#just in a different way. but genuinely i do think tatsumi thinks like that

[voiceofsword]

Don't ask an enstarrie about their otp worst mistake of your life

The main story. Ouuuugh. Tatsumi just casually complimenting Mayoi or initiating affection.

Tatsumi saying "I think it's a waste you always hide your beautiful face, Mayoi." like the first time these two had a one on one conversation... okay man

Also the main story showing that they both help each other!! Physically and emotionally!!! Tatsumi helped Mayoi when he got sick from being in public and trying to help him with his deprecating thoughts. Tatsumi confides in Mayoi about what happened at reimei before the others and Mayoi carried him when he was tired or in pain. Mayoi says he wants to see the human and dark side of Tatsumi. I'm adding the quote it's so good.

"I hope I will always be the one who understands and accepts him. Including his faults, his dark side – his everything."

SS... screams. The fucking. Line. "Haha. It's okay, Mayoi. You are like a great mother to these kids. Meanwhile, you're also an irreplaceable partner to me." Followed by Mayoi saying "I'm not a mother or a wife, please?!" They're soooo ♡ it's a bit of a debate to alkaloidPs on whether alkaloid should be called a found family and although I'm kind of in the middle I will admit these little interactions are cute. Tatsumi casually assigning Mayoi as a mom friend and him as the dad. Real smooth of you. Side note: I think Tatsumi gets to see another side of Mayoi because later on in the story Tatsumi points out a growth in Mayoi's character and tells him to quiet down after he freaks out about it and Mayoi retaliates by telling him he's the reason he made any noise in the first place. I don't think they'd bicker that much honestly but ♡♡♡ pouty Mayoi could you imagine. Only Tatsumi gets to see it though booooo. There's no lines that really stand out but also Mayoi (+ the juniors) do notice when Tatsumi's health is declining further on in the story. The juniors are more subtle but Mayoi asks when they're on stage. Teehee

They never really get big moments so the rest of what I have are just small little funnier pieces of dialogue... sobs. I'm gonna follow this ask up with one more story though... hehe

THATS SO SWEET... i do remember some of this from main story (especially mayoi carrying tatsumi on his back when his leg pain started to act up again)

its always so ww lovely (lol) when charas constantly go out of their way to help, uplift each other. especially when they make it a point to nurture both their perceived good and bad sides, they can appreciate everything about the other person and feel safe with them regardless 🥺

always being alert for when the other is down so they can pick them up... its one of the reasons i think they mesh well, on account of tatsumi (chronically ill) and mayoi (mayoi) being two people who've both struggled with their health for various reasons, that they can have someone they can openly rely on and eventually not feel like a burden, but that doesnt necessarily mean they will treat each other like glass (i think early on this is more the case but as time advances i can only hope they grow more confident with each other..? pleading emoji again)

but also the. that line kind of just took me out. suethdtgushwergu its so silly. i think while tatsumi is probably completely genuine in some of the things he says that fluster mayoi itd be even funnier to consider him saying stuff like that to fluster him on purpose, considering mayoi makes such a big deal out of it. not to laugh or anything, but because he thinks its cute. arghhghh. holy man who is a little cheeky and little creature who tries his best not to melt in his light. tatsumi seems to be a man that has a lot of affection to give while mayois completely foreign to the concept.

putting this under a read more because it doesnt really pertain to ttmy but more a comment on the found family debate u mentioned, but along the vein of the ss comment

(i personally do think alkaloid could be kind of a found family, but i understand some people's wariness towards it since a lot of the time it just forces the characters into nuclear roles — it's rly easy to forget ur friends can be your family too :').

ofc that line leaves little to the imagination as to what tatsumi means but i think in This Case implying he's the 'dad' of alkaloid is telling of himself for Obbligato Reasons™. putting them in what he considers to be traditional roles and choosing himself as the father figure of the group shows that hes someone who subconsciously takes charge and 'bears the burdens' of the rest of alkaloid. this is ofc not me trying to say that should be the case, fictional or not, but judging by tatsumis past behavior it just makes sense to me that this is a thought pattern he would pick up.

but its also killing me that he cant find another way to express his appreciation towards mayoi than being like You are like the mother to my children. asjhkdsdkjhfkj. can somebody teach this man how to flirt normally!!

that being said, theyre all like.. almost the same age so the assertion is rly funny to me, i love tatsumis old man roleplaying sometimes. i truly do think in his head that he thinks this family dynamic is 100% real. the other 3? not so much)

[unrelatabledude]

gently knocks on your door

hi its me again. you are amazing and i love love your himerus (and rinnes) it’s what he deserves <3 i bow down to your big brain

the fantasy au looks so intriguing may i know more? i would do anything for chubby niki, pureboy kohaku and sexy as hell himeru and rinne. tatsumi too maybe squints

anon- thank you so much for ur genuine interest it makes me so emotional really really thank you. imagine when you open my door you look in and just see this

anyways fantasy au details down here

ESSENTIALLY when i was on a rinhime kick i doodled this thinking about an au where rinne was actually a prince and himeru was like... his advisor

the fantasy au developed off this and now is. very different.

Essentially Rinne is a foxboy prince who keeps trying to runaway from his duties, and keeps bringing back special people to work in his retinue everytime.

First he brings home Niki, who took care of him when he didnt know Rinne literally owned the land he was staying on. Niki is formally a retainer and does know how to fight, but functionally hes a friend and personal chef.

Then he brings home Kohaku, a boy who was raised in isolation and has been put to work as a professional guard.

Lastly, he's brought home Himeru, a masked spy master. He works under a lot of disguises, and is often on recons with Kohaku because I love the idea of Himeru and Kohaku getting to do buddy cop adventures where they meet Madara. Rinne is horrifically jealous because he wants to do adventures SO BAD he cannot believe they're doing adventures without him. So he follows them a lot of the time.

Also!! Yes!! that is tatsumi!!! Essentially, Tatsumi is a cleric turned necromancer. He and Kaname used to be adventuring partners and he fully believes he killed Kaname, and took a dark turn trying to think of ways to bring him back. After all that effort, just seeing essentially the love of your life walking around masked has made him... really weird. He works under Eichi, with the rest of Alkaloid. He thinks Himeru is Kaname and also that theyre living dead, and is trying to reunite with them. Kaname is still alive though, because I'm obsessed with the idea of Tatsumi learning a dark art and warping himself when it was always pointless.

Thats what I have now essentially!!! I want to explore it more but am... unsure where to go lmao but yes I hope this was!!! what you like n wanted to know!! If you'd like to know more my door is always open and again thank you so much for your interest hehrhrf

[sunlit-tickles]

Self-Indulgence

Tatsumi / Mayoi

Ensemble Stars

Summary: Mayoi is being his usual self by appreciating his friends' charms in his own way. However, due to some circumstances, he has to work with Tatsumi for more than usual and can't help but adore his genuine laugh the most.

---☀️

Curses! Curses! Curses!

This must be karma for being a weirdo!

Well…not really, Mayoi was being…slightly overdramatic. Nevermind, slightly was an understatement. Well, Mayoi isn't necessarily a “weirdo”, he just expresses his love towards his friends in his own way! He just…finds it weird himself. It doesn't matter right now! He felt so cursed! Or…blessed?

Despite Alkaloid being lead by Hiiro, he still needed help since he was still new to the city life. He needed all the time to adjust and learn things, so everything else should be off his shoulders right now. Being his seniors, Mayoi and Tatsumi offered to help with his workload, and Hiiro felt shy but still accepted it as he knew that whatever he did alone could result in major consequences for all of them. So right now Mayoi had to work with Tatsumi for a long time and for a lot of work! It was fine working with someone you're comfortable with and he's happy to be with Tatsumi but…he was…too charming. As always, the phantom had listed down his friends’ charms and Tatsumi was not an exception. He was calm, collected, and…too cool. However, every now and then he would chuckle at small things but that's about it. Despite it being short and collected giggles, Mayoi can't help but fall for his endearing laugh…! I mean, the eldest of the group was always smiling and all but…he was curious of something else…

Mayoi wanted to really really really hear him laugh! Like, release everything and not be so held back. He knows that he really isn't and that's just the way he is, but it's so cute to think about his usual demeanor changing from soft and calm to dynamic and lively! He really wanted to know what he looked like that way…!

“Mayoi-san?”

No response.

“Mayoi-san?” A poke to the side, Mayoi flinched. “Ah… sorry, were you deep in thought perhaps? I'll be moving on then if you need more time…”

The phantom started to shake his head aggressively “N-No it's okay!! I zoned out a bit there-! A disgusting creature like me should apologize …! I didn't mean to!” And there it was, the chuckle that got him thinking in the first place. Tatsumi giggled and pet his head “You're not a disgusting creature and I just wanted to tell you that work has ended. Though, I do want to ask if it's alright…are you not feeling well?” he said as he placed his hand underneath Mayoi’s chin to check his temperature making the other panic and moved away “A-Ah-! You shouldn't touch me! Or your hands will get dirty”. Honestly, he didn't really mind and it just tickled…and oh god that gave him an idea, escalating his thoughts into quite of…it's own thing. “My apologies! I forgot you were uncomfortable with contact…” Tatsumi apologized and just sat next to him on his bunk bed “but you seem bothered, would you like to talk about it?”. Mayoi shook his head and Tatsumi respected that, not confronting any further. Oh dear, that touch bothered him throughout the day. Now he had even more ideas and he can't stop thinking about it!! Curses!!

They continued their work separately and went back to the dorms at night to prepare to rest as a unit and get ready for the next day. Except that, Aira wanted to go take a walk and Hiiro was no different, so they told them that they'd just be out for an hour or two while they remained in the room. Mayoi tossed and turned in his bed but couldn't sleep and he can't help but think about Tatsumi’s smiling face and all— such disgusting thoughts!! He thought to himself. His thoughts were shortly cut-off by a small, soft knock on his bed-side. Mayoi turned over to look at the knocker, it was Tatsumi of course- but he was still surprised…!

“A-Ah, were you sleeping?” “Nonono! Not at all!!” “Good…I was just wondering if you were really okay, you've been acting so…out of place today. More than usual it seems. I'd like to help.” HNGG-!! HE WAS SO KIND-!! Mayoi felt like his heart was about to explode, he can't just ask him can he? But the thoughts kept going through his head! He wanted to really really see him laugh…! “u-uhm…it's nothing bad but-! Ah I can't!” Mayoi screeched and slammed his head down his pillow to hide his humiliation! “Mayoi-san!? Please calm down! Whatever it is I'll do my best to assist you!!” Tatsumi said as he immediately moved Mayoi to sit down once more, but he still didn't let go of the pillow.

My

“Tatsumi-San…it's…r-really weird!! D-Don’t try to help a monster like me!!” He panics again, flinching when the other held his hand “well, I prefer to not be the judge of that. I'm not even aware of what you're thinking of. If it's bothering you that much, I'd really like to help. Is there something wrong with me?” He asks out of genuine concern. Goddamit…! Now he got him guilty too! Mayoi shook his head frantically and covered his face with one hand “it's…embarrassing…” “but I'd like to hear it out at least…?” he shook his head at the thought of it but…he couldn't really resist and started mumbling.

“A-Ah? I couldn't quite hear you?”

“c…c….I..t”

“Mayoi-san? I didn't quite catch that…?”

“Could I…uhm…t-tickle you?”

Tatsumi started blushing as he fell silent, he didn't find it weird!! He was just taken aback by the question. Mayoi started frantically shaking his hands “Nevermind nevermind!! Please i-ignore what I just said!! Please—” “I don't mind…!” he gasped and looked at his friend for a bit. “What do you mean you don't mind…?” “Well…I'm not sure what to do just yet, but I'm willing to try it if it'll help you!” He was too kind! Mayoi blushed himself before gently laying Tatsumi down on his bed as he sat on his waist, making the other nervous from anticipation. He wasn't exactly subjected to alot of tickling or general touchy affection so this was a new experience for him! He did agree to help him, so he might as well go with it.

Mayoi’s fingers creeped under his sweater and gently started to scribble his stomach, and oh my god he did not expect a squeal to come out of him! “EEhehehee—! Kyah-! I—” Tatsumi closed his eyes shut and shook his head, he was much more sensitive than he imagined! He hugged the pillow tighter and blushed “Aahaahahaha…! I dihihidn’t expect this…!” He said with all honesty, he was so adorable! “I didn’t expect you to be this sensitive either…! This is…such an adorable side of you Tatsumi-san!” As much as he appreciated his compliments, it somehow made him feel more vulnerable has his face heated up once again.

His hands drifted from his stomach to his sides and Tatsumi instantly jumped a bit before falling back into the bed, surprising them both “WAH-?! AHAHAHahahHhaha-! I-EHEHehehe?!” the elder one didn’t even know he was that sensitive there! He started to kick his feet and his grip on the pillow tightened even more “MAHAHahahaahayohOHOIIIEHEHE—!!” Mayoi was so entranced that him suddenly calling out his name caught him off guard and he stopped instantly. “W-Wah?! I’m so sorry I took it too far—!! I didn’t mean t—” “it’s fihihine…” He wanted to say more but he hugged his stomach trying to catch his breath “pleheease move spohohots first…! It reheally tickled there…!” he said trying to hide his residual giggles yet failing miserably. The other nodded, keeping in mind that maybe he should leave his sides for last since it looks like his worst spot.

Instead, he moved down to his lower body and gently squeezed the older ones knees, making him squeak and jolt everytime he touches “EEK! AHhahaha! Eeek-!! iHihiT TIHIHICKLES!” “I really feel guilty for indulging in this…but you're so cute…! I didn't know you could get this squeaky!”. There it is again! He can't exactly tell Mayoi off since he's genuinely complimenting him, but he felt so much more sensitive since it felt like a tease…! Tatsumi kept jumping from his bed when Mayoi started to scratch underneath both knees, he didn't want to kick him on accident but he's squirming out if his control! He was so cute ..! He was taking everything so genuinely! Mayoi started to feel bad for having so much fun while doing this and felt even more guilty for what he's about to do “How much does it tickle here, Tatsumi-san?” He asked while the other just did his best to answer through his giggles “A-AHAhaha-! Ahahalot-!! I- eehhehek! I cahahan’t help it!” Tatsumi honestly felt so flustered and now he couldn't tell if he was teasing or genuinely asking, but he still answered to the best of his abilities. “How about here?” Mayoi then stopped tormenting his knees and moved on to squeezing his hips, and the other started to jolt and squirm alot again “GYAH-! NAHAHAhahahaha!! M-Mahahayohohoehehe-sahan!” “it tickles alot here too?” He couldn't do anything but nod as he laughed his head off.

Soon, he returned to his torso and slipped under his sweater again, but this time targeting his ribs by pinching it repeatedly. Tatsumi let go of the pillow as he clamped his arms down instead “EHEHEehehehe!! I-! IHIHIT AHahahalso tihihickles thehEHEHERE-!!” He was so ticklish and he felt like he's about to hit his limit soon, but Mayoi didn't stop yet so he might not be satisfied yet. Tatsumi was really doing his best to take it as much as he could to satisfy his friend, not realizing he already is and he's just waiting for him to ask him to stop. Thank god that the other could tell and slowed down “I'm about to stop, so could I go back here?” His hands moved down and traced his sides again. He was really really ticklish there! But it was almost done anyway, a little more couldn't hurt right? “Yehehes…! Just be cahaHAREFUL—!! EEEK-!!” And Mayoi went to town.

He was laughing his head off, squirming so much that his hair was flying everywhere, his cheeks permanently tinted red, his eyes watery as a bit of tears slid down his face, he was a mess! That was such a rare sight to see and Mayoi couldn't have felt more satisfied. Slowly and gently, he slipped his fingers out of his sweater and got off his waist, rubbing his stomach to try and calm him down “a-are you okay!? I didn't take it too far didn't I…?” Tatsumi shook his head as he sat up while clutching his own stomach “I'm fihine…! I just didn't really expect that I'd be so sensitive. Do you feel better though?” He asked, and he was satisfied with the other smiling with happiness after. “I'm glad that you're smiling now, well why not return the favor…?” “Favor?” “Mhm! I thought it was fairly fun so you could try it…!” “A-Ah? Me try it? I don't think sOHOHO-!! AH WAIT TATSUMI-SAHAN-!” and there they were, lost in laughter again. Actually, Hiiro and Aira had returned ages ago but decided to just go out to take a walk together this time to not disturb their own time. It was pretty rare to see their seniors have fun after all!

A/N: Yoyo finally decides to write a fic where nobody cries-- Please Alkaloid/Crazy:B/Akatsuki are my absolute favorites I need to write for them more istg-- Also I love that most alkaloid fics are Hiiro/Aira but man I needed to get this out of my system! The seniors of Alkaloid need a bit more attention too!

[memoriastellarum]

I reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally need to talk about Kaname during his recovery.

I mean... after the first bit. The excruciatingly slow progress of consciousness. The amnesia. The hallucinations. The endless tests. You know... more or less expected post-coma progression. It's hard in all but the best of cases. The thing is... the "worst of cases" are like... a couple weeks. A month or two at most. Certainly not years. The longer you're out, the less likely you are to be able to come back at all, nevermind fully, and that timer starts the moment you first go down. My ability to roleplay him at all is a huge stretch of the imagination, so I felt like I wanted to get some things down. This is not really going to be focusing on the medical side of things (although I certainly do mean to go more in depth into that sometime, too.)

I think he remembers a little bit from his time comatose. If nothing else, I think he remembers his brother talking to him, touching him, things like that, if vaguely. I don't think he remembers specifics, just that this person he loved was there. However, when he first wakes up, I'm not sure he even recognizes his brother.

Being told he has been in a coma for two years is alarming-- understandably. Who wouldn't be upset to learn something like that? It's an unreal amount of time, especially because to him, it doesn't feel like two years. It feels like a while. Maybe a day or two, if he's asked to put specifics. That takes some getting used to.

But I think it's utterly unbearable to him at first to find out that his brother has been living as him all this time. Once again, anyone would be upset by this, but he was already sensitive about his worth in his place to begin with. It downright destroys him to learn that someone else has lived as him-- someone else has successfully lived as him. Sure, he already knew his brother was capable of it because they were already kind of sharing the identity to begin with. But it's so different when it's one's entire life, not just a few hours out of the day here and there.

And I think it hinders his healing progress a lot at first. He just doesn't have the will to bother. Because in the best case scenario, he still won't be able to dance anymore, he won't really be able to sing anymore. He can't be an idol. HiMERU cannot ever be his identity again.

He feels a lot of things about the entire scenario. Horror and fury, mostly. Despair. There's a small part of him, though, that he won't be able to get in touch with until further down the line, that does recognize and cling to the fact that this was an act of love. Someone loved him enough to try to save his place while he was away.

It's just that it's not his place anymore.

I think the complexity of his feelings about it, actually, are overwhelming. He wants to make his brother leave him alone because he can't bear to look at him, but nor can he stand the thought of being alone. He's someone who needs a lot of emotional support, but he just cannot get that from his brother for a good long while.

So, I think his primary motivation actually is seeing progress of both Jun and Tatsumi, and perhaps a few other former classmates. It's bittersweet to see them doing so well; he'd want this for them, but it's never easy to swallow the thought of someone moving on without you. (To which, he remembers again that they don't know it's without him.)

I've mentioned this before, but he chooses to keep his hair long. It's grown while he's been comatose, and for the moment, this is something he has that his brother doesn't. This is his. But even though it starts as sort of a childish way of reclaiming something, anything, he does come to enjoy it genuinely.

Furthermore, of course he eventually forgives his brother. He is someone who is shaped in love, always in love. He loves his brother, and he knows his brother was only trying to do the best he could for him, in his own way. Of course he forgives him. What else can he even do?

The two of them have a lot of talking to do at that point. His brother may have been living as him for two years, but he doesn't know him. He knows trivia-sheet facts about him and has imitated him to the best of his ability, but there's only so much he could have known. And then there's the fact that Kaname knows even less about his brother. Does he even know a name? There's a chance he doesn't. He wants desperately to grow closer, and finally, at last, that door is open.

Just one problem. His brother's identity is him. He has lost so much of himself to the charade, this one and previous acts before it, that there just isn't a whole lot of dialogue that can even occur.

So, in a way, the final act of Kaname's recovery is to reinvent himself-- and for his brother to do the same. What is Kaname's favourite food? He has no way of knowing, because he's not who he was. What is his brother's favourite food? He hasn't considered in years and years. What is known is HiMERU's favourite food, which is an easy answer... but in reality, neither of them is HiMERU.

Kaname created HiMERU, but his brother breathed real life into HiMERU. More than any other idol's persona, this is a piece of artwork that simply got away from them, an entire person born from a little bit of each of their spirit. HiMERU is both of them, but neither of them is HiMERU. It's easiest for Kaname to think of HiMERU not as an identity, but a role. A costume that simply comes with his former life attached. HiMERU's backstory is identical to his-- is his-- but everything that was his still is. It's just a role he isn't playing anymore.

And that's it. This line of thinking, this understanding and acceptance, comes from months-- maybe even a whole year-- of anguish and frustration. By comparison, relearning how to talk, walk, etc., is almost easy. Almost. Never let it be said that dropping almost all of your weight and experiencing near total muscle atrophy is anything but grueling.

[mainstoryarchive]

Underachievers - 13: Monetize

Translators: 310mc & haranami

Proofreader: Peace

Tatsumi: Now, then. Let us head to the live venue as we were instructed, so we may enjoy the viewing.

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Location: ES Hallway

Several minutes later

Tatsumi: Now, then. Let us head to the live venue as we were instructed, so we may enjoy the viewing.

Eichi-san said he would pull some strings to ensure we're permitted inside. I assume he must be done executing such measures by now.

Fufu, I feel quite satisfied after filling my stomach.

Hiiro: Yes, we ate a lot. I feel incredibly fulfilled, and I think the hamburger steak might become a favorite of mine.

Tatsumi: The salad I ate was incredibly tasteful, as well. I’m sure the chef was a skilled one.

Hiiro: Hm. The taste of a salad isn't greatly affected by a chef's skill, though, is it?

Tatsumi: Oh no, no. It is not only the taste, but the style the vegetables were sliced, the portions, as well as the composition that makes it all wonderful.

I had been eating hospital meals for quite the while, and thus lost interest in the quality of cuisine… However, I feel as if my eyes have been reopened to the beauty of it.

Hiiro: Yes. It seems as if only ES employees or idols are able to enter the restaurant we just visited, so if we get dismissed, we’ll never be able to taste those dishes again.

Let’s work our hardest so we can continue to eat such delicious food.

Tatsumi: Yes. The Lord has said that “man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”… However, no matter what source your motivation comes from, it is wonderful to know that you feel it to begin with.

Aira: Ah, I finally got it! That’s what this was about?!

Hiiro: Woah—You startled me! What’s wrong, Aira? I had been wondering why you were quiet, yet now you’re shouting so loudly… That’s discourteous, you know?

Aira: S-Sorry. “Discourteous,” huh… As always, I don’t get your choice of words, Hiro-kun.

But anyway, um, I finally understand why I couldn’t pay for my food at the restaurant earlier.

I think my personal L$ got appropriated for the fees we’re using as a unit, now that we’ve just formed one.

Or rather, it looks like it’s all been moved to a different account.

That’s terrifying, you know? Everything I deposit can be transferred to another account in an instant, without me even knowing or consenting to it.

Hiiro: Hm. Yet another word I do not know. What are “L$”? Do you know, Tatsumi-senpai?

Tatsumi: Ahh—I genuinely cannot answer any of your questions… During my stay in the hospital, there have been many new implementations of which I know nothing of.

Aira: Ok, ok, I’ll explain then~… I kinda feel like I’m getting used to this, or like, I guess this is just my life now.

Sooo, basically, L$ is the money circulated within ES.

It’s a currency unit. By the way, it may be written as L$, but you pronounce it as “L-Dollar”.[1] The exchange rate actually fluctuates a bit, but generally speaking 1L$ is about 100 yen.

It’s kinda like a virtual currency—do you understand if I put it that way?

You can also use L$ in other shops within ES. It’s a lot cheaper than paying normally, so I’ve completely switched to just using L$ whenever I shop.

Hiiro: Oh, yes! I remember spotting “L$” on the restaurant’s menu.

I was wondering what that meant. So it’s a currency unit!

Aira: Yup. Oh, and the main way to get L$ is through official jobs sent from ES.

The best way to make income is, as you’d expect, live shows and… the DreamFes I told you about earlier.

If you achieve good results in a highly ranked DreamFes, you can become a billionaire overnight—Okay, that’s just an exaggeration, but you can make a lot of money in one go.

Since we’re part of ES, we’re expected to make good use of our L$ while we do idol activities, not to mention manage it.

That’s like, the absolute basics of this company… Did you two seriously not know?

Tatsumi: Yes, as shameful as it may be… However, it feels corrupt—or rather, impure—to be an idol for the sake of money…

Hiiro: Is that so? “Idol” is just another profession, is it not?

Tatsumi: Fufu, that is true. However, I wish to believe that there is more to it than simply that.

Hiiro: Hm… It seems complicated, and I am still no closer to understanding what, exactly, an “idol” is supposed to be.

Aira: Hmm~ But you’re an idol, yourself, even if you’re a failure of one.

Anyway, while what Kazehaya-senpai said is reasonable; they’ve actually been keeping that in mind too. L$ isn’t just any money, y’know.

Your L$ income is affected by your popularity and the affection you get from fans.

Like, this may just be how I see it, but whoever implemented this is pretty clever, honestly—it was made so you can gain L$ not only through idol activities, but through the love of your fans, too.

On the other hand, if you don’t do your work properly, your L$ will periodically be deducted, like you’re being taxed…

And if you do things an idol absolutely shouldn’t do, you’ll be charged as punishment—they could even confiscate all of your L$, y’know?

So we should all be careful of what we say and do—especially you, Hiro-kun.

If you keep saying weird stuff like “I’ll destroy idols”, the higher-ups or your fans are gonna start hating you, and you’re gonna get your L$ taken away, ‘kay?

Hiiro: Hm. It isn’t very pleasant how we have to regulate our speech and actions for the sake of this “L$”.

Aira: But it’s effective. Everyone works hard at their idol activities because the system is like this.

Tatsumi: Hm. While there may be a testament that says, “He who does not work, neither shall he eat”… being made to perform idol work like we’re held at gunpoint does not sound healthy to me.

However, people are prone to neglecting their work. I suppose it is necessary to have the right type of pressure to avoid being too relaxed.

It is especially important in this era of the idol industry, as it has been idle for such a long period of time.

[ ☆ ]

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L-Dollar is “リッドル riddoru” in the original script.

[lyra-swan]

Hiiiii I know you're offline as I'm writing this but nevertheless I still felt like jumping into your inbox and word-vomiting for a second because I've been following Mechanical Angel for quite some time now and picked it up again recently and I just made it to part IV, god I'm having a blast. I can't wait to put all my full, extensive thoughts out there once I'm done but for now I need to stress that I'm just super impressed with both your writing style and the tone/ character development as a whole but the world-building in particular got to me gooood.

Am I right to assume that a lot of research went into this???? Because you can genuinely tell, to the point I literally felt transported to the places as you described them every time and the details are just so captivating to witness. It really feels like I'm reading a ww2 novel, I feel transported back into German literature class on occasion and it's just. Impressive???

Anyway thank you SO MUCH for putting this out there, I'm so happy Mechanical Angel (and all of your works) exist!! I've already noticed that there's another story focused on Natsume/Sora set in the same universe and I can't wait to finally jump into that one too once I'm done with MA. (Especially since Natsume is in my top 4# favorite characters but that's only a bonus)

Last but not least I am very mentally ill over Eimika now, congrats, I'm rotating them in my brain a very normal and totally not concerning amount, haha

May you have a wonderful day!!

Oh hi thank you so much!! I both loved and struggled with Part IV so much, but it was extremely fun to write, especially that dumb part in ch.38... I dunno if you've reached ch.45 but that was also very fun. I hope you continue to enjoy the rest!

I'm going to ramble like an old grandma again, adding a read more thingy so the post won't be a bother to scroll past for others.

In my opinion I don't think I've done enough research! But I'll always feel like that no matter how much I do so bleugh, nevermind. The scenery is typically based on my own surroundings but changed slightly to match an European feel... I think I wrote more in the last ask answer but it has a tiny bit of spoilers, I believe. The setting is a bit of amalgamation of my own country and europe because my own surroundings is what I'm familiar with, and of course although it's supposed to be inspiried by Germany everyone drives on the left side (I think I mentioned it in a chapter note) because I didn't want to accidentally trip over myself from a simple description of where a character turns their head. It's the Little Details that are important!

I say, as if I also didn't mess up a few details here and there because I started posting before finishing the first draft and so I couldn't edit the way I used to do for my previous longfics... But yes, it was very fun adding random bits from what I learned into the story because I used to love watching WW2 docs and laughing every time the nazis messed up and suffered a crippling defeat.

Like, I'd read about how they lied to their citizens that they were doing just dandy, and then have Wataru ask Eichi if he wanted more 'false reports of our so-called victories on the battlefield' to be published in the newspapers. Because that's the funniest shit ever to me...

Then one day I'd read about the nazis being among the first to connect smoking to bad health, and I'd add something like that in a conversation between Eichi and Tatsumi, they're not nazis obviously but because of the setting's inspirations that's where I got a lot of information (but you'll have a scene later on that's more Britain than Germany, so the fic truly is a amalgamation of different european settings during WW2). And of course, people are sceptical of new medical findings, that was mentioned. And the part where Eichi mentions 'common people are suspicious of IV drips' to Mika, that was a thing in the real world too.

I wonder if there is a single medical invention that wasn't regarded with suspicion by at least one person at first.

I kind of wish I had Eichi offering gold watches to anyone who quit smoking, it would've been funny, but eh.

And of course there are some things that don't make sense because this IS an alternate world so I DO have freedom. Like, even though this takes place generally in 1930s-1940s time, tranquiliser guns weren't invented until the 1950s (by a NEW ZEALANDER!!! Colin Murdoch. He's also the genius behind the modern day syringe, if I recall correctly), but you know, I added it in anyway because alternate world, alternate invention timeframes. I wrote that fog scene where Mika is shot by Midori while also sitting outside one dark foggy morning, and I liked the scene so much I kept it in.

Anyway I'm so happy you like the world-building! It was super fun to work on! I really like rural settings for world war stories... one of my favourite authors, Michael Morpurgo has that kind of vibe going on too, my bookshelf has a few of his books. So many dog and animal stories with themes of war lingering in the background if they don't directly deal with war and I love every one of them. They're all so full of emotion, they'd always make me cry. I love the stories that can make me cry and look back and think it was the most beautiful thing I've ever read and Morpurgo's works can do that A LOT. But also I'm very emotional...

And thank YOU for this! I'm always so happy hearing someone enjoyed what I wrote!

I still need to finish that natsusora fic. It was supposed to be a part of the main story itself but because it would've taken so many chapters, I was worried about 'forcing' readers through a side story that had no bearing on eimika. So I posted it as a separate fic! It takes place during that last chapter of Part IV so you can actually have a look whenever you've started Part V.

Natsume is very out of character, however. He's in his 30s and not really the cute feminine witchy boy that he truly is in canon (at least, that's how I see him), he's an engineer and really logical... but he hates Eichi with a passion, that's VERY necessary. Nevertheless, I try to write him as close to his canon self within the au that I've shoved him in and told him to survive in. Totally fine if you end up not liking it!

Excuse the rambling!! Thank you! You have good day!!

[turinn]

hii can i ask for A, T, and F for the mayoi thing?

A ACCIDENTALLY BECAME A MINI SCENARIO SORRY IT JUST. KIND OF RAN AWAY FROM ME YK HOW IT IS

A. Asking you out

MAYOI IS SO NERVOUS. He's not sure he can even get the words out. Truth be told, he's been planning on asking you for WEEKS but every time he comes close he works himself up- tell in himself you'll think he's creepy and weird for asking and never want to speak to him again- and he ends up panicking so much that the second he sees you coming he hides, even if you already saw him. It's when a mutual friend, probably Tatsumi, tells him that you'd spoken to them about the issue that he realises he's making things worse. Hearing you were upset that he was avoiding you, and worse that you thought you'd done something to hurt him? Kicks Mayoi into action so fast his anxiety doesn't have time to catch up. He's running to find you, ignoring the tendrils of panic rising in his mind as he runs over what he'll say when he does. And there you are, filling in some routine paperwork- a mundane task, one he's seen you do countless times but... he could watch you do it for hours. If he didn't need to get these words out of him before he collapsed from anxiety, that was.

"Y-Y/N-san!!" He calls out as he rushes up to you, hands wringing nervously. The way you smile widely at him makes his heart race faster than the fear hammering at it ever could, and he forces himself to blurt out the rest of what he wants to say while he's still caught in the euphoria of how lovely you are. "W-will you go out with me? On a date?"

Your eyebrows raising in shock slams the brakes on his motivation, and finally, finally, the weight of what he's done catches up with him. He backtracks. Hard. "I-I mean! You don't have to- Wh-why would you want to go out with m-me? I-I'm sorryyyyyyyyy-! Please forget I said anything!" Tears are welling in his eyes and he's just about to run away when something touches his cheek. It's your hand.

"I would be delighted to go on a date with you, Mayoi-kun. I can think of a lot of reasons why. Please don't make me forget you asked." The softness of your tone tells him how genuine you're being, and suddenly he feels like the tears are coming for a different reason. You like him... too? He feels rooted to the spot, and your fingers caressing his cheek make him want to stay. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

F. Flirting with you

Mayoi? Flirting??? Listen, he doesn't do it on purpose like ever but he will absolutely call you cute and any variant of the word he can come up with before his brain filter kicks in. Because you are! He thinks you're adorable and he will tell you 100 times over. He could watch you all day, no matter what you're doing. WAIT HE DOESN'T MEAN THAT IN A CREEPY WAY! HE'S S-SORRYYYYYYYYYY!

T. Taking care of you when you're sick

Mayoi probably has really weak constitution (growing up underground really doesn't do solid favours for your ability to withstand illness) so you might not get much time where he's looking after you before he's flat out sick too. But he's gonna do his best! He's so caring, he'll try everything he can to help you get better. He'll ask Tatsumi for advice on cooking healthy foods for you, he'll make sure you're resting plenty and he's happy to read to you if you want him to! He might try and stay out of your hair ad much as he can, not wanting to bother you, but if you tell him you want him around he will absolutely stay.

[rickyriddle]

Sociopath/Psychopath characters in anime/manga

Hi there. So after the first and second psychopath lists and the sociopath list, here’s a fourth list for other psychopaths/sociopaths anime/manga characters. For this list I chose 20 characters that I believe have anti-social personality disorder (aka sociopathy and psychopathy), explaining whether its regular sociopathy, high-functioning sociopathy or psychopathy. Keep in mind that I’m doing that for fun, I’m not a specialist, so I may be wrong about certain details. Spoilers, especially for the series Revenge Classroom, Umineko, Higurashi and Danganronpa. TRIGGER WARNING FOR SENSITIVE SUBJECTS

Yuri Meichi (Akuma no Riddle)

High-functioning sociopath/Psychopath

I guess I can’t make a list without at least one AnR character. I first diagnosed this chapter with a superior complex but I come to realize it’s more than that. Yuri is a woman that seemed empty and hiding behind the same smile that looked printed on her face. She showed through the series that she lacks empathy, she has dubious morality, she’s manipulative and seems incapable de bond or love. In fact, the only time we saw her losing her usual smile was when a character proved their love for someone. Yuri is the typical calm mastermind who’s never bothered and doesn’t sympathize with anyone. I don’t know if I would classify her as a high-functioning sociopath or a psychopath, but given that she’s implied to have a rough childhood I feel like she’s not born that way but made.

Igarashi “Ulith” Rumi (Wixoss)

Conduct Disorder and High functioning sociopath

So, Conduct disorder is the precursor of Antisocial personality disorder, the former being diagnosed for child and teenager and the latter adult. Since she saw this character as a child exhibiting antisocial behaviours such as animal cruelty (well, more like bugs cruelty), lack of empathy, and a total disregard for rules. As an adult, Urith hasn’t changed and is quite manipulative and charismatic, and is, in addition, a sadist. She likes to manipulate and torment pure people until they break and commit suicide. If it wasn’t of the ending of the movie that made her break down in cry I would have diagnosed her as a psychopath, so I’ll go with high-functioning sociopath.

Matsuzaka Satou (Happy Sugar Life)

High-functioning sociopath

Satou is quite disconnected from her emotions but hides behind smiles and a kind persona, her mask to pretend to be normal. She has no problem manipulating others, threatened and even kill. She’s quite antisocial but she isn’t a psychopath. Unlike them, she’s capable of bonding and feeling love, even if it’s quite obsessive, her love is still genuine and sincere. She’s not born that, she was made this way because of the twisted environment she grew in with her unstable aunt. All of this caused her to become numb inside. But she’s not impulsive and is quite in control of her pulsion, making her high-functioning.

Donquixote Doflamingo (One Piece)

High-functioning sociopath/Psychopath

Even since he was a kid, Doflamingo was a monster. True, he was raised in a society of noblemen who view common people like trash, but his parents were so good and kind, so it’s more likely that his behaviours are nature, not nurture. His total lack of remorse or empathy seems to classify him as a psychopath, but at the same time he does seem to have genuine sympathy for some of his comrade, so he could also be a high-functioning sociopath who was born with genetic predisposition to become one (since sociopathy can be both caused by environment and genetic predisposition). So I would say he lay between those two disorders.

Esdeath (Akame ga Kill)

High-functioning sociopath

I was going to classify her as a psychopath at first before I remembered her genuine love for Tatsumi and her past. Her past with her father shaped her actual mentality that the strong lives and the weak die. Esdeath has no empathy and doesn’t show remorse for all the horrible acts she has committed, she has no problem killing innocent people or torturing them. But she’s not incapable of love or bonding, she seems to at least care a little bit for her comrade who earned her respect, and deeply love Tatsumi. But in the end, she’s a cruel a ruthless woman who enjoys hurting others and has no remorse whatsoever for all the horrible things she has done.

Kamiyama Itsuki (Goth)

Psychopath

This one is interesting because he is most likely a psychopath, yet doesn’t hurt or kill anyone. In fact, most psychopaths in real life don’t, so he feels more realistic. The manga made it really clear that he’s wearing a mask to appear normal, typical of psychopaths. He doesn’t seem to be able to bond and genuinely love others, his only “love” interest is a girl who he fantasizes about cutting her hands. He actually put this girl in danger just to achieve this goal. But he never takes direct action to cause her harm. He is also quite fearless and doesn’t show empathy, other signs of psychopathy.

Musician Of The Forest Cranberry (Magical Girl Raising Project)

High-functioning sociopath/Psychopath

A character that looks at first really calm, cool-headed and somewhat charming, but the more we know about her the more we noticed that she’s quite fearless and always in need of stimulation. She seems quite rational and in control of herself, without any sympathy for others. She treats life and death situations as a game and is always calm. I only saw the anime but I read about her backstory, being through a horrible situation where all her comrades (she was a child) were brutally murdered in front of her. Hard to tell if that moment traumatizes her and made her the way she is, or if it awakened something she already had inside her. So I can’t make a definitive diagnosis but to be she’s definitely antisocial.

Abigail (Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka)

Sociopath

This girl looks like the lovechild of Nio and Otoya from Akuma no Riddle. She’s all cheerful and looks sweet, but is actually ruthless and commit atrocities remorselessly. She’s cruel and has no empathy and hides her true self behind a cheery mask. But Abigail isn’t high-functioning, she’s pretty impulsive and can get easily angry, she basically has no self-control. But she’s capable of bonding and feeling love for her master. In addition to being a sociopath, she’s also a sadist who enjoys torturing people. 

Enoshima Junko (Danganronpa)

Sociopath

I hesitate to put her on my list because I saw an analysis of Junko with different disorders, but her being a sociopath is also a high possibility. She hides her true self behind a charismatic mask, she’s highly manipulative and doesn’t seem to have a single drop of empathy for anyone. Even people she claimed to love she ultimately hurt them (or even killed them) for her own selfish desire. I wouldn’t say she’s high-functioning though, the main reason why she succeeded was because she was rich, she had a super strong sister and she was really intelligent, but she doesn’t seem to have much self-control and is pretty impulsive. So I would say she’s pretty mid-functioning, enough to carry out her plan.

Takano Miyo (Higurashi no naku koro ni)

High-functioning sociopath

Another one I have been conflicted about for a long time, but I think high-functioning sociopath could qualify her. She had a rough childhood where her parents died tragically in an accident, she was abused horribly by her orphanage and her adoptive grandfather who she deeply loved was humiliated to the point he suffered from mental illness and committed suicide. It’s understandable if Takano broke after all of this and became numb and disconnected from her empathy. She’s a liar and quite manipulative as an adult, committing atrocities and hurting people without a shred of empathy and even enjoying it. She’s quite cruel, hiding being a nice and friendly mask while in reality she enjoys frightening people and toying with them. She’s still capable of love and bonding, but it has it’s limit as she has no problem killing her own allies. I would say she’s mainly high-functioning, but when she loses her certainty to win she can crumble.

Ushiromiya Kyrie (Umineko no naku koro ni)

High-functioning sociopath/Psychopath

From the same series as Higurashi. It took us a long time before realizing what kind of person Kyrie truly is. We discovered that she’s the true murderer of the Rokkenjima Massacre along with her husband. At first we’re lead to think Kyrie is a cool person, I would even say a calm big sister. She seems like one of the best adults on the island. Wrong, totally wrong. Kyrie is actually cold-blooded and lacks empathy, she would kill anyone who gets in her way. She was obsessed with her husband, getting jealous and cursing any women who get close to him, and she was even ready to kill his new wife. Luckily for her, she died, so she got what she wanted without dirtying her hands. Despite all she did for her husband, when he died she didn’t seem sad at all, which lead me to think she was simply obsessed by him but never actually loved him. She even revealed that she never loved her own daughter and her family was nothing more than a facade. We don’t know exactly Kyrie’s past so I can’t say if she’s born or made that way, but given that she seems incapable of love or bonding, I would say she’s most likely a psychopath.

Bernkastel (Umineko no naku koro ni)

High functioning sociopath

Another one from Umineko. For half the series, we’re led to believe that Bernkastel is an ally, she’s on the side of the hero and she reminds people of Rika from Higurashi, who was the heroine. She seems to sympathize with Battler and doesn’t show much bad intention. But then, she began to be more antagonistic, taking control of Beatrice’s game with Lambdadelta and toying with everyone, while heavily mistreating her piece Erika, revealing her true cruel and sadistic nature. She basically treats everyone as her toy and doesn’t hesitate to torture them for her own pleasure without a single drop of empathy. She can hide her true dark intent and pretend to be nice when she wants, but it’s only an act. She’s also quite petty, she lost so she plots to take revenge by literally destroying those who offended her. Bernkastel isn’t born like that, she was made that way after spending hundreds of years of being brutally killed and another thousand years being taught how to be cruel by her old master. At least Bernkastel is capable of love, but let’s say that her love is really twisted.

Kiryuin Ragyo (Kill la Kill)

Psychopath

Mother of the year… That woman has no empathy, no love and only cares about herself. She used her own children as tools for her goal, and didn’t feel remorse at all when she thought one of them died and regularly molested the other one. She tried to kill her own husband when he got in the way. This woman is incapable of having empathy, love or bonding, yet we could say she’s quite charismatic in a way, a lot of superficial charms. Even in the end, she preferred to kill herself with a smile.

Medusa Gorgon (Soul Eater)

Psychopath

Another mother of the year… At the beginning of the story, Medusa pretends to be the kind nurse of Shibusen, while she was actually a ruthless witch who abused her own child and raised them as a tool and an experiment. She treats pretty much everyone around her as tools or experiments and has no problem manipulate and using people. She never showed any empathy or love for anyone, she was a cold and cool-headed person who was in perfect control of her pulsion.

Yamase Yuuya (Revenge Classroom)

Psychopath

Nearly forgot about him. Yuuya is portrayed as a soft and kind boy for almost the entire manga, until the end when it’s revealed he’s actually the mastermind behind all the events, starting with people starting to bully Ayana which leads her to seek revenge and ended up in a bloodbath. Yuuya knew exactly that something like that would happen and still caused it, why? He was bored. He always felt empty in the inside and always had been an excellent manipulator, so he decided to start this just to satiate is boredom. He actually enjoys to see people suffer, he doesn’t seem to have any empathy or love for anyone. He’s quite a good actor and managed to fool everyone, until the end when his masquerade is finally revealed. He does have some bad stuff happening to him in his past, but I don’t feel it’s enough to make him this way, so I would say he’s born that way, thus a psychopath.

Celestia Ludenberg (Danganronpa)

High-functioning sociopath

Another Danganronpa character. Celes is known to be the queen of liars, she’s good at manipulating others and usually keeps her composure, looking rather elegant and superficially charming. She doesn’t seem to appreciate humans, proof is that her most important person is actually her cat. Some sociopaths prefer animals over humans. Everything about her is a lie, her name who is Yasuhiro Taeko, her past, her origins, and most of her personality. As we see in her class trial, Celes can be quite impulsive and aggressive, but most of the time she wears a mask that make her look calm and elegant. She doesn’t seem to have empathy for people, she had no remorse to manipulate Yamada and then murderer him, shamelessly lying to everyone, ready to get them all executed for money. She’s the type who had no problem sacrificing and using others for her own ambition.

Since I have three spots left to make a 20 characters lists I’ll take this opportunity to fix some of my mistakes from my first psychopaths list.

Oh Sangwoo (Killing Stalking)

Psychotic sociopath

On my previous list, I said he was a psychopath, but the manhwa wasn’t over yet and later we see how mentally unstable he was which makes me think he’s more psychotic. But he still shows lots of antisocial symptoms such a superficial charms, lack of empathy and remorse, deceitful, cruel and manipulative. But he’s not born that way, this is the result of his abusive parents, especially his mother who tried to kill and rape him. I would say he’s mid-functioning, enough to kill efficiently, but still really unstable.  

Yagami Light (Death Note)

Sociopathic narcissist

Another one I qualified as a psychopath but after rereading about him I have to change my statement. Light does show a lot of antisocial symptoms such as charisma, liars, lack of empathy and remorse, deceitful and manipulative. But he’s not born that way, we saw when he lost his memory that he was capable of sympathy. And he doesn’t seem to have anything in his past who would have made him that way. My guess would be that he’s a narcissist that gains sociopathic tendencies due to the influence of the Death Note. Maybe he has genetic dispositions for sociopathy and it got awaked by the feeling of power and the ability to kill. I think Light is mainly a narcissist, he feels superior to others, he wants to be God and he’s power-hungry. He feels morally superiors and thinks he has the right to kill whoever he wants.

Baek Yeonhwa (White Angels Have no Wings)

High-functioning sociopath

And another one that was classified as a psychopath on my first list. Don’t get me wrong, with the first manhwa she could definitely have been a psychopath. But the author made a sequel and I have to change my diagnosis. Yeonhwa is definitely antisocial, she’s a cruel and remorseless girl who hides behind an innocent mask, she uses her disability to gain sympathy from others and hide her true self, she enjoys tormenting and hurting others and even went as far as raping her own sister. She showed no remorse for her actions and doesn’t seem to have any empathy. In the sequel, however, she fell in love with a girl and seemed to genuinely care about her. She’s not incapable of bonding and love, but it doesn’t erase all the antisocial traits she has. So I suppose high-functioning sociopath would be a better diagnosis for her.

That will be all for this list, I don’t know if I’ll make a fifth one, but if you have any suggestion feel free to tell me! 

[dlamp-dictator]

A Bittersweet Prequel (Akame ga Kill Zero)

Akame ga Kill! Zero is the prequel to Akame ga Kill!, a shounen manga based around a corrupt medieval empire and the group of revolutionary assassins attempting to take the kingdom down from the inside known as Night Raid. This specific spinoff manga focuses on the female lead Akame and her past as an assassin for the Empire. You get to see her interact with her old team, the Elite 7, her earlier missions and life as an Empire Assassin, and how she ended up getting her iconic Murasame blade before betraying the Empire. Overall, I liked this manga a lot, and unlike most things I like I have very few asterisks to put in front of that statement. This is an honest-to-God good manga from start to finish. 

But I still have a few asterisks to lay out. Nothing that usually scares people away from things I like. This isn’t Senran Kagura, Rumble Rose, Wanna be the Strongest in the World, or... honestly, half the manga in my collection. No, just a few gripes and annoyances you might have when reading the manga I think knowing in advance would ease the pain a little. 

Ultimately, this manga has three big issues for me. 

Oh, and I’m using a “read more” for once to see how that goes.

Anyway, like I said, three main issues:

It’s a Seinen

This isn’t the criticism you might be thinking. My issue with this manga is that it’s pushing for a Seinen rating rather than the fact that it simply is one. The original Akame ga Kill was a darker shounen aimed at an older teenage crowd. It had its fair share of dark moments, gore, and violence, and while a lot of it felt like it was done for edge or shock value after about volume 9 or 10, it wasn’t going too far with it in terms of content, at least for my taste. This was a manga about killers, murderers, and assassins at the end of the day, so killings, murders, and assassinations happened. A lot.

But Zero… went further.

Let me put it this way, if I had to give the original Akame ga Kill manga a rating I’d say it’d be rated T, maybe even a 16+ as it had some rather gruesome depictions of blood, gore, general violence, and some light sexual themes. Zero has all of that plus a lot more T&A, and namely uncensored T&A. 

Now I’m no prude, seeing anime titties isn’t exactly going to make me go up in arms about the manga. However, this has more to do with demographics and author intent. Like I said, the original Akame ga Kill had a lot of dark moments, but most sexual aspects of it was typical shounen wackiness. Sneaking into the girl’s bath, boob gags, the occasion girl in skimpy clothing, things like that. Zero has all that more, and in much darker showing. At least three characters nearly getting sexually assault, there are several sex scenes both implied and nearly shown, a lot of naked girls walking about at points, and general Seinen wackiness happening. 

I wouldn’t say these are bad things, but... they make me raise my eyebrows somewhat. Again, the original had its dark moments, and losing your chastity unwilling was definitely one of them. Hell, one mission of Tatsumi’s was in a brothel. However… that was originally a manga aimed at an older teenage crowd, around 15-18 if I had to take a guess, and the prequel, which was ran alongside the original for a time, was a Seinen aimed at a young adult crowd of 18-20+. This is a somewhat concerning jump in ratings and target audience. I understand the original demographic that’d be curious would have aged to this point, but... it feels like more of a forced decision to add it rather than trying to keep up with the demographic of longtime fans. Again, nothing bad, but curious. 

I’ll also add that there’s a different artist tackling this spinoff, a Kei Toru instead of the original’s Tetsuya Tashiro, so this might be a matter of artist preference than the writer’s intent. Still, you take out all the T&A and you’d get a decent manga all the same, so I can’t help but feel the Seinen elements were tacked on to fanservice rather than to show darker elements. It’s not Tsugumomo levels of forced Seinen elements, thank Christ, but it feels tacked on regardless.

But anyway, the second major issue.

The Shingu

The Shingu are basically Teigu that exist to give Akame and the Elite 7 cool weapons without completely retconning the world-building of the original Akame ga Kill. Lore-wise the Shingu are basically knockoff Teigu, an attempt to recreate the great weapons of old but were ultimately inferior compared to the the genuine products. They were still handy and powerful all the same, and are used by trusted and capable fighters within the Empire all the same. However, their existence showed the flaws in trying to do specific world-building, at least if you’re familiar with writing. 

To go a little off-topic for a bit, something I often say on my RP blog and when discussing general writing is to never get too specific with your world-building. The more you add, the more you have to adhere to as you write, lest you’re called out on it when retcons happen. And when Akame ga Kill already stated only 48 Teigu exist, but only half of them are even around it destroys any potential to have addition cool weapons in a sequel or prequel without some maneuvering around the lore. It can be done, but it does more to hamstring you in the end, and savvier audience members will notice it.

The Shingu do this to a certain degree. They don’t break the world-building, as the backstory of the Teigu are still intact, but for a savvier reader its pretty clear the Shingu were... unintended. By the logic of Zero, there should be several soldiers, officers, and generals with the weaker,but more numerous Shingu to compensate for the lack of Teigu and still having an edge in battle during the coming revolution. The Shingu honestly are just slightly weaker than a Teigu according to the lore, so it’s no big comparison really unless we’re talking Esdeath-levels of powerful. To shoehorn them in just to give Akame and her friends interesting weapons just... feels annoying to me.

But again, that’s ultimately a small nitpick. They don’t break anything, just lead to a lot of unintended consequences if you think on it too hard like I do.

But onto my last big issue, and it’s not really an issue, but an inevitability that caused the first too issues, which is...

This is a Prequel

I don’t know if there’s an actual term for this, so I’m going to call this the Fate/Zero Effect, in which the prequel of a series is far more superior to the original in terms of writing and is only neutered by the on-rails conclusion that leads to the beginning of the original series. I only call this an issue because there’s so much I like about this manga that the original kind of... feels weaker by comparison. But to talk about how that is I’ll have to talk about all the good things about this manga first. To start with:

Akame’s Characterization was Great

Akame was a very believable character in this series, someone working for her father-figure teacher as an assassin that honestly believes she’s improving her messed up country from within instead of advancing the agendas of the wealthy and powerful. However, she’s sharp enough to realize that people aren’t getting better no matter how many revolutionaries her team kills. She questions it, and her father’s dodgy, almost threatening nature about her doubts only pushes her further to leaving. Her slowly questioning the horrors and cruelty of the world and being the only one in her team to really question her father’s goal is a nice touch. 

Another nice touch is that you really do buy that she’s the weakest of the Elite 7. She’s strong, of course, but compared to the rest of her team she’s lacking in some department. She doesn’t have the commanding presence of Najasho, the strategic mind of Green, the absurd strength of Guy, the Levelheadedness and charisma of Cornelia, the instincts and quick-thinking of Pony, or the loyalty and cleverness of Tsukushi. She’s just… Akame, the assassin that’s a decent swordsman and likes meat.

I’ll admit the only thing that felt forced was Merraid pushing her further to see the Empire’s cruelty while captured by her, as Akame was already questioning it to begin with, but that’s just a minor nitpick. All in all, I did enjoy seeing this form of Akame, especially seeing her relationship with Kurome while it was still on good terms. Seeing the sisters actually bond and care for each other really helped show how much Akame cares for her, and how she thought killing her was the best choice in the end if Kurome was too stubborn or brainwashed to leave the Empire. And that’s just the main character, I have to give my respects to the side cast as well. That being said...

The Side Cast

The Elite Seven was a nice addition. They’re about as kooky as Night Raid but keeping them all around the same age was probably for the best. Not to say Night Raid was bad, but having everyone being teenagers following one main adult boss just creates better cohesion. Night Raid was mostly teens too, but the Elite 7 just feel a lot more like friends. I can’t really describe it. Maybe because they were already a unit by the time the series started, maybe because the writer got a lot better at writing banter, I really couldn’t say. They’re all likeable in their own way, and all great fighters when the chips are down. Next to Akame, Pony was my favorite of the group. Both design and personality wise they’re all unique. The writer has a good track record of writing good banter and synergy with a ragtag group. Between Night Raid, the Jaegers, the Elite Seven, and even Hinowa’s regiment in Hinowa ga Crush, they’re very good at making likable characters… right before killing them off. 

And that’s the issue with this being a prequel, we know most of the Elite Seven were slated to die. With the two exceptions of Pony and Najasho, which was an honest surprise for me, I think it was fair to say most everyone in the cast were slated for the chopping block due to the nature of the prequel to Akame ga Kill. They can only be characterized so much before the inevitable happens. Fate/Zero had this effect too, as we knew Kotomine and Kiritsugu would at least survive the war, but everyone else was... well, fodder, no matter how charismatic they were. I know this is done to create tension and a bit of bittersweet longing for the what-if, but... I don’t know, I can’t help but be a little annoyed by it.

There’s on more thing I want to talk about before ending this essay, so I’ll talk about...

Art and Story

Now, Fate/Zero had a new writer do its story and a new studio do the animation, but in Akame ga Kill Zero’s case we’ve got the same writer and a different artist. As far as the writing goes it’s a lot better in Zero. It’s still got a tinge of silliness mixed in with the serious, but it’s a lot better paced in more delivery and frequency. Merraid being a useless lesbian at times didn’t completely take over her character or detract from it. The general silly moments with the Elite Seven were almost always during a slow period that could afford a gag here or there to punch out the slow pace. Everything felt a lot more cohesive… which makes the chronological series feel a little weak by comparison. Again, much like Fate/Zero, going back and comparing the original Fate/Stay Night anime to the more mature Fate/Zero really feels like night and day in terms of the writing. I’m actually rewatching the original Stay Night this month and next and while I’ll give a full piece on my opinion next month I’ll at least say while it holds up surprisingly well for a mid-2000s anime, it definitely is dated in a lot of ways. 

In the same way, the original Akame ga Kill feels a bit dated as well, a lot the jokes feel more distracting than funny, a lot of the characters feel a little less realized and the plot itself feels a lot more rushed, especially at the climax. The powerscaling is also an issue, but that’s a whole other Rambling. Zero on the other, being a prequel, can only go so far in terms of plot escalation and powerscaling. With a permanent lock on those two things you can afford to tell a much smaller scale story without the worry of having to increase the action to a large degree because you, by design, can’t extend the powerscaling past around the beginning of the first story. Granted there are exceptions. To go back to Fate, Stay Night was a war fought by a majority of high school students and people not too attune to magic with only 3-ish people of actual competence out of the case of 10+, but Akame ga Kill Zero, realistically, can’t do anything bigger than using Muramase in a flashy way, making a lot of the fights more tactical. My favorite part of this series was that Akame had Kiriichimonji, a Shingu whose wounds would never heal. This made Akame’s fights a lot more tactically, strategically wounding enemies to whittle them down or give Akame an opening in the future rather than just a pure one-cut kill.

Art-wise… I’m not much for art critique, but I did prefer the original artist to the one for Akame ga Kill Zero. I couldn’t explain why, but something about the lines just feels… too light. Not bad, but I myself have a preference for dark, thick, and even sketchy lines, and something about this new artist feels a little too clean at times for something as potential dark as Akame ga Kill. Again, not bad, but not my preference either. I do like a lot of the designs like Poney and Merraid, but that’s really it.

Conclusion

Overall, my nitpicks aside, I enjoyed reading this manga a lot. I think I’ll pick it up again next time in the mood for a decent action manga. I’m slowly catching up to Hinowa ga Crush and I’ve got mostly positive feelings about it, so I know the writer still has some gas in the tank in terms of their writer juices and I can’t wait to see more of the world he’s creating.

[akatokuro]

The Inevitable StS Rewatch, Episodes 20-22

AH YES, AFTER TWENTY EPISODES, MY TRUE ANIME STS NEMESIS HAS ARRIVED....... THE ANTI-CAMUS.............

- When I first watched Saint Seiya a million (or six) years ago, I didn't really have a strong opinion on the Crystal Saint. Like, yumetabibito made sure to inform me what was actually up with the "Hyouga's master" situation, and it was obvious at a glance that Camus was the superior option for drama and Hyouga's development, but... he seemed okay for what he was?

- But on rewatch, phew, the Crystal Saint comparatively is... really, really bad!

- And it's not like Camus got much more screentime or anything versus the Crystal Saint. Camus is literally featured in like two episodes total out of 114. I don't even really count Camus as being present in the majority of the Hades arc, because he's there as part of a blob with a Saga-shaped head so Saga can dramatically Athena Exclamation at people. But even so, Camus is so much a better character in like every way possible holy cow.

- Before delving into that, though, I do want to note that a) Marin is super cool! and b) these early Aiolia cameos continue to be charming and also hilarious. I really seriously doubt Toei knew Aiolia was a Gold Saint at the time of writing these appearances, and only had his cameo in the first chapter of the manga to go off of. This leads to some really weird but ultimately interesting depictions, like the Silvers repeatedly disrespecting poor Aiolia hard. It was an accident, but it really works for his character and his endless, endless rage.

- Also, Shun and Saori's friendship is cute as fuck. See, this is why even though the filler is ridiculous, I do like some of the feelings of the dynamics we get out of it before the Bronzies get trapped by eternal stairs.

- I LOVE that Seiya repeatedly loses against Shaina early on and keeps having to be rescued from her by others. I really do like Shaina, but I think her having a crush on Seiya is super unnecessary and a total shame - I love her as ruthless and effective, but not necessarily evil.

- Marin throwing shade at Shaina and trolling her is fantastic. Shaina, fall in love with Marin, not Seiya, goddammit! She is objectively the superior option even putting aside Seiya's brain eventually going full broke for Saori!

- My Camusfamily-loving heart did eeeee to get a quick peek at the village I'm sure they had to go to to buy supplies and such. Please give me a filler episode of nothing but Camus terrifying the grocers as he simply tries to purchase carrots for his kids. Look, he doesn't mean to be scary, guys, he's really just figuring out which carrots to buy, it's just his face...

- I always wonder what's up with Camus (and his kids) wearing, like, the sleeveless shirts but also legwarmers? okay guys.jpg

- Okay okay okay. Crystal Saint time.

- It's really funny to think that the Crystal Saint actually probably preceded Camus as a character concept, since we know Kurumada literally pulled Camus straight from his ass ten seconds before introducing him. What makes it kind of a fun thought exercise to compare both of Hyouga's mentors is that they're really the same character concept and "type."  In some ways CS almost feels like a rough draft for Camus, honestly: Hyouga's kind-hearted master who loves him, and really wants the best for him, but whom Hyouga is tragically forced to fight and kill. 

- Crystal Saint, however, plays this absolutely straight with zero nuance or deviation from the script. He is a Good Guy (slaughtering the poor Sanctuary guards and snapping that one dude's neck aside) who objects to Sanctuary's brutality and evil. He smiles and laughs and pats Hyouga on the head and openly encourages him. The only reason he and Hyouga are forced to fight is because he is literally brainwashed.

- Aquarius Camus, on the other hand, needs no fucking outside influence or brainwashing to make a giant fucking trainwreck out of the situation involving the student he loves. HE DOES IT ALL ON HIS OWN, BABY.

- That instantly makes him a better character, because Camus - again, with pretty much the same amount of screentime - manages an interiority and an agency because he's conflicted about what he's doing and does not know the right or best thing to do, and his priorities are a complete tangled mess. He doesn't have it in him to just turn against Sanctuary on a whim. But he doesn't want Hyouga to die. But he doesn't go out of his way to find out what Hyouga is trying to do and if it's right or not, because oh my god Hyouga is going to fucking die aaaa aaaa aaaaaaaaaaa oh god aaaaaaaaaaa

- Part of what makes me like Camus so much is that he feels really interesting and unique for a "good shounen anime mentor" in what an utter fucking mess he is. Most characters in his type, like the Crystal Saint, essentially have their shit together to be very stable and solid figures for the protagonist to fall back on. They might put up a certain harsh facade in order to push their students forward, but ultimately they are in control of themselves and are deliberately orchestrating how they present and such for their students' benefit. I'm thinking of, like, figures like Hiko from Kenshin, or Izumi from FMA, those sorts. But not Camus. He is held in extremely high regard as a beloved mentor by the text - "not a day goes by that I haven't thought of you!" cries Hyouga (lol), and there's no questioning his love for his student, but he is a legitimate panicky fuckup who makes an assload of genuine, unnecessary mistakes in how he handles things.

- I should probably save some of my Camusramblings for when Camus, like, actually shows up though huh. OR I COULD JUST REPEAT MYSELF WHEN THE TIME COMES. YEAH. I'LL PROBABLY DO THAT.

- I also want to note that it's fucking hilarious that, like, Yakov tells Hyouga "oh no the Crystal Saint is evil now" and Hyouga is like "sounds legit" and fights him; meanwhile against the, er, "master of his master", Camus, Hyouga cries and breaks down and can't bring himself to punch him. I... hmm. HMMMMM

- But that's what makes Hyouga and Camus's relationship great and fun. The love between them is what gets emphasized, more than anything else - because their duty as Saints gets very entangled in the doubt that that love brings them.

- ANYWAY. MOVING ON. tl;dr, Camus is so obviously a superior option for "Hyouga's tragic mentor" in every way - as an individual character, and in his relationship with Hyouga, and how events play out - it's obvious why the franchise as a whole sort of innocently whistled and nonchalantly kicked Crystal Saint down a cliff.

- Shunrei and Shiryuu are cute as fuck! I don't give a fuck! They're sort of fun and unique in this setting as Shunrei is a "normal person" who is forced to just sort of deal with what it means for her beloved person to be a Saint.

- W-why do soldiers from Sanctuary have guns...?

- WHY BUILD A COMPLETELY RANDOM ICE PYRAMID?

- I like how they even ask the filler villain "why the fuck are you building a random ice pyramid" and it's like "IT'S A MONUMENT OKAY. FOR REASONS."

- I do like Hyouga being well-known and beloved by the villagers, though! I could totally see that! Playing interference for his extremely socially awkward master when they need to buy carrots...

- Camusfamily is forever my favorite, but Dohkofamily can be pretty fucking cute too...

- Boy, how many times is Saori's house gonna get blown up...

- Saori's reactions continue to feel really fluid and fun if you pay attention to her. I really like her panicking at first at her house getting blown up (AGAIN), but then forcing herself to hold it together and do the rationally correct thing, with obvious difficulty.

- Tatsumi you useless FUCK

- oh my god tatsumi giving in instantly and giving them information. why didn't you  guys let ikki kill him. jesus fuck

- It's a small thing, but I appreciate Saori remaining focused on her worry for Shun in this situation instead of, like, falling back on crying for Seiya or something. It's a bunch of little things like that that make me able to like them as a shounen hero/heroine pairing. Saori has a lot of different things on her plate, not just Seiya.

- Chains aren't the best weapon to fight against a fire-based Saint, huh, Shun? Try hard! If only your boyfriend was here!

- PHOENIX IKKI TRIUMPHANTLY REAPPEARS IN THE ANIME EARLY TO DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING UNTIL HIS MANGA REAPPEARANCE EXCEPT BE REALLY CREEPILY OOC. THANKS, IKKI!

- i know it's a meme but i still can't deal with that bit ikki waving shun's tears in his face what the fuck

[pear-otter]

righteous, offspring, crystal

Righteous: Their emotional/moral weak spots

Moral: I think Ai’s moral weakness is that she’s incredibly inconsistent. This was at first me playing her differently than how I had initially described her but then I sort of leaned into it. Like she is so completely fucking arbitrary. She’ll get all up in arms about some dumb school rule, that if she really sat down and thought about it, she wouldn’t care about at all. But she’ll also be like “who cares about dumb rules” and even “who cares about dumb Human social conventions” like, say, not eating babies. And it’ll shift from day-to-day, depending on what mood she’s in, if she likes the person in question, etc. Like Ai will never fault Moire for busting out of detention, and thinks it’s unfair that Moire would ever be caged in the brutal injustice of detention. Misha or Corbin however? Some days they deserve it and detention is a valuable tool to teach them the consequences of their actions. Other days it’s the same brutal injustice that Moire faces. tl;dr Ai is flakey, we all knew this

Emotional: Ai is sensitive. She can barely dish it out and she definitely can’t take it. She also struggles a lot with feeling like she’s always second best. Well, not even second. Like even people who she considers close friends, she’s maybe seventh on their list of people important to them at Wollstonecraft. She tries to be friendly and helpful, and make people food, and so many people would still rather hang with Reagan or Aud than her. So there must be something wrong with her, she’s too fake, too stuck-up, too Not Fun. And she would really really love to be able to change that so people like her better, but unfortunately some parts of her aren’t as changeable as others.

Offspring: What children does your character have, do they want anymore/any at all?

Ai currently has at least four children, Etsuko, Thiren, Corbin, and Theo. Joking. To be honest, Ai is sort of outgrowing this habit of seeing people she’s mentoring/guiding/etc as “her children”. On one hand, it’s a little sad because she’s having to face the stark reality that these people aren’t actually that close to her, and they have Actual families of their own, which sort of plays heavily into this weird inferiority complex I literally just realized Ai has. Like she’s being way less Weird about Corbin and Theo than she was about Etsuko and Thiren. Thiren was probably the peak, because she was Ai’s “child” with Val, because they shared the duty of being her WEB buddy or whatever it was. Before Thiren, Etsuko was genuinely Ai’s friend, and calling Etsuko Ai’s daughter was a little more legit because she really was trying to be supportive of Etsuko whenever she needed it, and was pretty much succeeding. Although she was a bit of an overbearing mother lol, sticking her nose into Etsuko’s business with Clea. With Corbin and Theo, it’s more like Ai continuing an inside joke with herself. She sees them both as something closer to a friend or brother figure (still a baby brother though, sorry Corbin who is older than her lol), and I think that’s better for her in the long run, because thinking of them as her friends, rather than as her “children” means it’s easier for her to form real connections with them and actually have fun and even offer support when they need it. Like Ai honestly did nothing for Thiren, but it was partially because Thiren fell in so easily with Moire and Daisy and Ai was wildly jealous.

Crystal: What do you see in your character’s future?

Well. Speaking of children. I’ll get back to that. I don’t have Grand Plans like Daisy’s world conquest or whatever, but Ai will continue to grow and improve her skills as a shapeshifter (and her powers to possess people). As she grows older she will grow more powerful. I do anticipate her, in some form, having children, but parenting in the very hands-off manner that Rumiko and Tatsumi did. I say “in some form” because Ai… won’t be the one getting pregnant… But anyway. I’m kind of bummed that she’ll be young looking forever, because I think she’d be absolutely hilarious as a little old Japanese granny. So one of her forms that she cultivates herself will definitely be a meddlesome old lady. I actually had an AU vaguely about that with Etsuko, where she and Ai live together in the distant future, in a flashy fast-paced sci-fi city and they’re cool sleek secret agents that are really powerful yōkai at that point and are just like these two crotchety gossipy old ladies at heart.

[justpompadoit-blog]

RULES Name your top 10 favorite characters from 10 different fandoms and then tag 10 people.

1. Sailor Moon

I love all of them and wish I could list every senshi, but I gotta say 90s anime Usagi is just my darling. She’s immature, scared, a crybaby, and fucks up a lot, but she’s also so loving and does so much for people. I just love having that in a protagonist, and a superhero. I haven’t seen that in a main character that wasn’t a subversion since and it’s just so important to me and gives such a positive message to people who can be heroes even if they don’t feel heroic. 

2. Yu Yu Hakusho

Team Uremeshi is bamf, but I gotta stick with Kuwabara. Punks with a heart of gold is a cliche, but it is one I love to death. I’ve loved the guy since that really early episode where he threw everything he had into studying just to help his friend out of a jam. And he hasn’t stopped being a sweetie since. Plus he’s a goofball and I gotta love that. 

3. Chrno Crusade

Anyone remember that manga and/or anime? Because I do, and Rosette Christopher was the SHIT. She was spunky and energetic and took no names, but she never fell into the fem fatale trap either, clearly dealing with her own struggles, insecurities, and emotions. She was an excellent protagonist and grew, so, so much as a character. (Well, manga, anyway. The anime botched that to hell, but that’s a different rant.) Also, while there was definitely fanservice in the manga, and it didn’t avoid skeeziness, Rosette still stood on her own as a compelling character to follow and didn’t need to shove sex appeal in your face to get you to care about her. And like, ten years later after the manga concluded, we could damn well see some more female protags like her. 

4. Tales of the Abyss

I still cry about Luke fon Fabre. He just. Grew so much as a person, and suffered way more than he ever deserved. He was able to become his own person and not live in anyone else’s shadow, (and broke away from a REALLY toxic and manipulative relationship, and I’m so, so proud of him.) His ending was fucking heartbreaking, but hey, happy end epilogues, am I right? Just. Don’t ever mention Tower of Rem to me, plz. 

5. Princess Tutu

Duck??? B-but Rue. But also, Fakir. But then again, Duck... NO, RUE. Fuck, I mean Fakir. I MEAN.

No. 

FEMIO. 

6. Persona

There are too many characters that I love, but lets just go with Kanji Tatsumi. Punk with a heart of gold, but also struggles with his sexuality. He was really REALLY relateable, and even if ATLUS ended up botching his and other characters’ arcs with their homophobic tomfoolery, I’m always gonna love this big nerd. Also, his social link was the best. Period. 

7. The Promised Neverland

They’re all good kids, but I think I’m enjoying Ray’s arc the most so far. Just seeing him struggle on his own, and hardening himself to save those most precious to him, only to have Emma steamroll through those walls and demonstrate that NO, you can rely on others and still make it out ok. Just. Chef’s kiss. He’s held it all in for so long, and god, I can only imagine how much he must of been struggling, esp. with Isabella legit being his birth mother. 

Also, my favorite thing about making Ray icons is skimming through the manga and just slowly watch as most of his expressions go from stoic stares and angry sneers to more open smiles and excitement, and just seeing how gentle he can be with Emma and the other kids. gUH. I am dead, fam. 

8. Steven Universe

Insert generic I love them all statement here, but I really do. Especially the main Crystal Gems. I’m a sucker for characters struggling and growing from crippling self doubt and low self esteem, so it bounces between Pearl and Amethyst. Watching them in the latest episodes and seeing how far they’ve come has brought me great joy in this house. 

9. Berserk

Guts is the only lone wolf edgelord muscle man that I will accept. Tragic manpain backstories can be a pain, but his just so raw and. You can see how clearly it still effects him, and how he copes with feelings other than “RAUGH RAGE DEATH VENGEANCE”. People who whinge about the later chapters being too fluff and not dark enough can kiss my asscheek. Having Guts surrounded by people who are genuinely supportive and care for his well-being, is so satisfying. And ignoring her crush on him, his and Shierke’s relationship is just really important to me. She does so much to keep him grounded and with his companions, and just. You’re doing great, sweetie. Best witch award. 

10. Homestuck

Goodness, would you look at the time, it’s time for me to gush about Dave Strider! Not only is he a huge nerd, but he’s genuinely funny and provides the best dialogue, is responsible for the best comic sensation of our time, and has overcome so much from his background and just had become better for it. I love this fucker. I love him and his douchey, shitpost spewing, shades-wearing sweetness. He is a fandom fave for good reason. 

Also Vriska is a gremlin and I l o v e her. 

I was tagged by @jaganeyed

I tag: All of you. Go forth. Gush about your faves. It fills me with energy. 

[xb-squaredx]

Shiki: Horrible Horror Execution

I’m not usually one for horror, and I don’t consume nearly as much anime as I used to, but I happened upon the horror anime Shiki with some friends some time ago. Essentially a vampire tale in a rural Japan village, Shiki is notable for being a fairly competent horror series that has some of the more bizarre creative decisions I’ve seen in some time, resulting in a series that is constantly trying to be scary, but more often than not ended up making us laugh. I’d like to go into why this series is entertaining…for all the wrong reasons, so join me below the break.

I can break down Shiki’s fatal flaws as a horror series with one word: presentation. If just a few things could be changed with the show, I think it’d manage to be something I could really recommend to people, at least under the premise of this being a scary show. Presentation can take on many forms; from writing to character design to music…and almost every facet of the show has some strange decisions that were made during production that ultimately work against it.

I’ll start small and nitpick the soundtrack for the series. In all honesty, most of the OST is pretty haunting, good at building up suspense and generating tension. That is with the exception of “Muddy Water,” a title that feels more at home in a rave than a horror series.

Maybe I’m just old fashioned, but beat boxing just doesn’t really sell me on horror. This song pops up frequently enough that it constantly takes me out of the moment, and I honestly question why this song was included. It’s like the dubstep included in Parasyte: The Maxim, being so jarring in a way I’m sure wasn’t intended. Considering a lot of the music has vocals, maybe this was intended to be unnerving, like hearing whispers in the dark but not being able to make out what is being said, but in execution it seems more like the show wants you to get up and dance.

A much more serious concern comes from the general character designs of the show. Speaking frankly…most of the cast looks utterly stupid. I know anime is no stranger to strange hairstyles and colors, but they really stand out in Shiki and never fail to ruin the mood. 

Be it Ritsuko’s bizarre spiraling ponytail, or Tatsumi’s cat ears, a great many characters have ridiculous hair. I could maybe excuse it if it was purely a thing the vampires have, a sign that they’re inhuman, but this seems to be par the course for the cast. It isn’t just hair either; a lot of the cast is just…comically ugly. Shinmei Muroi stands out, looking more ghastly than most of the vampires, but there’s also Ikumi, believed by many in the village to be crazy and she certainly looks the part. I’m not saying you have to have a cast filled with only beautiful people, but I feel after a certain point characters start looking like caricatures of characters than anything else, overly exaggerated. This also extends to costumes for the vampires, for whatever reason. There’s the ludicrous amount of outfits Megumi is seen wearing in the series, to the point that scenes taking place over a single day can have her in multiple outfits. Factor in weird things like Natsuno’s bright pink shoes, or the “outfit” Chizuru wears that can be described only as strips of orange tape and you’re left with a cast that looks more like clowns than vampires. I mean, can ANYONE even defend this outfit Tatsumi wears apropos of nothing?

I didn’t think so. It’s sad, as without all that, the vampires in Shiki can be pretty unnerving. Sunako, the “face” of the series, looks like a creepy doll in most appearances, and the image of blood red eyes just barely visible in the darkness set up some decent shots in the series in its early episodes. Much like the shark in Jaws, the monsters are just scarier when we can’t really see them that well.

Lastly, one of the problems with Shiki, near the end at least, is its attempt to make its monsters sympathetic and propose the eye-rolling idea that “humans are the REAL monsters!” I’m not saying that can’t be done well, but Shiki…really doesn’t do it very well. The bulk of the series builds the vampires up as killing machines that stalk people and view them as food, and then when humans get wind of them and fight back, suddenly the shiki are in the right and should be pitied. But a lot of wind is taken out of this argument’s sails when you realize that the Shiki attack first, they never really try to be diplomatic, and apparently are incapable of spreading out their feedings enough so that their targets don’t die of blood loss. Now sure, the humans are capable of a great many cruelties near the end of the series, but not without some justification. Viewers watch as villagers get picked off one by one for around twenty episodes, and when they fight back, it feels triumphant, but the series tries to frame it as tragic and I just can’t buy it. Maybe if the Shiki were humanized more from the start, rather than lurking in the shadows for a good part of the series, I’d feel differently, but the attempt at moral ambiguity just comes off as ham-fisted.

I’ll close here with the reminder that I was certainly entertained by Shiki a lot. It’s filled with memorable scenes and characters…the problem is that they’re memorable for all the wrong reasons. When it wants to, Shiki can be a decent slow-burning vampire romp, but all too often it becomes too absurd to take seriously. It’s meant to be a dramatic, horror story, but it comes off more as a horror comedy to me. I’m still a little split on recommending this, honestly. If you like straight horror, you might wind up disappointed with all these issues I outlined above, but it was a fun show to riff on with friends, and the fact that we rode it out until the end has to say something about it. There are some genuinely interesting ideas present here, some interesting characters and a lot of potential…it just would have been nice to see the series rise to meet that potential more consistently.

Until next time,

-B

[thegoldenonyx]

not believing with bokuaka

Why do I always end up torturing my children?

Akaashi Keiji did not believe in love, and he definitely did not believe in soulmates.They just didn’t exist, he had seen love go wrong so many times, it’s no surprise that he had lost hope. When Keiji was three, his mother walked out on him and his father, leaving behind nothing. His memories of his mother were scarce, even when she was still around she spent most of her time holed up in her office. It didn’t take long for his father to start bring home other women, none of which ever lasted long. In the twelve years since his mother left, Keiji’s father has been through three failed marriages, and countless failed relationships. It wasn’t for lack of trying, Keiji knew that, but it didn’t make him feel any differently.

By the time he was in middle school, Keiji had had enough. The women were changing constantly and he just wanted a way out. He began to stay at school longer and longer, always with the excuse that it was easier to concentrate, but his father was skeptical. Keiji loved his father, he really did, and that may have been the reason why he never told him how he felt. He hated all the women he brought home, he hated how they always acted nice around him just so that his father would like them. He loved his father, and he knew how hard he was trying, so he kept his mouth shut. 

When his second year of middle school began, Keiji’s father made a comment. During breakfast on his first day, his father sat across the table, newspaper in one hand, coffee in the other. Mornings like this were rare, just the two of them, and Keiji would be lying if he said he didn’t like it. He preferred times like these, no nameless women, just him and his father.

“Keiji,” his father said, setting his paper down. Keiji glanced up from his meal, staring over at his father, waiting for him to continue. “You did well last year, almost perfect grades and you were at the top of your class. I’m proud of you, I really am, but is it really necessary to spend all that extra time at school? I feel like I hardly ever saw you.”

There it was, the guilt. He knew his father wasn’t trying to make him feel guilty, but that didn’t make the feeling go away. He didn’t want to tell his father the real reason he had been out of the house so often, so instead, he decided on a different tactic.

“I guess I can do my homework here,” he started. He felt bad, seeing his father’s eyes light up; he wasn’t done yet. “I’m going to join a club this year though, so I still might not be home a lot.”

“A club?” his father asked, forgetting about his now cold coffee.

“Yes, though I’m not sure which club yet. Being involved in a club looks good on your transcript,” he explained, finishing his meal. What he said wasn’t false, being involved did look good, but he wasn’t exactly doing it because he wanted to.

Somehow, during that first day of his second year of middle school, Keiji joined the volleyball team. He had never been athletic, never much of a team player, but somehow he managed to get scouted by the current volleyball captain, Shiba-san. The whole series of events were rather odd, and Keiji still wasn’t quite sure how things managed to work out how they did. He had been walking in the courtyard afterschool, wandering around looking at the various club tables set up, when he heard a shout from behind him. Curiously, he turned to see a tall third year running straight towards him, one arm extended and a look of worry on his face. As a shadow appeared overhead, Keiji looked up to see a volleyball a few feet away, rushing right towards him. While most people would have run out of the way or blocked their face, Keiji put his hands up, allowing the ball to land perfectly within his grasp. He wasn’t sure why, but he pushed the ball back into the air, were it arched perfected in front of the third year. 

“You’re a setter,” the third year called, his voice full of amazement. Keiji furrowed  his brow, he wasn’t anything.

“I’m not a setter,” he replied, staring oddly at the other boy. He knew enough about volleyball to know what a setter was, and it definitely wasn’t him.

“What do you mean you aren’t a setter? That was the most perfect toss I’ve ever seen!” the third year yelled, looking between where the ball had landed and Keiji.”Are you in a club? I’m Tatsumi Shiba, third year captain of the volleyball team, and we really need a setter, especially one of your level.”

“Akaashi Keiji, second year. I’ve never played volleyball, but if you’ll have me, then I will gladly join your club.”

When Keiji first began volleyball, he didn’t think he would like it as much as he did. He learned the rules of the game very quickly, and he somehow was a pretty good setter right away. He worked well with his team, even if he only considered them acquaintances at best. His team quickly realized that Keiji wasn’t one to make friends, he was realiable on the court and friendly enough, but they didn’t push it. The closest thing he had to a friend was Tatsumi, but Keiji still didn’t consider it friendship. He didn’t form relationships with people, that just wasn’t something he did. He would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy Tatsumi’s company however; he felt oddly lonely during his final year of middle school without his former captain.

Graduation came and went, and before Keiji knew it he was headed for one of the best schools in Tokyo. He knew he could have gotten into Fukurodani with his grades alone, but spending two years on a good volleyball team was a good backup. Fukurodani had one of the best volleyball teams in the country, so being considered a good player himself was definitely helpful. Keiji’s plans going into high school was to focus on school work, quitting volleyball entirely, and he felt oddly disappointed about that. He knew that he wasn’t a bad setter and that he would probably make the team, but he also knew that there were much better players.

The morning of his first year of high school, his father said something. It was another rare morning, just the two of them together at the table, a similar atmosphere to that same morning just two years earlier.

“Keiji,” he began, setting down his newspaper and looking over at his son. “Are you going to continue volleyball?”

“No,” he replied simply, picking at his breakfast. Even though he said that, he wasn’t sure if he actually meant it.

“I think you should,” he father responded, taking a sip of his coffee. Keiji froze slightly, this was not how he expected this to go.

“And why is that?” he asked, putting his fork down. He really was curious; normally his father would want him to spend more time at home, so why was he pushing for him to continue volleyball?

“I know that you haven’t had the best upbringing and you usually just do what you have to in order to get by, but whenever I went to your games in middle school, you just looked so happy. You aren’t one to show your emotions, but when you were playing your eyes were the brightest I’ve ever seen them. I just don’t want you to stop doing something that makes you that happy,” his father explained. Keiji had never really thought about it, but he did enjoy volleyball, a lot. There were many other high schools in Tokyo with better academic programs that he could have easily attended, so he couldn’t help but wonder if there was another reason he chose Fukurodani.

“It won’t hurt I suppose,” he answered, turning back to his food. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father smile, true and genuine, 

Volleyball try outs were right after school, and Keiji felt weird. He assumed this was what nerves felt like, but he wasn’t sure. nothing had ever made him nervous. When he arrived at the large gym, he was greeted by a tall and energetic second year.

“Hello! I’m second year Bokuto Koutaro, wing spiker and soon to be ace!” he smiled, his joy reaching all the way to his eyes. Keiji felt strange, but not in the same way he did before. It was, almost nice.

“Akaashi Keiji, first year. I played setter in middle school,” he answered politely. As soon as he said the word setter, the other boy began to bounce around the room.

“Konoha he’s a setter!” he yelled to another second year across the gym. Konoha glanced over and gave Keiji an apologetic look.

“Bokuto, don’t scare the poor kid away,” he called back, walking over to them. “Konoha Akinori,” he greeted when he reached them. “I must warn you, this guy can spike for four hours straight and not get tired.”

“I could never get tired of spiking!” Bokuto cheered, jumping into the air and swinging his head in a spiking motion. “Hey Akaaaaaaasghi will you set for me?” he asked, already running towards the court. Keiji sighed and looked over at Konoha, who just shrugged at him in response.

“It’s Akaashi, by the way,” he corrected as he got into place by the net. 

“Sure thing Akaaaaashihi,” Bokuto replied, still somehow managing to pronounce it wrong. Keiji shook his head, Bokuto was definitely odd, but for some reason he really didn’t mind.

“Ready? Here we go!” Bokuto called, tossing a ball into the air. Keiji waited patiently, watching the ball. Bokuto’s throw was perfect, so he wouldn’t have to move in order to set it. As the ball got closer, Keiji watched Bokuto out of the corner of his eye; where he was going, the speed at which he was getting there, how high he was going to jump. As soon as the ball touched his fingers, it was gone again, speeding right towards Bokuto’s swinging arm. With a loud bang, the ball smashed against the wood floor, perfectly landing on the other side of the net. When Bokuto landed, he looked between his hand and Keiji, a big smile growing on his face.

“That was perfect Akagagashi! You’re really good!” he cheered, a goofy grin on his face. Keiji smiled slightly at the praise.

“You’re a good spiker. You have good form and power,” Keiji responded, he wasn’t great at complimenting people, but by the look on the other boy’s face he assumed he did just fine.

“I am the ace!” he grinned, smacking Keiji hard on the back. He flinched slightly, but he didn’t hate the contact.

“Hey, do you wanna stay after and set to me? It’ll be really fun!” Bokuto promised, looking directly at Keiji. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Konoha shaking his head violently, but something felt different about Bokuto, so he did something he never thought he would.

“Sure Bokuto-san.” The other boy’s grin lit up the entire gym.

Akaashi Keiji didn’t believe in love, and he definitely didn’t believe in soulmates. He did, however, believe in Bokuto Koutaro, and that was good enough for him.

[dornishsphinx]

twenty-two meetings that never happened (2/22)

2. THE MAGICIAN

Yosuke swiped his finger across the screen to bring up the email again, just like he had done at least five times already. Meet your assigned partner at the clock outside the main building at 12pm sharp! Once more, he found himself checking the time. With a little notebook-style flipping animation, it ticked over from 12.29 to 12.30. God damn it.

He shifted from foot to foot; his right, his left, then right again. Had his assigned partner forgotten about the meet-ups? It would be just his luck if he had - though maybe at least it would be a good anecdote for his first call back home.

Home. Huh. Yosuke folded his arms across his chest and leant back against the wall, letting his gaze drift upwards to level with the roofs of tall buildings which loomed over the plaza. So, Inaba was home to him now? Weird. The city had been what his default image of home was for the longest time, even months into the provincial life.

Things here were different to how he remembered them, though. He’d assumed he’d get back into the swing of things soon enough when he first arrived, but now it was undeniable, even for him: the city of his earlier years seemed to have melted away in his absence. Before, he’d had stable roots: parents to go back to at night; old friends he could chill with; the quickest routes through the wide streets firmly memorised.

Now, though? That easy closeness with his friends had been shaken by years’ worth of texts gone unanswered, and he wasn’t quite sure how to fix it, or if he even should. Several of his old haunts had been shut down - while he hated to empathise with the those among the residents of Inaba who’d shunned him and his family, he had to admit to finally gaining a glimmer of understanding the moment he discovered his favourite takoyaki stand had gone under. As for his parents, they were still in Inaba and had no plans on returning, their city house having been sold when they left town. He’d rode past it, once, when going to see one of his oldest friends from the neighbourhood, like muscle memory had forced him to go past his house. A strange kid had been playing outside. He’d avoided going that route since.

“Yo! Sorry I’m late!”

He snapped to. A friendly looking guy was waving over at him. Presumably it was his assigned partner - thank god, he wasn’t going to have to decide whether or not to leave. Yosuke flipped close his phone and plastered on a grin.

“Hey, no worries, I was kinda late too!” he lied.

“Yosuke Hanamura, right? I’m Kenji Tomochika. They sent your name and photo so we could find all you lost newbies.”

“Oh, cool! Good to meet you, senpai!”

God, what the hell was his voice doing? Why was it so high and panicky? Had Tomochika noticed? He hadn’t seemed to, but was he was just being polite?

“So, hey, you wanna come see the canteen first?” he said. “Food’s not great, but it’s hella cheap. I’ll pay. I’m the reason your lunchtime’s been cut in half, after all.”

“Sounds good. Senpai.”

Tomochika grinned. “Awesome, I’m starving! We can do the tour after, ‘kay?”

The canteen was a blocky, grey building, with some weird murals painted across it that only made the rest of it look all the more industrial. Inside, it was swarming with students; all the ambient chatter made the air hum. Yosuke hesitated, but Tomochika pushed on ahead into the queue to the hot food section.

“Hey, you should get the curry rice,” Tomochika shouted, “It’s actually okay. The rest of the stuff here pretty much sucks.”

His voice carried; the server shot dirty looks at him. Yosuke winced and brushed it off with an embarrassed grin - he’d been on the other side of the counter so many times, after all. Still, it wasn’t as though the guy was wrong: casting an eye over the other options, it became super obvious that none of these options were gonna be appetising. At all. Pretty much immediately, he decided to go with the suggestion - though not before his attention was caught by what looked like they were supposed to be steak skewers. Weirdly, he found a small, nostalgic smile had started tugging at the side of his mouth at the sight of them.

Then, his attention got snatched away from them by a polite cough. He snapped his head around to see the girl ahead of him already walking away and the cashier looking at him pointedly. He could take a hint.

Tomochika was after him in line - as he waited for him to pay, Yosuke scanned the room for any potential seats. Yeah, no, this place really was packed - like, the impossible to move, let alone find a seat kind of busy. But then again, Tomochika was swanning off like he knew what he was doing, and Yosuke didn’t have half the experience he did, and so he followed him. Magically, he found two seats. Yosuke leapt for his, just in case someone else spotted it before he managed to park his ass.

His stomach grumbled. Tentatively, he lifted out some of the rice - twisted his wrist around one way, then the other - and took a bite. (You didn’t encounter Yukiko Amagi’s cooking and not check for suspicious patches of colour or lumpy bits that shouldn’t be lumpy in every other meal you ever had.) Flavour - sweet, spicy flavour - burst over his tongue.

“Huh, not bad,” he said in surprise.

“I know, right?” Tomochika exclaimed, brandishing his own chopsticks in a way that would make anyone with the slightest care for dining etiquette wince. “Trust me, if you’re coming here to eat, you wanna stick with that. Someone should profit from all those terrible lunches I went through my first year, when I was testing all the options.”

“Hey, it can’t be as bad as some of the stuff I’ve had back-” He paused. It was one thing to call Inaba home to himself, quietly in his head. Hell, he might tell his friends, if it came up. It was another thing to say it out loud to a stranger he was trying to impress. “-In the town I was living in the past couple years. Seriously, it was like they thought steak croquettes were high cuisine.”

“What town’s that?” Tomochika asked, seeming genuinely interested.

“Uh, Inaba? It’s pretty tiny, it’s kinda near-”

“Whoa, wait, I think I know that place! I mean, unless there’s a whole bunch of little towns with the exact same name. Which could be the case, I guess. Lemme see, uh… is the school called Yasogami?”

Yosuke’s jaw dropped. How? How the ever-loving hell did this guy know Inaba? It was Inaba. Nobody knew Inaba. Mom had pitched a fit when she’d figured out how remote the town the company had been moving Dad to was, and that had only been after a boss-difficulty-level google search to actually find the place.

“Yeah,” he said, dumbfounded. “Uh, wow. How do you know Inaba? It’s like, in the middle of nowhere. It probably doesn’t even show up on maps.”

It was only after he said it that it occurred to him: it wasn’t as though Inaba was as unknown as it had been when he moved there. It couldn’t be. Not after everything that had happened last year.

“Oh, our school did an trip there in second year, to exchange ideas on learning styles, or some bull like that. It sure was, uh. Quaint?”

Oh, so it wasn’t because of the murder spree - well, that was certainly unexpected. Ugh, wait, why was he even thinking about that? It had been more than a year ago; this was a completely different place; and he was over everything that had gone on then. Forcibly shoving the sudden pit in his stomach away, he twisted his face back into the jokey way he’d had it before.

“You’re telling me. I had to move there because of my dad’s job - from this city, actually. Wasn’t exactly an easy adjustment.”

Tomochika winced at that. “I am so sorry.”

The response rubbed Yosuke the wrong way a little. It wasn’t Tomochika’s fault, obviously: he was just going along with the atmosphere of camaraderie to keep things from getting awkward in that oh-yeah-we-are-actually-complete-strangers-aren’t-we sorta way. Still, he’d found himself missing the little place over the weeks he’d been back, quaint and tiny and murder-y as it had been. Even the steak croquettes, at points. (Hey, he’d never said his feelings were rational.)

“Nah, but it wasn’t really so bad. Like, there was a city not too far away - I mean sure, it wasn’t convenient like here or anything, but I wasn’t completely cut off from the world or anything.”

“I mean, I guess that’s not as bad as it could have been, but still. I can’t even think about going back to Tatsumi Port Island now that I’ve lived here and the city there’s actually pretty big. Oh hey, so if you’re from here, maybe you should be the one showing me around-”

Yosuke interrupted him: “Tatsumi Port Island? I’ve been there! Well, I went to the school, at least. Maybe it was the same programme you went on to Inaba?”

“You visited Gekkoukan? Man, that must have been after I left. I wonder if anything’s changed since then.”

Wait. If Tomochika had been at Gekkoukan High a few years before Yosuke went on the exchange there, did that mean he’d gone to school with those Shadow Operative weirdos who’d shown up to take Labrys away? Naoto’s investigations, at least the ones she’d shared with the Investigation Team, had pointed to Gekkoukan as their old base of operations, and it would be around the right time, considering the guy only had a few years on him. Hell, was he one of them? Those guys had been pretty suspicious, after all, so it wouldn’t be completely out of the left field if they sent one of their own to spy on him.

Oblivious to Yosuke’s minor freakout, Tomochika laughed, brushing aside the matter that he’d got tongue-tied over.

“But man, that is so weird, like, we visited each others’ high schools and didn’t even know it. You think maybe the organisers looked into our backgrounds while matching us up, to see if people have anything in common like that?”

“Seems a bit much for them to bother with, doesn’t it?”

He peered at Tomochika, waiting for a reaction, but he just shrugged. “Huh, I guess you’re right.”

Maybe he wasn’t some Shadow Operative secret spy after all. Weirdly, he found himself a little disappointed.

“So,” said Tomochika, dragging out the sound, “Inaba. I heard that’s where that crazy murder case happened last year? You’d have been living there at that point, right?”

Oh. Yeah. Of course he knew. It was stupid to think he hadn’t: it had made national news.

“Yeah. I was.”

“Oh, wow, no way! Musta been pretty scary, huh?”

“Yeah. I mean, I guess.”

Something in Yosuke’s face - or voice, or maybe even just his aura - must have tipped Tomochika off, because he winced and in a hushed voice, he asked: “Ah, you didn’t. Uh. Know anybody who was, y'know…”

“I did, yeah.” Tomochika winced. “Oh. Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up,” he said, and to his credit, he actually sounded sincere about it. “I mean. I lost a friend in high school so, I know it’s not easy. I mean, he was closer to other people and it’s not like he was murdered but- I’m making this worse aren’t it? Sorry. I’ll shut up now.”

“It’s okay, man,” said Yosuke. “We weren’t really that close.” Well, it was true, even if only on her end.

“Still,” he said, “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Honestly, it’s no sweat. You didn’t know.”

Tomochika smiled back, a faint edge of nervousness creeping in at the edges. Oh, just awesome, he’d managed to freak out the guy he was supposed to be impressing. What the hell happened to him always being the most normal guy in the room? Though, looking back, maybe it had always just been in comparison to those goofballs he called friends back in Inaba.

Though. Maybe he could lean into it a little? New place, new people, new him? Oh, what the hell, why not?

“Hey, Tomochika-senpai, did you by any chance tune into the LMB Fest this summer?”