#nothing much to report

[doyoueverwonderwhy]

[puckpocketed]

not enough is being said about celebrini’s little :| face

:|

and thats his smile btw thats his media grimace !!

HOWEVER it must be noted when he grins he looks like he has a few too many teeth ! which hits on three different levels: disturbing and delightful and VERY on theme for a shark <3

bonus: the world is an AWFUL and cruel place, they (the evil craft of orthodontics) took everything from us when they closed his tooth gap

WE USED TO BE A COUNTRY. A SOCIETY.

[xia0ming56]

Im drawing. A lvl prelims is next wk and im dRaWinG!!! 😭😭😭

[cryptiduni]

“white mourning.”

[hotwaterandmilk]

So in my quest to re-read Gestalt I've had a couple of false starts (ordering duplicates of things I already had in my wardrobe, for example) but now I'm firmly enjoying my look back on the series. It's not a brilliant story and the mythology is hapazardly thrown together, but I do really like Ouri and Suzu.

If this re-read has cemented something in my mind thus far it's that Kouga Yun is the type of mangaka who doesn't necessarily have a destination in mind when she's writing her stories. For better or for worse it's all about the characters and their interactions along the way. Everything else is just a vibe.

Anyway, I'm not actually sharing any content from the manga today. Today I received my copy of the short 'Yoru no Dai Housoku' doujinshi Kouga released in 2002 with post-series Ouri and Olivier, so here's a pic of the two of them being about as explicit as they ever get (above).

While this book doesn't include anything too scandalous and is a bit of a let down on that front, it does feature this expression from Ouri that truly made it worth the purchase price:

[beatriceeagle]

An ouch moment from the most recent NMTDaily email that I missed the first time around:

But also, HERO IS THE ONE WRITING THOSE TWEETS. This is why I fell so deep into these series. The fucking layers, man. The layers.

[holedyke]

having a hashtag bad one 👍

[sohcah--toa]

bullet train/マリアビートル details ~

Hello!! I recently dug up the Bullet Train script (if you search it up, you should be able to find it relatively easily!! I'm not sure if it's completely reliable but it seems to be the first version) and listened to the soundtrack. (It's awesome, you should listen if you haven't already!!)

There's a lot of stuff here about マリアビートル, I hope you enjoy reading 🥳 (It's really ridiculous)

-- 1 ) LEMON'S CHILDHOOD // BACKGROUND(??)

I attached a photo for reference in the book!! :D (there's highlighter marks, I'm sorry) His backstory is tragic and aahh noo 🥹... I won't say much on it because we're all thinking the same thing. In the script, this is carried over when Lemon passes out because of the water. But apparently, in the final movie, this isn't shown a lot. In the book and movie, they aren't brothers and have a considerably colder relationship, so I can understand why the childhood scene in the cut is so much more wholesome. (Still supersuper cool though!!)

-- 2) "I'm forever blowing bubbles"

The original reason why this song was chosen for Bullet Train was because of Tangerine's West Ham United sticker (turns out, that's a football club). Hey!! But wait a minute!! There's a funny coincidence because Ladybug in the book was trying to become a football star. He has a quote that's like "my friend told me that someone like me could either become a footballer or a criminal, so I did both" and he says that his first crime was stealing a football.

The song delves into themes surrounding fortune as well!! I love their music selection 🙇‍♂️😤

-- 3) THREE ASSASSINS/グラスホッパー REFERENCES

Okay this part (in a way...) contains spoilers for Three Assassins, which is the first book of the "series"! ! The story revolves around a guy named Suzuki, who appears again in Bullet Train!! He kinda-sorta becomes friends with Ladybug and it's like 😊 they are so happy. To be completely honest, Suzuki's a bit traumatised but so is Ladybug, right?? Lovely friendship!!

It's also so interesting that he's reading a hotel buffet menu because his wife used to love eating at buffets and he adopted the habit of hoarding all the food as well. He's on the train to meet with his dead wife's family (which was extremely difficult for him after her passing).

-- 4) BULLET TRAIN REFERENCES IN THE MANTIS/AX

There's this other book in the series called The Mantis or AX for the Japanese version. This one isn't talked about a lot but if you like family stories, this book is so so soo good. It really pulled at my heartstrings when I first read it but I can't say too much without spoiling everything. Anyway, it makes a few references to Bullet Train and literally starts with the main character, Kabuto (an assassin), having a flashback to talking to Tangerine and Lemon during one of his missions, where they had the same target so they worked together. The Twins really respect him, actually, but find it funny that he's so careful around his wife (YES KABUTO, AN ASSASSIN, HAS A WIFE). Some characters reappear so.. :")) yay!!

-- 5) 777

Ladybug comes back!! He comes back in the latest book in the series; 777. So far, the Japanese reviews have been pretty positive and I think there's an English translation coming in November!! 🥳 I like how the title is 777; 7 like 7 tails in Nanao (七尾), car 7, his favourite number is 7 (if I recall correctly), 7 the "lucky number".

-- 6) THIS GUY

No one asked but I heavily dislike the Prince in the book. (to be honest, who doesn't...) He's just mean for no reason and likes ruining people's lives, makes fun of poor Ladybug (this really isn't that bad compared to the other stuff he does) and yeah, the list goes on. Also apparently he (heavily) tortures other schoolmates and it's not like he gets paid for it like the Twins or the other guys. He just does it for fun?? OK!! The premise of his character is amazing and it's great to see a villain that's actually just straight evil but since he's designed that way, we are validated when hating him ww. He talks about politics as well for some reason... keeps referencing historical tragedies.... man.

-- 7) ASAGAO/THE PUSHER

The Pusher is back too!! Weee~ (not really)

In the movie, it seems as though this entire part got cut out which, like, is reasonable. I attached a photo from the Grasshopper (2015) movie for reference hahaha. The guy in the black suit is the Pusher!! Yeah, he pushes people!! (not in the fun way!!)

He is in charge of protecting Wataru from the Prince's guy, although he's reluctant at first. He's obsessed with bugs and stuff. Whenever he opens his mouth, it's probably going to be about bugs. The Pusher's also strangely poetic. Maybe it's because he likes old bands like the Rolling stones? Oh!! And he gets mentioned in The Mantis.

And speaking of the Kimura family, Yuichi Kimura says something very true and it's:

"who do they gotta make the train toilets so nasty"

-- 8) LADYBUG IS COOL

This is very much a fact. In Mariabeetle, he gets kidnapped when he's 8 years old because he gets mistaken for a rich kid (after he lost a bet with his wealthy friend and had to wear his "rich person backpack"), then in the place he's being held captive, he escapes by HIMSELF since his dad isn't able to give the guys money for his son back (since they took the wrong person!!). But heyy he's resourceful and smart.

AND guess what?? He gets traumatised because there was this other boy being held but Ladybug didn't save him and it's haunted him ever since. This is also one of the reasons why he ends up helping the Prince even though he knows it won't do him any good.

Obviously, it gets worse from there. He makes it back to his family and they're pretty happy. Unfortunately, they're far from rich and Ladybug has to study extremely hard to get into a college. Spoiler alert, he doesn't. THE THING IS!! He studied so hard!! It's just that during his exam, some kid sneezed on his paper and he wiped it, smudging all his work and even his name!! Nanao! No!!

-- 9) TANGERINE BOOK RECS

To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf

"We perished, each alone."

-> He really loves that quote. A lot. Also he's a Virginia Woolf fan!!

2. Forbidden Colours - Yukio Mishima

-> He's also a Yukio Mishima fan... I wonder if he's ever read "The Sound of Waves". What would he think about it? Hahaha this will keep me up at night 😅 (<- SLANTED EMOJI!!)

3. The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea - Yukio Mishima

-> To talk about Article 41 of the Penal Code of Japan. (Mr Kotaro Isaka, the author, studied law, by the way!! It's interesting!!) However, here, Tangerine quotes Mishima on Article 41 ;)

4. Hemingway and Faulkner

-> Actually it's a collection so it's not really a book recommendation but these two people are real - Ernst Hemingway (the Old Man and the Sea guy) and William Faulkner. They didn't really get along, by the way, and even though they respected the other's work, they criticised more than praised. Sounds like the Twins.

5. Demons - Fyodor Dostoevsky

-> "Crime is no longer insanity, but simply common sense, almost a duty; anyway, a gallant protest."

I think the author is a heavy Fyodor Dostoevsky fan, just because he also referenced his works in Three Assassins.

6. Crime and Punishment ;D

-> "Science now tells us, love yourself before all men, for everything in the world relies on self-interest."

(CONT'D) yeahh this book was referenced in Three Assassins and one of the characters is obsessed with it. Glad to see that Tangerine is a fan too hahahaha.

-- 10) LEMON IS AWESOME

Opinionated text here but Lemon is plain awesome.

"Between the principal's name and Doraemon's gadgets, it was blindingly obvious which one was more important."

To each their own and I know he's a criminal but he seems like he has no enemies. Sounds very wholesome.

-- 11) HORNET THE MVP

She's in Three Assassins AND the Mantis!! Hypercool. In both books, the Hornet is a team of a male and a female. The female is eliminated (this word choice ww) by Ladybug but the male is still up and kicking, though Ladybug feels bad about it. They use poison needles, like the movie, but they trigger anaphylaxis, which is a really dangerous allergic reaction that causes body shocks.

-- 12) SUZUKI: PHILOSOPHER AND ECONOMIST

"If people knew that they might be killed by someone tomorrow, economic activity would grind to a halt."

... well 😅 take from that what you will.

(that's Suzuki!!)

Cela dit... that's all.... so long, I'm sorry. But thank you so much if you read until the end!! I hope you at least found it a bit entertaining!! :"))

[folkloregirlfriend]

i hate feeling ambitionless aimless the future is so bleak

[humbuns]

i haven't touched obm content in a hot minute but feral and indifferent belphie is running in my mind rn and it's still so sad nb failed to deliver belphie suffering again!

[grossillygirl]

Hard not to get off about the thought of your young tits being groped while you are sleep and waking up to a load on you and not knowing how it happened.

umm dont resist then, get off on it <3 also i woke up to uuuh the cum on my mouth and a bit on my pillow and on my neck😭 my shirt was like showing cleavage but my tits were still covered so i didnt even think to check tbh but yeah. i was rly confused i genuinely looked in the mirror and thought it was paint 😑 like how the fuck would that be paint. but im silly

[orbcube]

tumblrs report system sucks so bad

[sirenium]

I try my damn near hardest to avoid shipcourse on this blog. However, I have so many qualms with the anti side of things that I need to say something.

If your first inclination after seeing someone explore fiction is to call them a pedophile (as an insult, no less!), abuse enabler, and/or urge your followers to mass report them, you are a problem. Maybe it's because I grew up during the golden days of fandoms, where ship and let ship was the norm and not whatever this shit is, but it's bizarre to see people get cancelled for being a proshipper. I just don't have it in me to care about what people do to that fictional child. It's none of my business.

I've noticed a trend from antis of anything: anti radqueers, antishippers, anti hazbin/helluva etc, and it is that their arguments are extremely self centered. 'It's romanticizing MY abuse/trauma/condition!' as if that stranger on the other side of the screen couldn't possibly have similar trauma etc and copes with it differently. "It triggers ME!" then don't actively seek out that material and get mad at the creator. It's a 'me! me! me!' mindset.

See, me personally? I don't care if someone makes and romanticizes a fic that capitalizes on my trauma. I don't care what reason they have, either; whether it's to cope with their own trauma or to simply have fun, I do not care. No amount of harassment from a bunch of teenagers can change the fact that I don't care, and the fact that there are others OLDER THAN ME, someone who will be 19 in July, who condone and enforce anti views is terrible.

Creative freedom shouldn't even be a debate or discourse situation. People need to grow the hell up and get over themselves.

[dont-f-with-moogles]

Hi! I am a sucker for hc where Levi is illiterate when he first joined the scouts, tried to hide it from everyone but eventually Hange notices..LEVIHAN FLUFF ❤️✋💀

This was an awesome ask! Thank you so much for sending it to me. I love writing canonverse, especially when I get the chance to work in a hc amongst the source material. I added some of my hcs for Hange too. Hope you like it - let me know what you think! A World Without Words Characters: Levi x Hange Word Count: 1632 words Canon universe

A hush had settled over the Mess Hall, broken only by the occasional clinking of cutlery and low hum of voices. A pair of fresh recruits were heatedly debating a topic in low, urgent tones. The newly-appointed leader of Second Squad sat staring into an empty tankard. On the far side of the room Hange had taken a lone seat at one of the long, wooden tables. Their hands were clasped upon the tabletop; in front of them a plaid tea towel had been draped over two dishes. Eyes alight, they spied Levi as he entered through the main doors. Slyly, and without turning their head, Hange mapped his progress as he crossed the hall towards them.  

“Evening, Levi!” they began animatedly before he had even reached for the backrest of the closest chair. “Now, I know this dinner is seriously overdue, given how long it’s been since your first expedition…”

Levi scraped his chair against the flagstones noisily, causing several heads to whip around in their direction. 

“...I’m sorry that I couldn’t afford anywhere more fancy! My measly wages just don’t stretch that far,” Hange laughed. “But luckily, I was able to save us -” Theatrically, they flung back the plaid cloth to reveal two floral-patterned plates bearing thick slices of flaky pastry, each deep-filled with cold offcuts. 

“The last two pieces of pie!” 

“You needn’t have gone to any trouble,” Levi said in a low voice. “I’m not hungry.”

Hange’s hand dropped to the table in defeat. “So much for that then. I guess I could always give the other slice to Moblit…”

Levi took a seat beside Hange, one arm leaning on the table’s edge. “You brought those papers, right?” 

“Right! The purchase order forms.”

Hange reached down to retrieve several crumpled sheets, a pen nib and a small well of ink from their bag. They pushed the plates aside and laid the materials out between the two of them.

“I’ve been curious since you mentioned it, Levi… what exactly do you need these for?”

Levi leaned back so that his elbow rested on the back of his chair. “Well… since I’ve been made Captain, it means I’ve gotta sign formal papers, right? Let’s just say someone suggested I take a look at a few examples.” 

“Ah, then say no more!” Hange brought the top sheet closer, tracing the lines of cramped, untidy scrawl with their finger. “The item you’re ordering goes in this column, reference or serial number if needed in the second column, and then the cost goes here.” Their finger travelled to the bottom of the paper. “Then you need to sign and date it before it goes to Erwin for approval.”

Hange sat back as Levi pored over the contents of the page. “Do you use the same form for everything? Food, equipment - things like that?”

“The same type of form, sure, but you would order food provisions separately to, say, housekeeping supplies or weaponry.” Hange pushed their glasses further up their nose. Levi’s brow was furrowed in concentration as he read, his mouth silently shaping the letters. Hange felt compelled to offer an apologetic shrug.

“This one is for specialist equipment,” they tried meekly. “The top row says ‘microscope.’ It’s not easy to read thanks to my bad handwriting!”

Without reply, Levi shuffled the papers so that a bank sheet was placed beside Hange’s order form. His expression, if anything, grew more intense as he dipped the pen into the inkwell. Hange glanced around the sparse hall, listening to the scratching of Levi’s writing amidst the murmur of voices. It was only as he drew to a sudden halt that Hange looked down at the page. They were astonished to see it empty.

At first, Hange wondered whether the pen nib had finally broken. It was one they had long meant to throw out. But - no - Levi had only managed to produce a few disjointed letters before the pen had come to a rest, point-down on the page. His arm was trembling as he pressed the nib down hard. The metal buckled, threatening to snap. 

“Levi!” Hange grabbed the tea towel to mop up the ink which had spurted onto the paper. “Stop - you’ll tear a hole in it!”

But Levi was still glaring, the pen clutched in his whitened fist. All of a sudden, Hange felt like a fool. They removed the towel, twisting it upon their lap as they sought for a tactful way to address the obvious, but unanticipated, obstacle which lay before them. 

“Sorry. Perhaps one of Miche’s reports would have been easier - clearer -  to follow.”

Hange swallowed uncomfortably, the heat rising in their cheeks. 

“No.” Levi’s voice was calm, at odds with his squared shoulders and stiffened arm. “It’s not the handwriting.”

“Then… I’m sorry that I didn’t make the connection.” Despite their desire to avoid any further embarrassment for him, Hange could not help but scrutinise Levi’s writing. “I’m sure things in the Underground were very different when it came to education…”

Levi met their enquiring gaze, his eyes narrowed.

“I can read and write. I know the words I need,” Levi dropped the pen upon the table. “But when it comes to certain technical words like these…” He gestured at the paper. “...they never mattered as much. In that place, you didn’t need to know how to spell to go on living.”

“That makes sense.” Hange’s own shoulders relaxed a little. “Perhaps you never had a formal education, Levi, but you have combat skills and street smarts. You’re good at reading people.” 

Levi scoffed bitterly.

“Believe me when I say that Erwin doesn’t hire leaders based on their literacy levels.” Hange regarded him warmly over their clasped hands. “Not when they have so much more to offer.” 

Levi held their look for a moment before he glanced away uncomfortably. 

“And in the meantime, I can help!” Hange took a fresh sheet of paper from their bag and passed it to Levi for him to etch out a copy of the three columns.

“For instance when you write ‘grapple hook,’ ‘grapple’ has the ‘l’ and the ‘e’ the other way round.” Hange watched as Levi carefully transcribed the correct spelling onto the sheet.

“Underneath you wrote ‘gas’ before you stopped. Is that for a new batch of gas cylinders?”

Painstakingly, Levi copied each letter as Hange spelled the second word. They continued in this way until Levi had populated the columns. 

“I bet you picked all this up from books, huh Four Eyes?” Levi lifted his hand to check his penmanship. The letters were a little uneven and spaced out. Like a child’s writing, the dark ink glistened from the exertion of pressing the pen nib a little too hard against the paper. “Tell me you weren’t huddled under the covers each night, reading until morning?”

A wistful smile appeared on Hange’s face. Then the light dimmed in their eyes.

“I wish…” When they laughed this time, it was a hollow sound. “... but we didn’t have books at home.”

Levi placed the pen down. Hange lowered their hands to grip their knees, their gaze averted to the tabletop.

“I managed to get a couple of books from a trader in town. They were black market goods. I thought I’d hidden them well enough but my parents found them and burned them.”

Levi raised his eyebrows.

“Wallists,” Hange explained in answer to his surprise. “They were simple farming folk. Small town people with small minds. They were wary of outside influences and with good reason too. Each week came reports of disappearances, killings… the inescapable fates which awaited those who asked too many questions.”

They gave a small sigh.

“My school, like the others, banned all books other than those which were government-approved. We weren’t allowed to read for ourselves, think for ourselves or question what we were being told. It was all so -” They brought their fist down upon the table, sending the long-forgotten plates of pie clattering. “- infuriating!”

Levi’s mouth hung slightly open.

“We never really had books in the house either,” he admitted. “I remember there was one that Iz-” He stopped himself. Hange said nothing, for Levi had not so much as uttered the names of his two closest friends since their first disastrous expedition almost one year ago. 

Levi drew a breath and continued.

“We didn’t have much… what we did have was either traded or sold.” He rubbed an eye with the heel of his hand. “I can’t even remember what it was called now. I think it had a horse on the cover? Guess it’s just another lost thing.” A faraway look had come into his eyes.

Before Hange could offer comment, Levi seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts. He took up a fresh sheet and, laying it by the side of the first, began to copy out his lines neatly. Hange watched in quiet amazement.

“But look at this improvement already! I’ve never seen such progress before!” They gripped Levi’s shoulder.

“Careful, idiot! You’ll jog me.”

Hange released him and continued their proud observation as Levi dipped the pen in the inkwell. “Your writing is so neat, Levi. In a few more tries it’ll look as professional as newspaper print!”

Levi completed his final line slowly.

Above, approved. Levi.

“No thanks to this mess of a report.” Levi glowered at Hange’s original document. “...but I do owe you for the spelling lesson, at least. Thanks Hange.”

“Hmm.” Hange tapped a finger against their chin. “How about this then? You treat us to dinner next time. Call it payment for my tuition?”

Levi managed a husky laugh as he stood and gathered the papers into a pile.

“Let me think about that, Four Eyes. For now, I’d better go hand these in.”

[teafiend]

GIFs credited to @Nungchae (Twitter/X)