#i'm assuming however the series wasn't that good lol but it has potential!

[mid-nightowl]

i'm not currently reading the series but the idea of putting Starfire in Florida just feels perfect to me actually????

[sharksa-shivers]

What are…Mers? Part 1

(Old art is old but i love it so here you go lol) --- Mers are one of the 5 types of beings in the Kidnapped universe…And they are exactly what you think they are.

Mers=Mermaids, mermen, merpeople. Mers is the term used most often though because it's gender neutral and quicker in general.

(NOTE TO BE AWARE OF: Not every single mer we see in series is good…Mers as a species are neutral until proven good or bad. Just because alot of mers we see are good DOES NOT MEAN every single mer is a good person...)

If you somehow are not aware as to what a mermaid is (first how'd you get this far into my stuff without knowing lololol) BUT; a mermaid is half human, half fish.

They're thought of as mythical beings, magical and powerful…And in the Kidnapped universe, they are all of those things.

Magical and powerful on average and humans/landies think mers are…A myth, something that doesn't exist. However…They absolutely do in this world…And they're alllllllll over the place…I'm talking worldwide, i'm talkin there's several billion of em, like…They absolutely exist lololol… --- So basic biology stuff:

Mers have several forms, similar to shadowdemons. - Their basic merform (tail, their watery appearance basically) - "Human" forms (Trading their tails for legs via magic/being out of water basically lol) - And usually, most mers have a powerform (a form made from their magic type…As an example, a water mer can transform parts of themselves into water or they can fully become water or ice. NOTE THO, NOT EVERY MER HAS A POWER FORM. Most do tho) More basic biology things, mers have: -Brighter colored hair colors, usually 'unnatural' bright colors like blues, greens, purples, ect. These appear alot brighter and oddly never fade like dyed hair would but most humans assume these people must have really amazing hair stylists or something lol -Oddly neon/rainbow colored eyes (unnatural shades of green, blue, purples, pinks, ect) -Sharp pointed fingers (this was a hunting adaptation and is still helpful but less so in modern day) -Natural swimming abilities/ability to breath underwater -Mers all have levitation/telekinesis/ability to move stuff with magic as a default power. EVERY MER HAS THIS POWER... Back in olden days, mers used to have a siren call, used as a mating call. Mers WOULD actually sing potential mates/people to death but usually this wasn't on purpose. (alot of mers didn't realize humans/landies cannot breath underwater and thus would drown, whoopsies) Mers as such could sing and attract the gender they were aiming for and it would hypnotize the person pretty much...Didn't matter the genre of music either, if the mer liked screamo music or whatever, that absolutely could hypnotize a potential mate lol In modern day, this has kind of evolved out but mers usually on average are naturally amazing singers. This is mer history though so yep... --- Magic shiz? Yeah, let's do that lol. So an important note to begin with: A mers magic comes from a core in their heart and a mer CANNOT live without magic (vital bit of their body and dna system) MAGIC CAN BE STOLEN WITH CERTAIN METHODS AND IT IS 100% FATAL TO THE MER... Ok, we got that rule? Ok, COOL. Now then... Suffice to say mer magic is vital to them, their culture, ways of life and their lives themselves... Mer magic runs on energy thus a mer cannot use it if they are sleep deprived, starving or greatly injured. The body will shut off the magic to save energy for keeping them conscious and alive. As an add on, mers typically have different power levels then each other. It varys and depends on the mer type, how much they practice their magic, if their klutzy or skilled. It greatly varys from mer to mer. This applies to Kristy as well. If she's hurt or exhausted or starving, that magic WILL NOT WORK. Her magic can be stolen via the amulet being taken but since she's human and her magic comes from the amulet, she's not in danger of death in the same way a mer is...Kristy just won't have magic at that point, she'll just be her normal human self. Mers just die without magic after a period of time. Powerful mers die faster without magic while weaker mers have a bit longer until they croak... Examps: Strong mer- OH Weaker powered mer- Nucleo We'll get more into this in more entry points buttttttt here are the mer types (mixed power mers not included here but for ref, mers are typically born with one type of magic HOWEVER you can be born with 2 types of magic, genetics depending...This is more rare though...)

Mer types:

-Water mers -Fire mers -Plant mers -Healing mers -Weather mers -Acid Radiation mers -Cloud Radiation mers -Magic mers/Mixed Bag mers -Mind mers -Rainbow mers (more rare) (pictured below is OH/Orange Hair, one of the most powerful fire mers) We'll get into actual magic shiz in part 2 lol, only got so much room here...

--- Nowwwwww here's the bit ik everybody ALWAYS wants to know...Reproduction shiz so i shall...Answer... Do not make me regret this lmaooooo

Mers that have the equipment(usually females but not always, AFAB people too) are the ones that get pregnant and give birth. It usually takes a mer about a year or so to form and to be born. The magic aspect is what takes those extra few months...Takes more time to form...Mers are mammals also btw. Mers start life as babies and grow from that point. (Baby-->Child-->Teenager-->Adult) ……..So basically, mers age like humans, they are INSANELY similar to humans in alot of ways…But not every way obviously…

Mers are born with magic but their magic isn't able to use until they hit a certain age (4-6 for the much more powerful mers, 7-9 for average mers and usually 10-13 for weak powered mers on average…)

Mers can live up to 10,000+ years (needa figure that cap off point but uhhhhhhhhh a longass fucking time lmao...And they don't show physical aging for a longggggggg while...Like gotta be in the thousands before wrinkles even start to show up...) Mers can have mental issues considering this ENORMOUS lifespan but there are resources for such issues...

Next part we'll talk about actual mer powers/what powers each type of mer has lol. Idk when i'll get to that but i'll try and do it soon lol.

[gltwrites]

the day isym said: i'm gonna fuck shit y'all up

So this is how it ends. I guess I won't be able to let this go sooner, or not ever.

Following the lives of these incredible characters since 2014 had been an astonishing journey for me. And now, we reached the end of one of the most-loved mangas, Attack on Titan/Shingeki No Kyojin—probably the only masterpiece that will touch my heart like this in this lifetime.

What an awful timing it was that chapter 139 arrived at the time I was supposed to be celebrating with my mutuals on exoltwt lol. While, overall, I rate AoT as 11 out of 10, I can't eschew that the culmination has left me qualms and questions unresolved.

Let's start with Armin thanking Eren for his sacrifices for Paradis—which equates to thanking him for committing a global genocide (bro, wtf???). This did not sit right with me, but I'm taking into account that Armin could see there was no easy way out, and that he believes achieving peace requires sacrifices, notwithstanding his altruistic nature and efforts to not completely throw away his humanity.

And I'm also considering the fact that, with the reality Paradis had, bringing off peace without lives being taken was a wishful thinking.

His idealistic worldview clashed with Eren's, and he wasn't able to present a solid resolution 'til the windup. And yet, Armin was still willing to talk things out with his best friend so they could come up with a better plan, without further casualties.

Up until the very end, he wanted PEACE.

I think, this is what makes Armin admirable, contrary to what other readers paint him out to be—weak and useless. He's one of the strongest and skilled characters in AoT imo. He didn't need to be a Titan or an Ackerman. He's innately whip-smart and a natural tactician, making himself a consequential character despite his lacking combat skills.

Weighing up Armin's burdens and the mental load he carries, it hurts to be in his shoes, especially since he's the commander. He's torn between his friend's life and the rest of the world. He took the responsibility of the Rumbling aftermath to shoulder Mikasa's burden and let her live in peace.

And in the end, conflict dragged on, and he ended up with a large obligation to the people.

There were little appearances of Historia, which I initially found a bit absurd since she's among the important characters in the whole series. She didn't say anything, and her pregnancy was for what again? I was disappointed. Her bearing a child held no importance and was a random subplot.

Conversely, amid a slew of readers demanding her clarification on knowing Eren's plans from the get-go, her explanation on the matter would be unnecessary. It seemed to me she has done her part on how the story would play out. And if there was an epilogue or a succeeding set of panels, Historia might've made her comeback since her role as the queen is expected to hugely partake in peace propositions.

And over and above these, the final chapter seemed...rushed? I feel like some panels need to be fleshed out more, such as the whole of Founder Ymir's feelings towards that bitchass abuser Karl Fritz. I was appalled that the root of the sufferings that prolonged for two millennia was because of her martyrdom and servitude to the king and the royal family, which she described as love.

But in reality, without having to chew this over, Ymir didn't really know what true love is. She was a slave since birth, her family was massacred by Karl Fritz, and was impregnated thrice by this murderer who never gave a shit about her. She lived a wretched life, manipulated and abused, and died after jumping in front of the spear to protect the king.

Brought by fear of losing the power of the titan, he made her daughters eat Ymir's flesh and told then to bear many children. Sick fuck.

Then Ymir discovered Mikasa, who she deemed a mirror of her own. The difference, however, is that Mikasa's love for Eren isn't one-sided. And so her greatest desire to be freed from an abusive relationship was accomplished after discovering what real love is through EreMika.

Speaking of Eren, I can understand why plenty of readers condemned him. The guy, who masked himself as a peak tsundere, cold, temperamental bastard, exterminated almost the entire global population, and when asked by Armin his reason, he said he didn't know why, so from here we can assume he neither had a goal behind that warped undertaking nor did it for the greater good.

But Armin is smart, and Eren's silence was a tacit answer. The predicament seemed unsolvable, and wiping 80% of humanity is his last resort to hold off the rest of the world from attacking Paradis.

Taking also into account that he didn't mean to have his mother killed by Dina after rerouting her from Bertholdt. If he didn't, Bertholdt wouldn't end up as the Colossal Titan and Armin wouldn't have eaten him and died along the way.

Bear in mind that Eren believed Armin would save the world, but if he kicked the bucket—and had Eren, who was obviously enslaved by his destiny, altered anything in his memories—would unravel another reality unknown to Eren that could pose a bigger risk.

And the fact that he let the familiar fate dictate him meant opening a door to another door of possibilities of achieving world peace, with Armin taking the lead.

By making himself the bad guy in his story to make his friends be the heroes, the ending suggests that harmony would work out in the end.

In 139, Armin, Reiner, Pieck, Annie, Jean, and Connie were planning to make peace negotiations. And through this, there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Levi finally bidding farewell to his comrades bawled my eyes out—this is probably the saddest shit ever AoT has ever done to me, next to Erwin's death. Levi is the last one existing among his original comrades, and it sent a pang to my heart when he did his final salute, wearing a faint smile while wrapped in bandages.

It was not indicated what he'd been doing post-Rumbling. The end of Titans' curse also put an end to the Ackerman bloodline's "awakened power" and above-average human strength, so he's probably a military consultant or mentor, given his amazing contribution as humanity's strongest warrior.

It was also shown he remained in the capital and is with now-grown Falco and Gabi, who both have shown their potential for a military career.

Meanwhile, unlike Levi, Mikasa chose to retire and live in her hometown. While others remark her ending as tragic (I'm guilty of this tbh), her former comrades were on their way to see her and visit Eren's grave next to the tree from their childhood, making her not entirely lonely. I wished she and Armin were in the same multiple frames of the latter panels of the final chapter as they both grieve losing Eren. But given Armin's new and bigger responsibilities for humanity, it's impossible.

EreMika may not be endgame, and I may be bound to perpetual frustration of them never getting the chance to wear their hearts on their sleeves, I am satisfied with the ending—imperfect but fitting. It's actually funny that my feelings got the best of me upon reading the last chapter, and cursed at the story for not ending in absolute peace and bliss, forgetting that AoT had always been a poignant, anxiety-induced, existentialist story, and hinted at a bittersweet finale from the start.

[itsclydebitches]

Have been following the whole High Guardian Spice/Crunchyroll saga? After two years in limbo, the embattled High Guardian Spice was finally released in its entirety two days ago. I watched the first two episodes and its. . .a show I watched. Just an inoffensive show that will be forgotten by next year. However, in typical internet fashion, the anger directed at this show over the last two years was way over the top and I don't buy that it's simply bc its not an anime being pushed by Crunchyroll.

LOL you have fantastic timing, anon, because I just answered another anon's ask about the same show. I can't say I've been following it because I only found about this drama... an hour ago?

I definitely don't know enough to say where I think all that anger is "really" coming from, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't suspicious that a diverse show (from what I've heard? Again, I'm collecting info as I go) is getting so much heat. Putting aside my wariness for a second though... the argument on the flip-side is that it really doesn't look good imo. Not bad-bad — "forgotten by next year" feels like a good descriptor — but definitely not what I assume people were expecting, especially if they've been waiting two years for this series. Like, I just watched another clip where I assume the pink-haired girl is having a dream about her missing mom? Regardless of context, the voice acting is Really Not Great. To the point where it was distracting me from the rest of the clip. And yeah, the content itself is inoffensively generic from what I've seen. Potentially great for a kids cartoon; potentially rant-inducing if you're an adult expecting something entirely different.

Though I was thinking to myself, "Hey, this presumably main character is having a nightmare about her missing mom. The trailer showed her telling other people about her missing mom and demonstrating attachment to a picture of her." And right on the heels of that was, "That's more missing mom work than RWBY has done for Ruby in eight years." So quality is going to depend largely on what parts we choose to focus on lol.

I don't have much interest in watching more, but I might cave and binge it just to keep up with the drama. If I do, I suspect the diversity, cute characters, and the occasional nugget of world building will carry me through.

[ae0nx]

FRUITS BASKET S3 EPISODE 8 RECAP AKA THE KYORU CHRONICLES PART 2 (plus a quick recap of eps 3-7)

aaaaaaAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! I gotta get it out of me otherwise I won't be able to concentrate on work and I will be scrolling through the tag till the day I die. Everything from episode 3 of Season 3 literally hit me like an avalanche - literally cos I marathoned 3-7 over the weekend which I wouldn't advise unless you want an accelerated heartbeat - and I'm starting to realise... maybe I just wasn't ready for season 3. Despite asking for it, haha. Not gonna put as many screencaps for this one cos tumblr editing bay be trippin and I just don't have time nor emotional energy to be fighting with the picture uploads, sorry lol

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Episodes 3 - 7

I spoke before about how (despite my feelings about the characters) the English dub VAs for Akito and Shigure pair up really well audibly. And I think I feel the same way about both Yuki and Machi's English VAs! They both have the same soft spoken yet scratchy element to their voices almost like they are holding slightly back. Although, I'd argue that Yuki has been losing the element of slightly holding back as the anime has gone on which I wonder if the same would be included for Machi's performance?

I really like the presentation of Machi's trauma through her family's expectations to be perfect and how physical it is? How Yuki kind of encourages her to let it out in a healthy way? (Btw the whole chalk breaking scene in the meeting was SO FUCKING SMOOTH. YUKI IS A NERD BUT HE IS SO EFFORTLESSLY COOL A LOT OF THE TIME)

The age gap between Isuzu and Haru for sure isn't the worst age gap in this anime/manga but it's still a bit... hmm...

Episode 4:

In all seriousness, I know Akito deserves some sympathy but it doesn't change the fact that I still see her as a villain. Hurt people hurt people but it doesn't mean they should get away with it, I was honestly pleased Haru got that big confrontation with Akito to tell her WHAT'S WHAT but it was also somewhat... merciful?

Hiro's growth has been so beautiful to see, him realising there are bigger things than him from the event with Rin to his relationship with Kisa to then the birth of his little sister.

Kureno choosing to get his hands a little dirtier and paying the ultimate price for it (as far as we know so far in the anime lol) was great, he is the moon side of Tohru's sunshine.

Shigure... I still don't really get him and Akito's relationship. It's clear he's waiting for Akito to grow the fuck up but at the same time he's not creating an environment for her to grow and develop. He's decided to go with the 'tough love' route which I'm still deciding whether I like it or not tbh. Sometimes it feels necessary, at other times it feels shitty. I respect that he knows he's a scumbag and I don't deny that there are people out there who take revelry in the fact that they are awful but at the same time, him remaining unchanging despite everything feels... unrealistic. But considering throughout this story he doesn't seem affected by trauma, it's understandable, I guess?

Also... that scene where Shigure ponders about whether he should've been with Tohru is THE creepiest creeper shit he's EVER done in this series. No. 🙅🏾‍♀️

Momiji is best bunny boi regardless of how tall and 'manly' he becomes. 🐰His scene with Akito was so authentically him and he really did that shit. We love him. <3

I love the way that the curse breaking should (on surface) be a happy event considering all the trauma the zodiac went through because of it but it's presented mostly as loss as well as happiness. It's the realness of getting out of a bad relationship

Shigure basically laying it out to Tohru how Kyo means nothing in a very taunting way was an excellently painful scene and I choose violence. It was heartbreaking seeing how worthless they all saw Kyo compared to how Tohru saw him but... by this point I was just living in the pain so 🤷🏾‍♀️

The story visually showing how Isuzu is more willing to be soft after her whole ordeal through her fashion choices (e.g. the pastels, the cardigans) was really nice. And Haru being happy about Isuzu making friends with Tohru was cute!

It was nice we saw that Kazuma was still wary about whether Tohru loved Kyo for the right reasons, you'd assume after everything Kazuma would love Tohru as a match for Kyo but he's so emotionally intelligent and also just a protective Dad! Yay, good parenting!

Tohru's confession to loving Kyo was amazing however I still adore Kyo's confession a little bit more. Just a bit. Lol. However, if you add the moment later in episode 8 it trumps it completely. Ethereal goddess.

Kyo and Tohru's grandfather having a scene together was great and nice

Now that I think about it, I wish there was more a visual link in the story between Tohru adapting her speech to imitate her Dad and Momiji adopting his Mum's German accent. Albeit for slightly different reasons, it just adds to the unique connection Tohru and Momiji have. In short, I'm seeing this ship with my third eye now. I get it lol

I don't wanna screencap the scene where Kyo is haunted by both his deceased mother and deceased Kyoko and potentially deceased Tohru because it's the stuff of nightmares. But, it was a wonderfully done scene. You definitely understand fully and clearly why Kyo buried all of that trauma under his hatred for Yuki (I CAN'T WAIT FOR EPISODE 9, YOU GUISE!)

If Akito is a villain, Ren is the final boss. Although, with her type of villainy... I feel like I can kind of enjoy a bit more. She reminds me of a Greek God in the ways she master manipulates people and her desperation for control and power (I just read 'Mythos' by Stephen Fry, it's a great read lol)

It lowkey feels like every female character who's comfortable in expressing their sexuality in this story is punished in some way for it... this is an incomplete thought

Shigure as a child feeling like they should all be pitied is so... mature... I feel like I need more of an explanation for why Shigure is the way he is

Akito's ego death with Kureno? Amazing. I loved that she was at least aware enough to realise how Kureno had been coddling her all this time but again... doesn't excuse her crimes

But anyways...

EPISODE 8

Honestly? I really don't have much to say about this episode besides 3-5 points I wanna get out of my head. It's not a bad thing at all, it's just that there's still a lot left to play out from this 'arc' and this season in general that I wanna complete my thoughts on.

But I'll start with this:

Lol, isn't it funny?! Isn't it heart-wrenchingly funny how the relationship between Kyo and Tohru has kinda reverted back to how they were at the start of the series? The coldness of Kyo at the beginning of this episode (and throughout) was a bit of a gut punch considering all the light and fluffy moments that we've gotten between the two since the True Form arc.

Talking about the True Form arc, I feel like this episode is somewhat a repeat of the same emotions, same trials of the True Form arc. Kyo still 'runs away like he always has' but this time we get him being the most honest and confrontational with his own emotions and trauma than he ever has been during the course of this whole story. While trusting someone (Tohru specifically) for the first time with the whole truth of his story! He always seems to move one step forward and then three steps backwards and while it's a tad bit frustrating, it feels very... real. I'll probably complete my feelings how this arc reflects the True Form arc when we finish this section of the story in future episode(s).

Considering the fact that 80% of this episode is Jerry Jewell monologuing as Kyo and I never got bored really just sells his performance. Kyo was being incredibly cold this episode and yet the range of emotions through his performance made it feel understandable enough for you to empathise with it.

BrattyKid!Kyo to lighten the mood 😹I still wish he and Hiro had more of a relationship, I feel like they could have taught each other a lot. Well... mostly Kyo teaching Hiro tbh

Kyo rejecting Kyoka for her honesty and kindness and then later rejecting Tohru? Oh... kid...

Wow, I felt so good about that whole episode of Kid!Yuki helping Kid!Tohru get home and then it's slightly soured knowing KID!KYO was running about the streets alllll night into the morning?!?! I really did feel Kyo's frustration at not getting that win to actually do something right. And the irony of that being linked to him being unable to save Kyoka from the oncoming car?

Honestly, I don't know what my feelings are on Kyo being unable to save Kyoka. I don't even know what my feelings are on Tohru pretty much pushing that aside in favour of her feelings for Kyo. It's... complicated and I've been mulling it over in my head for the last 10+ years hahah However, if I was in Tohru's position I think I'd eventually come to a point where it feels like it's too late to really do anything about how bad I'd feel about it. Kyo's intentions weren't horrid, if anything he was just being a scared kid and he's allowed to be that. I just wish Tohru had a bit more time to evaluate it but considering she knew her mother well and assumes that wouldn't have been the full scope of what she had said, I don't have much of a problem with it in general

Lol, I love when Tohru gets a 'FUCK YOU, I LOVE YOU' moment with Kyo. 😂Another reflected scene from the True Form arc... only thing is that this time... it doesn't quite work. 😕

(Again, I love how all of these reflections are resolved in later occurences in response to the duality but I'll get to it next week when it shows hopefully)

Laura Bailey only had a few sentences in this episode but she killed it as always. Comparing her performance in 2001 to now is just... growth!

Ok, so Yuki automatically gets Best Boi in this episode for meddling and chasing after KYO of all people. Showing how he's personally done with hating Kyo. Realising Kyo is pretty much the only person who'll make his mother happy. I think he also lowkey wants to understand Kyo? But, we'll get to that next week.

....Oh yeah, Akito is there.

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In total, I liked this episode even though it has me anxious for the next one. We finally get the full picture of why Kyo is the way he is! Ahhhh - a weight off all our chests, I'm sure. I kinda don't like that they put the ending theme at the end of these episodes - the joyfulness doesn't really match up with the intense theme? But, that's just a minor gripe. And hey, maybe they just want the audience to know... it's all gonna be okay :)

See you next week!!!