#i actually finished it but it's a series of 5 chibis for the final 5 countdown days

[user-null]

tiny

[bluebunnysart]

(Chimera Teto x Android Miku WIP, another one, yeah, another one lol)

I may not finish WIPs but I can definitely start new drawings!! 😂Hahahaha ! I always try to make them chibis (for simplicity) but I also want to draw details/the full body, so of course it turns into a double full-body drawing that takes forever.... This isn't even the final lineart obviously but it's almost 5 AM again and I know I'm gonna fuss with this some more, so I guess here's a WIP so I can show off what I did at least tonight xD In case I decide to do other things in the meantime...

Tell me why I literally spent like 2 hours (fr) trying to draw Miku 'cuz Miku is hard asf to draw and challenges me to draw better 😂😂😂😂 Anyway (a long-ish) explanation of stuff under the read more 'cuz I don't want to take up people's dashboards. When I finally finish this drawing or the other one, I won't have to yap as much in the post too. xD

A series of things happened today that led to me creating this drawing. (Miku's prefinal lineart is done too btw, I'm just not showing her to you 'cuz no point spoiling the whole drawing lol, plus I might make changes.)

I went to the store for a brief moment 'cuz all my pens kept running out of ink and I was annoyed I didn't have any reliable pens and I wanted a pen to write a continuation to this AU, right.

When I went to the store, there was a song playing and I thought it sounded nice, what little I heard of it before I had to return to work. So once I left the store and was able to look at my phone again, I looked up this song through the lyrics I heard and I found it. And the whole song was even better than I thought: the lyrics and music are INCREDIBLY sweet and now I really like it. xD

Besides liking it in general as a song (this genre of song), I was ALSO super into it because I thought, "This is super End of the World AU-coded (Android Miku x Chimera Teto)" and it made me so happy, excited, and giddy lol.

Like, listen to this...

"When the cloud's above your head / And the sun's not breaking through / You know I'll be there to sing this song for you. / And it goes: / La la la / la la la la la~..."

This is absolutely something the Miku in my AU would sing. This is absolutely a song she and Teto would listen to together-- like, I could draw them listening to it together and that's actually practically what my drawing is lol. I could draw an animatic or make an MV to this song about them... I could make a comic where Miku is singing this directly to Teto and persuades her to sing it with her, especially the chorus (la la la) parts. I smile because in the first fic, Miku also goes "lalala~" (idk the number of la's lol), and it's not like what she sings is this or anything, but it's a small connection that I like. xD I literally discovered this song only today but this is absolutely a song Teto would have in either one of the cassette players or in the MP3 player. This song matches them and the AU too so Miku would absolutely sing it and like it a lot too. This song made me think of my AU and I was already excited/trying to keep writing more so I could get to the good parts, so finding this song made me really excited, ok. xD

Also I'm not sure how you WOULDN'T adore Miku if she sang something like this, especially directly to Teto (her only audience).

All the sweet lines and stuff made me super soft, so I put this song on loop and literally played it for hours. The whole time I was drawing too. It's just so cute and fitting and it's what made me create art for this AU again instead of making Turing Love fanart or one of the other dozens of ideas I have and whatnot. xD

That was a lot of words to explain what prompted this drawing in the first place when it wasn't planned in the slightest, but now I'll talk more about the drawing itself.

I was inspired by all the fanart I've received so far! It'll show in the final drawing. c: But when drawing this, I was looking at Slyvasta's art since I wanted to draw Slyvasta's version of Teto too. Teto is easiest to draw imo, so we've got the scarf, horn, wings, and tail. The pupils were actually added at the very end 'cuz Slyvasta's has sharp pupils and I thought that was cool and a good idea lol: this Teto's eyes can have sharp pupils (dragon/reptile-like) while Miku's eyes are more round yet robotic.

I was thinking about the flavor of tsundere that Teto is (in my AU) and this drawing was partially inspired by me wanting to clarify stuff about that. xD I did call her "cool, gruff, indifferent, etc." which is all true and does apply, but she's still playful and can be lively, even if she's been beaten down by exhaustion and gloominess, as I've mentioned. In other words, she never was a complete downer or anything (I know I said that before), but I wanted to clarify that she's not, like, the cold type who's ONLY frowning or who's grumpy either.

If I think about it, the "trying to act cool/indifferent" thing is mostly an act I think, yeah. xD Like, of course she'll frown or have a neutral uninterested expression if she's bored or she's been through annoying experiences (like starving or encountering various issues), but she's still kicking, if that makes sense. Like, the enthusiasm and zest for life isn't exactly there, but she's doing what she can to get by. I guess she's more of the type to distract herself and focus on other stuff so she doesn't get too existential? So it's not like she isn't lowkey depressed-- she's just the type to make jokes about it. She's basically original mischievous Teto but with some baggage she's carrying.

This might seem like a weird post now based on the stuff I'm writing LOL but I really did think about it, ok. xD The way to characterize her. And she has really valid reasons to be sad and everything, but she's not as harsh and edgy as her appearance implies. That's something that I really like about her: the gap moe lol.

So what does this mean in relation to Miku? Well, Teto is a pretty normal girl who's cool and nonchalant. She's probably arrogant in a cute way too, judging from her catchphrase and how she likes acting like a know-it-all and being praised/appreciated. But basically, the tsundere mainly comes out whenever she gets embarrassed.

The Teto in my AU can smile and has a couple of times, and she's nice because she helps Miku out before she even knows Miku that well. So....

She's probably the type to send Miku soft smiles without even realizing it. Like, she relaxes a lot and is happy or something and then her expression will turn so warm or gentle, I'm pretty sure. 🥰 Her tail and body language already gives her away, so I love the idea of her expression changing into a really affectionate one before she even notices or realizes it. She realizes she's been smiling the whole time after 5 whole minutes pass or Miku points it out and then she's like, "I-I wasn't smiling or anything?! (unsure why she's immediately denying it)" lol.

Anyway, THAT'S when the tsundere comes out. She isn't tsundere towards Miku unprompted, and even though Teto doesn't know how to deal with Miku YET, that doesn't mean Teto walks on eggshells around her or is curt/cold to her. Teto acts very naturally and herself-- she only gets tsundere whenever she's NOT acting like herself, aka being really weak or soft for Miku at different moments.

Her tsundere is a weak kind of tsundere too (unlike Neru, who isn't in this AU anyway), so she'll just get embarrassed or lie or act kinda awkward or prickly to hide her embarrassment (maybe a sharp word or two, along the lines of "Shush" and "Shuddup"), but in the end, she's a very cute and kind girl. 🥰 They both are 🥰🥰🥰

It might take me one or two more iterations before I'm finally satisfied with the final lineart, but this time, I made the time lapse longer, so you'll be able to see how I struggled to draw Miku for like 2 whole hours. xD

This, too, I want to color. I actually wanted to color my first drawing first, but then I discovered the song I mentioned earlier and it made me so hyped up that I wanted to create a whole new piece about it. Along with the other two songs that I associate with this AU, I was really happy to find yet another one. This song is cute in general too, so it was immediately added to my Motivation playlist. xD

With how hard Miku is to draw and how long drawing takes in general, it makes me even more impressed with Miku artists lol. Like, Miku is so demanding but I love her so of course I'll push through until I do her justice... I'm slow because I care a lot and want to do these two right, ok... xD Lineart and the like is more in my comfort zone, but I'll definitely tackle coloring soon; tonight's session only proves that it'll take longer than I expected/5 hours lol.

I'm not only planning to create stuff for my AU only-- I want to make all kinds of Mktt stuff. But I was really inspired by other people's art and this time, I even drew with their art in mind lol.

I have no idea how long it'll take, but I'll continue to make more art! To me, it's the clearest way I show/understand my love lol. I've been inspired seeing other people's art too, so I definitely wanted to draw my own....

Anyway, time to go tf to sleep. (it's 6 AM 😅)

[clairethecutepup]

Puppy Eyes and Doll Eyes: The Complete, Short "Assassin AU" Comic (EEnE)

First, disclaimers: we all know Ed Edd n' Eddy doesn't belong to me, and the "Assassin AU" of the series is by "C2ndy2c1d". For more about the overall comic and my thoughts, click the "read more" below. Hopefully, this sample of my comic-related works sparks interest in a potential audience for more, both of original and fan-based content.

For individual pages and THEIR commentary notes:

Pg 1

Pg 2

Pg 3

Pg 4

Pg 5

Pg 6

Pg 7

For the final page, #8:

Finally, got it finished! Boy, talk about having a "funny way of showing it," when it comes to any feelings of endearment, huh? Let's just say, "It's complicated..." isn't just for romantic relations. Also, I hope you got your fill of Claire retaining her usual wolfishness there, as she's going to be a normal human in the actual fan comic series. As I've said before, the concept of "werebeasts" can be an interesting idea for an assassin-based series, just not for the world of EEnE-- "alternate universe" or not.

I admit that it'll be jarring, but I can still replicate Claire's wolf nature via her assassin theme: "Herr Wolf," which involves her dressing similarly to the common werewolf portrayal. If you're wondering why she's using "Herr" in that title, and not the more appropriate German addressment of "Frau," it's both for similar sound to the mythical monster and for the masculine nature of her outfit's appearance. Plus, wolves are generally associated with masculinity. As for when she's OUT of costume, she'll be wearing a little wolf-hoodie that has both ears and a tail. It'd be perfect, as constantly having the hood over her head would also portray her timid/shy demeanor. Besides, Sarah and Jimmy would probably find their apprentice cuter with her hood on and ears hanging about, so there's that.

Oh yeah, hope you grew to like the idea of Claire being with Sarah and Jimmy up there, as she'll be with them instead. Don't worry, they'll take good care of her; but that doesn't mean they can't have some fun with her, every now and again~. What's all this about apprentices and stuff? This post is your answer, in regards to the upcoming fan comic series. Of course, keep in mind that I also do more ORIGINAL series, so it's not like I'll dedicate every moment of "creative time" to that.

Back to the page itself, I really wish I could've figured out a way to make the colorless outlines match how I envisioned: a tad on the fancier side, but I definitely like the surrounding "oil paint" texture that CS-Art offered. At the very least, I find the "End" text very pretty and satisfyingly done: simple, yet nicely calligraphic. Then again, that IS the form of "pen" I selected, when writing it. Can you believe I also had trouble drawing in a more "chibi" style? Yeah, that's some irony right there: I can easily draw the more "professional" forms of characters, but it's drawing them in smaller/simpler forms that "hard mode" is activated... Eh, practice makes perfect, ja?

I also notice I forgot to add the little chick feet, on the back of Ed's magazine; but let's be honest, it's not really THAT big of a deal. It also looks a little better without the busy back cover, I'd say? As for Sarah's face, in regards to visible angels of things, she's grinning under her mask. Unfortunately, it covers the left side of her face; and she and Jimmy are heading to the RIGHT, therefore their LEFT sides will be toward the audience, in that perspective.

Anyway, I think I've finally figured how to go about comics, thanks to this little and fun fan one-- both to the actual EEnE series, and C2ndy2C1d's awesome AU concept. Seriously, Sarah and Jimmy may scare me to heck and back, as this version of their characters, but I'd be lying if I claimed they (and the other characters) weren't cool. Yep, from now on, it's gonna be: traditional panels (with less being more), handwritten lettering, a colored background for space outside the panels, and somewhat text-fitting bubbles that overlay the panels. Welp, hope you all look forward to future comic works by me, as I've finally found my niche!

[kasienda]

Fanfiction Year In Review - 2020

The rest of 2020 was rough, but I sure wrote A LOT! And that feels good. 

1 List of fics completed this year in the order they were finished:

Confessions to a Statue (Ladybug) - I’m lowkey shocked that this was finished in 2020. I feel like I wrote this one an eternity ago! It’s honestly not my favorite story, but I’m grateful to it for getting me writing in this fandom! 

Stutters (Ladybug Reveal - Marichat)

An Open Secret (Ladybug for Gift Exchange)

Instagram (Ladybug Reveal - Ladrien)

Anything to Protect You (Sailor Moon for Gift Exchange)

Locked in a Closet (Ladybug Reveal - Sequel to MissNoodle’s wonderful work.)

New York (Ladybug Reveal - Ladynoir)

A Craving For Chocolate Milkshakes (Sailor Moon)

Eight fics in total! Four of them multi-chapters! Crazy!

2 Number of words written: 

Written: 139k (as tracked by 750words.com)

Published: 105k (according to ff.net).

This is amazing! This is the first year (that I know of anyway - I’ve only been tracking for three years) that I broke 100k in one year!! I wrote every month, and I published at least one thing every month except August (I was moving in August).

I’m thrilled to see the written to published ratio as high as it is! It’s not something I’ve tracked before, but I always feel like I’m writing a ton and publishing very little, but it looks like that impression is fairly inaccurate. I’m publishing a lot more than I realized relative to how much I’m writing.

3 Your most popular fic:

My Miraculous Reveal Series has also gotten the most recognition of all my works this year, but it’s difficult to splice out which short is the most popular because I publish it as one series. Keeps my dashboard neater and gives the old ones a bit of attention whenever I post a new one. 

4 Your personal fav:

I think I’m insanely proud of both An Open Secret and Anything to Protect You. As I published each chapter, I often had the thought “This is the best thing I’ve written!” And that feels good. 

But right now, I am going to have to say an unfinished fic that I started this year - Restorative Justice - is my favorite. This is a fic that has pulled me out of my usual genre and gotten me closer to my life as a teacher. And it’s powerful and cathartic to turn these experiences into a story. I also really enjoyed exploring Chloé’s headspace. She’s just so angry, and like, this year that has been really easy to channel for some reason, and it all transferred to paper rather well. I’m kinda stuck in this fic at the moment though… 

5 Your fav scene:

I literally cannot decide. I could maybe pick a favorite scene in each fic I finished, but just one?! Nope! I can’t do it. So here’s my favorite scene in the three works I’ve spent the most time on this year: 

An Open Secret - the scene where Ladybug confesses to Chat Noir in the rain. The moment it all comes together for Adrien. I made myself cry. 

Anything to Protect You - Honestly, this one is HARD to pick. I really like the UsaMamo kiss in the first chapter, but I also love the dates. Especially the moment where she tells him she’s Sailor Moon and he thinks she’s joking. And the cattery date.

Restorative Justice - Chapter 3 - Where Chloe and Marinette are screaming at each other. I found it so satisfying. 

6 A fic or scene that challenged you:

Writing the festival scene in Anything to Protect you was an absolute slog! I was struggling so hard with trying to somewhat accurately capture a cultural event that I myself have never directly experienced (I did so much research - I read a lot, I listened to music, I watched videos), and at the same time not stall the pacing of the story or emotional anchor of the piece. It was so hard, but I was really happy with how it came out. 

7 A line of writing you’re proud of: 

From the most recent update of a Craving for Chocolate Milkshakes: 

So she dove back into old habits and started drawing chibi-tuxedo masks all over her worksheet.

Go ahead. Do your worst. 

He always had some playful or snide critique of her scribbles.

She waited a whole ten seconds before she realized the mental silence would not be filled. Because he wasn’t there. He couldn’t see her doodles.

She burst into tears.

8 A comment that touched you: 

Honestly, this year it wasn’t so much what was in a comment, so much as it was when a comment arrived. Like when I was ready to tear my hair out arguing with the bank or insurance company, and then a review would pop up out of nowhere! Or when I was sitting next to my son at the hospital. Sadly, I don’t remember which comments were the ones that did this. But I think LitaKino had especially good timing more than once this year. And jennagrins as well! But there were so many others! I’m tell you all - comments are love!!

9 Something that inspired your writing:

There’s lots of the usual suspects - life, husband, children, students, etc.

But a lot of it this year has actually been reading other people’s stories and wanting them to keep going, or wanting them to have taken a different turn in the story arc. And then I have to open a doc a start a whole new fic! It’s kinda a problem honestly. I have thirteen active stories and another ten that I’m like - I would like to work on that, but it’s not happening at the moment. 

10 Your proudest accomplishment (that one scene; finally finishing that one fic; posting your first fic; etc):

That I finished four multi-chapter fics! (Though two of them it was just the last chapter). I think I’m proving to myself that I can be somewhat disciplined about what I’m working on, so that the projects I want to finish, get finished! 

And I’m also learning that you can write a lot with just chewing away at it bit by bit. It’s not about the 3k word days. It’s about it being a habit. If you can write 100 words every day that’s 36k words in a year! I wrote an average of 378 words per day! My goal is only ever 200 words, but I try to have an unbroken chain. I did not succeed this year in that due to weekly work deadlines, but I came a lot closer than I ever have before.

11. Do you have any writing goals for the next year?

I read my goals from last year and laughed. (Apparently, I wanted to finish Chocolate Milkshakes by the end of January. Bwahahaha!) But that’s okay. I wrote a ton this year!! It just wasn’t where I expected it to be. So that’s what I want this year to be about. I want to focus on my own personal projects by not making commitments for exchanges or events.

I have three WIPs right now that are just far more personal than anything else I’m working on. And these three stories are the ones I want to focus on this year. 

Invisible Wounds - (Ami/Zoi - Sailor Moon)

Restorative Justice - (Chloé POV - Ladybug) 

Right Behind You (Unpublished Adrino story - Ladybug) 

I imagine though that there will be one-shots that demand to be written in between, or one shots that will work me out of ruts, too. Or one shots that will explode into seven chapter outlines like jerks! Haha! 

But overall, my main goal is to just try to write every day!

I tag the following people to tell us about your fic writing accomplishments this year because you’re amazing!! @tinacentury @floraone @starlingsinclair@mikauzoran @chronicallylatetotheparty @ladyofthenoodle @alexseanchai @galahadwilder And anyone else that wants to! And of course, if I tagged you and you don’t want to, there is NO pressure. I’ve just enjoyed doing this over the years, and wanted to share the joy! 

[krsnbgirl]

Fly High! || Kageyama x Fem!Reader || Part 13

Summary: The girls recap what happened the night before and Kuroo decides to have a talk with Kageyama when he and Bokuto visits your nightly practice with Kageyama.

Pairing: Kageyama Tobio x Fem!Reader

Genre: Rom-Com, Slice of Life, Sports, Fluff

Warnings: None

Word Count: ~3k

Taglist:  @misnmatchedsox​ @monviemoo​ @love-beyond-words​ @bbecc-a​ @live-2-fangirl​ @2busyfangirling​ @ifeelblueming​ @tobiosbbyghorl​ @vanillakylee​ @neokawa​

Author’s Notes: Hey lovelies! Here is part 13 of the series and I hope you guys enjoyed it! Kind of on the shorter side and also a little bit of a filler chapter, haha. Always thankful for all the interactions with the story :) Comments and feedback are highly appreciated. Then lastly like always, this will be cross posted on AO3 as well! Taglist is still open <3

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5 || Part 5.5 || Part 6 || Part 7 || Part 8 || Part 9 || Part 10 || Part 11 || Part 12 || Part 13 || Part 14 || Masterlist

“Good work today! We’ll see you at dinner!” 

You waved goodbye to the managers as you made your way back to where the boys were practicing with Shimizu and Yachi. You stretched your arms over your head and let out a groan while your friends chuckled at your reaction. 

“You really did overwork yourself yesterday, huh?” Yachi asked while she tied her jacket around her waist.

Slumping over, you yawned and nodded. “Umm yeah, I guess so. I didn’t even realize how much I played till we all talked about it over dinner. Yu-nii wouldn’t let me hear the end of it.” 

Your mind flashed back to the night before when the libero rapidly shook your shoulders. He yelled your ear off while the rest of the team laughed at your relationship. It didn’t help that your face was blank while trying to continue on with your meal. You’ve heard it from him all before but you couldn’t help it when you lost track of time. All you wanted to do was peacefully eat your dinner then knock out for the night and yet Nishinoya made it his job to make sure the entire camp heard how reckless you had been. 

“Well, at least something good came out of it though.” Shimizu laughed with a teasing glint in her eyes. 

Your cheeks grew warm as she referred to Kageyama carrying you into the cafeteria and half of the camp ended up freaking out over it. “Hey! You promised you wouldn’t tease anymore.” 

Shimizu smiled and Yachi laughed out loud and patted your shoulders. “It’s nice to see some progress between you two.” 

“He was just being nice.” you huffed. 

“Kageyama isn’t just nice to anyone, y’know,” Shimizu added.

“I told him that it was okay to just walk side by side though!” 

“And yet he still offered to carry you~” Yachi teased.

“...It was my knee, okay?” you pouted and pointed to the said body part that was wrapped in KT Tape with a brace covering it. To make sure that you listened to his lecture, Nishinoya took it upon himself to wake up earlier than he typically would to give you his stash of Tiger Balm and extra case of KT tape in case you ran out.

“Right, whatever you say(Y/N)-chan.” she chuckled and Shimizu added on, “But please take it easy tonight, Noya-san even said you shouldn’t play again until we get back home.” 

“Ugh, whatever. It’s my body not his, I can do whatever I want.” you waved and rolled your eyes as the three of you arrived at the first gymnasium. As much as you appreciated his worrying, you were finally getting the chances to play and work on your skills again.

“I’ll leave you to it then?” Shimizu asked.

Yachi nodded as you saluted and the older girl waved goodbye before she made her way towards the second gymnasium to check up on the others who were working on the synchronized attack. When you made your way into the gym that you were assigned to help, Yachi split ways with you at the door and sauntered towards the other court to help with the second-year members while you walked towards your side and waved to Coach Ukai and Kageyama. Picking up the ball that rolled away from missing a water bottle, you gave the setter an encouraging smile when he locked eyes with you. 

“Alright, now that (L/N) is here I can properly watch you.” Coach Ukai smirked and nodded for you to take his place.

Every time you tossed the ball, Kageyama continued to miss by being off by a little bit. After a couple more tries, the frustration on his face became more evident. You pursed your lips when you noticed his demeanor become tenser and a small scowl could be seen on his face. He cursed underneath his breath when he missed once more and Coach Ukai finally stepped in with some tips to help him. 

“Kageyama, don’t think of the bottle as a target. Actually, visualize it. As much as you can, visualize a spike.”

You understood where Ukai was coming from: rather than setting at a set point, Kageyama had to remember that his target was moving at different speeds and points of the court. His expression turned thoughtful as Coach Ukai walked back towards the sidelines and stretched his back. 

He suddenly snapped his fingers and pointed at you. “Ah (L/N), before I forget, can you give this to Takeda-sensei? I can take over for a bit until you come back.” 

You walked up to Coach Ukai as he handed you some documents and nodded. Before you took a step towards the door, you couldn’t help but look back at Kageyama who was looking down at the volleyball in his hands. 

 “Don’t worry about Kageyama, he’ll be fine.” He reassured you when he noticed that your gaze followed Kageyama while he walked off to the side to get a quick sip of water.

“Alright if you say so.” You sighed and began to make your way out of the gym. “I’ll be back!” 

“Take care.” “Be safe and hurry back idiot.” 

You laughed at Kageyama’s words and walked your way through the school. Since you had time to yourself, you decided to check on the rest of the team. You peeped in the gym that Shimizu was in to see that she was recording the synchronized attack for the boys to look over after they were done for critiques. On the other side, Nishinoya was practicing his jump with Asahi, and your assumption of where the hyperactive spiker was confirmed. Making your way towards the third gym, you were impressed to see that Tsukishima and Hinata were both very focused on the practice game with Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi. Lev was also added into the mix and your eyes traveled towards the scoreboard and as they finished the first round. You couldn’t control your laughter when your eyes landed on the names of their makeshift teams. All of the heads turned towards your direction and you waved your hands so they wouldn’t pay attention to you. 

“What are you laughing at, (Y/N)-chan?” Bokuto asked. 

You pointed at the names they wrote down and bent over to help catch your breath. “You guys really put your spirit animals as the team names?” 

“Isn’t it cool?” Kuroo smirked as he walked up to you and ruffled your hair. 

“Don’t. Touch. The. Hair. Tetsu.” you groaned and poked him in the stomach as retaliation. 

He laughed and stepped away to give you some space. “Alright, chibi-chan, geeze can’t you let me have some fun?” 

You rolled your eyes and walked over towards Hinata. He smiled at you and laughed when you couldn’t help but ruffle his hair. 

“What are you doing here, (Y/N)-chan?” Hinata asked then gave you a hug.

“I just wanted to check up on you guys.” you shrugged and waved at the others that gathered around. 

“So how’s it been?” 

“It’s been pretty good, these guys are slowly getting better,” Bokuto answered your question as he pointed towards Karasuno and Nekoma’s first years. 

“Um...We are technically opponents as soon as we’re in a match, right?” Tsukishima asked. “Why are you giving us advice?” He continued before wiping his face with his towel. 

Kuroo put on an angelic smile and raised his hand to put it over his heart. “I’ve always been a nice person.” 

You and Tsukishima gave him blank expressions while Hinata just watched him, not knowing how to act. 

“You don’t have to look at me like that.” Kuroo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I want to make the Battle at the Garbage Dump a reality. Well, it’s practice for me, as well, so don’t sweat the small things.” 

You snickered at his reaction and went up to pinch his cheeks. “Awww look at cute Lil Tetsu-nii trying to act all cool for his juniors.”

“Get off of me, you brat.” Kuroo groaned and tried to push you away. 

You stuck out your tongue at him and Bokuto slung his arms over the both of them. “Alright now that story time’s over let’s get back to it, yeah?” 

“We’ll catch up after, alright (Y/N)-chan?” 

You nodded in response while the boys gathered on the court and Bokuto gave her a cheeky smile. “I’m looking forward to the ramen this weekend!” 

You gulped and glared at Kuroo who was laughing. “YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO TELL HIM AT THE END YOU IDIOT!”

Flipping your childhood friends off, you rubbed your temples as you stormed out of the gym and shook your head at their antics. ‘They are literally going to make me go broke this weekend with how huge their appetites are.’

--

“Alright, here’s the next one!” you called out.

Kageyama took in a deep breath and zoned in on his focus. Progress was finally being made after practicing the drills all throughout the week. He was glad that everything was settling into his muscle memory. Trying to imagine where Hinata would appear, Kageyama tossed the ball to the bottle furthest away from him. You gasped while you watched the ball spiral towards the designated bottle and fall right on top of it. With a proud smile, you jumped excitedly and clapped your hands. Ever since you returned back to the gym, Kageyama’s focus was sharper than ever and his progress skyrocketed within the next hour of practicing. He smirked and you noticed the new and fiery look in his eyes.

“Toss me one more!” 

Like previous sessions, you two continued to practice late into the night for him to really get it into his body. It was down to the littlest details and he even asked you try and spike some with Ukai tossing a couple of balls to make the exercise even more effective. For the most part, Kageyama was in his own world to make sure that he got his sets down. When Ukai left you to your own devices, you would give him critiques here and there to make sure that his accuracy remained the same. For extra reassurance, you made it a thing that if he couldn’t get the full line five times in a row, then Kageyama would have to restart until he got it right. You admired his determination and couldn’t wait to see how things played out. 

At some point, Kuroo and Bokuto had stopped by to check up on you after they wrapped up their own practice. You caught up with them during one of your breaks and Kageyama would glance over at you with them every once in a while. Kuroo caught on to his behavior and smirked. While you were complaining about how your dad kept texting how excited he was for you staying over the weekend to Bokuto, Kuroo made his way over to the setter and nodded towards their little setup. 

“So how’s it going with you guys?” he asked and sat next to Kageyama. 

“It’s going good, I almost have it down.” 

“Nah kid, I mean how’s your progress with chibi-chan.”

“Huh?” 

Kuroo rolled his eyes and nodded his head at you who was being chased around by Bokuto. The squeals and laughter from the two of you echoed through the gym and Kuroo chuckled to the crazy energy Bokuto always managed to rub off on you.

“Based off of last night’s events, one can only assume that you both have a thing for each other.” 

“I do not,” Kageyama grumbled as he looked to the side and aggressively chugged his water. 

Kuroo laughed at the younger boy’s reaction and patted his shoulder. “You make it clear as day, but (Y/N) on the other hand, she’d need you to actually spell it out for her.” 

“We’re not dating and I don’t think she’d go for me anyway,” he replied back. 

“Oh trust me, she’d totally go for you. She looks at you and acts differently when you’re together. I’ve known her long enough with Bokuto and I’m pretty sure Nishinoya can see that she has a crush on you.” 

“You guys are just teasing us.”

“Usually I’d say yes, but for right now, I’m trying to help you out.” 

Kageyama blinked and turned to look at Kuroo who had a soft smile on his face, his eyes locked on you. “Why are you helping me?” 

Without taking his eyes off of you, Kuroo simply said, “Because (Y/N) deserves the world and I’ve never seen her like that. She’s the little sister I’ve always wanted, y’know? It’s the same for Bokuto too. She’s helped us in so many ways and we’ve grown protective over her.” 

Kageyama’s eyes widened and Kuroo looked back with a small smirk. “You’re so easy to read, kid. We just want her to be happy after all that she’s been through. As you can see, (Y/N) is passionate about anything she puts her mind to whether it’s volleyball or friendships. Relationship-wise, she tends to wear her heart on her sleeve which doesn’t always have a happy ending.  Over the years, we’ve seen her during her puppy love phase and it crushed Bokuto and me to see her so dejected when her previous crushes turned her down.”

“Oh…” 

“Bokuto always says she’s one in a million. I’d have to agree because both of us always wanted to keep her as our little gem.” Kageyama couldn’t help but notice the way that Kuroo’s facial expression softened while they watched you jump onto Bokuto’s back and spun you around. “If you are actually serious about her, I’d say not to wait too long to do something about it though, because you never know who could swoop in and try to whisk her off of her feet,” Kuroo added with a pointed look. 

Kageyama hummed in response as you and Bokuto waved them over. His mind flashed back towards the previous days in the week and the comments that he overheard other players saying about you. Just like how they’ve fawned over Shimizu, now that you and Yachi were about of the team, it was new eye candy for the other volleyball players to admire. He’s seen some try to flirt with you during the dead time at the camp and he couldn’t help the burning sensation in his chest. Every time he came across moments like that, all he wanted to do was take you away so all of your attention was on him. 

Kuroo sighed and pushed himself up before offering his hand to Kageyama. He took it silently and before they walked towards the center of the court, Kuroo tightened his grip on his hand and said, “If you hurt her, you don’t only have to go through Nishinoya and the others on your team. Best believe you’ll find me and Bokuto standing on your doorstep ready to pummel you when you least expect it, got it, King?” 

Kageyama gulped when he saw the dangerous glint in Kuroo’s eyes and nodded. Happy with his response, Kuroo’s demeanor immediately relaxed, and laughed while slinging his arm over his shoulders. 

“Tetsu-nii I swear to Kami if you’re bullying Tobio I’m gonna kill you!” you threatened when you managed to catch a glimpse of Kageyama’s reaction at the end of their conversation.

“Nah we were just bro bonding, chibi-chan.” He responded. 

Kageyama met your gaze that fell upon him and you gave him a helpless smile. “Sorry for that one, he doesn’t know when to stop sometimes.” 

“No worries, he was stating the truth, (Y/N),” Kageyama said. 

“That’s good, I’m glad to see the people that I care about getting along.” you smiled brightly. 

“Don’t worry, Kags and I will have our bro bonding soon too!” Bokuto added and crossed his arms, a deadly smile on his face. 

“Oof, if you thought I was bad, wait until you talk to Bokuto,” Kuroo murmured before brushing past Kageyama and walking towards the entrance. 

Bokuto waved at you two before jogging to keep up with Kuroo who lazily waved goodbye. You only shook your head in amusement at their actions before turning back to Kageyama and patted his shoulder.

“Ready?” 

Kageyama hummed in agreement as his mind was drifted away with all the new information Kuroo had told him. ‘Was it that obvious to everyone?’ He looked back to you who had walked off to gather some stray volleyballs near the basket. ‘I need to clear my mind, I don’t think I can focus anymore…’ 

He cleared his throat and you whirled around to look at him. “I think we should end here tonight.” 

“Are you sure? I can still go for another thirty minutes or so.” You asked with a raised eyebrow and played with the volleyball in your hands. 

Kageyama nodded and said, “My body is already cooled down and I guess time passed quickly when Bokuto-san and Kuroo-san were here. I feel like I’m at a good place with the sets.” 

He watched as you understandingly nodded and gave him another smile. “Sounds good.” 

“I’ll walk you to the room after.” he simply said as he walked up to you and began to push the volleyball cart towards the storage room.

“You don’t have to Tobio.” you insisted while you walked behind him.

“I don’t want you to get lost, shorty.” 

“I won’t get lost, milk boy. It's literally a short walk past the dining hall then around the faculty building. ” 

“Noya-san would kill me if he found out that I let you walk alone, it’s too dark out.” 

“Are you actually being a gentleman?” you teased as he pushed the cart inside the storage room.

You leaned against the wall while he walked back out and locked its door. He rolled his eyes and walked towards the bench that had both of your belongings.

“Can you just let me be nice to you?” he muttered and wordlessly slung your duffel bag over his shoulder. 

“Nah, it’s fun to tease you.” you laughed and tried to take your bag from him.

Kageyama easily dodged your arm and couldn’t help but flick your forehead in response. 

“...idiot,” he muttered before slipping his hands into his pockets and walked out of the gym. 

“I know.” 

“Are you coming or not? You can just sleep here if you want slowpoke.” Kageyama called out as he looked over his shoulder to see you closing the doors of the gym. 

“Whatever, blueberry,” you responded and stuck your tongue out at him. 

Kageyama rolled his eyes and continued to lead the way towards the building you were staying at. As you slightly lagged behind him, you admired the way that he looked from behind. His back was relaxed rather than tensed as if he carried the whole weight of the team. There was sort of a serene look on his face now that things were working in his favor. It was nice knowing that he trusted you enough to show you this relaxed side of him outside of practice time. He looked a little more vulnerable than usual and it made you happy that he was comfortable with you. Your eyes glanced at your duffle that was hanging from his shoulder with his on the other one. You bit your thumb to stop the smile that was threatening to come out because of the sweet gesture. ‘Can he get any cuter?’ you thought to yourself as you made your way to his side. Kageyama clicked his tongue when you finally walked side by side and you laughed. This was your time together and no one was able to take that away from you two.

[chibinoyume]

Creator meme

Thank you @indelibleevidence for the tag!

RULES: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works <3

--

This made me realize once again how much Fandom helped me through the pandemic for a few months - browsing through my own tags there’s so much stuff I’d completely forgotten about!

1) “Jane Doe” - a 3 part comic series (especially the first one)

Post 5x10, where Jane has lost her memories because of the ZIP, and slowly bonds again with Kurt and the team. Originally it was meant to be a 4 to 5 part comic series, but I needed to get it done before the finale aired, and I ran out of time. Since I have the lines written down somewhere, I may write it as a fic at some point, albeit a very minimalist one (and it would count as canon divergent post 5x10), because it was meant to be a comic script.

Still, the first part of this comic took SO LONG and while I can still pick at things I could have done better, I’m proud of it anyway, especially because my specialty are chibi-like drawings. Cute is my cup of tea, serious is haaaard. 

2) “Ever After” - a bittersweet Jeller oneshot.

Technically there is a second chapter to this, but reads more as an epilogue, so this could be read as a standalone (and I don’t know if I’ll ever get to finishing that 2nd chapter! I’ll try, though).

I mostly wrote it for myself as a fix-it fic (sort of) after the series finale. While I stubbornly will stay in happy-ending camp, sometimes when I saw images of the sad-ending, that feeling of dread filled my gut. I had some ideas in my head to narratively justify what happened, including the odd dinner scene, so I rushed to write it out while the Muse kicked and screamed at me to do so.

So in the fic, it starts as Jane collapses to the ground, but not everything is rosy and magically fixed. Both Jane and Kurt have to deal with the aftermath of what happened, and be there for each other as they learn their new normal and start healing from it, in the way supportive partners do ♥

3) Nightmares - a hurt/comfort Jeller fanart.

Post 4x12, this is how I’d imagine things may go, at least sometimes. Jane almost died (again), and even though she is now fine, has her memories and is no longer poisoned, losing her is still Kurt’s biggest fear, and he has nightmares about it in the following days or weeks. Not all the time, but when they show, it hits hard. She’d always try to reassure him as best she can, whispering words of comfort as he mumbles incoherently and apologizes for what could have been.

While some details about it still bug me (why am I like this) I still like this drawing a lot. One of the many scenes of Jeller in bed that are in my headcanon, if only finding good references for Jane’s tattoos (other than her arms) wasn’t such a hassle, I swear I’d have done so many more.

4) Honest screencaps: one & two (I couldn’t choose) 

I just had to lol when I was rewatching season 1 earlier in the year and screencapping things for drawing reference and because of reasons, some facial expressions where just too good not to caption. The ridiculous lines worked even better as a screencap-comic rather than an actual comic, imo.

It’s so much fun.

5) Too tired for subtlety - a silly Jeller comic.

Early season 5, Kurt is still very much a workaholic, even in the bunker. But this time, Jane is not having it. Mwahaha. 

It took a while to find photos of the relevant tattoos, and even then I had to BS a good bunch of them because the images were too blurry to tell xD. I swear if they released an artbook I’d buy it in a second. They could use the same pictures they had in SIOC where Jane was standing up with all her tats, they blur out the necessary bits and have a map of ALL the tattoos, dammit! 

How am I supposed to draw Summer Jeller when drawing Jane in a bathing suit is gonna take 5 hours just to find references D:?

Bonus) :D this ridiculous video (feat Rich’s rescue)

Basically, expectations vs reality.

This tiny video took way more than I’d like to admit lol and it still looks so choppy. But it’s part of the charm, right? lol Even so, the idea wouldn’t leave me alone and I had to do it. And I feel honored and proud that Ennis saw it on instagram xD

***

Hmmm, trying to tag people Amy hasn’t tagged yet! @marv-el-spot @birdsaesthetic @mchellesvanity @whatshouldjustbeours @singinprincess 

Anyone else, feel free to do it! So much fun.

[shiny-procrastinates]

(re)Watching Magia Record S1 - part 4

part 3 here

Hello everyone and welcome back to our... I don't know how to call this really, I'm more narrating what's happening in the screen than anything, but in any case today we are continuing what we have been doing these last few days.

Last time, we had an episode focused on the Momoko trio, got handed even more mysteries and had a brief cameo of our favorite drill-haired mahou shoujo. So what will this episode have in stock for us? Only one way to find out! (these introductions are getting cornier and cornier, I'm running out of ideas here.)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record S1 episode 4

Today, Iroha's visiting a chinese food restaurant on Mitama's recomendation. Well, I suppose even magical girls have to eat sometime.

But before that, let's wind back a little bit.

After the op, we get a little monologue from Iroha about "friends". It's probably obvious by now that she's not the biggest social butterfly out there, but this scene basically tells us that Iroha had no friends besides her missing sister, which just makes this even more sad, honestly. The solitary atmosphere of the first episode was no coincidence.

While dropping by Mitama's, Iroha hears from Momoko the aftermath of the fight with the Chain Witch from last episode. Momoko says everyone who had disappeared had come back safely, and says that might've not been a witch, but something lurking behind the rumor. The trio brings up some other weird rumors while Mitama desecrates a perfectly good cheesecake.

“Mitama-san, why“

Iroha asks if there's some rumor where people went missing and Momoko guesses correctly that she's wondering if her sister didn't get caught up in one of those. Sadly, they don't know any other rumor where people went missing besides the Staircase of Severance.

Oh my god Mitama is eating that thing, looks like the Coordinator's will be closed for a while.

The girls try to brainstorm some ways to look for Iroha's sister but, well...

Like this, Iroha just looks like some weird girl who insists her imaginary younger sister is real... which she might be, I wouldn't put that possibility past this series, but for now we are assuming her sister actually existed.

Iroha pokes in and says she'll do it herself, since she has no idea where to start investigating now and it'll probably turn into a long search anyway. Momoko's not very convinced. Mitama then hands Iroha Banbanzai's flyer and now we are back to the present.

In Banbanzai we meet Tsuruno Yui, Kamihama's (self-proclaimed) Strongest Magical Girl. The size of the dishes are also the strongest. One has to wonder how does Tsuruno explain to her father the "magical girl discount" she has going on.

Iroha eats a bit under the expectant eyes of Tsuruno and, when pressured for a rating she says...

50/100, or 2.5/5 when going by the occidental style rating. Tsuruno's shock here is impressive considering that's Banbanzai's usual rating no matter what it puts out. Hey, consistency is good!

After eating, Iroha apologizes for giving such a low rating despite getting free food, but Tsuruno explains basically what I wrote. Yes, Iroha, you guessed right.

Tsuruno apologizes for not having any hints in regards to her sister and, after getting Iroha to call her by her first name, says she'll try to introduce her to someone that might help her with investigating the strange rumors. Tsuruno is hesitant on the phone at first but quickly gets excited as the person on the other side of the line agrees to meet them right away. And the person they go meet is...

Yachiyo, obviously. She's like "I have no time for this" at first, but is stopped by a crying Tsuruno and ends up telling them about the rumor she's investigating.

The rumor Yachiyo's investigating right now is about the Seance Shrine. Basically, there's a rumor saying that if you visit a certain shrine, write the name of who you want to see on a ema and pray properly, you will meet that person. However, you'll be so happy you'll become unable to leave.

Yachiyo says while investigating she found some posts of people saying they actually met who they wanted to meet who disappeared afterwards. Tsuruno wonders if anyone has been declared missing and Yachiyo points out that even if there was, no one would think to attribute a missing person to a rumor.

Tsuruno has a eureka moment and asks if the Seance Shrine is Mizuna Shrine, but Yachiyo says she already tried and nothing happened... wait, hey Yachiyo,  that's dangerous, what if it really was the right one? lol

Yachiyo says she already had low hopes, but if somewhere with so many visitors as Mizuna Shrine was the Seance Shrine, it would already be all over the news with the amount of people that would go missing... which is a very fair point.

So the girls have no choice but to go around and look for a less known shrine. For better or worse, there are a lot of them in Mizuna.

In one of them, Tsuruno finds a stamp rally going on in Mizuna Ward, and asks if that couldn't be a tip in regards to the rumor. Iroha's skeptical at first, but Yachiyo says they might as well do it, since it's better than looking around blindly.

While they walk around, Yachiyo tells Iroha the legend of the star-crossed lovers that was cited in the stamp rally paper. It's the tale of how two lovers of different social standings were separated by death (well, assassination), and then reunited after countless prayers from the princess. Iroha says that it's a lovely story, but Yachiyo doesn't seem to think the same.

Yachiyo then tells Iroha the hidden, true ending of the history, where the princess sacrifices all of the people of the town to their god in order to meet her beloved again.

and magical girls should know that better than anyone else.

A bit later, Tsuruno says doing this almost makes it feel like the old times, but Yachiyo just ignores her. Iroha asks if they've been close for a long time and Yachiyo says they used to be, but they're not anymore. Seeing from Tsuruno's behaviour, though, that's gotta be because of Yachiyo herself.

Iroha comments that even if it was a past relation, she's still jealous, since she's never had any friends besides Ui. Ui was everything to her, so now that she's gone, Iroha feels empty... it's a bit concerning that she feels like that when you consider her sister was ill enough that Iroha had to cure her with a wish. What would have happened had she not become a magical girl?

Yachiyo says, but this isn't the past to Iroha. She firmly believes that Ui must be out there somewhere, so she wants to find her as fast as possible. Yachiyo then tells her that if that's the case, she shouldn't be tied down by her past, she should become stronger, for her sister's sake.

Like that, they finally reach the Seance Shrine...

not. They end up back at Mizuna Shrine, which Yachiyo had already discarded as a possibility due to the number of people that would've gone missing if that had been the case. Yachiyo had thought that there had to be a connection between the rumor and the legend, so maybe they missed a hint somewhere. The trio doubles back for the day.

However, as they head back, something crucial dawns on Yachiyo:

She's a broke college student and today was 10xPoints Day.

Yachiyo gets Tsuruno and Iroha to help her and goes grocery shopping. Yachiyo tells Iroha about the points benefit, but Iroha has no idea what she's talking about, so Yachiyo says she's still a kid... yeah, but I think it would be weirder if a middle schooler knew about this stuff.

Being a magical girl sure is suffering. You get kidnapped from trains and buses, and can't even catch a sale without getting a witch as a freebie. There is no rest.

Here! I can finally comment that it creeps me out the fact that Iroha sleeps with a plushie of this thing. I know it's in this series' style to have weird things going on in the background, but still...

The fight starts and- Iroha why the heck are you going to the front what is that crossbow even for. Yachiyo tells Iroha to stay behind her, but Iroha's holding the idiot ball right now... partly because Yachiyo told her to get stronger, but still. Iroha shoots a few times at the witch, trips, misses espetacularly and almost becomes witch food. Great job, Iroha.

Now, while Iroha's hesitating about what to do, in comes Tsuruno.

Maybe not the best time to be striking poses, Tsuruno.

Iroha screws up once again and sends Tsuruno flying but, as expected of the (self-proclaimed) Mightiest, she still makes short work of the witch (also probably because we're running out of time for this episode).

I'm guessing Iroha's magic in combinations just makes the other person's magic stronger. Kinda lame when you think about the previous two examples, but I guess that's standard for light magic in games... it's already weird enough that their magic has attributes at all but, oh well, game logic.

In the end, poor Yachiyo missed the sale. However, thanks to not being blinded by shiny discounts, she realized something important they were forgetting about the rumor.

Sure enough, just like Yachiyo said, Seance Shrine really was Mizuna Shrine at night. When they walk in...

The extremely suspicious chibi Kyuubei appears. I was going to say it that it only appears in rumors, but the first time it appeared was in a witch Labyrinth, so that's not it either... wait, wasn't it singing a song about rumors the first time Iroha met it? Hmmm...

In any case, the group heads further in, and the rumor very kindly gives them some plaques. Yachiyo tells Tsuruno not to write anything, since they don't know what'll happen and they'd both write the same name anyway.

The plaques turn into something like familiars as soon as they finish writing, and Tsuruno is held back for not writing anything. Iroha hesitates a second with Tsuruno being attacked, but obeys when Tsuruno tells her to go ahead and take care of Yachiyo... I, uh... have a feeling the opposite scenario is more likely, though.

Yachiyo and Iroha go ahead and offer their prayers. Then, when Iroha opens her eyes...

they are at a different place, and what both of them see is...

The people they longed to meet.

Iroha's time has begun to move again.

---- x ----

Aaaand that was episode 4. This time, I wasn't dumb and actually checked the episode was over before starting to write the closing part.

This is probably true of the previous episodes too, but I particularly like how the colors are used in this one. The tale part had not really the same sepia tone of historical things, but more of a celestial yellow tone, and the part at the witch labyrinth in the supermarket has a cute candy-like tone to it. It's not the same subdued kind of realistic thing like in, say, SSSS.Gridman, but there are some good, calm parts in here.

During the rally, when Iroha was telling Yachiyo about not having anything besides Ui, the procession they were walking in the middle of is a reference to Kitsune no Yomeiri I think, but I couldn't really connect the situation or what they were talking about to the tale so I decided to not point it out up there. Do feel free to search about it and draw your own conclusions.

I forgot what else I wanted to say, so I guess I should tie this up now. Did you know? Writing the introduction and close-up is actually harder than writing about the episode itself so you'll have to forgive me for not being able to think up anything besides "see you next time". In fact...

See you next time, on episode 5!

[viterbofangirl]

first line meme!

@fallynleaf​ said in her post to consider myself tagged, so I’m happily indulging in this lil’ ego boost! Thanks for the opportunity, m’dear! ^_~

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 authors!

NB- These are all unfinished and unposted WIPs. It behooves me to note that some of these are not at all recent. However, they ARE fics that have “first lines” at all, which is not necessarily a given as my Creative Muse is obnoxiously nonlinear in her inspirations.

~~~~~

1- The Gray Ghost had suffered some engine trouble somewhere on Interstate 65, so Mom and Dad hadn’t managed to make it to Chuck’s wedding. (Early Edition: ”Belly Up to the Bar”, a canon-compliant continuation of the episode “Occasionally Amber”, Gary/Toni except kinda not really because she’s totally pissed)

2- Oracle, Texas. 1878. A gnarled husk of a town still trying to deny that its glory days are past. (”Gunslinger”, my serious treatment/retelling of the Roger Corman western)

3- The gate clanged shut behind him, and Meng Yao took a deep, steadying breath. (MDZS: ”Leverage”, an Untamed AU based on inspired by pretty much continuing @littlesmartart​‘s brilliant setup and concept)

4- Many, many nights would Jiang Cheng lie awake at night, staring at the ceiling and pondering the razor’s edge of chance he’d toed. (MDZS: an Untamed chengqing fic set post-canon, current working title is “Second Chances” but I don’t like it)

5- Napoleon Solo flipped though an outdated magazine with little real interest as he lounged in one of the chairs lining the lobby of the car rental establishment. (TMFU (2015): ”Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, a fic set in my “Eight Strapping Daughters” universe where it is currently 1987 and Gaby and Illya have had eight daughters, any of whom are capable of taking over the world... and all of whom are about to spend the day at a shopping mall)

6- He felt the phone vibrating in his pocket. (Sailor Moon: ”Moon Revenge”, a Minako/Kunzite bodyguard AU)

7- The Moon was visiting Earth. (Sailor Moon: ”No Miracle for the Likes of Us”- another working title- which is Venus/Kunzite-centric exploration of the end of the Silver Millenium)

8- Chibi-Usa hasn’t stayed very long after Helios departed. (Sailor Moon: ”Rebirth AU”- you guessed it... working title- a Minako/Kunzite-heavy-but-not-exclusive AU that deviates from the manga/SM Crystal canon after the end of the Dead Moon Circus arc where the Shitennou are revived and the events of Star never occur)

9- Monday, 7:00 AM: Alarm goes off.

Monday, 7:00:08 AM: Alarm thrown across room. (Sailor Moon: “Codename: Teen Idol ‘Dite”, a side arc set in the above AU where, lacking any catastrophic galactic conflicts to fight against, Minako is going out of her mind with boredom and takes an undercover job as an idol as part of a police/Interpol sting operation)

10- Normally, Salazar Slytherin took great pride in his self-control. (Harry Potter: ”Release”, a short Hogwarts founders one-shot involving a maddening magical construction project and a sudden bout of swearing)

11- It was the first truly warm day since winter had broken, and Salazar Slytherin wandered the grounds with no purpose or destination in mind, simply basking in the sunlight until he began to feel the chill of the dungeons recede from his bones. (Harry Potter: ”And Treat Them All the Same”, a Hogwarts founders story about Helga Hufflepuff’s background and why she feels very strongly about equal treatment)

12- Salazar Slytherin stared at the wardrobe for another minute before finally deciding to throw another fur over his fur-lined cloak, leather jerkin, and wool tunic.  (Harry Potter: another one-shot Hogwarts founders fic with a teeny bit of Helgazar where the very cold-blooded Slytherin has to deal with a snowball fight, currently but not definitively titled “Snow Day”)

13- As the sun disappeared beneath the horizon, Brooklyn burst through the thin stone crust encasing him, his awakening roar shifting into a yawn as he stared blearily at the skyline and tried to remember what century he was in. (Gargoyles: ”Return of the Time Dancer”, Brooklyn’s return to New York- family in tow- after his Phoenix Gate adventures)

14- The couple breaking their fast that morning were strikingly handsome, if perhaps past the most fashionable age. (The Scarlet Pimpernel, Pride and Prejudice: “Scarlet Impressions”, a crossover fic that pretty much unfolded itself when I a) crunched numbers regarding the dates and years of respective storylines and b) realized that while Lizzy and Marguerite would get on like a house on fire, Darcy’s only possible reaction to Sir Percy would be unmitigated horror poorly repressed due to the latter’s much higher social standing)

15- Paris really was lovely this time of year. (MCU: “Threads and Patches: Part One”, first part of a three-part Clintasha AU set after the events of Civil War and most emphatically *not* farm-family friendly)

16- The briny air filled her lungs to bursting, but she continued to draw in breath until it hurt. (Highlander the Series: “The Mad Viking Saga”... because, frankly, EVERYONE should have an Immortal™ self-insert character and I refuse to apologize or feel ashamed of mine)

17- “Your Highness?  The oracle is here.” (Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas: “Sinbad and the Garden of the Hesperides” a sequel to the animated movie that actually should be titled “Proteus and the etc., etc.” bc it’s mostly about him and giving him the ending I think he deserves, a.k.a. an OC love interest and a chance for adventure while on a quest to save his city from a plague)

18- Bare feet pounded on the hot, rough pavement as Sinbad dashed around another tight corner. (Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas: “Fast Friends”, an eight-chapter prequel telling the story of how Sinbad and Proteus met and grew up together, wherein each chapter progresses with each year they know each other from when they meet to when Sinbad leaves)

19- Reed was well-known as your stereotypical absent-minded professor. (Fantastic Four: “Shut Up and Dance With Me”, a Reed/Sue fluffy one shot where Reed is adorable because fight me)

20- The spaceport on Aruus Minor reeked of fuel, welding torches, and sweaty coveralls, but it was a welcome change from the recycled air of the Lambda shuttle. (Star Wars Legends Expanded Universe (BITE ME DISNEY): “Everything Unsaid”, a Luke/Mara chance encounter set during the we-share-an-unbearable-degree-of-compatibility-to-say-nothing-of-the-overwhelming-sexual-tension-but-both-of-our-lives-are-kind-of-a-mess-and-neither-of-us-feels-ready-to-deal-with-our-feelings-for-each-other-so-we’ve-individually-decided-to-just-ignore-said-feelings-while-simultaneously-being-drawn-to-each-other-whenever-we’re-so-much-as-in-the-same-fucking-hemisphere years)

~~~~~

WHEW! Well, it sure was fun to tease all my followers with a taste of fics that will neverrr be finished! As far as patterns go, seems I tend to prefer either set-up paragraphs or punchy one-to-three-liners intended to trick intrigue people into reading further. My favorite is definitely #9. It’s a diary/log of Minako’s day, and her POV is hilarious and sooooo much fun to write like that!

Anyone who wishes to participate should consider themselves tagged, and PLEASE TAG ME IF YOU DECIDE TO PARTICIPATE!

[paulisweeabootrash]

2020 mini-review pack

Di Gi Charat (1999)

Episodes watched: 7

Platform: VRV (Hidive)

Di Gi Charat (pronounced like “carrot”) is a series of fast-paced 4-ish-minute shorts nominally about Dejiko and Rabi-en-Rose, rivals trying to be Earth’s greatest idol.  Who are, respectively, a catgirl and a bunnygirl.  Oh, and also they’re aliens?  That’s... uh... certainly a premise, I guess.  The actual show consists of self-contained gag-filled episodes with no ongoing story, in almost a sitcom kind of way, throwing the characters into situations without context, but with a stable “baseline” situation (unlike, say, Pop Team Epic, where the characters serve more as stock personalities playing different roles in different sketches).  Dejiko is a snarky schemer.  Rabi-en-Rose is a snarky schemer whose main activity seems to be bothering Dejiko at work.  Puchiko is a small and quiet child and behaves accordingly.  And Gema is... something?  I have no clue, honestly, and neither does the fan wiki.  Other recurring characters fill stock roles such as “manager” and “otaku”.  A lot of the humor centers around poking fun at fandom.  It’s a show by, for, and about otaku from an era before our current internet culture, and since I’m a millennial and not from Japan, that makes it unusually hard to evaluate.

W/A/S: 8/2?/5?

Weeb: Chibis.  Catgirls.  Idols.  Kappas.  Kawaii verbal tics.  Akihabara.  Low-detail background characters who look like blobs or thumbs with faces.  Kanji left on-screen but untranslated.  Particular sorts of highly-exaggerated facial expressions we may have become familiar with through emoji, but which still haven’t made their way into American media generally.  This is ludicrously Japanese.

Ass: This really isn't that kind of show.  Although it is certainly designed for adults, as evidenced by the presence of phrases like “naughty doujinshi”.

Shit: The art is fun.  It has style shifts from comic strip to watercolor painting to mainstream 90s anime, and looks better than some of its contemporaries that were, uh, “real” shows.  The opening takes up about a quarter of the total runtime and gets annoying quickly (but that's because it’s clearly designed for being part of a broadcast block, not binge-watching).  Still, unless I’m missing hidden cleverness on account of not having the background knowledge, there’s not much to it.  It’s just okay.

-----

First Astronomical Velocity (band, active 2011-present)

Platform: Spotify, surprisingly

Okay, this one is a bit different, and I’m jettisoning the whole format for it.  Remember how I said the music-centered episodes of SoniAni were actually pretty good, even though the modeling-centered episodes were so offputting I never finished the show?  Well it turns out that First Astronomical Velocity, Sonico’s band, has released several IRL albums.  Physical copies may be a little hard to come by, but official uploads of a lot of their music can be found on Youtube and Spotify.  Do your musical interests include at least two of: string arrangements that would be at home in a particularly sappy movie soundtrack, 90s-00s alternative rock, synthesizer beep-boops, and that constricted cutesy Japanese women’s vocal style (you know the one I mean)?  Then this is for you.  They’re a pretty good... uh... alt-pop-rock band, I guess is what I’d call them.

-----

Interspecies Reviewers (2020)

Episodes watched: the entire 12-episode season

Platform: I plead the 5th.  But it’s getting a video release soon, so it will finally be legitimately available in English!

I started this year with a plot-light fanservicey animal-people show, and now I’m ending the year with... a plot-light fanservicey animal-people show.  But unlike Nekopara, this show had me cracking up, eagerly clicking “next episode”, and not complaining about the premise.  I’m sure a lot of people do have a problem with this show’s premise -- which centers almost entirely on various forms of sex work -- and I understand and respect that they will want to skip this show.

But for the rest of you: Interspecies Reviewers is a wildly-NSFW comedy about a group of fantasy world adventurers who gain fame and fortune reviewing brothels of different species.  I expected excessive nudity and fantasy tropes, but I didn’t expect to also get serious thoughts.  Like showing, in the golem and Magic Metropolis episodes, some of the unsettling problems that are looming IRL as deepfakes and sex robots are in development -- note especially the contrast between consensually and non-consensually basing automata on real people in those episodes.  Or the discussion in the last episode of how much riskier sex would be in a world without magic (i.e., ours).  This is a much smarter and more interesting show than you’d expect, considering that it has so much sexual content that it got dropped by two of the networks airing it and even its US distributor.

W/A/S: 5/10/4

Weeb: Although heavily influenced by the Western fantasy media canon of European mythology and Tolkien and tabletop RPGs, familiarity with the tropes of fantasy anime will help you “get” this too, as will familiarity with the -sigh- character dynamics and censorship practices of hentai.  Especially because it’s a comedy, there are probably also instances where I have completely missed topical references or wordplay that a Japanese person would get, but I can’t think of any specific instances right now of “there was clearly supposed to be a joke but I missed it”.

Ass: Look, this could not possibly have more sexual content without unambiguously becoming porn.  Genitals are (almost) always carefully hidden by viewing angle or conveniently-placed glowing (something lampshaded in one episode as an actual feature of one of the species they review), but otherwise, expect lots of nudity and almost nonstop crude humor.  Do not watch this with children.  Do not watch this with your parents.  Do not watch this with friends you don’t know well enough to know how they’ll react to something like this.

Shit: This show is better-made than it deserves to be.  It’s pretty dumb at points, but it’s fun enough to make up for it.  The art is consistent and pleasant, and the opening and ending themes are extremely fun, but it’s not a serious standout in any of those departments.  Also, I swear the background music is stock music, but I don’t remember what other show(s) I’ve heard it in before.

Stray thought: Crim is a precious and relatable cinnamon roll and I love them.

-----

OreSuki OVA (2020)

Platform: Crunchyroll

So, I know I didn’t cover the whole season in my initial review, but I still want to mention the hour-ish-long finale of this show, which was released straight to streaming.  Short version of the rest of the season: Joro starts to actually fall for Pansy, but a new challenger, Hose, appears.  He is irritatingly attractive and effortless at maintaining the right persona for the situation, leading Joro to describe him as “the main character”.  Hose is the sociopathic manipulator Joro wishes he could be, and Pansy, who has a bad past with him, clearly wants nothing more than for Joro to stand up to him.  But, since this is OreSuki, it’s not going to be handled simply.  No, instead, strap in for a grand finale of Joro and Hose competing in, and trying to manipulate through rules-lawyering, an absolutely ludicrous competition to win the right to date Pansy.  And, on top of it, we also get to finally see how Sun-chan got to be the way he is and what happened at that pivotal baseball game that set off the whole plot.  What has Joro learned from the experiences of the past season?  You’ll see!  And you’ll facepalm about it!

Really, you must watch this if you watched the regular season.

W/A/S: 6/5(!)/4ish

Weeb: Basically the same as I said before.  Gags referencing other Japanese media, anime and otherwise, and it's better if you’re familiar with the high school romcoms and harem comedies Joro thinks in terms of.

Ass (and slight content note): -sigh- Why does the camera need to be there?  Also, Joro, you just committed a little bit of sexual assault for the sake of this contest.  Stop.

Shit: I want to rate this overall better than I did the regular season because I think it’s an excellent finale overall because, even though it ends in a very “let’s leave everything unresolved” way that’s common in media that rely on absurd relationships to propel the plot, it does so in a way that makes sense in character.  I personally think it would’ve been stronger if it had, well, confirmed its title, and at least some of the other “challengers” had lost interest in Joro, but I guess they probably want a Season 2, since they have so much more source material to work from.  There are... oh god 14 light novels?!  That is too many.

-----

Your Name. (2016)

Platform: DVD

Two high schoolers -- small-town girl Mitsuha, from Itomori, and big-city boy Taki, from Tokyo -- find themselves in each other’s bodies for a day.  They both think at first it must be a very vivid dream, but when it happens again, and they start finding clues like notes they don’t remember writing and comments by friends and relatives about their out-of-character behavior, they realize the body swap is real.  This begins a relationship of mutual understanding that nobody else can really understand -- or would even believe (except Mitsuha’s grandmother, who is... familiar with this phenomenon) -- and the plot then pivots to a tense adventure where they use their connection, some crucial information Taki has, the skills of Mitsuha’s friends, and the intervention of Itomori’s patron deity, to save the town from an impending disaster.

And that’s all I’ll say about that, because I really do think this is something you should go into blind.  My only remaining comments are that (1) the red string of fate is critically important imagery, and is particularly interesting to me here because, if I took a particular scene correctly, Mitsuha made her own red string of fate from sheer necessity, which is a very different twist on that trope, and (2) I am now curious about the history of the body-swapping phenomenon in-universe.

W/A/S: 4?/2/2

Weeb: As mentioned above, symbolism of the Red String of Fate shows up throughout the movie, as do the occasional distinctly Japanese quirk like a wildly out-of-place vending machine or a café with dogs, and but for the most part it’s a cross-cultural story of understanding and dealing with someone else’s life, and of forming a connection other people don’t -- can’t -- truly understand, and to some extent of divides between urban and rural and modern and traditional that I think could play out in any country with just the local symbolism tweaked.  The significance and content of Shinto beliefs and practices depicted, particularly kuchikamizake, are made pretty explicit, so although foreign to the vast majority of the non-Japanese audience, I feel like this movie also has nearly no barrier to entry for people not familiar with the cultural context, so I don’t want to rate it very high on this scale.

Ass: Look.  It involves teenagers switching bodies.  What do you think they do?  Especially Taki?  But it’s played for laughs, not titillation.

Shit: This movie is beautiful and punched me in the feels and was very satisfying.  The closest I have to a complaint about any aspect of it is that the musical breaks that I guess are supposed to mark acts of the movie almost make it feel like binge-watching a short series instead of watching a single self-contained movie.

[creaturecarnival]

Gogomaggedon Part 1

If you were a child between the ages of 4-12 in the late 2000s/early 2010s, chances are you’ve at least heard of Gogo’s Crazy Bones. Rebooted from a series from the 80s and 90s, (which we won’t be talking about because I didn’t grow up with them and to be quite honest don’t like them all that much) these funky plastic fellas were sold as collectible figures for kids, and their hyper-stylized chibi charm was certainly hard for myself and many others to resist! They were also intended to be used as pieces for various games, but I think I speak for most of my fellow Crazy Boners when I say that the main draw was the collectibility. For this review, I thought it might also be fun to give them all a rating out of 5 based on how I personally feel about them! I dunno! We’re trying new things! Mixing stuff up! It’s what we do here at Creature Carnival! So let’s get started with this Gogomaggedon because holy shit are there a lot of these little bastards!

Name: Mosh

Description: Super kind. All the Gogos want to be friends with Mosh.

Ability: Magic Smile

First, we have the main mascot of Gogo’s, Mosh! Every Gogo has a short little description and “ability” which serves to give us a little peek at their personality. Additionally, each Gogo comes cast in at least 5 different colored plastics as well, but I’ll be taking the one they use in the sticker pictures (courtesy of the Gogo’s Crazy Bones Wiki) as the “official” color. In regards to Mosh, the cynic in me really wants to be all, “Boring!! His main personality trait is that he’s nice? Lame!!!” But it’s a kids toy god darnit, and he’s just so gosh-damned cute! I love his little white tummy and his funny head-nubbins and his asymmetrical eyes and big bracket-shaped smile :] He’s just such a lovable whatsit! I would absolutely be friends with Mosh, and he makes for a great face for the franchise. Also, his name seems to imply that he likes to mosh, which is kind of hilarious to me.

4/5

What? Mosh is evolving!

Name: Moshi

Description: Avoids confrontation. Always brings goodness and peace.

Ability: Peacekeeper

That’s right! Series 2 of the modern Gogo’s franchise is called Evolution, and while I’m not exactly sure of the finer details, basically they just reused all the molds and put different prints on them. Also, the gimmick for Evolution is the fact that half of the 80 Gogos in the series are molded in translucent plastic with embedded glitter. Pretty striking! What’s the Series 1 gimmick, you ask? We’ll get to it, don’t worry! Maybe not in this review, but we’ll get to it! OKAY, with that out of the way, I’m so happy for Moshi’s transition! It’s almost a complete transformation, what with the anime-style face and everything! I honestly find the unevolved form more charming, but I still think Moshi is pretty undeniably cute.

3.5/5

Name: Nasako

Description: Always cool because he has a special scoring technique.

Ability: Double Fast Hook

Nasako is a funny little boxer guy. That’s really all I can say. Not even his description is giving me anything to work with here, I mean, come on. What does that even mean.

3/5

Name: Nasoki

Description: Tries to make everyone laugh. Sometimes his looks scare the others a little bit!

Ability: Joker

Now a funny little boxer clown guy, you say? That’s more like it! And with x-eyes and an old-timey one-piece bathing suit no less! Looks like Nasako finally decided to finish Clown College and get his degree! Good for him. Good for him. 

4/5

Name: Sato

Description: Ready for the fight. Where’s the ring?

Ability: K.O. Punch

Sato is, in my opinion, a much better-executed funny little boxer guy. The absence of any facial features other than a big ‘ol sneer is very charming, as well as the single white star. It’s not clear whether that’s an eye or a marking or what, but I always read it as an eye, and I think that’d be pretty cute.

4/5

Name: Satori

Description: Always watchful in case action is needed.

Ability: Watchful Eye

Speaking of eyes, it seems one has come to dominate Satori’s entire head! The description tells us that they apparently act as some kind of sentry in case action is needed, but doesn’t say if they ever actually take action. Personally, I like to think they have some kind of eye beam that they can fire like “Beam of 10,000 Fists” or something like that.

4/5

Name: Okori

Description: Nobody knows what he eats, but whatever it is, it isn’t doing him any good.

Ability: Eating

Okori’s main deal seems to be eating but I can’t really say for sure. Wish they’d made it clearer. He kind of reminds me of a bug-eyed Domo. Remember Domo? I remember Domo.

3/5

Name: Oky

Description: Maybe some indigestion gave him a mushroom face.

Ability: Fungus Fury

I love how non-committal that description is. Like whoever wrote it was just like, “I don’t fuckin’ know, maybe some indigestion did it. Who gives a shit.” I for one am a big fan of this grumpy ‘gus. Maybe the reason the description reads like that is that Oky doesn’t give a shit either. Do you think his ability is some kind of spore blast or berserk mode or do you think it’s just him being generally aggravated? Even though I love cool special attacks, I find the latter more endearing.

4/5

Name: Tori

Description: Clever and fun. He likes to be the boss.

Ability: Jumps Walls

I always read that tan shape as a big smiling mouth, but on closer inspection, it’s presumably just a hole in a mask which reveals a very uneasy expression. As far as my opinions on this guy go, he’s cute, but also relatively bland.

3/5

Name: Racetor

Description: He loves sports and can calculate how to win any race.

Ability: Numeric Memory

This is a marked improvement in my opinion, as Tori has apparently turned into some kind of robot with what I assumed to be a speedometer for a face. However, as the description indicates, he’s some kind of sports statistics whiz, so maybe it serves some other function? Either way, I get the feeling this guy is probably banned from most sport betting circles, but maybe he doesn’t even care. Maybe he’s just satisfied knowing how it’ll all fold out, and he doesn’t need anything else. Pretty sweet design overall, even for how simple it is.

4.5/5

Aaaaand that’s all for part 1! See, there’s 80 of these buggers per series, so I’m gonna have to try and divide this into digestible chunks. It’ll take awhile this way, but let me know what you guys think! Is this a good number to do in a single review, or could I go for more? Or maybe it’s even too many! I can’t really know unless there’s feedback, so I’d really appreciate if you could take this straw poll. It’d really help!

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

HypMic 7 - 9 | Maou-jou 5 - 6 | Akudama Drive 6 - 8 | I7 s2 6 - 9 | Taiso Samurai 5 - 6

HypMic 7

I will never not laugh at the content advisory, haha.

I like Kazuha already. Too bad he’s probably evil…

Oh, is it the day of the DRB in the series already…? Or maybe, because it’s the qualifiers, BB and MTC’s match is on a different day to FP and MTR’s.

Oh? Does Tom know Jakurai well enough to call him “Jakurai-sensei”? (<- middle ground between “Jinguji-sensei/Sensei” and “Jakurai”) Also, Tom uses “ore”.

Ooh, Iris is a motorbike rider, eh? Interesting. I thought they (<- not sure if Iris is a “she” or “he” with a really weird name) were more of a Saburo-type and didn’t bother with things like that, based on their appearance. Update: Someone on Yahoo Answers said based on Iris’s watashi, she is a woman.

Typo fixed! Good job, anime staff! Update: I’m referring to “…darkest hour is just before the down” (sic).

…bukkorosu = “f***in’ slaughter ‘em”. It’s not wrong…it’s just the subbers really like to abuse the F word for MTC. But you knew that already if you got this far…right?

LOL, Ramuda wants to “scratch [Rex’s] back” (figuratively) to…get SNS views? Hahaha.

This Studio Alita is probably a reference to Shinjuku Alta.

Yotsutsuji!!! That was the one big spoiler I got before watching the episode today and I’m so happy I got to see him animated!

(One of) Irihatoma and Degarashi refer to Jakurai as “Jakurai-sensei” as well. Hmm, I never noticed. Update: That’s Degarashi, because Irihatoma speaks to Jakurai alone later this ep.

There’s 50% chance I’m getting this wrong, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say Kazuha is voiced by a veteran VA…one I already know about.

Doppo calls Kazuha by his first name…That upgrade means their relationship escalated quickly (or this is a quirk of HypMic in general, since I noticed most characters are on first name basis with each other). Also, it’s cute Doppo finally has someone in his corner. No other part of the franchise has one, to my memory. Update: It might actually be “Kazuha-kun”…but I’m still surprised though. Update 2: It’s both, actually.

I’ve listened to the phrase “some random guy” several times from Hifumi’s mouth and all I can figure out is the “yatsu” at the end. (Doesn’t help my ears blocked themselves up again, although it’s less than it used to be.)

Harumi Wharf.

R? On a helicopter landing pad?

…uh oh. I was right when I thought Kazuha was going to be evil. Also, Doppler shift/effect. Update: “Doppler” is clearly a pun on “Doppo”.

Hmm? “Hey, Doppo” from “yaa”…it doesn’t have a name referred in there. It’s a small but odd thing to do. (I remember a professional translator was complaining that people with intermediate Japanese were giving them flak for translating things “wrong”, but what I do here is analysis for my future and edificiation. I’m not here to knock down pro translators’ doors and demand a refund, because I’m trying to go pro to atone for my sins as a scanlator.)

The soundtrack’s slightly sinister tone, plus the fact I figured the culprit well before Doppo did, makes me slightly scared…for MTR.

I realised they skimped on the budget…this “hot off the car chase” line seems more like an MTC line, doesn’t it…?...Yeah, it’s almost word for word for MTC in DRB+. Maybe the subbers rushed and used this translation (this link I put here) rather than their actual lyrics…? I will have to get to the bottom of this. Update: Turns out the translation is slightly different, but…yes, there is reference to a car chase in the start of Shinjuku Style. (Sorry, I don’t know every lyrics of every song off the top of my head.)

…wow, this got really Doppo-centric. I’ve never seen the leader relinquish their position when it comes to “leading into battle” before. It just goes to show the staff really do pay attention to how popular Doppo is.

Note “Doppo” means “walk alone”, roughly speaking, hence the “solitary” line.

This song is very, very faithful to its original lyrics, because I was trying to look at Hifumi’s “mixing paint” line and it pretty much matches.

Hifumi’s “my men”, LOL.

Kazuha = “one leaf”, hence the “leaves” in one of Jakurai’s lines.

I cringe every time I hear screaming coming from this episode, y’know…?

…oh dear. MTC’s plot actually bled into MTR’s.

I already knew from browsing Twitter earlier today that Kizuna was going to become FP’s today, but hearing it is another matter entirely.

Kosuke Miyoshi is Kazuha. Apparently, this guy also voiced Mashirao Ojiro (the tail guy) from BnHA, but that’s his only major role…so I was right in that I knew him, but wrong in that he was, again, a relative rookie in comparison to most.

Apparently FP’s sign is a peace sign sideways to represent an F, but…it’s just a sideways peace sign to me…

…how is Dice’s bead ornament attached to him? Is it on his hair, on his ear, on the skin behind his ear…? I was trying to replicate his outfit and got stuck on how to represent it, so I ended up opting for trying (and failing) to do a small braid on the right side.

IWGP shows up this season…it’s the song with the “hoo!” noise BB perform in this episode.

LOL, “Dead men tell no tales” is a perfect saying for MTC.

Akudama 6

Is there a movie called “Brother”…? There’s apparently one that’s the plural of that, but not that itself.

If HypMic likes the F bomb, then Akudama like the S word.

I-Is it just me or is the choreography sped up at some points in this episode…? It’s a bit disorienting to come back to.

I thought the kid was a robot…but close enough.

Oh no! Why does the teacher always have to die for the student to become stronger???

Kairaku/shugi -> pleasure/doctrine (if I didn’t somehow misunderstand the shark’s kanji combo),

The part after the ED looks a little too long…keep watching.

The Japanese says “Lost Children”, but the English says “The City of Lost Children”, probably referring to this French sci-fi film.

I7 s2 6

I like how Gaku is taking special offence to Yamato’s comments about him being a playboy.

Re:vale-san. I never noticed until now.

“I’m already looking forward to it.” That’s how I would translate Tsumugi’s “I’m already excited”.

“…who could possibly complain?” – I think Mitsuki might.

The pun in the MEZZO show is that tai (group/squad) sounds the same as tai (want to ~). Rabbinsta is obviously Instagram + Rabbit (Chat?).

Oh my gosh! It’s the Yotsuba sister!

Mitsuki’s shopping trip OST is nice, man. This piano.

This episode has a really great sense of danger and foreboding for the future.

I7 s2 7

Perfection Gimmick. Never heard it in the anime before.

Even the ramen house’s name is a play on “Idolish7”.

LOL, Yamato sure turned that comment around.

The sign talking about beer says something about coupons below it. (It went by too fast and my CR app’s kinda fiddly, so I can’t really go back…)

Kimi to Ai na Night (pun on Idolish7, aka “AiNana”, again).

Mitsuki, no one hates you! You’re just imagining it all!

I7 s2 8

Momo hugely resembles Sasara, right down to the highlights on the hair…

“…you’re so handsome…” – I’m dying on the inside here, people! *laps up the BL pandering with a derpy smile on my face*

Banri and Tsumugi haven’t been focussed on lately…they’re clearly doing something regarding Banri’s ties with Re:vale, but I can’t quite figure out what that “something” is.

Why is there a basketball and a football in the back of the Takanashi office…?

Please don’t run in heels, Tsumugi…

“I love Idolish7!” - Ah, despite my quibbles, Tsumugi is good after all.

“making one’s best exertions” – Why do those words on the cup worry me a bit…?

Isn’t “I’m watching you” a creepy statement…?

Apparently Tamaki’s symbol is mp (mezzo pianissimo), hence Sougo’s words.

…my gosh! Aya’s foster father is Kujou?!

I7 s2 9

If I heard it right, Tenn’s line was “I can be your idol”, not “your prince”.

“Older Izumi” - …ah, poor Mitsuki.

“Damn you, sexy beast…” – LOL!

…aw, I think this is the first time my heart has been lightened by Tsunashi’s laugh. He’s a good boy.

The chibis…I’m still trying to get used to them…

As a song once said, “You can’t please everyone so you just gotta please yourself.” (Blah blah blah, something about garden parties…)

Takao what now???...okay, Takao Dayuu.

…You’re lucky that wasn’t Tenn doing Takao Dayuu. It would’ve been very “Gentaro does his courtesan voice” if it was.

Nagi doesn’t overpronounce things as much in this season. It’s…pleasant, actually. Give me more of that.

Nagi’s “Oh my god!” was hilarious.

Taiso 5

Ra (ら) and ro (ろ) look kinda similar in hiragana.

Even without the audio, I can guess the words were “yarubeki koto” (things you should do) -> shachihoko.

The texts are written in gyaru-moji. Gyaru-moji is basically indecipherable to anyone who doesn’t know how it works – kind of like the common teen vernacular, to be honest (LOL…?) – and so the subs actually kind of ruin the confusingness of it all, but they did slightly better when they went “UR”.

Movie shiritori! But…has it really been half a year since Leo started? I feel slightly robbed about that plotline with the Men in Black right now…(then again, HypMic is just as bad about important plotlines, if not worse, so…I’m going to be patient and not complain.)

July 5th…Rei is a Cancer…?

They’re…finally moving on this Men in Black plotline! I only complained two points ago! Thank you, staff, for listening to my complaints (…?).

Moon Land finished recently, so I wonder if I’ll lose interest in this anime from here on out…? There was a Pommel Horse Prince in that.

Moon Land taught me that gymnastics has a lot of skills named after their creators, much like the Aragaki previously. The score is out of 10 for both D (difficulty) and E (execution), meaning a 20 is the best you can do, but the judges can get really picky...

The word for “vault” literally means “leaping/jumping horse”…makes sense.

Some of these names are names I’m familiar with from Moon Land already…but I never remember what the skills look like.

…welp, Leo just proved he really is a ninja after all.

Dr Stone’s s2 had its ED announced to be “Koe?” by Hatena and “Yume?” here really makes a theme…does Hatena give all their song titles question marks on the end?

Taiso 6

Colour gangs? Like in IWGP?

It’s nice to see they’re (Jotaro and Rei) communicating properly for the first time in possibly this entire anime.

On the wall, that thing is an evacuation map…of some sort.

…I’ve always wondered: if a bird eats chicken, does that count as cannibalism?

This is like thw Makkachin incident all over again (in YoI).

“…there’s no reason for you to grin and bear it.”

…Leo and Jotaro, both are so dense! Boys *shakes head*.

BB? More like ET (LOL)!

Maou-jou 5

…I didn’t even notice the cast was all dudes bar the princess at this point.

Tatakau Onnatachi. It could mean “fighting women” or “female warriors”.

I’m still vaguely pissed that Kirito is here under my nose…darn Demon King!!!

One of the harpy’s recent worries was that she wanted to become friends with the princess…That’s kinda cute…

Didn’t Syalis already get the coffin that one time? Or did it get confiscated?

*eyes sparkle* Cloud…I’d like to sleep on a cloud…*dreamy look on face* Cloud.

This is basically Princess, ‘Tis Time for Torture in reverse.

Is it “make do” or “make due”…?

I don’t think I need to explain the joke where the harpy is happy.

Gendo pose!

I wonder if the bed or the sheets will talk to her (Syalis) someday?

Maou-jou 6

The New Gearbolt’s quote is “guruguru dokkan”, which is just a bunch of sound effects. It would translate to something like “whir-whir-thud”.

Underwear episodes are some of the worst episodes ever…they’re so juvenile…I dropped at least one series based on the underwear episode alone.

Ah! The seal on the ice monster’s shoulder! Too cute!

How can a mechanical princess mecha (…thing?) have worries?

LOL, never underestimate the hilarity of the teddy demons ganging up on the Demon King.

I like how the Japanese pointed out the demons only moved the princess.

HypMic 8

I thought the robberies were Kazuha’s doing…? Or is this a separate case?

Samatoki answering his phone with his feet up…LOL, there’s just something funny about it. It shows he’s just so badass, he can get away with it.

Riou’s hacking (?) skills come to the fore again. (Or is that listening to enemy intel?)

Ooh, Iris is sassy. I love her already.

…er, Samatoki? Blowing cigarette smoke into Jyuto’s face is just rude…

“…don’t hang up your gloves.” – Considering Jyuto has his red gloves…LOL.

What the heck is that backing track when the 2nd car moved out? That’s a cool track.

Ah! Iris is a Saburo-type…LOL, Saburo’s fake identity.

“a cop who’s in with the yakuza” - Wow, way to diss your own teammate, Samatoki.

For a guy who was only just in the water, Riou doesn’t even look wet.

“2 DIE 4” – Hmm? So did the anime staff know what Riou’s 2nd round song title was at the time…? Update: Judging by the name “Requiem” dropped in the next episode, I would say yes.

“…f*** the police…” - Wow, way to diss your own teammate, Samatoki. X2

Hmm? In Riou’s rap bit near the end, he goes “mad warrior” and that rhymes (in a very loose way of speaking) with “Mad Trigger”. The English didn’t keep that.

I remember seeing a spoiler which said that line (the one about slaves)…but seriously, Jyuto is such a “sexy revenge cop” (as someone once said – I think it might be Slug, or an anon to Slug) that literally nothing else seems to matter about him.

Why do they subtitle the laughing??? I still have no idea.

“Sgt. Iruma”? The guy just says “Iruma-san”. Is he a sergant or some other rank? Update: Yes. (As in, he is a sergant.)

I’ve never actually seen Ramuda sleep in a bed before, come to think of it. Does he not have a bed?

I would assume Gentaro is going…but he said he won’t be going, then negated that and then negated it again. Unless the 2nd time was him admitting it was a lie the first time…is he going or not???

“shinsetsu no human” – (Spoilers for later on/manga)…Yes, that’s actually what Ramuda says. It’s as if Ramuda subtly admits, right there, he isn’t human.

Nodo = throat…If this were translated more literally, it would sound pretty clunky.

“…rappa no inochi…paa!” – Yep, the subbers got the gist of the joke there.

Dice is basically a worm at this point…He’s squirming like one, anyway.

That “number of pips facing up” thing has got to be foreshadowing for something, y’know? Nothing in a story ever goes to waste. Also, it’s likely the dice are weighted or something…

…yep, there you go.

That voice Gentaro used for “I despise lies” was amusing…because it’s so different to his normal voice, and because Gentaro is a serial liar.

The 2nd song…which I already know is called “JACKPOT” from browsing Twitter earlier today…was a bunch of fun.

Udagawacho.

Hmm…emphasis on the candy. I wonder what that means? (<- already knows, I just want to keep it a secret from you, dear reader, if you don’t know it too)

ANIME SHOP is so clearly a pun on Animate, including the colours, that I can’t even…LOL.

FP’s Kizuna sounds distinctly different to the others…probably because of Ramuda. It’s mostly Ramuda carrying the tune there.

“Life is what you make it.” – Hmm, an interesting quote for sure.

HypMic 9

…welp, they don’t call it Fling Posse for nothin’.

I didn’t believe my ears, so I went and listened to it again. Sure enough, Ichiro calls Jakurai -san, not -sensei.

Ramuda’s normal voice! Things are getting serious~!

“Hifuming”? Is that a deliberate choice on the translators’ part? Or is it a mishearing?

…I’m laughing at how Samatoki called Ichiro a “hypocritical piece of s***”. I know the “s***” part is correct at minimum from the audio.

I believe Samatoki said -san, not -sama when he asked for an honorific. Hmm, interesting.

I knew this would get animated, but…I still can’t believe I’m watching it! Amazing…absolutely amazing.

If you’re wondering…yes, that long thing is her entire title and name. It’s said the name “Kadenokouji” is the longest Japanese surname in existence.

I remember reading a tweet earlier today that said somebody wanted “Altercation! Altercation! Altercation!” as a song title…and now I LOL, because the subbers made Gentaro say the exact same word.

Hmm…I only just noticed BB are the only ones with bags. They probably came last, but who took the others’ bags into Chuoku…? Update: Some of the others did have bags, I just never spotted them. For instance, Riou is carrying a large black rectangular bag, but Samatoki and Jyuto don’t have any. Jakurai has the bag from his TDD days.

The 2nd DRB brackets got announced today. BB vs DH, MTR vs BAT, FP vs MTC, rolling out across Japan (and Japan only due to COVID) in 2021.

“What happened between you and him?” - I was going “who?” in Cantonese (as I sometimes do), but turns out they’re just referring to Samatoki.

This is exactly as it played out in the drama tracks and manga…exactly what I was waiting for all this time! So good, dangit!

LOL, in the future, we will have camera drones working our concerts like they do in the DRBs…I think (?)

I wonder what Dice is thinking right now, seeing Otome on the screen…hmm…

…gah! Airhorn! Airhorn to the ears! *tilts to side due to sound*

I still kind of remember Slug’s take on the final battle…”The popo? More like the poopoo!” (or something like that). *sniggers*

The little barking bit after Jiro’s verse was…kinda cute, actually.

…ow, these are some burn-ass words. See? This is the power of the DRB!

…eh? Riou’s mic has his MC name on it. Don’t think I’ve seen that in any other part of the series.

Hoh, Riou even made references to Saburo’s character songs.

You can see “Hc” on Samatoki’s mic too…probably another case of his MC name, but partially obscured by his hand.

Aw, “Samatoki no sabaku toki” is a good lyric. Why couldn’t you try to keep that, instead of translating it literally to “judgement day for Samatoki”?

You can hear a thumping beat in the background when Samatoki prepares himself. That seems to be a similar way to how ARB treats this stuff.

“I’m THE Samatoki” – “Samatoki-sama da”.

I think it was really cool to show Samatoki handing the song over to Riou, but it also indicates there’s a disjunct in the lyrics that would cause such a thing. From this, maybe Riou is MTC’s weak link…?

Skeletons with katanas! Is that not cool?!?

…hey, that joined words thing Ichiro does…I would assume that’s what Rhyme Strike looks like in the HypMic universe?

Notice Samatoki took the word “signal” from Ichiro’s part and put it into his own one.

“Today is a good day to die.” – *eyes bulge* Oh…gosh. What a quote. Update: Someone theorised Ichijiku wrote these titles (the last 2), but someone else – like me – theorised this quote was what FP and M fans thought for this battle.

Akudama 7

…that’s one twisted kid.

Never threaten to kill a kid who can regenerate far better than you, Hoodlum.

Brawler is still in the OP…it’s kind of saddening to see him now.

I noticed a certain character appears on the Executioners’ hands if you pause at the right moment in the OP. It’s the first character in shori (management).

Bunny: set meal/Shark: roasted meat (yakiniku)

…This sounds a heck of a lot like the genbaku dome (Hiroshima Peace Park).

Bunny and Shark’s shirts together: Idiot -> Shark: Bone

Actually, this also reminds me of the Osaka Expo held in 1970. I loved writing about that event – it was just so fun to write about.

This anime is like Appare-Ranman’s sequel, except without the racing and crazy racial stereotypes (although there are still crazy stereotypes).

…whoa! This scene is going on the end of year list for sure. Just…have to remember this scene, where all the children disappeared, exists.

…”The City of Lost Children” is an apt title for this episode.

(HypMic spoilers!) I wonder if they’ll reveal that Ramuda is a clone in what’s left of the HypMic anime?

…oof, Doctor’s a filthy traitor!

Rule number 1 of fighting: never yell out “Smokescreen!” when the smokescreen is meant to cover you.

…LOL, dark censorship bar. Please wait for the Blu-Rays to see this scene uncensored.

What the heck?! The countdown went from 7 to 0 so fast!

Akudama 8

Black Rain, huh? *checks* It’s a movie about a pair of New York policemen who have to save a Japanese gangster from his death.

…don’t jinx it, Swindler!

Your brother isn’t on the moon, Sister. It’s just your dreams on there.

Notice “Neo Lake Biwa” actually has “Reiku” in its name, as opposed to, say, “mizuumi” or “ike” (the Japanese equivalent).

You can still see where Doctor stitched herself up.

What did Doctor “hold on to”?

Way to monologue through the whole morality thing… (<- not as satisfied as they would like from this scene)

I wonder if the seal is electronically tracked…

Tsubo = pot, vase…*thinks about drugs* (Not that pot.)

“…I’ll make you into a real man.” – More like a eunuch, LOL. (partially sarcastic)

I recall from Sarazanmai that “pair look” is the term for “twinsies” in Japanese.

Oh! Swindler kind of looks like the Executioner Boss now.

…I find it ironic that Swindler had long hair up until not too long ago.

Can to the eye! Ouch! That’s gotta be worse than a lightsaber…er, jitte to the eye!

This makes me wonder…was Courier a rich kid once…?

[cloudburst-ink]

Tagged by @chibi-tsukiko​ & @khaleesiofalicante 🖤

rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world. tag as many writers/artists/etc as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I only joined this community 9 or 10 months ago, so I’ve got all of my works to choose from! I can’t believe it hasn’t even been a year yet. My fanfic-versary is coming soon—I’ll have to do something special!

1. Perhaps this one’s a bit cheating, but my actual favorite work that I’ve produced so far this year is one I haven’t released yet! It’s a digital painting of a very steamy scene in the climactic chapter of my upcoming fic, From Behind the Stars. I finished it just last week and I regularly open it up on my Spectre for the sole purpose of staring at it and feeling accomplished. 😅 I’m so proud! It’s my first 100% digital piece ever. Even when I have low days where I don’t feel any inspiration to write, looking at that painting motivates me, because I simply can’t wait for the day I get to post the relevant chapters and share it with everyone. 🌈⛅

2. Like a Land of Dreams was a project that started out as a bit of an experiment. I have a tendency to get rather flowery when I write, which is a habit I curbed in my previous fics. As the idea for this was forming in my mind, I found myself in occasional states of reverie, dwelling on that hazy state of aimlessness that comes with spending long nights on a distant beach, with no purpose, and no obligations. Then the tarot challenge kicked off, and I thought—why not indulge myself? I’ll try writing as flowery and melodramatic as I please, and see what happens. I ended up loving it, and it gave me the confidence to grab hold of that style and run. This little series is definitely a stepping stone on the path to my upcoming works!

3. I can’t contemplate my works over the past year without mentioning Send/Delete. This was the first fanfic I ever posted, and the first time I managed to keep myself writing in over ten years. It still baffles me that I actually wrote something, that it’s actually complete, and that there’s a decent-sized group of people who actually read through the whole thing and liked it. Wow! I will always remember this fic as the story that proved to me that I can do it.

4. I wrote Red Ink shortly after the completion of Send/Delete. I was riding that high of accomplishment, and that knowledge that I can write if I want to. I could see the clear improvement I made between the first and final chapters of that fic, and I wanted to play with different styles of writing to give myself practice. I decided on trying present tense, and chose a plot based around that—something immediate and action-based, like smut. It was also my very first attempt at a one-shot. I only intended it to be around 2,000 words. It ended up being over five times that. Succinctness is a skill that I definitely struggle with. 😅

5. Speak/Hush is still ongoing, but it’s on hiatus for awhile and I want to mention it because I still love it. 🖤 It’s often on my mind, and the plans I have in store for Alec and Magnus in this universe still get me all excited when I think of them. I can’t wait to eventually get back to this story and finish it (especially because then I can show off my tattoo without giving away spoilers!).

Tagging: @fanfic-fugue @tobythewise

[zerolympiustrife]

Favorite video games of all time?

Get ready for a LONG post, folks! However…allow me to break this down to my three favorite video game genres: Fighting games, RPGs/JRPGs, and Platformers/Action Platformers (both 2D and 3D). However! Since I feel like these posts are gonna take MUCH longer than I thought it would, I’m just gonna divide the genres into separate posts. But for now, let’s stick with the…

FIGHTING GAMES!:

Dragon Ball FighterZ: My number one favorite (traditional) fighting game of all time. My favorite ArcSys game of all time. My favorite Dragon Ball game of all time. This game is the reason how I got into the Dragon Ball franchise back when I’ve had to little to NO interest in the franchise, even when I’ve watched the ENTIRE Namek saga from the original anime back in 2009. The game’s GORGEOUS art style, every character animation’s (such as specials, supers, intros, victory poses, and ESPECIALLY the Dramatic Finishes) faithfulness to the original manga AND anime of Dragon Ball Z and other DB properties (such as GT and Super), the AWESOME soundtrack (courtesy of ArcSys theirselves, who’re known for awesome music in their games), the 3v3 gameplay, the character roster (though I’ll admit that having five Gokus and Three Vegetas is rather silly), having a new character design by DB creator Akira Toriyama himself, and lastly, being a breath of fresh air to those new to the fighting game genre (since the genre itself is notorious for its high learning curves) AND to Dragon Ball fans who were sick and tired of having the story of DBZ recapped over and over and over AND OVER AGAIN is a fucking sight to behold. This game FUCKING RULES (and a million times better than MvC:I). However, I wouldn’t call it perfect. I’ll admit that the Story Mode is rather lackluster, Arcade Mode is rather lacking, the Shop is completely randomized, and the Online Mode, much like every other fighting game, suffers from lag, spammable players, or just outright ragequitters. That, and the fact that, unlike MvC3 and BB:CTB, every character assist only sticks to ONE attack (meaning that more than one character is gonna have a Kamehameha assist), and that MOST PLAYERS you’re gonna run into is gonna main the likes of Cell (who ENJOYS dragging out combos for as long as possible), Adult Gohan (like Cell, also drags out long combos), and Vegeta (Super Saiyan, because of his assist. Need I say more?). But aside from those flaws, it is hands down the BEST fighting game I’ve ever played, next to…well, below.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: My number one favorite (unique) fighting game of all time. My favorite Nintendo game of all time. Series creator Masahiro Sakurai is a man that I’d like to describe as…well, not only doing the impossible and HIGHLY respected, but also putting those filthy naysayers about certain characters in their place. The fact that the whole point of Smash Ultimate was to include EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER FROM SMASH 64 TO SMASH 4 (Wii U and 3DS), INCLUDING EVERY THIRD-PARTY CHARACTERS DESPITE THE LICENSING AND DEVELOPMENT ISSUES THIS WOULD CAUSE is another sight to behold. FUCK Melee, THIS is hands-down the best Smash game of all time! The inclusion of Spirits, the Adventure Mode, the Boss battles, the gameplay, the kind of chicanery you can pull, the game’s main theme “Lifelight”, the roster, the soundtrack…there’s just ALOT about this game that I just fucking adore. What can you make folks more hyped about this game? Oh, I don’t know…why not shock everybody with JOKER (from Persona 5) AND BANJO & KAZOOIE (who’s still owned by Microsoft) being in the game. What I love about Smash Bros is how Sakurai is just outright defies those say certain characters can’t appear in the series for silliest (or justifiable) reasons. Cloud can’t be in Smash because his game was never released on a Nintendo console until 2019? No problem! Ridley’s too big therefore he can’t be playable? Fuck that! Banjo & Kazooie can’t be in Smash because they’re owned by Microsoft of the Xbox brand? It’s fine! Why? “Because I AM HERE!” -Banjo (JK, but seriously, the fact that Banjo’s in was quite a surprise.) Smash 4 is the reason how I got into Final Fantasy VII, and I hold the entire Smash series in high regard for doing so. Goddamn, do I love this franchise! But! Again, it’s not perfect. The Online Mode is MUCH worse than DBFighterZ (to the point where you’re more than likely to end up in a battle with Items TURNED ON or stages with distracting hazards, OR end up fighting the SAME fucking characters I hate fighting against, such as Little Mac, Falco, Inkling, Incineroar, etc.), and that fighting against EVERY single spirit in the Adventure Mode to get 100% can get rather tiring (not to mention that you gotta get BOTH bad endings from fighting Galeem solo AND Dharkon solo), lack of additional content upon release (Stage Builder and Home-Run Content weren’t even implemented into the game at first), and lastly (although these two complaints are one of more personal matter and one towards Square Enix), the fact Zero from Mega Man X, my favorite video game character is ASSIST character instead of a playable was really heartbreaking to see (but hey, I’m not complaining TOO much since I enjoy interacting with him in my free time in Training), and lastly, the fact that Cloud, and to high extent, Final Fantasy VII AND the FF franchise as a whole has LITTLE TO NO representation in this game whatsoever (again, I feel like this was more of SE’s fault than Sakurai’s). No spirits, no “Fighter Spirit” artwork from the original FFVII, no Assist characters, not being dubbed in English AGAIN (though this was more of a contract issue with SE), no additional music on Midgar, NOTHING. But, nonetheless…this game is fucking awesome.

Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle: Ahahahahaha! Ah…Oh, Blazblue…I love this franchise oh-so much, but the fact that it hasn’t received the same treatment as Guilty Gear lately (not to mention the mainstream Blazblue games, aka the C-series, has pretty much came to an end) is a rather sad sight to see…depression aside, I love Blazblue. I REALLY do! I love the characters, I love the stages, I love the music, the story is confusing as FUCK, but it’s a fighting game franchise I’ve discovered WAY back 2012 and I still love to this day, even more so than Guilty Gear (don’t @ me). So…what to do now? Could there perhaps be another Blazblue game? A game that just so happens to be a crossover? One just as awesome as Smash Bros? Ooh! How about…PERSONA 4?!? UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH?!? A FRANCHISE THAT, LIKE DRAGON BALL AND FFVII, I’VE HAD NO INTEREST IN UP UNTIL 2018 (aka RWBY)?!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAA- Fangasm aside, the fact that this game even EXISTS is an achievement in its own right. As stated before, this game is the reason how I got into RWBY. What I really love and adore about the game are the interactions among the characters. That, and I was SO HAPPY to hear that the game would be dubbed in English, after GG:Xrd Revelator and BB: Central Fiction lacked a dub. I was not only excited to hear the likes of Ragna, Noel, and Hazama voiced in English again, but I was also happy to hear that any characters who’ve never been dubbed in English in the past (characters from UNIB, newcomers in BB:CF, etc.) would be dubbed in English as well. Hell, the fact that the characters from both Blazblue AND Persona 4 (two franchises/games I really love) being in the EXACT same game together was enough to make me be all like “Shut up, and take my money!”, considering how crazy excited I was in the past to see them interacting with one another via fanart and fanfiction (thanks to the Persona 4 Arena games being developed by ArcSys). And if you thought having only THOSE four franchises in the game was enough, you’d be wrong! Here’s Arcana Heart! Here’s Senran Kagura! Here’s a FIFTH character from RWBY: Neo Politan! This game, much like DBFZ and Smash Ultimate, is awesome. However, complaints I do have towards the game are the Online Mode (although the chibi interactions are cute and adorable and I will praise the Online Mode for that, and ONLY THAT), Gordeau from UNIB is still a problem, the rest of the half of the roster is entirely DLC, lack of additional content upon release, the control scheme is WAY too simplistic (even moreso than DBFZ), and lastly, while I love the sprites ArcSys did for RWBY, the reused sprites from Blazblue, Persona 4 Arena, and UNIB is also a complaint I have (but a minor one, mind you. They could’ve just easily redone the sprites specifically for this game, but…no). And while this game isn’t exactly in my top two favorite fighting games, it’s definitely in my top THREE. Also, I have yet to actually to play the Story Mode of this game, but I haven’t yet, therefore, I hold no opinion on the story as of currently. Marvel vs Capcom-styled traditional fighting games are hands-down, my go-to preference for traditional fighters.

Dissidia (and Dissidia 012): Final Fantasy: Forget Dissidia NT, THIS game (mostly Dissidia 012) is what an awesome 3D Action Fighting game is about! Much like how Smash Ultimate’s a unique fighting game (a Platform Fighter), this game is also a unique type of fighting game, possessing RPG elements and just having a blast with its awesome combat system. Cloud and Sephiroth were just so much fun to play as, with Terra, Squall, and WoL being my other favorite characters in this awesome game. This game is also essentially a HUGE homage to Final Fantasy as whole. From the ongoing conflicts between Cosmos and Chaos, to MULTIPLE references to the character’s original games, to additional modes that involve unlocking the likes of Gilgamesh from FFV, or fighting against the most frustrating secret final boss I’ve ever had the displeasure of fighting against (Feral Chaos), these games are awesome! Also, the reason why I’m addressing both games as a single installment here is because technically, while Dissidia 012 IS a prequel, it pretty has the same content (no, scratch that, MORE content) from the first Dissidia game and it’s pretty much an updated…well, not a “port”, per say, more like an enhanced re-release, much like Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 or any of the Blazblue EXTEND re-releases. However, complaints I have for Dissidia is that certain characters are annoying to fight against (such as Jecht, FUCK that character), the RPG system takes a while to build up until your favorite characters are FINALLY at Level 100, trying to get the rarest Equipment is rather difficult, and lastly, the action commands for certain character’s EX Bursts can be retooled for the sake of a proper fighting game, but then again, Dissidia ain’t a “traditional” fighting game. But aside from that, not only is this my favorite Action RPG/Fighting game of all time, but this is also my favorite Final Fantasy Spin-Off of all time.

Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars: What’s that? You were expecting a Marvel vs Capcom game to be on this list, let alone my top 5? Too bad! It’s Tatsunoko, baby! This one definitely holds a spot in my heart as this game stands as my number one favorite “Capcom vs Whatever” game of all time (yes, even moreso than Marvel vs Capcom itself OR any of the SNK vs Capcom games, don’t @ me). I love this game. I love its soundtrack (ESPECIALLY its main theme, “Across the Border”), I love the roster (despite being small), I love the final boss of the Arcade Mode (Yami, from Capcom’s Okami), and I love the gameplay. My complaints goes towards the lack of additional content outside of Arcade and the Gallery (although the top-down shooter minigame is rather fun), and, as stated before, small roster. But other than that, this game was really fun to play.

OTHER FAVORITE FIGHTING GAMES:

Sonic Battle, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, SvC: Chaos, and Blazblue: Chrono Phantasma.

Coming up next: My favorite RPGs/JPRGs!

[basheba]

For all the people wondering WTF I am talking about when it comes to The Bell Witch. This took me way too long, has too much text, and in the end it doesn't even talk about the plot or the characters lmao . But part 2 is coming soon with all the juicy details.

Thank you Kummi for inspiring me into finally communicating with people what happens here instead of tweeting cryptically.

Cross-posted on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gwenynbright/status/1536966570936700928

Transcript/captions for all pages under the cut because they’re too long to be added as alt text.

PAGE 1

If you have been following me for a little while (or you were inactive some time), you may have a few questions about my current hyperfixation:

What is The Bell Witch? Who is the Bell Witch? Tentacles? Cadsheba? Evil wife? The Kraken? Minotaurs in Tennessee? Jeremiah? Ozzie? There is a werewolf? COB? COW? Cadwyn? Basheba? Mahaha? Mina? Cannibalism? Cadwyn in leather pants?

[screenshot of conversations with people asking me about The Bell Witch with the caption "The devil works hard but Gwen works harder"]

[chibi drawing of me saying "Allow me to explain..." I have a badge that reads "The Bell Witch Propaganda Manager"]

[chibi drawing of me with a rainbow background saying "...the basics"]

"The Bell Witch" is a book series by author Sara Clancy. It's comprised of 6 volumes published between 2019 and 2020. They follow the story of 4 (later 5) protagonists fighting a witch that has cursed their families for 200 years.

[Two chibi drawings of me listening to an audiobook while working and doing the dishes]

I discovered the series by accident. I love audiobooks and a couple of years back, I added almost ever fiction book with "Witch" in the title to my Audible wishlist without even stopping to read the summary.

PAGE 2

After slowly making my way through my wishlist without finding anything particularly interesting, it was finally in early August 2021 that it was the turn of "The Bell Witch" (it was a bundle of books 1 - 3 narrated by John Pirhalla). I chose it over other titles because at that moment I had the idea to write an Attack on Titan fanficion featuring Bertholdt Hoover's ghost, so I wanted to consume more horror books to have as a reference. As I mentioned before, I had no idea about the plot other than it was horror and I (incorrectly) assumed it would have to do with the actual Bell Witch haunting. There is some of that but as a ~very loose~ lore/background information.

[Book cover of the first book in "The Bell Witch" series featuring a white-haired woman with a scary background]

Book 1: The Harvest

Book 2: Sacrificial Grounds

Book 3: The Witch Cave

Book 4: Spring Slaughter

Book 5: The Leviathan

Book 6: Black River

Our protagonists (and members of the four families cursed by the Bell Witch)

[Small portrait drawings of each character]

Cadwyn Winthrop: Nurse, age 30

Basheba Bell: Vagrant, age 20

Mina Crane: Student, age 17

Ozzie Davis (Sewall): Student, age 15

Ozzie is the audience surrogate, so we are stuck with the teenager for a lot of the first part as we get exposition and get the lore. And --true to life-- a teenager's point of view is annoying (until he's not).

[Chibi drawing of me with a thought bubble thinking "Hmm... it kinda reads like YA and I am not into that anymore. Buuut I already bought it, might as well finish it...". There is a note clarifying it was around chapters 5 - 7]

I continued listening, even when I wasn't fully convinced I would like it. As the story progressed, and I learned more about the characters, I found myself listening to it every chance I had. I never found it scary despite the monsters and the gore, but that didn't matter anymore. I was SOLD on the series.

[There are three panels of me in a chibi style doing different tasks while listening to the audiobook and imagining different scenes]

[Panel 1: Me working and crying. The scene depicts Cadwyn consoling Ozzie, who is sobbing and saying "She broke me, Cadwyn. T-the Witch *sniff* sh-she..." Cadwyn answers with a "You are brave. Basheba is alive because of you. You can rebuild yourself."]

[Panel 2: Me playing videogames while wondering if the scene is supposed to convey flirtiness, but deciding it's not possible. There is a note pointing at me that says "Someone whose ships never become canon". The scene shows Basheba doting on her dog Buck while cooing "Who is the loveliest, handsomest, bestest boy in the world?" and Cadwyn asks playfully "Is it me?" ]

[Panel 3: Me hanging clothes to be dried on the clothesline. The scene is of Cadwyn and Basheba covered in blood and arguing. Cadwyn says "I am not popping your eye out of its socket!" and Basheba shoots back "If you don't, I will stab it out myself!"]

PAGE 3 I finished books 1 - 3 in about a week (if I recall correctly, but there are tweets documenting my journey from back then lmao). I immediately bought and listened to books 4 - 6 and all the ebooks because I already felt the need to have a quick way to reference them --that feeling deep within you when you know you are going to write fanfiction and/or draw fanart.

[Chibi drawing of me tapping on my phone with text all around that says "Buy! Buy! Buy!"]

[Chibi drawing of me and the inside of my head. 90% of my brain is occupied by "The Bell Witch" and the remaining 10% is Bertholdt Hoover.]

The series is not perfect. There are glaring mistakes in the continuity, unfired Chekhov's guns, a lot of things go unexplained, and there is a whole lot of missed opportunities to explore the lore and the characters. (Also, I did not find it scary at all but that may just be a me-thing)

[Chibi drawing of me with my arms crossed and asking myself questions. Why did [redacted] become evil? What was the motivation behind [redacted]? How many sisters did Basheba have? Why mention [redacted] if wasn't going to lead anywhere? NO KISS???]

Despite its defects, I have been OBSESSED with it. I have written over 100k words of fanfiction on them and made a ton of illustrations and doodles. I have bought totally unrelated stuff just because it's named after places or characters ("The Leviathan" dice set, for instance) while pretending it's merch. I have made every single Twitter follower regret following me because I don't shut up about an obscure series that only two people have read (Hi, Marie)

Why? Because it's fun. It wasn't meant to be reread 14 times. It's funny and doesn't take itself seriously, it only wants to entertain. Oh, and the characters. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

[Screenshot of a scene of Bob's Burgers. Linda Belcher gazes lovingly at a collection of figurines singing "If you're not real, then how come I feel this way?"]

Overall, I believe this series is objectively 3.5 or 3.75 out of 5 stars. But after listening to it 10 times (14 at the time I made this comic) it would be unfair of me not to give it 5 stars for all the enjoyment I've gotten from it.

[Drawing of 5 golden stars and an additional 6th blue star. There is a note that states "extra star because it gave me a new OTP"]

NEXT PART: PLOT AND CHARACTERS

[Chibi drawing of me winking saying "Stay tuned"]

[thenichibro]

Spring 2018 Anime First Impressions

Two weeks into the season - basically on schedule by my standards! This season, as always, has ups and downs as well as popular shows I’m not watching (Megalobox) and shows I immediately regret starting (Devils Line). As a further point, I don’t do impressions of sequels, and in this case I’m including Steins;Gate 0 as a sequel because it is so based on the events of the main show. Regardless, here’s what I’m watching with MAL links and original shows marked:

Legend of the Galactic Heroes - Die Neue These (MAL) Look, I'm not going to immediately say go watch the original LOGH, but I'm kidding that's exactly what I'm going to say. LOGH is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. My issue with this series is not that they will not represent the characters badly, but that 110 episodes shoved into 12 episodes and three movies is simply not enough. LOGH has a scale, a grandeur, a weight that is conveyed as you invest yourself into it for hours on end, from bombastic space battles and the minutiae of day-to-day politics. You need both scales, the imperial and the individual, to really experience LOGH, and I feel like 12 episodes isn't enough time to have both. The LOGH remake looks and sounds fine (though with way too much CG and a bit of same-facing with Reinhard and Kircheis), but I am incredibly nervous about the pacing. This is a first impression, and if Production I.G. pulls this off it will be a classic reimagined for a modern audience that deserves it. But I simply don't think that's going to happen. I'm hopeful, but apprehensive. And again, watch the original. It is pure class.

Persona 5 the Animation (MAL) Play the game first. Please.

Devils Line (MAL) A world where vampires exist under the guise of normal people and some lose control and kill under cover of night. Basically Tokyo Ghoul with less of a vampire "society" and more just individual threats, with more of a sexual twist. Tsukasa is our helpless college heroine, adrift as she finishes school, when she finds out the guy who likes her is a serial murderer who wants blood! So wacky! She's saved by Anzai, a calm, collected member of the agency tasked with dealing with vampires, before unintentionally revealing himself a vampire. Yet we are expected to just accept Anzai forcing himself on Tsukasa because he's the savior? Right. Background sound design isn't bad, art/animation are bland and at times awkward. Devils Line is trying real hard to be a new Tokyo Ghoul, but now with more sexual undertones for whatever reason. Pass.

3D Kanojo: Real Girl (MAL) Ah, otaku love. At least it can't be worse than Saekano, right? That'd be a serious challenge. 3D Kanojo follows Tsutsui, an otaku that suffers the typical ostracization of anime, when he meets Iroha, a blunt girl who for once doesn't ostracize him. The first episode has plenty of the classics - falling into a pool, talking about "3D women" being out of his league, heroics when he knows he can't win. Everything you'd expect. By the end of the episode, things progressed a helluva lot more than I expected, in many ways. It seems thus far that the otaku thing is the impetus for Tsutsui's low opinion of himself, rather than anime being the point of the show. More introspective than I would otherwise think, I think 3D Kanojo holds a lot of slight surprises. It's interesting, for sure, and I hope it continues that way.

Tachibanakan Triangle (MAL) One of two short anime I'm watching this season, Tachibanakan follows a girl who moves into a girls apartment complex and gets more yuri than she bargained for.  We've got the fang-sporting short one, the quiet one, the onee-san, the blonde foreigner, you name it. I don't expect a lot of character development or anything similar, but three and a half minutes of yuri sounds just fine to me.

Uma Musume (MAL) First off, props to the show for making the horse girls' names just as stupid as those of real racehorses. I mean, I know it’s because the girls are named after real racehorses, but still. Uma Musume involves a world where horseracing is hugely popular, only the racers are anthropomorphic horse girls. Our main girl is Special Week, a newbie transferring to a popular racing school in Tokyo. She's your typical genki type - eager, energetic, bright-eyed. Enthralled by one of the top girls Silence Suzuka, she aims to become one of the top horse girls in Japan. Oh, and the top horse girls perform as idols after each race. This sure is a mobile game adaptation, god damn. P.A. Works' art looks solid as always (props to the flowing tail animation); the OP and ED are pretty standard idolish stuff. I prefer the ED. Anthropomorphic racing is fine, yet for some reason the idol part is what makes it weird for me. This show is strange, but if it's not much more than cute horse girls doing cute horse girl things, I'll keep paying attention.

SAO Alternative: Gun Gale Online (MAL) I hate SAO. I have a laundry list of reasons that I despised both seasons of SAO. The reason I'm giving GGO a chance is because the main charater is a girl playing a cute chibi girl in-game and she just wants to make friends. Hopefully, that will avoid the terrible pitfall that was anything relating to Kirito. GGO starts right in the action, with a topical Battle Royale mode putting our pink girl and her partner right into the action. The tactics are good and help set up the basic premises of the gametype, if that necessitated a bit too much monologuing by M, the partner. Also, plenty of pouts. Always a bonus. As always the invincibility of the protag is annoying, but I don't really expect breakthrough plot changes from an SAO spinoff. I mean, SAO S1 was good for the first 10 episodes too. Keep this cute girl and not-harem, focus on connecting with others through video games rather than shanking perverts in a parking lot, and it'll be solid.

Hinamatsuri (MAL) A super-powered middle-schooler falls into the life of a nicer-than-normal yakuza. Nitta is the yakuza, with a penchant for fancy porcelain. Hina is the middle-schooler, your typical otherworldly killing machine set into an unfamiliar world. Hinamatsuri puts a lot of good spins on the taking-care-of-a-supernatural-girl trope, with the main character being a yakuza rather than an "average high schooler." Furthermore, there are some nice father-daughter vibes going between the two, though it's clear Hina maintains the upper hand. Won over by Nitta's refusal to use her as just a tool, their life together begins. The comedy is your standard boke/tsukkomi, but the lightning-quick delivery of the lines had me cracking up regardless. Hinamatsuri looks like it could go darker any second, but if it doesn't I'm perfectly content to stay around.

Comic Girls (MAL) Probably the most classic cute girls doing cute things show this season, Comic Girls follows a group of mangaka girls living in a dorm together. Moeta is the worrywart crybaby, Koyume's the genki blonde, Ruki is the less-than-secret pervert, and Tsubasa is the tomboy. There's plenty of nice compliments between the girls' personalities, and Koyume and Moeta seem like a great fit as the newbies in the group. Furthermore, their personalities being informed by the manga they draw allows for a nice exploration of manga cliches through their interactions. This looks to be more on the character-driven side than a deep dive into the logistics of manga production, but that's just fine. Animation and sound aren't really anything special, but they're by no means bad. As a slice-of-life fan I'm all in, even if this show doesn't turn out to be anything super unique.

[ORIG] Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai (MAL) Tada-kun follows, well, Tada-kun - a student and photographer who runs into Teresa, a rich European while taking pictures. Tada-kun, following the show's title "Tada Doesn't Fall in Love," has a calm, somewhat stoic demeanor, while Teresa is your bright, beautiful girl finally in the Japan she'd only seen on TV. After meeting multiple times as Teresa wanders lost, Tada helps her out of the rain before she finds her hotel, right next to his family's coffee shop. And then, of course, she transfers into his school along with her bodyguard, the fiery-tempered Alec. The art is crisp and animated well, and both the OP and ED have their charms. I personally like romance focused tightly on a single pair (Tsuki ga Kirei and Ore Monogatari are two stellar examples), and I hope this delivers. With a single couple development becomes the key, but if this show keeps it up - increasing interactions leading to discovered feelings, all starting from a photo (sounds a bit like Just Because, don't you think?), this will be a emotionally engaging experience.

Fumikiri Jikan (MAL) The other short show I'm watching, Fumikiri Jikan is about conversations while waiting for the train to pass. The first episode ran the gamut all the way from peppy slice of life to romantic character drama. Being so tightly focused on conversations and with limited time, a show like this needs to nail the dialogue to set up the characters each episode. I felt like I almost watched a movie in three minutes this time, and that's a good thing. The main sticking point is that with individual stories each time, quality can vary wildly. This show is a bit strange but equally interesting, but it will certainly depend on the story being told.

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii (MAL) Ah, otaku love. It can't be worse than Saekano, right? That would be a serious challenge. Wotaku ni Koi puts a spin on the genre by situating the main characters as adults who met each other in middle school and just now reconnected. The main cast of four and especially the banner couple Hirotaka and Narumi are uniquely quirky and their personalities gel so well with each other. Despite the long gap in meeting each other I feel the chemistry immediately between the two, and as episode one ends with their relationship actually beginning I'm all in. Not only does Wotakoi change things up by having the main characters as adults but it also gets past all the roundabout bullshit that often bogs down high-school romances. Furthermore, the true enthusiasm with which Hirotaka and Narumi can nerd out about what they like is refreshing, kind of like Animegataris before it became the Matrix. Combine that with a crisp art style and great musical themes, and maybe Wotakoi can provide the grounded otaku love story we've been waiting for. Oh, and fuck the Saekano shout-out. Not that I'm going to let that cloud my thoughts on Wotakoi - I just really, really don't like Saekano.

Golden Kamuy (MAL) This season's "a popular manga is finally getting an anime" show, Golden Kamuy is the story of a soldier and an Ainu girl suriving in the north of Japan in the Ruso-Japanese War era just after the turn of the 20th century. The pair aims to find a hidden treasure, stolen from the Ainu and stashed by a criminal somewhere, with the location hidden on tattoos of various escaped prisoners. I enjoy historical shows, and Kamuy is great in that it is more than just feudal Japan or something similar - the snowy, late-Meiji Hokkaido setting is undoubtedly unique. Sugimoto, the soldier, has earned his nickname "Immortal" due to his war exploits, and his personality shows it - confident in his skills yet cautious of threats. Asirpa, the Ainu, is the resourceful, collected partner Sugimoto needs in the wilds of Hokkaido, and shares Sugimotos motivations, having lost her father to the criminal who hid the treasure. The art is clean, and while the main characters look good there needs to be mention of the awful-looking CG of the two bears and the wolf that make appearances in the first episode. It just looks horrible. The dynamic between Sugimoto and Asirpa is great - the contrast between violence and peace especially - and I look forward to see where they're going. I only wish the overall tone was more consistent - the first episode is a great solemn look at the task in front of them, while the second episode inserts a whole lot of "comedic" moments that seem out of place with the action and Sugimoto himself. Regardless, quick shout-out to Man With a Mission for the OP - one of my favorite bands and this song is no exception.

[team-crtq]

RWBY Volume 5 Episode 5 Review

Mod Quartz here again! Look’s like I was right to choose the first episode in each cycle because DAMN, I drew an interesting episode this time around.

So our episode starts off with Sun and Blake going around trying to convince some of the Fanaus of Meangrie to sign a petition it seems to protect Haven Academia while it seems like the animators are looking for every animal trait they can find to meld with one of the character models. I will give credit to animators that they at least try to give Meangrie’s population some more variety as to show the diverse range of Fanaus that can result in their race. Although some do confuse like the more aquatic Fanaus. Do they have the ability to breath underwater? Can they only live in water? Do they reproduce like mammals or like fish? I get that they can’t go into depth so much since theres so little time but, maybe create a World Of Remnant series to play in the off months to explain more. I’m sure losing one or two episodes of RWBY chibi wouldn’t be much compared to clarifying the lore a bit more.

Any how, while Sun ad Blake try to recruit some people to help them (in which Sun almost recruits an unknowning teen but to be far, he was like a foot taller than him), nobody seems to want to help. As Blake explains, the people who came willingly to Meangrie and weren’t born on the island came because they were sick of the pressure and trials of living with humans and just want to be left alone which makes sense. Why else would you choose to live in DEATH AUSTRALIA other than to get away from people? l though I have to wonder about Blake’s line about “putting the world before themselves” line. Is about the world or the humans? We never see WHY they are being rejected which would help here but sadly, we don’t get anything and that keeps us in the dark.

Blake then goes onto say that Adam’s actions will affect them whether they want it to or not as his actions while speaking on behalf of the Fanaus will make things worse for everyone. And sadly this is true. When there is a bad group of people in any vaguely connected group, they all get ht bwith the bad reputation. That’s why organizations like the KKK are bad: Because not only to they harm people for no real reason but then everyone even vaguely connected to them gets hit with their stigma as well. And considering how the White Fang participated in taking down Beacon, things will get ugly if they take out Haven as well.

Then we have Sun not-too-subtly trying to get to know his competition (I know that probably wasn’t his intention but I couldn’t resist.) And Buddy, even with your following, you are still a way better choice than Douchey McStabbyTerrorist. So Blake goes onto explain why she liked Adam and whys he feels the way about him she does now. She says that she has meet people who are basically the embodiment of words and we get her opinions on the reast of Team RWBY (and Sun) before Adam with Ruby being “purity”, Weiss being “defiance”, Yang being “Strength” and Sun being on the fence with a leaning to “Earnest.” Well the Blake shippers are gonna have a field day with this.

Anyway, she goes onto explain Adam. At first she describes him as Justice then as Passion before settling on Spite. And she makes it clear that it isn’t Rage or Hate like we believed him to be but Spite. Blake talks about how Adam operates, how he refuses equality to instead cause suffering to the world he thinks made him suffer before talking Illa and how Adam’s way of thinking is dangerously contiguous. And that really does make sense. It’s really easy to blame the world for your problems and try to enact vengeance on the world for what it did to you.  It’s easy to see yourself as justified in taking back what was taken from you, “eye for an eye” as the saying goes. But it also brings to mind “eye for an eye and the whole world’s blind”: Adam has gone too far to the point that other people are his victims and can take a shot at his eyes. Thus the cycle would keep going and going and going until the whole world breaks down. It emphasies the need to let go and work for the greater good.

We then hear Blake talk a bit about Illa, how she admired Illa for fighting in the White Fang despite the fact that she could pass as human, how she was trained with Illa in how to fight and how to survive and how when Sienna and Adam rose to power, Ill as well as herself became more dangerous people as a whole. Sun then asks what she is gonna do and Blake replies that she’s gonna do for Illa what Sun did for her: be there even as they push others away. This is actually pretty nice as while Sun made a few mistakes in Volume 4 (It was Volume 4, everyone was making mistakes Mostly the writers.), so did Blake. Here we see Blake accepting that and moving beyond that. Blake’s truly developing here. 

After that, we cut to Oscar training with the cane while Ruby walks down to tell him that dinner is ready. Oscar talks a little about how he never really fought before and how he feels so at home with the cane, as though he has had it for a lifetime or even longer. ... DUnno what to make of this with Ozpin so I’ll just move on. Ruby then says that if he keeps training he’ll be readyin no time, dropping Penny’s old Euphamism of “Combat Ready!” And then she goes sad, much like the entire fandom at that line. Oscar catches on and tries saying something but Ruby just tries walking away. This is rather important in that t shows that Ruby still refuses to properly process and grieve for her dead friends. Ruby, for all her strength, is still a child who can’t properly process death well enough.

Then Oscar asks her how she can be okay with everything going, talking about how he’s overwhelmingly scared and how he never asked for any of this. Ruby tries comforting him by saying that she and her friends went to Beacon to help people but how they needed to keep going, which Oscar snaps and lashes out at her about how people have tried to kill her and the world’s about to go to war and how she’s okay with this. We see Ruby look down from Oscar’s gaze and see Oscar calm down right before we get perhaps the greatest speech from Ruby Rose we’ve had yet.

She talks about how when Beacon fell, she lost Pyrrha and Penny. She talks about how even though she didn’t spend a whole lot of time with Penny and Pyrrha, they were still some of the kindest people she knew. She also talked about how that was able to save them and how Pyrrha, in trying to help the world, died knowing she couldn’t win. Ruby talks about how she’s scared, not just for herself but for the whole world because of the ruthlessness she exhibits. She goes onto talk about how she’s in pain from their deaths, how she didn’t get to have more time with them...and how it would have been her instead, where Pyrrha and Penny would have kept fighting no matter the danger. Ruby says that’s why she keeps fight and why she keeps moving forward. Socar walks up to Ruby and smiles thankfully at her while Ruby returns it, wipes away her tears and walks away, giving him words of encouragement.

... I’m probably gonna make a post about this scene in particular and how much it shows Ruby’s strength but for now, let’s say that is very rare for this sentiment to be shown in such a real context.

We stay with Oscar a bit as he talks to Ozpin, who calls Ruby remarkable. Oscar responds by saying that she must have been one of the best huntresses at Beacon. WHile Ozpin admits that Ruby has her own fair share of quirks and flaws like everyone, he talks about how Ruby is able to inspire and keep people moving in spite of the odds. Oscar concludes that things must be hard on her and Ozpin reassures that notion rather grimly.

And to the final scene, we see the Fox Fanaus brothers finishing a message and trying to discuss their thoughts (well, one is, the taller, bigger one just wants to do his duty) while standing in front of what can only be called a WHITE FANG SHRINE. Jesus, Sun calling the White Fang a “cult” is really looking appropriate right now. Especially as when Illa comes in, she bows to them until she is ordered up and the smaller twin refers to the Mistral branch as a “brotherhood.” Listen everyone, I don’t scare easily. I’m a horror movie fan and I once laughed my ass off at the entire line of Hellraiser movies. So know that when I say this, I mean it: I’m freaking scared here.

Although I really love Illa here. She clearly doesn’t like Sienna being killed by Adam as she is shown to vsbly look away upon hearing this and when asking about her, she’s smiling. Sadly, Sienna is said to be buried with honor. (Hey, I at least understood where Sienna was coming from so she does deserve some honor.) And when the taller brother tells her about the story being told to the other branches, she’s seen looking down when calling it a necessary sacrifice. Illa’s being pushed far here and you can tell from her demeanor.

The Fox brothers go on to say that they have another mission which Illa says she’ll do. They talk about how the White Fang is going through a transitional period (read: conversion to true terrorism) and Illa says that for the betterment of the Fanaus, they can do it. They go on to explain how they have control or information in Meangrie and how news of Adam’s takeover hasn’t reached them yet. However, when it does, the people will resist it due to Ghira speaking against them. And because of that, they need to be “silenced” since as, like Sienna, they prevent “true progress.” And since Illa knows Blake, she is integral to the mission. And when she tries talking about the people, they make a vague threat about enforcing control and how they’ll be without a leader until their victory is certain.

And throughout this Illa is looking scared as hell. She is clearly shocked that they would ask her to kill Blake and her family and how they would destabilize Menagrie just to assert power. It’s clear here that Illa is being pushed to the breaking point and its ems the brother’s know this as they rationalize their actions as a “necessary sacrifice.” It’s clear what they are doing here: Trying to rationalize everything they do to avoid people seeing just how deep in the murk they are. It’s what all radicals do.

And Illa exits the scene as they discuss the possibility of Ghira being a martyr before playing Stabby McAbuseyDick’s message. Basically: Man scorned, want girl alive but suffering. Usual Adam stuff. He is clearly insane here, something that even the BROTHERS notice. They rationalize it as being necessary for their now leader, showing that even THEY have more standards and have a more just reason than Adam. Then someone knocks at the door and we see a bat Fanaus by the name of Yuna informing them that he killed a messenger of Ghira’s while the episode ends with them assured that their plans are set. 

All in all, it was another good episode. I really enjoyed the Oscar and Ruby part as we got to see the stress of the duty hit Oscar and see how much Ruby has grown. The last scene with the brothers scared treh crap out of me due to the parallels with cults and just how much I could see this happening in real life. And while I wasn’t a big fan of the first part (mostly because I’m not a Blake fan and that it should have been more detailed): it was still a solid addition and was necessary to set up Blake’s next step in her plotline. Volume 5 seems to be trying to patch up the problems from the previous Volumes and it seems to be doing a pretty good job. Although time will tell if things continue like this.

Until then, see ya in Episode 9!