#this is post nana pre America

[stingrachelmha]

You made him cry :(

[49436]

Taking on @batmanisagatewaydrug 's 2025 Book Bingo (along with my wife & housemate, so it's now on our fridge. Taking me back to summer reading lists from the library)

I tend to work down my to-read list in order, unless there's something I really want to get to, so most of this list is 'what's the first thing I'll hit that fills the criteria'. But some books earn the right to skip the line, for one reason or another.

Going for a full board, which means actual bingo might take a minute lol

List below-

Literary Fiction - TBD

Short Story Collection - Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Chain-Gang All Stars was on my top 10 from 2024 so even though short stories and I don't tend to get along, this one I'm excited about. Will also try Drinking From Graveyard Wells by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu

Sequel - Either A Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik or Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao. A matter of which one I get first; My library doesn't have physical copies of Heavenly Tyrant yet, and my wife owns all of Temeraire, so it might win.

Childhood Favorite - Might be Watership Down by Richard Adams, which is always a banger, but I reread Watership just a couple years ago, so it might be The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander instead, which I read many times with my mom and still have the whole series of.

20th Century Speculative Fiction - TBD

Fantasy - A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson. I read so much fantasy, BUT I already have A Taste Of Honey on my side table. So here we are.

Published Pre-1950 - The Iliad (and The Odyssey) translated by Emily Wilson. Heard a lot of noise about her translation, and haven't read these two since... idk but it's been over a decade. Also going to hop on the Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier train.

Indie Publisher - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. I read a LOT of indie publishers and Jemisin if one of my all-time favorite writers. I've been putting off this series for a time I can really get into it and burn down all three.

Graphic Novel - Dorohedoro by Q Hyashida. Currently on volume 8, will probably finish the series in the next week or two. Love love love Hyashida's work

Animal on the cover - Plague Dogs by Richard Adams. Despite my aforementioned childhood obsession with Watership Down I never got around to Plague Dogs. Looking forward to it!

Set in a country I've never visited - TBD

Sci-Fi - Another genre I'll read a thousand of in a year. Currently I have Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie on my side table (which I fear may be mid, but time will tell) I'm also VERY excited to read The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal

2025 Debut Author - TBD

Memoir - Love Is An Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar. Memoirs aren't usually my thing, but this one made it's way onto my to-read list last year so this is good motivation.

Zine - TBD. Browsing all the other posts from people doing this challenge for recs

Essay Collection - How To Read Now by Elaine Castillo. Literally the only essay collection on my to-read list and it jump scared me. Thought for sure this would a TBD, but How To Read Now should be interesting.

2024 Award Winner - TBD. Will trawl award lists when I have time

Non-Fiction - Facing the Wave: A Journey in the Wake of the Tsunami by Gretel Ehrlich. Specifically chose something that doesn't also count as social justice/activism, which is most of my non-fiction reads. I've found a real appreciation for good non-fiction the last few years (Everyone go read Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox). Learning stuff is cool!

Social Justice/Activism - Everything you Love Will Burn: Inside the Rebirth of White Nationalism in America by Vegas Tenold. Excited for this one.

Romance - TBD. Tend to read romance that's also another genre (romantasy side eye at myself) so I've inevitably got one on my list. But maybe Akwaeke Emezi will write another romance and sweep me off my feet.

Recipe - Steak wrap pinwheels. My wife has been watching Food Truck Race (lol. lmao even) and one of the contestants made these. Stealing the idea with impunity.

Horror - Fever House by Keith Rosson. I've got a rich vein of horror novels on my to-read list, but this will be one of the first.

Published in the Aughts - TBD I'm old. I read of lot of 00's work.

Historical Fiction - Velvet Was The Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Is the 70's historical? I think the 70's is historical now. One of the final 3 books of Moreno-Garcia's I haven't read, and she's never let me down. Might read another Phryne Fisher Mystery or two as well, because they're quick and fun.

Librarian recommendation - TBD. I love my library and there's a few librarians who know me, will have to ask their opinions. Talking to a person! Not just taking one off the recommended shelf! Wild!

[symbolsought]

Okay, but, no, on that last post. I might be thinking too hard about this or missed something but I'm thinking like... Where is All Might's generation of heroes at ? Like, where are the characters who would have been to UA along aside All Might as students. Where are his classmates ? Who would he have competed in the Sports Festival against ? Where are his teachers ? ( Recovery Girl, Gran Trino and possibly Nenzu aside ) Where are the civilians that would have been there to watch All Might rise from a UA student to #1 hero ? We know Toshinori basically "hid" his identity with his "All Might" persona but that persona does not come into existence Until Nana's death, when Toshinori was 18. In fact he seems to have begun making the "All Might" persona as some type of trauma response and we see him actually "perfecting" his look for it in the mirror before he leaves to America ( He would still be around 18 to 19 max here. ) So there should be a whole generation of people who did know All Might as Toshinori ? Yet somehow Toshinori's able to literally trick the whole country into seeing him as a complete enigma that no one seems to have any reelection of or knows anything about outside of All Might's public deeds. See Toshinori didn't always have a "true form" vs his All Might form. But also originally there wasn't a massive amount of visual difference in these forms, save for seemingly added height and more buff physique. But still hardly a huge difference appearance wise:

He should be about the same age in these pics so you can see even though one is Toshi's true self and the other is his All Might form there isn't a huge lot of difference between them, again, except for maybe height and added muscle mass. ( oh and he decided to stick his bunny ears up and slick his fluffy hair down. ) Keep in mind, Toshi, before his injury, wasn't skinny or frail either ! LIKE everything about Toshi especially pre-injury is a Clark Kent / Superman nod. The Vigilantes prelude gave us a glimpse at older Toshi's "True self" before his injury which further solidifies Toshi always had this "duel identity" ( At least since Nana's death ) with a "true form" and a slightly more fantastical form that he uses in public:

And still, even though he's obviously older here ( likely in his 30s ) aside from the difference in height and muscle mass, I wouldn't say theres a extreme difference in appearance between Toshi's real form and his All Might form. Yet, NO ONE FIGURED OUT THIS WAS ALL MIGHT ? Because in the Vigilantes comic we also know that Toshi's been pretending to be his own secretary. Like this man was walking around Might Tower pretending to be All Might's secretary and no one worked out he IS All Might. He wasn't even using a secret name or anything just "Toshinori Yagi." / "Mr. Yagi." And like this only becomes kind of understandable and not: "you really want us to believe this man puts on a pair of glasses and no one can recognize him as Superman" level silly when Toshi is injured because he loses a lot of his body mass and becomes very sickly looking due to his lack of stomach and his refusal to follow whatever instructions the doctors surely gave him to not waste away to skin and bones because he wont take time out of his hero-ing to look after himself. ( Also pretty well established fact in the Vigilantes prelude ) which makes the "visual" difference in Toshinori's true form vs his All Might form a lot stronger. If this was always the case you could maybe understand why no one put two and two together but it wasn't always the case. All Might and Toshi didn't always look so "different".

^ Though this is actually how Naomasa figures out Toshinori is All Might, because he comes back from ducking out to do hero things with his super suit under his office clothes but accidently still visible and Naomasa isn't as dumb as everyone else on Earth apparently and suddenly realizes "Hold on you're not a secretary you're literally All Might" ( Once again this is a strong Superman/Clark Kent reference ) So I would suppose the in-universe explanation is suppose to very much be the same as the Super Man vs Clark Kent explanation, as in, there kind of isn't one. But on top of all that we do have the fact that All Might has always been synonymous with Toshinori Yagi. Because we have Toshi's time at UA where he was apparently always going by the name All Might. Nana refers to him as All Might before she dies, so this was always his chosen hero name from moment one. He even won the sports festival at some point and we saw in canon that kind of gets you known/noticed in the superhero world ? So how did everyone just.... Not know Toshinori = All Might ? How has this been some huge thing that no one was able to figure out ??? And where are his peers that would have been at school with him ? Where are his fellow pro heroes that would be in his age group and KNOWN HIM from UA ? Did my man just move to America for a bit and everyone just collectively forgot he existed and took him as a completely new entity when he came back ??? SJFKDKFKDf Like. Ok. I guess that could be a thing but I feel like the math isn't totally mathing here.

[moneeb0930]

Michael B. Pratt, a business mogul born in the United States of America, specifically Los Angeles is set to build an ultra-modern film studio in Ghana. The facility is said to have an estimated value of $350 million and will sit on a land area of 321-acres.

The entrepreneur was enstooled as a development chief in the Asebu kingdom in the Central region of Ghana. Following his new status, Mr. Pratt will now be addressed by Royal name Nana Dakrabo I, Mpuntuhene (which literally translates as Development Chief).

He promised to replicate Hollywood in the west African country with the state-of-the-art facility upon completion. “I was born in Los Angeles and raised around celebrities and executives. Essentially, I was raised around Hollywood and now I will bring Hollywood to Ghana,” he said.

He revealed that, the project will be constructed in collaboration with Washington D.C based WEG Studios together with popular figures such as musician and producer Koby Maxwell, actor Michael Blackson and many others.

The facility will be named Dakrabo 1 Studios. He stated in an INSTAGRAM POST that, the facility will have features such as a film & music school, screening theaters, a concert hall, office space, a hotel forecast and crews, and most importantly, seven soundstages, a 240-acre backlot, a blue-screen water tank, a recording studio, pre/post-production facilities.

Once again the Diaspora takes Africa one step in the right direction!

Source: https://wakandafricanews.com/i-will-bring-hollywood-to-ghana-los-angeles-man-set-to-build-350-million-film-studio-in-ghana/?fbclid=IwAR3gCbaOKfRyiEy6DG-ohgnxL3JtLdetTq7mRnEBtMcjRa35_DszQTR2rbM

[notebook-13]

BNHA History

Alright! I decided to assemble what we’ve been told about how society has changed since the advent of quirks. So here’s a rough timeline + my speculation.

Distant Past

≈200 years ago

The birth of a glowing baby signaled the beginning of superpowers. Considering the tremendous chaos that followed, I think it’s likely that the onset was fairly rapid—the glowing baby was the first of a lot of people all at once born with superpowers (or, it was the first baby born with a noticeable superpower). Crime skyrocketed, the law became meaningless, humanity came apart at the seams.

Why there was such an explosion of crime and chaos hasn’t been directly addressed; presumably it’s because early metas were violently shunned as nonhuman, and because new powers entailed the opportunity to use them.

Under these conditions, All for One rose to prominence. He used his meta power to win slavish loyalty, granting powers to those who desired them and removing them from metas who rejected them. His manipulation of his devotees was so great that he didn’t need to give them orders: they anticipated his will and acted on it. He didn’t tolerate dissent and crushed those who defied him. (ch193)

AfO’s period of de facto rule is not included in history books (he persists as a myth), so it’s unlikely that he occupied an official, publicly recognized position. But his rule apparently stretches from approximately the advent of quirks till the battle of Kamino Ward. (ch59)

However, AfO’s younger brother opposed him. AfO punished him by forcing on him a “useless” power-stocking ability. This power fused with the brother’s latent ability to transfer his ability, and the brother was able to pass it on. Over the next two centuries, the OfA holders continued to pass it on, largely to whoever happened to be nearby when they were dying instead of to selected proteges. (ch59, 257)

Relatively soon after the advent of superpowers, the police foreswore using them as weapons in order to keep the trust of the public. Vigilantes emerged to fulfill this role, attempting to mete out justice, and at some point the government authorized certain people (heroes) to use their powers offensively to enforce the law. Heroes were heavily criticized at first, but they eventually developed public support thanks to their strict adherence to the law (according to police chief Tsuragamae). (ch56)

According to the bnha spinoff Vigilantes, the government classified vigilantes into heroes or villains based on public opinion of them. (ch13)

MLA Era

How long ago was the Meta Liberation Army active?

Ch232: Redestro weakly implies that Destro was born before the beginning of heroes as a profession. This early date would also coincide with writing legislation to authorize heroes to use their powers to apprehend any other meta who used their ability.

Ch238: the MLA was in hiding for generations, plural.

Ch223: Redestro states the MLA has trained for “many generations”

So…somewhere between seventy years ago and more than a hundred years ago?

Regardless of the exact dates, Destro was born into a borderline period when there was intense prejudice against metas and official effort to coexist peacefully. When his mother defended him by claiming his power was a mere “quirk,” she was killed by a mob.

Sometime later, when the government drafted legislation to (supposedly?) promote peaceful coexistence, they recalled her idea of “quirk” and tried to use it as part of their reform. Destro, now an adult, opposed this and their reform, asserting that this was not the world his mother envisioned when she’d said “quirk.” (ch232)

He rallied metas to his cause, to bar any restriction of meta ability use, and the MLA fought the government for several years before defeat. It dissolved, many of its members in jail, including Destro himself. He penned his autobiography and then killed himself. (ch218)

Post-MLA, Pre-Symbol of Peace

Unknown number of years ago

Villain: “Seems like no one’s willing to break the law nowadays. All this whining about not selling out their friends. It’s a real pain. […] Man, I miss the days before All Might came along… I was young, and this country was a way more impulsive place.” (ch57)

Yagi: “I believed that this country needed a symbol so I started dashing headlong towards that goal. A shining light…hope. A wake-up call for everyone. As I ran, I swore I’d become that sort of man. People always had these worried looks. All the heroes in the world couldn’t slow the rising crime rates. Much more than now…they were truly scared.” (ch165)

This was an apparently cutthroat, impulsive period where efforts to curb chaos continued but found limited success. Crime was on the rise, something Yagi attributed to the idea that there wasn’t anyone (a “pillar”) for people to rely on. (ch93)

≈70 years ago

When Ujiko proposed his “paranormal singularity theory,” he was roundly rejected and mocked. Due to his own struggles with housing multiple quirks, AfO recognized how prescient Ujiko’s warning was, and he reached out to recruit Ujiko. (ch270)

(Note: Ujiko’s use of “paranormal” could mean he proposed his theory before “quirk” became the standard term, meaning “quirk” could be a rather recent change of language.)

≈35 years ago

AfO killed Nana. All Might was eighteen; he subsequently went to America to complete his training.

Symbol of Peace Era

≈30 years ago – Battle of Kamino Ward

Deku: “Ever since he appeared on the hero scene, his strength has won him undisputed popularity. Every year that he’s been active has seen a marked decrease in the appearance rate of villains. His existence alone is a deterrent to villainy.” (ch2)

Gran Torino: “[Stain’s] ideals and opinions…they’re gonna get out there. On the net. In papers and magazines. On TV. This age we live in, for better or worse, is one of suppression. But mark my words—people are gonna be influenced by this.” (ch57)

Shigaraki: “It’s not crazy to imagine that someone could commit an atrocity at any given moment. So why do they smile and mingle like this? Because the laws and rules are built on their individual morality, they’re convinced that ‘No one would ever do that.’” (ch69)

Shigaraki: “The reason these fools can smile and live their lives is cuz All Might’s always got that grin on his face. Smiling wide, as if to say there’s no one he can’t save!!” (ch69)

Deku: “All Might. Was there ever a time you really couldn’t save someone…?” Yagi: “…? … Sure. Plenty of times. Right now, somewhere out in the world, someone could be hurting or dying. It sucks, but I’m only human. I can’t save people who are out of my reach… That’s why I stand tall and smile. I’m the Symbol of Justice. The citizens…heroes…villains…I need to light the way for all of them.” (ch70)

Kid: “Nowadays people expect different things from heroes than they used to. It’s all about the entertainment factor and approval ratings.” (ch144)

Shigaraki: “You heroes pretend to be society’s guardians. For generations, you pretended not to see those you couldn’t protect and swept their pain under the rug. It’s tainted everything you’ve built. That means your system’s all rotten from the inside with maggots crawling out. It all builds up, little by little, over time. You’ve got the common trash, all too dependent on being protected. And the brave guardians who created the trash that need coddling. […] I don’t care if you don’t understand. That’s what makes us heroes and villains.” (ch281)

After about two centuries of chaos, Japan achieved stability after All Might established himself as the Symbol of Peace. All Might was specifically noted to have demolished most organized crime, so that villain teams were relatively rare (ch83, 115, 125). As Shigaraki put it, now people could go about their lives confident of their safety because All Might convinced them that everything will be alright, a hero will take care of them. This was true to the extent that people would flock to the sites of hero/villain battles to take photos and videos.

Whereas, as Twice put it, if you were on the wrong side of the law, then All Might’s catchphrase “I’m here” was a curse, something to fear and loathe. Gran Torino characterized this era as an age of suppression, as in, the symptoms were suppressed, producing superficial stability, but the underlying conditions hadn’t changed.

During this period, the industry of heroism shifted to over-emphasize heroism as public entertainment, rewarding attention-grabbing stunts and PR skills over humbler virtues.

This shift inspired Stain the Hero Killer to enact a purge of unworthy heroes in order to revive true heroism. He deeply impressed society, and, despite his murders, he became a popular figure. His ideals provoked some people to question whether society’s heroes were “true heroes,” while others disregarded his ideals and simply found him cool.

During this era, 80% of the population had a quirk. Whether that statistic was stable or if it was an effect of demographics (ie, most quirkless people are elderly and almost all kids have quirks) hasn’t been specified.

This era could be separated into All Might’s Bronze, Silver, and Golden Ages, each with a different costume.

≈30 years ago

All Might debuted in Japan, and he kicked off an unprecedented era of stability.

5 years ago

All Might fought and “killed” AfO.

Age of Endeavor

Battle of Kamino Ward – Present (ch283)

HPSC: “All Might had it all…power with enough charm to win the people over. The gulf between him and the perennial runner-up was always huge… I doubt we’re gonna find someone that charismatic again anytime soon.”  Mera: While we’re waiting for the next All Might, hero squads with a focus on team unity are gonna have to fill the gap. This order from up high is meant to make some headway on that front… (ch111)

Miyagi (newscaster): “If we’re being honest, I think All Might just got too big for our own good. So big that we lost sight of things. […] As for us, we shouldn’t just passively protect the status quo. Isn’t it our duty to bring back a culture of excitement around heroes?” (ch115)

Kid: “We know what’s up. Mom and dad and the TV all ask the same thing. ‘Are the heroes doing okay?’ …We know. We’re better than them!” (ch165)

Hawks: “That guy earlier, screaming ‘Long live metahuman liberation’…this [rumors of nomu sightings] is kinda like that. They republished some old-school criminal’s autobiography, and it’s flying off the shelves. I’m thinking that’s influencing people. That stuff tends to sell best when society’s feeling unstable, right?” (ch186)

Gentle: “What counts as a spectacle is a question for the current generation. We shall go to the source [UA]—the source that enchants our society.” (ch171)

Newscaster (surveying the stampede of fleeing civilians during Endeavor’s nomu battle): “This is society without a Symbol of Peace!!”  Can’tcha See-kun: “Stop saying that crap already!! Open your eyes before spouting off on TV! Especially at a time like this! Look! Those flames’re still rising up! You see ’em, right?! Endeavor’s alive and fighting!! So don’t give up just cuz the other guy’s gone! There’s still a dude out there risking it all for us!! Can’tcha see?!” (ch189)

Kuraishisu (newscaster): “In the past, a situation like this [the destruction of Deika City], where heroes were forced to make a difficult call, would have earned those same heroes criticism, but I suspect we may be witnessing a critical turning point in this era. A large-scale shift in opinion from criticism to passionate support.”  Uraraka: “Feels like everything’s different ever since the ‘Can’tcha See kid’ did his thing.”  Ashido: “It’s all cuz Endeavor kicked butt!” Mt. Lady: “Y’think the future’s bright? Not so fast!! It might seem like the winds of good fortune are blowing our way, but if you stop and think about the flip side of all this…it’s actually coming from a sense of urgency—it’s a response to danger! These cheers for the conquering heroes are really prayers—a plea that we emerge victorious! They’ve had enough of the showbiz side of heroism and want us to prove our worth for real now!” (ch241)

Mineta: “Not too long ago, she didn’t give a crap about anything except being on camera…” Aizawa: “Mt. Lady’s not the only one who has changed. Every hero out there is being pulled up by the number one’s rising ride.” (ch241)

After All Might retired, uncertainty gripped Japan as people wondered what would happen now. A strong consensus agreed that Endeavor wasn’t suited to fill All Might’s boots, something reflected in how the crime rate went up 3% in the month after Kamino, and reflected in how people suddenly became interested in reading the MLA ideology of rejecting heroes and protecting themselves.

During Endeavor’s battle against the nomu, the press attributed the public’s frantic stampede—ignoring heroes trying to guide evacuation—to the public’s lack of trust in Endeavor (and heroes generally) now that All Might was gone. Public trust improved after the nomu battle, especially thanks to Can’tcha See-kun.

Within a month after the battle, expectations shifted. People had enough of showbiz heroism and wanted the heroes to walk the talk and protect the public against villains, to the extent that comfortable armchair criticism was replaced a passionate support driven by fear of villains.

Miscellaneous Questions

When did “hero” become a recognized profession?

When did the hero ranking system begin?

When did the celebrity culture around heroes develop?

When did “quirk” come into common use?

How old is Yagi? How long ago did he debut in Japan and begin the era of peace?

How old is AfO? How long after the advent of quirks did he come to power?

When did AfO recruit Machia?

When were the nomu invented?

When did humanity pass the point of quirk singularity? (ch193)

[makeste]

more essaying about AFO and whether or not he’s the final villain

so @thequietmanno1 , I finally have some time to sit down and answer your asks so let’s get to it lol. I’ll start with the most recent one.

Gonna put my hat in the ring with you and @addermoray about AFO. I agree that currently he intends to turn everything over to Tomura. That was a good point about his little private insight into what makes a good teacher and how it reflected on his intentions going forward with his student. It makes sense for a successful villain like AFO to have the kind of personality and quick judgement to know when to fold em, or change the game up if your current hand won’t get you a satisfactory result. He’s has literal generations to learn how to be an effective evil overlord, so he must be used to playing a mean game of Xanatos speed chess depending on the situation so he always walks away with an advantage.

Switching from raising Tomura to be his loyal tyke bomb to being his own independent villain and leader may explain why Tomura’s development seemed so incomplete in his first appearance. I know that he needed to experience defeat to begin maturing into someone more competent and capable of handling himself, but at the same time, his attitude during the USJ invasion seemed a little too immature for someone his age- like he wasn’t exactly on the same emotional maturity level his body and mind were at after AFO had finished giving him basic training to prepare him. I guess AFO losing his head and not being able to push Tomura’s development forward in a new direction means Tomura got stuck emotionally for a few years whilst his master semi-recovered, not helped by the fact that AFO’s previous grooming attempts were intentionally preventing him from dealing with the emotional scars of his familial massacre. So he kinda stagnated for a bit until All Might and Deku knocked him off his high horse.

(you know what, I’m gonna put the rest of this under a cut; it’s a very long post lol)

After AFO realised he’d basically permanently lost his dream to take over the world, I can totally see him reacting to that in a very thought-out and methodical - but still very immature - way, not unlike the tantrums his pupil used to pull. Destroying the whole board so it’ll end on his terms. I don’t know if he planned for Tomura’s vision of the future to be one where you can rebuild society however you want and the survivors will be free to act how they please, or if he wanted Tomura to turn Japan into a living hellhole for everyone until there’s nothing left for anyone to work with, both heroes and villains. It could be both, frankly; given his adaptability levels I mentioned earlier, he could be fine with either outcome, so long as the society All Might created is destroyed in the process. In any regard, it’s quite likely that he planned the whole situation under the assumption that he’s going to kick the bucket at some point before he got thrown into Tartarus. But if he learns about Eri’s rewind quirk, I think that’ll prompt another change in priorities for him- though obviously that won’t happen until he’s outside.

I’m not sure if Tomura will kill him himself, unless there’s a drastic change in priorities. Like addermoray said, even if he did give Tomura his quirk, he’d still be grateful for it after his recent liberation, so he won’t kill him for his family’s deaths and whilst AFO still has such a highly useful quirk to pass onto him. His dialogue very much stated that was the eventual plan, so AFO is probably safeish until then. Besides, in either scenario, Tomura feels indebted to AFO for being the only one who noticed him and ‘saved’ him from his abused and ignored lifestyle. Really, I think, if anything, AFO would probably set himself up to kill or be killed by Deku in a final confrontation to further motivate Tomura to become the new Symbol of Chaos and focus his efforts on destroying Deku’s fledgling Symbol. See, going forward, I very much see AFO getting out of prison, but then choosing to leave Tomura running the organisation he’s built up in his absence- which won’t require any management from AFO himself anyway- and focus all his effort on analysing and psychologically manipulating Deku from behind Tomura’s back whilst the latter is focused on his current campaign of societal collapse, like the Joker focusing on breaking Batman’s spirit.

See, the thing I think a lot of people miss about Deku is that he is by far the youngest inheritor of OFA so far. I mean it seems obvious given his age and inexperience with the power that is way beyond what his predecessors had to deal with, but in All Might’s flashback to what I presume is his first meeting with Nana and his own Origin story, it looked like teen Might was a few years older than Deku at the time, and that was before he had to be trained to handle the power. We know that at the very least, he had the quirk and was doing heroics against AFO by 18, but you’ve got to remember that AFO being on the scene and in his prime meant Yagi’s era was more chaotic and dangerous for everyone than Deku’s is, so it’s likely that Yagi was already more prepared for the combative lifestyle that Deku was, even with the fact that he inherited OFA a few years later than him and having had time to sort out his resolution with the power. As opposed to Deku, who basically wanted to be All Might and spent a lot of time getting that hammered out of his skull, and has had issues with sorting out what kind of hero he’s supposed to become through his own merits, given his vague terms of describing his ambition.

Whilst it’s not determined when everyone got the power, we know that the First Wielder was an adult when it first manifested, and given the ages of the other generations that we’ve seen, I think it was implied that they were all chosen after they’d proved themselves capable of using the power against AFO, meaning they all had various heroic and emotional experience before getting OFA. Actually, I’m not certain, but I think it’s implied that Yagi was the youngest chosen before Deku, which, given his quirklessness and youth, makes it more poetic that he was ultimately the one to take him down twice.

That said, Deku is clearly not as prepared for going up against someone like AFO as the other Wielders were, either physically or mentally. All Might ushering an era of peace means that Deku doesn’t have nearly the same level of experience the others did by his age, and his whole 100% power/7 quirks thing is further complications in him becoming a new symbol asap. One aspect of this was time- All Might’s wounds and weakening health were pressuring him to find a successor more than AFO, who already had a handy-dandy prepped tyke-bomb in Tomura available- the perks of planning ahead. So when All Might Found Deku, it was a snap decision, and one he feels justified in, but it also meant Deku was rushed through the basic requirements of being able to Hold OFA without being prepared to actually ‘use’ it. His first smash came whilst he was under fire in the middle of a high-level exam for Christ’s sake, and All Might getting his own teacher taken away from him when he was still in school means he’s never been taught by someone else on how to be a good teacher, or how to recognise when he’s being a bad teacher. Not to mention the whole natural genius thing.

Point is, I don’t think any of the other Wielders made their choices so soon after meeting them, and probably not before they’d given them some advanced preparations for passing the power on to someone who was ready and capable of using it for a good cause. Adding to that, AFO’s got an unexpected advantage over Deku compared to the others- he knows who he is and where to find him. I think it’s heavily implied that past the first wielder, the others had to raise their successors in secret once they’d outed themselves to AFO as the next wielders, so he couldn’t pre-emptively cut the chain of succession, since if AFO knew who the next person was, he’d have ended them before they got a handle on their new power. Being in a more chaotic age- and the implication that they were older and more independent than Deku- meant the successors were capable of avoiding AFO’s gaze when needed, so they made up for their lack of All Might strength with subterfuge and tactical thinking whilst the power grew. Heck, All Might himself had to leave Japan for America so he’d be capable of handling himself and his abilities to the fullest when he returned. Deku doesn’t have that advantage- he’s in a school, with close friends and family, all of whom AFO can use to force him to fight him if needed. But I see him taking his time with this. Deku’s an unknown variable to AFO- he didn’t know about him till the USJ attack was finished, and after that the ball was already rolling on his incarceration scheme, so he didn’t make any moves. But once he’s out, I forsee him using his new lease on life to learn all about the new OFA holder and what makes him tick, as well as subtly messing with him in indirect means.

Given his declining health, and based on the fact he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to waste away in a medical bed, I totally believe there’s going to be a showdown between them at some point, with AFO banking on either killing Deku and ending OFA for good, or further motivating Shigaraki if he falls. Granted, Eri’s quirk may change his mind on this, but again, AFO’s adaptable- I can totally see him having thought that outcome up after learning about Deku, and considering it a good way to go out. Regarding that Showdown, whether in his prime or at the end of his currant lifespan, I totally believe that’s when AFO would bring up any revelations about Tomura’s fall from grace. Like Addermoray said, it wouldn’t affect Shigaraki anymore- but it would affect the previous wielders through Deku, specifically Nana. I can totally see AFO using that family drama and revelations against his deceased nemeses by emotionally compromising Nana, and through that, perhaps disrupting whatever “avatar state” setup Deku goes into when he converses with them before getting down to brass tacks with him whilst he can’t contact them for advice.

In any regard, AFO’s definitely gonna be focused solely on Deku when he gets out- he’s totally done with All Might, having done everything he could to undermine him as a heroic symbol of peace before he was taken out. And leaving him to rot, powerless to help in the rising chaotic times, would be sweet revenge for him, forcing All Might into a similar position he himself was in. Shigaraki will be running whatever Empire he’s building just fine without AFO, and even if he intends to replace him eventually, AFO will probably consider Deku the more pressing engagement now that he’s got some room to think and work on his own terms. Running an evil empire is probably very taxing work, and very time consuming, which is probably why he didn’t take the OFA wielders as seriously as he should have until All Might’s time. So now he’ll be free to relax and get to know Deku before he attempts to utterly break him. Whichever way that turns out, I do think there will be some genuine Villain respect on his behalf towards Deku- there’s a lot of points those two have in common, so I think he’ll see a little of himself and his brother in this newest successor.

--- 

okay, a lot of different points here, so I’ll try to break them down and address them one by one. these aren’t necessarily in order either:

(1) good points about AFO probably shifting gears on Tomura after receiving his injury. clearly that would have thrown a wrench into his plans, regardless of what said plans actually were.

(2) about Deku being the youngest inheritor of OFA “by far” -- I have doubts that this is the case. young Toshinori was wearing a middle school uniform in the anime flashback when he spoke with Nana about wanting to become society’s pillar, so that would put him at the same age Deku was in chapter one, if not younger. moreover, you have to consider that young All Might was very much in the same boat Deku was as far as wanting to attend U.A. despite being quirkless. so it’s very likely that Nana pulled something similar to what he himself later did with Deku. otherwise it’s hard to envision how he could have passed the U.A. entrance exam. so I’d say chances are good All Might was the same age as Deku was when he inherited OFA, if not younger.

(3) I think Deku is actually more prepared than the other wielders in some ways, even as he lags behind in others. consider, first of all, the fact that he managed to pull off something none of the other wielders even knew about, much less came close to achieving, with the SIXQUIRKS. so there’s that. and then the other advantage that I think he has over the past wielders is that the other OFA users appear to have been loners, by and large. most likely for the reasons you laid out -- they had to lie low so as to prevent AFO -- who at the time was at his full power -- from taking them out, along with their loved ones. by contrast, Deku is exposed, so in that regard he’s much more vulnerable. but he also has a great advantage that none of the other wielders so far have had -- he’s not alone. it’s not just the bad guy who knows his secret. his teacher knows. his rival knows. he’s not fighting this battle alone. and that’s going to be critical moving forward. AFO may find it more difficult to break him than he anticipates. and frankly, his emotional naivete may prove to be as much of an advantage as it is a weakness, if not more so. he has resilience and optimism and those are critical strengths.

(4) I think we have different ideas as far as Horikoshi’s endgame plans for the series. the main thing I keep coming back to is Horikoshi’s pacing. this is a remarkably fast-paced story as far as the shounen genre typically goes. the one time he intentionally dragged an arc out, (a) he got bored his own damn self, and (b) despite his best efforts he couldn’t make it longer than 40 chapters. compare that to your average arc in Naruto or One Piece. compare that to fucking Dressrosa arc, or the damn Soul Society arc in Bleach. my point is, Horikoshi knows how to be concise. and a key thing is that he’s said in interviews that he doesn’t intend for the story to drag out forever. he’s a perfectionist, and he knows he doesn’t have infinite energy or infinite ideas, and I think he’d like to end things while he’s still on top. he also knows how he wants to end the story, and he’s mindful of making sure he’s constantly driving the plot forward. in this interview, he mentions he originally wanted the story to end around volume 30 (we’re currently in what will become volume 25), but he’s acknowledged he’s still got a lot of stuff he needs to set up, so the original target is clearly way off. but still, I think it’s a safe bet this series won’t be dragged out as long as others.

so that being said, when we consider future developments in the story, I think we need to take into account how much time there is left in the story. there isn’t time for characters to be slow and crafty in their schemes. we’re at a point where just about all the pieces needed for endgame have to be in place already, or at least established. we can’t expect new plot twists to keep being introduced. so while I like the idea of AFO playing the long game when it comes to Deku, I’m not sure how likely that actually is to happen. proper mind fuckery takes some time to pull off. I think it’s more likely we’ll see an accelerated version of that, if anything, with their relationship being crafted in the span of just one or two arcs rather than it being a more drawn out thing.

(5) so basically, here’s a quick rundown of where I personally see the story going 

Tomura completes his Rise to Power and starts to make good on his vow to end the world

the pros and police struggle and take heavy losses in several high-profile incidents, resulting in further instability to a society already beginning to show its cracks. things begin to look kind of bleak

Deku -- now under intense pressure to unlock the rest of his new powers as quickly as possible -- is of course somehow intricately tied to every single one of these incidents, and continues to grow stronger while somehow escaping through the skin of his teeth

rinse and repeat as things build to a head

AFO breaks out of prison and joins the League in an attack on U.A.

he steals Eri’s quirk and is restored to power. meanwhile, Tomura kills All Might, but also learns of AFO’s manipulations in the process. he has conflicted feelings about this

Deku meets the Obi-Wanned All Might in the Avatar State, and unlocks the rest of his powers, preparing for the final showdown

there is a final showdown. it’s fucking epic. in the end Tomura delivers the killing blow to AFO in a move that surprises him as much as anyone

that’s the cliff notes version, more or less. pretty straightforward, but I think the purpose of a story shouldn’t be to surprise and shock so much as it should be to move and excite and thrill the audience, and reward them for their investment in the story and the characters. and this is a classic hero’s journey outline, and it’s a classic for a reason.

anyway, to bring this all back around on track and conclude things, the story could probably work both ways -- with either Tomura as the final villain, or AFO. but based on the pieces we have so far, I think AFO being the final villain is the more logical and satisfying story. and I just really like the thought of him being done in by all these pawns he overlooked and underestimated. Deku, who barely seems to be an afterthought in his planning thus far; and Tomura, whom he’s manipulated to be this devastating agent of chaos and destruction, but whom he arrogantly continues to think of as being his. if he dies in prison, and Tomura does become the final villain, and is only redeemed at the end of the story, when he either dies or goes into exile or whatever -- that’s not satisfying. it disregards all of the worldbuilding being done to explore the mythology of OFA and AFO. it leaves us frustrated as we’re forced to side against a villain we now empathize with. it’s too fucking dark. so for now I’ll continue to root for AFO being the final villain. because it’s something I want, just as much as it is something I think things are leaning toward.

[random2908]

I had three sets of grandparents (two bio and one foster). All of them had their first kids in the 1940s and their last kids in the 1950s, and so were raising kids in the 40s-60s.

Grandma: Didn’t know how to cook. Period, flat-out. Her grandmother had enjoyed cooking, but more than that had been territorial about the kitchen. Grandma had grown up in a multigenerational family in Upper Manhanttan (because her family wanted to live in a fancy neighborhood, so they had to be multigenerational about it) and her Grandmother (who lived into her late 90s) did not allow either of her daughters, nor her granddaughter, nor her great-granddaughter (my mother’s much-older sister, who lived with her during part of WWII when Grandma was working and Grandpa was in the army) in the kitchen. So, for two solid generations no one in that branch of the family knew even the basics of how to cook. Additionally Grandma worked full time at a professional-level job--even in the 1940s there were women with graduate degrees. So, for most of my mother’s childhood, Grandma either got by slapping together terrible food (luckily all her children were the kind of autistic that didn’t have opinions about taste, unlike my dad’s family full of supertasters), or--when things were too overwhelming at work or one of the children had a serious illness--hiring a maid.

Sapta: Enjoyed cooking a great deal. Back in the Old Country, she’d been raised to be a middle class wife, which meant an education of cooking, cleaning, sewing, and math (because a wife was in charge of the accounting for the family business)--although she was born late enough that public school did exist in her country, and so she also got a standard education through most of middle school (until she was kicked out for being Jewish). She really did have old family recipes, the kind that were like “add a glass of milk, and a spoon of sugar” and you had to know it was Bubbe’s short glass and Tante’s soup spoon to get the measurement right; but like the spoon had been lost in the pogroms of 1919-20 so then you had to know it was 1 1/2 of Mama’s tea spoon. (When Sapta realized she was going to die young, she tried to pass her recipe book on to my mother--her less unfavored daughter-in-law--but for my mother, who’d learned to cook entirely by working as a line cook and sous chef in her college’s dining rooms, all the recipes were just completely unusable.) And even beyond having all of that, she just enjoyed it; baking was one of her hobbies. So she really was every bit the stereotype, in terms of her upbringing and knowledge! BUT! First of all, although she was a housewife when the family could afford it, my Saba was a farm hand and then a mechanic, so most of the time she had to work as well, just to keep the children fed and clothed. And second of all, when I was 21, my dad confided to me that when Sapta could find pre-packaged food, and could afford it, she absolutely did use it. She enjoyed cooking from scratch when she had the luxury to do so, but she wasn’t going to make her life difficult on a day-to-day basis.

Nana: Was the absolute stereotype of a 50s housewife. Born and raised in America, her husband worked in a factory, 2 kids, small house in the suburbs, everything. She occasionally worked to earn extra money for small luxuries, mostly by running a small daycare out of her house (which is how she ended up as my third grandmother), but mostly she was a full-time housewife. And she was everything the post above describes. Literally everything she made was pre-packaged. She made me birthday cakes every year from ages 2 or 3 through 21: Betty Crocker cake mix, Betty Crocker frosting from a plastic tub, and M&Ms as decorations. She regularly baked us chocolate chip cookies, also from a mix (I think Hershey’s, because a childhood friend’s mom regularly invited me and my sisters over to spend an afternoon making Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies and those tasted very different). She fed us bologne and cheese puffs and tuna salad (can of tuna, dollop of mayo, chop up some onion and you’re done). She fed us Eggo waffles. She fed us Kraft mac&cheese. (To be fair, so did my dad, but he added a bunch of stuff to make it healthier. After a while we wouldn’t eat his anymore and he had to start making it like she did.) I remember one time, when I was a teenager, my dad had made green bean casserole for Thanksgiving, and she asked him for the recipe. He was like, “Ok, so you start with cream of mushroom soup. You know how to make that, right?” And she looked at him puzzled and was like, “Heat up a can of Campbell’s?” And he was like, “Yes, exactly. But you don’t even have to heat it. You just pour it on a bunch of frozen green beans, and then microwave until it’s done, stirring periodicallly. Then take a can of crunchy onions and sprinkle them on top.” And she was like, great, that’s exactly her style of cooking.

So, yeah, of my three grandmothers who all raised kids in the 1940s-60s, not a single one of them cooked from scratch if they could help it. Possibly only one of them even knew how to cook from scratch in the first place, and one of them definitely did not.

For those who have overactive guilt complexes like me…

[seulge]

tagged by @bseph​ --- thank you!

rules:

post the rules.

answer the questions given to you by the tagger.

write 11 questions of your own.

tag 11 people.

@bseph’s questions for me:

1) if you had to recommend one unknown artist, then who?

uhhh. wow oh. let me think. they’re not exactly unknown, but the 1975 band is pretty cool and i like recommending it to anyone who’s looking for more music to listen. ik this hellsite goes on and on about how they’re trash, like shut up, their music is catchy. give it a chance!

2) what country do you wish you could visit as a kid?

when i was a kid i had this extremely false and idealized idea of what america was and i always wanted to go there. in my eyes, it was the best place on this earth. how wrong was i lol. but yeah, this was my number one country i wanted to visit. my new number one is norway now. one day... one day!!

3) would you say your style is more simplistic/minimalistic, loud, or childish?

don’t really know how to describe it. i don’t really stand out that much to begin with, so i guess minimalistic is a good choice.

4) what’s your fave memory?

i have a lot of nostalgic memories from the time i was living with my maternal grandparents. i was really, really young. like 4 or 5 years old only. i always remember the balcony of the apartment we used to live in. we had a very nice view of the neighbourhood. on my left there was the tram station and all the kiosks where i was getting my barbie and tom & jerry magazines, on my right i had the market, the railway and the road to my great-grandmother. in front of me were some really tall blocks and beyond them a few more alleys away was the river that’s crossing my home city. i have a lot of memories about me being obsessed with snow white and drawing her everywhere.

5) if you could talk to your country’s president/state minister, what would you say?

lmfao i have no idea. i don’t really have an opinion about the current president of my country. i don’t keep up with the politics back home, but so far he doesn’t seem to be that much of a bad guy. at the end of the day, all romanian presidents turn out to be shit, so.

6) the best fanfics you’ve ever read (if you read fics)?

i don’t read fics anymore, i don’t have the patience for that. i used to read snsd fics back in the day and my fave was a taengsic one. basically jessica was teaching taeyeon how to kiss so that taeyeon could impress her date. i forgot who her date was. probably baekhyun, no idea. and eventually they started dating ofc. i think it was called ‘first kiss’.

7) what is your best friend like?

i don’t know. i haven’t had a ‘best’ friend in many years. i have a couple of very good friends i treasure and care about, but i haven’t had that one person i could consider my best friend ever. i don’t think it’ll ever happen again.

8) fave fruit?

my fave fruit are bananas, nectarines, white grapes and tangerines. i could eat them all day and never get tired of them.

9) pancakes or waffles?

uhh, i think i prefer pancakes.

10) if you could go back in time, where would you go and would you stay there?

i would go back in the period before the indo-european invasions in south-east europe. it is considered that around this region is where the first tribes of what would become the european civilization flourished. it was a time of peace, a time of worshipping the earth, a time where war was not a thing, i don’t know... a very primitive and unspoiled era? people were focused on the role of the mother, on the kindness of the earth, on the moon. a less brutish era, i would say. i don’t think i would stay there, i’d just like to see if it really was an idyllic, pre-historic time for a peaceful way of life. this pure connection with the nature humans used to have is very fascinating.

11) what is your fave kind of artstyle?

even after all these years, miss yazawa ai holds the number one spot in my heart with her beautiful illustrations. the queen of josei. can you believe nana has been on a hiatus for almost a decade?

my questions:

what kind of aesthetic do you think of when you listen to f(x)’s pink tape? you can describe using colours, flowers, objects, emotions, etc.

if you were to become a novelist, what kind of book do you see yourself debuting with? say the genre, the themes you’d approach, characters, etc.

high school is a crucial period of our lives. is there anything you regret not doing during your years attending it?

what are three books you would recommend? fiction, non-fiction, any genre or type works.

are you a person who tends to collect things? if so, what do you usually find yourself hoarding? examples: candles, bookmarks, makeup, etc.

which image vibes with you the most: a beach basked in orange sunsets, light breezes and warm smells of pineapples and salty water, or a misty mountain covered in a blanket of pine trees, smelling of fresh rain and a cloudy sky above?

do you see yourself living a long and peaceful life, or do you think you’re the type to die young and reckless?

what is your favourite 80s song?

are you the type who sees AI as the solution for a better and easier future for humankind, or do you think that man-made robots would one day revolt and turn against their own creators?

when you’re bored and end up on youtube, what is usually the genre of videos you binge-watch? horror, vlogs, music tops, etc.?

you walk by a river and see two people drowning: an old person and a child. let’s assume you’re a very good swimmer, but the river is pretty violent and you can’t save them both. who do you go for? why?

i tag: @sheslikemagic / @ayoshidae / @wendycult / @sohees / @kwonyuri / @blackpink / @hallarina / @shywifi / @sowonis / @somin / @maerinah . (tagged randomly! if you decide to do this meme, i’m looking forward to the replies. lmao some of my questions are grim, but i hope they get you thinking, have fun!)

[willswalkabout]

Ho Chi Minh, El Nido.

I can guarantee this blog will be the hardest to write of my travels. These have been the toughest and most unforgettable 9 days of my trip so far, but not without some great moments thrown in. (On completion I’ve also just done a word count and it’s really long again, sorry, but maybe one to print!)

When I left off last time I had just landed in Ho Chi Minh. It was about 11pm and although I was shattered, I really didn’t want to pay £15 for a taxi, so after some searching I found the 80p bus, which would drop me off 5 minutes from my hostel. On arrival the place seemed closed, though only because the reception desk didn’t function after 10pm. A security guard who spoke zero English met me in the lobby and took my passport in exchange for a key. Other than that he just motioned for me to go up the stairs, with no further direction. Unlike most hostels my bed number had no correlation to the floor number, which led to some confusion before eventually finding my mattress for the next 3 nights.

The next day was to be my touristy day, though it didn’t start till quite late due to tiredness from Thursday’s travel. I walked to the Independence Palace first. Ho Chi Minh’s attractions have odd opening times, as I discovered the palace was not to open till 1pm. It was around 34'C and so I decided to sit outside in the shade for about 40 minutes watching Vietnam’s most crazy city fly by. The palace itself is quite odd. It’s very typical 60s architecture, after its rebuild in 1966, and doesn’t really resemble a palace at all. On top of this it has never been inhabited by a King, and now only functions as a tourist attraction. It did play a pretty symbolic roll however in the “fall of Saigon” something that coincided with America’s evacuation of the country, so was a good reinforcement of my grounding in the events of the war. I find it sort of crazy that it doesn’t make up even a small part of any history course taught in school, despite it being the most monumental post-WW2 ideological war.

After this visit I engaged in culture of a different form, heading to the nearest Starbucks so I could stream Ed Sheeran’s latest album, which had just been released. I have been playing it practically nonstop since, through some incredibly arduous journeys which will be described later in the blog.

I then visited a very old post office, and Ho Chi Minh’s attempt at the Notre Dame, though, as mentioned earlier, odd timings prescribed that this building closed at 4, preventing me from going inside. I went back to the Hostel, which is effectively run solely by travellers who ran out of money and thought they’d chill in Ho Chi Minh for a bit. Although Flipside Hostels is Kiwi owned, the only staff I met were Canadian, British and Vietnamese. My route back to the hostel is actually a mini story in itself, as I had my first and last experience on a ‘Grab MotoTaxi’. Grab is Asian uber, and for 25% of the price you can sit on the back of a driver’s moped (helmet included!). It was more like a thrill ride than a taxi, as my driver swerved through non-existent gaps, and used the pavement as a 'shortcut’ when he got bored of the traffic. At one point during the ride he asked me to rate him 5 stars on the app at the end of the trip, to which I replied that I would do, if we made it that far. Beers at the hostel were cheap, and I spent most of the evening with a Canadian girl, and 2 Norwegian guys, all of which were in my dorm. It is fair to say we were all feeling the effects of the previous night on Saturday morning, but it was to my delight when at about midday a hilarious English guy called Joey, with a helicopter hat (baseball cap with the spinny thing), burst into our room announcing that we were going to a pool party. At this point I will admit that there many more cultural options in the city that I didn’t explore. For example the war museum, or tunnels. On the other hand I liked the people in the hostel, and in the past I thought pool parties only existed in LA, Vegas, or movies set in LA or Vegas, so I went. I would definitely like to return to see more of the city in the future.

It was a good laugh, and a very relaxing way to spend the day, with good food, and some fun conversations with one girl who was half Russian half Swedish, but about to go to University in Spain so she could be fluent in 4 languages by the age of 20. As well as a French man who decided we should try and have a conversation where we could only speak our native languages. This was a stupid idea, albeit with amusing consequences, given I got my French GCSE over 2 and a half years ago, and he was 30 and working in English. It did however give me the smallest of glimpses of how possible it could be to learn a language if you were forced to speak it full time.

I went out again that night with the same guys, and spent much of it playing ¾ rounds of pool with 2 Indian guys while discussing the IPL.

I left Ho Chi Minh the next morning with an English traveler who was heading to Sydney, my next stop being Manila. I hijacked his pre-booked taxi, my 3rd time doing so on this trip, however due to his nerves about missing his flight I did arrive at the airport 3 and a half hours before my own. Something I was prepared to take for the ease and cheapness of getting to the airport. El Nido is impossible to reach from an international destination in less than 2 days realistically, unless you align everything perfectly and don’t take a single rest. It is 7 hours drive north of Puerto Princessa, the island’s only airport, which is an hour and 50 from Manila. Therefore I spent Sunday night in Manila, in a small hotel about 15 minutes from the airport. People generally don’t hang around in Manila, I can’t honestly pass judgement on the claims of dirtiness and roughness, however my hotel’s location was certainly not somewhere you wanted to spend any time. I was able to locate a McDonalds a 10 minute walk away, but that was enough of Manila for me in this case.

The next day I had to leave at about 5 to get my 7am flight. I got a van from Puerto Princessa at 11am, getting me to my El Nido hostel at about 5pm. The bus journey is infamously horrific, not a view I can personally attest to. The road itself is reasonable for South East Asia, and my driver was fast and very friendly. The ticket was 1000 pesos return, about £16. I also managed to persuade a girl that had somehow booked the front seat of the minibus next to the driver, that with long legs in comparison to her stature of no more than 5ft1, my need was greater. I think the driver had in fact invited the woman to that seat, no reservation had been made, and she was quite relieved to move.

To reach my hostel you had to tramp 50m along the beach, to a view I don’t think I would ever get tired of. There are maybe a couple of photos of it on here, but I may have taken close to a hundred. My roommates were Catie and Lucie, recently qualified nurses from Northumbria.

I haven’t planned how to write this next paragraph, but am aware I would like to print this entire blog on its completion as a permanent memory of the adventure. El Nido is somewhere I will never regret visiting, with crystal clear waters, stunning sunsets and perfect weather. There are factors however that take a little away from the paradise, these being next to no internet connection and frequent power cuts. For these reasons notifications come in sporadically and in clumps. On Monday evening I suddenly had missed calls from mum and dad across 3 different platforms. This is a sight that truly does make your heart skip a beat. The connection was not strong enough for us to attempt any of the video calling methods of the last 5 or so weeks, WhatsApp, FaceTime or Google Duo. I slipped in my UK SIM card to the phone and made an international phone call from the beach, where I found out my Granddad, mum’s father, Reginald Flatman had passed away. Reg first got ill around Christmas, and had been in and out of hospital since, with various issues that were increasingly hard to diagnose.

I visited Reg a few days before I set off when he was in high spirits. I discussed my trip with him, and witnessed him as his trademark jovial self, as he laughed at mum’s gardening course exam, where she had somehow managed to hit the pass mark exactly…

Reg was possibly the kindest man I’ve ever known, with hardly a bad word to say about anyone. His only criticisms were directed at the attitude of the Ipswich Town football team, something I always found odd given his total indifference towards competitive sport of any kind. I’ll never forget walking the fields of Zoe and Des’ farm with him and the dog, when I would go down to Suffolk to work in the summer. I also had a memorable conversation with him 18 months ago at the reception of James and Vicky’s wedding, where he was utterly bemused by the 'racket’ coming out of the speaker system during the reception. I was delighted to be able to invite him to our school’s big band concert at Chelmsford cathedral last year.

Reg was a man of simple pleasures who would always refuse as best he could to trouble anyone for anything. We would rarely be able to contain our amusement at dinner, as when Reg was asked “would you like some more food”, he would reply with “that was great thanks”. Nana’s firm toned “Reginald”, uttered when he made a funny face across the table, nudged one of us under it, or tried to steal a roast potato, never failed to make myself or Kate laugh. Reg was to us polo mints, shredded wheat, and a day concluded with cheese and biscuits. Reg never bothered taking life too seriously, a characteristic summed up by a set of four photos in a frame at home, of him and Nana. He is screwing his face up in an effort to make the photographer laugh, in three of the photos. If this was a school photo session with a 10 year old, you would pretend the first 3 didn’t exist and just print the fourth large. The first three however said far more about Granddad than a composed shot ever could.

I will fly back from Melbourne to London on Sunday 19th to be with family for the funeral on Thursday 23rd. Then fly back out on Friday 24th to Auckland, NZ.

So El Nido. The nights are all very boring here as I did not have the energy or desire to go out. On Tuesday I accomplished a goal I’ve had for a long time, to visit a particular beach by the name of Nacpan. There is a particular travel blogger on YouTube by the name of Christian Le Blanc. While I was doing my exam revision last year, Christian was traveling the Philippines, and his trip to this particular beach was one that really drew me to the area. You have to drive 45 minutes north of the main town via scooter to get there. This is 25 minutes of glorious winding road up the coast, before a horrific 20 minutes along an unpaved dirt track to the beach. The reward is one of the largest and most untouched spots along the coast. Fine white sand and beautiful water. However I imagine it is becoming less and less 'secret’ by the month. Even in comparison to the video I saw 8 months ago there are now a few more food and drink stalls, a relatively organised parking scheme, and a far bigger sign from the main road. The one way in which El Nido has developed impressively is in its number of high end restaurants run by Europeans, in order to serve those visiting the town from nearby resorts. This did mean I enjoyed a great pizza that night, with about 10 others from the hostel.

The next day I did the hostel’s combined package of Tour A&C. The El Nido bay is very comparable to Halong Bay in Vietnam, except for more islands with beaches, as well as individual lagoons, in comparison to Halong’s mystical 1969 limestone rocks. At some point the tourist board must of grouped different combinations of the lagoons, beaches, islands, viewpoints etc, into tour A, B, C and D. There are now dozens of outlets selling these tours at prices from 1000-2000 pesos, (£16-£32). In the vast majority of cases you should try not to book tours and other items through your hostel. They will rarely be providing the service themselves, and will therefore be taking a cut simply for making a phone call to one of the companies on the street on your behalf. For example hiring a scooter from the hostel was 700 pesos a day, though I found one in town for 350. Saying all this the hostel ran their own in house tour which was a combination of tour A and C. It was 1700 which was nearer the pricier end, but the advantages were that it left from the hostel’s own beach, and you could do it with people you knew. I did love the experience, the videos of which online were another draw for me visiting the area. I snorkelled and got some decent GoPro footage of a small jellyfish that went on to sting me as I swam away. Taking photos on my phone and proper camera though was a more hap-hazard venture, with the boat being occupied by 16 soaking wet passengers constantly walking up and down around the kit. I also started to wonder if I was really getting the most out of the day, when seeing it partially through a lens. I was never going to get the greatest of photos, for that you’d need a chartered boat where you could specify time in each place. So I put the camera away for the most part of the trip, and enjoyed just sitting on the edge of the boat and taking it all in. Sunburn was the only tarnish on the day.

Thursday started with a torrential storm, which in typical Philippines style concluded with the weather returning to normal service in the space of 5 minutes. Myself, Catie, Lucie and a Swiss guy called Kevin went to do a zip line which was pretty awesome. I’d thought at the start of the day that I would be riding, and so brought my bike helmet with me. This meant rather embarrassingly this was to be my head protection for the experience, complete with visor. I managed to fashion my camera bag shoulder strap into a way of securing my phone to my harness, so I could film and photograph the ride. After this I returned to the hostel to relax a bit before planning to return to Nacpan to try and capture the sunset. This plan in hindsight was rash. Though cloudy, I was overly trusting on one German guy’s words that “his app said the sunset would be good”. It was not, with the clouds concealing nearly the entirety of the sun. I still enjoyed seeing the light shade of pink that took over the bottom third of the horizon, but it was not something I managed to pick up on the camera. What made the decision particularly stupid was that I then had to go back down the entirely unlit gravel path in the dark. I dropped off my scooter in town before meeting the girls for a meal at a traditional Philippino restaurant that had been recommended.

What followed was one of the most uncomfortable nights of my life, something I think I am only now really coming back from 2 and a half days later. Food poisoning hit me bad all night, as it did Lucie also. The plot thickens however, when we both awoke in the morning to find at least 7 others in the hostel had experienced identical symptoms overnight. I could not join up any dots with any of them leading some people to wonder if there was something airborne going around. I don’t think we’ll ever know, but it made Friday’s van journey even more daunting.

As mentioned earlier I had booked a return trip with the company that had brought me up, however the way it seems to work is that nobody drives if their vans are not full. This meant when I arrived at the bus terminal all the other companies that were present were enquiring about my departure time. My theory is that they knew my provider wouldn’t show. So at 1:35, five minutes past my supposed leaving time, a bidding war ensued. I was eventually bundled onto someone’s minibus. I can only assume after they took photos of my ticket, that they will get a refund off my people. This was not the main frustration of the journey unfortunately. The driver still had 4 free seats, and so he transformed into a hop on - hop off service for the whole island. This meant stopping for every random person on the side of the street, negotiating a price for their destination before letting them on. We must have made around 15 stops, something my stomach was not pleased with. 6 hours later we had arrived at Puerto Princessa airport. Advice I am giving myself for the future is not to book the cheapest hotel for short 1 night stopovers. This decision on Friday night involved a 20 minute tuk tuk ride to an area I was advised “not to walk at night”. The only pleasant anecdote in this experience was the fact my driver’s sister was a nurse in Ipswich, probably at the hospital granddad was receiving such good care. It was an incredibly odd and heartwarming meeting, as the driver spoke enthusiastically about his new brother in law, who runs a barber shop on the Woodbridge road. My room itself would be more accurately described as a cell. The bed was like a roll mat, and my troubles were furthered in the morning, when the building “ran out of power”. This was an impressive feat in itself as I was the only occupant in the entire 12 room hotel. I’ve got no idea how it copes with more than 5 customers… The power cut meant I woke up with no air con and no running water. I think I may have left without paying but the owner was so confused and I was so angry at the whole situation, I think the 600 pesos might remain in my pocket.

The next day I took a flight to Manila, then another to Kuala Lumpur. I’m writing this from the final couple of hours on what’s been a pretty grim overnight flight into Melbourne. I think when flying west-east you’re supposed to sleep, something I’ve completely failed to do.

I have a 2 hour domestic to Sydney and then the 47 hours from El Nido are complete. I think I have 14 hours to Abu Dhabi and then another 8 home next Sunday, so will try and summarise my week in Australia then.

Till the next time.

[sandiegodjstaci]

Jessica & Alex' No Muss, No Fuss Old Poway Park Wedding

Jessica & Alex' No Muss, No Fuss Old Poway Park Wedding

Of all the San Diego wedding DJs calling America’s finest city home, Jessica & Alex  chose me to DJ and MC their  Old Poway Park (Templars Hall) wedding on Saturday, 9.21.19. The following write-up is based on San Diego DJ Staci’s crazy organized & detailed outline for this park wedding.

  THE OLD POWAY PARK WEDDING CEREMONY

Prelude ➔ Piano, Vitamin String Quartet

Processional ➔ Latch by Simply Three

Bride Processional ➔ “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” by Haley Reinhart

Recessional ➔ Brighter Than The Sun by Colbie Caillat (cue to 30 seconds/first chorus)

  THE COCKTAIL HOUR & DINNER MUSIC

While San Diego DJ Staci offers couples pre-set cocktail & dinner playlists to choose from, Jessica & Alex opted to hand-select their background music for their Old Poway Park wedding.

Cocktail Music ➔ Death of a Bachelor – Panic at the disco, Careless Whisper- George Michaels, I’ve Got you Under my Skin – Frank Sinatra, Sway- Michael Buble, The Way you Look Tonight- Frank Sinatra

Dinner Music ➔ Come Fly with Me – Frank Sinatra, Locked out of Heaven – Bruno Mars, Free Bird- Lynyrd Skynyrd, Believer – Imagine Dragons, Lolipop – Mika, Uptown Girl – Billy Joel, You Rock my World – Michael Jackson

  (c) San Diego DJ Staci, the Track Star

  THE OLD POWAY PARK WEDDING RECEPTION

MC Welcome ➔ Good evening! Welcome to Jessica & Alex’ wedding reception!!! I am the Master of Ceremonies, DJ Staci. Please take your seats so we can officially welcome our guests of honor. Please be sure to post your photos today with #TheTutones. If you need to charge your devices, I do have a mini charging station up here including some universal chargers. I also have a basket of flip flops for the ladies to kick off our heels later. Lets also take a minute to acknowledge a few noteworthy guests…we have Alex’ aunts & uncles from the east coast here with us today!”

“Tonight I’m going to be sharing a lot of stories about Jessica & Alex with you. To get rolling, lets tackle the first & I love you.  She never wanted to say the L-word so she would say  I cherish you  for the longest time. Alex was patient…and it looks like it paid off!!! Ladies & gentlemen, are you ready for our guests of honor…?”

Grand Entrance

➔ “At Last,” Etta James ➔  They met in September 2016 on a blind date—they went to laser tag with Alexs brother, not realizing he was trying to set them up. Together they enjoy playing Magic, binge watching anime, hunting for Pokemon Go, chilling in Balboa Park, &  walking their fur baby, Bailey. Their first official date was at Alex  house to cook together. They are planning a honeymoon to Vegas &  later to Japan. Ladies &  gentlemen, get on your feet to welcome–for the FIRST TIME EVER—Mr. & Mrs. T—–!!!”

➔ Newlywed Brief Welcome/Thank You Speech ➔ yes

5:15 PM +/- ➔ Meal Served: buffet ➔ Dismiss tables: MC (Release dance floor tables first)

➔ Menu: taco bar

Shoe Game ➔ yes (Clear out tables by stage for dance floor during the game, designate table movers to be responsible)

5:45 PM +/- ➔ Toasts ➔ no champagne pour ➔Ladies & gentlemen, may I have your attention please for the toasts. Please welcome our first speaker:

➔ Father of the Bride, Bernie

➔ Father of the Bride, James

➔ Best Friend of the Bride, Cristina

➔ Mother of the Groom, Beth

➔ Mother-Son Dance ➔ “A Song for Mama,” Boyz II Men ➔ fade early: yes ➔ “Now lets welcome Alex &  his mother, Beth, to the dance floor to share a special dance.”

➔ Father-Daughter Dance (James) ➔ “Fathers &  Daughters,” Michael Bolton ➔ fade early: yes ➔ “Now lets welcome Jessica & her father, James, to the dance floor.

➔ Father-Daughter Dance (Berny) ➔ “Cinderella,” Steven Curtis Chapman ➔ fade early: yes ➔ “And now lets welcome Jessica & her father, Bernie, to the dance floor.

➔ First Dance ➔ “L.O.V.E.,” Frank Sinatra ➔ fade early: no ➔ “In January of this year, Jessica made custom Magic cards of herself, Alex, & a ring. She asked him if he wanted to play Magic & said she had a custom-made deck she wanted to try. Alex flipped through them & saw the two of them plus the ring. Jessica got down on one knee & asked him a very important question…a question Alex had also asked her in March at Nana’s house. Well, we know how they both answered because we are about to welcome Mr & Mrs T to the dance floor for their first dance as husband & wife.”

➔ Group Photo on Dance Floor

➔ Open Dancing

9:55 PM ➔ Last Dance ➔ “My Way,” Frank Sinatra

  JESSICA & ALEX’ DANCE MUSIC RECIPE

➔ Swears: Some R-rated is OK

➔ Requests at my discretion

♥ M U S T – P L A Y S ♥

I’ll Rust with You – Steam Powered Giraffe, Just the Way You Are – Bruno Mars, Danza Kuduro – Don Omar, Me and My Baby – Steam Powered Giraffe, No Rompas Mas – Caballo Dorado, Time Warp – Rocky Horror Picture Show, Thriller – Michael Jackson, Take a Chance on Me – Mama Mia soundtrack, Conga – Gloria Estefan, Stay the Night – Zedd

♥ P L A Y    I F    Y O U    C A N ♥

Shut up and Dance – Walk the Moon, Move you Feet – Junior Senior, Boogie Wonderland – Earth Wind and Fire, Bust a Move – Young MC, The Way you Make me Feel – Michael Jackson

  OLD POWAY PARK  WEDDING FLOOR PLAN

  SAN DIEGO WEDDING VENDOR LIST

Here is the amazing team of San Diego wedding vendors I had the pleasure of working with on this Old Poway Park wedding:

Venue  ➔  Templars Hall, Old Poway Park

Caterer ➔  Roberto’s Catering Services

DJ/MC/Lighting ➔ DJ Staci, the Track Star

Cake Bakery ➔ Costco

Florist ➔ DIY

Again, I was honored to be the one and only San Diego wedding DJ Jessica & Alex trusted with their Old Poway Park wedding. Thank you!

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  GIVE IT TO ME BABY

[lgbt-meet]

LGBTMEET- My coming out story 🏳️‍🌈

Not all coming out stories are pleasant, easy or straight forward. Mine was defitnely the latter which I will share with you

As a kid I grew up in a pretty normal household (although we are talking families here and we would be lying if we said any family was conventional) It was me, my dad, my mum and my sister in a nice house and a nice area. As a kid I used to always be out playing, usually football with the local boys from the area. If we weren’t playing football we were creating rope swings down the local park, playing 99 in or making up our own game of dodgeball (which didn’t go down too well with one of the neighbours when the balls ended up smashing against the side of the house)

I thoughrougly enjoyed my early childhood, I really had no worries apart from eating my dinner quickly when I returned home from school so I could run out an kick a ball around with me friends. It was until I reached secondary school where things started to get tricky for me. You see my best friend from secondary school was a boy, we had been friends since we were young kids and our parents were very good friends too. So outside of school we spent a lot of time with each other. I had girls that were friends of mine but I didn’t hang out with them too much at school as I was too busy playing football.

When I got to secondary school I did end up making friends with girls and started hanging out with them more and not so much my best friend from primary school. I’m pretty sure this was a subconscious move, instead of joining in with the boys and playing football at secondary school I opted to hang out with my new girl friends. At this age, a girl who played football was judged. Lesbian, Dyke, Man. At this age and for most of my school life I was worried about being associated with these names, I thought it was wrong. I thought that no matter what I cannot be this person. I don’t want to suffer these name calls or feel like I’m an outcast.

So my conscious decision to not play football with the boys at school seemed to backfire. Although I made some great girl friends who to this day I am still very good friends with, I pretty much lost my childhood friend. He was one of the main culprits in calling me names and making gestures at the table in class to his other friend that I could visibly see. This made me feel so very low. There were times I thought I can’t do this because I don’t want to be labelled these names and people to talk about me.

I realised I had a thing for girls in my early teens, there were teachers that caught my eye and I used to think they were attractive. I also played in a girls football team outside of school which was my release, it was home where no one judged and I could still fufil my love for the game. I remember my first crush in my football team, she was funny and pretty. We used to get on so well and enjoy each other’s company but nothing came of it other than just friends at 14.

I put up with the name calls and gestures in the classroom for the rest of my school life, I never spoke to my mum about it until I actually came out which I will get onto later in the post. Because I felt ashamed of being different the way I coped with it to try and deter people away from calling me any forms of names was to go as far away from my true self as possible. So I forced myself to get involved with boys and made sure my friends and others knew about it. Looking back, this makes me feel sad. The fact that when I was young I couldn’t be who I had already identified was me. Instead I had to love a lie in order to keep my head above water at school.

I left school with decent grades but again I could have done a lot better if I was pre occupied with deterring people from calling me names or judging me. I didnt know what I wanted to do after school, I tried college for a week but again I was stuck in worrying too much about what people thought about me instead of being who I was and going for what I wanted. So I started a little job, earned some money then decided to go to America for college to play soccer. Again, the experience was fantastic and I enjoyed it thoroughly but at 18 I should have been more comfortable with who I really was.

I ended up again trying to deter people from who I really was by getting involved with boys. I knew this wasn’t me and I knew this wasn’t what I wanted but I was scared to really live as me. I stayed there for 5 months and then came home. I managed to get a job with my sister at her workplace. Same again, tried to deter from my real self and convince people that I was straight. Looking back on this really does make me sad, the fact that I wasn’t comfortable to come out is something I don’t want people to experience.

When I reached 22, something triggered inside me and I signed up to a dating site. I began speaking to girls and found my first partner online. Let me tell you, the next part was not the most conventional of coming out stories to a mum. Me and this girl had be talking for quite a while and we thought it was time to meet up. She was from the other end of the country and one day she came out with big story about how her family are terrible and from a different culture and don’t accept her (unfortunately we aren’t together anymore) me being me quite vulnerable in my situation agreed that I would go all the way to the other end of the country and meet her and pick her up.

But first, I needed to come out to my mum. I remember being on the stairs and crying, my mum wasn’t sure what was going on and I just said I needed to speak to her. She was questioning me on things that she thought that would be making me upset and then she finally asked ‘Are you gay?’ Boom there it was. She gave me a hug and we spoke about it. She was absolutely fine and still to this day I never spoke to my dad about it, my mum must have enlightened him about it and he has never had one bad word to say. He is the most chilled dad and we enjoy going to watch football together.

So about my trip - well I finished work I set off and four hours later I met the girl I was talking to. We hit it off, I felt great and I finally felt free. We stayed in a hotel for a few nights and then we had to make a decision. After two days of meeting was she going to come with me or was she going to stay with her family who again she can’t be herself around because they do not accept her. Having been in a similar position I offered for her to come and stay with my at my parents house! My mum has always been open and caring so I text her to ask and of course she obliged!

And from there we ended up being in a relationship for 3 years! My parents took her into the family and we lived with them. We ended up on trips to Florida, Madrid and Madeira. We travelled the country for football games and visited cinemas and restaurants like no tomorrow. It now seems like a bit of a fairytale, rescuing her from her family and living happily ever after (nearly 😂)

I believe in life everything happens for a reason and here I am today a single Lesbian who has finally found herself and become comfortable in her own skin. I don’t regret how any of my relationship started or ended. I think it was meant to be and has taught me vital lessons in life. What I do regret is the way I had to suffer in silence, this not only affected my school life where ultimately kids should be kids and not have to have those sorts of worries but it has affected my later life and my confidence.

I think if I can help anyone suffering in silence then I will be a happy human, I want people to be comfortable with themselves and ultimately the people that are worth caring about are the ones who will only care for your happiness and will not judge you. All of my friends and co workers were absolutely fine about me being a gay woman. When I finally came out to my parents, friends, family - I didn’t have any problems. The one person I was most afraid of was my Nana and she was completely fine with me! We even used to go round hers for dinner and watch TV with her.

I think we need more help for youngsters who are suffering and will continue to suffer as long as ignorance is around. Love is love and people should be allowed to be the person that they truly are.

I hope anyone who is suffering at the moment or feels like they are oppressing themselves for the sake of others can really reach out to me on here. Let me know your coming out stories or how you are feeling at this present moment and I will do my utmost best to help you out.

Find Your Feet 🏳️‍🌈

[recentanimenews]

Aniplex Of America Announces "WWW.WAGNARIA!!," "Occultic;Nine" And "Blue Exorcist" First TV Series Blu-ray Box Set Plans

At this weekend's Anime Central, Aniplex of America announced release plans and the launch of pre-orders for Blu-ray releases of WWW.WAGNARIA!! and Occultic;Nine, as well as a set of the first Blue Exorcist anime. 

  http://ift.tt/2rF9Ucq

  WWW.WAGNARIA!! Blu-ray Set Vol.1

Release Date: 07.18.2017

Disc Spec ・Spoken Language: Japanese ・Subtitles: English ・Aspect ratio: 16:9 widescreen ・Episodes: Episodes #1 - #7 (7 Episodes) ・Number of Disc: 2 Discs ・Total Run Time: Approx. 166 min. ・Rating: 13 UP Price SRP: $89.98 Retail Price: $69.98 Bonus Contents Never before seen Bonus part in each episode! (Bonus contents are subject to change) Bonus Materials & Package ・Illustration Post Cards ・Package Illustrated by Mayuko Nakano (Character Designer) ・Aspect ratio: 16:9 widescreen ・Clear Cases with 2-Sided Wrap

    Blu-ray Set Vol.2

Release Date: 10.17.2017 Disc Spec ・Spoken Language: Japanese ・Subtitles: English ・Aspect ratio: 16:9 widescreen ・Episodes: Episodes #8 - #13 (6 Episodes) ・Number of Disc: 2 Discs ・Total Run Time: Approx. 144 min. ・Rating: 13 UP Price SRP: $89.98 Retail Price: $69.98 Bonus Contents Never before seen Bonus part in each episode! (Bonus contents are subject to change) Bonus Materials & Package ・Illustration Post Cards ・Package Illustrated by Mayuko Nakano (Character Designer) ・Aspect ratio: 16:9 widescreen ・Clear Cases with 2-Sided Wrap

Cast Daisuke Higashida: Yuuichi Nakamura Hana Miyakoshi: Haruka Tomatsu Masahiro Adachi: Kouki Uchiyama Sayuri Muranushi: Youko Hikasa Kisaki Kondou: Nana Mizuki Shiho Kamakura: Sora Amamiya Yuuta Shindou: Kenshou Ono Miri Yanagiba: Momo Asakura Rui Nagata: Ari Ozawa Takuya Kouno: Hiro Shimono Kouki Saiki: Yoshimasa Hosoya Kenichirou Sakaki: Kousuke Toriumi

Description From the creator of the WAGNARIA!! series, the long-awaited TV anime is finally here!

Daisuke Higashida starts working part-time at a family restaurant due to financial difficulties at home. However, between a shift manager who is hopeless when it comes to cooking, and the wait staff's reliance on the power of money, it seems this restaurant doesn't have a single normal person working there!

  http://ift.tt/2dy1g8T

  Occultic；Nine Blu-ray Vol.1 Coming 09/26

Price SRP $99.98 Retail Price $79.98

  Disc Spec Spoken Languages: 　Japanese & English

Subtitle Languages: 　English & Spanish

Aspect ratio: 　16:9 widescreen

Episodes: 　Episodes #1-#6 (6 Episodes)

Number of Disc: 　2 Blu-ray Discs

Total Run Time: 　Approx. 144 minutes

Rating: 　13 UP

Bonus Contents ■ Textless OP & ED (Bonus contents are subject to change)

Bonus Materials & Package ■ Deluxe Booklet ■ Illustration Pin-up Cards ■ Special Package Illustrated by Tomoaki Takase (Character Design) ■ Clear BD Case with 2-sided Wrap

    Occultic；Nine Blu-ray Vol.2 Coming 12/26 Blu-ray

Price SRP $99.98 Retail Price $79.98

  Disc Spec Spoken Languages: 　Japanese & English

Subtitle Languages: 　English & Spanish

Aspect ratio: 　16:9 widescreen

Episodes: 　Episodes #7-#12 (6 Episodes)

Number of Disc: 　2 Blu-ray Discs

Total Run Time: 　Approx. 144 minutes

Rating: 　13 UP

Bonus Contents ■ Original Japanese Trailer ■ English Dub Trailer (Bonus contents are subject to change)

Bonus Materials & Package ■ Deluxe Booklet ■ Illustration Pin-up Cards ■ Special Package Illustrated by Tomoaki Takase (Character Design) ■ Clear BD Case with 2-sided Wrap

  CAST

Yuta Gamon

Yuki Kaji / Erik Scott Kimerer

Ryoka Narusawa

Ayane Sakura / Faye Mata

Sarai Hashigami

Kaito Ishikawa / Robbie Daymond

Miyuu Aikawa

Hitomi Yoshida / Kayli Mills

Touko Sumikaze

Shizuka Ito / Erica Lindbeck

Kurenaino Aria

Miyuki Sawashiro / Cristina Vee

Kiryu Kusakabe

Kisho Taniyama / Greg Chun

Ririka Nishizono

Mamiko Noto / Michelle Ruff

Shun Moritsuka

Tetsuya Kakihara / Max Mittelman

Asuna Kisaki

Satomi Akesaka / Erika Harlacher

Kouhei Izumi

Kenjiro Tsuda / Ben Diskin

Chizu Kawabata

Maria Naganawa / Xanthe Huynh

ADR Director and Script Adaptation (English)

Chris Cason

    Description From the creator of "Steins;Gate", a new adventure surrounding the occult is about to begin! Yuta Gamon is a 2nd year in high school. He runs "Kiri Kiri Basara," an affiliate blog that rounds up occult forum posts, for a shot at quick money, and challenges himself to the occult night and day to "hack and slash away!" the many supernatural phenomena existing in the world from a scientific standpoint. However, with that blog of his as a catalyst, a group of downright maniacal and insane comrades have gathered about.

  http://ift.tt/2jPzEmU

Blue Exorcist First TV Series Blu-ray Box Set

The box set will feature all 25 episodes plus the OVA episode “Kuro Runs Away from Home” and bonus short animation “Ura-Eku.” 

BLU-RAY SPECS Spoken Languages: Aspect ratio: Subtitles: Episodes:   Number of Disc: Total Run Time: Rating: Japanese & English 16:9 widescreen English Episodes 1-12 & Special Bonus Episode "Kuro Runs Away From Home" 5 Discs (3 BD discs + 1 DVD + 1 CD) approx. 325 min. 13 UP BONUS CONTENTS ■ Special Bonus Episode "Kuro Runs Away From Home" ■ Ura-Eku (short comedy video) ■ Web version Previews ■ Commercials and Trailers ■ 1st Season Textless Opening and Ending BONUS MATERIALS & SPECIAL PACKAGE ■ Blue Exorcist Original Soundtrack CD1 ■ Bonus DVD: English Cast Interview Part 1: Okumura Brothers & Cram School Gang ■ 36-page Deluxe Illustration Booklet I ■ Rigid Box illustrated by Manga Author, Kazue Kato ■ Clear BD Cases with 2-sided Japanese Cover Design

SRP: $174.98 Store Price $139.98

About Blue Exorcist Assiah: the realm of humans. Gehenna: the realm of demons. Normally, these two dimensions would never intersect, but having possessed all material substances, the demons are now intruding on the human world. Fortunately, among the human race there are those who have the ability to exorcise such demons - the Exorcists. Among these humans is Rin Okumura, an energetic, young man who has been raised by Shiro Fujimoto, an eminent priest, with Rin’s twin brother, Yukio. One day, he discovers the shocking truth that his biological father is in fact the most powerful demon of them all – Satan. As the border between “Assiah” and “Gehenna” is threatened by intruding demons, Rin vows to become the ultimate exorcist and defeat his own father and hone his skills as an exorcist at True Cross Academy with other exorcist candidates. The series has been adapted into a film released across North America and made its U.S. network television debut on Adult Swim’s TOONAMI™ in 2014. Most recently, the series returned in 2017 with Blue Exorcist -Kyoto Saga-, adapted from the Kyoto Impure King arc of the manga series.

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

  By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com