#i have a lot of thoughts and feelings about shiori she means so much to me

[demento-mori]

I also think a lot of the Shiori Hate™ comes from her portrayal in Adolescence. Now, while I understand the conclusions that peoole come to based on this, I don't think it's entirely fair to Shiori's character as it doesn't really take into consideration the context of Adolescence and the role that Shiori plays in the narrative.

Adolescence of Utena (regardless of whether you interpret it as a direct sequel, a standalone reimagining, or something in-between) clearly serves as a synopsis of the events of the series, just with details cut-out, changed, or condensed to support the movie's length. For example, the Student Council arc is instead condensed into a single duel with Saionji, as is the Apocalypse arc with Juri.

I would argue that Movie!Shiori, rather than being 100% representative of the real Shiori, is instead meant to serve as a stand-in for the Black Rose Duelists as a collective. The Black Rose Arc in RGU is vital in showing how victims of the system are turned against one another in order to keep them distracted from their real oppressors (this idea is also embodied in the series by Nanami, who is missing from the movie). It also demonstrates several examples of how Ohtori Academy's patriarchal system has fostered unhealthy and toxic relationships between various characters. I believe that Shiori is meant to serve as the embodiment of these themes in Adolescence of Utena, in lieu of the Black Rose Arc.

In Adolescence, Shiori has a very unhealthy and toxic relationship with Juri. She wants to force Juri to be her prince forever, so that she, by extension, can gain power within the system. This is in much the same way that the Black Rose Duelists make their respective student council members into rose brides by forcefully pulling swords from their chests, all in order to gain power and agency within the system. Shiori also plays a major antagonistic role in the movie as she is the one who exposes Anthy as the one who "killed" Akio, and she later attempts to stop Anthy from escaping to the real world (its a big mistake to think you're the only one who can turn into a car). I would argue that this represents how the Black Rose Duelists are convinced by Mikage to kill the Rose Bride, believing that it will solve their problems- which in itself represents how victims of the system are turned against other victims in order to keep them from rising up against the real oppressors. I think that this shows how Shiori's motivations within the movie more closely align with the general motivations of the Black Rose Duelists as a whole, rather than her original motivations within the series (which are worthy of an analysis all on their own).

-

Tl;dr Movie!Shiori shouldn't be taken as a true 1:1 representation of Shiori's character, because she actually represents the entire Black Rose Arc and all its themes as a whole, just in condensed movie format.

[taki118]

Yakuza Fiance ep 2 Manga Comparison

Well ep two of Raise wa Tanin ga Ii aka Yakuza Fiance, just aired. Much like ep 1 a bunch of things left out add context and are good bits, however it was something added thats concerning this time. Since I am SUPER normal about the manga I got everything here under the cut. Warning these are fan translations cause I'm lazy.

The opening scene of Yoshino trying to eat her lunch is very similar in the anime compared to the manga however did loose this bit

Its a fun little montage of Kirishima just popping up around her and would have been good to show just how irritating he's being. And we also loose this important Yoshino insight.

Yoshino in the anime only just touches on the thoughts of being unable to tell what he's thinking. The manga goes deeper as she's scared but also angry about how little she can do, you could almost call it an emotional through line of the arc.

When Kirishima shows up it's relatively the same but condensed not too bad but we did loose this funny little gag

I find it odd that the anime removed a very visual joke.

The talk with Tachibana is very faithful not much missing but again we loose some Yoshino thoughts as she leaves. In the anime she just worries about being stuck with Kirishima the manga however

Yoshino is actually deep in thought about the situation, pondering what it might mean and she's actually not that far from the truth with her own instincts.

The convo with Kirishima inviting her to dinner is much the same again condensed from the manga and missing some more dynamic poses but not much else is lost.

And the dinner itself is where we again loose Yoshino insights. The anime just has her kinda vaguely think Kirishima is sus then kinda abruptly cuts to her having no frame of reference where as the manga

She's thinking a LOT about Kirishima and how dangerous his words and manner actually is so the shift in topic makes more sense.

So the talk about Shiori is the same with again the conversation all being cut down the major change comes at the end after he gets the call it just ends there shifting to the next scene so we loose this cute bit

It's a funny bit and ends the night cleaner but I do get that for the anime the transition would not be as clear.

The scene at school is the same but we do loose this note from Yoshino after Kirishima explains turfs in Tokyo

Makes her appear less in the know about this stuff in the anime, a shame it was cut.

The car ride with Inamori is much the same in the anime but we loose this bit here

Where he explains Kirishima is actually close with Tachibana and we loose some more insight into him as a character which is a shame.

The bigger shame is again loosing Yoshino's thoughts after hearing about the middle school incident her perception really starts shifting on Kirishima

Something about the manga I always liked is how the relationship between these two feels like a power play. Like a real life or death situation the notion he could just get bored and kill her feels very real in these early chapters but the anime just doesn't really convey it

The phone call scene is again shorter but fundamentally the same though we do loose info that it's Shirori's birthday party and that Kirishima knew it and figured she'd do something like this. Also in the manga he looks more genuinely surprised when Yoshino says she'll go.

I am upset with how short the club scene is like it legit feels like things were hastily cut in the anime.

We miss out on mom Yoshino and Kirishima kinda taking advantage of the situation and there's also an explanation about how they are going to the VIP area cut.

So the confrontation and fight and pretty one to one though again we loose some Yoshino thoughts

Again she's thinking about how this might have been a mistake so when she resolves herself to get up it feels all the better. The scenes not bad in the anime but but when you know what you could've had it kinda sucks.

From here to the scene ends theres again nothing missing which is good her scolding is so good for both of their development.

Sadly the scene where they talk about the aftermath is severely cut down. When Yoshino asks about his injuries its brushed off pretty quick in the anime whereas the manga goes more in depth

Explaining the undershirt he's wearing is to hide bruises and that Yoshino got an earful from her grandpa which helps to give a feel that they have a more normal relationship. Its then followed by

Here Kirishima explains things a little better, the rationale of why he did all this flows better in the manga and the notion that he had been tracking and planning to get Shirori is much clearer given there are some hints earlier in the manga. The anime just goes straight to the cash reveal.

After the scene is the same well expect for one addition to the anime. Honestly going through this I'm a little more pissed off about what was cut than in ep 1 cause some of these things COULD have stayed. So ok this is how the corresponding chapter ends

The anime for some reason decided to add a Shouma teaser. Where he just shows up on his bike, looks at Kirishima who looks back and then just leaves. Like what was the point of that???? And when you know Shouma's character it makes even less sense. Honestly an Azami tease would make more sense here than Shouma but still equally as stupid. I would have rathered expansion on the scenes that were already present than adding one that functionally does nothing. The best implication is the Renji had him watching them occasionally but even then it doesn't make sense. I think they just thought the audience would loose interest if Shouma didn't make some kind of appearance, but we'll see I am working on a whole meta thing on the threes dynamic so sorry about this rant at the end here.

[transmascutena]

I've been browsing your blog for a bit looking but I couldn't find anything so I thought I'd just ask: What's the deal with Shiori? You seem to like her a lot more than I did and so I feel like I'm probably just missing what she had going on. From my POV she just seemed to want to hurt Juri, and I didn't read any romanticism in there. Apologies if I just missed any analysis posts you've already made about her!

i have not actually done any proper analysis on shiori, which i want to change. i find her character very fascinating.

you're right that shiori wants to hurt juri, there's no real debate about that. the interesting part comes when you start to dig into why she does it. in her black rose episode, it becomes very clear that shiori is incredibly insecure, especially when it comes to juri, who is apparently perfect at everything. this is similar to every other black rose duelist, who are envious or resentful of people who are "special" (even if being special is not something to actually strive for in ohtori. that's something i've talked about a lot.) but, also like the other black rose duelists, shiori has romantic tension with her corresponding student council member. unlike the other's though, at least at a glance, it is juri who has unrequited feelings for shiori, not the other way around. but is that really true? my read on shiori's character, like many other people's, is that she does return juri's feelings. i mean, come on. "i loved the look in your eyes when i hurt you"? yeah. all those things about juri that shiori was envious of, like how pretty she is, are really things shiori finds attractive about her. the problem is that shiori has just so so much internalized homophobia (that becomes externalized homophobia aimed at juri when she Realizes) and also that those insecurities about being worse than juri at everything are still very real. which manifests in her trying to "steal" boys from juri, just to have one thing over her. of course this isn't actually what hurts juri, but instead that shiori (seemingly) doesn't realize or return her feelings. which is something that leads juri to very unfairly resenting shiori as well. both the negative and positive feelings they have for each other are mutual, and that is what makes their relationship so interesting to me.

anyway yeah. once you realize shiori isn't just doing these things for no reason, she becomes a much more sympathetic character. and also she's literally 15 years old, so while she is a pretty cruel person, it's not unforgivable and she's not "irredeemable" like some people say. i think what sets her apart from a lot of other utena characters in some people's minds is that there's no real way to argue that she had good intentions with the things she did. if we're talking characters who are close to juri, some people argue that ruka is a better person because he at least believed he was helping her and wanted to do something good, which is the opposite of what shiori does. i just don't think that matters very much. shiori intended to hurt juri, but failed to do it in the way she wanted. ruka intended to help juri, but only ended up hurting her. and i think that's a lot worse.

[thecoolerliauditore]

Well! This is probably better formatted as an ask than as a reply to your comment, so... tumblr user thecoolerliauditore! Whatre your "#thoughts" on adolesence of utena?🎤

oh boy. mic'd up. okay crazy

(oh my god i wrote fucking a lot im sorry)

So first things first. Enjoyable movie! I liked it and it's high point for me is definitely the art, cinematography and overall spectacle. And I'm always happy for more Utena, so I'm very glad I got to watch it!

But just from that you can probably gather that I. Might not have the highest opinion of the movie otherwise.

Don't get me wrong it's still a very solid and fun watch and I liked it but I just think it's vibe is very. distinctly different from the series? It actually reminds me a lot of what I expected Utena to be before I watched it, if that says anything. Very artsy and symbolism-y, but the characters felt distinctly less human than in the show.

Utena herself I actually think is the biggest downgrade from show to movie, maybe as a consequence of so much of it being mainly from Anthy's POV (not a bad thing Ily Anthy <33) but her motivations felt very. ??????? to me several times in the movie. Especially when it came to her relationship with Anthy and Touga. The car thing is like absolutely my favourite thing to come out of the movie and I rewatch that car wash sequence and chase scene sooooo much but I do think it's funny she Literally turns into a vehicle for Anthy's development.

Anthy is cool I don't have any beef with Anthy and I never will. Her flashback scenes are really awesome, the sound design in this movie especially in those scenes is sooooo‼️‼️‼️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 I personally don't really know what to make of the "sequel" read of this movie but I do think it makes the most sense for how Anthy acts here.

Mixed feelings with Akio. On one hand I think it's very fitting that Anthy-in-recovery would now see through his facade and see him as pathetic instead of menacing, but on the other hand he really just feels like a complete separate entity to show Akio. His scenes are really funny though.

I think my hater tendencies might have a strong basis in the fact that I think it. grits teeth. understandably considering the runtime sidelines my favourite characters from the show -- Wakaba gets reduced to the plot-irrelevant best friend role her Black Rose episode worked to challenge, Nanami is entirely erased and Shiori. Is maybe the one I have the most thoughts about because they essentially gave her an entire new thing to do independent of her plot with Juri and it's??Actually really awesome to me. Like she WOULD is the thing she WOULD do this and I've talked about before how hilarious it is that while she's literally having sex with a guy all she talks about is Juri.

But the plot treats her with this? Idk if I'm just not getting it or what but it feels like she's treated very unfairly and her comphet isn't acknowledged as comphet. It's almost like they needed someone to fill the mean girl role and they knew Nanami wouldn't go down well so they shoved Shiori in there and said good enough.

The shot of her license plate being run over by the remaining black cars is heartbreaking to me but like. Hey Juri hey so your crush is um Fucking Dead yeah uh you should know?

Idk just. very strange treatment of her character that feels very anti-utena to me. Her depth is hinted at but not explored, and what we're left with is kind of. Making me sad.

Speaking of Shiori the sex scene with Touga might be my favourite thing to come out of the movie other than the final car sequence. It's not only gorgeously animated but horrifyingly portrayed, I always read it as Touga forcing himself to focus on the butterflies to avoid having to acknowledge his rape and thus they're shown so significantly in the flashback. Idk if that's. Right but I think it's neat.

Touga himself is. Interesting I guess? Idk it feels again very anti-utena to me to even attempt at redeeming Touga or making him more sympathetic when the message I walked away from the original show was that his actions are horrible but they can't really be judged by me, an audience member, when he too is a victim of the system. No problem with the CSA, I think it makes enough sense in addition to the rest of the character, but turning him into literally an innocent child who died trying to play prince instead of acknowledging that he is 1. an abuser and 2. still a victim of the system who can one day move on from it makes me feel. Again a little sad. Out of all the characters he feels the most detached from the original to me and I honestly wonder what the intention was here, especially if we're looking at this as a sequel to the show.

I think other people might have stronger feelings regarding Touga and Utena's kiss scene than me. Personally I just umm. Good for them but thumbs down hashtag just my opinion

The other student council members are fine, I think. Cuts galore but whatever it's a movie. I do think it's a massive shame that they had Utena just straight up beat Juri when one of my favourite things about their dynamic in the show for me was that she never actually beat her fair and square. But whatever man. Kozue is Also Here.

The film is also like. I don't like using this word because wOw UtENa Is CoNFUsInG but it is genuinely like. Very incoherent? It feels like to me a a list of scattered unused ideas from the show and some semblance of an epilogue for Anthy that got mushed together with some really beautiful visuals.

I don't really get who the target audience is? If I hadn't watched the show I'd be confused and lost. If I have watched the show I'm still confused and lost but for entirely different reasons.

The scene where Utena chokes Anthy the fuck out and then the really beautiful iconic dance sequence embody this to me where these scenes are GORGEOUS on their own and make my brain tick but the first time I watched it I was like. ???? weren't you fucking her ass up a moment ago.

Utena with short hair is cool I like.

I think that's about it holyyyy. Okay awesome I'm sorry man.

[caliburn-the-sword]

up to chapter 10. first winter thoughts!!!

thanks to miss marissa meyer because literally everything about winter completely makes up for the fact that i had to go through fairest. also this time i wasn't too lazy to take photos sometimes!! (don't ask me how it's less effort to type up quotes instead of just taking a photo, sending it to my email and downloading the photo from there-- and oh never mind it is still a lot of effort and is only worth it for chunks of paragraphs)

"dark side of luna" made me remember that one side of the moon is perpetually day time. i'm assuming that's where everyone lives since people need vitamin D. hope worldbuilding expands on what it's like during "night time" which is to say when it's late

i think this is the first time we've had a significant time jump between books. it's been months since war started, whereas the past few books only had days between them. idk if i'm disappointed yet because it means we skip a significant portion of the development between winter and scarlet, as well as seeing how kai integrates with the rest of the rampion crew. (note: or it's only been a month????)

ahh do the domes cut off light once it's "nighttime"???

omg she still hasn't seen jacin - i imagine he's also been locked up?? for treason?? but then why not just killed like this father of a shell

APPLAUDED the execution???? cray z

JACIN FINALLY. he's a main love interest so there's no way he will die. i wonder how winter will save him. why was he under arrest for so long??? levana doesn't seem like the type to waste time, unless the war was holding most of her attention

damn that's crazy devoted of winter to die by the blade

i feel like winter hates gingers more than tiktok does LMAO

i can't wait to get jacin's pov and see if he actually tipped off sybil or if it was someone else (which i believe it to be)

why does the name liam kinney sound familiar to me. also, this guard is definitely important since he has been named AND is standing up for jacin. confirmed by kinney looking at winter lol

30 LASHINGS?? there is NO way he can realistically survive that, even if self inflicted. and 40 hours of penance?? sounds vaguely catholic lmao. wonder what it means in this context

"a girl of sunshine and stardust" AYO NEW Y/A FANTASY TITLE JUST DROPPED fskhfsdkhfshk

"Willful determination had stifled any hallucinations." i'm not an expert or anything but like,,, i don't think think that's how it works?? if anyone's got experience with this please let me know if you're comfortable with sharing

why tf does aimery hate jacin so bad (note: probably a jealous bastard?? creeper mccreepface wants winter all for himself)

seeing jacin grin is honestly kind of alarming. i don't remember him smiling ONCE in his first book. but seeing him smile to reassure her after he's literally been through hell is so nice. i am beginning to see why people like him now. i take back the mean things i said

if i had a nickel for every time the most beautiful woman in the land had a scar that accentuated and multiplied her beauty, i would only have 2 nickels but it's weird that it's happened twice (shiori's stepmother from six crimson cranes). it's very slayed of them. more appreciation for scars PLEASE.

"My Selene" HELP THAT'S SO TENDER??? i am already feeling feelings

these childhood best friends have absolutely NO business flirting with each other this hard

i'm sorry but can kai even cook?? i highly doubt it he's literally royalty there is no way (note: i KNEW that he couldn't cook)

17TH KISS?????

FINALLY SCARLET AT CHAPTER 5 I THOUGHT I WOULD EXPLODE WITHOUT HER

scarlet's relationship with ryu is something i didn't know i needed until now. anyway i love them very much. her emotional support wolf

i wonder how scarlet's finger is healing up

scarlet is so helplessly gay for winter lmao

i'm honestly surprised that scarlet is trusting winter's word that her friends are alive

ngl it's very apalling and sickening that a race of people that can use their gift to command someone to do anything they like, such as telling the truth, the lunars instead choose to TORTURE answers out of people. it's the ultimate display of torture being a method of exerting power rather than to actually try and find answers

i LOVE how marissa meyer throws together so many duos of characters and really lets them bond. it's so nice to see cress help wolf now so casually with the benoit farm when she used to be terrified of him during the kidnapping of kai - oh lol nevermind she's still terrified lmao. but this is still good progress and i'm living for it and i can't wait to see them become closer!! imagine him as an older brother figure for her~

since we have no idea who cinder's father is imagine if her nameless father is in fact wolf's father

knowing what wolf and scarlet are like about tomatoes. insufferable fandom culture have probably made tomatoes their entire personalities in like

FIRST JACIN POV CHAPTER

"Dreaming was for people with nothing better to do." okay emo bastard. try not being blonde and looking like a disney prince and then get back to me (seriously i'm imagining him as those vaguely femboy tiktok guys with like long wispy hair in a manbun and is vaguely elflike and uh oh am i just picturing legolas but with shoulder length hair?? fuck me dead)

TWO jacin chapters in a row?? i'm being treated to the works. thank you miss marissa meyer

i will admit,,, that the banter that winter and jacin have is quite delicious (context: he's just been made her personal guard for the first time)

the way that winter and jacin are literally foils for levana and evret makes me froth at the mouth. will not be elaborating i MUST READ no time (or braincells) for analysation

THORNE CAN SEE AGAIN aaaaaaand he's being weird about cress. i hate it here

i love how instead of being all jealous that cinder and thorne have spent all this time together kai says almost the EXACT same thing about thorne being competition as thorne did when he found out about kai. love triangle except they're only doing it for the meme. so real of them (except thorne please stop creeping on teenage girls challenge)

note: reactions with photos are now gonna be their own posts because trying to figure out the formatting was a nightmare and i'm too tired for this shit. tag list does not apply to that because again i'm too lazy. peace and love <3

@eddisfargo @francforever @winterrhayle @winterpinetrees @shellyseashell

[shinidamachu]

Have you ever heard the song Light by Sleeping at Last? I get sooooo many inukag feels from it and I feel like you’d really like it!

I love Sleeping at Last! Two is in every Inukag playlist I've made to this day. I'll admit I don't remember ever listening to Light before, but when I finally did, all I could think about was how Inuyasha's relationship with Kagome impacts who he would be as a father.

According to Genius, Light is the follow on track — storyline wise — of Uneven Odds, a song about a boy who had lost both of his parents. Ryan O'Neal explained that the song is written from the perspective of this little boy, who is now an adult and becoming a parent himself.

May these words be the first to find your ears The world is brighter than the sun now that you're here Though your eyes will need some time to adjust To the overwhelming light surrounding us

From the very beginning it's clear the narrator is a parent talking to his newborn. Kagome was the first person to tell Inuyasha things he desperately needed to hear and something I love about Inukag is how she is a source of light and warmth in Inuyasha's life and how this is supported by the text and the narrative, so it's like he is saying those things from experience here.

I'll give you everything I have I'll teach you everything I know I promise I'll do better

Inuyasha doesn't have much, but he was always risking everything he had to protect Kagome and now that he has much more than he ever thought he would, he can do the same for their child.

And I'm not talking only about the fire rat robe or tessaiga — although they can be great heirlooms — but we know when Inuyasha loves someone, he gives them his all: body, mind and soul. His sweat, blood and tears.

Furthermore, Inuyasha's jorney was tremendous and he learned a lot, especially from Kagome. Now that he is grown and wiser, he can pass on those very important lessons to his own child while still working on himself to improve and be better than he ever was, to be a man deserving of Kagome and his baby because he has been through too much and is still a work in progress.

I will always hold you close But I will learn to let you go I promise I'll do better

Inuyasha was touch starved for the most par of his life, so even though he tries to be nonchalant about it, the truth is that he thrives on physical affection, which is why he wants to keep close any source of it.

But he also came to terms with the fact that holding on is only half of what truly loving someone actually means. The other half is letting go, which is why we often got scenes of him pushing Kagome away — both literally and metaphorically — or giving her up even if it was the last thing he wanted to do.

Because he can't be selfish with her, her safety and her feelings have got to come first so he has to give her space to make her own decisions and hope that, whatever she decides, she will be safe and happy. He owes her that much and that's all he really dares to ask for.

With kids is not different, because sooner or later they're gonna leave the nest and there's not really much a father can do except staying back, watching them shine and cheering them on in every step of the way.

I will soften every edge I'll hold the world to its best And I'll do better

There's nothing more symbolic than a character who was once rough around the edges wanting to soften every edge of the world because once upon a time someone softned his and now he is trying to do the same in hopes of creating a better place for their own baby.

We don't talk about it much, but Inuyasha is an idealist. Way less optimistic than Kagome, sure, but an idealist nonetheless. As much of a cynical as he was — or claimed to be — about the world and the people in it, he never really was a passive voice.

On the contrary, he fought for his life, fought for people like Shiori and Jinenji. Even though he knew this was just how things were he didn't act like he truly accepted it and that's why Change The World is one of the best openings ever. Inuyasha changed the world by just existing and now he'll make it so it treats his child better than it treated him.

With every heartbeat I have left I will defend your every breath And I'll do better

"If that's what you want, then I'll protect you with my life" is the first things that comes to mind and it couldn't be different. Inuyasha lives and dies for the people he cares about. A child would only intensify those protective instincts to the highest level.

'Cause you are loved, you are loved more than you know I hereby pledge all of my days to prove it so Though your heart is far too young to realize The unimaginable light you hold inside

Although he has his moments, words aren't usually his thing. He shows his affection with acts of service, physical touch and quality time and it's often so subtle sometimes people won't notice it or, if they do, won't comprehend just how deep his feelings runs.

Inuyasha is nothing if not loyal and the love he felt for Kagome was so transcendental that it kept growing strong even in the three years they spent apart, when he went to the well every three days to try and get to her. He would have waited for her until the end of his days and when she finally returned, he gave them all to her anyway.

And the "light" of this last verse can be interpreted both as a reference to the recurring theme of Kagome being the sun of his cold, dark world — who is now brighter also thanks to their kid — and a refference to the light of a priest(ess) born out of their union, who could easily carry their mother's powers within them.

I will rearrange the stars Pull 'em down to where you are I promise I'll do better With every heartbeat I have left I'll defend your every breath I promise I'll do better

Another thing I love about Inukag is the constant use of stars in their relationship — they often can be seeing stargazing alone — because stars are constantly associated with the universe. Stars aligned so that they could meet at the right place at the right time only for fate to cruelly rip them away from each other. They had to defy time and space to get their happily ever after. It's nothing Inuyasha wouldn't also do for their child.

Being a parent is already challenging. You're learning on the job every single day, so you're always trying to do better, to do better. In Inuyasha's especific case must be even harder due to his traumas and the prejudice that his child will have to go through, but the bottom line is that he is willing to go above and beyond to give them everything he didn't have.

[purgemarchlockdown]

ask game

from tsuwmya 2, 4, 11, 12, 13 for Muu and 1, 2, 3, 5, 21 for Mahiru I hope it's not too much 👉👈

It's no problem! I enjoy doing ask games a lot they're really fun!

Muu:

2. favorite mv moment/frame?

I love this frame from It's Not My Fault so much, it's just so pretty and lovely to watch. I love how slow it feels...

4. favorite minigram episode/moment?

I think bread Muu is really funny. Second place goes to Raincoat Muu though.

11. what are your favorite points about their story and the narrative surrounding them?

TOXIC CYCLES AND ENVIRONMENTS I LOVE YOU (IN STORYTELLING)!!!!!

I love it when characters are...kinda the worst. I am a Worst Girls Enjoyer and I like it when characters are horrible so Muu's already appealing from that point.

But Muu is so much More than just Horrible and that's really what sells her for me, cause there is a lot of depth to her as a character. Muu's a victim and a bully, she tries her best to keep herself satisfied with this shallow form of love and attention, one predicated on being at the top and hurting the people under you. As long as you are not the worst you can continue to get the "honey." Which leads to very destructive and unhealthy environments and situations.

It's not really surprising Haruka and Muu gravitated towards each other, both use "pity" to gain a form of "love" and in the process demean and hurt themselves. Muu's self hatred is a very real thing and it's not something she can easily grow out of.

Muu's kinda stuck, she's unwilling to take responsibility for her own faults but also due to the horribly toxic school environment she finds herself in she's unable to really grow Either since the place basically discourages growth and development and she's also horribly insecure and self-hating which really doesnt help anyone.

Plus as I said she uses that "pity" to gain love and that kinda means she Needs to be in some sort of bad situation for that to work. The "ideal" situation for Muu is one where she's in pain so that people care about her and that's just...depressing.

I could talk about it forever honestly but there's a lot more questions so-

12. what do you wish would be discussed more often about them in the fandom?

I want to see more discussion on her horribly toxic cycles and self-destruction! I don't think there's much of it and its sad since its such an integral part of her story. She's really channeling Shiori fr and I think that's really interesting! Plus I'd also like if if people stopped treating her like a mastermind...she isn't...she's really impulsive actually...

13. any ideas on what would they and their MV be like if they got a different verdict in T1?

Plays up the pity factor by a lot, you thought After Pain was sad? Muu's playing that thing up to eleven now. She's desperate to gain love and attention so please please please forgive her now, she won't do anything bad she promises! It be real depressing alright...

Mahiru:

1. favorite song lyrics?

Even when I test you, even the times we do the breakup ritual, Is because I love you

This is the most quietly horrifying line in TIHTBILWY for me and I love it. Mahiru "Love is Pain" Shiina Just Admitted to testing how much her boyfriend loves her and how willing he is to stay with her. "Breakup ritual" is so horrifying in this context I love it.

2. favorite mv moment/frame?

Cat moment fr.

3. favorite non-mv official illustration?

(I can't find a big version of this for some reason) I Love her album cover! It's really striking and pretty I think, plus I really like all the flowers around it.

5. favorite voice drama line/moment?

Mahiru: What? No, no. There’s no such thing as that. Being in love is like a landmine. It’ll explode someday, you know? The only thing that differs is whether it happens earlier or later in life. It’ll happen to you too. Even if you don’t have any interest in it now, one day it’ll explode for you as well. All because you’ll have that fateful encounter with your special someone.

Can you tell I Really like it when Mahiru is horrible? It's subtle here but her insensitivity and the way she can ignore what other people say and want because She thinks she knows whats best is shown here and I really like that about her. Plus the amatonormativity is Real in this sentence.

21. do you have any similarities with them/relate to something in them?

Not really, I don't really relate to Mahiru much. I'm not a romance person (I'm...90-97% sure I'm aro depending on the day) and she can honestly be a bit overwhelming for Me. I can sometimes be a bit overindulgent with my interests though so I guess that counts.

[heartslobbf]

thoughts on juri gender + juriori 🎤

so many thoughts. arguably too many. i have cherrypicked the ones i think are most interesting/original for you <3

i guess the thing with juri's gender is that she somehow manages to degender herself in the public eye, unless someone like ruka or shiori comes along and prods at her and makes everyone else realise how queer (in both senses) she is. also whilst i love butch juri truthers with my whole heart and think yall rock, she is a femme to me. bc i am a femme and juri is probably the rgu character i most relate to, which is cringe and lame but you know whatever. if i didnt relate to her i would probably be a butch truther too bc i am a butch lover first human second. i think it is her experiences with gender that most resonate with me, bc of how her gender and lesbianism are just. they are one and the same the venn diagram is a circle and it's just like Yeah. im an aromantic lesbian so whilst i have complicated feelings about Girls and have had a handful of teenage lesbian situationships that fucked me up, i dont Quite relate to juri's angst. that's not a critique of it whatosever, to be clear, because the purpose of art is not relatability, but im talking about how juri is relatable to me as a character so you know. you get it.

i have so much love in my heart for people whose fave is juri i really really do. probably because you are all lesbians and i love lesbians. my fave is anthy but a) you knew that already and b) she is also a lesbian and (imho) an aro-spec one at that. anyway you didnt ask about anthy so i prommy i wont talk about her anymore (lie). i also wont talk anymore about my aromantic readings of rgu (lie).

asking me about juriori is a fun one, because you might want a considered analysis of their relationship within canon, and you will get some of that, but you'll also get my unhinged ramblings about shipping culture. i feel i should disclose that by 'shipping culture' i mean shippy fandom antics and not, like, the presence of romantic relationships in rgu. that's super interesting and i have a lot to say about it, but what isn't super interesting to me is like.. committing a lot of time to intricately imagining the adult lives of rgu characters in monogamous amatonormative domestic relationships with one another, or whatever the hell. not juicy or nuanced or messy or interesting TO ME, an aromantic person who loves conflict, so you know. you (generally, not anon) do you, but it doesnt grip me personally. i DO enjoy fanart of the characters aged up and happy, for two reasons: the fashion, and the way that it's thematically consistent with rgu. it's like a glimpse at their future you know?? it's a glimmer of hope, or whatever.

ANYWAY, my hot juriori take is that i dont know if theyd work out as a romantic relationship, but i also wouldnt categorically say they wouldnt, because the whole point of the rgu ending is like 'fuck knows what'll happen, but you better fucking hope and you better believe in these characters' ability to choose for themselves and escape the trappings of the narrative'. whatever happens happens. this is of course problematic when i, as a writer, have occasionally attempted an rgu fic, bc im always like well fuck idk what juriori would be doing!! that's not for me to decide!! and it's like im literally writing this story it 100% is for me to decide and then i just get annoyed about the 'ethics' of writing rgu fic and get sad about forcing these kids into the narrative over and over and give up. im a normal person btw. i envy people who can write banger rgu fic more than anyone on the earth you guys are wizards to me.

juriori are also kind of funny to me bc all of their conflict stems from the cisheteropatriarchy of it all and how that's shaped their perceptions of themselves, each other and the wider world. like they are just the teenage lesbian situationship girlies and i think that's beautiful. just like me fr. you know for me personally, kiryuu sibling aficionado, it's quite nice to think about juriori and reminisce about my own teenage lesbian situationships as a kind of break from all of the Horrors. they're wonderfully (mostly) disconnected from akio in a way that just makes me skip with joy. that being said, if youve ever seen me talk about azure paler than the sky, you know it's one of my top ten episodes of the show and my favourite duel in the show and also, simply, fucking Agonising. i do think that juri episodes, visually, are some of the strongest in the show.

my other big juriori point that i wanna hit is that shiori is soooooooo noli me tangere for caesars i am coded. if youre unfamiliar with whoso list to hunt i know where is an hynde, what i'm trying to say here is that shiori loves to be hopelessly pursued because it's the only meaningful way she can exert power over others as a 'princess'. but princesses cant exert power over others by definition of being princesses, so she's really a witch. just like the deer in whoso list. but im normal about renaissance poetry, what i really want to say is how compelled i am by shiori's witchification and how oblivious so many people are to it when watching the show even though she's literally ourple. you know, the witch colour. and she's a reddish ourple!!! you know, red. the duplicitous bitch colour!!!!!

ourple is arguably also that colour in rgu, but i feel compelled to point out anthytougaisms at all possible opportunities. the anthy-touga-shiori triad is like. world's most concentrated source of internalised homophobia, machiavellian bull and general malintent towards people who sincerely love you. and i love them. especially shiori because truly why is she like that. like i know why she's like that but it's funny to marvel at how deranged she truly is. no one does it like her fr and i have so much love in my heart for her. i think the only rgu kids i actually actively dislike are ruka (still find him fascinating and compelling tho, he's a brilliant character and there is nuance to him. i also just despise him) and miki which is just a me thing. i am aware that it's funny i dont like miki for being a shit brother when i like touga, but you have to understand that my liking touga is complicated and he's only, like, my fourth favourite character when nanami is my second <3 love and light <3 also idk if ive ever said this anywhere but i genuinely love shiori and touga's relationship in aou, not because i think they're like? good together or whatever?? i think theyre both gay so you know whatever, i just find their interactions compelling and like. mannnn. it says so much about a character. the way that they both are around each other. very very interesting.

my final thing that i must assert as a shiori apologist is that she did nothing wrong <3 like if you didnt know that gay people were real and hated your own guts you too would be a java sparrow hurtling into a glass wall youre unable to see. episode 17 makes me feel like a wild animal. also yes i find juri more relatable and yes i think shiori's the more justified of the two, it's partially bc it's funny and also partially bc juri is mean to shiori!! she is!!!! she closes herself off emotionally and refuses even an ounce of vulnerability, for understandable reasons ofc, but then she gets SO MAD when shiori doesnt understand all her microexpressions and confess undying love to her about it. like be for serious juri. i really do love juriori with my whole heart and i think ive articulated why before in my dyke drama post about them. they just make me happy/agonised because i really do resonate in a way i never have with lesbian characters before. like i think juri's character in particular understands the nuances of being a lesbian in a way that just makes me, a lesbian, :)

[ecargmura]

Grandpa And Grandma Turn Young Again Episode 9 Review - Time Is Their Enemy

After all the cute moments, this anime finally slams into the viewers and the characters that the grandparents’ time is finite. In fact, Ine only got a week left to live. It’s really heartbreaking when you realize that regaining their youth doesn’t mean their health has reversed. While it did seem like a sign when they went to get a health check up with Takahiro in a previous episode, but time and age are still getting to them. While it’s fun getting to do things when they regained their youth, it’s going to come to an end soon. I can’t believe watching a film about Sadako caused foreshadowing for Ine’s remaining lifespan.

You know two people are so in love that the thought of one leaving the other behind hurts more than the idea of them dying. Although Ine is upset that she only has a week left to live, leaving Shouzou behind hurt more than knowing her inevitable death. I’m glad that the shrine god was benevolent enough to f*ck with the hourglass and allow Shouzou to share his time with Ine so that they can both die together. He did promise that he’d never leave her behind, after all. I think this is so beautiful because Shouzou always keeps his promises to Ine and is always so loyal to her.

Ine’s past worries about living to see her loved ones die is not a big worry anymore, but what about those who love them? How will they deal with the fact that their grandparents are going to die? If they die, they can’t see Mino and Shiori get married to their crushes. What about Yoshiaki, Akemi and Takahiro? Although they’re adults, they’re always worried about their elderly parents. Yoshiaki often visits them with his family or has Mino visit them. Takahiro sees them whenever they come to the hospital for a checkup and Shiori often visits too. Akemi is the only who lives in Tokyo and technically lives far away from Aomori. What if they die? It’s going to be hard on her because her worries about leaving her parents behind was shown back in Episode 6. It’s also going to be hard on Mino and Shiori too. They love their grandparents a lot and became even closer to them once they got the ability to regain their youth.

The festival date was a nice way to not think too hard about their inevitable ends, but it did bring it up when they were alone. I do like that they’re accepting of the fact that they’re going to die one day, but also feel sad about it. All they can do is etch the scenery in front of them as much as they can before they die.

The moments between the granddaughters and their crushes were cute. Mino and Shouta are clearly endgame as they talk about dreams and coming back to see the apple tree sapling as adults. They’re totally going to get together. I can feel it. I can see Shiori and Satoshi working too. It’s funny how while Satoshi is a medical student, he feels more like a scholar with how he explained about how the youth ability came to be which pissed off Shiori because she wanted to spend some nice time with him and not get a face full of a history lesson after school. They’re honestly in good hands, so the grandparents won’t have to worry too much if they were to die one day and leave them behind.

I think that this anime really showcases how people choose to spend their lives and how to live without any regrets. It also showcases how possible death can effect the entire family line as well. I just know I’ll be bawling the moment the anime ends with their deaths. I’m not ready at all. What are your thoughts on this episode?

[tsukimefuku]

Yamada Shiori (JJK OC) Q&A

1. How do they feel about people shorter/taller than them? — she’s not short by any means, being 5’9, and she likes being tall. Shiori thinks it gives her a “I could take you on in a fight” aura.

2. What are they like on social media? (What's their username, profile pic, etc.) — she has none. Shiori is a nature lady that uses the same phone until it breaks beyond repair and still carries an MP3 with her.

3. Their sexuality? — Lady is bi. When she got asked about her type by Yuki, Shiori promptly responded “you”. Yuki still doesn’t know what to derive from that answer about Shiori’s character.

4. Preferred weather? — She prefers mild to hot weather. She has bad memories with snow.

5. What's their sleeping schedule? — She has no concept of what a sleep schedule is (hers is terrible).

6. Favorite music? — She has no favorite song per se, but likes songs with a witchy vibe very much, specially because of the irony.

7. How's their cooking? — dreadful. Her brother was responsible for keeping them from starvation. If it’s not burnt, too bitter or spoilt, she’ll probably eat it.

8. It's movie night, what movie do they pick? — horror movies from the 80’s, it gives her nostalgia.

9. How would they hold up in a pillow war? — for someone that bottles up so much rage, she’d probably be a savage / last one standing, out of pure spite.

10. What's their sleeping position? — rolling in bed at night like a burrito.

11. Who do they go to for comfort? — Her best friend, her brother or… (well, you’ll know soon enough).

12. Something small that they enjoy? — a cup of her homemade tea in the morning.

13. How do they feel about physical contact by others? — doesn’t appreciate it, unless it’s a person close to her.

14. What is enough to bring them to tears? — trauma flashbacks. She finds it difficult to cry.

15. Biggest pet peeve? — When someone mistreats people she cares about or talk shit about her family.

16. How well do they take care of themselves? — she’s alive solely because God decided it is not her time yet (terribly.)

17. What's something they like that may be surprising to others? — for a sardonic and somewhat hopeless person, she wears her heart on her sleeve and doesn’t regret being someone that cares “too much”.

18. Do they consider others family? — just a few people, yes.

19. Any bad habits that they have? — dodging intimacy, making stupid decisions because of distrust and having a hard time accepting help from others. She also bites her nails.

20. What's their idea of a perfect vacation? — having a spacious place all to herself where she can spend her days reading.

21. Do they get lost easily? Will they ask for directions if they are? — no. She is accustomed to roaming places by feet, and developed a good sense of direction. She doesn’t have, however, a sense of distance, and believes 10Km is a perfectly fine distance to go by foot.

22. The strangest thing they have ever seen? — afterlife flashes.

23. How well do they accept advice? — She has a very hard time listening to people unless if she is presented with hard facts.

24. How much do they swear? — a hell of a fucking lot.

25. How do they take advice given to them? — it depends. If she agrees or had thought about it, will take it very well. If it is about something that she is in denial, she might become very defensive.

26. Do they like being in pictures? — Yes. She is a nostalgic person and loves participating in everything that can preserve a memory or moment, including pictures.

27. Is there anything they're bad at? — cooking, cleaning, realizing her own feelings about situations, and dealing with conflicting points of view without being condescending.

28. What's their morning schedule? — waking up and making a cup of tea.

29. Any past injuries? — she has a big scar in the middle of her back.

30. Something that disgusts them? — nothing in particular.

[thickest-antivirus-programs]

Can i just quickly infodump about revolutionary girl utena for those who will never watch it?

Theres these two side characters, juri with orange hair and shiori with purple. They were best friends, but juri was the fencing club president, member of the student council, respected by all, great at studying and could afford her expensive taste in jewelery so we can assume she was wealthy (notably her most iconic piece was a gold locket with a photo) . Shiori thought juri loved their best friend, so she started dating him, and the girls parted ways. Shiori thought juri had a crush on the guy, and she wanted to do it to have some power over juri, but when they met again after a couple years shiori tried to apologise for dating that boy. And juri said "i did not love him, so i should have no reason to hate you". Shiori was surprised because she thought the boys photo was in the locket juri always looked at. So she stole the locket. And it was her photo in there. With this new power, shiori chose to toy with juri by flirting with her and then dating boys. And she thought she could get back at juri for being "so much better than her" but doing all that just to mess with juri made her feel the weakest shes ever been. Theres alot of back and forth between the girls, making their relationship more public. But in the end, juri admits her true feelings, which also means admitting shiori hurt her (on purpouse, which is the difficult part to stomach). The dynamic they have as they graduate highschool is unclear but we know they forgiven each other enough to hang out again (though in secret). Shiori knows juri loves her and despite that still chooses to see her, and she tries to hide it from other students, which lots of people assume are signs the two are dating and shiori is still coming to terms with it

[sylviazem]

Dear Mother

previous relevant

—————————————————————————

Agnes’ Notebook Entry #152

Dear Mother,

Today, I’m writing at the bottom of the ocean! I would never have guessed Shiori was from somewhere so wondrous...or that she’d be so good with magicks! Turns out she has her very own familiar, big enough to ferry all three of us safely to her home. In truth, I was very scared of him at first, being a big snake and all...but he was very gentle and friendly. As expected of Shiori, I suppose.

And speaking of friendly! The reason of our visit! We met Shiori’s mother. She was so excited to meet us, it was almost overwhelming! Apparently, Shiori’s been writing to her almost daily about us...It’s a little embarassing to think just how much she’s told her...

That’s why I-

“Agnes, was it?”

“Y-yes?!” She jumped and slammed her notebook shut. Shiori’s mother had managed to approach her completely undetected.

“Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” she laughed. “My daughter did warn me that you were...skittish.”

“C-can I, um...help you with something, ma’am?”

“Well,” she sat next to Agnes. “While Shiori is busy showing her new sister around, I thought I’d get to know you better. And please, just call me Manami.”

“I...see,” Agnes nervously fiddled with her pencil. “I don’t really know what to say, I’m sure Shiori has told you a lot already. I’m not...complex.”

“She did mention that, yes...”

The two sat in silence, Manami occasionally eyeing Agnes expectantly. After a while, Agnes mustered the nerve to break the silence.

“Listen, I...I’m not really good at...talking. To people. S-sorry, ma’am...”

”Oh, don’t worry. I get it. Would it be easier if I ask things?”

“...Yeah, actually.”

“Wonderful!” She put her hands together and smiled. “I trust you to be honest, of course, so tell me...What exactly is my daughter to you?”

“I’m...not sure what you mean...?”

“Are you...involved?”

“...Oh!” Agnes blushed a little and shook her head. “No, no, we are just...friends. I mean, she’s very nice and atrractive-”

“Relax, relax,” she laughed heartily. “I was only teasing. Well, mostly. You seem like a nice girl, I wouldn’t mind if you were...interested, in her.”

“Oh...” Agnes sighed with relief. Much like her daughter, Manami seemed to have the same penchant for joking around.

“So, the other girl...Otoha.” A mischievous smile spread across her face. “She’s the one you like, then?”

“Wha-!? That is...” Agnes’ face went red and she sheepishly hid behind her notebook. “...How’d you know...?”

“Mm, I saw you looking at her. It was exactly how my girlfriend looked at me before we first talked.”

“...Y-you have a girlfriend? Then, Shiori...?”

“Adopted? Oh, no, her father, he...he’s no longer with us. He always told me I should move on if he ever...well. That’s a long time ago now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Agnes looked at her notebook and ran her fingers over the cover. “I wouldn’t have guessed from her bubbly nature that we carried a similar weight.”

“Shiori was very young. I doubt she remembers...”

Once again, the pair was left in an awkward silence. This time, it was Manami who broke it as she nudged Agnes with her elbow.

“So,” she had a big smile on her face once more. “What do you like about her? Otoha.”

“...I mean,” Agnes mumbled and hugged her legs. “We only met so recently...We can barely communicate, and I have no idea how she feels about me...All I can think about is, if it’s even appropriate to feel this way about her.”

“Hmm,” Manami thought for a moment. “Does she make your heart flutter?”

“...Yeah. I mean, more than other people. And it’s different.”

“Do you stay up at night thinking about her?”

“...Some...” Agnes buried her face deeper against her knees. “S-sometimes...”

“And does she...” Manami leaned closer and whispered. “...you know, does she make you...horny.”

“MA’AM?!”

“Ahaha, that was too much, wasn’t it? Sorry, sorry!”

“...yes, though,” Agnes answered quietly from behind her notebook again. “She’s...so beautiful.”

“...Then,” Manami gently put her hand on Agnes’ shoulder. “It’s at least worth it to talk to her. Give it a try someday, hm?”

“...Thank you. Manami.”

“It’s getting a bit late, isn’t it..? I should go find those errant daughters, we need to have something to eat,” Manami stood up and looked around for Shiori and Otoha. She spotted them not too far off and turned back to Agnes before heading towards them. “I’ll keep our little talk between us, of course. Just promise to talk to Otoha, yes?”

“...Yeah. I will.”

...

Once Manami was gone, she opened her notebook and began writing again.

Agnes’ Notebook Entry #153

Dear Mother,

There’s someone I like. I’m going to tell her soon.

[number1villainstan]

episode 27, NANAMI LAYS AN EGG

previews talk about eggs and embarrassing secrets (specifically anthy's, but it's implied that nanami also has embarrassing secrets) and then the line about "if you don't break the egg's shell you can't make an omelette", like the whole "smash the world's shell" thing except instead of a chick hatching it's killing the embryo and making food

flashback time, huh? or maybe a dream?

chicken, turtle, frog--why those animals?

and she immediately jumped to the conclusion that she was the one who laid the egg. what if someone snuck it into her bed? or it just appeared there? it's ohtori, all sorts of weird bullshit happens

although the note about phys ed being changed to a girls-only health class is very relevant i think

"just someone's plot" yeah that's what I've been saying

again her being compared to animals. just like the cow episode. and the scene where she gets a bunch of animals to hide in anthy's room, and the first nanami episode where a whole bunch of animals go on rampages around her--nanami's associated with animals a lot, like way more than other characters, except for maybe kozue and miki with the baby birds, or shiori with the java sparrow, but nanami's associated with a lot of different animals a lot of the time--

as someone who has also been hit in the face with a ball (a volleyball specifically) uhh. yeah. that shit hurts

i don't think it's utena who put the egg in your bed, nanami. she doesn't have the meanness necessary. (or the braincells.)

the little confused "boy-girl?" she's such a dumbass jock

so nanami trusts miki, at least. "a very strange egg" it looks like an easter egg

the constant repetition of "space alien" too...like nanami feels Different from the others, in a deeply isolating way. (a lot like mikage was. i bet it's a "special" thing)

"i dare not say it, not even to miki!" huh. she does trust miki, at least more than others. even if not totally.

"there are other people in the world who lay eggs!" miki did not say people, miki said certain mammals. and also most of those mammals are from australia. nanami. did you not hear the last part miki said.

oh hey, it's keiko, aiko, and yuuko. this spells trouble for nanami

oh shit this time the animals in the terrible-things-happen sequence are all dead. moved from "just an animal" to "scientific curiosity"

and that's the crux of nanami's character, isn't it? she expects cruelty from everyone, everyone except Touga--

nanami please. that's probably a bowling ball. go to the library and pick up a book on puberty please i am BEGGING you. man so much of what happens to nanami is because of wild misunderstandings and jumping to conclusions

i knew it was a bowling ball

nanami being sweet with the egg is...almost nice tbh.

wait is the egg really getting bigger? do eggs do that? ....nanami do you think this is how babies are made?

nanami i think you are misinterpreting what tsuwabuki is offering

"my pet hen nanami" and anthy correctly guessing that she laid an egg. it was anthy's plot! but not to make people gossip about her--to drive her insane!

she's talking to touga like he's the father...and he thought she was asking him about his sexuality...and she accidentally just said she was a lesbian...

this egg thing is like a metaphor for periods, pregnancy, and losing your virginity all at the same time. every single sex-related thing that happens with growing up or physically/sexually maturing

god this episode is so awkward. kinda funny to see touga stumped for once though

birds and balloons (a yellow balloon) passing by the window as nanami's talking

"you aren't the sort of girl who lays eggs" i. what does touga think she means by that? homosexuality? does he know that nanami literally laid an egg? is there some japanese idiom or wordplay here that got lost in translation?

did the triplets just drink raw egg

"i don't think that was an egg" yeah no kidding. i bet something similar is gonna happen with nanami's egg

a dark pink and a yellow rose over touga and nanami's heads. and touga is still holding the "you aren't the type of girl to lay eggs" thing over nanami

lmao at how the music just cuts off as soon as the shot switches to the fire under saionji's pan

saionji doesn't hit nanami even though nanami straight up punched him in the stomach. he does say "hey cut that out!" but otherwise he is...maybe more patient than usual? hm

so anthy's the one who starts the conversation this time! she's getting braver! and now they're discussing how culture and worldviews are passed down/taught to children

the egg...hatched? it looks like there's nothing inside, or there was nothing inside, cuz there's no wet spot or anything. although nanami is very distressed by the egg breaking

"i haven't seen him lately" are they talking about akio or touga? or someone else?

Oh also, along with writing the December 2023 Monthly Short Piece today, I finally watched the first episode of Revolutionary Girl Utena after days of seeing a moot post about it and--

"I am the Rose Bride. From this day forward, I belong to you."

i am going to murder everyone in this damn school for anthy

[starberrysap]

okay so i just finished six crimson cranes (it’s 1:40 am btw) and here are my random thoughts with no order to them:

!!SIX CRIMSON CRANES SPOILERS!!

yeah

- overall a really fun read i’ve found it really difficult in recent years to be sucked into a physical book but i didn’t put this down for hours and finished it in basically two days (the amount of times i gasped out loud and had physical reactions to what happened really made it quite the interactive experience)

- however i was confused with some of it idk the writing at some points just wasn’t that strong and the pacing felt off in some parts, plus there was a lot of plot stuff revealed in the beginning that i didn’t think i had to pay attention to? (but maybe the confusion was the point since it was from Shiori’s pov) (but also it felt like a lot of plot points were just revealed one after the other through exposition dialogue and it didn’t impress me much)

- conflicted feelings about the romance subplots cause on one hand it’s like i see how it’s representative of her character development but at the same time it kinda felt contrived just narratively

- BUT i will forgive it because i am in fact in love with Takkan and their romance moments had me kicking my legs and blushing i mean he’s such a gentleman and he writes poetry but he also protects her but he also just respects her so much eeeeeee

- I. Love. Megari. she is so funny and the way that she is such a loveable little shit in the way that only youngest siblings can be is amazing but perhaps i’m biased because she reminds me so much of myself as a kid

- didn’t realize that it would have a sequel so i was really confused when the conflict wasn’t fully resolved close to the end (doesnt really work super well as a stand alone but it doesn’t have to imo)

- i know i sound really critical in this semi review/thought dump but i really want to say that i truly loved reading this book i haven’t had so much fun reading in forever and this took me on such a rollercoaster of a tale that all i could do was hold on as i was thrown from emotion to emotion

- Oh!! also Kiki supremacy!!!

[katerinu]

I have arrived at the Yashahime is Over Party! I never, ever wanted a sequel, I was much happier with my own opinions and headcanons as to what happened after the show was over. (As I'm sure many fans were.) InuYasha has always been this great, big sandbox, where you can do whatever you want. Yashahime basically came in and stomped on everybody's fun time, so now I'm just trying to rebuild what I had! This rewrite isn't exactly my thoughts to a T on what I think should have happened at the end, rather, I tried to keep in mind the premise of Yashahime and just... fix it!

I know that my likes and opinions tend to be a bit disjointed from the rest-- for example, I LOVED the filler episodes. To this day, some of my favorite episodes that I go back to rewatch have been filler. I like slow and steady, I like lots and lots of dialogue. But Yashahime? Not like this. Never like this. For my rewrite, this is no longer a fantasy romance action adventure whatever. This is slice of life.

For my rewrite, Moroha becomes the main character. The story follows her as she travels around Japan, basically meeting old friends of her folks, and meeting some new ones along the way. InuKag and MirSan live generally happy, peaceful lives, with the Root Head demon being the last of their major problems for a long while.

I love the idea that with InuYasha and Kagome being a committed couple in an "unusual" relationship with an "unusual" daughter, Kaede's village over time becomes a safe haven for weak demons, half demons, and like-minded humans. It expands into a vast and bustling town, with plenty of colorful characters in addition.

Sango spends a lot of her day training Hisui and Gyokoto. She doesn't go out herself much anymore, and has basically passed the torch to her children and, of course, younger brother. Her time is mostly spent now creating and repairing weapons, though her real passion is in experimenting with fabrics to create stronger, more resistant material. Miroku continues to travel (so long as he stops by to say hello to his wife once and awhile) alongside his daughter Kin'u, who basically apprentices under him. He's so proud of who she's become.

Moroha is at that age where she longs to see the world outside their humble home. She packs her things, says goodbye to her mom and dad, and sets off. I can totally see her keeping the bounty hunter job as it would be a great way for her to make money on her own. And with her being loved and reasonably fed, whenever she loses a head, it can *actually* be funny. She still uses the rouge to become Beniyasha in tough times, but without the red pearl. (No pearls in this, the pearls are stupid.) She made a promise with her momma to only use the rouge in DIRE situations, since it can be dangerous. Of course, she's looked over by grandpa Myoga... and Shippo!

Shippo is much older now, but given that he's a demon (and I do subscribe to the demons age slower HC, despite the shit I give it) he appears to be around, or a little younger than Moroha. They're about equal in power which means they have to work together a lot to get out of sticky situations. They act as brother and sister since Shippo was basically adopted by InuKag, so there's no romance between them. It's purely familial.

Over the course of the series, Moroha meets old characters, both filler and canon, from the OG series. (Some Shippo recognizes, some he doesn't.) They help out with whatever problem-of-the-week is going on, as the episodes are primarily laid back and focused more on character interaction and development. They meet old faces like Jineji, Botan and Momiji, Kanta, Bunza, and even Shiori!

Shiori would have an episode or two, going more in depth on half demons and their human nights.

To keep the "mystery" aspect Sunrise TRIED to do while also putting a long term goal/conflict in the show to prevent it from getting boring, I would include Towa/Setsuna. But here's the kick-- I would combine them into one character.

Zetsumetsuko would sometimes run into our main cast and cause issues, mostly based on what the audience infers is some kind of misunderstanding or jealousy. This character will butt heads with Moroha, similar to how InuYasha and Sesshomaru were, but with her having a bit more sass.

Moroha says they smell familiar, but she can't place her finger on it. Zetsumetsuko tends to say some cryptic stuff, saying she knows some info that Moroha doesn't. This character is basically a wild card, and is to keep the audience on their toes. It is of course, later revealed that this character is the daughter of Sesshomaru. (Not that it's hard to guess, haha.) It happens when the main cast run into Rin. Zetsumetsuko appears to try and cause more trouble, only for Rin to excitedly shout, "Sister!" And begin doting upon her.

With tensions eased, the characters manage to sit and chat calmly. Zetsumetsuko feels like she doesn't belong, and struggles to find a place in the world similar to InuYasha. They barely knew their own father, raised primarily by Rin and Jaken. She doesn't even know her own mother. Zetsumetsuko has been following Moroha out of a sense of jealousy, since they're related but their paths have been so different. She basically reveals how lonely she's been, too. Which leads to her joining the group!

I wanted to introduce Zetsumetsuko as the daughter of Sesshomaru at the same time I introduced Rin as her sister, basically cutting Rin out of the running for potential mother right away.

The mother would be Kagura, who... I don't have a design for, ah! I heard a lot of talk and rumors about Kagura having become a goddess and I think I would apply that idea to my rewrite. It would explain why Kagura wasn't around for Zatsumetsuko growing up. Ah, now I have to make a Goddess!Kagura design, hahaha.

In conclusion, my sequel would be made purely for nostalgia's sake. No retcons, barely even touching the original plot of InuYasha. It would be a way to see the old cast through new characters, who would be charming in their own right without relying on their parents, and would allow us to revisit one-off and filler characters again. The sequel wouldn't be a necessary watch to enjoy InuYasha, it would just be a way for fans to go, "Oh, I remember that character! Good times!"

That's about it! I worked really hard on the character designs and thinking about their personalities and how they fit in, so if you haven't yet, it would be nice if you took a look at the links I put in and read a bit more about their characters! Please feel free to ask questions, I'm not the best at explaining myself at length since my mind gets jumbled, haha.

Thank you!

[shinidamachu]

Sid, I know you’re mostly an InuKag blog and this probably isn’t your area of expertise, but as a POC the discourse surrounding Kikyo - and by extension InuKik as a ship - really bothers me.

Seems like all anyone can focus on about Kikyo as a character is stupid Iove triangle shipping discourse, if she is hated or called out it’s generally only for that reason and that reason alone. Otherwise if people aren’t hating her because “she gets in the way of InuKag,” she’s treated as this cool girlboss who’s a tragic figure and simply misunderstood, now this is not to erase the complexities and nuance that is inherent to her character, but it kinda bothers me that she’s not called out more for her actual crime in actually being really low-key racist? Like personally she’s one of the most problematic characters in the franchise to me.

The way she treats Inuyasha throughout the anime and manga she acts like she’s doing him a favor and gives off strong “I can’t be racist, I have a black friend/bf!” vibes. She treats him as one of the “good demons” constantly comparing him to the full-blooded ones saying how he’s not like *that* because he has human blood. She straight out just asks him if he ever just thought of stopping being biracial essentially, telling him to throw half of his identity and race away and get rid of his problematic “ethnic features.” She is literally Microaggressions: The Character.

And I know IY is fiction and demons aren’t an actual race that exists in real life, but I’m of the belief that fiction does not exist in a vacuum, it influences and informs reality just like reality informs it. The whole “demons vs humans” conflict that is at the center of the narrative and a hanyou’s place in it feels like it’s meant to be a direct allegory/metaphor for racism between different ethnic groups out in the real world and how mixed people are often caught in the middle. Inuyasha to me reads as a very POC-coded character with very distinct physical features alien to the dominant human society that he is judged for constantly. And maybe I’m just being overly sensitive but it feels really wrong that shipping drama is people’s biggest issue with Kikyo when they’re kinda ignoring this big 5ft pink elephant in the room? I mean tons of other fandoms are always ready to decry and call out the racism inherent to their franchises so why doesn’t the IY fandom? (Though the callouts of Sunrise over whitewashing Shiori in Yashahime was a good start)

InuKik’s whole relationship in general is just really uncomfortable and has these weird racial power undertones to it, I mean Kikyo is a respected village authority who is a Miko in charge of protecting the village in demons, so literally in the position of a “cop,” while Inuyasha himself is a poor, disenfranchised minority youth who’s discriminated against day in and day out and Kikyo basically takes it as her task to play white savior and try to “rehabilitate/civilize” him society, all while she clearly has the upper hand and holds all the privilege between the two and yet she wants to play little miss “woe is me” and pretends or even dismisses the fact that she has any privilege at all? That her and Inuyasha “are in the exact same position???”

And sure we could talk about misogynist double standards and how it’s unfair I’m suddenly interested in “cancelling” her character when Sesshomaru himself is also a big ass racist, but see the difference is is that at least Sesshomaru is an upfront, out-and out open racist. Neither he nor the narrative ever attempt to paint him in the right and openly criticize and give him comeuppance for his racist attitude in life which he has to actively learn from. Kikyo on the other hand is imo the much more dangerous type of racist, she’s the insidious “covert” racist, who might not even realize they’re being racist but has internalized a lot of toxic societal messaging regarding certain skin colors (Or I guess in IY’s case, supernatural powers and animal-like physical features) and so overtly looks down on POC and does a lot more institutional harm to them than a KKK-style racist like Sesshomaru could ever do. She’s not a self-aware racist, which imo is the much more dangerous type.

Anyways sorry for going off on this long rant to you like this, it’s just always bugged me that the fandom seems to overlook this major flaw and problematic connotations surrounding Kikyo’s character when this is an an extremely important issue that deserves to be talked about more and has much more serious implications than any petty shipping debates.

I'm gonna preface this by saying I'm not white either. However, this doesn't necessarily make me an expert on the subject by any means. It's definitely not my intention to speak for every people of color in the fandom. I'm simply sharing a personal opinion.

Of course Inuyasha is fiction and demons aren't an actual race, but as you so pertinently put it: fiction doesn't exist in a vacuum. It influences and informs reality and, in return, reality equally influences and informes fiction.

Inuyasha's predicament is a very clear representation of racism. Just because it doesn't get called out by name, it doesn't mean it's not there. The prejudice, the discrimination and the ostracizing he went through certainly are.

The unfair way in which he has been treated might have nothing to do with his skin tone, but it's deeply associated with his status as a half demon, something he can't nor should naturally change. For an allegory, it can't get more explicit than this.

In that sense, it matters little which real life minority we think Inuyasha was coded after. What's really important is recognizing that his half demon heritage carries an undeserved stigma. It shaped who he is and how he's perceived by others. As a result, everything concerning his demonic blood will inevitably rise very real racial issues. That's why Kikyo comes off in a bad light.

She initially spared Inuyasha's life because she didn't see him as a half demon, but as a half human. And then she got into her head that, due to their shared loneliness, they were not so different — completely neglecting the fact that said loneliness came from totally different places.

Like I've said before: Inuyasha didn’t choose loneliness. Everyone else chose to isolate him. Kikyo, on the other hand, isolated herself. Both Kaede – as the village priestess – and Kagome – as the new guardian of the Jewel – proved that it's more than possible to fulfil their duties while still mantaining deep, meaningful connections to other people. Kagome in particular relied on those connections for her power to grow.

And so Kikyo had the option to simply drop everything if she so desired: pass the Jewel on, stop using her powers and start fresh somewhere. She had the option to ask for help, to let people in.

At the same time, all the reasons why she doesn't are completely understandable. It makes perfect sense for her character, fleshs out her personality and it makes her interesting from a storytelling perspective. What she didn't have was the right to compare her situation to Inuyasha's, who didn't have the luxury of choosing.

Of course, having a little sister who loved her to death and an entire village worshipping the ground she walked on aren't impediments to feeling lonely or depressed, but it's still way more than what Inuyasha ever had at the time.

Kikyo's sorrow doesn't take away from the fact that she was privileged and therefore, could never speack to Inuyasha from a place of parity. Presenting herself as his equal is a false equivalence and the way the scene was framed made it look like Kikyo was asking Inuyasha for sympathy when the goal was — or at least should have been — showing him compassion and understanding.

In that sense, suggesting to use the Jewel to turn him into human is just awful. Not only would it be a selfish wish, but also there's no way for us to know exactly how it would backfire, only that it would. Inuyasha was being used to test a theory that would have failed. Spectacularly.

Sure you can. You're half human, after all. But if it was used to turn you into a human... the Jewel would be purified and would probably cease to exist.

The repetition of the word "human" emphasizes said circumstance. Also, notice how it gets confidently associated with "purity", while such certaninty is not applied to what could happen to the Jewel, which would only "probably" cease to exist.

Not to mention Inuyasha canonically hates being human. It's bad if Kikyo doesn't know that fact, because it shows just how little they actually knew about each other for two people who are supposed to be in love, but for obvious reasons, it's even worse if she does know.

One might argue that her intentions here were good. Adopting the "we're not so different" approach was her way of reaching up to Inuyasha and turning him into human was mutually beneficial in theory. Regardless of what her reasoning was, though, the point is that she never should have done it in the first place. It was highly insensitive at best.

And even if you believe that Kikyo didn't have an actual issue with Inuyasha's demonic features — which is as valid an interpretation as any — there's no denying she wasn't too fond of them either, otherwise she wouldn't have jumped at the chance to get rid of them. She liked Inuyasha despite of who he was, not because of it.

The situation gets even worse when you realize that this arrangement isn't mutually beneficial at all. Hypothetically, Kikyo would be free of her duty, becoming an ordinary woman with a human Inuyasha by her side, which was already everything she wanted. But what about him?

Inuyasha is the one making all the compromising. He was the one putting his life — the one his demon father died to save — on the line. He was the one sacrificing his powers, his physical appearance and his father's legacy (because he wouldn't be able to wield Tessaiga as a human, even if he didn't know about its existence yet). Inuyasha being a half demon was the living proof of his parents tragic love story and he was turning his back on that not because he thought was what he wanted — like becoming a full demon, for instance — but because someone else suggested it to him.

What was Inuyasha getting out of it? "Acceptance" from villagers he didn't really care about and who would only be friendly to him because he wouldn't look like himself anymore, while still being racist to other demons? An "official" relationship with Kikyo, even though there isn't really a good reason as to why he couldn't have that without forsaking a part of who he was, since relationships between demons and humans, though rare, already existed and he eventually got that with Kagome?

Unless, of course, Kikyo's offer to live together was conditional. Which raises the question: what was Kikyo giving up, apart from things she wanted gone anyway? And what would have happened if Inuyasha refused to go with her plan?

Because it was one thing to kiss him in secret — like the anime-only scene in the docks — or after she was technically dead and had nothing to lose, but it's a totally different thing to own up to that relationship without the prospect of using the Jewel to change him. Unfortunatelly, her character isn't written well enough for us to draw our own conclusions based solely on canon material.

The point I'm trying to make is that despite the narrative portraying Kikyo's suggestion as a selfless act on her part, she would be the only one actually benefiting from this deal long run. In the end of the day, it was more about her needs than his, because the kind of acceptance she was offering Inuyasha wasn't the one he needed, which Kikyo should've known.

Inuyasha going for it isn't the proof of love Takahashi — and part of the fandom — tend to paint it as. It's a proof of desperation: desperation that Kikyo would walk away if he told her no. Desperation to belong somewhere. Anywhere. Remember: Inuyasha had his mind set on becoming a full demon literally a few days prior.

That's why this ship was build to wreck, with or without Naraku. There were no trust, no intimacy, no honesty. They barely knew each other. Inuyasha put Kikyo on a pedestal and was constantly trying to act like someone he wasn't to please her (restrained, apathetic and unsure). Their whole relationship was based on loneliness and idealization.

All of this is to say that the way Kikyo treated Inuyasha's heritage is a defining trait of her character and, by extension, of Inukik as a pairing. And although it is possible — even preferable — to call out her behavior outside the shipping discourse, it's also perfectly understandable that both things will blend together because Kagome and Inukag are direct paralells to Kikyo's actions in this regard.

Trust and acceptance are recurring themes in Inukag's relationship and the lack thereof, in my carefully curated fandom experience, is the biggest source of Kikyo and Inukik criticism and it circles right back to those racial issues. Sadly, the closer we ever got from the narrative challenging Kikyo's perspectie on the matter was having Inuyasha end up with Kagome, who had an opposite worldview.

Obviously, there are still people who will make this solely about the love triangle and there will always be, but as far as I can tell, they're mostly casual anime watchers nowadays, not at all comparable to how it used to be back when the ship war was still raging on.

I dislike Inukik and Kikyo is one of my least favorite characters not because I'm an Inukag shipper or a Kagome stan, but because as an Inuyasha stan and someone who appreciates themes and character growth, I can't get behind it even if Kagome never became a part of the equation.

And I believe a considerable amount of people who share this feeling think the same, we just don't express it more often because... Well... You said it yourself: I'm mostly an Inukag blog. And I'd much rather focus on the things I love instead of the ones I dislike.

You see, the Inuyasha fandom is old and the Inuyasha material is older. Inevitably, some part of its content did not age well and inevitably, someone has already pointed that out. It's understandable, though, that some people would chose not to engage the discussion in exchange of peace of mind. Especially with the "let people enjoy things" trend going on.

I think your frustration is completely valid and strongly encourage that you keep the discussion going on your blog if voicing your opinions and experiences will make you feel better. Particularly, I'll be avoiding the topic unless prompted by asks such as this one, in which case I'm fine talking about it.

Fandom is my escape from reality and using my recreative time explaining to the white people in it why certain dynamics portrayed in the show can be considered problematic in a racial level feels exhausting and it's not really my — or any other people of color's —obligation to do so if we don't feel up to it. Especially when there's a huge chance of backlash and of people reducing valid points to ship wars.

It's funny you shall mention the Shiori incident because, unlike Inuyasha, the sequel doesn't have the "test of time" to blame for its poor "creative" choices, since it's from 2020. I distinctly remember calling out the blatant white washing her character suffered, along with the sane part of the fandom and either got ignored because people thought we were overreacting or straight up got told that we were only speaking up because we didn't like a specific ship the show portrayed and that what Sunrise did was fine because Shiori's dark skin is, and I quote: actually orange. So yeah.

That being said, I have reservations about comparing Kikyo to a cop because, personally, I've always thought the priestess occupation — at least as it was originally portrayed in the series — had more to do with medical and spiritual care than with mantaining law and order. Plus, cops tend to do everything in their power to keep their authority and privilege intact, while Kikyo was willing to give that up to become an ordinary woman, but I do see where you're coming from.

As for the double standards, Kikyo isn't the first female character to fall victim to rooted misogyny and unfortunately won't be the last. Kagome herself gets hate for sexist reasons, often from the very people who reprove it when the same thing happens to Kikyo. However, I feel like claiming misogyny is the only reason Kikyo gets hate is not a completely honest statement.

I'd say this argument would hold a lot more water if Kikyo hadn't constantly belittle and actively tried to kill the female protagonist — who had been nothing but kind and understanding towards her — over jealousy, or if her post death existence wasn't literally based on feeding off of miserable women's souls.

The double standards regarding Sesshomaru are real, but it had little to do with gender and everything to do with context. Kikyo was a fallen priestess. One the narrative asks me to believe is in love — or at least loved — a half demon. Sesshomaru is a racist demon who despised his half demon brother and humans alike.

So when Sesshomaru takes a little human girl under his wings and acts somewhat respectfully towards Inuyasha, that's a huge deal to me. But when Kikyo, who is already dead, gives up her "life" to save the child she was planning to sacrifice for the greater good and treats Inuyasha with dignity, my reaction will naturally be "alright, what else is new?" Swap or even their genders and my feelings will remain the same.

It's not a crime having higher expectations for her than for an actual antagonist when the narrative insists on sweeping the bad things she has done under the rug and focusing on how she is still as good as she has always been because, in that case, doing good deeds is not some extraordinary feature, but rather the bare minimum.

Sesshomaru's bad actions were openly and correctly portrayed as bad. He was forced to face his limitations, his weakness and his loses. That made him grow as a character. And if I criticize Sesshomaru, people will most likely ignore me or agree instead of try and justify his actions with his daddy issues. Kikyo being armored by the plot didn't do her any favors in this regard.

Besides, if we're talking double standards, I frankly don't think some people would be as willing to look past Kikyo's mistakes — Sesshomaru's too, for that matter — and ship her with Inuyasha if she wasn't so pretty. And honestly? That's fine. No one needs an actual reason to love or hate a character.

Lastly, it's not like I don't get Kikyo's tragic backstory, it's just that a huge part of why it's tragic in the first place is because of the choices she made. Naraku was detrimental to her fate, yes. But Kikyo's appeal is that she wasn't a passive person to whom things just happened to. She had agency to make decisions for herself.

People like Inuyasha, Sango and Kohaku had way worse than her and definitely not by their choice, but they never used their traumas as an excuse to be cruel. And I'm not saying this is a competition. Kikyo's pain it's just as valid. I'm just saying that, given these circumstances, in a fictional level, it's way harder to relate and empathize with her character.

And it's not like I didn't want to stan Kikyo. On the contrary. She's beautiful, cunning and interesting. I have a long list of powerful, unapologetic, morally grey female characters that I love and most of them were a bigger treat to my ships than Kikyo ever was to Inukag. The difference is that they were well written.

Kikyo's entire concept is fantastic, but the execution was abysmal. It's very clear to me that Takahashi didn't know what to do with her and it's a shame to see so much potential get wasted. I don't mind her characterization at all. She should be flawed and controversial. It's the lack of character development and satisfying redemption arc that I take issue with, if the narrative is gonna sell her as a changed woman worthy of our sympathy.

Anyway... if you want her complexities and nuances done justice, I've heart the Sesskik fandom is the place to be. They actually acknowledge her flaws, hold her accountable for the things she's done and explore very interesting sides of her personality.

I didn't mourn Kikyo's death for a second. But I mourn the character she could have been every single day.