#in between nosebleeds and sex jokes the show was like. actually really good.

[cramenjoyer]

heaven's lost property was soooo wild bc the entire premise is that angels are robotic slaves who exist to follow extremely literal commands and they can do anything they are commanded to do, even accidentally, and will never stop until their task is complete. the world ends in episode 2 and an angel just fixes it immediately. also they all hate each other by nature and try to kill each other throughout the show, partially because the main one is some kind of lucifer equivalent. with amnesia. the final villain is a newborn angel trying to destroy the world because she was ordered to, faced by a group of rebel angels who've discovered love as a motivation instead of exclusively duty, and she decides that she lost because they felt love--- which must be some terrible weapon. because that's what love is to beings of pure logic. it was exactly as brain altering as it sounds and most of that was, like, the B plot or filler episodes.

[waka-chan-out]

💳💥💥💥HIRUGAMI NSFW HEADCANONS MEG MEG MEG DO IT 💳💥💥💥

Hirugami NSFW Headcanons

post-timeskip, obviously.

content warnings: talk about porn, praise kinks, oral, masturbation, hickies, all that good stuff

damn i really was able to summon y’all to my page. somehow writing these made love him even more and i didn’t think that was possible. here you go !!

- Jennifer’s Body with Megan Fox was his sexual awakening and led to him jacking off for the first time.

- He bumps his head at least once every time he has sex. Like it’s a running joke between him and partners. They try to guess when and how it’ll happen. It could be a particularly hard hit on the headboard when you’re riding him or when he’s picking something up off the floor. On rare occasions he’s headbutted people. He has caused more than one nosebleed. He’s not really self conscious about it but damn is it annoying.

- For a very long time he exclusively got off to movie scenes. No real porn. He still tries to avoid mainstream porn as much as he can. He’s the guy putting a million filters on his searches so he can find amateur videos of people that actually look like they’re in love with each other.

- Do I need to even put a praise kink on this list? I feel like that’s a given. He’s not necessarily a “good boy” praise kink kind of guy but he wants to verbally hear that you’re enjoying yourself and think he’s handsome.

- A waitress called him baby and ruffled his hair once and he had to keep his jacket in his lap for a while after she walked away.

- When people try to get him to participate in “locker room talk” he just comes up with the most outlandish, ridiculous scenario he can because he respects his partners too much to share real stories. Strangers think he’s a legend and his friends think he’s an asshole.

- Can you say GIVER? He is so focused on you that it honestly surprises him when he finishes because he’s so wrapped up in making you feel good.

- One of his favorite ways to get off is jacking himself off while eating you out.

- Favorite position is him sitting against the headboard with you in his lap because it’s got the benefit of you riding him without him having to sacrifice his ability to hold and kiss you.

- As strong as he is, he doesn’t have the balance to hold you up during sex. The few times he’s tried it’s ended with him cry laughing and apologizing in a pile on the floor.

- He gets a hard on every single time he steps into the shower at your place because for the few few months of dating you always showered together and it usually ended with one of you on your knees.

- Really likes hickies. He doesn’t care how ~high school~ some people think they are. His favorite thing is receiving them. He’ll send you shirtless pictures showing them off with the biggest grin on his face.

- He has a REALLY hard time listening to music during sex because he’s an instinctual singer so more than one time he’s been on top of you and just started singing along to whatever was playing and kissed you all over your face until you laughed. He also knows all the words to every song so sometimes he’ll hear a certain line or song and burst out laughing. He has to lay on top of you until he collects himself.

- He’s definitely a little shy about being verbal, so the first few times you hook up he doesn’t do much more than breathe heavy. One day you experiment a little and he lets out the most desperate groan you’ve ever heard. He’s so embarrassed and it takes you a while to convince him that you really really really liked it. After that he’s a lot more relaxed about it and makes the best noises right in your ear.

- The kind of guy to propose to you in bed when you’re both still sweaty and panting. When the moment feels right, it feels right, and it feels right for him when you guys are in your own little world and he’s just gotten to physically show you how much he loves you.

[avengerscompound]

Finding Home - Chapter 11

Finding Home: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist Previous //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x OFC (Daisy Adams)

Word Count:  2807

Warnings:  Angst, mentions of torture, violence, major character death, mentions of sexual abuse/rape, pregnancy, smut (vaginal sex, oral sex, pregnancy sex, Bisexual MMF threesome)

Synopsis:  Daisy Adams has abilities. She can read minds. Force her thoughts onto others. As a child, she is taken by Hydra and raised as a weapon. Daisy finds another and speaks to him in his dreams. He has been taken too. He wants to return to the man he loves. Can she get them back together? Will she even want to once she realizes that she’s falling in love?

Chapter 11

I sat and waited, watching everything unfold on the news like the rest of the world. I saw Sokovia start to rise into the sky. I saw the people left on the ground fleeing in terror. People trapped in rubble. I wanted to reach out and touch all of them. Steve. Nat. All my friends. Even the twins who I didn’t know and didn’t fully trust. I was by myself though and worried if I did that I’d lose myself and James would be here alone.

I kept feeling Bucky. He was watching too. He was near coming back to me. He saw Steve and he was so positive that what was happening was the end. He felt terror for his friend. For himself. For me being alone. He wanted to be there and he wanted to find him. I let my fear radiate out of me. Trying to make it like a beacon to him but James picked up on it and started to cry, so I stopped.

The floating city was approached by a huge helicarrier. Like the ones that fell out of the sky when I finally freed myself from Hydra. When they had moved clear again the city dropped and exploded. It felt like my heart stopped and I sent my mind out almost against my will. I touched on Steve. He was alright. Exhausted. In pain. Alive.

Things changed. We moved from the tower in the city to a new compound in upstate New York. The members of the team who were seen more secondary members, like me and Rhodie and Sam were brought in full time. They all moved to the compound permanently. Wanda and the new life, who was now going by Vision were brought into the Avengers too.

Bruce had disappeared. I actually knew exactly where to find him. I told Steve I knew but that I didn’t want to say. He wanted to disappear. I was going to let him.

Tony left. He said he was done with ‘Avenging’. He was still financing the operation but he needed to physically step away from it. He’d still come and see us, but the visits became less and less as time passed. Each time I saw him he seemed more and more broken. I wanted to go into his mind and just delete the hurt. I could do that. I’m sure I could.

Thor left too. He was returning to Asgard worried about the vision he’d seen.

Wanda’s brother Pietro had been killed in Sokovia. She was broken by it. I tried to imagine what it would be like if Bucky had died with the connection we had. It made my heart hurt.

So I reached out to her. We had a horrible shared life experience that had almost resulted in the same outcome. We were taken by Hydra. Sure she chose that but it wasn’t really a choice made by anything other than desperation. We both had these abilities that were scarily similar. I couldn’t do the telekinetic thing but she wasn’t as strong a telepath as I was.

We became friends. It was slightly uneasy, to begin with. She was scared of me. Of what I was capable of doing to her mind. She didn’t like that I could see what she was thinking, even though she was able to do the same thing to others. She also didn’t like that I was easily able to keep her out of my head. I didn’t like how her telepathy felt. It felt like the stone. The stone still worried me despite the fact it was being kept safe in Vision. If I was totally honest, I was scared of her too. I could only read her if I applied massive effort to do so and she could hurt me. I knew it.

Still, it happened. We became friends. It was slow, but we were patient with each other. Soon we would have whole conversations without opening our mouths. Everyone hated it. We would be sitting there chatting away and we’d start laughing about something we shared and everyone would glare at us. It was even funnier if we weren’t in the same room. I’d be alone with Steve and he’d be telling me some boring thing that I probably should be listening too. I’d call out help to Wanda and she’d send the funniest mental image to me and I’d burst out laughing. Steve would always scold both of us like naughty children.

Speaking of children, James was developing very quickly. He was bigger than the average child of his age. Over a year passed in the compound. At one he could walk. He could build these complex structures out of blocks. He could communicate these complex ideas with me. What he didn’t do was make any sound. He only ever cried when hurt. It was like he had no desire to learn to speak. I’d just made it too easy for him to not have to.

Steve didn’t seem to notice James’ strange development. He was in love with that boy. James was still Bucky’s son in his head. In a way that made him more special in Steve’s mind. He wasn’t just Bucky’s son though, not just mine either. James was his son. He thought of him as all of ours. He’d also started thinking of what it would be like having Bucky back in his life. In our life. He had visions of the three of us teaching James to ride a bike.  Playing football out on the field that ran down the side of the facility. Of James in bed and the three of us just curled up together on the couch reading or watching TV, but all of us together. A family.

It made me desperate to find Bucky. I was now talking to him. Begging him to let us find him. Assuring him it would be okay. Sometimes he would listen. Sometimes the Soldier would hold me out. He was adamant that it wasn’t safe. I couldn’t seem to convince him otherwise. I realize the hypocrisy of my actions given that I was happy to let Bruce go live his own life, but I needed Bucky back. Steve needed him back.

I physically healed and started training my powers. It was hard because no one wanted me to use them on them. So instead I sent my mind out a lot. Touch on people far away. I think I was stretching myself. Those nosebleeds were becoming almost a daily occurrence. I’d also started actively keeping Steve’s mind silent. On days we spent totally together, I ended up with a headache so bad that it felt my skull had spilt open. I don’t know what was going on that using my abilities hurt me so much. I was a little scared to find out.

Steve became obsessed with training me for combat. He hated the idea of me not being able to physically defend myself. He would take me to the gym every day he was home and teach me self-defensive moves while Nat or Wanda watched James.

I was not a good student.

Steve would try so hard to teach me how to defend myself. I wasn’t getting it. I couldn’t get the moves he was trying to teach me anywhere near the realm of being right. I became less and less inclined to try. Which made Steve more and more frustrated with me.

One other problem I was having was working out with Steve. Him using his strength against me. How often he grabbed me from behind. It was a turn on. I kept getting easily distracted by how badly I just wanted to jump him.

“Daisy. You need to take this seriously.” Steve snapped at me. He held me, one arm around my shoulders the other around my midriff. I had wriggled against him and leaned my head back on his shoulder.

“Well, then stop being so sexy.” I purred, nuzzling against his neck.

He pushed me away from him and turned me to face him. “Do you think this is a joke? This is serious. I’m trying to keep you safe.”

“I do actually.” I took two steps back from him. “Try and take me, Steve. Go on. I’ll show you what I can do.”

Steve went to lunge at me and I shut down the part of his brain that controlled his gross motor function. He stood stock-still staring at me. Helpless.

“I’m not good at physical fighting. I don’t need to be.” I snapped at him and let him go. He fell to his knees.

I walked over to him and offered him my hand. He pulled me, flipping me over his head. He backward rolled so he was sitting straddling me, pinning my hands over my head.

“You can be surprised, Daisy. Your mental powers have their limitations.” He said staring down at me.

“I get surprised by you because I actively lock you out of my head. Most people don’t get that kind of consideration from me.” I said. This position wasn’t helping anything though. I ground my hips up into him.

“Your powers don’t seem to work on Alien life. They definitely don’t work against machines. You need to learn this.” He reasoned with me.

“I’m not good at this. I’m never going to be good at this. Even if I get reasonable at this, do you think I’m ever going to be physically strong enough to fight one of the iron legion? Because I don’t. I’m not you, Steve.”

He leaned in close to me, his lips close to mine, staring deep in my eyes. “You like it though. Don’t you, Daisy? You like training with me.”

I swallowed and licked my lips, wriggling against him. “Yes.”

“If you can pin me, you can have what you want.” He purred.

“But what I want is for you to take me,” I whined.

“You think once you pin me, I can’t then pin you?” He growled.

Fuck. I loved when he got like this. This was special. Something just for me. He got to his feet and pulled me up.

We stepped apart and he put himself into a fighting stance.

“Amène toi voir.” He said gesturing for me to attack.

So we sparred. He took it easy on me, but I found no openings. He pinned me over and over. Each time he did, he’d add something sexual to the move. He’d kiss my throat, or press his fingers into my crotch.

“It’s never going to happen, Steve.” I cried. I was frustrated and felt close to tears.

He put his hands on my shoulders. “Put your hands on my shoulders between mine.” He instructed. I did as I was told. “Now turn away from me, but pull me with you.” I followed his instructions and he allowed himself to be moved. “Now use your hip to throw me over.”

“I can’t. You’re too big.” I whined.

“Yes, you can. Start over and we’ll do it in one smooth motion.”

We started over. His hands on my shoulders, mine on his. I moved. He let me, but I managed to flip him, he ended up on the floor and I jumped on him straddling his waist.

“You’re pinned.” I laughed.

“I am.” He agreed.

He raised his hand and ran his fingers down the side of my face pushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

“No, Steve.” I grinned.

“Really?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“You promised.”

He grabbed me under the arms and tossed me, so I somersaulted over his head. I rolled and started scrambling away from him, but he grabbed me by the ankle dragging me back towards him. I squealed and kicked my legs, clawing at the mat.

He crawled up over me pressing his body into mine. “Where do you think you’re going?” He growled.

I whimpered and he pressed his lips to my neck. His tongue swirled over my skin. I struggled again. He moved so he was on his knees. He grabbed both my hands and pulled them behind my back and held them, pushing me down in the middle of my back with one hand while the other slid down my spine.

He pushed my legs apart and he began to stroke me up and down my pussy through the fabric of my yoga pants.  “This is what you want isn’t it, Daisy?” He growled.

“Yes. Please, Steve.” I pleaded.

He yanked my pants down and pushed his fingers into my cunt. “You need to learn this, Daisy. Do you understand that? I can’t always be here to fight for you. To protect Jamie.”

I wriggled under him. He was working his fingers roughly inside of me. “Can we talk about it after?” I panted.

He let my hands go and I pulled away from him rolling over and stripping off my clothes. He stood up, pulled his shirt off and dropped his pants, stalking towards me.

“Get on your knees.” He ordered.

I complied and he came towards me stroking his cock. I bit my lip, watching him. Soaking up his perfectly chiseled form.

“Open your mouth.” He growled.

I did and he ran the head of his cock over my lips. I poked the point of my tongue out tasting him. He pushed into my mouth and I rolled my tongue along his length. He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back, forcing my mouth open and my throat to straighten out. He began to thrust in and out of my mouth. Slowly, methodically. All the while he scowled down at me. I hummed deep in the back of my throat and he picked up speed. My eyes watered, and I started to struggle. He pulled back and I fell on my hands and knees panting.

“Is this still what you want?” Steve asked.

“Yes.” I panted.

He moved behind me and kicked my legs apart and knelt down between them. He slid one hand up my back and then pushed me so my face was pressed into the mat. I felt his cock press against me. He lined himself at the entrance to my cunt and slammed into me. I cried out and he pulled back and slammed into me again. I tried bracing myself on the mat, but he grabbed my hands and pulled them back behind me.

“Yes, Steve. Let go!” I cried.

He could never let go properly. Not with me. All the same, he picked up both speed and power with every thrust. I came apart under him. I clenched and moaned and writhed. An orgasm built within me, spreading out from my cunt like liquid fire and pooling in my core. It wouldn’t quite break and I started pleading with Steve. Begging him for release.

He pulled out and flipped me over, suddenly changing tactics completely. He cradled my head with one arm and slipped back into me. He rolled his fingers against my clit as he rocked his hips against me. Rolling them so his cock stretched me and hit all my pleasure centers.

His mouth met mine and we kissed hungrily. We battled for control, licking and nipping at each other. When he pulled away I chased him, not wanting the kiss to end. He looked down at me. His brow was furrowed but his eyes were soft.

“I want to watch you come, Daisy. You’re so beautiful when you do.” He purred.

It was like he’d just spoken some kind of command phrase. My orgasm broke and crashed through me. I clung to him as my back arched off the mat. He smiled and his face set. As the last quakes of my orgasm ebbed through me he came with a grunt.

He kissed me again and slipped out of me. Straight away moving to get redressed.

“Will you please take this more seriously from now on?” He asked, throwing me my underwear.

“I’ll try. I just … I don’t know if I’ll ever be good enough.”

“I’m just terrified of losing you, Daisy. Everyone I’ve ever loved I’ve lost. I keep thinking that that’s how it’s supposed to be. That I’m supposed to be alone.”

I crawled up behind him and rested my head on his back. “You should see someone, Steve. I’m not planning on going anywhere. But this isn’t going to save me if it’s my time. I’ll listen to your fears as much as you need me too, but I’m still learning how to … person? I can’t even think of a way to say that properly. I don’t know what people do when they aren’t weapons.”

He sighed. “You’re doing fine. Thank you for listening.”

“Always, Steve.”

// NEXT

[japanjazz-blog]

It all started when...

“Have you ever heard of InuYasha?” my new friend asked me in 7th grade while we warmed up our clarinets in band class.

Ah yes, InuYasha. How so many anime interests begin. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I could not comprehend the hours that I would spend binge-watching Evangelion, or how many times I would sneak downstairs to watch the newest episode of Trigun. I remember being upset that Princess Mononoke didn’t record, and my father standing in front of the television with his hands on his hips, a concerned look on his face.

“Enough is enough, Maria. You’re obsessed with this shit. It’s a damn cartoon. You’re getting too old for this.”

Little did my dad know, that was only the beginning.  

I could not get enough of this weird thing called “anime”. Why are there eyes so big? Why do all of the girls talk like mice? Why is everything so shiny and overly cute? And why am I crushing on animated men with impossibly good hair?

(Actually, now that I’m here in real life Tokyo, I will say that many Japanese men do have amazing hair. But I digress.)

The worst part was when the friend who got me into it was not into it anymore. Thankfully I had many nerd friends who got the references and would watch whole series with me. But to be honest, it alienated some of my very close friends. Talking about it now, we laugh, but back then it actually drove a big wedge between us that I was unaware of.

“You were obsessed,” one of my good friends would say with a nostalgic chuckle. “All you ever fucking talked about was new episodes, or bishounen. Remember you would all fight over who owned which guy?”

“Thank god you got over that,” my other friend agreed. “It was hard to talk to you sometimes because that was all you were interested in.”

This is surreal for me to hear. I don’t remember being solely focused on anime: I loved classic rock, I was in the marching band, I loved reading, I liked geeky movies. I was that weird Hot Topic nerd in high school, for sure (or I wanted to be, at least) but...was anime really all I talked about?

“YES,” everyone would confirm emphatically.

 It’s a surreal experience to finally be in Tokyo after this anime phase has passed. However, it’s not exactly a phase - I watched a series once I came here because I felt compelled to do so. I mean, here I am in Japan, am I really not going to watch what interested me in the culture in the first place? However, watching it as a 27 year old woman, compared to watching it as my 13 year- old self, was a strange experience I was not expecting.

….how did I never notice the blatant sexism?

I’m planning a future post about the series that I watched, but let’s talk about anime in general. I can think of some strong female characters, for sure, but to be honest, in most animes, the female characters are there to look cute, wear tiny outfits that show off their prepubescent bodies, or to offer panty shots or nosebleeds for the male characters (side note: apparently the nose bleed symbolizes a rush of blood to the penis, but animes are not allowed to show erections or else they are considered hentai, or porn. So instead, when a guy is turned on, blood shoots out his nose in a ridiculously dramatic way). Often they’re seen fretting over the food they prepare for their friends, something that is very real in Japanese culture: women are praised when they are able to assemble the perfect bento box. Their strong characteristics are always love and devotion to their friends or a significant other. But can’t a woman be a strong character in ways that do not involve feelings towards others? Why can’t a female character have admirable qualities that are not related to their relationship to other people? We often see the loner type expressed in cold men, wayward samurai who don’t know how to love or who are jaded by war...but rarely do we see women portrayed this way. They are often the loving characters, the characters who are always sorry, gomen nasai, blushing while they spill drops of tea on the table, as though this is the worst thing in the world.

However, there are also many strong female characters in anime, and their strengths are independent of their relationships with others. Some that come to mind are Princess Mononoke, Rei from Evangelion, Winry from FullMetal Alchemist, and Tsunade from Naruto, the first female leader of the ninja village. If you’ve got some other great suggestions, because I know these women exist in anime, then please comment!

But flat female characters aside, let’s talk about the real focus of all of these women: of course, their bodies. The girls who are being sexed up are children, fourteen or fifteen years old. However, their bodies are often drawn much more maturely, with large jiggling breasts and ample asses that are disproportionate to the rest of their bodies.

Listen internet: I walk through Shinjuku and Ikebukuro weekly, and Japanese women do not look like that. The women’s bras here are most often the size of training bras in America. The average body time is very slim with little to no curves, and practically no body fat. As a result: no jiggling ass, no jiggling breasts. (Although I will admit, the random Tokyo breezes that lift girls’ skirts are real - I’ve gotten hit with sudden gusts and flashed the whole sidewalk unintentionally many times…)

And yet, these portrayals of Japanese women are the most popular references in America. I imagine that many tourists would be shocked to see that average Japanese women rarely wear skirts at thigh length, hardly ever show their shoulders even in the summertime, and especially do not show cleavage. Many women wear turtlenecks or long sleeve shirts under their spaghetti string dresses, because the dress alone is considered inappropriate unless you are going to the club. Of course I see young people dressed sexy, in stiletto shoes with thigh tight dresses, their hair dyed a bright strawberry blond; or girls rocking crop tops and baggy pants (currently a popular fashion trend in Japan). In America, the common sex symbol is cleavage; in Japan, it’s legs. I always wondered why the Sailor Scout’s legs were so long and slim, but it makes sense now - the sex appeal. Considering that women often wear baggy pants, it makes sense that showing a lot of leg is considered sexual.

But the most infuriating, most uncomfortable part of this realization thus far, for me, has been maid cafes.

My inner teenager was so excited to go to Akihabara, to see the anime mecca of the world. I felt like I had been waiting to see a place like this since the 8th grade. And that’s just it - in the 8th grade I would have died a thousand deaths to walk through the stories of anime stores, to look at all of the ￥10,000 figurines, to try and collect a new series. But as an old fart….oh sweet Jesus. 

The lights. The sounds. The constant assault of everything...oh my god, I wanted to leave as soon as I got out of the subway. In every inch of Akihabara, there is something happening, and it’s flashy, high-pitched, and often wearing an impossibly short skirt. There were some areas where two pop songs were on full blast at the same time, and my brain started to cry. Someone is always shouting Japanese from a loudspeaker, advertising a new band; anime characters are clashing swords together in an over dramatic final duel on a giant gumbo screen; and along the sidewalks, women in their 20’s are dressed as though they are 15, handing out flyers to the maid cafe.

Maid cafes are a well known part of Japanese pop culture. Basically, you pay hourly to sit in a cafe and order adorable food shaped like cute animals that is served to you by girls in adorable outfits. The amount of frill that laces these dresses is no joke:

  Admittedly, I totally want an ice cream shaped like a lion. I mean come on, that shit’s adorable. But what’s not adorable is the whole maid culture: these women are not 15, they’re nearly my age, but because of their slim bodies, they are able to pass off as teenagers. And the voices...dear lord. There is no way that someone naturally speaks in such a high-pitched tone. Although women speaking in a high-pitch is considered part of an overall business tone (American women do it too, I’ve noticed, just not as high), the pitch of this speech is...unnatural. As though each were a doll that are speaking because you squeezed their hand or pressed the sticker on their chest.  

Standing outside, watching these women advertise with plastic painful smiles on their faces, I realized something I never considered before: all of these women are being forced to act like they are 15 years old because it’s what male customers want. They don’t want to order a call girl, a fully grown woman - they want a girl who is pure, who acts innocent and uncertain, and chances are this kind of girl would be an inexperienced teenager.

It gets better: you can get trading cards.

Now as far as I know, some maid cafes have cartoon trading cards, and others promote certain maid cafe animes. However, you can also get trading cards of the women that work there - with fake names, fake interests that are often devoid of any intelligence or personality, and of course, a fake teen age. There are men who keep these in binders like Pokemon cards, and who wait hours at a cafe to be served by their favorite girl - a very expensive pass time, as customers pay by the hour and, during a rush,  have their stay limited by the cafe. These cards can also be signed and autographed photos of the customer with their favorite maid, who will sign it with a practiced autograph of a fake name usually surrounded by cute little hearts, or an animal face.

Maybe I’m being a Debbie Downer, or I have irrational expectations for something that is supposed to be sweet and innocent. But to me, there is something very disturbing about a woman applying for a job where she must act ten years younger, speak in a consistent, unrealistically cheerful tone, and autograph photos of herself with a fake name. Why don’t these men go out and meet real women, with real names and interests? Why do they only feel safe through a simulation of leaching on teenage girls? And why are they allowed to wait hours until their favorite maid comes to work? Stalking is a huge problem in Japan, and I feel this kind of situation is a golden opportunity for a predator to find it’s prey. However, I haven’t been able to find any evidence or proof that the popularity of maid cafes has led to an increase in stalking in Japan. 

Has anyone had a positive experience at a maid cafe? Has anyone ever felt uncomfortable going to one? Please share your experiences below - this is only what I’ve seen and how I’ve felt, so I’m curious about other people’s opinions. 

Thanks for reading! This whole blog will not be posts like this, I just wanted to get this off my chest (no pun intended). 

Articles you may find interesting on this topic:

https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/the-past-present-and-future-of-maid-cafes

https://uncorneredmarket.com/japan-maid-cafe/ 

Trigger warning for this article about stalking and domestic abuse:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/09/10/national/social-issues/japan-waking-menace-stalking/#.WTZ46VV97rc

Disclaimer:  I don’t think you’re a pervert/creep if you’ve gone to a maid cafe! I feel like I should go at least once before leaving Tokyo, because it’s such a well known staple of attraction. But...I can’t shake the feeling that I’m contributing to something that is really detrimental to young Japanese girls.

(Pictures are not mine, but I plan on using my own in the future.)

[recentanimenews]

THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Meets New Characters And Rallies Around Rock Lee

Welcome back to the GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH! I'm Carolyn, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 43-49, and we continue this week with episodes 50-56.

  Let's be honest, I like me some good pathos. While the exams are definitely one of my favorite arcs in this series, I can't help but be drawn into the aftermath of the one-on-one tournaments. Especially poor Rock Lee's physical devastation that he's still somehow determined to overcome. The gut-wrenching stuff is the stuff that really gets me. Anyway, enough of that.

  Let's get on with what really matters... you. Or in this case, reader WiseJake237, with a good question about Rock Lee and chakra!

    Yeah, the Rock Lee vs. Gaara fight is really cool, but one thing's got me confused. If Lee can only use Taijutsu, how is he able to master the forbidden art of opening the gates that control chakra flow? Doesn't controlling chakra fall under the category of Ninjutsu?

  Nate: I think the difference is that Ninjutsu molds chakra to create something, like a spell--Sasuke molds chakra to do a fire jutsu, for example, while Lee is just actively releasing chakra in his body to power it up. He's not actively using it as much as he's channeling it, but that's just my take on it.

  OK, let's see how the Crunchyroll Features team is holding up after this week's episodes!

  Naruto has taken to saying his signature catchphrase “Believe it!" a bit less. Do you miss it?

  Kara: He still -dattebayo’s a little at the end once in a while, but yeah. I wasn’t sure if it was just me noticing it less or if Naruto really was saying it less. I don’t really miss it so much, but that could be because it achieved joke status in my circles so quickly.

  Joseph: I feel like he’s doing his little vocal tic just as much as ever, they just don’t always bother giving it the “believe it” flavor in the subs.

  Peter: I didn’t even notice.

  Paul: I think Naruto's still doing his “-dattebayo” speech affectation about as much as usual, but he has fewer lines in this batch of episodes, because they focus more on the supporting characters.

  Jared: I feel like I still heard it here and there, but it wasn’t enough to make me think it wasn’t as frequent, so I guess I really didn’t miss it much.

  Danni: It’s always felt like an awkward addition, so I don’t miss it, honestly.

  Kevin: Honestly, since I’m watching this subbed, I only occasionally caught the “dattebayo” anyway, so him not saying it as much really doesn’t make a difference to me.

  Naruto has come face-to-face with the Nine-Tailed Fox and that thing is terrifying. How do you think this event will change/shape Naruto’s journey to becoming Hokage?

    Kara: This is seriously exciting! I’ve been waiting to see how that comes into play. So far, Naruto has had to learn to exert discipline over his own impulses and personality. He’s doing a lot better than he was but, you know… Naruto is still Naruto. Now he’s going to have to do the same with something that’s a lot bigger and scarier than anything about him personally. I’m interested to see how taming the Nine-Tailed Fox helps him discipline himself.

  Joseph: This is a really big event, and while I don’t know that it was handled as expertly as it could have been, the Nine-Tailed Fox is an appropriately intimidating entity. Also, tick the box, because pushing Naruto in this direction is the first cool thing Jiraiya has done.

  Peter: I always thought Kishimoto steamrolled what I thought would be a huge revelation for Naruto. He discovered the reason he was ostracized as a child was he had a literal demon sealed inside him and didn’t even bother investigating it? I suppose it changes nothing but it probably wouldn’t have taken too much effort to discover who his father was after that. He kind of doesn’t even interface with it despite going kyubi several times until the finale of this stretches final episode.

  Paul: Personally, I think Megumi Hayashibara's turn as Hakumen no Mono in Ushio and Tora is the scariest incarnation of a nine-tailed fox that I've seen in anime, but Tessho Genda's take in Naruto is a close second. I love that Naruto's reaction is to belligerently demand that the fox fork over some Chakra, like he's a deadbeat roommate living in Naruto's body. As for the final question, Naruto becomes Hokage? OMG! Spoilers!

  Jared: I’m real curious to see just how much of a power boost this gives him initially and how that’ll help him in the final bits of the chunin exams. I also liked how he just didn’t back down from it which earlier Naruto might have done.

  Danni: I expected a multi-episode stretch where Naruto literally has to fight his inner demon to earn his power, so I was pleasantly surprised to find his inner demon is just kind of a deadbeat roommate finally forking over all the rent money he owes.

  Kevin: *Looks ahead to Shippuden* Uhh… I plead the Fifth on the grounds that I legitimately don’t want to spoil what happens.

  David: While I too know from experience how this plays out, I wanted to point out that its placement in the story is pretty perfect as a mirror or counter of sorts to Sasuke’s own internal power issues. It’s going to be interesting to see how differently they each handle their newly discovered powers.

  So … we’ve met Jiraiya and he’s really something, isn’t he? If this is your first introduction to the Pervy Sage, what are your thoughts on him so far? If you know how Jiraiya turns out, how do you feel about this introduction?

    Kara: So I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this before, but years ago I messed around with the old Billy vs. Snakeman game on Anime Cubed. That started out with Naruto one-offs but eventually brought in Bleach and Death Note and a lot of other stuff. So whenever I see a new character, I immediately think of their BvS counterpart—which means I only think of the comical view of them. It was really cool seeing that Jiraiya is actually kind of a badass, and but for one thing, I would 100% name him New Favorite Character.

  Joseph: I have all the cool stuff he does later in my head, so I forgot what a dip Jiraiya was in the beginning. What a dopey introduction for a cool character. I thought Naruto already had pervy dudes in it but I guess they didn’t have the ultimate requisite perv sage yet.

  Peter: I completely forgot how bad he was. I guess I didn’t think about it much back in high school when I first watched Naruto but man Jiraiya really sucks. Tsunade was the only good to come of that squad.

Paul: If I could go the rest of my life without encountering another example of the Shonen Jump “perv” character creeping on girls from the bushes, I would be able to die with no regrets, fist raised to the Heavens, Raoh from Fist of the North Star-style.

  Jared: They really wanted to nail down and beat you over the head with the fact that Jiraiya is a skeevy dude and leers at women constantly. I hope what everyone’s saying that he becomes better is true because oof, that was a bad first impression.

  Danni: He’s just Roshi for a new generation of Jump readers, and like Roshi the only thing about him I like is his big animal friend.

  Kevin: I am part of the group that has seen the show before, and this introduction really doesn’t do Jiraiya service. He’s awesome and is actually really important to the overall backstory of the world, but this paints him as just a pervert who is experienced enough to teach Naruto, and seems to have a bit of backstory that we don’t know yet.

  David: Jiraiya, as he is right now, isn’t a very likable character in my opinion. If I remember correctly, he does get more interesting and fun to watch later, but I wouldn’t blame anyone for coming out of this introduction with a bad taste in their mouths. Compare to Kakashi, who reads questionable material out in the open but isn’t quite such a creep.

  Speaking of Pervy Sages, the Sexy Jutsu is back in full force. Is that killing this part of the story for you? It feels quite creepy seeing Jiraiya constantly ogling his underage student.

    Kara: Yeah. That’s the one thing that stops me from naming him New Favorite Character. It doesn’t kill this part of the story, entirely, but it does shake me out of it temporarily. I understand it’s meant to be funny, but wow no. Stop. Please.

  Joseph: It’s 100% clear that Jiraiya is like three bushes away from being concealed enough from the public eye to have sex with Naruto in Sexy Jutsu form. It’s a bad gag.

  Peter: Oof.

  Paul: Blargh. I like the idea of three legendary ninja that are so strong that they basically answer to no one except themselves. It reminds me of the Seven Warlords and the Four Emperors from One Piece, and how their presence (or absence) can completely tilt the political balance and set world-shaking events in motion. I just wish it wasn't wrapped up in a package like Jiraiya as he's currently presented.

  Jared: Ban sexy jutsu and ban Jiraiya doing this.

  Danni: I hate the frog man.

  Kevin: Can’t say I disagree. Honestly, most of the time I’m not too upset about the Sexy Jutsu, since generally, it is either on screen for a short time or Naruto is using it in a surprisingly strategic way, but the scenes with Jiraiya are where it got legitimately uncomfortable at times, as the middle-aged man gets a nosebleed from someone he explicitly knows is a 12-year-old boy who just looks female (and decidedly not 12) for the moment.

  David: The only blessing here is that there is a pretty large gap between times when Sexy Jutsu rears its ugly head.

  Man, Rock Lee, you guys. Given how much everyone has loved him over the past couple weeks, how are you all holding up watching his brutal, emotional journey?

  Kara: ROCK LEE DESERVES BETTER. That said, I was kind of surprised to see that the show didn’t immediately reward “hard work and guts,” but instead chose to show actual consequences for using a killer move.

  Joseph: It’s a bummer of an ending to Rock Lee’s battle, but I kind of love that about it. Rather than giving him a victoriously explosive finale, Kishimoto totally ripped him up and put him back further than square one. With that said, please get well soon, Lee, we love you.

  Peter: Sakura’s line at the end really killed the scene for me, kind of implying neither girl has even attempted to work as hard, not just Rock Lee, but any of the boys in the cast. I really like Rock. I’m not sure if he ever really gets a narrative pay-off but both Kishimoto and Pierrot love to show off his power so in that way he gets a lot more than similar characters like Chad.

  Paul: If you'll pardon the pro-wrestling reference, Rock Lee is clearly the Mick Foley of Naruto, in that everybody loves him yet his most famous matches tend to involve him getting his ass royally kicked. I don't like to see Lee suffer like this, but I also know that, on the meta-textual level, there was no way in heck he was going to beat Gaara. That's just not how these kinds of story arcs are written.

  Jared: The Rock Lee comeback tour starts now. I’m even more curious to see where they go with him as the guy who tried his hardest and still came up short, so where mentally does he go from here. Even if he wasn’t able to beat Gaara, he’s still a winner in my heart.

  Danni: I really, really wanted him to win, but I’m at least satisfied with how he lost. He fought to the bitter end, past the brink of consciousness. I have a sneaking suspicion his ninja days aren’t over yet.

  Kevin: This is largely why I think people love Lee so much. Sure, you got to see him grow in power immensely during his fight, but he really endears himself to the audience by not giving up on his dreams, even when literally everyone is telling him that there is no hope of achieving them.

  David: Always, always a fan of when stories get you excited about a character, have them lose or fail in some way, yet manage to only leverage that to make you like them even more. Rock Lee is a huge winner in that area.

  And on that note, the one-on-one battle portion of the exams was a popular arc. Is this new arc jarring? Is it a welcome change? How are you all adjusting to the post-exam arc?

  Kara: I loved the battles so much, and I loved finally getting to meet a lot of these other characters. But after all that, I really am kind of ready to bring it back down to our protagonist again. Unlike the bit before the Chunin Exam, though, I feel like this period of time is letting us see the growth of the characters and letting those events take hold more permanently. Like, even Ino and Sakura are showing growth in their friendship.

  Joseph: With just a couple post-battle episodes, I haven’t quite settled in yet. I’m completely fine with some downtime, though. Naruto is generally pretty good at its peaks and valleys.

  Peter: I forgot they got an entire month. This is where my perception of time got really messed up because I felt like Sasuke Retrieval was right after Chunin Exams. Wasn’t even sure whether Naruto learned his super move before the last stretch. Seems like a huge amount of time considering there are supposed to be a ton of diplomats in town ready to watch the event.

  Paul: After all of the intense combat of the Forest of Death and the preliminary matches, I liked that they took some time to focus on everyone training for The Final Test. I liked the idea that Naruto has been brute-forcing his away along while relying on his superhuman stamina, and I liked that the focus of his training involves Naruto learning how to manipulate his Chakra with finesse. We also get a glimpse at the bigger picture, with the various Villages plotting intrigues against one another. It's a welcome change of pace.

  Jared: The way the show has been moving at such a rapid pace with the Forest of Death and all the fights, there needed to be some downtime. After coming off the highs of those last few fights, it did feel somewhat like the show slammed the brakes, but that hasn’t wavered my anticipation of the final parts of this arc.

  Danni: It hasn’t been as jarring as I thought it might be. I tend to like one-on-one training arcs that really lean into a character’s strengths and weaknesses, teaching them how to make use of both. I didn’t think Naruto would ever use a summoning jutsu, so I’m eager to see him ride some big frogs in the future. Again, though, why Jiraiya???

  Kevin: In short, I wish that the preliminaries hadn’t happened. Just cut out the prelims, change nothing else, and then add in the prelim fights as the first round of the main third Exam. This month of downtime is great for introducing new mentors and getting the Genin to have new abilities, but it really doesn’t work well when it comes between two sets of 1-on-1 fights with high emotional stakes.

  David: Honestly, it mostly just seems weird that they would put such a huge gap in what’s essentially the middle of an exam. Imagine taking a test, you get two-thirds in, and then your professor tells everyone to go home and study some more for the last part. Bizarre.

  As always, high points and low points. What you got?

  Kara: High point, absolutely where we left off, with Naruto finally confronting the Nine-Tailed Fox. Close second being my perfect son Rock Lee still trying to train even while in multiple casts. Low point is any and all Sexy Jutsus, and this probably won’t change.

  Joseph: Low point: Jiraiya’s introduction and almost every scene he’s in here. High point: Naruto’s attempts to use summoning jutsu resulting in increasingly less tiny frog children.

  Peter: Low point was Jiraiya. High point Naruto confronting his inner demon. Pretty straightforward this time.

  Paul: High point: Choji Akimichi finally getting to eat some BBQ, which is a welcome reward after he got completely punked in his preliminary match. Low point: Jiraiya.

  Jared: Low point was all the sexy jutsu and Jiraiya being Jiraiya. High point would be Rock Lee continuing to be the best even when he’s hurt and Naruto finally facing off against the Nine-Tailed Fox.

  Danni: High point was seeing everyone acknowledge Rock Lee even in his defeat. I don’t really have a low point this time around ha ha just kidding it’s Jiraiya.

  Kevin: High Point: I know that it started in last week’s episodes, but I will always love Lee’s fight, and I absolutely adore the Eight Inner Gates as a concept. The only thing that can content with it for top moment is Lee doing push ups outside the hospital, due to the sheer emotional weight of the scene. Low Point: Worst moment is probably the first time that Jiraiya sees Naruto’s Sexy Jutsu, for reasons discussed above. Other Point: As for another moment I want to shout out: Everything to do with Naruto’s seal and chakra control. Sure, we’ve seen him as a screw up throughout much of the series, but when he is serious about training, he can honestly learn and grow very quickly. We’re also getting the first steps of controlling the Kyubei’s chakra, which will have major impacts to the latter part of the series.

  David: Agreed with this set being straightforward. High point is Rock Lee’s everything, low point is Jiraiya’s poor introduction.

  COUNTERS:

"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 2, 21 total

Bowls of ramen consumed: 26 bowls! 28 bowls, 3 cups total

Shadow Clones: 96, 216 total

  And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto!

  Here's our upcoming schedule!

  -Next week, on MARCH 15th, EPISODES 57-63 will be hosted by DANNI WILMOTH!

-Then, on MARCH 22nd, NICOLE MEJIAS will host EPISODES 64-70!

-On MARCH 29th, DANIEL DOCKERY will dive into some Hokage fights in EPISODES 71-77!

Have any thoughts on this week's episodes? Let us know in the comments! Or ask us some questions for next week's installment on episodes 57-63!

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Carolyn Burke is a writer for Crunchyroll, Bunny Ears, and Cracked. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.

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