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brucebocchi · 2 months

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Spring 2024 anime, Pt. 2: Mixed bags and the gems

hey! i also post this on my ko-fi! this is very much a labor of love, so if you liked what i wrote consider throwing a few bucks my way! also you can find part 1 right here! thanks!

Yes, hello, I'm still here. Between work and AI: The Somnium Files -nirvanA Initiative-, I was struggling to find the time to get this out, but here we are! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go actually watch some anime again.

As always, the OP for each show is linked in the title. Watch them! There were some damn good ones this season.

Let's-a go:

Mixed Bags

Astro Note

I’m going to kick off this section by first stating that on the whole, I’m much higher on the anime in this section this season than I was last time: Nothing that I watched this season disappointed me nearly as much as Metallic Rouge or The Witch and the Beast, nor bored me to tears like The Unwanted Undead Adventurer. This truly is a collection of mixed bags; anime that I found enjoyable or interesting but still left me wanting in one way or another. “Good But Could Have Been Great” is too unwieldy anyway.

Astro Note was eye-catching from the jump: This is very clearly an homage to Rumiko Takahashi’s beloved romcom Maison Ikkoku, with character designs by Carole & Tuesday’s Eisaku Kubonouchi. The colors are soft and bright, everyone looks unique and has a wide variety of hilarious facial expressions, and the OP is a fun time right out of the gate. You come for the lovely visuals and Takahashi homage, and you stay for, uh, not much else.

Takumi, a down-on-his-luck young chef, answers a job posting at a boarding house that promises its residents breakfast every day. It turns out that Mira, the odd but beautiful new landlady, is a dogshit cook and tried to attract a new one with a plagiarized job posting. Takumi doesn’t really care because she’s, like, really pretty, so he takes the job and moves in. He’s soon beset by a cast of wacky characters that includes an enigmatic unemployed salaryman and his precocious son, an indie idol who looks like a hard-drinking Futaba Sakura in her downtime, a nosy neighbor, and a rich, handsome romantic rival. We’re already approaching Maison Ikkoku territory.

Shortly after moving in, Takumi believes he overhears Mira saying that she’s a widow, which would firmly plant Astro Note’s flag right in Ikkoku’s turf, but it turns out that Mira is in fact an alien from the planet Wid, meaning she is of the Wido race (this is as good of a localization as you can ask for; in the original Japanese he heard “miboujin,” not knowing that she’s from the planet Mibou). So we’ve got some Urusei Yasura sprinkled in for good measure. Her adorable poodle, voiced by Junichi Suwabe (Sukuna himself!) is from the same planet and helping her find a MacGuffin, hidden by the previous owner, that would help her take over as queen. There’s also some blossoming romance!

The alien stuff made for an interesting wrinkle, and it went a long way toward characterizing Mira as an endearingly odd but curious woman, but it often played out in wacky hijinks caused by alien spies, which felt like a designated make-the-plot-happen button more often than not. It paid off splendidly in the last couple of episodes, and I loved how all of the flashbacks of Mira’s mother looked like grainy Showa-era space operas, but getting there took a lot of “oh no, chase that Thing!” sequences. I found myself tuning out on those until they finally became plot relevant.

The central romance was fine, if a little underbaked, but what kept me watching Astro Note was the smaller moments with the ensemble characters. There were moments with both Wakabayashi the salaryman and his son Ren that slapped the apathy right off my face, and a side plot with Takumi and a person from his past was incredibly sweet. I did also love the massive turn the plot took in the last couple episodes, to the point where I found myself almost wishing that the show up to that point was different.

And that’s Astro Note in a nutshell: A lot of good pieces mixed with some filler, weird pacing, and an overall uneven experience in a nice-looking package. A fun little distraction but nothing entirely memorable. If I can give this show one major positive, it’s that watching it finally convinced me to read Maison Ikkoku, and for that I will forever be grateful. Read Maison Ikkoku.

Go! Go! Loser Ranger

I keep running notes for everything I’m watching as the season rolls on, and sometimes I’ll indulge in other reviewers’ early takes and jot down some insights that might spark from hearing outside perspectives. During Gigguk’s opening remarks on Go! Go! Loser Ranger in his early Spring season roundup, I made a note that the easiest way to summarize this show for a western audience is “basically The Boys but with the Power Rangers instead of The Seven.” And then he said pretty much the exact same thing five seconds later. I just want the record to show that.

Indeed, this is a sentai series with some spice. 13 years ago, the invading forces of evil were soundly defeated by the Dragon Keepers, a real-life sentai squad. In the present day, the Dragon Keepers now sit atop a massive organization protecting earth, and also dominating the entertainment industry: Every week, they hold an exhibition match against the remaining rank-and-file footsoldiers, skull-faced shapeshifters known as Dusters. In order to keep their lives, the Dusters were forced to give up their freedom and serve as the farcical Putty Patrol for what is ultimately a pro wrestling show. Sick of being a jobber and effectively a slave, one of the Dusters, known simply as Fighter D, decides the best way to destroy the Dragon Keepers and free his brethren is to do so from within: He’ll morph into a human shape, join their Rangers program as a cadet, and personally slay each of the five Keepers.

Fighter D is quickly found out, though. One of the recruiters, the lovely but mercurial Yumeko, isn’t nearly as dumb as he thought, but she fortunately has the same aim and quickly puts him to work trying to steal the Keepers’ insanely powerful weapons, the Divine Artifacts. He’s also found by the Dragon Keepers and manages to escape, though badly wounded. He’s found in a cave by Yumeko’s hanger-on, the upstart Ranger cadet Hibiki, whose family was badly fragmented by an unknown monster. While he still believes in the Keepers and shares their ostensible goal of protecting humanity, he believes that there needs to be major changes and agrees to let D impersonate him to infiltrate the Rangers. He’s soon embroiled in a prolonged examination trial against higher-ranked Rangers that soon turns into a fight to the death, made only more deadly by the inclusion of a female Duster and the same monster that killed Hibiki’s parents and paralyzed his sister.

Yes, that’s a lot, and everything up until that last sentence was just in the first four episodes. I’ve said repeatedly that I’m willing to be patient with introductory seasons for action-oriented shonen series, because those do usually take a minute to start cooking, but the first season of Loser Ranger is bizarrely paced. The first four episodes were an intriguing introduction, but they might have served better as a movie to kick off the season, because the overwhelming majority of the remaining eight episodes were pretty much just a bunch of people fighting in a fucking parking garage. I was under the impression that the first season was going to be 24 or so episodes, for some reason, so I was willing to be patient with it.

Maybe I should've been patient enough to wait until the second season, because I found myself getting whiplash between fascination and utter boredom. I still don’t know if I even like this show. There are so many moving parts, and many of them are fascinating, but to get bombarded with them so early and so often, only to then keep most of them in the background in favor of way too many new characters fighting in, again, a goddamned parking garage, frustrates me in increasing measure the more I write about it. I really wanted to like this show more than I did.

The production values are seemingly all over the place too. The OP is another Tatsuya Kitani banger, the voice cast is deep and talented (especially for the English dub, holy hell), the puppet outros are a hoot, and the animation is mostly fine. I’m rarely one to complain about CGI in anime (the ED for this show is entirely 3DCG and it fucks), but a lot of it in Loser Ranger, especially as an obvious means of cheaping out on having to hand-draw and -animate the Dragon Keepers’ slightly-elaborate costumes, is baffling. You could make a generous case for it representing them as larger-than-life personalities, but in execution it’s just kind of uncanny. The show looks and sounds fine overall, but little things like that just take me out of it.

I’m going to withhold judgment until the second season, but for now I can’t say I’m too impressed by the debut. Maybe just watch the first four episodes and put a pin in it until season 2 drops.

Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night

I’m beginning to worry that Metallic Rouge’s catastrophic narrative failure may have permanently made me nervous about any original anime to follow. It’s an unfair comparison to make, especially considering it aired at the same time as the bombastically audacious Bang Brave Bang Bravern, which I consider one of the best of the year so far and even one of the better anime to air so far this decade. At the same time, though, the millisecond I start to suspect that an original anime is losing its footing, as soon as the one synapse fires that tells me that this show may not be able to stick the landing, I start to get cynical. The good news is that Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night isn’t even in the same time zone as Rouge’s disappointment. The bad news is that it still never fully lived up to what it could have been.

Right from the jump, this felt like Doga Kobo flexing in between seasons of Oshi no Ko with yet another gorgeous showbiz anime. The debut episode is one of the best I’ve seen in some time; an immaculately animated and brilliantly storyboarded mission statement showcasing the self-doubting illustrator Mahiru and the disgraced ex-idol Kano meeting and finding new inspiration in one another’s work (if you’ve been reading Beat & Motion, this may sound familiar, except they’re both high school girls). It was a masterclass in depicting powerful self-expression and the spark of a truly fateful encounter. What followed was also pretty good, but...

Mahiru and Kano band together (pun intended) to form the multimedia collective JELEE, also enlisting social-outcast musical prodigy (and Kano stan) Mei, and NEET VTuber Kiui along the way. We see a lot of the nitty-gritty of trying to get a new act off the ground, as well as the reality that any new artist or creator nowadays is, ultimately, at the mercy of the internet. It was a treat to watch these four all come together, as was seeing the emotional bonds they forge with one another while also navigating their own personal issues, but it frequently came at the expense of an actual plot. That sort of thing is fine, I do love me some good slice-of-life, but I feel like the show planned on something a bit grander. While we’re focused on so many of these really lovely moments of character growth and interpersonal drama, everything about JELEE’s ascent, y’know, the main plot, just kind of happens, and before you know it everything turns out okay and the season’s over. It really felt like the writers had a big plan but ended up just laying down the tracks while the train was already in motion.

As mentioned, I’m not nearly as down on the anime in the “Mixed Bags” section this season as I was three months ago, but just thinking about how the plot sagged around the middle and rushed towards its ending leaves me frustrated. Unlike JELEE itself, Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night feels like less than the sum of its parts. This show feels like an unfinished jigsaw puzzle; what you can make out of the image is gorgeous, yet not only was it never completed, but someone clearly put a few of the pieces together wrong as well. There are plenty of themes in the story and character writing that could have blossomed into something amazing, like impostor syndrome, finding community and identity through fandom, young sapphic love, gender identity, and so many more, and it may have been possible to resolve at least a couple of these in 12 episodes, but Jellyfish seemed either incapable of or uninterested in actually getting there beyond a few vague overtures.

I know I sound harsh here and I didn’t mean for this review to be mostly complaints; I did very much like this show, but I wanted so badly to love it. And it probably isn’t entirely fair of me to grade this show based on what it could have been instead of what it is, but so much was plainly left on the table that I’m not really left with another choice. I still recommend it much more strongly than anything else I've put in the Mixed Bags section so far this year, but be forewarned that you may be let down. This is a pretty goddamn good anime that could’ve been pretty goddamn incredible, but it just couldn’t get there.

Mysterious Disappearances

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I know what I’m about. If a new series rotates around a protagonist who looks like that, I’ll at least give it an episode or two.

Sumireko is a former child-prodigy novelist, now in her late 20s working at a bookstore with the sharp-tongued Ren, as she continues to fail at getting published again. On the eve of her 28th birthday, Sumireko accidentally takes home a book that was droplifted in the store, and shortly after reading it aloud she finds herself reverted into the body of a child. Suddenly struck by inspiration once again, she disappears from work for the next week, furiously typing away at her next novel. Ren manages to find her and tells her that she’s under a curse: The book is an otherworldly object known as a Curiosity, and its power can be deadly to those who use it. Though Sumireko is desperate to hang on to her newly-regained youth, Ren manages to smooth-talk her into changing back and handing over the book. Now aware of an extradimensional threat to daily life, Sumireko teams up with Ren and his little sister Oto to track down and neutralize more Curiosities before they cause widespread havoc.

This series is alright, if questionable in a lot of areas. I recognize that I’m not entirely the target audience; while I love a good supernatural mystery, each of these Curiosities is rooted in East Asian mythology and contemporary urban legends, very few of which I was familiar with going in. To those on that side of the world (or to Westerners with that specific special interest), I’m sure it hits different, but I got lost on a couple of occasions. Mysterious Disappearances also runs into the same pacing issues that I found with The Witch and the Beast last season, where the plot structure is effectively episodic, but each mystery can last a few episodes at a time, so if you’re not particularly invested in the subject at hand, you’re SOL for another week or two.

This show also just plain doesn’t look very good. The animation is nothing impressive and there’s something off-putting about the overall look that I can’t quite put my finger on. It looks retro in ways that probably weren’t intentional, like a 20-year-old digipaint anime that was upscaled from 480p. The audio element is great, at least; the music, sound design, and cast are all fantastic (between her turn as Sumireko in this one and her supporting roles in Reincarnated as the 7th Prince and Kaiju No. 8, Fairouz Ai has put in great work this season), and that’s a good thing because this one isn’t a looker.

If you couldn’t already tell from how the main character looks, Mysterious Disappearances is undoubtedly horny as hell, but often distractingly so. I do have to praise Sumireko’s design to an extent; for a large-chested anime lady, she at least hews closer to how a tall woman with somewhat appropriately large breasts would actually be built and how her clothes would actually fit. She looks like a more realistically-proportioned Nami. There’s no shortage of anime characters with gigantic boobs, but few that make me actually go “oh, this woman definitely has back problems.” There are a lot of slow-tilting shots up female characters’ legs towards their chests to the point where I tuned the dialogue out because I couldn’t believe they just kept on doing it. I skimmed through the manga, and though there is far more semi-gratuitous nudity as compared to the anime, I still somehow found the latter much more distracting with its attempts at fanservice. I also don’t really care for how the “camera” looks at Oto and her middle school classmates either; I found myself just getting nervous whenever a scene focused on them.

For its problems, there’s at least a series of solid emotional cores here. Similar to Sumireko’s desire to regain her youthful creativity, the wielders-slash-victims of these Curiosities are largely vulnerable individuals who are trying to make the best of their lives in spite of past traumas like bullying, neglect, and disability. All serious issues, no doubt, and the story tries to handle them as well as possible, but once you see through the pattern of “awful thing is happening, we get to know the character, then we learn their tragic backstory and there’s a tearful resolution while we move closer to advancing the overall plot,” it can feel a little cloying in the long run. Not that those resolutions can’t be potent; I really liked the endings of the stories of the missing hairdresser and the rogue VTuber, but as a plot formula it can ring hollow.

Mysterious Disappearances is a fine if unspectacular series of supernatural mysteries with an okay overarching plot, and your mileage may vary depending on your existing knowledge of East Asian occult and superstition. It’s also not that fun to actually look at, even if you happen to be into tall redheads with huge racks. Uh, not that I would know.

The Gems

Girls Band Cry

When Bocchi the Rock! made its unexpectedly earth-shattering landfall a couple years ago, it was inundated with a deluge of comparisons to the previous landmark girls-in-a-band anime, K-On!. It felt a bit trite at the time, and feels even more so in retrospect; each show is its own thing and they both stand on their own merits. And now here’s my dumb ass, reviewing a new girls-in-a-band anime, desperately trying not to compare it to Bocchi.

It’s really not a fair comparison either way; the focus being on an all-girls rock band is really the only thing they have in common. Rather than Hitori “Bocchi” Gotoh, a perpetually-anxious recluse looking to join a band so she won’t have to get a real job after high school, we have Nina Iseri, who is… difficult. Nina has just moved to Tokyo after running away from home, but her train arrived too late for her to get her apartment key, and to make matters worse, her phone’s dead. While charging at a local coffee shop, she finds out that Momoka, the now-former frontwoman of her favorite band, is playing on a nearby street. After some ups and downs, they decide to form a band together, and butt heads more than a couple times.

Along the way, they recruit more members, each with their own issues: Subaru, the drummer, is struggling with the expectations placed on her by her grandmother to become an actress, Tomo, the keyboardist, is exacting and a little too opinionated to keep a steady role in a band, and Rupa, the bassist, is a soft-spoken foreigner who remains a cheerful enigma despite losing her parents. And Nina and Momoka are both flat-out stubborn in ways that do not mesh well with one another. There are a lot of yelling matches and many angry tears shed as the band Togenashi Togeari comes together: yes, the “Cry” in the title isn’t just for style points.

I will say that it’s refreshing that Girls Band Cry does not sugarcoat what an absolute pain in the ass Nina can be when she’s dug in: She ran away from home because she’s utterly convinced of her own righteousness, and it’s your damn problem if you think otherwise. She is avoidant and oppositional-defiant, and everyone else just has to deal with it. She may not pick her hills well, but by God will she die on them. Props for having a protagonist this openly messy and unpleasant. Plenty of musicians, or really anyone working in a group for that matter, can be abrasive and stubborn, and TogeToge’s growing pains are a necessary element of their development as a band.

I know the bar isn’t very high for 3D computer-generated anime when it doesn’t come from Studio Orange, but this is easily one of the best-looking 3DCG anime I’ve ever seen. Between this and Trigun Stampede, I’m blown away at how expressive characters can be in CG, and how they react to what’s around them in real-time more consistently than you’d see in most 2D animation. Speaking of which, Girls Band Cry isn’t entirely in 3D; much of the OP as well as several flashbacks and background characters are hand-drawn, and they look so goddamn good that I’m almost left wondering what could’ve been. Not that I’m disappointed in the slightest; when the 3D animation hits, it REALLY hits in gorgeous synaesthetic waves that so perfectly depict an intersection of sound, light, and emotion. Hell, even the transition cards are huge eye catchers. Not everything looks brilliant all the time; the pets in particular are uncannily low-res and almost look like they got plucked out of KamiKatsu.

Of course, this is a band show, so the audio element has to be on point as well, and I’d say Girls Band Cry is up to snuff. The anime is part of a larger multimedia project, and the entire main cast consists of audition winners performing under mononyms, and they knock it out of the damn park; they’re pretty goddamn great for supposed newcomers. The music is a blast as well, not just in performance scenes but in the background as well. Togenashi Togeari already existed in the zeitgeist as a virtual band before this show went to air, so they already had a small discography out there before the show went to air and I’m looking forward to digging into it.

Infamously, this show isn’t particularly easy to watch. Not in the thematic sense, but literally: You cannot legally watch it in English anywhere in the West. Despite its popularity, Girls Band Cry was never picked up by any Anglosphere-based streaming platforms, for whatever reason, and the only official English subtitles out there are from an Indonesian streamer. So, much like the days of VHS trading and the early internet, we’re forced to rely on community translations. Far be it from me to encourage piracy (lol), but if you can find a good fansub, Girls Band Cry is very much worth your while. Pinkies up, motherfuckers.

Kaiju No. 8

I don’t watch Demon Slayer or My Hero Academia, so this was my designated Shonen Jump action show of the season, and it came with a ton of buzz: The way I see it, if I can pick up a volume of the manga at Target, the inevitable anime adaptation is gonna be a big deal. I’ve not read Kaiju No. 8 yet, but I’d say the anime lives up to a good amount of the hype.

Japan has had to handle a constant threat of kaiju for many decades now, and as a child the way-too-aptly-named Kafka Hibino made a promise to his best friend Mina that they would both grow up to lead the Japan Anti-Kaiju Defense Force in charge of eliminating the threat. A couple decades later, she’s a national hero as a captain in the Force, while Kafka is in the private sector at age 32, cleaning up the enormous corpses and viscera Mina and her division leave behind. He hasn’t given up on his dreams, by any stretch; Kafka has failed every single enlistment application he’s submitted since he came of age, but he just keeps on trying.

Kafka and his work kohai, the upstart JAKDF hopeful Reno, manage to survive a kaiju attack at the end of a shift with minor injuries, but when they’re in the hospital, a potato-sized flying kaiju shoves itself down Kafka’s throat, causing him to transform into a kaiju. Fortunately, he’s able to change back to his human form just in time to pass the first round of Defense Force exams, with Reno warning him not to let anyone in on his secret during practical exams.

Kafka is pathetically weak in his human form and is repeatedly shown up by the daughter of the Defense Force’s director general, the young hotshot Kikoru (Fairouz Ai once again), but he manages to save her life when a training exercise goes haywire and forces him to transform and share his secret with her. Reno and Kikoru get in, no problem, while Kafka manages to squeak in as a cadet. Of course, without exposing his little-big kaiju secret, Kafka can’t do much to help in terms of actual combat, but he does frequently act as an unofficial tactician in directing his squadmates on the battlefield and, in a very smart writing decision, applying his professional knowledge of kaiju anatomy to help them identify and target weaknesses.

And from there we get a whole lot of early military training and bonding, and not just with Kafka, Reno, Kikoru, and their division’s vice-commander, the giggly Hoshina: There’s also, uh, Man-Bun! And Muscles! And Shark Teeth! And the Token Women! You know, those guys. Yeah, this is ostensibly an ensemble cast, as any good battle shonen should be, but I really didn’t get much from anyone outside the main few characters other than identifying features. I’m sure we’ll get more out of them in subsequent seasons but I have little to work off of right now.

The main three are great, though: Kafka definitely has shonen protag brain even at his age, but he’s still necessary representation for schlubby guys in their 30s who still have hopes and dreams (we exist and our stories matter), and for as serious and focused as Reno likes to think he is, he makes a great tsukkomi whenever Kafka starts acting up. Kikoru is already an icon as well; she’s basically Asuka Langley Sohryu for the zoomer generation. I feel a little weird about the fact that she’s literally half Kafka’s age and still acts kinda tsundere around him, but this is a shonen at the end of the day.

I have some small nagging issues with the story here and there, but nothing that outright ruins the show for me. Like plenty of others, I’m far more fascinated with the ins and outs of how Japanese society adapted to living with kaiju threats outside of just military preparation and response; Kafka’s initial job in kaiju cleanup was actually really neat and I’d have loved it just as much (and possibly more) if the series had just focused on that. I want some damn world building! I also am not crazy about the focus on the Defense Force’s powerscaling in the form of “Unleashed Combat Power,” but I also just plain don’t care about powerscaling to begin with. Wasn’t the entire point of power levels in Dragon Ball Z that it’s pointless to define someone’s fighting spirit by a number? Maybe they drop it later.

This show looks pretty darn good! Production IG clearly put its A-team on this one; the character animation is cartoonishly bouncy and expressive in ways we rarely see outside of Trigger productions, and the big-ass kaiju are all mercifully in outstanding 2D (though I wouldn’t complain about CG; the OP is entirely in 3D and looks exceptional). The silliness of the animation really came through in one of the funniest scenes in any anime I watched this season. Some of the textures can look a little distractingly muddy at times, but hey, these are big ugly monsters we’re looking at. Make those bastards ugly.

On a certain level, I can appreciate the effort put into this show to try to make it a crossover success; the manga is popular and kaiju films remain one of Japan’s greatest cultural exports. Streaming new episodes on the fetid corpse of Twitter was certainly a decision. I can also appreciate wanting to load up the soundtrack with popular Western artists; my problem is that they went with acts I actively avoid like YUNGBLUD (with writing by Imagine Dragons!) and OneRepublic. Suffice to say, I don’t care for the OP and ED on a musical level, but I know that I’m coming at this with a conscious bias. I’m sure they’re hits over in Japan, and for all I know there are music fans over there with the same tastes and disposition as me who think that some Japanese acts I learned about through anime like, say, Bump of Chicken or Queen Bee, are “coworker music” or whatever. I’ll live.

Kaiju No. 8, at the end of the day, is another battle shonen with guns and big monsters, but sometimes that’s all you need. I’ll be coming back for the next season.

Train to the End of the World

Spring 2024 was a banner season for girls anime. From the veteran director/writer duo that gave us cult hits like Squid Girl, Shirobako, and Prison School (and individual credits on a laundry list of classic and cult-favorite anime across the board) comes an original anime that’s not quite Cute Girls Doing Cute Things, nor Cute Girls Doing Amazing Things, but Cute Girls Being Fucking Weirdos in a Weird World.

7G technology has arrived in Japan and immediately wreaked unknowable chaos. Geography, flora, and fauna have all warped beyond recognition, and in the town of Agano, every human above a certain age has become a talking animal. Shizuru, a still-human high school girl, has been looking for her best friend Youka ever since they got in a fight two years ago and the latter ran off, just before the 7G cataclysm. She finds out that Youka has been spotted in Ikebukuro, and with the help of a babbling train conductor who managed to briefly turn lucid, learns to operate a two-car commuter train to get the hell out of dodge. Just before Shizuru leaves, train stocked with Agano’s famous goya melons, she’s joined by her classmates: The soft-spoken Nadeko, the temperamental bookworm Akira, and the rambunctious gyaru Reimi. Youka’s dog, Pochi, also joins for morale purposes. Along the way, they see just how warped Japan has become, with locals in the various towns ranging from mushroom people to zombies to Lilliputians to characters from their favorite anime, and more.

Try as I might, a summary does not do Train to the End of the World justice; this show is as offbeat as offbeat gets. It makes no bones about how flat-out weird it wants to get and actively revels in it. It’s not really interested in making the girls into a new generation of moe icons either; they are unabashed weirdos, in the ways that really only high school girls can be, and they handle the bizarre situations foisted upon them in similar fashion. They get into arguments about dumb shit, hurl insults at strangers, and occasionally just talk about poop. The writing in this series is fascinating, and it really shouldn’t come as a surprise coming from someone who also has script-writing credits for classics like Cowboy Bebop and Ranma ½ on her resume. The dialogue is punchy and comes at a breakneck pace in ways that you really only get in original anime like ODDTAXI.

Train to the End of the World is an incredible dichotomy unto itself because it clearly comes from a very literate way of thinking but has a blast being really goddamn stupid sometimes, in the best ways. It draws on a lot of inspirations of the epics of yore, gleefully cites the western literary canon, and ponders the future of the human race, and then has the girls negotiate their release from a Gulliver’s Travels situation by threatening to flood a park with urine. It is at once Homer and Homer Simpson. This show is funny in ways that are hard to articulate; comedy is so intrinsic to the show that it only has so many laugh-out-loud moments, but much more often I found myself shaking my head and remarking “this show is fucking hilarious.”

As a complete story, Train to the End of the World isn’t exactly generation-defining, but that’s perfectly fine. It’s an experience more than anything. It has really nice character moments and some heartwarming stuff in there, but I was mostly there for the weird shit. The ending was just okay, but I didn’t feel any poorer for having seen it; I’ll dive right into the cliche and say that it wasn’t about the destination but rather the journey. I had an absolute blast for the whole ride.

Now that I’ve made you read all of this, I’m going to go ahead and admit that I haven’t seen Squid Girl, Shirobako, or Prison School, but I kind of have to now, because I was bowled over by this show. This series revels in surrealism, so your mileage may vary, but it’s at the very least worth checking out. It may not have a lasting impact outside of some similar cult favoritism, but this was still my personal favorite new anime of the season.

Wind Breaker

A few weeks into the Spring season I felt like I was missing something. I gave Wind Breaker a shot and I realized about halfway into the first episode that what I was missing was just some dope-ass fisticuffs.

Haruka is a bit of a delinquent. His hair and eyes are heterochromic, and because he’s judged so harshly for his looks, he decided to lean into it and become the nogoodnik everyone thinks he is. He’s moved to a new town to join the local high school Furin, where he hears he’ll have to fight his way to the top, but as soon as he arrives in town he sees a young woman being harassed by a group of creeps. He takes them out on his own and in return receives a free lunch from the cafe she runs despite his protestations. After she teases him more than a little (his ass is NOT used to positive attention), the creeps return with more goons in tow, and Haruka is backed up by his new classmates. To his surprise, the locals shower the Furin boys with praise, and he then learns that Furin’s gang, Bofurin, exists solely to protect the town from outside threats. And Haruka thinks that is the coolest shit ever.

From there, Haruka gets to meet more of the Bofurin boys, and because of his standoffish personality, rebuffs their praises from the fight. Again, his ass is NOT used to positive attention. We get to learn the hierarchy of Bofurin, and it’s not exactly as Haruka expected: This is not a might-makes-right dogpile at all; it is a structured organization that protects its own and puts its community first. Soon enough, though, they happen upon one of their middle schoolers being hassled by a neighboring gang, and they organize a tournament on hostile ground to resolve their differences.

I am an absolute goddamn sucker for the “delinquent with a heart of gold” archetype, and Haruka is just a big ol’ tsundere from the opening minutes, so Wind Breaker hit like fucking catnip for me. For a show about gangs of delinquents, this could actually be a good example of positive masculinity if you look at it in a certain light. It’s very heavy-handed with the message that nobody can achieve greatness on their own and that surrounding yourself with the right people can change your life for the better. It’s not a rare theme in Japanese media by any means (it’s a central theme of the Persona series as well as another ultra-popular shonen series I’ve been reading in secret), but I really appreciate it being delivered through the lens of channeling brute strength and fighting prowess specifically to protect the vulnerable.

At the end of the day, though, it’s really just about guys bein’ dudes.

The production values on this are phenomenal and I have to commend CloverWorks for turning in yet another banger. The cast is deep and plenty talented (there’s a lot of Jujutsu Kaisen in there, and it should surprise nobody that the goofy, silver-haired leader of Bofurin is voiced by Yuichi Nakamura). The animation, shot composition, fight choreography, and lighting effects are all absolutely gorgeous, and it’s clear that they see this as a potential franchise. At least, I would certainly hope so, because what we actually got from the first season left me a little hungry. The tournament arc was juicy, and it went a lot longer toward introducing the ensemble cast than the two other action shows I just talked about, but it lasted about an episode too long for a 13-episode season, and the ending came at an awkward time. I was left wanting, but what I want is a second season, so I guess it did its job.

The issues with pacing and the weirdly-timed ending meant that Wind Breaker was a bit of a fence case for me between this section and the last, but my memories of watching it are almost uniformly positive, so into The Gems it goes. This show rocks. Dudes rock.

#anime reviews

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snailsdraw · 2 years

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[Start ID: 7 pages of HLVRAI narrative doodles about Benrey wearing skirts based on [this post here].

Benrey looks at his reflection in the mirror and the long skirt he's just put on. It's a purple vintage swing skirt from the 1950s, an unused item Dr Coomer had tucked away up until just recently. Dr Coomer stands behind Benrey, sporting a hawaiian shirt, with his hands proudly on his hips: "I think you look very handsome, Beppy! Would you say the same?" Either sides of the skirt are bunched up in Benrey's hands where he's lifting it up and away from brushing against his legs. His mouth is a tight, thin line. "it's, uhh…yeah. like it. looks. can i take it off now, please?" Benrey grits out. Tommy winces at the stream of flimsy red sweet voice bubbles slipping out from the corner of Benrey's mouth: "Uh-oh. Red like, like a brick means that's a bad, uh, ick."

Tommy leaves the shirt he's just finished folding and picks up a pair of comfy black pajama pants with a green grid pattern on it from off the pile of unfolded clothes next to him on the couch. "Here! This'll help!" he says, before launching the pants right at Benrey's face. Dr Coomer chuckles at him.

Sometime later, Gordon knocks on their open front door. He asks: "Hey, any of yall seen Capt- Joshie's stuffed horse? I think he might've left it here the last time we-" He's interrupted by an abrupt "hey" from Benrey. Benrey's dressed in his hoodie, playstation socks, and most importantly, the pajama pants and skirt from earlier. He leans forward, a hand on his hip while the other twirls a chullo string around his finger playfully. Benrey smiles smugly at Gordon, showing of his new skirt: "bet you're, uh, jealous you can't pull this off, huh?"

Tommy pipes up: "Oh! I was just about to go give- to return this to you. Hello, Mr Freeman!" Benrey looks displeased at Tommy's sudden entrance as the taller man pops into view behind him, a stuffed horse held in his hand. Gordon's smile is a grateful one as he passes Benrey to retrieve the toy: "Aw fuck, thanks man." "yo what the hell man? you ruined my moment…" Benrey pouts, arms crossed and side-eyeing Tommy. Dismissively, Gordon tells Benrey: "Dude, I've been rocking those since, like, preschool."

Benrey just grumbles and blows a rasberry, back stubbornly turned on the two behind him: "you're no fun." Gordon takes Joshua's stuffed horse from Tommy's hand. Not looking at Benrey, he mumbles with a shrug: "I mean…I didn't say it was bad or anything. Suits you, I guess." Benrey gives him an unsure look as Gordon passes him again on his way out: "/gen?" "Uh, yeah, /gen-" Gordon says distractedly, rushing out the door. "L-look, I gotta run. If Josh finds out Cap'n's gone, he's gonna freak. Thanks again, Tommy!" (Cap'n is the name of the stuffed horse) When he's gone, Tommy taps Benrey on the shoulder.

Tommy whispers sideways to Benrey: "Don't worry, Benrey. I think he liked it." "wuh?" Benrey says, looking up at him. Tommy does a series of ASL hand signs indicating that Gordon had been blushing. Benrey's eyes widen at him, and a couple of shy peach sweet voice orbs bubble from his mouth.

In the elevator, Gordon has his back pressed up against the wall, the horse plush clutched to his chest. "God, hope I didn't catch a cold or something," he thinks, mistaking the awkward heat in his face for an oncoming fever. He is, as Tommy had communicated, blushing.

End ID.]

Thanks to the op of the post this was based off for the inspo heheh.

Also, I don't know if Tommy's signing is accurate😬 (I never formally learned sign language so I could only look for references online).

#* writes the colour of the skirt and pj pants in the id even though it's not in the image *#this was supposed to be a short thing but hahA #hlvrai #hlvrai benrey #hlvrai coomer #hlvrai tommy #hlvrai gordon #snail's art #id #frenrey

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mimicha-arts · 1 year

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Starry, Starry night

This new picture for the upcoming episode has been released, let's talk about it. Please remember, I live in delusion.

There are several posters on the wall, and the one next to Cheng Xiaoshi - 星空，refers to the film with the same title. Starry, Starry night is a 2011 Taiwanese drama based on a novel by Taiwanese author Jimmy Liao.

Hsieh Xin-Mei used to live with her grandparents up in the mountains. Then she moves to the city to live with her parents, but her family situation is not very good, and she tries to hide from reality in the world of her own imagination. One day, a new student was transferred to her school - a boy named Zhou Yu-Jie.

Despite the misunderstanding at the beginning, both of them are lonely and feel like outsiders in their own lives, befriending one another. When reality catches up, they try to escape to a world that belongs only to them, to see the stars. Do I have to tell you that this story is about grief and sorrows, "the end of summer", journey to adulthood, love across time and distance? About an accidental meeting and fate.

I think it's worth your time to watch, this film is very heartwarming.

You can read the full plot description on Wikipedia, although it will not convey the full meaning, since the film has many artistic images and interesting decisions that convey the story sensitively. If you want to watch it yourself, read no further.

Spoilers … And References. And some beautiful moments that make me THINK.

1. Time

One of the themes is time, the hands of the clock often tick in the background, and at some point the numbers themselves, which indicate train departures, not just stop - freeze.

18:42 - 18:50 - 18:55

Do I believe in coincidences? No.

2. Journey

Their path - an escape to their dream world - passes through a tropical wild forest. On their journey, they try, despite the difficulties, to find the right path to their dream.

Since s2e1, I've been thinking about how much the forest in the back of that vision, ED/OP, is a real forest, a real tunnel, not the symbolism of the "journey". But now, if such a choice is not accidental, I have received answers to my questions, at some point.

In fact, I lost my mind at the moment when they came to a fork in the road, they had to choose their path - they took the wrong path, and were forced to face the same choice, choosing a path, for the second time. Again.

But in the end, the path to the stars ends in a life-threatening situation where they have no choice but "return". Although they both know that this is the end for them, the end of their journey, and the end of their "summer".

3. Puzzles

This story is about art, not about photography, but about paintings and puzzles. Puzzles literally act as moments of remembrance. Although these are not burning photographs, deep in her sleep, Hsieh Xin-Mei follows the image of Zhou Yu-Jie in the night forest, and the entire world also collapses when the end comes.

When Hsieh Xin-Mei woke up from her dream, Zhou Yu-Jie was no longer here.

The search for the missing part for the puzzle based on the painting "Starry, Starry Night" - is fundamental, literally the core to the plot.

The connection of everything, through the years. It's like a promise, it's like an eternal memory of that time.

There are more things I could write about, but I don't want to make this post too long… Just. There is always something about stories with a sunshine-like person, curious, breaking boundaries, talking non-stop, and about a person who quietly looks at the first one, listening to everything with a smile. And it becomes life-changing. I would like to remind you that these are just my thoughts, I'm having fun, maybe seeing something that isn't there. We will see anyway.

But. For real. Put a detail like that into an episode and expect me to ignore it? No. Huh.

I'm just overthinking once again, but Interesting choice :)

#link click #shiguang dailiren #shiguang #mimicha.lc

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sgt-scottymoreau · 20 days

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Second first date

Summary: What happened in Siberia could be seen as some sort of date. But an actual date, something regular people would do? That they never did before. Well there's a first to everything.

Warning: 18+

Words: 4.6k // AO3 // Masterlist

A/N: Took me weeks but I'm finally done! I hadn't wrote smut in a long time so kind of blocked around there and also that it's the first time that ever wrote romatic smut lol It was fun!

The plane finally landed after a painful six hours. Sun was timidly rising in the horizon, clear sky and all Scotty wanted was to run inside. Clothes still half soaked, sand in her shoes, dirt sticking to her face and hair, the smell of travel, sweat and whatever, she needed a shower right now. With sore legs, she disembarked on the tarmac, every possible joint screaming in painful relief. That be the military life; wrecking your body before the ripe age of thirty. Sometimes she wondered how her knees were able to still hold her. Her phone buzzed a few times. She ignored it, it was most likely a bunch of messages finally coming through and she couldn’t bother to check them now. Later once she will be home.

The small studio she found a few weeks ago, wasn’t so far from the base which was a good thing. An hour drive wasn’t so bad; she did more back at home. And there was nothing better than having your own place instead of whatever the barracks offered. Obviously it was pretty small, the bare minimum room, it didn’t bother her, she wasn’t often home depending on the ops. Door barely locked behind her, Scotty dropped her bag, took off her shoes to the relief of her feet who had been trapped in these for days. As she went around the place preparing to jump in the shower, Scotty scrolled through her messages. A few emails without interest, a few texts from her family that she should remember to reply later today, some agenda reminder. Very mundane. Scotty jumped in the shower letting a long sigh of relief as soon as the warm water rolled on her skin. One of the best feelings ever! She didn’t stay too long however, she wanted to catch up on some sleep before eventually returning back to work later today. There was much to do after all.

Scotty woke three hours later. She didn’t remember setting an alarm yet it was her phone buzzing who woke her up. Also forgot to put it on silent, then again it wasn’t so bad it prevented her from sleeping until the afternoon. Half awake, she looked at who did it. A smile grew on her lips as she saw Ghost’s name. Involuntarily, Scotty straightened up as she read the text.

I was thinking and maybe we should have an actual date?

She was actually surprised to receive this, very unexpected of him. Well come to think of it, it has almost been a month now, give or take, that they were dating. True there’s been some blowing of the steam moment, but never a date. It felt strange in a sense to imagine Ghost in such a social event, Scotty herself wasn't a connoisseur in date. She can’t even remember the last time she went on a proper one. Yet…

Sure! That sounds fun. When?

Tonight?

After work? Will you come pick me up? ;)

Very funny, love. Whoever finishes first gets the other.

And just like that, their first date was planned.

However, faith, life, whatever you wanted to call it, decided otherwise. The whole day was nonstop running around with barely a second to breathe. When they could finally do such, they were both too exhausted to do anything else. Maybe it was best to simply reschedule to another day where they will both be sure to have some time off. To say she wasn’t disappointed was a lie. Although Scotty played it relaxed and not minding too much about the date, she was really looking forward to it. Curiosity had a stronghold on her mind since and she was dying to find out how all would unfold. Laying down in her bed, in the silence of her small flat, she exchanged a few texts with Ghost to make sure the date will still happen, some day. Soon. It didn’t take much back and forth to finally set it for the coming Saturday, if nothing happened in between. In the meantime, she received another message from Gaz who was asking if she would be up to join him and some friends for a drink on the same night the date was planned. She politely declined, but said that she would love to come by another time. Making more friends outside of the task force sounded like a good idea as well.

The rest of the week rolled off without any incidents and when Saturday showed up around the corner, Ghost didn’t know how to feel about all of this. He wasn’t the kind of man to give up easily, however it crossed his mind quite often. What was he supposed to do? To say? What date’s activities? The internet was full of everything and nothing; it was a mess to figure out what was the right way to act. For fuck sake, he was a grown ass man who had a job who put his life in danger every days, yet the thing that had him sweating like a shy teenager about to make a presentation in front of hundred people, knees almost shaking, was a date. Ghost only wanted this day to go well and hoped that she’ll be happy in the end. This was maybe the only tip he found that made sense during his research. It should be easy to make sure that she would enjoy her time… But what if Scotty just took pity on him and pretended it was okay? Ghost shook his head to keep this voice down. It was still hard for him to accept that he allowed someone so close in his life, to accept himself worthy of her and sometimes, bad scenarios would crawl in his head. He took a deep breath. His reflection in the mirror wasn’t too kind of him either; he looked so tired! But no smudged black paint this time. Neither a full balaclava. He wasn’t trying to attract attention to them. He grabbed a regular mask that was hanging near the sink, strapped it around his ears and looked one more time at himself. Not too bad. His fingers brushed in his hair, an attempt at making something out of them. He didn’t have a style in mind, did he need one? Simply brushing them roughly would certainly do. “Come on Simon, it will be fine.” He hyped himself up.

His phone buzzed. “Hey.” He replied.

“Hey, I’m here.” Scotty’s voice came through.

“Couldn’t ring the bell?”

“I forgot the number.” He heard a chuckle. Sure, she ‘forgot’. “I’ll wait for you to come down, big guy.”

A small smile grew behind his mask. Better not make her way any longer. Ghost grabbed his vest and headed down quickly.

A gust of wind blew her loose hair in her face as she was about to greet him. Talk about a start! But so be it. The forecast had predicted some wind, yet mostly sunny day, perhaps a few clouds here and there, but overall a rather nice day. Not too warm, nor cold. Scotty brushed the rebellious strand behind her ears. She could tie them up and be free of any problems, but the occasions she had to let them lose were rare; she had to take the opportunity. They stood there a little awkward till Scotty proposed they just walk around as a start. You can take a man out of the military, but not the military out of him. Ghost’s mind was already working like this was a tactical assignment, trying to think about what should be the next move to do. All the information he gathered clashed in a whole mess, but one came out victorious. Small talk!

“Ever been to England before? Before joining the task force.”

“Twice, when I was younger. My dad has a friend who lent him his flat while he was away.”

“What was your favorite city?”

She thought for a moment. It has been so long since these vacations, probably over a decade. Since then, the only time she came back was now when she had to deal with the Lambert case. “Birmingham and Manchester. I think some parts of these towns reminded me of home in a sense, but it has been so long since, I’m probably mixing things up.”

He hummed an approved answer. “I’m from Manchester.”

Scotty turned to him, eyes wide open, surprise all over her face. Did he say something wrong? “Isn’t that supposed to be classified information?” She teased him. Only now did Ghost realize how tense he was when he felt his muscles relax under her joyful tone.

The rest of the day was enjoyable. They mostly walked around, stopping at a small café for a bite when their stomach begged for some food. After that they kept going around. The more the date went on, the more Ghost slowly felt at ease around her. Obviously, he let her do most of the talking. He didn’t mind, in fact he loved to see her all excited about the subjects. Seeing her be happy was all he wanted. A brush against his fingers dragged him out of his thoughts. He was so used to wearing gloves with work, that when he left them behind, his skin felt much more sensitive to any contact. His eyes glanced down at what had done this.

Scotty had decided to attempt something a little bold. It was a gamble to know if he would be ok with this or not. Seeing that he was distracted enough, she went for it. Her hand slowly moved towards his as they walked down the street toward a park. Her fingertips brushed against him, softly sliding further into his hand once she realized he wasn’t moving back. Her palm found his to rest on and her fingers closed around his hand gently. Scotty kept on with the conversation, playing this gesture like it was a reflex, nothing to mind. It took Ghost a second, but he eventually held her hand. He was so unsure, doubting if he was doing the right thing or not, but it felt nice? There was something different about this hand holding. It was hard to put words on what exactly. They held hands before… to help one another get up after falling or pulling the other up while climbing. It was always work, brute force, hanging for their life. Here, it was calm, appeasing, enjoying the moment.

The sky cleared of all clouds, the wind died down, allowing walk through the park to be like one in this movie as cheesy as it sounded. Sun pierced through the leaves, kids screaming in the playground nearby, joggers going for laps around, dogs barking at the birds. In this crowd, Scotty and Ghost blended perfectly. A regular couple strolling on this nice summer day. “I don’t know if this would be out of place.” She shyly asked. “Do you have a family?”

His eyes who were watching her quickly darted away. His demeanor changed so suddenly. Maybe she had crossed a line? “You don’t have to answer! If it’s a secret, it’s ok!” Scotty stumbled on her words. She truly didn’t mean to upset him. Ghost remained silent. His grip tightened around her hand before he dared to look at her again.

“You will have to bear with me a little longer before you know any of this.” In the corner of his eyes, she noticed the smile he was hiding behind the mask. Ok, he wasn’t upset. But for sure something bothered him when she asked. Noted. An awkward silence followed as they kept walking along the path. A path cursed with some not dry spots who were always muddy and slippery. A trap for the ones who were not vigilant of their footing, just like Scotty. Head lifted up to watch the birds, her heel landed in the mud. Ghost didn’t have the time to react or even tried to hold her hand. In fact, her fingers slipped as well from his grip, Scotty saw herself already full of mud. She frantically tried to hold onto something, but the Brit was not in reach, her arms flailing as her body let gravity do all the work. One second she was standing, the next she was on the ground, pain in the arms and rear, clothes covered in mud dirt and wetness.

“You alright?” He worried, crouching next to her, ready to give her hand to get up.

She rested on her elbows. Scotty saw how much he was holding it back. “Go ahead laugh, I have nothing broken.”

He let out a good chuckle. The face she made as she fell, hilarious. Ghost helped her up and asserted the damage with her. Her palms were a little scratched, nothing to worry about. But her clothes were good to throw in the wash and maybe a shower to clean off all the dirt. All to say that their date wouldn’t go any further. Ghost proposed that they returned to his flat as hers was a little far.

As soon as the door opened, Scotty felt like she was stepping in his boundaries again. It was like another secret being revealed. The place was well organized, a little on the minimalist side, natural colors mixed with neutrals who gave a soft fall atmosphere to the whole place. Surprisingly, some very low maintenance plants here, the kind that would definitely survive if he went away for a long time. Or maybe there were fake ones simply there to give more life to the place. She must have spaced out for long because she felt Ghost’s hand rest on her lower back and pushed her further in. Ghost suddenly felt more comfortable, being in his home, safe place, that his demeanor changed. Much more confident. He walked her to the bathroom, gave her a towel if needed and some dry clothes. His clothes. Scotty changed quickly and realized two things. One, she would need to clean her clothes. Otherwise why would she even be changing. Second, the muddy water had soaked her completely. Even her underwear. Her bra was fine, but the lower was too damp. She passed Ghost’s t-shirt above her head, letting it fall on her like a dress. She was floating in it! She didn’t even dare put on the jog pants; even with the strings pulled too maximum, it would probably still be too big. A quick check of her hair. No mud thankfully. Her fingers brushed them to remove any tangles. Talk about a day! Ending in Ghost’s flat, with her barely dressed. To Scotty, this was a good date day so far.

Ghost was taking a breath and sat on his couch. With one easy move, he removed the mask. His head stretched back. It seemed like this date went well. She looked happy most of the time and that was the most important. He didn’t screw up in the end. He heard the shower running to which he didn’t pay much attention, it was obvious. So he let her do till she finally came back from the bathroom. “I hope you don’t mind that I hang my stuff in your bathroom.”

Ghost’s head straightened back and this was a sight he wasn’t expecting to see. There she was standing, in front of him, in his shirt that looked like a short dress. A very short one. The kind that would reveal a lot if she bent over… He took a good breath to focus back. “No problem.” God, she looked gorgeous in his clothes.

Maskless, the lieutenant was so much more easier to read. His eyes were always the hint to his emotions, but the small cue of his cheeks and lips that normally would be hidden, were in the bare wild. It was obvious how much he was devouring her. The question was how long would it take him to snap and the sergeant was more than happy to figure this out. Scotty smiled, crossed the distance between them and sat next to him. The shirt was pulled higher above her thighs, her skin more exposed than before. “It was fun today. Really had a good time! We should do it again.”

“Minus the mud part.” Ghost silently laughed, picturing her face once more as she slipped.

“Hmm true. Well the good side of this, I get to see the inside of your place. You have some good taste.” Scotty stretched, on purpose. The shirt lifted along. Ghost’s eyes glanced, his hand crisped on his jeans. Was she even wearing something down there? A silent question she caught on his face; jackpot.

“T-thanks.” His throat closed tight, his mind trying to keep him in check. Scotty was looking at him with this smile he knew well, the one that meant trouble.

“Everything was wet or needed to be cleaned so… I do have nothing under your shirt.” The emphasis on his shirt made him shiver. His hand slid behind her back and pulled her toward him. Actually made her sit on his lap, legs spread open, facing him. Said hand kept its position on her lower back, the other gently brushed on her skin, before he gave a soft squeeze to her thigh. Scotty felt the rough jean’s fabric on her lower part, she bit her lip. “What now, Ghost?”

His forehead rested on the crook of her neck, he pressed a kiss on her covered collarbone.

“Simon.”

“What?”

“No, Ghost, no lieutenant or sir. Just Simon.” His tone was soft. It sounded like he was letting himself be even more vulnerable, letting another layer of himself open to her. There’s been so many revelations today, this one surprised her but Scotty quickly recovered from it. Her fingers brushed in his hair on the back of his neck. She returned the soft kiss.

“Ok, Simon. Call me Camille then.” His touch was much softer than usual. In their position, normally, they would already be a breathing mess, rolling around whatever surface was holding them, just some raw action to let all the stress out of their system. However right now, even as his hands trailed along her sides, the emotions were different. Oh sure they both wanted to give in yet it wasn’t the same. There was something more intimate this time. Ghost wanted to keep it that way. He liked this. The feeling was strange to explain, but it felt right. Scotty cupped his face, her thumbs gently brushing on his cheeks and lips. She had seen him maskless many times before, probably more than anyone else in the 141, but every time she had to look at him. Engrave his features in her mind as if he would disappear soon. She leaned closer to his face, her lips met his with care, as she would break him if it was too hard. His hand took a hold of her neck, pulled her closer to him, as if he would lose her if he let go. Their kiss went till their lips almost felt numb. Without a warning, Ghost stood up always holding her and walked them to the bedroom. A very modest room with the bare minimum, maybe some small decorations on the wall, but she didn’t have the time to analyze more of it. She wasn’t there for this and she knew it. The lieutenant dropped on her bed. He climbed on top of her, the mattress shifting under his weight as he watched her from above. Hair spread all over the pillow like an earthy veil, brown eyes grounded into his soul capturing every detail of his features. Breathtaking.

His hand ran from her thigh to her waist, not hesitation as to also lift the shirt. Ghost leaned, his nose rested on hers, his lips hovering on hers. He pressed a kiss as carefully as he would be touching porcelaine. Scotty melted under the gentle kiss. The whole room was filled with so much tenderness, it was easy to do so. Ghost placed himself between her legs and she didn’t give more time to think. Her hands blindly found his belt, and worked on undoing his pants while their lips were still sealed. Awkwardly, he helped remove it only breaking the kiss when he had to turn around and easily slip them off. He returned another kiss who was also interrupted only when Scotty removed his shirt. Her hands grabbed on his forearms, feeling the muscles contracting under her fingers. Her fingertips slowly traced some part of his tattoo. “I like that.” He breathed out, straightening up. His hands closed around her waist.

“What do you like?” She smiled.

“Whatever this is. It feels nice.”

A small joke burned the tip of her tongue, but never came out. She understood what he meant and it was best to let him enjoy it. She would have many other occasions to joke around. His thumb dug in her skin, tenderly, then his hands went up along her side, pulling the shirt up just above her breasts. He shivered in anticipation, a need to have more yet the desire to remain romantic. This is how he would describe this moment. It truly felt like these romantic moments people always describe. He left a trail of kisses from her collarbone to her chin, leaving a ghostly sensation near her lips. His fingers finally trailed on her skin on their way to her cunt, rested a little there, before he moved in a circular motion. Scotty let a weak moan out. He teased her for a little while, his lips never letting go of hers. He pushed two fingers inside of her. This small gesture sent a wave of relief to her craving. Finally! Without a word, her hands tugged on the elastic of his underwear, slid in and grabbed his half erect cock. That was enough to have him harden more. A few strokes and he was ready. Yet he didn’t try to change position or go to the next step, he actually enjoyed that mutual touching like this. After a few minutes, Ghost had rolled on his side to be more comfortable. By doing so, he accidently caught her hair under his shoulder. Scotty whined. “Ow! Careful big boy.” A chuckle followed. He apologized, feeling bad, but her small laugh was enough to reassure him that it was okay. Scotty rolled on her side, her body half rested on Ghost. She pressed a playful kiss on his collarbone, her hand ran down his chest back to his cock to keep the handjob going. “What’s next?”

He brushed her hair behind her ear. “What about a little change? I want to see if you are still as beautiful when you are on top, love.”

“Sure!” She bit her lower lip. “Could I do something first, Simon?”

Saying it like this, Ghost would let her do anything she wants! Never has his name sounded so good. Scotty smiled, crawling back till her head was just at his crotch level. Without breaking eye contact, she pulled down his underwear. He had an idea of where this was going, however he didn’t expect how far it would go. At first, she teased; licking and kissing the tip of cock. Always eyes locked on him. Then she finally lowered her mouth on him. It felt good! Ghost watched as her head bopped, small grunts and moans in the back of his throat. What took him by surprise was how far deep she went. His lips parted, tried to say something but whatever words he had, they disappeared in a low moan when his tip touched the back of her throat. Scotty chuckled around him, nose pressed on his happy trail. Ghost’s hand flew on her head, tangling in her hair as he gently pulled her away. “Oh fuck that was… Woah.”

“I barely did anything! You should at least let me do more.”

“Oh I’m holding you into that, definitely. But I really want to fuck you, now.”

Scotty gave one last kiss on his cock and placed herself on top of him. She slowly lowered on him, giving time to enjoy the sensation. One hand rested on the pillow to hold her, the other slipped between Ghost’s fingers. She leaned to kiss him more. Ghost bucked his hips. Scotty bounced on him the best she could, legs getting tired at the minutes passed by her climax on the edge of crashing all over. Now was not the time to stop. He was also chasing after his own release feeling close to this moment, that he eventually held her by the waist to help her up and down. Not a single word was exchanged during that time, only their whimpers and moans gave away how everything was, how they liked or loved it.

His muscles tensed up, his fingertips dug in her waist and he came with a long relieved grunt. Hearing him losing all restraint sent Scotty to her own end and she collapsed on his chest.

She moved to the side once the position became too uncomfortable for her legs, but she appreciated the cuddles. So she kept close to him, fingers tracing on his chest to his forearm and making out the lines of his tattoo. “Can’t get your hands off me?” He smiled and pressed a kiss on her head.

“I could say the same to you.” Another kiss on his chest. “Simon? Can I stay with you for the rest of the day?”

“You don’t even have to ask, love. Camille?” It felt strange to use her name, but he liked it. Her eyes perked open with interest. His mouth opened, the words caught in his throat. He had said these before, yet today, right now, in the moment, it was hard to say them. He didn't know why, but it flustered him. “I-I love you.”

“I love you too.” She had a soft smile that melted him.

******

Ghost watched her still sleeping, not a single worry in the world. This expression of calmness and tenderness that was a constant lingering on her face was ten fold in this moment. Last night’s memories floated in his head peacefully. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt like this. If he ever. He doesn't have a coldheart, truly he was simply careful when it came to trust and letting people close. Ghost saw who she was, how caring and kind she acted around everyone. Every day he could see her goof around with Soap and Gaz, giving a hand to help with anything. Yet he knew Scotty was capable of breaking as many bones as he could. But it was the former, the caring, that made him fall for her, one of the many reasons. Why he felt comfortable letting his guard down and be vulnerable. With her he knew he could be himself safely. So why? Why deep down, in the back of his head, he could still hear small voices tormenting him about this? Maybe it was a deep fear that she might turn on him? That all of this will only be short-lived. Ghost wished these thoughts would stop, he desperately tried to remind himself that he was worth it all, at least a part of him was, but they kept haunting him. The room was silent. Outside life was slowly emerging from the slumber; people hasting to work, birds going around, dogs being walked. Scotty rolled on her side, facing him. Hanging somewhere between awake and asleep, she smiled, her hand reaching for his. “Morning.” Her voice was so weak from being half awake. In an instant, his thoughts calmed down. They were still clinging, but less loud.

“Morning, love.” Calm and peace for a moment.

#call of duty fanfic #cod fanfic #series: wie goed doet goed ontmoet #cod oc #simon ghost riley #oc:camille scotty moreau #simon ghost riley x oc #ghost x scotty #keep it (not) tactical sgt

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gothsuguru · 1 month

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KAIRO HIII KAIRO HI HI HIIII:3333333333 HOW ARE YOU MY ANGEL???? WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TOOO??? TELL ME EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW I NEED TO KNOW HEHEHEHEHE

okok but i bring news of my tengen adventures................. first of all that twitter artist you told me about............................................. i died. ARE YOU KIDDING MEEE WHY IS HE SO FUCKING HOT THAT FUCKING ARTIST NEEDS TO CHILL OUT HELLO i genuinely almost spit out my water when i opened their account that was crazy... SO THANK YOU FOR THATT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL🙏🙏🙏 oh and!!!!!!!!!! i'm gonna finish the third season today btw hehehe I AM LIKING IT A LOTTTTTT it's super fun (and i really am just in love with tengen i can't even lie he's insane<3) i haven't read the manga though i literally only happened upon demon slayer bc of lily tbh lmao so i am very new to it all!!!!!!!!!!! but i am very excited abt it bc again.. i really really like it<3333333333333 HAVE YOU SEEN IT ALL??? WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITES??????? THIS IS ALSO SMTH I NEED TO KNOW OR I'LL DIEEEEE IT'S IMPORTANT KAIROOOOOO>:33333 ANYWAYYY I LOVE YOUUU AND I HOPE THAT YOU'RE DOING SO SO GOOD MWAH MWAH MWAH SENDING YOU A MILLION BILLION KISSES RN PLEASE CATCH THEM ALL!!!!!!!!! - @teddybeartoji

MICKEY MY MICKEY 😋😋😋 I LOVE YOU BABY HOW ARE YOU I MISSED YOUUUUUUUUUUUU <333 omg lately i’ve been reading manga: the elusive samurai and sakamoto days!!!! (YOU WOULD LOVE SAKAMOTO DAYS BTW THAT’S A MANGA I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO YOU SPECIFICALLY…) look at my husband nagumo he’s so toji & yuuta coded :3 hehe ((you’d love the manga it’s all bad bitch assassins and silliness coupled w insane fights!!!!! I LOVE IT SM))

AND RAHHHHHHHHHHH UMIKOCHANNART MY BELOVED!!!!!! did you see these??? this one of tengen is so gorgeous and then this one of tengen and her husbands (hinatsuru is so geto coded & makio w the blonde dyed hair… omfg op makes the husbands look so insanely sexy they have the sexiest art…) and this one of toji makes me bark 🤭🤭🤭

OMGGGGGGG THE THIRD SEASON!!!!!! HEHEHE HOW ARE YOU LIKING IT SO FAR??? i love demon slayer so much it was the second manga i ever read hehe :3 AND LILY HAS SUCH SUPERIOR TASTE LIKE TENGEN AND TOJI AND SUKUNA LIKE BESTIE KNOWS WHAT’S UP! and omg i also HIGHLY recommend the manga since it’s done! i’m so excited for the movies too the last arc is literally so insane i’m so HYPED!!!!!! 😵‍💫🙂‍↕️

AND MY FAV CHARACTERS AHHHHHHH tengen obviously like that’s Husband… <333 and i love all my babies like tanjiro and inosuke and zenitsu and nezuko are literally my children sniffles i love them so much……. same w muichiro! that’s my SON! i love giyuu & rengoku too! & OBVIOUSLY I LOVE YORIICHI TOO!!! AND UBUYASHIKI!! i love all the characters in the show i think they’re so well-developed and different from each other! demon slayer is soooooooo good i remember BINGING the manga until like 3 am bc i needed to know what was gonna happen like… WOW it’s so well written IMO <3

HEHEHEHEHEHEHE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MICKEY I HOPE YOU HAVE THE BEST DAY EVER ILYSM MWAH MWAH MWAHHHHHHHHH <3 give tengen a smooch for me :3 🩷🤭🩷🤭🩷

they mean the world to me……. sniffles………. <333

#asks #mickey tag <3 #my favorite thing is how much everyone loves tanjiro like that’s their baby their bestie their boyfie etc #I HOPE YOU LOVE THE NEW SEASON!!!!! it’s so well animated per USUAL <333 #also someone called taro the satosugu love child bc of his hair & face 😭#satosugu WISHES they had an OUNCE of bad bitchery and unintentional silliness and pure love that taro sakamoto does

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lostfirefly · 9 months

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You’ve Got The Same Dream as Me (Ch. 2)

Hello, kiddos! The idea for this fanfic came to me from a dream (again) I had about a month ago. Тhe main characters were Tom Cruise and Henry Cavill (don't ask me why), but with a light hand they have been replaced (sorry, guys). The main action of the dream took place somewhere in the sands. Аlthough this fanfic will feature Sir Crocodile and our beloved Buggy, the action shifts to the desert. No marines, ships etc. Sorry, not sorry :) The devil fruit's abilities are preserved. Catch the Mummy and Indiana Jones vibes :) I have no idea how many chapters there will be. Different titles and names from the original source material will be used to emphasise the general OP's vibe.

Since English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :)

And thank you to my dear @yujo-nishimura and @laurasoretta for believing in me :)

Description: Catherine, a librarian who is searching for the trail of her sister who went missing on an expedition. Notes in books and diaries lead her to Cairo. There she finds a retailer from an artifact shop who, in exchange for selling her a map and equipment, insists that Catherine take her along. They get into a little (or maybe a big) adventure..

Warnings: 12+, I think. As always, no smut, angst, violence. Adventures and fun only. Buggy x OC, Sir Crocodile x OC.

Words: 770

The title is taken from «You've Got the Same Dream as Me» (Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli) (One Piece, Netflix)

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Chapter 1

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Catherine set her alarm clock for five in the morning.

She quickly washed up, drank coffee in her hotel room and hurried to the bookstore.

Even though the store opened at 9 a.m., she was on the porch at 6:00 a.m.

"God, I'm such an idiot. What if the book isn't there? Then what? I've traveled hundreds of miles to get here for nothing? No, it can't be", Catherine mumbled to herself, tapping her feet on the paving stones.

At 8 a.m., a figure began approaching the store.

Catherine squinted slightly trying to make out the man.

"It's a girl! Thank goodness it's a girl! Why I thought Rika was a man's name?", Сatherine's mind was spinning with all sorts of thoughts.

Finally, the girl with brown hair and green eyes came to the door.

"Hello, you're Rika, aren't you? I'm Catherine Mitchell", Catherine said, rising quickly from the steps.

"I'm very happy for you that you're Сatherine. But the store is closed until 9:00 a.m".

"W-wait... I need..."

Suddenly the door slammed shut in front of the bewildered Catherine's nose.

"What the fuck?!", Catherine started knocking on the door. "Hey, you, open your damn door! Open it!"

Without waiting for an answer, Catherine peered through the small window near the front door and saw the girl quietly making tea.

"Brown-haired bitch!", Catherine cursed and plopped down on the porch.

9 a.m. Finally, the click of the lock was heard.

"Yes!", Catherine jumped up from her seat and stormed into the store without a moment's hesitation.

"May I help you?", the girl asked with a smile.

"Take that smile off your pretty face. Don't pretend like you didn't see me on the porch, bitch!" Catherine shouted, slamming her fist down hard on the counter. "Damn..."

"Are you ok?", the girl asked.

"Fuck..", Catherine rubbed her wrist. "None of your business. Anyway, as I said I'm Catherine Mitchell. I know you have Professor Alabasta's book".

"How did you know about this book?", the girl was clearly surprised.

"It doesn't matter. I know you have it. I looked it up and your store is the only one in town that has it. How much is it worth? I'd be willing to buy it", Catherine tried to look more confident with her arms crossed over her chest.

"For the record, young lady, I'm Rika, the owner of this store and I don't need to be spoken in the tone like that", said the girl, wiping the dust on the counter.

"What? I...", Catherine took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm sorry", she said reluctantly.

"Oh", Rika said with a sigh. "Once again, Catherine Mitchell.. What are you looking for?"

Catherine tried with all her might not to lose her temper. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, took a few deep breaths, counted to five and continued.

"I'm looking for Professor Alabasta's book with a silly name "The key to the treasure". Please.. I read you have it".

"Maybe I have.. or maybe not", Rika said, arms were crossed.

"Look.. My sister. She's gone. I'm looking for her. One of the last entries in her diary points to the professor's book. Apparently, she's gone somewhere in the desert, but she's lost her trail. I came here to find her. Please...", said Catherine, her blue eyes were wet with tears.

"The desert? You mean.. the Sabaody Desert?" Rika asked, her eyes were widen.

"Yes!!", Catherine hurriedly pulled out the journal with the entries. "See? The coordinates in the journal point this way. But to get there, I need Professor Alabasta's book. And equipment..."

"Jesus Christ", Rika said, looking at the notes and scratching the palm of her right hand. "Wait... What exactly are you looking for? Your sister? Or something else?"

"Something else?" Catherine asked in surprise.

"Oh, God, don't tell me you've never heard of the treasure that lies somewhere in that desert. It's supposedly hidden in the area your coordinates indicate. It's not certain, but it could be".

"I'm not interested in the treasure, I just want to find my sister. Before I left here, I went through her bedroom and found this", Catherine put on the counter some maps, another diary and pieces of paper with various notes.

"You know, darling", Rika stretched, tapped her fingers on the table and cast a glance at Catherine. "I'll sell you the compass, the equipment, the map and whatever else you need, but I have one condition. I'm coming with you".

"Where are you going with me?"

"Shit! Where your coordinates point, you fool! I wouldn't turn down an offer like that. I'm an excellent map reader. But, frankly speaking, it's dangerous to go alone there. We need a guide to help us get there,", Rika leaned on the table, propping her chin up with her hands.

"Do you have someone in mind for us?"

"Uh, kind of.. Yeah", Rika scratched her cheek with her finger. "Tell me. Do you like the circus?"

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sauntervaguelydown · 16 days

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So the thing about watching the Naruto anime when you’re compromised 90% by over investment in Kakashi is that it both gives you so much MORE to dig into, and also makes everything so much more confusing

I’m not just talking about the math. I’m talking about the characterization. I’m talking about the arc. Kishimono’s manga skips over almost everything in his life between killing Rin and taking over as a teacher for the mains. I think the two panel reference to Guy haranguing him for challenges age 14 might be the only material. And that makes it way easier to combine what does exist on either side.

Bear with me here. You meet Kakashi and he’s basically a well adjusted dude as far as we ever see. He’s silly, sometimes, he fucks with people a little bit to amuse himself but always in ultimately benign ways. He reads porn in public. He goosed a student in his intro episode?? He hangs out with work friends in the lounge and talks shop. He’s risk averse in the field, his go-to jutsu swaps his body with objects and prevents him from taking any damage. Humble in a weird way. When things go off the rails on their Wave Country mission, he gets very intense, but he’s also practical and focused and emotionally controlled. We do see he’s got a lot of reserved grief, in the way he is revealed to spend a lot of time in graveyards.

Okay.

So then you go back to the Gaiden mini-arc, where he gets the sharingan eye. And you see he’s super serious, rules-focused, cold, not a team player. Harsh and a bit rude. Even arrogant.

Clear character arc happening here. Big lesson learned at high cost. Arrogant > humble; rules driven > flexible. Huge formative moment accomplished, story told.

Now he gets double whammied when he kills his own teammate less than a year later, which makes this complicated. And then the, uh, massive trauma event that is the Monster Fox attack in which he loses his last remaining father figure too. Yeesh can’t catch a break this guy.

The anime takes this event and grapples with it in a way the Manga just doesn’t. Flashbacks, nightmares, falling apart on the job. I really like this stuff. The weird thing is that in someways this is actually a pretty realistic depiction of compound PTSD, I think? The way he starts to be okay and then gets knocked down again, and doesn’t have a linear improvement arc. But what it fails to do is thread the needle.

I often find that the filler writers had surprisingly good character beats in mind, and then fumbled badly on lining them up in a way that is narratively satisfying. in this case, they stretch out the cycle of dysfunctional grief for somewhere between 7 and 10 years. During this period he doesn’t have any fun, he doesn’t see his friends, he doesn’t seem to have a life outside of work. We’re told that he acts cold. Pushes away people who reach out. We’re told that it looks like he’s in a hurry to die. For maybe ten years?? Well. That’s long enough that you’d be building a personality from scratch once you got on the other side, but we don’t get to see any of that happening. Even during the 1 to 3 years between him leaving the black ops program that was destroying his soul and him entering canon fully formed, the only time we get to see him is when his friends are commenting that it is “like he never left ANBU at all”. there’s like a week between them saying this and him entering canon. He just shows up fully formed.

But it really starts to make you wonder: when did he start being silly again? When did he start having fun again? When did he start being able to do stupid things like play a prank on a student? how long has he been able to hang out with his work friends in the lounge?

did he really solve all this in such a short time? So well that when he goes on this mission with his kids, and everything goes sideways, and people that he cares about are put in danger, and he has to re-create the exact same move that killed his teammate, he’s totally cool and fine afterwards and stays on track for the whole fight? He’s just good? I mean granted, you can headcanon that he falls apart once he gets back home and there are no perspective characters to see it. what that means is that I am basically doing work on behalf of the retcon, out of the goodness of my heart.

I think we could’ve made this work if we had just compacted it a little bit more. Maybe he’s in the black ops program for a chunk of his teenage years, gets out, and spends his twenties adjusting. No problem!

Or alternatively, if we had interspersed the periods of coldness with periods of warmth visibly on screen. if we had actually seen him having a pretty OK time and hanging out with his friends and then getting knocked back down reverting to the coldness, I wouldn’t feel all that out of sorts with it at all. He has relapses, but maybe they’re less often as time goes by. I would just think that once he gets out of the black ops program that is slowly killing him, he swings back up to his better resting state and is able to build on it for a few years and develop some resilience.

All I’m saying is that when you don’t see any material between the two endpoints, it’s very easy to mentally adjust to whatever you think is the most likely story. Maybe the PTSD wasn’t all that bad, maybe it was very bad and then he got used to living with it. Maybe he grew and developed an adult personality the way that real people do, in a sort of clumsy nebulous process that doesn’t look very good on paper. But when you do see all the stuff, you get this conflicting impression of someone who is basically all right by the standards of the world he lives in …and someone who was extremely totally fucked up for a really long time, and then just became chill kind of overnight.

Accord part of the problem is that, of course, this character was conceived of in his adult final form, and a bunch of plot developed around him, and you’re left with a complicated feeling that there should’ve been some impact on him due to the proximity of these events, but those events were not designed with him in mind, so he just sort of floats through them

I suspect based on the tone of the two panel reference in the manga, that Kishimono probably intended for kakashi to have largely been acting like himself the whole time he was a teenager, going out in public, and having relationships very similar ones he has an adult. He’s hanging out with his rival and they’re on their way to an event and he’s being lazy about not wanting to do challenges which is exactly what he like as an adult.

So. Conundrum. I see exactly why the anime writers were compelled to try and embellish this, but I also cannot take their embellishments seriously without doing a lot of work in my own mind to tailor the material.

#naruto #THIS POST IS TOO LONG #meta

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skypiea · 4 months

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(I'm with you with regards to the "quite easily I like it" OP post btw! Just wanna make that clear ^^;;) I almost wonder if the gripes are like, in part people who see how the women are drawn and base All Their Opinions of the series on that. That or they got mad at the clown thing Tumblr did and just decided to hate the series for it. Or they're just a little hater, honestly anything can apply. I'm not a fan of OP, haven't seen a second of it to make a decision, but like. 5 or 6 (including you- im not just a random, im just really shy LOL) of my friends are, and the one thing keeping me off from watching it is the fact that it's one of the longest animes still going- And I almost wonder if that also has a part to play in the "lol how can u watch one piece" thing people have going on. Also, have you seen the bananawanis yet?? I don't go here but I love them.

Thanks for the message! I hope you don't mind a bit of rambling (all that I'm capable of, always).

The thing is, I think there are plenty of things to criticize about one piece. I’ve seen and had many thoughtful discussions about elements of the work that can easily be considered harmful stereotypes, as well as some well-intentioned ideas that I think were executed in a subpar and clumsy manner. Some of these are directly a result of the author being only 1 guy with 1 lived experience, some are the result of broader issues in the shonen genre.

And these discussions are great! Everyone is better off for having thought about these potentially damaging aspects deeper, and it’s incredibly important to be able to recognize that an author you respect and follow isn’t perfect and doesn’t need defending over every single thing. And at the same time, I fully respect anyone who has no interest in getting into the work because they don’t want to put up with any of the parts that are far from perfect.

Personally, what I can’t stand is the tone of condescension people are very quick to take… I do not fault anyone for not digging the show's visual style, it's not for everyone. But I don't really appreciate the implication that I'm like, stupid or misogynist or cumbrained just because I enjoy the work overall. Or even because I do enjoy Oda's art; I think he is a really talented artist, but elements of his stylization are not always my favorite, including both his general figures for both women and men. This is not even starting to mention the incredible talents of many of the individual animators who work on the one piece anime, who all put a lot of their own amazing flair into adapting the work.

On the topic of the latter thing, I've truly never understood the length being a barrier to the ability to enjoy the work. It's always really baffled me...? I don't know if it's like, people who are only interested in getting into OP specifically to interact with the fandom, but in my opinion there's no actual factor that makes you need to catch up to current as fast as possible. In my mind, having so much of a new thing is wonderful for me; I'll have a lot of great story to enjoy, I can take it at my own pace, enjoy watching a bit at a time for a long time. I guess everyone just wants to be done with something as fast as possible these days... Pretty sad... Make it last and enjoy it lots :-)

I've gone on for long enough, but basically, I couldn't care less if anyone doesn't enjoy the same thing that I enjoy a lot--that's life! I simply can't stand being treated like some sort of idiot for liking it, and I'm done basically agreeing with those kinds of people by giving them any ground. None of this is a super serious problem of course, just a pet peeve... but what is a blog for if not talking at length about my silly little pet peeves ;-)

Of course I adore the Bananawani, as well as all the other fun and silly animals of the one piece world. I hope we'll see them again one day, it's been so long... Here's one of my favorite one piece species for you, the Lapin. Love these guys.

To finish off, I'm just going to include one of my favorite recent pieces of one piece's animation. Hope everyone's havin a lovely day ^_^

#kite.txt

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ss-shitstorm · 1 year

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Okay okay the ratchet first fp au was equally heartrending but also perfect and thank you so much for going into so much detail to expound on my silly little fantasy, I love it! But if you don’t mind, I’m gonna poke you with one more question that’s bugged me ever since MC woke up and ratch op and bee had to catch her up on the last 30 years: they mentioned unicron and Optimus’ amnesia (which is another au you’re portraying marvelously well btw! I love shiny and new to pieces!), as well as a couple of the other tfp eps, but I don’t recall them mentioning synth-en? Like, at all? (Unless I totally missed it?) Between ratchet’s problems and op’s withdrawal, I figured that the tension between them like the scene where they fight and ratchet accuses op of being too soft to take out megatron and that’s why they lost cliff jumper, combined with MC’s unconsciousness, op’s guilt about it, and ratchet’s (partial?) blame for op putting her in that condition to start with and envy knowing he would’ve had more restraint and cared for her more in his mind (and them both missing her terribly and being lost without her), would kind of cause a boiling point between them? (Fun fact if you didn’t know it but the tfp writers had tossed around the idea of ratchet blaming op for elita one’s death instead of cliffjumper, but they had the Orion pax arc coming up and they didn’t want to add anymore characters or smth so they nixed it) So if ratchet spews about mc (and elita??) to op, does op snap too in this case? Do they actually come to blows? Does op even get mad and rise to the bait or does it just break his heart bc now ratchet is turning on him too and pointing out every mistake he’s made and ratchets never been that mean to him before and wouldn’t dream of saying any of it under normal circumstances but is so hyped up he no longer has a filter? I am reeling here at the possibilities! I am so fricken curious bc your unique individual characterizations of them as well as their mutual adoration for mc would give so many delicious untapped layers to that episode - and again you don’t have to answer this at all but I would love to hear your thoughts! :) thank you so much for your time!

(dude I'm so sorry it took me so long to respond to this AND that it's nowhere near as long as that other ask)

A : anon thank you for the praise about everything esp. shiny n new like goddamn I love that little thing so much, B : I had no idea about Elita in TFP until you mentioned that and I'm very glad they left that out bc I would absolutely have not fucking survived that my heart's in pieces just from reading that, and C :

I think they would have started fighting. As in, Ratchet, with 0 filter, would start laying it out how mad he is about what happened to you. He would blame it on Optimus, and at the time, he would feel totally justified in saying it.

-Optimus would be barely able to hold back his rage, but manages to restrain himself. Tells Ratchet he needs to go home, let that crap work through his system, and recharge before talking to him again.

-Ratchet would then suggest Optimus frag him because that tends to knock people unconscious for indefinite periods of time.

-Optimus looses it. Lunges for him, grabs him and fucking throttles him.

-And the second his servos wrap around his throat, freezes. Because he touched someone. He touched someone he cared about, and he did it with the intent to hurt them.

-He goes catatonic.

-Ratchet, slightly sobered, has to pry his servos off of him, digit by digit.

-Once he does, he leaves in a huff, runs off to punch Megatron in the face like he originally intended.

-But not before ducking out of sight and having the quickest, filthiest guilty-wank of his life. Doesn’t matter how mad you are. Angrier-than-god-Optimus touching you will make you cream your jeans, and marching through deception territory with a spontaneous overload looming on the horizon probably isn’t a great strategy.

-Once he gets the shit kicked out of him and finally sobers up, and realizes that entire exchange not only happened, but happened in front of Bumblebee, he decides this was, in fact, the second worst thing he’s ever fucking done. He calculates the damage done to his filters, finds that the synth-en was mostly processed by other organs, chugs the rough hi-grade equivalent of 2 handles of bourbon, and blacks out for 72 hours straight.

-Neither of them ever speak about it again.

-To each other.

-They both tell you at different times after you’ve woken up

-shock, sadness, understanding, and reason no# 234382643 for feeling guilty about coma time.jpg.

-you bring it up to Bee eventually after a loooooong-ass time.

-He’s just like “wow that sucked but I figured it was par for the course having two(2) reincarnated gods and the universe’s most overpowered 3rd wheel as a family.”

-Thank you for putting things into perspective Baybee boy.

-Reader eventually relays this to both of them.

-Everyone feels marginally less shitty.

#fp #optimus/reader #optimus/ratchet #OPtimus/Ratchet/Reader #youfic #2nd person pov #these asks are so fucking fun fam I can't even #got to check off all three of the mature labels this time fam

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piratespencil · 1 year

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OKAY SO I gotta admit, One Piece (the anime/manga) has always been a thing that I've like, tangentially engaged with but never actually read/watched or followed the story in any substantial capacity, especially given it's so LONG XD That being said, it has had my intrigue for a loooooooong time so I'm consulting you as something of an Expert to ask, how much would you recommend it? (I've been dodging my inevitable fate as a Sanji girlie for so long :P)

I love that I have the title of One Piece Expert haha. XD

I would definitely say that One Piece was a very formative piece of media for me. My early pre-tumblr deviantArt days were very One Piece-heavy and I'm still friends with people I met thru One Piece (hey @muffintonic!!). Usopp remains one of my favourite characters from anything ever.

That being said, it's been years since I've actually been up to date with the anime or manga. (Tho I have been casually following the plot through some OP mutuals I still have... I keep telling myself that someday I'm gonna catch up on OP again lol...) And like, there are some issues I have with it - it's a manga from the 90s, it's inevitably going to fall into some unfortunate tropes, and I also generally preferred the pre-timeskip arcs to the post-timeskip ones.

BUT One Piece still has such a special place in my heart and I think it's worth it despite some flaws. It's funny and silly and weird but it will also break your heart sometimes, which is what the best stories do. It's about found family! It's about being anti-establishment! It's about following the people you love into the depths of hell and about reminding people who have been cast aside by society that they deserve to live with dignity and respect! It's about pirates and adventure and people having the weirdest fucking superpowers you could possibly come up with. It's great.

It's long as hell but that just means that you'll never run out of content. (There are movies and filler episodes and like. Everything you could ever want from this franchise tbh.) I haven't watched the new live action show yet so I can't say if that's a good place to start or not, but my advice would just be to find the first chapter or the first episode, whichever you prefer (the anime is pretty faithful to the manga so you're not missing much either way, the anime just has more filler stuff, some of which is really good!) and just give it a try, see if you like it!

And if you do, you should absolutely tell me what you think! :D I'm an Usopp girlie but Sanji is great too (and SanUso is a popular ship for a reason haha) and I'd love to hear your thoughts! And also maybe that'll inspire me to finally get caught up again. I've heard good things about the recent arcs!

The whole live action show coming out has put me back into a One Piece mood so this was a fun ask to get! :D (I'm sorry this answer was so long tho oops.)

#one piece is one of those things (like homestuck and critical role and all of my most all-consuming interests tbh) that is SOOOO long #that it's hard to recommend it to people #but i think there is something magical about really long pieces of media!! they suck you in in a way that short things just can't #and the fandom!!! when a piece of media is that long and huge and old #it develops a MASSIVE and incredible fandom #which i love #one piece #reply #jennathearcher #kk talks about stuff #kk talks about op

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anon-e-miss · 2 years

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This is a total non sequitur, but I have an anecdote I want to use as a segue into a J/P concept. So, when I was in my early twenties (over a decade ago), I had this girlfriend who was such great fun to go out with. We always had a TON of fun when we got together; we went to sex clubs and snuggled in the back rooms, we went to a dollar theater to watch Jurassic Park on the big screen (it wasn’t a new movie, to be clear) and threw popcorn for each other to catch and eat, just like… Totally a good time all around. The problem was it didn’t feel like we were actually in a relationship because she’d literally go a month without even texting because her work kept her so busy.

We broke up on really amicable terms. Just agreed that it had been fun for both of us, that we were looking for different things from relationships, and gave each other a hug and kiss goodbye after probably the best date I ever got to have with anyone.

I’m in a sort of nostalgic mood tonight and got to thinking back on that. And it made me think, ‘huh, Prowl could totally be me in this scenario and Jazz could be the super fun partner who parties hard and works harder’ (she was an ER nurse who worked 12+ hour shifts a lot).

And that was kind of a fun thought for me? Since this is a fond, happy memory, and I’m always making them suffer, it seemed like a nice change of pace. Like… Jazz and Prowl get together when they’re young adults, have a fantastic time together, but Jazz has spec ops work that makes him ghost for orns at a time and even though Prowl loves their time together, he just doesn’t feel like this is a Relationship. It’s too casual for him, he can’t stand waiting for answers to texts that just…never come. So they have a great ‘last’ date and breakup. Become fond memories for each other.

And then, partly because I’m mean but mostly because I want to drag this away from my real life: what if they ended up on opposite sides of the war and met again? (Or what if Prowl had kids with someone else, or if Jazz had sired a couple and ended up with custody, or…any number of scenarios)

Anyway, if this was too personal, I apologize. I just felt like it’d be too disingenuous to frame this as purely fictional and hypothetical when it’s based on my real life. I’d rather be honest about it so you can just delete this if it weirds you out. XD

I can absolutely see this for them.

Many of my plots have been inspired by parts of my life or family lore.

I like them both having had lives and sparklings and very unexpectedly still coming back together.

#anon plot #life inspiring fic

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brawltogethernow · 2 years

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How come you got into One Piece but not Dragonball?

Ha, I guess I see the logic behind this question! Well, I enjoy that One Piece is a Journey to the West-inspired story with a powerful idiot for a protagonist, but those aren't the elements I'd consider the draws for me. In the short-term I like power of friendship stories a lot, and in the long-term I ended up vibing with a lot of OP's more slowburn themes (feeding everyone, dunking on the rich, disowning your parents, thumbing it to totalitarian governments, defining freedom, etc. etc.). One Piece is also... Despite the state it's ended up in (very heinous tiddies), it was noticeably non-horny for a pretty big chunk of it, and it has still not capitulated on never doing romance subplots. This is a draw for me.

I didn't catch either of these dubbed on TV at an impressionable age - that would be how I sampled Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon simultaneously and went on to only care about one of them - so I actively sampled them both after hearing about them when I was getting into anime as a teenager who'd just figured out how to stream things. ...I specifically remember staring deeply into a technically correct but extremely useless summary of One Piece before deciding to give it a shot. ("After eating a fruit said to be from the devil, Luffy the pirate CANNOT SWIM.") And I was like, 'Well this is Fine(tm), and I am learning new vocabulary' (after picking up Japanese question words from ygo Season 0, One Piece filled in my pronouns and basic family terms), and then I hit Arlong Park and was like, 'I AM CRYING WITH MY ENTIRE BODY THIS IS NOT FINE,' and like, after you've passed Arlong Park OP owns your ass. I almost dropped it when Foxy happened because the pacing had been starting to suffer from the threat of running out of source material and that arc was just, the last straw, but I switched to the next part of the manga instead and thank god because the manga is even better. What an absolute treat to get to read Water 7 and Thriller Bark as a second beginning of the OP experience. I have still not experienced Foxy in either medium and if I have my way I never will.

With Dragon Ball I just, started the manga from the beginning? It just didn't grab me. I don't even know how much of it I read. It doesn't feel like a lot, but I have no idea. Enough to get tired of it! None of the humor was landing for me because it was largely in various veins I find mildly unpleasant, the kind of big empty-feeling setting isn't really my vibe, and there just wasn't anything else going on. The DBZ abridged series was fun but also failed to capture my interest, ditto the occasional liveblog or video game watched over someone's shoulder.

I see people compliment Dragon Ball as an entry in the comics medium sometimes, and I might sit down with it again at some point for that angle now that I care more about the science of putting comics together. (Have also been meaning to resample Bleach for this reason.) I also understand that it has a pretty established spot to uh, skip to the trolls, as it were, so I might do that if I really just can't pay attention to the first era.

But yeah for now Goku is nothing to me. He's just a guy. I don't know him.

#asks answered #anonymous #manga

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wellntruly · 1 year

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The problem with just giving my whole M*A*S*H Season 1 viewguide a watch, is that I think I might have been good at this. Because now I’m like, hmm Season 1, best season? Cannot possibly be!! But! !

Anyway I never posted my backstage notes on the first season because I didn’t take any notes on the first season, because I’d just had a minor surgery and was, a little bit rather medicated. Just enough to be like, peaceful dismissive flomp of the hand, wrist Very loose.

But I have thoughts now.

M*A*S*H Season 1 Notes Finally (Deluxe Episode Selection)

1x15 ‘Tuttle’

Phasing out the bits of original score laying over the start of the cold opens was a mistake, this is so worn-in & cozy I could cry

I had missed Hawkeye promptly swooping up this nun’s hand—to clean the engine oil off it with the bottom of his jacket. Overwhelmed that this would be his introduction to anyone following my list.

Also hadn’t realized I’d kicked off with an episode where Hawkeye starts talking about a man getting pregnant within the first three minutes. Starting strong for our BOY (gender neutral)

I’m just so happy. I was right, 'Tuttle' best first episode. 'Tuttle' best episode? I am also so happy watching the laugh track version again, I don’t know! I really can't figure out why I feel it highlights somehow how the early seasons were soooo Catch-22, the idiotic and painful absurdism of the military, and the surreal blitheness that those who can see it take refuge in.

Have I not noticed before that Radar’s cot is just one the beds from post-op, with that cross bar across the head of it

WAIT WE SAW SPARKY HERE???? ‘Tuttle’ perfect intro wow

Hawkeye does not frequently tent his eyebrows like this and good on it as we might be in a 'some dead, many injured' situation otherwise

Hehe I’d missed early seasons Radar, this sweet but entire little freak...

1x09 ‘Henry, Please Come Home’

They are all SO scruffy (even Radar!!!), yet Hawkeye also has his shirt tucked in. Disorienting visual moments to come back to. (Don’t hate it!)

I think about the physical dialogue of this wordless bit of Frank trying to get Hawkeye & Trapper to salute him all the time

I cannot figure why Hawkeye and Trapper are staying sooo low in the bath, up to their ears, besides that maybe they just happened into it on the day and found that it was extremely funny, because it is.

Okay and now I want to know why they are wearing kimonos over full Class A uniforms, with tie. They look so handsome and silly.

Really remembering now why this was my second up: the sequence where Henry takes charge is one of the more interesting and rewarding character bits of early Season 1. It’s important to know early on that Henry can step up, and really cares about his people, as he’s gonna be such a goofy buffoon a lot of the time, but will be called upon for gravity and pathos in certain moments. Seeing him in this episode bolsters those moments so much when they come later.

he literally seduced him

Fun I had just meant to stylize that with a hashtag and Tumblr did this to it. Leaving it!

1x06 ‘Yankee Doodle Doctor’

They really talked to generals a whole lot more in the early days huh

Lol wait, he’s only a brigadier general

The scene of Hawkeye & Trapper dancing in each other's arms around their tent is just….they are Together. This was the sixth episode.

TRAPPER JOHN, YOUR GOLDEN RETRIEVER BOYFRIEND: Hawkeye: “Oh, that’s my bad side.” Trapper: “You looked good to me.” Hawkeye: “Oh-oh-oh, you were good in that place! Isn’t that good?” Trapper: [laughs delightedly, beaming]

Trapper, literally, stepping in between them as Hawkeye's bodyguard, Hawkeye playing up the leading lady, “Save your voice, my darling”—THEM IN THIS EPISODE.

It’s funny that this is also our first & only glimpse of Alan Alda, Future Actual Director

Wait, is his name Crandle?? Oh lord I looked this up later: yes. Brigadier Gen. Crandell Clayton. Naming Awards.

Gary laughing when Wayne bonks him on the head with this prop mallet for “anesthesia” as powerful a painkiller as one ibuprofen

It’s just a good little monologue, huh. It gets me every time. Part of it is those haunted silver eyes, and we have the black & white to thank for that, but it’s just a nice bit of writing too, and a nice choice to play it almost calmly (tiredly) direct. He is Looking.

1x07 ‘Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts’

This muted, meandering riff on the theme is so so pleasing

Trapper asleep on a bed in the OR, welcome

Oh my god, this episode was their “Our first fight” moment. My babies…<3 Why does Alan keep Hawkeye’s bent knuckle resting against Trapper’s bare arm for half of this vacation planning…<3

Trapper: “I’m worried about Hawkeye.” Frank: “Well I wouldn’t be. He does very well looking after himself.” Margaret: “Very well.” Trapper: “That’s exactly the point, he’s not himself.” Frank: “What’s that supposed to mean?” Trapper: “He seems to be losing touch with reality.” Henry: “I think the last person we have to worry about is Hawkeye Pierce!” Margaret: “I second that.”

You know what. This episode is destroying the scraps that remained of my own sanity. I’m ruined maybe most by Trapper jumping on the idea of “he looks after himself” as a worrying sign of self-editing. I’m reading into that but also, as Frank asks, what's that supposed to mean? If not something like that?

Ah this shot of the moon beyond the PA speaker…!

His like, James Dean look up through the forelock of his hair talking about the man he’s in love with…fucking hell, Hawkeye

“You know she dyes her hair blonde? That’s why I died my hair black. I think Frank should have a clear choice.” This joke has always killed me. That’s such good bonkers logic, and also a bit custom-made for Tumblr.

Absolutely adore Frank & Margaret silently conferring with each other just upstage, actually. Something that is really well rendered with them is the co-conspirator angle of being a couple.

“This is the Army, no one can do the best they can!” See I did miss this kind of thing later. This is a whole nuanced essay I need to write about Lt. Colonel Blake to Col. Potter, and it will be so much about the Vietnam War.

I think I’m starting to figure out the difference in early Radar, and it’s that he was still super innocent but simultaneously, crafty. He is constantly, or at least every episode in my list so far, roped into schemes by Hawkeye & Trapper as like their inside man, which he tends to perform well, for a comedic value of well.

The ‘Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts’ rewrite where the psychologist is Sidney Freedman. Everything goes the same, except of course, Sidney has no previous connection to Margaret. But they still send Radar in trying to make this scheme happen, and Sidney is just so amused watching Radar try to pull something off, sipping his soup surreptitiously, that he goes along with it. He just keeps going along with it, cheerily makes the same burnt-out bulb joke about how “my profession is helping people find their way in the dark,” and then when he finally figures it out of course tries to stop Margaret from undressing, and she flips, but then cracks up at the idea that she’d be trying to sleep with HIM, the opposite of her general type (pun inteeeended), and she actually makes this joke, which cracks Sidney up, partly just imagining himself as a general, so when the boys rush in to catch him they’re just cackling together, and Sidney’s like you know what, this has been entertaining. I’m not taking Pierce right now as it’s clear he has a support system (cut to Trapper and Radar), but I’m gonna be back, to check in on ALL of you. Margaret’s like, I’d like that. :) Frank is like, Margaret?! This is my vision.

(And then the Wouldn’t Actually Happen In Real M*A*S*H But I’d Like It final button is Sidney having breakfast with them all in the mess tent the next morning before he heads out, seeing how they all are together under what passes for normal conditions, and then as he’s clearing his tray outside with Hawkeye just mildly asks, “So, Frank was it?” And Hawkeye’s fork stills over his tray, but already Sidney is just smiling at him and saying “Good choice—I really could have thought you were crazy.” And Hawkeye grins, and Frank comes outside, and they both laugh, and Larry Linville does that little sort of shifting stomp thing that he does over how he keeps walking into spaces where the psychiatrist is laughing and he doesn’t know why. FIN.)

Anyway trying to figure out why this scene with the not-Sidney psychiatrist and Margaret, in real M*A*S*H, didn’t bother me as much as it seems to have bothered lots of others. I think maybe it’s partly because it was never going to get very far, as they were already waiting outside to stop it as soon as it started? So it plays without an air of actual threat. And also that we’re supposed to hate this guy, he’s the episodic enemy, so Margaret’s fury against him is all framed as right & justified & him getting his just desserts. Unlike, sadly, a number of other “jokes” these early seasons, this episode positions a man trying to take advantage of a woman as wrong, punishable even. I think that’s why I was weirdly kinda okay with it. Though on the whole I mean I would have preferred we just, not. If we have to, would prefer the Sidney version I already laid out, OF COURSE.

1x11 ‘Germ Warfare’

Hey Oliver Jones was still here in this one too! Godspeed fella, your stay at the 4077 was too short.

Hawkeye, sleeping in a chair so the wounded North Korean soldier can have his cot, whispering “Trap?” without opening his eyes. No note I just like it.

The fucking theremin cue when they start stealing Frank's blood while doing their Dracula bit

“In the morning he will be one of my brides!” Alright.

Larry’s little meow in his sleep, omfg

Hawk stop trying to seduce Frank while he sleeps, this psychological torture is so…subliminal

Truly what makes incorrigible flirt Hawkeye work is that in just so many of his ceaseless attempts to seduce Nurse Cutler and Lieutenant this blonde babe, the joke is on him. He has no sense of shame or self-preservation.

“I’m only paranoid ‘cause everyone is against me.” I’D MISSED FRANK.

They walked back a little Radar being so, so psychic as well

The thing about Frank & Margaret is that while we hate Frank for Margaret (because we know later Margaret), it’s also extremely good that they fully are set up as the counter couple to Hawkeye & Trapper. Like 1000%. Those are the two couples. Constantly engaged in battle.

Was briefly considering if this should have gone before ‘Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts’ in my viewguide, but have decided it’s funnier if Hawkeye hits on Frank so much after the one where he pretends to be in love with him, like it puts the idea into his head.

Wait the boys brought Frank daisies???! Huge Frederick Chilton visiting Will Graham in the hospital tbh

1x12 ‘Dear Dad’

‘The Longjohn Flap’ is the first true And They Were All So Cold episode in that it’s the plot, but I was loathe to forget that this one invented being bundled. Hawkeye in his scarf writing this letter to his dad....my absolute origin story.

I MISS GINGER. Her vibes with Hawkeye and Trapper were so good.

Father Mulcahy is So Cute, look at him!

Henry stressfully cajoling his unruly audience, “Let’s just can the jokes, I’d like to get right down to the sex,” did make me laugh

A whole interlude about how Trapper is the strapping sweetie-pie of the outfit, wow

WAIT this was the first time you would have seen Klinger!!??! And he was so rowdy!!! Wow wild intro for him

“Attention all personnel: when filling out GI insurance forms, be sure to state your age and sex at the time of your last birthday.” Innncredible.

What do you think a snail smells like anyway

I’d forgotten that the first time Hawkeye kissed Margaret, just out in the middle of camp as a bit, he then promptly volunteered to go down on her, in so many words. Y’know this is the other thing that makes his pursuit of all the nurses (slash everyone) work: he’s extremely keen on making sure they have a good time. “I’ve certainly done my share to keep up [the nurses] morale,” he wrote earlier, “but I’ve only got two hands.” This apparently is the perfect cocktail for an incorrigible flirt: 1 part complete willingness to embarrass yourself, 1 part complete willingness to be a service anything.

And then of course that scene is immediate followed by one where he makes a joke that Trapper is getting him pregnant. ~HAWKEYE PIERCE~

Hmmm. Hawkeye paused before getting on the chopper and tried to say goodbye to Trapper just in case, and Trapper went “Tell me when you see me!” Aw Trap…

“All the ladies of the ensemble” oh my god...<3

1x19 ‘The Longjohn Flap’

I love Radar and Henry so much

It’s actually all of the cots, they’re all taken from post-OP supply huh

Trapper dealing cards into the stove one by one…

It’s just soooo goooood watching Hawkeye comically cave to poor shivering sneezing Trapper, he’s so resistant and such a soft touch at once

Have I ever mentioned in public how much I love Radar's makeshift ear-muffs---surgical gauze layered under his radio headphones---that he uses for multiple season's worth of cold episodes. Man...Now That's Television

‘The Longjohn Flap’ is so perfect. Hawkeye listing out all the descriptors of the long underwear Trapper has just lost (“double weave! semi-woolen!”) while he just sits there in shock, Radar already trying to unbutton them off his chest.

Trapper: “Hey. Look what the giant rodent has on his body.” Why is this line killing me.

Loretta’s bizarre little cold voice is just the greatest, wtf

Y’know, this transition from Klinger, in a bandana but fatigues, trying to blow Frank up with a grenade, to now being outside in a dress in the cold and saying “I’m crazy, ask anybody. Crazy Klinger,” kind of works?

Hawkeye: “Only God knows where they are now…” [Cut to Father Mulcahy bringing a sentry coffee] Alan I want to kiss you on the cheek

It also works as a second Klinger episode that once again his closest relationship seems to be with Father Mulcahy. Incidentally, I’m also seeing where the Klinger & Mulcahy truthers are coming from lately.

“—which we own” Oh so now the 'johns are collective property of the two of you

Hawkeye’s sweet overwhelmed joy when he gets them back, oh my gOD

What is this!!!!!!!!!

1x17 ‘Sometimes You Hear the Bullet’

Loretta Swit’s “trying to figure out how to grab crouched-over Frank to move him out of her tent” acting is so, so funny

Loretta Swit’s “pointing where Frank was coming from” acting is, you guessed it, so, so funny

Admittedly, the way Tommy fully seems like Hawkeye’s wild gay friend, is incredible. McLean Stevenson’s reaction to Tommy kissing him though is just the bee’s knees & all the rest of her.

But…this episode does still throw me off a little! Not for nothing is I think their only homophobic joke from Hawkeye? Unless we want to count “If you kiss me I’ll throw up,” but he says that while eyeing Trapper over a sip of his drink so it still just feels flirty ultimately.

“I’d give you a kiss but I…can’t move my head” is just quite good as a line I’ll give you

God I’m so sorry ‘Sometime You Hear the Bullet’, but look at that I’ve just come right back down on you again. It just doesn’t work for me! It’s too quick, you can’t introduce a character I’ve never heard of before, tell me he’s one of Hawkeye’s best friends, and kill him 10 minutes later, and not have me just looking at all the brush strokes and not the picture.

1x21 ‘Sticky Wicket’

“You go right to Major Houlihan, you set your jaw firmly, and you look into those cool, killer eyes of hers and you tell her I’ll be right there.” McLeeaaaaan

Radar waking up Hawkeye is always the cutest. I’m injured.

Sorry sorry to just bag again on ‘Sometimes You Hear the Bullet’, but really, I just feel like its relative emotional depth is shown up in sophistication by even just a few of these other S1 episodes. Margaret going from threatening Hawkeye with a formal complaint in one scene to the two of them working seamlessly together in the operating room in the next, and that’s the point, is so much more real about the nature of living in a surgical hospital camp during a war, if that’s what it is that 'Sometimes You Hear' is supposed to be giving.

Hawkeye, operating: “What’s the score, John?” John, minding the patient’s vital signs: “He’s doing pretty well, considering what you’re doing to him.” I can’t really explain exactly what emotion this inspires in me, but it sure does it

Putting this one right after the episode where he loses Tommy does give Hawkeye’s behavior in this one a specific interpretive flavor. Not sure if I prefer that though; there doesn’t always have to be reasons, you know?

Trapper hauls Hawkeye away from trying to murder Frank by the waist. Just FYI.

Ah and yes also the first time we see Trapper just physically steer him out of the hospital. Hawkeye is upset and Trapper has gone hands-on. Hmm I was probably going to rest easier before I noticed this.

The “I told you to leave me alone, Trapper,” bit, TRULY ...truly

Wait then Trapper ACTUALLY SHOWS UP, with booze. And literally is like, so is she helping? Wow? Wow.

Was this the first one that started on how Margaret is very good at her job

Y’know what, one of S1’s hottest episodes is: ‘Sticky Wicket’. This episode has everything: The very beginnings of Hawkeye & Margaret, Besties. Operating on war victims feeling like it has Consequences. Trapper jilted that Hawkeye left him for two nights, then relenting and being like [literally chucking his cheek] baby at least you came back. :) The first shower scene in my viewguide. McLean Stevensen sleep mask acting. And what's that? Why, it's Radar O’Reilly.

1x20 ‘The Army-Navy Game’

I do love how open Hawkeye always is with his fear. It’s nice.

Had missed before that Margaret is fully just leaning on Trapper as they cower near Henry comma concussed

“Yeah yeah, don’t panic, I’m doing that for everybody. Go inside.” LOVE Leadership Pierce, when it kicks in.

Army brass: “Call me at half-time, will ya Captain?” Hawkeye, amazed, mockingly polite-society: “Certainly.” Army brass: “If I don’t hear from you, I’ll understand.” This Catch-22 shit in this episode is SO GOOD

Wait so was S1 just entirely the Klinger/Mulcahy hours and I just never noticed the pattern

Henry: “One foot, can you imagine!” Radar: “Twelve inches!” Literal lol

Henry: “….It’s whose?” [scene cut] Hawkeye: “The CIA!?” Sublime.

Reading off the flyer: “Give yourselves up. You can’t win. - Douglas MacArthur” It's perfect.

*****

Viewguides (selected episodes for each season; M*A*S*H reduced like a gravy)

Misc. MASH (formless notes from my watches)

#M*A*S*H hours (all this & More)

#“S1 revisited” is here #Misc. MASH #M*A*S*H hours #M*A*S*H

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