#oh yeah her name is mika btw

[mothmancat]

Israeli Miku Israeli Miku Israeli Miku!!!

[arminsumi]

could you do armin with prompt 3 from your wholesome list ❤️ (i love your work btw😙)

Sure thing, dearie! (¯▿¯) And thank you so much, I deeply appreciate it!

Shoot your shot!

"Shy!char confessing to shy!Y/n"

Armin is a shy mess when he finally walks up to you to confess, but he didn't expect you to be, too!

Cws; the fluffiest fluff you will ever read

Notes; gn!Y/n, college au

Rec ♫ : Crushcrushcrush

"Shoot your shot, man!"

"Come on Armin, just go for it. Y/n's right there!"

"You won't regret it! — er — well, you probably will..."

"Shut up, Connie. Armin, go get 'em!"

"Don't overthink it! Go on!"

Mika shoved Armin so that he would move. He audibly gulped. There you were; sitting cool and composed under the arches of the campus' great hall.

All of his friend's encouragement and support echoed in Armin's mind as he timidly walked over to you.

Well, timid isn't exactly right; he had an awkward, staggering gait, like he was approaching a deer in the wild and trying not to scare it.

It felt like the longest walk of his life, even though you really were right there; you sat by the tall archways, taking notes before class.

Every day you pass each other down this corridor on the way to class. It's always an exchange of timid smiles, subtle nods. The only time you two really get to talk together is when you have study sessions in the library. That's when you find yourself dissolving into giggles over Armin's awful puns.

But when he's walking up to you, his mind fills with doubts, his heart races, his palms get clammy, does his breath smell okay? Does he look okay? Are his eyebags apparent?

"Hey, um... Y/n?" He greets you apprehensively.

His shoulders are tensed together; his body speaks volumes about his shyness, but on his face there is a cutely lopsided smile.

"Hey..." You smile up at him. Oh his mind is in disarray now, what was it that he came here to say to you again?

"How — how are you?" He asks. He's trying so hard to be smooth and natural that it's almost obvious what he's here to say.

"I'm a bit sleepy... but alright! Are you okay?" You ask caringly.

"I'm good!" He squeaks, "Uh, I just, came over here because — " He glances back to his friends.

You don't notice them giving Armin thumbs ups.

He continues, looking back at you, " — Because I wanted to ask you — " He chokes up, " — out on a — daaaaaaaaaaa-y out, a day out? Um..."

"Huh?" You blink at him, feeling warmth spread throughout your chest, "S-sorry, what was that?"

"Um..." He looks down, "Um, I — " He stammers terribly. His voice is so quiet that you strain your ears to listen.

You give him curious eyes. You've never seen him so uncomposed before. He's falling apart at the seams.

Before you open your mouth to ask if he's okay, he blurts out;

"Look,Ijust...Ireallylikeyou, doyouwannagooutsometime? Likeonadate?"

It took you a second to decipher what in the world he just said.

"A... d-date?" You blink. It's your turn to stammer, "Like... like a... date date?"

"Yeah?" Armin looks away and rubs the back of his neck.

"I — um, yes! I'd love that..." You agree, and you mumble the next part so quietly that Armin barely hears it, "I — I've liked you for a while..."

The two of you go silent, but your faces are aglow with two timid smiles.

Levi's class bell disrupted your moment, but you gave each other cute glances while heading into the lecture theatre.

Eren and Connie came to excitedly pummel Armin for finally confessing, and Mika took her seat next to you and asked, with a knowing smirk, what had gotten you so flustered.

Armin sat a few rows above you in the lecture theatre, so for the whole class he could look at you. He saw Mika whisper something, heard his name pass, and heard your shy giggle. Oh his heart was thumping, really thumping.

All that ran through his mind was how you said "I've liked you for a while...". It made his chest bubble with affection, and oh boy he couldn't focus anything except that.

[w2beastars]

Waezi2′s thoughts on “Beast Complex” chapter 21

Beast Complex is back, bitches!

Don’t get me wrong, I adore Paru’s other stuff like “Drip Drip” or “Sanda.” In fact, get the fuck outa here till you read “Drip Drip” and “Sanda”!

But I think the strange, twisted yet wonderful world of Beastars still have plenty to offer. Even more so in the Beast Complex series that is a terrific collection of short stories not necessarily directly connected to Legosi. A collection that has just been expanded with two spanking new short stories, the first being “The Zebra and the White Tiger.”

The protagonist of this chapter is Mika, a young adult zebra who is trying to find the zebra of her dreams over a dating app. It is not going well as she has been meeting a few males who are douchebags.

... I know I use the word a lot, but I adore the word douchebag.

Mika is about to give up after having used the dating app for half a year. She tries one more time after having had chats with this one dude named Atari who seems nice enough.

so, she agree to meet Atari in real life. There is just a tiny problem...

HE IS A MOTHERFUCKING TIGER!

A white tiger BTW.

Mika is obviously pretty freaked out. More importantly, she is royally pissed off. We get this panel that is fricking brilliant:

I thing it is a topnotch detail that the text with her angry and disappointed thought is plastered across his face as she does not see another animal, she sees a god damn fraud. Oh, and cat-fished... XD

Mika storms off in furry fury as this was the last straw, this was the one disappointment that broke the camel’s back for her. Atari follows her and tries to say that he didn’t lie when he told her he had white and black stripes but that he never said to her he was a zebra. Mika points out that Atari is full of shit since even if he didn’t text it to her, he is still registered as a zebra on the dating app.

Atari then makes a valid point.

Yeah, Mika is a fraud as well. Her profile picture is not exactly accurate as she tries too hard to seem cuter than she actually is to make males on the app interested in her.

Mika feels embarrassed as this is the first time she is called out for it and she realize that it is probably the reason she has dated nothing but boring asshats for half a year. If you use a superficial photo you most likely get superficial dates.

Atari claims that there is nothing odd about the two of them lying since almost everyone lies a little on dating apps to try and get in touch with others. And he actually says he prefer the way Mika actually looks.

Mika calms down but she is still annoyed by the situation and rightfully points out that what Atari did is a classic predator tactic. You know, lure a herbivore by claiming to be the same species on a dating app and then eat her. Atari has no response to that since he shamefully realize she is right.

But she decides to try dating him anyways. I mean, I can get that, look at that face:

He is a fricking cutie! Big himbo energy!

... sorry.

The date actually goes surprisingly well. The ball gets rolling when a regular tiger pass them by and calls Atari a “bar-code”, a common nickname among tigers when they see a white tiger which is pretty rare. Atari explains that he tried dating a normal tiger without success, that she only took black and white photos of them together since she thought it was embarrassing to date an albino.

Mika laughs as she jokes that she saves a ton of money on photos since they are almost all black and white. Feeling sympathy for Atari and seeing that there was no malicious intentions for him to date a zebra, she decides to offer him a handshake.

We get some more Beastverse lore since there is an urban legend among animals with patterns that if two animals with the same type of pattern touch that their stripes or spots will merge together if they are soulmates. For a brief second, Atari feels like that’s what happens... and then he calls himself stupid since he is not a teenager.

Mika must have felt something as well as she incites him to a zebra dance club. She argues that he might enjoy it since everyone else there are black and white as well so he won’t feel like an outsider.

Honestly, it look like fun. and it also makes sense since real life zebras prefer to be in herds which is kind of what this zebra dance club is.

Atari is a bit startled... but he quickly realize something that separates him from the zebras and therefor also separates him from Mika.

As they join the dance, Mika accidentally loses her grip on Atari’s hand and can therefor not see him in the crowd as she sees nothing but a whole lot of black and white.

And that’s where Atari realize that Mika’s stripes are for protection, to blend into her herd. But Atari’s tiger stripes?

Don’t worry, nothing violent happens. But Atari is startled by his hunting instinct kicking in. Heck, he realize that not telling Mika on the dating app that he was not a zebra was basically the same as a tiger hiding in the grass, waiting for his prey to come out when she felt safe.

But once again, as it usually is in Beastars and Beast Complex, honesty is what creates a true connection.

That is so cute is a messed up way, but what else is new? :P

Despite Atari’s disappointment over not finding someone he has common ground with, Mika still tells him that they can make it work, playfully telling him to use his stripes to track her down.

I really liked this chapter, but out of the twenty-two chapters of BC it felt like it had the weakest ending. But keep in mind that since almost all the chapters are brilliant then there is absolutely no shame in being second best compared to so many first-class mangas.

Next time, snake and rat talking about their weird cucumbers :P

I’m Waezi2, and thanks for wasting time with me.

[catinasink]

hiii asking abt your genshin fics??? spill the tea

sdkjh okqy okay lemme cracks knuckles

ill hide my chest (and ill figure out a way to get us out of here)

lil trans diluc oneshot !!! okay so its basically about diluc, jean, kaeya, eula, and rosaria mainly, but albedos there too and so is barbara. theyre like yk childhood friends and shit, the seven of them, and theyre all trans 👍the oneshot is like. about that i guess ?? its from dilucs perspective and how they see all of it and rhgjhsgjkdrhgrjgr and basically just them. growing ig and discovering themselves and rhrjhgrgr and im sorry crepus i flipped a coin on wether you were a good father or not ;v;

yeah i just needed company now

the sillies !!!! told from the perspective of yaoyao, its a lil oneshot where yaoyao is having a bad day and then spends time with the other people in her group and they help cheer them up :3 i love them theyre so silly and oh the group is yaoyao, qiqi, nahida, paimon, freminet, mika, diona, klee, dori, and sayu :3 yaoyao is kinda mecoded but we ball ;v; shes my lil baby showering them in blankets and pillows and giving her a hot chocolate and telling her everythings gonna be okay

at the critical chapter (where i say i love you)

xingyunming oneshot :3 i think thats their ship name? anygays. yeagh. xingyunming fic with also xingyunling bc i ship many ships and also polyamory win so. basically xingqui being kinda worried about his date w chongyun an gaming so xiangling helps xem prepare :3 xiangling best gf fr 💪 theyre very silly all of them and grhhgrhghrhghr i love them. the date goes pretty well methinks gjob xingqui and xiangling

baby youre my best friend, best friend

rafischlnett oneshot !!!!!! fischl is. in love w their best friends. btw. theyre very gay and grhghrhgrh kinda wrote their relationship me and my qpps coded slightly? anygays yeah. just fischl being very gay for their partners (benny an razor). its really sweet in my opinion theyre so silly and gay for each other and grhghrghrr

id sell my own bones for sapphire stones (cause blues your favorite color)

silly luminette oneshot !!! i actually love luminette sm theyre my babies i hjrhjrhgjrhjrhjrhr also theyre both very aspec and lumine is kinda mecoded but we ball and lumine is actually so gay and lynette is also so gay and furina tysm for saving the day and lumines kinda not doing that well mentally tbh but its going to be okay methinks and theyre actually so gay for each other and also lynette x kirara x charlotte x xiangling are actually my beloveds and its open-ended bc idk what to do next and i love them sm

and when we find out whats wrong with me (could you tell me how im right for you?)

ohh god my main fic. its a chatfic and i love chatfics so im very happy i made it :3 ive actually been writing this one since. maybe summer of 2021 or 22? im not sure but this fic has gone through. many changes. this version however is the version i currently like the best plus im now planning it properly. its basically a modern boarding school au, where the students are divided into first year, second year, and third year. starting in first year, they are shipped over to Teyvat Boarding School, and stay on-campus till the end of third year. so like. a three year vacation. they have next to no contact with anyone outside of the school. oh god now that i think about it no wonder the main plot is happening- anygays yeah and they live in dorms with people in their year. however, some people are getting suspicious on the true nature of the school. anygays its also very gay and poly and aspec and trans and i love all of them sm and i love writing chatfics and theyre all so silly and grhghrghr

yeagh :3

[transsexualhamlet]

Owari no seraph for the ask game!

ask game

hi hi hi!!!

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most):

Guren, probably. Compared to a lot of my other fandoms I honestly give most of the characters a fair chance, I write things for nearly every main character and a lot of side characters. But yeah, Guren's just. Guren's my guy. He's the blorbo. My dear departed husband who is a fictional war criminal

Runner up blorbos would probably be Yuu and Mika, though they just don't need any more attention since they're. Yknow. The main characters and tend to be overrated and mischaracterized so much it gets annoying! But they're mine and no one else is allowed to look at them except my beloved mutuals. Stop doing it

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped):

Asuramaru. Asuramaru my baby girl. I've always considered asuramaru transfem bc of the way that their presentation goes from shorter hair and plainer clothes in backstory to a literal dress and hair longer than their entire body even tho they're technically supposed to be a guy i just. I don't care. Asuramaru what a girlboss<3 The she<3 I get so much cuteness agression from that fucking idiot I want to rumple her hair and put her in the washing machine and give her blood snacky snacks

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave):

SHINOA MY GIRL AND YOICHI MY BOY. Yoichi my BOY he is literally my main kin in owari no seraph and I. Hgmghewihg. I'm a lil embarassed about that however. I hate how the fandom treats him because he's literally the most dangerous person on the squad like no fucking contest. He's the only one who figured out manifestation on his own, he's 10 times better at handling his demon than anyone else, his emotional control is off the CHARTS, he needs so much fucking therapy, I just. Dude. Did u guys forget about the whole. The. When chapter 51. Yoichi will get his time and you're all going to regret calling him an uwu baby when he does

And shinoa. I may not relate to her as heavily as I do with some of the others, but I want to rip her from kagami's cold dead hands and give her an article on comphet and also just. A hug. A long hug. She's a kid. She's the youngest one on the squad, I think. She's been given shit from the moment she was born and she has not had one fucking moment to be herself and yet she managed to have such a hilarious badass personality. She's also the same height as me and therefore we are siblings and she is me. I love Shinoa i lllvoe shnoia

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): oh god I have. Several of these. So #1, Aiko. This girl

You know, the girl that gets one episode in battle of nagoya and then fucking dies. I, love her, she did nothing wrong, she deserves the world and she is so pretty. I also think she and Mito are kissing btw. Girlboss x girlboss.

Also. I think I win "obscure fave" because I was so adament not to make an actual oc that my other glup shitto is. I grabbed a guy who literally had a single throwaway line- not even his line, just mentioning him, and gave him a whole character arc and backstory.

This little guy here who gave Mika a death glare. I just realized now that I looked at this again he's calling the name dai. I thought HE was Dai. Well he's Dai now, who else is gonna correct me? Him and the kid Ferid dropped (who i named florian) are heavily featured in my giant ons rewrite as GIANT plot devices, given their own arcs, and used to further the arcs of Crowley and Mika especially, and to give a current insider's perspective of Ferid's Child Trafficking Business. Dai is actually a spy for the demon army in my fic, it's... yknow, I'd better not just start rambling I never even actually wrote half of their stuff but I love them dearly.

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave):

God, both Mika and Guren fit here perfectly.

It's soooo funny how most Guren stans nowadays are some version of Mika antis, and most Mika stans nowadays are some form of Guren antis. I love them both and they're both my horrible terrible fucked up poor little meow meows. On an intellectual level both of them did SO many things wrong but also your honor. They did nothing wrong. Shoves the catastrophe behind my back. They have so many issues to work out I DESPISE them /pos but if anyone else says a SINGLE WORD against them they're catching my hands

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason):

I loooooooove torturing guren it is my absolute favorite activity I love putting him in the guren plinko over and over like beast dazai i love watching him suffer and be in pain it's so fun because he's my favorite and i love him. Also though god what I would do to make him happy

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): Ferid. He's the reason i'm homophobic /j BUT SERIOUSLY ISTG I AM GOING TO PUNT THAT MAN INTO THE FUCKING ABYSS I LOVED WATCHING HIM BURN ON THE STAKE WHY'D THEY HAVE TO TAKE HIM OFF I LOVED WATCHING HIM GET CARRIED AROUND AS A SEVERED HEAD WHY'D HE HAVE TO GET HIS DECREPIT ASS BODY BACK

im going to create another one because I think it's funny: Blorbo-In-Law (character you know and like but aren't the expert on, however one or more friends does in fact legally own this character): Shinya. I like shinya just fine, I love shinya, but he's just not the kind of guy I can relate to nearly as much as guren and I know some of my beloved mutuals just know him so much better. But I know Shinya has a strong, dedicated fandom who is absolutely giving their lives for that man on the daily. Like. He gets NOTHING and I feel so fucking sorry for u guys lol

i WENT OFF on this one didn't i

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Was reading your response to the Okumura Ryuji/Morgana fight, and the way the person worded Ryuji's character made me wanna ask... Do you think a bad fanbase is a fair reason to dislike a character? I've heard people say things like "no look at the character too", but... For example, I'm very neutral on Ryuji. When he's good, hes SO GOOD, EXCELLENT BOY, but Ann is my favorite girl. Guess who he pervs on exclusively and is rude to all the time? I've never seen his fans talk about (1/2 sorry)

His rude behavior, or his pervy tendencies, or his more selfish desires regarding the PT. That's fine!! Not everyone wants to constantly talk about bad things their fave has done!!! But people referring to him as a "woman respecting king" so insistently rubs me the wrong way, since he treats Ann Like That. That, and (more personal) i remember making a post/ask thing once about my grievances with Ryuji, esp his perv stuff, and the fans that interacted very aggressively denied his behavior (2/3)

And it even turned into a big discourse on the blog I submitted it to (it was that one confession blog). All the people that responded and just tried moving the arguments to "well Yusuke did this-" or even tried to push blame on Ann "she was asking for it" just kinda cemented my already growing dislike for Ryuji. Super sorry this is so long!!! Final question: is a bad fanbase a fair reason for disliking a character? (3/3)

Don’t say sorry about multiple sent asks, I don’t mind kfdsjla;fja As for the answer, I want to say yes and no, but really it’s just “yes with a side note attached.” Yeah, it’s ok to not like a char because of their fans, but I think it’s as long as you know why you dislike the char beyond the fans (well tbh, imo it’s usually the crazy fans so I think stans is a better word, but even then there’s diff stans). And tbh, I....can’t....think of a character I don’t like that the fandom/fanbase does....but I know nothing about the char all the while (closest and most recent example this....is....I know people dislike that grey haired moe blob on twitter even tho I don’t think they watched the show, and while I’m not a fan of the moeblobness I don’t know anything about the char so I’m personally not upset). I can only name chars I don’t like because of what happens in the text, fandom be damned (but sometimes they don’t help). Which is why it’s a yes with a side note. If you don’t like the char despite not knowing them.....probably get to know the char first even if your impression is clouded by the fandom....at least you gave the char a chance. 

Under cut cause length (first few sentences in the first paragraph under the cut/tldr at the end gives you the answer a bit more in depth, the rest is rants related to that and why I get frustrated in a similar sense too, but yeah sorry if I repeat myself, I kinda jumped all over + my tendency to try to nail a point home I feel like might’ve had me repeat a bit more than usual akslfjdakfjaf):

I say this because.....it’s hard....it’s hard to keep them separated, unless you completely isolate yourself from the fandom (which is basically impossible if you wanna keep up with news, even the comment section is part of the fandom tbh...and you might be looking down their for diff reasons). And then.....well...the big reason....sometimes seeing the fans really highlights the reasons you dislike the char. That’s what happened to me and Makoto, specifically cause of....a certain fan (and buddy if you happen to see this, nothing against you, no bad blood, def won’t mention your name I respect you and the debates we had)....AND TO THE TUMBLR READERS WHO GET NERVOUS: It wasn’t on this website in case anyone is freaking out so if you’re thinking “Oh god it’s me” it is most likely not you (tho I think we do know each other on here cause of usernames/saw each other in passing but we def aren’t mutuals last time I checked), and while I do respect that person.......my god did they highlight the reasons I had issues with P5 and Makoto. Ironically in trying to defend her and show off her good sides, I realized the writing issues more and more and her bad sides became more glaring. It turned my frustrating dislike and attempt to try to work out my issues with her and P5 (ironically “working out” in hindsight would’ve been me....denying and refusing to look at P5′s flaws) into....well......the salt factory you know today. (same thing happens with like......Yukari and Junpei fans too tbh...that’s more recent tho, it feels like they are just downplaying their negatives constantly and I’m not about that). Basically, you probably have issues already, they are just more pronounced now. 

As for “look at the character”....you kinda already are doing that, and that’s probably where your existing issues originated from (tho if someone wants a more in depth reason as to why, while you DON’T OWE them an explanation, it is also hard for someone to understand your feelings and reasons if you don’t try to explain). 

As for Ryu, yea, I getcha, I like the guy, I’m neutral positive on him....was my best bro but he’s 2nd best thanks to post-Kamo writing. I like him because of his positives, but I always keep his negs in mind because. Cause like while I agree with the fans IT MAKES NO SENSE! P5′S WRITING IS BAD! it happened, same as I agree that Anne kicking Ryu’s ass, along with the other girls, is shitty. Hate the scene, and I accept that it happen (low key gonna start some kinda 2nd wave war with this bs cause the fandom be like that, but I’m really surprised no one took Anne smacking Ryu behind the neck cause he was being too loud as super offensive and abuse.......it’s def something a friend might do, not like belting him just a tap, and it’s framed as chill and also as warning him to reign in the volume control, but high key surprised no one has tried to cancel her cause of that). BUT that DOESN’T mean it erases all the creepy stuff he’s done. Is he the goodest boi when he’s being good? The best. Is he always a good boi? No, he def is not. And hearing that he is can be frustrating to people that do see his flaws (cause they are there). And like....you are 100% able to like a character despite and because of their flaws, while also accepting they have those flaws. I do it with Yosuke, Ryuji (for the most part), Teddie, Shinji, Ken, Kanji (when he’s not around Naoto, then he’s in a trash can for me), P1/2 casts, Aigis, Mitsuru, as long as the flaws are within reason and are treated pretty well....then I’m ok with it. (again, Kanji/Ryu have moments when I’m like....NOPE! but when they aren’t doing the bad thing I’m cool with them). As long as the flaws are withing reason (aka they aren’t making a jerk person out to be the person in the right, or the writing is trying to sweep what they did under the rug, or trying to force us into empathizing with them despite what they did while also trying ot sacrifice empathy towards another char.....*cough*Makoto/Yukari/Junpei*cough* if the writing isn’t doing that...... I’m probs neutral to pos on them). 

Like I’m fine if they are criticizing the writing and being like “Him doing this makes no sense cause it conflicts with the good boi we’ve already seen!” That’s a-ok! Not only do you recognize your char has flaws, you also are able to identify issues with the writing. But saying “so I’ll choose to ignore that scene” isn’t....ok. Because sadly it did happen, as contradictory it did happen. AU it all you want, but you have to accept it happened outside of that AU. Like, I don’t like the Mika conflict in Anne’s CoOp, by which I don’t like how it went down (100% fine with Mika, and there being conflict with her). How it the whole thing started doesn’t make sense if you put MainStory!Anne in her CoOp. MS!Anne can read the room and other people’s emotions (only other person capable of that is Haru, or at least with Mona), hell she was so good at it she noticed something was up with Shiho without Shiho telling her about it! The issue was the fact Anne’s not a mind reader and could only assume the issue Shiho was going through that Anne was aware of (and that was her spot on the team). Now MS!Anne is not like Yosuke, she doesn’t put her foot in her mouth. She’s not like Naoto who can’t read the room. She’s not super eloquent, but can empathize and when she can interact with people she can do it pretty well. So why the hell does she basically not think before talking and insult Mika? Sure Anne’s not GREAT at school, but she’s not a moron, she can talk to people. But her CoOp makes her a moron all around, 100% airhead, and that’s how her issues with Mika start, by not thinking before talking and accidentally insulting her via blatantly “not caring” about the job to a full time person......it’s stupid, it makes no sense, I hate it. But it’s there, the flaw might not be present in the main story, but for the all around character (cause CoOps are included) it is now and I just have to deal with it. We can bitch about it all day (and trust me I will) but it happened. Basically never frame it as “it didn’t happen,” but instead “It SHOULDN’T HAVE happened.” One is denial, the other is critiquing the text. 

Anyway my rant aside, yeah I hate it when...well Ren/Ryu/Yusuke (no one’s said Mona yet, cause....well yeah...which is good they haven’t labeled him as it yet tho), are labeled as “drinking respect women juice” and I’m like “I have one to a few women who would disagree.” I know some people will argue Goro is drinking it, and imo he’s not....he’s just eating the “I don’t discriminate sandwich” which is different. And yeah the “But Yusuke-” yeah yeah we’ll get to him, but right now we’re talking about RYUJI. I’m not a fan of derailing a topic *war flashbacks* *shivers* anyway. But yeah I remember that debate, I was probably one who was like “We’ll get to Yusuke but right now we’re talking about Ryuji” and pushing the blame onto Anne is disgusting and Kamo Arc!Ryuji would be very upset. >:( (btw high key I think I was the first one who started the first anti-makoto war wave with me saying “yeah Anne shouldn’t have apologized Makoto started it and blah blah she was an ass” not the exact words but basically just calling her out on her shitty behavior cause the game certainly didn’t......tho as Miley Cyrus would say.....”I didn’t mean to start a waaaaaar~!” I actually wrote my first Persona Problems on that topic.......but it got lost in the drafts....my photo examples kept getting messed up which is bad considering the whole post really relied on them....I should try to dig it up tbh....)

Tldr/short answer: Yeah, you probably already have issues with the char to begin with tbh, and the fanbase can highlight those issues more. It’s also hard to escape the fanbase (I see stuff I don’t wanna see despite trying my hardest to avoid certain circles, it just happens).

[kdthecactuswizard]

So My Sides...

Yeah, they're a mess. But so am I, so it makes sense. I thought I'd write them out for fun. Btw, this is based off of the Sander Sides series by Thomas Sanders. So this isn't entirely origional.

Mika, Logic

The smart one, obvs

But gets distracted easily

Like, "we have math homework, and this should be quiet easy, but-"

"Oh we should look up how much force it takes to shatter a knee cap"

Is the concerned mom because she can barely take care of me, but she can take care of my friends

Is tired™

"WE NEED TO FOCUS ON WRITING THIS ESSAY, IT'S DUE SOON AND WE CAN'T JUST-" "Mika it isn't due for another 3 months"

Is the reason I can't remember shit

Is in charge, but like barely

Literally she's the child rangler in my head

"Noctua, stop fantasizing about the guy we randomly saw three days ago- God damn it April, she doesn't need another WIP!"

Sometimes just shuts off and has to reboot

Noctua, Heart

Will screech if she gets excited

Latches onto people and fictional characters way to easily

"Noctua, please stop crying, you've watched this series ten times you know he-" "*crying* shUT UP!!!"

Finds everyone hot

Is the reason I constaly want hugs but only from Some People™

Is gay as hell, but also straight as hell, but also ace as hell because sex is gross, but is also-

Never knows whats happening

Has no clue what gender is or what gender she is

"I feel like a girl, but also I am the most bestest man, but also gender is gross but also-"

Pls help her

MUSIC MUSIC MU-

Loves Her Friends™

Get's sad when I delete pictures from my phone

April, Creativity

Is the reason I am a hot mess

Has self esteem issues

Runs on candy, friendship, and musicals

The one that loves to act but has no clue how

Complains about not getting solos but never tries out

"What do you mean my life isn't like an anime? If I'm singing by myself he will just give me the solo"

Never gets the solo

How do you talk to people?

Never shuts the hell up

Is the reason I can't drink coffee

Hates her work but also shows it off proudly

"Oh, so I was writing this weekend, and-" "is it the one with the british girl?" "no, it's-" "or is it the girl with fire powers?" "no it's a new one"

Dramatic AF

"*makes refrences every two second that no one gets*"

Casually flirts with everyone whether on purpose or accident

The reason I like anime

Wants to write, but never has inspiratiom or time. Or mika complains that I need to do homewor

Venusaur, Anxiety

Real name is Venus

But was called Venusaur by Mika one day and it stuck

POKEMON POKEMON POKE-

"Everyone hates us and we should just stop existing-"

Beats me up mentally, thats why im so tired

Panics at the slightest thing sometimes

Other times is really chill for absolutly no reason

"Ohmygod I slipped while leaving class everyone hates me we shoild go cry in the bathroom and just-"

"*legit didn't write an essay and now its due in like ten minutes* We got this, boys"

Is the one who is constaly screaming memes

scrEEECCHH

"I should shatter your kneecaps- lol I'm blind- bitch you talking crap- that trash can is me- bitch please I'm a queen- lets yeet ourself out the window"

More dramatic than April sometimes

The only god damn one who gets memes

Calls everyone "boy" because calling them friends makes her nervous

Nicknames™

[undercovermcdfan]

🎵 Travlyn!!!!

🎵 Oh Girl, You're The Devil - MIKA

(She's a girl with a bag full of hearts and a devil's eyes / Crazy kids in the wild on the run to the county line / Shotgun for a tongue but says just what she likes / Oh, girl you're the devil / Oh, girl you got the devil inside)

And

(And I said follow me / Whoever you want to be / Don't care where you where you go / As long as you stay with me / And I said follow me / Whoever you want to be / Don't care where you where you go / As long as you stay with me)

Hell. Yeah.

So instead of going with one of the songs in my personal travlyn list, I decided to pick something unique and this song represents what this ship means to me. This song is for MCD version of them btw!

First bit: This is obviously about Travis's first impression of Katelyn and while at the time he doesn't realize, it was the inciting incident of Travis deciding that this woman is special to him. I wouldn't say Love At First sight but it's essentially that. And the use of devil is purposeful, because the stigma of Travis being a child of a literal demon, it's a bit of irony that the woman he ends up falling for is a devil of a person (in this context, she's a fiery woman who challenges expectation and loves All of him, rather than just the human cover he puts up) and it's just a cute kind of funny okay. I'm being fake deep right here, it just feels like something Travis would jokingly say.

Second bit: this verse is actually the chorus and I love it because it represents the scene in season 3, where Katelyn makes the proposal for Travis to take a break from this Enki stuff and follow her home instead. I say proposal because she literally asking him to come with her! It represents her acceptance of him, even after seeing everything he tries desperately hide from the world, of the fact he is indecisive and doesn't want to actually fight, and lastly.... of her love for him, with the lyric (and joking insertion) "as long as you stay with me".

All in all, this song is jokey and sweet side of their relationship that reflects their inciting incidents of love.

Send me a ♫ + a character’s name and I will respond with a song that reminds me of them. Send a ♫ + a ship and I will do the same.

[redscullyrevival]

Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans

I’m preserving here all my liveblogging and commentary from twitter because this is the better space for keeping track of my self discussion. Yeah, no one cares, ANYWAYS

Gundam IBO Episodes 1-3

Gundam IBO: *puts main characters in a flashback in the first episode* Me: 

Ah yes, the political girl who understands nothing of the hard man life. Good old Gundam.     

I love Biscuit.

So far I'm a big fan of this shows policy on showing angry boys teeth.

Orga's hair is genius. No hats for dramatic flare, just that pointy bang. So good.

Millennial vs Boomer vibes, haha, love it.

Oh GOD Biscuit has sisters named Cookie and Cracker I am so happy.

I giggle every time I hear "Lieutenant Crank" because I am a idiot.

Did the Gundam nerds whine about Barbatos' tiny waist? Seems like a hill some would die on.

Surprisingly fine with Atra's crush on Mikazuki. It's cute! Not played weird or funky, so far. They seem like they'd get along really well actually - similar temperaments and background and all that.

Oh shit these kids are about to do a bad ain't they? Go get 'em.

I'd keep the accountant too - I don't wanna do any fuckin' math either.

Hate Beer-gut-Hitler-stache, when does some kid kill him? Soon hopefully.

His full name iS CRANK  Z E N T  

Political girl admires strong tiny boy for being coerced into dangerous life choices and options. Good old Gundam!

Mika isn't a victim so it's fine. This is fine. He is fine. They're all fine. Everything is fine. It's fine.

These poor babies. They're not gonna be okay. 

Thoughts:

This is gonna be a big old thing ain't it? I've seen enough Gundam to know this one is going to hurt and in all the ways other Gundam titles try to tragic but fail. I can see that from way out here in the boondocks.

Mikazuki is incredibly concerning and he and Orga are gonna probably tear each other a part. That's the shit thing about existing in a constant mode of survival. They don't have time for inner reflection and they don't know how do even do that. These babies are already slipping.

Which gives the less-than-palatable title a lot of weight. "Iron-Blooded Orphans" sounds cool I guess but mostly it's sad. What a sad thing to see from an outside perspective. It's strength for them, it's pride, I get that, but I don't think as the viewer I am meant to buy in. Or shit, lol, maybe I am but I'm just a reserved asshole. I like to think I'll be hurt less later if I point out I can see the plot trembles now but we all know that's not true.

Very interested to see what Kudelia grows to do in all this. She'll remain political and maybe teach the Orphans about talking about their feelings - I dunno. She'll do something, obviously, I just have no clear idea /what/ so far. Which is fair, only episode three.

The handsome kid with the earrings (don't remember his name, too scared to search it) is definitely bisexual though. That's facts. Sorry.

Looks like this series will forgo the expectation of some pilot screaming about peace while blowing absolutely everything up. Ending of the third episode is a bit on the nose with the thematic line IBO is choosing to walk but I dug it.

Lots to look forward to! Lots will change! I adore the cast which of course makes me very fearful lol. They're hardened kids, they're stuck in survival mode, I can connect with that. What's interesting is their bonds and comfort with each other.

It's safe to assume they're gonna see some wild shit but they will have each other (until they don't) and whose a sucker for found-family feelings? THIS BITCH. 

Gundam IBO episodes 4-7    

McGillis Fareed is a creep, you heard it here first folks. 

This guy is gonna have some wild backstory. He is the unmasked Char dude so. His hair bang is out to rival Orga's. 

~ CINEMATIC PARALLELS ~

I love Akihiro is literally the guy from Beserk. He is pulling an AU role. Good for him.

The children are out here trying to change space future. I love them.

Ohhhh. She is here to teach the lost boys to READ.

Yeah, Orga and Mika's relationship keeps them alive but it can't last. They're gonna get hurt my babies are gonna ndndndnnsn

It's a judging love, a push and shove ya know? They're great protagonists, very compelling. Their relationship is bueatiful in it's own way but a honest writer knows they can't maintain that status quo if the characters are to grow. Especially into adulthood.

Hello cute pigtailed woman doing her nails in space! How can this one show keep treating me so well? Haha! 

 *famous last words, probably*

Okay there is some background mechanic guy and I haven't caught his name yet but he is blonde and styling a swoop do over one eye and his voice actor is so friggin familiar even just the like few lines he has had so far. I'm going on a search wish me luck.

Ahh! Character's name is Yamagi and the voice actor is Soma Saito who was Twelve in Terror in Resonance!  Phew. Okay, back at it go time.

This power couple in the hat and shapely tummy scar, jeez. This show thrives on contrasting character designs but this one is, heh, this is new. Seems out of place almost. 

PS>> Handsome bisexual earring boy is KILLING IT. 

A+ pop into more scenes please thanks

It may be still too early to declare but I think Eugene is in the running to join my idiot son collection. He's got those expressive reactions that I just *clenches fist* that I just love so damn much.

lady pilots lady pilots lady pilots

I know ladies sitting at space computers in bikini tops isn't for any (good) reason but I need people to know that ladies in space would be hanging out in bikini tops for their own fantastic reasons and because I know this I shall accept events.

Idiot Son CONFIRMED

Atra x Kudelia WHEN?! Don't you let me down Mari Okada - I know what you're like!!!

Yamagi the cutie is gay. I'm filled with so much pride. *wipes tear*

These reckless bastard children are gonna be the death of me. 

 I adore how anyone with any kind of heart is moved by these kids. By their shared known history, by their current situation, their guts and their clever gambits.

There is such potential for wonderful storytelling when adult characters are made to stop and consider kids - not as lesser but as whole people in their own right.

Thoughts:

So McGillis Fareed is a creepo. Why do I think this? Well he didn’t bat an eye at accepting a child bride, I consider that a big friggin' tip off. Also, he exudes way too much effort.

I’m still early in the series so I may end up making a fool of myself surrounded by people who already know everything I don’t, but I’ll go ahead and try to explain my thinky thoughts anyhow.

I was only partially joking when I said CINEMATIC PARALLELS.

Pretty sure McGillis is being positioned against Orga and I say this because of their opposing character design and traits. McGillis consistently pulling on his bang was the tip off - hear me out!

The visual language of animation works differently than live action. Naturally by the medium what characters are bottom up designed to do are often times filled with more thematic intent than an actor forming characterization in collaboration with a director/a production. Plus, McGillis and Orga’s designs are intentional echos of one another within their stark differences, which is smart. This is a big cast that has varied character designs which have opposing tying traits (MORE ON THAT LATER) so their differences are what makes them similar.

I think these two leaders are more alike than what I’ve seen so far. I think the point is that Orga’s trials and struggle are more outright visible by his own choice whereas McGillis’ are hidden by him.

Orga never touches his wack hair even though he has a massive killer bang blocking his vision half the time. He isn’t seeking to change what lot he has been given in life and he isn’t trying to hide behind a fake persona. As orga states, “I am who I am.” A child.

McGillis constantly touches his hair while visibly contemplating. This guy is all calculated effort and performance. He isn’t who he presents himself as. Quite the adult.

Moving on to Orga and Mika and this show's brilliant use of opposing character designs: Jeepers Creepers, check out them Peepers edition.

Mika has big eyes. They're great. Because his eyes are so wide all the time it isn't shock we need to worry about with him. It's when he narrows his eyes. We saw this when he tried to choke out Gaelio (which, can I just say, noice).

You know who knows this better than anyone? Orga.

More and more we see Orga turning to Mika for approval, for motivation, for inspiration in his choices and push for whatever the hell it is Tekkadan is going to become. Orga has the smallest eyes of the cast, they're beady and cunning, even more so than McGillis (yikes). I think it's safe to say that Orga observes more than Mika, that Mika just watches things impassively as Orga ascertains what he assumes are Mika's wants.

And it's that type of thing where... The system works. Mika's wide, waiting, eyes keeps Orga on his toes. Keeps him thinking ahead, keeps him and everyone else relatively safe. But! But. There is a undercurrent of disproportion happening. I don't doubt these two love each other. I doubt that they understand their own dynamic. Any shift or change in this system and shit goes south very quickly. So naturally, I worry.

In lighter news OH MY GOD YAMAGI HUH?! Shy mechanic boy loves earring boy as much as I do - we are forever bonded in this way. He is my friend and I want only happiness for him. Ganbatte Yamgai, fuckin' get it boy.

Gundam IBO episodes 8-11

Yes, recap my idiot son Eugene's skills! If Akihiro is the guy from Berserk then Eugene is AU Makoto Tachibana from Iwatobi Swim Club, btw 

The nonchalant babes at the controls are my BFFs.

I love the bit the in opening that's right away during "with all your voice" where Mika and Orga turn pause turn pause turn - what a simple but effective emotional pull, right? gurgle

Oh, it's his harem. Yes. Naturally. Of course. I don't hate this. Am I broken?

ohmygod I think it's because Naze Turbine looks like Ryoji Kaji. I will never be free.

HahahHAHAHAAHAAHAHA! Babies in space! Planting those seeds! HAHAH PLANTING SEEDS okay calming down. What am I to make of the editing in this scene? We've got Atra grasping her Mika charm then we're cutting away to Kudelia I'm freaking out right now.

B-b-b-budget episode! My favorite kind! Play with those jump cuts, yeaaaah!

Naze has a sweet spot for kids and wacky found families. Loves it.

This guy is defiantly space Marlon Brando in The Godfather right? That's intentional right?

This is a really awkward dinner time conversation. :D

Party time! Have fun kids, be safe, you make me very nervous.

Drunk Orga!

*SOBS*

Yamagi is jealous oh no oh my sweet little man oh it's okay!

I need everyone to know I'm deeply emotional about this family of lost boys and their big day and everyone is dressing up and JESUSSS

For a dude with a hat fetish and a harem Naze Turbine is a pretty good father figure so far, huh? He best hope it stays that way. *Whispers* It really is Kaji all over again...

I haven't praised the Old Man yet but Nadi is best and I would kill for him.

Hey, psst, hey in the opening Gaelio bending up into frame while McGillis slyly looks on is some really high quality queerbaiting. Top notch stuff.

These two fuckers hate each other but they like don't care? I don't know. I hate them. I love them. They're stupid make them stop.

The accountant is now like some magical loving math grandpa to all these rowdy boys my heart is so full!

Norba Shino, my love, your insecurities are great and many. Boobs this, boobs that! ... He isn't wrong actually. 

Go team bisexual d i s a s t e r

I'm getting Takaki's back story, he is off to train in the simulator I DO NOT LIKE THIS 

Flustered Orga is just, well it's very good. It's great. It's so sweet I'll put in my tea so I can drink it and get warm fuzzies forever. 

Atra and Kudelia are so good together, they're another pair of characters with contrasting yet corresponding character designs that are just so fantastic!

DING DING DING figured out the editing of the baby scene and yes oh boy seeds were planted! Ecstatic. Don't be a coward show! 

Haha, yeah right.

...Maybe though. Maybe. I think the biggest problem would be Mika because he's, well he is him isn't he? 

Now Takaki is tagging along on patrol and I’m getting Akihiro’s backstory. Great. That’s not ominous.        

BEEP BEEP BEEP an Ahab Reactor duh doy oh jeez oh come on kids 

Thanks for the save Mika! HAHA I was worried. They got me. 

Yes, the set up for Akihiro's brother is lazy but whatever I'm invested. 

 "Come on, come on, come on!" lol this fork tongued pirate kinda looks like a human Momotaros. I'm digging this creep. 

TAKAKI NO!     

Azee is my wife. We're very happy. 

Friggin' Ein standing around muttering and holding Crank's pin like lolol do your job or something.

"All I want to do is kill those boys" like come on Ein no you don’t, just go do some fucking paper work. I'm sure you've been ignoring plenty. 

No. Nope. NOPE. Absolutely not.  

This show knows this isn't okay. It's showing us it isn't okay. Flowers in the Attic is over here touching hot tea pots, like??? McGillis is a creep and he has some junked up plan or scheme or whatever. Blerg. 

Pfft, McGillis is touching that hair bang all "A powerful piece that could shake up the regime" HUH HERR I wonder who?   

These kids are too good and too well adjusted - it's great. I mean, it's sometimes a bit much like in this instance with Akihiro and his bro, but that's also what makes it nice. What makes the show compelling. You trust these characters to trust each other at this point.   

Thoughts: 

The dominoes are setting up and we're getting to that point where almost all the pieces of mystery in the show's opening are all out on the table. Very exciting.

Can't wait to learn what the hell McGillis is up to. He is the exact kind of character I actually really like, because I'm the worst. The child bride is, you know, shitty but I don't think the show is (so far) trying to display it as anything but A Situation™

Frankly, the entire thing with Almiria is (so far!) a play on how these characters are still kind of kids in their own way. Obviously Almira, but McGillis and Gaelio are still at the whims of their own parents and forever will be at the beck and call of their "families".

Tekkadan are more overtly children but they're wiggling out from under another's thumb and carving a space to move around and have some self definition. McGillis is, I can guess, is going to try and do the same for himself (especially after his little chess speech).

McGillis' extreme acceptance of Almiria is partially gross and partially understandable. It's both. Because it is both! Being shitty to Almiria won't gain him any points and he is going to use her, his parents already predetermined that. Eeehhh. Wait and see I guess.

I adore the dynamics of this big cast of characters, the boys feel so real and I live to see them acknowledge one another's strengths and hopes and fears. ;_;

Like most Gundam properties (other than GWing, yeah I said it!) the female cast is a bit washy, a bit too reactionary towards an thus defined by the male ensamble but I don't dislike anyone.

There is a divide between the female characters and the male characters, they share the same physical space but their narratives are not aligned and that's okay but it is a little frustrating. I'm a patient soul and I love (and know) the Gundam franchise so I'm good but maaaan. I really want the ladies to get through on this one. I really want them to want things for themselves beyond being pulled by their boy peers. They don't need to fight. They don't need to yell. Who they are now is good, there is a good foundation. They just need a gear shift, especially in the realization that they're not just along for the ride. And I am mostly thinking of Atra at this point. I love her because she is easy to love but I also know that's through careful positioning and not due to anything inherent in her.  

We will end this bout how I think many of these will end; YELLING ABOUT YAMAGI.

Yamagi is a sweet boy who deserves the world! Norba Shino is a human disaster who (headcanon) is going through a lot of confusing emotional and hormonal stuff right now so please be strong Yamagi.

Gundam IBO episodes 12-14

I love Ms. Merribit. Anyone will tell you I'm a sucker for responsible ladies in pant suits. 

I love these Man Rodi the Brewers use. A good chuby boy in heels.

They made Mika's lunch TOGETHER.

TOGETHER.

My man Nadi knows what's up.

That's what I'm talkin' about! Mari Okada I trust you so much girl.

At some point Orga's tough guy smirk is going to be used in a way that pains and hurts me and I will probably die.

space battle space battle space battle I am a nerd space battle!

The ladies are covering for Akihiro. They want these brothers to reunite. *crying*

Masahiro's voice actor is giving an amazing performance.

Aw damn it.

Episode 13's opening is straight forward but rough: Norba's search crew find Brewer's human debris, passes them over, but those scared kids shoot which causes the Tekkadan kids to react and return fire. It's played straight as being it is what it is - a shit cycle of getting out.

The child solider/space rat stuff is, I feel, primarily used by the show to explore various forms of abusive fallout (which is why the Tekkadan kids fairly well adjusted existence is a little weird but deeply appreciated) and this quick moment punctuates Akihiro's goodbye.

A guest compliments Almiria, "She is like a doll!" 

She is, isn't she?

Kill me.

UH OH she has realized she is nine. 

Let me guess, McGillis is going to be a white knight oh yep here he comes. Great.     

I'm hitting pause and I'm going on a wild ass fuckin' tangent:

I feel younger kids having crushes on older people all depends on how it's handled by the older character, much as in life. Kids crush on adults. They do. That's not like weird or strange. What's important is how adults are made to handle those feelings (if known) and a story can go in so many different directions for so many different reasons and that's fine. That's storytelling. I shall judge all stories individually as they cross my path with whatever elements they have within them. That's how I do it.

So McGillis being charming and nice towards Alimaria is, again, fine and a little icky simultaneously. We know he is stuck. He is not out to ruffle any family plans. He is cucumbering this shit and being as smooth as possible alternative motive I don't know yet.

Alimaria is at the utmost disadvantage here. 

Within their specific scenario the only character we've seen consider her as a person who is also stuck in a hamster wheel of shitty parents is McGillis.

Obviously McGillis is a total shit-bird who is simply being nice because that's what is advantageous for HIM but the show is still (barely, mind you) straddling that line of "This Is Just A Situation™, we'll rip the Band-Aid Later"

McGillis is going to do something absolutely terrible to this girl and I am weary as fuck.

The series is being very manipulative with McGillis' actions here with Alimaria. He is being considerate but he is also stepping over a line.

McGillis is presented as being understanding and seems to genuinely care about Alimaria's feelings which makes him come off as, well, nice and princely. Which is undoubtedly what he wants. Which is what kind of makes him a monster, ya feel me? 

Eh, okay, incoherent late night ranting done. Back to sad boys and robots. 

THESE POOR SAD BOYS. 

This funeral is hitting me in my soft bits I can't deal

And it's followed up by Yamagi x Shino content just rub salt in my wounds JESUS 

UHHHH PARDON ME?!?!?!? I hate this episode! Deaths? Kisses? UGH. Mika is an dummy. He is full of dumb.  

They're making sure to show Atra sneezing though, as if someone mentioned her name explicitly which is just more weird ass editing choices I don't know how to take. What are you trying to tell me?! 

I'm stupid and a low life so I don't actually hate all love triangles. In fact I tend to rub angst all over my body so I can smell like disappointment and unresolved sexual tension but Mika is still a total dummy end of discussion. 

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ ┻━┻        

NEW OPENING BITCHES!

MASKED PILOT MASKED PILOT I AM YELLING!

New opening has got it all! Just absolutely everything! We've got a masked pilot; we've got some new looking girl straight out of CLAMP's X/1999 or some shit; we've got sad boy's angry teeth; did I make this? Is this a dream?

Fumitan ain't gonna rat Kudelia out! At least... I don't want her to anyways.

Kudelia is straight up asking this lesbian about men I can't believe her.

Hehheh heeh heh hehe "Dort" hehe 

I adore the weirdness and chafing of Merribit and Orga's working relationship.

Oh my god guys, they're at Fantasy Costco! These girls are gonna clean these stinky boys and make that there ship sparkle. It's girly manifest destiny. 

"So no matter which planet you're on, the bossy ones are scums" - That's my idiot son Eugene who is actually one of the smarter of the idiot boys. 

I love the juxtaposition of these colony adults drinking the juice on the political Mars girl and her mighty teen protector warriors out to save them when it's really them asking lesbians for advice on men and trying to survive and crying when no one is looking. 

I'm serious, Orga is borderline terrified of Ms. Merribit. She's just another pair of waiting judging eyes for him and he doesn't know how to deal with her because she actually SAYS STUFF. 

Biscuit you be careful baby, watch your back. 

Loooooove the juxtaposition of these colony adults being super psyched to get blown up and these kids are like "Christ almighty, put that down!" 

Shino helping Yamagi escape (~˘▾˘)~ 

These boys are out here doing their job, doing their best, they're on their best behavior and they've been set up. My precious children! They've done nothing wrong, ever! 

"Maybe I'll change the way I talk, huh? ... No, I will not do that." Goddammit I love McGillis and I'm sooooooooooo mad about it.  

Thoughts:

We've had Snake-Man-Pirate suggest to Mika that he enjoys killing but we haven't really been given any evidence of that. I'm sticking to my self-made theory on Mika's eyes!

He has that big wide stare most of the time, Mika doesn't actually have much personal investment in most of what he does. He doesn't love killing, but he doesn't have any real opinion on it either way. It isn't like when he choked out Gaelio or, now, kissing Kudelia.

I'm full power launching myself into deep fannish space because that's how I media but like, I'm not crazy right? Mika's eyes are IMPORTANT. They're about all we're given in understanding him, which is wild for the main Gundam pilot protagonist. The emphasis on Mikazuki's eyes within his design and being the only markers the audience is given when it comes to inner choices is a big gambit. We're 14 episodes in and don't have much of a grasp on Mika and I think that's because he has never once self defined. He is the ultimate of the poor sad robot boys. Akihiro is struggling with his humanity and the label of his existence ("human debris") with all the characters starting to find space and time to turn inward and then there is Mika.   

I don't think he knows how to live life while not only trying to survive. So, what's going to boot his self defined existence online? Piloting Barbatos? Kissing girls? Familial love?    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

McGillis being a masked pilot this late into the game with no charade about "Who can it BEeeeEEeE?!?" is my favorite thing. Haven't even seen him in an episode yet just a preview but oh, it's my favorite thing.

We'll end this short thoughts binge on the beauty that is Yamagi and why I am somewhat upset:

IBO has a very tight turn around of set up and follow through. There is (I'm assuming) a longer, slower set up with end game (probably tragic) follow through happening in concordance with the two episode story arc rhythm the series has going so far.

Quick simplified examples can be

Akihiro mentions his brother > we meet his brother > his brother chooses to die/save him > kids learn some on how to handle grief. 

Turbine has a harem > everyone accepts this > kids learn some on how to handle a found, self defined family.

The pattern is "If the kids meet a thing, that thing becomes possible."

We ain't seen no men loving men. We've not come across a viable example in the narrative of that being a option or choice or possibility. 

There are a lot of episodes left and this isn't like a make or break situation for me, but we are inching up on the set up stage being over with and if there is no example, no proof, of men being able to love men then...? I'm hesitant to invest.

I still will invest hook line and sinker, this is Gundam and damn that’s what I do 

BUT! 

That's also just so frustrating and sad as well as being, haha, believable. If there is no example encouraging Yamagi to approach Shino and no example for Shino to see acceptance then they're just gonna run out of time or figure their shit out too late.

Which is so very extremely stressful and masterfully manipulative how dare you I'm so impressed but mad and hurt and god I hope I'm wrong and off and have not tapped into this show's core of foreshadowing or whateverthehell.

Yamagi is a sweet boy who deserves the world and Norba Shino is a human disaster and I suffer for them.

[sketsart]

Hey yo I’m back to drawing! Here’s some characters sitting i guess. Actually, after watching aringamegrumps’ art vids i super wanted to try the drawing in a small square thing, and i think it turned out all right! Probably should’ve picked between the blurred and cell(?) shading, but oh well. At least i drew a pose that wasn’t “standing while turned slightly in a direction,” so that’s a plus. Also included a second pic of just the shading which i liked. These goils are totally more kamen rider ocs btw, but let’s say they’re not and act like I’m not on the verge of obsession. The left one’s chloe, looks like a punk but has like. Social anxiety. Or something. The right one’s named mika, and she’s… uh… probably chloe’s girlfriend. Or something. As we all know, yuri is a well-developed character trait. (Actually her whole thing ties into the kamen rider stuff, and I’d rather not get into that right now) So yeah

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

uhhh isn't the whole 'slapping some sense into them' thing from Makoto's confidant a pretty common trope though? like there's Mitsuru and Yukari, Yu and Yosuke in their 10 rank, Louis and Legosi's fight in Beastars, various shounen series, etc. Are those examples different or do ya just not like the trope itself?

Bad trope, but specifically handled bad in P3/5′s case. Makoto and Mitsuru/Yukari event are bad examples of it. Yu/Yosuke....it’s not really a “good” example but it’s not bad. Louis and Legosi/shounen in general....(I’m assuming we’re just talking first season) it’s a bit....yeah....different....Former two bad (and the trope I dislike the most), latter two “good” (not as problematic, usually)....cause they are different tbh......probably cause they are diff tropes.

Under the cut cause length

So let’s go over the slap thing. I might refer to each Makoto/Yukari/Mitsuru/Yosuke stuff as P5/3/4 so just a heads up. 

(I will say I think if I compared the two girl slap scenes between YukaMitsu and Mako, YukaMitsu one is “better” due to it being in private and not as....big of a slap, it’s still shitty tho) I’m not a fan of Yukari and Mitsuru as friends (let alone as gfs) tbh, mostly impart of this scene. I do not think that slap was a good foundation, and I think it should’ve gone in the opposite direction. Tbh I think it should’ve made things worse. Mitsuru is at her lowest point, she’s literally had 14 goddamn days to process her father’s death ON TOP OF her student council duties, and dealing with her company (on top of stuff happening behind the scenes such as apparently being engaged). She has all these adult responsibilities thrust onto her, and she’s had 14 days to deal with it. She’s processing her grief and she’s in a “what’s the point phase.” Then Yukari comes along, a girl who’s....kinda been giving her grief up to this point, yeah Mitsuru has a right to say “what’s the point in us being friends” or even being friends in the first place, you’ve been kind of an ass to her the whole game Yukari, regardless of you apologizing (no one needs to accept an apology). You haven’t been close. So with all that context, pretend you’re the one who’s stressed, in the middle of a fresh grieving process, with someone they aren’t exactly close to, and when they question if their life has meaning.....How would you feel if someone slapped you? I’d be like “Ex-fucking-scuse me????” Like it comes off as Yukari feeling Mitsuru isn’t grieving fast enough for her, like she hasn’t had a decade to process her dad’s death (which is a fault of Yukari’s character that’s never addressed, it’s her way or the high way, she forces her emotions on other people and her being friends with Mitsuru after this feels like a reward for bad behavior). I’d be livid if I was Mitsuru, a slap is not what she needs. You can just passionately shout her speech to Mitsuru, it’s a helluva lot better than literally hitting someone while they are emotionally vulnerable. Her speech is freaking just fine without a gd slap to the face, and ruins the scene. Esp when Yukari gets to have a hissy fit earlier in the game for a similar crisis (but you know, with the context she’s already come to terms with his death for the past 10 years, while Mitsuru’s only had about 14 days), but you don’t see anyone slapping her to get a hold of herself? Even tho, she’s even more emotionally unstable at a certain part, and lashes out, but no we can’t slap her. But she feels justified in slapping someone else? Bullshit. (btw yeah she says sorry but it’s so blase I’m like “really? just a quick ‘srry’ and that’s it?”) 

Then there’s Makoto just....freaking....this girl. Giant walking contradiction, will be characterized opposite of previous characterization just to fit the freaking scene. Makoto will be “hot headed who doesn’t think” for the Kane arc and Slapping eiko, but she’s like 100% chilled to the bone for the rest of the game. Which is it? Which is it P5? Can she make plans and think calmly or can she not? You can’t have both, and if it’s the latter she shouldn’t be in that position. *inhales* ANYWAY! Let’s look at this whole thing from Eiko’s perspective.

Eiko’s feels like she has nothing going for in her life but Tsukasa, she loves him, and she thinks he loves her. She has a friend in Makoto, the perfect girl who has everything Eiko wants. But now that friend wants to take away the one thing SHE has and that SHE cares about??? She keeps saying things but doesn’t show proof iirc (except when she tricked Tsukasa, but she doesn’t give Eiko enough time to digest it and it’s all happening so fast, I think she mentions the text she gets from him but she doesn’t show the texts to Eiko, regardless Mako has another avenue to explore...which I’ll get to). Of course Eiko is confused, why is the girl that is perfect want to take something from her? She’s at her lowest, yeah not the same kind of low as Mitsuru, but she’s not in a good place. So how do you think it feels, to be slapped HARD and IN PUBLIC? And this isn’t like news to Makoto, she told her all this shit in the previous rank. Makoto’s had time to mull it over, so on top of all that, Eiko also feels like “She knows how I feel yet she’s still trying to ruin the one good thing I have??? I don’t understand.” And yeah she’s starts lashing out, but Makoto isn’t exactly handling it well either. Mako’s speech is just fine withtout the gd slap, but the slap brings it down for her character (which I’ll get to after the plan) Which brings me to her plan.....

So then there’s Makoto’s plan.....she really doesn’t have a back up plan? An obvious one? One that actually doesn’t go against their MO....you know changing his heart (INB4 ‘but silly they need his yadda yadda” yeah and we’ve done mementos bosses where we need to dig up dirt, it’s not exactly that hard esp with like Ichiko and Lala and just the general area, we know where he is we just need a full/real name, we know more info about him then most targets it’s not that bad). So why do this whole public thing? Why not meet privately with the receipts? WHY EVEN BOTHER WITH THAT AT ALL WHEN YOU CAN JUST CHANGE HIS HEART! And no this isn’t “you can’t rely on heart changing all the time” the game is ass at that message to start with so why beat around the bush??? Futaba gets help 3 gd times (I’m not saying they shouldn’t have, but if it’s a personal thing I don’t think the thieves are against it). Like listen, why.....don’t we change his heart? This isn’t about “oh why do that when we can solve it another way” no we’re past that, this guy is and has been preying on girls. Why the hell are we letting him run around???? Y’all give Mika shit (and tbf I’ve seen people give Mako’s CoOp the same shit for what I’m stating now), but 1) we didn’t find out about her shitty behavior till the last min and 2) she was caught and the situation was resolved without the need of a change of heart.....Tsukasa is neither of these things, he’s 1) a main antagonist throughout the CoOp 2) while he gets away from Eiko, he’s left to his own devices to hurt other people later (except the anime apparently? but we are talking about the game). Like seriously, change his heart, you help all the girls+Eiko, you can then comfort her without you know the public embarrassment. Hell if you want to keep the freaking speech from the slap scene you can! At least she’s not slapped! Just don’t slap her! Both P3/5 can get by with these scenes without NEEDING the slap! It’s not necessary and god freaking forbid people imitate it IRL (I’ve seen it happen first hand, people are not friends after that kinda BS).

There’s also the fact she and Eiko make amends after off screen and it’s like???? I don’t believe Eiko would go back to Makoto after that sort of public humiliation tbh. I need to see this “apology” (esp since Mako was soooo great at hers the first time with ANne after you know dragging them into the Mafia.....of course I’m being sarcastic, her apology was so gaslighty and her trying to get them to drop it like??? no you are being called out for good reason) And then there’s Makoto post slap, and she’s like ‘oh man was that ok???” like no bitch it wasn’t and the fact you get POINTS FOR ENCOURAGING HER???? Like I always say a negative thing and make her know what she did was wrong. And yeah she’s like “oh geez I didn’t mean for that :(” just.....sigh....doesn’t matter what you mean, you did it.....you have to own it......*inhales*

Now for the unfortunate implications, which if I was a Yukari/Makoto fan I wouldn’t be happy with how Atlus handled them. Already talked about Yukari (her way or the high way, butting in, gets rewarded for bad behavior yadda yadda), Makoto is similar. She’s just more bossy about it (cause she’s older probably, Yukari had it reign it into going behind Mitsu’s back cause of the whole senpai/kohai thing). But the slap reinforces Makoto’s....a bit.....physically abusive with her friends..... I don’t think that was the intent, but it’s an unfortunate implication. Who does Makoto hit (that’s not a shadow)? Ryuji (twice counting Royal), and Eiko (former for “comedy~!” and the latter for drama, yes she’s joined by the other girls in one of the events but she’s still been physical more than them). She also is known for threatening violence on top of that or just being ~intimidating~ (which hits differently when you’ve develop a streak of hitting friends rather than just someone who doesn’t do that?) And yeah it’s for comedy.....but after awhile.....ergh....(esp when they do it once for drama). It doesn’t help she’s also the damsel a lot, and literally can’t fight back against people who have ill will over her (told you she’s a contradiction), or just doesn’t bother putting up a fight tbh. Which.....then sends a message she...only hits her friends cause....she can take them on? kinda thing..... it just....makes me feel gross tbh. It’s just BS that Chie gets labeled a physically abusive person cause she “hit Yosuke in the balls” when she DIDN’T, it was all a misunderstanding! But when actually Makoto does it’s ok???? 

Yukari and Makoto have a lot in common, they get away with a lot of shit, their way or the high way a lot of the times, esp when they do things that’s....really rude and mean and shitty but hey I guess it’s ok with Atlus~! (for a game series that’s like “you are responsible for your own actions and the consequences it brings” it sure likes to let certain chars slide with their actions~! :D :/) It’s such a shame with P3 that we have Fuuka and Natsuki, while not explored a lot (such a shame) is written a lot better than YukaMitsu/MakoAnne/MakoEiko friendships. And they do it without the need for a slap, and the aggressor actually gives a legit and sincere apology??? All on their own??? All because they feel guilty and want to make amends ON THEIR OWN!!!! And actually takes responsibility too???? I’m usually neutral on them but seriously they handle this issue like fine wine compared to the other three. 

Ok let’s go over Yu/Yosuke. So when I say it’s not good but not bad, I mean like....you shouldn’t do it irl cause it’s dumb....but like....the message is a lot better. P4, it’s consensual. Yosuke ASKS to be hit. See “ASKS!” And they knowingly go in for a brawl/sparring match. Because they want to. Eiko and Mitsuru didn’t ask to be slapped, this isn’t an equal footing. P4′s is. P3/5 is someone who’s emotionally vulnerable getting slapped by someone that claims to care (and the friendship is rocky at best and barely formed at worse) and then somehow coming out as friends???? P4, strong bond, very good friends, consensual.

As for Beastars.....again I’m assuming we’re talking about their fight in S1 after the one person (vague for spoilers) gets kidnapped.......here’s the thing.....they....aren’t exactly friends. I guess if I had the beat up/slap trope as a spectrum, this would be on the opposite side of P4 (with P3/5 being in the middle). You don’t want to be in the middle, I think it leads to unfortunate implications (only time I can think of it being ok is if they deal with the fact they were slapped realistically, calling the person out). 

So on one end we have P4, strong friendship, it’s a consensual fight, it’s even (there’s no ....I guess the best word would be “power imbalance”). The other end is Beastars, they aren’t exactly friends, this fight is like....a brawl cause there is bad blood now, tbh it’s just a normal fight fkldsajflkjf; which like is fine, they become friends later, but in a similar sense this fight is even too (I mean not physically but like they are both like “LET’S GOOOOOOOO!”). But in the middle it’s the “we’re new or kinda friends but I’mma slap them when the person is down because I think they need a ‘wake up call’” is bullshit, it’s not even, one person gets slapped and the slapper somehow gets the friendship??? Like how does any of this work??? Only good ending to that is the person really giving a good ass apology or there not being a friendship. 

The only real time I can think of slapping someone to legit have them get a hold of themselves, is if there is a life and death situation, and they are too shell shock to move, and you need to bring them back. Or if they are unconscious and you are trying to wake them up (usually cause there’s bad stuff happening around). And it stems from fearing their safety and you tried everything else and it was the last resort. None of these fit P3/5 scenes tho. P4/Beastars/Shounen is just “dumb bois brawling” (which dumb girls brawling is valid too), they’re different tropes. Slapping for slapstick is closer to P3/5′s trope than the P4/Beastars/Shounen one.....that one is a veeeeery fine line tbh (the more over the top the better, because it’s more distant from reality, the less over the top the closer it is to the drama one and the closer it is to reality and........it ironically becomes unrealistic). 

but yeah there’s just a couple things......that’s wrong with the scene than just the slap, but really those slaps are so unnecessary???? Like the majority of the scene is the speech, just focus on that. I think it takes more skill to metaphorically slap someone with your words than with your literal palm. 

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Hi! I was wondering what information you know of p5 mementos mission? I've been trying to find some information about it and didn't get very far any details you know would be amazing, thanks!

Hey~! Sorry I'll be posting the chapter sometime tonight (sorry for the wait), it's 48 pages (rip to me @.@ ;w;)But basically it seems to be an original Mementos Quest. It starts off with Ren (Saito is using the anime name, shame it....would've made it easier to call him a 3rd name when referring to his manga.....), attending Anne's model shoot, he talks with Mika stuff happens (don't wanna spoil what so I won't say what happens but a lot happens).Mika is not the target if people are wondering (thank god, I knew she'd be in this but I was afraid she'd be a target, literally no reason to target her), but there's a.... "mystery" involved and Mika/Anne/Ren are all witnessed to it (reminds me of a very early chapter of Case Closed tbh, specifically vol 8 ch 79 one I think...well that's what Wikipedia tells me.....even tho there's really only one common similarity but yeah)The only PT members to show up in this chapter are Ren, Anne and Mona. It seems to take place sometime after.....I think around the start of dungeon 3 (that's when we start really talking to Ichiko right? yeah I think so, oh btw mah gurl Ichiko is in this chapter too), but Goro hasn't joined so it's pre-dungeon 6. But Goro does show up on TV and mentioned by Mika so don't worry Goro fans you see himBut yeah seems to be an original Mementos quest, I dunno if it'll just be about this one or.....if it'll be multiple....or something else. So....we just gotta wait, I hope it keeps going tbh it's pretty good. Sorry for the crappy summary (more details than what's been mentioned tho so woot 8U), but I don't wanna spoil since I'll be uploading it so you'll be able to see it soon. And it'll be fan-translated (by the lovely @takeyourheartscan group) so we'll all know what they are saying. XD