#i haven’t even seen this panel myself yet

[maxillness]

Older || JB22 x Interviewer!Reader

Warnings: 18+, unprotected sex, age *GAP*, cheating, oral (f), fingering, praise kink, nipple play, orgasm denial, marking up,

Wordcount: 1.7k

Part two

When she had taken this internship, she hadn’t imagined what she had gotten herself into

She knew that she was going to watch interviews, and even do some herself, but she hadn’t expected what would come out of it

She had seen the drivers on tv and in pictures, but god, did most of them look better in person

Especially one driver in particular

Jenson Button

Man, wasn’t he a sight for sore eyes? The way his eyes looked at her, the way he smiled as he looked at her, the way his hands moved, the slight stubble on his jaw

She always had dirty thoughts about the driver, but seeing him in person did things to her she could never speak about

“You on for interviewing Button?” Her mentor came over to her, speaking to her with a soft tone and eyes

She hadn’t yet actually talked to him, and she was pissing her pants to do so “Yeah, of course” She tried putting on her best smile, even through her feared eyes

She feared that when she spoke, that she would stuttered, crack her voice, or even both. She feared she wouldn’t hold together

“You seem nervous. More so than the others” Her mentor mentioned, standing in front of her, fixing something on her clothes

“Of course. Have you seen him? He’s hot as fuck” Her words made the other chuckle

“You’ll be fine. I once got the tip to imagine the other naked” They said, trying to make her feel better

“No offence, but if I imagine Jenson Button naked, I might just have the best orgasm of my life” She said, trying to calm herself

“Fair enough. You’ll do great. You’ve been with the others. Here he comes. Anything than naked then” She turned herself around to be face with Jenson who smiled at her

“We haven’t spoke before. You’re the intern, right?” He asked, shaking her hand, his voice sending shivers down her spine

“Yeah. Yeah, I am. Y/N Y/L/N. Nice meeting you” She said, her cheeks heating up as she took her hand back

“Nice meeting you too” He smiled, seeing the way her cheeks had gotten more red

She managed to get through the interview without stuttering or cracking her voice, which she was happy about, and impressed

“I told you you would do good, didn’t I?” She had calmed more down as they were walking into their hotel

“Yeah. I impressed myself, which isn’t often that happens” She chuckled as they walked to the elevator

“I’m gonna take the stairs, okay?” She nodded as her mentor walked to the stairs. She needed the silent elevator ride

Just as she had pressed her floor button and leaned against the wall, a man walked into the elevator as well

As she looked closer, she realised it was Jenson who had walked in with her. Apparently he was going to the same floor, ‘cause when he looked over to the panel, he didn’t press a button

“Was I your first interview?” He asked, leaning against the wall opposite to her

“No, I have done a few” She said. It had suddenly gotten too hot in there, and it didn’t go unnoticed by him

He smiled softly to himself as he noticed her cheeks were red as she looked into the floor, crossing her arms over her chest

“You did good” He spoke, the words of praise forcing a whimper out of her she hoped were low enough for him not to hear

But of course he did, ‘cause her body had to betray her. She pressed her thighs together as she heard his footsteps

He hooked his finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him “Tell me, Y/N. What do you look for in a man, hm?” His voice was low

She sank the lump in her throat “I need someone older. Just a little bit colder. Take the weight of his shoulders”

She felt intimidated under his stare, so much that she was surprised she could get a word out he could understand

“How old are you, Y/N?” She loved the way her name rolled of his tongue

“18. Old enough to keep it” She said, just above a whisper

He chuckled as he pulled her out of the elevator as the doors opened. The grip he had on her arm felt like fire, but a pleasurable one

He dragged her down the opposite of her own room. He didn’t fumbled with the keycard, even though he only had one hand to do so

She was pressed up against the door the second it was closed. His lips found hers immediately

The kiss was rushed and uneven, but not in an awkward way

“Jenson-“ She held his jaw, pulling him slightly away. It only resulted in him going to her neck, placing feather soft kisses before he softly started sucking at her sensitive skin

“Jenson, you’re- fuck. Ah” He pushed her leg in between her thighs, her body involuntarily starting to grind against him “You’re married”

“Seems like it doesn’t stop you” He said, sucking at her pulse point, drawing out a loud moan from her

“Why would anyone stop you from sucking their neck?” She let out a whimper as he pulled his leg away from her

She was panting hard as he pulled back to look into her eyes. He pulled at her hips, drawing out a yelp from her as he guided her towards the bed

He hovered over her as her back was against the bed. His lips trailed from her mouth and back down to her neck

Her hands were placed on his waist, her nails digging into his skin through his shirt “Please, Jense…” She let out a whine as he bit down softly at her skin

“You’re gonna have to be quiet. Think you can do that, sweetheart?” She nodded, a whimper falling from her lips “Good girl”

She whimpered as he pulled her shirt over her head, throwing it to the ground. She squirmed as he kissed down her body as his hands went behind her back, working on getting her bra off

Her lips made their way to one of her nipples, circling his tongue around the bud, drawing whimpers and whines from her as his hands went to the other

“Jenson, please” She whimpered, arching her back into his hand and mouth “Please, I’m begging you”

He chuckled at her eagerness as his lips traveled down her body again, landing just above the waistband of her jeans

His hands fumbled with her button and zipper before she bucked her hips so he could pull them down along with her panties

He immediately went to kiss at her inner thighs, biting softly down at her skin, making her whimper low as she grabbed the sheets beneath her

“Jense… Please” She bucked her hips as he got closer to her core “Please, please, please” She tried so hard not to moan out her words

He gave into her pleas as he darted his tongue through her folds, collecting the wetness she had produced

She covered her mouth with her hand in case she would let any sounds slip

Her hand that wasn’t over her mouth tangled in his hair in a tight grip as he started flicking her clit with his tongue

She was biting her lip so hard under her hand, that she could almost taste blood

She arched her back as she could feel two of his fingers tease her entrance. Her body shook as he slowly entered her, getting her to slowly adjust

He slowly moved his fingers, groaning as her grip got tighter, sending vibrations through her clit, making her let out a moan

“You sounds so good, love, but you need to be quiet. People on both side’s will hear you, and I won’t hear the end of it” He chuckled, his tongue going back to her clit

Her whole body shook as he started curling his fingers, hitting the soft spots inside her that made her see stars

She wanted to warn him that she was close, but she was afraid to let out any sounds if she tried to speak, let alone open her mouth

She came around his fingers with a squeak, her whole body convulsing as she clenched around his fingers

He slowed down, getting her down from her orgasm before he pulled out and away, making her whine at the loss of contact

She was so fucked out and away that she didn’t realise he had undressed himself and back to be hovering over her

She flung her arms around his shoulders as he planted soft kisses along her neck. He put her leg around his hip, gaining him better access to slowly enter her

She whined and bit down on her lip as she felt herself stretch around him

“Fuck, you feel so good” Jenson groaned as he slowly started to move inside her “So good”

Her nails scraped along his back, defiantly leaving marks behind for him to see tomorrow as he sped up his hips

He made sure not to go too fast as to make more sounds of their skin against skin contact

She had already started clenching around him from her previous orgasm, which drew him closer to the edge

“Fuck, Jense. ‘M close” She whimpered low, almost like a whisper

“I know, love. Come for me” He covered her lips with his own as she came around him a few thrusts later, himself following shortly after

He rode out their orgasms before pulling out of her slowly, making her whine of overstimulation

He laid down beside her after he had cleaned them both up. He pulled her into his arms, letting her rest her head on his chest

“What are you going to say to your wife?” She asked, filling up the emptiness in the room

“Nothing” He sighed, stroking her hair as she slowly dazed into sleep

[having-a-hyperfixate]

Don’t mind me sprinting to try and get this thought in order before the Anime Expo panel. I need it to be out in the wild Just In Case.

So, a few of the Gung Ho Guns have gotten reworked for Stampede, yes? To varying degrees.

Ninelives is apparently not a horrific flesh mech, Dark Souls boss thing, according to the end credits of episode 3.

E.G. the Mine just got a HUGE upgrade and didn’t get owned 3 seconds after he showed up.

Monev was an actual character with a fubar backstory and emotional impact instead of just Some Guy who trained in a basement for years specifically to kill Vash. (and Orange is SO EVIL for this)

Elendira is. *gestures futilely* There is so much going on there but yeah. She’s going to be terrifying once she achieves adult body and loses (drops?) the childish attitude. Also because of the whole Plant hybrid thing her nails truly are literally infinite sooooo.

So I have some thoughts about Hoppered the Gauntlet.

In Trimax, Gauntlet’s narrative weight comes from the fact that he makes Vash remember, which by extension makes US, the reader, understand what July really meant. Before that we had heard mention of it a few times as ‘a city destroyed in a single night’ and talk of there being ‘no survivors’ but we had no actual connection to it, and also no real idea if that was even true. But in Stampede, we saw July happen. We were there. So even if Vash’s memory is still shot afterwards, and he doesn’t remember Lost July, we the audience DO. So having the Dragon’s nest play out exactly the same isn’t going to have the same narrative punch in the gut that it did in Trimax. It can’t.

There’s also the fact that, given how we’ve met most of the major players in the story, or had them mentioned at least (hi Milly), it feels kind of Odd™ that we haven’t seen someone has emotionally impactful as Gauntlet yet.

Unless we have.

We saw with Rollo/Monev that Orange is willing to have the person’s regular name be one thing and then have a second Eye of Michael code name. I suspect that is going to happen with Gauntlet; either because EoM or because he has decided on his own to lie about who he was.

And yes, I do in fact have someone in mind.

I checked myself the translation there is accurate; the only change I would make is calling the gun ‘gaudy’ instead of ‘shiny’ but that’s not a huge deal. Also for the record, the original tweet is from Jan. 11, well before he makes his reappearance for the season finale. So when it talks about a ‘reappearance’, it is talking about seeing him again in July. Original tweet here, tweet containing the translation here.

I think Chuck Lee is going to be our Gauntlet. That he made it just far enough out of the city to survive, but that he was badly maimed in the process, and that his family didn’t make it. He’s the ONLY member of the military police with a unique design. He has an actual name, and the director himself tweeted about his backstory. His gun is so unusual that we would recognize it anywhere. Hell, I referred to him as ‘the gold gun guy from episode one’ when one of my friends didn’t recognize him immediately. His gun is so incredibly recognizable. Almost like we need to be able to recognize him by that alone, when everything else about him has changed.

THIS could be how narrative weight for Gauntlet is established in the Stampede universe when it can’t be done the same way as in Trimax. Taking a character who has, in a way, also been with the audience ALL ALONG, who was there with us for two pivitol moments, the beginning and the awakening, but who comes at it from such a horrifically different angle and bringing him back in such an agonizing way. Because he was very much in the wrong with his stunt at Jeneora Rock, but his rage over the loss of his family in July would be justified, even if we know it wasn’t Vash’s fault.

(Also, the IRONY of him ending up as one of Knives’s lackeys when Knives is the one that caused all of this? Damn.)

Footnote: I have Thoughts on why they can get away with adding Milly to The Squad late. That is a whole other Thought but tldr; (and also I haven’t actually written it out) Milly is the most perceptive of all of them she doesn’t NEED an extended intro to Vash to Know.

[datusaguy]

All TMNT Shredder’s Revenge Color References - Karai

Been playing Shredder’s Revenge recently due to the new dlc and since I haven’t seen much discussion in terms of references the new dlc, I decided to look into a lot of it myself. This is just Karai’s colors for now and definitely isn’t complete (updated: I have done all the characters by now, check out the bottom of my post for links to all the other posts), but feel free to give me any additional info you might know and I hope you enjoy checking this out.

I wanted to add numerous move references as well, but I don’t think I’d be able to put enough pictures for that and colors so it’ll probably be a different post.

# 1 - Default - AFAIK, Karai hasn’t actually appeared in the 1987 show nor related media (besides Tournament Fighters), so I think this is a new design.

# 2 - Mirage Shredder Outfit - In the mirage run, Karai at one point did don the Shredder outfit which shares a similar color scheme in colored depictions of Mirage characters. Since practically every version of Karai also having some heavy links to the Shredder story wise, it makes a lot of sense that she would have a Shredder pallet.

# 3 - 2007 Movie? - There’s a lot of different things I think this could be a reference to, including Foot Soldiers in general, the IDW design, the 2014/2016 movie Karai, the older 2003 design etc. Slot 3 seems to be for the 1990 movie designs for most of the cast, so as the 2007 movie debatably shares the same universe as the 90’s movies, I think that would make a lot of sense, although she has even less red on her than this in-game color.

# 4 - 2003 Show - This slot seems to be universally for the 03 show and it appears to also be the case for Karai. The blue is quite pronounced compared to Karai in most of the earlier seasons she appeared in, so either it’s supposed to be based on the S7 design or they just wanted to make it more visually distinct.

# 5 - 2012 Show (Mutant) - This one was confusing me for a while as I haven’t actually watched all of 2012 yet, but I have seen enough to recognize her standard design which this almost definitely isn’t. Slot 5 seems to be mostly for the 2012 designs however, so I looked more into it and found out she did turn into a purple and white snake which seems to fit.

# 6 - Tournament Fighters Genesis - This slot seems to generally be reserved for the Rise variations of characters (specifically the turtles, Splinter and Casey), but Karai’s surprisingly isn’t (nor does that color seem to be anywhere in this game). I do like this color variant though.

Also worth noting that I don’t think any of her colors reference the alternate pallet for the Genesis Karai. While an alternate pallet exists, from what I know, she wasn’t playable in the original release of the Genesis version so I don’t think there was any way to see the alternate pallet legitimately (it is available in the Cowabunga Collection however).

# 7 - Tournament Fighters SNES (Alt) - Don’t know why her Alt is listed first when you have all the colors, but it seems to be.

# 8 - Tournament Fighters SNES

# 9 - Aska? - This is by far what I’m most stumped on. The red and gold seems close enough and I can kinda see the blue/purple on Aska as white for her gameplay sprites, but a lot of other art involving Aska tends to display that clothing as a clear purple or blue. I haven’t been able to figure out any other potential reference for this however.

# 10 - Mirage Comics - The original TMNT Comics produced by Mirage were produced in black and white, which this design reflects. 

If you have the dlc, this is quite clear given that the survival mode included a “Mirage” dimension which is black-and-white, alongside many waves having comic book panels.

# 11 - NES (General) - AFAIK, Karai never actually appeared in a NES TMNT game, but the simple color pallet and the fact that other characters have actual NES color pallets they’ve used before in their 2nd-to-last color slot.

12 - Gameboy - Essentially the same situation as the NES color.

All other (currently made) Color References posts:

1. Karai

2. Leonardo

3. Michelangelo

4. Raphael

5. Donatello

6. April O’Neil

7. Master Splinter

8. Casey Jones

9. Usagi

10. Mona Lisa

11. Mondo Gecko

[http-caedis]

-Kazutora Hanemiya Thoughts/Ramblings-

TW- mentions of physical abuse, prostitution

I haven’t seen season 2 of TR yet, and I know that he shows up more in season 2 and even show him in a timeskip and such so I’m definitely missing out on a bit more lore,,,, but I’m just gonna talk with only the knowledge of season 1 in mind lmao

Anyways.. I think like Draken could’ve definitely helped Kazutora more. Like.. his wiki literally says that he’s good at counseling and Kazutora was literally there since day 1 so he totally could’ve helped and talked Kazutora through all his issues. I know that Draken prolly couldn’t do much about his home life since he himself lives in like a brothel lmaO but Draken can at least help Kazutora dissect his mind a bit. Because at least to me, Kazutora is literally the only character in the show with a fukkin thousand yard stare 😭 it looks like he’s in a constant state of dissociating or some shit.

This maybe falls into the headcanon territory since the show doesn’t say it, but I think Kazutora was also hit when growing up. Like the backstory ‘shows’ and says that his mom was definitely abused and I just thought that what would’ve stopped his dad from doing it to him as well, especially if Kazutora looked like his mom (which he does in my eyes). And there’s that manga panel where like the house was trashed and it showed his dad catching his breath and putting his glasses back on and Kazutora looked fukkin scared as hell.

Then there’s like the trauma that comes with what I assume is a messy divorce. Kazutora while he’s like 10 has to choose which parent to go with and his mom is like pleading with him like that’s a lot of shit for a kid. And I just… I feel that Draken would’ve really been the best person he could’ve talked to about this stuff (besides an actual therapist lmao) as I’m sure he’s dealt with it in one way or another. Like I said, Draken lived (and still does) in a brothel and sex workers come from all sorts of backgrounds. They all treat him well and he knows them and their situations pretty well since he’s like their unassigned counselor lmao so I’m sure some women have talked about situations at least relatively similar to what Kazutora is dealing with.

And I know for sure that Draken can keep something like that a secret, and wouldn’t even bring up Kazutora’s situation against him even when he left Toman and joined Valhalla and fukkin beat Mikey with a metal pipe lmao. Bc I just know Kazutora kept all that in but I know that Draken could’ve really helped. I dunno… I feel like there could’ve been a great relationship between Kazutora and Draken but it didn’t happen :/ ahah luckily I’m and artist and I occasionally write so I can just come up with content myself 😏‼️

TL;DR: Draken really could’ve been Kazutora’s close friend/‘therapist’ and they should’ve interacted more 🗣️‼️

[samobservessonic]

He’s heeeerrrreeeee! As many of you probably already knew, from this issue onwards, StC Robotnik will have a design inspired by that of the cartoons of the time. This seemed to be “the western Robotnik” at the time, although the mileage may vary there. While this game didn't affect StC at all, even SEGASonic Arcade was intended to use the western Robotnik design at one point in development, but this didn't reach the final game. But the fact of the matter is that he’s here and he’ll stay here for the rest of the run. He gets an outfit update for the Sonic Adventure adaptation at the very end of the series, but that’s about it as far as I can remember

Amy is also here and she’ll be a lot more present this time than she was in the last issue, I’m glad to say

Don’t worry Sonic, as the self-appointed president of the AroAce Sonic Fan Club, I believe you about Amy not being your girlfriend, even if Grimer doesn’t. I do like the nod that Sonic already knows Grimer, even if we haven’t seen them interact before now. So far, StC has taken the approach of “these characters mostly already know each other, you just didn’t see how they met”. And as a fan, I like that, because it means that I can fill in the blanks myself in fanwork. I know there’s probably not a lot of folks racing to make fanfics or comics about how Sonic met Grimer specifically, but it’d also be cool to see takes on how he met Porker, Johnny, Tails, etc., in StC. I just like when that kind of backstory is left up to the fans’ imagination

Robotnik is eager for everyone to check out his new look and Sonic is of course, not impressed, but he gets a move on as Amy’s safety is put on the line

We get a short sequence of the duo breaking free, but I’m more interested in this cool robot Amy design! Granted, she doesn’t do anything before getting destroyed, but I do like that StC is once again ahead of the curve by giving us a Metal Amy years before any other Sonic media would make good on that concept. Not only that, but we get another reminder of how messed up the whole badnik process is here, with Amy saying that the programming is taking over her brain As a side note, looking at Sonic’s reaction here, I’m kind of starting to see why I personally never got into SonAmy as a romantic ship, because this was the version of Sonic I knew first, he was my main Sonic for a chunk of my childhood, and he’s really not into the idea of dating Amy

Carrying on from that, I just wanted to share this panel of Sonic rescuing Amy from the badnik because I like it

Our heroes escape and aren’t followed because Grimer was annoyed about the badniks destroying his bubble prison earlier, so he smashed them all up. Given that last line from Robotnik, it’d be funny if we never saw Grimer again after this. But he’ll endure and next time he appears, he’ll be written entirely as his own character and not as a Snively stand-in

Back at the base, Johnny’s making a suggestion that probably won’t go down well with Sonic - that Amy should join his Boys’ Club for her own safety

Eh, actually, Sonic takes that better than I thought he would. He’s just more annoyed at Amy claiming to be his girlfriend. We get Amy mischievously saying “Not yet, anyway!” Which is even funnier with the hindsight that she’ll never be with Sonic in StC and actually goes on to start a family with Tekno the Canary :’)

Also, I’m looking at Johnny’s nervous glance there. I always remember my friend telling me that Johnny had a crush on Amy, but never actually seeing that for myself? So, I am curious to see if that’s something that’ll turn up somewhere in these early comics

To see us out we get the tease of another fan-fave from the games… Metal Sonic! Known in StC as Metallix. We’ll get a lot of mileage out of Metallix, that’s for sure The preview text also says that next time we’re meeting another StC regular, Captain Plunder. I am unapologetically a fan of Captain Plunder, so I'm looking forward to that Once again, this issue gave us a lot! It might be the only Sonic story in this issue, but it did the legwork to make up for it. I know a lot of people aren’t fond of the comics coming up with these explanations for the characters’ design changes, but admittedly, it’s something that’s never bothered me. I do think it’s probably cleaner writing just to update their designs and not say anything, but I don’t mind having silly explanations like “Robotnik used an egg cocoon to transform” or the chaos energy being what gives Sonic his green eyes. I know some takes on design updates are better than others, but I can’t say I have the same strong opinion about them that many folks do. But that aside, we have Amy officially joining the Freedom Fighters! She’ll go on to be one of the most prominent members of the group. I’m not sure how her early stories play out, since she was already the crossbow badass by the time I picked up issue 80, so it’ll be fun to watch her character change over time

[s-ar-a]

My Very First Isekai Manhwa

I still remember the day I stumbled across “The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion.” And niw it even has an anime of it's own. i'm feeling ephemeral. I wasn’t a seasoned manhwa reader back then, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I was curious. The cover looked elegant(especially Noah)

The story opens with Raeliana, who is thrown into something unexpected. She’s reincarnated into a novel as a side character who is fated to die, and not in some grand, heroic way—just an unfortunate pawn in someone else’s story. That simple premise was enough to catch my attention because i started wondering how she would supposedly change her fate.

What made this manhwa feel special from the start was Raeliana herself. She’s sharp, determined, and unwilling to accept the hand she’s been dealt. She doesn’t wallow in her situation; she immediately begins plotting how to survive. I admired that. She wasn’t just a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued, and I wasn’t just a passive reader following along—I felt like I was part of her journey

And then there’s Noah Wynknight, the Duke she strikes a deal with :). I didn’t know what to make of him at first, except that he was hot. He’s powerful, mysterious, and far too smooth for his own good (so very smooth), yet he has this air of unpredictability that kept me intrigued. Their relationship starts as a mere business arrangement ("a pretend marriage" the usual trope), with Raeliana using Noah to survive, because Raeliana could give him something he was looking for. But as you keep reading, their interactions grow warmer, the slow-burn romance starts to unfold, and suddenly, you realize you’re smiling like a fool at their banter, eagerly waiting for the next scene with just the two of them.

Before this, I hadn’t given much thought to the historical romance genre. I had no idea how much I’d enjoy the blend of politics, intrigue, and romance. The lavish ball gowns, the court politics, the tension of societal rules—all these elements created a setting that felt grand and alive. It wasn’t just a backdrop for romance alone

But what really surprised me was how emotionally invested I became. The manhwa isn’t just about romance or avoiding death. It’s about choice. It’s about power dynamics, trust, and navigating a world where every decision could change the course of someone’s life. Watching Raeliana maneuver through these challenges with wit and courage made me care about her survival in a way I didn’t expect

I also have to give a nod to the stunning art. It felt like each panel was meticulously designed to draw you deeper into the world. The art itself made the historical setting come alive in a way that’s hard to describe until you’ve seen it for yourself

Looking back, Raeliana was the gateway that opened me up to a whole new world of historical manhwas and romances. The plot was smart, the romance slow but meaningful, and the setting rich . After finishing it, I found myself seeking out more stories with similar themes

It wasn’t just my first manhwa; it was my introduction to a genre that’s since become one of my favorites. Raeliana gave me a taste of how powerful storytelling can be in a historical setting, and how romance, when done right, can leave you yearning for more.

If you’re someone who’s never dipped their toes into manhwa or historical romance, you probably read it. For me, it was the start of a new reading obsession—and I haven’t looked back since.

[dontmindme2600]

Hi again......If you don't mind, can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

OH MY GOD I’D LIKE TO APOLOGIZE BECAUSE MY BAD BECAUSE I LEFT THIS SITTING IN MY DRAFTS AND TOTALLY FORGOT TO ANSWER THIS!! Anyways, top 7, in no particular order:

Hunter x Hunter: I’m not as into this as I was in middle school but it’s never left my mind. Definitely my favorite shonen, Togashi’s originality with the series is really refreshing. (I also love Yu Yu Hakusho by him!!) As weird as it gets the characters and story are always a blast to follow. The villains also go hard. I finished the 2011 anime and I have up to volume 13 of the manga! I’d love to catch up fully since it’s being updated again, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. It’s something that I’ve always been inspired by even if I don’t want to make something that’s gonna be EXACTLY like it anymore lol.

Cowboy Bebop: I tried to limit myself to one (1) Shinichiro Watanabe anime for this list, but his other stuff fucks as well. I love Spike. (bet you never would’ve guessed!!) It’s hard to put into words in a way that doesn’t sound incredibly dumb. But. Every character introduced has their own unique worldview, backstory, flaws, etc. It sounds so fucking stupid because yeah, that’s what a character is supposed to have?? But this anime does that REALLY well?? I think what I’m trying to say is that the show does a great job of presenting different lifestyles and perspectives without worrying about making the audience uncomfortable. The anime is all about human connections and how they impact the characters and I LOVE that. It was also pretty moving to me, lots of great emotional moments. The episode where they find Faye’s old cassette recording and the one with Gren’s death will always stay with me. (Also the Andy one, but only because I think it’s funny as hell.) Watanabe is my favorite anime director ever and if you love Bebop I recommend checking out some of his other stuff as well! (Also props to an anime director that isn’t afraid of diversity in his character designs)

Witch Hat Atelier: I’m not nearly as caught up with this as I would like to be but!!! I love the writing, worldbuilding, and characters. I wish more manga were like this. Not like, aesthetically, but like quality wise. Everything is done really well and the art and paneling is GORGEOUS omfg. Also Kamome Shirahama is a very cool and progressive person and it’s just nice to read a manga by someone like her. I’m hyped as hell for the anime and can’t wait to see WHA reach a larger audience!! (Even with all the bad stuff it may bring, lmao)

Invader Zim: This one is probably the most different from the rest of the list lol. I’ll rewatch a few episodes of this every once in a while. It’s one of the only shows I watch that actually makes me laugh out loud. I also don’t think I’ve really seen anything else like it??? Sure there’s stuff that’s it’s pretty similar to but you cant really say, “wow, this is exactly like ____!” which is super cool. There’s not a major character in the show that I can say I hate or even just am neutral on, I love them all. I’m not usually a fan of stuff the gross-out humor it does, especially in the first season, but just about everything else about it just lives in my brain rent free. I think it’s a really unique and funny show and I just vibe with it stylistically as well. Seriously, I love the art style and just overall,,, edgy vibe. I absolutely do not care that it’s a kid’s show and I unironically think it’s super cool lmao. I know should probably check out some of Jhonen’s other stuff but I haven’t done that yet…

The Ace Attorney Trilogy: This one is more so just Shu Takumi in general. It’s a hard choice because I love Apollo Justice as well, and I also considered Ghost Trick (also by Takumi) but Agh!! The trilogy is the most iconic to me so I’m going with that. I just love seeing and interacting with all the unique characters the series has to offer. I’ve always liked how Takumi isn’t afraid to stray away from the generic skinny anime designs for his characters, it makes his characters feel very unique and memorable. He seems to be against having most of his characters be one dimensional, giving them their own struggles and aspirations, regardless of if they’re a “silly” character or not. I love it! It makes them more memorable and enjoyable than many other visual novel characters to me. (Please remember that I also love Ghost Trick holy fuck it’s so good)

Yakuza 0: I’m going to be 100% for real and admit that I discovered this series because of a bunch of stupid clips I saw of it on YouTube. It wasn’t the dame da ne memes, this was before that. But like, clips of all the silly stuff you can do in game like dance, receive a chicken as a gift for winning at bowling, assign said chicken a position at your real estate business, etc. So I bought it on a whim looking for a laugh. And. Holy FUCK. I did not expect the actual real serious story of this game to hit me as hard as it did. Just a good, moving story. I was THOROUGHLY emotionally invested in both Majima and Kiryu’s storylines by like, chapter 2 for both of them. I think it made me cry?? The fact that you can experience both that and the stupid shit, on top of the fun combat, makes it an S tier game for me. I plan to continue with the rest of the series (so far I’ve gotten through Kiwami 1 and 2 and loved them) but 0 has so far been my absolute favorite.

Pokemon: It’s not a perfect series but I always find myself getting back into it for a while every year. I’ve been a fan since I was just old enough to read, what can else can I say? I don’t have a super deep reason for this it’s just something that’s always been comfortable and fun!! The worldbuilding, story, music, and characters, really shine through in some of my favorite games in the series. And regardless of story, the gameplay is always fun.

It’s hard for me to determine my favorite anything but for this I tried to go by:

-How often I ended up going back to these

-How much each work made an emotional impact on me (not just the deep stuff, can also include things like making me laugh)

-How much each of these inspired me (like as in inspired my art or made me think “I want to make something like that!!!”) I think I’ve thought to that at least once for everything in here! It’s actually kind of scary because they’re all so different-

I’m probably missing something here but this should give you an idea!! If I spend any longer on this I’m just gonna keep changing it lolllll

[fexiana]

update on EuphoriaSims

I haven’t posted in almost a week but that doesn’t mean I’m not creating 😁🧡 I see 23 votes so far and 48 hours remaining on my last post/poll. Thank you to those who participated in voting. May I reiterate that I am asking for a reason, so stay tuned 😉.

Since my last video, I realized the script I have in store for my next episode requires the New Year house and Lexi’s house. I finished the New Year house two days ago focusing mainly on the infamous bathroom that Nate and Cassie were in, the hallway Lexi asks Maddy if she’s seen Cassie in plus the hallway where Maddy pounds on that infamous bathroom door, the living room where Fez and Lexi catch up since the last time they saw each other, and the bar/kitchen where Fez beats Nate up. Although I don’t plan on including this scene in this episode, I also wanted to add that I furnished the washroom where Rue encounters Elliot “fixing the washing machine” 😆.

As of right now, I am completing Lexi’s house which is taking some time as I have to find reference videos and am constantly having to manipulate walls and rooms when I think I have the layout figured out 🫠. I’m a perfectionist and focus on the little details but today I told myself “self, it’s okay if you can’t find the exact cc you’re looking for. Just finish it already!” And even though I told myself that 🥴 I’m not going to rush to finish, but I’ll definitely stop being anal about the cc. I’ve always had the room Cassie and Lexi share completed 2 years ago (as well as Fezco’s house and Fezco’s business) but what I’ve been working on is the downstairs part of the Howard house that I didn’t touch until after the New Year house just recently.

Downstairs I have completed the paint and brick wallpaper in their right placements, as close as I could find: carpet and wood flooring, the foyer and rug placement, short stairway placements, and hallway furnishings. I don’t have the room Cassie confronts Lexi and Suze in before Lexi visits Fez done yet but I have a shell of the room and the wood panel wallpaper ready, same for the room Lexi, Kat and Maddy were in when Rue told on Cassie about messing with Nate, but I have the wallpaper and carpet done. What I am working on right now is the kitchen. I’m upset that I can’t find the wine wall art cc for sims 4 that is similar to the one Lexi was sitting in front of in the kitchen when she was talking to Fez on the phone about him wanting to be a farmer 🥹. There isn’t a single wine wall art cc for sims 4 as a matter of fact, forget I even said similar. It’s really bothering me but I’ll try to find something close to it. The dining room that Cal confronts Lexi and Cassie in about who beat up Nate is nearly done too but I’m still looking up reference videos to make sure it all sides of the dining room are covered or as close to it.

Other than the two rooms downstairs that I at least have a shell of while I work on the kitchen, I also have the wash room and patio with the hot tub to complete. So that’s four rooms I have to finish in total after the kitchen which I plan to have all done by the end of this week. Since I am done with the New Year house as far as the important rooms for particular scenes, you can expect some screenshots very soon 🙂. I will also take screenshots of Lexi’s house once I am done and share with you 🧡.

Stay tuned and please feel free to ask me any questions or leave any comments as well as send private messages. I am open to new ideas and respect and appreciate anyone’s advice or input on EuphoriaSims. Keep me motivated💌❣️

-Bless bless, one Love 🌩️

[m1ckeyb3rry]

A

PSYCHIC DAMAGE LMFAOOOP omg…now I’m shaking just thinking of the wc HAHAHA I’ll start mentally preparing…

OK DID YOU READ THE CH???? ANOTHER MANIFESTATION OFF THE LIST?? I’m strike throughing this to make it harder to read at first glance in case you haven’t read yet We literally said tabieita best duo because they’re mature enough and confident enough alone which allows them to duo without dependence THAT WAS LITERALLY LIKE HALF THE CH????

Yuki third wheel friend…yuki the “walk behind the duo on the sidewalk” third friend….tbh I think the person I’ve seen him with the most is actually Isagi??? From his little tantrum/rivalry moment….no ykw you’re so right we claim yuki!!

LMAOOOOOOO I’m crying this is so true to their dynamic and I love it sm….barou nagi honestly another iconic duo I can imagine Barou being like “you better stand six feet away from my ball at all times”…

STOP WAIT THATS GENIUS Barou one of the girls HAHAHA that’s so real though!! It kinda reminds me about how Kunigami was canonically like that before bllk because he hung around his sisters a lot!! IM GONNA SHIT MYSELF LAUGHING “y/n l/n is a lovely girl who can really keep a house clean. any man would be lucky to have her” GOODBYE the duo wingman plus imposter wingman dynamic im so living for this….

OOOH NICE!! Except for the knocked out part LOL I feel like I’ve heard that they have that effect…but fr!!! I have no idea how it’d work exactly but you could also maybe consider taking a smaller dosage to see if it’s enough to keep the nausea under control without glueing your eyes shut….that’s sometimes what I do with allergy meds LOL

PARAGLIDING omgggg HAVE FUN!!!! I can def imagine how it’d seem intimidating but I bet you’ll have a lot of fun once you’re in the air!! Just channel your inner crow HAHA THE EMO MOMENT LMAOO BUT DONT LOOK OUT THE WINDOW /hj I feel like seeing the scenery and other cars move from the side perspective makes that dizzy feeling worse…..could be different for you though but that’s what I’ve noticed!

REAL lowk I wonder if it’s maybe more of a he doesn’t actually know what loneliness is because he’s been left alone all his life kind of thing….but anyways…..

-Karasu anon

YOU SHOULD BE SCARED 😈 or alternatively grateful HAHA looking back at that 6-9k word count estimate is cracking me up because this one is making the otoya version look short 😭

I DID READ IT FINALLY AND OMG WHEN NAGI CALLED THEM A MATURE PARTNERSHIP I WAS LIKE ??? why is bro reading the tumblr convos that’s word for word what we said in the past 😟 also wait this is cracking me up…

CANNOT believe we have a canon panel of hollyhock sengoku era otoya now ⁉️ pov bro on his way to chill in y/n’s room instead of actually trying to find and kill reiji hiiragi as he was hired to 🤫

i do think i’ve seen him with isagi the most also because of the mancity match but tbh isagi has so many more relevant duos (rin, bachira, barou, even hiori and nagi) that it feels very very one sided?? i wish yuki and kuni or yuki and reo would become a duo because i think he would work w either of them really well!! technically reo and nagi are already a thing but it could be a way to break them up and let them find new friends and partners that push them more!! and kunigami + chigiri is also a thing but chigiri is so chill w everyone that i could see kuni and yuki being like a secondary duo the way isagi and hiori are

BAROUNAGI MY FAVS IN EVERY WAY!! truly they have the relationship rin and sae could have if they were just a tiny bit more normal abt things/their rivalry (but you didn’t hear that from me 😶‍🌫️) and LMAOO omg wait lowkey if only kunigami wasn’t busy in wildcard he would also be a hilarious prospect for that kind of thing 😭 barou gives me such one of the girls vibes though like i bet he’d let his gf braid his hair and whatnot…the SECOND one of the bllk boys says smth he tweaks heavy but he won’t take them out even if they’re shit because like his girl worked hard on them 🙁 LMAOOO the yuki barou team up would be wild especially when karasu is actively working against them 😰 and nagi is also just there for some reason too??? i think it would be funny if he gets dragged into things as a repeated bystander and eventually he gets super invested because it’s like an episode of a drama for him but irl 😭 so he somehow knows everything going on but refuses to intervene on either side (which pisses barou off) because he exclusively wants the tea and doesn’t really care how things end up 😩 he’ll randomly drop hints to move the plot along when it’s getting boring though but they’re cryptic enough that they end up causing more chaos than anything…like “karasu i heard y/n likes tall dark haired soccer players” “SHE LIKES ARYU???”

unfortunately i was knocked out on just half of a pill 😩 and paragliding was super super cool + not scary at all but i DID throw up into a little plastic baggie like 5 or 6 times and was nauseous/dizzy soooo would not repeat that experience 😓 but honestly i’m still glad i did it because it was so fun besides the vomiting and such a unique experience!! truly felt like a little bird hahaha…apparently nausea and motion sickness are a symptom of my birth control so once i’m back home i’m going to call the doctor and see if they have any tips!! for now we must endure i suppose 😔

truly i don’t think nagi understands human connection or loneliness or anything like that too well so he’s fine living without actual relationships because you can’t miss what you don’t know 🙁💔 but honestly he seems like he would’ve been very loving if he was raised normally?? like despite what everyone thinks he’s pretty loyal to reo and treats choki so nicely that if he had had a proper upbringing he probably would’ve been such a good friend/significant other 😪 that’s just my headcanon though until we get his actual backstory (like his childhood not just right before bllk) and see what things were like…adding this to the manifestation circle because i NEED to see baby nagi!! i bet he was soooo cute (and also i need to know if he escaped the bowl cut allegations 😭 his hair is wavyish so i think he must be safe?? but you never know)

[transformers-mosaic]

Transformers: Mosaic #425 - "Way To Fall"

Originally posted on October 22nd, 2009

Story, Art - Iván Mas

deviantART | Seibertron | TFW2005 | BotTalk

wada sez: Mas released this highly unconventional strip under pseudonym due to the differences in content to his usual—but he interacted with commenters as usual on deviantART, so I think there’s no harm in crediting him properly. This strip gives an impressionistic origin story for Abraham Dante, the human Headmaster partner of Scorponok and leader of the Machination in Simon Furman’s comics for IDW. Mas uses allusions to Dante’s real-world namesake—writer of the Divine Comedy, a first-person account of a journey through the Christian afterlife—to play up the idea of a deal with the devil. This was Mas’ second attempt at a Mosaic strip primarily consisting of a collage of photos, after “The Oregonian”, but this was the first to be accepted for publication, presumably thanks to its more traditional format and original artwork. The human figures in this strip feature skeletal smiles superimposed over their mouths, the inspiration for which Mas attributes to the novel The Man Who Laughs, the movie adaptation of which apparently inspired Bill Finger in the creation of the most infamous Batman villain, the Joker. See below for a motivational poster released as a preview for the strip, and a machine translation of Mas’ commentary.

Well, I think this page deserves an explanation, for several reasons.

First, if you notice, I have signed with a pseudonym, that's according to the fact that I’ve used a very different—or totally different—style from mine, the cut of the story is intended to be sinister, mature and scary.... seems more a kind of paranoia or nightmare ... hence I decided not to include anything that could identify the story with anything or anyone, in this case ... say it's like a tormented part of me, had made that story ... something like that wanted to make itself understood.

A lot of people tell me that the style reminds me of Dave McKean.... please... I can't compare myself with that man in anything, but I take it as a compliment, the truth is that this was not the intention, but that's how it came out... it's very possible that unconsciously I resorted to his style, even so, he was the first to mix photographs with drawings and textures.... he’s a great artist, I haven’t discovered anything new.

On the other hand I had a thorn in my side, since I try that each mosaic has a more or less different style or a different cut, except when I make "sagas" as Masterforce, for example. Recall that I already made one based on retouched photographs, but it was rejected... now in this second attempt it was all good.

I wasn't sure if Transformers fans would get into the game on this page... it has a very different atmosphere from what we have seen so far, and above all from what we have seen in IDW, much more immature and poor in some aspects.

If we look... each vignette could have several readings or meanings.... for example the first one, we see a baby, lil’ Dante..... the photo’s mouth is swapped, what is below lets us glimpse his true nature..... nature that we will discover in the final vignette, where we see how he has always been, as a robot, an automaton, cold, energetic, calculating, insensitive ... with a big eye, as if it were a God, or something like that....

The second is a long panel, where we review a little of his life... and at the end in the lower right corner, we can glimpse something of "Machination".

The third .... we see him how we see the world leaders .... speaking to the people, in the upper right corner we see some soldiers, a war, the men of power pull while making decisions that condemn many. And that's why they hate them so much... maybe that's why they deserve to die instead of innocents, that's why the silhouettes of the guns pointing at him, the cracked line would reflect the inner torment of that person for something he doesn't have yet or can't get.

And the fifth... he swears allegiance to the devil himself, Scorponok, a superior being with the power to give life and take it away, in the lower right corner we see some demon pointing his trident at them...

As for purely the mosaic ... the idea was easy ... the human being is evil by nature or becomes ... well ... in this case it is clear that from the beginning Dante is a cruel being, and that his spirit is corrupt, like many people, politicians, military, people with power basically ... only they, would have access to deal with someone of his ilk, Decepticons, Demons.

I hope you enjoy it, and for those of you who don't like it, I hope the next one will be better.

Thanks for everything.

[asachuu]

It’s that time of the month, folks, you know what that means…naturally, my thoughts on Fifteen’s phases 16-17, as well as just some more stuff I simply want to add, because this manga keeps on giving me things to talk about, for better or for worse.

Please note that there will be image spoilers for phases 16-17 below, proceed with caution.

This will be more of a freehand ramble about whatever comes to mind while I’m typing, I’m admittedly somewhat tired today and there’s not much new I could really add as a whole atop the persisting flaws in it, but what I will say is that I’m now starting to think even Chuuya fans are slightly losing here as well, looking at some of these panels. That is not to say they’re badly drawn, once more, I must give all credit to the artwork as I have to admit I very much like it and appreciate the effort that goes into it, but the focus of many of these pages seems to be purely to shock, intimidate or disturb the viewer in a certain way by highlighting the exaggerated abilities of the characters, rather than having the visuals balanced with the actual point of the story itself, which is not— and never has been— about the amounts of power Arthur and Chuuya hold, respectively. Perhaps I will be repeating myself here, but if anyone is to read the novel, they’ll come to find out that there is no more focus on abilities than there is on expanding Dazai, Chuuya and Arthur as characters and human beings within the story of BSD.

Nevertheless, it just so happens that Chuuya thankfully has a certain fanbase, of which the majority of people seem to understand he isn’t meant to be a cold-hearted maniac despite harboring the power of Corruption and being depicted/interpreted in various ways showcasing the extent of his abilities, but speaking from personal experience, the same can’t be said about anyone who comes to know of Arthur, which I don’t mean inherently negatively— I was also once such a person, for which I must sarcastically thank the anime adaptation that initially introduced me to him. At least, on Chuuya’s end, there are always attempts to show his humanity, his actual personality, and I’d have two guesses as to why— first, he’s one of the two most popular BSD characters who has the spotlight on him either by the creators or the fandom almost everywhere he goes; second, his story directly revolves around whether he is or isn’t human anyway, so it’s entirely understandable that a contrast between himself and his abilities would make sense to show, even sometimes exaggerate, just like in Hoshikawa’s adaptation.

Unfortunately, this contrast is just lost on Arthur’s end, because there is no other side of him being anyhow shown to the readers. Personally, I wouldn’t come out thinking Chuuya is some kind of heartless monster, given that he’s shown to interact with other characters normally, he’s seen coming back to his senses after a few panels, and generally, no matter what has been cut out and what has been left in, it just so happens that there is simply enough content of him to be able to merely afford to do any of this— all of which can’t be said about Arthur, who has all the necessary content to understand his character better specifically in the Fifteen light novel (and Stormbringer), not scattered all around several other books and mangas to be able to sacrifice one adaptation of the source material and still carry on. Albeit we still haven’t seen the end of the fight, in which I’m dearly hoping his dialogue is going to be portrayed properly with the same emotion it was presented to us with in the light novel as the absolute last chance for this to turn around in the slightest, I can safely say that there were opportunities to create this same effect with Arthur as with Chuuya, yet these opportunities were all passed up.

From the start, we’re introduced to this strange, yet harmless-looking sub-executive of the Port Mafia, that of which is revealed to be a ruse set up by him, and from that point onwards, throughout the fight, there is no further indication of anything beyond Arthur supposedly being nothing other than a simple cartoon supervillain who doesn’t really care about his actions, even though the novel has enough evidence scattered around that he does— he doesn’t want to be in that situation, he doesn’t actually want to kill anyone, and what he’s after is a memory of someone most dear to him which he’s desperate to get back, and believe it or not, all of this dialogue is, in fact, not supposed to be said coldly and flatly before having his ability centered to no end once more, shining the light on that aspect instead of a character who was originally someone most unfortunate and hopeless, someone who was in an inescapable situation that would have never ended well for him no matter what he’d done, and someone who was far from the person being portrayed in the manga currently.

With all that being said, one more thing I’d like to point out, which is a bit more specific to phases 16/17 at the current moment, is the way the interactions between Chuuya and Arthur are being portrayed as of right now. In the novel, it is made quite clear the two are, indeed, opponents in their fight, but Arthur has no actual desire to kill Chuuya, and Chuuya himself doesn’t actually hold anything against Arthur— in fact, it’s quite explicit in showcasing the fact that Chuuya has respect for him, understanding his motive of wanting to save a dear friend, even cursing out Dazai for not believing it or taking it seriously, and never showing any kind of outward excitement for this fight, which…will be relevant in just a second. If that’s not enough to convince a person, there’s also Chuuya visiting Arthur’s grave further in the novel and quite literally stating he will return to it again, and before that, I believe that Arthur telling Chuuya to live in his last moments also speaks volumes about the fact that there was no resentment or genuine conflict between the two, rather an unfortunate fate they were met with. In the manga, however, I don’t think it’s a reach to say that I’m not quite getting the same feeling. I’ll go ahead and admit that I’m focusing on this because of personal bias, but even despite that, I feel as though having Arthur written off as merely Chuuya’s opponent and nothing more is still not the right way to go about it, considering what I said before— there wasn’t an actual hostility between the two, and not only did Arthur tell Chuuya to live, he also was the one to call Chuuya a human being and see him as such, that of which I’d expect far more attention to just due to the mere nature of Chuuya’s character.

Now, for the first time ever, I will go into some very specific details, because I need them to show what I’m talking about. All further translation credits go to DarkestJay868 on Twitter.

This page from phase 16 was the one right after what was originally Arthur’s monologue about wanting to save his partner, and I believe it’s quite clear how I feel about that part, but I haven’t redrawn this page in particular despite it being in my original plans, so it’s only fair I give my thoughts on it while it’s relevant.

I would normally only nitpick these aspects privately instead of posting them online, but since this manga makes even such small things important for all the wrong reasons, I have to point them out. I initially didn’t think so much of this page, though I did find it a peculiar choice to make him look almost excited for the fight, atop the final line which never appeared in the novel itself— something that may seem insignificant, but ultimately, it does create the effect that Chuuya is somewhat eager to engage in this conflict for whatever reason, which is simply not the case. I could go on about some smaller dialogue changes, even his lack of harshness towards Dazai’s comments that makes his original reaction quite downplayed, but I’m leaving those in a quick mention of acknowledgment, as they’re only secondary to what I’m aiming at here.

I would have ignored this, given there’s a much bigger issue for me to focus on, had Chuuya and Arthur’s skewed interactions not continued onwards to phase 17 as well— more specifically, after Chuuya’s attacks, by the end of the chapter.

If someone were to tell me these two didn’t actually have any kind of internal conflict going on between them beforehand, I wouldn’t have believed it for a second, but here we are. From the first page, in which the original Chuuya of the novel was hurt and tired instead of almost feeling as though he isn’t taking anything too seriously, all while Arthur never said a word that nearly implies him looking down on the latter (his direct quote is “Nothing I say will help…this is my space”, you simply cannot tell me that isn’t far more neutral than what the manga turned it into), to the second page, where not only is Chuuya’s first line much more accusatory and directed at Arthur himself, rather than the original (“…everyone’s an ant to a European ability user…”), but also, might I add that Arthur wasn’t the one to hold Chuuya in place? It’s explicitly stated that Chuuya could no longer avoid the attacks by fault of using too much of his power, and even though this may sound like an insignificant detail when one is to consider the following scene of the novel— that is, almost being the one to end Chuuya’s life, which is absolutely no less cruel than a mere action like that— it still gives off the impression as though there’s some kind of hostility between them when there really wasn’t, not even during a fight to the death, and that, in the context of this manga and its very likely fandom reception…well, I’d much rather just cover even the smallest of details than watch as it ultimately gets misconstrued, as so much media surrounding this novel often does.

Anyway, that’s my take on these chapters for now. I’m aware it’s messy, I’ve only seen phase 17 a couple of hours ago and haven’t exactly prepared some kind of proper dissection. Naturally, feel free to take all this with a grain of salt, or even a whole bucket of it, because yes, I am very salty about the way this manga is going, but I’m hoping to ultimately compare it to the novel and give my own opinion on the development here.

[chibivesicle]

‘Times, they be a changin’

After a drop off due to Golden Kamuy ending and my overall disappointment with the last arc. And of course, Ogata’s death, I’ve been wondering where I want to go with these things.  I put a lot of GK content out and I don’t want to just shelve it but I don’t want to split myself between fifteen thousand side blogs.  I’ve decided that I’ll keep my live action meta over on my ‘I don’t want to be exterminated, upgraded, turned into pudding’ side blog and I’ll keep all my anime and manga opinions here.  Since I have been reading manga for a long time and watching anime for even slightly longer. 

To reflect this, I’ve removed my last previous Ogata icon and I’ve jumped straight to God; Kuroneko-sama that is.  It isn’t that I’ve stopped reading manga or watching anime either and I have just one of the many opinions on the internet. 

Let’s go with an easy current on topic target for some mild-meta.  Trigun.  

Many moons ago, my best friend from undergrad introduced me to Trigun.  She had a Vash poster in her dorm room in university that she picked up at Katsucon, which was the first con I ever went to with her.  She’s quite the influence!

I watched all of the original Trigun anime on fan subbed VHS tapes that were passed around the anime black market of the 90s and early 2000s before they’d be bumped out of the way by file sharing services and online fansubs.  Honestly, I can’t even remember when I first watched it, but I do remember crying at a character’s death and just rolling with some of the more hand wavy sci-fi elements.

Not surprisingly, as someone who loved Ogata as a character, my favorite character from Trigun was none other than Nicholas D. Wolfwood - wandering man of the cloth toting around his cross which is heavy b/c it is full of ‘mercy’.

How much of a Wolfwood fan was I?  Enough of one that I paid likely waaayyy too much money in a dealer’s room at either Otakon or Katsucon for this capsule version of Wolfwood with Kuroneko-sama.

I used to have him up on my desk when I was in uni, but he always fell over and at some point, I popped him back into the bubble and shoved him under a bed at my parents’ house forgotten for over a decade or so.  He moved to the desert (still in that capsule) and I just dug him out after moving to my current location along with two Ruroni Kenshin figures that are back in a box.

What is with this path down memory lane all about?  I was at Anime Expo in 2022 (with exact same friend mentioned above) and we didn’t make it to the Trigun Stampede panel but, I did get an awesome photo of an amazing Vash cosplayer.

With the Trigun 2.0 on the horizon and the Sony merger stuff, all of the older anime titles that were on Funamation have moved back onto Crunchyroll - meaning a lot of titles I loved when I was younger could be rewatched.

And that’s what I did last month!  I dusted off my little Kuroneko-sama and Wolfwood and sat down to watch Trigun for the first time in over 20 years, I think.

I was both surprised by what I remembered and what I did not remember.  Plus, rewatching something you haven’t seen in years allows you to have a sort of fresh pair of eyes.

First off, for a manga that started in 1995 and had the anime in 1998, it has great female characters.  Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson wear normal clothing, have professional careers and are packing heat in a wild west environment. These are the least sexy main character ladies!  Milly wears a dress shirt, tie and pants with suspenders along with her long coat.  Meryl wears boots, tights, skirt suit and then a cloak (with all her guns) as well. 

Meryl is the older skeptic/pragmatist and Milly is naive yet if the most obvious thing is the best answer, then accept it as the truth.  They are great characters and I love how they are a great perspective and point of view into the events.  Sure, they are completely overpowered by Vash or Wolfwood, but they are neither a non-human-pseduo-angelic being or a man who had his entire body altered [manga] to be a better killer or just a much more on the job experience [anime] soooooo yeah.  I’m okay with Meryl and Milly not having to hold their fighting prowess with the boys. 

I finally decided to break down and read the manga.  Little did I know that Darkhorse owns the current rights and the series is out of print.  Gah, I was hoping to score the series cheap used but that will not be the case.  I’ve read the original Trigun from the shounen mag that went belly up (3 tankobons, 1 volume via Darkhorse) and the moved into a seinen publisher for its continuation as Trigun Maximum.  I went ahead and purchased all the way up to Trigun Maximum volume 5 and have read it all as well.

As someone who enjoyed the anime, I can appreciate the way the anime ended at the time.  They were years away from the end of the manga’s run and the anime team needed to come up with a nice way to tie things up.  Honestly, I’m fine with how things went in the anime.  Well, other than Wolfwood’s death, which made me cry and still pulled at my heartstrings on the recent watch.  So far the manga has more details, and is taking the time to fill in motivations of characters like the Gung Ho Guns (why would you willingly sell your humanity to destroy it?).  It however, still keeps an air of mystery about Vash’s past and the exact reason why humans got stuck on the planet.

The two major differences I see between the anime and manga are as follows:

Anime Vash has that sort of 90s MC perv side being a ham towards women early on when it later has him questioning who’d love him anyways.  Manga Vash doesn’t even go there which is something I like - dude’s got a lot more problems.  No space for chasing skirts and hitting on ladies.

Life on the planet Gunsmoke is fucking terrible in the manga.  You think it is pretty shitty in the anime?  Pffftt, that’s nothing compared to the manga.  People are worse, humanity is more like how Hobbes would view it and less like Locke.  I honestly, don’t know all of the differences yet, since I’ve barely cracked the manga story line but it is clear it is only going to get darker.  Yet at the same time there is more hope since the humans who’d kept themselves ‘above the fray’ were able to contact other people and they are supposed to possibly be rescued.  If Knives doesn’t throw a giant bloody wrench in there. 

In a way, these differences do reflect the shift that the anime gives us.  We go from a goofy guy who is overly competent trying to bumble/drift through life and has biblical levels of trials/tests of his faith in his own belief system to come out with a resolution and faith in the future.  You feel it when you get to around episode 13 and you realize that shit is gonna get serious and you can’t just go back to zany antics.

What I like about the anime is that we have a range of how characters act and view humanity.  Vash will punish himself to not harm others as he sees it as the unalienable right that every living thing has the right to life and it isn’t right for you to take that away from anyone.  Not sure how he resolves eating those salmon sandwiches with great vigor unless it is artificial salmon (desert planet out?).  Milly is the extremely naive and optimistic, Meryl is sarcastically pragmatic.  Of course Knives is the exact opposite of Vash, thinking humans are a scourge and no one is worth their own lives. 

And in the middling grey area we have - Nicholas D. Wolfwood.  Yep, is it shocking my favorite character straddles the moral grey line?  Seeing that it is a rhetorical question, we all know that yes, I love my characters that move between different philosophical spaces.  Is Wolfwood a good or bad character?  It depends; the narrative and other relationships tell us in the anime that we should see him as more good than bad character.  He is a friend to all children and uses it as a rationale why he has to do his job.  Without him making money from being a traveling clergyman/gun for hire the children would not have financial support.  However, we can see that the closer he gets to Vash the more conflicted he is and keeps verbalizing why he has no option but to kill; or else someone else would be killed. 

What I like about him is that his observation skills are top notch.  When he first meets Vash, he get straight to the point that Vash is wearing a mask in front of others.  He’s trying to get by, not die, but has a lot of anger at the shitty hand he was dealt in life.  It is the classic example of I had a crap childhood and ended up stuck in this less than ideal path but I want to protect others from it.

He’s one of those characters who really compliments Vash both visually and personality wise.  Vash could never haggle down the price of anything but Wolfwood squeaks by talking his way out of pay full fare for the bus or trying to run a tab (as a drifter).  Yet at the same time those two idiots are as thick as thieves getting in petty arguments over stupid shit and feeling resolved to deal with each other.  I also like how he’s one of the few characters who pushes back at Vash’s need to take on extreme burdens and that sometimes you have to accept all your options are going to suck.

We are going to get in a stupid fight about how Wolfwood’s motorcycle broke down again.  Which he named Angelica II.  RIP Angelica I.

We just tossed our water bottle over!

And just this.  Like sticking out your tongues at the same time will allow you to capture that last bit of water . . .

Does it end here?  God no, it continues to the extent that man who saved them is ready to toss them off his truck.

The manga has a very similar visual dynamic between them.  They are two guys with rough pasts and are navigating the present in very different ways.

Anyways, I’m still not sure where I exactly want to go with things, but a deep dive into Wolfwood (anime & manga) may be a worthwhile endeavor.  I’ve got a ways to go in the manga and I’m not rushing through it or anything like that.

What I am worried about is the remake/reboot/re imagining of Trigun as Trigun Stampede.

I first watched the preview videos about it.  I’m not here to argue if CGI is good or bad.  What I do have an issue with is the general character designs - I get it, Trigun is a 90s manga/anime and it looks like a 90s series.  I really like the Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These, for me it has less to do with the character designs and for how the storytelling perspective is more people driven and less sterile/historical documentary style.  I’ve read most of the novels and LOGH:DNT leans much more on the novels/format than the original epic long OVA.  The creative team behind LOGH:DNT are really giving it their all.

But for Trigun Stampede the new character designs are seriously rubbing me the wrong way. 

Vash: I get that Vash would be considered ‘best sad boi’ if the series were new, but the lack of spiked up hair is baffling to me.  His prosthetic arm is obviously not of this world in origin/tech and it really kills the slow reveal of what it can do.  Wearing a jacket with the Project Seeds logo on it - sure - most people on the planet aren’t the most educated about all that info.  We also have the changing of his type of firearm, which any detail nerd is going to be up in arms about the switch from a long colt .45 to a .22 caliber revolver style handgun.  I blame Ogata and his love of the Type 38 over the Type 30 rifle for sniping.

Meryl Stryfe: not only gets a tomboy look but a career change and a shit mentor/supervisor.  Let’s give her a newsboy hat, shorts with her old suit coat and a large parka and random gloves with chunky sneakers.  Oh and she’s the underling of a chain smoking whiskey drinking misogynistic asshole whose job is to treat her like shit and insult her.  She neither looks nor acts like a young twenty something professional.  In the anime and manga she’s just a petite woman.  But episode one of stampede has me concerned.

Milly Thompson: does not exist?  Information about this is vague at best and I’m not going to troll the internet for what the creative team may have told the Japanese press.  Milly’s character design was top tier.  Her character added great value to the anime and manga so far.  She’s not on the promo artwork and Roberto De Niro is - which is a bad sign.

Nicholas D. Wolfwood:  Looks like a hipster from Tokyo.  And any other ikemen type of character.  Or from a Jdrama.  Really, he looks like if you took a fashionable guy off the street and threw him into the mix.

We see here, an unbuttoned jacket.  His dress shirt is unbuttoned at the top, but also not tucked in.  He’s got skinny/tapered pants and exposed ankles.  And those black shoes that might be sneakers or loafers? 

Now, you live on a desert planet my man.  You know what absolutely sucks when you live in the desert? Getting sand and shit in your shoes!  How do you do that?  Don’t wear shoes that aren’t covered by your pants.  I can forgive the lack of hats on the entire main cast b/c they are the main characters and we want to see their faces.  But if they actually lived on a twin star planet, Vash, Wolfwood, Meryl and Milly would all be wearing hats; you want to keep that sun off your face and block a lot of the crap floating by.  Honestly, that’s one design element which is spot for the characters except for the lack of hats - the long sleeves and layers.  You wear layers and long sleeves and pants when you live in the desert to protect yourself from the elements.

Sadly, not only does his wardrobe suffer from the ‘upgrade’ but his hair as well as a lollipop instead of his hallmark crumpled cigarette.  Smoking kills but Wolfwood is going to die young anyways so do you think he cares that much?

His hair is tamed down the long locks in front of his ears are gone and I’m guessing his nose will be shrunk as well.  My most recent watch had me appreciate a few elements of his character design.  First off, he’s got a rather ‘normal’ looking nose that doesn’t make that weird point.  I like this it gave him a more unique appearance without doing too much.  We can also see the long shaggy bit of hair as well as the much messier overall look.

Looking at him more closely, it really seems as though he had a sort of almost retro (for the 90s) 70s look with a scruffy chin.  That sort of makes sense since he was designed in the 90s, his style might refer back to the previous 20 or so years for his overall look.

I am a huge fan of the added rough around the edges look with the lines on his cheeks which are more pronounced in the manga.

I also visually read this to be an indication of age.  Which in the anime, I read him to be the oldest human of the bunch, over thirty.  His observational skills, the way he talks to others, how he rationalizes things at least in the anime. Wolfwood has seen more of life and some of his solid statements really make me think this.  I haven’t gotten to his whole backstory in the manga yet which from what I’ve seen - is vastly different than that with him being much younger but appearing older.  Which is why he gets the scruffy/blushy lines all the time?  Maybe?  I’ll get back to this.  However, this point doesn’t sit well with me since some types of wisdom require one to reach a certain age to get them so I’m not keen on the concept for appears old but is much younger Wolfwood.  But I’ll see how it plays out in the manga before judging it. 

I’m not the type of person to get my knickers in a twist over logical updates to characters and their design but the creative team for Stampede went hard.

Honestly, I already found a much more professional review that really highlights a lot of the issues I had with episode 1.  The reviewer never saw the original and still highlights a lot of the things someone who’d watched it before would or could be bothered by.

https://www.themarysue.com/even-as-a-trigun-newbie-trigun-stampedes-first-episode-didnt-feel-right/

This article completely captures why I hate Roberto De Niro and why if he dies as a character I will be happy.  But not happy enough without Milly!

Anyhoo, I’ll give Trigun Stampede the college try, but they are going to have to work very hard to convince me it is a worthy remake.  If only to see Roberto De Niro to die and try not to ask Tanigaki why he’s toting around Punisher - which is a heavy cross b/c it is full of mercy. 

[jjkrereadlb]

Ch 222

Sukuna says gojo has the last finger which is entirely plausible but NOT confirmed yet

Theres a mummy which i was told is sukuna’s own mummified body but its actually not confirmed??? If anything last chapter it looked more like tengen then sukuna

Sukuna says “did kenjaku… or rather tengen… do this ironically?” what does this mean. This sounds like tengen and kjk are like the same being under different names (???) or maybe that one of them was the one who wanted to make the mummy and asked the other to do the work for them??? Idk

When gojo says “its just the three of us” referring to himself shoko and ijichi shoko answers “there’s one who hasn’t fully recovered yet.” Id jump on the chance to say its nobara but i think they’re talking of people who went to school with them so who? Nanami is dead for sure bc they confirm it one panel later. Mei mei and utahime were i think both older than them (already professional sorcerers while they were students) and anyway neither of them received any major injuries in shibuya and they haven’t fought in the culling game. Geto ofc is the obvious option but I wouldnt describe his current situation as “not fully recovered yet” lmao unless its a weird translation thing again. Who else is even left??

Im sorry but meimei setting up a livestream of the gojo sukuna fight is fucking hysterical. like that makes sense. Id be watching that shit if i were in jjk world. Shitting myself in fear the whole time too but still. she’s giving the people what they want.

Yuuji is fighting someone(i think that guy from shibuya without a CT but im not sure) and yuujis body(?) calls the other guy itadori. I see now why ive seen an increase in people saying yuuji has kjk’s bodyhopping. Honestly it could be also bc i dont understand what else could possibly be going on . Maybe this is someone elses CT that we havent seen so far (utahime? Idk) and they’re using it to have yuuji sneak up on sukuna/kjk under false pretenses??? Idk

Theres also whatever the fuck this ^ is. Not even gonna try.

Kjk says if theyd left sukuna’s side gojo would have killed them. So theyre sure gojo could easily beat them in a fight. Good to know for powerscaling & matchup predictions ig.

UTAHIME IS BACKKKKK crossing off a bingo card! Thanks gege! Now tell us her ct.

I love that everyone slaps gojo on the back but inumaki kicks him. Like he still has one arm 😭😭 legend behavior honestly. Id kick him too if I knew i could get away with it

MIWA APPEARANCE!!! We still haven’t been told what she was doing in the CG when we caught a glimpse of her. Im betting we will see it in a flashback and it will be important and also i have a feeling some new new shadow style will make an appearance through her.

Sukunas deranged grin in the very final panel… what can i say. Daddy.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

I can’t write much about my job, because it involves working with disabled adults and obviously there’s a whole lot of confidentiality (rightly) involved in vulnerable populations like that. I’ve worked a number of similar jobs before, and have always had to sign a lot of confidentiality forms, but the forms at this place were even more comprehensive than most. Which was nice, because when my mother called after my first day with kind and well-meaning but somewhat overwhelming questions, I didn’t have to think too hard about how to answer them because I wasn’t allowed to. What did I do today? I’m not legally permitted to tell you that. What issues did I deal with? That’s classified. What’s my co-worker’s name? Sorry, confidential. Technically, I don’t think I’m allowed to tell her I have a job.

Having said that, here is a very non-specific, non-confidentiality-breaking thing I can say. A couple of the clients have cerebral palsy and some related speech difficulties. I’m a bit better at understanding their speech than most people are when they first start a job like this, and I think that’s because I’ve watched a lot of Rosie Jones. I’m not completely sure it’s because of that. But I think it is, because I didn’t used to be good at it.

I first heard Rosie Jones on the News Quiz maybe five years ago, and then in 2020 when I got into panel shows and things like that, I of course started seeing her everywhere. At first, I found her hard to understand. I had to keep pausing the video and running it back. I developed some strategies for understanding her better, like increasing the speed on the video, and looking at her lips while she’s talking (both of those are good tips for anyone who still finds Rosie Jones hard to understand, by the way, and the latter is also useful for talking to someone you find hard to understand in real life – unfortunately I haven’t yet worked out how to apply the former strategy in real life).

At some point, I stopped having to do that. I don’t know exactly when, but I just realized I no longer struggled to understand her, so I stopped speeding up the video, and after a while I was so used to her speaking style that I barely noticed the difference anymore. At some point I wondered whether it was because she’d gotten better at speaking in ways that are easy to understand, so I went back and found her first appearance on The News Quiz, the first time I ever heard her voice. I listened to some of it again, and had no trouble understanding her, even though I recall finding very difficult years ago. So it’s not that she changed, it’s that I did. For the better.

At my job now, I don’t understand the clients with cerebral palsy perfectly (they don’t talk exactly like Rosie Jones, because it’s not like every person with cerebral palsy talks exactly the same way, there are just basic similarities), but I can do it better than some others, and have sometimes found myself translating for other staff members who don’t understand.

It occurred to me that this is a very practical application of the “representation matters” concept. If Britain is a country where Rosie Jones is on TV a lot, then Britain will be a country where a lot of people have seen Rosie Jones on TV, and then Britain will be a country where a lot of people have gotten used to hearing the type of speech that’s often used by people with cerebral palsy or similar disabilities, and then Britain will be a country where a lot of people have gotten better at understanding that type of speech due to hearing so much of it, and that is a better country to live in for people with cerebral palsy – a country where they’re more likely to encounter people who can understand their speech. (Also, she’s very funny. Just want to add that, because the 1,000 Redditors who live in my head are all shouting right now that I’ve basically admitted that Rosie Jones is only on comedy shows for diversity quota box ticking representation, and no I haven’t and no she isn’t, she is also funny and that’s the main thing, it’s just not the point of this post.)

I think that’s cool. It’s probably the second most significant way in which being into comedy has helped me in this job so far, after the fact that when I’m trying to lead social things with clients who don’t make it easy and I struggle to think of what to say next, I find myself straight-up cribbing improv tips from No More Jockeys. That, and trying to think of the panel show skill that I’ve spent hundreds of hours observing, of the way to do two things at the same time: say something that the other person will find entertaining, and keep an eye on how to set up a good reply to keep it going.

[starsescape]

Jill stop near the top of the stairs where she could see through the railing to the floor above. Her eyes were barely above the floor level. Right beside the stairs to the basement where she stood was a metal shelf and the door to the break room where Juno was held. The room where I’m supposed to give myself to him. Next to it stretch out a long corridor that would lead back to the main office which Jill had already been to. It is a miracle that the infected haven’t broken in here yet... Windows run along the corridor for its full length with only one being broken near the other end of it.

At the end of the corridor Jill could see a control panel for the safety shutter, but it was broken like the one in the west corridor had been. For a split second Jill wish that she had decided to fix the panel over here instead, but what was done was done... It will help with the evacuation. Jill had to remind herself that the other corridor being safe would make the evacuation run smoothly. It was enough for her not to regret that choice.

Jill move up until she reach the top of the stairs. She glance towards the door of the break room before shifting her gaze to what was beyond the windows. It was still raining, but it had turn into a drizzle. Jill could make out something move in the darkness that surround the station. The infected wait right past the windows. If Jill wasn’t careful she would draw their attention. Taking a step back she lean against the wall beside the windows to hide from view.

I hope Juno is alright... Jill stare at the door she was supposed to go through. It was the only thing that separate her from Juno and her captor. If they would open the door now they would see her right away, but Jill doubt that they would. The man was without a doubt too eager to play with Juno to leave his saferoom, yet he knew Jill was coming so there was no way to sneak in without being seen or heard. He is propably playing with her even now... Jill bit her lip as she imagine it. Jill could still remember how blissful Juno had sound over the radio. How much Juno enjoy it even if she was captured.. I have to save her.

Jill had already made a decision on how to handle this hostage situation. I’m not going to give myself to him... The thought of surrendering and allowing him to do as he please was humiliating enough, but the additional cost was just too high. Jill couldn’t give up any items or weaponry to him if she was to survive. If she wouldn’t submit the only way to save Juno was to take a gamble, one that would put everyone here at risk. Jill felt that risk was worth it. Lure him out, let the infected get to him and free Juno... That was the plan.

Making her way to the shelf Jill pick up one of the small boxes. Inside it was some office supplies: pens, paperclips, couple of staplers. It was enough to create a lot of noise if thrown and scattered on the floor. Perfect. Jill took it and glance at the windows. She froze.

A girl with grey skin and gleeful smile stare back at Jill. Her short hair was wet from the rain and her top and skirt were drenched. As their eyes met the infected girl smirk at Jill. She rest her hands and press her chest against the window, but didn’t do anything to get in. The infected girl simply acknowledge Jill and made sure that she would remember what she look like for later, since she had no use for Jill at the moment. Behind the girl all the other infected hadn’t even noticed Jill as they wander around aimlessly.

It made Jill more self-conscious. A dog’s collar around her neck, handcuffed and holding a box... Like a gift box. Jill shudder under the infected stare. Don’t look at me. It unnerve her more to see an infected desire her, yet not act on that notion right away. To escape her gaze Jill reach for the door handle and turn it. The door open. She step in to the break room.

The front of the break room was empty A game of cards was scattered on the table with chairs around it. Behind the table was a row of lockers with some photos of pinup girls on them... And then an archway which lead to the back where the bunk beds were just out of sight. Juno’s voice came from the back. Helpless moans came to a stop with a frustrated wail of need before the cop step into a view from the back. His fingers were glistering.

“I don’t see you stripping.” He sneer at Jill, yet he seem almost more satisfied of what he was presented with. To him, like to so many other men and women, in the department it was a dream to have a S.T.A.R.S. officer collared. Still, not willing to take any chances he took out his firearm and aim it at Jill.

“I..” Jill start and then start to back away. She lean against the still open door and swallow. Act helpless... A red color flare up on her cheeks. “I couldn’t undress with the handcuffs on me.” Even if it was a ruse it was humiliating. “I have the supplies and the car key here.” Jill lie and lift the box she held just a bit while being careful not to let on how it was filled with something else.

It made the man laugh and with a shake of his head he lower his weapon. To him it was so amusing to see a woman like Jill Valentine be so helpless and at his mercy. “I have to thank whoever prepare you just for me. Did they train you as well?” His sneer turn into a grin. “Too bad they forgot to give you a leash, Valentine.”  He start to approach Jill as he unbuckle his belt and took it off. He held it in his hand. “This might not be a real deal, but for a dog like you it should suffice.” His need to use and degrade her dull his mind.

Now! The moment he stood by the doorway with her Jill first swung the box hard against the side of his head. [Skill challenge 3, Jill succeeds with melee weapons down at 3] The cop stumble out of the room and hit the metal shelf beside the stairs that cause him to fall on the floor with everything on it dropping on top of him. Jill then toss the box further away. It land by the windows and all that was still left in it after the hit scatter on the floor to gain the attention of the infected if what happened so far wasn’t enough. It took only a moment for the first window to break and others soon follow. The infected start to climb in.

“Valentine!” The man yell as he tried to get up to his feet. Confusion and hatred mix well with his voice. It was like music to Jill’s ears. Serves you right. Jill close the door on him and lock the door.

[Vote on what Jill should do]

[Weapon vote]