#or does it only translate some languages and yuu's language just so happens to be identical to a wonderland language?

[bobcat-pie]

yuu is from an entire other reality and the universal translation spell lets them be understood but Rook Speaks French. and his French is still in French

[dorkus-mcdingus]

A random list of TWST HCs in no particular order

(Keep in mind they can range from general, fluffy, or angsty)

- Sam is bilingual but he speaks the Port O' Bliss (Louisiana) Dialect of French. He also would call Crowley a coullion/couyon (don't know the proper spelling. Sorry!) under his breath whenever that old crow is just yapping instead of paying for his order.

- Malleus had his mind blown when he first heard about milkshakes. I mean you can drink ice cream?! THROUGH A STRAW?! 🤯

- The only time you will ever hear Crewel call himself "daddy" is whenever he gets caught baby talking towards his dogs. Not that he has any shame in doing it.

- Jamil would slip into his mother tongue whenever he gets SUPER pissed off (it's not often when he does but 0/10 would not recommend you do it)

- I pretty much HC a good majority of the twst cast to be bilingual or know a few languages depending on where they come from. Although if they're from the Queendom of Roses, I mainly see them being monolingual but have the ability to read other languages.

- Rollo has vivid nightmares about his brother's death and how he ultimately blames himself for what happened. It's so bad to where the poor boy would rather not fall asleep so he won't see the visions again. The best sort of night is where he doesn't dream. There's nothing but the black void when he closes his eyes.

- I feel like Lilia would be sad hearing the song "Army Dreamers" because it would remind him so much of the war and the many soldiers that died serving Briarland. They were someone's child after all.

- Speaking of Lilia, he can turn on the old soldier voice and it's the one way he knows how to scare the shit out of some of the former soldiers that served with him. However, he would say

"I've spent so long playing soldier that I'm kind of tired of it."

If you ask him why he stopped using that voice. God... Malleus, Silver, and Sebek did a number on that old man.

- If I were to make a guess on Gidel's age, I think he would be around 9 or 10 years old. So it's safe to say that Fellow probably found him when he was either in his late teens or early twenties. Though, I'm more leaning on early twenties for this.

- I got PLENTY of hcs surrounding those two but much like most of the cast, Fellow himself is bilingual and learned the common language through his travels (mother tongue is Italian of course). Despite his limited education, he does try to help Gidel learn how to read and write as best as he can. Gidel is also his biggest priority. I don't think he really minds what happens to him as long as Gidel is happy, has food in his stomach, and his clothes are well mended but Gidel in turn knows how much Fellow has been suffering for their sake.

- Gidel also understands Italian but also the common language as well. Due to his limitations with reading and writing, one of the ways he is able to overcome the barrier when it comes to communication is miming or nodding and shaking his head. Sometimes what he's trying to say does get lost in translation but he and Fellow have such a tight knit bond that his big brother can understand him perfectly and can translate what he's saying if someone is having difficulty understanding him. He is a very streetwise kid underneath that adorable smile but is also a rather sensitive individual and can feel when someone is in pain or unhappy especially if it's Fellow

- A favorite story of our favorite scheming duo is "The Emperor's New Clothes"

- Yuu/MC has a tradition of welcoming the Halloween guest characters as honorary members of Ramshackle Dorm by making them perform a hazing ritual of having them take care of Grim when it's his bath time. Grim's a little bastard about it too especially towards Fellow and Rollo (I'm unsure about Skully but I'll update once the event is complete).

- Azul is the worst person to play Monopoly against

- I feel like the Tweels would sing a jazzy version of "People = Shit" with Azul playing the piano but the more he heard the two chaos gremlins sing, the more he wanted to crawl into an octopus pot

- Pre-overblot Riddle would definitely have a stroke reading The Cat in the Hat especially since the moral is that sometimes a little rule breaking is fine as long as it doesn't go too far

- If you think Azul is the most annoying person to play Monopoly against, Ace would know all the ways to piss you off in Uno. I think the first years playing Uno would be both one hilarious sight to witness but also the worst because of how much those boys are going to be fighting with each other.

- Despite Grim saying he's not a cat, his cuddles and purrs can soothe one's soul despite how much he's a little bastard most of the time. It's little moments like these where the MC thinks it's worth it putting up with his attitude and his black hole of a stomach

- Dylla was definitely a delinquent in her youth and the apple didn't fall far from the tree when it came to her son. Although her son may struggle in terms of academics, the fact that Deuce is trying to clean up his act and reform is something that always makes her swell with pride.

- If Maleanor were still alive, she would've been the CUTEST grandma! Although I do think that the fact that her son is close friends with a human does make her feel uneasy because she doesn't want him to get hurt like how humans have hurt her. Although I do also think that Lilia would often visit her grave and tell her of the many milestones that happened to him and her son.

- Despite the fact that Trein's daughters are all grown up, they still keep in contact with their father to make sure he's doing okay and their conversations can get LONG but I don't think the professor minds at all. Any time he spends with his children whether he's home or on a call, he treasures it.

- I feel like knowing that Crowley likes wild game and Vargas himself is a hunter, I wouldn't be surprised if he took the headmage on a hunting trip. I also think that Vargas would give the fur to Crewel if he needs some material. The man may be a muscle head but he's not wasteful when it comes to hunting for game meat.

[viviennevermillion]

Theory about Fellow's backstory:

Some things I'd like to bring to your attention:

Fellow states that he wasted a few more years than the NRC students and slid non-committally through life until he was over 20 and became "employed"

Playful Land has recently become a trend and a fabled place everyone wants to go to. So far we have no information on what the amusement park was like before it became popular, so it might not have existed for that long

Fellow, while being the manager of Playful Land, clearly has a boss who threatens to cut his and Gidel's salary and he doesn't seem to get along very well with his superiors, even seems to hate them as he implies they are the rich people he appears to despise.

Gidel seems interested in going to a school

Now, I haven't personally seen Pinocchio except during my very early childhood, but I have looked up Honest John and apparently he has a boss called the Coachman and according to the wikia Honest John even sympathizes with Pinocchio and reacts with horror to the Coachman's plans to enslave the children

Fellow seems enraged when the topic of money is brought up and Yuu asks him if he does all this "just" for money and he talks about the students going to school as though they are very privileged etc.

This is still a Disney game and Fellow will likely get a card next year the same way Rollo did, which means he needs to be marketable. He's already marketed as the pretty new villain. They could still surprise me but for now I find it rather unlikely that they'll make Fellow a full-on human trafficker out of his own free will for the sake of evilling or some petty revenge / self-hatred reason

So my take so far is that Fellow is going to be the villain we deal with in this event just how Rollo has been but he is NOT the big bad of this amusement park scam. Taking all of this into consideration, I think Fellow is very much complicit in the crimes committed in this event but likely not of his own free will. So far, from what we know about him and assuming Disney won't go as far as make him an irredeemable human trafficker (they might but I still find it unlikely), he reads like someone who is trapped in what we call a "Knebelvertrag" (literal translation: 'gag contract') in my language; i.e. an unequal and unfair contract aiming to (1) create a power imbalance between the victim and the party that benefits from the contract, (2) restrict the victim in their autonomy to make free decisions, (3) make it difficult for the victim to refuse entering the contract, (4) make it even more difficult for them to exit the contract and often (5) make them dependent on the contract.

My theory is that Fellow was one of the first people they trafficked and he is likely useful enough for his superiors to employ him rather than to give him the puppet treatment. He might have had to choose between working for them or being turned into a puppet and sold. He might be responsible for them sparing Gidel from the puppet treatment as well.

Fellow was likely poor and apparently never went to a school from the looks of it. He might have been an orphan or from a bad home and in general the prime victim for human trafficking: someone very few people would look for if he went missing. I suspect that the fact that they can now pull this shit with students from a prestigious school and famous people is due to Fellow's magic and is a development that only happened AFTER he started working there, which explains the recent spike in popularity of Playful Land and that no one investigated them despite all this.

I can imagine there being a lot of brainwashing from the superiors involved such as:

making him feel like he can't survive without this job

making him hate the children who come to Playful Land because they're these privileged people who have what Fellow could never have had growing up

making him believe he can't cut ties with Playful Land without like, the superiors finding him and taking him out of the picture

making him feel like no one would believe him if he asked for help

Again, this is all based on the assumption that he's gonna get a sad backstory like Rollo. The other option would be to make him our first irredeemable villain.

The topic of this event is way heavier and more serious than stripping people of their magic power; it's human trafficking, a horrifying crime that actually exists in our world and if they want to make Fellow someone we can sympathize with they're gonna have to give him one hell of a backstory. "He suffered a loss and is full of self-hatred or jealousy" isn't going to cut it this time. Having him suffer with the guilt about his actions isn't going to cut it this time. Because this is not a mentally ill 18-year-old who's taking people's magic away, this is a fully grown adult man working for a human trafficking scam.

THIS on the other hand is realistic. These circumstances are tied to the topic of human trafficking and this would make more sense as a backstory for Fellow than anything else I can come up with for now. Sure you have the kids who are being held hostage and sold but that's just one facet of the whole thing. Not every case of trafficking is a prisoner in a shady cellar. Some of them are people who are in exploitative contracts and coerced and feel like they can't leave without severely endangering their lives.

Not saying Fellow is a victim or a poor little meow meow because at this point we still have no idea where they'll go with the rest of the story, they might just make him petty and evil. But if they'll take the sympathetic route, this is what makes sense for me as his backstory without making it feel like he got off too easily or like the story excuses his behavior.

For all I know he could just turn out to be complicit in human trafficking because he never got any chances and thinks the privileged kids deserve this and we could just beat him up and throw him in prison but that'd be a first for this game.

Anyway, what do you guys think Fellow's backstory will be?

[mymainwastoocluttered]

Random Twst things I think about all the time

How the everliving fuck does the Coral Sea work? Underwater cities that are actually part of the open sea? Do marine animals keep away from it? Do they talk? Do they talk like the movie they were inspired on?

Talking about animals, Disney movies are not consistent on which animals can talk and which can't and I'd love to know if that somehow means something for twst, because so far animals can't talk, but animal languages is a legit subject you can learn. Does everyone just learn the language?

Still onto that, what's up with beastfolk? Were they all animals at some point? I'd say yes, because Scar is very obviously a lion, and he's said to walk with hyenas. So the question is, who fucked the lions and hyenas how the beastfolk came to be?

Leona refers to himself as human, which might've been just a translation error, but... Huh. Fairly odd when merfolk refer to themselves as merfolk constantly.

Idia mentions that fae are different from humans (by pointing out Malleus) so the memory wipe thing needed to be in a different dosage for them. But merfolk and beastfolk can have the same dosage. How close to humans are merfolk an beastfolk? How different from humans are fae?

Of course, that's all based on the idea that humans are the base for the others, which... Not really scientifically accurate, since fish came first, so it wouldn't be odd to claim that humans are descendants of merfolk.

But, then again, Jupiter and the Age of Gods existed. I'm overthinking.

Still on beastfolk, how close to their animal parts are they? Do tails wag? Does sounds happen? They growl and all, but, like... They only growl. They do have some personality traits that match the animals, but, y'know. Same goes for merfolk, though they seem more attuned to their animal side since they constantly refer to it

Are all countries kingdoms? Are there republics?

What are direbeasts? Are they actually a problem? Are there beasts roaming around the world?

What's the deal with Idia's hair? Is it actual fire strands, or just hair that's technically on fire? Does it go out if he submerges his head?

Michael Mouse

Can we please get an event where we go to Twisted Wonderland's version of Latin America? Please. Michael, José Carioca and Panchito are right there. Please.

Is there tech that doesn't use magic? I mean, MC has a phone that supposedly isn't magic, but still, how common is stuff like that. Considering that we can safely conclude that everyone has magic in universe, just not everyone has magic potential to be a wizard.

Where the fuck is Crowley getting his money other than milking Kalim's family shamelessly, and allowing Azul to be a shady bitch on campus?

Deuce's delinquent backstory, please, Michael, please, I'm begging

Where are the other teachers in NRC? You can't convince me that there's only three teachers for a supposedly full school. I refuse to believe that.

What's Ramshackle's story? MICHAEL

Also, y'know, why is Yuu there and shit

OH, if, say, Leona has a kid with a human, will the kid be human or beastperson? Will the kid be 50/50? Will the kid be a lion beastperson? Same applies to merfolk? We know fae with humans creates crocodiles half-fae... Wait, is Sebek even a half-fae? His ears aren't pointy, but... Huh.

[pinkpruneclodwolf]

Overwritten Perspective—TWST theory.

Okay yall, I know this might sound crazy but yall have to hear me out.

If I didn't mention that I wholeheartedly believe TWST as a World/Realm has some form of sentience I'm mentioning it now because it adds to this crazy ass theory.

TWST as a realm DOES have some form of sentience but it only comes into play when Foreign Bodies are added to it, which is Yuu.

While I want to say that the Ghosts are also foreign bodies in some form its moreso like they pass thru a gateway that confirms their existence when high Magical concentration is on a field. Which is why there are so many ghosts at NRC.

But for Yuu, I have an argument to make on their behalf.

That TWST is consistently overwriting their memories.

Why?

Because Yuu's memories don't line up with the sequence of events that have happened in TWST. Because for TWST as a World/Realm the events of Scar, Grimhilde, Maleficent, and Hades were REAL.

While for Yuu, it was mere fiction, a story told on the big screen.

Which is why I'll add that Yuu CAN'T remember their dreams other than faint vestiges and a passing comment. The world is ACTIVELY stopping them from remembering key things because that's not how TWST perceives the Great Seven.

Like translating a language.

To put it into perspective, if you were to put Zeus and Hades into TWST they'd be overwritten to fit the scope of the world.

He'd just be on of the ppl that placed that curse on "Hades" to continue caring for "Tartarus" through his family lineage.

I will always bring this up: BECAUSE TWST runs on imagination, and how the people perceive and remember events as a collective they wouldn't perceive Zeus as a God but a Great Mage that specialized in Lightning magic.

And this clashing of overwriting something that is proven "true" in one world and not in the other leads to Yuu operating as though they've never seen a Disney character/movie despite having most of their memories in tact.

And what was true in their world is only confirmed to be true BECAUSE of Mickey's aid because he's projecting ways to defeat the Overblotees despite him not even existing/being REAL in TWST.

I don't think transitioning from one world and the other doesn't have any form of consequences.

So what I'm saying is, the TWST Versions of the Great Seven would not line up with our/Yuu's view of the Great Seven because they were real, they were seen as mages who set the bar.

They've left their mark on the world.

So while we/Yuu might see our versions of the Great Seven, Yuu might also be seeing a different version of them as well.

Like having glasses on vs having them off.

What your eyes perceive when you have your glasses on vs when you have them off are completely different perspectives.

[fairestwriting]

hello may i request platonic headcanons with dorm leaders? yuu starts crying so they ask why and yuu say it’s because the dorm leader reminds them of their older sibling back in their world and they really miss them. sorry if this ask is hard to understand english is not my first language and i used a translator for some parts 😅 thank you!

i can understand it just fine dont worry! heres your food ^_^

+ if you like my writing, you can buy me a ko-fi to support me!

Riddle Rosehearts

Caught off guard completely, by the crying and you admitting why you were upset. He’s not just an only child but not good with comforting others, so he’s just at a loss at what to do.

But Riddle sort of sympathizes with it. If you and your older sibling had been close, then he can imagine how it must be difficult to be apart from them.

“I’m... sorry about that, that you can’t see them.” He says in a gentle, lightly awkward tone. He’ll ask you if you want to talk about it, or if you needed him to bring you something like some tea or water, then promising he’d be here for you whenever you needed, even though he knows he’s no substitute for your family.

Leona Kingscholar

Not just caught off guard but also conflicted. Obviously, he doesn’t want you to feel bad, but those feelings you’re talking about are just something so... beyond anything he’s ever experienced.

(Him? Reminding someone of their older sibling? Why exactly? What makes them think of him as anywhere near something supposed to be comforting?)

He takes a moment to think of what to say, then realizes he doesn’t know what to say. “...I’m sorry about that.” He says, then winces at how stilted it sounded. He really doesn’t know how to act about this. “If you need to talk about it, I’ll...” He gestures vaguely.

He’s... trying his best, and he means well. He just has no idea how to act about this situation. Most of his efforts will lie in confronting Crowley about his stalling on taking you home, though he won’t specify to the headmaster why he feels like it’s such a pressing matter.

Azul Ashengrotto

Also awkward. It’s not something he can even imagine feeling, considering his sibling-less status. But he still hates to see you cry like this, and feels the need to do something.

“...I’m sorry, I had no idea. I can’t imagine how that must feel like.” He says in a quieter voice. It’s stilted, sure, but it’s genuine. He thinks about Jade and Floyd in a situation like this, how either might feel when separated from the other. He can’t imagine it’s a good feeling.

Offers to bring you some tea or water to help you calm down, or a dinner at Mostro Lounge to take your mind off things. You telling Azul you think of him as an older sibling makes him feel compelled to care for you. He’ll be pestering Crowley about finding a way to bring you home, too.

Kalim Al-Asim

He tears up too. Seeing you cry breaks his heart, he’s really fond of you, especially knowing that you see him this way. He doesn’t really think about it, he just hugs you.

“It’s gonna be okay soon, alright?” He tells you, hugging you close to his chest. “You’re gonna see each other again. And while you can’t, I’m gonna be here for you, okay?”

He swears to himself that he’ll care for you how he can. Kalim feels bad about being unable to treat all of his siblings the way he wants, because there are so many of them... but he’ll do what he can to keep you company, so you at least don’t feel lonely while you’re still unable to see your family.

Vil Schoenheit

It’s hard to get Vil to soften his strictness, but in this situation, there’s no way he could be scolding you for anything now. He’s not able to directly sympathize with it, but it doesn’t feel right to see you in pain.

Vil has a gentle hand on your shoulder, asking you to look up at him. “Now, I know it feels like you’ll never be able to see them now, but,” He starts in a softer voice to get your attention. “I promise you it’ll pass. You’ll be reunited with them one day, even if it takes a while. I’m sure they miss you just as much.”

Lends you a handkerchief so you can wipe your tears and gets you a glass of water, because crying can dehydrate you easily and that just makes you feel worse. He’s seen similar homesickness happening between Pomefiore dorm members, and stern as he is, he still cares about them, like how he cares about you.

Idia Shroud

One would think Idia would be so awkward in a situation like this. Idia himself would have thought that he’d be awkward. But he has this buried caring older sibling instinct that comes out in the moment.

“I-I’m sorry, do you want to talk about it?” He asks. He won’t initiate any sort of touching, but if you were to hug him, he’d let you cry into his shoulder. He’ll cater to whatever you need now, really.

(Missing a sibling is something Idia can really sympathize with)

He doesn’t think about it much at first, but after you finish talking and you leave, he gets emotional about it. He knows he can’t do anything to fix your problem, but he swears he’ll be there for you.

Malleus Draconia

He’s at a loss of what to say. You’re one of the few people Malleus is close to, and seeing you so upset breaks his heart, even thought it barely shows on his inexpressive face.

Malleus doesn’t talk much for a while, unsure of what to say, but he moves on his own, taking your hand into his and holding it for a moment, sort of tentatively, then pulling a dark handkerchief from his pocket to lend you.

“You and you sibling, are you close?” He asks. His voice is normally gentle already, but he sounds gentler now. He listens to you talk about them and watches as you wipe your tears with the handkerchief. He sort of wants to hug you but he hesitates.

In the end, he says he’ll talk to Crowley about it, and talk to Crowley he does. You don’t know exactly what happens, but the next day Crowley assures you he’s researching for a way to get you home with a seriousness he’s nevr had before.

[mobagehelllocal]

“lucky ending” extra notes i & iii

Hi, I said I would do it but then I released ver i so long ago that I felt I shouldn't do this unless I had another version out at least so yay! finally! ... I'll add ver ii here when I get around to writing it... *shifty eyes* So as usual, this is just my thought process and ideas while writing lol.

*please do not read if you haven’t read “lucky ending” ver i (dorm leaders) & ver iii (rook & lilia).

It was inspired by an anon ask and the button tradition from Japanese schools.

The anon ask went like this: First at all, I like do much your writing and I hope you are doing well. Second, I was wondering what would happen if the MC (Fem!s/o I guess) decided to not go back to her world, like she decide stay with her villain? Can you do make headcanons of this for the dorm leaders? Thank you very much. – from Anonymous

The button tradition, as narrated by the first years, is done when one person confesses and the other responds by giving them the button closest to their heart. In most Japanese uniforms it’s the second uniform, but in Twisted Wonderland--I looked at the ceremonial robes and the closest button should be the fifth. Maybe. I could be wrong. 

The songs I listened to while writing this! 

The original dorm leaders (and Rook) was written while listening to “Lucky Ending”, the ending theme of Fruits Basket. The English lyrics (translated by otenkiame!) are: 

“Change is important. I want to do it well,/ but I wanna cry. It's still bad. I wanna cry” 

“The word "goodbye" has disappeared completely from this world/ All that remains is me fooling around next to you/A day you don't laugh won't come anymore”

“I've understood it since being here/ These feelings of wanting to protect you aren't a misunderstanding/ If we can call what connects us bonds,/ everything changes/ everybody changes/ Even if in a different world, it'll never be different/ everything changes/ everybody changes/ Don't change, ever/ Stay here, stay here”

I think it’s obvious why I chose to use this as the title of the series. It’s a story about change but it’s also a story about the things you don’t want to change... And I think it’s not wrong to want to hold onto things. 

I also listened to the same playlist that I listened to while writing “wendy?” “hello peter pan”:

“Can’t help falling in love” cover by Annapantsu, “If you’re not the one” by David Beddingfield, “Who Knew” by P!nk and “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift. 

For Lilia in particular, I was listening to three Beauty and the Beast songs on loop. “Evermore” by Josh Groban, “Days in the Sun” by the live action cast and, of course--”How does a moment last forever” by Celine Dion.

“How does a moment last forever?/ How can a story never die?/ It is love we must hold onto/ Never easy, but we try/ Sometimes our happiness is captured/ Somehow, our time and place stand still/ Love lives on inside our hearts and always will”

Also for Lilia, Tolerate It by Taylor Swift.

“You're so much older and wiser and I/ I wait by the door like I'm just a kid”

“I made you my temple, my mural, my sky/Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life”

Malleus was definitely the first piece finished. Closely followed by Vil’s. I believe there was a gap inbetween them before I did the others? I wrote bits and pieces of Leona, Idia, Kalim and Azul’s. I think I finished Leona, Idia, Kalim then Riddle because I distinctly remember saving Azul for last. 

One of the most important things for me, is that each story stands distinct of each other. So I gave myself a really hard time trying to figure out how each one uniquely belonged to each of the characters.

For the Prologue... I think because it’s set at the graduation of certain characters, I used that to my advantage and implied the stronger bonds between the Yuu!Reader and the entirety of the cast. Because a lot of time has passed and I feel like--regardless of what other people believe, bonds will be made and relationships will have strengthened enough for it to happen. 

Riddle is honestly another really difficult character for me to write. I generally do love him and I enjoy his story, but something about him is difficult and I’m not sure why. 

I think a part of me is also really miffed because from Heartslabyul-Savanaclaw, you could feel that Riddle really cared for Yuu on some level but then he just straight up disappears come Octavinelle chapter. I feel like there was potential to develop their relationship even more. 

He WENT UP AND TIED YOUR RIBBON I REMEMBER I WENT DOKI DOKI OVER THAT. 

I feel like because I’ve established that it’s a Yuu!Reader, it’s impossible for this story to not include both Ace and Deuce. So of course they featured in really big roles for this one, being responsible for telling Riddle the story.

I have to thank my friend, Mes, for bouncing ideas with me. They were the one who suggested what I could do with Riddle’s story by having ADeuce play such a big part!

I also tried my hardest to include Trey and Cater, and I’m pretty happy with their cameo. In a way, they definitely helped Riddle figure out his own feelings for you. 

My favourite lines are: “I think you earned that much. I don’t believe anyone’s ever been in your situation before so—there’s no right or wrong about what you’re doing. It’s all about what you want to do.”

I wish someone would tell this to Yuu in general though. They’re the only one who has ever been in their situation (to our knowledge at least) and like... they’re definitely allowed to be even more selfish. 

Leona is someone who I used to dislike a lot. I never hid that. It’s primarily because of how disappointed I am in the story of Savanaclaw probably. But like, I was always concerned about writing him properly because I thought that it was only right that I did right by him, because there would be people reading these stories who loved him. And I felt like I had to do right by that love. 

I think... it’s wrong to believe that characters... villains... cannot fall in love or “won’t fall in love.” I think it’s wrong also to think that “people don’t change for love.” 

In fact, people do change. You definitely shouldn’t change yourself to be loved, but... people change all the time to be their “better” selves. So whose to say that a good person, who you love, will not make you want to improve yourself? Isn’t that what we want when we meet people? To fall in love with someone who will ultimately make you better and never worse. 

Or so that’s how I try to write the Twisted characters when they fall in love... With an understanding that “morally” the person they are falling for is “kind” and “good” and how a part of them might just want to be better just for that person. (Especially Leona and Azul). They don’t necessarily have to be nice to everyone, but if they can be better for one person... We stan healthy character growth.  

But yeah, Leona is driven by understanding that he’s a very selfish person. But that he’s also very unfortunate and he doesn’t want tie you with someone who, he thinks, is actually worthless. He probably, deeply, thinks you deserve more.

Though his selfishness eventually wins out and well... Won’t you forgive him for it? :) For tying you down to this worthless second prince? 

I think his own self-awareness does make him try harder. Not for everyone or everything... but for you. Just for you. I think that would be Leona’s love language--spending time with you, trying for you.

He’d appreciate if you didn’t call him out on it though, that would be very embarrassing. 

Looking back, I’m surprised that it was the only version where none of the other boys from his dorm showed up lol. Which means Ruggie is the sole character who has yet to appear in the “lucky ending” series, huh.

My favourite lines from his story that still leaves me breathless and patting my past self in the back: ““I’m home—” you said—even if a part of you felt that home should have been two green eyes, a cocky smirk, and a warm patch of sunlight on the grassy ground.”

Like honestly, what was I on? Who was she?

Azul is, like Leona, someone who is so keenly aware of the things he’s lacking. In fact, he’s someone who thinks he’s lacking when he’s probably perfect in some aspects. He might act proud but a part of him--I think--thinks its not enough. It’s never enough. He can certainly do better still.

In that light, it’s why he thinks he’s undeserving of a partner. Especially one who is “kind” and “understanding.” While ultimately, Azul deserves people in his life who are that and “accepting” of him--I think he still thinks he doesn’t. 

And thats why he lets go of the Yuu!Reader. It’s why he doesn’t “chase” after her like Leona did.

It’s because he’s selfish, because he wants her--that he forces himself to let go. 

Azul needs someone who’ll tell him that he is worth something and that he’s definitely worth the effort. So please praise him a lot until he’s crying in happiness. I’m sure it’s the one thing he’s always wanted to hear from people around him.

Also my Poly!Octavinelle Agenda has never died and I am pleased Past!Ai got away with so much Poly!Octa hints in this story lol. But honestly, regardless of wht Octavinelle says... god, you can tell they genuinely care about each other.

I recently rewatched Octavinelle’s chapter and... by god, the amount of things I missed out on first watch. Jade’s concern when he realized Azul wanted to get rid of that photo... The fact Floyd was so willing to drop the fight to return to Azul too... Anyways, Poly!Octa Agenda for life.

Favourite lines: “Azul’s pathetic whimpers turned into guttural sobs. His fingers spread to cover his eyes—and his glasses slid off his face, down to his lap and then to the ground—at his actions. His whole body shook as he cried his heart out.”

It’s not as poetic as a lot of my other favourites, but for some reason these lines always get me when I reread them. There’s something so visceral about it. 

Azul’s piece is probably the least visually stimulating out of all these stories? His was so emotionally driven compared to the others and I worried a lot about that.

I think I remember I was crying so badly as I was writing this. 

Kalim is really hard for me because I feel like I struggle a lot with finding conflict in his character? He’s such a genuinely nice person, I find it hard to believe that the Yuu!Reader would feel alienated from him or something. So I brought in “environment” to get in the way. 

My use of celestial imagery for Kalim is because of the Scarabia trailer! I really loved how it put Kalim as the sun and Jamil as the moon. I definitely will take advantage of that when I get around to writing for Jamil.

So because I wanted to use the sun, I chose to use the idea of comets for Kalim? I think I remember something about how meteors are drawn to the gravitation pull of the sun and can “escape” it or “be destroyed” by it. Haha, hot. 

Jamil is someone who ultimately cares about Kalim too and I had fun writing his banter with the Yuu!Reader. I think I wanted to decribe the shadows licking his face reminscent to the marks from his Overblot but... I felt like doing that would give Jamil too much focus so I ultimately decided against it.

It would’ve been hot though. 

Oh yes, one thing I wanted to talk about is Kalim’s rushed proposal. I remember people talking about it in the tags, comments... even in asks at that time. The reason he does it is because he’s someone who didn’t realize his feelings until you spelled out your own. It was a sort of: “Oh. Right. That is the word I’d use to describe my feelings.” 

My favourite lines from his story is: “How does one bid goodbye to the sun?” and “No one ever willingly bids goodbye to the sun.They spend the rest of their lives trying to find the right way back to it.”

My god, who was this genius.

Vil is probably the most visually stunning out of all these stories. I feel like my stories go from super vivid imagery and setting to just complete emotional disasters lol. (Vil being the former and Azul’s being the latter... not that it’s bad, it actually suits the characters). 

Oh man, I remember thinking that Vil is such a hard character to write because we don’t know what his motivation for perfection is. All we knows is that he wants to be the best but, why? 

It’s like, for example, Idia. His motivations could be otaku-related. He doesn’t want to go to class because he’d rather go play or something. That sounds in character--but Vil was so hard because he wanted perfection.

But we already see him as such a perfect character, so what else did he need to be even more perfect? In that light, Chapter 5 did a really good job on presenting Vil’s motivations. 

But honestly, I think I can comfortably say that the Vil I’ve written so far is pretty accurate? To his character. I’m really grateful I read his chat lines because his comment about intelligence really got me thinking about his possible motivations. It made it really easy to understand that Vil wasn’t like majority of the real world’s influencers. 

One other thing that I was really happy about with his story is the use of the flower language. It’s something I hope I can use more because it’s so beautiful. 

Oh! And the roses the Yuu!Reader talks about are double delight roses. They are specifically bred to have two colors--yellow in the center and pink on the outside. I thought it fitting that the Yuu!Reader breed special roses for Vil.

They can be called... err... Vil Roses?

My favourite lines from his story is:  ““My happiness will not be dictated by others—no, Vil Schoenheit is a person who will grasp happiness with his own hands.” [...] “I’m giving you this button because I’ve already found happiness by your side.”” 

This line was actually inspired by Zelda C.W.’s MYth series. Specifically Hera’s story, Will. 

Idia ...for him, I somehow had a very hard time imagining him trying to tell the reader to stay. Like that didn’t compute for me? I felt like his version was better approached in a more comedic light somehow. 

I also felt that it would be cuter if the Yuu!Reader had already chosen to stay and Idia would need to hastily retrack his confession... Unfortunately, Yuu!Reader won’t let him. 

Honestly looking back on it, I wonder how much of Chapter 6 is going to make me scream and want to rewrite Idia’s part? 

My favourite lines from his story is: “He was never particularly good at lying—nor was he good at keeping secrets from you. You were a person he considered a dear friend—and he was always the type of person who ended up spilling everything to you. He liked being able to talk about the things he enjoyed—he liked that he had found someone who wanted to hear him out.”

A lot of my interpretation for Idia is closely linked to personal experience as an anime, manga and gaming fan. It was just a couple of years ago where people would actually be bullied for liking these things--but nowadays its become a norm. It’s... stunning actually but it makes me happy to know that maybe nobody will be judged for loving anime.

That being said, Idia’s longing to find someone he can talk to is something I really relate too--back then, it was so difficult to find someone to talk to about my interests... So I interpreted Idia as much the same. That what he enjoys about the Yuu!Reader is their ability to simply sit and listen to him talk. 

Malleus... man, recently I’ve been starting to fall in love with him all over again. He was my first oshi ever... Anyways, moving on. You think I’ve talked enough about immortal x mortal but nope, we are not done. I love this theme in general, romantic or platonic. 

I will never shut up about it you can’t make me. 

Sebek having a good enough friendship with Yuu!Reader is such a delicious concept. Like mutual respect and Sebek understanding that Yuu!Reader gives Malleus a different type of companionship that Sebek, Silver or Lilia couldn’t... 

And also, ultimately, Sebek and Yuu!Reader do love Malleus. In different ways, but I like the thought of Sebek respecting that and respecting the Yuu!Reader.

Me realizing just now that Silver joins Ruggie in the: “has never appeared in a lucky ending fic club.”... Sorry Silver, I swear soon. Once we get more content on you.

Celestial themes for Malleus are primarily, again, because he only ever seemed to meet you at night. And I thought it would be wonderful, if you were a bright spark to him. 

Favourite lines are definitely:  “Oh, bright light… I would prefer to live the rest of your life by your side… rather than spend centuries contemplating what it could have felt… to hold you in my arms.”

I am, always, going to be such a big sucker for the idea of immortals constantly remembering and loving mortals. Always holding them close in their memories, because in that way--their lovers have become immortal with them. 

I also like to imagine that he eventually figures out a way to connect your worlds together so you can still talk to your friends and family from that world. He is one of the most powerful magicians around, I’m sure its possible.

Rook was honestly the most difficult piece for me to write because he’s so hard(?) for me to understand. He’s a mess of contradictions honestly and I... guess I’m excited to see what he’ll do come Chapter 6. 

I actually rewrote his story so much. I got about 500 words with a different idea/plot in mind before deleting that completely and restarting from scratch. 

I feel like Rook is someone who talks big and talks about love without actually knowing what it truly might feel like. He’s someone who doesn’t understand it and ends up mistaking it for his fascination. 

Aside from me enjoying inserting other characters from the same dorm as much as possible, I felt that Vil was the perfect person to snap some sense into Rook.

Epel’s appearance there is basically to reflect how much I really hope the first year kids get really close to one another. 

Rook is also someone who I think, doesn’t try to explain himself too much. He’s someone who I think talks a lot, but if people don’t understand him then he doesn’t need to be understood? That’s my impression. Lol, when “lucky ending” became a character study. 

I also really loved the idea that Rook was fine with people running from him--to him that makes it all the more thrilling. But then you start running away from him and that just ends up making dread pool in his stomach. 

My favourite lines from his story: “‘When something ends, it must be sad. So, tell me then, how an ending could be so beautiful?’ [...] .‘But there was one ending that was beautiful, non?’ [...] ‘That’s right. ‘They lived happily ever after’—are those not the words that define a beautiful ending?’”

I used the dusk metaphor for Rook. My idea is that he starts seeing dusk as an ending and how he can’t fathom how any “ending” is beautiful. When a story ends, it’s not beautiful to him, humu. But when that ending is the happily ever after then... That makes all the difference. 

Lilia was actually easier than Rook’s but also fairly difficult. I had written the middle of Lilia’s piece while stumped on Rook’s actually. Lilia’s was probably easier because I love the idea of immortals and mortals.

I don’t really like the idea of mortals becoming immortals. Like, yes, it’s certainly sweet and spending eternity with a one true love is definitely the best possible ending but... I think there’s so much weight in an immortal choosing to love a mortal while knowing that they will ultimately lose them.

The biggest theme for Lilia is definitely time.

Thinking about it now... There’s been a lot of things in real life that’s just... Made me think about how we have less time than we actually think we have. And I think I ended up channeling that through Lilia... Though I feel like it is ultimately things Lilia would think about though. 

The most important imagery would probably be the stars.

I honestly wanted to avoid it because I used celestial imagery for both Kalim and Malleus but the words just flowed out in a way that I felt that I couldn’t replace. So I went with it. 

Lilia is no stranger to loneliness. One of the reasons he feels less alone is because he has family now and he doesn’t want to rob you of that. Family is so important to him because they are people who are meant to be with you--they are people who will make you less lonely--or so thats how I think? he thinks. 

My favourite lines from his story: “He would relish in the way—You made the world pause. You made a moment extend into an eternity. You made an immortal crave just a little more time.”

I’m so immensely proud of this one? I don’t really have much else to say. There’s something so raw about it that I love. Also the part where it continues on to say that  “Because there is never enough time.”

Me realizing my extra notes is just half me simping over these characters, half sharing headcanons, have actually giving good advice? perspective?, half song lyrics, half character study/analysis?

“lucky ending” is about change. Whether we want them to happen or not it’s... the human condition to change. For better or worse, we change--day by day. I think we all operate under a small panic about how everyday things are changing...

But “lucky ending” is also about the things that don’t change. Won’t change. Will never change. The things worth holding onto, the thing worth fighting for... or so I’d like to think.

[crazykacey]

Com-Myu-nity Survey!

@missemperor​ tagged me on this loong survey (thank you btw <3) and I’m excited to do it! lol

1. What is your hobby?

Playing video games, Youtube (Gaming & music), baking, singing

2. What is your special skill?

Baking I guess xD

3. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Strengths: I really don’t care what people think of me like if someone comments my clothing or the way I do certain things I’m just like “lol idgaf”. I also am quite a empathetic and sympathetic person

Weaknesses: I get angry quite easily and sometimes I might get angry over super silly and stupid things and after a while I’m just gonna be like “omg why was I mad over such a stupid thing” so I’m sorry if I get mad at anyone over silly things xD

4. What is your favorite color?

YELLOW

5. What is your favorite animal?

a dog or a bunny <3

6. Which food are you into lately?

idk there hasn’t been any new foods that I have liked so much that I would just eat it like a madman but NZ has amazing sushi😍

7. What is the thing you never lose to from anyone?

I’m not really sure if I understand this question correctly but my dignity I guess? For example there are certain things I would NEVER do but then drunk me is like let’s do this but I hold to that small part of dignity still left and don’t do that thing if it makes any sense?

8. What is your most treasured item?

I used to be really materialist but nowadays I don’t care that much about that stuff and I want to treasure the friendships and all other relationships I have rn. (wow that was deep) BUT if I had to choose one I would choose this teddy bear that I’ve had since I was like 2 or 3

9. What is your cooking specialty?

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES im coming for you pheebs

10. What is the thing you want the most at the moment?

To fix my fucking mental health

11. What is the thing you are most scared of?

To lose everybody who are dear to me

12. What is the thing you were happy about this year?

That I was able to get to New Zealand (and that I graduated from that hellhole aka high school)

13. What is the thing you were sad about this year?

I don’t actually know XD not that much have happened that has made me sad but if I had to choose one it’s that I had to leave my doggo to Finland ;_;

14. What is the thing you regretted this year?

focusing all my time and energy on people who I thought were my friends but in reality were just really toxic people who didn’t give a shit

15. What is the thing you were angry about this year?

my now ex-friend how just sabotaged everything and didn’t learn from any mistake that she did and just kept being shitty

16. What is the job that gave you a sense of fulfillment this year?

nothing yet lol (hope this volunteer thing does that tho lol)

17. What has changed about you since you entered com-myu-nity?

I have become more confident about speaking about the things I like (still need to work more on that tho lol) and also got more confidence on singing and doing what I like and not being afraid to be who I am (in social media mostly)

18. Which character would you play in Sera myu?

Sailor Venus D44

19. If you were to form a collab now, who would it be with?

omg I already have soo many collabs I have to do but I would like to collab with everyone from the Sera Myu Community or anyone in general (heck if you want to collab with me in any way; music, games etc. just message me I’m always up for meeting new people!)

20. What do you love about Sera Myu nowadays?

That it still exists and is getting more and more love outside of Japan too!

21. Which cast member catches your attention the most at the moment?

Mizuki Yamashita, Shiori Kubo & Rimo Hasegawa <333

22. Which cast member would you want as your significant other?

oh crap idk Hotaru, Rimo or Hironari

23. If you were to marry a cast member, who would it be?

RIMO YES QUEEN

24. If you would go to a deserted island, which cast member would you like to go with you?

For some reason I can only think of Yuu Takahashi so let’s just go with her then XD

25. If you would be born again, which cast member would you want to be?

Mizuki Yamashita or Hotaru Nomoto <33

26. Which Sera Myu production would you want to be a part of?

probs NogiMyu or UNV (so I could just cry my eyes out)

27. If you would create your own kingdom, what kind of country would you want it to be?

kingdom where everyone is equal and everyone lives in harmony (really cliche I know but idc)

28. What is an interesting book or manga you read recently?

omg lol I feel so bad I haven’t had any time for those but I like the Pokemon Special manga! can you just finish BW2 chapter plz

29. What is an interesting movie you watched recently?

Annabelle Comes Home! I don’t care what people say I LIKED IT and that is it. also it is not a movie but I watched the Zambi musicals and OMG THEY WERE SO GOOD I CRIED SO MUCH I RECOMMEND THEM PLEASE WATCH THEM (Especially Team Blue omg the feels ;_;)

30. What is your favorite Sera Myu song at the moment?

Knockin’ Down Hesitation is and will probably always be my favorite Myu song

31. What is your favorite Sera Myu song choreography at the moment?

UNV Ai no Starshine or SKSDK La Moon

32. What is your favorite Sera Myu costume at the moment?

LMF Eternal Sailor Moon or the Shining Moon Tokyo costumes (they are soo sparkly and cute I LOVE IT)

33. What is your favorite Myu at the moment?

Eien Densetsu Kaiteiban is and will probably always be my favorite Myu

34. What is your favorite Myu cast?

Kaguya Shima Densetsu Kaiteiban (Team Moon is also pretty cool tbh)

35. Is there something you say a lot recently?

irl: oh guurl, nasty

in social media: omg, lol, XD

36. What would you do if you could plan a Fan Kansha?

ALL THE MOONS SINGING LA SOLDIER and releasing the WHOLE Fan Kansa recording and throwing all the actors out of the recoring room cause that unnecessary yapping from them over the recording was SOO ANNOYING

37. What do you hope to see Sera Myu doing in the future?

SAILOR V AND SAILOR MOON R MOVIE MUSICALS!!!

also mixed cast sorry not sorry

38. What kind of person do you want to be in 5 years?

more confident about myself and have better self-esteem

39. What has been a memorable concert or event this year?

haven’t been to any this year

40. What do you want to do in your private life this year?

get my shit and mental health together

41. What kind of job would you like to do in the future?

sounds pretty cliche but maybe a Youtuber?

42. Do you have a hairstyle you would like to try in the future?

I actually have no clue AT ALL. Hair is one of the things I’m so lost with and have no idea what to do with it

43. What Sera Myu merchandise would you love to have?

something cool and useful (don’t get me started on those pins)like posters (maybe signed ones too)

44. Where would you want Sera Myu to come to?

I want Sera Myu to become an international phenomenon where the Myus would be translated and acted in a country’s native language!!!

45. If you could have a holiday with any cast member, what do you want to do?

BEACH HOLIDAY WITH RIMO omg that would be the best thing ever just sun bathing all day long

46. Please say something to your favourite cast member.

girl you are amazing and I’m so proud of you please never stop doing what you love. I would really like to meet you someday and just thank you cause you really inspire me and motivate me to continue to work on my dream. Thank you <3

[nyanzaya]

Indirectly tagged by Stolen from: @for-gxd-and-glxry

Test found here.

Tagging: Aauuuuuuu….. @mikami03 @k-chxn @erikararara @xdontmind @orihariisms (Do Saku lol I’m so nosy but you can do anyone you want lmao but Saku would be my #1) @etherealiities (You could do Navi I’m nosy about what she would get tbh but I mean same thing I said to yuu-chan) You beautiful people don’t gotta do what I did because I felt super passionate and I had to explain. <3<3

Though quiet on the outside, you are often the hidden hero; someone who rushes in when needed and then after the emergency is over fades back into the woodwork. Because of this sense of duty and honor, you can also on occasion be rigid in your viewpoint and unyielding in the face of other ways of thinking. Usually cynical and rarely trusting of others, you maintain a small set of intimate friends. These bonds are stronger than most. You are always grounded in the present moment. Your close bonds can also lead to clique-ishness and a tendency to gossip about those who are deemed less worthy. You are an integrative thinker, collecting data from a wide range of sources and applying it to your worldview. You can become overly task-oriented. In stressful situations you often withdraw from the world to seek peace in contemplation. You often seem cold and withdrawn. Often you will withdraw rather than verbalize your discontent.

I feel this intense need to explain. Lol so excuse me while I just throw out information. Just, don’t do what I did and literally no one has to read this unless they are curious.

It makes so much sense if you were to really think critically about how Iza is and how he comes across. He often would be quiet because he is constantly analyzing and observing but once you get him talking he literally doesn’t shut up. Iza really is, set in how he thinks and looks at the world even if he would agree with your muses point of view, it’s only because he can see so many different prospectives and depending on how your muse comes across he would rather keep things peaceful. Of course he can and will argue back if he is really feeling as if he needs too but it’s not very common. 

The thing about him being this ‘hidden hero’ it just never occurred to me and if I think about it, to him and in his world and how he sees everything. Literally, to him, what he does isn’t bad at all. I would think he thinks he is actually helping the world by doing what he does and well, that happens to be killing people. To him it’s like he is doing a service of slowly but surely getting rid of all of these terrible people in politics or even underground. I don’t agree with what he does or why he does it. It’s just interesting to think about it as him ‘being a hero’ and ‘doing a duty and service for his people’ 

I have to agree with the result that Iza is very cynical and distrusting of others and really it’s almost to a fault but he knows he has to talk to people in order to get things. Honestly that’s where he is hypocritical because he has to trust people to give him information that he needs in order to do his job and really him being an informant makes sense because he is always looking for information and I have to agree that he does use that information to and applies it to his world view. With the way he thinks too, about how it says he is an integrative thinker it does make sense, he is very good at deducting and doing simple guess work and getting it right. Although he does ask a lot of questions, maybe more than he actually needs to and it might be why he talks so much because he is constantly, thinking and changing his mind and then taking back what he said and going back to what he originally though only for that to change again. I doubt he has ADHD, and I’m not even going to go into that.

Even though he may not have many friends, I like to think that the ones he currently has he is close to and even though he may not look it Iza would do anything for his friends aside from being protective. When I think about him and people it really depends on how the person he is talking to comes across because if they are upbeat and friendly he would reflex that back? I think it’s a sort of defense he does in order to make the other person as comfortable as possible so then he can evaluate just how they are. Iza might say that he doesn’t need people but honestly, he lying and in the end, he desperately needs people. He just can’t handle being on his own for too long, it honestly makes him anxious and then the fact that as sad as it was, yeah he had been de-humanized and conditioned to need people even if he doesn’t like them. It’s hard to explain just why he is the way he is but he has been through some traumatic stuff and I know he has PTSD because of it and it’s sad to think about how if he is alone in his apartment for too long he would get hallucinations and start to revert back into this helpless thing. 

It’s just insane thinking about that because he appears so confident and collected when really his ego is the most fragile thing and he is so scattered. I can go on forever and get into the topic about how he uses ‘short term-memory loss’ as a defense mechanism to appear- helpless! To look like he is non-threatening it’s so insane! I’m just getting all excited talking about this. 

The rest of it really finishes it up, he really can be task-orientated if it interests him or if he really just doesn’t want to think about himself because the only person he would refuse to analyze is himself. In stressful situations I think emotionally he does try to want to withdraw but he doesn’t want to appear like he is running away so he would stay and that’s when he would come off as cold and withdrawn because it’s almost like a switch. He can be very friendly and compliment and then suddenly he gets analytical, cold and sometimes even rude. But it does depend on the situation and how easily he feels he could avoid something that feels stressful.

The only way you would know if he is uncomfortable his body language and his ears and his tail can express every feeling he has. You would know if he is interested if his ears are leaned forward, you would know he is upset if his ears are droopy, you would know if e is angry if his ears are turned to the side. It’s always something that is noticeable and his tail might be harder to translate into how he is feeling but when he is irritated you would know when you see his tail thump or sway quickly from one side to another. BUT. I know people don’t know cat body language very well and I wouldn’t expect anyone to, it’s really just a small detail to him and if a muse can read it then they will understand Iza very well. Although his ears constantly change, unless he is feeling neutral then his ears stay normal.

I love talking about him omg 

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Girls’ Last Tour 8 - 9 | Houseki no Kuni 8 - 9 | Netjuu no Susume 8 - 9 | Mahoutsukai no Yome 8 - 9 | Juuni Taisen 9 - 10

Girls’ Last Tour 8

Why do I get the feeling the girls will lose the camera soon?

I noticed the names on the drawers before the girls did. I just never mentioned it.

That snow transition to Chi was…weird…

I think at least a small part of the problem with this show is that it’s drab. Another part is that your appreciation of the show depends on how you view it as relaxing or mind-numbing when you watch it week-to-week. Yet another aspect is that it rides upon, also, your appreciation of the philosophical content that you’re allowed to wade in as part of the show.

“Pumped up” doesn’t seem to be the right word, subbers. I don’t know why (maybe context?), but I don’t feel pumped up when I see the moon. The moon, to me, would be motivating if I were in their situation, but it sure wouldn’t pump me up…

“Magic power”? Judging from the mouthflaps, the word was mahou which just translates to “magic”, and would’ve done decently here too.

Please don’t ship the lolis…

Please don’t make the lolis drunk, either…

Underage drinking! Censor it, censor it! (half-joking tone)

Huh? There’s a small after-credits segment. Keep watching…

Uhh…*thinks about a compulsive habit involving hair eating* Yeah, no thanks.

Girls’ Last Tour 9

If humans are the only living things left, what about the fi-yeah, spoke too soon.

Why did a robot want to protect a fish anyway?

Yuu has discovered the human capacity to float after kicking.

Chi’s favourite conversant is a box. A grey box. Amazing… (sarcasm dripping)

Chi has discovered the thing from One Piece known as Super Drowning Skills.

As they said in Finding Nemo, “fish are friends, not food”! Hahaha.

These robots look like something out of a Shaun Tan book, yeeps. (Didn’t see the construct-o-bot too clearly the first time he appeared.)

It’s like a mother talking to a daughter, only this time it’s in robot-speak. All 1s and 0s…

I did not come here to watch robots explode. But these robots exploding…cool! Like an action movie!

What was that last part with the robot communication circles and patterns for? I guess it made more sense with the volume on, huh…

Houseki no Kuni 8

Why do I get the ominous feeling the biting “ice floe” was Aculeatus or someone like that (and not Ventricosus, the king)?

I love how grumpy Antarc is when they’re like, “Tha failure is all mine” and they’re just holding their hand like it’s no problem. The hand really is no problem, especially in contrast to Phos, come to think of it.

It’s hard to convince someone when you literally have no hands to do it with…

“I raise my hands in defeat.” – Phos in on my level of puns. I was going to make a hand pun and then they come up with this, which is much better than what I could think up on the fly.

Notice Phos is the only colour in this winter world…

I knew gold was soft and platinum too, but…what does that have to do with-oh wait. Never mind.

It’s like something out of a horror film…it’s sheer genius.

Oh dear. It seems I’ve fallen for a sensei-only yandere. What a problem…

Hey, doesn’t this look familiar? Like a kagune, for instance?

U---uwahhhhhhhh…My boy Antarc was taken and now he’ll be Lunarian weapons…Plus with those cracks, Phos looks sadder than usual…

Huh? ED change? “Liquescimus”?...Oh, I see.

This next ep preview…is weird. Especially because you see Kongou-sensei smash his head into a wall…

Houseki no Kuni 9

When they said spring was a time for change, I’m betting they didn’t mean this…(what happened to Phos)

Interestingly, the gold looks like a rapier. Or some other old-timey sword. Then it becomes a spider lily, which is a symbol of death.

Phos’s eyes look like Antarc’s used to…plus they’ve gained a personality like theirs too.

Crying? A defect? No, no…

A bit of a mess? No, Phos, you’re more than a mess.

Phos is still wearing the old uniform, huh. Mourning clothes.

Ah, so that’s where Phos mentions it’s gold and platinum. No wonder Karandi knew…

So it’s not “with great power comes great responsibility?” Or is it just the subbers having fun?

Cinnabar seems to be a lot like Bakugo. Just without the extreme “I’ll beat you up!” stuff.

Phos’s jerk face, LOL. Haven’t seent that in a while…

Netjuu no Susume 8

I’m really unsatisfied with the fact I’ll have to say goodbye to this show in 2 episodes…It’s been my favourite for this entire season, and when the competition is strong, that means this show – with all its fluff and misunderstandings – has done itself more than enough to deserve a spot on my favourites list.

This is Netjuu no Matome (Summary of an MMO Junkie). Honestly, my translation works a lot better than CR’s this time don’tcha think?

Hayabusa (Falcon) Moving Company. Makes sense if Amazon is its RL counterpart…

…then it turns out they wrote Hayabusa backwards on the moving van (Sabuyaha). LOL wut.

The ep title seems to be “[I] took a step forward”.

Harth? Well, spoilers. You just ruined my life…sort of.

I half-expected Yuki’s hat to blow off, but hey, this is an MMO. Hats don’t blow off unless you want them to.

Notice Sakurai uses keigo.You use keigo with people you don’t really know, by the by.

Dammit! Sakurai’s hot but Harth is better! Argh, such a simple artstyle. I shouldn’t be worked up over hot guys when there’s such a simple artstyle…

The eyecatches are so good. Why would you get rid of them in this episode, of all episodes???

T-They could’ve been lying to each other, like in And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? ??? Gah, but this show is so sweet, I’ll forgive it.

As soon as Sakurai’s battery died, I swear I just heard The Entertainer in my head. As if it’s all some big dream I’m bearing witness to. But of course, it’s fiction. It’s basically a shared dream for the lot of us who know about it. A sweet shared dream we can access anytime.

Every time I look at that credit list and see Maeno as Harumi…yeah…not gonna think about it. But it seems double-Sakurai even got Harth as a role. Wowee, Sakurai!

Netjuu no Susume 9

One episode and one OVA to go before these guys are gone…

“I Call That Feeling Marble” – Why “marble”?

Sono Kimochi Ma-buru…so they weren’t quite lying when they said “marble”, eh? Sono Kimochi would translate to “that feeling”. However, ma-buru could be “marvel”, so it could be “I Call That Feeling [a] Marvel” (which makes a lot more sense).

I swore Morimori-chan would’ve asked to be partners! The fact that she didn’t was so disappointing…

There were some ducks drifting along in the foreground of one shot.

What happened to Harumi, come to think about it?

Is there an equivalent to TGIF in Japanese???

*Morimori-chan jumps out of chair* That’s me whenever I get a text, hahaha.

The show shows its Comico roots – that park background looks like it came out of a visual novel, which is a sort of trademark of Comico series like ReLIFE and it. Nanbaka, on the other hand…if you’ve seen it before, you’ll be aware of what that show’s visual quirk is.

So the woman’s name isn’t Sendai, but Yashiro? Okay then.

I want a Fujimoto-centric thing now. Please, someone? Do it for me?

I feel like Sakurai and Tenya Iida would be good brothers in an AU. They act in similar ways to each other.

Mahoutsukai no Yome 8

The shot to the head (Cartaphilus received) was so brief, I actually found it funny.

“This girl [Chise] has strange taste.” – Indeed, she does. But that’s why we follow her.

“But you don’t hate it, do you?”

Joseph…?

Mahoutsukai no Yome 9

(looks at shop sign when Chise sits down) Someone can’t spell “biscuits”…

How did Ruth learn the familiar binding spell anyway? Does Elias have a familiar, too? Or does he not have one since he’s part fairy?

It’s really hard to see what Elias’s monster form no. 3 (or is that no. 2?) looks like.

The humour in this show is somewhat unwarranted. It doesn’t always work, either. (I like a majorly consistent show best. Incongruous mood whiplashes don’t always work, after all.)

Is it Silver or Silky? I still don’t understand…

These roses must mean something in flower language…

Apparently there used to be an old trend of lesbian vampires. It’s a pretty old-fashioned trope, so it feels quite at home here. Update: Scratch that, a Leanan Sidhe is apparently more of a succubus, which was the exact vibe I was getting from her. Lesbian succubi? That’s a new concept.

That dragon!!!

Juuni Taisen 9

I think I’ve seen some spoilers saying Rabbit dies. I already knew everyone bar one *eyes Rat* will die anyway, but the game is in seeing how they die.

Were CGI models the best for this moment? Probably not, but there was some good movement from Usagi there.

Did you notice the shining light when Ox repositioned his sword (after he jumped)?

100-person…that reminds me of the SekaTsuyo “Hundred Throws” thing, but please don’t talk to me about SekaTsuyo…

Of course Kanae’s backstory has drinking in it. Her tagline has to do with “drunken rage”…(half-sarcastic)

Hey, this episode is titled after Rabbit. Isin’s genre-breaking strikes again. Also the scribbles on the faces is a nice touch, but not as good as the marionettes from Rampo Kitan.

I swear they’re relying on CGI models for the Ox and Tiger in this episode...

I’d like to headcanon Eiji is good at soccer. Not as the Ox, but just as himself.

Well, “CGI models” was definitely true right there when the Tatsumi bros attacked.

Those ice effects got put to good use, at least.

If you sit a bit of a distance from the screen, you can see they really are CGI models, the Ox and the Tiger. Graphinica’s really pulling out the stops – after all, didn’t they just say “don’t do what you’re unused to doing”?

Juuni Taisen 10

*as some insigificant sniper falls to his death* Yeah, let’s ignore the bad quality of that…

Dangit, Ushii hasn’t been given a birth year! No, why Isin??? Why??? (But does Kanae use Chrome on her iPad?)

Slicing the bridge is a bit much, y’know, Ushii - even for my suspension of belief.

Who knew a stab to the heart could be more touching than any other death in this show? Maybe it’s a stab…to my feels. (You’re all groaning now, aren’t you?)

So…no explanation for home boy Usagi, then?

I think two of the kanji from “To Treat A Man Beef From His Own Cow” (the title, not the episode) are from Gobouken (the name of Ushii’s sword, and the name also means “bayonet”), which is interesting.

[recentanimenews]

My Week in Manga: July 3-July 9, 2017

My News and Reviews

Last week at Experiments in Manga I announced the winner of the Summer Spookiness manga giveaway. The post also includes some of the manga available in English that incorporate Japanese folklore, ghosts, or urban legends in some way. Otherwise, it was a rather quiet week except for the fact that on Friday evening I discovered that the room I was storing a bunch of my books in had flooded thanks to a broken radiator pipe. So, a fair amount of my Friday night and weekend was spent on recovery efforts and assessing the damage. All things considered, I came out of the whole thing pretty well. Although I did lose some material, and it was heartbreaking, I was able to save the majority of the books. (I’m really glad I took the preservation and conservation class during library school!) Fortunately, only two of the severely damaged books were truly irreplaceable. One is just about dry enough now that I can start to try pressing it back into shape and the other is currently in the freezer. They won’t necessarily be pretty, but they should still be readable when I’m through.

Anyways! On to the licensing news and announcements made during the final days of Anime Expo: Among other things, Kodansha Comics revealed the details behind the new Eternal Edition of Naoko Takeuchi’s Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, confirmed the print edition of CLAMP’s Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, and announced Yukito Kishiro’s Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle. (Kodansha is also continuing its trend of calling manga digital-first with no real indication that a print edition will ever emerge.) As for Kodansha’s sister company Vertical Comics, we have City by Keiichi Arawi, Moteki by Mitsuro Kubo, Strangulation by Nisioisin, and My Boy by Hitomi Takano to look forward to. Seven Seas announced a number of manga and light novels, too: Ryo Shirakome and Takayaki’s Arifureta; Yuu Kamiya, Tsubaki Himana, and Sino’s Clockwork Planet; Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi’s Getter Robo Devolution; Akihito Tukushi’s Made in Abyss; Coolkyoushinja and Mitsuhiro Kimura’s Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life; Kina Kobayashi’s Nameless Asterism Shoutarou Tokunou’s New Game; the continuation of Ichigo Takano’s Orange; Yuyuko Takemiya and Yasu’s Toradora; and Nozomu Tamaki’s Soul Liquid Chambers. Also, Udon Entertainment plans on publishing the Daigo the Beast and Infini-T Force manga. (Still waiting for Udon’s Rose of Versaille and Sugar Sugar Rune to make an appearance, though.)

Quick Takes

Boy, I Love You edited by Kou Chen, Emily Forster, and Eric Alexander Arroyo. I had the delightful opportunity to meet the editors and a few of the other contributors of Boy, I Love You while at TCAF, but as one of the anthology’s Kickstarter backers I was well-aware of the anthology before that and was greatly looking forward to its release. The volume brings together six comics and one illustrated prose story by seven different creators, all of which take inspiration from the more wholesome aspects of the boys’ love genre. It’s a delightful collection with an appealing range of stories, everything from slice-of-life to mecha space battles. If I had to choose a favorite (which is difficult to do because all seven contributions are honestly great) it would probably be Forster’s “Mix Plate” which incorporates themes of family and food along with the comic’s central romance. The focus of the stories in Boy, I Love You is primarily on relationships and how the characters’ navigate them and their feelings. While as a whole the anthology is fairly chaste–the physical closeness that’s shown between the men is largely limited to a few kisses and embraces–the intimacy expressed in the stories is undeniable. Boy, I Love You is a highly enjoyable and heartfelt anthology of queer stories.

Dreamin’ Sun, Volume 1 by Ichigo Takano. Orange, the first of Takano’s manga to be released in English translation, left a huge and personally significant impression on me. As a result, when Dreamin’ Sun was licensed for an English-language edition, too, it immediately caught my attention. Shimana Kameko is terribly unsatisfied with her life and so, without putting much thought into it, she decides to run away from home. While playing hooky from school she meets Fujiwara Taiga in a nearby park, a man who has left home for an entirely different reason–he’s been kicked and locked out of his house for being drunk. He offers to rent Kameko a room but among other things she will have help retrieve the keys first. I unquestionably love the quirky and increasingly large cast of Dreamin’ Sun, but the story itself is somewhat lackluster at this point. I’m also finding it a little difficult to believe that Kameko’s father would so readily let his high school daughter move out of their home. However, the narrative does hint at a familial backstory that hasn’t yet been fully revealed which may go far to help explain his decision. While Dreamin’ Sun isn’t nearly as compelling as Orange, I certainly wouldn’t mind reading more of the series. The first volume was goofy and a little ridiculous, but not at all in a bad way.

Erased, Omnibus 2 (equivalent to Volumes 3-4) by Kei Sanbe. While the beginning of Erased took a little while to fully click with me, by the end of the first omnibus I was thoroughly hooked on the series. After inexplicably traveling back in time to his childhood, Satoru Fujinuma is doing all that he can to try to stop a series of kidnappings and murders he knows is about to happen. Thanks to a strange ability that he calls “Revival,” he has been able to change things in his past before, but saving the lives of his classmates and friends is proving to be an extraordinary challenge. Sanbe’s artwork in Erased can be a little inconsistent and unrefined at times, but the story has become truly gripping. Not only is Satoru faced with trying to solve the deadly mysteries from earlier in his life, in the present day he’s also being skillfully framed for the murder of his mother and he must find a way to prove his innocence. The two situations are closely linked together and Satoru is understandably desperate to find answers. There are also some really touching moments in Erased as Satoru grows as a person–although he’s worried for their safety and doesn’t want to endanger anyone, he’s finally able to start accepting help from and form meaningful relationships with other people.

Mysterious Girlfriend X, Omnibus 1 (equivalent to Volumes 1-2) by Riichi Ueshiba. I had already heard a fair amount about Mysterious Girlfriend X before reading the first omnibus, but I wasn’t at all anticipating how surprisingly charming the series would be. Ueshiba’s illustrations can actually be pretty cute, too. That being said, Mysterious Girlfriend X is an incredibly weird manga and many people won’t be able to get past the drool and literal swapping of spit around which much of the story revolves. Akira Tsubaki is a fairly normal high school student but his first girlfriend, the newly transferred Mikoto Urabe, most definitely is not. If she is destined to have a close bond with someone, she is able to convey her feelings to them through her drool and she can likewise understand their feelings from their drool. She’s also phenomenally talented when it comes to using scissors, either artistically or in self-defense, and she always keeps a pair tucked away in her panties. Much about Urabe unknown, but after tasting her drool, Tsubaki can’t seem to help but fall in love with her. In general, Mysterious Girlfriend X tends to be somewhat episodic in nature although Tsubaki and Urabe’s strangely heartwarming relationship can be seen to very slowly progress over the course of the first omnibus.

By: Ash Brown