#not my fault you haven't picked up the manga

[anubisthe1]

Can't stay on Twitter for too long because randomly, I'll stumble upon a tweet that says something like:

"It's 2024, and there are still sakura haters" or

"Why is everyone so mad at a 16 year old girl?"

(THE LOUDEST SCREAM YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE)

[sapphic-agent]

Let's Talk About the Bakugou Problem

I've been enjoying the Bakugou slander here on Tumblr, but I haven't come across anyone that gets to the root of the problem with Bakugou's character yet. I think it goes further than him having anger issues, being annoying, or even how violent and abusive he is. Why I think Bakugou is a bad character is due to the effect he has on the plot, world-building, and the rest of the characters. There's a lot of layers here, so I'd like to take the time to talk as in-detail as I can while typing on mobile.

*Note: I'll be following the anime as it's easier for me to follow and pick specific examples. Manga readers if you have anything to add I'd love to hear it, even if it's against what I've listed here*

*Note: Bakugou fans you're more than welcome to read, though I warn you might not like what you see. I tried to keep this as constructive as I could without letting my own biases seep in (whether I succeeded is up for debate) so that everyone could read it whether you like Bakugou or not. I'm fine with criticism towards my points, I only ask that you remain respectful. I won't engage with anyone who disrespects me or other users*

1. Consequences

This is a big one among Bakugou critics, so I think it's a pretty good place to start. Bakugou has almost never faced actual consequences to his actions (there's a difference between something bad that happens to happen to him and the world around him not accepting his behavior). There are two instances that I can think of that there was a direct ramification to something Bakugou has done. The first was during the Deku vs Kacchan fight where Bakugou does get suspended for four days while Izuku gets suspended for three days. The other is when he and Todoroki fail the provisional licensing exam. However, there's a problem with these two instances I mentioned.

With the D vs K fight, Bakugou was the one who goaded Izuku out of the dorms and instigated a fight. Izuku was trying to get him to go back to the dorms so they could settle their "issue" under adult supervision. He was trying to do the responsible thing. For Izuku to only receive a day less of punishment seems unfair. Though, you could make the case that he should have ignored Bakugou, it's still very clear that one was way more at fault than the other and there was barely a difference in their punishment.

The provisional licensing exam actually did well with failing Bakugou. It was almost a great lesson; that he can't say and do whatever he wants and expect the world to roll over for him. Unfortunately, it's undermined by Todoroki failing as well. Yes, Todoroki failed because of Inasa. But a) Inasa attacked him first which should have resulted in disqualification (what was Todoroki supposed to do, not fight back when he was being assaulted?) and b) Inasa's entire character seems shoehorned into the story. He doesn't really add anything to Todoroki's character as most of his problems with Todoroki were already resolved back in season 2. He also contributes nothing to the overall story. Shindou, for example, has a hand in testing 1A and forces them to work together congruently. Inasa seems like he was put in the story simply to make Todoroki fail. Why does Todoroki have to fail? Because Bakugou does.

It seems like Horikoshi always softens the blow for Bakugou in a way, if he's dealt any blow at all. By not allowing Bakugou to face consequences on his own, he might as well not be facing them at all.

Why are consequences so important? Because Bakugou's privilege is a problem.

I don't think I've seen anyone address this. The root of Bakugou's behavior comes from the fact that he was allowed to do all those terrible things because the world around him was tolerant of it. Teachers turned a blind eyes when he bullied Izuku because he had a great quirk and Izuku was quirkless. He's allowed to do and say whatever he wants because he has a great quirk. While people seem to be harder on Izuku because of either having no quirk or not being able to fully control his quirk. This is a huge part of the story that was set up in the beginning, but was almost never addressed despite being persistent throughout. And it's the most present with Aizawa.

Bakugou attempts to attack a fellow student the first day of class? Simply restrained, no repercussions. Bakugou uses excessive force against a classmate despite his teacher telling him to stop? Nothing more than a few not-so-nice words. Bakugou assaults his partner and refuses to cooperate? No words at all.

Now look at Izuku. Doesn't have full control of his quirk? His teacher attempts to humiliate and expel him in front of his classmates on the first day of class. Saves a classmate in an admittedly risky rescue mission? Said teacher proclaims he lost his trust and labels him a problem child (despite the orchestrator of said mission- Kirishima- being in the same room and not getting spoken to at all).

(I don't know if Aizawa's projecting, but pandering to the kid with the strong quirk while simultaneously disliking All Might isn't a great look.)

Even before UA, Bakugou is praised by the heroes for his strong quirk against the sludge villain despite the fact that his quirk made everything worse while Izuku is scolded even though they were the ones who did nothing while he did what he could to save someone.

"All men aren't created equal." That's one of Izuku's very first lines and a central point of the story. It's something you expect it to address multiple times, especially in regards to Izuku and Bakugou. But Bakugou being spared from consequences every single time he does something terrible means that the statement is validated, but the problem still persists and is never rectified or solved. Even if you think Bakugou "changed," that doesn't make his privilege go away.

2. Plot Compensation

The story goes out of its way to make Bakugou seem like a better person than he is.

My first example is the Sports Festival, specifically his fight with Uraraka. In this fight, Bakugou is met with booing from the audience for not going easy on her. And right off the bat, this is weird. Because not only have we never seen this attitude toward women heroes before or after this, the show is trying to tell us something when Aizawa tears the crowd down. Almost as if saying, "The crowd is dumb and wrong and if you think like the crowd, you're dumb and wrong." Aizawa claims that Bakugou is treating Uraraka like a real opponent by not going easy on her.

...is he though?

Because we never see Bakugou stand still in a fight like he does with her. Bakugou's fighting style relies a lot on mobility. During his fight with Tokoyami, who he knew he had an advantage over because of the light from his quirk, he isn't standing still. During his fight with Todoroki he isn't standing still. He only does this with Uraraka. Because this isn't Bakugou showing respect, it's him still looking down on her. He doesn't see her as a serious opponent, just an obstacle in his way.

And I know this sounds like a bold claim. But if you recall, Bakugou immediately confronts Izuku after the fight and accuses him of giving Uraraka the idea she used during their match. He assumes it was a ploy from Izuku, implying that he didn't think Uraraka capable of coming up with a plan with the potential to work against him. This isn't respect for an opponent.

(Note: the only thing in Bakugou's favor is it's probably not because she's a girl. He just naturally looks down on everyone who doesn't immediately stand out to him with a show of power like Todoroki)

Then we have the revered scene with the League or Villains.

This scene is praised because it "subverts expectations." That the violent, angry kid doesn't want to be a villain. He wants to be a noble hero. Aizawa- again- silences claims against Bakugou, citing that he wants to win and he knows he can't do that if he's a villain.

My thing is, however, the League targeting him in the first place. Why would they do this? Bakugou clearly has a heroic quirk. He scored first on the entrance exam. If they did any research at all beforehand, they would know that Bakugou was at the top of his class before UA and is in the top five currently. And they'd know he has wealthy parents.

(You would think Dabi especially would draw parallels to Endeavor and would be aware that Bakugou's ambition and heroic quirk don't make him similar to the League who have been discriminated against, shunned, and abused for most of their lives. Even with his behavior at the Sports Festival, Endeavor isn't the noble and kind type like All Might and most other heroes. So I'm not sure why Bakugou's behavior immediately screamed villain potential)

Nothing about him suggests he's had a hard life like most of the League. Nothing about him suggests he'd want to leave his comfortable life and secured future to become a villain.

This scene sets up Bakugou's redemption, right? It leads us to the Deku vs Kacchan fight and All Might's advice is what makes him take on his "save to win" mentality.

But not only does this seem like a convenient plot device, it decidedly ignores the uglier part of Bakugou's decision.

Bakugou rejected the LOV because he saw them as losers. But what if they hadn't been losers? What if they had been doing as well as they were at the end of season 5? Merging and becoming the MLA front, organized teams, wealthy, successfully recruiting members right under the heroes' noses.

Maybe Bakugou wouldn't have outright joined them. But at this point before shifting his perspective, his answer might have been very different.

But the story goes out of its way to hammer in Bakugou's scarce good traits to take your focus away from his overwhelming bad ones.

3. Bakugou's Character Shift "Development"

The way Horikoshi wrote Bakugou in the beginning is very different to how he is portrayed later in the show. No, I don't mean his development. I mean the major shift in his character between seasons 1/2 and season 3/4.

Bakugou in the beginning of the show is cruel, meanspirited, and violent. And he's still all of those things throughout the show. The one difference is that it's played for laughs in later seasons.

Bakugou's actions and words in seasons 1 and 2 are portrayed a lot more serious than in later seasons. He's an antagonistic force, one that Izuku has to strive to overcome not just to be a good hero, but for himself as Bakugou has been one of the most prominent obstacles in his strive to become a hero.

Look at his behavior during the battle trials. It's something serious, something that has even All Might worried. Bakugou knew he could have very well killed Midoriya and didn't care. It's brutal and almost hard to watch because at this point in the show Midoriya is weak and tiny (visually, we know he's never really been weak) compared to Bakugou and can really only outsmart him to win.

We never see Bakugou display anything close to this level of violence in later seasons. Not in the Sports Festival or 1A vs 1B or D vs K or the licensing exam or even against literal villains. Season 1 went out of its way to show Bakugou's cruel behavior even using it as something Izuku has to learn how to overcome even if he has to risk everything.

By season 3, the perspective has changed. Bakugou name calling people, belittling people, yelling, and his acts of violence are now exaggerated for comedy. None of his actions are taken as seriously as they were before, despite some being almost or just as bad.

(It's worth mentioning that this was also around the time Bakugou began to get popular among fans)

A great example of this is in season 5 when he throws his headpiece at Izuku and makes him bleed. His casual act of his aggression towards his lifelong victim is present to make the audience laugh, despite the fact that Izuku was bleeding and the 1A boys are (rightfully) horrified.

(I'd like to add that there was no real reason to do this. Nothing he was saying would have exposed OFA and even if it had, he was done talking by the time Bakugou threw it)

If Bakugou had really changed at this point, this would have never happened in the first place. I can't call this changing or development, I call this his actions shifting into comedic relief and away from the serious connotations they previously held. By taking that away, it allows Bakugou to continue to do the same things he has all his life while under the guise of development. It undermines what's supposed to be his redemption arc.

4. Other Characters

Bakugou isn't the only one who gets a character shift. It's approximately the moment that Bakugou begins to get more attention that the other characters lose the substance they had at the beginning of the show.

The ones hit most notably by this are obviously Uraraka and Iida. They were Izuku's first friends, his original trio. More than that, they are set up as interesting characters with their own arcs and paths for becoming great heroes.

Even though I did have my complaints about her fight with Bakugou in the Sports Festival, it does turn Uraraka onto improving past her goal of becoming a rescue hero. She wants to become better in other aspects of being a hero so that she can succeed and keep up with her stronger classmates. She proved herself capable of this during her fight with Bakugou and it was the catalyst of her character development.

Iida was not only resolving himself with caring for Midoriya as a friend as well as being his rival and wanting to surpass him. There's also this darker side to him that no one expects from goody two shoes, straight-laced Iida that had so much potential for exploration.

Both of them are tossed to the side in favor of Bakugou. I would even go as far as to say that after season 2, they're almost irrelevant until season 6 and even then they're limited (before season 6 Uraraka's only character trait is that she ignores he feelings for Midoriya to become a better hero, which came out of nowhere and does nothing for her character). And they barley ever get moments with Izuku during time despite being his first friends.

Todoroki is a similar yet very different case. At the beginning of the show, he was intense and has strong feelings. (An interesting parallel is that if Iida was his friend becoming his rival, Todoroki was his rival becoming his friend and both relationships speak to Izuku as a character) Even if he didn't express them, we as the audience knew they were there. But as times passes he becomes flat and dull. Even though he's supposed to be part of the new trio, he's barley present (the dynamic between the three of them is uninteresting all around as it's basically Bakugou yelling at Izuku with Todoroki in the background. They never have any deep or heartfelt moments nor do they have good chemistry) and barely gets any one-on-one interaction with Izuku despite them being very good friends.

(I can't blame this all on Bakugou as the show also shifts from focusing to Todoroki to focusing on his own abuser which is part of the issue with his lack of character, but Bakugou's character does contribute to this problem of making the abusers more sympathetic than the victims)

Most if not the rest of 1A fade into the background after this, save for a few who have notable moments sprinkled in throughout the show. You can take this as a Bakugou prevalence problem, or it can be seen as Horikoshi just not knowing how to balance characters.

However, the character that suffers the most because of this is Izuku himself.

I don't think it's a bad thing that Izuku admires or looks up to Bakugou. I don't think it's a problem that he doesn't see anything wrong with Bakugou's behavior against him. Izuku grew up in an environment where that was normalized. That he's worthless because of his lack of quirk and Bakugou deserves to be on top because of his great quirk. Of course he internalized that, even though he knows that a quirk doesn't determine someone's worth. He was never given the tools or the means to beat that mindset.

What I despise is the fact that everyone around him enables it.

As I stated above, Aizawa is definitely the worst when it comes to this. Not only shoving Bakugou and Izuku together and making it Izuku's job to get Bakugou to cooperate, but hardly if ever condemning Bakugou when he lashes out against Izuku. Even without their history, what Bakugou does is wrong and should be treated as such.

Unfortunately and even though I love All Might, he's also guilty of this. It's true that he might not know the full extent of their toxic relationship, but All Might sees Bakugou instigate a fight with Izuku and decides it's okay to tell Bakugou about One For All. Bakugou did nothing to earn this honor: he hasn't shown Izuku support and hasn't been a reliable ally he could depend on. But even disregarding that, Bakugou had just been captured by villains who work for All For One. He was the last person on Earth who should have been entrusted with this secret.

The adults in Izuku's life enable and reward Bakugou's bad behavior and urge them into forming a relationship and partnership that frankly shouldn't exist (and only does to make Bakugou a better person and hero, it does nothing for Izuku). It's to the point where almost Izuku's entire character revolves around his relationship with Bakugou and how he improves because of it and how he helps Bakugou improve. And he further projects this when he "subtly" implies that Todoroki should forgive Endeavor, which feels like a justification towards the audience of his own feelings towards Bakugou.

5. Accountability

I mentioned consequences as my first point. But what many who want this miss, it goes hand-in-hand with accountability.

Unlike consequences, Bakugou more or less does take accountability in the form of his apology. But the apology was lackluster for a couple of reasons. The main thing is that it feels like a list of excuses rather than simply owning up to the fact that he was shitty and there's really no good reason for it. But simply explaining why you hurt the person you hurt isn't giving them the apology they deserve. It's making it about you.

Another thing, though, is that the apology is very scarce. It skips over the worst of Bakugou's actions. Nothing he said was anything 1A didn't already know. They don't know about the s*icide baiting which is one of the worst things he's done to Izuku (and that's only what we saw, who knows what Bakugou's been saying for years?). It also ignores everything he did in UA, which was a very big part of the problem. He treated Izuku poorly months prior to the apology and that shouldn't be ignored.

As far as accountability goes this apology isn't that great. But it's something. No, what's worse is that the other characters don't hold Bakugou accountable.

The other characters more often than not turn a blind eye to Bakugou's behavior. We've already covered Aizawa, but the rest of 1A is guilty of this too. No one says anything about the Battle Trials. Hardly anyone condemns Bakugou when he attacks or insults Izuku. Sometimes they'll chime in like Uraraka or Kirishima, but other than that no one outright tells him off. This is out of character for Iida in particular because he's such a stickler about rules and courtesy for others (he literally told off a six year old when he punched Izuku and tried to stop Mineta from perving on the girls, why wouldn't he do the same when it comes to Bakugou?). It's almost like the characters are blind to Bakugou's behavior.

What's weirder is that Mina and Kirishima- who were both stated to hate bullying- are friends with him. Why would the show go out of its way to tell us this only to saddle them into the "BakuSquad?" It doesn't make sense.

It's hypocritical that everyone in 1A is so tolerant of Bakugou but get annoyed with others; like Monoma for example. Or even Mineta because as much as I dislike him he's constantly being called out by 1A. It means that they know certain behavior is wrong and/or shouldn't be entertained, so we know they aren't completely unaware. But the fact that they largely ignore Bakugou's behavior and condemn Monoma's is so weird. You can't excuse one and not the other.

Conclusion

There's certainly more than this to my dislike of Bakugou. But I think I've mostly covered his negative impact on the story. Doing a deep dive into his awful personality is something I wouldn't wish on anyway. Many others have done that anyway, so I'm content to leave it out. But I hope you liked my little breakdown!

[hotwaterandmilk]

So I decided to pick up physical copies of The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions from Yen Press on a whim the other day. I've been in such a nostalgia hole about Ragawa's works thanks to the Hanayume 50th celebrations and I remembered her manga adaptation of Konohara Narise's novels had restarted not that long ago. It made sense to get the books and begin a catchup re-read before the fifth volume comes out in English.

I'll be honest, I don't remember much about the Kyuketsuki to Yukai na Nakamatachi novels or manga from when I first encountered them. I had the first two manga volumes in Japanese at one point, but gave them away when the manga went on hiatus years ago. However, upon beginning my catchup re-read in English I was struck by how much the story resonated with me now.

If you've never read the series before now, long story short from Yen Press, "When a vampire from Nebraska named Al gets frozen in bat form, he winds up in Japan under the care of a dark and mysterious man covered in a bloody scent!"

I'd like to get into why I think this series is worth picking up now and for that it's probably easier to throw my ramblings under a cut.

I feel like the humorous elements of the series are what get talked about in the (admittedly scant) English language reviews for the series and, while the whole setup can be quite amusing, the more serious elements are what actually makes it stand out from other vampire tales with romantic elements. While everything is exaggerated, there are some very "real" aspects that help The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions stand out in an endless sea of vampire tales.

For example, Al being bitten by a vampire wasn't a ticket to easy street. There was nothing glamorous about what happened to him. That bite ruined his life and through no fault of is own, he rapidly became destitute. Vampirism in fiction is often shown leading characters to social isolation, but not necessarily to poverty. Given that Al has lost everything that connected him to his previous life, it makes sense that in our current capitalistic society he'd also lose access to even the most basic things our societal identities afford us -- including housing.

So yes, it's amusing that this bat-boy ended up flash frozen and shipped with some meat to Japan. However, the circumstances that led up to that outcome are given the weight they deserve. You truly do feel for Al in these moments because haven't we all been, at one time or another in our lives, perilously close to losing everything? These fleeting glimpses at the past sting in otherwise rollicking segments of the story as they should. Everything beautiful in Al's present is something that he didn't have during his lowest points and you truly feel for him as he works to prolong these moments.

Another serious moment that lifts the series even higher in my eyes is when it becomes aparent that Akira has access to human remains. Rather than handwaving away the access to blood as a convenient way to get Al the nutrition he needs, a significant amount of time is dedicated to the ethics surrounding the situation. The gravity with which all lives should be handled post-mortem and just a generally respectful examination of embalming as a process.

Unsurprisingly, I find the portrayal of Al's "incomplete" vampirism as a form of disability to be a compelling take on the mythos too. Al gets almost none of the "benefits" of being a vampire due to the whole process "not being done properly." What this leaves him with are a lot of things that make his everyday life different from not just humans, but "complete" vampires as well.

These differences mean he struggles to feed himself properly, feels significant levels of pain, and his body is often weak or doesn't behave the way he wants it to. The cause here is obviously fiction, but the way Al's acquired disability impacts his capacity to function to an acceptable level in a society of "normal" folks (both human and vampire) really struck me as ringing true, at least for myself and my own disabilities.

Yeah, I'm not going to turn into an adorable bat (and truly, bat Al is A D O R A B L E) but the struggle to make use of the few good hours in a day when my body works to a degree, that's so goddamn real. Al wants to contribute to the household, to pay back Akira and to be a functioning member of society... but it's not as straightforward for him as it is for others and that's something I appreciate being explored here.

Another thing that stands out to me is Akira's sexuality. While there are a lot of misunderstandings with Al and Akira that lead to people assuming they're lovers, when Akira is pushed into a corner about having a lover he shuts this down by describing himself as being frigid or having a low libido (in very blunt language).

I feel like the depth of this is conveyed well in the English translation by the subsequent line:

While at this point in the series Akira hasn't labeled his sexuality as being either demisexual or asexual, this is definitely something that it feels like the narrative is leaning towards. Particularly when Al clarifies the difference, in his limited language skills, between the physical and the romantic.

Akira is still figuring out what is comfortable for him in terms of dealing with people, so it makes sense that his progress regarding intimacy has only accelerated after meeting Al. The batty vampire is pushing him towards understanding more about himself and how he chooses to interact with those around him, but the ball is still very much in Akira's court regarding whether he'd like to explore either the physical or emotional aspects of their relationship further. I found that really refreshing?

That this story allows the dark-haired, brooding hero who is one part of our lead will-they-or-won't-they, to assert that he doesn't feel the same level of physical attraction that others do. That he isn't entirely confident in this either, that it's a part of himself he's never opened up about before, that it's something Al uncovers and isn't suddenly changed to fit what is acceptable. But that it doesn't lessen Al's interest in him, it's just part of who Akira is... gah! It really resonated with me idk. I love some smut, but I also appreciate it when a story focused on something as sexual as vampirism chooses to eschew this in favour of raw emotional edging instead.

I've pushed the more serious elements of the text in this ramble, but before I wrap up I should really note that there are some very funny moments too. For example, Al's bluntness here when he speaks Japanese.

The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions isn't the best work of vampire fiction I've ever read, but it uses its recurring themes of isolation vs. the need for connection to craft an enjoyable narrative. One that I feel lingers in my mind a bit more than others. While Al's unique form of vampirism leads to some absurd escapades, the story is elevated by having its emotional core remain grounded in the intrinsic beauty of everyday human interaction and how even fundamentally different people can connect in small but significant ways.

Blah blah blah, you should check it out, I can't wait for the next volume, etc.

[royakahoshiart]

Gonna be ranting about the way harassment is talked about so leniently in tbhk.

That part where Tsukasa kissed Nene makes me so mad because we didn't get to even see Nene's genuine reactions, she only thought manwha type stuff it's so annoying.

Let's also talk about Hanako he's also harassed people constantly.

Looking up Nene's skirt, throwing Kou to the ground numerous times, never respecting boundaries even when told to.

I feel like I should add how both Aida and Iro are guilty of this in most of their stories actually.

Sure it's a popular thing in Japan to treat it as a joke but that's exactly why so many horrible shit heads can get away with harassment.

Oh god let's not forget the scene everyone on twitter and tik tok hates.

Chapter 69 during the aoiaoi fight, I will always defend it to my heart forever and ever but I acknowledge that the way Akane was touching her was kinda weird that's why I struggled to read it at first. The kiss at the end was consensual but holding her in place, and we whatever that panel of him was I don't wanna think about it was definitely not consensual.

I don't like how it's treated. I don't care that it's a comedy sometimes or that a shounen trope like this are common, both writer and artist are women I'd expect them to try and treat it with a little more care.

I've seen how most Japanese readers don't really address the bad things of the manga or maybe they just don't notice and I don't think that's good at all.

So many characters have done weird things I'm just picking who didn't, mitsuba and the adults seem to be the only ones who haven't harassed anyone really, even then they have faults.

Even Kou , he tied up Mitsuba it kinda pisses me off for no reason. Maybe im just petty but I knows it's supposed to be comedy, I still laugh at that thing but it's still weird how Kou tied him up in the first place and had no objections by Mitsuba at first maybe I'm thinking too hard about it.

I despise that part where Hanako enters Nene's body. Not consensual, plus using her as a way to get away with things.

People see it like a funny moment but it's still sexual harassment and harassment in general I hate is so much. The fact that he commented on Aoi's breast size makes me even more mad because he touched it wanting or not, and decided to say it even making fun of her.

Plus Nene was obviously uncomfortable with it I'm not sure how she was able to look at Aoi ever again.

Also poor Kou???? He's a poor 14 year old boy Hanako does not need to do that with Nene's body I feel so bad for both Kou and Nene. Kou wanted to do something about it but he couldn't even dare to look at the scene Kou Minamoto they could never make me hate you.

English translation fucked it up a bit , they made him comment on the occurrence saying "seductive" but what i think is more fit is "embarassing". AUGHHH tbhk stop putting your main characters in weird scenes challenge failed.

The image in the first volume of Nene being naked errr it's censored yes but weird. We could've had just hanako talking about it but we didn't need an artist rendition. Someone made an edit of that panel making her covered parts visible and it disgusts me like it would for other people too.

Talking so freely about wanting to see her naked is very weird from Hanako's part I don't exactly know if it does count as sexual harassment but for me it is.

I think we forget Sumire tried to erffghnb with Hakubo and I like that all she got was a headbutt. Oh oh and well Hakubo's kiss was uncalled for but her slap was even more.

The scene where she gets eaten goes down easier if you remember she was completely fine with it, both of them where okay with it happening (i still struggle reading that part 😓) so it's not really that bad.

[beanghostprincess]

I need your brain to help pick apart a thought that I had in mind. What would happen if Shuggy was raised with the Whitebeard pirates? Idk what their rules are about carrying around kids in the seas but let's say they don't get docked onto the nearest island (i mean marco is in there too so)

Would Buggy be different? I think a big part of why he's insecure and why he's a "coward" is because he's standing on the shoulders of giants, he's part of the best crews of the seas and yet they expect him to be a monster like everyone else is in that ship, but in reality what if he just wants to go on adventures and get treasures without the need to sacrifice his limb and life for it? I love the Rogers pirates, and would love to believe in my heart of hearts that Buggy is as equally loved as Shanks but man, thinking about their flashback and seeing how Shanks gets the hat, and Shanks is praised by Roger and Crew, I don't think they completely understood the emotional side of how to raise children.

Which leads me to believe that Whitebeard probably knew better than Rogers and Rayleigh in that regard, he's got like so many found family kids and they're all willing to go to bat and die for their dad, and with Whitebeard wanting a family and calling his children his treasure, I think he'd be more sensitive about the feelings of his children. I think Whitebeard would help buggy understand how he differs from Shanks, but that does not make him inferior. He would probably encourage Buggy with all his inventions and bombs and slight of hand tricks.

Would Buggy also feel less alone because he sees other people in the crew who are also Whitebeard's children, and therefore he has brothers? Would he consider them family?

I haven't thought ahead with how much Shanks would change under Whitebeard, but I doubt it would change. Shanks is still star-pupil shanks, but this time instead of the crew praising him like Uncles to a nephew, it's adopted big brothers to a prodigy (also I brainrot buggy more but I think there can't be buggy without shanks and vice-versa, so they are a Do Not Separate pair)

Maybe it's just me desperately wanting buggy to have a father figure who loves him. My heart wants to believe Rogers and Rayleigh was that for him, but the manga chapters really doesn't show much about them giving him that attention, so I naturally drifted to the Dad Pirate of the Series, Whitebeard.

Thoughts?

You have a point, actually! I mean, imo, I've always thought (or liked to think) that Roger and Rayleigh loved Shanks and Buggy equally. They just treated them differently because they do have different personalities, after all. As somebody who understands Buggy's POV a lot, I think we shouldn't have to take it as the only, pure reality of all. We basically just have his POV on this situation and of course, for him, Shanks is going to be the favorite and he is going to be treated unfairly. I think most of that perception comes from his inferiority complex toward Shanks. Because yes, he was obviously the star-pupil and did get the hat and it's understandable that Buggy feels inferior. But that is not the whole truth and I don't think everything is Roger and Rayleigh's fault because of their way of raising them. I think that no matter the crew, Buggy would have still felt at least a bit of resentment and jealousy when it comes to Shanks. Shanks is just that type of person.

HOWEVER! You do have a point and it is that the Whitebeard pirates are way more family-focused and they seem to want to get the best of everybody individually. The reason why Whitebeard is so loved by his crew isn't really because of his power but because he gives them a place to belong and grow up. Roger's crew is a family too but as you said, they're giants and of course, Buggy is going to feel like a little bug in comparison if they expect him to be the same and praise Shanks for just existing when Buggy has to actually work to be seen that way.

I think these two being in that crew would've changed their personalities a bit. Buggy being more confident in himself and being raised with positive reinforcement and an environment that is actually a family would've been good for him and his self-esteem. His personality would clash with Shanks' a lot still, but you know, that's just how they are. Also, Shanks I think would be the same except that his need to please/save people would not be that strong since he doesn't have the responsibility of the world on his shoulders and no hat to deal with.

Don't get me wrong, maybe the break up would still happen. It would certainly happen, actually. Of course Roger's death wouldn't be the same for them in this context because originally he is basically their dad, and they don't have a crew to go back to and that fact adds more layers to their fight, but Buggy would still be ambitious and want to go for the One Piece, and Shanks would want to wait. And I think that no matter the context they're both stubborn and emotional and refuse to talk things out. Although maybe being with Whitebeard would help them in that context but, you know, I think Shanks and Buggy are the type of duo that NEED to break up for them to work later on in the story.

This whole AU has a lot of unsolved questions like-- Buggy's fruit and whether they'd like to leave the crew or not etc etc. But. I think the point here is more about their dynamic, right? I think they'd be more emotionally stable after all. Maybe they're more open about their issues too, and Buggy probably wouldn't have the "he made me eat the fruit and lost my map" excuse to hate Shanks. I think the big change here would be Buggy actually being dangerous and using his full potential instead of holding back. That is... Worrying. I love him.

[creativefandomminds]

Another day, another day of helping people... Panting softly as he felt exhausted, the heat from day didn't help much. He was thankful that the day was over with his mentor but he just couldn't take it, he needed to sit now... Thankfully, he found a spot to sit on the soft grass in the park, he sighed in relief as he was able to relax for a bit... Rin didn't realize how long it had been since he started UA, he had learned a lot from his teachers, made a few friends, did the Sport Festival, got a few offers from Heroes to work with and..met someone.. Her.. the new girl... Alice.. He sighed, he couldn't stop thinking about her, how she and her team in the Sport Festival manage to win the Cavalry Battle without getting shocked. Smart on them for having someone with a protection quirk.. Honestly he was a little jealous... but he's not mad at her, not like his classmate Monoma who believes that was cheating from Class 1-A. He growled softly to himself, that was low of him to say that, it's not her fault... He sighed as he calmed himself, leaning his head up to look up but hit something, he blinked as he turned around to see what it was. A large statue of a Chinese dragon stood as the beast hold onto the pedestal, looking down at Rin. How ironic... a powerful dragon looking down at the small dragon hero... he sighed, maybe if he were stronger or smarter at the Sports Festival.. maybe then Alice wouldn't have to deal with Monoma picking on her or Class 1-A. He was silence for a moment but looked at the dragon statue again, no, he wasn't going to wallow in shame or sadness... he was going to do better, it'll be hard but he'll grow stronger, not just for himself..but for her as well.. that was a promise.. ------------------ Well, I was so late posting this one! TwT I heard that July 14 was Rin's birthday but then life took me away from a while till I was able to finish it. So a Happy Late Birthday to my fav Rin! Honestly had fun drawing BNHA again, it's been so long and it was nice to enjoy it for a bit, I have heard that the manga series is finishing up soon (I think, I haven't been in the loop for awhile lol so take my word with a grain of salt) so I guess it's a good time to post it. Maybe I'll draw some of my favs and Ocs again, I'll have to see what's happening with the manga. Hope you guys enjoy the piece and the short story for it, been in a writing mood. ;3 Enjoy! X3 Art@ Mine Hiryu Rin, BNHA@ Kohei Horikoshi

[studying-shrimp]

kghn my love mix up au!!

So i decided to rewatch my love mix up right (the live action series)... and just had a big what-if moment. The big what-if moment being:

What-if... Hinata, had to borrow an eraser from Tsukishima who sits next to him, then sees "yama <3" (yeah ooc kei there but hey love makes you do things okay? also yamaguchi and hinata aren't friends in this au unlike aoki and aida)... Hinata sees the writing and (barely) puts the pieces together... TSUKISHIMA LIKES KAGEYAMA??? Hinata drops the eraser due to shock... Kageyama picks it up and gives it back to Hinata, unknowingly... give him 5 seconds... Kageyama turns to Hinata: "Wait, what?"

Side notes:

Yamaguchi is in another class, him and kei are actually already in a relationship by the time the story starts. Hinata doesn't know that cuz Tsukishima doesn't really talk to him about anything... HE DOESN'T TALK TO HIM AT ALL so how would he know 🙄.

Yes, like Aoki to Mio, Tsukishima was Hinata's fleeting first love 💔.

Ida being a volleyball player ain't helping me from ignoring this random shit.

I just based everything from the live action since i haven't fully read the manga... i really should have read the manga before watching 😭

I wanna draw crossover fanart for this... give me 5 months (cries in busy)

EDIT:

OKAY??? I HAVEN'T WATCHED HAIKYUU WHEN I FIRST WATCHED MLMU SO MY FAULT FOR NOT NOTICING... like i said... Ida plays volleyball 😭

[trans-ace-lee]

Wow Fantasstic Baby

Author's Note: The title is a reference to this song Fantastic Baby - BigBang and was inspired by a post by @ticklishfanart about Tsukishima's milky legs. Warning: This is a tickle fic, so if that's not something you want to see, feel free to ignore this post.

I've read the manga in full twice and own the whole manga set, so I think it's a crime I haven't written for Haikyuu yet. Enjoy this hellhole of a fic that I came up with at work and mostly wrote on the bus to and from work and at work in corners of breakrooms.

Mutuals tag: @otomiya-tickles @italeean @giggly-squiggily @myreygn @ticklygiggles @duckymcdoorknob @jettorii

Tsukishima likes to say that he enjoys massages. Yamaguchi, the bastard, likes to give him back massages during intense study sessions under the guise of trying to put him to sleep.

Additionally, Akiteru refers to him as a stick of bamboo, saying that he needs to learn how to “loosen up” a bit. He doesn’t like to admit it, but he is a stiff person. Since throwing himself into volleyball, his muscles ache all the time, so massages are also welcome to relieve his pain.

And he would like to say he’s enjoying the leg massage that Kuroo had offered to give him, but he’s too busy cackling to pay attention to how nice it feels.

“Really, here?” Kuroo asks while kneading into his calves as Tsukishima debates actually slamming his fists onto the ground. He didn’t even know that calves could be ticklish, let alone garner such a big reaction out of someone.

“Staahahaap,” Tsukishima begs, trying to yank his legs out of Kuroo’s grasp.

He doesn’t need to turn around to know there’s a smirk on the latter’s face. “But this is for your own good.” Kuroo pauses to skitter his fingers from the back of Tsukishima’s knees to just below his butt. “It’s not my fault you’re so ticklish. Plus, I kind of want to keep tickling you.”

Tsukishima fully smashes his face into his arms to hold back a scream.

And to Tsukishima’s utter, utter horror, Kuroo doesn’t miss his reaction.

“Oh? I always thought you had a nice ass, but I didn’t expect it to be so ticklish,” Kuroo says.

The sound that comes out of Tsukishima at the comment doesn’t sound human. “Damn, your ears sure turn red fast, don’t they?”

“Fuhahuck,” Tsukishima replies, giggling like the rattling sound of a snare drum when Kuroo starts pinching all over his ass. He’s thankful that they’re the only ones in the gym. Maybe personal practice was more useful than he originally thought. “Naaahahat there. Stohohop.”

“Not here?” Kuroo switches to spidering along the bottom of his butt, every once in a while, sneaking a hand to his inner thighs. “You sound so happy though.”

Lies. Straight-up lies. He’s not happy, he’s dying. Here lies Tsukishima Kei. Maybe Yamaguchi will miss him.

“Fine. I’ll move,” Kuroo says, digging into the back of Tsukishima’s quads.

In Tsukishima’s defense, he does not shriek…that loudly.

“Is this a good spot too?”

“Gohoho somewhere else,” Tsukishima pleads, feeling a mostly foreign wetness building in the corner of his eyes.

“Hmm? But I did what you asked…All right, I’ll be nice.”

Tsukishima already starts to regret asking Kuroo to move spots since he’s figured out that begging Kuroo to stop is falling on deaf ears.

“Ass, inner thighs, or hamstrings?” Kuroo asks.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes or yell in frustration, Tsukishima settles on trying to compromise some more. “Thahaat’s not fair. I’ll piihick somewhere else. Ahahanywhere else.”

“Anywhere?” Kuroo hums, “Sorry, but you picked the wrong choice, my dear.”

My dear? Wrong choice, his ass. Tsukishima decides that he will be getting Kuroo back tenfold after this is all over. From what he’s overheard when Hinata babbles, Kenma should be willing to deluge Kuroo’s worst spot or spots.

He hopes it is spots.

The thought of revenge stops at the feeling of fingers scribbling all over the back and inner parts of his thighs and all around his ass. He’d like to think, but it tickles so much that he doesn’t register that the loud sound he hears is coming from him.

“Awww,” Kuroo coos, “Was that a snort I heard? Who knew you could look so pretty underneath that constant frown, especially in those cute little shorts.”

Tsukishima curses the volleyball shorts they have to wear. Right now, he’s wishing that they were just a tad longer. The electric feeling shooting up and down his legs leave him paralyzed.

Even if he wanted to pull them away, the thought of doing so is almost physically painful, so he can only lay there and laugh until he can feel tears dripping down his face. He doesn’t bother begging or pleading and just sticks to crying.

Part of him thinks laughing so hard for so long feels nice because he hasn’t laughed that much since middle school. Sometimes he finds himself chuckling when Yamaguchi makes funny faces when he’s thinking or snickering every time he looks at Kuroo’s bed hair and when Kuroo smirks at his opponents from across the net. Maybe he even laughs when he sees Kuroo messing around with Bokuto and Akaashi.

Oh.

Well, shit. Tsukishima figures that laughing and maybe tickling is okay with Kuroo and Yamaguchi. But only them. 

When he's tickled by Yamaguchi it reminds him of being a kid, before everything that happened to Akiteru. Okay, he might consider being tickled by his brother in the future. In all his pessimism and cynicism there's hope in there somewhere. That bright-eyed kid is still a part of him. 

With Kuroo, he finds himself melting. It's warm and sends clouds of floating, fuzzy sensations to fill his head and heart. 

Home. The feeling of home he decides. 

Kuroo's dexterous fingers are both torturous and comforting. It takes nearly every ounce of willpower in him not to beg for more instead. 

…What is wrong with him? Beg for more?

There are a couple of spots on Tsukishima’s butt that have him shrieking. It’s a high-pitched sound, reminding him of a younger, more innocent him. And, yeah, nope. He can forget about thinking again.

“I think I like this spot,” Kuroo says, pinching and wiggling his fingers in Tsukishima’s inner thighs.

Tsukishima slams his legs shut and traps Kuroo’s fingers in between them. He cackles even harder than when Kuroo was tickling his calves when this ordeal first started. “I dohohon’t,” he babbles.

“Look at you.” Tsukishima can hear the mock sympathy and slight pout in Kuroo’s voice. “Is someone too weak to handle a little tickling? Poor thing, taken down by a couple of fingers.”

He wants to push Kuroo’s hands away, but he settles on covering his face instead, not bothering to wipe the fresh set of tears out of his eyes.

“That cute face of yours is so red right now. It’s very pretty looking.”

His face heats up more at the comment. Besides volleyball, he’s not the kind of person who goes outside. Although he knows it might be nicer to study in a park or outside a café, he prefers the comfort of AC in his room or in a library. He feels pretty. So pretty. He’s been approached by girls or, more or less, Yamaguchi has been approached by girls, saying how handsome he is.

But for some reason, when Kuroo says it, it hits so much harder.

Tsukishima is ripped out of his thoughts by fingers dancing on his hamstrings midway down his thighs. More high-pitched giggles spill out of him as he grows weaker and weaker by the second.

After a few rounds of Kuroo dashing from each spot and sneaking a couple of swipes up his feet that leave him flinching despite feeling like putty, small hiccups break through his laughter which has almost gone silent.

The tickling stops almost immediately. Tsukishima takes the chance to roll over and somewhat flop on the ground with all the grace of a beached whale. Gasping for much-needed air, he shuts his eyes until the moisture dries from his face and his breathing evens.

Although he's flushed and tired, there's this buzzing feeling in his head. He's washed in a glow that spreads from his heart to the rest of his body. A small smile graces his features.

It's softer than normal. Different from the smirk he wears during volleyball matches or the bored one that stays on his face during classes.

"So…" Kuroo starts, breaking the silence, "Since I've gotten a chance to touch that ass, can I have a chance to have all of you?"

A snort bubbles out of Tsukishima's nose, which turns into another laughing fit. 

Kuroo wives his left hand in front of Tsukishima's face. "Still feeling ticklish there, giggly?"

"That was awful. If the rest of your pickup lines are that terrible, I can't imagine the rest of you." Kuroo’s smile wobbles a bit. "But luckily for me, my brother's advice to loosen up and make more bad decisions has grown on me, so I think I'll take you up on that offer."

Tsukishima chuckles once more when Kuroo feigns to punch him in the chest. "Y-you aren't allowed to scare me like that," Kuroo replies, helping Tsukishima sit up.  

A soft smile works its way onto Tsukishima’s face as he says, "Well, I guess you're just going to have to get used to me getting you back for teasing me all the time."

Kuroo only smirks at him, and Tsukishima has to resist the urge to kiss Kuroo silly.

Wait what?

"Oh Kenma," Tsukishima sings, snickering when Kuroo’s face morphs into a mortified expression. 

He starts full-on laughing when Kuroo bolts out the gym door with a see you later that ends in a note that rises at the end in a pleasant high-pitched tone. Tsukishima wants to hear the sound again once he gets his revenge. 

[ladyravenjadethe2nd]

Yukina's captivity.

Okay so I don't know if it was different in the manga, but when I watched the anime when I was like 11 I thought the way she was held captive and 'tortured' was beyond stupid. We have many ways to go about this and they picked none of them.

So there's the actually putting in effort to be cruel option where at the very least you would take her clothes and possibly shave her head. Get why they didn't go hardcore, but she's wearing a beautiful white Kimono instead of rags and has a window and a chair so your really not trying to make her uncomfortable are you? Even for a kid audience she should be in a tiny dark cell covered in like whip marks or something. I thought this was very lame and poorly done as a kid that didn't even watch rated R movies. ( I understand why rape wasn't used as a weapon, but what's with a mob boss not knowing how to make an uncomfortable environment?)

There is of course the 'kindest' option which is to have your men kill the people that 'caught' her, present yourself as her savior and go Hey your alone, lost, and have no resources in a dangerous place. I so wish I could help you, but I just can't afford to. Oh if only I your new best friend had something valuable to sell. Perhaps something you can make with little effort? If she says no have your guys follow her, attack her, leave her hurt in the forest, and then make her come to you for protection. Your a business man. Befriend her. Offer help in exchange for stones. Not a hard concept. (Mob Boss. Has he never watched a mafia movie?)

Umm speaking of movies! Like put on a show about a dog dying. Why haven't you given her all the books, movies, music she could ever want that is widely considered sad?

She cries over the nice guard dying so why exactly did he not tell a maid to befriend her then say ' Hey your gonna watch this movie and cry other wise I'm gonna beat up your friend and it will be your fault.' my dude.

Make a weakness.

Give her a fucking puppy and threaten to drown it. It's only crying why the hell do you need to hire someone to make a girl cry that sobs over some birds?

Lastly the smartest thing to do with the least amount of effort ever. Blow pepper in her face you dumb fuck.

Tears are just eyes watering! Pepper! Smoke! What do you think Tear Gas does?! Oh my god. You could have given your average teenager 50 bucks and they could have had her sobbing in an hour.

It was so badly done my god. How did potato head dude get so rich when he can't make a soft hearted girl cry? Is he such an emotionless husk the only thing he possible thought was crying worthy was pain?

[skania]

Replies to AquaKane Asks (Part 1)

Tumblr has an image limit so I'll have to split my replies into different posts 😂

The first 30 replies are here under the cut, the rest will follow in a few days or so!

It's kind of crazy that it's been a month since you sent this message and we still don't know what's going to happen with Miyako and Ichigo lol

I think that's the part some people don't get. Aqua didn't need to date Akane to protect her, he could've simply stayed close friends with her. He chose to enter a romantic relationship with her after deciding that it may be okay for him to fall in love. Aqua isn't the self-serving type, he couldn't even bring himself to lead Akane on back when he wanted to use her. Why would he start to do so after he no longer wants to use her?

Yeah some of the comment sections feel like echo-chambers. Doesn't matter though, the entire fandom could be against it and I'd still find Aqua and Akane's dynamic the most compelling in the manga. Not my fault Aka's writing (so far) has been at his best when it comes to them 😂

Lmao you're right, she has been the closest to therapy that he has gotten so far 😂

I'm curious about how Mengo would portray Akane, but I'm keeping my expectations very low. Better to be surprised if it happens than to be disappointed if it doesn't. I wouldn't mind getting a chapter about Himekawa though!

Thanks anon!! I think the characters involved in the movie arc are supposed to be the ones that will be important to the narrative, but we'll have to wait and see. It may take years at this point considering the constant breaks, so if that keeps up I may also just drop it and pick it up again when Akane shows up lol

I'm quite late so I hope you've been having good days, anon!

I'm not sure if Aka would let Mengo write anything that is actually plot-relevant, but I'd love to be wrong! Personally, I think seeing Akane's colleagues react to to the current her would be a nice .5 chapter, but seeing Akane may be too much to ask for at this point lol

Hmmm I think it'd be kind of forced to have Akane find the body, because why would she be looking for Yura in the first place? There's no way for her to know that there's a connection between her and Kamiki. That said, Aka literally had a Crow Child/Deus-ex-machina-in-wait show up when he needed to pull Ruby into the plot, so crazier things have happened 😂 I rolled with that so I'll roll with anything that brings back Akane back to the forefront.

In all honesty anon, I have been trying not to think about it so I can take whatever Aka comes up with in stride.

But the way I see it, Akane can more or less let Aqua have his way when it comes to the movie, but she needs to stop whatever is coming after. The best way to do it would be by finding an alternative way of bringing Kamiki to justice, but that won't take care of Aqua's guilt complex and of the reasons pushing him to sacrifice himself like that. So I'd like to imagine that Akane may recruit the help of the people close to Aqua in order to stand in his way and make him understand that his life has value, but that may just be wishful thinking on my part. It's hard to guess without having more insight into her current mindset.

I definitely do think that she hasn't gone after Kamiki again because Aqua asked her not to though, so Akane must've understood that she was going about things the wrong way. I hope that she has realized just how reckless she was being.

I don't think Frill needs to know the details, just knowing that they dated for that long and broke up recently is enough. Not to mention that the first thing Akane does after saying hi is asking how Aqua is, so I feel like it wasn't very hard to tell that pulling the Aqua card may catch Akane's interest.

I think Akane knows that Aqua is beyond the point where he can simply be talked out of his revenge, so she likely assumed that a conversation would lead them nowhere.

Anon it isn't only your brain, we definitely haven't gotten enough Akane 😢

(So sorry for the image quality of your ask, anon! I originally split it in two but Tumblr's image limit got in my way. I delete asks as I go so it's easier to keep track of what I have replied to, so I had to take a screenshot of my screenshot ;-;)

Personally, I respect that! I totally get why some people wouldn't feel comfortable with it. In my case, I've made my peace with it because it's not like he is an adult that magically found himself in a teenager's body and that is now hooking up with teenagers. He has lived as Aqua from birth, so he is going through puberty, growing-pains, etc. the way any boy his age would. At that point you have to make concessions, because it'd be unfair to expect him to wait until he is physically thirty to date someone. It'd also defeat the entire purpose of reincarnating, since this is supposed to be his chance at living a happier, more fulfilling life.

I think that as long as there isn't a big emotional and/or intellectual gap between him and the person he is dating, then it's all good. Luckily, Akane clears that condition pretty easily!

It'll be lots of fun to see Akane play one of them! I wonder if she will play the girl from Viewpoint B?

Don't Aqua and Goro share a tag? "Hoshino Aquamarine | Goro" is how it appears for me.

No worries anon! I have seen people trying to clearly separate Aqua and Goro but I don't think things necessarily work that way, so I understand why you had a hard time doing so. Do let me know if you had a breakthrough, though!

Thanks for asking anon! I do have Twitter but I rarely use it, so Tumblr is definitely where I go talk fandom :D

Anon I've already written like thirty posts about it lol

Ideally? I'd love for Akane to:

Realize that Aqua is Goro and confront him about it

Team up with Ruby and everyone else in order to accomplish her goal of saving Aqua

Be instrumental in getting Kamiki

Recognize her own worth and to have a heart to heart with Aqua, because if they end up together I'd like it to be after Akane is certain that she isn't sharing his heart

I'd also love for her to continue being recognized for how brilliant she is as an actress and to keep getting all the prizes under the sun, because she deserves all of them.

All in all, I want her to end the manga feeling happy and fulfilled with all aspects of her life!

No can do, anon! I want you all to trust me that if you ask me to keep something private, I will keep it private 😂

Don't remind me anon, I want the answer to all those questions too!! 😭

Thank you so much for your kind words, anon! I think the one carrying the fandom on his back is Aka, so he better feed us something soon 😂

Now that you mention it, I think I don't! I've been trying to stick to their relationship the way it's presented in the manga, so that hasn't left me much room to imagine what they're like when we don't see them. I'll definitely think about it, though!

edit: after reading another anon ask, I'd like to headcanon that Aqua snuck in Akane's graduation ceremony and/or at least watched her from afar lol

I think my issue with that line of thinking are the implications. Because if Aqua was never willing and/or open to the possibility of falling for her, then that means that he was leading her on when he decided to date her for real, which would be incredibly selfish of him and very unfair to Akane. Personally, I would not ship Akane with Aqua if I thought that was the case.

Unless you're talking about something else?

In either case, I do agree that it would be great to get a third kiss with a proper confession!

My thoughts about that are here 1 and here 2!

Thank you so much for dropping by anon, I'm happy you've enjoyed the read!

NOOOOO I didn't think of that! You're right, Akane must have graduated by now :( Okay this calls for a headcanon, hopefully Aqua found a way to sneak in and see her from afar 😭

The stairs leading to the bridge are next to a road while the stairs in ch 116 are surrounded by grass and trees, so I'm afraid they aren't the same anon.

I'm sure it's just a matter of time before the AquaKane bridge makes its grand comeback, though :D

I'd love to say yes anon, I'd have loved to see Akane tell Aqua some of the things Aqua told Ruby 😭 But in truth, I think that Aqua wouldn't be able to move on knowing that Ruby and Ichigo were planning to have revenge. So I think that if Aqua and Akane had been honest to each other during that conversation, the best case scenario would be AquaKane working together and coming up with a less self-destructive plan than the one they came up with on their own.

That would be amazing, anon! I love the way you think and I'm praying Aka will think the same lmao

Thank you for the kind words too, I'm honored!

My advice would be to just mute it/block it, anon! I never joined it because I always avoid joining subreddits for fandoms involving love triangles, but I did check it while the anime was airing because it seemed like an easy way to keep up with news and translations. After that, Reddit wouldn't stop recommending random posts to me, and just like you I sometimes bit the bait as well. So I just muted it. Out of sight, out of mind lol

I think whether or not that works for you would also depend on what you get from checking the subreddit. For example, if you just check it to keep up with Onk news, you may as well follow the OnK Twitter accounts to get the news straight from the source.

Good question, anon! It is entirely possible that feeling like her bond with him was just adding to Aqua's guilt, aka the opposite of what she wanted, brought her to tears.

Personally, I do think that played a part in it but I also think there's another reason to why Akane's demeanor changes. When they talk on the bridge, Akane says that she doesn't quite understand what kind of relationship she has with Aqua and what she feels for him. In Chapter 78, she begins her speech by saying that she can finally put her feelings into words. Not to mention, one thing is thinking about the possibility of parting ways with someone and another thing is actually doing it.

So I think that once the moment of truth comes, Akane finds that parting ways with Aqua is more painful than she thought it would be :(

No, as far as we know Aqua and Akane have never addressed how they feel for each other 😭

Hello there anon!

Hmmm I don't have anything against that take either, if people enjoy their relationship and find that it resonates more with them that way, then good for them!

I personally don't see them that way though, since we have Aqua outright admitting that he feels lust and and that he has "definitely" thought about it. We also have Akane blushing up a storm when she remembers Aqua kissing her, wanting Aqua to see her in that gorgeous dress she wore when she received the award, etc. So I think that Akane is just inexperienced and Aqua on the emotionally-stunted side due to all the trauma he has gone through.

That's just my personal take, though!

I have to agree, anon! The way I see it, there are two possible reasons for why it was skipped: either we're going the AquaKane route (so it's being saved for later because it'd say too much) or we aren't (so it was skipped because it isn't relevant).

So if Aka is going for AquaKane, then I do definitely think we'll see some flashbacks to their time together as we go!

[amugoffandoms]

I'm Sorry. I Should've Been Faster.

CW/TW: Suicide (Hanging)

That Sayori and Monika angst no one wanted yet I provided

If you had been faster, you would've saved her.

The mantra rings through my head. It was wrong, I know- And-... and I tried to stop her- I really did. I was too slow-

...

It's been a month since Sayori's suicide.

I remember standing in the club, the realization of what I'd done slowly dawning on me. I- I had to stop Sayori- I had to be quick enough.

The Festival could wait, Sayori, my friend, was going to die and it would be my fault. I- I did this to her-

I ran to her house, somehow knowing exactly where it was despite never being there myself. I rushed through the house, ignoring the always open door for some reason.

There, I stood in front of Sayori's bedroom.

A cold shiver coursed through my body.

"She's... she's just asleep... She always sleeps in." I reminded myself.

...I gently opened the door--

"SAYORI-"

There was Sayori, my best friend, my Vice President... hanging.

Oh, God- OH, GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE-

I stared in horror as her body just... swayed in the breeze.

Her eyes were dark, lifeless.

Oh, God- I've done it. I killed Sayori.

My body began to move on its own as I slowly untied Sayori's body, she was alive before, oh my God. Sayori from the roof.

When her limp body Sayori was finally into my arms - she's cold, she's gone- she's gone, oh God - I stared at what I've done.

I... killed her. Why did I...

My gaze slowly slipped towards her hands. They were bloody.

Her neck was as well- oh my God, she tried to save herself-

She could've- She could've-

As my mind ran through the infinite possibilities, Sayori's cold, dead eyes stared back, and the urge to discard all of my insides grew stronger.

I couldn't take the guilt of killing my best friend and her lifeless eyes staring back, so I had turned away and coughed up my insides into a nearby trashcan.

God- I can't- What do I-

How do I even...?

...

And, there, I stayed there.

...I killed her and I had to acknowledge that.

Eventually, the club caught wind of what happened to Sayori and they... they took some time off as well.

They'd hate me if they knew I killed Sayori.

...And, maybe eventually, I'll have to come clean and be fine with that.

But, not today.

Today is our first day back as a full not full, Sayori is dead. I killed her. club.

Everyone is off, but they still try to make an effort to be "normal."

Yuri is trying to read her book and Natsuki is reading her Manga.

We haven't written poems. I didn't want to.

It's a Sayori thing and it feels wrong to do without her.

...So, instead, I'm at the teacher's desk, in my thoughts about killing my Vice President, my friend, Sayori.

I fiddle with a pen.

"...Yo, Earth to Monika, are you okay?" I look up from my desk and find Natsuki and Yuri looking back at me.

"Yes, yeah. I'm fine, don't even worry about me." That wasn't at all convincing. Yuri and Natsuki exchange a glance.

"Monika, if this is about... Sayori's passing... We understand. You can take time off or you can talk to us."

I can't talk to them. They'll know I killed her and held her dead body in my arms.

"No, it's fine, seriously." I wave it off.

Natsuki slams a hand onto the table. "Monika, you can grieve as well. We all are. You don't have to become closed off from the world because of this. We all lost Sayori. We'll be right here with you."

...I... I can't win, can I?

I stop playing with the pen.

"Monika, I have to agree with Natsuki. Please... this isn't some debate you have to win; this is your... our best friend's passing. We understand. Just take a break, please."

"...okay."

Yuri nods. "We can work through it together, if you'd like...? We're all still struggling in our own ways."

"I think Sayori would like that." A small smile appears on Yuri and Natsuki's face.

"She would," Natsuki nods. "We can go take a walk and pick some flowers for her... or, like, bake something she'd like... I don't know."

"Sure, we can bake something she'd like... maybe after we go pick some flowers...?" I weakly suggest.

"That would be wonderful. We can go now, if you'd like?" I nod.

"That's fine with me, Yuri."

Yuri and Natsuki pack up and begin to leave the room.

"Um... girls...?"

Yuri and Natsuki turn to look at me.

"Is there something wrong, Monika?" Yuri asks.

"...No, no... I just wanted to say..." I take a deep breath as I stand up. "I'm sorry."

[eyedelater]

junji ito post

this is a diary post of my thoughts while reading various works by junji ito.

i found the beautiful hardcover edition of GYO at my local library, so i borrowed that on a whim. i read that. then i thought i would watch the movie version because i wanted to see how they would tackle, you know… all aspects of the work. the movie was so lousy i quit watching less than halfway through. maybe i'll pick it up again sometime. but i'm a stickler for honoring the source material, and they inserted so much weird and dumb fanservice, it was intolerable. then i wondered what other anime adaptations existed of junji ito works. so i watched the 2022 netflix series JUNJI ITO MANIAC. i thought it was, on the whole, somewhat weak, but i did watch every episode. then i got more junji ito books from my local library, including TOMIE, UZUMAKI, DESERTER, LOVESICKNESS, REMINA, and VENUS IN THE BLIND SPOT. i also watched the series JUNJI ITO COLLECTION and read more stories online. i wanted this post to encompass all of ito-sensei's works, but after reading most of them, i decided to read the rest some other time. you can scroll to near the end of this post for an incomplete list of ito-sensei's works that i find to be worth reading. this post contains some spoilers, but i think spoilers don't matter too much for horror manga, as it's the visuals that really count.

i should preface everything by saying that i have known of junji ito for many years. when i was in high school… well, a short summary would be that in 9th grade, i saw a traumatizing gory video that messed me up and made me afraid of the dark despite being 14 years old, and i was especially afraid of dark spaces like the cracks between things. i slept on a mattress pressed into the corner of a room, and i was still afraid of the gap between the mattress and the wall. i wouldn't face my back to it all night. the cabinet door under the bathroom sink didn't shut all the way, and i would watch that dark gap through the clear shower curtain for 100% of my time in the shower to make sure nothing came out. (i made my dad get a clear shower curtain for that reason.) i was mentally ill, you see. did you know that sometimes, knowing a fear is irrational does nothing to make you not afraid? (i'm better now.) so there's the baseline, and then, due to the whims of my internet friend group, i felt compelled to read junji ito's THE ENIGMA OF AMIGARA FAULT. it struck the worst possible chord with me: now i knew that what could be lurking in the dark cracks between things is a stretched and disfigured human body being blissfully, eternally compelled through its own personal tunnel. THAT is what's in between my mattress and the wall. THAT is what could slip through the crack in the bathroom cabinet door. can i put into words how awful it was to think about? but of course, being rational at the same time, i acknowledged even then that the manga itself was kinda good. to come up with such an unpleasant idea is worthy of praise in itself. so i came to respect junji ito. but i haven't read that story again, and i won't. (they had the nerve to stick it in as a bonus story at the end of the GYO hardcover. i didn't even flip through. i will not read that story again.) several years later, i read UZUMAKI and thought it was good. and i think i read one or two TOMIE stories and then lost interest. (oh and i read the cat diary with yon and mu with no hesitation because i knew it wouldn't actually be scary. it was fun.)

so i had the impression that junji ito was very powerful and worthy of my respect. that's why i picked up GYO at my local library. i was pretty sure it was going to be good, and there was also a distant element of facing my fears.

GYO was pretty good. the way humans became disfigured after infection reminded me of Mermaid Swamp, an RPGmaker game i played a while ago and lost sleep over. i can't say i recommend it, but i do like RPGmaker horror games… anyway, GYO was well-composed and certainly Extensive in Scope. you know, it just keeps piling on and on. but it all came together… kind of. but when we got the circus part, i had to be like, "seriously?"

then i watched JUNJI ITO MANIAC. i find that netflix-produced animes have a certain flavor, a tinge that says, "netflix execs really really really really want to make money from this!!!" so to the extent that there is production value, it feels like it has been expended for the sake of making it Look like the anime is good, and not for actually making the anime good, if that makes sense. i feel that there is some heart missing… some loving devotion to the source material. at least some of the time. after watching the whole series, i came across many of the source stories in the short story collections i read. the anime adaptations were generally faithful to the short stories, and i appreciate that. but there is a difference between "turning a manga into an anime" and "turning a manga into a good anime." it is the difference between "this manga scene is now happening in motion" and "the tension and emotion of the original scene has been successfully translated into motion." and actually, it kind of felt like… for some of these… we didn't need to animate them? the thing about horror manga is that your own feelings of horror set the pace. maybe you are pulled quickly forward by suspense, but your eye lingers on the most hideous pages against your will. if the scariest part flashes up too briefly when translated into anime, it won't have as much of an effect. so it felt as though the timing for the scariest parts was weirdly rushed in some of the anime episodes. even watching without knowing the source material, i got the distinct impression that the manga had to be much better than this. [note added in later: sometimes, they actually weren't much better.] they got some of the faces wrong, too. you know how junji ito has his distinctive style where sunken eyes are expertly depicted with many small lines? it's a striking look. it looks great. classic. the way they showed those sunken eyes in the anime was unbelievably lame. it was an airbrushed look. i know they couldn't have animated it with many small lines, but shading it with a harder edge would have looked a thousand times better. or cel shading. come up with a creative solution to capture the effect. also, some of the voices were really annoying. i mean, i guess souichi's voice being annoying is appropriate. (what is souichi's deal? isn't he just really annoying? i haven't read any of his short stories yet.) anyway probably the best story in this series was the hanging balloons. i haven't read that story yet either. i have a feeling the manga is much scarier. but the anime has the advantage of showing the movement of the balloons. the way it will loop around your neck and fling you away in a second was well done.

(revelation) i see… so basically… the JUNJI ITO MANIAC series was the second junji ito series netflix made. so these are all the second-tier stories that they didn't care to animate in the first series? is that right? that makes sense. i'll have to watch the other series soon. [note added in later: wrong. JUNJI ITO COLLECTION was about the same.]

some of ito-sensei's stories are bizarrely anticlimactic. because it is horror manga, i set aside my usual expectation of a happy ending; i am expecting an ending that is either disastrous or faintly hopeful despite everything. but i was expecting an ending, and some of these short stories don't have much of one. like "the bully" (ijimekko). i thought it wasn't very good. i thought it was a miss. i think maybe that one didn't need to be animated, for that reason. but after reading several, i have come to accept that an anticlimactic ending is standard for his short stories. i got used to it. i guess his intention is to end a scary story without much denouement, before the terror fades away, so as to leave a stronger impact. [note added in later: it turns out that in an interview, he said pretty much exactly that.] but i think it wasn't executed successfully every time.

i read the LOVESICKNESS collection of short stories. the story of the beautiful boy at the crossroads was pretty good. i find it kind of strange how romantic love is a strong and frequently recurring theme in ito-sensei's work, and not just in this particular collection. well, the whole way he depicts women has a certain flavor, doesn't it.

i read REMINA. i don't have very strong feelings about this one except that remina the girl sure doesn't have very much agency as a character. all she does is get pursued and picked up and pulled around by everyone on earth. i thought that as a climax, there might actually be some fun and exciting link between her and remina the planet, since at first that it seemed to attack the most when she was being crucified or whatever, but there was no such thing. remina the planet just made a beeline for earth and then started taking its time on the devouring part for no reason.

i spent my whole saturday reading TOMIE from cover to cover. it was pretty good. i think it's really funny how tomie herself evolves (in terms of character development) to be such a needy brat. and i think it's funny how all the tomies want to kill each other. i like how a tomie regenerating under certain circumstances takes on some characteristics of her surroundings, like the ashes tomies and the sake tomies and the carpet tomie. i also think it's really funny how tomie really doesn't want to split into more than one but she's sooo prone to it and she haaates it. overall, i was more amused than really scared by TOMIE. important note: there's probably quite a lot to be said if you read these stories through an explicitly feminist lens, but i don't care to do that right now.

i'm looking at wikipedia now and realizing there is a nearly endless supply of junji ito short stories. my local library does not have all of these. they have six or seven volumes, which is a ton given the extent of their manga collection, and i kinda thought that was all, but it's not. i'll have to read some of these online. however, there is a dilemma. given my history of getting afraid of the dark and its debilitating effects on my life, i want to avoid giving myself that feeling again (and i know it is possible), so i never read or watch anything scary at night. but i don't read manga online unless it is on my laptop or ipad. and i don't have my laptop or ipad with me in the daytime, only in the evenings… maybe i'll bring my ipad to work…? [note added in later: i made it work by reading in the early evening. this is the kind of thing i really worry about.]

i guess i've had a complicated relationship with horror media in that i like it, and most of the time it doesn't Hit in a bad way, but i need to make sure to take precautions when i consume it or else i could seriously lose a lot of sleep. even just typing out that paragraph about my ordeal in high school left me with a terribly nervous feeling because i wrote it at night and relived unpleasant memories. but i can still turn a lightswitch off and then walk out of a dark room without pressing my back against a wall. so i'm miles ahead of where i was back then. that's a relief.

i will note that this whole time, i kiiinda thought junji ito's "ito" miiight just be ito 糸 (thread). i mean, i knew his name (romanized) long before i ever learned that "ito" means "thread." it's only natural that in my ignorance, i might form some association between them. but it's totally not thread. who would be named that? (there's probably somebody.) it's actually itou 伊藤. junji itou. itou junji. but no one romanizes it like that. it's the same itou as the itou in delicious ITO EN jasmine tea, which goes really well with unfrosted blueberry pop tarts. if you're planning to try it with frosted pop tarts, don't even bother. oi ocha is good too.

while watching MANIAC, i was like, what is souichi's deal…? now i'm watching the first episode of JUNJI ITO COLLECTION and i've realized that souichi could be an enjoyably ridiculous character but they gave him a completely insufferable voice actor and thus made him insufferable. i wonder if they had the perfectly reasonable thought, "we can't make his voice nice or else he could become sexy to teen girls, and that idea is apprehensible," and then they overcorrected. perhaps they could've made it less awful and safely unsexy by giving him a realistic teenage boy voice. they could even make it appropriately obnoxious without going too far. i have to read the souichi series and then i'll be able to love him. i can't love him with this shitty voice <3 [note added in later: it turns out souichi is in 6th grade and 11 years old. he's not even a teen. that means my sexy voice hypothesis, by all rights, ought to be moot. i still think they made the wrong voice actor choice. i mean, not that the actor didn't give it his all. but he sounds like an annoying man or teen, not an annoying kid. souichi needed a kid voice.]

JUNJI ITO COLLECTION failed to successfully adapt the story of the beautiful boy at the crossroads. as a multi-chapter story with a relatively strong narrative, it should have been given at least a whole episode or an OVA-length animation to tell the whole story at once, but instead, they abbreviated it and never followed up with the rest. that being said, the main problem was that they didn't make the narrative as clear as in the manga. well, whatever. i'm going to watch through COLLECTION even though it's lousy.

i read the compilation book entitled VENUS IN THE BLIND SPOT. apart from noticing that they had the audacity to include the enigma of amigara fault again, none of the stories especially stuck with me except the cute love letter manga to kazuo umezz. i'll have to read some of his stuff next. speaking of other horror manga, i bought and read the english translation of "inuki kanako no daikyoufu" (Be Very Afraid of Kanako Inuki!) by inuki kanako because i wanted to support my local comic book shop. i kinda picked it at random based on the cover and paid full cover price. i kinda didn't like it. i don't have much to say about it except that her perfectly neckless art style is fun. maybe i'll read her tatari series sometime.

i'm remembering that when i read UZUMAKI for the first time, despite having watched many horror movies, i failed to consider the narrative expectations for works in the horror genre; that is, i had not resigned myself to a bad ending, which i now understand is very much to be expected. so i was really rooting for kirie and shuichi the whole time, and at the end, when they fail to escape the spiral, i was like "ok fuck me then i guess." i was pissed. but what i'm saying is that i was wrong to be pissed because my expectations were unreasonable. in retrospect, it was an appropriate ending.

there's that one tumblr post making fun of kirie and her fucked up boyfriend. it has a couple of panels where shuichi's looking deadened and she puts her head on his shoulder. i think that post is mean. i'm on shuichi's side! be nice to him! you saw what happened to his dad! have a heart!

JUNJI ITO COLLECTION episode 7 was probably the best so far, just because they did a pretty good job with the used record one. if the singer hadn't done a good job, it would have flopped. the song adds so much that is impossible to portray in the form of manga. it spooked me enough that i'm not going to watch any more episodes tonight, which did not happen with any other episodes of COLLECTION or MANIAC.

i was right. manga souichi is much more lovable than anime souichi, because though their faces are equally obnoxious, manga souichi has no obnoxious voice. the souichi stories are kind of refreshing because we get to see junji ito's strange sense of humor without anything too scary happening. my first souichi exposure was the 4 walled room episode in MANIAC, meaning i missed his introduction that appears in COLLECTION, so i was like "who the fuck is this? our protagonist, kouichi, is going to die in the gap between these walls. what? nothing in particular happened at the end. (souichi appears in another episode) this guy's in more than one??" but in the end, i kind of like how he's in 6th grade and his main powers are supercharged annoying personality and also being able to administer real curses. and despite the horrible voice, most of the souichi segments seem to have been adapted with incredible accuracy. souichi's recurring associated sound effect in the manga is "gachu gachu," the slightly clankety sound of him sucking on nails. one scanlator translated it as "munch munch;' another as "nom nom." i've never seen "gachu gachu" before.

ito-sensei's art peculiarities: he is the master of the "lovely face looking concerned." great skill with sunken eyes looking upset and exhausted. in the profile view, everyone has that distinctive frown. poses are sometimes a little awkward as if drawn from a clumsily posed posable model. chins sometimes don't make sense if the perspective isn't straight on or in profile. occasionally, his unique sense of humor shines through in the facial expressions. he's very good at drawing cutely styled hair and plain, elegant clothes. he also draws scary things.

the short story "fashion model" features fuchi, the fashion model. she debuted in the souichi story "rumors." i love fuchi. i'm on her side. when she's riding in the car with everyone much shorter than her and politely excited to go to the deep woods, that's cute. i like when she hitches up her long dress to run quickly in the woods. in "fashion model: cursed frame," fuchi appears in a magazine shot with two other models smiling happily, and that's cute. i want more fuchi content. (also, fuchi is pronounced the same as huci, the ainu word for grandmother. irrelevant.)

junji ito short stories are really hit-or-miss, i've decided. UZUMAKI, GYO, and TOMIE are essentially hit, and that's why he's popular, but a lot of these one-shots, they do not hit.

many of the strange evils in ito-sensei's works seem to be town-restricted. it seems that in most cases, if you get out of town, everything's fine. town where bodies turn into tombstones. town where everyone needs maps to navigate. town where it's foggy and everyone does fortune-telling. town contaminated by spirals. let's all exit towns.

i think ito-sensei can tell when an idea is good and when an idea is bad. generally, the better ideas are longer stories, and the worse ideas are shorter stories. i guess an exception would be hell doll funeral. that one was short but good. another exception is the bully. that one was bad but long.

i think ito-sensei's stories would be better if he applied his skill at drawing unique face shapes to drawing main characters instead of using unique face shapes only for the sake of showing "ugliness" in comparison to the uniformly beautiful main characters. as if ugliness is horror.

most of the characters in his stories are very shallow, but that's okay; they are only here in service of the narrative, to react to whatever hideous sights are laid before them... or to take part in them.

he is really a master of rictus...

it's funny, i just read a ton of ito-sensei's works from the 90s and very early 2000s, and then i accidentally jumped to one from the past few years because the entries on his wikipedia page aren't in chronological order (someone fix that), and now youtubers are appearing and twitter is a plot point. also, the quality of the work is quite visually different, as he switched to digital. it feels very, very polished now. i wonder why they don't have these at my local library.

here are the junji ito works that are worth reading, in my view (not in any order) :

the hanging balloons - this vision is truly inspired. you can also read "return of the hanging balloons," but it's hardly anything.

souichi's series, including: fun summer vacation, fun winter vacation, souichi's diary of delights, souichi's home tutor, mannequin teacher [probably the best], souichi's birthday, souichi's selfish curse, the room with four walls, coffin, rumors, souichi's beloved pet, secret of the haunted house, and the souichi front [also known as secret of the haunted house: souichi's version]. - not every single one of these is fantastic, but some of them are quite good. if you only want a little taste, read "souichi's home tutor" and then "mannequin teacher," as they distinctly go together. you can also read "souichi possessed," but it's hardly anything.

splatter film [also called smashed] - another truly inspired vision. if you don't get it, the joke is mosquitoes.

used record [also called secondhand record] - read it and then watch episode 7 of junji ito collection.

fashion model - get to know my girl fuchi. you can also read "fashion model: cursed frame," but it's not much.

village of the siren - this one has a unique feeling, i think.

gyo, tomie, and uzumaki are all about as worthwhile as each other.

lovesickness is slightly less good than the three listed in the previous bullet point, but still pretty good

the chill [also known as coldness] - if you want to experience trypophobia hell. don't take that warning lightly.

groaning drain pipes - just because the perfectly anticlimactic ending cracks me up

blood bubble bushes - uhh something also similar to trypophobia in this one, but it's striking

oshikiri's series, including hallucinations, bog of the living dead, pen pal, intruder, further tales of oshikiri, and further tales of oshikiri: walls - some of these are pretty good.

house of puppets - it's a house of puppets.

the town without streets - goes in an unexpectedly atmospheric direction. interestingly a mishmash of many different ideas, unlike his usual one-note short stories.

gravetown - another inspired idea.

the story of the mysterious tunnel - can't decide how much to like this one.

frankenstein (adaptation) - very well done. there's a scene where victor and the monster make eye contact and then the monster immediately turns around and scales a sheer cliff face. you made his body really strong, victor. he can scale a sheer cliff face. i should note i only read around the first half of frankenstein the novel. i know, it's a failing on my part. so i can't judge the accuracy. i don't know if the monster scales a sheer cliff face in the novel. anyway someone should cosplay as reanimated justine. you just need to really build up your limbs onto some stilts and stuff.

hell doll funeral - it's a hell doll funeral

fixed face - ending cracked me up

weeping woman way - i like this one. it's so wet.

madonna [also called the witch] - i enjoy a story that offends the church.

spirit flow of aokigahara - this one is really good. i love their bodily transformation.

sensor - the first chapter makes you envision getting hairs in your mouth so you go "pfuh! pfuh!" and the rest is like, oh, so god really does exist. i really appreciate how much he wrung out of the creepy natural phenomenon of volcanic hair, which i didn't know about before this.

i wanted this to be a comprehensive list, but i'm sick of reading these for now. maybe i'll read the rest of his works some other time.

in conclusion, despite the inexplicably strong urge i felt to read as much of junji ito's body of work as possible, i'm not in love with his stuff. i certainly don't care enough to compare any translations. however, i do really respect his art skills and horrific ideas, and i enjoy his inscrutable sense of humor.

(i am really looking forward to the black and white uzumaki anime if it ever comes out.)

[heatwa-ves]

5. 6. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Fprthe ship ones ur fave ship 😚😚🫶💖💖 both enstars and bsd 💖💖💖

WOOOO ok this is gonna be long

enstars:

5. who is your favourite character?

I'm an izumip first and a person second... but if I had to pick a fav i can't choose between izumi leo and ritsu. they're my everythings. do not separate them

6. when you think of the fandom, what image comes to mind?

the fucking. game loading screen. with trickstar on ykwim

8. why did you join the fandom?

it's all my friend keith @/amagiis fault 🤧 they have the incredible power of amontiblorboification

9. what is your favourite fic?

uuuuuu it's hard to pick one but I think to love and to cherish by lyre_love

10. what song do you associate with a ship?

move me by half alive is an izuleo song it's true btw

11. what song do you associate with a character?

sorryyyyy for saying brand new city izumi every time I'm asked this but. it's true. you see the vision you understand

12. favorite headcanon for a character/ship

this is so hard to pick one headcanon... can I say eden gender fuckery. she/her hiyori (not a girl but a Girl yk) she/her transfem ibara he/she nonbinary jun any prns agender nagisa. you see the vision you understand

13. if you could be in the universe of the characters, what would you do first?

well considering I'm not in Japan, don't speak Japanese, can't sing or dance and have awful stage fright, I doubt I'd be anywhere near yumenosaki. if I was in the universe and izumi wanted to say hi I wouldn't mind just saying....

bsd:

5. who is your favourite character?

kyouka izumi the girl of all time she is everything I love her so much

6. when you think of the fandom, what image comes to mind?

the uhhhh the fucking. tia atsushi yag reaction in the server.

8. why did you join the fandom?

ok flashback to early march last year. I was posting as I do and I was like haha what if I get into bsd just for the fics. and my friend vinny @/shipsarebeautiful was like well. that's as good a reason as any. and they told me a bit about bsd and sent me a fic (which I still haven't read uuuuu 🫣) and I was like ooh maybe I'll start it soon idk whatever. and then I went to bed. and woke up at 2am and couldn't get back to sleep and was like fuck it might as well start watching bsd then. so I watched the whole thing in a couple days and went insane

9. what is your favourite fic?

AND ALL I LOVED I LOVED ALONE MY FAVOURITE FIC OF ALL TIME !!!!! honourable mention to morning light which I also adore

10. what song do you associate with a ship? and 11. what song do you associate with a character?

can't think of any for these two rn 🤧

12. favorite headcanon for a character/ship

t4t bi4bi atsulucy

13. if you could be in the universe of the characters, what would you do first?

let's be real I probably wouldn't have an ability but uhhh I'd make it my mission to destroy the order of the clock tower so we don't have to have british people in the manga 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 the 5 seconds of Agatha screentime were nothing but a hallucination dw british people aren't real

[ladyloveandjustice]

I do agree the genre was never dead, but it's strange when someone's like "actually there's a lot of this around" and it's always like ten shows over the course of the last ten years and some of them aren't actually magical girl shows (Shy had magical girl vibes but it's very firmly presenting and marketing iitself as a Western-style-superhero show. and is one).

I do think it's GREAT that you spread awareness about that these anime, though!

When people are talking about the subgenre Madoka is in, they're also generally thinking magical girl warriors, not majokko series like Little Witch. And I think it's also okay to be mad there isn't a lot of anime when that's the medium that's most talked about online, even if there is more manga. When people complain about this kind of thing, I don't think they should have to put a million asterisks.

But again, I do agree it was never dead, and things have been changing positively lately! Demon Girl Next Door is great and we got an absolute WAVE of great magical girl anime this season. We haven't see a Madoka-rip off anime in quite a while so I think that trend is dying, so maybe the next big dark magical girl thing we get won't be mindlessly hyping a trend and actually have something to say.

Recs not mentioned in the OP: If magical girl adjacent stuff like SHY counts, I'd say give Healer Girl a look, it's very cute. Also for another majokko series, The Stories of the Girls Who Couldn't Become Magicians is airing this season and Witch Hat Atelier is upcoming. Some past mg stuff OP didn't mention that I haven't seen yet is Blue Reflection Ray and Girl in Twilight, might be not on here bc they might be darker but didn't seem like Madoka-alikes. They're on my list.

Anyway, thanks for the list, reblogging it for followers. I'm gonna note which of the list I think is good and I think is bad since I imagine a lot of followers share my taste

Great: Demon Girl Next Door, Flip Flappers (warning for some disquieting fanservice stuff infrequently), Little Witch Academia, Acro Trip so far, Magilumiere

Good/interesting: Artistwitch. Definitely variable and weird but it's interesting and experimental and worth a watch.

Bad: Urahara (SO boring), The Magical Girl and Lieutenant (no disrespect to the recently passed mangaka, but the mg was too moe-ified, and I heard there was a lot of SA jokes after I dropped it, NOT my thing, but it does look pretty)

Not Seen But Not interested: I've Had Enough of Being a Magical Girl makes me viscerally uncomfortable just from the image, looks like pedo bait, Six Hearts Princess also has a pedo bait design for one of them to the point it had to be censored on someone's Youtube and apparently produced only 7 eps in six years, Magia Wars...doesn't seem to exist anymore? google isn't finding it...I think I might have watched that one and it was too boring to keep up with though..Fantasista Doll...oh they're LITERALLY dolls...robots...they have masters...no.

Interested and Might check out:

Kuromajo- jeez we really are going back ten years...it's a 7 minute ep one. more of a witch show but I might check it out.

Somehow never heard of Matoi the Sacred Slayer! Potentially work checking out,

Magical Girl Kurumi: we really are scraping the barrel here budget wise, this is barely animated, not great proof the genre was thriving but yeah looks fine might check it out.

Mewkledreamy: ah it's a sanrio thing. Looks cute but probably not my cup of tea. Worth checking out

Magical Girl Aiko: it's a short, that's why nobody picked it up. The R+ rating is slightly alarming but I am curious now.

I should note the reason many of these series weren't talked about is they were never picked up for liscencing, which isn't any audience's fault.

and I didn't even include magical boy anime (which isn't as rare as some people think)

look. a subgenre going in a direction you don't like for a while doesn't make it "dead". reboots, sequels, prequels, and stuff like that are the trend in all sorts of media, not just magical girl anime.

also, there are all sorts of cool magical girl works that aren't anime, and i don't just mean manga and light novels. there's live-action stuff, VNs, webcomics, written works, cartoons from countries other than japan...

and guess what? i'm not against dark magical girl stuff by any means. madoka magica was what got me into magical girl stuff in the first place! i love all sorts of magical girl media, both light and dark, though i don't claim to be an expert by any means. there's still so much stuff i haven't watched/read/played...

anyway, the anime listed here include Artiswitch, Kuromajo-san ga Tooru, Little Witch Academia, Fantasista Doll, Magia Wars, SHY, Hina Logi: From Luck and Logic, Matoi the Sacred Slayer, I've Had Enough of Being a Magical Girl, Urahara, Flip Flappers, Six Hearts Princess, Magical Girl Kurumi, The Demon Girl Next Door, and Mewkledreamy. The upcoming ones are Magical Girl Aiko, Princess Session Orchestra, Acro Trip, Magilumiere, The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to be Enemies, and an unnamed magical girl anime from Studio Pierrot

[i-hate-liking-batman]

⭐️10 Characters, 10 Fandoms, 10 Tags⭐️

I was tagged by @just-an-enby-lemon which I can't see on the actual post which I blame tumbr but I was curious to see who I prioritize! The order I do these characters in probably isn't listed in the most to least favorite but they will be top 10 characters!

1. Percy Jackson- The Lightning Thief

YES I am the simpleton who likes main characters but in my defense they were made to be liked!!! This is not my fault. I loved his humor and the way he cared for his friends and the series is still my favorite book series!!!

2. Asagiri Gen- Dr. Stone

YOU GUYS! I'm so obsessed with this man I bought a figure!!! I'm a sucker for people who seem suspicious but are good people and Gen is just so cool! I love him literally using psychological tactics so they can save the day! The manga has ended and I'm devastated but the new anime season is coming this January so I'm looking forward to that!!! (I have soooo many Gen pics I've saved that I had to look through)

3. Reigen Arataka- Mob Psycho 100

THIS MAN IS SO GOOD. HE'S BEEN MY FAVORITE EVER SINCE HE DID HIS STUPID "HYPNOSIS PUNCH"!!! WHAT A LEGEND. Honestly he's such a dad and collects espers like currency as he BS's his way through life. I love him so much and I wrote a fic for this fandom and he is definitely in it because I love him. It's almost done too! Had a 5k writing session and now I just have to edit this monster and I'm done!!!

4. Suzuki Iruma- Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun

THIS MANGA IS SO UNDERRATED AND IT IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE ONE!!! I have a hard time picking my favorite character in this manga so main character it is. He's a good boy and I love him learning how to have dreams. I don't like the anime as much as the manga, but I highly reccomend both!!! Season 3 is coming this October and I'm soooo ready!!!!

5. Sung Hyunjae- The S-Classes that I Raised

GUYS. THIS MAN IS SO GOOD. Not like in a moral sense but I love him. I loved him even before he was handsome through art because the novel gives him so much great content. He's literally so gay for the main character I was genuinely confused if the author was going to have them end up together. He's such a little shit but he's funny and that's all I need from him. Also can confirm that he's pretty, which is also a plus.

6. Howard Link- D.Grayman

This was a huge battle between Allen and LINK but Link has slowly crept into my heart and taken it hostage. He's a complicated character who you can't tell is going to side with at times, but he does his best even if his decisions are wrong and he trusts the wrong people. Also. He's pretty. I'm a sucker for pretty people i'll be truthful here.

7. Hulk- Avengers Earth's Mighest Heroes

A lot of people haven't seen this version of the animated avengers show, and that's devastating! Usually Spider-Man is my favorite Marvel character overall but this show really put my love for the Hulk on max. The entire show was a gem, but I loved the interactions Bruce and Hulk had in this show. They had a deal. Hulk would be out, and Hulk would do good. He wanted freedom but he was used to not getting it and had trouble trusting people. HULK WASN'T JUST MUSCLE. He had his own thoughts and feelings. Anyways watch this show.

8. Billy Batson(Captain Marvel)- DC

I didn't really choose a specific place for where Billy is my favorite character, but he is for sure my favorite! Second place is Dick Grayson because he's Damian's dad BUT ANYWAY. I loved his bright view on the world and the way he kept to his morals. They've changed him a bit from that first impression, but it'll always be my favorite. I also loved the Shazam movie so I guess I'm not too picky lol. He's a good kid and I think he should just not be found out by the Justice League and they can just be confused as Batman tries to figure out why Captain Marvel thinks it's fine to talk like a 10/14 year old.

9. Phoenix Wright- Ace Attorney

I have never actually played this game but I watched a playthrough through the first one and just got the rest of my knowledge from fanfic lol. But he's a fun quirky guy who means well and I like that about him! Also he's totally in love with Miles Edgeworth so they should really just get married.

10. Kozume Kenma- Haikyu

I love this anime to bits and this man had my heart from the start. Suga is number two but Kenma is the ultimate favorite. My best friend painted me a haikyu poster with him as the center and I love it to bits. I love his friendship with Hinata and I just think he's neat!

This was a lot of fun but I started blanking around for favorite characters around number 8 whoops!!! I either went for pretty obscure or well known so there isn't any in between whoops! I can't tag many people bc I have no courage so here is some (you don't have to if you don't want to!) @irumaismybaby @alyss-spazz-penedo @humangerbil @mostlyinconvenient

[princess-of-purple-prose]

[ID: A Trigun web weaving that compiles text excerpts and quotes with manga panels of Vash and Knives.

1.

If my brother's dead, I am not alive.

If I'm alive, my brother can't be dead."

2. Official portraits of Vash and Knives holding up guns each with one eye closed in mirrored poses.

3. filmnoirsbian: I love toxic romance as much as the next bitch but tbh it can't hold a candle to toxic sibling relationships where there's rage, yes, and maybe even hate, but love too, and you can't escape it and you can't embrace it so what's left? No one will ever know you like they know you, and no one will ever be able to hurt you like they can. This hole in your side and you can either stand by them even though what they've become turns your stomach or you can try to leave them behind but it doesn't matter how far you run because they'll always be your sibling. They'll always have a piece of you. You were born knowing them.

4. Vash and Knives fighting in their final battle.

5. "[He] felt his sibling's arms around him (a fight, was it, or a brotherly embrace? Either way, it suffocated)."

6. ""If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.""

7.

Did you shoot me?

Did you actually shoot me!?

I can't believe this, did you really shoot me!?

8. Knives, freshly resurrected, grins and leans into Vash, who looks shocked as Knives says, "Hey... Vash..."

9.

a husband or a child can be replaced

but who can grow me a new brother

10.

And you, you were the one I treated the worst

Only because you loved me the most

We haven't spoken in a long time

I think about it sometimes I don't know who

I was back then

11. Rem with young Vash and Knives, all of them smiling.

12.

I don't know how to be angry with you, but my pride demands I figure it out. It is so easy to make monsters out of the people I have loved, to pick up a pen and write "THIS IS YOUR FAULT' until the page is full. It is easier to make myself the monster, to snap and bite and run and hide. It is easy to bare my teeth.

It is harder to be honest.

Nobody here has claws or sharp teeth.

13. "I had a brother who was my savior, made my childhood bearable."

14. Vash and Knives facing off, Knives starting to disintegrate and Vash with entirely black hair.

15. Vash and Knives' final battle in 98. They are deadlocked, griping each other's arms at the wrist while pointing their guns directly in each other's faces with the other arm.

16. "Two brothers in a field are enough for the tragedy to start."

17. A page that starts on Knives looking downwards and seeming exhilarated at a bloody cut along his cheek. The view moves down through swirling feathers to look down at Vash, who looks up fiercely.

18.

THIS IS MY BROTHER

AND I NEED A SHOVEL

TO LOVE HIM (Caps: "This is my brother / And I need a shovel / To love him.") End ID]

[Caption transcript:

Vash & Knives // You Were Born Knowing Them

Andrew Kozma, Song of the Insensible // Matthew 18:15 // Anne Carson; Sophocles; Bianco Stone, Antigonick // Grace, Florence + the Machine // Trista Mateer // Maurice Sendak // A.E. Housman, Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree // Natalie Diaz, A Brother Named Gethsemane. End transcript]

Vash & Knives // You Were Born Knowing Them

Andrew Kozma, Song of the Insensible // Matthew 18:15 // Anne Carson; Sophocles; Bianco Stone, Antigonick // Grace, Florence + the Machine // Trista Mateer // Maurice Sendak // A.E. Housman, Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree // Natalie Diaz, A Brother Named Gethsemane