#like why have i seen someone say he’s a gyaru

[solitaireships]

Maybe I’m the friend that’s too woke or whatever but it bothers me how much people will compare Curly to babies and animals post crash. Like why do I see things daily of people treating a disabled man like a literal baby

[kairiscorner]

any haikyuu serious/stoic character with a gyaru gf that's outgoing but easily flustered and they just started dating 💗 pleeaasee!!!

omg. i am so tempted to make more of these, BC I CAN ALSO IMAGINE THIS FOR LIKE, SO MANY OTHER CHARACTERS I CAN'TTTTTTTTTT I LOVE THIS IDEA SO MUCH, AND I HOPE YOU DO, TOO 💓💓💓

his girl. (part 3)

summary: looks can certainly be deceiving, but he's not with you for how you look—he's completely smitten for how adorable and lovable you are as a person, as his girl.

* ੈ✩‧₊˚ hajime iwaizumi

he had never, never in the three years that he's been your schoolmate, seen you around campus with your pretty and bold clothes, with your striking hair and makeup—with that lovely voice of yours making him go crazy—never had he realized that, beneath your bold exterior, lay a sweet and shy girl that made him fall for you even harder. he had always struggled thinking of how to talk to you, how to approach you and ask you out on a date. when he finally mustered the courage to do so (after being threatened by oikawa that if he didn't make his move now, he'd get to you first) he realized that you were leagues shier than he could ever be; and that was so fucking cute to him.

now that you two are dating, iwaizumi makes it a point to call you beautiful everyday, not just because it's true and he wants you to feel that it is, but because he loves it when you get all bashful and embarrassed, when you hide behind your tiny hands in an attempt to cover your flustered face. when your make up is off and your hair is down, iwaizumi's heart skips a beat and his face gets all warm and fuzzy.

"oh, shit—i really lucked out in life; my girl's gorgeous." he blurted out subconsciously, his eyes glued on to you as he admired how you look without makeup, when you look the way you naturally do, and just... you being you. he loves every way you look and how you express yourself, and he's more than willing to shut someone who has nothing to say about you up; and for every bad thing you've heard in your life that's been thrown at you for how 'over the top' you look, he combats those words with sweet words that flow like honey of his own, and with gentle kisses to remind you how loved you are, how much he loves you.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ wakatoshi ushijima

it was hard for ushijima to take his mind off of anything but volleyball, but to work hard to make it to nationals—it used to be pretty hard, but now that you're in his life, ushijima has learned to find some balance in his life. first impressions plagued you both when you two first met; you thought of him as this big, scary, intimidating fellow, and of course he was! standing at 189 centimers and with daring eyes like his, your shyness quintupled when you accidentally bumped into him on your first day. ushijima was also taken in by how you looked for a split second, he originally thought you were one of those popular girls who were spoiled, that you probably thought you were better than ushijima, which was why you never said anything to him when you two bumped into each other. he didn't expect you to apologize, so he let it go—until you parted your lips and let out a soft apology. ushijima would never forget the feeling that rumbled in his chest as this smaller girl, who he thought he would never come to like or have an opinion of, actually apologize to him.

and from then on, after he acknowledged your apology and gave an apology back, you two kept bumping into each other here and there; it was comical, really, tendou kept teasing you two for it, saying you were both star-colliding lovers, or whatever pun he made up for it that got annoying, yet sweet, real quick. when you two realized your feelings for each other, ushijima felt sort of protective over you after you both became official. he had a habit of playing with the ends of your hair involuntarily, just fidgeting with the ends of it, threading it in between his long, thick fingers. he loved it when your small hands would envelope around his fingers to hold his hand on the way home, and he made sure you would always get home safe.

because of tendou and the rest of the team, ushijima had finally learned how to say these words with a smidge of confidence and endless love behind them: "remember... i love you. a lot. stay... safe. and... you're beautiful. i love you." he said in his usual deep, rumbling voice and stoic expression; though you could tell ushijima had to muster all his confidence and put a lot of his heart into that. you got all flustered and smiled, thanking him in stammers and giggles, making the corners of his lips turn up into a slight smile. his gaze was soft and caring, and ushijima wanted nothing more than to have you in his arms before he'd make his way home. that now became his favorite routine, wrapping his big, muscular arms around you, and gently hugging you—holding you close and burying his nose in the crook of your neck as he ends the day with a hug from you, thinking of you subconsciously, wishing silently to himself that tomorrow would hurry up so he could hug you, hold you, and say he loves you again, and again, and again.

[emma-is-swaggy-and-epic]

Expanding on my MLP next gen AU "shipping is magic" except i let too many ideas marinate in my head at once and now my wrist hurts from drawing so much :)

BASES USED:

X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X

I would say "ships and lore under the cut" but tumblr ALWAYS likes to fuck up my post layout whenever i post SPECIFICALLY MLP base art for some reason soooo.......idk

As some of you may know: i included fluttershy x tree hugger into my next gen but recently i've decided that in this AU: fluttershy is actually now in a polycule with tree hugger and quarter hearts (that one background pony that looks like link from the legend of zelda) because i saw it be included in one of dragonairlover (or SodaSurfer97, depending on where you follow it)'s old youtube videos back when it did next gen requests for people as part of someone's next gen and i really liked that idea so i included the ship in mine, the mostly-yellow pony with the triforce necklace is named canary crescent (he/him) and he's the son of all three (biologically, i mean) while the blue-haired pony next to him is named navi (she/her) and she's just flutter and quarter's kid. Obviously, navi is based on navi the fairy from the actual zelda games though i wanna say that she's got some inspiration from the blue fairy from pinocchio as well

The next five are gonna take a while to explain....so y'know how i had two lunacord kids already? Well....i decided to expand it into 7 and base them all on the 7 deadly sins because i thought it'd be cool (the ones i already made represent pride and sloth now), the pink one represents lust and is named "after dark" (she/her), the red one represents wrath and is named "wild side" (which TOTALLY isn't because i had the beastars opening theme which coincidentally is also titled "wild side" stuck in my head while drawing, what are you even TALKING about!??!?....anyway, she/her) The purple one represents greed and is named "hypebeast bling" (god, remember when hypebeasts were a thing? He/him) the brown one represents gluttony and is named "midnight snack" (they/he) and lastly the blue one represents envy and is named cendrillon (who TOTALLY isn't named after the vocaloid song AT ALLLL!!!!!! She/her) cendrillon wants to be like her older siblings, thus why she's envy

These next ones: well....idk how many people know of this nowadays, but when the episode "baby cakes" first came out, people theorized that rarity ALSO had a baby in that episode alongside mrs cake because in the opening scene: she was seen looking at a baby with a VERY similar color palette to her. I actually really like that theory so i decided to incorporate that into my next gen, with rarity having a kid with stony pony before eventually getting with braeburn and having rosemary and having to give the kid up for adoption because she couldn't take care of her (and also because stony's a fucking deadbeat lmao) ......so yeah, i named her heloise (she/her) and she's very spiritual and cool......probably has an AWESOME crystal collection. The blue pony next to her is named "birthday cake" and she's pound and pumpkin cake's younger sister. Lastly there's prince corium, chrysalis and tirek's 14-year-old son. I imagine that he's not really evil in the same way his parents are, but he's moreso an edgy fuck who thinks saying slurs and making fun of furries is peak comedy....also he has some SERIOUS beef with pastel dream (my flashlight kid from another post)

Moving onto equestria girls, i didn't want it to JUST be the next gen from the pony universe but just in the EG universe so i decided to be a little creative. So for EG's mane 5 we have rarity and applejack's identical twin daughters praline punch (who's a graphiti artist and is into amekaji) and frou-frou (who's super ditzy and into hime gyaru), fluttershy and bulk biceps' daughter sunny sunflower, sci-twi and sunset shimmer's daughter pasadena (who has a crush on sunny and TOTALLY isn't named after pasadena from crash bandicoot I SWEAR!!!!) And flash sentry and timber spruce's daughter happy camper (who is a trans girl, but is still a lil early into her transition and she's into cryptozoology)

[autisticdiluc]

yandere simulator ramble (mostly ab ayano)

see my thing is with yandere sim obviously there are a bunch of problems from alex himself being the developer, the panty shots in the game (because even tho it's used as blackmail with info-chan and sold to those who want it or wtv there could be a way easier way to blackmail the girls for points), the depiction that the bullies are gyaru giving the impression most gyaru's are mean/bullies, the fact that oh everyone is 18 even though they clearly arent?? amongst other things

yet even then there's something still addicting about the game especially with ayano being a yandere, or to consider: someone with obsessive love disorder (the highest 'level' or intensity of this). even then, although obviously everyone in the aishi family just has to be a yandere, it was gonna be obvious that ayano was gonna be one too right?

First Part: Emotions

ryoba fed into the mindset that ayano needed that special someone to be complete so she could finally feel something and she's 'reassuring' ayano that she, ryoba, was the same way when she was younger as well until she found jokichi. ayano, as a child, knew something was wrong with her. there is no doubt that something continues to be wrong with her especially after her own mother teaches her to get rid of blood to use it later to "get rid of future obstacles." Obstacles which refer to the rivals; rivals who are just girls that have a crush on taro (minus muja kina and mida rana because theyre just creeps i fear). even so ryoba's words lingered in ayano's mind. that was ayano's reason to live - something to look for. which btw is kinda fucked up cause she's a child thinking this but also fair anyway,,

Jokichi has attempted to make ayano's life better. he has tried to be a good father; he has tried to be the best that he can be in order to make his daughter feel normal. but with how ayano is - how she is broken from the start - it was impossible. it didn't help that ryoba encouraged the behaviour almost, saying she was exactly the same as ayano AND how she wasn't worried at all. jokichi didn't like that but ayano is nothing but an empty girl. however, what i find interesting is that she felt pity for her father. despite everything she felt pity, and that!! is an emotion!! why i find this interesting is how she can feel something for someone else but not for herself. as a result of her pity, she began to act like other children pretending to be normal and happy for jokichi, despite how she knew that he didnt really believe her happiness himself.

and then!! ayano began to pretend all the time. to stop the bullying, to fit in with everyone because it was simply more convenient even if ayano didn't really care if it happened or not. she had friends (though she didnt care about them) and she had a routine established by pretending all the time. she grew resentful of being 'broken'. as funny as that is because she was supposed to broken, yet, she felt emotions to a mild degree. resentment (some might also say bitterness) is like more complex emotion rather than your typical joy sadness etc but it's still an emotion. and ayano WANTS to feel and have emotions anyway. she craves it, ayano longs to feel, its almost painful itself because she can't experience it to a high degree. HOWEVER!!!!!!!!!! as small as it is she's felt emotion: she's felt pity and bitterness and she wants and wants and thats so interesting. what's even more interesting is her length to have emotions. in her lore video, she is seen killing a cat to see if she felt something like guilty or remorse but nothing happened. this is where it (chronologcally) is seen that ayano is willing to do extreme things to see if she could feel something, so it's not a surprise when she's willing to kill her 'rivals' to keep taro.

now ayano is described as someone who has no personality, no hobbies, no true friends, nothing, just an empty husk of a person. however, when she meets taro that changes drastically. she has clearer and obvious emotions; she finally has the feelings she always wanted. although, i believe that she wouldn't react to having feelings the best especially after finding osana talking to taro etc etc. if you lived your entire life having no emotions (not any major or obvious ones anyway) until you find your someone (someone who you've been dreaming of, waiting for, needing) and all the emotions finally comes crashing down all at once,, don't you think you'd be more than a bit overwhelmed? she's been missing out on all the sensations people had since birth. she's always felt incomplete and then all of a sudden she meets taro and it fits like a missing puzzle piece finally being placed down. it was clear that taro made her feel happy, wanting love and all positive emotions. although, now that she has emotions: she's going to have to experience the 'bad' ones too. she'll experience anger, annoyance, fear, anxiety, jealousy, desperation, envy, hatred etc etc.

as soon as she sees osana talk to taro yeah you can tell she feels all the negative emotions all at once. she finally has emotions, she finally can experience what everyone else takes for granted, but osana comes in and threatens her. osana talks to taro, has a crush on him, and that sends a spike of fear and anger through ayano because ayano should not be stripped away of her newly found emotions. she needs the emotions. and as a result she needs taro because he is the one allowing her to feel this way. she's in love with the emotions. it's not love that she has for taro, not really, but she is obsessed. she has the overwhelming obsessive desire to protect and possess taro (which is literally the description of obsessive love disorder). she needs taro like how she needs air now that she's met him.

as i said like 3 paragraphs above she's going to be overwhelmed, like it or not, and whenever people are overwhelmed they tend to take an unnecessarily drastic and extreme path because when you're overwhelmed you aren't in the best mindset. ayano is still a human even if she was "broken" before. she makes mistakes and she's going to be overwhelmed by her emotions for a while especially because she feels like she's is almost dead when she's not near taro. taro is a trigger for her essentially. when he's near, the overwhelming feelings all come back. she felt dead before, now she doesn't and these feelings repeat over and over every time she's away from taro and when she goes near him again.

on another note, although ayano "has" taro currently, (in the sense she knows where he is, he's just in her reach and he's so close to being hers; the only thing stopping that is that he doesn't know completely acknowledges her, AND there are her 'rivals') she still feels broken and incomplete when not near him as mentioned. yet, this incomplete feeling hurts MORE because she knows who her someone is. im going to bring up the fact that ryoba and jokichi went to the states for a 'vacation' (to kill the journalist) without warning. i find it interesting because ayano is most likely to experience negative emotions more intensely than before. taro has brought the emotions to light so i believe she still feels them when she's not near him but it's so mild that it's barely there. despite that, there is no doubt that negative emotions are easier to feel. ayano was shown to be angry that osana has a crush on taro (and she wasn't near taro at the time) after finding out from info chan in the opening cutscene,, in fact she was at home meaning she was not close to taro at all. as i mentioned before though taro is almost like a trigger so its most likely just that. but even then the intensity of negative emotions she could feel may be easier to give into. so.... going with an idea that they are easier to give into, it's easier to feel even when not around taro. i believe the feeling of loneliness is something that is practically overtaking ayano's very mind.

ayano has always been lonely, before she met taro and after. she's been lonely in the sense that she never had been able to connect with her peers on a genuine note. lonely in the sense that jokichi only worried about her wanting her to be normal and ryoba was the opposite, not worrying at all. lonely in the sense she always felt incomplete, lonely cause she knew she wasnt normal, lonely because she needed to be fixed, lonely because nobody other than her mother and all those who suffered from the "aishi conditon" would understand her. and even though those with the "aishi condition" would understand, most have already found their someone (or killed themselves, some have been hypothesized to live even without their special someone, yet, theres no canon proof of that i think) so they werent "broken" anymore. and speaking of the those finding their someone it is highly likely that ryoba devoted more of her time to jokichi than she did to ayano. the reason i believe this is because although ryoba has jokichi, she needs him to love her as well. gonna leave it there because i can make a whole different ramble on that alone but!!! ryoba and jokichi are away in the states currently. so if ayano did feel lonely before, she's going to feel lonely in that empty house. a house too big with your own thoughts, own freedom and doing whatever the hell you want. ryoba actively encouraged ayano to do whatever she needed to do to get rid of the 'obstacles' in her life if she found her special someone. its no surprise with the eliminations you can do one of them is torturing your rivals (or even just mind breaking a random student). (On a side note Japanese houses don't typically have built in basements so ryoba had to literally custom add that)

anyway I bring forth another thing: neglect. however I'm going to go into detail with this with the second part: OLD

Second Part: Obsessive Love Disorder

Obsessive Love Disorder is something that Ayano has. Obsessive Love Disorder as said earlier is a disorder where a person feels obsessive over another person and feels the need to protect them. this isn't really looked at as an 'actual' disorder to psychologist but i couldn't give two bare fucks about that. let's break it down with SOME of the symptoms of OLD:

overwhelming attention to someone

obsessive thoughts

feeling the need to protect the person you're in love with

possessive thoughts and actions

extreme jealousy over interpersonal relationships

low self-esteem

may not take rejection lightly/easily

ignoring personal boundaries

overly controlling

being overwhelmed with emotions about a person that is disrupts your daily function

threatening the other if they leave

monitoring the others actions

blurring or crossing boundaries

anxiety

inability to tolerate time away

most if not all of these things can be easily associated to ayano's behavior. ayano stalks taro, occasionally fantasizes that he kidnaps her, dislikes all the girls who try and talk to taro, wants him all to herself, feels dead when he's not near, follows him home so she can spend more time 'protecting' him, cannot see a life without him (evidenced by 'snap' ending as when she kills him, she kills herself not long after), her first interaction with him shows her finally feeling emotions and as i said she's going to feel overwhelmed with them, anger and anxiety that a 'rival' may be able to take taro away from her, based on ryoba where she tortured jokichi i doubt that ayano would take lightly is taro tried to leave her, finally rejection results in quite literally being heartbroken AND snap so it's obviously not taken easily nor lightly etc etc

anyway!! those are some examples that relate to the symptoms now here are two of the many causes.

some of y'all (if anyone reads this actually but the group council in my head will suffice) may not like this one but number 1 is neglect.

neglect is one of those things that can be in several forms. the more common forms would be emotional neglect (AND!! physical neglect), e.g. not telling your child you're leaving to go away to take care of some 'business' until you're already gone. (even worse when the business is to kill a man but yk). with this neglect you're emotionally unavailable (and in this case also physically). to understand better emotional neglect it is when a child does not receive the stimulation and nurturing they need. ayano has not received stimulation or the necessary nurturing from ryoba because ryoba fully heartedly believes that all ayano needs is that special someone. in a sense, she is right but she was actively neglecting ayano by not helping her instead just repeating that someone will come to complete and fix her. (it must be remembered that not all neglect is intentional, but it happens anyway) as said in the example it can also be physical neglect as ryoba left a teen all by herself in a house whilst indirectly promoting the use of the basement through vague post cards and childhood lessons.

(And yes! Encouraging negative behavior is neglect because you do not care what happens to those around you!)

another form of neglect that ayano experienced was medical neglect. this form of neglect isn't as obvious but can be picked up in ayano's lore video. at the very beginning, it is stated that her first memories are that of hospitals, doctors and everything medical wise. this was most definitely jokichi's work as the best ryoba has stated on the matter was how they were similar and how ayano will find her someone to complete her. now later (but before ayano pretends) the hospital etc weren't mentioned again. it can be thought and implied that ryoba decided it was a waste to focus medically on ayano because she'll simply find her someone to cure her later. this can be thought out to be medical neglect because there could've been a small chance if ayano kept doing, if she visited more happy places there's a possibility something could've changed. even then this neglect isn't so obvious so it's easy to ignore. to add on though teaching your child how to clean up blood for not so good reasons is encouraging negative behavior and could be a contribution to her messed up mindset.

another reason would be delusional jealousy. this is inhibited by an instance or things that are false. this delusional jealousy can also make one believe someone is in love with them even if there are obvious signs that is not the case.

okay for this reason I believe the delusion itself is fostered by the fact that ayano needs taro so she believes he must need her. it's a common mindset even without OLD that if someone needs something, others must need it too making possessiveness and jealousy to form. because the game isn't complete and is likely not going to be complete in the next decade, it's hard to tell if taro would actually like ayano as a genuine person. (and I would say that it's kind of obvious that he doesn't but in game taro is a pussy? if you even stand near him for more than 5 seconds he's like "oh she's strange" "stay back get away from me!!" even when ayano isn't doing anything?? like in game I wouldn't be close enough where the pink love thing pops up and taro would still be like "get away from me!!!") but if ayano hypothetically talked to him like all of her rivals, then taro would maybe like her.

once again these two are not the only ones that can be associated with ayano but these are the only ones I wanted to discuss.

anyway ending this section to go to the next important one!! drumroll... Pacifist vs Murderer

Third Part: The Endings

this is the third part of my rant that consists of pacifist ayano vs murderer ayano which could be "Good Ending" Ayano and "Bad Ending" Ayano.

starting off with something a good bunch of yan sim fans don't actually agree on is that pacifist ayano is a completely different person than murderer ayano.

and you might be thinking "wrap it up luca,, pacifist is different than a murderer no shit"

but really it's more than that. pacifist ayano is different because she actually truly expresses her emotions when she's a pacifist. even if you gossip about the rivals or expell them where they don't show up to school anymore, ayano can be seen as a person who expresses her emotions because she's so much more than a murderer. this is even more vividly seen if you befriend the rivals. once again this is based off the two rivals that are out, osana and amai. if you decide to befriend osana and she comes to your house in the morning, there is the infamous talk where osana talks about her stalker and how she can't believe that someone could fall in love without knowing them. this, to ayano and the player itself, can be associated with ayano herself especially considering how she 'loves' taro without knowing him and has stalked him. now when ayano decides not to betray osana, giving her normal tea, it can be seen how desperate ayano is to keep taro without actually harming osana. osana may like taro, but ayano needs him. the desperation expressed through the befriend route shows the most human ayano ever. this desperation and longing for taro is carried through the same befriending route with amai (although her conversation involves jabs at having a "rival" and "eliminating" them).

the most human and realest part of ayano is when she befriends the rivals and begs them not to confess to taro. (if it isn't obvious I love the pacifist ending because I like the raw desperation and human form of ayano compared to the murderer route)

in contrast to pacifist ayano, when ayano murders the rivals, her sanity obviously decreases. unlike in game where you can giggle or go near taro to increase your sanity, it's not that easy irl.

keep in mind if ayano doesn't increase her sanity and it goes below 20% then ayano starts hallucinating and murdering those around her. even if ayano could realistically easily increase her sanity after killing a rival that is to show that ayano will only be a murderer (something the headmaster and megami saikou thinks her to be). if ayano were kill and regain her sanity quickly she is as broken as people think her to be. she is truly nothing but an empty husk who follows her mother. she may have emotions but she isn't someone you can love. she isn't someone who can be seen as a human. like ryoba, ayano would most likely follow the path that ryoba led where ayano simply kidnaps taro at the end torturing him and making him her husband. as said earlier, negative emotions are easier to form so it would be easy to give in to the pestering intrusive thoughts to kill her rivals. it's the quickest way out and it's the true emotionless thing most want her to be. being violent seems to be the easiest way out and most often people take that route, however, in the very end ayano simply follows her mother's path of decay and destruction. murderer ayano is easier to conform, though, is that the real ayano? is she someone who can't be proven not to be broken? another thing is that if ayano does go this route and she doesn't get caught, all she ends up doing is create a cycle. she continues down the path that ryoba had laid out for her since the beginning. (which honestly is the lousiest route and ending to take because people just loveee the trope of repeating the cycle)

personally I don't care much for the murderer ending but I will admit it is interesting to see how ayano spirals and ultimately decides to kill off every single one of her rivals.

the next two endings are going to be briefly the genocide ending and "snap" ending.

genocide ending is simply the ending where ayano is a murderer but instead of just applying that to just her rivals she does it to the entire school minus taro. it's the 'darkest' ending depending on how you look at it because it proves that ayano couldn't stand anyone else coming between her and taro. she needed taro all to herself and she did just that by killing every single person in the school all in the first day of the week (minus the headmaster, taro, infochan and the guidance counsellor). in this ending you can tell that ayano's sanity is completely gone by the way she says "so..i killed them all" in the cutscene that plays. ayano says it in such a manic and inhuman way its obvious that she doesn't regret it now that she can have taro all for herself. at the very end of the cutscene it pans to taro being in the basement tied up. this is where its clear that ayano follows ryoba completely (if not surpassing her in terms of violent nature and sense due to how she killed every one instead of just her rivals) to keep taro as her senpai.

and finally, snap ending. Snap ending is by far the most interesting one in terms of endings. Before ayano kills taro with the knife, when she walks to every student she kills them with her bare hands. in this ending I believe that she's more "broken" than her other endings. she's given up on this world and she's willing to take out others who get in her way (literally). the others are so terrified to the point where they can't even move, they just watch until it's their turn. ayano feels nothing but heartbreak and there's no other option but to kill taro then herself. even before she kills herself with the same knife she used to stab him, the insistence of voices saying "do it" continue to loop giving her no other option but to join taro. this ending is so interesting because it shows how ayano physically cannot live without taro and how she's willing to make sure that nobody else has him. another thing interesting about it is the trope of "if you die, I die". this trope is placed into things like Romeo and Juliet where Juliet pretends to die and Romeo kills himself to "join" her. when Juliet wakes up and finds Romeo dead she soon follows killing herself actually to join him.

anyway I think I'll stop for now cause I've been at this for hours LOL

The End (for now..)

idk I like yan sim a lot and I love ayano's character (I doubt yandere dev was smart enough to do it on purpose but whatever.) Ayano is literally my girl and I love her so much ❤️❤️ ayano is just a girl she can do many wrongs and ill support her anyway

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure - Enemy Chara Songs

It's time for some more digimon music appreciation! I love character songs so much. I wish every anime had them, not just the big shounen ones. It's pretty funny that voice actors are just expected to sing no matter how small their character was in the show. IDK that I've ever seen a collection quite like this with all non-human villains.

Etemon: Love Serenade

Listen here

Translation here

A bop. I listened to it twice lol. Much like in the anime, it's Etemon bragging about how cool/what a super star he is. The song is interspersed with bits of Etemon reprimanding the crowd for not appreciating him enough and he eventually wins them over (or forces them to pretend to enjoy his concert?)

Etemon uses the "acchiki" personal pronoun. Is this a monkey version of atashi? Atashi is feminine, so is this part of his kind of effeminate way of speaking?

Gotsumon and Pumpmon: Let's Gotsumon, Pumpmon

Listen here

Translation here

Amazing, iconic. Perfectly captures Gotsumon and Pumpmon's happy gremlin vibe. It was also a rap which fits their Shibuya obsession I think. Loved all the little references to Shibuya culture (gyaru, takoyaki, 109 department store).

There's a valley girl voice (or whatever the Japanese equivalent of that is) that comes in and kinda shit talks the boys, but they just go "whatever! We don't care what anyone thinks of us!" and I found it kinda inspiring lol

Pinocchimon: The Forest of Spinning Gears

Listen here

Translation here

Okay, this one is really bad, which is a shame because Pinocchimon was one of my faves! For some reason they sped up the singer's voice so that they sound like a chipmunk and it's super grating....why. Also, the song itself just kinda sucks. Not much of a melody. Lyrics are decent, I guess.

Seriously...my ears are bleeding lol

Ogremon: I'm Ogremon

Listen here

Translation here

Kinda forgot about this dude lol (cuz he's ugly and boring)

Ogremon's kinda tone deaf. His ORAORA's are nice tho. His song is just all about beating someone (the listener?) up. Fittingly dumb.

Sukamon and Chuumon: Easy-Daisy Poopy-Tossy

Listen here

Translation here

This one was very similar to the Gotsumon and Pumpmon song but had more of a ska vibe to it. Very fun, despite all the potty humor haha. The nonsense words were very catchy and Sukamon and Chuumon switched off more evenly than Gotsumon and Pumpmon did in their song.

I learned something new, apparently "chichin pui pui" is something parents say to make kids feel better. It doesn't really mean anything and is more like a magic spell (like abracadabra).

Devimon - Dark Wing

Listen here

Translation here

A ballad-style song sung over what sounds like video game bgm, kind of a strange combo tbh. I don't really remember Devimon having a ton of dialogue, so hearing him sing this much feels kinda strange haha.

I wish this song was faster paced, Devimon sings verrrrry sloooowly

I said this was ballad-esque but it kinda devolves to talk-singing haha. I like the backup "~dark wiiiing~" singers. Dark Wing sounds like a Batman character.

[dearest-painter]

Can you do a Gary smith fix with a girl that’s like the gyaru girls from YANSIM? Fuck yandev, but i think it’s be a really fun concept if they had like a love-hate relationship. I Hope you have a nice day!

OH YES I CAN! SO FEM!READER IS MOSTLY BASED OFF OF HANA!

TW/CW:Gary himself, Yandere behavior, unhealthy behavior, unhealthy relationship, abusive relationship, abusive behavior, Reader sorta bullies people but by herself she just does not give a flying fuck about anyone, Gary being the shit out of people, SORRY FOR THE LATE RESPONSE, Someone getting beat up(it’s bullworths), Reader is based off of Hana Daidaiyama, Insults, degrading(It’s gary), These fuckers might be a match made in heaven(or hell) sinve they both bully people and honestly aren’t that nice, and yes this is a love hate relationship but no it’s not classified if they are dating, tell me if I need to add anything

Summary:Everyone in Bullworths knew one thing, Gary and Y/N were made for each other. Even if they’ve been seen fighting a lot, they were made for each other. Their love hate relationship has definitely stemmed from Gary being obsessed with her

-Gary does not like the fact your popular as that means people take you away from him. You are obviously his so why the fuck are you around others!?

-He does bully you but you bully him back, it makes him more obsessed with you. “The fuck happen to you? A unicorn’s guts were poured onto you?” “Says the boy who has been sent to a asylum multiple times yet can’t seem to find someone to love you, not even your delusions will ever love you”

-Gary watches from afar as you and your group bully the students, he’s only watching because he’s trying to make sure no one bullies because that’s his job. When he sees a prefect or teacher coming by he grabs you and takes you away. “Your being to damn careless!” “Aw. So Gary does have a heart, just admit you LOVE me!” “Shut the fuck up Y/N!”

-During the times you two aren’t bullying others or each and are alone..their surprisingly peaceful. This is the love part of the relationship, Gary does like holding you since it lets him know your his. You’ll be laying against him on your phone as he holds you and watches. “He looks fucking hideous” “Oh yeah but he pays me well to pretend talk to him” “How pathetic”

-You two bound over bullying others. It’s a very fun activity for you both. Since you are popular others won’t even ask about it and laugh along with you two. “Gary…can you please do me a favor?” “What’s in it for me?” “I’ll stay around you for three weeks and ignore every guy that isn’t a teacher” “Deal”

-He has beaten a lot of people for you. He’s becoming more like a guard dog in this love hate relationship, he hates how you make him feel and how obsessed he is but he loves how similar you are to him. Usually after each fight he becomes much more possessive each and every time, he doesn’t like it but god does he love you(he’s very conflicted with his feelings)

[a-student-out-of-time]

And to think that Chihiro was the most controversial character. Then again that character probably still is because at the very least the Hiyoko drama is limited to one person. Chihiro involves multiple people.

//Someone came to me about this a while back, about how their friend hated Mondo for what happened in Chapter 2, and I feel bad I never responded to them. I'll do my best to try and explain it here, since we're on the subject:

//Much of the controversy with Chihiro really comes from a misunderstanding about his personal identity, which I don't blame Western audiences for not getting, since it's a Japanese thing.

//Yes, how it's presented does come off as uncomfortably transphobic, especially now in 2024. However, nothing in the narrative ever suggests that Chihiro is trans. I have gone through DR1 several times, and I can tell you that everything points to Chihiro himself identifying as male.

//While it would be easy to dismiss that as poor handling of a serious topic, the fact that DR never even references Chihiro's gender outside of judgements about him not being tough and manly, and explaining to Makoto at the end of Salmon Mode that he's actually a boy, all lend credence to the idea. He never says he wants to be a girl, never uses different pronouns, and distances himself from other girls while they're trapped, such as turning down Sakura's offer to have them workout together.

//It's also important to keep in mind that the DR1 cast are all based on different Japanese subcultures- Junko's a Gyaru, Mondo's a Bōsōzoku, Sayaka's an idol, Hifumi's an Otaku, etc.- and Chihiro is no different. He's a reference to Otokonoko, a male who engages in crossdressing and presenting as female.

//This actually has a long history in Japan, even as far back as onnagata, where male actors would portray female characters in kabuki theater. Crossdressing is not seen as culturally strange in Japan, hence why it's also very common in manga and anime.

//Furthermore, Japanese has more of a loose relationship with gendered words than English does, and there's always going to be translation gaffs when something is localized and given a more literal meaning. That's why a lot of games from Japan can have such awkward line delivery when removed from their cultural context.

//And most importantly, Chihiro's story isn't about transphobia, it's about unreasonable expectations about him being a man. He was bullied because he was very weak growing up, told that's not what a boy is supposed to be like, and so to escape that, he started crossdressing. It's a bit out there, but DR is no stranger to ridiculous plot points and this is at least a more grounded one.

//Meanwhile, Mondo was subject to the same but from the other end. He internalized the idea that a man has to be strong, which means burying all his feelings of sadness and guilt over his brother's death, which only festered over the years and probably fed into his rage issues.

//Mondo doesn't kill Chihiro for being a boy who dresses like a girl, but because Chihiro being willing to confront his own perceived weakness with the desire to change made him feel weak by comparison. That set off a moment of blind fury and, without even intending to, he killed Chihiro. Both of them were victims of toxic masculinity, which was and still is a pressing issue in Japan and the West as a whole.

//I'm not saying it was presented perfectly, but in that cultural context, it explains that a western localization doesn't properly convey and has thus given people the wrong impression.

//I can understand anyone who still wants to assign Chihiro a status as LGBTQ as part of their headcanons, and that's totally fine. I personally like shipping him with characters like Makoto and Kazuichi.

//The problem is, when we don't examine the cultural context that characters like this emerge from, it can give us the wrong impressions. Impressions that have lead many to read Mondo's actions and Spike Chunsoft's writing in this Chapter in bad faith, which does far more harm than good when dissecting its flaws.

//I hope this at least manages to clear some things up.

[kureizd]

[SENHANA, fem Hanamichi]

“I’m not a gyaru!” The redhead pouted, fingers twiddling. “‘s just they say dressing up like this is cute…”

Now that she mentioned it, Akira could see the truth on the statement, in a way he couldn’t put on words of what it was that made him believed her.

Akira had seen and knew some gyaru, from the one who went to great length to embody the concept to one who made due with that they had. The girl seemed to adopt only some points of it, oversized school cardigans and loose socks, pretty nails, red hair tied as high pigtails.

“But that’s what I don’t understand. You do look cute, why would anybody reject you?”

The girl looked at Akira with wonder coloring her eyes, cheeks apple red at the compliment before a laughter broke out.

“Really? I mean, of course, I’m cute! You have great eyes!”

Her mood was like a light switch. In several minutes Akira had came across the girl, he had seen at least three emotions running amok. She was an open book, hiding nothing in her eyes and lips, even her words were genuine enough for Akira.

Look, another change on her expression.

“He said,” the girl sniffled, sad again at her predicament. “That he has someone he likes and I’m not his type…”

Ah. There was that.

“I’m sure you will meet someone who will like you for you are.”

Akira jolted in surprise when the girl started to bawl, hands hanging on the air, unsure of whether he should offer a comfort. He settled with extending his handkerchief that the girl took like a robber with how fast she grabbed it.

“I thought he would be it! He smiled at me and helped me, he was so kind!”

Akira said nothing, unsurely patting the girl on her head without messing the hairdo. A pitiful noise escaped when he saw how red the girl’s eyes were, knowing from firsthand experience that her eyes would be swollen in few hours.

Hydration was important too, right?

Reaching inside his bag, Akira pulled out the mineral water he bought from the convenient store. It was lucky he saw the girl before basketball practice or else he won’t be able to offer anything.

Except the handkerchief of course.

The girl didn’t show any reservation in accepting given things, taking the bottle and cracking the seal open for a gulp. For a second, Akira wondered whether the girl knew about stranger danger with how open she was with Akira, but decided not to think further about it.

“Thank you.”

“Your welcome.”

Akira peek into his wristwatch, about 10 minutes into the practice. Even though he felt bad leaving the girl alone, he should get going or his upperclassmen would break into a hive.

“I hope it would go nicely on your next confession. Good luck.”

His step was halted at the tugging on his pants. Looking down, the girl crouching on the empty park was staring at him with a certain look.

“… Yes?”

“You���re good guy. What’s your name?”

“It’s Sendoh Akira.”

“Sendoh, huh? I’m Sakuragi Hanamichi, nice to meet you!”

“It’s nice meeting you too, Sakuragi.”

It was unexpected and he was late to his practice, but Akira couldn’t say he regretted it. Quite an experience with the girl’s honesty. Her brash confidence that contradicted with her woeful cries of broken heart was especially refreshing.

Akira thought about it again and made a decision.

“Can I have your number?”

“For what?”

“I want to see you again, Sakuragi.”

Sakuragi gaped for a second. When she picked up the slackness of her jaws, Sakuragi crowed loudly.

“You already look forward to see this genius again? You’re a smart guy, Sendoh! You can have it!”

“Next time we meet, it shouldn’t be about broken heart again,” Akira joked, taking her flip phone, heavier with all the accessories she hung, and typed his number.

At the sound of camera flashing, Akira looked up.

Sakuragi was making a peace sign, a silly expression of tongue tucked out the way he had seen gyaru did. She was taking her picture with Akira’s own phone.

“There, I already set my picture on the contact as well. You too!”

“Ah— I’m not one for picture—“

Disregarding the tumbling words, Sakuragi snatched her phone back, positioned it toward Akira’s face like the reporters that came to his match with their camera.

“Ok, smile!” The girl laughed obnoxiously when she took a gander at the result. “It’s so awkward!”

It was.

Even though the picture itself was blurry, Akira could see the inept smile caught mid motion and off guard, his eyebrows were contorted in a way Akira could never replicate consciously. The girl looked so amused by it though, so Akira thought everything went alright.

“I have to get going now, so I suppose see you again.”

“Where are you going?”

“Basketball practice.”

Sakuragi made an inquisitive noise. “Is it fun?”

“Sure. The most fun I ever have.”

“Then let’s go!”

Akira glanced at her, mind whirring off before it came back alive.

“You want to go?”

“Yeah! I have nothing to do now, the guys are busy with their stuff, might as well go watch basketball!”

“It’s only a practice though…”

Usually at this point, Akira would make it known that the girl couldn’t come to the practice. It wasn’t once or twice for people, strangers, to approach Akira and mentioned their intention to do the same. Some were his fangirls as well, latching to his arms that Akira had quite a time escaping from the grip.

A gnawing curiosity that would always be inside one Sendoh Akira when faced with something atypical, away from the norm or straight line of his line, prevented him to do just that.

Would it be the claps of awe that echo around the gym or a challenge thrown carelessly when Sakuragi watched their practice?

Akira wanted to find out about that.

“Come on then. I’m sure it will be worth your while.”

“Let me be the judge of that, Sendoh! Let see if basketball is that fun.”

This time, Akira chuckled.

There was no predicting this girl at all. Akira would look forward to today’s practice.

[douglysium]

Yeah, it ends up often being hard / unproductive to have conversations like this because a lot of people also get caught up in how cute / pretty / cool the design is which causes them to ignore the conversation or not think about it. They just know that they like the aesthetic of the cute anime girl but never ask why it’s being implemented and when. I’ve seen people who love Emiya Alter without asking why he seems to read as a black person (and I say this as someone who likes his writing) or praise Andromeda’s design without really considering the full picture. Someone might express grievances with how her design isn’t explicitly black and someone might go “but the background lore confirms she is black though!” I think some people also interpret talks like this as an attack on their aesthetic taste as opposed to a critique of FGO (because I don’t expect people to know or understand every nuance of a topic like this). I think Andromeda’s design is cute sure but it’s still disappointing for various reasons. I think if they really wanted to they probably could keep Andromeda just as cute or pretty while also incorporating more black features. Me having problems with a design is not always me saying to start from scratch.

I can’t really explain it perfectly but you’d be surprised how much stuff people are willing to not really acknowledge or talk about Fate’s part in this as long as their character looks cool. Which I think perpetuates this cycle where Fate keeps releasing vaguely “gyaru” or whitewashed designs or other such things because they know people find it cute or pretty (you’d be surprised how many people unironically will say “yeah but she’s hot” or “yeah but she’s pretty” in response to me talking about racism or something with no self awareness). And I’m not saying a western audience is FGO’s primary concern but I do see some Japanese artists on Twitter and I know that they can take notice of a conversation or dialogue happening in other spaces (this is not me saying to go pester or dm the artists with a bunch of unsolicited critiques, it can be hard to tell how much of these designs is them and how much is them having to follow the instructions of their boss for a design (being an artist is just as much a job as anything else. It’s very possible that Lack was literally just told to draw a gyaru like design or something by a higher up. I think it’s also well documented that designs in general are often whitewashed or lightened through most modern design processes), it’s me saying we don’t live in a vacuum and we can rub off on each other in unexpected ways by merely having a productive dialogue within the community because you don’t always know who is or isn’t listening and being inspired).

I think that overlaps with my point about how people are prone to pin all the responsibility on FGO’s audience which isn’t always productive because FGO isn’t really helping or even really doing the bare minimum most of the time. So every time a black servant comes out we just have the same song and dance and people who are racist have enough plausible deniability to always say “Andromeda isn’t white, she’s a gyaru” anyway. Which is a problem that is created by Fate’s design. If they had literally just slapped an Afro or dreads or something onto Andromeda then that alone might make anyone trying to make such a claim seem delusional and unserious.

It’s also important to consider that art doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Not just in a societal sense but within a work itself. If you’re someone who has seen FGO whitewashing time after time again then of course you might assume the worst possible case scenario or that they are just doing it again unless they are very clear about something which would require them to raise the bar.

Is FGO's Andromeda Black?

I already talked about this on Twitter So I figured I would mention this here and it was originally a sort of response to people criticizing for someone assuming Andromeda was some sort of gyaru.

I appreciate that people are aware of Andromeda’s Aethiopian / African origins in FGO but tbh I think there’s something to be said about how FGO design usually approaches drawing black people / features. Sure I think Andromeda is black but if you where to grab a random non-fate fan before putting FGO’s Andromeda, Amakusa, Emiya Alter, and Suzuka Gozen (Summer) in front of them with no context and asked them “Which of these characters is black?” or "Which of these character an African figure?" I hesitate to say that they would be able to tell you consistently.

I’m not saying no character can ever be racially ambiguous or everything can fit cleanly into little boxes at all times but as tempting as it is to say someone not realizing Andromeda is black is merely the ignorance of an audience member I can’t help but think that Fate also primes such expectations with how they often approach black characters in general. I think parts of the internet do bend over backward trying to deny a character being black when it makes sense but I also ask when is the last time Fate has idk drawn really curly hair or dreads? Like seriously think about it.

(Lenora maybe isn't the best example because I think she plays into some stereotypes but the point here is to look at the hair texture)

So, I think as good as the conversation about Africa in Greek mythology is to have and how easy it is to blame it on the audience (which is not completely unjustified) I think we also have to question how Fate itself primes the audience or may handle things in such a way as to increase the chance of miscommunication. And this is not to say that it’s always Fate’s fault or that black people can never have straight hair and / or lightskin black people or what have you, but i find Myself having to debate whether a character is black or not in fate way more often than I have to debate if a character is black in other media. I think the weaknesses that Fate has with these kinds of designs is something I don’t see with Magic the Gathering or Pokemon or even Digimon. Outside of specific characters I don’t see people arguing Marvin Jackson from Digital-Police is a gyaru or Lenora isn’t black.

Like if you look at Sid Story’s Mansa Musa design for example I don’t think there’s really anyway for someone to misinterpret that she’s not black without looking like they are purposefully trying to troll others for engagement.

(Shout outs to illust_ringo (https://twitter.com/illust_ringo))

Like yeah, there is a lot of racism in some parts of the Fate fandom but Fate itself did also make a bunch of Detroit jokes with Emiya alter and clearly realized they made some sort of mistake with design since they’ve been walking back on some subtle stuff so I can only give FGO itself so much grace in that context. I love Fate but I think if we want to have a productive conversation we need to acknowledge the racism within Fate itself and how that can attract certain people or set up certain expectations (even with the censorship of characters like Emiya Alter).

I guess what I’m also trying to say is for some people if you give an inch they’ll take a mile. If you give even a little bit of a possibility that a character isn’t black, even if they’re supposed to be, some people are going to take it and I think that there’s some stuff Fate could be doing more often (even if not all the time) to help prevent misconceptions from occurring and prevent me from pulling out an essay or history lesson on why a character is or should be black almost every-time they release and African servant.

While I ended up talking about some of the ways I think Fate could do better I don’t think it’s always 100% their fault. Like I said if you give an inch some people will take a mile (and some people don’t want to ever count Egypt as part of Africa for some reason) but I also think there’s stuff they could be doing to help curb this. I also don’t think it helps that Fate barely touches any black figures around / outside of Egypt but that’s for another time (where’s Yasuke?! Im on my hands and knees begging).

Anyway, those are my thoughts because quite frankly one could go on all day with almost infinite ifs, ands, or buts and numerous exceptions and when the responsibility is more on the designer or more on the audience or how there are always exceptions, considering racially ambiguous people and designs, etc but this is from Twitter and my brain hurts so I'll spare you an entire chapter book's worth of thoughts. I figured this was also fitting to go over during Black History Month.

Extra Thoughts

There are a couple of other points I would like to mention though. Some people have argued Andromeda is a win because they didn't depict her as white and I'm not sure I completely agree? Yes, it is a major win that they didn't do that thing where they only look at how white Europeans from the medieval century depicted her and used pale skin as a symbol of beauty but there are some fan translations of her profile and it says this " A tomboy princess who prides herself on her swimming ability. Ethiopia (Aethiopia) is said to mean "land of the sunburnt people"[1], however, it does not necessarily correspond to the nation of Ethiopia which exists today."

So yes, Aethiopia does not correspond perfectly to Ethopia but it still refers to parts of Africa and Africans. Quite frankly, this part of the profile reads like a summer servant and while it might be easy to say "Fate gave her dark skin so it's a win" I also worry that what happened is that they interpreted "land of the sunburnt people" as a tan and took the depictions of white Andromeda and interpreted it as a sort of tan. Which is a doubt I REALLY REALLY REALLY wish I didn't have and I can't stress this enough. I so desperately want to believe that they are saying Andromeda is at least black but like I said I think we have to be honest that Fate's depiction of black and African people adds a lot of room for doubt. I think her skin is naturally tan at least and while she does indeed have dark hair in some of her ascensions it ends up turning blonde. You could maybe argue this confirms that she actually isn't a gyaru since most stereotypical gyarus have blonde hair but even with that in mind I think the way Fate handles Andromeda and just black designs in general can often fall a bit flat or unclear and sometimes I think fans are doing a lot of heavy lifting with good faith readings (including me).

This is not me saying Andromeda is white this is me saying that Fate pretty consistently falls short with these designs which feeds into a room for doubt. Like I said, I just want Fate to be more willing to include some black features more often so I'm not constantly having to pull up a small dissertation on why a character is black. It would be nice if there were just a few more of their black characters that I could point to and have no doubts about and not need to debate anyone.

Also, Fate just has a SERIOUS whitewashing problem and a weird relationship with blonde hair quite frankly. It feels like sometimes it's an obsession. Like when they made it so blonde hair was a sign of divinity for most of the Babylonian gods. Something that has a lot of Eurocentric baggage with the history of associating often white / "aryan" traits with purity, beauty, goodness, divinity, etc.. Not to mention, that in my opinion, Fate seems like it is basically going out of its way to avoid black historical figures most of the time unless they have do Egypt. Yes, I know about Strange / Fake and Nzambi but they barely touched most of Africa and even outside of Africa they haven't really even mentioned characters like Yasuke outside of some fan-submitted design in one of their gag mangas. Combine this with designs like Emiya Alter and the controversy around that and I can't help but be left wanting a bit more of a bare minimum somewhere even if there aren't a lot of black servants.

Greeks and Pigment

Since someone is inevitably going to bring this up. Yes the Greeks do technically depict Andromeda with light skin even way back when but I just happened to take an art history class so I know a bit about this.

Greeks did this weird thing where they sometimes depicted women with light skin and men with dark skin so if you really wanted to commit to that argument then someone like Perseus for example would have to be black or at least dark-skinned. To me it can hold about as much wait as arguing a man has blue skin and a girl has pink skin because people associate those colors with boys and girls.

For reference, here’s a pot depicting Perseus and Andromeda from 575-550 BCE on an amphora from Italy. If someone did want to argue Andromeda was white than they would need to argue Pereus is black or something which is to say Greek art and skin tones can be weird.

Andromeda wasn’t the only Greek mythological figure from Ethiopia (such as Memnon during the Trojan War) and the Greeks had settlements in African areas like Egypt and traded with Africans. Additionally, the myth of Helios explains why dark skin tones exist (so different skin tones are literally incorporated into their myths) so I think based on context even with art like this we can assume the Greek culture generally probably knew about black people. Also, Andromeda's profile clearly alludes to the idea that the designers and writers probably know Andromeda is from Africa too.

Ending

Idk, I try not to come off as a debbie downer or seem like the only enjoyment I get from Fate is when I bash it but I feel like some people are getting really caught up in praising the design or the individuals who are probably misreading Andromeda's race or ethnicity and not seeing the bigger picture itself. Something that limits the productivity of the conversation. I also think that where possible we should maybe push for more clearly black designs to prevent things like this from happening. I know that's usually not going to happen because FGO is a Japanese game for a mostly Japanese audience but you never know who's paying attention or who you might inspire. I also think that some of us maybe shouldn't be settling for scraps or half gestures as often.

Andromeda does do well with not just depicting her as Perseus white but at the same time I think everyone also just has REALLY low standards (including me) so even that little bit was a surprise. Which is depressing when you think about it. This isn't me saying you can't like Andromeda or that every character needs to have their race plastered on their forehead but it's very clear that Fate's design philosophy has some major pitfalls and weaknesses (especially with depicting black people) and I think it could be taking some simple steps to resolve them. It feels like every time FGO releases a black character the same cycle happens in the community and I'm not really sure it's going anywhere because people end up debating about what is basically a symptom showing up within the fanbase without addressing the actual source and elephant in the room itself, FGO and maybe even Fate in general.

There are also even people in Japan who at least kind of care enough to try to depict black people in a less ambiguous fashion that isn't racist or a stereotype (like Jinkei who has literally worked on FGO: https://x.com/jinkei_bunny/status/1759352092467364240?s=20).

BHM

Anyway, happy Black History Month. I urge you that while criticism is good and healthy positive reinforcement is also great and just as important. There's no point in ever only paying attention to the negative but never fostering the positive.

In the spirit of positivity and being the change you want to see in the world here are my Yasuke and Shaka Zulu fanservant designs

Demon Saber: Yasuke Full Profile- https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/735141544541208576/mori-ranmaru-wikipedia

Grand Lancer Candidate: Shaka Zulu Full Profile- https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/721643569180557312/douglysium-douglysium-douglysium-grand

Steel Berserker: John Henry Unfinished Profile- https://www.tumblr.com/douglysium/735103259781578752/steel-berserker-john-henry-wip?source=share

[texasthegreatdestroyer]

Welp initially I held back for Mack's sake, but not anymore.

@Yooniesim Bitch, leave my name out your mouth if you don't have the fucking balls to unblock me before you tag me, you fucking pussy. Imagine being on such a high horse when you don't allow those you lie about to to respond.

Let's air your dirty laundry, shall we? You fucking had the audacity to put my personal situation in your mouth as a way of showing fake sympathy that you clearly didn't fucking mean as you went on to tell Mack to drop me as a friend. Because yeah, for someone who "sympathizes with my plite" you have a real funny way of showing it by under that same breath telling people to completely isolate me. That's definitely what you should do to someone who's presently experiencing trauma. Nah bitch. You're a manipulative, gaslighting cunt. The fact that you had the audacity to put my situation in your mouth and try and hold a dick measuring contest of suffering is fucking yikes from me my guy. You don't know shit about me, you've literally never talked to me, and you don’t know my situation, so sit the fuck down and shut up. Literally, you don't have to fake caring about my problems, my guy, because quite frankly I don't give a shit about yours, and unlike you, I'm not afraid to tell it to your face. You're a gaslighting, manipulative bitch, and I genuinely feel bad for any friends or family who call you their friend because you're an awful person. Imagine being all Virgina George and shit, and telling someone who respected you, who viewed you as a friend "I don't like this person, therefor you should drop them or I'll drop you." Mack doesn't have to address me because I'm a grown ass adult, capable of making my own decisions and owning my shit. Mack isn't my mommy, she's not responsible for me. "Tex misgendered someone!" Bitch has fucking it/she/he in their bio.

Oh, but I'm misgendering people. Yall are so fucking stupid. Funny how a little bit of research can prove how much of lunatic gyaru is. The only way I could have possibly migendered them is by calling them they/them, and it's a gender neutral term, so I now care even less. "B-BUT TEX WAS ALSO ABLEIST!" By doing what? Shouting "REEEEEEEEEE!"? I said that before I even knew they were autistic. Why? Because it's also used to mock people who are triggered, as I clarified in several posts that I thought was the case. I'm also Nurodivergant myself, so like. Fuck you. Even if It was somehow ableist, which it isn't. I don't have to answer to you as to what ways I choose to fucking speak. Maybe stay in your own lane. The only other thing I can think of is me calling them a lunatic, and I mean they are. They literally think myself and Mack are the same person, and they've been bitching about me when literally anytime I've fucked with them was because they'll cry and whine about me for a fuckin week after I stop interacting with them, so I'll jab back because it's fuckin funny. Sorry yall don't have a sense of fucking humor. Maybe get one.

Speaking of~ can we just point out the fact that Yoonie couldn't be arsed to do basic fucking research or reach out to anyone in this situation? Like fucking hell. You're quick to point out the shit I do, and take anything Gyaru says seriously, but you'll ignore their unhinged tirades, spewing tin foil hat conspiracy theories about how myself and Mack are the same person, something you know damn well isn't true, something I made a post about disproving and one I've known you've seen because you commented on the fact when talking with Mack about my personal shit, you dumb fucking broad. You also believed claims of ableism from a fucking lunatic who tried to bait me into calling them an r-word and FAILED, so they had to look for something else to get me at, and like the gullible little moron you are, you bought it hook line and sinker! Won't lie! That's some funny shit! Guys, I literally made a post about how gullible the fucking Sims 4 anti paywall community was, and Yoonie is a prime example of who that post was directed at. Because yall don't do basic fucking research. You just go with it to boost your fucking egos. Literally Yoonie, if you gave a shit about half the shit you claim to give a shit about (racism, transphobia, ableism, etc.) You'd actually take the time to fact check yourself and not direct people to false allegations that makes it to where shit like that doesn't get taken seriously when it actually does happen. Call it what it really is. You don't give a shit about those who are oppressed. It's literally just an ego boost for you. I can see now why you defended Saurine's stupidity. Because you're just as guilty of it. Literally, all you needed to do was fucking message me about it and I would have had a civil conversation with you and explained the situation, but no. Instead, you didn't bother to fact check any of the stupid shit you said and then you went to bitch to Mack because I indirectly hurt your fee fees. Fucking go cry about it you baby back bitch. I've literally never seen someone so fucking spineless.

The rest of her tirade is about the Trump vote thing, and I literally couldn't care any less than I do now. It's old shit that was addressed months ago by Mack, and it's sure as hell not my problem. Plus I really don't give a shit about the political opinions of the people who voted for the man who is currently destroying our economy worse than it has been in a long fucking time. No one's better than everyone else. Yall are just as much bigoted, spineless losers with skeletons in the closet that you claim me to be. The question is who's going to be the next big sensational bigot to bitch about. It could be you next, and I honestly have to sit and laugh, because that's the shit there that is the reason why the exclusive creators will continue to use yall as fucking door matts. Yall have no priorities and literally bitch about stupid shit just to bitch.

Oh, and before anyone wants to cry to Mack about how Im a big ol meanie and she needs to disavow me. She already has. I'm blocked and she disavowed me privately. As to rather or not she decides to do it publicly is her choice, and I wouldn't have it any other way, because I'm sick and tired of having to walk on egg shells because of it back firing on her because yall seem to think people can't take responsibility for their own shit, so everyone else has to do it for them. Like fuck off with that nonsense. I'm not gonna sugar coat shit to please yall. You either like what I have to say or you don't. Unlike half this community, I don’t give a shit about my reputation. It's more stress than one realistically needs. I like speaking my mind and that's pretty much it. Don't like it, then bitch about it, or block and move on. Yoonie can go fuck themself. They want to cry and bitch about how I hurt their feefees, they can have fun with that. Considering they're an awful person, It low key gives me life. Anyways. I'm done. Originally I was going to write a doc about this and then leave the community, but nah. Fuck it. By the end of this, I'm going to be known as the community shit stirrer, and I live for it! Anyways! That offer for the Beverly Hills Mansion still stands. Sksksksksksksksk.

-Texasthegreatdestroyer mother fuckin signing off!

Oh, and P.S. If Yoonie tries to claim she never had me blocked, well uh. I'm not dumb unlike her. I grab screenshots of shit automatically. It's been this way for awhile now, as I've tried to respond to posts from mutuals only to find that that I can't because they're a reblog of hers, so I have to find the source. Also it duped screenshots in the post. Oh well.

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: Kaguya-Sama: Love is War, Episodes 4-6

In which I break down the strength of the show’s character writing, Chika is the perfect wild card, and I sense an even better show just waiting to break free.

World of Idiots

Comedy is hard. Talking about comedy is even harder. There is nothing in storytelling more complex to construct and more ruined by commenting on said construction than a joke. As you might imagine, that makes talking about an anime like Kaguya-Sama somewhat of a challenge. This show is focused on comedy from start to finish, only sprinkling a faint few nuggets of characterization and emotional depth among a swath of wall-to-wall jokes. If I want to talk about this show, 90% percent of that conversation is going to revolve around its comedy. That’s not a bad thing, it just means I’m gonna have to activate some analytical sensors I don’t use as much around these parts. If Kaguya-Sama’s a comedy above all else, I’ll just have to analyze it as a comedy. If that means thinking too hard about a series of rapid-fire gags, so be it. There’s value in talking about why a show makes you laugh just as much as any other aspect. And hey, that’s the first hurdle already cleared: this show makes me laugh. It makes me laugh a lot. As long as it keeps doing that, talking about how it accomplishes that feat isn’t going to be too much of a chore.

From a broad perspective, I think the core of why Kaguya-Sama’s comedy works is character writing. I’ve already touched on how both Kaguya and Shirogane are their own brand of overthinking dumbass (and Kaguya’s love of setting up overcomplicated schemes continues in full force here), but these episodes make it clear that the side characters are just as well thought out. Everyone brings a very unique comedic energy to the table, and by mixing and matching those energies, the show can keep finding new ways to tell jokes and keep its formula fresh. There’s Kaguya’s maid Hayasaki, an uber-straight-woman who tends to cut the bullshit in whatever situation she’s involved with and yank the rest of the characters into action whether they’re ready for it or not. She exists to break Kaguya’s paralyzed flailing and send her hurtling full-tilt into phone calls with her crush, all while mercilessly prodding her to recognize her feelings with the dry deadpan of a girl who’s seen this shit too many times to be phased by it anymore (”Which means he’s naked.”) She’s probably my favorite of the bunch, and that’s even without the revelation she moonlights as a gyaru for her school friends. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s the introverted treasurer Ishigami, who exists to shoulder the cruelest punchlines and suffer for our entertainment. Do you need someone to shit their pants in fear of Kaguya’s rage (”To think she could strangle me with the edge of the couch...”) or be crushed by Chika’s disgust because his attempt at a compliment was a little too creepy? Ishigami will happily be your punching bag. Well, not happily, but he’ll at least roll with the punches and fire off some fantastic self-deprecating humor as he slinks miserably out of frame so you don’t feel too bad for laughing at his failures (”I’ll be going home because of Stockholm Syndrome.”)

Dynamite Girl

And then there’s Chika aka the wild card to end all wild cards. She’s able to slot into whatever role her flights of fancy take her, none the wiser about the carnage she causes in her wake. She can stand on top of the joke by bursting out some sick beatboxing skills when you least expect it, but she can be the butt of the joke when those skills fail to impress (”Say oh!” *deafening silence* GOOD FUCKING BYE). She can throw off Kaguya and Shirogane’s best-laid plans by showing up with a well-intentioned helping hand that defeats the entire purpose of their schemes, but she can also accidentally make those schemes a success by bringing them exactly what they were looking for all along (see, the climax of the umbrella skit in episode 5). At times, she can be the smartest, most helpful person in the room, relentlessly pushing Shirogane to succeed even as his horrendously bad volleyball skills drive her to the brink of madness (The “I raised that boy” moment was so much funnier in context, good lord). At other times, she can be the purveyor of the worst advice on the face of the planet that somehow loops back around to turning out okay in the end (”I think we just created a pair of anarchists!” Nope, just charity workers.) And sometimes, she’s just absolutely fucking merciless. That moment where she weaponizes her probably very real insecurities of being left out as a weapon to defeat Kaguya at a word-guessing game? Holy shit, that had me doubled over laughing. And the sheer smug in her voice as she prods Shirogane into letting her teach him volleyball was absolutely priceless. There’s no telling whether this girl will be the victor or victim, actor or acted upon, problem-solver or problem in and of herself. All you know for sure is that wherever she gets involved, shit's bound to go off the rails in the most entertaining way possible. No wonder she’s the show’s most popular character.

Sprinkles on Top

Still, I don’t want to entirely write Kaguya-Sama off as just being a joke-fest. Small though they may be, there are moments of sincerity peppered throughout that suggest a more fully rounded show bubbling just underneath the surface. As hilarious as Chika using her social anxiety as a weapon was, Shirogane’s probably right that there’s an element of uncomfortable truth to her fears of not being able to read the mood. And he shows real sensitivity toward those fears, even if he’s not really able to articulate them meaningfully. He even picks up on how Kaguya gets mad for his sake during the French exchange program (”Kaguya threatens her with words that would be illegal to broadcast.”), and he appreciates how well she knows him on multiple occasions. Beneath his stubbornness and, shall we say, limited understanding of women, it’s clear that Shirogane’s a genuinely good dude, and it makes sense why Kaguya has a crush on him. There’s even hints at a rough family life; the fact his dad answers his cell phone without his permission suggests they don’t exactly have the healthiest relationship. If Kaguya-Sama decides to start pulling on these threads and incorporate a more emotional throughline with its comedy, it might just upgrade from a really good show to a great show. In fact, I suspect it might just head in that direction before all’s said and done. You do not rise to the top 25 highest-rated shows on MAL and Anilist without something that really connects with people. Consider me excited to see it grow from here!

Odds and Ends

-”You provide the cat ears, and I’ll provide the Shinomiya!” lol whut

-”IT’S SO CUTE!” It’s fucking mutual askdjhaksdh okay that’s great

-”Congratulations. Your first message from him.” D’aaaaaaaaw.

-Ooh, that’s actually some nice French from the French students. Well done, show.

-”I ran to the drama club for supplies.” Oh. My. GOD. Love Detective Chika for the win.

-How... how does one even manage to smack themselves on the back of the head while playing volleyball? That’s, like, advanced levels of fail.

-”Yay, balls are fun!” Never change, Chika.

-”How does such a thing happen?” holy shit her distressed face I’m dying

-”I think she might have killed two or three people already.” Wouldn’t put it past her, tbh.

-”Oh, just a bit of mischief.” “She’s cute.” Hard agree, my man.

-”Because if you had... I wouldn’t be using a toy right now.” Poor Ishigami, lmao.

-”I’m sorry. I don’t see you as anything more than in insect.” fucking rip

-askdjkasd the freaking dumptruck

-Honestly, Shirogane’s got a better eye than me. I never notice when girls paint their nails or get a subtle haircut or stuff like that.

Aaah, this show is fun. See you next time!

[cosmosrival]

Rico besides Kama what do you think about the other indian servants?????

AHHHHHHHHHH THIS IS GOING TO GET SOOOO LONG!!!! i have a different view of the indo fam as a whole. i call them the indo fam but i mean the found family trope!!!! theyre like a group of college students sharing a dorm if that makes sense, since their servant selves are obviously different from their initial myths/human vessels!!!

OK SO. RECENTLY, i have an oomf that found books about arjuna that summarize his exploits in the mahabharata(I DONT HAVE THE STRENGTH TO READ IT ALL IM SO SORRY) and also talk about him in a more philosphical manner such as his states of mind during each event etc and i’ve been meaning to read said book because im genuinely interested in arjuna now!!! and i’d like to know more about this indo prince because from what i’ve seen, he is portrayed in a rather bad light(?) in FGO which i find extremely !!!!!!!!!!! and incrdibley !!!!!!! strange !!!!!!! the mahabharata’s conflicts can be put in a mostly grey area where there’s no good nor bad, its not black and white. so seeing arjuna get bashed because of the way his conflict with karna was written is... hm. let’s say that im REALLY starting to understand arjuna fans that dislike seeing him get mischaracterized so much. OTHER THAN THAT, his design is adorable, his travel outfit is my favourite because he deserves to relax and have some fun!!! fgo making him a chuuni is cute and his VAs little moans are cute cute cute!!!!!!!!!!! (mash grabs my shoulder and forces me to sit down) i think that arjuna deserves better and im really happy to see him have fun in his travel costume voicelines. i think we should take arjun on a date!!! he’s a great lover, we’d have the best time!! OH ALSO, kama seeing him as the student council president in their interlude makes me SOOOOOOO HAPPY its unreal, i think it fits him very very well, the seitokaichou who was elected because of everyone’s hopes and recommended by teachers because he’s suuuch a good student but because of that, the pressure to be good is constantly towering over his head and everytime he looks out the window he wishes he could ditch class and skip a day just because he felt like going to the arcade and be a bad student.......just this once........i think hes very very cute...... i want him to cook for me. HAVE YO U READ HIS BOND 4 VOICELINE ?mmmmmggg i want him to get embarrassed everytime i praise him for having such a muscular waistline. AUG

ANEWAYS i also have quite the thoughts about karna, his characterization in the game is linked to arjuna’s and thats fine but i think that forgetting how much of a little sassy bastard he can get was a mistake! did you know that in apocrypha’s german dub on netflix, when jeanne calls his name like “You’re Karna, aren’t you ? The son of the Indian Sun God !” HES LIKE “So ?” AND THAT WAS SOOOO BITCHY OF HIM, i think that karna is a good boy in fgo but the fact that he was such a fighty old man in the mahabharata shouldnt be forgotten and is a charm trait. I MEAN ???? HE THREW HANDS WITH AN 18 YEAR OLD(ARJUN) WHILE BEIN LIKE... THIRTY TWO. WHATS WITH THIS ANNOYING OLD MAN !!!!! knowing these little facts about him made me like him so much more actually !! i think karna being so nice is adorable!! but the little bitchy energy u can find in his voicelines is also very charming!! i think karna looking at me emotionless as i ask him to lend me his notes for the nth time that week and then saying “...Mn.” when i thank him is cute!!! his voiceline towards things he dislikes is interesting to me. karna seeming aloof and mean bc he doesnt know how to communicate but is actually nice underneath...... hey... thats a little delinquentcore........ i wouldnt say yankii but hes like... hes like... u know hes the handsome quiet one of the group of yankiis... u know the one...? hey where are you going

ganesha is also a character im deeply interested in but i havent played CCC so i dont know that many details about jinako herself !! my brain goes HMMMMMM it seems lord ganesha is trans in fgo ! (since kama used to be a male god originally as well!!) ganesha uses all pronouns!!! and ganesha is also special to me because they share similar traits with kama when it comes to their characterization AND mischaracterizations. ganesha isnt JUST jinako. theres a part of a god in the servant mix!!! and jinako HERSELF is actually a pretty sad character imo. the whole otaku/neet thing is obviously a facade and her true wish being that she wants to redo her whole life is also proof of how much she hates what shes become, yet at the same time, she doesnt know what else she could do. but anyways, i prefer looking at servants from a lore POV so i think that ganesha should still be considered a god and be adressed as such!! i like seeing people portray ganesha as jinako but i prefer it when a certain lavish more godly side of them is put forward. a side of jinako that managed to move on a little bit if that makes sense ? that got more serious. and became someone else entierly despite sharing similarities. needless to say their bond with karna makes me happy since he shows them respect as you should towards a god!! its a bit different from their bond in CCC... like they matured somewhat!! anyway ganesha is the one who taught everyone else in the indo fam about video games and technology and i will NEVER shut up.

ashwatthama..... MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM %_’(’ç_”’è_ç(è_’”545656455456545453£¨¨µ¨µMµ¨++°=)=)°+ goodness. jesus christ on earth. my love story with him makes me so embarrassed. when he got revealed i instantly fell in love with him despite knowing JACK SHIT ABOUT HIM but since i was the only one in my friend group who was hardcore into fgo at the time, i kept my love for him to myself and just... (looks away)(i drop my wallet full of picturses of him) quietly adored his everything in silence. WELL, ree having an intense crush on yankii type characters isnt new, its been my favourite trope for ages (gyarus go in hand with them!!) and im still very attached to it so thats what made me love him in the first place!!!! BUT THEN. I GOT INTO HIS MAHABHARATAN LORE. And OHHHHHHHHH BABY.......... (im twirling my hair) so theres this 7ft tall war criminal..........<3<33<3(mash leans in and informs me that the convention of geneva didnt exist at the time) SO THERES THIS 7 FTTALL IMMORTALMAN.......<233 gOD he makes me absolutely CRAZY9909840385%£%%£%%µ%µ%µ the love i have for this character is immense and whenever im sad i remember that pako exists and has a tablet and can draw and i suddenly feel so much better. ok im gonna stop horny posting a little bit. but hes my wife. AND WHAT I LOVE ABOUT HIS PORTRAYAL IN FGO IS THAT, they actually made him a good boy despite his initial roughness and misdeeds ???!!! HELLO?? ashwatthama wishing for a redemption ark is my favourite thing and his righteousness that was born because of his regrets is a very interesting drivepoint to me !!! hes a gorgeous character and im buying a ticket plane as we speak right now so i can go find him in northern india. i’ll find him. GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME !!!!!GET OFF ME !!!

miss lakshimi makes me very sad! because every female servant in the indo fam is an already known face. (... would sita count.) and lakshi being a jeanneface is a waste. well, she’s still very pretty and her lore is also quite interesting!! i havent looked into it fully yet but i think she should be kissed on the mouth. her bad luck makes me slip on a banana peel whenevr i get close to her to kiss her and i hit my head on the pavement and pass away- 

parvati is on a tough spot for me atm. i genuinely love thinking of her as the way the indian goddess herself is portrayed because thats where the fun lies for me in her character. especially when shes involved with other indian servants, thats a given!! i would like to see parvati grow, suffer and heal. because branding her as an “all-knowing mom” is easy, but every single parent makes mistakes if you follow that logic. also, since shes the sakura servant “thats closest to her initial personality”, she’s got some of the most Repulsive fans ive Ever witnessed in fandom spaces and lets say that im trying to work my way out of this hellhole and find things to like about parvati without the fandom’s influence. needless to say, im going to keep looking into her mythos and her lore by myself at my own pace and keep doing my own thing in my little corner. 

rama shouldve been a jock. THE RAMAYANA IS OLDER THAN THE MAHABHARATA, WHY IS.....Hrm well him being summoned as his baby version gives me hope for a future rama alt perhaps??? but i think that he shouldve been a total jock and he shouldve been huge with a huge red lion-like mane for his hair and a teethy grin and big biceps and intense love for his wife. SPEAKING OF SITA, her charm point is her purity but i wish.... that their artist still hadnt drawn them like That, im not a fan of lily servants and i think purity = being young is a bit of an annoying excuse!!! rama and sita looking similar is because of their shared history which is fine but... rolls my eyes............. rama shouldve been 6ft tall and sita shouldve been a milf to match...... anyways i doubt ravana would be added as a servant but i’d love to have a ramayana centric event!! where all indo servants have their own lore centric role to play!!! oh thatd be a dream.... but i have learned to not expect much from a fanservice game so im jus gonna draw my own stuff! (strikes a pose!) (mashu claps!)

[elsanna-shenanigans]

August Contest Submission #16: The Transfer Student

Words: ca. 2,000 Setting: Modern AU Lemon: No CW: Bullying, arranged marriage, mild angst, talk of suicide

Elsa was a new student on Arendelli High in Tokyo, Japan. Despite her constant reminders to her parents that she didn’t need their help picking school, they had persisted, Elsa had had to give in eventually. The school was what Elsa expected it would be, full of very antagonistic, rich, spoiled brat students. She quickly rose to popularity which she kind of expected. Not only was she the heir of a well-known, rich CEO and granddaughter of a corporate empire, she was also conventionally seen as attractive, which had both perks and cons. One of the cons was being constantly bombarded by the popular kids as they tried to get her into one of their ‘exclusive clubs’, which she had to persistently decline.

Which earned her the title of ‘Snow Queen’ in no time at all. “As usual,” she sighed. “It’s like some sort of a tradition.”

  This time she wasn’t going to just give up. She didn’t hate them, per se. She just couldn’t stand them. They were wildly immature, highly superficial if her overhearing their very loud gossip in the stall was any indication, back when she happened to be in one after helping to clean the bathroom. They also bullied the only person she actually wanted to get close to.

See, Elsa had a secret, just like everybody else, but this secret she cannot let anyone know. Not her parents nor her friends. Not if she can help it.

  She’s into the same sex,

swings the other way,

flower napper,

gay for girls,

  You get the idea.

  The girl named Anna was from her class too, she was really smart and got a scholarship to the school, so she wasn’t from money, as Elsa heard from one of the gossips. That was why a lot of the superficial ones bullied her. Elsa fancied that the real reason they were so harsh on Anna was that she was more beautiful than them and they felt threatened by her beauty, it might actually be true. Elsa once bumped into her ‘accidentally’ at lunch and was about to talk to her and maybe invite her to coffee but the redhead only apologized profusely and excused herself.

  Elsa felt guilty after that. She felt like she should be doing something to change this situation, she feared that the bullying might get to her one day. She wanted to do something for the girl so despite her hesitance she contacted someone she can even remotely consider her ‘friend.’

  “Yellow?” Elsa sneered as soon as she heard his voice.

“Oh, Elsa I can hear your sneer from here, if you need something from me then you would have to be a bit nicer.”

Elsa conceded and breathed in. “Fine. I need your help with something… and yes I can hear your grin reaching from ear to ear here too.”

“Oh, dear Elsa. What might this help be? Is it something your Mommy and Daddy cannot solve for you?” Hans replied.

Elsa snapped at that comment. “You bring up my parents and I hang up,” she threatened.

Hans knew that she meant it. “Alright Snow Queen, tell me what has got your ire this time.”

“It’s not a what, it’s a who.”

“Already? You just moved in the school.” “It’s not that!” Elsa said, flabbergasted the situation that she was in. “I…I want to court someone.”

“Oh, so it’s that,” Hans replied, seemingly reminiscent.

  Elsa doesn’t blame him. Sometime they forget that they’re more similar than they think, since Hans is gay too.

  See here: Hans and Elsa were to be betrothed, and so both of them had hired investigators to follow each other and find a reason to cancel the marriage. This was how they had discovered each other’s secret which, oddly enough, is what got them to keep the arrangement, since if it came to it, they’d let each have more leeway or even a chance to pick who they really love. They decided they are both fine with that kind of arrangement since eventually they’ll give in to their parents’ request and they would rather end up with someone they can negotiate with.

  “Can’t you just…I don’t know. Charm her or something, like talk about how you’re the daughter of great CEO and have a corporate empire or something?”

“Hans,” Elsa said, as she held the bridge of her nose, she’s just basically done. “I’m not like you, and it doesn’t work like that.”

“Hey, just throwing around ideas out here.” Hans defended himself. “Also it worked for me.”

“Well, I’m not like you. Prince Charming!” Elsa pointed out.

“Yeah, I wonder why? Miss Snow Queen!” Hans retorted. “Have you tried the ‘Accidental bump method?’”

“Yeah, and it didn’t work.” Elsa sighed, remembering how much it hadn’t worked. “It even kinda backfired.”

“Oof, a tough one huh. When did you get so picky?” Hans quipped.

Elsa sneered again. “I thought we’re here to, I dunno, help me court someone? Not judge my choices?”

“I know, I know. Sheesh…” Hans attempted to diffuse the situation. “Have you tried giving her a flower?”

“Ha Ha, that’s really stereotypical,” Elsa said.

Hans continued. “Look, Elsa. The goal here is to court someone, you kinda do need it to be stereotypical in a way or, if you prefer, predictable.”

“But it’s too obvious,” Elsa argued.

“That’s kind of the point.” Hans laughed. Then he was quiet for a while.

  Elsa thought about what Hans said. He did, kinda, have a really good point, Elsa had to admit. If only he used that brain of his to do good things instead of just goofing around and causing mischief then she might actually like him, not too much though, Elsa still for sure preferred girls.

  “Elsa, I gotta go,” Hans said a minute later. “Goodbye.”

  “Goodbye, and thank you,” Elsa replied. It was at these times that Elsa was happy that she let him stick around.

  Elsa followed Hans’ advice and went to buy flowers. She would have to be careful about this, else she might just be at the bullying end and she couldn’t help Anna that way. Though she does think there can be sort of a camaraderie in that, she prefers if it didn’t happen. Not if she can help it.

  What she decided to go with was yellow crocus flowers, as they were apparently a great symbol of hope and joyfulness. Which was definitely the message she was looking to send. Winter will indeed end, spring will come again and life will go on.

  She arranged them in a vase with water to keep it fresh and left it at Anna’s desk as they were going to class next morning.

  However, Elsa didn’t get quite the expected reaction. Yes, students were talking about it when they saw it but they had sort of a look of dread in their face instead of curiosity and intrigue which worried Elsa. That can’t be good but it’s not as if she can undo it now. She needs to know what’s wrong, then it came to her. It was sort of a slow realization.

“What if the culture around flowers here in Japan is vastly different compared to where I’m from?” she thought and the gears on her head started to turn. She leaned in a bit to the other table and calmed herself enough to listen in to their conversation.

  “Do you think the Gyaru girls did it?”

“No even they wouldn’t stoop this low.”

“What kind of asshole would tell someone to kill theirself?”

  That was the last straw for Elsa, she is still confused as to how this all worked it but if it was bad enough that even the gyaru girls won’t do it then she’s royally fucked. She was going to remove it now no matter what, reputation be damned. Then Anna walked in and headed directly to her table, on when she reached the table did Anna notice the flowers. It was like scalding hot water being poured on her when Elsa watched Anna’s expression shift from bad to worse.

  Anna went running out of the room. Elsa followed quickly after, determined to comfort her properly this time. Anna was fast walking and then running and Elsa almost couldn’t keep up with her. This was a very unfortunate day to wear heals. Elsa followed her to the rooftop expecting to see her sulking there, but what she saw was something else.

  Anna was on the edge of the school rooftop, she had her shoes off and she looked like she was about to… no… nooo… please don’t do it, please don’t jump.

  “Hey, don’t do it, please.” It just came out of Elsa’s mouth without her permission, but she was glad that it did.

“Let me be,” Anna replied, her voice full of resolution.

“It was me, I was the one who put the flower with the vase there. Whatever it meant, it was not my intention.” Anna looked at her like she had grown two heads but Elsa kept going, she had Anna’s attention now and that’s good. She’s also slowly getting closer to her as she spoke. To pull her away if needed.

  “I didn’t… I just wanted it to be your hope in this trying times. I wanted to be…”

  “You’re not just making this up to make me feel better?” Anna asked, still guarded.

  “If you want to, I can show you exactly where I purchased the flowers and the vase but I can’t really do that unless you get down from there first.” Anna seemed to realized she was still outside the protective fence of the rooftop, she seemed to blush at the realization. Must be from the height, Elsa thought. Anna finally moved to get to a safer location and Elsa helped her. After she was safe and sound, Anna grabbed at Elsa’s hand. For the first time since Elsa got to the roof, Anna finally met her gaze.

  “Then why didn’t you just tell me?”

Elsa looked into Anna’s eyes, she didn’t find any blame or sarcasm there, it was just genuine curiosity.

  “I tried and I failed the first time, I guess…I should have just tried again.” The situation of the earlier encounter was finally getting to Elsa, crashing down on her like huge waves on an unassuming shore, she holds on tighter to Anna’s hand “I’m just, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” Anna traces soothing circles on Elsa’s hand.

“But I almost killed you,” Elsa says to Anna. Anna reaches for her to remove the tear that fell from Elsa’s eyes.

“I’m also being stupid, to be fair, I wasn’t in a great place but still it’s a stupid move. I’m not saying you’re off the hook, just saying it wasn’t just you.” Anna patted Elsa’s back and it worked wonders. She breathed as she hears that and despite herself, she felt a bit of relief.

  “What did it mean anyway? The flowers and the vase on the table?” Elsa asked after she had retrieved her handkerchief to clear her nose with. Her back turned to Anna as a polite gesture.

  “It means the whole class wants you to be dead. It’s like sending someone a coffin while they are still alive.” Anna replied.

  “Oh…that’s,” Elsa started to say, “kind of morbid.” she thought outloud and Anna nodded to her in agreement.

  “I think I should be more careful about this, culture difference and knowing the norms in this place.” Elsa concluded, still a bit guilt-ridden over what happened.

  “It’s fine, you were new so you didn’t know. Now you know what not to do next time.” Anna replied to Elsa, and then she flashed a smile to her direction, “Like I said, still not off the hook though,” she reminded her. “You still need to make it up to me.” Elsa didn’t get it at first but when she did, she blushed profusely. She didn’t want to misunderstand more things but she’ll be damned if she doesn’t take this opportunity “So uhh…coffee?”

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t pass on that, but I prefer hot chocolate.”

“Me too.”

[nanamicide]

A life of her own - chapter 1

Summary: Junko Enoshima's blackmail attempt on Sakakura Juzo has failed. Love has trumped despair. Mukuro has to watch her sister's plans fail, and learn how to live without her and her orders. Yet, she doesn't have any particular likes or dislikes, or things she wants to do.

Read on AO3

Mukuro had never loved, nor cared about despair. The only thing she loved and cared about was her twin sister, Junko Enoshima. Ever since their parents had died in that tragic accident when they were only three years old, she had made her happiness her only purpose in life. Since the strawberry blonde loved despair, it had only been natural for Mukuro to join the Ultimate Despair and help her create the most awful, most tragic, most despair-inducing event in human history. She’d had to do horrible things to make her sister’s maddest wishes come true – things she would never be able to share with anyone around her – but she had no regrets. The smile on her sister’s face whenever she saw another human being fall into despair was the best reward for her. It made her feel so alive, as if she were doing exactly what her parents would have wanted her to do, were they still in this world.

Despite all of this, and regardless of the happy chatter about despair and despair-inducing plans for the future between Junko-chan and Yukizome-sensei, Mukuro couldn’t help but feel uneasy. There was something about the room they were in that made her feel as though something terrible was going to happen today. It was probably because too many people had been getting involved in their secret plans in the past few weeks – she had always felt uncomfortable around strangers, after all.

First it had been Izuru Kamukura, the Ultimate Hope that was artificially created by the academy. Mukuro had understood why he was important for Junko-chan’s plan, so she’d let her be in touch with him in spite of how dangerous he seemed to be. Then, it had been that frail animator boy, Ryota Mitarai. Even though he seemed completely harmless, Mukuro got the feeling that he may bring about their demise. Unlike her, Junko-chan or Kamukura, he had people who cared about him. It would only be a matter of time until these people would be worried about how her sister had turned him into a terrified mess. In fact, it had only taken two days for that to happen. The Ultimate Nurse, Mikan Tsumiki, had been sent after him to help him with health issues. She didn’t seem dangerous either, but Mukuro had known from the start that people would end up looking for her as well, bringing more attention to their activities.

Once again, she’d been right. Yukizome-sensei, Mitarai-kun and Tsumiki-san’s teacher, had come looking for them. Of course, Junko-chan was delighted with all the attention they were suddenly getting. This gave her more people to brainwash into joining their cause, which in turn, made her feel stronger about what would come next. Mukuro wished she could be as confident as her.

“Ah, Yukizome-san,” Junko-chan beamed. “I have to go take care of one of your friends right now. You know, the one who’s totally not in love with your boyfriend or anything. He’s been sticking his nose in my business recently, and I can’t wait to see his strong, manly features turn to despair when I expose his dirty little secret to everyone in the Parade!”

The gyaru took a few steps towards the door and glanced at her sister. Mukuro turned to her.

“Please make sure none of them do anything stupid, idiot,” she spat at Mukuro, leaving the room and slamming the door behind her.

She’s right, Mukuro smiled to herself, I really am an idiot compared to her.

-

When Junko came back, an extra person had joined them. Mukuro had expected her to be furious and call her useless for not managing to keep him out of the room – she had left for a quick bathroom break when he barged in – but she was ecstatic. This wasn’t enough to help Mukuro with the nervousness she’d been experiencing all day, though. She was still feeling as though something bad was going to happen to them today, and that feeling was only growing bigger with every single passing second. Komaeda-kun’s sudden arrival and attempt to rescue his teacher – who had since then left to try and gather some of her students here and make them fall into despair – and classmates had had a completely different effect on Mukuro than on her sister.

The skinny white-haired teenager was saying something about how Junko-chan’s death would be nothing but a stepping stone for hope, and how he was so lucky to have found their hideout. Mukuro was on edge, keeping close watch of him. She couldn’t tell if he was serious or if he was just some of sort of comically stupid lunatic. It was only when he pulled a gun out of his pocket that Mukuro realized that had meant every single word he’d said. Luckily for her, the gun was jammed and he spent a few minutes trying to fix it. If he tried anything else, Mukuro would have time to disarm him.

He was still talking about how lucky he was when Kamukura appeared. Mukuro couldn’t get used to his sudden popping in and out of the places they stayed in. She was never able to tell how and when he arrived and left, and this made her feel unsafe. She knew that if he suddenly decided to do away with her and her sister, she wouldn’t be able to put much of a fight, and she hated that. She hated that Junko-chan had decided they needed him for her plan, no matter how sensible her reasons were. Kamukura was way too dangerous, and what was happening right in front of her eyes was yet another piece of evidence of the fact.

The slender dark-haired figured had swiftly grabbed the gun from Komaeda-kun’s hands and shot him, telling him that he also had what was called ultimate luck. Mukuro gasped as Komaeda-kun fell onto the floor. She had killed people before, but it’d never been so quick and easy.

“Are you scared, sis?” Junko asked her. “Isn’t seeing someone who’s better than you soooo despair-inducing? If he were better at following orders, you’d be completely useless to me now. Not that I really need you, anyway.”

Mukuro wanted to respond, but she knew it was no use. Instead, she kept her eyes on Komaeda-kun who was still… breathing? She wasn’t sure how it was possible – Kamukura had shot him in the chest, she’d seen it with her own two eyes – but the boy was still alive.

Thank goodness, she thought. Maybe things won’t be so bad today. At least we don’t have an extra and unnecessary death on our hands.

The tension she’d been feeling all day began to drop, and she stretched her arms in front of her. They would be okay – they always were. Even though she was always in charge of the dirty work, at least Junko-chan’s analytical abilities always enabled them to get away with things, no matter how bad the mess they had caused was.

Mukuro’s relief was short-lived, though. A few moments later, two men walked into the room. The soldier had no trouble recognizing them – Munakata-san, the former Ultimate Student Council President, and Sakakura-san, the former Ultimate Boxer, had been Investigating the Ultimate Despair ever since they’d organized their very first killing game.

Wait, Mukuro suddenly realized, her eyes widening as her thought process went on, this means Junko-chan didn’t manage to blackmail Sakakura-san? This means… They know everything. We failed? This is it?

As her brain processed what was happening, Mukuro’s legs started feeling weak. She collapsed on her knees, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. She glanced at her sister, whose expression had turned into that of a madwoman. Despite their now impeding doom, she still seemed happy, as though everything were still going according to her plan. It didn’t take long for Mukuro to understand that Junko-chan was finally feeling the despair she’d been craving for all these years. Failing meant that she was the one who was falling into despair this time. She was finally getting a first-hand taste of despair, and she was loving it.

“Look at that! It’s the Ultimate I Swear I’m Not Gay and his Ultimate Forbidden Love Interest!” Junko-chan sounded more excited than ever. “What will they do once they take care of the big bad guys? Kiss and fall in love? Of course not, that wouldn’t be despair-inducing enough!”

The two men ignored her provocation and walked towards her, ignoring everyone else in the room. It was clear they’d come for her and her only. Mukuro wanted to move and get rid of them, if only to save her sister, but something within her was stopping her from doing so. If she killed even only one of them, she wouldn’t be able to get away with it. It would have caused her sister more despair, but for the first time in her life, Mukuro thought that this wasn’t what she wanted.

She didn’t want what Junko-chan wanted. She didn’t want to kill anymore. She’d never liked despair. Thus, Mukuro stayed there, silent. She waited for everything to be over, unsure if she would be able to watch more of what was happening. Yet, she couldn’t keep her eyes off the scene, as if her brain was forcing her to witness this – as if this would be of help to her in the future.

Yukizome-sensei had come back in the room, telling Munakata-san something about how she was glad he’d found this room.

Why is she lying to him? We just brainwashed her, there’s no way she would turn against us so soon – or any time, for that matter. Why is Junko-chan not warning them? Why is she playing along? Mukuro wasn’t sure she understood any of it anymore. Hope, despair – it didn’t make much sense to her at that point.

Kamukura took a few steps forward and grabbed Junko-chan, immobilizing her. He’s… Betraying Junko-chan. I always knew he was dangerous. Ever since we met him, I thought dealing with him was a bad idea. Why didn’t she listen to me? Why do I have to see this?

“You guys take care of them,” Yukizome-sensei said, referring to Kamukura and Junko-chan. “I’ll protect everyone else.”

Mukuro wanted to scream as the redhead came close to her, but she had no energy to do anything. She had completely given up on everything. The mental strain she’d experienced throughout the day and how she’d been surprised by the turn things had taken had drained her. She didn’t want to do this.

All I’ve ever wanted was to make Junko-chan happy and I’ve failed. I’ve pathetically failed by doing everything she wanted me to do. She looks so much happier now that she��s about to be stopped. I should have known that the only thing that would satisfy her was making her fall into despair. I was so stupid. I’ve failed her, and our parents. But most importantly, I failed myself. I’ve only given myself one duty in life, and I wasn’t even able to fulfill it. Just what type of soldier am I? What am I supposed to do?

Mukuro let Yukizome-sensei help her up and get her out of the room. She had no idea what the academy would decide to do with her, but she didn’t care anymore. It wasn’t like there was anything she really wanted to do, anyway. She had dedicated her entire life to Junko-chan, and had done everything in her power to make sure she would succeed no matter how crazy and farfetched her plans were.

Mukuro didn’t have any wishes of her own. She didn’t have any future to look forward to now that Junko-chan would be arrested. That was why it didn’t matter what would happen to her. It didn’t matter what they would do to her because if her sister wasn’t free, Mukuro wouldn’t have anything to do with herself.

As Yukizome-sensei sat her down in headmaster Kirigiri’s office and explained everything that had happened to them, Mukuro cried. She cried and cried and cried for the first time since her parents died. She had no idea what her tears meant, or why she wasn’t able to stop them, but her vision was blurry and her mind unable to follow the conversation that was happening right in front of her.  

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

HypMic 7 - 9 | Maou-jou 5 - 6 | Akudama Drive 6 - 8 | I7 s2 6 - 9 | Taiso Samurai 5 - 6

HypMic 7

I will never not laugh at the content advisory, haha.

I like Kazuha already. Too bad he’s probably evil…

Oh, is it the day of the DRB in the series already…? Or maybe, because it’s the qualifiers, BB and MTC’s match is on a different day to FP and MTR’s.

Oh? Does Tom know Jakurai well enough to call him “Jakurai-sensei”? (<- middle ground between “Jinguji-sensei/Sensei” and “Jakurai”) Also, Tom uses “ore”.

Ooh, Iris is a motorbike rider, eh? Interesting. I thought they (<- not sure if Iris is a “she” or “he” with a really weird name) were more of a Saburo-type and didn’t bother with things like that, based on their appearance. Update: Someone on Yahoo Answers said based on Iris’s watashi, she is a woman.

Typo fixed! Good job, anime staff! Update: I’m referring to “…darkest hour is just before the down” (sic).

…bukkorosu = “f***in’ slaughter ‘em”. It’s not wrong…it’s just the subbers really like to abuse the F word for MTC. But you knew that already if you got this far…right?

LOL, Ramuda wants to “scratch [Rex’s] back” (figuratively) to…get SNS views? Hahaha.

This Studio Alita is probably a reference to Shinjuku Alta.

Yotsutsuji!!! That was the one big spoiler I got before watching the episode today and I’m so happy I got to see him animated!

(One of) Irihatoma and Degarashi refer to Jakurai as “Jakurai-sensei” as well. Hmm, I never noticed. Update: That’s Degarashi, because Irihatoma speaks to Jakurai alone later this ep.

There’s 50% chance I’m getting this wrong, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say Kazuha is voiced by a veteran VA…one I already know about.

Doppo calls Kazuha by his first name…That upgrade means their relationship escalated quickly (or this is a quirk of HypMic in general, since I noticed most characters are on first name basis with each other). Also, it’s cute Doppo finally has someone in his corner. No other part of the franchise has one, to my memory. Update: It might actually be “Kazuha-kun”…but I’m still surprised though. Update 2: It’s both, actually.

I’ve listened to the phrase “some random guy” several times from Hifumi’s mouth and all I can figure out is the “yatsu” at the end. (Doesn’t help my ears blocked themselves up again, although it’s less than it used to be.)

Harumi Wharf.

R? On a helicopter landing pad?

…uh oh. I was right when I thought Kazuha was going to be evil. Also, Doppler shift/effect. Update: “Doppler” is clearly a pun on “Doppo”.

Hmm? “Hey, Doppo” from “yaa”…it doesn’t have a name referred in there. It’s a small but odd thing to do. (I remember a professional translator was complaining that people with intermediate Japanese were giving them flak for translating things “wrong”, but what I do here is analysis for my future and edificiation. I’m not here to knock down pro translators’ doors and demand a refund, because I’m trying to go pro to atone for my sins as a scanlator.)

The soundtrack’s slightly sinister tone, plus the fact I figured the culprit well before Doppo did, makes me slightly scared…for MTR.

I realised they skimped on the budget…this “hot off the car chase” line seems more like an MTC line, doesn’t it…?...Yeah, it’s almost word for word for MTC in DRB+. Maybe the subbers rushed and used this translation (this link I put here) rather than their actual lyrics…? I will have to get to the bottom of this. Update: Turns out the translation is slightly different, but…yes, there is reference to a car chase in the start of Shinjuku Style. (Sorry, I don’t know every lyrics of every song off the top of my head.)

…wow, this got really Doppo-centric. I’ve never seen the leader relinquish their position when it comes to “leading into battle” before. It just goes to show the staff really do pay attention to how popular Doppo is.

Note “Doppo” means “walk alone”, roughly speaking, hence the “solitary” line.

This song is very, very faithful to its original lyrics, because I was trying to look at Hifumi’s “mixing paint” line and it pretty much matches.

Hifumi’s “my men”, LOL.

Kazuha = “one leaf”, hence the “leaves” in one of Jakurai’s lines.

I cringe every time I hear screaming coming from this episode, y’know…?

…oh dear. MTC’s plot actually bled into MTR’s.

I already knew from browsing Twitter earlier today that Kizuna was going to become FP’s today, but hearing it is another matter entirely.

Kosuke Miyoshi is Kazuha. Apparently, this guy also voiced Mashirao Ojiro (the tail guy) from BnHA, but that’s his only major role…so I was right in that I knew him, but wrong in that he was, again, a relative rookie in comparison to most.

Apparently FP’s sign is a peace sign sideways to represent an F, but…it’s just a sideways peace sign to me…

…how is Dice’s bead ornament attached to him? Is it on his hair, on his ear, on the skin behind his ear…? I was trying to replicate his outfit and got stuck on how to represent it, so I ended up opting for trying (and failing) to do a small braid on the right side.

IWGP shows up this season…it’s the song with the “hoo!” noise BB perform in this episode.

LOL, “Dead men tell no tales” is a perfect saying for MTC.

Akudama 6

Is there a movie called “Brother”…? There’s apparently one that’s the plural of that, but not that itself.

If HypMic likes the F bomb, then Akudama like the S word.

I-Is it just me or is the choreography sped up at some points in this episode…? It’s a bit disorienting to come back to.

I thought the kid was a robot…but close enough.

Oh no! Why does the teacher always have to die for the student to become stronger???

Kairaku/shugi -> pleasure/doctrine (if I didn’t somehow misunderstand the shark’s kanji combo),

The part after the ED looks a little too long…keep watching.

The Japanese says “Lost Children”, but the English says “The City of Lost Children”, probably referring to this French sci-fi film.

I7 s2 6

I like how Gaku is taking special offence to Yamato’s comments about him being a playboy.

Re:vale-san. I never noticed until now.

“I’m already looking forward to it.” That’s how I would translate Tsumugi’s “I’m already excited”.

“…who could possibly complain?” – I think Mitsuki might.

The pun in the MEZZO show is that tai (group/squad) sounds the same as tai (want to ~). Rabbinsta is obviously Instagram + Rabbit (Chat?).

Oh my gosh! It’s the Yotsuba sister!

Mitsuki’s shopping trip OST is nice, man. This piano.

This episode has a really great sense of danger and foreboding for the future.

I7 s2 7

Perfection Gimmick. Never heard it in the anime before.

Even the ramen house’s name is a play on “Idolish7”.

LOL, Yamato sure turned that comment around.

The sign talking about beer says something about coupons below it. (It went by too fast and my CR app’s kinda fiddly, so I can’t really go back…)

Kimi to Ai na Night (pun on Idolish7, aka “AiNana”, again).

Mitsuki, no one hates you! You’re just imagining it all!

I7 s2 8

Momo hugely resembles Sasara, right down to the highlights on the hair…

“…you’re so handsome…” – I’m dying on the inside here, people! *laps up the BL pandering with a derpy smile on my face*

Banri and Tsumugi haven’t been focussed on lately…they’re clearly doing something regarding Banri’s ties with Re:vale, but I can’t quite figure out what that “something” is.

Why is there a basketball and a football in the back of the Takanashi office…?

Please don’t run in heels, Tsumugi…

“I love Idolish7!” - Ah, despite my quibbles, Tsumugi is good after all.

“making one’s best exertions” – Why do those words on the cup worry me a bit…?

Isn’t “I’m watching you” a creepy statement…?

Apparently Tamaki’s symbol is mp (mezzo pianissimo), hence Sougo’s words.

…my gosh! Aya’s foster father is Kujou?!

I7 s2 9

If I heard it right, Tenn’s line was “I can be your idol”, not “your prince”.

“Older Izumi” - …ah, poor Mitsuki.

“Damn you, sexy beast…” – LOL!

…aw, I think this is the first time my heart has been lightened by Tsunashi’s laugh. He’s a good boy.

The chibis…I’m still trying to get used to them…

As a song once said, “You can’t please everyone so you just gotta please yourself.” (Blah blah blah, something about garden parties…)

Takao what now???...okay, Takao Dayuu.

…You’re lucky that wasn’t Tenn doing Takao Dayuu. It would’ve been very “Gentaro does his courtesan voice” if it was.

Nagi doesn’t overpronounce things as much in this season. It’s…pleasant, actually. Give me more of that.

Nagi’s “Oh my god!” was hilarious.

Taiso 5

Ra (ら) and ro (ろ) look kinda similar in hiragana.

Even without the audio, I can guess the words were “yarubeki koto” (things you should do) -> shachihoko.

The texts are written in gyaru-moji. Gyaru-moji is basically indecipherable to anyone who doesn’t know how it works – kind of like the common teen vernacular, to be honest (LOL…?) – and so the subs actually kind of ruin the confusingness of it all, but they did slightly better when they went “UR”.

Movie shiritori! But…has it really been half a year since Leo started? I feel slightly robbed about that plotline with the Men in Black right now…(then again, HypMic is just as bad about important plotlines, if not worse, so…I’m going to be patient and not complain.)

July 5th…Rei is a Cancer…?

They’re…finally moving on this Men in Black plotline! I only complained two points ago! Thank you, staff, for listening to my complaints (…?).

Moon Land finished recently, so I wonder if I’ll lose interest in this anime from here on out…? There was a Pommel Horse Prince in that.

Moon Land taught me that gymnastics has a lot of skills named after their creators, much like the Aragaki previously. The score is out of 10 for both D (difficulty) and E (execution), meaning a 20 is the best you can do, but the judges can get really picky...

The word for “vault” literally means “leaping/jumping horse”…makes sense.

Some of these names are names I’m familiar with from Moon Land already…but I never remember what the skills look like.

…welp, Leo just proved he really is a ninja after all.

Dr Stone’s s2 had its ED announced to be “Koe?” by Hatena and “Yume?” here really makes a theme…does Hatena give all their song titles question marks on the end?

Taiso 6

Colour gangs? Like in IWGP?

It’s nice to see they’re (Jotaro and Rei) communicating properly for the first time in possibly this entire anime.

On the wall, that thing is an evacuation map…of some sort.

…I’ve always wondered: if a bird eats chicken, does that count as cannibalism?

This is like thw Makkachin incident all over again (in YoI).

“…there’s no reason for you to grin and bear it.”

…Leo and Jotaro, both are so dense! Boys *shakes head*.

BB? More like ET (LOL)!

Maou-jou 5

…I didn’t even notice the cast was all dudes bar the princess at this point.

Tatakau Onnatachi. It could mean “fighting women” or “female warriors”.

I’m still vaguely pissed that Kirito is here under my nose…darn Demon King!!!

One of the harpy’s recent worries was that she wanted to become friends with the princess…That’s kinda cute…

Didn’t Syalis already get the coffin that one time? Or did it get confiscated?

*eyes sparkle* Cloud…I’d like to sleep on a cloud…*dreamy look on face* Cloud.

This is basically Princess, ‘Tis Time for Torture in reverse.

Is it “make do” or “make due”…?

I don’t think I need to explain the joke where the harpy is happy.

Gendo pose!

I wonder if the bed or the sheets will talk to her (Syalis) someday?

Maou-jou 6

The New Gearbolt’s quote is “guruguru dokkan”, which is just a bunch of sound effects. It would translate to something like “whir-whir-thud”.

Underwear episodes are some of the worst episodes ever…they’re so juvenile…I dropped at least one series based on the underwear episode alone.

Ah! The seal on the ice monster’s shoulder! Too cute!

How can a mechanical princess mecha (…thing?) have worries?

LOL, never underestimate the hilarity of the teddy demons ganging up on the Demon King.

I like how the Japanese pointed out the demons only moved the princess.

HypMic 8

I thought the robberies were Kazuha’s doing…? Or is this a separate case?

Samatoki answering his phone with his feet up…LOL, there’s just something funny about it. It shows he’s just so badass, he can get away with it.

Riou’s hacking (?) skills come to the fore again. (Or is that listening to enemy intel?)

Ooh, Iris is sassy. I love her already.

…er, Samatoki? Blowing cigarette smoke into Jyuto’s face is just rude…

“…don’t hang up your gloves.” – Considering Jyuto has his red gloves…LOL.

What the heck is that backing track when the 2nd car moved out? That’s a cool track.

Ah! Iris is a Saburo-type…LOL, Saburo’s fake identity.

“a cop who’s in with the yakuza” - Wow, way to diss your own teammate, Samatoki.

For a guy who was only just in the water, Riou doesn’t even look wet.

“2 DIE 4” – Hmm? So did the anime staff know what Riou’s 2nd round song title was at the time…? Update: Judging by the name “Requiem” dropped in the next episode, I would say yes.

“…f*** the police…” - Wow, way to diss your own teammate, Samatoki. X2

Hmm? In Riou’s rap bit near the end, he goes “mad warrior” and that rhymes (in a very loose way of speaking) with “Mad Trigger”. The English didn’t keep that.

I remember seeing a spoiler which said that line (the one about slaves)…but seriously, Jyuto is such a “sexy revenge cop” (as someone once said – I think it might be Slug, or an anon to Slug) that literally nothing else seems to matter about him.

Why do they subtitle the laughing??? I still have no idea.

“Sgt. Iruma”? The guy just says “Iruma-san”. Is he a sergant or some other rank? Update: Yes. (As in, he is a sergant.)

I’ve never actually seen Ramuda sleep in a bed before, come to think of it. Does he not have a bed?

I would assume Gentaro is going…but he said he won’t be going, then negated that and then negated it again. Unless the 2nd time was him admitting it was a lie the first time…is he going or not???

“shinsetsu no human” – (Spoilers for later on/manga)…Yes, that’s actually what Ramuda says. It’s as if Ramuda subtly admits, right there, he isn’t human.

Nodo = throat…If this were translated more literally, it would sound pretty clunky.

“…rappa no inochi…paa!” – Yep, the subbers got the gist of the joke there.

Dice is basically a worm at this point…He’s squirming like one, anyway.

That “number of pips facing up” thing has got to be foreshadowing for something, y’know? Nothing in a story ever goes to waste. Also, it’s likely the dice are weighted or something…

…yep, there you go.

That voice Gentaro used for “I despise lies” was amusing…because it’s so different to his normal voice, and because Gentaro is a serial liar.

The 2nd song…which I already know is called “JACKPOT” from browsing Twitter earlier today…was a bunch of fun.

Udagawacho.

Hmm…emphasis on the candy. I wonder what that means? (<- already knows, I just want to keep it a secret from you, dear reader, if you don’t know it too)

ANIME SHOP is so clearly a pun on Animate, including the colours, that I can’t even…LOL.

FP’s Kizuna sounds distinctly different to the others…probably because of Ramuda. It’s mostly Ramuda carrying the tune there.

“Life is what you make it.” – Hmm, an interesting quote for sure.

HypMic 9

…welp, they don’t call it Fling Posse for nothin’.

I didn’t believe my ears, so I went and listened to it again. Sure enough, Ichiro calls Jakurai -san, not -sensei.

Ramuda’s normal voice! Things are getting serious~!

“Hifuming”? Is that a deliberate choice on the translators’ part? Or is it a mishearing?

…I’m laughing at how Samatoki called Ichiro a “hypocritical piece of s***”. I know the “s***” part is correct at minimum from the audio.

I believe Samatoki said -san, not -sama when he asked for an honorific. Hmm, interesting.

I knew this would get animated, but…I still can’t believe I’m watching it! Amazing…absolutely amazing.

If you’re wondering…yes, that long thing is her entire title and name. It’s said the name “Kadenokouji” is the longest Japanese surname in existence.

I remember reading a tweet earlier today that said somebody wanted “Altercation! Altercation! Altercation!” as a song title…and now I LOL, because the subbers made Gentaro say the exact same word.

Hmm…I only just noticed BB are the only ones with bags. They probably came last, but who took the others’ bags into Chuoku…? Update: Some of the others did have bags, I just never spotted them. For instance, Riou is carrying a large black rectangular bag, but Samatoki and Jyuto don’t have any. Jakurai has the bag from his TDD days.

The 2nd DRB brackets got announced today. BB vs DH, MTR vs BAT, FP vs MTC, rolling out across Japan (and Japan only due to COVID) in 2021.

“What happened between you and him?” - I was going “who?” in Cantonese (as I sometimes do), but turns out they’re just referring to Samatoki.

This is exactly as it played out in the drama tracks and manga…exactly what I was waiting for all this time! So good, dangit!

LOL, in the future, we will have camera drones working our concerts like they do in the DRBs…I think (?)

I wonder what Dice is thinking right now, seeing Otome on the screen…hmm…

…gah! Airhorn! Airhorn to the ears! *tilts to side due to sound*

I still kind of remember Slug’s take on the final battle…”The popo? More like the poopoo!” (or something like that). *sniggers*

The little barking bit after Jiro’s verse was…kinda cute, actually.

…ow, these are some burn-ass words. See? This is the power of the DRB!

…eh? Riou’s mic has his MC name on it. Don’t think I’ve seen that in any other part of the series.

Hoh, Riou even made references to Saburo’s character songs.

You can see “Hc” on Samatoki’s mic too…probably another case of his MC name, but partially obscured by his hand.

Aw, “Samatoki no sabaku toki” is a good lyric. Why couldn’t you try to keep that, instead of translating it literally to “judgement day for Samatoki”?

You can hear a thumping beat in the background when Samatoki prepares himself. That seems to be a similar way to how ARB treats this stuff.

“I’m THE Samatoki” – “Samatoki-sama da”.

I think it was really cool to show Samatoki handing the song over to Riou, but it also indicates there’s a disjunct in the lyrics that would cause such a thing. From this, maybe Riou is MTC’s weak link…?

Skeletons with katanas! Is that not cool?!?

…hey, that joined words thing Ichiro does…I would assume that’s what Rhyme Strike looks like in the HypMic universe?

Notice Samatoki took the word “signal” from Ichiro’s part and put it into his own one.

“Today is a good day to die.” – *eyes bulge* Oh…gosh. What a quote. Update: Someone theorised Ichijiku wrote these titles (the last 2), but someone else – like me – theorised this quote was what FP and M fans thought for this battle.

Akudama 7

…that’s one twisted kid.

Never threaten to kill a kid who can regenerate far better than you, Hoodlum.

Brawler is still in the OP…it’s kind of saddening to see him now.

I noticed a certain character appears on the Executioners’ hands if you pause at the right moment in the OP. It’s the first character in shori (management).

Bunny: set meal/Shark: roasted meat (yakiniku)

…This sounds a heck of a lot like the genbaku dome (Hiroshima Peace Park).

Bunny and Shark’s shirts together: Idiot -> Shark: Bone

Actually, this also reminds me of the Osaka Expo held in 1970. I loved writing about that event – it was just so fun to write about.

This anime is like Appare-Ranman’s sequel, except without the racing and crazy racial stereotypes (although there are still crazy stereotypes).

…whoa! This scene is going on the end of year list for sure. Just…have to remember this scene, where all the children disappeared, exists.

…”The City of Lost Children” is an apt title for this episode.

(HypMic spoilers!) I wonder if they’ll reveal that Ramuda is a clone in what’s left of the HypMic anime?

…oof, Doctor’s a filthy traitor!

Rule number 1 of fighting: never yell out “Smokescreen!” when the smokescreen is meant to cover you.

…LOL, dark censorship bar. Please wait for the Blu-Rays to see this scene uncensored.

What the heck?! The countdown went from 7 to 0 so fast!

Akudama 8

Black Rain, huh? *checks* It’s a movie about a pair of New York policemen who have to save a Japanese gangster from his death.

…don’t jinx it, Swindler!

Your brother isn’t on the moon, Sister. It’s just your dreams on there.

Notice “Neo Lake Biwa” actually has “Reiku” in its name, as opposed to, say, “mizuumi” or “ike” (the Japanese equivalent).

You can still see where Doctor stitched herself up.

What did Doctor “hold on to”?

Way to monologue through the whole morality thing… (<- not as satisfied as they would like from this scene)

I wonder if the seal is electronically tracked…

Tsubo = pot, vase…*thinks about drugs* (Not that pot.)

“…I’ll make you into a real man.” – More like a eunuch, LOL. (partially sarcastic)

I recall from Sarazanmai that “pair look” is the term for “twinsies” in Japanese.

Oh! Swindler kind of looks like the Executioner Boss now.

…I find it ironic that Swindler had long hair up until not too long ago.

Can to the eye! Ouch! That’s gotta be worse than a lightsaber…er, jitte to the eye!

This makes me wonder…was Courier a rich kid once…?

[shellfish-honkon]

Perfume: English Translation of the Interview on Ongaku to Hito 2018.09 (vol.1)

Vol. 1

The introduction and a personal interview for A-chan

Perfume

Future is in your hands

"You have not been mistaken. And it will start again from now on” 

I felt as if someone talks to the 3 like that. Unlike our expectation, Perfume's new album "Future Pop" does not have the future-bass tasted sound arrangement that was strongly expressed in the single "If you wanna". Despite having tracks with that taste, the impression I had after listening the whole album was that their vocals were strongly featured, and that there is a perspective of mature ladies, not innocent girls. In this interview, this big change expressed in the album was examined through personal interviews of the 3 and a group interview. I guess the 3 ladies would have expressed anxieties and confusions if they had faced a great change like this. However, Perfume of the present has an overwhelming confidence. I can see their absolute conviction that they would absolutely be alright. Where do those come from? I took time to ask them about this in these interviews.

And now, this is a new start from here. You will not awake from a dream you dream with Perfume, not yet.

Interview: A-chan

"Perfume is something that must continue. I don't have a sense of vocation like that now"

- Did you go to the Budokan concert of Chatmonchy?

A: Yes, I did!! My eyes were full of tears. The set list was crazy as well, you know? All the 3 songs for the encore were the ones written by Kumiko-san!!

-That's right.

A: I had goosebumps all the time during the concert. In the past, Chatmonchy evolved again and again, and was born again and again. But at the time when they brought down the curtain, they made us realize that all of those processes were Chatmonchy. They showed off how talented they are when they close the band, and left the stage after making it so obvious that everyone was going to miss them. That's what a real hero does. If stocks of Ecchan and Akko-chan were available, I would definitely love to buy and invest them, LOL!

- LOL! But when you witnessed the end of a band you love that much, didn't you identify yourselves with them?

A: Recently, I think less and less about those stuffs. Not only Chatmonchy, Namie Amuro-san is also retiring. However, when I listen to a news like that, now I don't really think like "This will happen to us someday..." I guess it just doesn't connect. Although a day like that will come to anyone in some way, I still don't feel that the day is coming to Perfume, not yet. But it's not that I don't want that day to come. It's more like it exists in a different dimension.

- After covering you for nearly 10 years, I've seen the times when the 3 of you held anxiety or chancy-ness. But recently, your conviction like "Perfume is absolute" is getting stronger and stronger, I feel.

A: Exactly. Right now, I really enjoy being Perfume. In the past, I used to be pretty strict to myself during a tour or interview period. 'Cause I thought I had to be in the best shape as Perfume for concerts, interviews, shootings and things like that. So I put myself under the pressure and tried not to meet friends, strictly checked what to eat and so on. I pushed myself pretty hard to be Perfume everyone wanted me to be.

- Like you had to be like this as A-chan of Perfume?

A: Yeah. I just can't help it, 'cause all of my family members act like that so... LOL!

- So, that's caused by the blood of Nishiwaki family, LOL!!

A: I guess it's from my father's side, LOL! But little by little, I have been able to forgive myself.

- So you mean you can face Perfume from a neutral point of view now, right?

A: Well, you know what? Things like "Perfume is something that must continue!" I don't have a sense of vocation like that now. We can keep on our activities if people want us to, and we can take a rest a bit if we're tired. We can try anything if we find it interesting, even if it's something we've never tried before. And if we're asked to do something, we would go for it if we feel like it. Now we can stay honest to ourselves. When trying something different from what we have been doing, there definitely would be negative things. But if we think we would find positive things more than negatives, we can try, no matter what it would be. And even if we fail, we can just start it over again. Now I can take everything positive.

- I know what you mean. In the past, you used to be scared of losing something when you were taking a step for something new, and when you decided to try something new, you also became so desperate to meet the expectation.

A: That's right. We squared up when no one asked us to do so. And one more thing, until recently, I had to take an initiative to announce what the 3 of Perfume would like to do. But nowadays, the other 2 started to express their wills little by little. That might make it easier for me.

- Ah, I see.

A: In the past, there were times in which they didn't tell what they really thought or didn't say their opinions in front of others. But when we talked by ourselves or texted each other, our real feelings we couldn't tell on those moments came out. "Then you should have said it at that time" there was a time I sometimes thought like that.

- Ah, I see. And I can't imagine it happening to you recently.

A: Nowadays, both Nocchi and Kashiyuka express their opinions when we discuss with our team. That might be why it becomes easier for me.

- I guess it was difficult for them to express their opinions.

A: I guess it was because of the lack of confidence, rather than difficulty to express opinions. Because expressing opinions means that you've got to be responsible for what you've said. But it was same for me as well. I wish I can be more confident. But it would have been kind of weird if it was only me who gained the confidence despite working on same activities all together, right? I guess it's our characteristics to be in sync in those points as well.

- So, even though you didn't have confidence in yourself, just like the other 2, you regarded that it had been your role to express Perfume's opinion. Because someone had to say that, right A-chan?

A: Yes, and now it's changing little by little. That might be why things going so well recently. I can enjoy things more and more.

- I see. Then, what do you think is a right way for Perfume of now to aim for?

A: Personally, I'd love to see Perfume performing stuffs like "Reframe (*"Perfume x TECHNOLOGY" presents "Reframe", held at NHK hall in March)" more. It would be wonderful if Perfume has a show studio or something like permanent theater where people from all over the world can visit to watch our performance when they come to Japan.

- So you mean a stage combining technologies and entertainment together?

A: Yes, it's like a stage combining technologies and humanity together, I guess. When you listen to a word "Technology", you might have a cold impression. But actually it's not. There always are human hands involved with it and it has warmth as if it has flesh and blood. And it can convey the emotions men can not directly put into words. That might represent a kind of "Japanese-ness" in some way, I guess. We could only hold "Reframe" show for 2 days. So I'd love people in Japan and around the world to watch a performance like this as a new entertainment of Japan.

- You think in that way because you'd like to meet the expectation?

A: Because I love to challenge! However, this 3 women has always had a desire to meet the expectation, since we had spent a long time without being expected.

- Until you made a breakthrough, right?

A: Not being wanted and expected is such a sad thing and makes you so miserable. I used to blame myself like "I dedicate myself to this job without hanging around and having fun with friends and yet we remain unwanted and unexpected, why? Why do we get our greetings ignored even by the people of our management office? It must be our fault..." Those feelings I had back then have never gone away, even though we're so privileged to have so many amazing jobs like we do now. Since we remember so well about the fear we felt back then, the joy we feel when we see someone paying attention to us and we're wanted has never changed even now. A cover page of a magazine like this, TV commercial, things like that..., because those mean that there're people who would like to use us.

- Those are what you've been waiting to happen.

A: As we're expected, we would like to meet the expectation at any cost. I really wish Ongaku to Hito magazine would sell over 1 million copies, LOL!!

- That would make this magazine the best-selling magazine in Japan, LOL!!

A: However, we would love to work as hard as we can for that goal, rather than taking responsibility of the result, I feel. Oh, by the way, I started to learn English again recently. And my current teacher is Gyaru.

- What? Gyaru?

A: Yeah, her mother is Japanese. She has lived in LA for a long time and started to live in Japan 3 years ago. She and I have girls' talk in English and that's so much fun! For example, she was trying to tell me "Isn't he trying to hit on you?" in English but...

- What kind of English lesson is that? LOL!!

A: It's basically girls' talk, so..., LOL!! But I couldn't pronounce the phrase well so I said like "Ah, that's difficult..." And she told me "Alright then, listen to this!" (*starting to play a song from her smart phone) This song basically sings like "I'm a man who hit on" all the time.

- I see. You 3, including A-chan, are about to turn 30's. Do you realize any change of your perspective?

A: I do. People from younger generations started to appear on the scene more and more. People you see on the screen come and go through the time, and it's same for the bands appear on rock festivals. Therefore, I do realize that we get older pretty much. You can see that from our outfits, recent costumes are more conscious of those mature-ness and elegance.

- Ah, that's right.

A: 'Cause you know what? I even started Yoga! And I actually enjoy it pretty much!

- So, you are pretty positive and active on what you do now.

A: Exactly. I enjoy getting aged, and as I get older, I've got more things I'd like to try. It's such a pleasure to reach the end of my 20's with the mindset like this, LOL! As for Nocchi and Kashiyuka, they're reaching the end of 20's this year. Moreover, both of them are turning 30 during the upcoming tour. "What should I do on those days?", I'm thinking right now. Since we stick together all the time during the tour, it's pretty difficult.

- Difficult to give them surprises, right?

A: They'll be keeping eyes on what I do, you know?

- I'm so sure that they'll notice like "Ah, A-chan is up to something"

A: Nah, Nocchi tends to be like that, but Kashiyuka is not that kind of girl! But when I give her a surprise, she would tell me like "Ah, I knew it's coming". I'm so sure about that, LOL!

- You haven't changed ever since when you were teenagers about those points.

A: That's true. But back then, we had never imagined that we would be able to remain to be Perfume until this age. We thought it would be pretty lucky if we could continue Perfume for 3 years. After the hit of "Polyrhythm", there was a time we were in a mood like "This will be a great memory for us. There's nothing left to regret anymore"

- Like "We could come this far, so it's enough for us", you thought?

A: Yeah, I think we felt that our hard work paid off and we were finally rewarded. Since then, we have been kind of like updating every year, like "Can we go any further? We made it, we could reach further! It seems we still can go further! ...Is it okay to go further? Shall we go? ...Let's go as far as we can get!" And it seems we still can go further on this year as well.

- But you don't feel anxious when you think like that, do you?

A: No, not at all. I guess it's because we're now confident on what we have piled up until this day. And also because there're so many people believe in that, not only our staffs, but also our fans. Therefore, we have confidence about that and we would feel sorry for them if we're not confident in that. So now I'm trying to make all of my dreams come true, no matter how small it is. I'd like to be a hope for them.

- What's your small dream you fulfilled recently?

A: Sleeping on a bed I've been longing for a long time, for example?

- A bed you've been longing?

A: Yes, placing a huge bed in my room has been my dream for a long time. There's a furniture studio I really admire in Shizuoka Prefecture and the bed called "CONTINUE" manufactured in the studio is the one I've longed. It's all hand made by a craftsperson. I don't know for how long I've been dreaming about this and I've finally bought it after the fan club tour! And it's huuuuuuge!! I can even fall asleep like this! So happy!

- Huh? Ah, I see. You can sleep with your both hands wide open.

A: Like "Am I in heaven or what?" LOL!! Though it might be such a tiny dream, making it come true gives me a confidence. It also makes me think "I've got to work hard 'cause I've bought this" and gives me a strength to move forward in the hard times. I can't help thinking what an easy person I am, though.

- But it represents your personality very well, I think.

A: Money-wise, I could have bought that bed much earlier than I actually had. However, I used to hesitate fulfilling goals a bit, even a tiny one like this. I was kind of scared like "What should I set as a new goal if I fulfill one?" But now, I've got a tons of new dreams and enjoy fulfilling them one by one. That's what I come to think. What's left is... marriage maybe? That's the toughest one, LOL!!

- You had never imagined to turning 30 without getting married, yeah.

A: It's like I've kept walking uncharted territory, LOL! But oh, as we all know, the Olympic is coming to Tokyo in 2 years. So it would be wonderful if we can show our achievement, something we've been doing through the career, on the stage like that. I feel that my life will become different whether we can do something for that big stage or not.

- ...Ah, may I ask you? Is there any project you're involved in actually in progress?

A: Nope, not at all, LOL!!

- Oh, I thought something is actually under way behind closed doors, LOL!!

A: No way! We don't have a power like that, LOL!! But I really want to do something for the Tokyo Olympic! Please, I'm begging you! I'll do anything!!

- Hey, I'm not an appropriate guy for you to beg, LOL!! However, what you said means that you'd like to give shape to what you've piled up, right?

A: That's right. Like "We fulfilled this, we fulfilled that..., we were able to do that so we should be able to do this" As we piled up so many stuffs, we now have more things we're capable of doing. And it's same for our dreams, we still can have more to expand our dreams.

- I think Nakata-san himself knows it, too. That might be why he tries to tell that the future of Perfume who are about to turn 30, is starting from here with this album.

A: I'm so glad about that. But I once again feel I can have dreams like this because Nocchi and Kashiyuka have always been with me. You can't dream alone. Since the 2 are with me, it becomes alright.