#it really does make me appreciate animated productions a whole lot more

[phoenixiancrystallist]

Month 2, day 20, we're almost there! Just one more frame on the clothing to do, then I make sure everything's moving right (it currently isn't; see if you can spot my mistakes!), then after that I move on to The Rest Of It™. Specifically, add/animate the accessories (collar, belt, zipper pulls, necklace, hair), line, color, and maybe some simple shading if I'm feeling ambitious.

All this work for two seconds of animation :D Really brings some things about the animation industry into perspective

[snekdood]

Commercial food brands:

People aren't buying your products bc you put milk in everything and no vegan options. People are learning that eating SO MUCH MILK AND MEAT is NOT actually great for you and your body and also makes ya constipated. I think maybe yall should invest in vegan options and alternatives to your popular products, then you wont lose so many people to being fed up and ultimately resorting to cooking for themselves since like most every popular food brand has 0 alternatives.

[bloomeng]

I feel like something a lot of people miss when discussing DC canon is context.

(Warning: Mentions of canon sexual assault scenes)

So today I saw a discussion about Alfred's fanon perception versus canon reality. I wouldn't say op was criticizing people for thinking of him as a sweet old man, merely just pointing out that he's canonly not so innocent and it goes unaddressed. He was the one who nudged Tim into the Robin mantle and he was the one who stripped it from him and gave it to Damian without asking. There's a whole plotline about how he had a daughter that he abandoned. He was the one who put up the "soldier" plaque memorial. All of these things are true, however, I don't think it was the writers' intentions to paint a lot (not all) of his actions as negative. In fact, the writing often goes out of its way to paint Alfred as a martyr. That doesn't make his actions right, nor does it mean that someone is wrong for being upset with him, but it also means that people aren't stupid or wrong for interpreting his character as this beacon of virtue. It's also notable that most people are probably more acquainted with his animated and film adaptations where he hasn't done any of the things I've listed.

Context is always important when analyzing media, but it is ESPECIALLY important when discussing DC because of the sheer volume of authors writing for a single character.

This is why there are so many arguements about whether or not Bruce is a bad father. When you have so many authors writing a character for close to a century, you're going to have inconsistencies and their takes on the character will contradict. We can go in circles bringing up issues that prove either side, but it's futile. Everyone is entitled to their feelings towards things that happen in canon, but I don't think it's fair to pass ultimate judgement based on something that was often written by one shitty writer.

Now disregarding DC canon is something the fandom is selectively good at, but the curtesy is not extended evenly. Going back to Alfred for a moment. A legit criticism of the writing is that he abandoned his daughter and that isn't really addressed outside of the issue that introduced it. And I think the reality is that DC often recognizes their mistakes after the fact and isn't equipped to handle the conversations they start so they quietly retcon. Which isn't great, but I also think it's a silent mercy. See not addressing something is bad, but putting out offensive media is more detrimental IN MY OPINION.

This is even more evident when it comes to DC's history with depicting sexual assault. They constantly back themselves into corners. I really appreciated that Gail Simone's Batgirl run retconned the Joker's sexual assault against Barbara. SA is something that is important to talk about but it's also something that needs to be treated with care. What happened to Barbara was not a productive conversation. There were so many gross undertones of the Joker specifically sexually assaulting her. Same with Talia sexually assaulting Bruce. There are very real racist undertones. There is a time and place to discuss male victims and the way male rape victims are written off, but the story is not concerned with having that conversation. So now we’re not only not having that conversation but we’re also stereotyping and villainizing POC women which also has real world consequences.

Now this next part might get me boos from the audience but to me this also extends to Dick and Tarantula. I know a lot of people want DC to acknowledge what happened, but to that I'm like why? Devin Grayson is a notably bad writer when it comes to Dick. There are racist undertones to having Tarantula sexually assault Dick. Devin is literally known for making Dick Roma for fetish reasons. Before this Dick Grayson was a white character, who was already written to be flirty and sexual. These are all important things to consider about the context of the writing. I think it would actually be best if DC did what Gail Simone did with Batgirl. I think it���s unfair to not give these WOC characters the same treatment of understanding when their actions are shitty because of shit authors.

Real world context is vital for understanding these fictional stories. Batman can't kill because that would mean they would have had to be constantly introducing new villains and it would be less child friendly. Robin was introduced to the story because they were trying to market to children. Batman continuing to recruit children is about marketing to kids. The hyper-focus on Dick's romantic life was in part an effort to fight gay allegations. These are all important factors to consider if you're discussing DC critically.

Like realistically yeah it sucks so bad that Alfred and Bruce allowed children to fight crime. But it's also notable to mention that Dick forced Bruce's hand, Bruce was really trying to stop this kid from murdering a man. It was a compromise. Alfred and Dick may have pushed Tim to become Robin but he was already one foot out the door. Damian and Cass were trained by assassins. None of these kids are realistic depictions of children, even if they are relatable. When you read a superhero comic you are suspending a certain level of disbelief and I don't think it's the hot take people think it is to criticize Batman for allowing kids to fight.

Like cool, then we don't have a story. Nothing about superheroes are realistic. Why is this the line we draw in the sand?

I didn't know when to bring this up, so I'm going to awkwardly tack it on at the end. So the "Nothing Butt Nightwing" webcomic... Yeah it looks not good, but a lot of people are calling it out for sexualizing Dick, which once again to me fails to understand the outside context. There is a difference between sexualizing and sexualization of an ethnicity. As I mentioned, for most of Dick's run he was a white character who was written to be flirty. Devin was fetishizing him, but allowing Dick to remain a flirty character is not an act of fetish based sexualization. Personally I think it’s more harmful to get rid of core aspects of his character now that he is canonly Romani. Not to mention that if we address the SA with his character we are now back in this place of stereotyping and bad undertones. So until DC is ready to tell a legitimate story about male SA victims I'd rather the Dick Grayson thing be left silently in the past. I'm so hyper aware that I'm in the minority though. I agree it could be really powerful to have one of those stories be told but consider how harmful it would be to continue to imply these things about WOC.

[chaos0pikachu]

I am here actually to appreciate your post. I saw a blogger’s post saying The sign would have been ‘successful’ had it got filled with fantasy and romance and limit action to 10%. I wondered why that person, who says BL is all about romance, watched a show whose genre is action. Then I saw your post about people watching many shows to stay in fandom and I agree. Also you are right about dramas with a complex story receiving heavy criticism. Everything (even lack of proper plot or conflict) is exempted in a romance drama. No wonder most BLs are confined to ‘2 boys and their jealous & crying moments, routine conflicts enhanced by Escola or leads explaining how important Nikon printer is for their relationship’

Well damn hit me in the feels with this appreciation I'ma get all shy and shit.

I always wonder if by "successful" people mean in terms of critical acclaim, story telling, or monetarily. When it comes to Thai shows - and some please correct me if I'm wrong - it's difficult to tell how "successful" they are terms of audience reach/monetarily because there's no easily verifiable information. Like, there's Youtube numbers sure, but The Sign as an example, aired on Channel 3 what were it's ratings total on that channel? Idk, does anyone know that? Sincerely asking lol

Personally the way I like to judge a piece of media is what I call the Roger Ebert method; he often judged films based not solely on whether they were "good" or "bad but by how successfully they accomplished their goals.

If you read his review of Space Jam while it's clear Ebert doesn't think the movie is high art, "You can watch the movie on the sports and cartoon levels, and also appreciate the corporate strategy that's involved. [...] It is difficult for an actor to work in movies that combine live action with animation, because much of the time he cannot see the other characters in a scene with him. But Jordan has a natural ease and humor, an unforced charisma, that makes a good fit with the cartoon universe."

Ebert praises that the film, while filled with obvious product placement and banking on both nostalgia for the toons & star power of Jordan, accomplishes it's goal of being a family for that can be enjoyed by adults and children, and also the ability to blend techniques of live action, animation and 3D rendering.

I bring this up specifically b/c when I see "reviews" of shows in BL - the most common form of meta I see in BL fandom as a whole and that's not a knock just an observation - it's usually always about the narrative. Nothing about the filmmaking. And if there is discussion about he filmmaking it's usually misinformed or worse misinforming - no that's not what aperture means, yaoi framing isn't really a thing in film, the t-shirt is really just a t-shirt, etc, etc.

And like I get why. Fandom is more about story, what the words on a page or what the characters on screen are doing and saying. It's easier to talk about the amazing communication two characters have b/c you don't really need a film knowledge to discuss that. Which is a factor in why I think shows with lower stakes, more streamlined and straightforward plots get praised at a higher, less diligent and harsh level, than shows that are a bit more daring. They're less challenging in structure, they take less risks, so there's less to critique, and there's less room for a show to disappoint.

There comfort food, rather than trying something new at the restaurant. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, again, this is just a general observation.

To me, The Sign is miles better than Cooking Crush on a simple technical level. I only watched one episode of Cooking Crush and I found it pretty mediocre at best from all technical points: acting, editing, cinematography, directing, storytelling.

This isn't to say Cooking Crush is "bad" or that even if Cooking Crush was "bad" people shouldn't like it. I don't give a fuck if people like it, good for you chase the things that spark joy! I like lots of "bad" media, have y'all ever watched Jason Takes Manhattan?

For me, The Sign, like Space Jam, accomplishes it's goals and those were ambitious goals. An action fantasy BL that actually lives up to that premise and looks good?? The fight choreography looks great considering the obviously budget??

Like one of my issues with Laws of Attraction - aside from how painfully disinterested those kisses looked - was the fight choreography was bad.

The characters very rarely land hits in a way that looks real, or even marginally real. I can only speculate they didn't hire a stunt coordinator and/or couldn't hire stunt doubles so there was a worry of injury on set (for both reasons).

This isn't a disparagement on the actor(s) either, like stunt work is difficult and it's important to have professionals on set who can walk an actor through the steps so both them and others don't get hurt. Jackie Chan is probably one of the best known actors alive for stunt work, but watch how many times he fumbles and potentially hurts himself to the point where other actors are actively worried for him:

So yeah I'm going to give The Sign it's fucking gold star stickers b/c aside from some missteps in the gun handling - to many one handed gun fights but even then it wasn't all the time and bullets ran out of ammo! Y'all don't know how exciting for me that was to see - the fight scenes look damn good.

I understand the work that went into them, I understand the pre-production time that it took for the crew and cast to learn that and filming them well is another beast too.

There's a couple scenes with shaky cam that I dislike, but god do I love that first long take in The Sign. I love how good the CGI looks overall again, considering what is probably less budget than Black Christmas (2019).

I'm admittedly, fucking picky about what I watch b/c I'm really lazy and prefer watching films in general. I don't really like TV all that much, but if I am watching a tv show I wanna be impressed with more than just the characters talking to each other. Especially if said show is 12 hours or more.

When I'm looking at a piece of media - a comic, a novel, a film, a tv show - I'm thinking about stuff like "what were it's goals, and did it accomplish them? How was the filmmaking? How was the narrative structure? What is the time/place/culture this was made in?"

I'm not sure if people are arguing if The Sign was "successful" in terms of narratively, monetarily, or critically.

In reality we can only really speculate on how successful a Thai BL is based on data that's not not entirely accurate - social media, youtube stats, awards, etc - and even then most of that is based off international audience.

I can glean that 2gether was successful for gmmtv b/c it got a second season and a film, pretty much skyrocketed Bright and Win's individual careers but again, and created a cross country alliance for activism. But even all that is still speculation not facts (except the alliance that's a real thing that happened lol).

[This is all regardless of my own feelings regarding the show which is not kind. But feelings have nothing to do with individual discussion about how monetarily successful or accomplished a show is or isn't.]

Like it might be valid speculation on both shows but it should always come with a disclaimer of - these are not facts. Also, what is "popular" or "successful" can and will be dependent on individual countries too.

Take Cutie Pie for example, I would argue that it wasn't super "successful" here with American fans, but given how overwhelmingly popular Zee and NuNew are in both Thailand and Korea, I would then argue that the show was a success in Thailand and Korea. So was Cutie Pie "successful" or not? I would say yes!

Because "success" isn't and shouldn't be measured only by how western fans receive a piece of media.

In regards to The Sign, I'd argue it appears to be very successful with only the partial data I have at hand - social media which includes places like twitter, facebook, tumblr, the success of their sold out showing for the finale, a special episode, etc. If people argue it was unsuccessful in terms of narrative, well that's debatable and I have no interest in debating why the show is good except in terms of technical filmmaking and storytelling.

And even then it's a pointless debate like or dislike whatever just don't lie or mislead people regarding film terminology and techniques or harass people because they did like A Thing or clog up the tags with annoying posts about how you didn't like said Thing.

Overall, I don't give "reviews" on things I watch either positive or negative cause, well, I'm lazy lol, I don't believe putting how much I hate a show in it's tags and a thorough rating system would be to much work. I actually like how My Drama List rating system works, I just find most reviews on it to be Annoying lmao. Like giving Kinnporsche a 5 or below is absolutely bonkers to me but whatever es lo que es. But I also don't think my thoughts and opinions on shows are that valuable in terms of discussion.

These are mostly my general thoughts on fandom at large and it's not directly at any particular people its just observations at large across various social media platforms.

I think if you like more squeecore shows that's totally gucci, I just wish didn't proposite that 1) those are the only valid shows in terms of BL/queer media and 2) didn't overhype them to such sky high levels

[fushiglow]

Hiii !! I came across Over The Threshold here on tumblr a few days ago and started reading it and oh my god it’s one of the most beautiful satosugu fanfics I’ve ever read. I’ve never taken a special interest in music as a whole but the way you describe each piece they play makes me wanna cry so bad holy shit. I ALSO HAD A QUESTION. There’s a lot of references about Geto’s music career as an artist, especially with Blue Spring getting brought up by Gojo a lot, I was wondering what your inspiration behind that was? Like, how does it actually sound like? I’ve tried imagining it but I can’t so I’m very curious as if you had an actual song in mind when you wrote its description.

AGAIN, I LOVE YOUR WORK ITS SO GOOD. !!!

Ahh, thank you so much ♥️ This is so meaningful, I really appreciate you reaching out to me to let me know you're enjoying it, and it's extra special knowing that you're connecting to the musical aspects of the fic!

If it's alright, I'm going to take part of my reply to a comment I received to answer your question:

I didn't want to be too prescriptive about the genre or feel of the music in this fic because I want people to imagine whatever is immersive for them. However, 'Where Our Blue Is' was what I was personally thinking of when I chose the title of Suguru's album. I feel like Tatsuya Kitani has that effortlessly cool vibe I imagine for Suguru and he borrows from jazz a lot to create music that straddles the line between complex and commercially viable — that's Suguru in my head!

So yeah, Blue Spring is mostly a reference to "their" song from the anime, but there's a musical element to it, too. In my mind, at least, Suguru was never an "idol" in the strict sense of the word. He was more of a ~serious musical artiste~ (sarcasm but also not) and he worked very independently in terms of the songwriting and production.

We'll explore his career in more detail at a later point in the fic, so I won't say anything else for now, but I hope that gives you a feeling for what I personally intended for Suguru. However, like I said, I'm happy for people to imagine whatever works for them!

My reader-turned-friend @ayahoes created a playlist for the fic with an accompanying guide which includes some incredible musical headcanons about Suguru, Satoru, and even Resonance – and I love every single one! This song in particular is uncannily suitable for Suguru:

So check that out if you want! Thank you for the question, I really enjoy answering this stuff and I'm so happy you're enjoying the fic!

[shihalyfie]

Hi. I'm someone who has been planning to rewatch Digimon Frontiers. I remember watching it as a kid, but hoping to rewatch it as an adult to see how it still holds up. Before that though, I've been wondering about how that series has treated Izumi in light of a lot of the fandom's complaints about her. I've only watched the American English dub, but I am wondering about why she was written as she was and how it differs from the Japanese version. I also saw your meta on the writers for her episodes, honestly surprised that her episodes were written by female writers. I can use your perspective on why she was written that way since you seem more knowledgeable about the franchise as a whole.

I'm also curious how much romance has actually been a thing in the Digimon franchise, or if it is mainly just a small subplot that's usually kept in the back.

I appreciate any information you can give.

Hello! Thank you for dropping by!

Regarding Frontier and Izumi, to be honest, I don't really think there are too many substantial differences between the American English dub and original Japanese version to the point I could make any in-depth analysis. (There are changes, but it's in a very vague blanket realm of "the insults and bantering are a little harsher", and it's definitely not Adventure or 02 level.) The Japanese version has the infamous "Sexy Dynamite" frame, so one might argue that it was even worse about it, but small details aside, I think the good points and the complaints you could make are pretty much the same.

As for why the writing around Izumi is so glaring compared to prior (and perhaps most other) Digimon series, I honestly can't say. As far as female creator presence in the main staff room goes, as you mentioned, Izumi's key episodes were by female writers, and Seki was still producer. And on top of that, while Tomita fully admitted that he had a hard time writing girls, I honestly can't believe that's the (sole?) cause of it when I look at his other portfolio works, including some fan-favorite episodes of Sailor Moon and, in general, some magical girl series with excellent female characters.

Perhaps it's the fact that it's the first Digimon anime series to not have any involvement from Yoshimura Genki (who was responsible for most of the writing around Ruki in Tamers and is currently known as a hardcore feminist), or perhaps Bandai panicking about the franchise's poor sales made them lock down harder on "we need to Please the Boys" (something that does sometimes end up in being neglectful of female characters), or perhaps the fact that Izumi was the only girl in the core group made them more inclined to treat her like the Designated Girl Character™ of the series...but this is all speculation, and your guess is as good as mine, especially since we have so little information on Frontier's production compared to others.

As for the question on romance, it's pretty much always been a subplot at best, most likely because the majority of major human characters in the franchise are elementary to middle school age and are thus way too young to be considering "serious" romance or relationships (middle school being probably the youngest you can push the limit as treating a relationship as "serious" instead of just being a puppy crush). Moreover, Adventure and 02 seemed to take the stance of "romance is a part of one's life, but not the most important thing in one's life" (something that seems to have frustrated a lot of fans regarding the series not caring enough about shipping), so even stuff related to Yamato and Sora is carefully squared off to the side like it's not anyone's business. As much as I like to make ship-related jokes, if asked in a serious context, I personally never believed that most of anyone's behavior towards anyone in Adventure or 02 had legitimate romantic sentiment behind it, mostly because they were too young for it; even Daisuke's crush on Hikari comes off to me as him being clingy because she's cute and not really taking the time to think about what the next steps would entail.

Other than Yamato and Sora, putting one-sided humorous crushes aside, the closest to explicit depictions of (human) romance that actually seem plot-relevant would probably be Takato and Juri in Tamers, which even then is not really that explicit (although the people involved in its creation love to talk about it like it's a sort of damsel-in-distress plot), and Kiriha and Nene in the Xros Wars manga, which also is prominent and related to the plot but also not that big of an element in it. Sometimes it seems like it's milking the concept of romance more than it's usually done in practice (an episode of Savers is styled like it's Yoshino having a love story with a childhood friend, but if you actually watch the episode it's at most just her having mixed feelings about a childhood friend falling from grace). So it's honestly been a series that's hands-off with romance for the most part, with most of the shipping and romance-related content being on the part of the fans.

By the way, the official reason there's no explicit depiction of Yamato and Sora in Kizuna (despite them being a known endgame canon couple) is that it would have been overly conspicuous and obstructive in a movie that only had 90 minutes to tell its story. (I know there are a lot of people who think the real reason is "because it was controversial and they don't want to get people mad," but personally, I feel that if they were worrying about controversy, they wouldn't have given Kizuna such a controversial premise in the first place!) So I imagine that's the main reason we've gotten so little romance; it's exactly because it's such a crowd-pleaser and overly conspicuous element that they want to avoid it, because Digimon is frankly a complex franchise with a lot of expectations and mechanics that it needs to worry more about, and it's hard to cram a prominent romance plot in there in a way that would be tonally appropriate.

[chrimsonfoxdon]

Ooh question, you mentioned rewatching as an adult, and I'm curious, what kinds of things do you view differently now? I'm rereading the manga after a long time too, and the big thing I'm noticing is that I have more compassion now, especially towards characters who I didn't realize reminded me of myself and not in the best ways 😂 And especially during part 1 I found myself wondering why we don't see their parents more often (for those who still have them) and who took care of them growing up (for the others).

I have felt similar!! Ok I’m gonna maybe list stuff out on what I’ve noticed I view differently.

Very long post under the cut of me rambling (again)!

1. My Opinion on What I Consider Good Media Has Changed

Starting with this one as I feel it’s a big overarching thing that’ll dictate all my other opinions and thoughts. I’ve watched, read, and listened to A LOT of other series and media since I first started watching Naruto (also you know life experience and such), so I have a better idea of what is “good” media and what is “bad.” When I was younger, I considered Naruto to be the best of the best, but I don’t think that now (as far as anime that title now goes to FMA:B it’s very good please watch it if you haven’t oh my god). It has a lot of flaws, some endearing and others… not so much. Granted that’s any piece of media. Nothing is perfect (not even FMA:B). But despite that, I’ve also learned that it’s ok to still enjoy it!! Imo it’s not all bad, I mean, we’re still here discussing it yea?

I guess the TLDR of this part is: it’s cringe but that’s ok cuz life is short and we should enjoy the stuff we like.

2. Female Characters/Feminism

I feel like, while these are different topics, they’re very linked together in how I watch Naruto now so I’m putting them together. When I was younger, I didn’t like really any of the female cast (except Tenten). I found them “annoying,” to put it simply. Sakura always chasing after Sasuke?? Lame. Ino being obsessed with her looks?? Shallow. Hinata losing to Neji? Weak. I began to think that I didn’t like those characters because I didn’t like female characters mostly as a whole (which is kinda hilarious cuz I did start making Chihiro back then who does in fact identify as a woman LOL!!). But this negative attitude towards female characters not only leaked into how I consumed other media, but how I saw myself and other women irl. Like I distinctly remember believing that a woman could never beat a guy in anything. Which is uh… not true!! And kinda fucked up!!!

Now that I’m older I just realize that kishimoto doesn’t know how to write women all that well. Imo, it’s not the girls’ faults, it’s their creator. Which is disappointing but also freeing almost?? Plus, I can now appreciate what good they do have to offer!! (I talked a little about the konoha 12 girls and what I like about them in this ask in case you’d like details on individual characters)

I think also being exposed to other fans with differing opinions and views has helped me with this as well. When I first started watching I didn’t really go online (wasn’t a thing in Cuba plus I wasn’t really interested), so I didn’t really have other perspectives to bounce off of.

Also wanted to add that there are definitely parts of the show I laughed off before but you know, just are not acceptable nowadays. Mainly thinking of Shikamaru talking down on girls/women, Neji made a rude comment about girls too (that Tenten corrected him on tho thank you queen), and some bits that could be perceived as a little transphobic (I’m not trans tho so I don’t wanna speak for them on that bit). Its viewpoints that I feel are a product of the time, but does not make the overall series bad per se.

3. Seeing Other Children as a Child VS as an Adult

Ngl since I grew up with Naruto, I feel as if I will always see them as my peers in a sense. If anything, almost like the “older kids” in school. Like I don’t know if this is a common perception, but I remember when I was like in 2nd grade I saw 6th graders as like tiny adults, but then when I was in 6th grade I saw 2nd graders as like babies. Does that make sense?? Anyway, it’s interesting rewatching Naruto as an adult and seeing my “peers” when they were younger. I remember thinking that 12 & 13 year olds were badass and cool and practically ready for the real world (I was like 8 or 9 when I first started watching leave me alone), and being amazed at stuff like the chunin exams. Nowadays my brain just kinda goes “why are we letting these CHILDREN go to war???” It’s a similar story with like the sensei. Thinking they’re so experienced and old and… now I’m the same age as them and I’m still young!!

4. Might Gai is Cringe and I Love Him For That

The way I didn’t appreciate this man when I was a kid is a CRIME. Teaching his students (and friends) that it’s important to find joy in life is SO IMPORTANT and Gai just does an EXCELLENT job with that!! He strives to be a source of light for the people in his life, and to show others it’s important to smile and laugh from time to time. It warms my cold dead grownup heart what can I say. There’s a line in OG Naruto after Lee beats Sasuke in their fight before the chunin exams, where Naruto turns to Sasuke and Sakura as their cringing at Lee and Gai and says, “actually, it’s kinda sweet how they’re all hugging and stuff!” And that kinda summarizes my thoughts on them.

TLDR Might Gai is cringe but he is free and I love him so much for that.

5. Seeing Myself in Characters I Didn’t Before

Off the top of my head, the three characters I see myself in more so now than when I was younger is definitely Choji, Lee, and Tenten.

I was never popular growing up, especially when I moved back to the US after living in Cuba. Kids just didn’t wanna play with me or have me on their sports teams, so I was purposefully left out oftentimes, kinda like how choji was when he was younger. Rewatching that part made me cry honestly HAHA I saw myself so clearly. I’m also plus size so the beauty standards he has to deal with really speak to me. I remember Shikamaru telling him one time that girls don’t have to be skinny to be pretty and I would be lying if that didn’t give me a huge amount of confidence in myself.

Rock Lee’s story has always been top notch, but as someone who chose to specialize in a path that I didn’t really have natural talent for myself it REALLY speaks to me now. I’ll be 100% honest, I was never really one of those “been drawing since I could hold a pencil” kind of kids. I liked it, but I didn’t really consider myself any good until like 8th grade or so. Anyway, there’s this scene where Lee is crying at the training grounds cuz he’s scared that, no matter how hard he works, it’ll all be for nothing and that he’ll always be a loser, and uh… had to turn the show off cuz that struck WAAAAAAAY too close to home for me as an artist with a… let’s be real, a failing art business. Anyway, he inspires me though to keep going cuz this is what brings me joy. I may take longer than most, but that doesn’t mean I’m less of a person for it.

Tenten I’ve honestly seen a lot of myself in even when I was younger! But there’s this filler episode that goes into detail on how she tried really hard to be just like Tsunade, since that was her dream since she was little. Turns out she doesn’t have the capacity to do that (not being able to do medical ninjutsu well, etc), but she finds her own strengths along the way. What really spoke to me was letting go of your childhood dreams. It’s hard. It feels like you’re failing in a way. But Tenten was able to persevere and find a new and even better path forward for herself. And that’s just amazing. I love seeing that, and it helps me feel as if I too and maybe find my path.

6. Final Thoughts and Random Little Things

I think it’s also safe to say that I can pick up on story flaws (I’m looking at you 4th great ninja war arc) and inconsistencies (how the heck does the hyuga clan work wtf). It’s a long series and nowadays you can binge the whole thing in one sitting (I don’t recommend that please take care of yourself). Back in my day I had to wait a whole week to watch the next 26 minute episode with commercials in between. Also I was a kid. AHAHA!! But again, long series, so I’m sure Kishi forgot about certain details while he was being pushed to continue the series.

Also my views on certain things that happened in the series changed based on what I know what happens later, which I find to be quite fun!

Overall I still enjoy the series, both for similar reasons as I did back in the day (Neji) and for new reasons!! Flaws and all. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk

[rmorde]

Trigun Manga Reaction

Now unto Volume 1 - Chapter 4

Meryl sums up Vash so well. He gave the bounty to the people that hunted him.

AND he also gave food to Kuroneko.

I must say tho. How did they get salmon? I get that the Plants can produce them. But... how? Do the Plants produce them as raw whole fish? Live fish? Neatly sliced fish? The production of water and energy is really easy to imagine. However, specific stuff like this bewilders me.

Also, I like the '98 a little better because the townspeople are more involved - showing remorse and gratitude at the same time.

Another incredible double spread. I like the massive scale of the ship is drawn. But I'm distracted by Meryl and Milly's hands here. It's so funny how to communicates so much fury and incredulity.

WAIT. WHAT?!

So, the tracking device stuff happened way earlier?!

It's interesting how these sequence of events were re-arranged in the '98 with minor changes. Yet even with that, the "spirit" of the characters stayed true.

Meryl and Milly are competent with their jobs. It's just that Vash is a bit "very much" and they constantly have to adapt to the string of unfortunate events shenanigans he always inevitably get involved in.

LMAO!!! This never gets old. But why is the other kitty not here too?! I guess the reddish brown one is a'98 original.

Another interesting double page that makes me wonder... How does it look in a book format? Wouldn't there be some warping in the middle that may affect the full picture?

I'm curious because I'm reading the Overhaul version atm since the official English release, apparently, is not exactly stellar with the translation (Hopefully not John Werry level). Anyway, the pages are cleaned up so the art is great for the double page spreads.

Oh. I like the composition of the info dump in here. Have the travel route arrow on the map connect Text Box 1 to Text Box 2 is quite clever.

Wasn't able to say it before but Tristamp Tonis broke my heart. Compared to his '98 and manga counterparts... It's not fair! Plus his ruined relationship with Vash...

AHAHAHAHA. So silly! Poor Vash.

After coming off from Tristamp, seeing this in the manga and remembering how it was in '98... holy fucking shit Tristamp Vash had it worse. So so much worse. That poor iteration of Vash didn't even got the chance to breathe or be appreciated like this by the people on screen. It was just one long trauma conga line.

Or maybe it was a problem in pacing? Tristamp went hard and fast with its story pace (practically JJK style) unlike here in the manga and most definitely unlike '98. The latest Trigun adaptation left no room for filler-y stuff like this... I wish they did tho.

But augh... thinking about it, maybe it's for the best that Studio Orange didn't because Roberto would definitely feel like a Milly replacement and earn more fan ire (which would totally be understandable imho). The production will be tougher too since it means more animation to do especially "anime physics" character acting which, as I mentioned before, is rough to do in 3D.

However... Vash deserved a lot more comfort in Tristamp not to mention even more character dynamics between Meryl, Wolfwood, and Roberto. Sigh. It's the JJK Pacing Dilemma all over again for me.

I remember this too from '98! And it is still funny. I can still hear the VA's "drunk" voice.

AHAhaha...Ha... One of the things that flew over my head as a kid and then finally understood as an adult.

But I wonder if there are ulterior motives here too? Like trying to tie Vash down more to the town - perhaps a good night with a woman would make him hesitate to leave? Not that he ever would as obviously seen in the panel and the next.

Idk. Maybe I'm reading too much into it now.

Sigh... Another sweet Tonis moment. Tristamp Vash was robbed!

I shouldn't laugh but AHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!!

OMFG AND VASH PULLED A NIGHTMARE FACE BECAUSE OF IT TOO!!!

Idk. '98 faithfully animated this but the manga seems funnier to me. Can't explain why.

The kid has more spunk in his intro on '98 tho with his backtalking to Vash.

Really really good shadowing...

I'M SORRY WHAT?! WAS INTO SODO- Wait wait wait.... Let me check something...

So, in the OG JP Dub it was implied. Maybe. Who knows if the translation was accurate?! However, in the ENG Dub it was not. Just a general "He always trying to get at me!"... I always thought that he just meant that the "Uncle" is physically abusive and not sexual.

OKAY! Now it makes sense why this kid was worried that his story was "too impossible" to be believed. He straight up used the term "sodomy". Children suffering from such threats or abuse won't usually say it so formally (?) like that (or as I believe but I'm not knowledgeable on this). It was a red flag of a lie. Hmm... small change but quite an impact.

Huh... If you ask me, I think dish duty is much better than the cashier. Customer service gives me the hives.

However, '98 I think made the right call to have Meryl and Milly work the cashier. It suits them especially since they used it as an opportunity to bully Vash!

[doubledyke]

hey, i’ve read some of your writing and i really like it. do you have any tips?

aw dude that's really sweet. i'm really self conscious about everything i write so i appreciate hearing that. i'm still learning myself, so my advice is probably gonna be kind of obvious yet nebulous (much like my writing). oh and im not great at following my own advice, but we can ignore that.

first and foremost i'd say try to have fun. get weird with it. don't stress too much about it. it's supposed to be an enjoyable pastime, so write what YOU like, how you like. the "rules" of grammar and composition are helpful, but you're allowed to be a lot more lax with creative writing. i know i am 👀

in my humble opinion, you can never have too many details, even- or especially- oddly specific ones. personal experiences are a great way to inject some minutiae, and i enjoy the insight they provide into the author's perspective, background, thought process, etc.. there are infinite other tools at your disposal too. like the number of times i've found myself browsing ancient, niche forums just to confirm one insignificant bit of information is ridiculous.

don't be afraid to take your story as seriously or unseriously as you want. sometimes i'll be snapped out of focus with the thought of "am i really writing this rn" 😂 but i just try to remind myself that i'm (usually) having fun, i'm not hurting anyone and someone might even enjoy the final product.

for eene, try to listen to the voice acting as much as you watch the animation. and don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone when writing a character. i'm neither comfortable, nor very good at writing for ed, but i nutted up and gave it a shot recently and yeah it's nuclear level cringe but i suppose it can't get any worse, right? RIGHT???.... i love learning new words, so when i'm writing for edd (and in general) you know i keep that thesaurus tab open. with eddy, there's always room for more irreverence. i'm also one of those people that cannot help but drop almost every g when i write eddy. and it's just as important to get their idiolects down, which can be tricky. BUT that's mostly if your goal is to stay close to the source material, which is definitely not necessary. i'm just not a very creative person 😂

if you're in a rut, skip to another section, or hell even another chapter. the fic i'm working on rn was hatched from a simple premise several months ago, so i started at the end and have been building on that. an unconventional starting point can be really helpful when you're struggling to start at all. because i'm me, it's turned into a nightmare beast that i can't seem to contain, but i still have a general idea of where we're going and we'll get there eventually lmfao. to that point, outlines, bullet points, notes, etc. are all very useful.

take breaks, let her sit for a while. i'll write a whole bunch, leave, come back to review and be like girl what the hell is this. fresh eyes make a big difference! however, don't be like me and get too caught up in the weeds. i make compulsive little tweaks of my shit up to the point and even after i hit post. more often than not, it's more stress than it's worth. i just can't help it 🥴

and then of course, read other people's stuff. i'm not much of a fiction reader but i make exceptions for the sake of my hyper-fixation. it truly does help to see different perspectives and styles of writing. everyone has a unique voice that really comes through in creative writing, which i love. i've gleaned a lot from reading other people's work as well. i frequently come across new and creative ideas for changing up sentence structure, dialogue tags and narration by reading stuff from fellow fans.

aaaaaand yeah idk what else really. like i said, i'm not the best at writing but i think as long as you're getting your ideas across in the way that you want to, you're golden. anyone who makes shitty remarks about someone else's writing can sit and spin honestly.

[fantastickkay]

Album Review of the Week: Ke$ha - Animal (2010)

Kesha Sebert ushered in the 2010s in the most iconic way imaginable. By kicking down the doors and bringing mainstream pop to a whole new level! It took me a few years to get it, I have always been more of a Gaga girlie, but once I got it a few years later - I was obsessed!

We kick it off with probably the most radio friendly track on the album, Your Love Is My Drug. Lyrically, it is borderline as far as the radio goes but the structure of the whole thing is total radio material. I love the lyrics and vocal delivery of the verses, they go together so well and she is able to convey the desperation. Then, the chorus is explosive and worthy of blasting in your Jeep in the summer! At the end, we get a silly spoken word section that sort of introduces what you are in for with the rest of the album, NOTHIN' BUT SASS.

Track 2 is the big hit, Tik Tok. Ever since this song hit the scene, it has been a legendary party track. As with the previous song, it is perfectly structured for the mood it is going for. I hear it and long for my house party days!

Next, we have Take It Off. This is one of my favorites! The Streets of Cairo interpolation, the deep thumping synths that just inject right into your veins. I also love the lines 'I'm not the designated/driver so I don't give a' and 'Get my drunk text on, I'll regret it in the morning/but tonight I don't give a'. This song definitely echoes back to a long gone time in my life.

Our first deep track is Kiss N Tell. This song is so perfectly synthy and poppy and bouncy. The lyrics are a little juvenile but they do perfectly portray some aspects of partying because I definitely witnessed some bitter rivalries!

Stephen is a rare moment of vulnerability, although it still has all of the instrumentation that is very 80s video game and synthy. Even though it is a soft ballad, we still get a lot of sass and the lyrics are not what you might predict for this sort of song, making it fun to listen to.

Blah Blah Blah (featuring 3OH!3) is another one of my favorites. I love the disorienting intro with the layered vocals that are all over the place. Another great chorus for driving around with the windows down or jumping around at a party! It is also fun to see 3OH!3 involved as they were huge around this time as well in the same realm of crazy party music.

Hungover is another soft ballad set to heavy synths and striking drum beats. It is a unique breakup song in the way she isn't sure if she is really sad and missing the person, or if she's just plain hungover. It also shows another side to the party, when everyone is gone and you're just left with yourself. What happens then?

After recovering from that hangover, the tempo picks up as we head over to a Party At A Rich Dude's House. This one is a bit rockier than the rest so far, even has a guitar! Another fantastic chorus to get you in the party mood - so much fun!

Backstabber is a standout, again it has that cat-fight feeling, but it sounds so fun! The instrumentals are so energetic, the melody is fun and I love how her voice kinda slurs/fades out at the end of some lines. The production has been great this whole time, but it really stands out on this track.

Blind is a track that I do not often revisit unless I am listening to the album as a whole. I like how her voice sounds during the "you'll miss me till the day you die", other than that it is a pretty forgettable track in the midst of everything else.

Dinosaur is one of the funniest songs not performed by a novelty band. I absolutely love the crazy laughing bits and the lyrics are so cooky and playful. The overall sound isn't as nice as we have grown accustomed to, but that may be on purpose to play into the silliness of this particular tune.

Dancing With Tears in my eyes in another attempt to be deep while playing into the club image. While I appreciate the deviation from the usual heartbreak tune, it does get a little old especially since we seem to be going back and forth between vulnerable and party/silly vibes.

Back to the fun with Boots & Boys. This one is a fan favorite, as well as one of my own. It is always on my workout playlist! The melody of the verses is a lot of fun and we get that crazy cosmic stutter thing again.

We close out with the title track, Animal. This song is fine, but it is nothing too memorable for me. In interviews leading up to the album, Kesha said that she chose the album title because she wanted people to lose themselves in the music and let out their animal side and go crazy. I think the contrast of that message with the subdued song that snags the same title is interesting.

Overall, this is a legendary debut album chock full of bonafide party hits! Although the back and forth between moods gets to be a little much after a while, this album has stellar production and lyrics. A great performance!

[marciabrady]

your thoughts on the unofficial princess girls ! (ex; esmeralda, meg, jane, kida) even the younger ones like melody, jane from peter pan II, eilonwy, wendy darling you can pick any ones you’d like to talk about !

I'll mention all the ones that you did!

Esmeralda- I love her. As is the case with every other female character on this list, the actual production of her film was never one I took to as a child because of the fact that she was the only female character/existed in a largely male universe, but after rewatching her movie as a teenager, I did grow in love with her. It lasted for a few years, and then moods of Esmeralda would come and go- so she isn't a consistent favorite- but I do think she has such a unique voice and song and design and I ADORE how mature she is. It's so refreshing, for how silly and childish the 3d girls are, to see an animated character that is really meant for adults. I love how she brushes on deeper topics of religion and kindness and social equality. I think she was ahead of her time and it always astounds me that she was written in an age before the internet, but has seemed to reflect so many ideals and sensibilities that have only been able to be apparent through all the different voices the forum of the internet enabled in the years after this film's release. I love that they didn't whitewash her, too, and I wish we'd get to see more of her culture.

Meg- So Meg is definitely someone who's always been an internet favorite and, while she does venture into 'not like other girls' territory, there is a charm to her, her design, and voice acting that I can't help but love. Ultimately, I do appreciate that she's morally grey but it does make me want to protect Hercules from her lol I think most people like Meg because of the whole sassy, jaded thing though, which is fine, but I think it's the same as when people only like Tiana for her toxic grind personality pre character arc. Meg's only that way because of trauma and she does it to cover up who she truly is, as a shield, so I prefer the sensitive underbelly of who she is and how she's actually the most basic person in the room. I find the parts where she's candid about her fear of heights and her back and forth with Phil more entertaining than her composed, cool edge. Although I will say, her action of giving her life in exchange for her boyfriend's was one of the most confusing actions I've ever seen a Disney character take and I think they kinda made her entirely storyline about men (she's enslaved by Hades, her objective is to trap Hercules because that's what Hades told her to do to regain her freedom, which she lost because of her ex boyfriend which made her jaded) and I wish they let her have friends who were girls or at least female characters to interact with.

Jane- Okay my answer is going to sound confusing so I'm going to preface with this: I do like Jane and I would want more representation for her. I think she has some of the best fans and she is enjoyable/generally delightful. However, I will say she made me wish we didn't get any more white women in animation for a while lol we'd already had a lot of white leading ladies before this (and she broke a successful women of color streak with Jasmine and Pocahontas and Mulan), and she still abides to an eurocentric beauty standard, so to appease that quotient of the audience but still make her stick out they just over-emphasized her even more than the 10 or more white women that came out before her had been? Her eyes were EVEN more buggish, she was EVEN skinnier, she had even more prominent cheekbones, etc, and i just wanted a more diverse design and a breath of fresh air. I also think it's irritating how obsessed American audiences are with English/Australian accents (but not other cultures' accents which...smh) so like...that makes me sigh HOWEVER I do love the fact that she studies animals and I think she is unique and lovely

Kida- Again, love how mature and intelligent and athletic she is. I kind of wish that Moana was written more like Kida, in that sense, instead of being on the Rapunzel end of things. But I love Kida's design and her personality and her doll and crystal necklace from Mcdonald's was iconic in my household lol I even cut triangles into my bangs when I was in preschool because I was going for the textured layers she had in the animation but didn't know how to mentally translate that into the real world lol her movie is pretty good, I just haven't seen it too many times and she isn't someone I connect with personally but I love her fans and do think she's incredible and admire her and the people who love her more intimately

Melody- I never took to Melody because I was an Ariel fan so I always felt that we were shortchanged by her being the main character of the sequel. Since I loved Ariel, she's the one I sided with in disagreements and still kind of do? Their dynamic is so much weaker compared to Ariel/Triton because Triton was an active bigot and shut Ariel down, time and time again, silencing her and infusing their dynamic with so many layers and nuances. Ariel and Melody's relationship is kinda predicated on interruptions and bad timing? Just as Melody opens up to her mother, Eric comes on screen and interrupts everything. Ariel decides it's time to tell Melody of her mermaid heritage, only for Melody to have escaped a few minutes prior. Also, even though Triton was blatantly abusive (even though unintentional), Ariel still had so much love for him and attacked Ursula physically when she saw her Father reduced to a polyp. Even after Triton screams at her and destroys her Grotto, she openly says, "Daddy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Where, Ariel is literally trying to explain things to Melody and is being openly apologetic and Melody just mean mugs her and says "too late mom" lol plus she's super young which, again, I take to more mature characters. That being said, I do know there's been a large community of Melody lovers in recent years and I do think they're all great! I also think most of the people who think they're Ariel's are more Melody's because Ariel fans tend to be fixated on the ocean, which Ariel herself would never be- that's more Melody. Plus a lot of Ariel fans just tend to seem more like Melody in general, energy wise, and she is a more rare character and any rare character getting more love is something I'm here for

Jane (from Peter Pan 2)- I think they did a good job with not being afraid to make her unlikable but because she's such a tomboy AND younger, there's nothing really here for me to latch on to. I was so sad they cut the mermaids, and Wendy's character (they kept her but to a minor extent) because they really only had a dying Tinker Bell for female representation and then a Jane that was "one of the guys" and the first Lost Girl ever but with nothing else for us that loved Wendy and Mrs. Darling and the mermaids of the original film. So, again, it's fine but just not for me personally

Eilonwy- Okay, this is an answer that surprises even myself but I don't really like her? As a child, I took her VHS from Blockbuster because the cover had a princess in a pink dress lol but I never really rewatched the movie after that or thought about it. I revisited it when I was a teenager and ADORED it. I wrote Eilonwy and read the books and was obsessed, but I guess it was short-lived because I didn't visit the movie for a decade afterwards and, when I did, I found her unlikable? I felt like she was very abrupt, prone to having unnecessary fits and kinda rude and didn't have the charm to balance it out BUT I'm convinced I'll warm up to her again in due time. I don't think she'll ever be a top favorite though

Wendy- 10/10 LOML there is so much warmth to her and I LOVE how she's at that age where she babbles you know why because it shows she's PASSIONATE and she's so forgiving and lovely and kind and imaginative and I love that she's the "supreme authority on Peter Pan" just as most of us on Tumblr have taken it upon ourselves to educate ourselves on whatever we're fascinated by. I also love that she has an edge and isn't a doormat and she's the one calling the shots and moving the story forward. I think writers are the most intellectually stunning people in the world and this movie acknowledges that by how prized she is for her storytelling ability. Also, how could you NOT love a character voiced by Kathryn Beaumont? Perfection, chef's kiss, one of my favorites ever!!

[a-force-dyad-in-space]

I'm still not allowing myself to be excited for the One Piece live action but after having seen the trailer a few more times I'll say that as long as the pacing is good (bad pacing trips me up so hard) and the show captures the essence and spirit of the story, I won't hate it.

I just hope the rest of the writing is better than that "Not a crew" scene, I'm still not very happy with that. Sure, a lot of the comedy from the manga and the anime doesn't translate very well into live action but they can still bring out the silly parts without relying on the same kind of 0815 quips that are used by every action adventure movie since the beginning of the MCU.

Something I didn't learn until today is that Oda himself was heavily involved in the adaptation, including greenlighting the cast, which I guess gives me a little more confidence that the show won't be a trashfire.

I really like the cast (and now that I know Oda gave his okay for Nami's and Sanji's actors I'm putting my earlier reservations to the side), I like their energy, I highly appreciate their love for the One Piece universe, so I have a feeling they may be my favorite part of the adaptation.

Something that's also been pointed out is that the characters are wearing a lot of outfits from color spreads from the manga, which is really cool, I like that a lot, it gives them realistic costume changes while still staying true to their designs.

As for some of the criticism I've seen float around the tag:

"WHY ISN'T LUFFY WEARING FLIP FLOPS????" I was a little put off by that at first, too, but I honestly doubt that we'll pay a whole lot of attention to his feet when we watch the actual show (and who knows, maybe they'll show up at some point)

"WHERE IS SANJI'S CURLY BROW??????" This is probably completely a Me thing but when I watched the trailer for the first time I didn't even notice that because I was honestly much more worried about his hair before the trailer was released; I totally get that him not having the curly brow is a little disappointing and leaves out some of the greatest bickering between him and Zoro, but it's still possible that they'll bring it into the show some other way, even if he doesn't have it all the time; same goes for the smoking (which, given that it's an American production that is aimed at kids, isn't really surprising, since smoking/tobacco is its own content warning on American TV), we might see him light a cigarette here and there but we were never gonna see him chainsmoke the way he does in the manga/anime

"WHAT ABOUT USOPP'S NOSE????" Okay, let's be real here, had they given Usopp his Pinocchio nose through either CGI or VFX make-up, everyone probably would have complained how stupid and cringe it looks translated into live action; Jacob has a very expressive face that more than makes up for the lack of the Pinocchio nose in my opinion, but maybe that's just me (Jacob was also the first cast member I was fully on board with from the start, so maybe I'm biased, but that's how I feel)

"BUGGY LOOKS TOO SCARY" Guys, we only got one shot of him and we don't know the context for it; maybe this is his introductory shot, maybe this is a special dramatic shot, maybe this is how other people describe him, we just don't know; just wait until the show is out

"THE FOOTAGE IS TOO YELLOW" While it is likely that this is the final color grading, it's also possible that the final color grading wasn't done by the time they put the trailer together (like, some of the shots look like the yellow isn't as strong), they still have more than two months until release, they could still be doing final tweaks until then; and maybe they wanted to emphasize Luffy's sunny personality, who knows, the cinematography probably looks different in emotional scenes

Also, and this is only of interest to my fellow Germans, the German anime voice cast is dubbing the show, so I might actually watch it both in the original version and with the German voices because the nostalgia is reaaaaaaaallll

Be still, my heart, so you won't be disappointed, but be hopeful, be so so hopeful 🥲

[animehouse-moe]

Fate Japanese Art Book Haul

So, a big old order of Fate material. But still, even with this much being added to my collection I've scratched the surface of Fate/Type-Moon material. This (alongside my other Heaven's Feel stuff) represents the majority of anime art book works, but still I'd say I'm only getting to about 50, maybe 60, percent of the anime art books currently. So yeah, still loads to go on all fronts, but good progress! Anyways, let me dive into the art books from top to bottom in the above image.

Fate/Prototype Animation Material

This one is really interesting to me. The vast majority of the art book is just the storyboards for a single 10 minute OVA. The amount of projected and potential work in this art book comfortably outweighs the information we get in the OVA, making it a super cool look into the original concepts that Nasu had for the Stay Night route.

Of course, the book has more than just storyboards to it, as it starts off with character and prop design pages in full color. Super cool to see so I sort of wish they included more extraneous production aspects alongside it, but I won't really complain given how much material there already is, and the fact that I got it for dirt cheap (a little over 5CAD at auction).

Fate/Zero Openings and Endings Key Animations

Another sorta extra purchase, but for how much it was (10.50CAD and it's Hardcover), I wasn't going to pass it up in the moment. Have to fill out that roster somehow, right? Anyways, it's a relatively small art book, just a bit bigger in trim than the Prototype one, but it's really cool to have the openings and endings in keyframe format. Lots of pretty stuff in there.

There is a proper item set for this though. It originally comes in a box with a pair of extra material books including storyboards for the openings and endings. The whole set itself is a bit of a challenge to find at times, but the individual items are very abundant, so I'll probably be picking them up in the next haul or two if I can find them for cheap. Or maybe I'll double dip and get the box if I can, it does seem pretty cool (also comes with bonus full sheets from the OPs/EDs).

Image from this art book blog, which you should definitely check out

Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works First Season Key Animations

This was really cool. I'm a big cheapskate (despite how much I buy), so I was incredibly happy to have won the auction for this pair of books at only around 20CAD each. What's not cool, but rather confusing, is how different the second season key animations set is. It's a colored and metallic dust jacket. Very weird, right? Anyways, it's super cool fate stuff and the key animation is as incredible as you might expect.

Fate/Stay Night Heaven's Feel AD Correction Collection Volumes 1 & 2

I feel like a fraud, only having things for Heaven's Feel 1&2, but Spring Song stuff is so expensive. I could get the first two storyboard collections for both Heaven's Feel and Unlimited Blade Works for less than I can typically find the Spring Songs Key Animations for. It's so rough. Anyways, these are a collection of the correction done by the Art Director for Heaven's Feel. You could say it already overlaps with the Keyframe Collections of their namesakes, but I think it's interesting to see the changes and overall process of the work.

Fate/Zero Key Animations Collection

I really appreciate that Zero kept the dust jackets consistent for itself. UBW Season 2 really is just the odd one out of Ufotable's Fate collection. Regardless, it's pretty much the same story as the UBW keyframe collections, plenty of cool and very pretty keyframe art that provides a window into the production and work of Ufotable on the series.

Fate/Grand Order Trailer's Trail Volume 1

Now hear me out, I don't play FGO, but I do enjoy the quality of the trailers, and when an A4 book comprised of over 400 pages of key animation is 10CAD it's hard to look the other way. In general though, it's pretty cool, and well organized into chapters so you don't get pieces mixed up with each other. Definitely worth it for any fans of the game, or just like some really well animated Fate stuff.

Ufotable 15th Anniversary Exhibition Pictorial Record

This was a pretty cool pickup. Special art stuff for studios as a whole isn't something that greatly interests me, but Ufotable is definitely a studio I'd be interested in having a history of, even if I'm not a fan of everything they work on. Overall it's a very pretty and well constructed hardcover art book, with a nice helping of works from all across their years (which they did an excellent job of selecting the best moments from).

And that about does it with this haul. As you can tell, there's a lot here, but also a great deal that I'm still missing. The more you come to understand and have, the deeper the abyss seems to grow. At the end of the day though, it's incredible fun and something I've grown to be incredibly passionate about. There's so much history to all of these art books, so many memories and so much passion behind it all. Having a record of all of my favorite series and titles and animators just feels right. I'm able to be in control of what I remember of them and it's a really great feeling.

[suethesocks]

Do ya watched the new Spider-man across the spider-verse's cartoon?

Hello person who asked me a question all the way back in november of last year, im so sorry for making you wait so long for such a basic answer 😭😭

hopefully to make up for this, if i yap enough itll be like a years worth of answer, so strap in

To answer the question though yup!! I watched ATSV around a month after it came out. At first i wanted to watch it asap in cinemas but unfortunately it was banned here in egypt because of the fricking. Trans pride flag that appears for 2 seconds in gwens room in the blurry obscured background so that sucked

After waiting a long time for it to have a digital release eventually i gave in because the spoilers were getting too unavoidable and just watched a camrip with my friends in their house. Which was very unfortunate but i still enjoyed it. And i definitely enjoyed rewatching it like 5 times since then when the digital release was out

I think the movie visually innovates even more than the first one did. Theres nothing i feel was lacking they really did build up on everything from ITSV and then some. Everything was so beautiful and full of life and all the designs be it new characters or old are just so good and the animation and aesthetics are top notch. Its the kind of movie you watch frame by frame on purpose

I do think the movie was hurt by being a half movie though, as it does very much feel like half a story. I do like that gwen goes through something of an arc in this movie so at least *something* gets concluded. And its nice to have an implied transfem character take center stage!

I enjoyed a lot how grown up miles feels in this movie, especially when you contrast it with some early production deleted scenes and the teaser clip they released a long while ago. There he felt like he was still his ITSV self still sort of needing to prove himself, but in this movie he really does feel like he has grown. And for that im thankful i wouldnt want the movie to basically just repeat his arc twice

I mean it kind of is the same arc but its from different perspectives (which i dont think is ideal tbh and i wouldve appreciated a third direction but oh well) in the first movie he felt the need to prove himself and that theres a chance he could be Spider-Man. He wanted the other spiders' approval and to get to be just like them. But in this movie hes more confident and knows his place, this is a kid that knows he's Spider-Man, and he dont give a fuck what you say. Hes got the whole world telling him he doesnt have it figured out and maybe even his brain is saying that to him too but hes still gonna be like "no, im right youre wrong. debate over"

And at the same time it doesnt feel like stubbornness. He takes the time to understand the situation, assessed it smartly, comes up with his own conclusions, and acts accordingly. This miles is definitely not just a kid anymore (so much so that to this day im actually still suspicious that miles was meant to be 17 or 18 but they decided last minute they didnt wanna have that big of a timeskip)

Spot was pretty great in this movie too. I knew from the start that despite being sort of a nothing-villain in the comics spiderverse was gonna have a looot of fun with him, especially ever since i saw that one piece of art they released way back before even the teaser i believe, which had spot with sketch lines above him like the shapes guidelines you draw when doing a rough sketch. And they certainly did not disappoint there hes definitely reality warping with a capital R W. Really i got no complaints about spot i think hes a fantastic villain, though i wish the movie took him a little more seriously. Just removing that "i think he kicked his own butt haha!!!!" scene wouldve made all the difference in the world imo

miss cheng cameo goes hard

Miguel is probably the most conflicting thing for me in this movie, i cannot decide if i like this adaptation of him or not, though im leaning towards not i think. I will say im glad to finally have a piece of media where Spider-Man 2099 is like the main focus finally, hes the main character next to miles and gwen. Ive been a fan of his 90s comics for as long as ive been a fan of comics, and other than SM Edge of Time he never got his moment to shine really. Now this absolute unit of a man is coming in and absolutely stealing the show whenever hes onscreen. It was nice, as a longtime SM2099 fan to see now in 2023 just miguel fanart and miguels ass n titties everywhere on my timeline

They do get a lot of stuff right with this adaptation, even small stuff i wouldnt expect just anyone to get. Like his talons!! Most people draw them like long nails like typical claws but they actually extend from under his finger like a hook, and i was so glad to see the movie get that right haha. He also has.... a cape. He doesnt really use it which like i hate but maybe capes are too much trouble to animate idfk. He has his fangs and was gonna use them on vulture (loved vultures design so fucking much btw) so clearly they remembered he can inject paralyzing venom so that gets huge thumbsup from me even if he doesnt get to actually use it

This movie also gets miguel so right in terms of characterization. Nothing will ever beat Chris Daniel Barnes' take on miggy but Oscar Isaac does a great job in his own right as well and is definitely a take i can accept, im just probably too used to hearing chris barnes' voice playing EoT so many times over the years. And its great to have a hispanic actor doing the voice this time!! In general i love the fact that he has darker skin and speaks a bit of spanish in this movie, atsv rememberes miguel is half hispanic more than the comics themselves seem to sometimes haha

This miguel talks like how comic miguel talks he quips how he quips he has the same sarcastic deadpan humor hes funny and snarky and talks like hes smarter but not in an arrogant way because he can kind of back it up. He also fights how i imagine miguel would fight he uses his claws he gets brutal, shits AWESOME. When it comes to dialogue and interactions, this miguel definitely lives up to how i imagine Peter David wouldve written him

Whats really bothering me about miguel is how, despite them nailing the characters personality so so well, the movie also seems not that interested in him and his lore and world at all. He just doesnt have the love and care and history that Peter B Parker seemed to have

I mean, if its still in the year 2099 then wheres Alchemax? The whole point of SM 2099's comics is that Alchemax is a megacorporation thats infected most corners of life. It should have a looming presence EVERYWHERE, but its not even here as an easter egg. Which i have to say is quite bizarre considering Alchemax ALREADY exists in this universe front and center so why not even a reference. I think this is such a crucial part of SM2099's mythos that removing it is genuinely a problem for adapting Nueva York. Not to mention the complete lack of any sort of cops or security at all, again a looming presence that should definitely exist in 2099. Without those aspects Uptown becomes just like any generic futuristic city (when it should, at least, be a generic DYSTOPIAN futuristic city, lmao)

Also the movie's lack of interest in having any references to Gabriel or Conchata or Dana what so ever. I get that this is bordering on fan service but idk, at the very least Dana right??? I mean she dies in the comics, surely part of what miguel longed for in that alternate universe he went to was that Dana still lived there so why not nudge to the fans a little. At least through the form of having miguel comic scenes show in the slideshow thing he made for miles (though i get not having any miguel scenes there, since miguel probably wouldnt intentionally reveal his past to someone just like that)

I mean come on this movies so uninterested in any fan service in general when it comes to miggy. No references to comic covers or something no calling miguel S-Man he says shock ONCE, i feel like its the little bits of fanservice like that that dont like overbear on the story but really add a lot by nodding to the fans and showing that you did a lot of homework

Theres also the weird way they revise his powers here, seemingly working in the form of regular doses he takes to give himself powers rather than be powers he has like the comics, and the lack of organic webbing. Theres also no reference to his enhanced vision as far as i remember. And i have NEVER been a fan of miguels suit having advanced tech built into it. The watch is one thing, the holographic cape and nanomachine esque suit which uses energy and the laser webs and energy spikes he uses to latch onto stuff its all just ehhhh i never vibed with that in the comics and i definitely dont like it here (save that shit for the white suit at least if youre gonna go that route)

This lack of interest in his powers also means, if theres no alchemax looming existence in the world, and the movie intentionally REFUSES to give us a "my name is miguel o'hara" moment to go over his origin, then we are left with actually nothing to imply alchemax even exists in this world

Just no real interest in what made Spider-Man 2099 work so well in his world, as a privileged man who went down and saw the real world and realized how wrong he was about just everything and that he must rebel against those privileged like him and more. Who works with a suit made of fabric just like any ol human against super cops armed with armor and guns

Instead he runs a whole society himself (ironically, the only thing to imply alchemax's existence now. maybe this movie is a miguel from after the point in the comics where he takes over alchemax, which would mean alchemax's only implication in this world is that miguel runs a multibillion dollar corporation and uses its resources how he wants. not good...), hes not aggressively anti corpo anymore, he has a teched up suit, and he just ACTS like a ceo. This guy is basically spider-punk before spider-punk was a thing, and yet here he is being in the exact opposite side to hobie!

Honestly if it werent for a few factors like the powers thing id have actually said "wait let them cook" because i wouldve then thought that miguel being so wrong is the POINT of this whole thing like miguel is a sellout and theyre gonna call him out and reference how he USED to be in flashbacks, but i honestly do not believe that was actually their intention despite it actually fitting so well in an almost genius way if it WAS on purpose

It comes off a bit MCU-ish how they almost dont have faith in how cool 2099 is and think the only thing worth "salvageing" is miguel and his attitude, when the world is pretty rich with things fans like me wouldve loved to see either recreated in the spiderverse style or innovated on and made into something completely new and interesting; and also non-fans wouldve loved to see to learn more about SM2099 and his world. I mean half the fandom thought Miguel is a vampire because he has fangs, thats how much this movie doesnt do anything for the world of 2099

Wew that was a doozy, sorry for rambling so much about miguel when talking about movie-not-about-miguel, its just between Miles Gwen and Miguel he was the one i was most starved for content for and he was the one im most educated on and on what i would want to see when i see him onscreen haha

hope this longass post full of insane ramblings of a mad woman was worth the yearlong wait in my tumblr asks shdsjhdsdhs again sorry it took me so long to look at my asks

[hoagmaster]

Halfway There Day

July 2 marks the halfway point of the year as @ProgressBar202_ on Twitter will tell you, as does Kiff from earlier this year. So I want to take this halftime post and share some of my favorite things from the year so far.

Games

Note that I am only putting new(ish) games from this year that I played to the end here.

Metroid Prime: Remastered - One of my absolute favorites from the GameCube/Wii was shadowdropped on us back in February and I had a ball going back to it.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe - Another one I liked back in the day and had a good time revisiting. Still have yet to do some of the bonus stuff, but it packs a good amount of said stuff in the package.

Fire Emblem Engage - Maybe my top alternate pick for my favorite game of the year so far. I got into the characters and story and found the changes to the gameplay to be, er, engaging. I'm even contemplating a second run in the near future, which has to say something.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line - The other top alternate pick for my favorite game of the year. It's a sheer love letter to game music that left me beyond thrilled the series returned.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Now my top contender for my favorite game of the year. It takes everything I liked in the previous game and builds upon it in so many ways. I've still just barely scratched the surface of the game even after playing to the end of the story and I'm sure I'm going to go back at some point.

Dead Space - I never played the original game but I now have to imagine this is the way to play it. The setting and story were both engaging as was the gameplay that did keep me playing longer than was probably wise on some occasions.

Resident Evil 4 - My other -other- pick for my favorite game of the year, maybe? I had some grumblings after I finished it once but going back to it again with some upgraded stuff and shifted expectations helped me to really appreciate what it does.

Lot of good stuff played this year, but now I think I'm shifting to catchup mode for the next two months while we enter a slower period. Stuff like Mario, Sonic, and so much more dropping in the fall makes that season even more exciting now!

Movies

Bit of a shorter list here, admittedly.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie - Maybe the most biased I've ever been toward a movie because this franchise may be the single most important entertainment media to me, but I can accept that and still have a blast watching this.

Fast X - I watched it shortly after it opened and mildly guffawed my way through the whole thing. This franchise just gets more ridiculous and I'll be there for the "end."

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse - Yup, pretty good like everyone's saying. Animation is quite superb in a lot of it too. I'm skeptical we'll get the next one anytime soon but I'll be fine with waiting, especially if they can get things done better on the production end too.

...And that's it. Well, least this month has some stuff like Mission: Impossible and your pick of Barbie/Oppenheimer. Still a lot of ones I can catch up with too!

TV/Shows

And an even shorter list here!

Kiff - My favorite new show of the year so far. Lot of charm with a fun artstyle that keeps me coming back.

Hailey's On It! - I need to catch up, but the premise has led to some wacky fun so far.

Then I won't list them because they're existing shows, but stuff like Big City Greens and The Ghost and Molly McGee continued bringing the goods.

Lot of catchup to do here with Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and the next Zerocalcore Netflix show along with a bunch of new episodes of other stuff. Getting increasingly antsy as to when the last season of Hilda will drop too...

Anyway, I'm sure I'll have more to say on stuff in the future. Felt good to get back to a longer writing post like this!

[jadegreenimmortality]

Bungou Stray Dogs Men as Househusbands pt.1 - Sakunosuke Oda

A/N: I’m sorry that this isn‘t a request, but this brain rot has been going on since forever and now I can’t resist it anymore. I totally blame @hanazou for this. There will also be a part two featuring Chuuya, but his part has a completely different feeling to it, that's why I'll post these separately. Besides of that, this is basically an “Way of the Househusband!AU”. Go watch the show or read the manga if you don’t know it, it’s absolutely hilarious! This is mainly focused on them as househusbands, but since you are their spouse, there’s also a bit of reader insert. Also, a lot of Oda as a dad to his orphans. And the whole thing is feat. Dazai. (^^)

Pairings: Oda x gn!reader

Genre: Crack, domestic fluff

Warnings: none

Summary: You, Oda and the orphans move in together. While you become the working spouse, your loving husband stays at home and becomes a full-time househusband.

pt. 2

First things first - If you agree to marrying Sakunosuke Oda, you are also agreeing to become the parent of five children. Oda loves you and you are one of two main reasons he’s leaving the Mafia, the other being his life purpose. But if he’s leaving the Mafia, he’s keeping those kids in (if they want him to of course, but you can’t tell me they don’t, come on -)

So yeah, be ready.

He only cooks spicy curry at the beginning. The curry shop owner gave him the exact recipe of his favourite plate as a goodbye gift and that’s the only thing he is cooking for days on end. He has some basic cooking skills, but this is the only really elaborated dish he knows how to prepare as of now, so be ready to suffer from the spice. It will go on like that until all six of you you and the kids hold an intervention for him. The kids will paint nice banners like they were going to a demonstration saying "No more curry" that they hang up in the living room and he’ll be greeted by your sorrowful face when he comes back from buying groceries.

“What’s this?” – “Oh honey, I’m so sorry, its just…” – “WE CAN’T TAKE THE SPICE ANYMORE STOP COOKING CURRY ALREADY!” – “…I mean…yeah.”

Of course, he’ll be a bit embarrassed and disappointed. May scratch his neck and look to the side thoughtfully. But he’ll take your plead seriously.

This is also how you bond with the kids for the first time. Congratulations, huddling up against someone is always the best way to bond!

He works hard on his cooking skills after that and becomes quite the formidable cook. He takes suggestions from you and the kids and will try to learn how to cook anything you might fancy to eat. It’s really important to him that all of you are happy and cooking may be the most important job of a house spouse, so he takes it very seriously.

There will be curry Tuesday though. One day of spice hell. Enjoy.

Please picture Oda in his usual attire, wearing a beige “kiss the cook” apron over it and bunny slippers. You’re welcome.

He'll learn how to make anime and cartoon-themed bentos for the kids, so it's highly probable you'll get cutely designed bentos as well. Again, you may drop suggestions, he’ll absolutely take them into considerations. Octopus sausages, bunny apple slices, cute bear faces made out of rice, he’ll learn to do them all. He isn’t too sappy of a person, but if he’s feeling romantic while cooking, your rice could also have the shape of a heart. Either way, your co-workers will be very envious of your food and your husband.

Oda iss the master of negotiation at the food market. He’ll be completely stoic all the time, not aggressive or dismissive at all, but he’ll point out little flaws of the products in a way that most shop owner’s won’t be able to deny and that’s how he gets discounts. He doesn’t want to cheat anyone out of their money, but he does have seven mouths to feed.

He may not look like it, but if any of the kids tag along for his grocery shopping, it's really hard for him to deny them something if they beg for it. He may seem unnervingly calm all the time, but he’s a big softie, especially for those kids and for you, and if they hang at his sleeves long enough, they’ll get that ice-cream they want so badly. That doesn’t work on pricier items though, he can be a strict parent when really needed.

Oda is great at handling the finances. He’s well aware that he has to be thrifty with five kids. Still, there is one thing where he struggles to keep his control: books.

If you agree to it, the apartment will have an absolutely minimalistic interior, but! In your living room, there will be a shelf full of books, so big it covers a whole wall. That’s it, that’s Oda’s only weak spot when spending money.

It’s not only books for him though. He buys books for you when he sees something from your favourite author or genre. He buys books for the kids so they learn the joy of literature. Poems, bed time stories he wants them to grow up appreciating the possibilities of the written word.

You can bet that he’ll read them bed time stories. Only one book for all five of them though, so one kid gets to choose a story each day.

He’ll read to you as well if you want him to. His voice is incredibly calm and soothing, he’s a really good reader. There’s a high probability you’ll fall asleep while he reads to you. You can cuddle up in bed and rest your head on his shoulder or sit on his lap and hide your face in the crook of his neck, feeling the vibration of his voice in his chest.

Whenever he has some time to spare, he’ll retire to your shared bedroom to write. Mind you, that won’t happen often. It happens mainly on weekends, when the kids are with friends and/or you are at home. If you want to do him a favour, consider cooking on the weekends, he’ll be more than thankful for the opportunity to submerge in his beloved writing. But don’t worry, it won’t consume him – he’ll always put some time aside to spent with you, without the kids, as well ¬‿¬.

He's so polite with the neighbours. Will pay all his neighbours a short visit together with the kids to introduce himself and bring little gifts. Just imagine him standing there in the door frame, witih all five kids around his legs, smiling at their new neighbours angelically - what's not to love?

He really wants to maintain a good relationship to all of them. Basically, he’s the perfect neighbour – always polite, always up to a little chat, always ready to listen to neighbour A complain over neighbour B without snitching. He’s mainly concerned for the wellbeing the kids though. He wants them to feel part of the community and often arranges play dates with the neighbour kids. If it's possible at the neighbour’s house because five kids are a lot to handle already…and when they are all out of the apartment, it’s cleaning time.

Oda is an angel of patience and the ultimate multitasker. He isn’t left with much of a choice with five kids, but thankfully, calm lies in his nature. You may see him explaining Sakura her math homework while cutting vegetables for today’s lunch. Then, he’ll take a quick glance out of the window to see if they boys are still playing on the street where he can see them and then he’ll check on Sakura again. Isn’t he lovely?

His ability is unexpectedly helpful for all of this. If he’s in the living room to clean, his ability will alarm him if the food’s about to burn. If he’s around the kids, he’ll know in time if one is about to trip. If you come home from work so tired you fall asleep face first in your soup, he’ll be able to catch you. So useful.

He’s a very attentive and loving husband. His love is mainly expressed by keeping the house as clean as he can and putting a lot of effort into cooking. Your work is hard enough, he takes it upon himself to manage everything else. He’ll also try to have the kids well-behaved so they don’t demand too much from you after you come home from work. Though if you decide to pull yourself together and give them attention and love even when tired, he’ll be more than thankful. He knows it’s a lot to ask to be a parent, especially to not one, but FIVE kids that are not yours by blood. So if you actively seek to have a close bond to them, it will make him so incredibly happy because he knows it’s not the natural course of action for everyone.

Will give you head, shoulder and foot massages after an especially excruciating day of work. His hands are skillful and he knows where to touch to make you moan to release the tension from your muscles.

Likes to lie his head in your lap after both of you had a long day of work. Yes, you may be the provider, but keeping a house clean and five kids under control isn’t an easy job either! So, he’ll seek peace laying his head on your thighs and closing his eyes while you tussle his hair and tell him about your day. Don’t expect more than a mumbled “Mm” or “I see” from time to time, but be sure that he’s listening.

And the Port Mafia? You’re in luck - since he was the lowest-ranking member, The Mafia, by which I mean Mori isn’t bothered that he left. He refused to kill anyways, he’s to no use to them him.

Of course, Oda will try to be absolutely sure there is no hidden reason for Mori to hinder his leave beforehand, or to resent him for it. The last thing he wants is to endanger you or the kids by leaving his job as a criminal.

If he ever meets a member of the PM in public, he'll act as if he doesn't know them. He may give them a polite nod if they make eye contact, but that’s about it. It’s not that he resents them, but he really wants to start a new life here that isn’t connected to killing and cruelty at all. If they approach him he'll be very polite, but try to keep the conversation short, even if they seem to have no ulterior motive.

Of course, there’s one member of the Port Mafia that marks the exception, by which I mean to say that you’ll have Osamu Dazai over for tea regularly. No, he won’t announce himself at all. The first time he appears at your apartment, you’re just finishing to unpack. He’ll tand at your doorstep all of a sudden to tell Oda that Mori already knows where he moved to. Oda will just nod as an acknowledgement. He expected as much. And then he’ll give you a questioning look. If you nod, he’ll officially asking his friend to stay for dinner. You’ll be having curry.

From then on, he’ll just drop by whenever. You may come back home from time to time to find dinner ready, the kids in bed and your husband and Dazai drinking. If you join them, you will have some truly joyful evenings spend together. You’re Oda’s chosen one, so Dazai is a bit more inclined to let you get close than he is with others. You may make a new friend in the process.

It doesn’t take a lot of time for the kids to start calling him Uncle Dazai. He’ll actually be Uncle Dazai before they ever call Oda Dad or you Mom/Dad. It will take them mere weeks to call him uncle, but months, maybe years to call the two of you Dad/Mom. It will happen eventually though, and the day it happens, I assure you that you will see Oda spill tears of happiness. He’ll be looking away, wiping his face with one hand and smiling. He never thought he would want this, but now he knows he does.

Back to Dazai! He’s reserved with the kids at first. As we know, he doesn’t feel all to comfortable around “childish behaviour”. But kids are like cats, the feel drawn to the one that’s most cautious. By which I mean to say that they are all over him. Literally. Oda will leave for five minutes and when he’s back at the living room the kids will have tackled a slightly unnerved Dazai on the floor. Sakura wants him to see the drawings she made, Katsumi, Kousuke and Yuu want to play, Shinji wants to ask him what's under his bandages. He’ll have no choice but to oblige and it goes surprisingly well. Oda may abuse him as a baby-sitter when he visits from then on.

Then suddenly, Dazai stops visiting altogether. You are worried, but Oda, for some reason, isn’t. Even more, whenever you ask him about it, you may catch him smiling to himself in a satisfied, proud way. No, Dazai didn’t tell him anything. If Oda would know, it would endanger all of you. But he knows. He knows that Dazai finally made his choice to leave the Port Mafia and needs to lay low now. And that’s okay.

It takes Dazai two years to come back, which will be just as sudden as him leaving. You’ll be astounded to see him a changed man at first sight. Oda will scold him for not sending any notice and then everything is normal again. And after some more years, he’ll start bringing along a scrawny kid with white hair.

A/N: Wow, this is the first post I put a "keep reading" link in because it's so long! That's kind of a milestone for me. ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this! Thank you for reading!