#watching episode 23 is an experience of its own

[edwardslostalchemy]

I watched Shouto Todoroki: Origins and I'm reminded of how insane both Izuku and Shouto are. They were made for each other, but fuck they wrecked that arena. Listen to me, the tododeku fight is incredible. It gives me so many different emotions and feelings. It really is the climax of the sports festival arc and it goes out with a bang. They could've killed someone or each other. Izuku sacrificed everything and gave his all to fight AND save Shouto from his past so he could look to the future using talk no jutsu. *Chef's kiss* 🤌 It's poetic cinema at its finest. I was trying to go into this episode the way I did for season 1 and 2 where I pretended I didn't know what was going to happen. But it is impossible with this episode because it's so poignant. Izuku challenging Shouto and his voice cracking when he tells Shouto his fire quirk is HIS and Shouto is having flashbacks mid battle. 😭 The way everything is intertwined and it flows together, the flashbacks cut in with the present time and Shouto narrating, the way we SEE the fight shift from Izuku's point of view to Shouto's point of view, then BACK to Izuku's to watch him witness Shouto's full explosive power....GENIUS. The director deserves an award for that. Horikoshi really went and invented cinema with Midoriya vs. Todoroki. He really went and gave us tododeku on a silver platter. The intensity. The emotions. The lighting. The drama. I just need to cry for a moment, it's beautiful. One of the BEST details is Shouto shedding a tear after his garbage dad loses his mind. He cried. 😭 He's free. 😭 Thank you Midoriya, indeed. 😭💖

[askgildaseniors]

Santana Dempsey, an actor, painter, and writer, shares her journey from foster care to self-discovery. Separated from her birth mother due to family struggles, she and her sister were adopted by a loving couple in the Midwest. But growing up with mixed heritage in a small town came with its own challenges. Through embracing her Afro-Latino roots, Santana found her true identity and now advocates for celebrating our unique stories and creating a more inclusive world. Make sure to watch the full episode to hear her whole story!

CHAPTERS: 00:00: Embracing Complexity 01:16: A Painful Separation 02:38: The Invisible Struggle of Poverty and Mental Health 04:00: When Addiction and Neglect Take a Deadly Turn 05:11: How Love and Connection Can Overcome Biological Boundaries 05:43: The Weight of Responsibility 07:48: Growing Up Multiracial in a Small Town 10:03: Embracing My Afro-Latino Identity and Rejecting External Labels 12:24: How I Discovered the Joy of Speaking Spanish 14:25: The Freedom to Choose 17:24: Music Shaped Our Identities and Experiences 20:49: Uncovering the Truth About My Biological Father 21:57: How Exploring the World Helped Me Find Myself 24:23: From Short Stories to Novel, and the Struggle to Share My Story 25:29: How I Survived Trauma and Burnout 27:24: Finding My Way Back to Myself 30:17: The Unseen Support 31:15: The Gift of Passion 32:55: The Pursuit of Authenticity

[hemi-demi]

I have a lot of feelings about TMAGP 23, and I gotta let them out. As much as I would love to talk about the amazing statement and the other lovely moments between the cast, I am unfortunately very stuck on one specific part, and not in a good way.

Spoilers below cut:

I'm gonna be perfectly honest, this one hurt me way more than I thought, and I'm worried about my enjoyment of the series.

I truly want to enjoy Protocol for what it is. I've been an Alice defender since day 1, I love her moment with Gwen this episode, I love that Lena seems to be showing a bit more care for her employees. But even with all that, I can't keep doing this with the TMA references.

Look, I've never in my entire 32 goddamn years of living felt like a character in media represented me. Ever. And now I have two. Jon and Martin's relationship feels like seeing parts of myself love each other despite their problems. It's a relationship that resembles the one I have with my partner, and I see a lot of him in Martin especially. Listening to TMA was a wonderful experience because, yes, I knew it was a tragedy and I wish they could have a happy ending, but it was the ending they earned, and they got to go together, and the ambiguity was good enough for me.

I want to enjoy the new writers, the new characters, the focus on alchemy and try to piece together what's happening in the story with everyone else because I missed out on that with having binged TMA after the fact. I cannot do that if they keep taking the corpses of characters I love and dangle them in front of me with the vague hope that they might spring back to life.

But they teased that maybe Jon and Martin can be okay in one reality. I've seen people say they haven't, but between the "Hey, this sounds like them in therapy!" bit, and the Gerry and Gertrude scene, I genuinely believe they did to a degree, even if unintentionally.

Maybe we could have something nice, just one little scrap of "they're happy somewhere else" with the TMAGP versions as a nice cameo. I got my hopes up, hopes I didn't ask for, only to be told "Oh, they never knew each other, and they're dead. If they're happy together in any reality, it sure isn't fuck in this one. The characters you relate to more than anything can never be happy, and you're stupid for thinking that they can ☺️."

This hurts. I feel like I've been stabbed. We were told explicitly this could be enjoyed separately, and that Jon and Martin's ending would be left ambiguous. Unless they pull the rug out from under us and say "Oh, Fr3ddi isn't Jon and Martin at all" (which I've been saying since the beginning. I'm of the "stolen voices" camp and I hope that's what it is, or something else.) then I'm now listening to a show where my favorite characters are suffering, again. And even if they do, the versions in TMAGP are presumably dead anyway.

It's like in fanfiction how you always tag stuff like "Bad endings" or "Major character death". You do that because people have grown attached to these characters and don't always want to watch them suffer again (or do, then you filter by it). The new characters I signed up for hearing their pain and torment, I don't know them yet, and I want to see how their stories play out even if it's painful. But I feel like I'm reading an untagged fanfic right now that is cutting into the original story I did want to listen to.

I want this to be its own thing. I want to care about Alice and Gwen and Sam so when they inevitably die I can feel like I did with TMA again, in a sort of reverent peace with things.

And then chasing that with "Oh, also, Basira and Helen-" just felt like extra salt.

I don't want people to take this as being cruel to the writers, or that I'm being entitled. I genuinely didn't want them to have to dive too deep back into TMA, I'm here for the new stuff. And I'm sure I'll get a bit of "this isn't the genre for you, then, horror is-" I know. I've been engaged with horror since I was much too young. It's my favorite genre. I'm fine with character death. I thought TMA handled it very well.

But I can't pretend that this doesn't hurt, either. I'm sure they have more planned, that this could just be a red herring, but that doesn't stop this from hurting right now when I have no idea what comes next.

I had a glimmer of hope that I was perfectly fine with watching from afar, that they made into a beacon too impossibly bright to ignore. Then, when I steer my boat towards it, I'm lured onto the jagged rocks. Just because they throw me a life preserver a few weeks later doesn't remove the water from my lungs.

Idk. I know some people are excited about this, and I hope they get everything they're looking for out of the story, but I worry that at this rate, I might not. At least not until the wound heals some more.

Okay, I'm gonna go back to writing fanfiction where they get to be happy. Pretty sure that's as close as I'm going to get.

[sunniedesi]

Future Diary Radio TL

Here’s the (long time coming) update on the Future Diary Radio CDs! I’m sorry it took so long to finish this project, as always, school has me on a chokehold, but I’m glad to say the translations are finally done! In case you missed the original post, the Future Diary Radio CDs are an obscure piece of media from Future Diary that include commentary from some of the show’s voice actors, regarding their experiences voicing the characters and opinions about the series. You can now find the three tracks with the translated subtitles on my Youtube channel (daisynilla) or on the links down below. Special thanks to @iwanpepsu, @syrpai and @the-chosen-blood-teller for helping me gather the tracks from the radio CDs.

And on a semi-related note, I also wanted to use this post to comment on a couple of things that came up while doing research for this project.

1. In all of the three Radio CDs, the voice actors mention something about a live concert that happened at Shibuya AX on July 29th. I'm not sure how well-known this concert and the music featured in it are among the fandom, but given how much it is talked about in the radio CDs (and how much information I gathered on it incidentally), I figure I should make a separate post dedicated to that. Especially because of… this: 

2. On one of the Radio CDs, there was a mention of the DVD cast commentaries done by the Japanese voice actors. I don't own the DVD, but I was accidentally sent the audio for these Japanese cast commentaries in response to my last post about the Radio CDs. For my sanity’s sake, I’m not translating this, (I feel like the radio CDs are a good enough stand-in for the cast commentaries) but given its mention, I wanted to provide some of the context surrounding it. Like your regular cast commentaries on any DVD’s bonus features, the voice actors share their comments of the show as they watch the episodes. The order of the voice actors featured in each episode goes as follows:

Episodes 1-2: feature commentary from Misuzu Togashi (Yukki’s VA) and Tomosa Murata (Yuno’s VA).

Episodes 3-5: Aizawa Mai (Minene’s VA, ps her voice is so high it caught me off guard), Kawahara Yoshihisa (12th’s VA) and Sendai Eri (Tsubaki’s VA).

Episodes 6-8: Sanada Asami (Reisuke’s VA) and Mizuhara Kaoru (Rea’s VA).

Episodes 9-11: Ishida Akira (Akise’s VA), Matsuoka Yuki (Hinata’s VA) and Hiramatsu Hirokazu (10th’s VA).

Episodes 12-14: Ishii Makoto (Nishijima’s VA) and Tanaka Masahiko (Kurusu’s VA).

Episodes 15-17: Seki Tomokazu (Marco’s VA) and Kuwatani Natsuko (Ai’s VA).

Episodes 18-20: Yukana (Mao’s VA) and Shiraishi Minoru (Kousaka’s VA).

Episodes 21-23: Inada Tetsu (Ryuji’s VA, aka 11th’s secretary) and Konno Hiromi (8th’s VA).

Episodes 24-26: Domon Jin (3rd’s VA) and Honda Manami (MurMur’s VA).

(Also, I'm pretty sure the English version of the DVD includes cast commentaries too, but I don't know if those are the Japanese cast commentaries with translated subtitles or if it's commentary from the American cast… probably the latter, but I guess I’ll have to look a little deeper into that.)

[violivs]

NMTDaily: The first three of Ben’s costume party vlogs (episodes 21, 22, 23)

I’m gonna do these all as a set. They flow together as one long scene, so it makes sense. Then I’ll do another combined post on episodes 24 and 25, the second half of the story of Ben’s party vlogs. Long post under the cut!

Episode 21: hello guys i’m at pedro’s party

- Ben starts out very enthusiastic at the beginning of this clip (party party party!) but immediately gets uncomfortable when people start walking past him and it occurs to him that other people can see him vlogging. Add it to the social anxiety headcanon evidence list!

- Hero walks by and says “Batman.” And here’s the thing: she should be able to guess that it’s Ben in that costume. He’s the only one of the boys who would be filming because he’s the only one with his own channel.

- That means either she really isn’t paying attention, or Beatrice never asks where Ben is in front of Hero- or, Hero chooses not to tell Bea that Ben is there or what his costume is.

- Or she does tell Bea and Bea knows it’s Ben she’s talking to when she fires off all those insults later. I tend to think Bea does not realize she’s talking to Ben in that moment, but I had to mention the possibility.

- I’m going to watch the Bea insults Ben at the party clip now, just for fun. That video will still get its own post later, this is just an experiment to see if watching that scene first gives me any new insight into Ben’s videos about it.

- It is interesting to think about the fact that if you’re watching the series as it airs in 2014, at this point you don’t know if you’ll ever actually see the Bea insulting Ben scene itself. For all you know, Ben’s POV might be the only one you get.

- We can assume that in between this video and the next, Ben finds Pedro’s laptop, posts this video (unless he filmed and posted the first video on his phone, which seems unlikely but would be faster), then joins the party and starts drinking and dancing. In a break from the dancing he has the conversation with Beatrice, has his feelings hurt, goes and gets Pedro’s laptop and the camera, and holes up in the bathroom because it’s a convenient and private place to mope.

Episode 22: bath time it’s a bath im not actually having a bath

- First of all, shoutout to belovedcreation’s Beadick anniversary future fanfic that’s named after this episode (rated M so look it up only if you’re cool with that)

- Okay, back to the present. “Parties bring out the sad bitterness in people” definitely feels connected to “vlogging takes the sadness away”. I think this is the episode that starts Ben down the path of emotional dependence on the camera. He’s hurt, and it makes him want to brood alone instead of talk to anyone in person about it.

- “Some… princesses… are bad for your health” is a hell of a line, lol

- “Bad for your mental stability and your general well being” oh hohohoho don’t get me started on your mental health mister, I’ve literally written novellas.

- “Not to mess with people’s emotions or screw with their heads” - That’s interesting, because it sounds like Ben thinks Beatrice did know it was him she was talking to, and that she was insulting him to his face on purpose.

- “When you have a bad thought, you should just keep it to yourself.” Says the guy who called Beatrice a bitchface on camera and posted it. As lovingly as possible, *Meg’s Hypocritical song from lolilo plays in the distance*

- “Go away, I’m Batman!” Another underrated classic NMTD moment right here. I almost forget that he’s talking in the Batman voice until this line, and it cracks me up every time.

- Best comments: esthereckstein2532 from 7 years ago with “why is Ben equal parts annoying as heck and adorable?” (Huge mood, very true), and speaker8417 from three years ago with “Legit thought of the song Michael in the Bathroom” (I’m dying I’ve died I’m dead this is SUCH a great call lmao)

- Making a Ben gifset from this series of episodes with Michael in the Bathroom lyrics, BRB. Can’t believe I hadn’t heard that song yet when I made the nmtd musicals fanmix or that would’ve been on it for sure!

Episode 23: Claudio joins me in the bath of emotion

- The official coining of the term “bath of emotion”! A historic NMTD moment.

- Is it me or is Ben acting 100% more drunk in this episode than the last one? I bet he was drinking while uploading the last video. Not healthy to drink alone, bud.

- the video description is adorable. “Computer is in bathroom but not wet. Pedro has lent me his computer but he does not know this has happened.” Drunk Ben is ADORABLE.

- “parties are a gateway to a spiral of doom and awkwardness” sounds about right. That’s rough, buddy.

- Claudio arrives! Ben is so happy to see him!

- Notice here that Claudio is dressed as a cowboy, because he’s been watching Hero’s videos and knows she wanted someone to go as a cowboy! Cute, but also how does he not know Hero likes him if he’s watching the videos? Either he’s just that insecure, or maybe he doesn’t really watch the videos and Ben told him Hero wanted him to go as a cowboy? Idk

- “you silly billy” “I am a little tipsy yes” ADORABLE

- Why is “he’s stating the obvious now isn’t he” the actual flirtiest thing Ben has ever said lol

- There it is, he DOES have a drink with him, he did get drunker between last episode and this episode

- “I don’t know what it is but it’s so good, it makes my tongue go all tingly” Ben. That might mean you’re allergic to it. Don’t ever drink something if you don’t know what it is! (It’s probably just that it’s carbonated, but still.)

- “The camera takes your sadness and makes it go poof” is an important character sentiment for Ben that will come up again. This IS where his attachment to the camera first starts to get unhealthy!

- “Like tears in the rain” listen I love this loser SO MUCH

- I said he was a sad wet cat of a drunk, but Ben is also a very silly drunk. Scolding the camera for making Claudio sad, awww

- “not the camera, the Captain” Pedro is the captain before he’s even himself, no wonder he feels so pressured to be perfect

- “this EXHAUSTIVELY DOWNER PARTY” meanwhile the background music is all cheery and everyone besides Ben and Claudio are dancing and having a grand old time

- Claudio, if you were brave enough to talk to Hero yourself when you have a question for her, you would avoid a lot of heartache.

- “he hasn’t gotten her for you, he’s gotten her from you” you’re not even dating yet and she can make her own choices!

- “the party’s been infected by a sadness bug” this sounds like a Doctor Who plot or something tbh

- “look at his little face!” Ben doing to Claudio what I want to do to Ben, he’s so squishy!

- “that hurts!” “I know it does, buddy, but you will get through it! You’re a brave little soldier!” Lol amazing

- Claudio is angry angsty, while Ben is sad angsty. You can tell Claudio will lash out at others about it while Ben will mostly just lash out at himself and the camera.

- Claudio leaves, Ben promises to tell Hero bye for him, and turns off the camera. Why are these all separate videos he turns the camera off after making? Maybe shorter videos are easier to edit quicker.

- Comments: loving on Tipsy Ben, being sad for Claudio, clocking Claudio’s cowboy costume as being for Hero. One comment saying Claudio doesn’t even seem to like Ben, which makes me sad because Ben is currently worrying that his friends don’t like him.

- Favorite comment: sydneymcgowan with “he looks like a little angel boy aw Ben”

- Indeed that’s my little angel boy and I LOVE HIM and his squishy face <333

💖🥭🦩

[alshamswelnahr]

52 demon slayer questions

1) Which chapter title do you find the most clever or fitting

2) Which character(s) in the manga do you believe is/are the most well-written and what makes them stand out to you

3) Which character introduction stands out the most to you and what makes it memorable

4) Whose character's conclusion impacted you the most and which one do you believe was the most skillfully crafted

5) Thoughts on "Kimetsu Gakuen" and your favorite character(s)/chapter(s)

6) Favorite character design (including: eyes, color scheme, hairstyle, attire)

7) Top three breathing styles

8) Which character has the most compelling backstory

9) Favorite sword or weapon design

10) Favorite original soundtrack/OP/ED

11) Name your top three favorite fights

12) Favorite anime adaptation change or added scene

13) Is there any scene, aspect, or a detail that you preferred in it's manga version over it's anime counterpart

14) Which sibling or familial bond is your favorite and what distinguishes it as your favorite

15) Which three panels do you find visually stunning and which three panels are your personal favorites

16) Standout quote/dialogue from the manga and what makes it special to you

17) Your favorite parallel or foil within the story

18) What do you think each Hashira/Upper Moon represents symbolically in the story

19) What moment(s) in the manga saddened you the most

20) Have you read the light novels and if so which story was your favorite

21) If you could add an extra manga arc what would it be about and where would it fit in the story

22) Share any headcanons you won't take any criticism on

23) Is there an element of the story you feel passionate enough about to write a thesis on

24) What is your favorite blood demon art

25) In your opinion who is the best-written demon and why

26) Which side character do you think deserved more spotlight

27) If a new Gaiden were released which Hashira would you want it to focus on

28) Your favorite volume cover/sketch and your favorite cover page/colored page

29) Favorite Taisho era whisper

30) How would you rank the story arcs

31) What is the most intriguing piece of lore or world-building element for you and what aspects would you like to see explored further

32) Name a moment in the manga you'd love to experience for the first time again

33) What is your opinion on the manga's ending

34) What initially drew you to watch or read the series

35) What message(s) do you believe kny is trying to convey to its readers, and what idea(s) you think it aims to explore throughout the story

36) What scene in the manga/anime do you find the funniest

37) How would you recommend this manga to someone who's never read it before

38) Which location/setting in the manga or anime do you find the most beautiful

39) Do you create fandom content like fanfiction or fanart and if so what kind

40) What is your favorite dynamic whether platonic or romantic

41) Are there any chapters or volumes you never get tired of rereading

42) What was the most surprising twist in the story for you

43) If you could switch two characters roles in the story (living or dead) would you and how would that affect the narrative

44) Which character did you have the biggest change of opinion about throughout the manga

45) Since love plays a central role in KNY which act or display of love touched your heart the most in the story

46) Do you own any Demon Slayer merch? If yes what items do you own

47) Is there an anime episode you could watch repeatedly without getting tired of it

48) Which version do you prefer watching: sub or dub? also which voice actor do you believe truly embodied their character or portrayed them most convincingly?

49) Does kny bring you comfort? If it does in what way or through which character do you find comfort

50) In demon slayer love's endurance surpasses death making it a story haunted by ghosts. Which one of them do you like the most and which interaction between the living and the dead stands out as your favorite

51) Is there a character that inspires you or whom you strive to be like and is there any you hope to never resemble

52) Lastly, out of Tanjiro's connections and empathies towards the characters, which bond or connection resonated with you the most and what was the reason behind that

[waywardmillennial]

Steven Lim Appreciation Week

Day 5 | Steven's Shows

It should be no surprise that I enjoy all of Steven's shows. His passion and creativity are so clearly visible, whether it's a one-off like Steven Tries 23 Korean Street Foods In A Row or a series like Dish Granted.

But my absolute favorite Steven show is Worth It.

Worth It is probably one of if not the number one show that Buzzfeed ever produced, in terms of viewing range (bfu prob a close 2nd). They were popular not just to a select fandom but known worldwide. Popular enough to produce a UK spin-off, lifestyle spin-off, and the whole About To Eat channel, when you think about it.

To know that all of that happened in large part because of Steven's creativity and determination is nothing less than amazing to think about.

I also wonder if Watcher would have happened without Worth It being so successful?? Or maybe it would have been harder for them to find their initial support if it hadn't been for Steven's experience in hosting such a major show and all the connections he made through that experience?

Regardless, Worth It is terrific all on its own merit. If you watch them from the beginning you also get to see Steven's enthusiasm be passed onto Andrew as he stops playing the grumbly sidekick and becomes Steven's collaborator.

Yes, some of the dishes are there just to hit a certain price point, but it's easy to overlook when the trade-off is watching Steven, Andrew, and Adam having so much fun together and introducing all of us to unique dishes in remarkable places.

I know I'll always support whatever he (and hopefully all three of them!) make on Watcher. But Worth It was my introduction to Steven and it has such a special place in my heart. I've even gone out of my way to try a few restaurants the boys have been to (custom google maps lists - also worth it). There isn't an episode I don't enjoy rewatching and there are several I've seen half a dozen times already.

Worth It will always be my number one comfort show ❤️

[beardedmrbean]

Donald Glover claims Tina Fey told him that he was only hired as a writer on “30 Rock” thanks to NBC’s diversity initiative.

The comedian, also known by his rapper moniker Childish Gambino, landed his first breakthrough writing job on the hit sitcom in 2006 when he was 23 years old.

While he brought his own ideas to the table, Glover says the network introduced a diversity incentive at the time that allowed shows to hire black writers without it reflecting the budget.

“It was a diversity thing,” Glover told GQ in April’s cover story. “There is no animosity between us or anything like that, but [Tina Fey] said it herself.”

“The last two people who were fighting for the job were me and Kenya Barris. I didn’t know it was between me and him until later,” he added.

He told the magazine that the “Black-ish” creator said he “hated” Glover “for years.”

Glover wrote for the Emmy Award-winning show for three years.

“It definitely didn’t feel like I was supposed to be there,” the “This is America” singer said.

“I used to have stress dreams every night where I was doing cartwheels on the top of a New York skyscraper with the other writers watching me.”

The Post has reached out to Fey’s reps for comment.

The “Redbone” hitmaker previously opened up about his experience of working on the hit sitcom.

In a 2018 New Yorker profile, the entertainer said he began to wonder if he was “being hired just because I’m black.”

According to the outlet, Fey confirmed that “the answer was in large part yes; she admired Glover’s talent but hired him because funds from NBC’s Diversity Initiative ‘made him free.'”

“30 Rock” ran from Oct. 11, 2006, until its final episode on Jan. 31, 2013.

The hit NBC show centered around Fey’s character Liz Lemon, who is the head writer for a popular TV show, likened to Saturday Night Live.

[childofwonder]

Watching Law & Order has been such a weird experience. I can say I really did enjoy season 22, whatever happened that made NBC basically shadow ban that season is beyond me. Now that I’m watching season 23 the writing feels odd, less thoughtful. I would really like to watch all three seasons and compare all of them. This show really has it’s good moments and it’s bad moments. It tries to be a show for the people but sometimes it’s really just a copaganda show and it’s glaringly obvious. If it actually wanted to focus on the injustices of the justice system I think they would have to make more episodes condemning their officers and about police brutality and unfair/ illegal policing! Which hasn’t been done to my knowledge but I once again need to watch all the episodes to make that claim. From what I’ve seen it’s not very well done.

It has potential to be a great show that focuses on the failures within the justice system but it uses police misconduct as normal police practices and the police face zero repercussions for their actions. They use techniques to create evidence instead of finding evidence, which usually means they have the wrong person or the evidence they obtain is illegal because they cannot wait to get search warrants EVER. They are always having the cops violate people’s rights and then face nothing for it, they don’t even get told off about it. NOT ONCE. The blame for it usually falls on the prosecutors who didn’t even collect the evidence. They are the ones who have to face the mistake. It’s very odd. It’s like the police are working against their own goals and allowing criminals to get away because of their terrible investigations and procedures. It’s ridiculous.

And not to mention that sometimes this show won’t take a stance on anything. They had an entire episode about the rise of antisemitism since October 7th, but it framed the pro Palestinian movement as hateful and dangerous. It couldn’t even acknowledge that there’s a genocide happening, it beats around the bush and condemns the movement without acknowledging its genuine fight for freedom. It’s a little ridiculous and totally exaggerated. It actually was such a politically dense episode that it missed the fucking point of the antisemitism and glorified hatred towards arabs and Palestinians. It did not achieve anything other than rage bait and sucking up to Zionists. They also conflated Zionism with Jewishness which made it so clear that the writing for this episode was just clinging to current news and doesn’t care about anyone who is getting hurt in this conflict. They never condemned Israel but what would you really expect??? ITS LAW & ORDER. This episode was also the opening of the season which was baffling and disgusting.

The other day while I was starting to fixate on this show again I thought of an episode they could make with the current American university encampments and police brutality that is happening and what a great way to have an emotionally intense episode to discuss police violence against students, Jews who are pro Palestinian, the violent counter protests by zionists and the current escalation of the genocide. They could make an excellent episode if there was love and thought put into it which would be a very interesting change for Law & Order but I genuinely don’t trust the writers or producers to make a decent episode covering this conflict at all. I also don’t think they would ever cover it. Letting it fall through the cracks is so much safer for them and they can just keep going on as they are without putting themselves in boiling water.

My disappointment for this show has been felt a lot as a big fan of SVU, I have enjoyed that show since I was literally 12 and too young to watch it. I found it so intriguing and hoped this show would deliver the same feeling. In some ways it does and in a lot of ways it handles conflict and police brutality poorly, never picking a side or having a stance on anything that isn’t completely based on emotions. The show is never genuine and everything falls through the cracks. When it attempts to care about the people, it ignores the people failed by the system.

The only reason I started this show at all was for Hugh Dancy. Being a big fan of him, I enjoy watching what he does and as Nolan Price I think he does a good job. He’s very emotional and tries to fight for the victims the best he can. He is constantly being held back either by the faulty cops or by the DA, the case can also go wrong or the defence has a better case than he does. He does his little faces twitches all the time and he always looks so sad. He really feels heavy with these cases. For me atleast he and the police team carry the show but the stories they try to tell around them fall apart. They also give none of these characters development or lives outside of their jobs or focus on how their job impacts their lives, tbh they attempted it in season 22 and I think it was successful. I would really like that deeper character development for all the characters and the police department too. The police as a whole are a character in this show, last season Jalen Shaw was literally racially profiled by policemen ON THE JOB and was almost shot before his partner had to intervene. This is just one example of them trying to tell stories of bad policing but it’s from the season that NBC won’t even put on their streaming service. So it’s like, why are you purposely suppressing these stories???? Also where’s the commitment to making this show feel connected and genuinely about the people and failures of the justice system.

It’s either they get better writers or they should stop making the show, but I also still want Hugh Dancy to get that bag (i actually want him to quit so badly so he can keep his beard tho, lmao I just love his beard and he has to shave it for this role which is such crap cuz he has an amazing beard. WHY WONT THEY LET NOLAN PRICE GROW A BEARD?? LET MY MAN BE CASUAL AND COMFORTABLE. HE NEEDS SOME HEALING AND PERSPECTIVE. Let Nolan grow as a character a little and to match that character growth, let him grow a beard) (PLEASE I BEG)

[theonethatyaks93]

Why Pinky is my Favorite Animaniacs Character (Day 2 of Pinky Week)

(Quick note: This was supposed to come out yesterday, but due to an unforeseen conflict in my schedule, it had to be postponed to today. I've updated my upload schedule to extend an extra day to Pinky Week, therefore ending it on 3/18 rather than 3/17.)

Hi everyone! So, I decided in honor of the upcoming mysterious announcement from the Animaniacs Twitter plus it being Pinky’s Narfday, to dedicate an entire week on my Tumblr blog to talking about Pinky! That’s right! For 7 whole days, I’ll be talking about the different aspects of Pinky from his character to some of my favorite moments to explaining his relationship with Brain. I’m going to be covering it all. The unofficial beginning of Pinky Week was the post I made on Saturday, so go check that out for a start to the week! Also, be prepared for Brain Week, which is on its way in about 18 days . That will follow a similar formula, but will be better planned out. Alright, without further delay, let's begin! Happy Pinky Week!!!!

(sorry this looks like crap but it's my official picture so)

3/13/23- Why Pinky is My Favorite Animaniacs Character:

2020-2021 (also known as the Warner Age): When I first started watching Animaniacs in 2020, I, like every other newbie to the fandom, latched on to the Warner Siblings. I just loved their comedic energy and adventures and couldn't get enough of it. I especially enjoyed Yakko, admiring his fast-paced energy and quick innuendos to a massive extent. When I finally watched the first 25 episodes of the original Animaniacs, I was ecstatic to see the Warner Siblings on my screen to be watched over and over again. Heck, when I first saw the trailer for the reboot, I solely focused my attention on Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, ignoring the other things entirely. I still had an appreciation for Pinky and The Brain and Slappy Squirrel, but I didn't think Pinky and Brain were all that funny (most of the jokes went completely over my adolescent head). I liked the mice because I thought their plans for world domination were cool and I found the plot of each segment interesting. Boy, the times have changed since then. I still had a large amount of respect for Pinky and Brain, but nothing else. The Warners were still number one. I even planned my first fanfictions around them. Unfortunately, I didn't have Hulu at the time, so watching the rest of the franchise was out of the picture. I had to rely on Animaniacs content from YouTube in order to experience the siblings. For the reboot, I watched song compilations and clips; I didn't even know what Brinky was for a long time. Regretfully, in early 2021, I took an extended hiatus from the Animaniacs fandom, returning back to Disney from March of 2021 to September of 2021. I'd occasionally make glances back at the Warners, but I wasn't that involved anymore. That was until some things re-kindled my appreciation for the fandom and started some new admirations: one video, two gay laboratory mice, and a fanfiction.

September 2021-November 2021 (the return)- One day, I was in a very crappy mood, so I decided to watch an Animaniacs video. It was the best decision I'd ever made. It instantly made me fall in love with the franchise and characters all over again. However this time, I fell in love with a certain duo after realizing that maybe, they weren't so bad after all. After discovering Fanfiction.net, I started reading a Brinky fanfiction. I instantly fell in love with the idea of the two being together, especially as someone who was questioning my own sexuality at the time. I started to watch Brinky compilations on YouTube, and I fell in love with the ship even more. When season 2 of the reboot came out, I found myself basically forgetting my previous obsession with the Warners, and began to dedicate my time to the mice.

December 2021 (Pinky gets personal): Then, I began to watch season 2 again, and I realized that I was connecting to Pinky in a personal way. I admired his love for Brain, his dedication to being kind, and how he didn't care about how others perceived him, rather he wanted to be himself. He showcased his gender non-conformity in an amazing way and no one judges him for it. It is taken 100% seriously with Brain not criticizing him for his wants. Pinky also doesn't care about how his sexuality will be seen as. He just wants to show his admiration for Brain in passionate ways, not caring if the latter doesn't desire these actions. I felt so secure whenever I watched him on T.V, like he was comforting me and protecting me from the troubles of the world. Sure he was inane at times, but that didn't matter. I still admired him and cared about his feelings and relationship with Brain. I was going through a tumultuous time during this period. My best friend abandoned me for a new girl after I'd came out to her. I was feeling super lonely and Pinky helped to aid in those woes. He'd make me laugh so hard I'd start crying and would fall to the floor. His voice brought a smile to my face and he could sing so well that I would start tearing up. While Brain served as someone I could relate to with his temperament, self issues, and dedication to those he "tolerated", I could relate to Pinky due to his emotional views and struggles for appreciation.

January 2022-Now (Fanfiction, Tumblr, Season 3, and Pinky): A lot has changed since 2020. I've started writing fanfiction for the first time to modest success, I've joined an amazing community on Tumblr and now have over 40 followers (thank you guys, you mean so much to me!), and my admiration for Pinky has only grown. Season 3 was a true surprise with how much my love for this mouse increased. I related to him, I loved his loyalty to Brain, his affection for his friend was amazing, and Pinky was seemingly perfectly fine with dressing in female clothes and interacting with Brain in a non-platonic way. Also, I noticed a few things with the third season that made me very happy. Firstly, Pinky actually has a real/possibly serious mental issue that I also suffer from!! His anxiety and stress problems are highlighted in the episode "Talladega Mice" much to my and a majority of the fandom's delight. Pinky's anxiety attack was portrayed with such realism that it was almost surreal. In fact, a very similar situation had happened to me before. It was also handled in a very nuanced, yet comedic way, not only being relatable, but being hilarious. Pinky's ways of coping with stress are scarily similar to the ways I cope with stress (i.e. having someone talk to me in a silly voice, laughing, physical touch). It's kind of comforting. His relentless optimism also is admirable, even in a stress-filled situation. Another thing I notices was the fact that Pinky never mentioned a female love interest in any capacity during this season. In the previous two, Pinky is given a female love interest or mentions one. But in season 3, he focuses his attention on Brain. This kind of shows some character development, as Pinky seems to alter his affections from random female characters to his closest companion. I only noticed this change after re-visiting the series. Pinky really knows his priorities. After watching season 3, I loved Pinky even more than I had before due to his expanded character. This admiration only grows larger day after day.

Conclusion (Why Pinky is my favorite Animaniacs character): Many fans of Animaniacs latch on to characters like Yakko, Wakko, Slappy, or The Brain. However, it's quite bizarre that I decided to latch onto a character that doesn't go through a major character arc (Brain) or has a huge cult-like fanbase (Wakko). But yeah, Pinky is my quintessential comfort character; he's always a riot and manages to make me feel better on my worse days which I've had in abundance. He is one of the reasons why I've been staying on the franchise for such a long time because I've wanted to see more of him. Pinky's continuous love and support for Brain is so charming to see. He has a beautiful singing voice, a wide variety of humor that appeals to both kids and adults, and he manages to be one of the nicest cartoon characters I've ever seen (except for in Pinky, Elmyra, and The Brain. What did they do to him? Why is he so rude to Brain for no reason?). Pinky will always be my favorite Animaniacs character, no matter what. The ways he's helped me through hard times is something that other cartoons can never do. Brain is another character that I appreciate on a more personal lever, but his companion will forever have my heart and my pick as best mouse.

Ok, that got just a little personal at times, but I hope you enjoyed! And if you think I'm joking about anything I've said here, I'm not kidding. Pinky truly means so much to me and has helped me when my emotions spiral out of control. Alright, that's the second entry to Pinky Week! Stay tuned for tomorrow's post where I detail the evolution of Pinky from 1993 to today, talking about his changes in personality, appearance, and voice! Have a wonderful day and/or evening! Narf!

[waitmyturtles]

Crossing another series off the list this week: we got the finale of Candy Color Paradox/Ameiro Paradox. Thoughts!

I know -- because I am one of them -- that there was vocal concern about the quality of the acting by the leads of Kimura Keito (Onoe) and Yamanaka Jyutaro (Kaburagi). They were definitely the weakest actors of the entire troupe that cast this show. Besides the very obvious Izuka Kenta, who outacted, like, the trees in his outdoor scenes, even the actors who played the guys’ colleagues at their tabloid newspaper demonstratively outperformed the two leads. 

All this being said -- in my past reviews, I admitted to having a weak heart for Onoe and Kaburagi, and I still totally feel that way! I ABSOLUTELY felt like a soccer mom on the sidelines, cheering these two awkward dopes along their journey. I don’t know! I wish I had read the manga for canon background, because I kinda wonder if the awkwardness of their lack of experience, particularly with Kimura’s acting, maybe lent itself an authenticity to the character of Onoe that may have been reflected in the manga?

I have no idea, and I don’t read the forums at MDL, where I believe a lot of this discussion was taking place. But in any case, for me, it was kind of this practice of the guys stumbling around in the first place, figuring out their language together, working individually on their process of confessions, that I honestly loved about this show and the storyline, and it did truly keep me coming back. I really thought their back and forth was sweet.

To me, their miscommunications weren’t as frustrating as, say what went down in Individual Circumstances, where clearly, the storyline would have been solved in a sec if the guys just TALKED. I did say in my review of IC that I happen to appreciate the trope of miscommunication, because I think it’s more relative to Asian cultures than Western viewers might relate to.

But in the case of CCP, I think what I saw in the script was just a simple matter of growth. Kabu needed advice from older and wiser people (maybe not wiser in the case of Izuka’s character, but yadda whatever) to recognize that Onoe’s need was to have simple and direct messages aimed at him. And I thought it was really cute that Kabu challenged Onoe at the end to finally state his (Onoe’s) own feelings into words, which funnily, Onoe hadn’t done the entire series. He himself thought he was communicating clearly -- but they both just needed to SAY THEIR WORDS to seal the deal.

I happened to appreciate the awkward lovey scenes. They were so awkward -- but again, I wonder, was it meant to be that way? Who knows. But that was more heat than I could have expected from this show, AT ALL, so honestly, I appreciate its placement. Onoe’s clearly an awkward dude ANYWAY, so might as well make the love hotel scenes that way.

Final thought (and then one footnote***): I appreciated that the final episode focused solely on the pairing, and not on a case. I loved that. I loved that the script gave the guys 23 minutes to resolve themselves without a distraction. I thought that was compassionate and generous, and a lovely touch.

I wouldn’t HIGHLY recommend this as a must-watch, but if you have the time for something fun and light, with two cuties figuring out EVERRRRRRYTHING, then go for it. I’m glad I watched this one!

***Feel free to skip this, but just wanted to say that it’s clear that Yamanaka’s agency/group (M!LK) and Kimura’s agency (Exile Tribe/LDH-Love Dream Happiness) were trying to make lightning strike twice -- three times in the case of Exile, as Yagi Yusei and Machida Keita have done BL wonders for that agency. I THINK that Yamanaka was M!LK’s first BL actor, but Sano Hayato, the lead for M!LK, is quite a successful actor with significant roles in at least two previous evening doramas (including a non-BL show with Machida). So yeah, I believe the casting for Candy Color Paradox was done to intentionally expand a stable of actors. I just don’t think Yamanaka and Kimura were ready for this script, but I think they did their best.

[cheesy-poofs]

5, 19, 23 for the salty ask!

Thanks for the asks! 💕

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

Not that I can recall. I don't let fandom have power over me out of pure spite. I force myself take a step back or take a break if something works me up a lot. I've had times where I've irrationally resented ships because of their popularity and my overexposure to them, I'll admit (you can guess which ones). I don't feel that way about those ships anymore though; for me, frustration typically turns into apathy anyway. I've also come to realize pretty much all popular ships—yes, even my beloved Kyman—have shippers that might make all its shippers look bad. It's just apart of the fandom experience.

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

Reminder that I haven't been in this fandom for a long time (only around a year now), so perhaps there's long-going issues I'm less aware of. For one, this fandom has some issues that definitely suck, but aren't exclusive to it. Like the beloathed (but now expected) shipping discourse and general harassment/hate.

I'm sure there's worse issues, but what I do loathe (and made a joke post about that got way more notes than I thought it would) is superiority complexes in this fandom. Not as in having your own preferences, but genuinely thinking you're better than others for them. I find it laughable. Yeah its fun to take this show a little seriously sometimes, I fucking love seeing people analyze its characters to death, but when you're constantly trying to argue about ships and characters? For South Park? The show that barely itself seriously and most people hate the fandom of anyway?

I try not to be hypocritical, I've had to remind myself more than once what show I'm watching. Its okay if any of you reading this struggle with it, I get it lol. Every once in a while something stupid irks me and I have to force myself to let it go. It's just how it is, I can't bring myself to spend much time worrying about what other people like. If something really does piss me off (and trust me I have things that do) I either go rant to my best friend, blacklist the fuck out of it, or both. I hope this has been coherent, I'm tired.

23. Unpopular character you love?

Ooh, good question! Honestly the first character that popped into mind is Kip Drordy...you know, the kid from "You Have 0 Friends" because I remember really liking him when I watched the episode (...and kind of relating to him because I was a huge loser kid in school who would honestly act the exact same way if Kyle befriended me on Facebook). I'm pretty sure there's barely any fan content of him despite that being one of the most popular episodes of the show, which is odd. I drew him with Karen a while back, inspired by a moment in "Pajama Day" during Cartman's dream where they were seen talking. Funnily enough, I thought about them being friends before I noticed that moment. I put the drawing under the cut because its from a while back and don't care for it now.

(Edit: It removes the keep reading so nevermind, everyone has to see my trashy drawing of these two)

[alicent-vi-britannia]

Suzaku's symbols

Months ago I saw a video of the MBTI about the differences between the cognitive functions Si and Ni and something that caught my attention was that one of the defining features of the Sentinels was that they could carry with them objects with a symbolic load that they were connected to a direct experience. For signs of this, in the video the author mentioned two characters from fiction: Mikasa Ackerman and her scarf, from Attack of Titans, and Katara and her necklace, from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Both are Sentinels (if you have seen the dolls of 16 personalities, the Sentinels are the blue and the Sentinels have the cognitive function Si in common, either in a dominant or auxiliar position, which means that it is one of the cognitive functions that they use more). Specifically, Mikasa is an ISTJ (like Tohdoh and Villetta) and Katara is an ESFJ (like Shirley).

I mention it because until that point I hadn’t noticed that Suzaku had its own symbols with which it loads up and down. Yes, I know that Code Geass is full of symbols and there are other characters that also bring symbolic objects. The distinction is that the Sentinels take objects of concrete reality and establish ties with them (they are part of their experience).

"But if I don't effort, then my father's death will have been in vain"

During the first season, Suzaku has a pocket watch and at certain times of the series the direction gives us plans details of the clock so that we concentrate our attention on it (like this of episode 5). The appearance of this clock occurs in quite peculiar circumstances. The clock is what saves Suzaku from the bullet he receives in episode 1 (it is as if the clock protects him because it isn’t his time to die).

However, the most important appearance of this clock is in episode 16 of R1. When Mao reads his mind and tells us what really happened in the death of Genbu Kururugi, we have the flashback of the incident and the clock appears fleetingly. Due to the characteristics of the clock, I dare to say that it originally belonged to Genbu Kururugi (and that, in fact, he had it before he died) and that Suzaku grabbed it, thus turning it into a symbol of the fault that drags from that day (the expression of "carrying the guilt" becomes literal). But every symbol has its positive spectrum and, judging by the conversation he has with Euphemia in episode 5 of R1, I would also say that the clock is a promise of redemption for Suzaku.

(Like a crazy INTJ that I’m and that I pay much attention to these abstract concepts, I think that the fact that the clock is a symbol for Suzaku means that time hasn’t passed since the day Suzaku killed his father. In his mind Suzaku is still locked inside that room with the body of his father and his hands stained with blood. Hence he can move on. Notice that the clock doesn’t work. It’s broken. It marks the same hour and minute).

Even more interesting seems to me the last appearance of the clock. In episode 23 of R1, we see during a montage that happens in full telephone conversation between Lelouch and Suzaku that he has placed the clock in the Euphemia’s chest and I don’t interpret this gesture like Suzaku has freed himself from the guilt of the murder of his Father or that the new symbol that will be replaced from now on has replaced this, but both symbols have joined since now Suzaku knows how he will atone for the sin he committed in his childhood: fulfilling the purpose that Euphemia has given him.

In fact, it is something that Eupemia says while tending to Suzaku the badge: "I just want to see people smiling. It's all In a past [Lelouch]. Can you help me? Will you be my Knight? "

(Remember that in her death bed these words are repeated: Eupemia says that she want everyone to be happy. Also, she tells Suzaku that he had to "do it for her"; although she said she went to school because she couldn’t doing it, Suzaku interprets that Euphemia's dream should come true, so he does his own, just like Lelouch is his sister's dream and Kallen is her brother's dream).

Here we find a new symbol that surely have more fresh in memory since Suzaku practically carried it all the time during the second season and is the badge that Euphemia granted him by naming his personal Knight. A symbol that Suzaku himself strips because he thought he was unworthy of carrying and then used again after the declaration ofEeuphemia feelings in episode 20 of R1. Therefore, we could say that the denotative meaning of the badge is the honor of being the gentleman of Princess Euphemia (which represents the great progress that Suzaku has had within the ranks of the army of Britannia) and the connotative meaning, and which matters to us, is the love of Euphemia and Suzaku at this point in history.

A love that is trocked in Suzaku's hatred towards Zero/Lelouch since he kills the girl he loved in his noses and if Suzaku had his head inside a dark well before, he will now get fully into him because he will take action to avenge her murder.

Do not forget that the denotative meaning of the badge is the high degree that has been conferred to Suzaku, which is the gentleman's, which means that Suzaku has the duty to protect the princess and ... He failed miserably so much so much In duty as in love, to top it off (I didn’t tell you that Lelouch killed Euphemia in front of Suzaku to cause you a dramatic effect, Larry, it was to try a point).

Therefore, the badge is a symbol of both guilt and dishonor and a new promise of redemption for its error that was just his greatest failure. One that will torment him throughout the second season and guide his decisions.

Now, if we want to compare with Rolo, you will notice that there is a contrast. Rolo is an ISTP. An Explorer (it is the yellow doll group). He doesn’t have the cognitive function Si. He has Ni (which is the other function that I had indicated at the beginning of this publication). It is his tertiary function and that tells us that he will behave in a different way of how it would do it if Ni were a dominant function (for example, Lelouch who is an INTJ and C.C. who is an INFJ).

Rolo's symbol is the keychain that hangs from his cell phone. A keychain that Lelouch gave him for his birthday. But have you set what shape it has? That's right. It is a heart, which is the symbol of love (in this case, it represents the fraternal love of Lelouch and Rolo).

Do you see the difference? While Rolo embraces universal symbols that we can all decipher and understand, Suzaku confers an individual and personal symbolic value to objects extracted from his experiences (neither a clock nor a badge means what I just said, but makes sense within the context of Suzaku).

So far this analysis comes. If you liked it, you can support me with your reactions and comments. It will motivate me to continue elaborating analysis. Without more I say goodbye.

PD: Suzaku is an ISFJ. I have an illustration with the Eneatipo and the MBTI Types of the main characters of Code Geass.

[m-a-salter]

PLEASE provide us your playlist/lore/moodboard for Love Is A River. I'll take anything ya got. :-D

THANK YOU for asking. For anyone reading this other than the asker, she is referring to this fic:

Which, after a bit of a hiatus due to Life Events™, has just been updated with a new chapter!

I don't have an actual moodboard, but you can get the equivalent experience by looking at any stills or GIFs from The Husbands of River Song. I have also commissioned an illustration for the story from the incomparable @illustoryart, and have accordingly also been inspired by their many illustrations of cute cottages and nighttime coziness.

The two most important songs for me in planning and writing have been Now or Never by Alan Doyle, and Anchor by Fortunate Ones.

"Now or Never" has this bit that always makes me think of the end of THORS: "For tonight we are the chosen few/The least that we can do/Is lay our hearts on the line/Oh we're running, we're running/We're running out of time/And I can see the truth/It's coming for me and you/My Love, the moment's here/It's now or never, my dear."

The title of the story comes from "Anchor," and this little piece of that chorus--"Love is a river/It’s gonna run/Time is a sea that drowns everyone"--has been stuck in my head for six months. Not long after I became obsessed with that song, and had firmly established in my mind the water-cycle metaphors of the story, I heard Éilís Kennedy's song Row On, and that also seemed to fit.

Of course, when you are in the middle of writing a story, everything you listen to seems to fit, so the full playlist is mostly just a list of songs I have been listening to, which because I am in my head about this pair, seem to me to be about them. I make no claims to the objective fit of the lyrics of any of these. And the actual playlist I write to also has a bunch of Murray Gold from the Capaldi years, especially, of course, "The Woman He Loves" and "The Singing Towers." The list includes a good number of songs cherry-picked from the many Doctor/River playlists on 8tracks.

Here is the playlist (I don't do Spotify, so sorry for the extra steps):

1 Now or Never/Alan Doyle 2 Anchor/Fortunate Ones 3 Row On/Éilís Kennedy 4 Basket Case/Sara Bareilles 5 A Drop In the Ocean/Ron Pope 6 River/Emeli Sandé 7 Good Company (From "Oliver and Company")/Pianomation 8 Heartbeat/Scouting for Girls 9 Next to Me/Emeli Sandé 10 Start of Time/Gabrielle Aplin 11 Love is All/The Tallest Man On Earth 12 Gravity/Sara Bareilles 13 Stay/Hurts 14 Cherry Wine (Live)/Hozier 15 Home/Vanessa Carlton 16 North/Sleeping At Last 17 The Night We Met/Lord Huron 18 White Flag/Dido 19 Swing Low Sail High/The Wailin' Jennys 20 Work Song/Hozier 21 Poison & Wine/The Civil Wars 22 All I Ask/Adele 23 Boston And St. John's/Great Big Sea

The story has its origins in my own confusion, upon first watching The Husbands of River Song, over why the Doctor doesn't assert his identity more forcefully. It was clear what the Doylist answer is: the continued mistaken identity allows for lots of fun comic moments in the episode.

But to come up with a Watsonian answer I found myself doing a re-watch of River Song's entire run (in the order of her timestream), and developing this head canon about their mutual belief/fear that the other person thought it was a marriage of convenience. And I love nothing more than mutual pining, so I thought I'd write it up, and here we are.

[hotarutranslations]

Es Con Field HOKKAIDO

Evening

Hokkaido Nihon Ham Fighters "LIVE DAYS! ～Exciting Big Exhibition Match~ @ Es Con Field HOKKAIDO

Everyone! Thank you very much for your support! The stage is over!

It was funnnnnn~~🥲🫶🏻

Um, With the events that happened today, All of them were amazing…

It was really like I was going to cry…

I'll convey as much as I can😌🪽

Morning Musume '24's live,

At the end we got to sing I WISH but, The Maria-chan, in the intro, She said, Today, this day, etch this moment into the album of your heart… (These are manager Shinjo's words)

This is my own story but, Announcing that I would be graduating from the group this year, In the text of that announcement, I wrote that when I auditioned I had thought, I want to stand out! I want to stand on a big stage!

Now, after making such an announcement, again,

With the live after the match, It was a really fresh form, I never thought I'd get to have a live on Es Con Field, I was moved that something like this could come true, I really felt like I was going to cry, With this kind of a scenery for the first time!!

Of course even then, There was no way I could make this happen alone, With the power of Makino Maria-chan's love for baseball, With the presence of Yamazaki Mei's hometown being Hokkaido, Morning Musume could have this experience because of them

I'm happy to have met Morning Musume🫶🏻

With the fun of LOVE Machine, and Renai Revolution 21, It was heartening to perform it at a stadium,

It was like a dream to sing One Two Three

As expected, I cried a little!! Looking back on it after its over its like I'm crying now as well!! lol

The live! Was really fun! Thank you very much for your support!

For those that came to the stadium, I hope that you enjoyed

The Morning Musume '24 performance😌🫶🏻🪽

Today, since I got to explore the Es Con Field HOKKAIDO from the morning and, it was amazing wherever I looked!!

Maria explained everything🐣👏🏻

Within the stadium, It was so amazing and I was also moved, that they were selling Morning Musume '24 goods!!

Maria's first pitch as well, was reallly cool, right!! Everyone was watching over her!!

From there the Kitsune Dance, by the juniors was cute!! I felt like a parent!!

Also the match as well, was mesmerizing!!

It was cool🩵✨

The dancing from the Fighters Girls as well, Seeing them run around as well, Showing off their appeal before and after the songs as well, Uwaa! Its cheer! It was nostalgic for me too, I was watching while dancing along🫶🏻 That was also fun🫶🏻

It was a very, very precious moment to have this dream come true🫶🏻

Everyone, thank you as always for your support! Thank you very much for the wonderful experience today!

Graduation Announcement Blog🐣🪽

Hello! Station #531 I also talk about my graduation in this video

"Hello Pro Dance Gakuen Season 11" TSUKUSHI (Sasaki Tsukushi) Collaboration Video ※Limited Time※

Its amazing! I'm thankful! Its uploaded onto YouTube! Please definitely watch it a lot everyone!

📺Hello Pro Dance Gakuen Season 11

April 18th 11:30PM~ A Learning From TSUKUSHI-san Adventure🕺

Sendai Broadcast "Ara Ara Kashiko" April 13th (Sat) at 10:25AM~ Ishida Ayumi Goes~!

I appear once a month as part of the AraKashi Family

The previous shows, and makings, are on OX VIDEO STORE!

Thank you for following.. Instagram💙🩵

💿

May 15th Release Morning Musume '23 Concert Tour Fall "Neverending Shine Show ~Seiki~" Fukumura Mizuki Graduation Special YokoAri's 2nd Day With Fukumura-san's Graduation Performance

May 15th Release Morning Musume '23 Concert Tour Fall "Neverending Shine Show" SPECIAL YokoAri's 1st Day With OG Performances

🪩Hello! Project Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2024 6gatsu "Lily"

June 9th (Sun) Osaka June 16th (Sun) Tokyo

🪩The MusiQuest 2024 July 21st (Sun) PiaArena MM

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Decemberween '23 — Jason!

I think about these friend posts from time to time which runs the risk of making my really cool friends who are constantly doing things and making stuff in the day to day, like, more likely to get attention. And that’s not a terrible thing, after all, this is still the attention economy or whatever, by posting about my friend Amber, I might direct attention to her online presence and her cool cosplays, or if I post about my friend Nixie I might get people looking at her Patreon, all that kinda thing.

I wanna talk, today, this close to Christmas, though, about a friend who doesn’t really put himself out there on the internet, and who isn’t here to ‘sell’ himself. Sure, we’ve done that kinda thing, we’ve all had fun doing things… but

like

Some friends I want to talk about, and who I think about, because they’re my friends and I love them and that’s really cool and really good. Because my friends are great.

You probably don’t know Jason. Jason’s a friend of mine, from in America. Jason draws, Jason plays videogames, Jason likes Star Wars a lot (and that’s been a source of some tension, I suspect). Jason likes Star Trek – really, that’s why I’ve been watching Star Trek at all, as one after another, these series have been made part of my experience and I get to set aside a space of ignorance. Even now, we watch Lower Decks together, which is my favourite piece of Star Trek media.

It’s real funny watching people complain that Lower Decks relies on in-group references for its humour because like, I think those people may have just pickled their brains with those references. I like it a lot and I don’t know if anything in the show is old. I just ask Jason when we’re done watching the episodes.

Oh, I’ve been rereading the Ranma 1/2 manga? And that’s partly because we’ve been hanging around on the Ranma 1/2 subreddit and talking about it. Which is extra weird because that’s how we met, back when I was a kid and Jason was also a kid but the kind of kid who would go ‘I’m not a kid, huff.’ But still, the kind of person we’d look at now and both go: Well, we were kids.

Anyway.

Hey, remember how I mentioned I’ve been trying to draw more? You might have seen it, seen me posting art of just random things that strike my fancy. That’s partly because drawing is something I used to do a lot and I liked it, and part of why I drew so much was because it was something I shared with Jason. Now, don’t get me wrong, Jason is way, way better than I am, and there was a time when I even felt discouraged from drawing because Fox and Jason were both just better than me. Why have my own skills brought to bear when other people were just doing it better?

But Jason, in the early days, was someone I drew with, because I wanted to draw things and wanted to share them with him and, that encouragement came with its own joy. Restarting drawing like I have lately, I haven’t quite gotten back to where I was, but I mean, back then I was drawing strictly because I wanted to draw cool characters with huge boobs or amazing butts or both. There’s time to just enjoy the drawing, as I draw things more and more that I like. I owe that to Jason, Jason is someone who made me remember how much I just like drawing.

And we play City of Heroes! In fact, Jason is the person who got me into City of Heroes. This game that at this point has been part of my life or influential in my life, for twenty years, is a game that I ultimately only started because my friend recommended it, and said hey, we can play together! I write about City of Heroes and I use it to make OCs and I love this game and its universe and it informs a lot of how I think about videogames and about how I think about heroes in superhero stories, and I owe it all to my friend.

Jason is one of the earliest people I drew with when I was a child. Like when I was sixteen, I think, I reached out to a stranger, on the internet, who had a shared interest with me, and that became a way to talk about it, and honestly, it shaped my days. It shaped a lot of my internet habits too. I remember from back then a story about ‘who messages first’ and what that represented. This is really early internet days for me, when a .txt file someone put in their signature on Usenet was imparted wisdom from an older, more serious generation than I had ever encountered. I remember at the time it lodged in my brain that if you message the other person all the time, you want to talk to them more than they want to talk to me.

And anyway, years on, I have learned: That’s stupid.

This year has been a rough one full of people talking about their social networks dissolving. Tumblr is full of ‘jokes’ about how people who have never had a conversation are friends, are mutuals, are beloved and yeah like I get it, I get that human relationships are fluid and complex and take a variety of forms. But you should reach out. You need to put work into those friendships.

If you find yourself unwilling to do that… like, that’s okay? Maybe that’s the emotional level you want that friendship at. That’s okay.

But I have this friendship that has lasted longer than my students have been alive, and part of that is reaching out, and holding on.The platforms you spend time on don’t get to dictate how you should act. You can reach out! You can say hi! You can be nice and friendly!

One of my best friendships started that way.

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