have the opportunity do do something really great on the 17th

He sure did

🤭

And look, only 2 part for ep 9!!!! Even if that one is quite long.

I really, really like this episode, but now i have to prepare myself for ep 10 😭

[imminent-danger-came]

Crazy that when lmk first released all the people comparing it to ninjago did so negatively

Early lmk easily blows early ninjago out of the water

(<- barely holding in the rage of a hot burning star)

Hahahah yeah. Hahahahahahahah yeah. Yeah. N*njago is better than lmk. Hahaha. Yeah. That is a take I can be normal about. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Hauhahahuhuhauhuahh. People can enjoy what they enjoy and do whatever they want forever. Ahaha. Sobs.

Bits aside, watching the amount of n*njago I did made me greatly appreciate lmk s1. Lmk s1 is a masterpiece compared to anything n*njago has to offer, I'm not quite sure why this is even a discussion. 1x09 is SO good ("The old you would have leveled this whole mountain range to stop me! But you're scared of hurting some kid? Pathetic!" *DIES DIES DIES DIES*). Sigh. Anon I don't get it

[eddiediazismyhusband]

Still with you in the wait and see approach. I need to be confident that relationship is bones and there won't be signs of it until at least the premiere.

that’s where i’m at too. i also just think someone needs to remind tim minear of what exactly his job is. his job isn’t to stir up fandom drama (and then complain about drama that he himself is partially to blame for but then refuse to directly call out the toxic ones) his job is to tell a story; but he decided that wasn’t what his job was the moment he scrapped 7b to rewrite it into whatever that mess was rather than just giving us an (admittedly) rushed backhalf of the season, and then open s8 up for NEW content.

No instead, he’s rehashing old storylines (gerrard), driving (literal) dead plotlines even further into the ground by creating new elements that there has never been any evidence of before (shannon), as well as actively giving the toxic fans he complained about the ammunition they need to continue being toxic (bt).

it feels like when he came back, he got this kind of god complex and is deciding to use 9-1-1 as his dollhouse for his wacky “masterpieces” that aren’t even that well thought out, and thinking that he needs to come up with these convoluted crazy plots to keep audiences interested, when most of the fandom have been vocal about how they miss the s2-4 era where it was just a procedural drama… not a hitchcock remake or an homage to classic b-movies.

i miss the energy of past seasons when yeah there was drama, but overall it was still a silly feel-good show; but then in s7 rather than emulating s1 and having it be a shorter reestablished character-focused season, he had it be both a character focus season (that decided to retcon and rewrite entire character traits of some people) as well as trying to cram in crazy drama plots (like listen, the cruise ship arc was decent, but it should have been focused on the storm/wave ONLY rather than the dumbass pirate plot that only took 10 minutes 💀).

so yeah, i’n trying to still remain positive and interact w headcanon/fanfiction content and posting the occasional “i hope we get this in s8”, but as far as actively speculating and teying to figure things out from photos or 2 second clips that will most likely only result in disappointment or frustration upon seeing the finished product, i’m not gonna hold my breath for anything.

Again if you wish to engage in spec and have fun with that, then by all means do! I just don’t have the mental capacity to do that healthily so i find it oftentimes more rewarding to keep my expectations low (especially after i got kinda spec crazy last season)

but also if you DO engage in spec, don’t try to gaslight and bully people, telling them that their interpretation is wrong just bc it’s not yours (meaning if someone is cautious about whether or not we’re getting buddie canon, don’t tell them they are delusional and insane bc ‘we absolutely 1000% are and there is no possibility we aren’t’ even tho it is very likely that we unfortunately won’t get buddie canon) i’ve had to make the decision to unfollow so many larger buddie blogs that i used to enjoy bc seeing the way they interact with fans’ concerns, low expectations, etc made me feel so icky bc they were beginning to sound like a certain part of the fandom (👀) and i don’t like that.

like i’m not going to go on someone’s post where they’re voicing their concerns and say “this is stupid that would never happen you’re delusional”

it’s one thing to be like “hey, i get that you may be stressed, but i look at it this way and that seems to help me” or to be like “good points, but if you look at this and this” but to actively make people feel stupid for having (objectively based on how s7 went) concerns about s8? that’s icky behavior to me idk

anyway i kinda hijacked this ask and went on alittle tangent, but no i am right there with you too on the “wait and see” of it all bc so far i have not seen anything truly promising about this season, and i honestly probably won’t until the show comes out and we actually get a feel for where tim’s brain is at this season (which…. knowing where his brain went last season doesn’t fill me with excitement)

[twilightstoned]

ranking my top 10 anime i've watched so far

this is ranked by personal enjoyment NOT by what's objectively the best! so i can't be wrong! :)

honorable mentions: Erased, Your Lie in April, The Promised Neverland (s1), Hunter x Hunter

10. Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop was the first anime I ever liked. I was introduced to it by my cousin when I'd sleep over and we'd be watching Adult Swim all night together. I do hold some nostalgia for it, but also it holds up well in all aspects (story, animation, OST, characters). The animation in this show is probably my favorite in all anime. It's such a vibe. It's probably the anime I rewatch the most just because I always throw it on for the vibes.

9. 86 Eighty-Six

Okay, I've let this one sit in my mind for a few weeks before updating my rankings and it's absolutely gotta be top 10.

It's such an incredible story with a beautiful OST. This actually is one of the anime that hit the hardest/deepest emotionally for me in a similar manner to Attack on Titan. I find that funny because Hiroyuki Sawano made the OST for both. It's not just the music though, the story is impressively profound. It deals with topics such as government corruption, discrimination, racism, and war extremely well. I particularly loved the journey of Shin's reasoning to continue to fight and exist. Additionally, Major Milize's journey to make a difference and fight despite her privilege made for a great character arc. I think this has one of my all time favorite endings out of all media, it feels perfect after everything we experience each character go through. This really is an incredible story, one of the very best I've watched.

8. Jujutsu Kaisen

I watched s1 of JJK like a couple of years ago and then watching S2 while I was sick in bed with the flu late last year is what got me into anime fully. I don't think JJK has the strongest story out there, but the characters being cool looking and likable plus the cool ass fights are why I adore this show. MAPPA really cooked with the fights. This is the first anime I had to read the manga ASAP after I finished the anime. Yeah, that's about it. It's just a really dope show with sick fights and sick characters.

7. Death Note

I'm actually surprised at how much I enjoyed Death Note. Like, I know it's beloved by so many, but I had tried it years ago and dropped it (probs due to my undiagnosed ADHD at the time). Regardless, it's fuckin good. There's so much tension and scheming that kept me absolutely hooked. I love the psychological war between Light and L. L might be one of the best characters out there. The only reason why it isn't in my top 5 I'd say is because I don't love the ending. I think the stronger points were before a major thing happens that I think anyone that's watched knows what I'm talking about. With that said, I still had a good time watching the whole thing. If the ending had stuck then this could have easily been one of the GOATs and a masterpiece, but regardless, it's still very much worth watching and I still loved it.

...

Okay so my top 5 can move around depending on what mood I'm in lol. I love all of these anime SO DEARLY. I did move it around since I last updated this, but i do find it kind of hard to rank them bc i like them at a pretty similar level i'd say (except my #1 which is untouchable apparently)

6. Fruits Basket

I have a history w/ this story. I lowkey watched the early 00s version of this like way back in junior high maybe? or high school? I remember loving it, but not finishing it. I had forgotten most of the story over the years and forgotten it even existed for all these years. The only things I can remember from then is that the guys turned into zodiac animals for some reason and Tohru and Kyo had a thing going on.

So, watching the 2019 version this year was such a treat. The story really hits you in the feels. I LOVE that every single character is developed strongly. Tohru is the best girl. It's just such a wonderful story with both heartbreaking and heartwarming moments throughout. I truly love this show SO much. I think I binged the final season in one day. I feel like this could be tied with #5 really.

5. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Well, Frieren is #1 on My Anime List for a reason. I think the first season we got was perfect in literally every single aspect when it comes to anime. Frieren has my favorite modern animation and artstyle out of everything else I've watched. It's become my comfort show. It's hard to say much more than it's just perfect. The story, the OST, the world building, the characters, the animation. It's all perfect. It's a beautiful reminder to appreciate the people in your life and to live in the moment.

4. The Apothecary Diaries

Okay, it might be recency bias, but I'm surprised how much I LOVED this one immediately. Something clicked for me with it. Maomao is one of my favorite protagonists in any show ever; she absolutely makes this show. Of course, the animation, soundtrack, and story are excellent as well. I thought the humorous moments were well-timed and didn't overdo it. Plus, I usually think anime humor is cringe, but this show actually had very funny moments to me. I enjoyed the mysteries of each episode and couldn't stop binging until I finished. This is definitely one of those shows that I connected with on a personal level and for that, it's immediately one of my favorites. I loved getting to see such an incredible character, who is a woman in a patriarchal society, navigate said society by using her knowledge and skills while also helping her fellow women she crossed paths with. I love so much about Maomao's personality, I'd probably write way too much if I explained why. I'm so glad we're getting season 2 soon!

3. Haikyu!!

Who would have thought a show about playing volleyball would be THIS good? There are so many hyped moments that had me tearing up out of pure joy. I found myself cheering like I was watching a real live sports match ahahah. The volleyball aspect of this show is quite accurate. It's wonderful to see each player's hard work pay off throughout the seasons/matches. Haikyuu is brilliant at character development and character interactions. It's crazy how it gets you to even feel bad, root for, and even love the players on the opposing teams. I love my main boys at Karasuno so much more though. This show can cure depression. Especially if that depression is from your irl sports team -.- lmfao.

2. Steins; Gate

This is one of the best stories in anime. I also think that it is the best time traveling story I have ever watched. I know people say up until episode 12 is a slow burner, but I never thought it felt that way. I could just watch all the characters do weird science experiments and random shenanigans together for a whole season or two. Plus, the building up of the mystery and tension during the first half of the show is exquisite. It all pays off in the 2nd half when shit gets crazy. Seriously, this story gets so good it's *chefs kiss* Also, the ending is great and REWARDING after all the suffering Okabe goes through. (Even more after watching Steins; Gate 0!)

1. Attack on Titan

Watching Attack on Titan was one of the rare pieces of media where I started watching because of all the hype and it still exceeded my expectations. Before I started this show, I didn't even really think I'd like it because of the dumbest reasons: I didn't like the colors and the story seemed not interesting to me at all. AND OH MAN I WAS SO WRONG! I knew by the middle of s1 that I was watching something special tbf lol.

AoT is the only anime that no other anime can even touch when it comes to brilliance imo. I keep trying to find another tv show that hits as hard for me. This is one of THE greatest stories of all time. I truly wish I could erase my memory of this show and watch it again for the first time.

It has the craziest plot twists. There's so many mysteries throughout the first 3 seasons that kept me absolutely hooked. I love how it takes an even darker and realistic turn in s4 too. It's one of the rare shows where it keeps getting better and better as it goes on. Rewatches of this show are insane as well because of all the foreshadowing that you don't recognize the first time. And to top it all off, the OST by Hiroyuki Sawano is absolutely breathtaking. I seriously can't stop listening to itttt. This has genuinely become my favorite show of all time (sorry Arc*ne, I still love you). It's insane how invested I became in the story and its characters. I still think about it daily. It has some of the PEAK moments in fiction, especially in season 3 and 4. I never thought I'd actually cry watching anime until this one; there were many moments that had me bawling. I could go on and on about this show.

TLDR?: AoT is simply a 10/10 goddamn masterpiece that everyone should watch.

Okay... that's all. I think this list will most likely change as I watch more anime. I got a long watchlist still.