#unironically gonna make this a series

[qurvballz]

Realitystuck AU where I just draw Homestuck characters in their 20s going through mid life crisises and doing boring everyday things

anyways here's vriska walking and thinking deeply

[ludwigoat909]

Apologies for the person I will become when this drops. I simply have missed the game series that started my first 100+ game experience, and am very excited for it's spiritual successor

[traaanskimkitsuragi]

is it just me or does da2 have the best side quest quality overall by far. like. its not even close

[transurgender]

i keep seeing that stupid sanji tab and thinking it says benji so i click on it because ohoho?!? special tab just for me?!? and then its just one piece shit

[velourfant]

i am so charmed by miles edgeworth. i knew i was gonna like him when i first started the series bc his aesthetics fit right into my usual type but god they made him so appealing by NOT making him some one dimensional, emotionless asshole.

when you first prove him wrong in court he almost pops a fucking vein. this man is not super cool or super collected in the stereotypical sense. he’s a loser who says HHHHNGHHHH unironically, wears a cravat to his workplace and bows to the judge before delivering his opening statements. he fucking sucks at small talk and is even worse at gathering witness names/testimonies and he is one of the most endearing characters in the franchise because he isn’t just a pompous prick with seven sticks up his ass but he also isn’t just a gay, autistic piece of shit suffering from 15 years of emotional repression + a frankly laughable lack of social awareness. he is miles edgeworth, pompous, good looking, well meaning, logical, and nerdy miles edgeworth. i love him.

[intrepid-fictioneer-7]

How to read the Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Light Novels

I was recently reminded that there is a lot of people who simply don’t know that they can read the Case Files light novels, and that there are people who do know but have no idea where to find them. This is especially a problem when these people have only watched the anime and want to know where they can find more of the story. Since it kind of requires you to go through some hoops (not a whole lot but still), I decided to take a page out of @humbertozero​‘s excellent Fate/strange Fake resource post and make one for my other favorite Type-Moon Fate spinoff, the dossiers of El-Melon.

Read the First Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.1 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Second Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.2 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Third Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.3 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Fourth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.4 (PDF) (EPUB1) (EPUB2)

Read the Fifth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.5 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Sixth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.6 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Seventh Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.7 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Eighth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.8 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Ninth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.9 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Tenth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.10 (PDF) (EPUB)

Important note!

It should be noted first that I am just the compiler here. I am neither the translator nor am I the files’ creator. So all credits go to...

Credits

Credits and thanks to TwilightsCall on the Beast Lair forums (from which the majority of the other creditors originally posted their contributions) for translating the first 4 volumes and some of volume 5, thus getting the ball rolling. Further thanks to azwhoisverybored for translating the rest of the series from volume 6 onwards, and thanks to Kneenaw for starting the translation for the rest of volume 5. Thanks to Dotelias for making EPUBs for volumes 1-3, thanks to  cereal_ for making EPUBs of volume 4, thanks to u/confusedkuratowski on Reddit for making EPUB of volume 6, and thanks to ProtoformX for making PDFs and EPUBs for volumes 5 to 10 as well as for Adventures volume 1 and 2!

And big thanks to Makoto Sanda for writing Case Files in the first place!

Further explanations

Anime

The anime adaptation of Case Files, with the mouthful of a title that is Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note, is particular to use as an entry-point in the series, because it only partially adapts the series. See, the author, Makoto Sanda, said in interview that the two first arcs/cases in the series didn’t quite work as scripts for anime episodes, so the anime only adapted the third case/arc, Rail Zeppelin, which is more action oriented than the more mystery focused first arcs. But because they still needed to explain stuff like Gray, Reines, El-Melloi’s students, etc., many of whom are relevant characters to the arc, the first half/six episodes of the anime is about introducing them.

So to the question “where do I start reading after the anime?”, the answer is unironically to restart at volume 1. And then you may skip volumes 4-5 since they are the Rail Zeppelin arc and there are not much differences besides some characters not being present during that arc. This is why I think you can watch the anime first if that’s more your speed (I have my problems and criticisms of the anime but that’s irrelevant to this post).

And you can’t start with the anime and start reading with volume 6, the first 3 volumes have characters and plot points that come back for the final arc, so you’re gonna be incredibly lost if you think to consume the series this way.

Weirdly enough, despite being original episodes, the anime originals are most likely canon in some ways. Episode 0, the original OVA, is an expansion of an anecdote Gray mentions in the first volume’s prologue, and Episode 1 takes place during Waver’s travels before the story starts and is an actual story, one of the 3 incidents Sanda has in mind for Waver’s journey before he returned to London. Episodes 2 to 6 take place during the one month period between volume 3 and volume 4, and finally the special OVA take place on Christmas also in between arcs.

Manga

The manga’s translation used to be on hiatus for a long time, but it has fortunately been picked up by the team doing the UBW and HF mangas. As of the time of writing (14/10/24), it has been translated up to the Rail Zeppelin arc, meaning if LNs aren’t your thing, you can experience the first two arcs that weren’t adapted in the anime in manga form. It has really gorgeous art so definitely check it out.

The Adventures of El-Melloi II

The sequel series currently ongoing, started a year after the first Case Files ended in 2019. You might know it as “the (other) series where Rin shows up grown up and also a pirate” and, as of recent volumes, “that one series where Shirou comes back spending the entire time half-naked”. @reignsan has been compiling pretty thorough chapter-by-chapter summaries of the volumes by @kaibutsushidousha if you don’t mind being spoiled. Or you can be patient and wait for azwhoisverybored to finish translating them on Beast Lair in this thread.

At the time of writing (14/10/24), the first and second volume of Adventures have been completed and compiled into PDF and EPUB forms:

First Volume: The Man Who Devoured God (PDF)(EPUB)

Second Volume: The Demon of the Wandering Sea I (PDF)(EPUB)

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files material

This is absolutely not required reading in any shape or form, those lore books are usually of interest only to dumb nerds like me lol. A timeline of the Clock Tower? An explanation of its politics? Yes please. But it also has insights into the characters by the author that aren’t in the books proper, as well as behind-the-scenes explanations for some decisions (for example, why it’s Gray with the American spelling instead of Grey with the British spelling). Only the glossary/encyclopedia is translated, but give it a look...after you read the series, because it assumes you did and has some big spoilers.

Drama CD

What’s that? You heard something about a Buzzfeed quizz about the most handsome Clock Tower teachers and how it’s somehow a plot point? Look no further than one of my only posts that did numbers. Read the summary, it’s hilarious.

[httpserb]

sharing my favorite kageyama headcannons that ill probably put into the series im writing abt him:

he's autisic

i like to think he is actually smart but in a really weird way like literature & history doesn't stick but i like to think he oddly likes science (physics in particular bc he'd learn how much easier it is to set)

i think with the interview there is a chance that his parents work overseas alot with miwa in tokyo

due to the headcannon above i think he has really good hygiene & routine

he can cook really well (i like to think pro-bazil hinata was forced to learn to cook so they take turns)

bonds with natsu after he awkward decided to give her a pedicure and show her how to take care of her nails & hands (she'll forever love him as a big brother)

has a certain diet but also has a small sweet tooth

him and hinata are big eyebrows and long eyelashes and i wont explain myself

i saw a headcannon that kags was half-chinese, half-japanese thats why japanese was hard for him to understand but he was good with kanji so i like that one

he is unironically babied by most people around him but he doesn't realize

i plan on having miwa & alisa get together so thru that lev & kags are gonna be surprising besties (lev is gonna claim their brothers trough transitive property)

he has dimples (i will not explain myself) theyre small so you have to make him really smile or laugh to see it

loves spring & summer but doesnt do well in winter despite being born in winter

once karasuno found out he was alone in that big house theyd come over whenever they wanted bringing their own snacks, blankets, and homework

i like to think kags finds a cat that looks very similar to hinata while he is at brazil (the cat only likes him and for some reason kenma)

kags being really nervous and kenma realizing he isnt scary just really awkward and they become friends with kags finally becoming friends with akaashi through kenma

kuroo insisting on being friends bc their best friends are friends

ushiwaka watcing over kags when he was on the olympic team at 19 and at the alders

osamu sometimes giving him discounts or freebies if he wins agains atsumu

iwazumi babying him once he becomes the olympic trainer

there is more but the post is getting really long

[henneseyhoe]

“Tell daddy you sorry”(request)

Stunna x BLACK!THICK!FEM!reader

WARNINGS: toxic!stunna, daddy kink, rough sex, name calling, breeding kink(eh?), unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it!)

SUMMARY:you fucked somebody else. Stunna ain’t too happy bout it.

Ps. This was (kinda) inspired by we cry together by Kendrick Lamar. I listen to that shit unironically and the ending of the song had me gasping when I first heard it so I had to make a lil drabble lmfao. Also I owed y’all a lil sumn before putting out these other requests and series.

✮✮✮✮

“Now tell daddy you sorry”

“Tell daddy you sorry for givin’ his pussy away” he repeated, his hips colliding into her with force as she whined pathetically, her hands pushing at his hips to keep him from going so deep. She felt defeated in this moment. Weak that not only did she let this nigga back into her house, but she let him back into HER.

Her soft eyes stared up at him, her mouth gaped open with a stupid look on her face, the golden chain he wore around his neck dangling above her, putting the girl in a trance like state with the help of his mad thrusts. One kiss to her lips and she was snapped out of it.

“Fuuuck! I hate you!”

“You do? This pussy looove me, though. Look how wet she is, baby” he says, delivering slow, deep strokes that had her mumbling incoherent words. She couldn’t even lie and say she wasn’t loving every bit of this shit. If she did, her hormones would have made it obvious that she was boldly lying through her teeth, and one thing about Stunna was that he hated a liar, especially a bad one.

Her eyes rolled back into her head and her back arched to the sky, the man getting satisfaction out of watching her try to break free from the death grip he had on her thighs. He was surely gonna leave a mark.

“now say sorry”

the logical thing for her to do was comply and do what he told her to do instead of being a brat and refusing again, and she would have said no anyway if her ass wasn’t already sore from the 10 strikings his hand gave her earlier.

“I- I’m so sorry, daddy!”

“You is?”

“Yesss!”

“This pussy mine?”

“Yes! yes! yes!” She chanted, her toes curling.

Stunna smirked. “Obviously he ain’t do a good job if you came back. You love me?”

“Yessss! Give it to me!” She cried, her nails scratching down his back as she took every single inch he gave to her. He spoke no words, just continued to do his damage, aiming for her sweet spot the entire time. The way he was fucking her, you could have sworn he hated her a little, shit, he might after tonight.

Her thighs felt like she had ran a mile, her body not getting time to calm down before another orgasm was upon her. In bliss, she was unaware of the turmoil she had set herself in just by fucking this man once again. And she’d do it again after this too.

“Shit!” He shouted, his jaw clenched as he gripped her thick thighs, bending them back to her chest. If she knew getting fucked this hard would take playing in his face, she would have been broken up with him and using somebodies son as a sex toy.

“Fuuuuck! Fuck me nigga!” she screamed before her voice became hushed, the man responding in harsh slaps to her ass.

“Imma fuck you bitch”

“Fuck meee!”

“Imma fuck you bitch”

They went back and forth till the woman’s legs began to shake violently, her pussy practically choking his dick, just how he wanted it.

“I don’t wanna see you with nobody else unless it’s the baby I put in you”

✮✮✮✮

@chxrryp0p

[hostilecandle]

I just saw a post unironically being up in arms and pissed that the pricegaz ship exists because "a captain and a sergeant is a huge power imbalance" Please I need yall to be so fucking for real with me rn 😭😭 I've seen this take so many times and enough is enough.

Look at me, I'm gonna tell ya something, come closer- YOURE IN THE FUCKING WAR FANDOM. For the love of God get off your morality high horse and come back to earth for a second. I'm begging you to go touch some grass. If you want to play a morality game, a power imbalance between an officer and those he's in charge of should be the LAST of your worries in this fandom. (Also how funny that ghost and soap weren't mentioned as a power imbalance when it's just as bad. Yeah I fucking caught that you hypocrite)

Like come on let's be for real, if you really cared about fictional morality issues, well you wouldn't be in this fandom would you? You would be beyond pissed and sick to your stomach that there's war, actual torture, racism, and all the other "fun" things that come in a game about a proxy war and terrorists for fucks sake. You don't have any box to stand on, you're in the CALL OF DUTY FANDOM 😭😭😭 Yall wanna be special and unique SO bad. Yall just want a reason to say you're better than others and you froth at the mouth at the chance to do so.

You know this shit ain't real. You know it's a game but even still, you have to try and find something to make you better than those degenerates and it's pathetic. And again if you really cared, this game series as a whole should offend you. If yall are really so pressed about fiction and reality this whole series should make you want to throw up. This is the game series that brags about how realistic it is and how they've brought in people who've experienced this to make it as real as possible. But wait, you don't care about morality as long as it's fictional children and brown people being murdered but GOD FORBID Gaz takes a cock up his ass from Price. Its just gone TOO FAR 🙄🙄

Obligatory you can just dislike a ship for any reason. Things are allowed to squick you out. That's FINE. That's good and healthy even. You don't have to like every ship. What pisses me off is the moral soap box yall have to stand on to preach and prove why you dont like it and why everyone who does like it is bad. Idc someone doesnt ship gazprice, (I enjoy it but personally have ships I like better myself) but getting mad it exists is genuinely, and i cant stress this enough, pathetic. It's old and I'm so sick of seeing it. This is not the fandom for these games. Go back to something made for children if you want to have the moral understanding of one.

[blainesebastian]

can't buy that kind of support

words: 2,123 ship: austin butler x reader summary: (requested by @louisejoy86 ): Reader and Austin see a magazine article that is less than flattering to reader. Austin first talks it out and comforts reader. Then he decides to deal with the writer of the article in any way that you feel most comfortable writing. notes: my whole world has been upside down but it was really nice to write this, just something fluffy :) warnings: none tag list: @killerqueenfan, @austinbutlermischief, @stylespresleyhearted

All you keep thinking about as you look over the editorial is that this was bound to happen. Anyone dating a celebrity is destined for a smear article or two but you’ve been dating Austin long enough that you almost thought it wasn’t going to happen. Any reading or post you’ve come across has been fairly positive, or hasn’t mentioned you at all other than to say ‘Austin Butler’s girlfriend’—which is just fine with you. Just there along the shadows but never in direct sunlight is the way to go.

Just sucks that it had to happen now, at the premiere of your television series. A lot of people seem to forget that you too were into film and had a sparkling career on the screen long before Austin. But what do the cameras see?

You greeting Baz Luhrmann at your premiere with Austin smiling in the background, the headline—Y/N L/N—Riding Boyfriend’s Coattails Into Fame? The article is rather scathing, as if the writer had some sort of personal issue with you long before you decided to date Austin and be at this premiere. Wincing lightly, you skim through paragraphs and try not to let your body temperature rise in a slow boil.

None of this even matters anyways—

right?

Standing with it in your hand, you move to toss it into the kitchen trash—only if it were that easy. Kinda lives forever on the internet. Letting out a soft sound, you finally turn the paper upside down and begin to put it into the trash, quickly committing when Austin rounds the kitchen counter.

You startle a little, a soft laugh leaving his lips, “Sorry.”

“I didn’t hear you come in.”

“It’s almost Halloween, I’m workin’ on my scare tactics.”

A soft laugh rumbles in your chest, your hand gently pushing his shoulder, “Don’t even joke about that.”

Austin takes a step forward, wrapping his arm around your waist to keep you close. “Says the girl who loves haunted houses?” He dips his head down to brush his lips over yours.

You smirk but give him a soft kiss back, “Yeah, not in my house though—that’s the difference.”

This unironically feels like the calm before the storm because it’s only a matter of time before Austin finds out about that article. Not that you don’t want to tell him? But there’s no sense in winding him up about it, either. It’s not something that can be fixed and you’re not even too upset about it anyways (something twinges in your chest calling you a liar but you’re not about to consume yourself with it, either. Nothing will come from that).

“Breakfast for dinner?” You ask curiously.

Austin nods, “Only if we can eat it in bed.”

You smirk—should be easy enough of a promise.

Moving towards the bedroom, you want to grab an oversized cardigan and a hairclip for yourself before you’re knee-deep in making bacon, hashbrowns, and pancakes all at the same time. You purse your lips—or maybe waffles.

You hear the weight of Austin walking into the bedroom behind you, “Big question—pancakes or waffles,” Then, as you turn, “Better question—bacon or sausage—”

And sentence remains unfinished on your lips because your eyes zero in on Austin’s hand…holding onto the article you just tossed into the trash in the kitchen.

“Were you not gonna tell me about this?” He asks, setting the article down on the corner of the dresser. He’s not angry or demanding, there’s a soft inflection of concern to his voice and…you get where he’s coming from. You and Austin are open with one another, you share feelings and frustrations.

You’d want for him to tell you if something had been bothering you too so you could listen, offer advice, or help in any way that you could.

There’s also just a part of you that doesn’t want to talk about it.

You resist the urge to clam up, slowly allowing yourself to be pried open, “There’s just…there’s nothing to talk about.”

Austin sits down on the edge of the bed, running a hand through his hair. You can tell he’s not pleased with that answer—not frustrated with you exactly, but the fact that it’s not so easily fixable.

“I mean—” You pick up the article from where he’s left it, going to toss it in the trash again where you hope it stays. Feels like it keeps rising from the dead, “I’m not gonna cause this big fuss over someone’s wrong opinion.”

You cross your arms over your chest,

“They clearly got nothin’ better to do if they’re just makin’ shit up about me.”

Austin shakes his head, “But you’re upset.” And there’s something in the way he says it; it’s clear that he’s also upset for you. Like he doesn’t like leaving this situation not taken care of, especially because you’re hurt.

But also, it makes a wounded laugh slip right out of your throat, “Of course I’m upset.” You don’t really have any other words of explanation, just kinda shrug your one shoulder in saying and? What is that going to solve?

You’ve learned not to let yourself stew about things or it’ll drag you down like an anchor in the ocean.

Austin looks from the trashcan to your face, a soft sigh leaving his lips and stands just long enough to tug on your sweater. He sits back down, legs parting slightly so that you’ve found a position sitting on his leg, your own between his. He wraps his arms around you and at this angle, his face can slip into the crook of your neck. Austin places a long kiss to your shoulder, making you close your eyes. You can feel your body unwind from his touch, knots coming out of your upper back and down along your spine.

You completely relax into him, your head tipping forward so that your nose and lips brush through his hair. Pressing a kiss to the crown of his head, you run your fingers through the strands, moving to tip his chin up so you can kiss him.

“I’ll be okay,” You promise gently, tracing your thumb along his jawline. “Just a bad day,” You shrug, and a bad article. But you refuse to allow it to tear you down.

You do, however, accept Austin straightening his shoulders and drawing you down onto the bed until you’re both laying against the mattress, wrapped up in one another. You close your eyes, breathing in the scent of him as he occasionally kisses your forehead, feeling better already.

--

A week after the dust settles, your friend Rose brings up the article again—it’s mostly an offhanded comment while you’re having dinner together and on a second round of margaritas.

“You know that guy who wrote the article about you, Steve what’s-his-name?”

You sigh softly, dipping a chip in queso. How could you forget?

“I heard he’s gonna call and ask you for an interview—some sort of re-write?”

Blinking, your eyebrows draw together in confusion because what? That— “That doesn’t make any sense.” Because it’s not like you filed a complaint or tried to talk to the author yourself, you just sort of let it go, let it fade into the background and along with it your negative feelings.

“Well you know I got that friend who works at the same place,” She grins—because right, Todd. You’ve heard plenty of stories that went through the sexcapades of Rose and Todd. “And he told me that your boyfriend showed up asking to talk to Steve.”

A laugh startles out of you because no, that doesn’t…that doesn’t make any sense. Why would Austin—

“Are you sure?”

“Todd knows what Austin looks like,” Rose raises her eyebrows, giving a slow sip to her margarita. “Says he was perfectly polite and personable. Promised an exclusive interview for his next upcoming movie if he’d talk to you, write another article.”

And man, alright, maybe Rose does know what she’s talking about because that’s Austin to a T—especially if he wants something.

“Did he overhear the conversation?” You’re still wrapping your head around this. If he went and talked to Steve about the article that’s…that’s actually really thoughtful. You know some girlfriends might not be thrilled about him drudging up buried ghosts, or going behind your back to do it but…

You can’t think it’s anything other than protective, sweet. Just makes you that much more thankful for him.

Rose grins, “I can tell you what Todd overheard.”

You hum warmly, waving the waiter down for another round of chips.

--

Here’s the thing—Austin knows that you are more than capable of handling things on your own. This article that has randomly exploded in your face is unfortunately not the first or the last inconsiderate writer you’re going to have to put up with. He knows that a bit of time has passed and that there’s no lingering sense of resentment but…

Seeing you upset just doesn’t sit right with him either—which is how he’s ended up in Steve’s office talking to him for the better part of a half hour.

The guy wasn’t too thrilled when he showed up unannounced either. Austin has a feeling this isn’t the only time the boyfriend of a girl that has had a negative article written about her has showed up to resolve the issue. Steve was probably afraid he’d hit him.

Definitely crossed Austin’s mind when he first saw the article, not gonna lie there.

“All I’m saying,” Austin leans forward on the couch in Steve’s office, his elbows resting on his knees, “You don’t know Y/N at all if that article is who you think she is. You should talk to her, get somethin’ real to print.”

With that comes promises, things he also has to deliver—but that doesn’t bother him. Not as long as you’re happy.

--

Thank god you live in a time of Ubers because coming home from dinner, you’re a bit more drunk than you intended to be. That toasty warm glow that wraps around you like a blanket and makes it slightly difficult to toe your shoes off after the door closes. Humming, you set your bag down along with hanging up your jacket, making a b-line for the living room.

“Hey,” Austin smiles at you from the corner of the couch, a soft laugh leaving his lips when you end up putting yourself very comfortably on his lap. “Good dinner?”

“Great dinner,” You smile, pulling your legs up. You situate yourself sideways, legs along the cushions, back against the arm of the couch. “But you know what’s even better? You.”

Austin smirks, his one arm slipping around your back while the other settles on your legs, “You know I did hear something about that.” He teases.

And you know he probably has no idea what you’re talking about, you’re barely moving through all the nice things you thought to say the moment Rose told you about all of this. The margaritas are making your head feel fuzzy but it does little to dim how deeply you feel about Austin, how much you love him, how good he’s made you feel by having your back.

You can’t buy that kind of support.

“Thank you,” You whisper, cupping his cheek with one of your hands.

Austin’s mouth opens slightly, his blue eyes brightening with the realization that you know. He takes the hand off his face to press a kiss to your knuckles. “Nothin’ you wouldn’t have done for me.”

While you know that’s true, it still means something that you can’t quite explain with words—just a consistent thrumming behind your ribcage.

“You’re gonna get a boyfriend award for this.”

Austin cups both sides of your face and gosh, his hands feel so large right now against your heated cheeks. There’s a small thrill that shoots through your stomach at the sensation of the cold metal of his rings on your skin. You must say something about his touch outloud because Austin grins,

“And you’re really pretty,” He presses a kiss to the bridge of your nose, “And tipsy.”

You purse your lips, as if in thought. “Maybe.” A soft laugh bubbles up in your throat.

Austin presses another kiss to your temple, “Can I take you to bed?” He murmurs, lips still along skin. Smiling, you nod before wrapping your arms around his shoulders, pressing your face into the crook of his neck.

And even in your state of rose-colored glasses, you know he just wants to take care of you—nothing less, nothing more. Because that’s really what Austin does best.

[angstflavoured]

You have any fic recommendations? Any fandom really lol. You have good takes and interpretation so I feel like you’d have some fire recs

AWH WELL THANK YOU !! I dont actually know how great the ones I read are gonna be since usually the fandoms Im in are scarce on content 💀 but ill go ahead and list a bunch of the ones I really like. I definitely spend way too much of my time reading one shots. REALLY wanna get back into longer fics, but its hard to find ones I care enough to sit down and dedicate time to these days 💔

Smiling Friends

bittersuite, charlie/pim: AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED !!!!! THIS FIC CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER !!!!! It is hurt/no comfort, but its soooo good it hurts so good and also there is supposed to be more eventually so i'd get on this one first bc when the second one drops its gonna be a day in history

Dimples, charlie/pim: I just read this last night and was so pleasantly surprised ☹️ Its so damn cute and I love how it delves more into both of their characters.

Portal 2

interface, chell/wheatley: HANDS down, best portal 2 one shot out there. the way the characterize chell is fucking insane, altered my brain chemistry forever. also wheatley is so hehehheheheh

You Do It, adventure/fact: I have a very love/hate relationship with this author..... Im not the BIGGEST fan of how they characterize them, esp Fact, but its definitely the most decent factventure content out there. I so like this one quite a bit, though their ideas are definitely better in theory than completely in practice. That's how I feel abt a lot of their works, but this person unironically holds the title for like 90% of the factventure content. If you just want some quick cute smut of them, i'd say you should check out their acc, cus I get the factventure fandom is starving LMAOO

I've got the fuse if you've got the light, adventure core/reader: ....erm, very self indulgent for me hehe!!! i was so fucking excited when this dropped

Half-Life/HLVRAI

Autonomous Sweet Mesa Response, benrey/gordon: THIS FIC IS SOOO FUCKING FIREEEEE !!! OH MY GOD, I can't even count the times I've read this one. their dialogue is as good as it comes next to canon. If you like this one, this is the first in a huge series and litearlly all of them are just as good as the first. such a good sit down and binge author. They also have a shit ton of other good hlvrai stuff on their page and they make fire art

If You Asked Me To, benrey/gordon: the way they wrote the sex scene in this changed my brain forever, it was so fucking awesome.... frenrey dynamic makes me WILD

Whispers and Moans, barney/gordon: this whole author has a lot of super cute freehoun :'[ this one deals with them before the resonance cascade AND after and shows how things changed between them and its so precious grrraah

Promise, barney/gordon: again, deals with the timeskip stuff which just always makes my heart hurt... also shower sex smiles

It’s Only Natural, barney/gordon: I DIDNT REALIZE THIS FIC JUST GOT FINISHED THIS YEAR OH MY GODDDD I WAS OBSESSED WITH THIS need to reread this immediately

Team Fortress 2

He's a Rebel, sniper/spy: SUPER fucking cheesy and corny but oh my god its like one of my fav fics ever..... it's just so much fun, like stereotypical fanfic and that's always a good time to me. biker gang member/school teacher au are you fucking kidding me i'll vomit

It IS the Size That Matters, sniper/spy: erm.... BLOWJOBS!! always find myself coming back to this one sorry i really like it hehe

Secure, demo/solider: Not a lot of fics of these guys, which really sucks!! super underrated ship. I liked this one a lot tho, its pretty cute and a little emotional

Something to Rely On, sniper/spy: casual sex but really sniper is in love will forever be my favourite thing ever, it never gets old istg

The Silent Game, sniper/spy: can you tell I really like sniperspy, MORE BLOWJOBS!!!

Disco Elysium

The Collision in Cardiozone HQ, harry/kim: holy. fucking. shit. actually life changing i am not joking. so fucking heartbreaking, it left me hollowed out for like a WEEK after the ending. A longer one for sure, but SO worth it like oh my god

The Catacomb Killer, harry/kim: I don't think I ever fully finished this one, but I remember REALLY liking the whole case the fic was set around. there was so much thought put into it, it was genuinely interesting like a murder mystery show

Retour à nouveau, harry/kim: I did really like the whole plot and buildup in this one, but from what I remember, them getting together was super anticlimatic :P i recall being disappointed, but the whole actual case and their interactions during the fic are super cute

Mortal Kombat 1

the game of idiocy, johnny/kenshi: BY THE SAME AUTHOR AS BITTERSUITE!! this one is sooo fucking cute, the way they write them interacting is so much fun. a little troupey and on the cheesier side, but cmon who doesn't love that

Undertale

Flowey is Not a Good Life Coach: no ships but delves a lot into flowey and papyrus relationship and there's so much good sans development too. SUPER GENERIC, it IS one of the most liked fics, but I remember reading it back when I was a teenager and it blew my fucking mind. ghhghggh i love the way they write the brothers interacting so much

The Party Incident and Other Embarrassing Anecdotes, sans/reader: uhmm.... soo sorry, this fic will forever hold a special little place in my heart. I'm sure if I read it now it would be SO corny cus oh my god it was fucking 2016 like are you kidding, but I'm just a fucking sucker for fake dating. there like 5000000 troupes in this one and theyre all so cute and its just a fun and silly time. it subconsciously inspires so much of my writing in fics. will probably forever be unfinished before they get together though HAHAH so definitely do not read if you're looking for a solid ending. its just about the journey i swear

[cringecompanionapologist]

Let's Learn About 5 Ships Instead of Having an Internet Fight

Look, any time Turlough/Any Woman is mentioned, regardless of context, I'm probably going to throw in a "Turlough gay" comment and that is probably annoying. But, that got me thinking about Five Era ships, both straight and gay. Gay Five Era ships seem to be more popular on Tumblr, but I love throwing out pointless numbers, so let's check Ao3. It's not exactly a tally for how many people ship a ship but it shows how much the shippers are talking.

So, we'll just stick to Five and his companions for this. Five/Master is incredibly popular and some New Series characters like River, Jack, and Rose will just show up with every incarnation of the Doctor at some point. I've already pissed off the Every Doctor/Rose shippers and I don't feel like doing it again. I really don't fucking care.

So, we're just gonna look at combinations of Five, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough, Peri, and Erimem.

Things I Know Someone's Gonna Say:

That's not all of Five's companions!

Yes. I know. But the others don't show up in fics as much because they haven't been around as long. And there's no unironic Kamelion/Anyone fic.

2. Why are you including Adric I will now make nasty assumptions about your sexual interests

If it exists, I'm counting it. Adric ships exist. Not all ship fics are smut and these are all made up people played by adult actors. I'm not here to debate the merits or morality of any of these pairings. This is just about the numbers, okay?

Now, since it's come up recently, we'll start with the straight ships. Not counting ships between characters who never meet and are therefore unlikely to have much fic about them, that means we've got:

5/Tegan

5/Nyssa

5/Peri

5/Erimem

Adric/Nyssa

Adric/Tegan

Turlough/Nyssa

Turlough/Tegan

Turlough/Peri (Throwing this in entirely because Planet of Fire had them mostly naked at the same time)

Now to see how many Ao3 fics we've got. As of August 2, 2024:

5/Tegan: 87

5/Nyssa: 41

5/Peri: 6

5/Erimem: 0

Adric/Nyssa: 12

Adric/Tegan: 0

Turlough/Nyssa: 3

Turlough/Tegan: 8

Turlough/Peri: There are 2 5/Peri/Turlough and I think that's as close as we're getting

Now, time for slash/femmelash/gay shit!

5/Adric: 7

5/Turlough: 76

Tegan/Nyssa: 292

Peri/Erimem: 19

So, what have we learned today?

Tegan/Nyssa is by far the most popular

When it comes to 5 specifically, his most popular ship is with the Master, but 5/Tegan comes in second

Hetero shippers for this era are a thing

Because we all like ranking stuff, here's the Top 5 5 Era Ships (Aside from 5/Master)

Tegan/Nyssa

5/Tegan

5/Turlough

5/Nyssa

Peri/Erimem

If I included 5/Master we'd end up with a top 6 consisted of 2 M/F ships, 2 M/M ships, and 2 F/F ships, so this era is actually pretty balanced when it comes to shipping.

Also Turlough gay.

[the-moth-from-elsewhere]

The Epic Amazing Absolutely Insane TAOCC Song Post

Aka: Elsie assigns random songs to random characters for random reasons, vaguely organized by mod. These are almost entirely vibes and randomness so get ready to be utterly confused. Don’t expect any of these to fit too well, I went more based on the sound and random stuff than the actual accuracy. Also i’m kinda brain-broken from overthinking all this music lol. No, I didn’t add links, just because this took so many hours. Maybe tomorrow, I just wanna get this done.

Feiar’s characters.

Nymn

“Dento takes the Stairs” by Gooseworx

I told you these would make no sense. Idk the amount of nymn just being vibes/silly/lighthearted makes me think of how this song is a break from the chaos of the Elain series.

Jessy

“Metamodernity” by Vansire

Okay, I have a really specific animatic in my head for this song in which we flash between the TAOCC characters as they are in the circus, and then a cool transition, and then it’s them pre-circus. My best example is Dusk and Jessy sitting on a bench. A train passes by, and now it’s human Jessy sitting alone on a bench. Because Dusk is AI. And that very specific part of the animatic in my head tends to stick with me, especially seeing as Jessy is very “just go with stuff” and so I can kinda hear him singing this in my head.

”Apocalypse Now” by PinnoccioP

The first appearance of many of my favorite music artist lol. The song is about enjoying existence even if everything is a violent wreck, and it just kinda fits to me lol.

“World’s Smallest Violin” - AJR

yeah just gonna drop this one here and run

“Sweet Tooth” - Scott Helman

Blame Fei.

Clara

”Drosselmeyer’s theme - Kurumi Wari Ningyo (Nutcracker No. 2 March) - The Princess Tutu Soundtrack

Okay, for starters, you should watch Princess Tutu. Like right now. It’s amazing, and the title does NOT do it Justice. Back on track, it…it’s the nutcracker! Come on, this one was basically handed to me.

Tutu vs Kraehe (Swan Lake Act 1 Op. 20 No. 2)

Fight theme.

Lance

”I Don’t Have a Name For It” - Steam Powered Giraffe

I…I’m sorry I don’t have an explanation for this it just works. Lancia sweep.

Raina

”Nightcall” - Kavinsky

…Once again, very flimsy. But like…switch the gender. I’m sorry but it’s giving “they’re talking about my death but I’m still here.” The miku version works better here in my opinion :3

The pirates

“He’s a pirate” - F-777

“The 7 Seas” - F-777

idk man techno piracy go vrrrrrrrr I unironically blasted these during like the entirety of the pirates plotline frick you this is my rant I do what I want /silly

Star’s Characters

Icia

”Long Live” - Taylor Swift

I swear I have reasons for this just hear me out okay- First off, I can see the voice fitting, second off, I imagine her singing this either for Lance or Starro or both after we finally finally finally throw Hexe off a cliff.

“Santa Salvacion” - Magia Record OST

epic fight theme for fighting the terrifying ice lady. I blasted this while writing the fight scene with The Dark Queen Icia.

Dunite

”Postmeridae” - Madoka Magica OST

Cutesy upbeat theme for making merengues to. No notes.

“Witches Dance” - Magia Record OST

Idk, feels like her fight theme

”Roki” - Mikito P

…Vibes. Entirely vibes. Dunite should start a band /hj.

Starro

“Please Never Fall In Love Again” - Ollie MN

I just…him. Singing this. About Conny. I swear to cheese.

Vaga and Nova

“Class Dance - Rensho Kyoku I” - Princess Tutu OST

…Vibes.

Odette

”Vocalise Op. 34 No. 14” - Madoka Magica OST

Vibes. Piano. Sad string accompaniment. Must I say more?

Achilles

“Doubt #2” - Madoka Magica: Rebellion OST

Starting to notice a pattern with the kingdom characters lol?

Joofie’s Characters

Cardlan

“Main Character” - Will Wood

Ego. So, so much Ego.

“Sayo-Nara” - DDLC OST

I have my reasons.

Minimi

“Not Yet (Epilogue)” - Madoka Magica: Rebellion OST

Accordion and a little bit of ominousness. Vibes.

Xeyshattersiltav1a’s Characters

Sun

“Cowboy Dan” - Modest Mouse

Yee-haw sun. Do not give that woman a truck. Wow, these descriptions are getting terrible lol.

”Popular” - Wicked Soundtrack

Wicked but it’s sun and Dusk lives in my head rent free okay

“Alright” - Mother Mother

please help me I keep making up sun animatics with this song in class

Mix

“Something, Everything is Wrong” - Madoka Magica: Rebellion OST

This song is the reason I associate Mix with the accordion. Also, I imagine Dusk meeting him/his first real introduction in TAOCC’s background music as this song.

“Intertwined” - CMYK, CircusP.

Rip this man’s love life

“Love is War” - Ryo/Supercell feat. Hatsune Miku

Love is still Vehicular Manslaughter /ref

Dialtone

“Cats!” - waterflame

Does the song fit him? Not at all! It is way too techy and upbeat, and would probably better suit someone like Switch. But like….cats. He’d listen to a song called “cats!”. You can’t convince me otherwise.

“Want You Gone” - The Portal OST

Dialtone is GLaDOS coded to me.

“Killer Spider” - PinnoccioP

vibes and vibes alone.

Soup’s Characters

Silhouette

“Scared of you” - Brandon Hesslau

“Whoops, sorry for kinda almost killing you.”

”What Gave It Away” - Riproducer

evil.

”Burial Ground” - Low Roar

sad backstory.mp3.

Clown

“I’m Number One” - Muppets Most Wanted Soundtrack

Look man he’s silly and egotistical and it’s funny. He’s definitely singing this with carbine.

Autumn’s Characters

Pyxel

”Magical Doctor” - MARETU

once again, more vibes than lyrics and the gender’s wrong but, like, the vibes, man

Neb

“Lonely UFO” - PinnoccioP

…it doesn’t fit. The lyrics, as far as I can tell, do NOT fit. BUT LOOK AT THE OUTFIT, THE BLUE HAIR AND VOID SKIN AND MURDER TEETH AND TELL ME THAT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE NEB, OKAY?!

“Finding Sanctuary” - Stellaris OST

Silly space song for silly space person.

Lily’s Characters

The bookend siblings, and I mean all of them as a group, Katrina included for brevity’s sake

“Magical Girl and Chocolate” - PinnoccioP

Okay, I have actual reasoning for this one. Each of the siblings is someone’s “magical girl”, whether metaphorically or literally. They’re each fighting to protect and support someone. And they each strain and struggle to cope with a role too demanding for them. This song works for each of them in a different form and context.

Octavia and Steven/Sign

“Isn’t it “A”” - PinnoccioP

The arguments of all time

Honse- I mean Sophro

“Puzzle” - CMYK, CircusP

He’s just here to help. No notes.

Miscellaneous Others/Not big enough for their own section

Lantern

“Lantern” - Undertale OST

…self explanatory. The song’s vibes fit, too, I imagine this plays in his scenes.

“The Other One Left” - VaneLily

Half due to the “I just want a loving father” line. Gender’s wrong, again, but otherwise the lyrics fit.

Seer

“Seer’s Theme” - Cindy

I literally cannot outdo her own theme. It’s just too good. I listen to it randomly just because I like it so much /gen.

Sigil

“I’m Just Ken” - Barbie Movie Soundtrack

this is mostly a joke but come ON you think that guy doesn’t feel a little overshadowed by his GODDESS FIANCÉE?!

“Business Man” - Tom Cardy

Okay so this one takes some explaining because I imagine sigil walking into Dialtone’s place to spy and Insanity ruining everything and shooting everyone. It makes absolutely no sense but it’s funny in my head so here we are.

My Characters, yes this is gonna be last

Dusk

“Ultimate Senpai” - PinocchioP

A song about being overly pressured and stuff? Yeaaaaah.

“Sis Puella Magia!” - Madoka Magica Soundtrack

….Pretty. That’s it.

Aoki

“Decretum” - Madoka Magica Soundtrack

The reason I gave him a violin.

Alpenglow

“Yume Yume” - DECO*27

I have an ENTIRE ANIMATIC for chip and alpen with this song in my head

Lemonade

“Viva La Vida” - Coldplay

lore. Hehe.

Yume

“What are Children Made Of?” - PinnoccioP

This kid’s childhood has been ruined and boy is processing that hard.

”Everything about Animals” - PinocchioP

an absolute fever dream of a song that she would absolutely sing about animals. And how cool they are. And ohhhh look commentary on the state of humanity

Switchboard

“Kom Susser Tod” - Astrophysics

Idk it doesn’t fit all too well but the mix of utter hopelessness and eurobeat techno is just hercore

TAOCC as a whole

“Something Rotten!/Make an Omelette” - Something Rotten Soundtrack

WHEN I TELL YOU I HAVE AN ENTIRE. FREAKING. ANIMATIC-

”Your Silver Garden” - Madoka Magica OST

I do not know the lyrics literally at all but I could see an OP for TAOCC with this song

[animebw]

Seasonal Reflection: Winter 2024 Anime

My feelings on the first anime season of 2024 can be summed up thusly: Most of my favorite shows from winter 2024 were continuations of shows that were already great from last season, not new entries. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and there were plenty of new anime I at least enjoyed watching. But it became clear about halfway through the season that aside from a couple fall 2023 holdovers, there was barely anything truly exciting going on here. Most of the adaptations I watched didn't do much to truly elevate their source material, and most of the few original series we got ended up the worst of the bunch. I can't say nothing good came out of winter 2024, but if this is any sign of how the rest of the year is gonna go, we may be in for a slog. For now, though, let's take stock of the anime I watched this season, and which ones are worth your time.

Metallic Rouge: 3/10

If you asked me what the worst show I finished this season would be at the start, I never would've guessed Metallic Rouge. I mean, it's a cool-ass original sci-fi anime from Bones with slick 2D mecha animation, surely that's gotta be at least a little cool, right? Sadly, no. Because this is, without question, one of the most baffling scripts I've ever seen in anime. Almost every single detail of its world and plot are barely explained, if at all, and the mechanics of what's even supposed to be going on are so nebulous that every attempt at a plot twist feels like a twist on something that never actually existed. Characters are plopped into the story without even an introduction. At times it feels like whole scenes have been cut out entirely. The only thing I can compare it to is the original Suicide Squad movie from 2016: a story so cut to the bone in the editing room that you can barely tell what's supposed to be happening half the time, and yet enough of the original story remains to suggest it was never any good in the first place. The one thing it gets right is the prickly chemistry between its two leads, and then it fucking keeps them separated for like half the damn runtime! How do you even unforced error that badly?

Bucchigiri: 3.5/10

Man, this was not a good season for original anime. Bucchigiri might not have been as staggering a writing trainwreck as Metallic Rouge, but its sin is arguably even worse; it's boring. It's a wacky, colorful high school delinquent romp with rainbow-haired Jojo's punks beating the snot out of each other with genie powers, it's sort of a re-imagining of Aladdin, it's got freaking Hiroko Utsumi at the helm, and it's boring. Why? Because this show gets absolutely stuck in the quicksand of its own status quo and refuses to budge an inch. Character growth is nonexistent, the protagonist is an aggravating loser wimp who never learns his lesson, and nothing of actual meaning happens from the first episode to the end. Literally everything you think is setting up a character arc where someone learns a lesson or grows as a person, all of it amounts to nothing. It's a limp, inert world that perpetuates the same overdone jokes and contrived, misunderstanding-based drama over and over again until all the outsized Utsumi visual personality feels like a tacky coat thrown on top of a lifeless corpse. What an utter waste.

Urusei Yatsura Season 2 (1st Cours): 5/10

I'm still not quite sure what to make of the Urusei Yatsura remake. is it charmingly dated? Annoyingly dated? A welcome throwback or a sign that some things should stay in the past? If nothing else, it never fails to get at least a couple chuckles out of me every episode. But the more it tries to lean into being actually sincere, the more its inherent cheesiness and lack of depth starts becoming a problem. I'm sorry, this cast of characters is just too abrasive and purposefully insane to take seriously, and none of their relationships are healthy enough to unironically root for. Lum and Ataru are not a couple I want to see actually get together, at least not unless Ataru stops being such a fucking shithead. And if him being a jackass could be charming in season 1, then this season is really starting to test my patience with him. It's one thing to be a serial skirt chaser, but his actions this season regularly cross a line from womanizing to unambiguous sex pest, and there's only so many wooden mallets he can get knocked over the head with before it stops feeling like like he's getting punished as much as he deserves to be.

Undead Unluck (2nd Cours): 5/10

Good news, everyone: Undead Unluck finally gave up on those awful groping gags that were ruining its central romance! Bad news: at the same time, it spontaneously developed one of the worst cases of recap padding I've ever seen! I'm not just talking overlong recap segments at the start of the episode, I'm talking constant flashbacks to events we just saw just moments before, straight up playing the same footage again just minutes apart, all climaxing in a truly unforgivable episode that spends seven goddamn minutes on recycled footage. Not even Tokyo Revengers was this bad with its time-wasting. And to add insult to injury, once it finally gets its feet unstuck and returns to a reasonable amount of recap for the final arc, it's probably the best arc of the entire show! It's some of the most bonkers high-concept emotional storytelling I've ever seen attempted, let alone pulled off so spectacularly. It's proof that there is so much brilliance to Undead Unluck, if it could just get out of its own way. But as long as it continues suffering from such massive systemic flaws, it's only ever going to be an also-ran.

Solo Leveling: 5.5/10

Okay, look; is this show dumb as a bag of rocks? Absolutely. Is it as nakedly an adolescent power fantasy as any anime has ever been? Ditto. Does it solely exist for dweeby incels to feel like swaggering douchebag chads getting revenge on all the normies who looked down on them by becoming The Bestest Strongest Chadliest Awesomest Of All Time? You know it. But god dammit, it's actually fun. I cannot pretend I'm too mature and sophisticated to enjoy a big, helping heaping of dumb edgy schlock when it's actually done well. I'm the one person on the face of the earth who still caries water for Akame ga Kill, for crying out loud. And Solo Leveling makes two really smart storytelling choices that keep it (mostly) on the entertaining side of dumb fun: building a genuinely interesting and intricate world that exists well beyond the scope of the protagonist's actions (for now, at least), and making sure that no matter how stupidly overpowered Jinwoo gets, his opponents are always just a little bit even more stupidly overpowered, so he's still pushed to his absolute breaking point and barely scraping together a win by the skin of his teeth every time. There is an art to edge that's too often taken for granted, and this show is proof that being the living embodiment of a twelve-year-old boy's wet dreams is no excuse not to be at least a decent version of that. That said, let's be real, Jinwoo was so much more attractive before his supposed glow-up. Give my boy back his scraggly rat locks, you cowards.

Bang Brave Bang Bravern: 6/10

What happens when a campy, cartoony 70s-style super robot anime crashes headfirst into a much grittier real robot anime? Well, what happens is Bang Brave Bang Bravern, the latest ten-car pileup of mismatched genres from the Cygames masterminds behind "What if horse racing but idols?" Take a desperate war story of survival against impossible odds, airdrop a skyscraper-sized superhero into the mix, and watch him completely shatter the original tone one cheekily ironic powerup and power-of-friendship speech at a time. It's a beautifully bonkers sendup of mecha tropes that has some of the funniest individual moments in this entire anime season, and the absolutely wild twist it pulls with the titular robot's identity in the back half is more than worth the price of admission on its own. Unfortunately, if it wanted to be as perfect a parody-until-it-isn't mecha series as Akiba Maid War was a parody-until-it-isn't mob flick, it probably should've tried being as long as most mecha series tend to be, i.e. more than just twelve measly episodes. There's just not enough time to develop any of the characters or world beyond the most essential parts, resulting in huge chunks of the supporting cast hanging around with nothing to do but take up space. And it leads to this show, which is trying to be so big and over the top, instead feeling so small and half-formed. Also, the secondary romance is gross. Like, really gross.

A Sign of Affection: 6/10

I think this show has helped clarify something for me: I'm really getting tired of how quickly modern romance anime get their main couple together. As much as we rag on the endless will-they-won't-they of ages past, taking so much time to build up the characters and their relationship before they finally make it official can result in some truly one-of-a-kind storytelling when done right. I might agonize over how long Sawako and Kuronoma take to get together in Kimi ni Todoke, but the payoff is so transcendent that none of those complaints matter. Whereas Yuki and Itsuomi getting together so quickly in A Sign of Affection... I mean, they're cute, I guess? His cool demeanor plays off her sincerity very well? But it feels like the show's in such a rush to get to the good stuff- and so determined to make Istuomi the dreamiest, most perfect boyfriend ever- that it skips over so much of the careful character-building that makes all the best anime romances so special. It's a sugary sweet confection, but wipe the frosting away and there's just not that much cake underneath. Honestly, I find the side characters a lot more interesting because they're allowed to have messy internal conflicts with a bit more meat on their bones. But hey, props for putting a deaf heroine at the center of your shoujo romance and taking so much time to explore how that affects the way she interacts with the world. That's a cause well worth celebrating.

Sengoku Youko: 6.5/10

Rejoice, everyone, we finally have an adaptation of a Satoshi Mizukami work that doesn't look like absolute garbage! After the flaming disaster that was Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer's barely animated hackjob production, Sengoku Youko has arrived to give the cult fave manga artist a chance for his work to actually shine on the silver screen. As someone who only knows him through Planet With, I've always wondered if Mizukami deserved the reputation his manga gets, and with White Fox delivering as tight and intense a production as they gave Re:Zero, I guess it's time to finally find out. And the answer is... mostly? Like, the biggest problems in this sci-fi/feudal fantasy mashup are the characters being a little too eager to state the themes out loud and one pretty crummy death that's about as hamfisted and over-telegraphed as I've seen in a while. But there's a shockingly gripping narrative underlying it all, a story about the scars trauma leaves on people, of characters making bad decisions and facing real consequences for them, of hatred and poisonous ideology forced to reckon with the more complex reality of the world as a whole. And it all climaxes in an absolute barn-burner final episode that knocked my score up a half point all on its own. If future seasons can make good on all the potential this first season has set up, then I may just end up a Mizukami fan myself when all is said and done.

Blue Exorcist Season 3: 6.5/10

I'm of two minds about Blue Exorcist's second return after a six-year gap between seasons. On one hand, it's clear the new staff is just nowhere near as talented as the folks who first brought this series to life at A-1 Pictures. The action is abysmal, the storyboarding is clunky, and the animation feels like it's constantly fighting for its life to maintain a passable standard. And it sucks that a series that once brought such great life to its story is now held back by such a mediocre production. But on the other hand... holy fuck, am I glad Blue Exorcist is back. I once described The Devil is a Part-Timer as the mathematical average of anime as a concept, but if you were to ask me what the best possible version of that mathematical average looks like? It would be Blue Exorcist. This is, hands down, one of the best straightforward shonen action stories in the whole medium, a reminder of why all the most generic and overused tropes were once powerful enough to become generic and overused in the first place. It's proof that even the simplest of "superpowered teens kick demon butt with the power of friendship" concepts can result in a wonderful goddamn series when handled with good old-fashioned storytelling fundamentals. And not even the rough-as-hell production is enough to keep season 3 from delivering on the thrills, tears, laughs, and cheers that make this series so magical. Just, please, give the next season more time in the oven so it doesn't feel like it's wading through molasses to hit those heights. Okay?

Delicious in Dungeon (1st Cours): 7/10

Delicious in Dungeon's biggest problem is that it takes a while to really settle into itself. The opening scene of the protagonist's sister being devoured by a dragon sets the tone for an intense and desperate rescue mission, but the actual series that follows this harrowing opening is as lackadaisical as can be. And it's jarring to be thrust into a gag-filled, character-driven fantasy cooking comedy where the harsh tone of that opening scene and the ticking clock of Falin's digestion completely disappear from the characters' heads in favor of how beast to cook and eat the various fantasy monsters they encounter in the dungeon. Yes, it makes a little more sense once the mechanics of death and resurrection are explained later on, but it's a weird note to start on. Which is a shame, because once Delicious in Dungeon gets a handle on what kind of story it's trying to be, it's really fun! Its sense of deadpan comedy coupled with Trigger's expressive animation makes for some really unexpected gags, and the way it explores its fantasy cuisine is genuinely some of the most creative stuff I've ever seen in the cooking anime genre. Plus, with the dark tone coming back in at the end of the first cours- and landing much more naturally this time- I have high hopes for how this series will marry those two sides of itself moving forward. If the manga fans' reactions are any indication, I think we're in for a damn good time.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (2nd Cours): 8/10

So remember in my last post how I said that it was kind of disappointing whenever Frieren turned into an action show because of how disconnected the fights were from the beating heart that makes this show so special? Well, apparently the writers heard me and decided what I meant was I wanted this peaceful, meditative tale about grief, change and the passage of time to turn into the goddamn Hunter Exams for ten episodes straight. It's one of the most shockingly ill-advised storytelling swerves I've seen in an otherwise good show, discarding all this series' strengths in favor of a half-baked tournament arc with tonally jarring grimdark elements and a bland, overstuffed cast of characters who only start becoming interesting in the rare moments they're allowed to stop slinging spells at each other and just, like, talk about life? You know, the stuff that Frieren's actually good at? Not this brainless slice of shonen envy that only avoids being a complete slog thanks to how spectacular the action is across the board? Ugh. Look, Frieren is officially the most beloved anime on the goddamn planet right now, and its best moments are so incredible that I wish I could join that chorus as well. But it's so disappointing to me that a show this singular and special has so often chosen to be the least interesting version of itself.

The Dangers in My Heart Season 2: 8.5/10

It's official: director Hiroaki Akagi is the master of middle school rom-coms. No other creator so perfectly grasps the specific blend of immaturity, awkwardness, cringe, and heart-on-sleeve sincerity that defines the love stories of early adolescence. That was already clear with his work on Teasing Master Takagi-san, but now that he's pulled it off twice, there's no room left for argument. And just like with Takagi-san, the second season of The Dangers in My Heart takes a show that was already shockingly good and catapults it into all-time greatness. This is a coming-of-age triumph, a soaring tribute to embracing your own cringeworthy self, flaws and all, and sharing that self openly with the people who matter most to you. Ichikawa's journey toward maturity, Yamada's journey toward self-love, and the way their romance sparks the best in both of them is the stuff that dreams are made of. I laughed, I cried, I squealed like a little girl, and I felt my heart grow three sizes by the time it was done. This is a new gold standard for anime rom-coms, and if you can stomach a bit of groanworthy fanservice, it more than deserves your attention.

The Apothecary Diaries (2nd Cours): 8.5/10

Most of the time when I cover a two-cours show on these seasonal reflections, I end up in a pretty different place by the end of the second cours than I did at the first. Either it sort of fell apart in the second half, or found its footing and took it to the next level, or it changed in some interesting way that affects how I view the show as a whole. But The Apothecary Diaries has stayed the course from the first episode all the way to the end. Start to finish, it's remained pretty much the same show, with the same ideas and attitude, exploring the same themes in the same ways. And you know what? When you're as good as The Apothecary Diaries ended up being, there's nothing wrong with that. This is a spectacular historical drama that builds such a rich, compelling world for its equally rich, compelling characters to inhabit. It's a powerful exploration of how old society treated the disadvantaged- women, poor people, people with all severities of disability- and how one deeply abnormal girl carves her way through this viper's den with her body and soul intact. It's the kind of mature, thoughtful series we so rarely seen done this well, and with the announcement of a season 2 already confirmed, we may well end up with close to 50 episodes when all is said and done. That, folks, is what a true shoujo/josei renaissance looks like. And I'm so happy such a deserving series is leading the way in reminding us how damn good women's stories can be when they're given a chance to shine this brightly.

DROPPED

Cherry Magic: Dropped at 2 episodes for looking like butt and the central romance feeling pretty lifeless.

High Card Season 2: Dropped at 1 episode because I realized I didn't care anymore.

Ninja Kamui: Dropped at 2 episodes for being dull tryhard edgy bullshit with overdone fight scenes that are impossible to follow.

[jiminiepabo]

BTS As Your Best Friends

I was feeling inspired by my BTS As Your Boyfriend series, and I wanted to give yall a cute little friend moment! 💕

Comtains: Fluff, that's about it lmao

This is only with the maknaes, but the others will come soon!

°+~♡~+°

Jungkook-

THIS MAN....

Devious asf 💀💅

He actually will not shut his fucking mouth, bro will call you up at 4 in the morning to talk to you about how his day went

Lowkey invites himself to your place unapologetically

Very juvenile, in a good way. Like sleepovers with snacks and movies and pillow forts

THE GOSSIP KING 👑

And he will fill you in on all the bangtan tea

He's the type to make pinky promises not to tell after he talks hella shit abt someone 💀

Not that he talks hella shit that much, but the occasion that it happens, expect a lot to come out of his mouth.

Very good listener tho, if you actually have an issue, he's gonna be there for you

Definitely tells you way too much about his dating life...

He also falls asleep on you, so get used to it. he's an affectionate bitch, what can he say? And with all the sleepovers yall are having, he can't help it

Okay but tell me why I think he'd love playing hair salon with you 👀

One of his downsides as a friend is that he's a fucking celebrity and has a shit ton of other people to interact with and other places to go

So don't expect too much from the poor guy, he's got a lot on his plate.

Recently we found out that he vapes, so he for sure needs a vape buddy

ALSO

He is SO GOOD at dating advice

Whoever you're into, he will be right there planning your wedding on a pinterest board.

Expect lots of singing in the car

In all, jaykay is fucking hyper but he's a great bestie to have

Taehyung-

Tae is your deep ass convo kinda guy

Like yeah, he's fun asf, but damn he's just built to talk about deep shit with you

If any of these friendships are likely to turn into relationships, it's gonna be with Tae

He just loves love 😭

And honestly, as he should

And I'm not saying that you return the feelings, but you are the one reading a Bts imagine on tumblr... 🤷‍♀️

Besides the fact that he lowkey has a crush on you, you'll probably be at his house more than your own

I can see him just talking and talking for hours on end with his bestie while you chill on the couch with a TV show playing in the background

Probably has a cute nickname for you

Like if you're short, he calls you shorty. And if your cute, he calls you cutie.

IDK MAN IM BAD AT THIS 💀💀💀

But he'll come up with something cute

Your contact name in his phone will probably be something along the lines of "my wife" or "wifey"

Or smth stupid like that just bc he likes you 💀

And he won't tell anyone either, he just unironically talks about you all the time, nothing suspicious 👀

Expect chaos when he's drunk tho

He goes WILD

It's fun though, seeing him being smiley and not contemplating the complexities of life to you

Your man is weird asf but you gotta love him

Jimin-

Someone needs to calm him down and give him a massage or smth

Because when I tell you...

JIMIN IS THE FLIRTIEST HOE EVER

He doesn't even like you, it's just jimin being jimin

Very sweet tho 🥺

He seems kinda awkward about giving advice bc he doesn't know exactly what to say, but he'll listen really good

Also, no offense to jimin, but he's a mess.

He's so caring that he likes someone new every other day istg

And he'll tell you all about it and it's the cutest thing ever watching him have so much love for so many people

May or may not have mid-life crises during the night and come over to drink alcohol and pour his heart out to you

He's a people pleaser so be a good friend and encourage him or compliment him a lot

He will most likely flirt with you in return but it secretly makes him feel reassured so just take one for the team

Probably will give you fashion advice tbh

And he's an icon so you let him do his thing

I think he'd like doing things like drawing or painting or dancing as an activity with you

Like it's fun to do, but it's quiet enough for him to talk about his problems

This is so sad but I feel like he projects a very happy image but he doesn't always feel it inside

He may struggle with self image and dependence on others

So he needs you to be his anchor to hold him down and tell him he'll be alright

And he'll do the same for you, don't worry.

°+~♡~+°

Hope you enjoyed! The hyung line version is coming soon! 💕

My requests are open 😘

[flower-boi16]

I wanna know your opinion on this theory that's been going around.

Ever since the whole mammon episode came out, people have been making theories that fizzbots will end up forming an entire robot hivemind and will pity and take revenge on the ones that hurt them.

Honestly, it that's gonna be the case, I'll be glad if they actually killed one of the characters in the series, hell, I will be glad if they killed one of the main cast or fizz (not that i hate disabled people, he just became my least my favorite and is flat out annoying to me now) they have my blessing lol!

But of course Helluva Boss is written by Vivziepop so I wouldn't be suprised if that arc gets butchered and gets it done for one episode as well. But could you imagine how cool it would be?

That theory is batshit insane but it unironically sounds like a more entertaining story than what Vivziepop herself is writing right now. So, ya.