#esepcially in a show like this that is actually pretty good about continuity

[enderon]

Okay, there's an asspect of one of my favorite Phineas and Ferb episodes that I need to take a second to explain and complain.

The episode in question is 'My Fair Goalie', the one about playing Football X-7 and Lawrence's brother and family coming for a visit, that ultimately ends up being a commentary on Ferb's cultural heritage as his English cousins give him grief for not being 'British enough' after living in America so long only to end with one of my favorite Ferb lines, "Actually chaps, I'm not a brit or a yank, I'm just Ferb".

Anyways, my issue comes from both how Phineas refers to the cousins and the whole introduction section.

For one, at the start of the episode, Phineas refers to them as Ferb's cousins, saying, 'Ferb, your cousins from England are visitng'. Here's the problem with that. In the narrative, the Flynn-Fletchers are a completely blended family. Outside of the first episode and very rare occasions, we don't hear any mention of 'step' in the family explanations and both sets of grandparents are just referred to normally by all parties as grandparents, it is a completely blended family. Meaning, Phineas should not be calling them 'Ferb's cousins', cause they're his cousins too. Maybe not by blood, but that has been shown to never be a concern in this family in this show.

And another issue, the fact that apparently this is the first time Phineas and Candace are meeting Lawrence's brother and his family. What??? We know that Lawrence and Linda have been together for quite a while, 5 years at the least, since that's how long they've had Perry. So plenty of time for them all to meet. Also, they're married. Are you telling me Lawrence's brother and family didn't come to the wedding? And for anyone that might argue that maybe they just don't have many opportunities to travel to the states, we see the Flynn-Fletchers visit grandma and grandpa Fletcher in England more than once in the span of the single summer of the show. Surely if they can go over seas that often, they can take some time out of one of those visits to see Lawrence's brother and family.

Just feels weird, cause as great as the show can be in representing a perfectly blended family and respecting step-family as full family, this feels so off and not fitting within everything else we see about this family.

[skzfelixity]

Save Me | Cha Hyunsoo [Sweet Home]

Hyunsoo x Reader

Summary: Hyunsoo is about to end it all but the thought of you stops him.

Warnings: suicide attempt, mentions of violence, self harm and depression

Hyunsoo found himself entering the first building he saw, he was tired. He was sick and tired of life. Every time he went to sleep, he wished he never woke up. He wanted to end his miserable life. He was good for nothing and always disappointed everyone around him. He just wanted to be a better person but he ended up hating himself.

He stood at the edge of the building’s rooftop, staring at the ground. If he jumped he wouldn’t be able to survive. That’s what he wanted, right? That’s what everyone wanted, right? Not you, you didn’t want him to die and he knew it. He shook the thought of you. He wouldn’t be able to do it if you stayed on his mind longer.

Instead, he reminded himself of all the times he got beaten up for literally nothing, all the times his sister was embarassed to be related to him and the fact that his parents knew what he was going through but never helped him. All these made scars in his heart, him making them visible on his arm. Every time he made another mistake or felt horrible, he would add another one. Tears flowed down his cheeks at the memories.

Why did everyone hate him? It didn’t make sense to him, maybe he was that bad of a person. But then again, you always reminded him that you were thankful he was still here and how proud you were of him. He didn’t understand why, he did nothing to make you proud of him.

He started sobbing while taking a few steps back, why are you so happy every time you hang out together? Why did you show him your brightest smiles? You couldn’t be faking it, it was too much work to do. No one cared for him so why did you? What did you see in him?

He sat on the ground, knees close to his chest. He didn’t stop crying, his sobs got louder as random happy memories of you two flashed through his mind. Like that day when you started playing games with him just because it was the only thing he was intrested in. You bringing him food once in a while, scolding him for not eating for days. The way you held him in your arms whenever he was down, sad or troubled.

He liked what he felt during these moments, they made him want to keep on living. He pulled out his phone, a few tears dropping on the black screen. Did he really deserve someone like you? You were the best thing that happened to him, you were too kind to someone like him. 

He dialed your number, placing the speaker on his ear with shaking hands. He didn’t know what came over him but he needed to hear your voice. “Hi Hyunsoo, what-”

“Save me.”

You froze for a few seconds, he sounded too calm to be in danger. “What’s the matter, Hyun?”

He bit his bottom lip to prevent more tears from falling. He didn’t like being vulnerable in front of you, “C-can you meet me?”

“Yes of couse, just tell me where you are and I’ll come find you,” immediately on your feet, you ran to the location he told you. On the roof? You got so scared, did he try to jump? You couldn’t lose him, you didn’t want to.

Your ankles hurt from running but you didn’t stop, you needed to see him as soon as possible and make sure he was okay, physically at least. You opened the door to the rooftop, not seeing him anywhere. He couldn’t have left, he called you here after all.

He waited for you to notice him on the other corner of the roof, too afraid and ashamed to call you over. When you did, your heat felt at ease again. Hyunsoo’s heart feeling the same as you run to him. You gave him a bone crushing hug, he knew he must have scared you. He wished he hadn’t, all he could do to make you feel better was hug you back.

You didn’t know how to start. Ask him how he felt? Ask him if he was about to jump? Nothing felt right to say.

“I’m sorry, I must have scared you. Are you okay?” He was the first one to speak. He was so selfless it hurt your soul. He always cared for everyone around him but never got acknowledged nor praised for it.

“Stop asking about me! You’re the one who is hurting right now, why can’t you just say it?!” You pulled away from the hug to look into his eyes, which held so much pain. He sighed, it wasn’t easy for him to talk about his feelings but he had to since he called you here.

“Why are you proud of me?” He looked down at his feet, “I haven’t done anything that can make you proud of me.”

His words hurt you. He didn’t value himself enough, not at all to be exact. You cupped his cheeks to make him look at you. “I am proud of you because you are here today. Holding on for another 24 hours is not easy and I am so thankful I get to talk to you every day.” He started tearing up again, he knew you meant what you said and it made him feel a lot better. “You don’t see it but you are actually a very good person. The world is just bad.”

You wanted to cry too, the world was so unfair to him and it hurt to witness it. Hyunsoo felt acknowlegded for once, he wanted to be a better person and you just told him you saw him as one. He could trust you and believe your words. If such a genuine person thought he was a good person then it must be true. Moments with you was what he lived for, “I love you, Y/N. I am sorry for scaring you.”

“I love you too, Hyunsoo. Thank you for making me happy,” you embarced him in a tight hug. He did make you happy, you didn’t lie to make him feel better. He was pretty fun to be around, esepcially when it came to playing video games and having deep talks.

“I make you happy?” he mumbled into your neck, putting his arms around you. Hearing it would make him believe it completely, his brain and anxiety would accept the fact that he made someone happy in this miserable world of his.

“You make me happy, Cha Hyunsoo.” You ran your fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp. He hugged you tighter, enjoying your fingers on his hair. Affection is needed from time to time and you never missed the chance to show it to him.

“Then I will continue to make you happy so stay by my side,” he whispered, too tired and relaxed to speak louder. You smiled at his words, “Forever and always.”

[popculturebuffet]

Shadow Into Light (Lena Retrospective): Magica’s Shadow War

Hello all you happy people! And welcome back to Shadow Into Light, my look at the life and times of Lena Sabrewing. We’re in the end stretch, just two more installments after this: one covering what may be my favorite episode, and the other covering Lena’s season 3 appearances, as unlike Seasons 1 and 2 she shows up outside her own episodes fairly often and most of those apperances touch on how far she’s come or her life in some way shape or form, so I really can’t skip over them. 

But before we can get to the end of Lena’s arc, we have to once again go back where she came from. Previously I covered the one and only apperance of Minima DeSpell, a character Lena took some inspiration from. But Lena is a combination of Minima and another Ducktales 87 character but this time one from the show itself, in the same episode we meet Magica no less. Given how much frank loved the original, it’s not a huge shock one of the most vital and intresting new characters from the reboot was partially taken from an episode he probably watched 80 dozen times. So how does the original shadow stack up with her rebooted counterpart? Is the episode any good? And should I watch invincible. The answers to this question are under the cut!

To answer your question on invincible.. Yeah you should. It’s gorgeously animated, has a MASSIVELY talented and diverse cast, and perfectly adapts the original source: Adding in great new stuff and shuffling things around to work better for the pacing of a tv show. And after loosing The Tick to Amazon’s greasy clutches, not to mention Danger and Eggs and Alpha House before that with no formal cancelation so they coudln’t move elsewhere, i’m not taking any chances despite the odds being far more in invincibles favor. Check it out, just mind that it has a shocking amount of gore, if you like superheroes.  Or even if you don’t, it’s pretty much guaranteed to have someone you like doing a voice. 

Enough shilling for an unrelated show though, let’s get to this one. We open with our introduction to the De Spells. Magica is hovering over a caludron with a diabolical new plan to steal Scrooge’s #1 dime. Why? 

Or at least I didn’t. I knew why she wanted the dime itself mind you: The Dime has picked up some powerful emotoinal energy from being around Scrooge all his life as he built his fortune, made his way square and fought Teddy Roosevelt. All that good stuff. So naturally if used in a spell, that spell is going to be massively powerful. I just didn’t know what the spell was.. and now I do.. i’mmm underwhelmed. She wants it to gain the midas touch, i.e. the ablility to turn things she touches into gain, using the dime as a power source for an amulet. 

 Magica, via her potions and spells has the powers to do just about ANYTHING. And her goal is.. make some things into gold. She has a giant volcano laier, whatever resources she needs to go after Scrooge, and in this series at least can buy a haunted house on a whim. She HAS money.. why would she need this. And second... the midas touch is a bad thing. You cant’ USE or enjoy anything because it turns to gold> That was the whole fucking point of the myth. If it removes the weakness than fine.. but again it seems like a lot of effort for something with a short range and heavy possible drawbacks. I tfits her personalty to a point but even then she has better spells. I’m going more with it simply allowing her to supercharge.. is it more simplisti? yes. Does it make more sense than “Give myself a power that can easily be turned back on me by just making me touch myself “ yes, yes it is. 

Meanwhile the boys dick around playing Candid Camera with a new camera Gyro gave them that is no more advanced than your average instant camera. You’d expect this new invention to come in handy against Shadow Magica. And you’d be right. You’d expect the boys to at least suggest hte idea before the climax. You’d be wrong. This big is just.. irrtating. It’s just the boys being dicks to everyone by taking embarssing photos and really adds nothing to the episode of any remote subtsnace.

Conversley Magica continues to be the highlight, as her check in with airport security gets her through as she has no fruit. Ah the days before they throughly scanned us and most tsa jokes were about shoving hands up someone’s ass. Seriously.. why. .why is that a common joke. I’ve never had it done but unless you fully consent to it it’s not fun to get your hand up there but it was an oddly common gag for a long time.I.. really don’t get it. 

She arrives in america and buys a haunted house, to the realtor’s shock but eh it’s a sale. The black mold just makes it more sinister. Magica sicks Shadow Magica on the bin, with an elaborate plan but giving the Shadow one hour to do it because otherwise it will disapate.. given it dosen’t it’s likely more Magica trying to keep her double in line, having ran into trouble earlier with shadow her trying to steal the wallet of what I can only assume to be gus goose. So he was on vacation tha’ts where he was.. from what I don’t know he dosen’t actually do work and the house of mouse hadn’t been established yet. Maybe Gramma Duck just gives him vacation days. 

So the shadow ALMOST gets away with the dime.. but accidnetly knocks over a pedestal and warns Scrooge and the Boys, who manage to chase her off. Scrooge having only one magical nemisis in his Rogues gallery, that we know of, knows who did this and prepares for an attack.  Magica.. berates her doppleganger and while she considers a spell to power her up, decides against it since what would stop the Shadow from betraying her. The shadow agrees.. and locks Magica and Poe in a closet and makes the potion herself, taking on a creepy new form and planning to raise an ARMY of shadows. 

And here... is where the split between Lena and The Shadow is very deefinite. While Frank and Matt kept the shadow and Magica really not getting along and only working together out of necisity on both ends.. the shadow here REALLY is just magica. Just as evil and ambitious, and just as sneaky. The only diffrence between the two is the shadow’s logical weaknesses of being a shadow, i.e. light weakens her and she can only hide in darkness or other shadows, and how they were born. Shadow magica is every bit as evil and devious as the main one. I do get why she stuck in Frank’s brain though: the idea is simple but ingenious, someone’s shadow gaining sentience, and the cool tricks you get with that as she ducks and darts between shadows. It’s really good stuff and frank expertly expanded it with lena, making her basically humanoid duck other than where she came from, but still using the neat tricks with the shadow itself for Magica’s imprisoned form and later the shadow army. It’s a good example of taking a really good idea.. and making it even better, by having said shadow being deal with not being considered a person by the person who spawned her and really ramping up the idea of a shadow army, which Shadow Magica eventually summons, from about ten guys to an entire cities worth. The shadows also you know come from people instead of just thin air but semantics. Point is it’s a very good concept and done really well esepcially for the 87 cartoon, and while Frank’s take was unique and very well done, it dosen’t make the original any less good. 

And it’s shown off with a cool sequence of the shadow infiltrating the manor and nearly getting to the dime with Scrooge having rigged the place to all hell with lights as a percaution. It nearly wins but louie uses a shadow puppet to scare it off. While Scrooge ponders this latest attack Poe shows up, and offers Magica’s help.. but Scrooge rightly dosen’t want it, as he can’t trust her and only agrees when the boys bring up the power bill from keeping the lights on. 

Now getting Magica on board is not an idea: The shadow’s a threat to both of them and they need each other. The next part though.. is a bit stupid and drags the episode down a bit. Magica asks for the dime to beat the thing. Now Scrooge wisely is hesitant to do so.. but everyone else treats it like his usual greedy antics. Thing is.. it’s not. We don’t, at least in this adaptation, know what Magica wants with the thing or the full extent of what she can do with it or if she even actually needs it. While getting her help is one thing, giving her the DIME well...] ]’ii98[[

Why would you give someone you KNOW wants to use the dime to conquer the world or whatever the thing she wants? It’d be like handing Thanos the Infnity Gauntlet to take out Galactus. Yes, your handling a big problem.. but your burning the world to do it. It’s just so frustratlingly dumb. There’s a good idea in there, Scrooge being forced to lend Magica the dime, but it’s buried under Mt. Contrivance! 

So Scrooge reluctantly goes along with operation:seemed like a good idea at the time, and cleverly puts the dime in an empty stadium. Unfortuantley the lights malfunction and Shadow Magica summons MORE Shadows, and now has an army. Launchpad ends up being helpful, also he’s in this episode for some reason, by pointing out shadows need light.. and thus another logical weakness as killing the rest of the lights renders them weak and allows our heroes to lure them to the vault where Magica waits> Magica is able to weaken it with the spell.. but even with that the Shadow SITLL is too powerful.. 

Enter the cameras, which take out Shadow Magica, saving the day. We get a lesson about trusting Gyro’s gadgets for.. some reason and Scrooge stops Magica from fleeing with the dime with a shadow puppet. Smiles and cheese sandwitches all around

Final Thoughts on Magica’s Shadow War: This episode is not half bad. While the Dime Thing is mindblowingly moronic, and the camera thing is REALLY poorly set up, I have not had a more apt use for that Scott Pilgrim Panel yet, the sheer concept and June Foray’s sheer force of personality as both magica’s makes it work. It’s a fun, engaging adventure and a solid chonk of classic ducktales. As for how it relates to Lena it does so decently. But with this our side trips are at an end. Only two episodes left! And then onward to the lilo and stitch crossover arc! Yes really. Kev wanted a buffer before getting to the Season 2 arcs and I loved tha tshow as a kid so why the fuck not. 

Next Time on Shadow Into Light: Lena gets welcomed to prime time bitch as Magica pulls a freddy and stalks her through her dreams. Sadly she did indeed forgot about the power glove. Can the rest of the kids break away from dreams of high school musicals, becoming a garfild, giant legs and libraries long enough to save Lena? Will we have a very queer in the best way possible musical number about Lena and Webby’s anniversary? Will I talk about Huelet? In order, yes, yes, and probably. But join me anyways won’t you. 

If you liked this reviews, subscribe for more. If you have a ducktales episode from seasons 1 and 2 of the reboot or the whole of the 87 series, drop me a line through my ask box, my dm’s or my discord, technicolormuk#6550. Reviews or only 5 bucks an episode for tv. Other prices on the blog. Or if you can’t spare that much, join my patreon. Even a buck or two a month helps reach my stretch goals and the more of those I hit the more disney content you get a month. The current one is only 5 bucks away. I’m 15 and if I hit 20 that guarantees a darkwing duck review every month AND reviews of the super ducktales mini series. But if you can’t that’s cool and I get it times are hard, it’s why I have to shill so hard. But until the next rainbow, it’s been a pleasure. 

[archival-account-2]

definition and refinement; in the heart of an artist. | keiji akaashi [headcanons]

❛ 𑁍 pairing: keiji akaashi x female!artist!reader

❛ 𑁍 scenario: in fukoradani academy; in the art club (school studio); in the volleyball court

❛ 𑁍 warning: none because it's a fluff; y'all haven't seen the coffee sachets i consumed

❛ 𑁍 note (i): my head isn't a healthy headspace because the brown coffee + sugar + black sugar i consumed today; y'all better expect like a train is gonna hit you off the rails because i didn't went easy with this one; of course, i tried to keep keiji akaashi in character, so please patient as i am adjusting his personality with my writing style (it’s fun writing new things)

❛ 𑁍 requested by: @schoneelise

🡪 you are one of the school prominent artists not because you're the vice president of the art club (your senpai is a third-year) but because you're presence is always defined no matter where you are.

🡪 did someone saw that cutie in a red berret? yeah, that's you, sketching in one of the notebooks you brought.

🡪 oh, did someone also saw that dolly in a skirt with van gogh's starry night masterpiece? yep, defintely, that's you, admiring your juniors' art in their studio while giving them advice.

🡪 anways, moving on; your senpai, (s/n), is very good friends with kotaro bokuto, the colleyball captain of the fukorodani volleyball club. (s/n) comes to their friend's practice by themselves but one day, you're intrigued with the way they were acting.

🡪 it was as if they were jittery and were kept on their toes. did something happen without your knowledge?

(s/n): they almost had it... they almost had it!

(y/n): ... senpai?

(s/n): if keiji didn't mess it up, he could have-

(y/n): sennpai, are. you. okay???

🡪 your kind concern reconvened your senpai's attention toyou, who almost looked petrified. (s/n) apologized for their erratic behavior and explained the situation.

🡪 long story short: fukorodani would facing off against the schools in tokyo in less than one week, and they don't have enough time to practice the new combo they conjured up.

🡪 you, being the supportive type, decided to come with your senpai. they were more than happy to have you tagging along. besides, it seemed like you needed something to be your next inspiration.

🡪 wow. the tension in the court... is just... wow.

🡪 boy, did the sound of balls bouncing off the floor and walls made you rethink your decision. what if you're going to lose an arm? what if you're going to get a concussion? is the place even safe for behaving people?

(s/n): relax. they know where they're gonna hit.

🡪 you're almost believing your senpai when a ball narrowly missed your head by a hair. a hair... a. hair.

🡪 poor you... you almost dropped your art things on the floor and fainted right after that.

keiji: not that high, bokuto-san. you almostt hurt (s/n)-san.

(s/n): actually... you almost obliterated my vice president, (y/f/n).

🡪 you were, by all means of surprise, a forgiving type of person, so you kindly and simply brushed it off with a shy wave of dismissal and a smile.

(y/n): no, it's fine! in fact, it kinda impressed me that it can go that fast and strong. er, good job!

🡪 let's just say, the volleyball captain became very fond of you at the very instant.

🡪 and his vice captain? he's intrigued, to say the least.

🡪 after one strenous match (that scared you most of the time and had to shift multiple times), they finally had a break. your senpai walked over to kotaro and chatted with him, shooting the breeze as the other players attended to their needs.

🡪 while the game was nearing to an end earlier, you finally moved to the most comfortable spot: almost to the corner,  underneath a window. you set your artist's satchel beside you in peace (at last) and made new sketches that were inspired by your new surroundings: the court ceilings, the net from your perspective, the rapid movement of rubber shoes, the accelerated ball and it's awesome momentum.

🡪 you were having your own fun in your own newfound place, and you like the fact you had something new to draw about.

🡪 now, during the ten-minute break, keiji akaashi, the vice captain, noticed that you were gone... well, that was until he saw you sitting by yourself.

🡪 you were sitting cross-legged; your sketchpad on your lap; your mechanical pencil scraping the paper as it draws; your head bending down with your eyes focused on the task at hand.

🡪 keiji walked over to you quietly, making sure his tall presence won't startle you. but since you were so immersed, you didn't even pay any attention to anything else. so, he stood before you, bent over, and looked down at your sketchpad.

keiji: it's really pretty.

🡪 you almost threw your pencil five feet in the air from the sudden, accidental scare.

(y/n): oh, um... thanks... but does it really?

keiji: yeah.

🡪 from then on, you and keiji hang out like good buddies every other time after his practice and after your duties in the art club were done for the day.

🡪 however, on one hand, it would be you who would come by the court and proceed with your habit to sketch the surroundings. but, on the other hand, it would keiji who would finish early and drop by the art club (without announcing his presence because of his frequent visits), watching you work behind your back as you work on an easel or laptop (for digital arts).

🡪 of course, during the times you two would spend the time, keiji would give you meaningful advice on how to make your pieces more attractive and more aesthetic-looking.

🡪 surprisingly, they worked so well! in fact, so well that your (s/n) would tease you about keiji being the better mentor than themselves.

(s/n): i guess (y/n)-chan doesn't need me at all... she had found a better teacher... much worse, he's in the volleyball club. oh, the horror!

(y/n): but you taught me the fundamentals, though... senpai, you're being melodramatic again.

🡪 in case you haven't noticed it yet, you're the type of artist who can quickly adapt to another artstyle without sacrificing your own. you are a fast learner type and that was because you believe improvement knows no speed.

🡪 you always work hard to make your pieces expressive, eloquent, and emotional. with your ardent passion to adapt to functional styles, it's no wonder why you can cope up with keiji's suggestions without thinking about it.

🡪 keiji, in turn, would be surprised. but he would only retain that notion only to himself. he couldn't bear to admit that verbally.

🡪 he's not big on evoking emotions or feelings easily; he prefers to keep a calm, relaxing, and unmoving personality everytime he's around crowds.  

🡪 but there was one thing he couldn't do: he couldn't stop his own eyes from expressing from what he truly felt in the inside.

🡪 whenever he saw you drawing something that seemed better than he liked it to be, keiji would give you a nod of his head and simply motioned for you to continue with a wave of his hand. but then you would give him a quick-second glance, and his eyes said, 'it's really amazing. please do more'.

🡪 other times, when you eagerly show him your work, a side of his lips would tug slightly upwards. but it would quickly disappear as it appeared. you didn't fail to spot it, though, and you felt super proud you're able to make keiji elicit an expression of happiness.

🡪 so, one day... your art teacher dropped the bomb: you, art students of the art club, have to draw still-life.

🡪 but not just any still life. no, it had to be still life with the theme, "classically contemporary".

🡪 well... well.. you need to think fast or else your grades will drop to a 'c-' or a 'b+'. and you're a straight 'a+' student in arts, so you can't let this drop-

keiji: what's going on with that head of yours?

🡪 you're hanging out in the court this time, and keiji was on a break (thank heavens; kotaro just made them run twenty-five laps around the gym as 'cool down').

🡪 you explained you thick dilemma and keiji said you shouldn'y overthink it too much because that'll "bench you out until the time is up".

🡪 you took his solemn advice with a grain of salt and thought it through as the second round of practice commenced. before you knew it, you finally made your decision and you're excited to keiji about it.

🡪 but the question is: would he like it?

(y/n): akaa-

keiji: keiji.

(y/n): um, keiji! i finally know what i'm going to do!

keiji: good. can you tell me what it is, then?

(y/n): can you be my model?

🡪 him? akaashi keiji? a model? for someone's project? esepcially that 'someone' was you?

🡪 gosh, he really didn't know how to respond, so he just simply looked at you with the most unreadable face ever. it made you contemplate if you had upset him or something...

(y/n): keiji... um, you know... it's fine if you don't want to my subject. i can just go and ask some of my other friends if they want.

🡪 next day rolled around and you still haven't asked any of your friends yet. that's because you had a hunch they had found their own models and muses in the earliest nick of time.

🡪 sad to be you right now.

🡪 so while the others were working with their newfound partners, you were simply minding your own business by setting the 'still life' background/setting of your work, thinking it might lighten the load while you're still looking for the right person.

(s/n): (y/n).

(y/n): y-yeah? senpai?

(s/n): why is keiji dressed like he's about to revive a shogunate?

🡪 good lord.

🡪 it had to be kotaro's idea.

🡪 it just had to be.

🡪 akaashi-freaking-keiji cannot just waltz inside the art studio dressed in a yukata with a semi-real sword strapped across his waist. no, no, no, no, nope-

🡪 it looked so out of his element, to be honest. like... he wasn't born to wear it because his face conveyed the most unamused expression to ever live. he looked like he was forced to get inside the costume. but how could anyone coerce this serious man to even wear that?

🡪 but you know what?

🡪 he looked really dashing, to be honest.

🡪 really, really dashing.

(s/n): ... this is the art studio, not the drama theater.

keiji: i know. i'm here for (y/n)...

🡪 did. you. hear. that. right?

🡪 or what he just said rendered you deaf?

🡪 anyways, anyways, anyways. here's the breakdown of how the hell akaashi keiji ended up wearing a yukata with the matching sword.

🡪 he admitted to kotaro that you asked him to be your model. kotaro nearly gave him the most memorable slap ever because he lowkey rejected you. as his punishment, kotaro got in contact with one of the drama peeps he's friends with and ordered to his friend the most amazing yukata they have in the closet with matching sword. (so it was definitely his idea; no wonder why akaashi looked slightly pissed). while akaashi thought it was a waste of time and called kotaro out for being impulsive, he also thought... what's the freaking big deal?

🡪 what is he overthinking about? there's nothing to put his mind heavily on the matter. the only thing he's going to do is sit still and look handsome for the artist. is that the hardest job in the world?

🡪 his answer came to him when he sat down on a stool and posed for (y/n): it's not the hardest job at all. besides, he's not always on energizer bunnies and he's barely hyper when he's sitting down. so... i think he's doing a great job~

🡪 (y/n), in turn, is having the best fun of her life.

🡪 she's sketching one of her bosom friend for one her important projects.

🡪 she's taking her sweet, sweet, sweet time sketching keiji on the digital easel and before they both knew it, the draft was done!

🡪 it only took them seven hours, though.

🡪 keiji missed his volleyball practice and it was past their curfews.

🡪 but neither of them mind. while some students really did stay put (wow, the dedication), keiji and (y/n) decided to go home at once.

🡪 but only after keiji changed into his uniform again.

🡪 he cannot be seen in a yukata.

🡪 his dignity relies on his appearance somehow.

🡪 once he's done, both of them walked home since their houses were just walking distances.

(y/n): you actually looked really nice in the yukata, keiji.

keiji: thank you, (y/n). although it was just forced on me.

(y/n): nonetheless, you appeared very dream-like back there.

🡪 something blossomed in keiji's chest. was it deep appreciation for the meaningful compliments? was it earnest regard to how he had behaved and look for your project? whatever it is... he's not going to deny it in any way. but then again, he's not going to say anything about it.

keiji: is that so?

(y/n): gosh, yes! you're a lifesaver back there, you know.

🡪 you spent the night polishing the whole thing and it continued for the rest of the week.

🡪 keiji, being an understanding and considerate type, didn't step in your way except when to remind you about eating lunch and going home earnestly.

keiji: (y/n), eat your lunch first.

keiji: (y/n), brush your hair before sitting down.

keiji: (y/n), time to go home.

keiji: (y/n), rest your eyes.

🡪 one week after your final draft, you passed it to your teacher just in time.

🡪 of course, to compensate to keiji's volunteerism and efforts to keep you alive (barely) last week, you treated to lunch on you.

keiji: i have my own bento, (y/n).

(y/n): but mine has more meat than that,

keiji: ... fine. let me have it, please.

🡪 after a hearty lunch, keiji walked you to the art club. (of course, there was no competition but the grades matter-)

sensei: all of your artworks deserve to be in a museum. but, to be honest, out of the rest, i think (y/n)'s piece deserved a seat right next to da vinci's.

🡪 god bless keiji for being there or else you could have lost all senses then gained a concussion from fainting.

🡪 your still life, turned out, to be the one that stood out the most.

sensei: how did you pull this off, (y/n)? who... who taught you?

🡪 you squinted at your work and noticed the changes you never paid attention to at all. while you retained your own original art style of 'still life', there were some compositions that seemed brand new.

(y/n): keiji-kun taught me.

🡪 you said it with so much pride that keiji actually smiled.

🡪 smiled.

🡪 he smiled the most genuine smile he could ever muster.

🡪 (damn, kotaro is missing in action right now.)

🡪 you got the highest grade among your classmates + your (s/n) congratulated you wholeheartedly. they even said, "you might even be the next president in the art club!"

🡪 you laughed and accepted their compliment.

keiji: maybe next time, you should draw me in a hakama.

🡪 now, should you? only kotaro knows the answer.

❛ 𑁍 note (ii): y’all want actual fanfic of this thing??? dm me/ask me, comment and reblog this, then, so i would know. hope you like this~

[linkspooky]

Icarus: The Fall of Hawks

The system also tells him to ignore people he can save if he thinks it will be more beneficial in the long run. But Ultimately, Hawks continues to put his trust in the people that are using him, because he sees no escape and no alternative.

The icarus symbolism surrounding Hawks character is already a common fandom theory, but I decided to give a comprehensive take. The closest thing I could find to an original post on this theory was: this one. 

The winged hero Hawks draws many mythological allusions to the boy Icarus most famous for flying too close to the son causing his wax wings to fall apart. 

Son of Daedalus who dared to fly too near the sun on wings of feathers and wax. Daedalus had been imprisoned by King Minos of Crete within the walls of his own invention, the Labyrinth. But the great craftsman's genius would not suffer captivity. He made two pairs of wings by adhering feathers to a wooden frame with wax. Giving one pair to his son, he cautioned him that flying too near the sun would cause the wax to melt. But Icarus became ecstatic with the ability to fly and forgot his father's warning. The feathers came loose and Icarus plunged to his death in the sea.

The story is inextricably linked to Hawks’ character, foreshadowing that his two flaws, his admiration of Endeavor (the sun) and his habit of flying too fast will cause him to fall into villainry.

1. Hawks: Set Up by the Hero Commission to take the Fall

Foreshadowing occurs in a literary text when the author gives clues and hints about what is to come in the story. That in itself is pretty well known, but there’s more to it than just giving hints. It has a lot to do with the way stories are structured. Basically, stories are all composed of set up and pay off. 

Foreshadowing is not just for cheeky hints or setting up which characters might die, it’s a sign that the author as a whole has the story planned out. The reason that scenes in stories get an emotional reaction out of us as readers, is because authors set up these characters as somethnig for us to get invested in, build up those emotions, and then eventually pay them off on the expectations we have built up. 

Which is why when reading stories a general good strategy is analyzing What does the author want me to think? What are they trying to lead me to? Ideas are introduced, developed and get paid off more and more as the story progresses. A good story will continue building up these ideas with the intention of leading them somewhere, which makes them purposeful. This goes hand in hand with the concept of chekhov’s gun, that is every idea that the story spends time on will eventually become meaningful in some way.

'Chekhov's Gun' is a concept that describes how every element of a story should contribute to the whole. It comes from Anton Chekhov's famous book writing advice: 'If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired.

To wit: The reason why all this icarus symbolism is surrounding Hawks is not just because he’s a cool flashy character that’s popular, he’s actually one of the most important characters in the story right now tied to the flaws and exploitations of the hero system that Horikoshi has been setting up since chapter one in the manga with this line. People are not born equal, that’s the hard truth I learned at age four. 

Here’s a quick example of developing ideas in the story especially tied to Hawks. The first time we here Destro is when Gentle explains about him as one of the legendary villains he aspires to be like, the arc before Hawks is introduced as a character.

The next arc after the school festvial arc, Destro’s book is shown as inspiring one person the same way it did Gentle while hawks is talking with Endeavor. 

After the class A vs B arc, in the My Villain Academia arc not only do we learn that Destro has a son and followers that are still alive, but at the end of the arc Hawks is shown interacting with the liberation followers. Ideas are introduced, developed to give them more depth, and most importantly they always show up linked to Hawks. 

Why does Hawks always up in association with Destro? Esepcially when hawks is not a quirk supremacist like the rest of the MLA. It’s because as a character, Hawks’ deepest desire is liberation, and yet it’s also the thing that he’s furthest from. The character with wings who can freely fly in the sky, is chained down with the most responsibility. 

There are two important pieces of foreshadowing in Hawks’ introduction chapter. First that he shows a dissatisfaction with the current hero system around him, and a tendency to see through others especially when they are putting on airs.

The second is this shot in particular, the spotlight in the background like a sun in the center of the sky with Hawks ascending towards it and losing feathers the same way Icarus would.

The other most important detail from this chapter is how Hawks is described. Not only did he make the top ten in his teens which makes him a young man like Icarus in the story, there’s also the oft repeated phrase with hawks - He goes too fast. Going too fast, flying too high, too quickly, these are all things that come come before Icarus’ fall. Special attention is drawn to how young he became a hero which we will get to later.

In chapter 186 there is a piece of foreshadowing used mainly as a joke, that also ties in with the idea of liberation with Hawks character mentioned earlier. This is a point taken from the meta linked at earlier, but considering what we now know about Hawks’ character that he is a kid raised by the hero system who has to kowtow to the higher ups this internal dialogue could easily resemble Hawks.

They key difference being Hawks never lets himself admit to having these feelings, or acts on them. He is much more concerned with keeping up his carefree facade. 

From as far back as I can remember, I’ve lived my life as a bootlicker. It’s been suffocating.

While the scene itself is a joke, the connection to Destro’s book and the idea of liberation are both themes that connect strongly to Hawks. Another connection is a similiar scene that took place in Vigilantes which directly references Icarus in the same context, a man getting naked as a part of his quirk. Vigilantes is the canon prequel of My Hero Academia and has several plotlines important to the main story, even Aizawa’s canon backstory so this is highly relevant.

Once again this is set up as a gag but my flight is a forbidden one is an idea that could easily relate to Hawks. After all, Hawks has wings and yet cannot use them for himself, and cannot take flight on his own because he is under the thumb of the Hero Commission.

The way Hawks’ powers work is also important. He has feathers that give him wings that can fly, and yet because he is able to autonomously move his individual feathers we see him often giving up his feathers for other people and multitasking for several people at once. Quirks are often a metaphor for their users, Hawks has wings to fly, but his feathers don’t belong to him, the more he gives up for other people the more he loses his wings.

When Hawks uses all of his feathers he is unable to fly anymore and starts to fall, the same way the wax melted and the feathers flew apart the only thing Icarus could do was plummet.

Hawks feathers also become useless to his when they burn up. This, and the cover page featuring Endeavor burning his wings up not only sets up an eventual conflict with Endeavor, but one that Hawks’ quirk will most likely be weak to the flames.

The scene with Dabi.  Hawks is introduced to us with the light backlighting him as he ascends towards it. Now, in the conclusion of this arc, the light in the background of the scene is where Dabi moves towards while Hawks himself covered in shadow walks away from light and descends into the dark foreground.

There are also two more joking points of foreshadowing in this chapter, both setting up an eventual confrontation with Hawks and Endeavor. The first is Endeavor noticing the suspicious timing, and the second is Endeavor threatening to roast him which he has threatened at several times already. Even if it’s a joke it’s a serious threat, Endeavor has been characterized as someone incapable of handling his emotions and lashing out in violence several times in the past.

Not only is Hawks set up to fall however, the hero commission sets him up to fall as well. A one man investigation into the League of Villains as a double agent. The hero commission outlines it for him, he will receive no back up, and nothing in return for his service. There is already a team set up by the commission to fight the league of vision, but they came to Hawks specifically for this reason. He works alone. He cannot say no to them. They knew before asking him he was already going to say yes.

It’s a situation where the Hero’s commission has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Hawks will either fall or fly completely on his own. If the villains kill him, they lose a hero but that’s it. If Hawks messes up his mission and gets caught, the commission can pretend that he really did turn traitor and abandon him. Hawks is completely expendable to them, and yet any information he can grasp is valuable. At the same time, Hawks has everything to lose and nothing to gain. Being a hero is Hawks entire life. He literally has no name outside of his hero name. As stated above he could easily be abandoned by the hero commission if the mission fails, and yet at the same time the only thing Hawks gets out of this is the idea that some people will be saved by his actions. Even though he is specifically instructed not to do anything to save people in front of him if it would jeapordize the mission.

While yes, Heroes working to save people and sacrificing themselves for the sake of others is a good thing, hawks always sacrifices himself all the time. Being a hero not only consumed his whole childhood, but also his life. This is not Hawks volunteering to do it on his own, this is him being given a mission he cannot refuse and going along with it.

The hero commission sets Hawks up to fall in their place. Hawks gives up his wings for them, and because of that he falls instead of flying. 

2. Flaw: His Trust in Endeavor and the System as a Whole

Hawks is a child that was taken in by the hero commission and abused by them. Hence the reason why he was such a young rising star is because he had no childhood to speak of. The only way his family could be uplifted out of poverty was if he followed the track they provided for him. He is treated like a prodigy, but really he spent all of his time as a hero, and was given no other option but to become a hero.

Which is why Hawks admiration of Endeavor is ironic, considering that Endeavor attempted to do the same thing to his own son. Not raise his son with love and care, but rather breed him, train him since he was a child, and raise him not as his own person but as a hero to be used for his father’s ambitions. Hawks,  Shouto, both of them were reduced to the powerful quirks they had and not treated as people. Which reflects the point that the Meta Liberation Army could have had if they were not quirk supremacists, that quirk society being dominated by strong, flashy quirks, and judging people by those quirks ends up limiting the path ways people can take in life.

This contradiction makes sense when you take into account Hawks’ upbringing. Hawks has a complex reaction to his abuse. He genuinely does want to save other people as he works himself to the bone doing it, and yet he’s also aware the hero system is using him. Part of Hawks resents the hero system, and yet Hawks is also a product of that system who still reflects the ideas he was raised on whether he wanted to or not.

This is why Hawks comes off as being such a two-faced person. He’s in a lot of major ways, in denial about his own place in life. He acts casual and friendly, and yet he’s more burdened and more isolated than anyone else. He deflects almost everything other people throw his way with humor, isolating himself even further. He also contradicts himself quite a lot, he calls out Endeavor onstage and then in the next scene he says he was doing that for Endeavor’s sake. Both are probably true, Hawks resents the hero system, but he also has to have the appearance of a friendly, willing to help others hero, because that’s the only way he’s survived so far. He likes to keep himself aloof and unattached to others because that is literally the only freedom he can grasp yet.

When Hawks says he never was a big fan of All Might, it’s most likely because Hawks sees himself in All Might. The idea of someone who as a hero is forced to save absolutely everyone and have the entire peace of the country resting on only their shoulders, only to be used until they break down is a nightmare to Hawks.

Not only does Hawks not want to be shouldered with the responsibility, not because he’s lazy, but because he knows how exploitative it is but he also does not see himself of ever being able to carry that much. The hero system that Hawks was raised on made him believe that a brute firepower quirk like Endeavor’s that is good for defeating villains is what will put people most at ease, not the constant saving of others, or interactions with people, or the creative use of his quirk that Hawks employed.

Not only is Hawks whole life defined by his quirk, but he is also taught that his quirk is not good enough. The only person who will put other people at ease, is a quirk like All Might’s. Only an extremely powerful quirk that’s suited best for fighting villains. 

Hawks even says he does not want to take up the role of All Might, and it’s in part due to his feelings of ineriority, but also his want to escape his life and find some small freedom. Which is when Endeavor, the embodiment of the toxicity of hero society says that he hates guys like Hawks the most. Even though Hawks’ intentions here are pretty clear, instead of trying to step down and let Endeavor take the spotlight and support him from the shadows. Endeavor represents the individualism of hero society, but Hawks is trying to play support. He was raised by hero society, but also Hero Society actively condemns the kind of person that Hawks is.

Once again we see the contradictions in Hawks behavior. He is one of the most selfless heroes in the series as he continually lets himself be used, and yet Hawks pretends that he’s a coward who does not put himself on the line, or fight directly risking his own life.

It’s not just putting on an act, Hawks is also taught to believe that if he stays back adn plays support, if he does not defeat the villain head on with a violent quirk that he is weaker.

Which is why despite representing the exact kind of opposite hero that Endeavor is, he turns out to be a fan of Endeavor. This is because Endeavor is everything Hawks was taught that he was should be, but not. Endeavor fights for number one, he has a powerful quirk, he has the highest villain defeat record. All the things which Endeavor values are the things the hero system values, whereas Hawks believes he’s selfish for wanting a little personal autonomy for himself.

Endeavor is able to be strong in a way that Hawks never will be, because Hawks is not nearly as selfish as Endeavor is. Of course he does not see the victims of Endeavor’s actions quite yet, so he would mistake that for Endeavor able to make his willpower a reality in a way that Hawks cannot and gave up trying to do. 

It’s not just putting on an act, Hawks is also taught to believe that if he stays back adn plays support, if he does not defeat the villain head on with a violent quirk that he is weaker.

Which is why despite representing the exact kind of opposite hero that Endeavor is, he turns out to be a fan of Endeavor. This is because Endeavor is everything Hawks was taught that he was should be, but not. Endeavor fights for number one, he has a powerful quirk, he has the highest villain defeat record. All the things which Endeavor values are the things the hero system values, whereas Hawks believes he’s selfish for wanting a little personal autonomy for himself.

It’s not just putting on an act, Hawks is also taught to believe that if he stays back adn plays support, if he does not defeat the villain head on with a violent quirk that he is weaker.

Which is why despite representing the exact kind of opposite hero that Endeavor is, he turns out to be a fan of Endeavor. This is because Endeavor is everything Hawks was taught that he was should be, but not. Endeavor fights for number one, he has a powerful quirk, he has the highest villain defeat record. All the things which Endeavor values are the things the hero system values, whereas Hawks believes he’s selfish for wanting a little personal autonomy for himself.

Hawks is a victim of the hero system, and even is able to see its flaws, but due to his own taught inferiority, and how much he lets himself be used for the sake of helping others he cannot see himself as a victim or change it from the inside in any meaningful way.

Not only that but he fails to see the important flaws in someone like Endeavor, and isntead chooses to still believe that the hero system is ultimately in the right because they are on the side of saving people. Icarus is a tale of self destruction. Hawks is selfless to a self destructive extent. He keeps letting himself be used by people who see him as nothing more than an asset to them, because he believes it to be for the greater good. However, the current system always utilizes people like Hawks, vulnerable, expendable, Hawks is always the one who has to sacrifice his own personal freedom even though he has given his entire life to the system.

The system also is not as interested in saving people as it is in numbers, look how it talks about giving their all to rescue a kidnapped boy as some kind of failure of priorities. As if it was wrong to immediately try to help a child.

The system also tells him to ignore people he can save if he thinks it will be more beneficial in the long run. But Ultimately, Hawks continues to put his trust in the people that are using him, because he sees no escape and no alternative. 

3. Flaw: The Man Who Flies too Fast Alone

Hawks always contradicts himself, despite the fact that he’s obviously much better as a support and rescue type hero, Hawks always fights alone. His biggest flaw is how much he always takes on himself, the fact that he flies too fast.

Hawks is aware of the fact that he is used by the system. There are several signs that Hawks is actually a manipulative person. Not in the sense that he is a bad person who tries to use others, but rather he developed the ability to manuever and manipulate other people as a way to cope and find what little freedom an security he could. His personality is a big indicator because Hawks almost never shows his true face and is almost always deflecting. He makes it hard for others to get a read on him by being such a two-faced person, which grants them less control over him and him a little bit more freedom.

At the same time Hawks is shown repeatedly to have information then others expect him to have. Endeavor gets surprised when he mentions Shoto, and the Hero’s commisison gets surprised when he is already aware of the team investigating Kurogiri and yet he never reveals his source on either occasion.

Instead once again he falls back on his common strategy of deflection to stop them from pressing on the issue. Hawks is someone who wants to rely on others more because he feels powerless on his own. Yet, at the same time Hawks has been taken advantage of so many times it’s impossible for him to trust others. Not only that, but Hawks has also been taught that he should be strong enough to do everything on his own, that is the individualism hero society promotes.

This is also how Hawks had to be in his early life. The only reason his family got money was because he was of use to the hero commission. He always had to be at the top of his class, always had to be useful, always had to finish on his own. Hawks always does things on its own because it’s a learned habit, he’s never had anybody else to rely on. Not only that but his way of living has always been unstable he might have been dropped back into poverty if he did not continually rise to meet the expectations of others.

Which is where we are presented with yet another contradiction of Hawks character, he is always working all by himself, but he only ever works for the sake of others. His only selfish desire is some time off for goodness sake. He is blessed with tremendous talent but has never been able to use it for himself, because since childhood he has been put to work for the sake of other people.

Hawks also says that he took Tokoyami on as an intern because he wanted information, which once again Hawks is constantly shown to be privvy to information he does not know and trying to collect more. This is because Hawks does not trust, because he cannot trust. He will be used by the other people around him. That is why he tries to seize as much information for himself as possible. Hawks being manipulative is just him trying to control what little he can, because if he does not do that then he ends up being the one who is controlled. The more knowledge he has, the more power he has.

People who feel helpless as a child due to circumstances entirely out of control will try to grasp for control in any way they can. That is why easygoing Hawks always does things on his own, because not having to rely on other people gives him more control. He can control himself, but not others. Easygoing Hawks is a bit of a control freak.

This scene becomes interesting if analyzed from that level. Hawks says he has no interest in training the next generation, it makes sense somebody who was raised from childhood as a hero and nothing else would probably have no interest in raising other children as heroes. His last line becomes much darker as well.

Those who can fly, should! Why keep yourself grounded?

Hawks is someone who keeps himself grounded all the time, always giving up his own freedom for others, and yet we see freedom is the thing he yearns for the most. He is intoxicated with the idea of freedom, the same way Icarus became intoxicated once he gained his wings and looked at the sun.

In his phonecall with Dabi we get a lot on Hawks’ internal monologue. First he admits to the fact that he plays happy-go-lucky idiot and lets people assume that they can use him, in order to control their perceptions of him. His way of manipulating others has always been to try to let them use him, instead of trying to make use of them because that is what Hawks has been taught. His value is that he is useful. He tries to navigate the system from the inside rather than breaking out. He keeps letting himself be used.

However, once again Hawks words to Dabi do not sound entirely like lies, or they could even be lies to himself. Being on this side of the equation helped me realize that we’d be better off without heroes and heroics. How much of that is a lie when Hawks was exploited into becoming a hero, when his deepest wish is to be allowed to be something else other than a hero for a little while?

It’s easy to see how Hawks got to the point where he seriously could consider Killing Best Jeanist. The people who are injured or taking time off are not useful to the system, they need to be sarcificed for the greater good. He was told by the same system to let people die if it would save more people in the long run, that he cannot be the hero he wants to be. That he has to dirty his own hands for the sake of everyone else. Hawks is constantly going against his own wishes to do what is right for other people. 

Hawks says not to let a person’s resolve go to waste, because he believes that all of his determination, that all of his flying too fast is going to lead him somewhere. His determination is indeed a heroic quality, but it’s something that makes him keep sticking with the system rather than giving up on it. It’s something that makes him believe that he can overcome all of this on his own. However, no matter how hard Hawks works for the hero system, the only ones who have something to gain from it in the end is the hero system and not him. His hard work and determinations only guarantees he becomes more useful to them and will be used more.

In this light, Hawks’ belief that he can handle everything on his own is hubris, his determination to become such a good hero that he will get time off is a flaw. The only ersult is that Hawks is used more and more as a cog, and he grinds himself down further and further.

However, just like All Might could not save the entire country of japan all on his own shoulders forever, Hawks’ good boy act is also something that will not last him forever. The more he’s exploited the more he will break down. The ones to catch him when he falls is most likely not going to be the heroes system, because they are exploiting him and forcing him to work on his own because he is expendable that way. If he falls only he falls alone. Hopefully, when Hawks does fall, Dabi and the league will be there to catch him and sympathize with him in a way none of the heroes ever could.

[sambart93]

2017.11.07 Makai Ouji: The Second Spirit [Review]

Official Website here Official Twitter here Press Coverage 1, 2, 3, 4 Video Coverage 1, 2

CAST and CHARACTERS

Ishiwatari Masshu as William Twinning Ayugawa Taiyou as Dantalion Tamura Ryouta as Kevin Sakurai Keito as Sytry Saki Masato as Jill De Ray Yamanaka Kenta as Michael Matsumoto Yuuichi as Priest Crosby Endo Makoto as Bealberito Aizawa Yu as Leonard*** KEN as Bafmette Yonehara Kousuke as Kamio* Clothemble**: Umetsu Mizuki and Fukui Shouta

*For some reason on the website, YoneChan is listed as ‘Tokubetsu Shutsuen = Special Appearance’ but he was in it like a normal actor? He had a lot of scenes, he had solo scenes, he had songs to sing... I don’t understand what was ‘Special’ about his appearance... other than his character isn’t supposed to be in this part of the story? I don’t know...

**Also it’s interesting that they didn’t bring back Issac this time and instead just had the Clothemble play what would’ve been his parts.

***Unfortunately Leonard’s actor dropped out literally days before the stage started.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW Overall: This was so much fun! I completely forgot, but totally remembered while watching this stage, why I loved the first one so much; it’s so ridiculous, you just sit there and laugh the entire time - my giggles were ridiculous this time too! So many funny and stupid and ridiculous moments. Every time Dantalion smiled, I couldn’t handle it. Yet you still end up crying at the end! The songs are not quite as on par as the first stage but it’s still a super enjoyable play. It’s so enjoyable that you completely forget that the stage is 360 degrees and you completely forget there are people all around because the stage just brings you in and your attention is completely on them. The comedy is on point, and the higawaris (daily changes) are just as ridiculous as the stage itself. I think my favourite song is yet again a William song. The use of the stage and how they worked with the 360-ness was just amazing! I love how they would turn it around at different points of the stage too so it was like everyone got a ‘front’ view at least one. The stage is small enough that every place is a good spot pretty much! And every spot is very close to the stage too! Quite a lot of us had the actors directly looking at us or their clothing hitting us etc. And I was lucky enough that I sat closest to one of the entrance/exit doors for the actors, so I was near freaking EVERYONE but by god did I feel fear at one point when Taiyou was running down the steps towards me o_O he’s a big boy! xD Keito as Sytry was just... perfection <3 Also, it’s impossible to tell where Leonar should’ve been (note above about his situation); the play is flawless that you can’t really tell where he should’ve been and where his scenes were! So kudos to the staff and cast for so swiftly being able to change out his scenes because it’s honestly impossible to tell where he was obviously supposed to be. The only unfortunate thing was the venue itself; the sound is atrocious - sometimes when they’re just talking, you can’t actually hear them - and I was sat next to, what I assume is the AC machine, this huge and loud humming and buffering machine that one when they were singing and the songs were blasting out, that you didn’t hear it. I kind of hope they do a short rerun of this stage in a different theatre in hopes for better sound quality and for better sound recording for the DVD. Rating: 8/10

Okay! now onto the spoilers, fav parts, fangirling etc!

SPOILER REVIEW

I don’t know where to start.... first, before the show even started I wrote ‘There is a door right behind me and I just heard guys laughing... PLEASE don’t come out from this way...’ and as you can tell from my review above: I was right!!!! I was so lucky the practically everyone came out beside me. And at one point, I even had Taiyou running down the steps that were TOWARDS me - which was both making me full of fear and made me super lucky and excited xD - it was so great to be so close to so many damn actors. There was NOT a bad seat in that place at all in terms of how close everyone was to the actors.

I love how the stage this time starts the same way the first one did; Bafmette coming out quietly, walking around the theatre and the coming up to the stage and bursting into song. I really like they kept that in and continued it from the first stage. In fact, they kept a lot of things in or what similar aspects from the first show which reminded me of just how much and why I loved Makai Ouji the first time around. The whole ridiculousness of it, the fun in the songs, the fact that while it’s all fun and games, they still have a super serious moment and story towards the end, lots of adlibs and having to cope with each other’s ridiculousness - I just laughed the entire time just like I did last time -, the cast itself is super amazing and most of them came back this time around which is great, it’s just such a fun musical!

This musical is just so stupid.... so many good moments to choose from! Where to start:

Oh we have to talk about YoneChan straight away. For some reason he was labelled as a ‘special appearance’ but he ends up being in it a lot and having his own solo songs etc. But I guess it was special because his character doesn’t technically do anything and Yone is pretty much left to do whatever the hell he wants, which leads me to: He is SUCH a huge troll! There’s a moment where the main characters are explaining something on stage and Yone is just literally next to the audience and having a conversation with one of the guests; another time he was just pulling face and pointing at the other characters; he winds up Jill A LOT and constantly forgets his name; then another time there’s a point where some sexy music comes on and all of a sudden it’s like he’s back in HostChan and he was puts his hands all over different audience members and trying to pull them into a hug and everything; he really was just left to do whatever the hell; he’s a huge troll and a little shite but it’s so funny to see xD

Another great moment is just every time Dantalion smiles because A. Taiyou’s smile is freaking gorgeous and lights up the world and B. so it’s so WEIRD seeing Dantalion smile! What the hell! He should not be smiling! But there’s moments like during William’s song Dantalion is how Will wants him to be so all the smiles and getting along with Sytry comes out. 

Also another ridiculous scene with Dantalion is when William finds out Sytry and Dantalion ate everything and in shame, Dantalion put the plates cover on top of his head xD

OOOH!!! Another scene with him is when he pulls a Kageyama (Haikyuu reference here) and he walks on with this crown and long red cloak like a king/prince!

Ooohhh!! ANDDD!!! Freaking Priest Crosby with the mic! The first half of this play, whenever he has a solo singing moment or anything, he became a rapper! He had a rapper hat that says GOD on it and was dropping some serious raps! It was so... surreal! What the hell >.<

Some non-comedic moments I’d like to mention:

Can we talked about how FREAKING GORGEOUS Keito is. He’s just someone who I cannot get over his beauty. He’s just so gorgeous! And he was exactly how I imagined him as Sytry to be! He was perfect. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Kawaharada’s Sytry too! But Keito is just... the perfect match for Sytry! He was so gorgeous! I’m sad we didn’t get as much of him as we did of Kawaharada as Sytry. I was kind of hoping this stage would be Sytry’s main story but it ended up being Michael as the main plot point which makes me sad - Sytry has always been my favourite character. But damn, seeing the hate between Sytry and Dantalion really hurt my heart! And when they started having this big fight between them - oh my! I didn’t want either of them to get hurt! But yes... Keito as Sytry was just gold <3 he works with Clie a lot so hopefully he’s here for the long run!

OOOOHHH!! AND WE GET FREAKING KEITO IN A DRESS THIS TIME!!! He and Dantalion have to act in Hamlet and OF COURSE Sytry gets given the GIRL role! It was so beautiful! He was so beautiful! He looked so pretty and gorgeous! Damn you Keito! Y U SO PRITI?! Keito in a dress is something I think should be part of the law.....

Speaking of Dantalion; Taiyou is also just this beautiful beast of a man! I already spoke about how gorgeous he is when he smiles! And I super duper love him as Dantalion! He too is a perfect casting choice. I already mentioned how he came bolting towards me at one point; at the moment I was a cross between ‘oh god, please have control and don’t run right into me.. but also if you run into me and land on top of me, I’m good with that’ xD You’ve never felt fear til you see 6ft tall Taiyou running down the steps right next to you and towards you >.< 

And the scene between him and Will towards the end... you guys... Dantalion and Will are just THE Canon-OTP I will never get over. Dan and Will OTP FOREVER! Esepcially their scene towards the end when William comes back to himself and they’re getting really close to each other and talking about how they need each other by their sides and they’ll never leave their sides and it looks like they’re going to kiss when - SOMEONE OBVIOUSLY BUTTS IN AND DESTROYS THE MOMENT!

I’m actually really sad how in both this musical and the last MO musical, the lack of Dan x Will stuff really upsets me... SO much Dan x Will is in the anime and the manga but I feel like the actors and the Clie can only handle like 2 cute moments max with them... WHY?! Y U NOT GAY ENOUGH?! Especially in this one. That ONE moment right at the end is the ONLY Dan x Will we get in the second stage *cries a river* I was starting to think Dantalion didn’t CARE about William in this stage because of how little they’re together and because of how little in the gayness moments they have between them *cries*

(BTW am I even allowed to say ‘gay’ and ‘gayness’ anymore?! I’m not offending anyone right? I’m allowed to like the gay right?! I don’t get how PC the world is anymore... I don’t know what’s okay to say or not anymore... ANYWAY!)

Another actor who’s performance I really enjoyed was Yamanaka’s! Funnily enough Yamanaka Kenta IS my favourite out of the two of them (he has a twin called Shouta for those that don’t know and they both are in the stage business) so I’m not surprised I ended up liking his character so much. But what DID surprise me what the fact that he can DAMN sing! I always thought the Yamanaka twins were somewhat lacking when it came to singing (see their songs in EnStage) and weren’t the best but I guess it’s just Shouta who’s the lesser able one when it comes to singing? Because DAMN Kenta can sing! I was so surprised! AND his acting - DAMN! I absolutely loved the way he switched between being this nice top of the class student who’s polite and kind, to then being this BITCH of a angel who’s horrible to his servants and is physically abusive as well as manipulating! I absolutely love the way he treats William and he switches between the two. ALSO every time he stood on the damn table was so funny! Just so he’d be taller than the other >.< AND that one moment when he smacks his hand down hard on the table but then proceeds to talk calmly to William - oh my! 

And that damn picture of his feet is freaking everywhere, but I’m not going to torture you with that shot here; but there is a good reason why he’s barefoot a lot -- although I do like the moment where he decides to show his true colours and the first thing he does is take his shoes off and thrown them off stage xD

I also really liked the swashbuckling (shhh I know it’s really called fencing but I’m calling it swashbuckling okay!) between Will and Michael - it wasn’t just a physical battle between them but also a mental one of who could do better in the exams and stuff.

Speaking of Michael (Mikael?), I had MAJOR deja vu during a Mikael x William scene that takes place right after the Butler Yagi’s song. It was totally freaking me out majorly because I was like ‘I’ve already seen this! I know what’s happened. I know this happens! Please stop...please!!’ it went on for pretty much that entire scene and I have no idea why....

The replacement for Kevin was really good too! Unfortunately I did like the previous Kevin so I have some there BUT the new Kevin (Tamura Ryouta) was a damn good singer too!

Dantalion and Sytry got SO beaten up towards the end - it hurt my heart! And the infamous ‘why doesn’t Solomon remember Dantalion?!’ scene was in there which is great (and heartbreaking!). I really liked when Dan and Sytry were going against each other, Sytry’s song is very rocky-ish and his voice is very strained and deep and strangely enough I really enjoyed it - you could feel Sytry’s pain in the song! Not that that’s a good thing - poor Sytry!

Also, the actor for Leonard dropped out due to poor health just before the show started, however, whatever scenes he was supposed to be in, it’s pretty impossible to figure out where because they covered it up flawlessly. I can only think of one moment where it’s sort of obvious where he was supposed to be and that was during the Butler Yagi’s long solo song in the middle of the show; as well as the Sytry’s bulter vs Dantalion’s butler when it comes to cooking scene because the Butler Yagi is on stage at that moment on Dantalion’s side of the stage (am I making sense?). But other than that, they’ve made it look like it was planned and made without the guy from the start which is huge kudos to them.

The clothemble were great! They had so much to do. Same as the last musical, they had to be the magic (sheets xD) when the character fought, and they had to rotate the stage or spin it around; also this time they ended up splitting Isaac’s character between them and played like generic school students but with parts of Isaac’s lines and stuff put in. They had a lot to do and were constantly up and down the stairs and running in and out. They did a brilliant job and there were only two of them! Huge kudos to them too!

By the way: No one warned me to take tissues!!! I streamed!!! That final scene between Dantalion and William! Oh my! I was crying so hard! This play is so much that when the serious parts come in, they are REAL serious and real dark and it just hits you and the tears just pour out...

CURTAIN CALL!

The show I went to had three curtain calls! So we had the first curtain call, then in the second one the clothemble were the speakers for today and they gave their speeches while back-to-back and rotating around so they could face all the audience at one point. They started off by ‘usually it’s jsut one person speaking and they’re normally worried as to where to look but there’s two of us so we can turn around and talk to all of you!’ which was adorable! They were really sweet. The final curtain call, Masshu said thank you to us all and then we ALL got waves from ALL the actors at the end as they left the stage for good! And with everyone being in obvious site of everyone else, you knew the actors were ACTUALLY looking at you when they waved. Oh my heart <3 Yone... Taiyou... Keito.... ARGH I was dead xD

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GOODS

I’m still on a mission to get the two Sytry randoms - KBooks is probs my best bet... is Keito popular enough to be a ridiculous price though... knowing me; yes.

My goods from the 2.5 Exhibition are here too xD And I accidentally cut Sytry off .<

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And that’s all!

Unfortunately I was sick recently (the week of Nov 13th) so while these reviews were technically written pretty soon after the shows were seen, I didn’t get time to post them until now -- I’m sorry!