#i have no idea what this art style was but it wa used for these 2 drawings and then never used again

[silastein]

I've started my annual Ninjago rewatch and have been reminded of the lack of ghost!Cole content so here's things I drew last year

2nd one was created because I realized that there's no way ghost!Cole didn't die from the amount of water whipping everywhere when Nya unlocked her full potential

[trashbins-stuff]

my 2024 art summary..

i was suppsoed to do it earlier today but i forgor and i dont ave my fone rn so i downloaded my art from toyhouse and edit them in whitebaord fox lolzz

me talking abt myart and why i chose these piece specifically vvv

january: okay i actuakly drew the piece/upload it on the VERY FIRST DAY OF 2024 aka 1/1, i..dont evne owed the ocs anymore </3 #regrettbh bakc then i stiluse one of my favourtie ibis defualt brush that i ALWAYS uses bc i didnt know alot abt other brushes back then, i honestly kinda proud of this one bc it was a scene art and i was ahving fun abck the, this piece was me trying to imitate the hfjone art style

february: i rlly like pink lols...i rlly love this oc heosntly lowkey kidna regreted not keeping him, i chose this because comapring to the january one it has more to it, this was me experimenting with stuff such as background, 2 lines on their limbs to indicate paws, i wasnt a pro persay bt i was trying and it was amazing! the effort and stuff :)

march: i got into oc trading and stuff bc my bf sprout introduced me to it, tand i always make sure i draw every oc i get form toehr ppl at least once like it was on top of my priorities, i rlly love this oc and sprout did too,i let him offer and it have been a while...shes been in my pending folder for 9 months what @moonsprout-sys KRKRKKRKR hurry your ass up/silly, anywya i picked this bc i started to draw more complex oc from the on it was like a trebuche that shoot me two complex ocs department

april: unlike the other three, this one is drew on a different brush (and unlike the other two, its GREEB), this was me experienmenting with brushes and other thing si could do with ym art! i rlly rlly love tht brush lol i use dit for almsot everyart, sorry fur da toyhouse watermakr btw oop, another thing u will notice abt is thai used the white line effect which is sooo cool yall

may: i picked this to show yall how abd but also different how i coloured back then, i didnt rlly have a direciton i just pick a colour and select random shade, like how most of the oc is in different shade of greeb wit some blue and purple, cuz my thought wa slike oooh greeeb ooohhh simialr to blue ooohh similar to ourple, like even the glove is jsut black blue lmaooo

june: diversityy, i sitll have no idea abt anything abt colouring but yk, i pciekd this bc it fits into the template

july: woahie JULY, OH-KAY, so i was kinda improving ont eh colouring here, like at least the greeb and black combo is okay, hot pink bc yes, orange bow, the rianbow woodnt look good on it own but it skind of fit with the shad eof the ronage bowm, my designing skill have improved too!! did u see what i did with the rianbow sock and tail>>?? cool right>?? well fang u :)))) i ver prou

august: aside form colouring i start toe xperiemient with LIGHTNING bc i LOVE LIGHTNING IN OTHE RPPL ART SM LIKE OMZ THATS SICK HOW DID U DO THAT and i started to look up totorutial! i was rlly proud of this peice abck then, its simple, but it was my first experienment and it was MINE that was ME like..I DREW THAT oughhh <3333

september: the abckgorund have return atfe rlike what...the past...seven months oop, as u can see..iveimporoved ;3333 the flower was kinda eh but i neevr got over how i made xer ear lokwye relaistic af..liek every else look like 2017 furry art/j but i totally nailed the ear

october: i rmemeber my qpp oscar said that this piece is rlly nice to loom at :DD i also used october to toy aorund with ym art style, expically the backgournd and such, i, too, am podu of this one

november: art for my friend lye! probably my best efforted peice of like the whole month, drew it while i was waiting for my friend yeon to finish praticing forour naitonal teachers day ceremony, it loo very ncie and cool and u should be proud of it

december: my friend tessa said this look like femtanyl and i forgor how tot ake ana ctaulyl compliment, why should i lower my standard why my friend could say tawesomthign slike this omfg best compliment ive ever received ever>??? love u tess :)

[okihedda]

this is just for me but i wanted to consider how the nine sols cast would be like in a fighting game because ive had the idea in my neuron chamber for a while now and need to put it into words so yea

first of all i think the cast would work best in a 2D anime fighter because:

-it fits the art style

-most have some unique abilities or fighting styles. for example yi’s qi blade and talismans and ji’s black holes

-multiple characters float or fly which you usually dont see in games like street fighter (ignore dhalsim he doesnt count for his one). the mechanic is way more common in anime fighters where characters usually have double jumps and an air dash (literally yi)

-i want it to be because i said so

-also the character designs fit way more in an anime fighter in my opinion

with that out of the way i have some ideas for the casts character archetypes and movesets so um strap in or something

Ji: ji is the one ive been thinking the most about (go figure) so i'm starting with them. i imagine him playing like a zoner/setplay character because of his daggers and the whole thing about changing attacks by parrying the spinny orbs. they should have a teleport and the ability to fly while throwing projectiles to embody the theme of calculating the enemy's every move and avoiding them. because of this he should obviously have a small health bar to compensate for the mobility and good keepaway tools. im thinking they can throw daggers at multiple angles with differing properties. maybe by pressing different buttons the daggers can come from the ground, rebound if they miss the opponent or let ji teleport the them and do an attack like they do in their boss fight. he could also have access to a stance that let them choose different attacks. maybe by inputting a move they get a choice between 3 options. for example:

-one could be his dagger state where they float into the air and start throwing out dagger like crazy. he could get to choose different directions for the daggers as he inputs the move to mix the opponent up by forcing them to block projectiles from all different angles

-one could be his black hole. maybe they place it at a spot which vacuums the enemy. either it drags them to the center instantly and gives ji an opportunity to mix them up or it drags them in for a while and lets ji throw daggers to apply pressure

-the pulsating gadget thingy that makes large red waves could be a destroyable interactable that launches waves that force the opponent to block or try to disarm it before they get cornered. since it's deployed and stays on the battlefield i think it wouldn't disappear if ji gets hit, so he could use it as a tool to get in on the opponent

-one could be the daggers which i imagine just buffs their damage or increases the amount that ji can have on screen at a time additionally they could start to apply guard crush

-the one where he throws a little container with health or azure sand might work as an item both players can pick up. either they restore health or meter depending on if it's green or blue

their normals would probably either be stubby or slow considering his only melee weapon is his big mace thing. maybe they have one or two good normals for zoning. for defence i think ji should have a parry because in my mind that just seems perfect for a diviner to have. predicting the opponent's every actions and when they finally land a hit on him, surprise !! ji vanishes and counters with an attack of their own. i had this idea for a parry where instead of just using the move and counterattacking if you get hit during it, you would first input the move which puts you in a state where you then input a prediction of what move the opponent will do and if you're correct, ji dodges the move and lets you punish it similar to anji's spin in guilty gear strive.

needless to say i would absolutely play this character i want it to be real i want it to be real i wa-

Goumang: another character i thought could be very unique and cool in a fighting game. to me it's obvious she would be a puppet character since she doesn't fight by herself (like she's a farmer give her a break) and instead fights with her jiangshi soldiers (who are named Shinue and Shiqui i just learned). she would be able to fly of course and claw at the opponent with good mobility and aerial buttons.

all her special moves would control shinue and shiqui and let them do their attacks in tandem. maybe their attacks would be bound to two buttons each. shinue could get the lighter kick and punch buttons while shiqui gets the buttons for heavier attacks so they could be inputted separately and lock the opponent down. this would probably be bound to a meter that goumang could recharge by ringing her bell. doing this would be unsafe and thus only really an option after getting a hard knockdown or when you're fullscreen from your opponent. it would be funny if she had a super where she gave her jiangshi soldiers bowls of rice to power them up and stop their meter (idk what to call it. the servant gauge or something maybe?) from depleting. i also imagine her having a command grab super where she grabs an airborne opponent, digs her claws into them and throws them to her soldiers to get beat up.

i'm pretty sure this would be oppressive as peck (get it?.. like heck but peck.. because she's a bird..) so in return for this incredible offense, she probably would lack any strong defensive options like an invincible reversal, but maybe her servants could rush to her aid whenever she is blocking or something. she would probably be quite bad on her own when her servants are knocked out which is pretty fitting since, again, she's not really a fighter

Shennong: i thought it would be funny if shennong was a fighter because we've obviously never seen him fight. (he did defend the apemen of peach blossom village that one time so clearly he can hold his own to a degree). he strikes me as a brawler type character who wants to get up close to his opponent and beat the snot out of them, but doesn't have good mobility or range. maybe he has a special move where he consumes a random poison that grants him buffs to different stats. who knows, perhaps eating a plantago frog increases your speed and jump height or maybe a dragon's whip hightens damage for a duration of time. it could work similarily to jamie's drink in street fighter 6 where the buff stays for the whole match and he slowly ramps up in power until he's an unstoppable beast. there could be a chance of eating a rare poison like the golden yinglong egg that give his attacks super armor or just buff all his stats at once.

it would also be funny if, whenever shennong is fighting, shuanshuan is following him around to cheer him on. i can imagine one of his victory animations is him acting bashful while shuanshuan is shouting compliments, being all impressed and whatnot.

anyway that was my fighting game hyperfixationfueled rant now go drink water and pet a dog, doesnt matter if its yours or not

[deva-arts]

Hey Deva. what do your OC's mouths taste like.

I'M HAUNTED BY MY WORDS...

But okay sure fine I'll answer

First off we have a headcanon from Ritz:

Scrumptious!

Okay here's what I think:

Seraphina: She might not be too romantic, but she has excellent hygiene and doesn't go making out with Nathaniel without being nicely fresh. "It's basic courtesy to brush your teeth for a minute and thirty seconds before each kiss, Nathaniel. I would have it no other wa- ack- wait-" He really doesn't care and will try to sneak in more than a few sweet moments between work regardless. She'd like to say she's not a fan of canoodling during a tight schedule... But she loves that shit.

All this to say she probably tastes like mint. Or just a clean mouth. Sometimes energy drinks.

Nathaniel: Nathaniel is a doctor, but before that he was quite the playboy! Nate's pretty seasoned in the art of romance, especially since he's lived through so many different appearances. (He has to mind the teeth a little now that he is exclusively using this form, though...) He's always keeping nice with cologne and clean clothes, going a little extra on the mouthwash, etc.... Unless he is burning himself out doctor-style, then he... Just tries to keep himself showered and his teeth brushed.

Nathaniel tastes like mouthwash or breath fresheners when he's a spry rooster looking to woo Ser... But when he's tired he just tastes like mouth. He just wants some love. Please. (She stays in that day.)

Sonia!

Sonia makes sure her lips are fruit flavored so that her kisses can be "An experience that'll always make you crave me." Okay Sonia. But to be fair, she is a good kisser. Not only does she smell nice, her chemical synthesis ability essentially sterilizes and monitors the processes in her body, including harmful bacteria in the mouth. She would pleasantly surprise Nate if he ever needed to test a swab.

She tastes like cherry lipstick, the taste in your mouth you get right after brushing your teeth a third time, with a hint of something... lightly spicy? You find out later that it's acid.

Vincent! I'm not looking forward to writing this one WOOO

Vincent is an extremely... Meticulous individual. But only for certain things. For others he has no conceptual foundation and thus does not consider or practice them. He will shower three times a day. He brushes his teeth until his gums bleed. He bites his nails down to nubs.

But he will not moisturize, or do maintenance for the plentiful amounts of scar tissue on his body. His skin is rough and textured differently with every square inch you come across. His lips are chapped my guy. They're chapped bad. He smells a little weird too. Like feathers and gasoline, covered poorly with a plentiful amount of body spray. He also doesn't floss and eats anything under the sun.

His mouth tastes like the aftertaste whatever edible or inedible object he's eaten, with a hint of oral decay. He's a bad kisser the first few goes around too. His idea of cuddling is some rough pats on your back that feel more like the heimlich maneuver. Let's hope you caught him after he's brushed his teeth, at least.

(Human Vincent tastes like Cigarettes, beer, and whatever candy he popped in his mouth in hopes of ridding the taste of ciggies and beer.)

Amon:

The first occupational hazard lies in his teeth. They're very sharp. He has bitten off his own tongue before in several occasions. OW??? The second lies in his nice, plush yet firm body being a MUSCLE DEATHTRAP where he might squeeze you a little too hard and save you money on your next chiropractic appointment. (Actually, maybe still go to the chiropractor.) After that? He's a great kisser. He practices good hygiene (he has to lead Adra by example!) and smells like body spray used tastefully.

Amon tastes like a minty, mouthwashed mouth with a hint of copper. You try not to think about it too hard.

Eric!!

His mouth tastes like... Nothing? And not like mouth-nothing, more like water-nothing. His ability as a state-shifter makes all of the cells in his body convert into the cellular equivalent of a sea salp. Even though his humanoid form keeps these aspects of his body in a dormant state, where they process and function like normal, the green parts still retain that odd texture and quality to them. Of course, if he eats or drinks something that tastelessness is going to change.

Eric might also taste like pizza, cheap alcohol, toothpaste, or... lime Cool Aide?

Strohl!

Kissing a man who is basically a living electrical generator is not a good idea??? He tastes and feels like television static, and sometimes you hear some sparks actually flying on his end. He assures you that he has it under control, but in the same breath tells you not to surprise him if you wear conductive jewelry. Okay. This is fine.

Some say they like the feel of the static. Others take their leave early. He can't really blame them, so they leave, their NDA signed and a digital check bestowed to them. Katya is the first woman who was entirely immune to his power, and that made him feel much more secure with holding her close.

Strohl tastes like TV static, expensive liquor, and whatever dessert he's eaten earlier. He's a fan of sweets despite his workout regimen not permitting them.

Honorable mentions:

Titan tastes like blood,

Cain tastes like raw flesh and he will bite your tongue,

Karin Eris tastes like black licorice and your tears,

General Hayes tastes like your pillow and you realize it was, in fact, your pillow,

Aurelius tastes like a clean mouth that is getting a bit too high in temperature and oh god his power is on- TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!!

Farmer Dev tastes like those crisp root vegetables that have no implicit taste but are still classified as "green" tasting. Also peppermint- she chews a lot of it on the go.

[sheltershock]

An idea I’ve always enjoyed thinking about is art student Sasha. Yeah, he’s a scientist that works with machines and brains, and knows psychology stuff like brain workings and dream interpretations, which you’d think require some sort of higher education. And I’m not saying he wouldn’t have those kinds of degrees. But I think it’s amusing how often Sasha is talked about being a genius, and his intellectualism and all about his experiments… and then I glance over at the source material and the most evidence we get for education actually implies he was an art student and that’s hilarious to me. 

There’s the title to the track that plays in his level, “A Mind of Bauhaus Principles,” in which the Bauhaus is an art school. There’s the second face of the cube in the level which has like spinning disks on rods and I don’t really know what this part is supposed to represent, but the figments are of like drawings and people at pottery wheels so the best explanation I have is a collection of strange art projects(or since all of the memories in the level are negative, failed/frustrating/difficult art projects). The cube itself is painted in a Bauhaus style. The Psychoportal that Raz “borrows” from Sasha doesn’t have machinery or neural pathways decorated on it but painted rectangles that are more artsy than scientist themed. And when Raz meets Edgar, a literal prisoner of art, and throws Sasha’s Psychoportal to enter his mind, Edgar comments on the door. “Are you working on an abstract piece? …Nice use of color.” (Of course the comment could be about Raz entering the mind, I think the other inmates have comments while entering, but Edgar starts talking before the door even opens. I think both could be valid interpretations.)

But I like the references to Sasha being artsy, it’s a nice touch. Especially since people on the Spectrum often are both intellectually and artistically talented, but often autistic characters are often displayed having one or the other. I think the reasoning for this is because each part is often attributed to different sides of the brain, so having a character both smart and artistic is a strange idea? But actually having a character on the Spectrum have both is a nice touch. It’s also neat because being an artist has little to do with being a Psychonaut, it’s not part of his job. Much like the space/alien interest it’s a nice little detail that being a Psychonaut is not Sasha’s core identity, he has other things going on which is a humanizing detail. 

I personally have the headcanon that initially Sasha went to college for art, but then stopped for some reason(stress, money, mental breakdown, etc.), got scouted by the Psychonauts and then switched gears to a more intellectual based degree like psychology or engineering or something. And ever since joining the Psychonauts, he always had the goal of going back and completing that art degree so he’s been saving a portion of his salary for whenever that happens. Then years after the fact, decided to start on that again and eventually completed it on the side. He’s not ever going to use it, to his knowledge, because he likes his job as a Psychonaut. But it’s the degree he’s the most proud of and exclusively has it hung up in a nice frame in his house. He has his other degrees at work as a symbol that he knows what he’s doing, but he gets the most joy observing the art degree, either from how hard it took to eventually get it with all the stops or just from intrinsic value. 

He’s probably doodling all the time at work in secret. People in meetings are secretly intimidated/impressed about how quickly and dedicated Sasha is at taking notes. But he’s actually just absentmindedly scribbling on the free page he gives himself in the stack of papers he gives himself for actual notes and annotations. It’s an invisible stim that gets you to use your entire hand to do controlled, impulsive movements but in a socially acceptable way. Plus art is therapeutic, so it’ll be a nice way to step away from an infuriating experiment to calm down and approach it later with a more stable mental space. 

I think Milla found out about it because they were sitting together in a meeting and she hadn’t heard anything particularly worth taking a note on yet, but for some reason Sasha’s pen/pencil hasn’t stopped moving. So she looked over his shoulder to see what she was missing in the meeting, and just found artistic renditions of various objects and people in the room plus some random scribbles. She looked away before Sasha could notice her peeking, but he noticed her anyway. They talked about it later, and she thought it was pretty cool. Milla even asked if he could draw her, and he did, though he immediately apologized saying that he was never proficient at female anatomy. She loved the drawing anyway, and she still has it. But she had to give it back and insist that he sign it, because he didn’t initially. It took some convincing, but she did get the sketch signed by the artist, to which Sasha thought she was too giddy over. 

In meetings she occasionally looks over at the sketch page, smiling, almost getting them both in trouble by laughing at a couple. She always insists that he draw her more often, and you can see the improvements between each drawing. Some are in color, some are in black and white, some look more experimental, and some are in mixed medium. Milla saves them all regardless. 

The one drawing that always makes her tear up is one in her old nurse’s outfit. When they moved in together, she couldn’t throw it away because of the memories, both good and bad. Regardless, she wanted to put it on and look at herself in the outfit after all these years and after how much she’d changed. But she ended up being unable to put it on, stashing it in the back of the closet. She was able to play the piano and look after children again, but she couldn’t put the outfit on no matter how badly she wanted to see herself in it. Milla said over dinner how she remembers she looked back then, noting that she wore her hair up in a neat bun rather than down like she usually does. And then later that night, she was handed a piece of thick paper that depicted her wearing the outfit. It was in a pose and with an expression that she never had worn back then, but it was definitely the current Milla Vodello wearing that outfit with the accompanying hairstyle. She ended up bawling when she saw it and had to explain through tears that she was really happy with it and grateful for it.

On nights where neither of them have to stay late working, I like to imagine Milla seated at a piano, playing whatever song comes to her at that moment, and Sasha sitting with a book off to the side, listening to the pleasant melody. When she gets tired of playing she’d get up so they could sit together. And she’d realize at some point between her getting up to play and sitting down together, that without her noticing he’d put his book down and started sketching her without her knowledge. She’d chuckle, since it happens occasionally, and ask why. She’d get some answer about how her form was interesting, or it was her expression, or the shadows…but each drawing just has this pure joy emanating from her from the elegant lines.

[minerwarfare-suzuya]

Addressing One Thing About The Fanbase

I feel like this isn't talked about enough and it's one of many reasons why I've even made this blog and why I'm in the works of making my Mobox87 rant video, "Filling up the gaps" as to go into further details on topics that previous Mobox87 rant videos don't fully dive into discussing. Such as the topic of talking about Mobox87's fandom which is going to be a 4 part segment in my future video but it might be a 5 part considering the issue I wanna talk about.

Now during the time I have been away from this blog. I've been busy in the works of remaking the FNAF Affinity AU on my new blog that has steadily grown. I did come across a drawing request sent into my dm's that is just repulsive for a ship between Brandy and Alfred which I did call out.

I should mention that back then Mobox87 used to do art requests in her QandA and OC ships were one of her popular demands.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm fine with drawing characters being shipped together since I did accept a request to draw Renata x William in my ask/submission box.

So I'm completely fine with ship requests but don't expect me to do them all the time since I won't deny that there's some I'm not a fan of, such as Brandy x Alfred cause there wasn't any development between them for me to like it nor do I see any kind of romance between Alfred and Brandy ever happening in my remake of the story especially since the original story had changed and tossed that idea away.

But still

What the actual fuck-

My brother in Christ you is a pedophile for asking to make that shit for free

I get that I have said in my FNAF Affinity Remake, Brandy Afton will be getting a different story by being a surviving character and we'll see her as an adult.

Either way, despite that happening. There have been other weirdos tryna creep up on the idea of making Brandy drawn in certain gestures I don't find appropriate especially since they don't age her up from her original age or there is just flat out child porn of Brandy.

Bon-25 and 3dfq23 have shown to have an interest in the character Brandy which if ya go look...

It ain't that pretty looking. It's just vile considering that these two accounts went to comment, reblog and like a post from an account called grandmobox87foodhorse that reposted literal child porn of Brandy which that user has confirmed to be 20 years old.

Ironically enough, this obsession with Brandy wouldn't be the first time I've seen Mobox87's own fans going crazy over in a sexual manner.

Considering Arion the kid was one of these fans who'd prey on users on Amino for having the character set on their profile.

Now what could be the reason why these fans of Mobox87 are obsessed with such a character in such a sexual manner?

Well that's because Mobox87 made NSFW at a young age during the peak of her career online and has exposed her minor audience to all of her explicit art work without a warning and advertised her Tumblr where she got away with it.

Quote from my document.

"Exposing minors to adult content at an early age can often trigger a lot of desires which can become far worse as they grow older. Such as addiction, aggression and encouraging early intercourse."

Honestly this is just out right gross behavior from her own fan base that have grown to be adults or teens near adulthood and not know what the age of consent is or just prey on users against their own will.

Either way, I've blocked these accounts cause I don't want any association with them plus I've made it clear on my blog that the content I'm making is meant for a mature audience so that it isn't targeted to minors or anyone underage but considering it's the internet. I don't have control of who follows and I can't expect to block everyone or anyone all the time if I were to get more attention on the second blog.

Anyways, that's all I wanted to talk about. I will be going off again about this shit if I come across any weird shit.

[missgeniality]

Siyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!

Hoe are you doing???!?!!????

I just reread the strip lawyer and omggg your mind!!!!!!! Lemme kisss OMGGGGGGGG LIKE HOW CAN YOU WRITE SOMETHING SO DELICIOUS I CAN DIEE REREADING TAHT FOREVER!!!!!!!!!

On that note can you give me a peak , or perhaps just warning tags, of any of your wips with other sexy ass smut please?????? I just want to know what you're thinking next cause ksurjekssllsworbkeslslslsllslsls every time i read your fics my brain is like omg what was she thinking 🧐😯🧐

Thank you and i really hope you have a blessed day today for making me so giiddy this early in the morning.

P.s. pls tell me where you read manga and watch anime and some spicy and sweet recommendations please.

I love comedy and I have never watched anime. I don't like action though. Just something lighthearted (and a bit raunchy if possible) to keep me entertained hehe.

AAAAHHHHH IVVYYY I can't believe you could reread a fic of mine and still find it enjoyable, that is the biggest compliment, thank you so muuuccchhhh 🥺🥺🥺🥺 <3

WIP... I have only two at the moment... one is stigma... that has been going on for 2 years now (insert a pic of mine completely ashamed of myself) - that doesn't really have much smut, and there is more of a plot in that. Hence, the porn monster in me is having difficulty finishing it ehehehe 🐥 another one is a part of keynote! i have some ideas, im still thinking it through, but THAT will be smut galoorreeee! i want them to try new things, i want hoseok to push his own boundaries along with yn's, so that will be fun to write :3 I'm so happy you're looking forward to them, I will drop snippets when I get time to write them eheheh <3 Thank you so much for making my weekend with your kind wordsss 💓

So manga, I usually use https://mangatoto.net/, I find most of the ones I read over there. Anime I usually just go to Netflix and watch whatever is there, but you can also use gogoanime to watch whatever you want!

Comedy and raunchy... I will drop the manga's I've read recently, they should fit your taste ehehehe they're mostly erotica + cute romcom!

DISCLAIMER: A lot of manga get discontinued often, so I can't guarantee these are all completed!

Oshiete Kudasai Fujishima-san - this is GOOD. Consent is great, the male lead is hot, the sex is actually really good and not the same scene repeated 50 times! But... the female lead... this one comment sums it up:

(Rio being the female lead) But I still recommend it!

2. Hapi Mari - This one is really nice! I like the character dynamics, it is not super explicit but the characters are sketched out pretty well. Slightly dumber female lead, but its not as bad as the previous one!

3. Osananajimi Bartender to Hajimeru Kaikan Lesson - short I think, the art style is not to my liking. But the characters are so nice, and the side characters are sweet! And they have this 'cocktail language' that is very cutely used hehe, good read! And CONSENT!!!

4. Tada no Renai nanka de Kikkonai: Kojirase Joushi to Fetish na Buka (We Can't Do Just Plain Love: She's Got a Fetish, Her Boss Has Low Self-Esteem) - The title is pretty funny lmaoooo and I love this manga the most of them all!! This female lead is TO DIE FOR. The concept of this manga is really fun, so this is honestly such a hidden gem. I highly recommend this.

5. Talk To Me - this is actually a manhwa, so the art style takes some time to get used to. Also a little slow, not much happens each chapter, but its a very cute light-hearted read, smexy smexy though! The 2 couples are written very well, so I am currently enjoying this quite a bit ehehe

As for anime, my recommendation of Kaichou Wa Maid Sama still stands!! It's a good anime, and the manga left me in tears <3 Other than that, here are some of my favs that fit your taste (none of these are erotica like the mangas, but they're still very funny):

The Disastrous Life Of Saiki Kusuo (deadpan humour, love it)

Gintama (this is my fav anime of all time, but it has fighting in it as well)

Great Teacher Onizuka

The Way of the Househusband

Ouran High School Host Club (!!!)

Food Wars (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Monthly Girls' Nozaki Kun (so so cute and funny)

Haven't you heard? I'm Sakamoto

Wotakoi (extremely cute and very light hearted, office romance)

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War (!!!!!)

*deep breath* That is all from me LOOLLL I'm sorry I laid out a huge ass list but I was too excited to talk about my recs. I hope you enjoy them, please tell me what you think of them once you read/watch them!! Thank you once again for sending me this sweet ask <3

[chipstertool]

Girl-Centric Games: Quantity Over Quality

Ah, girl-centric stuff, where options for girls (and girly-girls/feminine at heart) were on the forefront, especially within the 2000s. Strawberry Shortcake, Bratz, Barbie, Totally Spies, Trollz, MLP, Winx, Lizzie McGuire, LPS, MyScene, etc. Especially with games from MMOs to console games to flash games.

Although, with girl games specifically, why is it that most of them are considered “shovelware” by those who talk about them?

But before we get into that, what defines it as a “girl-game” to be specific? It usually means a game catered to girls/women, a game that is usually played by girls/women, or both. It could also be a game that invokes a feeling of relaxation and/or coziness to it.

Within the realm of girl games, there are plenty of games that can be considered quality-filled such as Barbie Girls, Devilish Hairdresser, Super Princess Peach, Style Savvy, Hamtaro, etc. although the idea of girl games are games catered to female audiences are quantity-filled shovelware. One series that may uphold that idea are the Imagine series which were developed and/or published by Ubisoft.

The Imagine series are games catered to female audiences with storylines but what’s strange are two specific games: Ballet Star and Ice Champions. Now, when seeing gameplay of these games, the art style is way different and looks like it has more quality into the game itself. Come to find out that these games are JP properties, developed by Spike, that were localized under Ubisoft. These games are KuruKuru Princess: Figure de KiraKira Koori no Angel & KuruKuru Princess: Yume no White Quartet. This also includes Master Chef since, that too, is a localized import of a JP game named Edamoto Naomi no Shiawase Kitchen: Kakushi Aji wa Anata ga Kimete ne.

This doesn’t stop there since games such as GBA Petz (Vet, Dogz, Hamsterz 2) are also JP properties that Ubisoft have also localized. These games are Himawari Veterinary Clinic, Kawaii Koinu, and Hamster Club 3. Two non-Ubisoft games, Princess on Ice and Pretty Rockin (Happy Star Band) were also localized as Princess on Ice and Making the Music in US/Europe which the US had the original style by the time Pretty Rockin was released. I don’t know why anyone reviewing these games hasn't noticed this but that’s probably just me.

These specific games have the capacity to grab the attention of girls alike yet their localization has made them seen as typical shovelware, which likely pushes away any girl by the cover alone. Though, this could be a US thing since it’s most likely that girl-centric games are not good in quality but in quantity since they could just create a bare bones game, plaster a ‘Made for Girls’ sticker on it, and be done with it because the sales are what truly matters. This doesn’t help that most girl sites nowadays are either shut down or feature games that are akin to shovelware.

On the other hand, there have been games that have attracted female/feminine audiences such as Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, The Sims, Tomodachi Life, Princess Peach Showtime, the Atelier series, and the Nikki series. This could also be that these games have good gameplay and contain more quality than most shovelware games. So, hope isn’t all that lost with girl-centric games since there are girls + women that are interested in games whether they’re geared to women or not and I hope more unapologetic girl games come out with more quality than quantity.

[smqazi]

 THE ART OF NEGOTIATION

How to Get More of What You Want

In an interview with TIME Magazine, George Ball, Under Secretary of State to John F. Kennedy, President of the United States said,“The best way to negotiate with another person is to hold him by the BALLS and SQUEEZE till he comes around to your point of view and/or surrenders. No other way. PERIOD!

Bravo! H.E. Imran Khan. You know exactly how to negotiate with these Corrupt Politicians, whom my late Father used to call, RASCALS in his English accent, Qaum Farosh and Zameer Farosh people. 

Please follow George Ball’s advice and keep holding them by their BALLS and SQUEEZE till they come around to your point of view and surrender.

May Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) be with you all the time, all the way, Ameen, Thumma Ameen.

NOW READ THE FOLLOWING INTERVIEW, WHICH IS QUITE CLEAR

Whether we realize it or not, we negotiate everyday. But when we approach these situations as a win-or-lose battle, we’re already showing resistance, and setting ourselves up for difficulty. But what if you reframed the whole idea, to think of a negotiation not as a fight, but as a problem-solving exercise involving emotions?

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Matt Abrahams speaks with Stanford GSB Professor Emeritus Maggie Neale about what she has learned in her decades of researching negotiation and the steps that lead to more collaborative problem-solving. Listen as Neale shares tips on how to approach negotiations with intention, and what strategies can help us more easily communicate our wants and needs. She is the coauthor of Getting (More of) What You Want: How the Secrets of Economics and Psychology Can Help You Negotiate Anything, in Business and in Life.

Think Fast, Talk Smart is a podcast produced by Stanford Graduate School of Business and hosted by Matt Abrahams. Each episode provides concrete, easy-to-implement tools and techniques to help you hone and enhance your communication.

Full Transcript

Matt Abrahams: Hello. I’m Matt Abrahams and I teach Strategic Communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Welcome to Think Fast, Talk Smart, the podcast. The biggest fight, or should I say negotiation, my wife and I have ever had was over toothpaste. You see, my wife is a roller. And I’m a squeezer. And nothing upsets a roller more than a squeezer.

We would go back and forth over and over again, trying to come to a reasonable solution. Happily, we did. To this day, after 20 years of marriage, we still have two tubes of toothpaste. Negotiation plays an important role in our daily lives. You might be striving to get an increase in your salary, support for a project, less screen time for your kids, or more quality time with your romantic partner.

Becoming a better negotiator can help you and the people you interact with. Today I am so excited to be joined by Maggie Neale, the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management Emerita at the GSB. Additionally, along with Thomas Lys, Maggie is the co-author of the book Getting More of What You Want. Her research focuses on negotiation and team performance. Welcome, Maggie. Thanks so much for being here.

Maggie Neale: Thanks, Matt. It’s a pleasure.

Matt Abrahams: Yep. You are well-known for your keen insights, your engaging teaching style, and humorous storytelling — and along with your love of horses. So excited to have you here. I’d like to get started. I know you have a particular way of looking at negotiation. How do you define negotiation? And what do you see as the definition of a successful negotiation?

Maggie Neale: Well, too many of us approach a negotiation as a battle. And that battle is characterized by “I’m going to try to get stuff from you that you don’t want me to have, and I’m going to try to keep you from getting my stuff.” And if that’s how you think about negotiation, you’re already in an uphill climb. Because what that perspective does is it frames how you interact and evaluate your counterpart and yourself.

You’re going to evaluate your counterpart through that screen of battle. And you’re going to make the most malevolent interpretations of their behavior, because they’re the other. So what I suggest is rather than thinking about your counterpart as your enemy, what you should do is think about negotiation as collaborative problem-solving.

Collaborative problem-solving has three dimensions. The first is that I, as the protagonist negotiator, am better off. Better off than my alternatives. Better off than my status quo. Better off than had I not negotiated. Now, that may sound like a low bar, because what reasonable person is going to negotiate to be worse off?

Matt Abrahams: That’s true.

Maggie Neale: Except we all have. Each of us have actually been in negotiations, multiple times probably, where we knew it the moment, the second before we said yes, we should walk away. But we said yes anyway, because we privileged agreement over the quality of deal. So that’s number one is I, as the protagonist, need to be made better off. But number two, there’s no command and control in negotiation.

I cannot force you to say yes. All that I can do is present proposals to you where you think it’s in your interests to say yes. And we agree on a common course of action. So that means I need to understand who you are, what your interests are, your preferences, your motivations, what your challenges are. And I need to be able to answer the question why would you say yes to my proposal? Because if I don’t have the answer to that question, I’m not ready to negotiate.

Matt Abrahams: So the second part is really about reconnaissance and reflection into who you’re negotiating with.

Maggie Neale: Absolutely. And the third point is that when I present a proposal to you, I’m going to present that proposal as a solution to a problem that you have. And that’s the crux of the collaborative problem-solving perspective. What it does is it takes this out of me-against-you. And it says how can we frame a solution that makes me better off while at least keeping you whole? And maybe making you better off by solving a problem of yours?

Matt Abrahams: I like that a lot. That reinforces several things that we’ve heard across many of these podcast episodes, is you really have to know your audience, who you’re talking to. And you have to frame your communication in a way that helps and supports them. It’s not just about you. So I love that you’re echoing that.

Maggie Neale: Yes. But not just about you is the whole point. Because, again, there is no way I can force you to say yes. You’ve got to willingly walk that path of agreement with me. So the best way to do that is for me to figure out how a proposal that’s good for me solves a problem of yours.

Matt Abrahams: What suggestions do you have to help us better plan for our negotiations? Are there things we can do to prepare ourselves and those we negotiate with?

Maggie Neale: Absolutely. So think about those three criteria for collaborative problem-solving. Number one is the protagonist negotiator, I’m better off. Well, that means I need to figure out what makes me better off? So I need to understand my situation. The first thing I need to understand is what are my alternatives? What happens to me in the case of an impasse?

There has been a ton of research in this area. And it’s really very clear. Those folks with better alternatives on average walk away with more in the negotiation. And the reason they do that is because they’re more willing to walk away. So let’s say I have a really good alternative. It makes it easier for me to walk away. So if you want an outcome, a negotiated outcome with me, you’ve got to actually pay me to stay and engage with you.

But my alternatives are outside the negotiation. But they have a huge impact on how I behave because they affect the second parameter, which is my reservation price. My reservation price is my point of indifference between a yes and a no. It’s the tipping point in a negotiation. And it is arguably the most strategic piece of information because it tells me — and if my counterpart knows, it tells them — where that point is where I am willing to walk away.

In fact, with a reservation price, if I am negotiating it and I am at my reservation price, I should be so indifferent as to the outcome that I can flip a coin and if it lands heads, I walk away. And if it lands tails, I say yes. It is a bright-line standard that we do not violate.

Matt Abrahams: And I would argue most of us don’t ever think about.

Maggie Neale: You know, most people don’t. And even people who do oftentimes don’t have the discipline to be able to honor that reservation price because they value getting a yes over the quality of the deal. And this is what’s so critical. Because if you don’t have a reservation price, if you don’t have a [unintelligible] your bottom line, if you’re not clear what your bottom line is, and you don’t have the discipline to maintain that bottom line, then whatever surplus exists in the negotiation can easily flow to your counterpart.

Because it really is that point where you say, “No, I won’t do this.” But you need to know where that is. And now, if all you focused on were those two aspects — your bottom line or what happens if you got an impasse — then what’s going to happen is you’re going to systematically under-perform in your negotiation. And you do so because of a very powerful psychological process.

Expectations drive our behavior. So if my expectations about what I can get in this negotiation are centered on my bottom line, my point of indifference, or what happens to me if I get an impasse — if that’s where my mind is, that’s where my expectations are set. That’s where I will end up. So I must leverage up my expectations. I must think about an aspiration, [an optic] assessment of what I could achieve in this negotiation.

An aspiration is an assessment. And that doesn’t mean I look at it, and say, “Oh, if things went really well, the perfect world, I would get all of this.” No. What I say is, “Here’s my situation. Here are my skills and ability. Here’s my counterpart. Here’s their situation. If everything went in my direction in this situation, optimistically what could I hope to achieve?”

That doesn’t say my counterpart completely sort of rolls over on their back and says, “I give.” No. They’re going to be trying to get more of what they want. But if things go my way, would could I hope to achieve? And what I’ve found, Matt, is that folks rarely identify an aspiration. Sometimes they will identify a reservation price, absolutely. Sometimes their alternatives, yes.

But they rarely use what I think is really one of the secret ingredients in successful negotiation, which is setting an aspiration and having a focus from your perspective on that aspiration.

Matt Abrahams: Previously on this podcast we’ve talked a fair bit about how to structure our messages. Are there specific best practices for how you structure negotiation messages? For example, I know you’ve done some research on chunking. And I find it really compelling. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Maggie Neale: Well, there are two different ways to think about chunking. So number one is that too often in negotiation we tell ourselves that the correct way to negotiation is one issue at a time. And so let’s solve this issue, and then go to the next issue. And solve that issue and go to the next issue. That strategy, while very common, is a recipe for value destruction in a negotiation.

So part of what we want to do is we want to be able to negotiate multiple issues simultaneously. The reason we want to do that is because not every issue is equally important to both of us. So what I want to do is get a sense of what is the relative value or importance of the issues over which we could negotiate? How important are they to you compared to how important they are to me?

I want to be able to make trades such that we can both gain. So, for example, I’m quite willing to concede on an issue that’s important to you, especially if it’s not that important to me, in order to get a concession on an issue that’s important to me and not that important to you. So I’m looking for those asymmetries. That’s the beginning of the chunking process.

So where are the asymmetries in our preferences? And then what I want to do is I want to negotiate at the package level. So think about as you make a proposal — so think about all the issues and try to work with them all simultaneously so that you can sort of — even the language is not adversarial. I want to craft a proposal that reflects our unique contributions as opposed to I want to win that issue, you won the last issue.

Matt Abrahams: So in a sense, chunking gives you multiple levers to pull that you don’t have if you’re going issue by issue. So often when we negotiate we bring emotion to the party. We’re frustrated. We’re nervous. We’re excited. What role does emotion play in negotiation? And do you have any guidance on how to handle our emotions in the heat of a negotiation?

Maggie Neale: Sure. Well, emotions are really interesting. And there’s been a fair amount of research on the emotional aspect of negotiation. So the first thing I would like to say, which is sort of counter-intuitive, is that emotions affect how we think. And the different types of emotions affect how systematic our thinking is. So there’s a fair amount of research that looks at what emotions encourage deep thinking versus encourage top-of-the-mind thinking.

It turns out that it’s not about positive or negative valence. Happy or angry, right? Turns out that actually happy and angry both create an emphasis on top of the mind. So you want to think about the emotions that actually get your counterpart to think deeply. And those are things like surprise or sadness. Those are emotions that actually are associated with much more deep information processing.

Matt Abrahams: Thank you for that information. We have a tradition on this podcast. Before we end, I like to ask everybody the same three questions. So I’m hoping you’re ready to answer these three questions.

Maggie Neale: Okay.

Matt Abrahams: Question Number 1. If you were to capture the best communication advice you have ever received as a five- to seven-word presentation slide title, what would that be?

Maggie Neale: I’d say “Insight Often Arrives from Unlikely Sources.”

Matt Abrahams: Ah, I like that. Sounds like you’ve got some history with that advice.

Maggie Neale: I do.

Matt Abrahams: Anything you’re willing to share?

Maggie Neale: Well, part of the issue — and let me give you a little pitch here. I have a TEDx talk from Stanford about negotiating with my horse. It turns out that one of my most failed negotiations was with my horse, Sal. And she also taught me a whole lot about negotiation subsequent to that. So who would think that my horse would be a source of negotiation expertise?

Matt Abrahams: Insight comes from really interesting places.

Maggie Neale: Yes.

Matt Abrahams: And I’m impressed that we went so long without talking about horses. So I’m glad it came up. Question Number 2. Who is a communicator — I guess I will say a human communicator — that you admire and why?

Maggie Neale: So I’m going to give you two. Because one of them is historic, and one of them is current. Tony Fauci is an amazing communicator and has to manage such a tightrope.

Matt Abrahams: Yes.

Maggie Neale: To multiple and competing audiences simultaneously. I am just in awe of his ability. That’s number one.

Matt Abrahams: And I actually had the opportunity to work with him years and years ago when he was presenting some of his HIV research at a conference. And he is as authentic and genuine as you see him today as he was back then. He is who he is. I think that’s part of what makes him successful. Who is your historical reference?

Maggie Neale: John Kennedy. And the reason is because John Kennedy moved an entire generation to do stuff they never thought they were going to do. And it even goes back to his inaugural speech, “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.” I’m giving away my age now, but many folks who are slightly older than me but also — answered that call and began doing things like the Peace Corps.

Went out to basically change the world because that was what he asked us to do. He had an amazing ability to communicate.

Matt Abrahams: So Number 3. What are the first three ingredients that go into a successful communication recipe?

Maggie Neale: The first one is concern for the other. Then the other two are kind of following on that, because then it’s concern for myself. If I’m trying to communicate to somebody, I need to understand where they are. And I need to be able to frame my communication in a way that meets them where they are. Then I need to help figure out how that communication can move them to a place that I would prefer them to be.

Then the willingness to be open to a potential better path because that conversation around where I’d like you to be, I don’t necessarily have any divine knowledge about that’s the right place to be. That’s why I think, for example, negotiation is such an important skill, is to understand maybe together we can come up with a better solution than either one of us could ever have imagined separately.

Matt Abrahams: What a great recipe that would make. Maggie, thank you so much. Your insights into negotiation will help all of us do a better job of getting what we want and fostering more collaborative relationships. I really appreciate your time.

[wagmi-mga2024mi5015]

Finalized Concept

Finally! The concept that I decided to go with was the Exploration Based game. I realized that this would be the one that I would have the best time making and also would be the best concept for me to bring the artist's thoughts and ideas across to the audience.

The Brief says:

"Develop a level design that successfully communicates the artist's work to an audience that is unaware of their work. Although it is entirely possible to make your level interactive, the visual scripting system can be daunting at first and it is recommended that you keep interactive elements simple and to a minimum."

"The aim Is to develop a level that communicates the style and look of the game rather than demonstrate interaction/animation/physics/ mechanics."

All the other concepts I had would require complex systems and mechanics that would take up most of my time and effort in making the game. This concept would make it much easier for me to focus on what's important and to concentrate on the meaning of the artist's work.

The idea I had from the start was to have a world where the Player is much smaller than the art he is looking at it. Kemang Wa Lehulere combats issues and problems in the world that, at first, seem too big for one person to fight against. Social and Political issues that he deems to be important problems that affect millions across the world.

"Kemang Wa Lehulere’s solo exhibition “Bring Back Lost Love” attempted to formulate the problem of loss and reclamation—of land, dignity, and ultimately, love. A gathering of drawings and mixed-media installations let us feel the weight of history."-Kemang Wa Lehulere – Artforum

Since these exhibits embody and represent the very issues he talks about; I would want my game to showcase his sculptures and art pieces as larger-than-life, giant exhibits, having them tower over the player.

I would start by having the player climb these structures, traversing them to metaphorically imply that the player is overcoming these obstacles and actively trying to defeat these issues that he (Kemang) talks about.

The game would encourage the player to look around, to notice the different things on the walls and to perhaps interact with them as they navigate the sculptures.

At the end of the game, the player would have come to a vantage point, above all the sculptures they just climbed, effectively defeating and overcoming these problems. They would stand high above and look down on the exhibits that were once behemoths compared to themselves.

The player's bird's eye view effectively ends the game with the notion that even though these problems and obstacles seem to be giants, we can still rise above them if we are dedicated enough, just as Kemang has committed his art to inform us about these issues.

Images from the game "It Takes Two" "Only Up 2" Hazelight Studios It Takes Two Art Blast - ArtStation Magazine

[fategoflatass]

underappreciated series i recommend

it was my birthday not too long ago, and i decided it was a good idea to make a list recommending some series that i thought some of you would like. wanted to do nineteen animangas because of nineteen years, but that's too much work lol.

↪ ashita, watashi wa dareka no kanojo ; drama · romance

i started this one not long ago, and i don't regret it. reminds me of kuzu no honkai in the way it shows you how far people can go to feel acepted, to feel loved (even though what they get may not be love at all). people that are so insecure about themselves and how they deal with their situation, being in a healthy or unhealthy way. a series i would recommend to anyone who's looking for a more dramatically realistic (?) story.

↪ demi-chan wa kataritai ; comedy · sol · supernatural

a cutsie, simple slice of life about a teacher and his demi (half monster) students. in exchange of spending time with them and helping them with school, he gets to interview them and honestly? it is quite interesting. it may be me being a supernatural lover, but who knows. if you need something to fill that soft void, this show's for you.

↪ fantasy bishoujo juniku ojisan to ; adventure · comedy · fantasy · romance

can we talk about this show being one of the most entertaining things that came out on winter 2022? it's a show about two childhood friends who get transported to a fantasy world where one of them gets turned into the girl of his dreams, insults the goddess that gave him a "second chance" (he was hella drunk, she thought he was dead) as a woman, and she decides to curse them. since she's the goddess of love and some other stuff, they're like "oh fuck, she made us fall in love with each other" because they suddenly feel attracted to each other, but one of the guys already had a crush on his friend way before they reincarnated???? and now every single guy they find in their way falls for the now cute girl?????? and they have to control the og pining guy so he controls his hormones and stops getting 'seduced' by his friend????????? the only show were i thought op characters (kinda) were fun. a must watch.

↪ genderless danshi ni aisareteimasu. ; romance · sol

just another cutsie sol, but now it's about a girl and her boyfriend who's actually an androgynous influencer! their relationship is one of the cutest things i've seen in my entire life. haven't read the manga in a while, but i remember myself loving the art style. it's an slice of life, there's not much for me to say about it besides please read it.

↪ hakata tonkotsu ramens ; action · mystery

this show i should rewatch. it's a show about assasins who play baseball, like. do you need anything else? no, but seriously. it's actually pretty fun, but it has sadly been forgotten as one forgets a seasonal show that has been just 'okay'. i'm telling you, this one is not just 'okay'. c'mon. it also touches some serious themes, it's all pretty well balanced in my opinion. you'll end up falling for, at least, two or three characters.

↪ ID: INVADED ; drama · mystery · psychological · sci-fi · thriller

i never got to talk about this show, and my mind is kinda foggy, but damn i love this show. the first thing i mention when talking about it is the concept of the id well; it's supposed to be a representation of the criminal's mind and trust me when i say everything, everything has a reason as to why is there or being shown like that. it's kinda like the meaning of dreams? i'm such a fan of it. besides that, i really like the story and characters and think that more people should give it a chance.

↪ just because! ; drama · romance · sol

started this series because it gave me ao no flag vibes, and it ended up being nothing like that, but i still enjoyed it. is a show about teens being teens and having crisis about friendships, love and college. especially relatable if your teenage years were as chaotic as these guys. also, there's a cat called puta. do you need any other reason or?

↪ kanojo to kanojo no neko: everything flows ; romance · sol

i've seen people talk about the manga, but not about the show for some reason? in my case i read/watched both, and cried with both versions. i'm not the biggest shinkai fan (the majority of his works are just straight up boring to me), but damn this touched something inside me. it may be because i'm sensitive when it comes to animals or something like that. either way, leaving it here in case someone wants to cry over a fictional cat.

↪ marriagetoxin ; action · comedy · drama · romance

yes, i'm gonna talk about it again. i'm just really sad people don't pay attention to this series like ??? the hell are y'all doing? two chapters in and i was already imagining it as an animated series and being like "omg hope it does get animated i can't wait". this manga has everything: action, comedy, drama, the romance, the spice. i wish the harem laws could get applied here so we would get the "first girl wins" chance, but i highly doubt it. either way, a series y'all shouldn't be sleeping on. the disrespect.

↪ oushitsu kyoushi heine ; comedy · sol

i'm so upset this series doesn't get the recognition it deserves. nor a second season, i need it asap. it's a show about four dumb teenagers and their professor. it may sound boring to you, but please give it a chance. it's one of my comfort shows, being a funny and wholesome series to watch on a cloudy afternoon with a cup of warm coffee on your hands. it's not like it has a plot per se (in the anime, at least), but it doesn't even need one. the cast is just enough.

↪ Re:CREATORS ; action · drama · fantasy · mecha · thriller

i just don't hear about this show as much as i would like to. it's all about the power of creation and fandom, about the love one feels for one's creations, the passion behind the art of bringing entire worlds with their own characters and rules to life. and also about empatizing in a kinda extreme way with characters who were born to suffer. if you ever thought "i would like to meet my ocs in real life!", re:creators says "no, you wouldn't".

↪ tanaka-kun wa itsumo kedaruge ; comedy · sol

this is my favorite slice of life show and the only slow paced show i think i'd be able to watch again. i usually avoid these type of series, specially because the slow pace makes it unbereable to me. slice of life, doesn't matter what anilist says, is one of my least favorite genres in anime. but... this made me feel things. kind of. i mean, i really liked the characters, the enviroment, the chemistry that they all had with each other. i liked the comedy and the slow pacing felt... fitting, not suffocating. if any of you wanna watch a good sol, please give it a try.

↪ watashi no shounen ; drama · psychological · sol

this is a manga i finished like, right now. it's a story about feelings, sentiments, relationships. about your head being so messed up you don't even know what are you doing, what's wrong or what's right. a relationship so sweet and caring, but fucked up if seen in a bad demeanor. it also talks about family and how that builds you up as a person. i totally recommend.

[putschki1969]

KEIKO’s 2nd Album “dew” AVAILABLE NOW in DIGITAL FORMAT - REVIEW

It’s officially past midnight in Japan so you can now purchase and stream KEIKO’s 2nd album “dew” on various Japanese sites/platforms. Even if you ordered a physical copy, please consider ❗SUPPORTING KEIKO❗ in any way you can! Especially if you are eager to listen to the brand new songs and don’t want to wait for your package to arrive!

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BUY it on mora (TUTORIAL here) | BUY it on Ototoy (no proxy required)

BUY it tomorrow in your local iTunes store!  

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2021/12/07 Tweet by KEIKO

Good evening. It’s past midnight so it’s the release day of my 2nd album “dew”. I started 2021 making music together with Tsunku, then I participated in Yuki Kajiura’s tour, the year became even more fun when I met eji and made music with her...With 「Lantana」 and now 「dew」 I am collecting more and more music that is precious to me. Thank you to everyone from the bottom of my heart. I am so happy, honestly, thank you ♡ KEIKO (Source)

• ————— ¤ ♫ ¤ ————— •

Review/Overall thoughts: Keiko has pulled it off, guys. She is now officially a living and breathing cello. Blown away by how she is using both her lower and higher register here. Her low notes are impeccable as always but her high notes are also so smooth, melodious and strong, not at all flat, screechy or breathy. She is creating beautiful contrasts that make her songs feel so much more vivid and vast. I think the more toned down nature of the album has given her the opportunity to polish her vocals and truly master the art of singing in a higher register in a way that’s actually flattering to her. I have never made it a secret that I prefer Keiko using her deeper voice but this album has made me truly appreciate all the things she can do with her voice. In her 1st album she had a lot of songs that made her sing in quite unflattering ranges, some of those tracks still give her trouble during live performances and more often than not I find her voice grating. But with her 2nd album that’s not really the case. Generally I would say that I am least impressed with the “old” tracks (i.e. “Sakura wo Goran”, “Michite wa Kakeru” and “Waratte Yaru”) since there is a lot of kinda unflattering high-pitched singing happening in those. None of these songs are bad per se,  I don’t mind hearing them performed live but I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to them. As for the new tracks, the only song I absolutely cannot get behind is “Revolution” and I have honestly no idea if I will ever be able to overcome my dislike.

1. Nobody Knows You: Written by Yosuke Saito Honestly perfection and such an epic introduction to this noticeably darker album. I am not sure why but I wasn’t 100% sold on it when we first got to hear the song during her fan club event this summer. I liked the verses and I loved the bridge but the chorus was only “meh” (and a tad obnoxious) in my opinion. By now she has performed it on multiple occasions so I have had some time to let everything sink in properly. I have officially reached a point where I can appreciate all parts (even the chorus XD). "Nobody Knows You” has already become a KEIKO staple for me and I can’t imagine a live where she doesn’t sing this. She absolutely SLAYS and provides the necessary gravitas with her striking vocals to complement the grim and fatalistic worldviews presented in the lyrics. Also glad they finally decided to incorporate some cello into her music. 2. 通り雨: Written by eji/KEIKO What can I say? Flawless. From the get-go I was in love with this. I am a ballad-girl and while I am not drawn to all types of ballads, this one certainly hits the right spot. The somber melody with its gorgeous strings/piano arrangement blends perfectly with Keiko’s tragic vocals.  3. 桜をごらん:  Written by Tsunku Doesn’t do much for me. I don’t like it but I don’t hate it either. Pretty bland and her singing style isn’t my cup of tea. Still a bit bummed that an apparently prolific composer like Tsunku couldn’t come up with something a bit more outstanding for Keiko. Very reminiscent of her 1st album. It goes back to what I said earlier about her voice sometimes sounding a bit too grating. I will say though that looking at the album as a whole, it was a good idea to place the song in this spot since it is a nice reprieve after the first two tracks which are quite dramatic and dark. 4. ミチテハカケル: Written by RamSeeni/Shiki Tono As far as up-tempo, rock-ish songs go, this one is pretty solid, I enjoy listening to it. Not as good as “endroll” from her 1st album but better than “Waratte Yaru”. The song does a good job of adding a bit of oomph to the album - although I personally don’t think it was needed. Would have been happy with an album full of ballads and medium-tempo songs XD It almost feels a bit jarring but it goes well with the follow-up track “Latte”. 5. ラテ: Written by Haruo Yoda/KEIKO/Takuma Sato A ton of fun. Didn’t expect to like the “future-funk” elements so much. As the name would suggest, the song is super funky and playful. Also surprised by the rather long instrumental sections in between. There is really not much happening here vocal-wise. No wonder the genre is known as Japanese disco music. Perfect background music for your everyday activities to get motivated. 6. 八月の空: Written by eji/KEIKO I feel like “Sakura wo Goran” and “Hachigatsu no Sora” are quite similar, as in they are both a bit too basic and borderline bland, BUT the latter is Keiko’s very first composition so I am much more forgiving of it.XD The “haha” parts make the song downright addictive and Keiko’s vocals are so much better here than they are in “Sakura wo Goran”. 7. 現実のメタファー: Written by KEYTONE Solid but nothing to write home about. I am curious why they chose to release this in advance. Probably because it was the only remaining up-beat song in the tracklist. 8. キミガネムルカラ: Written by eji/KEIKO I am pleasantly surprised to see Keiko get so many composition credits or maybe this refers to her writing the lyrics (not sure how Spotify’s crediting system works). I love classical music so I am all over the extended instrumental part. For others this track might be too uneventful and short but I think it’s captivating in its simplicity. Just wish there would be even more emphasis on the cello in the studio version. I am spoiled by the live version which has such impressive cello parts throughout the entire song and not just during the interlude. 9. 笑ってやる: Written by Aoi Yamazaki/rui(fade)/Kōsuke Ōshima Another song I am pretty indifferent about. Nothing to say really... 10. Revolution: Written by XYZ The instrumental at the beginning actually sounds quite promising but then the song turns into what we have already heard in the teaser and it doesn’t really change or improve until the end. By far my least favourite track of all the new songs. I don’t see myself coming to like this as I did with “Inochi no Hana” (which was also composed by XYZ). XYZ seems to have a very specific style that might work for Korean drama background music but not really for Keiko...Meh, not happy. 11. Lost: Written by Haruka Kato/koshin *sobs* I am in awe. The teaser wasn’t able to prepare me for the full version. In my opinion this is pretty close to a masterpiece. Not because it is particularly unique or new, quite the contrary actually, I would say the song uses a lot of very old and familiar Kayōkyoku motifs that make it into an instant classic, a true gem. The melody line appeals to me on so many levels, I can barely contain my feelings. Now I also know what they meant by Celtic elements, the intro in particular is super lovely (wish we would have gotten even more of that sprinkled throughout the song). 12. Burn In The Wind: Written by koshin/YHANAEL No complaints from me whatsoever. A nice feel-good ballad with some country vibes that work surprisingly well for Keiko. In my head this is Keiko paying tribute to Taylor Swift XD The soft-rock elements make this even better and remind me of some old-school power ballads.

In total, there are five standout tracks which I would give a solid 10/10 rating (”Nobody Knows You”, “Toori Ame”, “Kimi Ga Nemuru Kara”, “Lost” and “Burn In The Wind”). All of them just SCREAM “Keiko” to me. Not sure if Keiko put together the album with a concept in mind but I definitely feel like as a whole it represents her much better than the first one did and thus I automatically appreciate it more. And even though Keiko claims that she sang all these songs in a reserved manner and “without emotion”, I cannot help but feel like her singing is much more expressive than it used to be, it has a very raw and rich quality to it.

[aboverself]

OMEGAVERSE° Manga Review

[[ reviewed by @aboverself ]]

Wanton Kisses are Keys of Sin

Kiss wa Tsugai ni Hizamazuku • キスは番にひざまずく (Vol.1) by Enuoka Yochi

Yaoi, School Life, Drama

Alpha x Omega, CNC/Rape, High School

-> SUMMARY: Iori (seme) believed he'll meet his fated person and that is Leo (uke), known to be the 'alpha devourer' for sleeping almost every alpha at their school. Iori started to cling with Leo, leading to a difficult situation, a situation where their instinct, fate, and love will be tested.

-> DISCLAIMER: This review isn't made by a professional, it's an entertainment purpose and just like a recommendation kind-of what to read next for Yaoi readers. There will be criticism, honest opinions, adult language and limited ideas. I'll try not to give much spoilers, so read at your own risk!

-> RATING: ★★★☆☆

-> POSITIVE FEEDBACK

title of manga doesn't make any sense at first. now beyond analyzing the content, it makes a lot of sense, it's really deep and that passionate story.

the manga cover seems interesting, though it's common position of main characters except it has few details based on story. now take a good look, it already shows who's the uke (bottom) here. details here is the lace of the collar around the seme (top)'s neck shows being entangled with the omega except it's loose, showing that he's giving the alpha a chance to leave him.

the art style of characters being drawn was very good especially for Leo, he isn't like any common omega in omegaverse mangas.

throughout reading every panel and pages, you'll notice some easter eggs as teaser for next chapter like the part where a random alpha offered money to Leo in exchange of having sex.

character development was slow and taking its time, it was good. it's not rush except for the sex scene. each of their personality also differ, you'll know whose fault is it in the first place.

it's nothing cliché, the backstory was really deep and explains how a person was made. it hits angst especially when the two of them has POV.

if i remember correctly, they don't have sex everytime they meet which almost not considered yaoi. i'm not complaining, it's worth the wait and read. sex count: 2

i love it, it's a heartwarming ending which leave us readers to be satisfied with how they ended up + need for more because it was so good, there's really potential to continue.

-> NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

on the manga cover, their expression was the opposite throughout me reading the manga. the alpha is more joyful and carefree while the omega is opposite, he easily gets irritated and is cold. although the clothing was teasing, shows seduction but we don't need it for alpha. would be good if omega was gripping it, it shows desperation or makes sense of having the alpha having his shirt open.

the story flow has cliffhangers and some parts lack of details or information, though if you don't pay attention or think about it much, it's an okay story flow.

the side characters wasn't introduced much, only pops up in random page or in certain panel but i understand, we focus on 'main characters' after all. i don't even remember their names but i know, Leo's friends are 2 omegas, and 1 beta.

sex scene was kind of bland, the hands carried. also goes in wrong timing, but i get it, it's to fit in the yaoi genre.

setting/place was limited, i remember only 3 are shown most of the time: school, store, house... the date carried.

always shows a shock expression, leaving me confused. it's sudden, but it'll be explained soon after.

would be good w.o being in student plot, e.g. having them meet in store where alpha works. they infact don't look teenager, but around 20's.

not going to lie, side characters also has potential to have their own story and lacks POV even for a bit, give them a chance! T T would love to read it when the author decided to make their stories.

-> CRITERIA

8/10 ⸺ Title

8.5/10 ⸺ Manga Cover

9/10 ⸺ Plot

7/10 ⸺ Story Transition/Flows

8/10 ⸺ Art Style

6.5/10 ⸺ Characters

7/10 ⸺ Character Development/Persona

7.5/10 ⸺ Easter Eggs/Hints

8/10 ⸺ Setting

7.5/10 ⸺ Atmosphere

TOTAL: 77/100

[chaotic-mercury]

Ikevamp Suitors and Their Reactions to Anime/Manga

This is so random but at around 1am I was thinking about MC and Sebastian sharing their weeb culture from the future to the residents of Comte’s mansion

• Considering MC’s gadgets still have battery and she brought a powerbank, she would show the residents anime, manga, and some episodes from different shows she downloaded

• Dazai was alive during the release of the first anime so he’s the first one MC shows it to and he is happy to see how animation has vastly improved

• Since MC downloaded a few anime series to watch offline, she and Sebastian argue on which anime Dazai should watch first but eventually settled on Bungou Stray Dogs

• Dazai gets interested and is proud of his ability in the anime because he’s basically OP

• “I like how I’m meaner to Chuuya in this show,” Dazai beams happily, “and his anger issues are very accurate to his true self.” (historically, they also did not get along and Chuuya was more aggressive)

• “160cm? Too tall,” Dazai would point out when he is informed of Chuuya’s height, “He is way shorter. 150cm at most.”

• “This is strange. Akutagawa idolizes me? Was this intentional?” (historically, Dazai was a huge fan of Akutagawa)

• Vincent finds out about what they’ve been doing and wants to join in because he’s curious about modern day art styles

• He falls in love with the anime art style and mesmerizing animation which leads to him wanting to try out digital art

• MC explains the basics and, if MC brought an apple pencil or something similar, she lets him try

• Vincent finds drawing on a screen odd at first since the screen is slippery, but he gets used to it quickly. His main preference is still a canvas, though

• Vincent also tries drawing in the anime art style because he’s never seen it before and thus finds it interesting

• He would probably enjoy lighthearted anime such as Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, but also likes ones with darker themes. Madoka Magica’s storytelling and symbolism through their art (especially with the witches) would seem super cool to him. Their art is so unique he’d possibly take inspiration from it for his new pieces

• His brother is a sucker for romance and would probably enjoy Kaichou wa Maid-sama and Kaguya-sama: Love is War. Would cry while watching A Silent Voice and Plastic Memories

• Everyone would be really intrigued, especially Theo and Leonardo, because the fact that everything is hand-drawn is amazing (it takes hundreds of frames for even a few minutes of animation!)

• They also find the idea of manga really cool because telling stories through drawings and text in a unique format is completely new to them (especially Arthur, who is also an author)

• Le Comte won’t be as surprised as the other residents and he’d be more interested in the plot. Might enjoy Ouran High School Host Club because just the idea of a host club intrigues him very much

• Leonardo would most likely enjoy anything and is open-minded towards various genres, but I think he’d be most curious about the REALLY strange ones such as Kakegurui and Hetalia.

• “Teenagers gambling? Personifications of countries? That’s so interesting wdym”

• MC considered showing him the Fate series too because by normal standards it’s also a little strange (especially with FGO’s rendition of Da Vinci — the concept of “him” manifesting in Mona Lisa’s image because of the public consensus associating them so strongly with each other is interesting) but Sebastian advises against it. “Too soon,” he whispers. MC nods.

• Eventually the Japanese trio talk about anime often

• When Arthur overhears them talking about a famous detective show (Detective Conan) that was not Sherlock Holmes, he becomes intrigued

• “900 episodes and still on-going!?” Arthur might exclaim, but MC and Sebastian assure him that a lot of people catch up on the show easily because they’ve been watching it since childhood

• Arthur finds out that Conan’s name was inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle and he’s very touched that there are people who acknowledge him as an author and not just as the man behind Sherlock Holmes

• He’d also enjoy Danganronpa and really likes the murder cases, especially the ones at the 5th chapter (from personal experience they’re confusing af)

• Your Lie In April? Mozart overhears them talking about it and becomes interested. He doesn’t know some of the composers they mention since they didn’t exist in his time so he’s curious to hear their pieces

• Kaori being a rebel and changing up the pieces? Kousei’s trauma and Kaori’s death? Mozart won’t admit it but he absolutely loves the show’s emotional aspects and how accurate the music playing is

• After seeing Arthur and Mozart’s reactions, Sebastian secretly wants to know their tastes and how they’ll comment on anime incorporating their fields of expertise

• Isaac would probably enjoy Steins Gate because they discuss about various time travel theories such as black hole, wormhole, and light speed. He’s also an astronomer, so he’ll be really excited about the newer stuff he’s unfamiliar with (such as Einstein’s relativity). He’d probably do research on them afterwards

• Napoleon would enjoy anime with a lot of action, such as Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and even Assassination Classroom (since he teaches in his spare time, would probably cry at the ending). However, he also enjoys cooking, so he’d definitely enjoy Shokugeki No Soma since they come up with such unique takes on dishes (the foodgasms amuse him very much)

• Jean would probably enjoy anime centered on religion, such as A Certain Magical Index or even Noragami (though it’s mainly about Shintoism). This time MC shows him Fate (after being green lighted by Sebastian) because she figured their depiction of Jeanne D’arc actually made sense. He ends up resonating with it since they go into the “saviour” dilemma in most of their series (eg. Artoria and Shirou)

• Sebastian has to make sure MC doesn’t go around showing Fate to everyone else. It’s too soon. Let them keep their innocence a little longer

• Shakespeare would enjoy anime with tragic endings, no doubt. Clannad, Elfen Lied, Grave of The Fireflies, you name it. He’d also like Another and Blood-C because there is so much gore and he loves it

• Sebastian wanted to show them yaoi at some point for his “research” but MC had to stop him

• “I think we’ve shown them enough anime,” MC would say, however Sebastian assures her it’ll be completely alright

• “What should we show them next?”

• MC pondered on this, but ultimately she thought of something wicked yet extremely entertaining

• “Sebastian! They’re vampires, remember?”

• “Yes, of course I do.”

• “Why not show them Vampire Knight? It’s a middle school throwback!”

• “That’s... a great idea. Let us proceed immediately.”

• It would be an understatement to say that the residents of the mansion are baffled as to why people in the 21st century would enjoy such things

• Arthur isn’t complaining though

• Sebastian speaks up, “okay, now we will show you a very special genre, yao—“

• “SEBASTIAN, NO”

thanks for reading my strange headcanon even though it’s super messy and makes no sense

[lokiondisneyplus]

Loki is the latest Marvel Studios TV series in the long-running franchise and it’s currently ongoing with five episodes so far available to stream on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia. For previous breakdowns of Loki episodes, check out Episode 1 here, Episode 2 here, Episode 3 here, Episode 4 here and Episode 5 here.

If you want a non-spoiler guide to Loki, you can head on over here.

Courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia, we were lucky enough to be the only Malaysian media to participate in a roundtable interview with Loki Costume Designer Christine Wada and Loki Production Designer Kasra Farahani.

This interview with Loki Production Designer Kasra Farahani has been edited for clarity.

Keep in mind that we’ll be discussing some elements from all five episodes of Loki so far, so there will be spoilers below:

Q: You’ve previously worked on Black Panther and other MCU movies. How different was the experience of working on a TV set instead of a movie’s? Were there limitations?

Yes, I’ve worked on several Marvel projects. For me, this is the most fun one, maybe because I’m in a different position than I was on the other ones. But also, just because this project is unique in a couple of ways.

Number one; it’s literally in its own timeline from the rest of the MCU. It’s separate from the stories we’ve all enjoyed and seen in the MCU so far. The other thing that this one has that’s really great is the amount of visual and narrative variety. We have this kind of base in the TVA that we spend a lot of time in but also we have all these exciting different places in the world that the story takes us to. These were great worlds to design and to imagine.

In our case, there was no difference. The thing about the Marvel series is that it’s pretty much like Marvel movies; in terms of their creative ambition, in terms of the way they’re scheduled, the fact that we have one director.

There was not much about it (Loki) that resembled an episodic project, except for the fact that it was six hours of content that we were trying to make, so it’s a very long project.

In terms of resources, I didn’t ever feel that we were unduly stretched. Always, when you get a creative brief like this, there’s always a period at the beginning of every project where you’re reconciling the creative brief and the resources that you have. That has been the case for every project that I’ve ever worked on regardless of the size. There’s this beginning phase where that’s the case and oftentimes, it’s in that process where you come up with some very great creative solutions that are a direct result of some of the limitations, actually.

Yeah, I wouldn’t say that we had some extraordinary limitations in this case (for Loki), but that’s generally true for all projects, in my experience.

Q: What were you inspired by when making designing the sets of the TVA with its retro-futuristic and anachronistic aesthetics?

In the source material, the TVA had a lot of different things going on, but one of the strong themes also was this armada of desks, which is kind of typical of a post-war era bureaucracy look. There was a grain of that in the source material but a lot of it also came from the show’s creator and writer, Michael Waldron, who described in the original document I read before interviewing for this job.

He described the TVA as a kind of mix of Mad Men meets Blade Runner. Part of these two strong visual references for us. On top of that, me and director Kate Herron, even before we met and spoken to each other, were inspired by Terry Gilliam’s Brazil also as a strong influence because of the anachronisms that that story had and also because of the clear presence of this strong monolithic bureaucracy, which is something that we have in the TVA also.

For the TVA, we were looking a lot at wanting to create a world that had a paradoxical feeling, being an imposing monolithic architectural space that has brutalist elements in them and had almost Soviet modernist elements to them. The colour palette and the materials and the whimsical patterning were much more like American style modernism.

The result was hopefully when you’re in an environment like this, you don’t know whether to feel terrified or invited. Hopefully, it creates that feeling in both the characters and the audience; this kind of cognitive dissonance in not knowing whether they can trust the TVA or not. That’s the narrative objective.

The writers came up with these ideas and the idea with that was to kind of create the bubble gum wrapper in the Renaissance era (Loki Episode 2) and the futuristic shovel in the early 20th-century farm field (Loki Episode 1). These ideas were placed there to create a trail of clues for the TVA to follow before they have clarity on Sylvie’s identity. But for the anachronisms generally, that was something we tried to do throughout the TVA to have all kinds of strange things from different timelines and different worlds popping up in terms of props, like the Infinity Stones in the mail cart and stuff like that.

Q: What was it like working with Tom Hiddleston, who is a producer on Loki?

It was very exciting to have this opportunity to take the character and his storyline in a different direction. It became all the more exciting when I read the scripts and I saw the type of journey they were going to take the character on.

Tom is a professor of Loki, basically. After all, ten years or so of playing the character; he knows it better than anybody and he has an in-depth understanding of the character and his backstory; the character’s family relationships and he was really helpful in giving a little talk to all the department heads about the background of his character, which was very informative.

Q: Recently, Loki series director Kate Herron said that 90 percent of production sets were physical. Does this include the world of The Void, and can you tell us more about how you brought it to life?

That’s true. That was what was unique about this show, because of my own design approach, and my goal in creating this large monolithic brutalist environment, I felt strongly that the sets needed to be built kinda wholly and that they needed to have the ceilings in-tact. This was also supported by Loki cinematographer Autumn, in that the way of her own style of photography is very wide and low-angled photography, which is why for both of our creative goals, it made a lot of sense to build these sets like completed and 360-degree environments.

For the TVA, that was almost always the case, with the exception of when you saw outside a window. With the Void (in Loki Episode 5), a lot of that was built practically as well. What I can tell you is that we build a large piece of this landscape on a soundstage, which was about 150 feet by 200 feet of undulating wilderness terrain. In that, we would bring in these different scenery elements on different days to make it feel like different places within the Void.

For example, one day there was the bus stop terrain where we meet Loki. One day it was the giant head. One day it was the drive-in movie theatre where we find Sylvie. All of these things were brought in and we shot there over the course of seven days. The terrain was designed in such a way that depending on what angle you shot, it felt like a very different place. Backgrounds were put in during post-production in visual effects. The Loki palace, where the Loki variants kind of hang out, the bowling alley, all of that was also a 360-degree built set as well.

Q: What was the most challenging set of the entire Loki series that you had to work on?

We had a lot of very ambitious sets but I think the city of Sharoo at the end of Loki Episode 3: Lamentis was a very technical set. The goal was to create this virtual one-in, that appears as a single shot. This was a very involved and elaborate process of choreography, basically.

All the different departments were involved to make this happen because as we watch the sequence, we see tons of actors running around, there are explosions happening, the camera’s panning up to see the planet above crumbling and asteroids pelting the surface.

There was a lot of planning that went through at the very beginning. We brought the paper models of this to Autumn, our cinematographer and creative director, to use to plan some of their shots. One day, we had some more information that fed back to the art department where we developed more involved and elaborate drawings and models which again, fed back to them. In this way, we had kind of an iterative conversation to arrive at what the design was.

So, as we start to build the set, many of the department heads came to visit and check the progress. We rehearsed what the shot was going to be, so we could exactly fine-tune the set to meet the needs of this shot and see where the edits needed to be. In order to do this, we needed to adjust the exact width of the roads or move a piece of scenery here and then figure out exactly, okay, there’s going to be an explosion coming out of the ground here and another explosion coming out of the building here and this is when the camera looks up to the sky and sees the planet explode. This is where the window breaks and this is where the guy jumps out and grabs him and there’s a fight.

There are many, many people involved; Monique Garderton, our stunt coordinator, Kate Herron, the director, and also the special effects team, and of course, visual effects, deeply involved, and Richard Graves, who is kind of our AD (Assistant Director), the circus leader of all of it, organizing everybody to kind of work on this thing altogether. It’s the sort of thing that involves so many different departments that it can only really be discovered when working in a big group together.

I would say that was maybe the most challenging technically because there were so many logistical parameters and so many moving parts.

Q: What are your thoughts on diversity in the production of the creative industry?

I think that it is critically important. As somebody who is myself an immigrant, I was born in Iran and my family moved here when I was quite young. I’m super happy to see the direction that the industry is going in. I think Marvel has been particularly excellent in providing leadership in this way and I honestly have to give a lot of credit to Kate Herron, our director.

Almost more than any other project I’ve been on, she prioritised inclusivity and diversity. I mean, lots of people, don’t get me wrong, it’s on every project and on everyone’s mind, but I think Kate went above and beyond because it’s so fundamental to her worldview and she’s such a sensitive soul in this way. One of the many ways in that it was such a joy to work with Kate and I’m very proud of the many different ethnicities we’re representing, and how many women we’ve had. In our art department, we had close to fifty men and women.

It’s important and leads to better creative results that are more fully realized and more representative of what the fans really want.

[thequillsink]

Final Girl manga review, Published by grimoireofhorror.com and The Yurei  September 21, 2021  

I believe we are all aware of the stereotypes of certain genres in horror, specifically slasher movies. The near formulaic structure of their story is a carbon copy of the next, just with a different villain and hoping to become the next synonymous series of films. It would be fruitless to hope for a film that would redefine what constitutes a slasher and therefore, parodies seem to be the way to progress to derive new enjoyment out of a stagnant genre.

Unfortunately, a majority of creators fail to understand the underlying process of crafting a parody, consequently becoming the very object they intended to mock initially. Final Girl, however, is aware enough to succeed at the intent, but how fun is the manga in general?

What is it

Final Girl is a 2019 one-shot horror comedy manga from the mind of Kokikuji You, known for being the author & artist of Gekikara no Ojou-sama wa Jibun wo Basshitai and Doutei Jigoku.

After Blacking out whilst walking down the street, a guy finds himself transported into the world of a classic Western horror movie. And what’s more, as the ‘slutty character’ who usually dies first!? Can he implement his knowledge of cinema to escape and save his new-found companions from their inevitable fate at the hands of a serial killer?

What Worked?

Prodding in jest at overused tropes, the work is a hilarious rendition of the slasher genre and the predictable story structure inherent to that. Tropes mocked include immensely unlikable characters and the killer inexplicably appearing from thin air, all combining to deliver an amusing slasher universe acting as a perceptive parody. For a mere short story, it is remarkably effective. The comedy succeeds with a meta grasp of the film inspirations, the clichés our protagonists find themselves in, raise the alarm bells they should, as well as the erratic attempts to prevent them from happening.

Deliberately unlikable, the characters are perfect representations of those they emulate, all fulfilling the roles expected from the genre: the jock, the prankster and the titular final girl. Practically all stereotypes institutionally are successfully covered in the small roster, although there is unfortunately no stoner template – a common one in other such media.

Kokikuji You has a unique art style for fluidly illustrating all panels as from the universe of a Hollywood horror movie – it is no mere fabricated fantasy world as usual of such fiction. The characters are thus portrayed as Western through subtle differences in appearance, but not in a distracting way to undermine the material. The pages are detailed to ground the universe, contouring lifelike scenes throughout this fast-paced adventure and rendering sequences with attentive set design as with films.

In a sea of isekai manga, Final Girl stands out as an interesting concept and tribute – an artistic vision compromising with others’ ideas. While many of these other manga take their main character to a new, distant fantasy world, none have displaced a character to a movie-based universe (to my knowledge) that’s closer to home. Utilizing such unorthodox crossovers in compelling ways could revitalize this approach in storytelling as with comics, applying the use of different film universes or intellectual properties to adapt their disparate style; it would be interesting to appreciate in a longer series. However, Final Girl’s length is a benefit rather than a detriment, the story possibly stagnating if drawn out to a longer conclusion – only so much can be explored in such a premise.

What Didn’t work?

The aspect of gender swapping is an unnecessary addition to the story as an oddity. The main character could have easily been female in the beginning and have zero effect on how the story subsequently unfolds. This is mostly to shoehorn underlining ecchi elements into the story, benefiting an appeal to the shonen audience, but this may be inappropriate (if not abnormal) to wider audiences. In spite of that, the organic placement prevents them from being a significant distraction from the overall flow itself.

Final thoughts?

Final Girl is a piece that truly encapsulates lampooning a certain category of films with a cult following, and demonstrates a particular love for them in the understanding to do so. It conveys a knowledge that mostly originates from a dedicated fan who has spent abundant time appreciating the techniques conceptually of slasher media and why it’s a timeless choice in horror.

The manga exceeded all expectations, it is an observational comedy perfect for the setting (the final credits were a nice feature). I would suggest this to anyone who enjoys slashers and/or parodies. At only 41 pages, it’s difficult not to enjoy this short read and is easy to review for your own judgment.