#manga is all whim reading but in terms of books where I was like ‘time for a treat’. it’s basically just this

[daisyachain]

My current book blurb compares the author to García Márquez and Eco because those are the only two authors-in-translation the review writer knew. It’s nothing like either but it is fun and it’s a whim book which I pretty much haven’t read since…rereading Redwall last year?

[imaginethat0327]

Kay let’s do this *cracks knuckles*

🎱 My beta is the one with access to ao3 so I can’t see the stats 😅

🍓 I think I started writing fanfiction when I was like, eleven, I just didn’t know the terms for it yet. And I’m honestly not sure what triggered it other than me wanting to see scenarios with characters I liked. I think my first fanfic (which I never finished) was about the Young Justice crew going to DisneyLand??

🌵 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/64OXW7AK5ULeSPEKzgdtNp?si=5WEu21W6T0Or_BRXkCHCKw&pi=u-eINmVchcTp-l. (My fav instrumental playlist ❤️)

🕯️ 1. Just… it’s a 1. I don’t do it nearly as often as I should because I hate it 😂

🛼 - 🏝️🩺🔥🧟💀

🥑 @isyhawk 100%. If I contacted another then it would be @rurus-kadoo

🥤 I think this is supposed to be fanfic authors but I don’t read fanfic anymore, so I’m going to say Rick Riordan, lol.

💌 … 84. But it’s legit all spam which is why I haven’t looked at them yet 😂

🌻 @nyxcentury

🐇 Always would prefer OG characters as opposed to reader inserts

🧃 Personal lore that I haven’t shared before… uh, I sang the national anthem at one of my sister’s gymnastic meets one time.

🎲 Fatigue, mental or physical

🍄 Every spring, avians get a nesting urge where they’ll start crafting one out of blankets, pillows, clothes, and little trinkets or items that they’re fond of. Both Tango and Scar inevitably end up finding themselves in the middle of these nests at some point or another and even if it gets in the way of their projects, they can’t bring themselves to try and break out of it because it would make their partners very sad. So they’re both just kind of stuck being coddled and cooed over for a week and they both secretly (on Tango’s end) and not so secretly (on Scar’s end) adore it.

🧸 Aside from the logging stuff that I like, then reaching out and talking to me :) because then we’re friends and I’ll be obligated 😂

🪐 I’m on course to graduate college early, I have a pretty good living situation, and I have a ton of new online friends that I’ve been talking to/playing Minecraft with

📚 “Redbubble” and that’s it. I was going to make a password but I forgot, so now there’s just a note with the word “redbubble” in it

🍬 Deku is actually kind of dumb when it comes to fighting and how much effort he puts into stuff. Looking at a villain and going “I’ll beat him by trying even *harder* is dumb. Bakugo agrees with me. It ends up with Deku recklessly hurting himself and potentially hurting others. Real people, most of the time, can’t give 100% and then just decide to double their effort on a whim if stuff isn’t working out. I always thought it was kinda stupid and also very unrealistic/potentially a bad message. Granted, I haven’t read a lot of the recent manga, but if the fight scene with Deku in the third movie was anything to go by, he hasn’t learned.

🔪 I’ve tried to figure out the exact nerve/blood vessel that needs to get pinched for the Vulcan neck pinch to work. I don’t remember if I found it or not. Other than that’s it’s been a lot of “how do I kill someone in XYZ way” 💀

🦷 If you get a bloody nose, tilt your head back and get a twisted piece of tissue and stuff it up there. Then breathe gently in through your nose. The gentle airflow will clot the blood wicked fast. Be careful pulling the tissue out though otherwise you might take the clot out too.

❄️ I want James Patterson to write me a steampunk fantasy book

🌿 Give yourself a little bit of a break, but then find someone to talk about your project too. Even if it’s just recapping events, talking about stuff usually gets me back in the spirit of things. Also, at least for me, I have to make sure I write just a tiny bit every couple days, because big breaks may lead to the fic getting abandoned.

🥐 The Australian dude talking about the attack dogs and then he makes an impression “and they came bounding over -“ makes me laugh every time.

🏜️ Any comment that analyzes character relationships or plot elements makes me indescribably happy. All comments do, but those are my favs

🍦 I honestly can’t think of a character that I legitimately hate. Maybe it’s because I know they’re supposed to be unlikeable because they are a character??

🥝 oh dear god we’re getting real here… em, I’d say I don’t lie a LOT, but I do have a bad habit of lying about myself and my day-to-day going-one because I don’t want to feel like I wasted my day or did something wrong. For example, I told my mom that I did a good job hydrating yesterday when the only liquids I consumed were cups of coffee 💀

🦋 Umm… truthfully, I’ve been debating my value as a person/friend/sibling recently. How much joy do I actually bring to other people. How productive am I actually being. How much good am I actually putting into the world. How many of my interactions are me just clinging to the hope of validation as opposed to me focusing on others and their lives. 😥

🦴 no singular piece, but music and lyrics usually do

🍅 Imagine, for the love of god, go back and reread and edit your own writing. Stop word vomiting onto the page and expecting your beta to catch every little thing. Also, learn how to be CONCISE. Stop waxing poetical about every little thing or you’re never going to finish anything!

🐚 Depends on the surprise. Twists in movies are great. Friends showing up out of the blue are great. Random changes to pre-established plans make me want to cry.

🪲 “How are we going to kill it now?” Xisuma sounded a bit breathless from the heat, and when Cleo turned to look she saw the admin popping the cap on a fire res potion. “We can’t fight it while it’s in the lava. We have to draw it out.”

“If we try to fight it in here, we’re going to be killed by the blazes immediately.” Bad agreed. “We need to get it outside.”

☁️ I wanted a name that was whimsical - and the sort of dreamy, enthralled concept of “Imagine THAT” worked really well for me. Also I was really into Imagine Dragons at the time 😂.

🐝 Okay - I’m going to miss people, but I love every single person who’s read my fics and reblogged my post. For a few specific people: @rurus-kadoo - I am in awe of your creativity and your musical talents, and I’m so thankful you have shared them with me. I’ve loved chatting about music and making playlists with you. @isyhawk - My pen pal, you’ve taught me so much about life and you’ve helped me talk through some kind of heavy stuff, and I’m always going to be grateful for that. I love being pen pals with you ❤️. @red-carter - I’m so happy that you reached out to talk to me despite it being scary. I appreciate your openness and your kindness and I love getting to say good morning to you when I wake up.

🌸 I do have pets! An eleven year old golden doodle named Casey, and an almost 2 year old mini bermadoodle named Jojo. Pictures at the bottom!

🎨 Not sure if I have a fav piece, but anything by Applestruda, Hybbart, and Noxolotl is incredible

🧩 Anything with bad grammar/spelling/formatting is an immediate turnoff for me.

Pictures!!!:

Writers Truth & Dare Ask Game

🎱 ⇢ post your AO3 total stats  🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction?  🌵 ⇢ share the link to a playlist you love 🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that? 🛼 ⇢ describe your latest wip with five emojis 🥑 ⇢ you accidentally killed somebody, which mutual(s) do you text for help? 🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love 💌 ⇢ how many unread emails do you have right now?  🌻 ⇢ tag someone you appreciate but don't talk to on a regular basis 🐇 ⇢ do you prefer writing original characters, reader inserts, or a mix of both?  🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before 🎲 ⇢ what stops you from writing more in your free time?  🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings 🧸 ⇢ what's the fastest way to become your mutual? 🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now 📚 ⇢ what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app?  🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character 🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project? 🦷 ⇢ share some personal wisdom or a life hack you swear on ❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best? 🌿 ⇢ give some advice on writer's block and low creativity 🥐 ⇢ name one internet reference that will always make you laugh  🏜️ ⇢ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work? 🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate 🥝 ⇢ do you lie a lot? what's the most recent lie you told? 🦋 ⇢ share something that has been on your heart and mind lately  🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing?  🍅 ⇢ give yourself some constructive criticism on your own writing 🐚 ⇢ do you like or dislike surprises? 🪲 ⇢ add 50 words to your current wip and share the paragraph here ☁️ ⇢ what made you choose your username? 🐝 ⇢ tag your biggest supporter(s) and say one nice thing about them 🌸 ⇢ do you have any pets? if you do, post some pictures of them 🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it 🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

[glassandmetalwings]

Wings Talks Manga: A Year in Review, Part 1 (Completed stories)

Last year, I told myself I was going to actually really more manga and watch more anime, because despite it being my main style I hadn’t actually read much in awhile. And I actually managed to get a lot done for one year. So below is a list of stories I read/watched and a few quick thoughts on them. Despite having my list open, I’m still probably not going to get to all of them, but I can try.

Be warned for spoilers.

T.egami Bachi (manga)

I love. Anyone following this tag of mine knows this has been a long journey and that I loved every minute of it. The world is beautiful, the characters are great, the emotions run high...it’s incredibly cathartic and engaging. I will never stop lauding it.

Jiu Jiu (manga)

A short series I picked up from the library that I never really covered, but that I enjoyed. Sometimes it felt a little slow to work through, but it was cute and I got really attached to the characters over five volumes. Like the mangaka, I wish there had been more opportunity to delve deeper into some of the story elements, because especially near the end it got confusing. Also I’m assuming it ended in a poly relationship? The protag grows up and has babies but you can’t really tell which love interest is the father, if either are. They’re all together in the final picture and I support it but it also bugs me bc I am confused.

Dreamin’ Sun (manga)

Mixed feelings on this one. I honestly expected a modern fantasy involving a baku going into this based on the back cover. I was wrong. I was really cute, if not overwhelmingly emotionally frustrating/full of secondhand embarassment at some points. The characters are super well-developed and continue to evolve and grow through the series. I will forever complain about the protag falling in love and centering her life around an adult man, but there were also some very touching elements that I can’t help but remember fondly.

The Wize Wize Beasts of the the Wizarding Wizdoms (manga)

The first of a lot of BL I read this year, which is honestly very new to me. My introduction to Nagabe. I’ve mentioned there’s one story I’m not too fond of, but it could be my interpretation of it. Overall very much loved it and especially love the art style.

K.amisama Kiss (manga)

I series I kind of picked up on a whim and absolutely fell in love with. Cute, funny, touching, well-thought out. There were some elements I didn’t understand (like the end), but my enjoyment overall made up for it. The one thing I wish for was a little more development for some of the minor characters. Also I love Mizuki and his development throughout the series. He makes me emotional.

Our Dining Table (manga)

Another cute, simple love story about two guys making food. I don’t have a whole lot to say about this other than it’s cute and you should read it. Although I obviously have no issues with teenage protags, it was refreshing to have a love story about two working adults that didn’t have to involve sex. Also can totally understand one guy’s aversion to eating with others, even if my own isn’t as severe.

Love on the Other Side (manga)

More Nagabe. Really, really cute. I love the story with the bird (of course). The softness of the stories and Nagabe’s art style really have stolen my heart.

B.lack Butler: Book of Circus (anime)

We all know why I watched this. Sadly the ending is as gruesome as the manga, and the one or two scenes they added didn’t play well on the DVD. But still a delight (up until the end).

The Devil is a Part-Timer (anime)

Interesting. Funny. A good world base, but I feel they could have developed it a little more, and the last episode kind of soured it a little for me because there was no really wrap-up. But I liked the characters and had a lot of fun watching it while crocheting. Wish there was a season two.

The Bride was a Boy (manga)

A brief autobiographical manga about a trans woman, filled with lots of tidbits about transgender individuals and things like HRT. Short, sweet, cute, and full of love and joy. Again, not much to say other than I recommend it.

Fractale (anime)

A lot to process. I think I would need to watch it again to fully wrap my head around it, if not more than once. An interesting world, great character, engaging story, and beautiful animation. Plus just...kinda relevant in a way that’s hard to describe. Think ease of technology verses governmental control via tech. I really loved the episode about the mysterious photographer. Plus I just fell in love with the ending song.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (anime)

Yes, I’d never watched this before. Gonna say, not my favorite Miazaki, but as usual an excellent story with a lot of background and development. And of course I loved the creature design. Glad to finally have it watched, after all these years, but I also can’t help but wonder what the original English release was like, knowing they cut/edited a lot. Because a lot of that violence and death was...kinda necessary to understanding character motives.

H.aibane Renmei (anime)

Again, another series that’s been at the top of my list for forever. I didn’t even have an excuse not to watch is as I own the DVDs. Excellent, and touching, if not cutting a little too close to home at times (like self-harm/BFRB). Really my introduction to ABe, and I have to say I never saw the ending coming. But would definitely watch again and again. Kinda wish I could do a cosplay for this series (I’d probably be Nemu, or one of the masked characters), but I feel like you need a group for it.

G.osick (anime)

I didn’t complete this one, I’m sorry. I think the art is great, and the arcs in concept are amazing...but it falls through in the delivery. The characters don’t really feel like they have driving motives behind their actions, and sometimes the evidence and stuff are things you can’t discern from watching (’I can tell you aren’t the daughter of a coal baron because you walk short distances before turning sharply and walking the other way, like you’re pacing in a small psych ward cell’-yes, that’s a real example). Lots of potential, but not great. Sorry.

Wolf Children (anime)

Very cute. Beautiful anime. I don’t think I can say much about this that hasn’t already been said. My favorite part is the ending where she’s saying goodbye just because of how both painfully and empoweringly emotional it is.

5 Centimeters Per Second (anime)

Not bad, but probably not my favorite. It didn’t help that the version I was watching didn’t translate all of the writing, so I feel like I missed a lot of elements. While the story is definitely a sentiment I can get behind, it was also a little bit unsatisfying for me, especially at the end. But idk, maybe I just don’t like the idea of moving on when there’s the opportunity to not.

Colorful (anime)

It was...a film. About a suicide. Looking back I don’t particularly feel strongly either way about it. I think the ending was good, and giving the protag some sort of motivation, but it took forever to really get to a point where I cared about him (or he seemed to really care about the body he was inhabiting and the person he was trying to be). Some of the stuff was just...uncomfortable. It’s probably worth watching, but overall I wasn’t wowed by it.

Ibistu (manga)

My first shrink-wrapped manga. It ties together very well in the end, and the horror and violence elements did elicit some very visceral reactions in me (particularly the threat of the iron and, later, the staples). The short stories were also good, particularly the doll factory one, but I wasn’t the most fond of the one about the mangaka. Just know there’s a reason it’s shrink-wrapped and it’s not a ‘positive’ one.

A Silent Voice (anime)

Probably one of my favorite films. While I didn’t always understand the motivations behind some of the characters or their actions, it wasn’t in a way that made me uncomfortable like some of the things in Colorful did. It felt more natural for them to be irrational. Again, there is suicide, so be warned if you don’t want to deal with that. But the story is sweet and the characters are amazing. But I also have a weakness for things involving sign language and communication.

Children Who Chase Lost Voices (anime)

Very cool. Beautiful landscapes. Gave me very strong Princess Mononoke vibes at some points, but it also stood as its own story with interesting characters there are elements I wish we could have delved deeper into, though. Also...what war did the teacher fight in? It didn’t look very modern. Also also I will forever wince at the pronunciation of ‘Quetzalcoatl’. Death is a strong theme in it, so be prepared if you watch it.

The Boy and the Beast (anime)

Excellent character design. Excellent story. Excellent animation. My one complaint would be that the climax felt kind of thrown together, even though it tied back to the beginning in a good way. But overall a beautiful world with some great humor and intense elements.

The Garden of Words (anime)

Spoiler: again a story about a kid falling in love with an adult. From a platonic standpoint, the story still feels a little weird, particularly in terms of the woman’s motivations, but looking back her not getting too involved in him missing school...kinda feels like what I would do to, especially in her situation. It’s sweet, though. Maybe it’s just me and my preferences, but some elements feel a bit incomplete, and I wish had been explored/wrapped up.

Summer Wars (anime)

Probably a favorite on the films list. Again, beautiful animation. I’m not going to get over this style. But I especially liked the design of OZ and the excess of blank space in it. Characters were many but great (although I didn’t get the one baseball player was part of the family until almost the end, but that says more about me and paying attention). Even Mom got really engaged in it when I had her watch it with me (I also had her watch Wolf Children, which I thought she would like more, but apparently not). There is a character death, but if you don’t mind that it’s definitely a watch.

Beauty and the Beast Girl (manga)

A cute little story about a blind girl and a dragon girl falling in love-what more could you want? Their histories actually tie together in a really neat way. Honestly my one complaint would be that the ending feels a little too ideal and easily wrapped-up. But sometimes we need things to be that perfect, you know?

P.andora Heart (manga)

The other big story I tackled this year. There were points that were a bit slow/disengaging to me, but overall once I got hooked I really loved it. I think I need a second read to really fully understand it (if that’s possible), but equal parts cute, intense, and bittersweet. Elliot’s whole development was probably my favorite bit.

The God and the Flightless Messenger (manga)

My last story of 2020, and a very cute one at that. Another short story, with beautiful art. I don’t...really know what to say about it. It’s cute, and the love story feels both very natural and almost...secondary? Idk how to describe that. The relationship between the two of them is obviously key, but it’s the type of story where ‘I love you’ isn’t needed. It’s already there.

So yeah, there’s the list. It’s a long list. I probably still missed some. I might try to make a second list with ‘in progress’  series but I’ll be playing that by ear. I’d love to hear some of you all’s thoughts on these stories (if you’ve read/watched them), or which you now want to read/watch!

[carriagelamp]

February 2020 Book Review

The Last Wish / Sword Of Destiny

Let’s start with the books that currently have me in a stranglehold. I apologize to everyone that actually follows me and watched me descend into fandom pits but whatcha gonna do. So, I was aware of the video game when it came out, but not being a prolific gamer I was intrigued but never bothered getting into it. Then the Netflix series came out, and I was again intrigued... but I suck at sitting down and watching shows. So what the heck I decided, it’s probably mediocre hypermasculine high fantasy but let’s try a book to see what the fuss is all about.

Good god. Guys. It’s real good. And so fucking different from the show. Geralt is actually a really emotional, well-meaning guy who’s starved for positive social interactions and is just trying to do his best. And the books’ consistent themes of colonialism, environmental destruction, forced extinction, and changing eras is... chilling and fascinating and honestly a little too relatable at times. These books have made me laugh and shout and frankly sob. Still a little sexist, cause 90s fantasy, but Geralt is so not the gruff, heartless, manly man character I thought he would be. I am so deeply into these and have just cracked the spine of the next book in the series. If you like high fantasy, I can’t recommend these enough.

The Silver Eyes

I just learnt that there were Five Nights At Freddy’s books, and honestly picked this up from the library as a joke for my brother. We’d played the games back when they first came out, and were into the lore, but lbr they’re more of a meme at this point. Anyway, we ended up reading this out loud to each other, a chapter a night, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Probably wouldn’t have liked it as much on my own, but the main character was complicated and messy, and the book’s way or portraying trauma was neat. It was nominally horror, and did have the occasional chilling moment, or times it was fun to speculate, it over all it was pretty run of the mill middle grade fiction.

FRNK

Probably the best graphic novel I’ve read this month. 

I was howling with laughter while I read it. Good quality Belgium comics, always a treat. This story is about a modern day boy, Frank, who is accidentally thrown back into prehistoric times, where he’s stuck with a bunch of cavemen who haven’t invented the concept of vowels yet. Admittedly my French isn’t great, so it made trying to decipher words with half the letters missing a challenge to say the least, but plenty worth it. I really want to get my hands on book two. I believe there’s an English translation, and I’d recommend giving it a try.

Best Friends

A neat little graphic novel that addresses common growing up issues, about what it means to be friends, stay friends, how to cope with people changing and when it’s time to walk away. Anxiety, being yourself, fitting in, all that sort of stuff. It’s a quick read, very pleasant, and has nice art.

Karen’s Witch

Another cute graphic novel with charming art. I read this at the store while I was waiting for a prescription to be filled. It’s about this five year old (or thereabouts) who is absolutely determined that her neighbour is a witch and by god she is going to prove it or at least scare herself and her friend silly in the process. A fun little read!

Endling: The First

The second book in the Endling series, and all my praise for the first book apply here as well. A super unique high fantasy that gives extinct and threatened species a voice. The book explore themes of war, environmental destruction, sacrifice and loss. You really get to see how much Byx has grown and how much she needs to continue to grow. This book has me so excited for the third, I haven’t read such an emotionally rewarding quest novel in a long time.

Bleach

I found out my library has a billion books of this series and decided to jump into it again for the first time in over a decade. Honestly it’s even better than I remembered? The art is absolutely stunning, Ichigo is such a power fantasy hero, and it’s one of those series with a lot of really loveable characters and a lot of heart. Ichigo is a good guy who you actually feel good liking, which can’t be said for all shonen protags by any means. This is just such a classic and it holds up man. And if you like manga and have never read it? Jump in and enjoy a normal human getting supernatural powers and kicking absolutely enormous monsters’ asses.

Dinotopia: Sabertooth Mountain

This was my favourite Dinotopia book as a kid, and it was still fun to reread. The world of Dinotopia is one separate from the rest of the world, where humanity lives in perfect harmony with many prehistoric creatures that have managed to survive and evolve on the island of Dinotopia. This story is about a crisis brewing, as the sabertooths are cut off from their food supply and are in danger of not only starving but of bringing death to the rest of the mountain as well. While surveying the situation with his older sister, the main character finds himself falling from the airship in the middle of a storm, directly into the valley of starving sabertooths.

I read a bunch of this author’s graphic novels, and they are such feel-good queer lit. This was probably my favourite of the lot, but I also read Tea Dragon Society, Aquicorn Cove, and Princess Princess Ever After. Taking place in a picturesque mountain community, it’s about a girl meeting a guardian dragon who accidentally fell asleep in the mountains a century ago rather than watch over the village like intended. It’s about coming to terms with and loving yourself (and also about super cute little tea dragons).

Just Jaime

Another story that focuses on the complications of middle school, and how friends can grow and change, and when sometimes friendships become toxic and cruel. These are novel/graphic novel hybrids that are very visually appealing, and really do manage to tell very heartfelt stories. This one takes a side character from the earlier two books, and turns her from a very one dimensional, somewhat annoying character, into a fully realized person with her own issues and her own need for growth.

The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up / The Life-Changing Manga Of Tidying Up

Given that I’m not really a non-fiction person and DEFINITELY not a self-help book person, I really enjoyed these (though I didn’t read Spark Joy). I read the manga first, out of curiosity, but enough of it struck true that I decided to try the book as well. Have I cleaned anything up yet? No. But honestly, I can genuinely say that despite being repetitive at points I do truly feel like I got a lot of good out of it, and I feel much more excited and prepared when I do decide to do a big clean next. It really does reframe the relationship you have with your belongings and with yourself. I genuinely love the concept of “sparking joy”.

Bigfoot Boy: The Sound Of Thunder

Technically the last book of the series, whoops. Though honestly having read it I didn’t feel like I missed that much. It’s a Canadian graphic novel and I had... mixed feelings about it. Interesting and exciting in some ways, but the pacing was odd, and honestly I don’t think indigenous voices went into making it (I could be wrong but...) and it reads as kinda... eugh. Problematic. Having a none indigenous author write about a white boy being the guardian of a first nation totem and turning into a bigfoot isn’t a super cool optic.

Bloodchild

I was told “hey this is a really fucked up short story” so I read it, and guess what? It was a really fucked up short story. Would recommend if you want weird alien sex slavery bullshit-- it was a wild ride. And the overall themes obviously went a lot deeper than that, but honestly, it’s like a few dozen pages long if you wanna dig into all the philosophical shit, just give it a read! Uh, heavy content warning, tw tw tw, but a really bizarre, unsettling look at gender and power dynamics and oppression through a scifi lens.

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIHM

I hadn’t read this book since elementary school so I reread it on a whim. It really is such a charming story. As far as animal stories go, this feels almost like the platonic ideal. Mother mouse is worried about her sick son and winds up compelled to seek out the mysterious rats who live in the rosebush for help, and is not only thrust into her own adventure but learns about the strange past her late husband shared with the rats of NIMH. It’s such a relaxing read, while still managing to be exciting and compelling.

Exploring According to Og the Frog

And one last animal story to round us off. I’d read one of the Humphrey books last month, and check out a couple more from the library for fun. I didn’t enjoy Mysteries According to Humphrey that much, but this one was charming, showing the world through Humphrey’s frog friend Og instead. The same charming type of adventure, but being a frog, Og has a very different attitude and view of the world, which was fun. Very cute elementary kid lit.

[codenamesazanka]

I know this is a really vague thing to ask, but do you have any tips for writing Shigaraki? I know Echodrops made a whole meta about fanon Shigaraki vs canon Shigaraki but do you personally have anything in particular you'd want to mention yourself about the portrayal of Shigaraki in fanfics?

(Here’s the link to @echodrops‘s post! It’s really, really good, and helped me figure out Shigaraki a lot in the first place. thank you!)

oooh! Not at all a vague thing, this is a great question. I started all this meta because I wanted to figure out how to write Shigaraki as well. A word of caution tho, because this would be my personal interpretation of Shigaraki, though I’ll try to use as much manga examples as I can. As always, super long post. 

Note: images are edited to fit exact quotes to relevant and reasonable sized images, instead of a whole manga page

Here’s some hand man characteristics/traits that I think are overlooked:

Shigaraki Tomura, in his beliefs/values, has a tendency for all-or-nothing thinking, to be extreme in his actions. In all three of his incarnations - the oneshot Tenko, the draft Sazanka, and this current one - a core of the character is 1) finding something flawed/bad/had hurt him somehow 2) completely loathing it 3) vowing to destroy it. 

Tenko despised samurai and their warring, and wishes to rid the world of swords. Sazanka is on a quest to kill quirk-users with quirks he deems too dangerous for society. And Shigaraki has decided that the Heroes and justice system is a farce, and is out to destroy it. 

Kinda fitting for a guy with his quirk - he either doesn’t destroy something, or destroys it completely. The moment he makes his decision, it’s fast and permanent. 

For Shigaraki, murder is murder, destruction is destruction, violence is violence, no matter how you dress it up. That’s why he couldn’t see the difference between him and Stain. That’s why he can’t see that Bakugou, as aggressive and vicious as he is, still wants to be a good guy. 

Now this is my take, but I think his mindset is: Because All Might can’t save everyone, he’s a fake, he’s trash; because everyone will say they condemn murder yet go about their lives carefree even though they know logically someone is out there getting killed, morality and justice is an illusion; because justice is so fragile and flimsy, I will expose it and destroy it. 

Not in any goodwill or for a better society, mind you. He just hates it. 

He also has no illusions about himself or his actions, he knows he’s evil.

Shigaraki is a lot more sarcastic and sardonic than usually portrayed in fanon. He’s very rude and can be foul mouthed, but the real insult comes from his tone and behavior. He condescendingly calls Eraserhead cool. He calls Stain the ‘Great Senpai of scoundrels’. He points out to Overhaul how a wakagashira/underboss like him should be more polite. Just about half of everything he says is dripping with mockery, and he’s very breezy and irreverent. So a bit less ‘I hate you, fuck off’, and more cheek.

Adding to that, if I’m reading my Japanese right, Shigaraki can change how he addresses people depending on the person and situation. His default speech is rude, but he’ll talk somewhat (barely) politely-ish if needed; it’s just it’s very obvious he’s not taking it seriously. 

Related, I feel like Shigaraki says a lot of things he doesn’t really believe. He tries out concepts, half-heartedly, on a whim. There’s that infamous speech at USJ about Heroes and Villains both using violence - which does seem to have some semblance to the actual ‘two sides of the same coin’ that even Best Jeanist talks about. 

And here’s him considering Stain’s effects on heroes, with gusto, before ditching it.

I know it’s Smash!, but here’s him reciting some sort of pseudo education philosophy he picked up somewhere??? to Kurogiri to get out of exercise. 

He’s a total smartass 

Of course, this brings up the question, is he genuine in his speech to Bakugou, or to Toga and Twice? 

 Like Echodrop notes, he can be in a good mood. He can be (seem?) happy, he can smile, he will acknowledge when someone does a good job of something. 

Sure, it’s got a manic edge to it, it’s probably not coming from a place of good, fluffy, innocent feelings, but he can laugh, enjoy the moment, be psyched about something. 

I really like this scene because he actually giggles a bit. He squeezes Midoriya, and he really does seem excited for a chat. 

He’s quick to go back to being default cranky tho. Quick to enjoy, quick to get irked.  

Shigaraki is a weirdo and I love him.

 My boy is smart. Really, Shigaraki is smarter than he looks. In the Ultra Archive, his profile lists his intelligence as ‘A’, ranking him above most characters, including Midoriya. I get that Deku’s whole thing is being the strategizing main character, but Shigaraki’s just as analytical. Even the Smash! Comic points this out. 

His room is filled with books, so either he reads a lot or he hoards them to look smart. I think it’s the former. Well, it’s not mutually exclusive, I should know.

He thinks and reflects and questions. He was super pissed about Stain, but he realized Stain was right and tried to figure out why. He went on a walk to calm down and just ruminate. He sought out Midoriya just to get second opinion. Afterwards, he quickly sees the bigger picture and realizes the issue is systemic and he’s gotta attack the structure. Of course, kinda shaky on the specific details and it’s not endgame long term, but still impressive. 

There’s a lot of Villain!Deku fanfics - and I like them a lot! - that turns Deku into the criminal mastermind or makes him the brains behind Shigaraki’s operations. Which is fair, Deku could totally be one! And also a lot of fics where Shigaraki is dismissed, with everything he does being AFO’s machinations. Again, fair. But Canon Shigaraki is AFO’s successor and leads the League for a reason.

This also means, I think, that Shigaraki isn’t as clueless to the fact that All For One is manipulating him. This point is entirely debatable, though. All I have to back this is how Shigaraki wondered if he was lied to in the USJ.

Even tho he’s facepalm crusty boi neet, Shigaraki is still a very dangerous S-ranked villain. I feel like sometimes people forget this. 

 He’s not that childish. He can be immature, he’s still learning the ropes of being a supervillain, he’s got an irritable and sullen disposition, but he’s not a five-year-old. He’s also not completely unhinged. 

When things don’t go his way, his first response usually isn’t to shriek or whine or immediately snap. He’s got a clear head and a good sense of what he can and can’t do. Kurogiri is down, All Might escaped their grasp, but Nomu’s still active? Cool, we got this. It’s only when Nomu gets team-rocket-ed that he panics. Stain stabs him? Doesn’t start a fight right there and then, asks Master for some Nomu, is patient enough to wait until he decides he really can’t stand Stain, then finally gives the go ahead for a rampage. 

Shigaraki knew from the start he can’t handle All Might. That’s Nomu’s job. As much as he hates All Might, he doesn’t jump at the chance to kill the hero personally. He’s not ruled by impulse or easy distractions, not really. And he will back down if Kurogiri reasons with him - see accepting Stain as a party member, see letting Toga and Dabi live. And after he got his motivation, he’s been very restraint since. 

He doesn’t immediately destroy his things in anger - we only see him destroy only few items pre-mall talk. He decays binoculars, a photo of Deku, maybe a newspaper, all quiet and deliberate. Kurogiri’s bar is intact and clean, despite being the long-time hang out spot of the destructive Shigaraki Tomura. Would he decay a controller after losing a game? Maybe, but also just as likely maybe not. 

Shigaraki will complain and bitch and sulk and hold a grudge, tho, yeah. He will lose it after a series of stressors/things gone wrong. He can be moody, cruel and sadistic, bloodthirsty and mayhem-loving. But he’s got himself under control more often than not. 

Finally, video games: My biggest pet peeve about portrayal of Shigaraki in fanfics: He’s super obsessed with video games, to the point that he plays them all day long, and he can’t stop using video game slang for everything - or so a lot of the fandom believes. 

I’ve pointed out before that we’re more likely to see him reading the newspaper and we’ve never actually seen him use a console ever in manga or anime. True, he likens scenarios to games frequently, but not all the time - the USJ fight was when he did that the most, then in his other appearances only once or twice during the whole scene (Doesn’t want Stain as a ‘party member’, none at all when meeting Dabi or Toga and then at the mall, camp arc has him seeing himself playing a Sim instead of an RPG, calls All Might ‘last boss’ during the raid, then nothing for his next appearances). At least not out loud. As fun as it is to imagine him as a geeky gamer, and he is, but he does more than just that. 

I think Shigaraki uses video games and media to create mental scripts for himself to understand/interact with the world, but it serves as a skeleton. He fleshes it out, always adding to that mental model to create a more complex one. He calls his change of strategy as playing a Sim game, but it’s a good analogy that works for him, and we see how layered his plan is - dealing a blow to UA that works whether the Vanguard succeed or not, kidnapping Bakugou and Ragdoll, in order to bring about the media and public criticism of UA/heroes, and had it not been for the raid, something would’ve happen to Bakugou that would’ve demoralized everyone. 

He def is grounded in reality enough to know what he’s doing is more than just a game. 

And that’s all I got for now! There might be a part two. idk, but I hope this was helpful! 

[goodnightkisseu]

Ong Seongwu - Resentment [Part 2]

Requested By: anonny​ (“ hi! could i please request an enemies to lovers scenario with seongwoo? i would really appreciate it, thank you!!<3 ”)

Genre: Angst, Enemies to Lovers

Word Count: 3511

Note: And here’s Part 2 to Resentment! Was anyone else ready for them to make up after that first part, because after writing it, I desperately wanted them to be happy ;; This part is a bit longer, but hopefully it’s okay. I hope you all enjoy it, and as always, feel free to let me know what you think! ^^

Enjoy~

Because of the situation with tumblr links, please check my bio for links to my masterlist~

- ashley <3

Though you had initially wished for the two months to end as quickly as possible, now that they were just about up, you wanted quite the opposite. This place had become a haven for you, very different from your regular office, and you weren't quite ready to leave this workspace yet. Honestly, when you first arrived, you thought that you were going to be miserable. You were sure that, much like your other office, people here would also flock to Seongwu, due to his outgoing personality and looks. You thought they would ignore.

But they didn't. On your first day there, they were equally excited to have both of you there. They told you about how their last tools programmer had left them in a bit of a lurch, and they were glad that your team's project was far enough along that they could borrow you both for a bit. They walked you through what they needed, and you were to work with Seongwu on a plan of how best to tackle it all before the end of two months. And, even though Seongwu was there with you the whole time, they never treated you differently. This was how you thought that work was supposed to be, and you were glad this place lived up to that.

Speaking of Seongwu, being around him on the daily, even living with him, hadn't been that bad. It was actually quite bearable. Of course, at first, the two of you had danced around each other, trying not to step on the other's toes with your new living arrangement. The company put you up in a small apartment complex near the work site. This made it easy to walk to and from work, saving you both the awkward car rides. It was quaint, the only downside was that the small studio apartment lacked room for two beds further than three feet apart. This always put the two of you near one another. It took some time to adjust to having another person in your living space. Small things like nightly routines and morning routines had been a bit rough at first. But after the first week, you both learned how to steer clear of each other. Hell, you even went so far as to leave for the office at different times.

Yet, some time in the middle of your second week rooming together, things began to change. It had started when Seongwu asked if you wanted to go and get coffee with him before heading off to work. You were exhausted and needed your coffee that day to keep yourself going, so you didn't decline his offer. And that was how you started spending more time with him. You would go to get coffee together on most days. Coffee became lunch, and soon, you were even spending your evenings at home together. No longer did you ignore each other, typing away on your laptops. You'd plan dinners together, catch up on shows that you both watched.

Though you had been apprehensive at first, thinking that he was just doing this to get more dirt on you, you soon realized it wasn't the case. He actually wanted your company. Slowly, you learned more about Seongwu, though not to the point of knowing his entire life story. You did learn of his hobbies though, what he did on weekends. He learned the same about you. Within a couple of weeks, you were speaking comfortably with each other, something that never would have happened at your office back home. You would ask each other for advice, for suggestions, and having this newfound comradery with him was something you didn't want to leave behind.

The frequency in which you spoke of Seongwu to Jongin didn't go unnoticed. The male had teased you that your crush was back in full swing, and you had vehemently denied it... at first. Yet, as he started to pick out how this was the age-old, 'falling in love with your enemy' trope, you had a hard time believing that it wasn't true. You had found Seongwu handsome from the beginning. Even when he had been picking on you, you tried to find the good in him. Now that he was so kind to you, you felt those feelings come back. However, you knew that a change like this wasn't enough to really show he was different. And... well, he was out of your league. Girls like Yena were more his speed.

On a whim, you tried to drop some hints here and there to gauge his interest towards you. He seemed to humor you, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. You felt like that was all there was to say on the matter. You may have liked him, but there didn't seem to be any signals on his end.

Still, this didn't stop you from noticing things about him, from falling for him more. You found his little quirks cute. Like the way, he would furiously blink when he was confused or trying to focus on something. Or the way his tongue would slip past his lips when he was buried in concentration. The way he'd smile at you when you came back with his mid-day coffee. They were little things, and as a girl that lived mostly through dramas and manga, they made your heart flutter.

On your last day, the office threw a party for the two of you. They wanted to send you off with a massive celebration... as well as an excuse to drink. The party had started off at the office but moved to a nearby restaurant when the team got hungry and needed something to eat. You were seated across from Seongwu, who was having a great time chatting with your coworkers. You did much the same, your eyes making contact periodically with Seongwu. And halfway through the night, with more than enough alcohol in you, you realized something. When the two of you left in the morning, when you headed back to your actual jobs, the chances of Seongwu treating you as an equal... felt low. Once he was in a place where people loved him, respected him more than you, he'd probably just go back to treating you terribly.

The thought was fleeting, but it had always been in the back of your mind, now only brought to the forefront thanks to some alcohol. You knew that a significant change like the one between the two of you wasn't meant to last, but you also didn't want to think that Seongwu was putting on an act either.  Still, even in telling yourself that, you started to doubt this friendship you had with him. It made you uneasy that night, and you had never wanted sleep to last for longer than you did that night.

The pair of you woke up at a decent hour the next morning, though alcohol and a slight hangover definitely made mobilizing stressful that morning. You were now in the car, on your way back, but Seongwu couldn't quite shake how eerily quiet you had been. You had been pretty open with him during your time together. You even went so far as to read to him memes or stupid little posts you found online. But on your way home from the party last night, you had been a bit closed off. He figured that you were just a bit too tipsy, leading to the lack of conversation, but now that the only thing that filled the void between you was the music from his playlist, he knew something was up. At first, Seongwu wanted to give you time, time to open up to him yourself, but the silence was excruciating, so he spoke first.

"So, are you going to tell me what's wrong, or do I have to weasel it out of you?" Seongwu stated, eyes momentarily looking at you while the two of you sat at a red light. Your body stiffened slightly, surprised by his sudden declaration. In the time that you had spent together, he had learned to read you like an open book, and it was now clear as day to him that something was indeed wrong.

"N-nothing-" you started, but when you saw the pointed look he gave you, you knew that Seongwu didn't believe you. Were you that easy to decipher now? You knew that you had significantly let your guard down around him, but did he know that much already? And if he did, was there any point in hiding it? Probably not. "You... you're going to find it silly..."

"Why don't you try me. We've lived together for two months now. I think I know when something is silly versus when it's a real concern to you. I promise, I won't make fun of you," Seongwu vowed, giving you a smile in hopes that you would reveal to him what was bothering you. His eyes were back on the road as he drove, but you knew he was listening, and gently you bit your lip.

For a moment, you had considered lying to Seongwu, saying that there was something up in your friendship with Jongin, but you had a feeling he would see right through that. Seongwu was extremely smart, his outward appearance aside. He would see right through it. And part of you thought, maybe if you told him what bothered you, if you were honest, perhaps the two of you could officially clear the air. Maybe you were worrying about nothing after all.

"Are we... are we going to go back to the way things were when we return to work?" you asked quietly, eyes trained on your lap. Though you wanted to clear everything up, you couldn't bring yourself to look at him.

"What do you mean?" he inquired, confusion evident in his voice.

"Seongwu, you've been extremely kind to me throughout this entire trip. We got to know each other, we spent a lot of time together. But, even I know that people's relationships don't change this quickly," you started, finding it within yourself to explain the situation fully. "We're adults after all. We can't just go from hating each other to being the best of friends in only two months. I couldn't really be a person that you would be interested in being around for the long term. You can tell me that, you know. I'll understand."

Seongwu refrained from showing any type of emotion on his face. But it wasn't because he felt like he was caught in an act. But instead, he felt guilty. He had a feeling that you might have thought he had ill intentions this entire time. He supposed it was the time that he was straight with you as well. "Can I be honest with you?" he asked.

"I've got nowhere to go, Seongwu. I'm stuck in this car with you for the next five hours. If you've got something to say, this may be the best time to do so." Your words came off as a joke, but you weren't wrong. Where could you go?

The smallest smile formed on Seongwu's lips, knowing that he now had the floor, and he had to do his best to be clear, concise, and not screw this up. "When I first heard from my lead that my transfer was going through, I was beyond excited. I liked my team a lot, and they were amicable people, but many of them were set in their ways. Even if there were a solution for what they were working on, they would often choose the traditional way, the long form of doing it to ensure accuracy. This isn't bad as long as time allows for it, but it didn't leave me with much of a job. I wasn't innovative. Conversely, I had heard of some of the innovative techniques that you were applying in your project, and since it was fairly new, I thought it could be a place for me to also make my mark, do something I would be proud of."

"I had asked a lot of people on my team about you, people that had worked with you in the past, and they couldn't stop singing their praises about how kind and fair you were. And after I met you, you definitely lived up to those expectations," he said with a chuckle. "You were knowledgable in the few times we talked, and I was looking forward to working with you. However, I was overeager to show the team what I could do, and I was also overeager to fit in."

Seongwu let out a gentle sigh before he continued. "I spent a lot of time talking to some of the people that had some pull, and they really liked my ideas. I was excited, but when I heard them talk about how you hadn't started implementing these things, listening to them wonder what you were working on instead, it struck a chord with me. I thought it didn't sound right, but the more they spoke about it, the more I believed it. I didn't know about the social climate of the team. I didn't realize that everyone, though they worked well together, was also rather cliquey."

"When those teammates spoke badly of you, I took it to be a known fact. I didn't think it was just because they were upset with you for not going out with them. Or that they had said all of those terrible things to you. So I took on teasing you like they teased you, thinking that it was familiar. I didn't know about those other things. I should have known my words were too much, but I got to the point where I couldn't stop. We became hostile towards each other, and I didn't mean for that to happen," he admitted, seemingly uncomfortable now.

"So, when we were supposed to work together off-site, I couldn't help but be a bit worried. What if you didn't pull your weight? Or what if we didn't give a good impression because we were too busy arguing? But then, I saw you working with everyone. I saw you doing your job in the ways that everyone said you hadn't demonstrated. The more I saw this side of you, the more I realized I was wrongly informed. I treated you poorly when I should have reassessed our situation at our office. So I made an effort to make it up to you while we were here. I know it doesn't make up for all of that time I was an ass to you. I know I'm a jerk, but I do want to work with you. Though, after hearing this, you probably just think I'm crazy," he said with a dry chuckle.

Your brain did its best to follow Seongwu's thinking. He was definitely in the wrong, in your opinion, but you also knew where he was coming from. Your team did have a lot of cliques. Everyone was often fighting for the limited hiring resources, and that didn't necessarily mean everyone was your friend, unfortunately. Seongwu had tried to navigate that social climate in the best way he could. He chose the simplest route so you couldn't blame him. It did hurt to know that they thought those things of you, and that, for a bit, so did Seongwu. "I don't think you're crazy. I understand what you were thinking..."

"You know you can just call me an asshole, right? I know you've done so before. I've heard you," he teased gently. "Truly though, I am sorry for the way I treated you. It was wrong of me."

"I don't think you deserve that in this case," you told him. "I do accept your apology to a degree, but it's a lot to take in at once."

"And I understand that. So it's okay if you end up not accepting my apology at all after you work through all of the information I just told you. But, there's also a bit more..."

"There's more? Seongwu, if you keep spilling your guts to me like this, I think we'll need an official counseling session," you shot back, hearing him chuckle. You knew that he was glad that you could still make a joke after all of that. He knew you were trying.

"I like you."

"I know. You've been trying to make up for all of that these last two months. We can't be instant friends or something, but we can try working it out."

"No, I actually like you. As in I have feelings for you. I realized I did when I got upset by how much you were talking to Jongin during our off-site work. I got jealous," Seongwu confessed. "Look, don't make this awkward okay. I know you feel the same. I got the hints... I just, I didn't know how you'd react after finding out why I've been treating you so terribly..."

So your hints weren't ignored after all. "You're the one that made it awkward confessing to me like this, Seongwu. I don't think I know how to respond to that right now."

"And you don't have to. I wanted you to know because I wanted to be honest with you about everything that's been going on between us. Even if I'm not smooth about it. Even if it is awkward, I just needed you to know. Take some time to think about it, alright? You don't need to make up your mind right now," he reassured you. He saw you gently nod as the conversation slowly came to an end...

========

"So, I noticed that some of your old friends don't stop by anymore," you pointed out as you finished typing up one of your task summaries before closing it out. "Not only that, but Yena has been coming to me for all of her tools questions. What did you do, Ong Seongwu?" you teased turning around in your chair to look at the male next to you.

He chuckled, the action as attractive as ever, as he looked up from his own keyboard. "Honestly, I think part of the problem is that I started dating you five months ago, but I wouldn't say that too loudly. Some people might think that I'm calling them out," he replied, getting one of your smaller plushies lightly thrown at his arm.

After that car ride back, where the two of you had thrown everything out in the open, things had gotten a bit awkward. Seongwu continued to be kind towards you, much to the confusion of all of his friends, and you were just... uneasy. There was suddenly a lot of attention to you, and you weren't sure if you liked that.

There was one thing that you both noticed when you got back, however. You missed each other's company. You had spent so much time together for those two months you were away, to suddenly not be stuck to each other, to not be living together, it felt weird. You were the first one to bring this up with Seongwu, and though you thought that he might reject the idea of hanging out again, he didn't. The more time you spent together, the more apparent that it became that it was more than just each other's company that you enjoyed. And though it was awkward, as everything between the two of you seemed to be, you started dating.

"Don't blame this on me, mister. You brought this on yourself," you retorted.

"Maybe I did. But you know what I know is your fault?" Seongwu asked, watching as you gave him a quizzical look. Your boyfriend leaned down and dramatically pointed to the top of his head. "The bump that I got when you threw that plushie at my head the first time. It was there for days! I accept apologies in the form of kisses, by the way."

You scoffed. "First of all, that was almost eight months ago. Second of all, it was a plushie, you silly man. It isn't going to leave a mark. And if I'm to be honest, you deserved it back then!"

Seongwu lifted his head, the most massive pout forming on his lips. "I did not deserve it!"

"You did! Do I have to remind you how much of an ass you were?"

"You don't! I made up for that. Now kiss me and apologize for this!"

"I will not!"

The pout on Seongwu's lips only threatened to grow as he looked at you, knowing that you couldn't resist his puppy dog eyes. But when it seemed like it wasn't going to work, he was about to protest, only to have you lean in and give him a quick peck on the lips, leaving him speechless. Your relationship wasn't like the ones that came out of the dramas you watched or the manga you read, but in a way, you found the person that was best suited for you...

[by-ethan-fox]

Thoughts on Tokonatsu 2018!

Tokonatsu 2018 has been over for a few weeks now, but I only just found time to go through all my gear to pack it away for my next camping trip, and in the process, I found my camera, so this is a great time to talk about how it went!

This post is from the perspective of an attendee. I’ve already done a post about going as an exhibitor, which you can find here.

Tokonatsu is an event that I attend every year; it’s probably the main fixture on my con schedule (I go to a fair few, but Toko’s the one I do my best to never miss). The con is unique, in that it’s an anime & Japanese culture convention that takes place on a campsite, with events etc. in marquees and plenty of outdoor activities.

This was our home, including myself, @squidgesqwadge, @starwulfen, along with a few of our friends, for the 4 days:

The weather this year was fantastic. Dry, hot, perhaps even too hot sometimes, but I wouldn’t want to complain - I would certainly take this over rain! However, the sun made us really glad we’d managed to scrape together the cash to buy a cheap gazebo in the weeks running up to the event. The table was also a new addition, but I had that already - I bought it to exhibit at Wyntercon 2017 and future events where exhibitors have to provide their own.

This was our 5th year at Toko, and after our somewhat disastrous first year where we used borrowed and throwaway camping gear, we decided we didn’t want to ever go through that again, so on each subsequent year we’ve bought a few more bits-and-pieces to making it a bit more glamping than camping.

Tokonatsu used to run Fri/Sat/Sun with attendees leaving the campsite mainly on Monday morning, however, in recent years, they’ve opened the site on the Thursday night for an extra charge, and we’ve taken this up. However, this first night is just a chance to set up and relax, so no con activities, but that’s actually a good thing - it gives you a chance to meet people and get together with friends you may not have seen all year.

We arrived in the evening and got set up. We had a mini-crisis involving a bunch of flying ants in the tent, and we had to fumigate it and seal it for an hour before we could actually use it. That being said, before the sun went down, we were all settled and had the chance to go to a local supermarket to stock up on ice, beer and food.

On the first day of the con proper, the opening ceremony was a blast, though due to the heat, we ended up doing more chilling out this time around and fewer activities than usual. This was our choice though, and puts me in mind of how Toko is such a relaxing 4 days; some cons I’ve attended it’s all go-go-go, which is great if that’s why you’re there, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to chill out. 

A later treat was the Kimono panel, held in one of the tents by two volunteers. This was actually a panel covering the wider topic of traditional Japanese attire. I know a fair bit about this topic, but the guys who ran it were real experts, demonstrating some particularly complex attire like furisode garments and different obi knots.

Day 2 involved the dealer’s tent and the bring-and-buy, so I spent much of this day at my stall. During this time, @starwulfen and her friends were in the cosplay masquerade; fortunately I was able to see them from my place at the dealer’s tent (they looked awesome). However, I sold through my entire stock by 6pm, so I was able to pack up early and get back to the festivities!

Saturday at Tokonatsu involves one of the event’s unique draws; the Toko Matsuri. The staff at the event assemble tents with typical Japanese Matsuri-style games and attractions. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of this but...

... this is what a Matsuri looks like in Japan; if you’ve watched any slice-of-life anime you’ve almost certainly seen one. These festivals happen all over the country, and during my time living in Japan, I attended several, including the large one in my home city during several summers.

Toko’s Matsuri is naturally smaller than this example, but the staff do a great job of trying to recreate the “liminal” feeling of the event, with the glow of the lanterns and lights strung between the trees. The traditional games are fun, especially after a few beers.

My time in Japan has left me with a few garments that I rarely get a chance to wear; one of them is a traditional yukata, with obi, zori and tabi socks. Some of these items were gifted to me by the Japanese that I worked with (mainly the older women who seemed thrilled at the chance to dress up a foreign guy), but I don’t get many opportunities to wear these in the UK. However, the warm, balmy evening provided a great chance to put these on for a bit of personal nostalgia.

During the event, we were also able to attend a tea ceremony demonstration, which was wonderful, given the outdoor setting. @squidgesqwadge also entered the writing competition, in which she placed 2nd (we had joked about if she placed first, as signed copies of my first two books were the prize!).

As the evening drew on, the event set up their official outdoor cinema. On this evening they showed episodes of Disgaea and Tenchi Muyo, the latter of which was a big part of our group’s early anime experiences, so it was a fun throwback for us.

Once the official cinema had finished, we went back to our tent and set up our own portable projector:

We bought this on a whim from Amazon a number of years ago, when it was in something of a fire-sale. My original intent was to find some use for it as part of my stall at indoor events. It runs off a USB battery and I have it plugged into a bluetooth speaker and mounted on a tripod, with a large bedsheet for the screen. It’s a no-brand model and was inexpensive, but the great thing about Toko is that the countryside gets really dark, so you can still get a pretty awesome picture.

One of the highlights this year was finding out we could run a SNES Mini off a USB battery, so we were able to have a bit of outdoor Street Fighter II Turbo:

By the late evening we were watching random abridged anime episodes, and with the sell-out of my books and everything else, I decided that was the night to get trashed, so I did.

I spent much of the final day of the event in the manga tent. Toko Retreat, which I guess is Toko’s sister event that runs alongside the con, operate this (and some of the other attractions). Essentially a large marquee that contains a manga library and places to sit. I read a bunch of El Hazard and a few other things, until it was time for the quiz.

Quizzes are a staple of anime cons (at least here in the UK) and this year, they tried a more “pub quiz” style format. The quiz made us realise two things; firstly, my hiragana is faaaaar more rusty than I thought (seriously I need to study that again before I lose it) but also that @starwulfen is amazing at anime music rounds (seriously, it’s like a gift). It was a pretty difficult quiz; the guy running it did a great job in terms of having a wide variety of questions - but we won!

After this was the closing ceremony, which followed a lip-sync performance of I’ll make a man out of you (which has become something of a Toko tradition), and another night of projector, beer and campfire, with many of us staying up until approaching 4 in the morning to try and drag out the last few hours of the best Tokonatsu so far.

And it was! There were many changes this year to the layout of the events, but I would be the first to say that I think this was the best Tokonatsu ever, and I really hope those changes persist to future years.

The committee, gophers, the staff, everyone did a fantastic job. Stuff seemed to run on time, the events and attractions were great fun, and I know from my event planning experience that this only comes about from a lot of very hard work from a number of very dedicated people.

Thanks for reading, everyone! We’ll definitely be going next year!

If you want more info about the Tokonatsu festival, you can find it here. The site has yet to be updated as the event is so recent, but it was announced at the closing ceremony that the 2019 event will take place at the same location, on the same weekend (first weekend in August).

[nostalgic-blood]

so i went to california a few weeks ago and...

No, I didn’t go ham. I had friends who were like “HERE HAVE THIS” and then I had this thing, and later went to a convention and THEN I went ham. 

Also this was my first non-family trip so I sort of bought a souvenir anywhere I deemed important enough to do so... America, you took a lot of my money. Oh and Disneyland too. 

...also I couldn’t fit some things and forgot others in that top pic.

this wall scroll my cat is trying to destroy

a backpack I bought solely so I was able to even bring all this back, and the posters/prints I STILL needed a friend to ship back anyway...

and this cute koishi i bought, all of three of which were from fanime, yes...

Disneyland souvenirs! A friend (Souless) bought the one of the left. You may have noticed Minnie Mouse ears on the first photo! I didn’t actually get them from Disneyland itself, t’was a gift from our Disneyland veteran who led us to many-a-ride and the least amount of waittime possible, Souless’ fiance Kat. :)

And yes Inside Out is my favourite Pixar movie. Watched Coco recently which was really good, but it’s only second to Inside Out. P:

Let’s start off with my ridiculous friends who decided I needed to own more merch:

All of this was bought by my friend Cannibalfood AKA Akira who went to cons and saw stuff I might like but never got around to actually shipping them to me.. and then, came with me to California and brought this stuff. This is why Negima is on there. It’s been that long.

Oh the non-weeb stuff is souvenirs I got with her while we were in San Fran, including Alcatraz touristy photos since we have few pictures together, a taxidermy place where we each got matching stingray barbs, how romantic. The rock was my very first souvenir. I wasn’t expecting on buying anything else in that shop, so it is the most boring thing here.

Here’s a look at the Touhou artbooks!

One of two CDs, this one with best 2hu on it. I recall from reading the back that one of these has some TAMUSIC on it, which has lovely classical pieces. 

Here’s a semi-random page with some artwork. I recognize some of the artists!

The other one! I cannot read anything in these books, and yes there’s plenty of text as well as the art.

Some sample of the art! I’ll have to revisit these books later but from first glance I think I prefer the art of the first book? Idk.

Next is stuff given to me by various people. The gacha is from Magus, the guy who I stayed at for about half the trip and spent the entire trip WITH since he also went down to SLO and I also shared hotels with him for Fanime. Awesome host, will do again. 10/10. I have another button from someone else but I accidentally included it wit my fanime merch pile photos, so it’ll be along shortly.

The dreamcatcher was made by SlimeMush’s friend who I paid $10 for, and for some mysterious reason it kept being returned to him every time he tried to send it to me. I couldn’t get a good pic of it alone because my cat kept attacking the feathers. SlimeMush also gave me the Flareon button! Apparently all the Eeveelutions he had went to those whose favourite was so-and-so, and apparently there’s equal amounts of love for all of them except for the two he kept himself because he loved them the most. Yes. Flareon is my favourite. :D

The gacha is a ditto + a ditto version of Sableye. 

This Monster Hunter blindbox was given to me by Wolfe, whom I’ve had a few MonHun merch exchanges with so far. I also gave him a MonHun figure from another line, which I’ll elaborate further (because I gave them all out similar to SlimeMush giving out the Eeveelution buttons) and kept whichever was left behind. This is Monoblos! I didn’t fight him all too often so I don’t have much impression of it as a monster, also I thought he was white but w/e, still very cool looking to add to my collection!

Now of all my loot THIS is the stuff I really could have done without in terms of when and where I spent my money. I bought that Incineroar evolution line figure sort of on a whim at a random city in the middle of nowhere, California while on the long drive down to SLO. The Touhou blindboxes, Digimon CD, and RWBY manga came from Kinokuniya in Japantown. Just wanted to buy them because. Even if the Tri series was mediocre in the end the nostalgia still has a strong grip on my heart, especially that music with Kouji Wada. ;_;

And the most touristy thing was buying this wind chime at a gift shop in a spa that I really didn’t need but it was pretty so w/e.

See? Pretty.

The results of the blindboxes. Not the luckiest result as I wanted other characters but you CANNOT SAY NO TO WEEB MERCH!

As much as I have been distancing myself from the show, RWBY’s manga has wondrous art. It also decided to focus on some random unknown side character named Ruby instead of the main characters, which I thought while was quite the bold move, was rather refreshing. 

DELICIOUS WEISS BACKSTORY. I recall posting something about this particular chapter on here before. YEEEEE!

So yeah I went to the island prison in San Francisco where AAAAAALL the tourists go. In my defence I have a genuine interest in prisons. Just ask my 300k RWBY fanfiction in which the first quarter of it is set in a prison. It is also not my first prison fic. I put lots of research in that setting to write that kind of shit. 

Also all the souvenirs were the most gimmicky things possible that I didn’t think I’d ever use or would just be paperweight. Except this bag! I may actually use this bag! I know!

And excluding the stuff that is too big or I forgot to take a pic of near the beginning of the post, THIS was the Fanime loot! Magus got me the Monokuma onesie which was extremely nice of him and now I am no longer perpetually cold. Ah yes the warmth of the hide of a psychotic bear. So good.

I could not believe the artist who made one of my favourite Aya pics EVER was at the artist alley. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. Obviously this was an instant purchase. This was my phone background for the longest of times. She had Touhou artbooks too but they sold in the first twenty minutes of the first day of the artist alley. Wow. My friend may try to snag me some at AX in July, so here’s hoping!

I didn’t see a lot of specifically Weiss prints there, and this was the best of the lot IMO. My only wish was that it was a brighter print, or that Weiss herself being so white would stand out more because it’s the least noticeable thing on my wall atm, which is a shame. 

I say this when I saw precisely ONE Aya print (jackpot) and one of another coming up in this bombardment of pics.

THIS IS PERHAPS THE MOST PROVOCATIVE ONE HERE LOL. But it was the only Tenko, and DRV3 merch was the most difficult of everything I was looking for to find. Unlike 95% of Tenko art SHE ACTUALLY HAS VISIBLE ABS HERE, which according to the official artbooks she’s supposed to have, so bonus points for that. I had a brief discussion with the artist too and we both agreed Tenko was the best and Ouma was overrated. He has great taste.

Overwatch on the other hand was all over the place in this con, from merch to art, to cosplayers. There were so many cosplayers they didn’t even have enough time to run through half of the tanks and all the supports at the shoot! So sad, so sad. This piece of Widowmaker is beautiful though, so I had to have it.

I saw this online a while back and really loved this image of all the Overwatch ladies being formal. There was a suit-version too, but for whatever reason I preferred this one. Sadly this print is quite small, as it probably would have benefited the most in being larger what with the many characters and thus detail.

Out of all this mess the one thing I wanted the most and hunted for the most was charms. I found NO GOOD CHARMS that fitted my taste and interest, and the closest were these buttons. Oh, and I met my good friend Raphyninja at Fanime and he gave me EXCLUSIVE RAPHYNINA MERCH! Thus that button being here and not in the friendo pile. ANYWAY. There was a deal, 3 for 5, so aside from the obvious ones I grabbed Kork. I love Kork. I didn’t think I would for that type of character, but somehow DRV3 managed it. He will of course be very far away from Tenko and Himiko though. >_>

Here’s a page from one of the Touhou doujins I got, which in hindsight I maybe should not have got? Way too late I noticed that I recognized the seller who I think showed up on a Tumblr post warning of a creeper at the Touhou shoots. He’d try to take pics of cosplayers in a private hotel room at weird, uncomfortable angles as far as I remember, so uh, oops? I was just so excited at finding Touhou doujin for the first time ever that I paid zero attention to the person selling so hopefully I am wrong and they were just someone that resembled that person.

Also I recognized this artist for their cute Satori Koishi content, but could not find any of their Koishi doujins. Sadness.

I bought two Monster Hunter blindboxes at Fanime because CLEARLY I need more, right. I got a Nargacuga, including the box left remaining in the pile I gave away and the one I already have...  I now have three Nargacugas. That’s quite a lot for something I never fought before...

I also got this tiny Zinogre. If we include my buttons I have FOUR Nargacugas now and FOUR Zinogres. The difference is I have fought Zinogre multiple times (I have no idea exactly because I have 600 hours in 4U >_>) and actually really like him! Sadly, in grand tradition like the last time I visited San Francisco (when I was five) I lost something, that being my favourite MonHun button, Zinogre. It is now in the wild with my teddy bear and my hat, forever gone in the California abyss. ):

I got this at the swap meet for 6 dollars. It may not have a stand and is rather dusty, but damn is that a bargain. My only regret is not having the GIGA DRILL BREAKAAAA model instead. I also got that Monokuma bag there too, but that was just because I went there and couldn’t find a single thing I wanted until I saw the bag, which I was on the fence on but wanted to buy SOMETHING from there and got it, thinking that was it ... but then this and the Touhou doujins showed up, soooooo...

Finally this other Nargacuga that was left behind became my monster in that line of figures, the rest in the hands of my friends. It’s actually cuter than I expected, and barely fit in this cheap crappy display case I bought at a Daiso. I moved my dresser a nudge and the Pokemon fell over, so yeah. 

You may have noticed a drop in quality in the photos and that’s because I cannot be bothered to touch up such a gargantuan amount of images anymore, not with the time I have. Would be nice tho. SO, THAT IS THE GIANT POST OF SPOTTO’S MERCH, NOW WITH 100% MORE QUANTITY THAN BEFORE! I spent too much money so I might as well get something out of it by BRAGGING about it! Right? 

Ye.

[secretsofthemasquerade]

I’m old

And it’s not getting any better. I’m turning 30 on Feb 1st (today), and while I’m still in and hype and modern and my students think I’m one of the crew, well, I am still old.

I was there, not underage, fully aware of my consciousness, during the Haruhi craze, and I was half part of it (I still very much listen to the OSTs). I was there during the Lucky Star craze, and I was completely part of it. I was there when Lost and its wild theories were a hot topic. For me the Tolkien movies are the Lord of the Rings movies, not the Hobbit ones. Snow Patrol is still one of my fav groups out there.

Wrath of the Lich King is a “modern expansion” even if I first played it back in 2008. Hell, Diablo 3, announced that same year, during World Wide Invitational Paris (I was there!) is still a “new game” for me. I’m still stuck playing VTM bloodlines after all these years because i am

I was excited for Windows Vista. I mostly worked on win 98 and XP.

I knew LANs and modem sounds. I used Napster. 2 megapixel digital cameras were the brand new thing and a 256MO SD card was beyond believable. I took Polaroid pictures. I used disposable cameras. My PS1 were the best thing ever (yes I had two, one for America’s plugs and electric norms and one for French EU ones. And yes both were cracked AF. And for some reason I have no idea where they ended up :().

I took transatlantic planes with my roller skates in hand. Twice to four times a year. I went to a Nightwish concert when Tarja was lead (I found out just now they changed singers again lol). I rode the anime wave as it started to take over (FYI America, the rest of the world had sailor moon, saint Seiya, captain Tsubasa, Heidi, candy candy, dragon ball and Z.. in the early to mid 90s). I went to conventions right as they started in the early 2000s. I roooose the hell of the Haruhi craze. I screamed as Hellsing had a new anime “closer to the manga” done. I watched sub stuff online (part 1/3 ;)) until streaming became popular. I bought drama CDs even if I understood shit. I cosplayed from 2001 to maaaaybe 2010 if I stretch enough. I went to The Pillows concert and am now sooooo eager to watch the FLCL 2 and 3 that they’re doing music for again. Shippuden is “that new arc for Naruto” I just never got into (honestly I should give it another try but wtf i liked the whole exam-school-ambition setting and it turned into a big ass battle with bigger than the world stakes xD). I read Death note as it came out. I still listen to 1991-2008 anime openings and endings on a very regular basis. Kaori Yuki is the bomb. Clamp died at xxxholic and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. I enjoyed DBGT (to some extent). I LOVED serial experiments lain but understood nothing of it. The OSTs are still in here. Ambiance sounds.

I Nyan cat reference stuff. And by nyan cat I mean both the pop tart cat and the nyan nyan nihao nyan macros frontier song. Loituma’s levan polka. Mana mana song. Ozone’s songs. I knew the Shakira vs Britney Spears fandom fight. I had a geocitie website. I still do the What is love moves in the car. I rode the techno high and low (90s remixes and songs like Daddy DJ and I’m Blue... and OF COURSE daft punk).

Harry Potter was coming out as I was Harry’s age in the books (I just never got into it).

I didn’t have an Emo phase that wasn’t a thing but I was goth (ish), wore whatever colors I found, cut and dyed my hair in all sorts of shapes (including Lain’s haircut) for cosplay reasons :0. I was awarded the prize for “worst dressed at school” (note that my school was 3000+ people so), and felt very bad about it. Didn’t wear make up.

I had a MP3 CD player. I burned cds like there was no tomorrow. And before I could burn CDs I had to use a Zip disk (those are thicker floppy disquettes if you don’t know).

I had .ram files. Still do. MP3 were becoming the new standard and Winamp skins. Shit I loved Winamp skins!

Its 2018 and I am still living like a teenager in terms of whims and behavior (I still eat cereal in the morning). I’m still figuring out what I want to do with my life apart from lazying online at home with husband and cats. I don’t want to live to work, and despite having more diplomas than 95% of the population I still am unable to find a stable regular job (it will change this year hopefully!!!).

And yet at the end of last month my great grandmother turned 100, I turned 30 soon after, and while I’m the oldest among my cousins st the same genealogical level, the old gets have started having kids and having stable situations and paying taxes and other adulting stuff. I still use my student ID for discounts. I adult in terms of administrative stuff and trying to have a generally speaking mature and grounded mid.

I don’t travel much anymore. I board game and rpg at home with friends who come over during winter and summer, but overall? Just cozy home stuff.

And I couldn’t be happier with my husband and cats, with my social interactions (and lack thereof ^_^). I’m starting make up properly. Im not trying to catch up to anime and manga anymore (i just “uh?”).

I am not nostalgic but my body tells me I’m getting old. My back pains have gotten worse. My stamina and my endurance are gone. My eyesight is still worsening. I can’t walk up the stairs as well as I used to. I’d like to roller skate again but my balance just doesn’t work so well anymore. My metabolism has become slower and I just can’t get away with eating whatever. 

I’ve not taken a transatlantic in over ten years.

But I’ll still wear a D.VA hoodie and cat headphones at uni when class start again this month :p

And soon enough I should be back with new articles, once I manage to get a proper computer back :)

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 11/2/20

Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey, Vol. 5 | By Akiko Higashimura | Seven Seas – It shouldn’t take most readers by surprise that the final volume of Blank Canvas is heart-rending, but even knowing that it will be doesn’t lessen the manga’s impact; Higashimura utilizes a masterful combination of humor, honesty, and heartbreak. Blank Canvas captures so incredibly well the complexity and multifaceted nature of people, their feelings, and their relationships. The series is in large part about Higashimura’s growth as an artist and as an individual, especially the influence of one person particularly important to her development, but through the process of the manga’s creation it’s also an opportunity for her to confront some of the regrets in her life. In Higashimura’s own words, “As an adult, I have complicated thoughts about my younger self.” Blank Canvas allows Higashimura to come to terms with some of those thoughts and “what ifs” while honoring the memories of her teacher, mentor, and fellow artist Kenzou Hidaka. – Ash Brown

Fly Me to the Moon, Vol. 1 | By Kenjiro Hata | Viz Media – The new series from the Hayate the Combat Butler creator spends much of its first time watching the intelligent but extremely flaky Nasa hero overreact to nearly everything, and his savior and then wife be bafflingly mysterious. Tsukasa reads like an odd cross between Hinagiku and Athena, and I was rather surprised that we got to the end of the first volume without really understanding much about her. The series is somewhat cute and fun, though a lot of the humor beats will be familiar to Hayate fans, and there are some of the usual pop culture references as well. This got an anime, so I assume more will make sense later, but for the moment this is a first volume that qualifies as “good.” – Sean Gaffney

My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 4 | By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka | Seven Seas – The manga has the unfortunate problem, which the other volumes did not, of coming out after the anime series. As such, there’s not really much in this book that you had not already seen before. In fact, it might seem a bit rushed compared to the anime. But it hits the high points—everyone begging Katarina to wake up, her dreamscape of her past life with A-chan, stopping and saving Raphael, and finally being the most oblivious dork in the world, as Maria blatantly confesses to her and she STILL doesn’t get it. Fortunately, the game had a sequel—Fortune Lover II. Unfortunately, she never played that one, and it has Katarina return as a villain—again. Well adapted. – Sean Gaffney

Practice Makes Perfect, Vol. 1 | By Ui Hanamiya | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I picked this digital-only up on a whim, thinking the premise sounded cute. Two pro athletes in their late twenties (him in Judo, her in Volleyball) are representing their country in what is implied to be the 2020 Olympics that didn’t happen. They both really want to lose their virginity, and, coming across each other’s problems, decide to “practice” kissing, touching, etc. in a hotel so that they can be more experienced in relationships. The outcome (they fall in love for real) is not in doubt, especially when you realize this is only four volumes long. It’s the journey that’s important, though, and they are both really cute and awkward sports dorks. THAT’S the selling point, and it’s a great one. – Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 44 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – Did I say in my last brief on Skip Beat! that Ren and Kyoko were having communication problems? This volume doubles down on that, as Ren pokes at Kyoko, who was seen getting kissed by Sho by a photographer, and suggests that she’s “giving up on her revenge” and Sho has “compassion and understanding.” This causes Kyoko to blow up, in an exquisitely drawn scene that manages to dwarf everything else in the volume. She may hate Sho (and it’s clear by now she doesn’t), but Ren doesn’t get to say nice things about him when they are WRONG. Elsewhere, the reveal of Kyoko’s sword teacher brings big laughs, and the Kyoko/Momo ship gets more holes bored into it. Great stuff as always. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 9 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – Most of this volume ends up being, in a sense of bad timing for the North American market, a race to find a cure for a horrible pandemic that is ravaging the city. (The volume came out in Japan years ago, so there’s no thought of COVID here.) This ends up separating our lead couple even more than they already are—there’s a brief reunion, but this is not where Zen needs to be right now, and he knows it. Indeed, as many have said, Obi seems more and more like the main romantic lead, helping Shirayuki solve this plant-based mystery and save the day. There’s a lot more going on in this title than just the romantic couple, as in the best shoujo series. It’s a winner. – Sean Gaffney

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 26 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Media – Yona of the Dawn is always good, but this Xing arc has been something special. Princesses Kouren and Tao and their devoted warriors are such vivid characters that they legitimately seem like the stars of their own story, rather than merely side characters in Yona’s, if that makes sense. Kusanagi-sensei also adeptly created an extremely odious scheming priest and gave us a delicious scene in which Su-Won gives not a single shit for the intel the priest obsequiously offers him. I actually laughed at some of his reaction panels more than once. What really seals the deal on this being a special volume, though, is the final chapter, in which some genuine romantic progress finally happens between Hak and Yona. It is great, and Yun and the Four Dragons’ reactions are also great. Have I mentioned lately how much I love this series? It’s among the best I’ve ever read. – Michelle Smith

By: Ash Brown