#i definitely have a gintama problem | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

joelletwo · 9 months ago

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wrestling with the 4devas bitchslap again to convince myself its fine if graveyard wins the best ep tourney: it's not the other bloggers who are wrong, it's me

not a complete response to but definitely in conversation with and asking some of the same questions again as @reductionisms's 4devas essay, which tries to square gintoki's "life doesn't need to be fun, i just need you to live" being a series-sanctioned message he's given to villains as an arc-concluding moral continuously up until 4devas with it here being an incorrect worldview that needs to be (physically) corrected by shinpachi, the straightman tonal signpost of gintama

a conflict i have been perplexed by ever since i got to this line on my first watch a year or two ago, since i've seen this line before! all over fandom! as part of the general "dont [bottom text] kill yourself" motivational messaging of gintama that i love!

and, briefly, when i hit 4devas i was also in the middle of being really frustrated by the new arc pattern i was seeing crop up: i loved the villains-turned sympathetic-turned someone worth saving by gintoki tune of the first half of gintama, but it fell massively flat for me in Yoshiwara in Flames, where i was never convinced to be on housen's side but had to watch him get a heartwarming redemptive death at the side of the woman he abused anyways.

then shortly after i had the same exact experience in Red Spider with jiraia, and i thought, if this is what gintama is gonna do with its shitty dudes from now on im gonna quit the fucking show. and then shortly after that i met jirochou and saw him cut down otose the woman he loved (under a raining sky!!! the fucking sky motifs!!! the signpost im about to watch a dude be shittily violent to women and be expected to feel sorry for him about it) and saw too much red to really take in the rest of the arc level-headedly or care about anything in it lol.

so it was written off in my mind as the 'otose almost gets fridged' arc until i rewatched it this week. then i had to remember, oh yeah, there's a ton of political maneuvering fakeouts in this arc that i never actually squared back with how the plot presented itself prior to the reveals, so i'd still been thinking about the "fakeout" plot. then i read the manga version with all the "truths" in mind from the start, and finally i felt like i could understand what this arc is doing a little better.

(way) tldr (4.4k words. sorry): do i love this arc? eh. do i still hate it? eh. but it's doing stuff!

first, i was able to see an echo in all the "actually i was planning to betray you the whole time" "actually i was working to help you the whole time" plot beats of what sorachi does with the larger edo/universe story further into the back half of the manga. if i ever sound like i didnt enjoy or wasnt convinced by the execution of these "reveals," it's because i didnt and wasnt, lol. but it's fun that he had fun with them i guess.

the arc starts with pirako ingratiating herself into yorozuya, then having a classic "bump into you and pretend to be injured to extort you" encounter w her dad's gang. to resolve this without escalating into violence, gintoki... does it back to them, which is really funny. but thus the tone is set for the arc of: DISHONEST APPROACHES TO CONFLICT.

pirako isnt honest about her overall intentions the, like, seven different times that she "admits her real ones." kada plays at peacekeeper in the devas while being the ultimate person scheming to get the upper hand over everyone else in the end. (she's also secretly harusame, evil amanto outsider who acts as a unifying force for the kabukicho fighting itself to band together against and expel: sorachi's favorite move! the problem was never internal, it's the shadowy REAL antagonists who infiltrated us)

jirochou and otose are ultimately doing a pantomime of conflict to try to keep temperatures down and escalations from breaking out, so no one they care about has to get hurt. gintoki doesn't know this until the end, but he follows in their footsteps after his encounter with them in the graveyard: he plays at having given up to the rest of yorozuya so they'll leave and escape the coming kabukicho war, the same thing otose was trying with him. it fails both times. i'm really not sure why gintoki and otose thought it would work, honestly. they should know their kids are stubborn as hell.

but gintoki is in a bind because of the things he needs to protect, and all of his actions are primarily in service of that, to the detriment of how he'd prefer to act if he were less restricted. he is unsurprised and unoffended to hear saigou is only willing to warn them, not help them, because her son is in danger if she acts directly. all four devas are, seemingly, being mutually restrained this way, holding back even when blatantly manipulated to do so. the other constant of this arc: everyone is dishonest, and no one wants to risk losing what they have.

gintoki understands that! of course! he's had to make that calculus before, after all :)

and this arc is just one big cliff scene echo: the entire graveyard scene pushing gintoki to emotional regression because he thinks he's losing another parent figure, one he's just seen the Gintoki Figure of the arc cut down, no less (takasugi stolen valor when he goes berserk against him and only ends up uselessly bleeding out on the ground about it, honestly). otose goes into this willingly so gintoki can live. he accepts this decision because he values protecting her values (her kids living on) and is briefly broken by it (the story says, before giving him shinpachi to "put him back on track"). prior to the bitchslap, after saying he just wants them to live, even if it has to be without him, he says:

i dont have a good understanding of when we start getting reveals of gintoki's backstory versus foreshadowing because i went into gintama already knowing most of it, but definitely by the recent red spider where we get our first real look at (or really, first listen to) shouyou. but here we actually get some of what gintoki felt about it, which he keeps closely guarded even when the whole truth comes out: he's done his best to survive having lost, but it was so unbearable he can't face losing again.

(also, honorable mention backstory echo, the person calling him a brother sets his home on fire to drive him and his parent figure out of town. as i liveblogged: this one would really hurt gintoki if gintoki cared about anything oboro ever did!)

but with the shinpachi story-rerouting, they get the good end, keep everyone (otose, yorozuya, all of kabukicho, even pirako and her dad - everyone but kada) safe without having to sacrifice a single thing, even keep gintoki hopeful for this outcome. so, as goose points out, we are left to understand that there could have been a good end on the cliff, that something is different here than there, and, skipping a lot of math, that that is the people around gintoki.

which i do find really funny to imagine as a slam on takasugi and katsura. sorry you kids suck too much, your teacher dies bc u were cringefail. but lets look at it.

everyone is dishonest, no one wants to risk what they have: gintoki rallies himself to keep fighting but is determined to do it alone. kagura and shinpachi fight him on this; they can't leave because they don't want to lose their home, they can't let him fight alone because they don't want to lose him. they're just as restricted by what they have to keep safe, but their only option is to act where everyone else's is inaction. shinpachi says:

if i may skip over the bitchslap itself for now, gintoki does consent to let his allies fight with him after it. yorozuya stands alone against saigou, who's heavily demoralized but resigned, strongarmed into fighting them by the threat to her son. but on seeing their resolve to keep protecting their own precious home and family she says:

and, to skip straight to my thought, i think this is what turns the tides back in their favor. there are more twists and turns to the fight. pirako equates what binds saigou, which she herself equates to what binds the yorozuya, to what binds her:

(with an intentional distinction that she's willing to actively destroy the others', as opposed to their purely self defensive fighting, which is echoed at some point in her distinguishing gintoki from jirochou in the same way, that jirochou not only lives to protect like gintoki but is willing to destroy in the process. i don't find that part as interesting, but it's more fuel to the power of having something to protect as a driving force as an arc theme.)

so now all three stand on the same ground, absolutely unwilling to give up what they hold dear, but all their cards are on the table. they aren't dealing in 12 dimensions of tricksy defensive pre-emptive moves anymore. they know it wouldnt work, anyways, since they all know their drives to protect are the same and no one will be talked into backing down. now they can directly duke it out and let the winner be determined that way, on strength of will. even before the actual circumstances change, the fight somehow feels freer seeing how inevitable it is. and with everything out in the open, yorozuya can now protect each other and saigou's son, taking out one side of the conflict.

(and with everything out in the open, the ultimate 4devas villain can become the single person who continues to betray the others, kada, whose further machinations - with everything out in the open! - saigou (and later yorozuya) can choose to protect pirako from. everyone wins! because everything was out in the open! do you see where i'm going)

and so we come back to the question: gintoki is corrected, the arc is rerailed to the better outcome. so is the correction justified?

what does the correction accomplish outside of its moment? most convincingly to me of goose's presented options, i also think it's done as a thematic shift, a, okay, just live was a strategy that worked before but now doesn't suffice, so we need something more.

as to why this is needed now and not earlier or later...tldr bad planning <3 but like.

we have, prior to this, a consistent thrust of arcs where gintoki teaches people to lose. as well, while we meet the harusame and we visit space and we get the barest glimpses of takasugi's weird shadowy background moves there, largely we're dealing with kabukicho characters and kabukicho stories. we see or only hear about the shogun for short comedic moments only. we've largely dropped the series intro focus on things like the shinsengumi or hasegawa acting as foreign diplomats. it's a local series, a hometown series, a kabukicho and not even an edo at large series, a personal story about gintoki making personal connections with his personal experience as a flawed person with a flawed approach to life that has let him, chronic slacker, get by on the bare minimum.

at this moment, chapter 300, we have a slow trickle of gintoki backstory starting to come out to us. we've recently expanded the story focus to include yoshiwara, which gets a callout in this arc by kada to keep it relevant. we have an arc of sorachi testing out plot beats that he'll use again for the endgame, in all the political maneuvering and alliancing and betraying and shadowy outsider space governmenting, where he's also doing a lot of echoing of that backstory that only becomes clear later. so it's possible he's thinking about shifting gears and setting up for the eventual endgame, which means getting out of the episodic cycle so things can stick.

and after this arc, to my opinion and memory, we stop getting the classic gintama flavor sympathizable'd antagonists. a lot of the bigger arcs don't even have clear Big Shot antagonists anymore, being more about the shouyoucore theme of characters fighting against themselves, or if there is one they're always explicitly part of the Shadow Government now, a unified and more daunting force than someone they can win over with an inspiring gintoki interaction.

so 4devas does act as a turning point at least in some way. and it's not possible to say this definitively, since all gintama arcs are ultimately never going to be about gintoki or his friends Actually losing something instead of beating the odds, but it does feel like theres a different flavor to, say, dekobokko with its direct look at how chars lives could be different and better and they will still choose to keep struggling as themselves. and Kintama arc definitely doesn't feel like an early days arc, like it can only resolve the way it does with a gintoki who is now able to face his past and the possibility of losing again and again and again (now with, natch, his faith that yorozuya will by his side when he does).

why now, after 300 chapters of letting it sit ignored in the back of his brain working out perfectly fine except when it doesn't (the very reminder of shouyou in a fight making him go Demon Mode, which is like regular gintoki but worse at fighting, bc he is so unprepared to think about shouyou)? well i personally am in big favor of the "take a decade off" strategy for facing problems. it worked for me too. realistically watsonianly its nice to let things percolate in the brain and do some of the processing behind the scenes until its less immediately painful. and he's made many bonds over these 300 chapters, shown in this arc when the whole town rallies behind him, that are there to support him when he needs it now and weren't there before.

realistically doylistly eh. bad planning.

and so we come back to the question: gintoki is corrected, the series as a result is rerailed to a writing space where things can start changing (leave the episodic, as you guys say, sazae-san format). it's useful in the future. so is the correction justified in terms of what comes before it? was the correction needed?

thinking about the bitchslap leads to thinking about the cliff scene leads to (sorry kagura and katsura, you guys arent really relevant here) pitting shinpachi and takasugi against each other in how they act with something on the line they can't bear to give up.

i don’t need the lesson of 4devas to apply logistically to the cliff scene. once they were set up on that chessboard, frozen in their assigned places as a backstory, it’s not like takasugi could’ve power of friendship’d his way out of being physically retrained if he decided he wanted to. it’s set up as a forced choice, it has to play out as a forced choice.

but we see that even before it’s asked of him, takasugi is willing, prepared, unbothered to give up his own life for shouyou’s. this is, goose lays out in the sequel, the cardinal sin in gintama - a teacher shouldn’t outlive their student. it would have been especially egregious to shouyou, whose whole desired life’s purpose is to raise students who can outlive him and outgrow him, take his lessons and go out into the world and do their own thing with them. takasugi doesn’t expect to do this and doesn’t seem to see a point in the possibility if shouyou isn’t back with them.

though we can also think of shouyou as a little too quickly willing to give up on the cliff - sorry, gintoki, the suicidal guy has thought about it for .02 seconds and decided the best outcome is for you to kill him even though he could get out of this no problem. maybe its no wonder gintoki gave up too. can we ask katsura what he would’ve done?

and is takasugi different from shinpachi there? he rejects the mentor’s attempt to exchange his own life for his. he’s not willing to consider a life without him.

but shinpachi is convinced no one is going to die. because they’ll be there together. incredibly naive - shinpachi and kagura, restricted to one option by what they need to protect like everyone is in 4devas, have acting as that one option because they are still free in a way gintoki and the other adults aren't. they’ve never actually experienced the impossible choice that forces you to give up, so they can act as if there isn’t one - what else would they do? why would they think to give up?

but gintoki is defined by having lived the impossible choice. its built into the foundation of him as a character and leaks out everywhere. he couldn’t have relied on his friends on the cliff because they were quite forcibly removed from the picture as an option, not by his or their choice. its written as an inevitability, logistics we find out later be damned.

if we refocus to 4devas, we can look at the Gintoki Figure for a different angle. jirochou, after he and gintoki resolve the arc conflict by being able to team up because they - say it with me - put everything out in the open, tells gintoki about his impetus for abandoning his family and coming back to his wayward life in kabukicho, the death of otose's husband.

it's, um, another now really obvious parallel to gintoki, lol. characters talk about how jirochou does everything he does in this arc to try to atone for his failure to both otose and tatsugorou, and i guess thats true bc he was written that way but he has an odd way of showing it, but anyways he resolves that, despite his guilt over this, all he can do now is keep living and keep protecting what they loved together. he's come to the usual gintama message all on his own, reinforcing that this is the correct way to live in this series. he had his own unavoidably shitty situation, and he came to terms with it.

so then where did jirochou go wrong, in the narrative's eyes (other than abandoning one woman and their child to deal drugs in the town of his other woman while ignoring her)? was there a point he could've changed how their trio's story played out? but he loved and trusted tatsugorou, and he was happy to step aside and let him be the one by their otose's side. i doubt he would have been happy stealing her away even if it were possible.

but if we look at the resolution tool of 4devas... he never put everything out in the open!!! everyone knows he loved otose, but in more of an open secret way. in classic romance plot, he never confessed for second male lead rejection closure. indeed, in the closest we ever get to a main character having a romantic plot in gintama, the very ending of the arc flirts with him doing just that now that he's made a little progress with the arc message, with the entire cast of the arc expecting him to (and interrupting before he can).

but if he had when they were young. if he had been honest with his friends. could it have opened up other options that weren't available on his own, that they didnt know to offer? i have a preferred one lol. but u can get creative with all sorts of life paths that avoid tatsugorou dying that way or, at the least, jirochou feeling chained to a shameful life (living in a town he doesn't go out in to protect a woman he doesnt talk to and feeling like he doesnt deserve the family he abandoned for this) because of it.

and then if we take this and rewind back to the cliff... we get to grind my favorite ax, "shouyou shouldve told literally anyone literally anything about his deal." if gintoki knew more about shouyou, they could've faced his horrors together, the whole time. he couldve known that shouyou was being literal calling himself a demon and not internalized his own identity as one for life just because shouyou bonded with him over it. i truly genuinely think the logical conclusion of all of gintama's big messages are that shouyou and gintoki should have been more open with each other.

but i don't think sorachi thinks that. and, you know, by 4devas rules, the unriskable precious things he was protecting by staying silent were his students' humanity, and secondarily his own fragilely newly hopeful heart that literally couldnt stand another 10 millionth round of rejection (killed himself and then went on a 12 year rampage over it. girl i would too).

and takasugi really isn't dishonest about what's going on in his head when he tells us he expects to die for shouyou. that's as cards on the table as i could ask. gintoki is, a little bit, by omission. he does what i'd want him to here - tells takasugi try just not dying - but doesn't give him a reason to, and doesn't tell him he has no plans of letting anyone die for shouyou.

so what goes wrong on the cliff - shouyou is happy, gintoki is happy, oboro's even kind of happy, katsura is irrelevant - is that takasugi is blindsided (whoops) by their silent agreement that betrays the one he thought he and gintoki had. and then ruins everyone's party about it and spends the next ten years doing so for good measure.

which is also, basically, what shinpachi is going through that prompts the bitchslap, too. he thought they were a team, that they had each others backs, not that gintoki is a one-way protector of them. he is blindsided by gintoki lying to and tricking them and hiding things from them. he is hurt by gintoki feeling hopeless all by himself when he could share that with them and be encouraged by their endless child optimism.

and would it need to have changed anything on the cliff? in the moment after the bitchslap, what contributes to gintoki changing his mindset is tama telling him, we trust that you're capable bc youve always shown us that, can you trust us this time? when, later in the arc, gintoki seems to regress by sending kagura and shinpachi away, he asks them to trust that he's still trusting them, relying on them to help shoulder his burden, and in return they know he's staying alive, not self sacrificing. maybe it would've helped just to feel on the same team and not shut out, to be able to trust gintoki like gintoki was trusting shouyou?

so. two paralleled instances of gintoki making a bad situation worse by keeping to himself and being too self sufficient. that feels clear cut that feels fine im okay with that as a takeaway. do i think its exactly what sorachi had in mind while writing this, as opposed to just a good series 'hey lean on your friends' moment to read cool and tug at the heartstrings? eh lol. i think theres definitely room to read takasugi into this arc (i still need to refind the takagin 4devas post...) but its not so baked in that i think he was a PRIORITY in the plotting.

but is the shinpachi SCOLDING necessary is the scolding justified... and yes its in response to life doesnt need to be fun i just want you to live. still a confusing framing i can't immediately square. but/and more immediately its directly responding. to gintoki opening up to them about his insecurities!!

which, as said, he doesnt do!! he doesnt talk about his failures! its basically like, here and to hijikata that one time and otherwise even when we know all the facts about what happened we still never hear gintoki himself talk about it. (so he really DOESNT learn the lesson here either. he stays dissociated and triggered every time utsuro comes up. he tries to solve the altana baby problem on his own. he doesnt talk to his new friends OR his old friends. bwah. gintoki. silver soul.)

so this is like. its just in the wrong order!! its just in a baffling order lol. if you want gintoki to share his burden do you need to punch him when he shares it. does it also need to sound like you're blaming him for not being capable of upholding his promise to protect anyone when thats the insecurity thats got him all discombobulated this arc in the first place (a whole set of notes i took on this that i didnt find a place for in this post)?? its so weeeeiiiiiirddd lol i dont liiikeee itttttt. theres plenty of things shinpachi can validly punch gintoki for but this is such a weird one.

so i guess. having a clearer understanding of this arc do i hate it less? YES honestly. i hate fakeout plots generally they irritate me but everything... more or less makes sense by gintama standards now that i have the whole plot in mind.

do i hate jirochou less SORT OF? i enjoy him. in his individual relationships. i like his shitty dad deal i love shitty dads. i like him pining for otose who genuinely likes him but also brings up her husband every sentence she says to him just to keep him down. i like his parallels with gintoki that they both explicitly acknowledge and find macho comfort in. hes still not theeeeeeeee most well-developed gintama antagonist but you know? i at least think otose and pirako would want to be around him after this.

do i feel like i have a clearer understanding of the bitchslap moment. NOT CONVINCED I DO. i feel like its going to be one of those things that slips in and out of my understanding like sand in cupped hands. i have a tentative understanding of it that i dont think sorachi actually had in mind. so i dont think ive solved it lol.

will i be cursed to think about 4devas forever? god i hope not. am i okay with it beating farewell shins in the polls. god i fucking hope it does. in the horrible timeline where i have to see 305 make it all the way and then lose i guess id rather it be to this one than to hijigin. consider this poll propaganda?

#sopping wet gintoki posting

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wanderersrest · 7 months ago

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Filling in the Blanks of An Abbreviated History of Mecha

As I worked on An Abbreviated History, it dawned on me that using a broad definition of mecha makes this a rather intense project. The more I went on, the more I thought "What about Gaiking/Hades Project Zeorymer/Gravion/Genesis of Aquarion," or "Maybe I should list Dragon Ball as an honorary mecha show," or "Would Dragon Ball technically BE a mecha show," or "Should I have mentioned Panzer World Galient?" You get the idea. It's also not helped by the fact that I have not watched most of these shows, so the most I can give of a description is, at best, superficial.

My problem is that if I had kept on second-guessing myself, I'd never finish this series. So this post's purpose is twofold:

To kick off a more long-term project that will fill in the many, many, many gaps in An Abbreviated History of Mecha.

To bring to light and to give you, dear reader, an idea of just how expansive mecha is.

So here's a, once again, incomplete list of mecha that was not covered in the original An Abbreviated History of Mecha series:

Gaiking

Kotetsu Jeeg/Steel Jeeg

Danguard Ace

Super Beast Machine King Dancouga

Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh/Matchless Raijin-Oh

Robot Jox

Heavy Gear

Genesis of Aquarion

Gotcha Force

Dragon Ball

gen:Lock (begrudgingly)

Giant Gorg

Armor Hunter Mellowlink

Gravion

Vandread

Ex-Arm (also begrudgingly, although given more time to think, I don't know if Ex-Arm actually counts anymore)

Hades Project Zeorymer

Megazone 23

Break Blade (originally was a part of Part 6 but was cut since, moreso than most shows, I didn't really have much to say about it)

Planet With

Granblem

Majestic Prince

Heavy Object

Obsolete

Gasaraki

Genocyber

Blue Gender

Flag

Knights of Sidonia

Porco Rosso

Howl's Moving Castle (the Ghibli Film, not the books, although if you squint I think you could count House of Many Ways)

The Wind Rises

Gintama (Tama out here carrying this stupid-ass series by herself)

Shogun Warriors (special thanks to Owlsounds for pointing this one out)

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Waters

The Princess and the Pilot

Medarot/Medabots

Zoids

Red Giant

Tryder G7

The Spider-Man Tokusatsu series

Iron Man

Rah'Xephon

Knights and Magic

Fafner of the Azure

Cross Ange

Robotics;Notes

And many, many, many more. If I missed any series on here that you think should have been mentioned here that was also missing in the original An Abbreviated History of Mecha, please let me know.

#anime and manga #mecha #an abbreviated history of mecha

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dropintomanga · 8 months ago

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What Smoking Entails in Manga

Last year, a survey was given to Japanese manga publishers about what top 5 manga to recommend for 2023 and the number one title was symbolic of many things related to Japanese culture - one of which was smoking.

The title was called Smoking Behind the Supermarket With You by Jinushi. I got a chance to read Volume 1 recently and it's a very fascinating romantic comedy about a middle-aged salaryman and a early 20s' female convenience store clerk and how they're bound by their love of smoking. The author made a comment saying that their admiration of how cool smoking was in fiction was a huge inspiration in creating the story.

Which got me thinking about how much smoking is prevalent in the anime and manga worlds and how much characters who smoke are beloved by many.

When I was still exploring new titles to follow in my '20s, one that stood out to me was Great Teacher Onizuka. The main character was someone who was a total idiot, but was pretty badass. Oh yeah, he smoked. I later got into Rurouni Kenshin and fell in love with Saito Hajime. Oh yeah, he smokes. A LOT. It's funny because I got into comics because of X-Men and the characters Wolverine and Gambit smoked quite a bit. I liked both, but not as much as the anime/manga characters who smoked.

When you think about it, there's a lot of anime/manga characters who smoke. Sanji from One Piece, Revy from Black Lagoon, Nara Shikamaru from Naruto, Toshiro Hijikata from Gintama, several adult characters from Cowboy Bebop (like Spike Siegel pictured above) - I could go on.

In video games, there's Yakuza/Like a Dragon characters and one of my favorite heroines ever, VA-11 Hall-A's Jill Stingray, smokes.

I love how cool all of those characters look when they smoke and I don't even smoke. I don't want to because of all the health risks smoking entails. My father used to be a smoker, but quit before I reached junior high school because he was having health problems.

At the same time, I do something a bit silly. I pretend to smoke with the air around me. I like to pretend I'm holding an imaginary cigarette to my mouth and inhale/exhale oxygen when no one's looking. It's a habit I've built from following my favorite characters who smoke.

Smoking is indeed something that shouldn't be romanticized. But I think about why people smoke in the first place - particularly my dad and Chinese people (particularly men) smoked. I remember one time when I was at a Chinese doctor's office, there was a video played for Chinese people addicted to smoking. There was a doctor in the video who said when Chinese people immigrate to the United States, they're often exposed to a lot of stressors (usually related to acculturation) that weigh a ton. Smoking is one way to help process and relieve their stress. They're coming from a country where smoking is definitely the norm in their culture.

There's a lot of talk about smoking being a sign of maturity and surviving through tough times. I decided to look up the relationship between smoking and mental health/illness. It's not surprising that there's negative effects. People with depression and anxiety may smoke a bit more than those who aren't affected by them. What makes it really hard for them to quit is that smoking has social benefits. Nicotine can help calm nerves and make smokers feel more confident in behaving in a proper social manner.

When I think about the many characters who smoke, smoking does help them before they get ready to take on a big task involving other people. It's literally the calm before the storm. Hell, I do "oxygen smoke" as a way to feel calm before facing reality or having big conversations with my friends. But I was drilled so hard by United States anti-drug programs (when compared to Asia) that I didn't want to feel like I was dying. That's why I never took the plunge despite the coolness of smoking found in Japanese media and try to encourage anti-smoking measures. Plus I think it helped that I wasn't super-stressed despite my mental illness to the point where I resorted to substances. Plus I had people who genuinely cared about my well-being and a somewhat optimistic belief in the best of humanity.

While Japanese media (and other Asian media in general) continues to showcase smoking to a decent degree, there's contentious pushback in America over the portrayal of smoking in their media. Yet smoking rates in Japan have gone down though quite a bit over the years due to anti-smoking measures. It's not as low as health organizations would like, but progress is progress.

The only thing I think we can agree on is that the world is so cruel and there should be wider acknowledgement of how the bad parts of life can lead people down to dangerous substances in order to cope. I think this is what creators intend to show when they have characters who smoke. Yeah, they look cool, but they're flawed people trying to find some sense of meaning/connection to worlds that disappoint them over and over again.

We're just trying to find ways to breathe life into inner peace, whether it's with oxygen or smoke.

#smoking #psychology of smoking #mental health #culture #Japanese culture #manga #anime

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sakukaguxxi · 7 months ago

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Yakult and Tobacco Part 2 | Gintama

Word count: 2.7k

C/W's: none

Summary: This is a continuation of Yakult and Tobacco, which is post-chapter 704. Part 2 takes place about 3 weeks after the end of Part 1. The Kiheitai meet Otsu and reveal what happened to Tsunpo (Bansai).

a/n: This is my 2nd Gintama fic almost one year after the 1st. I had an idea to continue the story but didn't have it planned from the beginning. You don't have to read the first Yakult and Tobacco to read this one I guess, but this is a definite sequel, and it'd be nice if more people read that too if they haven't already. As I've said before, I hope this isn't too bad. Likes and reblogs are appreciated!

Read Part 1

______

On a particular day, the Yorozuya had no plans or jobs scheduled, and it might’ve been an uneventful day if not for an unexpected visitor.

Shinpachi promptly answered the door after the doorbell rang. “Otsu-chan!” he said excitedly upon seeing who it was. “Come in. How may we help you?”

After everyone was seated, Otsu began by saying, “This might be the strangest request I’ve ever had for you, but I would like your help finding my producer Tsunpo-san.”

“He’s missing?” Gintoki asked.

“It seems like it…But I don’t know for sure. The last time I talked to him was a little over two and a half years ago. He hasn’t answered my calls or texts since then.”

“Hold on. You haven’t heard from him in that long? Sorry if this comes off as judgey–I’m really just trying to understand–but why are you just now trying to find him?”

“The last time Tsunpo-san contacted me was a few weeks before the invasion of the Altana Liberation Army. But when I tried to reach out again when it was over, no response. I didn’t know why he wasn’t responding or what could’ve happened to him. And none of my other colleagues from the music industry knew anything. It just felt like I’d hit a dead end, so I had no choice but to move on.” Otsu turned to look at Shinpachi. “I would’ve asked the Yorozuya for help sooner, but I found out Shinpachi-san was the only one running it for a while and didn’t want to burden him with a complicated problem.”

Shinpachi lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Otsu-chan. I hope we can help you this time, though.”

“It would be great to get some answers.”

Gintoki crossed one leg over the other and said, “So, if we want to get anywhere, we should start with the basics. What did Tsunpo-san look like?”

“I actually never saw his face or met him in person,” Otsu replied sheepishly.

“Oi, doesn’t it sound creepy that this guy wouldn’t show his face?”

Kagura shrugged. “I don’t know, Gin-chan. Think of all the world-famous musicians who wear costumes and masks in public.”

Otsu nodded. “Kagura-san is right. That’s why I never thought anything of it. I just really respected Tsunpo-san’s artistry. We mostly talked on the phone, but the few times we video called, he did wear a kabuki mask if he was on camera. There weren’t many physical traits I could see, but I think his hair was green.”

Gintoki’s eyebrows went up. “Was there anything else that stood out about him? Like speech patterns, behaviors…?”

“Hmm… Oh, yes! He would say gozaru instead of gozaimasu, which made him sound more old-timey. And his favorite instrument was the shamisen.”

Shinpachi considered this for a moment before saying, “Gin-san, are you thinking of the same person? Could it really be him?”

“I’m 99% positive,” Gintoki answered and turned back to Otsu. “Well, the surprisingly good news is I think we have an idea of Tsunpo-san’s real identity, but we need to confirm. Then we’ll be closer to figuring out what happened to him.”

“Really?” Otsu exclaimed, then bowed. “Thank you all so much. I knew I could count on you!”

Everyone stood up, and Kagura led Otsu to the door this time. “We’ll call you when we have an update,” she said.

After Otsu left, the three Yorozuya members contemplated their next move. If Tsunpo, Otsu-chan’s former producer, was really Kawakami Bansai, they’d need to confirm with people close to him.

……

Gintoki called up the Kiheitai, who were still residing in Edo.

“Hello?” Takasugi answered.

“Hey, Takasugi, it’s Gintoki. Listen, I don’t mean to be blunt, but was Bansai-san a producer for the famous pop star Terakado Tsuu?”

There was a pause on the other end, followed by a chuckle. “It’s true,” Takasugi responded. “I’m surprised you finally put two and two together after all this time. But what is this about?”

Gintoki explained the whole situation. “...Now that I’ve confirmed Tsunpo’s real identity and that he’s passed away, I can let Otsu-chan know. However… I feel like people close to him would be more fit to talk about him, so would you guys mind coming down to meet Otsu-chan?”

“Hmm…I don’t know…I’ll have to talk to the others about it and get back to you.”

“Fine by me. I hope you consider it, though. Talk to you later.”

……

Otsu returned to the Yorozuya office the next day after a phone call. This time, though, there were also three new people she’d never met: Takasugi Shinsuke, Kijima Matako, and Takechi Henpeita.

Once introductions were out of the way, it was time to get down to business. Shinsuke started the conversation. “As you already know, we three were friends of Tsunpo, except we knew him by his real name, Kawakami Bansai. And this might come as a shock to you, but he had a different life from what you may expect. You see, we were all members of the Kiheitai, a Jouishishi faction.”

Shinsuke paused to observe her reaction and give her a chance to speak. Otsu’s face was slightly pensive. She said, “To be honest, I did not expect that, but I don’t think I can be angry or disappointed at this point by learning the truth. I’ll always have a good opinion of Tsunpo-san. He recognized my talent and helped me clean up my image when I was at the lowest point of my career. It’s thanks to him that I was able to become one of the top idols of Japan. So he passed away, huh?”

Takasugi frowned slightly. “Yeah, he passed away over two years ago in the war. But he actually died while trying to help save the world, not to destroy it. In fact, we were all there fighting the Altana Liberation Army to save the world. Looking back, I’ll always remember how Bansai believed in us and was a great friend. You should also be glad to know that music really had been a big part of his personality.”

There was a moment of silence. Finally, Shinpachi spoke up. “Bansai-san seemed like a really cool person. He was actually nice to be around at that time we were all on Rakuyou. And to think I was talking to the producer of my favorite idol and had no idea?”

Kagura smirked. “You would’ve definitely been geeking out, Pattsan.”

Otsu smiled gently. “It’s comforting to hear that Bansai-san was a good person. But I’m still sad he’s gone, even though I’d already mentally prepared myself for the worst scenario. Besides the songs he made for me, I don’t have anything else to remember him by…”

After just listening up to this point, Matako said, “You don’t need to feel so bad. We’re almost in the exact same boat as you. You see, it wasn’t possible for us to collect any of Bansai-senpai’s belongings after the war.”

“But there may still be a way to find some of Bansai-dono’s things,” Henpeita pointed out. “As the three of us know, the Kiheitai had many different hideouts. Remember, there was at least one used by Bansai-dono if he came to Edo by himself. It was actually a condo he bought, so anything he left there may still be there. The HOA couldn’t have moved his things out despite being dead either, since he also set up automatic payments for his condo fees.”

Matako raised an eyebrow. “Did Bansai-senpai tell you that?”

Henpeita bobbed his head. “It just came up in conversation one day. Those producer royalty checks are something else.”

Takasugi chuckled.

Gintoki clapped his hands once and stood up. “Then it’s settled! You Kiheitai people can go over there and see what you can find. Please bring something back for Otsu-chan to remember Tsunpo-san by.” He looked at Otsu. “If that’s what you’d like?”

Otsu looked at the Kiheitai. “I wouldn’t mind, if it’s not too much trouble…”

Takasugi stood up, followed by the other two. “Even though this wasn’t part of the original deal…” he said looking at Gintoki, then turned to Otsu, “we’ll do it.”

……

Finding the condo building and even the individual unit wasn’t very hard at all since the Kiheitai had been in the practice of keeping track of its members’ whereabouts and its hideout locations for safety and other reasons. Bansai being Shinsuke’s 2nd in command was no exception. The hardest part was probably flagging down a taxi to get from Kabukicho to the condo.

Upon arrival, they just walked right in casually and went for the elevator. On the way up to the 22nd floor, it was silent at first until Takechi said, “Remember how I told you that while I was visiting a dragon hole, I heard a rumor that the Harusame was starting to go around collecting Altana crystals from all over the world?”

“Did the rumor end up being true?” Takasugi asked.

“Yes. In fact, I heard directly from Kamui-san the other day. He says he’s glad you’re alive, Shinsuke-dono. Apparently, they’re trying to make hair growth products from the Altana. Kamui-san got the idea from his father. The Harusame has become quite poor with no major backings, so they want to go into new ventures. He says their plan is to become a 90% legal business.”

Matako scoffed. “Just 90%?”

“You know what they say,” Shinsuke chimed in, “old habits die hard.”

They got out on the 22nd floor and walked down the hallway in silence until they found the door. Instead of a keyhole, there was a keypad lock. Shinsuke punched in what he thought he remembered the code as.

Click.

He turned the handle, and lucky for them, the door opened.

The apartment inside wasn’t exorbitantly fancy but definitely still more upscale than cheap. There was a computer in one corner with a printer, basic producing equipment and electric keyboard, and a few feet away, an acoustic guitar sitting on a stand.

Matako picked up the guitar. “I think Otsu-chan would like this guitar.”

Shinsuke nodded as he looked around. They could technically leave now that they had something, but he didn’t feel quite ready.

“It’s not as dusty as I expected,” Shinsuke remarked. “Housekeeping must still come.”

“What are we gonna do with this place?” Matako wondered. “It was mostly just Bansai-senpai’s, and he’s gone now.”

“We can’t take everything, but we can grab a few more personal items, then notify management of this resident’s passing, and they’ll take care of the rest probably.”

Shinsuke noticed Takechi was sitting at the computer clicking around. He went to stand next to him to get a closer look for himself. There appeared to be mostly mp3 files and an icon for FL Studio, a digital audio workstation, on the home screen, which wasn’t that surprising. But one thing caught his eye.

“Can you click on that?” Shinsuke instructed, pointing to where he wanted Takechi to go.

Takechi did what he was asked, and a window popped up with a picture.

“I didn’t know he took this,” Matako commented. It was a picture of the four of them having dinner at one of the hideouts. Besides Bansai flashing a peace sign for the camera, it was a completely candid photo. Behind Bansai on one side, Matako and Henpeita appeared to be arguing over something. On the other side, Shinsuke was picking up a piece of food with a smirk.

“We were actually a really good team,” she said. “I’m just glad we can at least be together like this again.”

Shinsuke turned his head for a second to look at her sympathetically. “I know the Kiheitai’s been through a lot in the past couple years, but I promise things will be different now.”

Matako smiled. “We can finally make a memorial for Bansai-senpai, huh?”

“Do you want me to print out the picture?” Takechi asked. “Hopefully it’s not out of ink. We’ve somehow been really lucky so far today.”

“Go ahead,” Takasugi said. “Print two copies while you’re at it.”

They decided to leave with the guitar, the printed photos, and a pair of headphones that looked similar to Bansai’s main pair. After the photos were printed out, Takasugi told Takechi to delete the file from the computer. He just didn’t want a picture of them floating around for any random person coming after to see since they weren’t going to take the computer.

……

The Kiheitai ended up going back to the Yorozuya that same day to deliver the items. Gintoki then called up Otsu, and they waited until she arrived.

“Wow, you guys are fast!” she remarked.

“We found this guitar and these headphones,” Matako said. “Which one of them do you want?”

“Hmm…The guitar!”

Matako handed it off to her.

Otsu bowed. “Thank you, I’ll treasure it always.”

Takasugi pulled out one of the printed photos. “Here’s a picture of Bansai we found, too. Now you’ll finally know what he looked like.”

Otsu took the picture, and her eyebrows went up. Without taking her eyes off it, she said, “Wow, he definitely looks like the artist type. I’d expect nothing less from someone cool like Tsunpo-san…He was also quite handsome.” Now she was blushing slightly.

Shinpachi gasped dramatically in the back.

“You can keep the picture,” Shinsuke told her. “We have our own copy.”

“Thank you all again for helping me. It means so much that I could finally get some closure.” Otsu reached into her purse and took out some money, giving it to him.

Shinsuke raised his eyebrows, then smiled. “Thank you.”

Otsu stood up and gave money to Gintoki, too, who was more than happy to accept. “Well, I better be heading out.” She picked up the guitar. “I now have some new inspiration and a new perspective, and I’m ready to channel it into a song!”

……

Later that day while back at their house, the Kiheitai finished putting together a simple memorial/shrine for Bansai and were now burning incense. On a small table, the picture was now in a frame, with the headphones laying in front of the picture and a vase of incense sticks to the side.

None of the members were particularly religious, but paying their respects to the dead still felt appropriate as a ritual. They each put their hands together and bowed their heads.

After a minute, Matako asked, “Shinsuke-sama, do you know if there’s an afterlife?”

Takasugi shrugged. “In all seriousness, I still don’t know despite literally coming back from the dead. I actually don’t remember anything in between dying and being reborn. After experiencing that, I’d be fine to just wait a long time before learning the answer.”

“I suppose we won’t know for certain until it’s truly our time,” Takechi said.

Matako smirked at him. “I think the lolicon is definitely going to hell,” she grumbled.

“I’m not a lolicon, I’m a feminist.”

……

The next morning, Shinsuke and Matako were sitting outside on the veranda after breakfast to enjoy the refreshing weather. Shinsuke also was smoking his kiseru.

Henpeita came outside and said, “I finished talking to the apartment management about the death of their resident. They seemed understandably shocked yet also sad. Of course, I had to change a few details of the story…They don’t need us for anything else because we weren’t his relatives, but they told me they’d cancel his account and thanked me for notifying them.”

“Thanks for doing that, Takechi,” Shinsuke said. “Now, I’d actually like to make a call to Kamui. I’ve been thinking about what he told you, and I’m intrigued. Maybe we can be involved in some way to help.”

Matako leaned forward. “Shinsuke-sama, what kind of involvement do you have in mind? Please tell me we’ll stay away from anything too sketchy. Compared to the Harusame, even we looked like saints.”

He blew out some smoke, then locked eyes with her as he said, “I promise. I plan on asserting our boundaries and staying on the 90% legal side. We’ll all have a say in the matter.”

Matako nodded. “Okay, that’s reassuring.”

Shinsuke took a final hit from his pipe. “Anyway…I’m gonna call him now.” With that, he stood up and went inside.

Henpeita sat down. “I look forward to what that man has in mind.”

“Let’s see where we go this time.”

______

a/n: Thanks for reading! Please like and reblog! Do you think I should keep it a duology or go for a trilogy in the future?

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midnight-in-town · 2 years ago

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can i just say i'm afraid black butler will never end... i don't know how to bet invested back in it...

Hey Anon!

Awww, well, as long as the story makes sense and the author is happy working on it, personally I really don't see a problem with long serialization. :))

Of course, that's always up to each reader's personal taste (some people like short stories with a quick-to-solve plot) but take One Piece, or take Berserk that ran for 20 to 30 years (or even Gintama, or several other series) : I'm of the opinion that it's absolutely possible to write a long series, as long as it has a solid plot, good character developments and a good amount of detailed worldbuilding.

Sure the pace for Kuroshitsuji is slow (has been for a few years now), but I've made my peace that it's all we're going to get every month and I'd rather have a slow but steady pace, rather than irregular updates (because I've had those, for Berserk namely, and as much as I can totally respect the time an author needs to be happy with their work, it can be really difficult for fans to keep up with the story).

Additionally, please don't hesitate to take a break from reading every now and then, in case you really don't enjoy the content you currently get or that it stresses you out and depresses you. A hobby is meant to provide relief and enjoyment and you don't have to feel guilty about needing to take a break or about not enjoying a series anymore.

You can also follow different series that are released weekly or monthly on different dates during the month, so that you don't feel like all you do is waiting every month for barely anything! Again, it's personal but it works wonder on me when it comes to waiting. :)) Typically, the 18th is a few days away and I didn't notice the past month going by, because I enjoyed reading about other series (One Piece, Ao no Exorcist, Purple Hyacinth, Vinland Saga, Chainsawman, Akatsuki no Yona etc). :))

Finally, I'm also of the opinion that, even though it's going slow, Yana-sensei knows where she's going, considering the few hints she throws here and there every now and then and the lack of definite plot holes (at least as far as we can tell for now), so I decided to trust her, even if it takes some years to get to the answers I'm seeking.

So please don't worry too much Anon (be it about the way Kuro is headed or about feeling guilty in case you decide to take a break) and always remember that a hobby is a plus and that it's supposed to be enjoyable! That's all you have to care about!

Have a good day!! ^3^

#kuroshitsuji #yana toboso #anon #answers #personal

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cicadadust · 1 year ago

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Just dropping by to say that I absolutely love your Gintama OCs, especially Kaiba: his design is beautiful 😍 ! Do you have more info on him and how he'd interract with the canons characters ?

AHHHHHHH THANK YOU! Also very exciting to get an ask about an OC too, I feel unprepared haha, so I'll answer what I can!

Some extra information on the fellow.

Personality wise, I feel like it doesn't fully match his appearance. Like it's a bit more surprising once he starts interacting with someone. As he surprisingly is more of a goofball with a softer heart. The closest I could compare his personality to, is probably James from Pokemon. With a pinch of Gintoki and Kamui in there.

And just a few other tidbits of other random information.

Kaiba really doesn't care for using money, or even trying to earn it. He'd rather barter, or pay someone back by doing something for them. Though this really stems from the fact that since he's been to so many places, and planets- it's difficult to keep track of all the currencies, especially if he may never need to use a certain type again. Although with the lack of any sort of cash on him, it definitely lands him in a bit of trouble. And hes an infamous dine and dasher.

Kaiba is an absolute sucker for upbeat or sweet older (especially within the range of anything from the 1900's) love songs. Definitely one of his favorite things in the universe is to listen to this type of music while traveling, and staring out a window. He will say staring at passing stars and while flying within a planet's atmosphere is the best time to do so.

Despite the Yato's weakness to the sunlight, and the fact he only has a resistance to it. He enjoys laying out on warm surfaces, especially rocks fo hours under sunlight. Even if he often feels a bit dizzy and ill, he feels like it was worth it.

Cooking, not a problem. Kaiba enjoys it quite a bit. Though can probably compete with Otae with her skills. Sure he may not make straight up black matter... But he does tend to burn the hell out of food and over season it. Not actually caring how it turns out in tastes, but instead how cool it looks while cooking.

Strangely enough, Kiaba enjoys mundane and tedious chores. Like hand washing dishes, or windows, weeding, etc. he finds the repetitive actions and clearing or cleaning somthing very therapeutic.

Kaiba is 100% a bread fan, though he also mistakes pastries and such being a type of bread. Preferring sweeter tasting breads. His favorite has to be the darker honey wheat breads though.

Lastly, it's not like Kaiba hates rain or anything. But to him, one of the worst sensations in the universe is when it just starts to rain, and you can feel a raindrop land on your hair, and slowly slide down into your scalp. It drives him crazy... Along with soaked clothing.

For character relationships-

I feel like he'd get along with the Yorozuya at first, but if they were in the presence of eachother for long enough. I'm sure they'd get sick of Kaiba after awhile. Especially if he tries to pin any food bills off on them, or if he even has a chance to dig into their food. Course he definitely still would try to pay them back- like cooking for them, though of course that never ends well. He definitely would help Shinpachi with more of the chores he seems to do, which is more helpful. Though I don't think could ever be forgiven fully. And still be viewed as more of a nuisance that encroaches on their lives time to time like some of the other cast.

It's a bit more obvious for this, but yeah, don't think the Shinsengumi and Kaiba would get along. But due to personality, I think Kaiba and Kondo would have more of a mutual respect for eachother.

The character Kaiba would most likely get along best with, is probably Gengai. It'd definitely remind Kaiba of his home planet being within a workshop. And he'd love to observe and learn while Gengai worked, and offer his own metal working skills and ideas he developed back in Ardoros. Wouldn't even mind running errands for Gengai, having much more respect for him.

#oc #Kaiba #ask

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beautiful-fleshy-bisexual · 3 years ago

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im saying you can dislike a made up woman written by a man without it reflecting your actual opinion on real life women. something that actually matters and isnt male made

You are talking like a character was created, designed, and written for the creator's own selfish desire? Tsukuyo is a well-written character, what is wrong if her creator is a man? ArE YoU OkaY?

"Reflecting on your actual opinion on real-life women" - YES I LOVE TSUKUYO SO MUCH SHE DOESN'T DESERVE THEIR HATE.

And you know what?

The problem with these people who hate Tsukuyo is they use her romantic feelings to Gintoki against her CHARACTER, ignoring how she did so well in Yoshiwara in Flames, Red Spider, Courtesan of a Nation Arc.

Having romantic feelings for Gintoki is a CRIME. believe me. They also pick on her physical features, body-shaming her, saying she is for fanservice, for male gaze while their eyes are closed when Gintama male cast showed their justaways every-single-time. Yet, you never saw Tsukuyo's boob jiggling around in all of her episodes.

If she is in love with ANOTHER CHARACTER, I swear, they will definitely give her a pass and say, "HONEY YOU CAN GIVE UP YOUR WOMANHOOD, BUT FOR GINTOKI! DO NOT INVOLVE YOURSELF ANYMORE WITH HIM EVEN THOUGH SORACHI DREW A LOT OF MOMENTS WITH YOU TOGETHER!!!"

Her fate was sealed when she was a kid, to be a merchandise in Yoshiwara. Luckily, she was saved by her master and trained as Yoshiwara's Paramilitary Leader. Even though she had a rough life when she grew up in a red-light district, she remained kind and a true leader they admire. I do not see her as someone who is so cold, unlike the usual badass women that only focus on masculine traits. She is different, deep down, she is still a woman. She knows this. And she is adorable when she is being teased about Gintoki. (Maybe this is why they hate her) Mature and responsible, I love her. She also did not only protect Hinowa but she saved many women.

AND, what is wrong in liking a HOT character WHO CAN FIGHT ON HER OWN, A LEADER OF HER OWN, WHO KILLED HER OWN MASTER, WHO SAVED GINTOKI. YOU CAN HAVE ALL OF THIS!

#gintama #tsukuyo #because they knew this isn't about criticizing a female character at all #absolutely not #offended by my 1st post about Tsukuyo?

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leweebdepoche · 3 years ago

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Thanks for answering my ask....

Also, thank you so much for your reviews....Love reading them....Your blog inspire me to watch new anime shows or read new manga series....🤩

If you don't mind me ask (again), can I ask your top 10 favorite anime (can be series or movies) and your top 10 favorite manga? Feel free to pick either one or both of them, also up to you if you want to write your reasons or not of why you love them (I just love reading your reviews)....

Hope you have a wonderful day....

AwW, thank you so much 🧡 knowing that you enjoy my reviews makes me more than happy 🥰 and of course, I am glad to share with you about this!

For my top ten animes and mangas, I can easily do animes but mangas it's a little harder as I need to find the titles in English first xD Also, I can't really make an actual ranking of them, so I will just give you my 10 absolute favorite animes in random order.

Cowboy Bebop: this anime is a masterpiece, there is nothing else I can say about it. As a huge fan of sci-fi, there is no way I wouldn't like such a gem of an anime! The characters are so good, they all have a lot of depth and their personalities are also diverse and interesting. Apart from the genre and the characters, what I like the most about this anime is its ability to make you laugh as well as to make you think. You'll find powerful lines and also absurd situations that will make you laugh a lot. Also, I like the end even though I know it is a controversial matter (and I can't spoil it 😂), but I find this end to be the perfect ending for this series...

Kara no kyoukai: okay so this anime is a one-of-a-kind that shouldn't be missed out in my opinion, but I understand that it isn't mainstream at all. It has all the things I like: a katana fighter, creepiness that is close to horror, dark psychological subjects, and a captivating plot, a good dose of supernatural, and the main character who is totally contrasting with the universe and yet perfectly fitting in. Shiki is one of my favorite anime characters because of her uniqueness, just like the anime itself. Superbly well written, with incredible animation, Kara no kyoukai has this dark lingering aura that attracts me so much with a high-quality story and high-quality characters. The color grading is also so beautiful! This anime is in my opinion, the definition of perfection.

Gintama: Gintama is that anime that can't fit in a single category. It is good in so many aspects that it can't be really summarised in a few lines. Starting with a parody that is just freaking good and unique as I've never seen it in any other anime, it goes as well with the incredibly well-constructed characters and ends with the story itself. If you were to ask me what it is that I like the most in Gintama, I wouldn't be able to answer as I like all those different aspects. Comedy, action, parody, drama... The mix is so good that it is mind-blowing. Still waiting for the end though...

Psychopass : here it's my love for dystopias, politics and sci-fi that speaks up. The fact that this anime is doing something that no other had done before gives it a very interesting side. Dealing with subjects as justice, democracy, technologies and their place in our daily life, it dives into them to the core, taking you alongside the path and I really really like animes that makes you think hard about society and its problems. Mixing thriller with sci-fi and slight peeks of horror, it gives me the chills I am looking for. More complex than your casual mainstream anime, I like how it leads the way through tough matters with an entertaining story. Chills and thrills, I'm all for it !

Promare: Promare is a different kind of liking for as it's completely subjective. I am a huge huge fan of mecha, and Promare is THE anime that gave me this new mecha I needed. Animation made it all, it's just splendid! The story is the kind of simple and classic plot I also like a lot when it's well made and accompanied by such a high-quality animation. I can't not like promare, it is just this kind of anime I will fall for without even thinking about it. The characters are exactly what I'm looking for, crazy action scenes and a crazy mad man with a stupid huge plan... I understand why you can dislike it, but this is just how much I like this anime. I'm sorry xD

Penguin Highway: so first of all, I love penguins. I don't know why, I just love them so much (pengu fans, here I am!) So of course if you tell me there's an anime full of penguins that is going to be released, how can I not like it : D this aspect apart, I love the craziness of this anime. It's so crazy yet so smooth, I like its unique universe, its cute and nice characters, the development of the story... This anime gives me this little craziness and cuteness I need in my life without disappointing me in the plot or universe. I'm a fan!

The boy and the beast: you know that you need sad stories in your life... This anime is the one. Man, it is sad, and yet so beautiful. Its philosophy, its story, and its characters, everything makes my heart ache when watching it. So close to reality yet so far from it, it is in my opinion a gem that only Mamoru Hosoda can deliver. Beautiful fantasy universe with elements out of this world throughout the story, I hadn't even realized I was in front of my screen for such a long time when I finished it! Just a beautiful anime that gives me the emotions I need to handle life!

Evangelion Neon Genesis: so now that you know I love mechas, then you will understand why this anime is in my top ten. Evangelion is the mecha for me. It's not the first one I watched, yet I think it's the one that left the strongest mark on me. What is interesting about it is that I don't like it for the same reasons as promare. What made me rewatch Evangelion so many times is its complex plot and characters. The human interactions and the philosophy that goes with it are what draws me to it and make me come back to it so many times. I also super like the original ending even though it was heavily criticized. I think it all made sense in a way, and I liked how the vibe that was prevailing during the whole story was kept until the end.

Whisper of the heart: one can notice easily the lack of shojo in my top 10 xD it is surely because I am not of fan of this genre as I like romance mixed with another genre more than a full straight-up romance story... Whisper of the heart is without a doubt the exception to it. Feelings are hard to convey and portray, and the way Miyazaki did it in this beautiful heart warming story is so damn beautiful! Even though Chizuru is young, I love the way she is facing life and its difficulties. She's a brave young girl with a will to fight that could stumble the greatest obstacle! this story is just so sweet and so emotional, I like this lightness used to portray life and the beauty beheld in it.

Spirited away: well, having two Miyazaki in my top ten is kinda unoriginal but what can I do! You have to recognize the talent of a genius in a way xD I'm not sure what to say about spirited away though, as it'd be hard for me to explain why I am so drawn to this anime that I watched it I think a hundred times. Everything is to notice. The storyline, the universe, the character... The beauty of the pictures, the remarkable and never enough highlighted uniqueness of this anime, I just love it from the beginning to the end, and I just watch this anime whenever I feel like I need to find a purpose in life again. A masterpiece that words can't even describe. That's what spirited away is for me.

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goldenlaquer · 4 years ago

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Hey, can I ask for some headcanons, please? For Gin, Toshi, Sougo and Kamui. About how they were in a fight, separated from their so and something happened like an exposion or whatever, anyway the main point is that they thought that their so have died but later they see her alive and relatively unharmed. So the headcanons of them when they thought they lost their so and when they see that she is ok. Sorry, this is so specific and long, I'm just a slut for some angst and I love your writings

Thank you for the support and sorry for the wait! I don’t know if I’m that much good at conveying angst but let’s bring on the feels!

Gintama Headcanons:

Hijikata Toushirou:

Hijikata stands on top of a pile of rubble, and surveys the destruction around him.

His hands don’t shake. His feet are firm against the ground. His shoulders are straight and rigid against the fleeting wind. Smoke escapes him in steady stream, and when he inhales in, the dust and fire of the air sticks to the walls of his lungs like sludge.

To the men who stop to look at their vice-commander with their ugly concerns plastered on their ugly mugs: He’s fine.

To the Gorilla who can’t stop asking him the question every ten minutes and that, he really should take a break or else at this rate, he’ll collapse: He’s fine.

To the brat who stubbornly stays by his side like spit-up gum on the sole of his shoe: He’s fine, damn it, so go do your job and leave him alone.

For once, Sougo doesn’t have anything clever to quip back at him. He doesn’t need to-- the silence between them speaks better than words. And Hijikata hates what it says, so he turns back to the grey landscape, eyes darting and sifting through the mangled and charred parts to see something, anything that is you.

Nothing.

He reaches for a cigarette, pulls it out of his pocket like second nature. The lighter is the trickier to work. The blasted thing refuses to flicker on. Oh, the cigarette falls down. Hijikata bends to pick it up. He tries again. The cigarette falls down. He stares at it. His shoe crushes it. He’s stomping down hard. Sougo is still silent, watching. Hijikata doesn’t care.

The facade of normalcy is gone. Here he is: Taking his frustrations out on a sad little cig, like it’s the cause of all his fucking problems, like it’s going to bring you back. Harsh pants come out of his mouth, and in another series, they’d sound like something akin to sobs, but his face is dry.

“Hijikata.” He ignores Sougo. The cigarette is reduced to paper and dry leaves scuffed against concrete. “Hijikata.” He doesn’t answer.

Okita, with an eye-roll, kicks Hijikata square in the back and knocks him off the pile.

Sougo, what the fuck? He. Is. Mourning. Hijikata has always known Sougo to be insensitive, but this is blatantly crossing several lines and he clearly doesn’t have the emotional capacity to deal with.

But if it’s a fight that bastard wants, Hijikata will give it to him. He leaps up from the ground, ready to hand Sougo an express ticket to hell, misty eyes narrowing in anger as he looks up

and the breath is knocked out of him in a way that years of chain-smoking had miraculously failed to do

Standing before him, white particles clinging to your clothes, hair, and eyebrows, is the damn most beautiful sight he’s ever seen. The feet move faster than he can process, and by the time his arms are around you and he’s breathing in the scent he thought he’d lost forever

“Fuck.” Because that’s the only appropriate response he can say without his voice cracking. “Don’t do that again.”

Kamui:

Loss is not a new thing. It was in the labored rise and fall of his mother’s chest, the pallidness of her white skin. The feel of his sister’s small hands, fisting in his clothes and pleadingly tugging back, her blue eyes wide and wet. It was in the looming shape of his father’s retreating back.

But there were other, worthier things to focus on. The pain in his knuckles slamming against bone and muscle. The taut stretch of his lips as he licks his wounds, tasting metal and victory. The title of ‘Universe’s Strongest’ nearly within his grasp. He didn’t have time for the weak. Didn’t have time to be weak.

Loss is not new, and yet there is something about this loss. Now, Loss is a sentient being, latching to his throat and squeezing as he grapples through the mud.

Abuto’s face is too blank and too careful. His voice is low and calm and reasoning, and he is saying things, but Kamui doesn’t listen. The words ‘she’ and ‘gone’ don’t mix, they don’t make any sense, so why should he listen? He digs and digs and digs, not hearing, he can’t, his ears and eyes are filled with the same muddy brown that must also be filling yours. Kamui works even faster, his nails splintering against the rocks embedded in the wet ground.

Hair released from its braid, trussed and caked in dirt. Pupils dilated, black swallowing blue. His face abnormally slack as he claws in frenzy, in desperation at the ground like a wild animal.

There are few things in this world Kamui can’t fight. No matter his strength, one cannot simply beat Mother Nature into submission. But there is no excuse. If he cannot save one woman from something as stupid as dirt, then what is the point? What use is his strength? He didn’t leave that tiny, rainy planet, ignoring all the things left behind with it, to become this weakling who couldn’t even manage to keep you by his side like he promised.

He’s a young brat again, helplessness coloring every pore. A damsel in distress. Someone who can’t save, but needs saving. He is no different than the baldy. Unable to keep promises. Unable to protect. Unable to do anything. Was he always this fragile? Pathetic.

Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic. The word is a punishing mantra in his mind.

Something crashes into him. It’s not near enough to make him pause in his digging, but the something is tugging on his clothes. Incoherent, muffled shouting in his ears. He doesn’t pay it any mind because mud keeps slipping back in place despite all his useless strength and you’re still trapped, waiting for him--

“KAMUI!”

He blinks in surprise, snapping from the heavy cloud covering his mind. He’s flat on the ground, staring up at you. How he got there, he doesn’t know, but you are here in front of him, covered head-to-toe in mud and crying.

He is silent, watching as you blubber concerns and curses. A curious hand reaches out to your face in wonder, carefully tracing the path that a salty tear had made down your cheek. The familiarity of your soft skin warms his numb body and a small smile emerges from his lips.

As you sit on top of him, crying not because you are scared but because he’s such a stupid idiot, he realizes that that he isn’t all alone just yet, that there’s one thing that refuses to leave him.

Okita Sougo:

It’s happening again. And it honestly makes him want to laugh.

He doesn’t believe in it, karma, but when you think that you’ve gotten used to the pain of losing someone you love, his rotten, black heart has to go and get ripped out for the second time as if he forgot, as if he needed reminding that there’s no way someone like him deserves something as good as happiness. There’s no other explanation to this shit luck other than that, for the accumulation of every filthy deed he’s done with his filthy hands and every fucking sin he has committed once and twice and will most definitely commit thrice, someone has to pay for it.

And because Karma is two bitches and a half, that someone wasn’t him.

There it is. The laughter finally comes out as he looks at the torn fabric in his clenched fist. It comes out harsh and hollow and, if you listened hard enough, choked, but who’s checking? Not him. Not Mitsuba. And certainly not you.

He reported it to the vice-commander himself, voice robotic, telling how he was walking front of you when it happened, how the enemy somehow managed to predict your movements and ambushed the both of you on a bridge, how he had been unable to react in time to stop the silver flash of a knife and how the world tilted, too fast and too slow, and that there was a piece of hanging rope that he managed to snag on to with one hand and when he blindly flashed out the other to grasp at you, reaching through free air and snatching at cloth, it ripped from his fingers, and you fell to the chasm below. Deep enough, Okita said as he looked straight into Hijikata’s eyes, that death would be quick and painless.

If nothing else could go right for him, then at least for this, he hoped, even fucking prayed, that it was painless.

Hijikata doesn’t react to the report with anything unnecessary, just a stiff upper lip and an “okay” before he walks off to stand somewhere far enough, yet close enough. For all their differences, Hijikata knows. He understands losing youthful love, and that the pity that comes with it is nothing more than steaming trash. In this way and other ways that he’d sooner eat shit than to admit aloud, Okita is grateful for him.

He stops mid mirthless chuckle to shove the hand holding what’s left of you up to his eyes, slanting his head downwards so his bangs cover what he doesn’t want the world to know what he’s somehow still capable of. Hijikata is tactfully looking away. Over the distance, Kondo is bellowing orders to his men who keep a wide berth from the spot where their 1st Division Captain stands. This is the only opportunity he can afford to be an eighteen year old again. Sougo swallows thickly, feeling the roughness of fabric dampen against his eyelids.

Acutely, he hears the sound of footsteps. It is slow and steady and he thinks that they belong Kondo at first but the weight of them is too light for a gorilla. Before he can process this information further, the steps halt for several long seconds before starting again, this time faster and more urgent, lurching in his direction. Hijikata mutters an astounded “shit” but for whatever reason doesn’t move to intercept. Okita really isn’t in the mood to deal with dumbasses but the sword by his side is already unsheathed and he’s aiming his red eyes to glare at whoever the fuck--

Arms wrap around his waist. A face burrows into his chest. His knees almost give out, but his name is Okita Sougo and he has already maxed out his whiny bitch points for the next decade. Instead, he drops his sword to cup the back of your very-much-alive head, caressing the wet silk of it before threading his trembling fingers through the strands to

sharply tug you from his chest and grasp your cheeks with one hand, squeezing your expression to that of a startled fish.

“Now,” Okita murmers, the smirk on his lips at odds with how fucking great it feels to see you again. “What should I do with you?”

Sakata Gintoki:

Before they say anything, he knows.

He has seen that type of expression too many times to ever forget the set jaw, the horrible attempt at stilling a trembling bottom lip, the unshed tears of eyes that can’t seem to stop roving, unable to face the recipient of bad news for more than half a second, and the pallidness of knuckles straining against skin, holding onto their clothes like a lifeline.

He knows this expression so well he can gaze down at Shinpachi and Kagura with well-placed apathy, perfectly appearing as if his lungs aren’t threatening to collapse on itself when he notices who is not there with them, and tell them in his same old way to stop sucking on their teeth and finish what they can’t seem to get out because he has an appointment at the pachinko parlor at four and if they don’t finish up this job by three-thirty he is going to dock their nonexistent pay by 80%. It hides the rising nausea and stone weight of the stomach well.

This time, however, his casual rudeness doesn’t make them react the way he wants them to, it only makes them fold into themselves even further.

The thing is, no matter how many times you see it and know better than to entertain it, there’s always this one glimmer of hope, so ridiculously strong that you’d gladly pray to anyone and everyone, even if you don’t really believe, because if anything is possible then it better be possible that this isn’t bad news, or that even if it is bad news then the worst of the pinched expression is just a by-product of eating food gone bad or the pain of an ingrown toenail, that it isn’t about someone dying or dead.

But life rarely goes like that, and Gintoki lives in an extra-shittier life compared to most people.

When you stumble across them, hair singed and smelling of gunpowder and smoke, there is something so thick and so wrong with the air, something that makes you stop from crying out in elation at seeing the people you love most. Shinpachi is fastidiously rubbing his eyes and Kagura has her face buried against Sadaharu’s fur and Gintoki

Gintoki looks alone. And you don’t think you have ever seen him look like that, so withdrawn into himself that even if he is surrounded by people, there’s nothing that can come close to him, nothing that can ease the dull bleakness of his eyes and the defeated hunch of his shoulders. He looks like a single thread worn too thin, on the verge of snapping. He looks like nothing matters anymore. Nothing.

You dislike it. You hate it. You hate it so much, to see this man turn into something so unfamiliar and terrifying and gut out. You don’t know this Gintoki. You want the other one back, the one who wouldn’t hesitate to smear dog shit and boogers on the back of your jacket and the one who doesn’t really mind it when you take a sip of his spoiled strawberry milk.

So when you shout out loudly, so loud that vibrates the space, that you’re here and alive and that you didn’t, couldn’t die because how could such a measly explosion off you when there were idiots waiting back home for you, to see Kagura and Shinpachi fly to you, screaming and whooping as they open their arms wide for your hug, snot running down their noses, and Gintoki snap his head up, disbelieving at first, yet searching your form with a speck of hope that brings life back to his dead eyes, and when he finds whatever he was searching for, he goes to you on steady feet, folding his arms around the group, gaze still drinking your form up as he leans across Shinpachi’s and Kagura’s heads to bump his forehead against yours, his breath sighing out something like relief-- it almost makes you cry, or maybe it does because you can feel something wet trailing down your face.

Gintoki is silent for the most part, because Kagura and Shinpachi are doing most of the talking for him, but when he does speak, it is to say:

“Damn, there goes the life insurance money.”

#gintama #gintama headcanons #gintama x reader #gintama imagine #sakata gintoki #kamui yato #hijikata toushirou #okita sougo #answered ask #asks closed

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amethysttribble · 3 years ago

Text

The threatened Gintama x Kidnap Fam Crossover

None of you thought I was serious

Written with the intent that you can understand it without knowing Gintama, but who knows. Enjoy the Samurai vs. Aliens found family.

Elros is thirteen, and he is a samurai.

Or, well, at least he intends to be. One day. Those prospects aren’t looking so good, though.

He lives with his cousin, Gil-galad, in a run-down, empty dojo, working part-time just to keep the lights on and the debt-collectors away. He’d say things haven’t been good since their foster-father, Cirdan, died, but that wouldn’t be true. Things haven’t been good since the Amanto arrived, descending from the sky in their spaceships with their space weapons and their space ambitions.

Since the war that followed, that the samurai lost. Samurai like him and his family.

Since before Elros was born.

Gil remembered a little of the before-times, but he didn’t talk about them much. Memories of his parents were just as none existent as Elros’s memories of his, but Gil had something in his past that haunted his nightmares.

Cirdan could never really tell them where they came from either- or maybe he simply wouldn’t, Elros often thought bitterly these days. They were simply war orphans; unwanted, unneeded.

So to was their way of life. Cirdan left them drowning in money problems when he died, brought on by keeping alive a dojo that no one would attend. Why would they?

Carrying a sword was illegal.

Frankly, the whole things a mess, and some days, Elros would like to lie down in a ditch and not get up.

That was how he felt when the Amanto he was serving at work shoved him to the ground and spat on him. Stay down, don’t get up. What samurai pride did Elros have? He did not even have a sword.

And then Maglor stood up.

Maglor is a samurai

He is the son of a samurai, the brother of samurai, a student of a once much renowned school of samurai.

After the invasion... after the war, that is a hard business to be in. It is made worse, Maglor must admit, by the blood on his hands and the role he played in that war.

But that was long, long ago now.

Now Maglor makes do by plucking his shamisen on street corners, and when that does not make do, he does odd jobs around the city. People have taken to calling him that: Odd Jobs.

He is not on the job now, he is eating at local restaurant where he likes the desert, and there’s a kid with an odd look about him who serves him.

The black-haired boy’s face seems a little too long, his skin a little too pale and... shiny. There is something about him that sets Maglor’s hair on end, makes him twitch towards his sword.

But the war- the war is over. And in their desperation, they had made mistakes with Amanto kids before. Maglor had to live with that now.

If this kid was some humanoid alien, or a halfie, or even just wore body glitter, that was not Maglor’s problem

The big, doggish Amanto in an embassy uniform who shoved that kid to the ground, though-

That shouldn’t be Maglor’s problem either, he was supposed to be keeping a low profile.

But the Amanto spat and the kid was near crying, and all Maglor could think of was fire and the face of his littlest brother as it all-

Frankly, it wasn’t Maglor’s fault he drew his wooden sword and cast the diplomat down. He was possessed. Had he not always been possessed, the Musical Manslayer?

If the wannabe samurai kid followed him out the door as he ran from the cops, that wasn’t his fault either.

Beating up the debt collectors and taking the kid off his over-worked cousin’s hands, though, that was definitely on Maglor.

Elrond is an Amanto, as they call them on Earth, but also the son of a samurai.

He hasn’t been on Earth very long. He only arrived recently, coming in search of his father. Papa had been gone for... years. A really long time. Since before Grandmother and Grandfather died, even.

Elrond wasn’t quite sure where to find him, but Earth seemed like a good place to start.

The mother he’d never met might even be here.

It wasn’t hard to get to Earth, all he had to do was offer his services to a couple of human merchants. They were always looking for Amanto to use in dirty business, especially the kind Elrond was.

A Yato, even a half-one, even a child-one, was scary.

Elrond did not like fighting- and his cousin said that proved he was weak, that he really was just half- but it was so easy to beat up all the people he was told to, it was laughable.

Not killing them was the hard part.

It got him to Earth, though, and Elrond was free and clear!

At least he was right up until he realized he didn’t have any idea what to do to survive on earth.

That’s how he got mixed up with that gang. He didn’t mean to, really. It’s just that they had food and he was so hungry he felt like he could die. No where around here had enough food for a yato.

After he ate his fill, though, Elrond left. How could they stop him after all?

Guns, it turns out, hurt.

Motor bikes do not hurt, but when you have been shot, being run over by a wannabe samurai and his wannabe samurai apprentice also hurts.

They hide him, but Elrond thinks it’s mostly because they don’t want to be arrested for vehicular manslaughter

After he stops bleeding out and his eyes adjust in their little apartment, he realizes that might actually be because he looks... exactly like the samurai apprentice.

Except for the ears, really. Elrond has pointy Yato ears. ‘Elros’ has human ears.

But as Elrond struggles to sit up and looks at the Earth kid- a samurai like Papa, Papa was an earth samurai- some horrible suspicions started to creep up.

What was going on?

Maedhros is a joushishi. Some would call him a terrorist. Others a freedom-fighter. He prefers samurai.

His brother calls him delusional. Says the war is over, but Maedhros knows it’s not. It won’t be over until the Amanto cretins leave their lands and return what was stolen.

What Maglor has to say about Father and the cost of pursuing the silmarils be damned.

Damn Caranthir too, on his massive amanto ship, off in space, seeking money and tools and other frivolous things. He abandoned them.

Damn Amras, where-ever he was, slipping quietly, unremarkably away, their phantom sixth brother.

Damn Curufin and Celegorm and their other revolutionary cell, their horrifically insane minions, their horrible ambitions and methods.

Damn Arafinwe and his children and their Imperially sanctioned school, while theirs... while theirs was burned to the ground.

Damn all of them, really. Damn Fingon and his police dogs.

Maedhros hates them all now, hates how the war has twisted them insane or away from their goal, hates that he has been abandoned. He hates himself as well.

He knows he is a monster now, the Noble Youth of Madness as they named him. He’s comfortable with living like that.

He only goes crawling to Maglor because he’s not likely to make it back to base otherwise. It is a small mercy that his brother takes one look at him bleeding out on his mats and doesn't kick him out.

It’s a nightmare when Maglor scolds him for cursing while his side is stitched up with, “Don’t wake the children!”

“The WHAT-”

Maglor has two kids in his house, one a burgeoning samurai, one an Amanto, and they look weirdly similar. The boys are investigating something, themselves, but it is blindingly obvious there is something more going on.

“You’re mixing yourself up in something dangerous here,” Maedhros tell him, but Maglor doesn’t listen.

He never does.

It is only natural then, that he comes back every now and again to check in on his brother and the possible Amanto spy he is letting sleep in his living room.

Only natural he takes an interest in the education and training of a young samurai.

Only natural that he keeps well apprised of what the little Amanto is investigating, and maybe help that along a little, just to see where it leads.

And during all this, Maedhros, most assuredly, does not grow fond.

#I did not EVEN try to be funny I'm not as funny as the gorilla #this is not good I just wanted to deliver on the concept because I thought the niche-ness was really funny #gintama #the silmarillion #elros #elrond #maglor #maedhros #tolkien #fanfic #Tribble Post

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luna-rainbow · 3 years ago

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I feel like a lot of my issues with What If...? right now are because a lot of the episode just feel kinda pointless to me. Like they aren't answering any of the what if questions that I've had over the years. Admittedly I liked the zombie episode because I like zombies, but I've never sat around and thought, "Gee, I wonder what would have happened if Killmonger had saved Tony in Afghanistan?" or "I wonder what would happen if all the avengers died before they could assemble?" The questions I would have liked answered are more along the lines of, "What if the other half got dusted in IW?" or "What if Pietro survived in AOU?" stuff like that. So the a lot of the questions that the show is supposedly answering I'm just not that interested in.

These past two episodes have also stopped at really odd places. Like it feels like they were just about to get to some really interesting stuff in the story and then they drop it because they either don't care, or don't have the time. The quality level of detail in certain episodes like Peggy's makes me REALLY think that they have a favoritism problem with certain characters. And of all of the stories, Peggy didn't hers to feel as concluded because we know we'll be getting more episodes about her in later seasons, whereas the rest of these as far as we know are one offs.

Sorry for the rant, lol. I just needed to get these thoughts out somewhere I guess.

Thanks for the rant 😂

I haven’t watched past episode 2 so stop me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like the usual MCU fare we’ve gotten recently? They’re picking what they think would be less controversial or more cheap-shock scenarios.

I’m trying to think about what you said of “things stop when it gets interesting” and trying to think if there’s any anime that does it better (being the same medium and length and all). I’ve only watched Gintama as an anime that was primarily episodic in format (ie things that happen one episode don’t have ramifications next episode), and yeah…it also often ended its one-shots at the most important moments for either LOL or impact, so maybe it’s a problem with the genre too. That said, Gintama had some emotionally poignant stories in 20 minutes, so it’s definitely doable.

I think What If is best enjoyed (like most of MCU these days) by casual fans. It sounds like most of the characterisation is fairly 2D, and the plot doesn’t intend to go into the depths of the characters. Fans of characters will see things that go against the grain of that person’s morality, while the creators are just like “most popular villain with post popular hero, who wouldn’t want to see this” 🤷‍♀️ But how did that work out though? How many casual fans bothered to watch What If?

#asks #anti mcu

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donutloverxo · 5 years ago

Text

Stevie

Authors note- listen... I'm sorry for this but at the same time I'm not. Anyway this was inspired by an arc from the anime gintama.

the female captain america graphic does not belong to me.

Do not repost or steal my works. Reblogs are welcome

Summary- Steve has been on a space mission for a week. When he gets back he's a completely different person.

Pairings- Steve Rogers x reader, Stevie x reader

Warning- smut, sex toys, bi curious reader, gender bender(Tony nat and steve get turned into the opposite sex)

Word count- 3.3k

Masterlist

You had been monitoring Steve’s mission status for the past week. You were both used to the other being gone on missions. But a mission in space was something else. Steve, Tony and Nat were helping Carol out with a situation in space. Since the guardians were mia. In another galaxy. It was still hard to wrap your head around. Last you heard going to Mars was considered a huge accomplishment now people are travelling to another solar systems.

It was hard not to worry. So many things could go wrong. They could be sucked into a black hole or encounter a hostile species. You were one of the few Avengers who had never been to space. As you were blipped after the snap.

You had heard about it from Steve. He had a far away melancholic look in his eyes whenever he talked about it. You understood how hard those five years must’ve been for him. You weren’t sure if you could even last 5 weeks without him.

As much as you would’ve liked to go explore space you had decided someone had to stay home.

You were going about your night drinking some coffee to help with your fatigue in front of the monitor waiting for updates from Steve’s team. You had not left the room, you pretty much lived there. They were supposed to be home two days ago. With no updates from either of them you were at the end of your rope.

You were jolted awake when you felt your chair along with the whole room vibrating. You didn’t even realise you had fallen asleep. You rushed outside hoping that the team had made it back.

You looked at Carol approaching you from the ship landed on the compound lawn.

“Hey there”, she greeted giving you a nervous smile.

“Is something wrong?”, you asked looking at the ship hoping to see Steve come out of it.

“Well yes and no. Something happened. I’m going to need you to stay calm.”

“I’m always calm”, impatient you walked towards the ship.

You stopped in your tracks when you see three more people come out of it. Two women and a man. Confused you looked back at Carol who just smiled and shrugged.

“This must be weird for you”, you heard the man say, his hoarse deep voice say.

You looked back at the three of them and wished to pinch yourself or slap yourself, anything to wake up from this dream. You looked the three of them up and down. It wasn’t too obvious but they looked a lot like Steve Tony and Nat.

The redhead man had broad shoulders, a square jaw and a Bob haircut. He was shorter than the blond woman standing beside him.

You stopped breathing for a minute when you looked at her. She was tall, taller than any woman you’d ever seen probably taller than most men. She had a sharp jawline and high cheekbones. Her short blond hair was slicked back. If you didn’t know better you would be scared by her sharp features but you couldn’t help look away from her piercing blue eyes. That’s when you realized.

“Steve?”, you breathed out after what felt like forever.

“No no, she’s Stevie now”, you whipped your heard to look at the short brunette woman standing behind the redhead. Her hair was short with flicks of grey. She had wrinkles around her eyes and mouth.

“Yeah and she’s Toni now. As in Toni with an i.”, she redhead said.

“What is going on here?!”, you yelled and looked at Carol for an explanation.

“Well we were on the mission everything was going quite well. But then somebody decided to make some sexist jokes.”, she gave Toni and the red head a icy stare. “So they changed these idiots into the opposite sex. To teach them a lesson. They will go back to their old selves soon enough.”

“Ok it was just a joke! How was I supposed to know they would be so sensitive”, Toni whined.

“Wait who are ‘they’?”, you asked her

“Aliens”, she answered and walked back to the spaceship “alright I have to leave good luck”

“Oh no you don’t. How are we supposed to fix this?” Toni chased behind her asking and then begging her to stay.

You looked at the red head who would most probably be Nat and then at Stevie. Not really knowing what to say your gaze went down Stevie’s body. Your eyes widened when you looked at the curve of her breasts. You couldn’t see them properly under her tshirt but you could tell that they were big. It was no surprise, Steve did always have big assets.

“Uh... can we go inside?”, Stevie asked awkwardly rubbing her forearm with her hand.

You hadn’t uttered a single word still speechless and in shock. Was this real life? You had solved so many problems, seen so many things over the years but never in your life did you think you would be here. Looking at your boyfriend or girlfriend, you couldn’t deal with the feelings emerging inside you or how much you wanted to touch her to see if her skin was as soft as it looked.

You could only see her arms and face as she was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. She had a soft sheen of blond hair on her arms, not nearly as coarse as Steve’s arm hair used to be. Her arms were still muscular and definied but much more slimmer. And she clearly wasn’t wearing a bra. Not that you were complaining.

She was looking down at her thighs closing them and then opening them again, probably not sure how to sit. She looked up at you and smiled.

“How are you feeling?”, you asked her.

“Strange”, she said running her hand through her short hair. “Are you okay?”

“Well...”, you started not knowing how to finish. Would she be mad if she knew what was going on in your head? She was confused and in distress this is neither the time nor the place to have unsavory thoughts.

Nat came into the common room and plopped down beside Stevie. “I just used the bathroom. It was quite interesting.”, she said nodding to herself and staring off into space. She looked like she was contemplating her entire life.

You looked at Toni grumbling and making herself a drink. “She left. Said we’ll be back to normal by tomorrow”, she sat down on the sofa in front of you sipping her drink. She looked down at her breast before squeezing one.

“Toni!”, Stevie chastised him and looked away. You laughed at both of them, Nat and Toni joined you as laughter filled the hall.

“Imagine if Stark was born a woman”, Nat wondered.

“They definitely wouldn’t call you a playboy. They'd call you much worse names.”, you said before going back to admiring Stevie in all her glory while you had time.

“I’m going to head out. Good night kids. Pray to your gods that we go back to our old selves tomorrow”, Toni said putting her empty glass on the coffee table before leaving.

Nat yawned and stretched her back. “I’m going to bed as well. Long mission. Good night”

“So, what do you wanna do?”, you tentatively asked Stevie. You were suddenly nervous around her, the way someone would be around a new crush. You went back and forth between looking at her eyes, breasts and your lap.

“Let’s just go to bed. But... uh.. I could just sleep in the guest room if you like.” She scratched her neck blushing just like your Steve would. You smiled at her. There was no need to be nervous. This was the same Steve you knew and loved.

“No. We can sleep together. I’ve missed you”, you take her hand in yours. It felt the same but a bit different. Maybe because her hands were much smaller than Steve’s.

“I’m not me though”, she mused looking at your fingers linked together.

“I don’t mind. In fact I like it”, maybe you were being too bold but this might be the only chance you ever get.

“Oh?”, she looked at you her pink plump lips pouting. They looked even more kissable right now. Her nose was slimmer but still a bit crooked. The cute confused expression on her face reminded you so much of your Steve. Which was bizarre because she was still your Steve.

You couldn’t help it anymore, you leaned in putting your hand on the armrest for support and joined both your lips. She was stiff at first but then relaxed. You licked her lips and she opened her mouth kissing you deeply. She had missed your lips and your touch for the past week.

You broke apart after a few minutes. You looked into her eyes trying to catch your breathe. You decided to sit on her lap like you usually do. She put her hand around you as you nuzzled into her neck breathing her in. She smelled different, more feminine, but you could still smell hints of Steve’s soap and cologne.

“Are you sure about this?”, she asked intensely looking into your eyes.

You cradled her face in your hands. “I am as long as you’re comfortable. I’ve always wanted to do that. Be with a woman. Just never got the chance.”

“I... uh.. wouldn’t know what to do to”, she murmured looking away.

Steve, bless his heart, would never go anywhere near porn. He always found it too gratuitous. Never mind that the few sex tapes the two of you did make were plenty gratuitous.

No matter how much he liked to act like a boy Scout you knew all his kinks and perversions. But you had seen and read your fair share of erotica and you knew what you liked. You could make it work.

“You’ve always wanted to be with a woman?”, he asked and you nodded “you never told me that”

“I don’t know. I like women but don’t even feel like thinking about anyone else when I have you. Man or woman”, you shrugged. She blushed at that giving you a wide grin.

“Well... maybe Carol..”, you trailed off. You had developed a slight crush on her since the moment you met her. She was so fierce and strong. She didn’t take shit from anyone. You smiled at how she just left everyone here and went on her next mission to save the universe.

She was someone admirable. Or maybe it was just because she was a lot like Steve. Captain and everything.

Stevie hummed at that. She had seen you looking at Carol in adoration, her suspicions were just confirmed. She didn’t feel bad or jealous. She knew you were hers.

***

You had made yourself at home between Stevies leg while she laid her head on your pillow. She was apprehensive about letting you go down on her or see her. But you were adamant about giving her the experience of a female orgasm.

Maybe you had your selfish reasons as well. You couldn’t stop looking at her pretty pink pussy. It might be the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. You were tempted to whip out your phone and click a few pictures.

There were little dirty blond hair sprinkled around it. You wondered if you liked it because it was objectively pretty or because it was attached to the love of your life.

You smiled to yourself when you noticed it was glowing. She was probably getting impatient. She had been on a tasking mission, she deserves some relief. You were a bit anxious even if you knew what you had to do, you had never done it before. Your core tingled when you remembered the first time Steve ate you out. How you had to direct him and tell him exactly what to do. He was pretty much a pro at it now.

You licked a shy stripe up her lips. You gained a little bit of confidence when you felt her gasp and shiver. You licked a few more stripes before sucking on her clit. She seemed to like it when you did it faster so you increased your pace.

You pushed your tongue inside of her while licking her up. You decide to try incorporating your fingers as well. Pushing one and then two inside of her before thrusting them in and out with purpose.

She grunted and pushed your head back towards her core. “Shit”, she screamed as you began lapping her up again.

Steve never had any qualms about cursing during love making. It gave you great pleasure knowing you’re the only one that ever gets to see this wild feral side of him. Or her.

“Oh god”, she clutched your hair fisting them in her hand before coming all over your mouth. You lapped up everything you could.

You climbed up on your bed and looked down into her eyes. “How was that?”, you asked stroking her cheek.

“Pretty good”, she smiled up at you her blue eyes twinkling.

You raised your brows at her frowning. “Just pretty good?”

“It was perfect. But nothing different, I think”, she replied bringing your hand to her lips giving it a kiss. “Now it’s your turn”, she smirked.

“No”, you said firmly and got off the bed disappearing into your closet.

“No?”, she asked before sitting up trying to see what you were up to.

You return to your bed tying your favorite strap on to your hips and coating it with a generous amount of lube. You smirked when you looked at her staring at it. “What do you think?”

You already knew the answer to that question. You had used the very same toy on Steve’s ass more times than you could count. As much as you loved being dominated by him you also liked pleasing him, having him completely at your mercy.

She visibly gulped down. “How do you want to do it?”

“I’d like to look at your face.” You said holding her face in your hands stroking her cheeks. You push her down on the bed. Kneeling between her legs. You groped and stroked her body. It was unsurprisingly as soft as you imagined it would be. You held her breasts in your hands for a minute squeezing them and stroking her nipples. “they’re so soft”, you wondered out loud.

“Now you know why I like yours so much”, she said chuckling

You squeezed her pink hard nipple between your fingers before taking it in your mouth, giving it a harsh suck.

“Fuck... doll I need you”, she whined grabbing your dildo lining it up to her pussy.

You released her nipple with a pop swatting her hands away. “Be patient”, you scolded. She pouted at you but kept her hands to herself.

After sucking on her breasts for a while you lined your dildo upto her pussy. You snaked a hand under her hips to pull her up towards you, just like Steve used to do with you. You needed to be as close to her as possible.

You have her an open mouthed kiss slowly pushing into her. She moaned into your mouth. You fucked her nicely and slowly. Holding her in your hands as if she was the most precious thing to you, which she truly was.

You increased your pace when you felt her moaning and grunting loudly, knowing she was probably very close. You looked down at her face scrunched up in pleasure as she came around your cock.

You had never been able to look at Steve’s face when he came, either you were too fucked out from your own orgasms or were focusing on making him last longer.

Now looking down at her, doing something that was only pleasure able for her felt incredibly intimate. It felt better than any orgasm could’ve.

You pulled out of her, taking the strap on off before cuddling with her.

“That was something else”, she mumbled feeling high from her intense orgasm.

***

Later that night you had some how convinced Stevie to let you put make up on her. She didn’t agree at first but with some pouting she was basically putty in your hands.

You lips were set in a firm straight line in concentration as you tried not to mess up her eyeliner. Her hair was incredibly short so there wasn’t much you could do with it. You wondered if she would let you take some pictures.

“So what exactly happened? Why did they turn you into women... and man”, you asked still not sure how they were able to do it.

“It was something Tony said about never understanding women and then Natasha argued with all men are the same or something along those lines”, he said a frown on his face as if he was trying hard to remember it “I was caught in the middle of it trying to get them to stop fighting” You decided to let it go for now. Maybe she’d tell you the whole story some other day.

“One good thing about this is now you can take my name”, you smiled as you imagined Steve with your last name.

“I always thought you’d take mine. I like the thought of you as Mrs Rogers”

“Oh and why would I do that? I was one of the most renowned sheild agent and I am the best avenger”,you said puffing your chest out proudly.

“You might have some competition with that”, she teased smirking at you to which you stuck out your tongue putting some final touches on her face. “I guess our kids could just hyphenate”

You gasped at that, “kids? If you think I’m having more than one child then you’ve lost your mind. You know what it’s like to have a vagina now. Imagine pushing a child the size of a watermelon out of it”, you huffed but looking at her pretty face all your anger melted away.

“I’m sorry sweetheart. You know if I could go through it instead of you I would”, she said stroking your thighs and you knew she was sincere.

Steve would never let anything bad happen to you. Not if he could help it. After he got you back he had vowed to you that he would always protect you.

You looked at her sad face hunched down staring at the ground. She looked as if she was in another world. “Stevie what’s wrong?”

“It’s just what if the kid inherits all my illness. Or the super serum. That could be a danger to you”

You knelt down between her legs so you could look into her eyes. “Hey it’s okay”, you said softly “we don’t have to have kids. And we can always adopt. That gives us much more time”

“Are you sure?”, she asked shyly playing with a strand of your hair.

“Absolutely positive”, you beamed up at her.

***

The next morning you woke up earlier than usual. Stretching your back muscles you smiled looking at the sun shining through the window. It was a beautiful day. Perfect for a picnic. You looked to your side smiling at Steve sleeping peacefully. Wait a minute.

“Steve”, you shook him harshly.

“What?”, he rose his voice heavy and hoarse. He looked down at his body touching his pecs and abs before looking back at you. “I’m back”

“Yeah you’re back”

You both went down to the common room to find if Toni and Nat had went back to their normal selves. They were already waiting for both of you.

“Oh Rogers is back too!”, Tony said eagerly.

“Did you two have fun last night?”, Nat smirked suggestively at the two of you.

“I see neither of you learned your lesson then”, Steve shook his head at them before looking at you, catching you staring at him. “What do you miss Stevie?”

You shook your head at him. Lightly slapping his chest. “I like what’s in here. Doesn’t matter how you look”

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wanderersrest · 8 months ago

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Some (More, but Actual) Context For G Gundam

Content Warning: Casual mentions of genocide due to the fact that this is a post covering real world events that happened before and during the airing of Mobile Fighter G Gundam in Japan. Reader discretion is advised.

Also, shout outs to Secret Galaxy, whose video on G Gundam helped a bit with some of the juicy context.

So I know I said I'd be talking about G Gundam. I will, but I still need to set the scenery a bit before I actually talk about G Gundam proper. Give you some context, because it'll help when it comes time to understand what was going on with G Gundam. Think of me as Stalker, setting up the scene at the beginning of every episode of G Gundam.

So with that, Context Fight! Ready, GO!!!

Sunrise, Bandai, and Victory Gundam

(Fun fact for the Gintama heads out there: Victory Gundam protagonist Usso Ewin is voiced by Daisuke Sakaguchi. In other words, Usso shares a voice actor with a sentient pair of glasses Shinpachi)

I figure a good place to start with all of this CONTEXT is start with what is going on at Sunrise, the anime company that produces and makes the Gundam anime series. Let's just say I didn't pick this gif of Usso out of the blue. During the run of the previous Gundam series, Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, Sunrise would be bought out by toymaker Bandai. And as they are the new bosses in town, Bandai started making demands. A lot of demands. So much so that series creator Yoshiyuki Tomino left the series once Victory Gundam wrapped up its run due to the amount of meddling Bandai was causing. So now, Bandai is in control of a franchise but lacking one of the main creative forces behind this iconic franchise. They also have a new idea for a new Gundam series, and they would prefer someone who is more compliant with their changes. Fortunately for Bandai, they would tap someone who had worked with Tomino on multiple projects together.

Enter Yasuhiro Imagawa

Bandai taps Yasuhiro Imagawa to direct this new Gundam series, as a move to get someone who may be more compliant to their whims. After all, Imagawa's only major projects as a director at this point are Ajikko-san and a couple of episodes of the Giant Robo OVA (a series I plan on watching eventually). There's just one problem: Imagawa worked under Tomino on a handful of projects, namely Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. So Imagawa kinda knows what Gundam's all about, especially since his focus was on storyboarding. If anything, he was just as put off on the idea as most Gundam fans at the time were, going so far as to try and come up with some ridiculous mecha designs that would flummox the people at Bandai. Imagawa would fail, but he would learn that it might be best to work with Bandai in order to make this Gundam series. Imagawa would begin work on a series that would, on the outside, be a radical departure from what Gundam was.

(Read in Susumu Chiba's voice) Stand up, Boy! Stand up and FIGHT!!!!

So you've probably gotten to this point and asked: "Why a tournament arc though?" And I will preface my answer with this: I'm not super-certain if the timeline lines up as well in my head, so if anyone can correct me on this, feel free to comment or message me on this if I'm wrong.

My answer is that there are two series responsible for this: Dragon Ball and Street Fighter. See, Dragon Ball Z would also be airing around this time, and if I'm thinking correctly, it should be airing around the time of the Cell Games arc (I think; Again, please correct me if I'm wrong). And remember, Dragon Ball is one of, if not the, most influential shounen battle series of all time. Add onto that the sudden success of Capcom's Street Fighter with the release of Street Fighter II and its colorful cast of characters from various nations with colorful attacks, and you can definitely see why Bandai would want to get in on the trend.

Would it surprise you if I told you that one of the more influential series for G Gundam was also Saint Seiya (or Knights of the Zodiac for those more familiar with its western name), specifically when it comes to the concept of the golden super mode. I also would not be surprised if Saint Seiya was also the reason for the majority of the Shuffle Alliance members being HOT MEN. Then again, Gundam's success was kickstarted thanks to women, so it may also be a treat for the ladies.

What's Going On in the World (1994 Edition)

So enough about Shonen Jump series and Street Fighter. What about the rest of the world? As we all know, media is informed by the world events that unfold as it's being made, and G Gundam is no exception. And while not all of these events happen before the series starts to air, they do, in my opinion, help to either inform or reinforce the ideas and themes present in Mobile Fighter G Gundam. I won't say what those themes and ideas are in this video, but here's an incomplete list of what is going on in the world before and during G Gundam's run:

The Japanese economic bubble bursts in 1992.

To reflect that, Patlabor 2 releases in theaters in 1993, best exemplifying the more pessimistic tones of post-bubble Japan by giving us a much colder and more cynical version of Patlabor that contrasts heavily to the more optimistic tone the series had prior to Patlabor 2.

Furthermore, a lot of western countries would be suffering from recessions at this point in the 90's. To put things into context for Americans, the economy is a large part of why Bill Clinton beat George H. W. Bush in the '92 Election.

In terms of entertainment, two extremely iconic series are still being worked on during G Gundam's airing: Pokemon and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

The general public is more aware of the climate than ever before, especially since it had been about 9-10 years since scientists discovered a hole in the ozone layer directly above Antarctica.

A week after G Gundam begins airing, the Rwandan Genocide begins in earnest.

Before their infamous Tokyo Subway Sarin attack, the cult Aum Shinrikyo would pull off a smaller scale Sarin attack in Matsumoto.

Just for fun: Magic Knight Rayearth airs in October of '94. In my mind, Rayearth acts as a sort of distaff counterpart to G Gundam due to their primary audiences.

And that's a wrap. I hope this more scattershot dive into some Context TM was interesting. This is going to be on the exam, as next time I will finally be talking about Mobile Fighter G Gundam

#anime and manga #mecha #mobile fighter g gundam #anime history #mobile suit victory gundam #a wild daisuke sakaguchi appeared #saint seiya #knights of the zodiac #street fighter #street fighter ii #dragon ball #dragon ball z #dbz #japanese economic bubble #giant robo ova #ajikko-san #yasuhiro imagawa #mobile suit zeta gundam

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