#y'know considering big evil Demon

[ask-the-dweets]

I can't believe I have enough content I haven't shared to have a whole post just for Dandy (@dandy-dove) and Dwi's relationship in Demon/Angel AU

Dandy and Dwi have a very strange relationship XD Dandelion is one of the only people Dwi is protective over and would consider an actual (as close as they get) friend. Their personalities are not really compatible at all but they met each other at the perfect time so Dwi turned out to enjoy the idiot's company.

Dwi is a very powerful Devil and Dandy is a nature/hope angel

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PRELIMINARY ROUND - BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/ANGEL THE SERIES

PROPAGANDA

Kendra Young

1.) Kendra was shafted due to a combination of misogyny and racism. She is a Jamaican young woman who enters the narrative to serve as a foil for Buffy, the main character. Her backstory is one-dimensional and her personality is one-note. (Rather than exploring what it might be like to be a teenager growing up in Jamaica, facing the same Chosen One fate as Buffy in a different setting, they just made her robotically devoted to the idea of being a slayer with no other traits.) She exists purely as a comparison for one issue that Buffy is encountering during this time in the story. As soon as Buffy worked through this issue to the writer's satisfaction, Kendra was removed from the story (i.e., was killed by being outsmarted, hypnotized, and then executed by a villain). During her brief life, she was subjected to the trope that when two women are in the same story they have to hate each other and see each other as rivals, despite the fact that this makes so sense with either of their characterization. She is MUCH less fleshed out than the vast majority of other characters in the story and her narrative role is eventually replaced with a far more complexly written white woman (proving that they could have done all this interesting stuff with Kendra in the first place??? but chose to kill her off instead.)

2.) She was introduced as a foil to the protagonist and set up as being an important new addition to the cast whose very existence in the show completely altered the status quo and she had a really interesting dynamic with the protagonist and a compelling backstory and a lot of potential for some great character development and to provide a new point of view and there was just generally so much potential there AND THEN THEY KILLED HER OFF AFTER LIKE THREE EPISODES AND NEVER MENTIONED HER AGAIN. FUMING. (also she was like. the only major woman of colour on the show at least for the majority of the show's run. so y'know that fucking sucks)

anyway I think this post really sums up how badly she got screwed over:

3.) Okay, so I had more been considering her a victim of racism, but let's call it misogynoir. Aside from the sexist origin she shares with all the slayers - some men got together to imbue Woman with power against her will which they would then oversee and manage for their own purposes and according to their own interests- she has been trained for slaying from childhood and yet she is killed pretty quickly after entering the story for the purposes of a white girl's angst and character development (and in fact her character only exists for this purpose)… by a fingernail. A powerful, well-trained, competent and bad-ass girl is killed because she didn't lean back one inch further fast enough. IIRC there's also sexism and racism in the way she is portrayed as kind of naive about the normal world and Buffy has to show her how to be a normal teenager.

Illyria

1.) illyria was an all powerful demon whose literal introduction to the show was her taking over the body of one of the main characters and killing her in the process. given such an introduction, i think it would be reasonable to assume that she'd be a really major character and would play an important role in the show's plot. WRONG SHE BASICALLY CONTRIBUTES NOTHING TO THE PLOT AFTER LIKE HER FIRST TWO EPISODES. she also gets depowered and then in the last couple episodes of the show she gets incapacitated so she's not even there when all the other main characters (who, by the way, are all men at this point) make their Big Important Decision to fight back against the evil company they've been working for. apparently in the angel writers' world women can't have agency even when they're literal god like demon lords

[mochiwrites]

Guess who's back? Back again? Anons back! Tell a friend.

Lol sorry I'm once again back. The same anon who sent a bunch of questions about night life a while ago since I was rereading songbirds blood au. Soo uhm here's more

1. Mochi why does scar say in villainous thing that he has put his head in a werewolfs mouth??!?!?!?!?!? Scar mah dude u ok???? (Lowkey would wanna try it but I probably would leave the werewolfs mouth with a head 😊)

2. Grian.Trans.Canon? (Or scar? Or maybe both???)

3. With the glyphs is there only one way to use them or could you possible make them a tattoo and still you them. Since they are then constantly touching the glyphs they could possible do the magic of a mage. If they had multiple glyphs he could mix the glyphs somehow.(like how Luz mixes the glyphs by drawing them with eachother but instead they do it with their ✨️MIND✨️)

4. Also I love the idea of papapulse. Like I imagine Pearl or grian (most likely grian:^P) and Impulse going full demon mode tl protect them. (I saw that you tagged "Parent impulseSV (Video Blogging RPF)" in troubke in the dead of night🥺👏😍) Also is there different types of demons and what type of powers do they have?

5. In the fic "sitting in the garden at your feet" they have a whole picnic and all the adorableness. Do they go on more picnics frequently? (I really hope soo) I would guess they do since in villainous things they were also on their way to a picnic...but then yeah...poor birb tbh and poor scar

6. Have Ren and Martyn already have their wedding or are they still waiting? I wanna see treebark and I want to see mumbo ask grian go with him as his plus one to the wedding<3

(Though treebark owns my heart, Grumbo will always win) Don't talk about scarian I've never left the desert and don't plan to either😘

7. Okay soo in the fic "weight of living" there was this one scene where etho stared at grian. Here's the quote: "Etho eyes him for a moment, his gaze unreadable as he does so. It leaves Grian with chills. Weird."

Is it possible that etho is a Watcher? I'm mean   he is definitely not human(or maybe he is an immortal human?)  Etho may recognize grian, either as an old Watcher or a new Watcher to be made. Or maybe etho just thinks it is weird to see scar with grian(A HUMAN) The last one is more logical <:^)

8. On that note with Etho. You never confirm nor deny if grian is the "lost watcher" but what if I were to ask you if EFFO is the lost Watcher. I don't have proof but-...yeah idk

Wait wait just had another thought what if Pearl is the Watcher???? When the dream bugs ate her dreams there was a purple mist! Huh huh gotcha!/silly this is purely a joke🤣

9. Will we see a bad boy grian phase or possibly a drag queen phase🥺👉👈. Since it often mention that grian was a dare devil(still is:^P) or did grian have such phases. One of my friends is kinda a dare devil and he did drag once and I feel since grian might be the same there...

10. What did Scott do with the shard? Did he just entirely get rid of it? Also is Scott pure evil or broken. Maybe with the lost of his brother(Xornoth) did he turn evil or was evil just in his genes?

Those are all the questions and theories for now thank you for listing to my literal brain rot<3

This time it was numbered

(There will possible be more to come>:^] )

YIPPEE WELCOME BACK NONNIE :D

see me rubbing my paws together with a big grin >:3c no apologies needed !!!! I love questions hehe. as always, I can't answer everything clearly, because of spoilers but I'll certainly answer as much as I can!

1- WHEEZE scar just feels like the kinda guy to me to stick his head into the mouth of a werewolf for fun, y'know? he'd try it once just to see what would happen (and I mean, he's got no reason to fear dying, all things considered LOL)

2- GRIAN TRANS CANON !! honestly, just operate under the assumption that any grian I write is trans JFGDHFKKJDFG it's my comfort character and I get to project on him /silly (no trans scar though </3)

3- WAUG OKAY -- I've answered this kind of question before but for the life of me I can't find it D: I'm gonna keep searching for it, and when I find it I'll reblog this with that information mjfdhkfghfjg I don't wanna contradict myself LMAO

4- PAPAPULSE MY BELOVED 🥺I really wanna write more with him ueueue. I actually haven't done much world building for sb!demons but I'm going to say that yes, there are different types of demons! and they all have a wide range of different abilities :3

5- they def go on picnics yeah!!! I think it becomes one of grian's default methods to drag mumbo out of the manor when he can <33

6- ren and martyn haven't had their wedding yet :3 I actually hadn't thought about when their wedding would take place but ;w; oh that gives me some ideas....

7- etho isn't a watcher! the current lore is well. no one really knows what etho is. except maybe bdubs and joel. but their lips are Sealed (he's not the lost watcher either I'm afraid </3)

9- so currently I don't have any plans for a bad boy or drag queen phase to pop up in the story (though that could change, if any ideas come up) but they were certainly things he did when he was wayyy younger

10- what scott did with the shard hm? he broke it :) and I'm afraid evil is just in his genes unfortunately </3

hehe thank you for your questions!! :D

[spilledmilkfkdies]

What do you think the wizards heights are? (Including Valtor if you cover him) 🙏

Okokok so the problem is that I am a supporter of making the wizards of the Black Circle tall, and I mean Tall, Dark Souls bosses type of tall- But y'know what's stopping me? The thought I could never fit them into a car. Mhm.

I mean, not just that, kinda, more like 'how would they function in a normal setting and could they live under humans like that', because apparently that matters to me. Even if the thought of them having gone "so far off the deep end" that they just don't fit in with humans anymore after everything is a little delicious as well. Basically, I would make them unreasonably tall if I cared like 20% less about normalcy. That being said? Here are some rough height estimates I'm thinking off, in no particular order-

Starting out with Gantlos because I simply will not shut up about how I think he should be a big lad, the biggest, even. The actual reason for that though is like, y'know how in Resident Evil Village you have Lady Dimitrescu ends sentence there and the way she has to bend down to go through some doors? That has altered my brain in a normal way. I am normal. Now I'm not saying Gantlos is that tall, as previously mentioned, sort of. But having to duck just a little bit when going through the average door? I'm not above doing that. Sorry. I think that would put him lightly above 7ft (well over 2m). Was he always that tall? Probably not. Is it doable? Eh, it's what I'm leaning towards right now, that's usually how it goes.

Paragraph over! Moving on to Ogron!! I was considering making him the shortest, you can disagree and be happy I changed my mind, you can be disappointed too- That man wears heels either way, so it's whatever no it's not I still think about him being the shortest sometimes. What position is he in right now? Um middle. Yeah. Like obviously, I guess, but I'll explain why it's a little confusing in a bit, let's say he's somewhere 6'4ft (1.93m) and 6'7ft (about 2m) maybe?? Pulling these numbers out of my ass don't even worry about it-

Now here's where I start making things really complicated for myself for no reason fr! Because!! Duman's height is all over the place. I don't just mean this in a way where sometimes he's literally a rat or bear with those matching heights- The height of his own form also just. Depends on his mood?? There's days where he's the shortest and days where he isn't. Rarely below 6ft (1.83m), never taller than Gantlos (Dumanic bat form not included, that shit is Large, but currently also unspecified). It just be like that sometimes. Any specific reason why I forced that onto him? Nuh uh definitely not.

Basically, Anagan is left as the shortest whenever Duman isn't. That's what we're going with rn. That's where we're at. He's not short though, just compared to the others ig? Put him next to the average man and he still has a couple of inches probably maybe- Are you starting to notice that I know very little about height because I feel like that seed had been planted in the first few sentences already.

Am I legally allowed to speak on Valtor's height? Will I be hunted for sport if I put a take out there that's not appreciated? Taking the absolute coward way out and saying I think he'd be shorter than Ogron, but above Anagan? His demon form is bigger than Duman's though, so there's that. Cough.

Will I be sticking to the order of this? Who knows! The actual numbers I did specify? Highly doubt it! But for now let's put it like, tallest to shortest:

Valtor demon form >> Duman demon form >> Gantlos >> Could be Duman >> Ogron >> Could also be Duman >> Valtor >> Duman again >> Anagan >> Duman sometimes

Okay that's all bye

[merchantarthurn]

it's funny that 2/3 of the companions i ship astarion (the 3 being halsin, wyll and karlach) with are people who are objectively just lovely, selfless people but in a way that's just... too far. both in their own ways don't acknowledge they give/have given too much away for the good of others and a big part of the healing they need is setting even a single limit on what's "too far".

(under the cut cos it got long but this is more a ramble about character dynamics than romantic stuff so please enjoy even if you don't care for the 'ship' aspect. ive also got a LOT to say about karlach but i don't here im sorry i love her so much pls--)

wyll's willing to give his immortal soul (TWICE) for the sake of a city and father that turned his back on him with barely a moment to reflect on the unfairness to himself (at least in a 'and that's why it shouldn't be expected of me' way, anyway). halsin's given a hundred years of devoted research to the shadowcursed lands and cut himself off from deeper connections in order to remain committed to lifting the curse, not the mention the way he skirts around really acknowledging his trauma from the Underdark as a trauma instead of just a Fun Halsin Fact!TM

now... like all relationships between companions this is a compelling area without any romantic undertones, this is more what's driving my interest in the ships at all, but i find the above level of self-sacrifice really interesting in contrast to astarion. similarly, setting boundaries doesn't initially come naturally to him - he's not in the practice of being able to say no, and getting through the 'disgust' is something he tries to handwave as worth it for the rewards. but when in control, he's very much got selfish goals in mind. personal safety, mostly, being considered useful enough to keep around under the protection of the artefact. and in addition his moral compass is very much not aligned with the above, but does seem to shift in that direction the more compassion he's shown. it's never all the way flipped but... still.

two things that are interesting about that - both the selfish and selfless goals are, in isolation, completely understandable? save a city? well that's a good thing! protect yourself? can't argue with that!! but "no matter the cost to my mental and physical health" ooh never mind. astarion is, out of the three, seemingly much better positioned to understand and admit that? which is what's particularly interesting about either wyll or halsin's relationship (romantic or not) with him. cos any efforts they make to help astarion out with his own boundary issues and healing creates a big ol' elephant in the room with their own deal that i think astarion would, like, push back on y'know? he's already incredulous about heroes and do-gooders for both understandable and dnd-evil reasons but once an established rapport comes into play, then you get that incredibly tasty dimension of "okay, so you spent all that energy encouraging me not to loan myself out to make us stronger but you're gonna sell your eternal soul to a demon for a bit of information? and you're going to keep neglecting any aspect of your life that isn't shadow-curse related, to the point where you rushed in to enemy territory without regard for your safety and would have died if we hadn't stepped in?"

it's just such a chewable way of a bond developing right? both sides changing each other with something they initially might have found deplorable/insufferable about the other? but it both ultimately resulting in healthier boundary setting and the valuing of their own bodies and hhrhghruguhgguh. which is the sort of thing i Need when it comes to ships. man. oog. the list of little scenes i need to write gets longer by the second i swear. we can add shadowheart to the "dynamics i need to explore with wyll" list too ahrghr oogrhg

it's also making bl**dweave conceptually more interesting as an antithesis to this although i honestly haven't stumbled on anything that actually fits this particular niche so [handwaves] but to me that's two men who are gonna make each other Worse actually (this is not inherently a bad thing for Drama but all im saying is im pretty sure if you put those two together for too long you'll end up with a god + ascended ending ok). censoring the ship name cos i see much more fluffy stuff and im not here to ruin fun with opposing headcanons in a search ahaha

[vividviolence]

okay watched the new sonic superstars thing and I really enjoyed it!!! very fun little romp it's a total blast

below is a long thread of all my thoughts & insights...

honestly the starting fight scene was really fun, I especially love how as it transitions into reality the characters begin to look demonic (especially amy, her evil expression really stole the show here!)

trip was really cute !!! I love her so much !!! I hope they become a good guy in the end I want to see them happy

(honestly it'd be really sad if they went the way of the hard boiled heavies, we haven't had a new reoccuring classic sonic character since like sonic the fighters :[)

also fang was silly in this but I've always found him a bit cute and silly so that's a given

this has implications..... as we can see it's demonstrating the different emerald powers you're able to use throughout the game, but why is trip (or rather, people like her) seemingly featured so prominently? is trip from some sort of group that knows a lot about harnessing the emeralds' powers??? could probably explain why eggman is forcing them to tag along I suppose

also seems like this mural also depicts the big flickys eggman's going to put into his minibosses, which could mean they have some connection to the emeralds! There's also some sort of dark force in the center of the mural, but I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet...

(side note: yeah I totally saw the snake on the mural and went "!!!! THE FUNNY!!!" before actual taking a second to inspect it closer)

THE FUNNY!!!

my opinion on this thang doesn't even really need to be stated. favorite animal n all that. but still !!! the funny !!!! god I am a sucker for snakes

anyways the foreshadowing for this fella is honestly on point, the mix of the constant hissing sfx & the snake on the mural were really fun details :>

also, the setup of the battery thing was really cool too! They call a lot of attention to it so it's a definitely harder to miss, but it still makes a rewatch fun nonetheless

never change eggman. never change.

This was cute, considering this & the mural stuff I'm pretty sure trip has waaaay deeper connections to northstar then what we know (I kind of always assumed this but like. there's more to work with now y'know)

anyhow my final theory is that I think eggman's going to do a Sonic Adventure and end trying to control a beast of incredible power only to fail miserably. the way the weird, vaguely evil thing at the center of the mural appears on eggman's glasses seems to suggect he takes some sort of interest in it....

[existentialflirt]

random thought: what if every high-ranking demon (especially the fallen angels) in the GO universe has animal eyes? Crowley obv has vertical slit-pupiled eyes (like a snake). Beelzebub (IDK their rank) obv has the whole fly aesthetic...

if there was a demon/fallen angel w/wolf eyes, I'd RIOT (& try to hug them)--

So Hastur and Ligur did have, er animal features in a manner of speaking. Hastur has black eyes and a Frog like welded in his head and Ligur has an iguana. I think they're both Archdukes of Hell, certainly Hastur is. Beez is a Lord or something. Definitely high rank. I know their rank is noted in the book but i don't feel like looking it up. The larger point is that it was very strongly implied in the book that Crowley is actually pretty low rank. Season 2 kinda muddied things a bit, I feel, with the whole bit with that demon trying to get dirt on Crowley in exchange for getting a promotion into temptations which i'm guessing Crowley is in. Makes sense honestly. I have the head canon that he basically invented the model of how demons corrupted humans by tempting Eve into eating the apple. Also that he's been coasting on that monumental deed for millennia, because y'know. Instigating the fall of man, even if that hadn't been his intent, is kind of a big deal.

so uh, that doesn't really answer your question, because i really can't say if there was any real intent beyond some interesting aesthetic. My thought is that GO demons are exhibiting the corruption within on the outside. There's the question of why Crowley is exponentially more...uh, well, convenionally attractive than most other demons, both on Earth and down below. You could say, I suppose, because deep down he was never really that evil. Sauntered casually downward and all. Personally i think it's just a matter of him having half a brain and an imagination, with a dash of vanity. Not to mention the fact that he's been, for all intent and purposes, on Earth since the dawn of man and as far as i can tell, hasn't spend much time in Hell. Humans are fickle things, and you can't very well go about LOOKING the part and expect to have success. There is an interesting point in the book when he changes his shape into something truly horrific to scare a dude (it's never detailed, only that it was terrifying and apparently maggots were involved). When he changes back he bitches mildly about how much he hates doing that because he's afraid of getting stuck.

Uh so. tl;dr: Demons and angels aren't really bound by anything but their imaginations. Which is why both Crowley and Aziraphale stand apart from their kin. They're both inquisitive creatures that think for themselves to varying degrees. Now, i'm not sure if a demon would have wolf eyes. The pattern of imagery is that demons embody cold blooded creatures and insects. Things often considered creepy or repulsive. Most people would probably agree that wolves are far too noble, but i mean, i really have to stress that aside from Crowley and Beez, the animal features and/or affinity is largely a series thing and as I said i really don't think it's anything but some neat costume design. Sometimes a bloke just has a frog on his head and it doesn't bear any deeper meaning than that.

[ashley-slashley]

Tangent about my "mom" below

I like how my "mom" is the primary reason I'm somewhere in between agnostic and atheist. It's really fascinating considering my dad was the complete opposite in how he practiced his faith, y'know, not making a big fuss over it or screaming at the top of your lungs because the god you put your faith in keeps making your life miserable. Nor did my dad bring up Christianity at practically any time he could (looks at my "mom" always mentioning when a celebrity is a Christian). Nor did he indulge in the bullshit that, supposedly, all Christians are going to be brutally massacred in a revolution against Christianity and other bullshit Fox News, Alex Jones, Ben Shapiro, and Tucker Carlson spew.

When I tried to discuss The Omen with "mom" and that I think it would be fascinating to see a reboot of it nowadays in our current political climate, she went on a tirade about like the anti-Christian message The Omen has despite the fact it's one of the few horror movies she'll watch. It's also ironic that she's ok with The Omen, Poltergeist, and The Conjuring, but forbids The Exorcist in the house because it "invites in evil spirits" for some bullshit reason. Like, dude, that's illogical since prior to The Exorcist, the idea of media summoning demonic entities wasn't mainstream. She's cool with me being obsessed with Evil Dead, probably because it brings me joy and I explained that it's like the stupid action movies and b movies dad would watch all the time. I feel like my dad would be ok with watching The Exorcist with me since I know he'd be intrigued by the complexity of the conflict Damien has with himself, and also my dad liked practical effects (it helps that my dad wasn't a religious nut job).

It's weird to see that sometimes my "mom" will praise god and be hopeful in her faith, and then go to yelling at god about why her life's a sack of shit and that he's the reason she's a failure. Yes, I learned that immediately beating myself up and wanting myself dead when something goes wrong as a coping mechanism from my "mom". In a way, she's like a combination of Pink's mom from The Wall, Margaret White, Norma Bates, and Joan Crawford

Idk if any of that counts as religious trauma, but it's probably a component as to why I'm fascinated by and kinda attached to Damien Karras

[feraecor]

4,5, and 13

@sansloii | Multi-Muse questions | (Accepting)

4. Which muse required the most research for?

It wasn't so much one particular muse but definitely the angels and demons. Just finding out whatever different lore is out there for each individual muses on top of the tiers and hierarchies and deciding how to go about putting those into the backstory for each characters. Jehvo in particular was a bitch in trying to decide how to portray...well y'know...Him. The god with the big G, y'know?

Close second is each of the gods but particularly Nanna and Ningal and their family. I spent probably close to two years sitting on them and researching them over and over, reading Gilgamesh and all that.

5. Do you think your writing style changes for different muses?

I think my writing style changes more for verses than for muses. If its a more modern verse, then I'm more informal. I generally has a more casual approach to how I write that way. But if its an older muse or a different time period, then I have a more prose technique. A lot more descriptive. My flashback drabbles tend to reflect that more than anything.

Dialogue is probably the hardest for me. I always tend to think my muses sound the same no matter what I do.

13. Do you prefer writing heroes or villains?

"Villains" in the traditional sense that they're not lily white pure and saving the day without wanting recognition. But I generally love morally grey chaotic muses and that reflects a lot in Kamii and the demons.

Jehvo is hands down my top runner for the title "Villain". With how wide spread and long running his reign of terror was, with how much damage he caused not just physically and psychologically but culturally and historically, he's the biggest baddie. His actions were all the worse because he was horrible at home and publicly. No matter if everything could be blamed on the tzwold, Jehvo was evil.

Disclaimer: I would consider darkest muse in actions is Nielis (who's not very active so he's going to be a guest muse if I put his ass on this blog). Eli is fucking nuts, sadomasochistic and just...not stable.

[phoukanamedpookie]

On the latest round of Gal Gadiscourse

Normally, I scroll/unfollow/block and move on, but I’m so sick of this bullshit.

Since 2020 continues to be deeply committed to being the absolute worst, I now have to open my mouth about the latest round of Gal Gadiscourse. This is going to be my first and last statement about it. I’m not going to debate this. I’m not going to have a “civil discussion” about it. I’m drawing a boundary, and because of the context, I’m doing you the courtesy of explaining why. Fuck with that boundary by putting that shit in my space, and I'm just unfollowing and/or blocking without even bothering to engage.

So, about the whole “cheering for the deaths of Palestinian children” thing.

Now I’m going to commit one of Vizzini’s classic blunders and get involved in a land war in Asia in order to say...

Yes, I’d heard about that. Then I looked for myself and came to the conclusion that it's a grotesque misrepresentation of what she said. The context of her statement was very clear if you're not wearing Jews Are Bloodthirsty Demons goggles. Her disapproval was clearly directed Hamas for specific acts against Palestinian civilians with a dash of "Support the troops" thrown in. Whoop-dee-fucking doo.

(BTW, did y’all have this same energy for Adam Driver every time a new movie from the Star Wars sequel trilogy came out? Israel mandates service for able-bodied citizens when they turn 18. Driver volunteered to enlist in the Marines because of 9/11. *crickets*)

Honestly, I have a much bigger problem with the role the US military has in bankrolling big-budget films. But that’s a huge issue you just can’t yell at a celebrity on social media about in order to feel morally superior to them.

Regarding Gal Gadot herself, everything she has publicly stated about Israel and Palestine, since way back when she was mostly recognizable from playing Gisele in the Fast And The Furious franchise, has stressed coexistence. Just last year, she pretty much told Netanyahu—y'know, the Israeli Prime Minister, remember him?—to not use her name and image to make it look like she agrees with him about demonizing Palestinians. Some time before that, she posted on IG or FB about some Israelis who'd gathered and made signs saying hateful things about Palestinians, and she criticized them for saying such things about Israel's "neighbors" (her word).

But for some "mysterious" reason, y’all gentiles love to make shit up about this woman making her out to secretly monstrous in all the ways that tick all the boxes for antisemitic canards—I’ll never forget "kill notches on her rifle!"—yet y’all adamantly refuse to consider that mayyyyyyyybe antisemitism has something to do with it, and y'all might have blind spots and prejudices y'all need to work on.

What makes all this worse is that Benjamin Netanyahu (@IsraeliPM) and the IDF (@IDF), the people with actual decision-making power, are right there on Twitter. Blue checkmark and all. They're on that bird app all the time. And you can tell they’re not run by bots because they got jokes. Hating on Gal Gadot as a proxy for the individuals and organizations who are directly responsible for decisions made during the conflict is some Protocols of the Elders of Zion shit, and I’m not having it.

Don’t even get me started on that shitty Medium article that where Gal Gadot develops the superpower of being in Israel and on the other side of the world at the same time. Apparently, in addition to controlling the weather, Jews can teleport too. Not to mention, the description of events is described in a way that mirrors a scene from a movie she was in. I know because I saw the movie. And own the DVD.

This one was particularly insidious because it used “believe victims” as a way to make someone who didn’t do anything look evil. It's really aggravating because the women who came forward about men like Bill Cosby, R. Kelly, Harvey Weinstein, and Brett Kavanaugh got way more scrutiny than that Medium article did. 

It’s particularly disgusting in light of how rampant harassment, abuse, and rape are in the entertainment industry and how many women, including some very famous women, experience such things throughout their careers. In one interview following Brett Ratner getting fired, Gadot mentions that the things the #MeToo movement brings attention to is very common in the film and modeling industries, and she herself was lucky to not have experienced it. It’s really sick to start a rumor like that about someone who’s much more likely to have been a victim or survivor than a perpetrator.

Fortunately for her, she’s rich and famous, so she can fight things like this if she wants or needs to. Others who don’t have such privileges are in prison right now for who knows how long.

Granted, it’s not unusual for people involved with politics or entertainment to be full of shit. It’s not unusual for famous people to be bigots or assholes. But the things people have accused her of that have been uncritically accepted as fact go way above and beyond anything she’s publicly said or done. I can’t chalk it up to basic misogyny because TERFs and Karens have been coming out of the woodwork like termites. It’s as though her real “sin” is existing in public as an Israeli Jew who doesn’t flagellate herself over it.

So, I’m gonna be absolutely, abundantly clear. Portraying Gal Gadot as evil or monstrous is antisemitic as fuck, and motherfuckers need to knock it off. I don’t give a shit if you like her or not. I don’t give a shit if you agree with her or not. But this thing where you do where disagreeing with or disliking a Jewish person means you get to demonize or dehumanize them? Nah, not in my space.

Tip your waitress.

[magireco]

out of curiosity what do you think of the characterization of homura in rebellion? i hugely dislike it but get the impression you enjoy it which i think is interesting cuz we seem to have very similar thoughts on homura pre-rebellion (CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG)

THIS IS INTERESTING BECAUSE IT DEPENDS ON WHAT FLAVOR OF REBELLION HOMURA YOU MEAN. i really really like the way she was done in the first half of the movie but as for the twist at the end...? mmm...

...okay, so... i've been thinking about saying this at some point but i keep avoiding it in fear of causing discourse and such bc... this is a really unpopular opinion apparently, but I really do not think devil homura was done properly. read under the cut if you wanna know why i feel this way!

the first issue i'm going to address is that there wasn't NEARLY enough buildup for it. i'm going to explain this from the perspective of a first-time viewer: what would you have thought would happen after the very last scene of rebellion leading up to them breaking homura out of her soul gem? when homulilly got purified and the flowers on her head turned to sakura flowers (y'know, the flowers that symbolize life and rebirth, homura being reborn from her witch)? did you think homura was suddenly gonna undermine madoka's godliness? because, uh, first-view me did not think that at all. and neither did almost anyone i know who watched it for the first time. not only is that poor setup but it's just so sudden and it feels so out of character compared to what we'd seen in the entire series as a whole, especially considering that the entire last part of the movie leading up until that was about purifying her... and saving her... there wasn't enough buildup. most people are like "but the flower scene happened!" but that's still way too vague...? it's hard to tell what conclusion homura comes to at the end, because we don't get to see any of her internal monologue... there is no other buildup after the flower scene... it just skips to homura realizing she's a witch. wouldn't that bring the viewer to think the flower scene was something that made homura realize she was a witch rather than her suddenly starting to form her plan? it always felt like to me the conclusion homura came to at the end of the flower scene was that she was validating madoka's bravery and telling her that if it ever came to that, she'd have the ability to make that hard decision. which is... so... weird? because i always interpreted that as homura coming to terms with what happened? i could just be interpreting it wrong though, but isn't that supposed to be our proof scene? our buildup scene? why would they make it so hard to understand? we need to know such important buildup points just as blatantly as the natural buildup to homura becoming a witch was. that's just from a moviemaking & writing perspective though.

secondly, i'm gonna discuss homura's motive. i actually ended up understanding were she was coming from after a while of being like "what the hell that makes zero sense!!!!". madoka is a 14-year-old girl who, in order to save the fate of every magical girl, literally had to sacrifice herself and erase herself from the world, and in the end, madoka just ended up saving homura again, and that must've made homura feel like her promise with madoka was never fulfilled. it's unfair what happened when you think about it and the law of cycles should not have been run by madoka herself because she, as any other 14 year old, deserves to be happy on earth. although it was said in magireco that madoka felt happy with what she was doing (and she felt like it truly gave her a purpose), she did admit to feeling lonely and homura probably made that assumption big time. but the way the writers went about it just made her seem so sinister... so out-of-character-ly sinister. what with the evil smirking and the deepened, almost... uh, sensual-seeming voice, and homura completely ignoring madoka's fear. it feels like they twisted her character extremely suddenly and it throws the viewer on a loop. they could've gone with that ending without making such drastic and sudden changes to homura's character, and if they were planning on doing that, why did they not give us more buildup? buildup that wasn't extremely cryptic that you have to scan and search every detail to get a clue? something i love about rebellion is that every time you watch you find something new, but how come some of the only clues illuding to devil homura's existence are in the op? it's odd. why didn't they go with something like making the incubators run the law of cycles? they were the ones at fault for causing it to be created. but honestly, the incubators cannot be trusted with anything, which is why it'd make sense for a magical girl to run the law of cycles, but if homura and madoka had the combined power to do so, what if they just remade the law of cycles so it was less unfair to madoka...? i don't know. either of those possibilites would make more sense than what happened.

something else that kind of irks me about it is that they demonized(literally, lol) homura's love for madoka. homura is very much a canon lesbian, and it's incredibly discomforting to me that they made her seem, outwardly to the viewer, so selfish...? please don't get me wrong, i'm not ACTUALLY calling homura selfish -- i know the entire akumura facade is a mask she put on, but like, it's so much more blatantly sinister than she is in the series when she's putting on the coolmura facade. it's going to really confuse the viewer and see every single one of her actions from the entire series in a completely different light, INCLUDING stuff that happened in rebellion itself. like the genuine sadness homura felt, the way we saw into her soul and felt her pain, that genuinely made a lot of people i've seen think that it was ingenuine upon first inspection... they made homura turn "evil" out of her love for madoka, as if it's a bad thing to fall in love, and as if love for another girl was what corrupted her soul gem... i understand that gen urobuchi probably wanted to explore that kind of path where love leads to obsession or whatever, but homura was selfless to a fault, constantly trying to force herself away from the others in order to not get attached, and deeply afraid of seeming creepy and predatory and scaring(she said this herself), which is exactly what she ends up doing at the end, and i feel so awful that they did that to her... how is the viewer supposed to know what her true motives are at that point? it gets all scrambled up after they did that huge plot twist. i'm going to address another thing super quick before people jump in my ask box over this, i understand also that it would make sense for homura to be obsessed with madoka, but in the series, it was never shown in this light, and like i said, if they were going to do this, why'd they even have the purification scene at the end at all? the buildup is all wrong . it also just made me upset that this ending caused SO many people to start literally believing homura is evil because of her actions at the end, and it made people become even more vehement on their beliefs that homura is obsessive and ps*cho...

i was really confused when i watched it for the first time (and also sobbing hysterically, literally, my funniest rebellion story as someone who has genuinely watched the movie 40-ish times, i remember vividly the first time i watched it i started sobbing on my hands and knees on a yoga mat in my mom's room). also like, just to prove my point a teensy bit more, the ending was so ambiguous and out of nowhere that one of the first google results to "madoka magica rebellion" is "madoka magica rebellion ending explained" because it shocked people so much that that was the first thing they needed to google. also, the fact they left us on such a vague cliffhanger and then abandoned the movie series for a total of 8 whole years only to make a sudden comeback in god's holy year of 2021 was almost cruel. LIKE GUYS I JUST FINISHED UP MY DEVIL HOMURA HEADCANONS IT TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!!!

...anyways, um, i really have to address the sexualization. madoka magica, previously, was a series that avoided fanservice in the show, at least, but why did they make akumura's design look like that...? it shows an unsettling amount of skin and like, every three seconds in the end they're focusing intensely on her lips and her eyes and... it's almost like the writers forgot she was 14, but they never seemed to forget that in the series? what happened????? in the transformation scene, we get closeup views of homura's thighs and back and stuff and it's all open everywhere... they made her tights into thigh-highs... in the whole series, even when she went to school, she always wore tights, and she was wearing tights in her magical girl outfit too... they absolutely deliberately did that to sexualize her further so they could make official art with her thighs out. speaking of official art that unsettles me, why does so much of the official art make the whole outfit just glued to her body and you can see all the shading on her features... it's just. ugh. anyways.

i went off a LITTLE too much on this and i know this is probably gonna get me some weird glances in the fandom and i am open to hearing other people's opinions but i don't think i'll ever stop disliking the effect this plot twist had on the fandom's interpretation of homura and although i'm like UNDENIABLY incredibly hyper excited for the next movie, i'm kind of...nervous for what this is going to bring? i don't want this next movie to cause the same amount of discourse the ending of rebellion did and i legit just want to see homura happy. another one of my main issues with the ending is just that homura is SO unhappy when she literally deserves to be happy SOOOOOOO BAD and just take a break from all the loops ... i'm Praying to madokami out there that that's what happens.

i know this is all really funny coming from someone who draws devil homura on a regular basis and literally writes her, but like... i'm a lesbian i'm allowed to<3

ANYWAYS thanks for listening this was a fun ask!!!

[tsuki-sennin]

Ok, there's a winter storm happening in my area, so I'm not exactly enthusiastic for the ice side of this deal, but fuck it, It's Revice so I'm hyped anyway!

Spoilers, I guess...

-WHAT OLTECA CAN JUST DO THAT

-GODDAMN

-Somebody get this man to a hospital!

-Nooooo, Viiiiiice!

-Yeah, you feel real bad, don'tcha Julio? ...ah, no, I'm calling you Tamaki Go-san now.

-No intro, ok.

-Good morning, Ikki! We got fucked last week, so...

-I can't imagine what it'd be like to just... be so close to saving somebody's life and failing to rescue them.

-Ohhhhhh, fuck, Tamaki's here!

-Ohhh, nooooo, don't die yet man! You were one of my favorites!

-Yep, we definitely meetin' Yosuke.

-Holy shit, George... feeling responsible and apologizing? He's truly the autistic icon we all deserve. ...as someone on the spectrum myself, this is some tasty representation.

-Y'know, when Rider's got some evil bastards, they really go all in.

-Even if George thinks separation is a pointless endeavor, Ikki's reckless behavior ultimately convinced him that it's worth at least trying to fine tune his strategy. That's some good character moment right there.

-Ah, there he is. Poor bastard.

-Noooo, Tamaki, take the card!

-YOUUU MOTHERFUCKER-

-Hayata Seki, good job man, really, but... Oooooogh, you bastard!

-BRUH

-Ok, I need to calm down for a second. I actually have a thought I've about Olteca that isn't "Ohhhhh, that bad man, kick his ass Ikki-nii!". Considering just how unwaveringly invested he is in Gifu's resurrection compared to every other named Giftex we've seen so far, I think that he might actually be Gifu somehow. Like a vessel or an avatar. This is just speculation, but Toei's done this before with characters like the Overlord of Darkness or Arch Orphenoch or the Joker Undead. and it'd explain why he'd be powerful enough to set Ikki on fire without even touching him in his human form.

-Kick his ass Tamaki!

-Oh fuuuuuuuck, that's not good!

-Oh c'mon Ikki, Vice is you. If he was mad at you for doing what you wanted to do after all you've been through, I think he'd have plenty of opportunity to call you out.

-Oh wow, they... actually said that.

-I am thou, thou art I and all that funny Persona acid jazz fusion rock.

-In case you're wondering, I headcanon Ikki's Arcana as being the Chariot. Sakura's the Priestess and Daiji's the Moon. Idk what Hiromi would be, but he gives off big Hanged Man energy.

-Yeahhhh boiiiiii, let's go! It's demon time!

-Let's fucking do it.

-I'm not gonna tell you to chill, but like... that's the girl who tried to help you fix your friendship with your friend and her brother you're beating the snot out of.

-See, that's it! It's Olteca you're after!

-It's buddy combi time~!

-Aibou~! They said it!

-Mmmmm, this is the real debut!

-OUGH TASTY FIRE EFFECTS

-I love it.

-TOGETHER!

-NO ONE CAN EVER KNOW!

-Ohhhhh, those crackles!

-GOOOOOO

-OHhhhhhhhh, that's the GOOD SHIT RIGHT THERE

-Sweet serotonin.

-DOUBLE SLASH

-THAT'S IT BABY HIT 'EM WITH A RIDER DOUBLE KICK!

-BUST THAT SHIT

-WE GOT THIS!

-SMILE!

-3! 2! 1!

-MAAAAARVELOUS!

-Oh yeah, Ikki was kinda injured there.

-Yeah, you got a lot to think about man.

-NONONO GODDAMMIT

-OHHHHHH IT'S HER

-THE GIRLBOSS

-Oh c'mon, don't do that.

-Tamaki-san... :(

-Yeah, let him go. He's having a very bad day.

-Oh, Director Man. He's evil as fuck.

-80???? What the hell, Hiromi? Did you individually cut out each organ and put them in a dehydrator?

-You did kinda carry this episode Vice, but goddamn, you don't gotta symbolically represent that by literally carrying Ikki.

-Ohhhhh, boy! Looks like evil Fenix is confirmed next episode!

-God, I'm gonna miss Hiromi when his death flags inevitably lead him to the big spider web in the sky. ...somebody get me some copium, stat.

[officialthiamlibrary]

2019 THIAM REVERSE BIG BANG MASTERLIST

Below is  the masterlist of all of the creations by the amazing artists and writers for the Thiam Reverse Big Bang… four months of fantastic work, preparation, organization and collaboration between the creators are in this list, and we’ll never stop shouting about how thankful we are to everyone who participated this year for the work that you’ve put in to these!! 

Some of those participating were even creating for other events (including our Halloween event) in between this one… and they still have these fantastic works ready to show everyone... so PLEASE show them some love for their hard work by commenting, reblogging, and giving likes/kudos/comments where you can! <3 

All fics are arranged by the date each collaboration was scheduled for posting, titles for both each artwork and fic will take you to each individual creators post.

Special Thanks to @manonisamelon for creating this event’s roundup banner!

16 December 2019

The Price of Freedom + Artwork 1,  2

Author: @volsungar-the-mighty   Artist: @moondrunkmonster56

[41k Words | Rated: M | No Warnings]

When the McCall pack find out that Mason is the Beast of Gevaudan, the Dread Doctors plans go awry, and Theo is left in the firing line. He goes on the run, only to be captured and paralyzed by them before he gets too far.

Liam, a Fallen Angel turned demon, is convinced to leave hell for the first time since his Fall. When he comes across Theo, paralysed, wounded, and about to be tortured and punished by the Dread Doctors, he offer's the Chimera a deal.

Theo's freedom, in exchange for his soul. But something goes wrong when Liam makes the deal a reality, and he becomes stuck on Earth with Theo.

And thats when the fun begins.

Archive Tags: Thiam Big Bang | Thiam Reverse Bang | Thiam | demon au! | Demon Liam! | Bargains | Selling of Souls | Violence | Action | Kinda Romance | Slow Burn

~~~

Making The Pieces Fit + Fic Aesthetic , Thiam’s Story Aesthetic , Aesthetic for Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, 

Author: @bookwyrm07   Artist: @manonisamelon

[7.5k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

When Theo was hired to rob a bank he knew he could do it, but now that two of his crew have taken themselves out his only option left is to get help from his ex.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Criminals | Past Liam Dunbar/Hayden Romero | Past Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken | Getting Back Together | Bank Robbery | Light Angst | Idiots in Love | Mild Sexual Content | Thiamrbb19

~~~~~

17 December 2019

Eyes Unclouded + Artwork 1,  2

Author: @wolfenboyb   Artist: @marauders-mess

[6.5k Words | Rated: General Audiences | No Warnings]

Inspired by Princess Mononoke... Theo leaves his remove village after it is attacked by a mysterious dark god. Cursed, he ventures out into the world to discover the source of unbalance in the land. He discovers a wolf prince at war with an encroaching town of humans making iron out of sand and destroying the sacred forest. As tensions rise, Theo must find a way to end the conflict and protect the one he loves

Archive Tags: AU | Inspired by Princess Mononoke 

~~

Those Who Wait + Artwork 1, Aesthetic 1,  2 ,  3 

Author: @lovelylittlegrim   Artist: @tabbytabbytabby

[6.5k Words | Rated: Explicit | No Warnings]

Theo finally gets what he's always wanted. 

Archive Tags: Dark | Manipulation | Murder | Smut | Claiming | Biting | Alpha Theo | Top Theo | runaways- freeform | Theo’s been so very patient | Established Relationship

~~

Like The Trembling Heart Of A Captive Bird + Artwork 1,  2 , 3

Author: @impalachick   Artist: @osirismind

[9.5k Words | Rated: Explicit | Warnings: Underage]

Liam is head boy for the Juniors at Beacon Hills Preparatory Academy, and Senior Theo Raeken gets in trouble a lot. They don't exactly get along.

Everything changes when Gerard Argent shows up. Liam finds out that the supernatural seniors are to be drafted and sent to Vietnam on Gerard’s orders. Liam is determined to keep the pack safe and is surprised when Theo agrees to help. When they work together, Liam realizes there is much more to Theo Raeken then the bad boy stereotype implies.

*The underage tag is checked because in this story, Liam is 17 (and Theo is 18). There is discussion about the Vietnam War Draft Lottery and the drafting process, and the pack seniors face the stress of possibly getting drafted.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - 1970s | 1970s | Alternate Universe - Boarding School | Enemies to Lovers | School Dances | First Time Blow Jobs | Vietnam War | Evil Gerard Argent | Banter| Explicit Sexual Content | Cigarettes | Clothed Sex | Suit Porn | Suit Kink | Formalwear | Getting Together | Getting to Know Each Other | Werewolf Senses | Christmas | Christmas Party | Angst with a Happy Ending | Teamwork | Pack Dynamics | Head Boy Liam | bad boy Theo

~~~~~

18 December 2019

All The Broken Pieces (you chose to love) + Artwork 1,  2

Author: @flyde  Artist: @marauders-mess

[22k Words | Rated: Mature | No Warnings]

Life fell to pieces, not suddenly, not violently, but slowly. Softly, the broken parts were caught. Safely, they were held. Lovingly, they were protected, although they could never be put back together.

Or: a childhood friends to tragic lovers AU

Archive Tags: Emotional Hurt | Emotional Hurt/Comfort | Angst | Minor Character Death | Depression | Sadness | Childhood Friends | Friendship/Love | I'd tag this happy ending but I don't want to promise too much

~~

The Strangeness In You Is The Strangeness In Me + Artwork 1, Artwork 2, Artwork 3

Author: @eneiryu   Artist: @18-sweet-poisoned-heart

[28k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

Theo’s life is never boring, considering where he works, but he’d have to say that his job doesn’t truly get exciting until the day that their entire station gets taken hostage by the Fae King of Northern California, pissed off that Theo arrested his murderous little protégé prince.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism | Alternate Universe - Fae | Supernatural Cop!Theo | Fae Prince!Liam | Life is Full of Misunderstandings | Thiam RBB 2019

~~

(Not) Dying For Brew + Artwork

Author: @nabawrites   Artist: @snaeken

[7k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

Liam graduated from college, and now he’s back in Beacon Hills. He didn’t expect to run into Theo again, especially not in a coffee shop. It stirs up some old feelings he hadn’t ever really forgotten about…

Archive Tags: Miscommunication | Angst | Fluff | Banter | cute nicknames | Getting Together | First Kiss | coffee shop AU | Future Fic | Anchors | puns | Friends to Lovers | sort of slow burn?

~~~~~

19 December 2019

When the Day Met Night  + Artwork

Author: @imjustafangirl-nobodylovesme    Artist: @lightfiretomypaperwings​

[8.2k Words | Rated: Teen | No Warnings]

The day finally arrives where Theo is told he's officially joining the family business. He's not happy to hear the news. Life under his father's thumb is a nightmare come true.

On his last day of freedom, he meets Liam Dunbar, a human ray of sunshine that changes everything.

Archive Tags: Original Genderfluid Character | Organized Crime | Mob Boss's son Theo | Photographer Liam | Theo and Tara hate their lives

~~

Saw the shadow of the valley but the shadow was mine + Artwork

Author: @eneiryu   Artist: @colder-bones

[17.3k Words | Rating: Mature | No Warnings]

No one ever trusts Theo, but then again: they’re not supposed to. It’s Liam they never see coming.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence | Dread Doctor Spy!Liam 

~~

Caput Mortuum + Artwork

Author: @imjustafangirl-nobodylovesme   Artist: @moondrunkmonster56

[16.3k Words | Rating: Teen | No Warnings]

Liam had pretty much resigned himself to never leaving his home, but then HE moved in. Or

The one where Liam is a ghost (but not really) and Theo buys the house he haunts (but not really).

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Human | Haunted Houses | Home Renovation | cursed liam dunbar | theo is handy with tools | that's not relevant to their relationship | i just thought you'd like to know | For reasons

~~~~~

20 December 2019

Melting The Ice + Artwork

Author: @extrasteps​  Artist: @snaeken

[30k Words | Rated: Mature | No Warnings]

Liam's entire world is shaken up when Scott McCall, the captain of the Los Angeles Rams and Liam's mentor at the club, unexpectedly asks to be traded to the Dallas Stars. As Liam struggles to deal with this in both his personal and professional life, his teammate and friend, Theo Raeken, is there to help him in any way he can.

Archive Tags: Ice Hockey AU | Liam doesn't handle his ied very well | Scott is a prick (sorry) | First Kiss

~~

The Memory + Artwork 1,  2

Author: @tabbytabbytabby   Artist: @lovelylittlegrim 

[5k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

When Theo's away and can't reach Liam he gets worried. Especially when neither Liam's parents nor Mason will give him answers. When he gets back to Beacon Hills he's able to quickly find Liam. The only problem is, Liam has no idea who he is.

Archive Tags: Memory Loss | Established Relationship | Light Angst | Post-Canon | Future Fic | Curses | Good Theo Raeken

~~

Be Free With Me + Video

Author: @ethereal--jeonghan  Artist: @underthegallowws

[20k Words | Rated: Mature | Graphic Depictions Of Violence]

After being recaptured and dragged back to Eichen House, the place he's been running from for years, Theo vows to do whatever he can to escape instead he finds himself being drawn towards Liam, someone who was deemed as a 'high-level threat' within Eichen.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe | powers | Angst | Sadness | Everyone Needs A Hug | Angst and Hurt/Comfort | Self-Hatred | Nightmares | Comfort | Emotional Healing | enemies to friends to something else | Enemies to Friends to Lovers | Sort Of | Happy Ending | Slow Burn

~~~~~

21 December 2019

You Just Need To See The Signs (Quite Literally) + Artwork

Author: @marauders-mess  Artist: @wolfenboyb 

[9.5k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

Liam is used to not notice most things.

Like when Mason gets a new shirt or his mom gets a new haircut.

The usual, y'know.

But not noticing he got a boyfriend is kind of a new level, even for him.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Human | Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés | Oblivious Liam Dunbar | Deaf Theo Raeken | Deaf Character | Crush at First Sight | Strangers to Lovers | Getting to Know Each Other | Getting Together | Getting Back Together | Awkward Romance | Fluff and Humor | Attempt at Humor | The Author Regrets Everything

~~

Blue + Artwork

Author:  @flyde​    Artist: @li0nh34rt​

[10k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

Every werewolf has a soulmate.

Every werewolf has a soulmate, and this is how it happens: On every day you spend on earth, the stars move a little closer together above your head until they form a line - the curve of a closed eye that will one day open to look upon you. From that day on, you will have someone to watch over you in life and death, and you will never feel complete without the soul that the eye belongs to.

But what if your soulmate's eye opens to reveal something you didn't expect?

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates | some angst and some fluff | Sharing a Bed | Sharing Clothes | Holding Hands | First Kiss | Happy Ending

~~

You've Got Nothing Left To Lose (I Have Even Less Than You) + Artwork

Author: @snaeken​     Artist: @theraeken​

[3.5k Words | Rated: Mature | Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death]

After everything that’s happened in Beacon Hills, Theo really shouldn’t be surprised soulmates exist. He just never thought he would have one of his own. 

(Still to be completed, word count below is as of 1st chapter)

Archive Tags: Soulmates | Time Loop | Temporary Character Death

~~~~~

22 December 2019

Darkened Skies + Poster, Aesthetic for the fic, Theo aesthetic, Liam aesthetic, Liam with his dragon tattoo, Theo with his dragon tattoo, Theo and his dragon

Author: @lightfiretomypaperwings​   Artist: @manonisamelon

[3k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

In a world where black dragons are a sign of evil, Theo Raeken was automatically an outcast. Coupled with a tragedy from his childhood that he was responsible for, it was easy to understand why everyone was afraid of him. But not Liam Dunbar, the friend from childhood that Theo hasn’t seen since the fire that claimed his family.

Archive Tags: Dragons | alternative universe

~~

I don’t suffer from my sanity, I enjoy every minute of it + Artwork

Author: @lightfiretomypaperwings​​    Artist: @moondrunkmonster56​

[8.4k | Rated: Teen | No Warnings]

When Theo Raeken became the new therapist at Eichen House, he didn’t expect a collection of secrets. His high priority patient, Liam Dunbar, won’t speak a word to him during their sessions. But when Theo uncovers a stash of notes from a previous doctor, he finds more questions than answers.

Archive Tags: Eichen | Echo House | insane asylum | Secrets | Alternate Universe

~~

Your heart or mine (we’re running out of time) + Artwork

Author: @lightfiretomypaperwings​​    Artist: @snaeken​

[3.8k | Rated Teen | No Warnings]

Theo Raeken knows it’s a long shot. Finding the heart of immortality feels like an impossible task, but it’s an adventure he has to pursue if he wants to survive. He doesn’t expect to meet Liam Dunbar along the way, a man with a record of violence that wants the heart just as badly. When circumstances force them to work together, Theo discovers there’s a whole lot more to Liam than his mercenary past. Can these two manage to get along on their quest or will they tear each other apart?

Archive Tags: Treasure Hunt | some steampunk vibes | Enemies to Friends to Lovers | Angst | Alternate Universe

And that’s it! Thanks again for a great event and we will see you all at the next one ;P

OTL Team

[neerasrealm]

Porridge and Panic

Fun fact, this is a complete rewrite of my first ever creepypasta fanfic. This story focuses on Slender and EJ meeting for the first time, and is based on my hc that EJ formerly worked for Zalgo. Warning for some swearing and jokes about murder if you’re not into that.

Word count: 2000

"Just go do this job for me," Zalgo had said. "It's only a small gathering, you can take it." He'd said.

That "small gathering" ended up being a CULT MEETING with TWENTY SEVEN PEOPLE.

Fighting off twenty seven people at once is not an easy task. Even if you're a demon like Eyeless Jack.

Sure he’s strong, but he's not a fighter. He went to college to be a doctor for god's sake! And he's definitely not immune to knives. Being stabbed hurts. Like- a lot. A lot a lot. But that's not important. What is important is getting away from the murder scene. He'd managed to find a first aid kit earlier and patch himself up, thank god. What he really needed now was rest. Of course, he couldn't do that. He'd just killed twenty seven people. He'd managed to limp into the nearby woods and-

"Shit!"

Aaand fall over a tree root. Great job. With a groan he rolled onto his stomach, burying his face, or rather his mask, into the cool, damp grass. He curled his hands into fists, gripping the grass. It felt soft and cold, which was nice, considering his pounding head.

He closed his eyes, or rather his eyelids- he didn't have eyes, not anymore- and proceeded to doze off to sleep in the grass.

When he awoke, he wasn't in the grass anymore. He grunted and rubbed his face against the soft pillow. A pillow- he was in a bed. He relaxed. Zalgo must've found him, or maybe Jason had been sent to grab him. He was fully prepared to fall asleep again when he realized something.

It was quiet. Far, far too quiet. Zalgo's realm always had some kind of noise in the distance, be it wailing, grinding or even screaming, but this room? Completely quiet. Come to think of it- the smell of sulfur wasn't present either. 

Just to confirm Jack's suspicions, a bird chirped outside. The only birds found in Zalgo's realm were the mechanical ones Jason made, or leftover KFC. 

He was about to open his eyes when he heard the door to the room open. He kept them closed, not wanting the person to know he was awake. Not yet. 

He heard them walk closer and place something down on a nearby surface. He could smell something- it took him a few moments to recognize the smell. Porridge. God he'd loved the stuff growing up-

Maybe it was his mom that had put him here. That'd be a twist.

"‘Ow is 'e doin'?" 

WELL THAT'S A VOICE HE WASN'T EXPECTING- it had an extraordinarily thick cockney accent, and was deep and gravelly. The voice's owner was surely intimidating to look at. Jack was suddenly glad he'd decided to play dead- or well- unconscious.

"He's still asleep." The second voice was closer to his bed, and much softer in tone. The voice's owner seemed kind, and friendly. These two were a stark contrast, it seemed. "He's either very smart or someone was with him. His wounds were all patched up when you brought him in."

"Ya fink 'e 'as a frien'?" The cockney voice got closer. Oh, the scary one had found him? So clearly they at least didn't plan to hurt him. Maybe. 

"Perhaps. We'll return him home, if he has one." A hand ran through his brown hair. The touch was gentle, far more gentle than Jack was used to.

"Alrigh'." He felt someone sit on the end of the bed. "Sally was askin' fer 'im, worried abou' 'im."

"Why am I not surprised?" Jack could hear the smile in the kind one's voice. "She's a good girl…"

"Yeh." The person sitting on the bed, presumably the intimidating one, shifted where they sat. "I 'ope 'e's alrigh' too. 'E's only a kiddo." 

"He's fully grown, Jack." Jack! The intimidating one had a name! And- it was the same as his. Heh. What a coincidence. 

"Everyone's a basin a' gravy when ye're two 'undred." Jack, the other Jack, replied with a tone of amusement. What- what the fuck does that mean- basin of...gravy? Two hundred? What? 

"I hate how well I understand you." The other person replied bluntly.

"Aw no, ye loooove me." 

"...If I find out our guest heard you say that you'll be in big trouble." The other was firm now, but there was fondness in their voice.

"Oh will I now~?" The cockney Jack replied before Eyeless Jack heard a light slapping noise. "Ow-!" Cockney Jack laughed lightly and stood up off the bed. "Alrigh', alrigh', I'll stop." He could hear the cheesy grin in the other Jack's voice. "Call me if ya need me, ya 'ear?" 

"I will."

Once he heard the door close Jack listened intently for the other person. They didn't seem to be moving. Maybe they-

A hand came down and ran through his hair again. Despite himself, Jack relaxed. He wasn't used to being touched so- gently, but he loved it. He felt safe, strangely. Slowly, he opened his eyes and took in the room. He was indeed on a bed. On the bedside table in front of him was a clock, a glass of...something, he wasn't sure due to his vision being completely black and white, and the person- Jack could only see their legs, but they were wearing a frilly apron. 

"Hello?" The person said. Their hand withdrew from his hair. "Are you awake?"

Jack grunted and stretched, trying to wake up his aching body. He rolled himself onto his back and sat up. The person by the bed placed pillows behind him to rest against.

"How do you feel?" The person asked. Jack blinked and finally looked up at him. Then froze. In an instant all the trust he'd built for this person was replaced with utter terror. 

He knew them, or rather him, in an instant. White skin, no face, tall- well he was actually far shorter than Jack had expected but maybe that was because he was a shapeshifter and the room wasn't tall enough but still! He knew him.

Slenderman. Zalgo's biggest nemesis. The one Jack had been told to attack on sight, should he ever encounter him. He'd heard stories of Slender. About his 'home', the children he kept prisoner, his lackey Laughing Ja- that was the cockney voice! 

Which meant Jack was in Slender's home. With the rest of his proxies. And if Slender, or anyone else for that matter, learned that he worked for Zalgo, he'd be dead. Immediately. Super dead. Deader than a dinosaur.

"Fuck-" was the only word Jack could say. His voice was hoarse and full of the terror he should probably be hiding. 

Slender seemed caught off guard for a moment. Suppressing the instinct to scold Jack for that, he cleared his throat. "I mean you no harm," he said. "I- realise my appearance may be unsettling but I assure you I don't have any ill intentions."

Jack gulped. That was at least a little reassuring, knowing Slender didn't intend to hurt him for now. Slender tilted his head.

"Might I ask for your name...?" He asked softly.

Jack panicked for a moment. His name could potentially have it click that he was Zalgo's minion right? He realised Slender was still watching him. "Greg." He blurted out of panic. Ah, his old roommate, the perfect alias. 

Fucking hell he's going to die here isn't he?

"Greg, I see," Slender seemed to smile despite his lack of a face. He grabbed a tray Jack hadn't noticed before from the bedside table. The bowl and glass were on the tray, which had legs that fell down when Slender lifted it. The tray was gently placed over Jack's lap. "I'm sure you're probably hungry, so I made you some porridge. Unless you'd rather something else?"

Jack was not about to make any requests. He felt as if any word he spoke would give away his identity. He shook his head. Slender nodded. 

"Well you eat up, I'll be back in a minute, alright? Do you need anything?" The faceless cryptid asked. He was nice, almost too nice, and it unsettled Jack even more. He shook his head again and watched Slender leave. 

Immediately Jack looked at the window in the room. An escape! He quickly moved the tray and tried to climb out of the bed, only to wince in pain the second he put pressure on his leg. Fuck, of course he'd been stabbed in the calf, of course he had! He limped weakly to the window and-

He was on the second floor, at least. There was only a drop to meet him. And he was definitely in no condition to jump out a window. "This is bad, this is bad, this is bad-" he buried his face in his hands, panicking. Too injured to escape via window, on thin, thin ice with Slender…

And the smell of porridge was too good to dismiss. Resignedly, he limped back to the bed and grabbed the glass and took a couple gulps from it. Good old fashioned water. Good to know. He grabbed the bowl of porridge and ate a spoonful. Then winced.

His tastebuds had long since been altered along with the rest of his body. Anything that wasn't meat tasted way different than it should've. The porridge tasted way blander than it already was, and the small hints of honey were more tangy than sweet. 

He still ate the entire thing within two minutes though because he was starving. Then again he was always hungry. 

Just as he was drinking down the rest of the water, Slender opened the door again. He'd removed his apron now and was looking...oddly casual. He wore a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, which was odd considering Jack had been told the man practically lived in a suit. 

"Ah, you've finished." Slender seemed pleased. He moved towards the bed and sat on the edge of it. "Can I get you anything else?" He asked, looking at Jack, who shook his head. "Alright," Slender adjusted his tie. "I'd like to ask you a few things, Greg, if that's alright."

Jack hesitated for a moment before answering. "Go ahead." 

"How did you get injured?"

Okay, right off the bat he has to answer a question that'll require a teeny lie. "Got into a fight. People don't really uh- like seeing demons around their home y'know-" that was mostly the truth! He did get into a fight, and those people definitely didn't like seeing him!

"That's what you are then, a demon?"

"Y-Yes, I uh- I'm not evil if that's what you're thinking. I don't really like fights and stuff-" I mean- it's true he doesn't like fights, and Jack wouldn't describe himself as malicious. He only killed people when Zalgo told him to or when they wouldn't just quietly succumb to a concussion and allow their kidney to be stolen. He wasn't an evil person.

"I understand," Slender seemed to smile. "You seem like a good person."

Hah. Yeah. Good person. Definitely not the reincarnation of a godlike demon that works for another godlike demon. 

"And how old are you?" 

"Uh- twenty one, I think. I could be off but- y'know-"

"Ah, I see." Slender seemed almost pleased for some reason. "Do you have a home?" He asked.

"Yeah- kinda I- have a place to go to but I wander a lot." Jack shifted uncomfortably at the question. 

"I see." Slender seemed thoughtful for a few moments. "Is there anything you need?" He asked for what must've been the third time. Jack, again, shook his head. 

"I think I just need rest." He said. Slender nodded and stood up, grabbing the tray from beside Jack. 

"Alright," he said softly. "Call if you need me alright?"

"I will." Jack replied. With that Slender left the room. Jack slumped against the pillows behind him and sighed out. "Fucking hell…"

[tinytanpopo]

Now that Gegege no Kitaro 2018 is over, and I remember it's one of your favorite Gegege no Kitaro iteration, what's your overall and concluding thoughts about it? What are your favorite episodes of all 97 (or each season) episodes? The positive and negative? Characterization of Sawashiro Kitaro and the other Kitaro family (including Mana)? I would love to know your opinion of the sixth remake!

This is going to be a long answer. And full of spoilers, for those of you looking at this who haven’t watched the 2018 version of Kitaro. Here goes!

What are your favorite episodes of all 97?

I watched all 97 episodes 3 times over the course of its run. I started out watching on my own, then eventually my friend wanted to watch with me. But the crappy Crunchyroll subs got in the way of his enjoyment, so I polished them for him, and then we started watching together.

So for each episode, I’ve…

1.) Watched for my own enjoyment when the raw came out

2.) Fixed the subs

3.) Watched and enjoyed again with my best friend.

Before my friend and I started watching together, I also did a rewatch of the series up to the middle of the Backbeard arc, so, 3.3 times? And it only made me like each episode more, and notice more tiny fun details about it. Sawashiro actually smiles a lot, u guys

Anyways, here are my stand-out favorites. Titles may be self-translated or shortened, as I’m looking at the Japanese wikipedia entry for the episodes, and my opinions are mostly disorganized gushing:

1: The Day the Youkai Awoke. Kitaro, Eyeball Dad, and Mana are all very cutely introduced, as well as their dynamics with each other. Great action, ends with the apparent death of the hero. (I was new to Kitaro.) Got me to watch the next week, that’s for sure! Also, world full of weird freaky monsters, already suited to my tastes.

3: Tantanbo’s Youkai Castle. The episode that earned Sawashiro Kitaro his “Gorilla” nickname from the fandom. Also Mana asked to be friends and made Kitaro bashful and the whole latter half is so sweet. FRIENDSHIP

6: Sunekosuri. This is the first Kitaro episode that made me cry, like I really wasn’t expecting that kind of emotional impact. Another thing that kept me watching was that, even though Kitaro has its formulas (as does everything), I still didn’t know what to expect.

7: Ghost Train. Ah, my first experience with the Ghost Train story. Y'know this is the only one where the human passenger pair are both already dead? I’ve seen many other renditions of this story, but this one’s the darkest.

11-12: The 808 Tanuki arc. The whole Kitaro Family shows off their skills in a big cool battle, and Mana overcomes an intense struggle to save the day (with some credit to Murder Momen Rollo Cloth). As my friend often says, Mana is too good for this world.

13: Wanyuudo. Got some insight to Kitaro and Ratman’s odd, long-lasting friendship. When I first watched this, I didn’t really understand why they were still friends. But over the next 2 years, I would.

The meta reason? Ratman was Shigeru Mizuki’s favorite out of all his characters.

14: Makura-gaeshi. The second episode that made me cry. (not hard for a show to do that, but still) Also shot my already-present respect for Eyeball Dad through the roof.

I’m pretty sure this is the episode that changed GeGeGe no Kitaro from “one of the shows I watch once a week” to “I must find and learn about the rest of this franchise.” I’d looked up characters and little facts here and there on wikis, and occasionally browsed the Kitaro tag on Pixiv before this point, but this was the tipping point.

The door to the unseen world was open, and I jumped through.

18: Kawauso’s Lie. haha, Mana’s a city girl who’s scared of bugs

22: Gyuuki. Body horror, despair, and a really good Catgirl episode.

27-37: The Backbeard arc, or 6th Kitaro’s version of the “Great Youkai War” story. For a refreshing twist, the designated “Witch” isn’t evil in this retelling. In fact, Agnes quickly became one of my most favorite and relatable characters.

She definitely had a rocky start with the Japanese youkai, and watching her develop friendships with Mana and Kitaro was great to see, and even better on the rewatch. My friend likes Agnes a lot, too. Just assume I cried at the Mana/Agnes friendship stuff, I’m sure it happened on the rewatch, too.

Also Kitaro finally invites Mana into GeGeGe Forest! She fucking earned it!!

38: Kasha. I had already seen Reverse Mochi Murder 3 different times by this point, but it’s best whenever freaky ghost-eyeballs are involved.

Also Mana punched Kasha in the face. Well, Kitaro’s face.

39: bang. I lost it.

40: This is the darkest version of Sara-kozo! And I like it. His song was best put to use in the 4th Kitaro series, and even had a callback in one of my most favorite episodes of that series. The song, of course, is terribly catchy.

42: The Great Youkai Trial. Having seen the other versions of this story, I’m glad the writers made the 6th series version stand on its own, weaving it into the overarching Nanashi plot.

43: Odoro-Odoro. This isn’t the first Odoro-Odoro retelling where Kitaro’s efforts are thankless and reviled, but it is the one that shows it the most intensely.

47-49: Nanashi arc conclusion. Each Kitaro anime has its harsh and intense moments (even the relatively gentle 5th series), but 6th is the one that goes hard most consistently. Not just into darkness, but

50-51: complete and utter sweetness KITTENGIRL dgjklfhjlkHFDGKMBHKjl

54: Dorotabo. Sometimes, there is no “right” choice that can make everyone happy. Being a mediator can be hard, frustrating, and sometimes impossible. But despite all the stress, frustration, and repeating the same tragic scenarios, Kitaro keeps on trying.

Also, Kitaro totally carried that frog up to the roof of his house for company at the end of the episode.

56: Vampire Elite. The most sympathetic retelling of Johnny’s story. And a great Kitaro/Ratman friendship episode.

57: La Seine. He doesn’t have a top hat this time. A great retelling of Hand, and a Kitaro/Mana friendship episode. Two vampire episodes in a row, and it didn’t feel repetitive at all.

58: Kamaboko. 6th Kitaro’s crossdressing episode, with Sawashiro Kitaro at his most vindictive. Fun for all sorts of reasons. :3c

59: Ushiro-gami. Also known as the youkai cactus episode, somewhat of a series staple. This one had great horror vibes, and Mana overcoming her fear and risking her life to help Kitaro save the day. Never gets old! Mana’s the best.

62: Kitaro and Ratman fighting like children. Kitaro’s shocked face when Ratman steals his pork. Kitaro’s admiration for Ratman’s persistence to keep on living, and appreciation for yanking him back to reality during the end of Nanashi.

The Kitaro/Ratman friendship dynamic is eternal.

64: Suiko, the Water Tiger. If you find an old jar in a dirty hole somewhere? Don’t open it, don’t drink it, don’t let anyone force you to drink it. And if the jar starts talking, shove some dirt in it.

That town full of assholes totally deserved what they got, though.

66: The Grim Reaper and the Hidden Village. Well, in this context, “hidden village” is more like “Shangri-La,” which is what I changed it to in the fixed subs. The only other version of this I’ve seen is the one from the 2nd Kitaro anime. It’s a well-known trauma episode in the fandom.

In the 2nd anime, Kitaro got the trauma. In the 6th one, Mana did, and Kitaro already knew it was coming.

68: Hell Exile. Yet another one where I wasn’t sure if it’d end cynical or hopeful. One of the fresher takes on the Hell Exile story, too.

69: Ibukimaru. Nicely advances the Four Treasonous Generals arc, and has some interaction between Rei and Mana. Oh yeah, this arc introduced Rei Isurugi, an intense chuuni with Megaman demon powers. It’s neat to watch how Rei and Sawashiro Kitaro bounce off each other as individual characters.

70: Mysterious Footprints. Calls back to another one of 2nd Kitaro’s infamous trauma episodes, incidentally one of my favorites. This was great, but the 2nd anime had more intense face-melting.

72: Iyami. Mana Is Gay. That is all.

73: Yamata-no-Orochi. A great take on Kitaro’s Orochi story, now with more monkey’s paw shenanigans!

74-75: Conclusion of the Four Generals arc. Mana convinces Kitaro not to resign himself to shouldering the heaviest burden alone, as he so often does. Agnes and Adel make an appearance(yay!), and they team up with Mana and Catgirl to help save the day. Rei finally chills out, and gets a new mentor.

77: Neko-sennin. Nurarihyon startles the holy hell out of Kitaro, and further establishes how he’s going to operate this time around, connecting to his previous actions in episode 76.

Also, cats. Kitty Kitaro. Cats are my second-favorite animal, so I appreciate the many Kitaro stories involving cats.

78: Mouryou. This one gets retold in several of the other Kitaro series, with decent variation. This one has its own 6th Kitaro touch, with that fucked-up photographer, and an ending I was positive would be dark.

80: Onmoraki. I’d also consider this story a Kitaro staple, though Onmoraki was way tougher this time. Must have had something to do with Nobuyuki Hiyama. :B This is always the episode where Kitaro puts on his old painter costume, and proves he can’t think up fake names worth a damn. Gets me every time.

81: Hideri-gami the mangaka. I love comics, I translate comics, GeGeGe no Kitaro originated as a comic. This episode’s just a love letter to the medium. And seeing Kitaro genuinely enjoying Hiderin’s Totally Original Comic Do Not Steal was adorable.

83: Houkou. Some kind of disaster usually happens in this story. In the 4th anime version, Kitaro was burned to ashes. This one hit harder. Nobody won. No one was happy. We’re reminded of Dorotabo, and how Kitaro never “gets over” tragic situations like these, no matter how often they repeat. I think it’d be worse if he was desensitized, and gave up trying to make anything better.

84: Mr. Chin. The Japanese dialogue is full of puns involving the word chin and yeah I lost it. Sunday morning changes with the times, and they still get this guy in.

I died at “three rainbows” ghjghjk

89: Te-no-me’s Curse. Te-no-me is a youkai who either shows up in the youkai trial story, or has an episode for himself. Also, we finally get to see that Kitaro can just pop his hands on and off. Well, maybe not as casually as in the comics…

90: Sazae-oni. Normally you’re not “supposed” to do “it was all a dream” endings, but this is the first time they’ve done that with Sazae-oni, and the dream reveal means we just saw inside Sawashiro Kitaro’s mind. The fancy sushi restaurant exterior, the plain sweets shop, the body pillow how does he know about those?! Does he know why they look like that?!!

Kitaro seemed disappointed that he didn’t get to sing on stage. And Rei was in his dream-audience! An adorable episode.

93: The Phantom Train. Catgirl got Homuhomu’d. But KitaNeko is finally canon. This whole episode left the fandom reeling, as usual for 6th Kitaro. Best retelling of the Phantom Train story yet.

94: Hot Springs Trip. Mana carried Kitaro over 90 episodes ago, and Kitaro doing the same for Mana repays that favor, in a way.

Kitaro also admits he has Terminal Kitaro Face.

95-97: The end. I did not think they would poof Kitaro. That’s the deadest I’ve ever seen him, in any version. And the most broken, worse than a giant hate-baby crushing his dad. Kitaro giving Ratman his chashu pork made my heart explode, Mana’s sacrifice made the heart-pieces explode, and Mana reuniting with Kitaro 10 years later made my heart whole again.

Nurarihyon offing himself made sense, especially with this being his most dignified characterization in any version. Glad they let Shu-no-bon live, even if he was an actual hardass this time. Shu-no-bon’s usually a teddy bear in comparison to dual-wielding gatling guns

I’m sure the prime minister didn’t keep her position for much longer.

Episode 97’s subs left out most of Mana’s text to Catgirl at the end, so here it is:

“Cat-Sis! Here’s the pic Nebutori took for us on our recent trip! Also, I found a sweets shop near my workplace. Let’s ask Kitaro to go there with us!”

A very sweet ending, indeed.

The positive and negative?

I wish we’d gotten to see more of Agnes and Rei outside of their own arcs, and the conclusions of other arcs, though they clearly had their own lives to live and paths to take.

We didn’t get Akamata or Shisa or a bunch of other youkai I was hoping to see in the episodes. We didn’t get stories for Jami or Kamanari, both of who showed up as bit characters at the very end. But I can accept this, too, as writers and staff working within limits, and telling the story they wanted to tell as best as they could.

I’m glad they focused more on new stuff than old, though. Maybe they didn’t want to risk a repeat of 5th Kitaro’s non-ending, but they were ready to end the 6th anime with the Nanashi arc. Even with a 2nd year, though, the writers didn’t lose their focused storytelling, and ended the series in a way that left my heart full.

Characterization of Sawashiro Kitaro and the other Kitaro family (including Mana)?

Sawashiro Kitaro continues to be that weird youkai kid, that boy who lives in the woods. He’s chill and has a bunch of comic book youkai powers, a unique sort of superhero, while also not being a cop, thank goodness. Every Kitaro is a bit of a pessimist (except 3rd anime’s Toda Kitaro, I guess), but Sawashiro is especially so. This made his gradual development  even more fun to watch. The fact that he never could give up on that dream, not completely, made me appreciate that development even more.

Sawashiro cried the least out of all the Kitaros—twice, and it was only onscreen once. He kept everything in so much, it’s no wonder he imploded and went to Ultra Hell when the prime minister pot-shot him.

And, Sawashiro Kitaro is so pure and cares so much it hurts.

Eyeball Dad. Since Isamu Tanonaka passed away in 2010, the legendary Masako Nozawa (the original voice of Kitaro) took on voicing the role. Like Kitaro, Eye Dad’s characterization changes a bit with each anime, though not as much. Nozawa’s performance made Eye Dad feel more laid-back this time, I think, and more patient. In older series, he had more “Showa dad” tendencies. And we got to see him outside of eyeball or mummy form! 6th series spoiled us!

Ratman. He’s usually the same between every adaptation, save for the voice. Sometimes he’s nicer, sometimes he’s more of a bastard. But he’s always Kitaro’s friend. He may nasty, greedy, and cynical, but he’s usually right about how the world works, and his priorities are hard to disagree with entirely. He knows how to survive, even when treated like dirt for centuries. Ratman’s got a particular brand of wisdom, if you look past the ringworm.

Catgirl. In other versions, she looks like she’s in elementary or middle school, and 6th anime is the most mature she’s ever looked. This is also Catgirl at her most tsundere, but with zero “mean girl” tendencies. All it takes is Mana shooting pure admiration at Catgirl for them to become friends, and that’s cute. I always like Catgirl, and the 6th anime is no exception.

The Kitaro Family. Sandy’s mostly unchanged, except now she doesn’t own the Youkai Apartments, and can use modern technology to make a shitload of money. Old Crybaby is 100% the same, down to his old person banter with Sandy.

Rollo Cloth’s minor interest in finding a girlfriend got turned up to 11. He’d get a lecture from every previous Rollo.

Wally Wall has less vocabulary, no wife and kids, and they thankfully didn’t show his mouth this time. Still a good dude.

Mana Inuyama. The 3rd anime had Yumeko, but even if she wasn’t damseled as often as you’d expect from a typical 80s cartoon, it still happened a lot. In the 6th anime, Mana clearly has more agency from the get-go, and refuses to leave herself out of Kitaro’s business. She’s serious about being his friend, and never stops being serious about it, even when things worse than she could ever imagine happened.

All she has are good memories with Kitaro.

Like my friend said, she’s too good for this world.

What’s your overall and concluding thoughts about the 6th Kitaro anime?

What an emotional roller coaster. The writers pulled no punches with this, and very much managed to make “their own Kitaro” while still firmly being “Kitaro.” With the dark and cynical twists it sometimes took, I often didn’t know if there’s be a happy ending to an episode, or a bitter one. It’s a Sunday morning cartoon at its core, but very good at making the audience forget that.

6th Kitaro was my introduction to Kitaro as a whole, and I was hopelessly obsessed by episode 14. Well, because of episode 14, probably. I downloaded all the other Kitaro anime series, got into the comics (official ones by Mizuki, official ones not by Mizuki, and a shit-ton of doujin), and now my brain is just “kitarokitarokitaro” all the time.

I don’t think it’s going to stop anytime soon.

[captainkippen]

Bewitched

This ficlet wasn't a prompt I just felt like writing it. Inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

***

Buffy and Andi were sat halfheartedly researching the effects of vampire bites on mummies to settle a bet with Marty when Cyrus came bursting into the library.

“Where is it?!” He demanded, beginning to sift frantically through one of the many piles of old dusty tombs they'd left on Dr. Metcalf's desk.

“Where's what?” Asked Buffy, jumping up in concern. Andi ran to the door to see if anybody was chasing Cyrus. Usually the only reason he ran anywhere was if some sort of creature or crazed witch was in quick pursuit, but today there was no one. She shot a quizzical look at Buffy. “What are you looking for Cyrus?”

He gestured at the pile of books unhelpfully. “Big book… y'know, chunky… lots of spells?”

“The Grimoire?” Andi asked

Cyrus spun around and pointed at her. “Yes! Exactly! The Grimoire! Where is it?”

The Grimoire was an excessively large, and exceedingly ancient, volume of texts that had been gifted to Buffy by her watcher, Dr Metcalf, after the first time she'd slayed a vampire in Shadyside. It was made up by a collection of spells, potions, incantations and information about various otherworldly creatures that was supposed to aid Buffy and her friends in keeping the mortal world safe. It wasn't always particularly helpful though, as a large chunk of it was written in Latin, and Cyrus was the only one that could read most of it.

“Why do you need the Grimoire? Are we in danger?”

“Potentially!”

Cyrus was working himself into a frenzy, as he often did when it came to these things. Buffy sighed, she knew it had been too quiet for too long regarding local supernatural happenings, their peace and quiet had to end at some point. She just wished it wasn't today.

“Calm down and explain,” Andi said, taking him by the shoulders and steering him into a chair. She guided him through several breathing techniques until he had chilled out enough to use full sentences.

“I think someone might've bewitched TJ Kippen,” he said, taking the bottle of water Andi offered him.

Buffy frowned. “The captain of the basketball team?”

Cyrus nodded. “Or he's possessed, maybe. That's why I need to check the book.”

Buffy sat down across from him, biting her lip. It was the worst when Slayer duties popped up at school. She and her friends regularly ended up looking like freaks as a result of it.

“So what lead you to this conclusion?” Andi asked, sliding The Grimoire out from under Dr Metcalf's desk. They often hid it from Cyrus to save him from himself; more than once he had managed to keep himself awake too long by pouring over the contents of it. His fascination with the supernatural could be a little unhealthy at times. Andi placed it on to the table as carefully as she could, yet it still managed to make a loud thump as it hit the surface. Buffy was never sure if it was just a really heavy book or it just liked to make its presence known.

“Well I was in the hall, y'know just hanging by my locker as you do,” Cyrus started. “And TJ came up to me.”

“Right…”

“And then he asked me to go to the movies with him.”

“Okay?”

Cyrus stared at them as if they had not reached the conclusion that was so obvious to him. “So I ran away and came here to find the book? I mean obviously there's witchcraft as hand here.”

There was a stunned moment of silence. Buffy and Andi exchanged looks of exasperation.

“You think,” Andi said slowly. “That TJ Kippen is bewitched because he asked you out? That's your only evidence?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “You so need an intervention. You know not everything can be explained by witches, right?”

“Well, what other explanation is there?!” Cyrus asked.

Andi placed a comforting hand on his. “Cyrus… I think he was just asking you out. You know, on a date, like a normal non-bewitched teenager?”

Cyrus made a noise of disbelief and shook his head. “Pfft, it's TJ Kippen, guys. He's all cool and popular and athletic. I'm the loser who runs into glass doors and falls asleep in class talking about demons. People like him do not go for people like me. That's not how the social hierarchy works. This is High School. There's no way.”

“Hm, no. I still think he was just asking you out,” Buffy said, reasonably. “But if he didn't think you were a freak before he probably does now. Did you even say anything before you ran away?”

“What was I meant to say?” He frowned. “'Oh sure TJ, that'd be great, but sorry I gotta run and check you're not being used as a tool of malice by an evil witch now. Catch ya later!’ Don't be ridiculous.”

“I think you're the one being ridiculous here,” Said Andi. “Okay, let's just consider for a moment that he was let's say possessed… why would somebody go to all that trouble to possess a teenage boy just so he'd ask out another teenage boy?”

“To throw off the social hierarchy! To cause chaos! To distract us and split us all up so they could pick us off one by one and reign evil over Shadyside!”

They stared at him.

“Do you even hear yourself right now?” Buffy asked.

“You definitely need an intervention,” Andi said gravely, echoing Buffy's earlier sentiment.

“But-” he started to process. Buffy put a hand up to silence him.

“No buts!” She said. “Consider the alternative for a moment, which is that TJ's seen you around, likes you, and thought today 'hey I'm gonna talk to that cute guy, Cyrus Goodman, and see if he'd be willing to go out with me!’ Doesn't that sound much more likely?”

“Absolutely not. Now let me see the book.”

Buffy groaned and Andi snatched the book away before Cyrus could pick it up.

“No,” she said, cradling it to her chest. “Look just… let's talk to TJ first, do some investigating. If you can find literally any other reasonable symptoms of magic being involved then you can look at the book.”

“But how am I meant to talk to him when all I did just now was squeak and run away?”

“Start with an apology,” Buffy suggested. “Tell him he caught you by surprise, and give him an answer about the movies. Try not to make yourself look like an idiot again.”

“You got this,” Said Andi.

“Right,” Cyrus nodded to himself and got up, pushing his chair back so it scraped loudly against the old wooden floors. “Right. I got this.”

They watched as he marched his way out the doors, then silently counted down from five. Right on time he popped his head back through.

“Can't I just take the book with me?” He asked. “In case?”

“No!” They chorused, and Buffy pulled a shoe out from her gym bag to throw at him. He made a loud noise of fright and disappeared back through the door once again.

Andi looked at Buffy, exasperation written across her face. “Boys,” she sighed.

“Boys,” Buffy agreed, shaking her head. “Can't live with them, can't slay 'em.”