#yamato doesn't actually say with us but that's what he meant

[dengswei]

@asiandramanet creator bingo — typography — noboru x yamato x cobra | road to high&low (2016)

[pippin-pippout]

Yeah I have thoughts. So many. This'll probably get long and repetitive.

I'm only on the ep with the beginning of Ace's arrival to Wano. I never realized he came to Wano before joining Whitebeard. I guess he got in a lot of shipwrecks.

I think this furthers my belief that when Ace said he died with no regrets, except for not seeing Luffy achieve his dream, it was a big fat lie. It was a lie meant to make it easier for Luffy to accept his death.

Ace made so many promises that he couldn't keep. It's so in their nature (ace and luffy and probably sabo too) to promise the world to anyone they find suffering. And so often, at least for Luffy because of that protagonist's halo, they are able to keep their promises.

But all 3 of them are so reckless with their lives – they don't fear death, but they also don't respect death, and they don't respect what death means for those they leave behind.

Each survived on luck and determination so many times, until for Ace, that wasn't enough. He left behind people he swore to be there for. Now, I don't think he actually stood there and weighed the consequences of turning around to fight Akainu, or that he connected that taking unnecessary risks could lead to him breaking promises.

But I do think it's fair to say that he never understood that his promises to just be there mattered to anyone. So of course can be reckless with his life and accept death with a smile, because death to him was just the ending of his own silly life. He never believed there'd be a little girl counting on his promise, using the weight of that to fill her stomach when there was no food. He never could have imagined himself being that important to anyone - not even Luffy.

It broke my heart to hear how casually and plainly Luffy told Otama of Ace's death.

"It's true. Ace is dead. It doesn't matter when or where she finds out. He's not coming back."

I know Luffy is the epitome of sunshine and looking forward, but it really felt like he said it in such an unemotional manner because that was the only way he could get the words out. If he'd allowed himself to break it to her slowly, or show an ounce of how much he missed Ace, he'd break down. He also hasn't told them yet that he's Ace's younger brother, maybe because that's also too hard to get out.

I love that Luffy is ultimately able to fulfill Ace's promises on Wano on his brother's behalf. And in a way Sabo is fulfilling Ace's broken promise to Luffy. And that's beautiful and tragic and underscores the importance of their brotherhood and the family they found.

But god is it hard to accept. I'm so used to One Piece showing me characters who do get their dreams fulfilled before death, who do manage to fulfill their own promises before death (or fulfill their promises at the cost of their lives), that a character leaving a trail of broken promises feels so false...

And I'm sorry, but to me "carrying the will of Ace" forward feels like a poor substitute for the character themselves. After all, Ace was his own person with his own dreams outside of either of his brothers. As much as they fight for what they know he cared about, neither can live his dream for him.

---

I'm really interested to see how Ace meets Yamato and also what causes him to leave Wano and promise to come back. Obviously he was not remotely strong enough to fight Kaido at that time. Did he plan to come back once he got stronger too? With Whitebeard's fleet backing him up?

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1127 - Initial Thoughts

And we are back

Chapter came out a little later than usual but finally we're here Elbaf has started and Nami has been whisked away

I guess as the Danes would say Leg Godt!

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release too

Yamato's cover has Inuarashi being visited, the Daimyo of Kuri also is alarmed by the missing people

We seem to be in a land of giants

All the houses have a lego aesthetic it seems, including some trees

But they are alarmed by a fire in a forest

Yggdrasil, aka the Norse World Tree that is meant to hold all the realms, is worried about because of the fire, it seems the country is tied to the tree

What's interesting though is that they mention reporting to the Sun God

I wonder if the Sun God is a mantle or maybe someone poses as one

Giant bees have also been found KO'd, they're called Stingermols

The giants remain confused, even reporting tremors due to the 'Ear God's collapse

The Ear God is apparently a giant rabbit, we just throwing out the title of god for anyone in Elbaf?

We go to the also-lego Big Steinn Castle, where Nami is being kept

So she's been beating the Stingermol, thanks in part to Zeus

Nami panics though, calling for the monster trio

'I'll even take Usopp' girl the disrespect just because he's cuter

To be fair Nami should be alarmed about the fact that she changed clothes

I did criticize it last chapter to being too like her Onigashima attire but I gotta give credit that it's an actual skirt this time and not just plain underwear

Nami hears Usopp's voice and follows something that catches her eye, but she trips on the lego floor

AHHHH HEDGEHOG! It's Adorable!

But in Nami's panic she startles it and angers the poor thing

Usopp meanwhile is outside, in the mouth of a giant cat in a crown

Nami uses Zeus to shock the Hedgehog, but the momentum takes them off the ledge and it falls on the cat, which also electrocutes

Usopp's new outfit seems to be more Asterisk and Obelisk inspired, the beard I can live with but the tache is a bit much

The cat survived electrocution, so Nami and Usopp are forced to run

They wonder how they got there, and consider that it's the Absinthe causing hallucinations

Usopp tests the theory though, and gets the catspaw

They fall from the castle, Usopp KO'd, and at the mercy of the giant cat - now transformed into a lion

I wonder if the crown had something to do with that, its first crown broke during the hedgehog fall

Nami of course prioritizes herself, and uses Usopp as a meat shield

But Sanji calls out to Nami

The Monster Trio arrive to defeat the Lion; Ifrit Jambe, Gear Fourth and Santoryu

The Lion KOs and reverts to a cat

Uhhhhh not feeling that eyeguard Zoro

Luffy no, we don't eat cats, we also don't eat dogs, don't take Trump's comments seriously

Oh they ate the Ear God...oh this could be bad XD

Sanji of course comes to flirt with Nami, while Nami expresses relief having been saved after Usopp died (disclaimer Usopp did not die he's just slightly injured)

Sanji's attire is much more medieval knight, kinda suits him but also kinda doesn't, there is a bit of Germa energy in the silhouette

Luffy's outfit though is near perfect, just can't really see the straw hat over the horned helmet

Zoro though doesn't look good, it's just too much I think, removing the goggles would go a long way but the shoulder guards would kinds be restrictive, honestly the outfit probably would've suited Sanji better (minus the goggles) and Sanji's may've suited Zoro better imo

Luffy of course is thinking about food, Zoro wants to check the safety of the crew first, while Sanji is also thinking about food, mainly the stingermols and their nutrients

Nami ends the chapter taken aback about how unfettered the trio are, and we still have no clue where we are

Annnnd there's the break

Well that answered no questions XD

Elbaf is definitely giving off weird energy, lego seems to be a wider theme than just the Big Steinn castle. It's still throwing me how it was kinda proportional size, the Yggdrasil tree is so far the only natural formation.

As I mentioned the outfits are more miss than hit right now, maybe it takes getting use to but Zoro for the love of god take those goggles off, or at least pull them to your forehead. It does seem though that only the East Blue Saga lot were the only ones whispered away, no word on Chopper or the Sunny at the moment, and nothing that presents itself to explain how they got here.

There being an Yggdrasil implies they are in Elbaf, but at the same time we've seen no ocean, we've seen the coast of Elbaf but it was called 'War Land', so maybe this is a different section of Elbaf? A different 'land' if you will like a 'Toy land'. The fact that a giant rabbit is deemed a god gives off Skypeia vibes too, but if Luffy can beat it I don't see how any giant would struggle (maybe they needed the holy hand grenade?).

But yeah, colour me puzzled to say the least

[idolish7imagines]

Hi! Would it be possible to request for Gaku and Yamato who has an s/o who's physically affectionate but like. Absentmindedly. Just sitting on their laps while watching tv or holding on to their arm when out in public etc

Gaku and Yamato who has an s/o who's absentmindedly physically affectionate

.::.

Yaotome Gaku

he thinks he'll get used to it but never does, at least when you're in public

Not in a bad way, but moreso that he didn't expect you to be that bold. Holding hands is one thing, but straight up hugging him in public was another

It isn't like he doesn't want to be close to you, of course he does, its other people seeing that raises his concern

Though, with a few scans around the area (with shades on, making him look even more suspicious unintentionally Gaku deems when its okay to continue exchanging loving gestures

If it were someone other celebrity, they might've set a boundary not to interact in that kind of way at all, lest a paparazzi gets their paycheck of the month from a clear picture taken of the act

But this was Gaku, and spending quality time with you meant far more to him than that

At home or even around his group members, showing affection is a different story completely

He more than welcomes your touch, always leaning into it if its a hug or squeezing your hand back when your fingers start to lightly graze against his

Even if you're like this absentmindedly, the idol usually assumes its intentional

Eventually, whenever you two are around each other he wants to be close or touching in some way when you're relaxing

Tenn even claims he gets 'grumpy' when you haven't been cuddly with him in a while

Please wrap your arm around his while walking around it makes him feel like he's escorting you like a gentleman

Nikaido Yamato

Yamato is more easily flustered than Gaku (by a long shot actually

He also enjoys your touch, but instead of being startled of your boldness because of being in public, its because of his own embarrassment

Now holding hands is fine, but hugging him or sitting on his lap in front of others is a whole other level

Which sucks for him since he very much enjoys both of those things from you but the thought of the others looking or god forbid teasing makes him wanna move countries

The last thing he wants to do is reprimand you for it though or set a boundary for your absentminded affection, what's he supposed to say? "Hey, can you not show that you like me in front of my friends or anyone else for that matter"?

Yamato's more lax about it around say, Sogo, Iori, or Riku. They're not the type to eyeball you and he too much, but the other three tend to be loudmouths

He loves you too much to say no to you though, so he'll just have to suffer from whatever they might say

He's a lot more comfortable with it in his own room (or when he's drunk)

When he's drunk with liquor running through his veins he could care less who sees you, even pulling you into his lap himself

Anyone else around him at that point doesn't need any more proof he's totally intoxicated because of that sight alone

plus with him being a lot more flirty like that he's bound to be open to more touching

(sidenote but he's totally the type to forget you're his s\o when drunk and ask you out all over again while you have to remind him)

[seventeenlovesthree]

@izumikoushiroweek: Day 2 - What are your Koushirou headcanons?

I probably have way too many headcanons for him to count, so I thought I'd be talking about 12, relating to each of the other Chosen Children and his Digimon partner.

Tentomon: As implied in this art, Tentomon has to remind Koushirou to not only use his PC set-up for work at times, but to get in touch with the outside world as well, including calling his parents. They maintain having a very loving bond and Koushirou actually enjoys talking to his family, even if he has that tendency to get lost in Chosen Children duty, thus pulling way too many allnighters in his office. Tentomon helps practicing to "talk about feelings" and such and since he was always integrated in almost all of Koushirou's activities as emotional support or "personal assistant" (aside from occasionally getting back into the server realm or Digital World to "recharge"), their bond has never vanished. (Practicing also includes hugs. Tentomon loves them dearly. Koushirou does too.)

Taichi: I probably have a million different headcanons when it comes to their bond, but I think one of the things I am particularly fond of is the idea that Taichi easily picked up on Koushirou's quirks and habits over the years - and that's why he notices stuff others don't realize that quickly. He is very particular about what exact brands of oolong tea Koushirou likes, that he cannot stand coffee or doesn't take alcohol very well. They also have tons of insiders and catchphrases other people just give them weird looks over. They're basically on each other's speed dial, especially considering they're working together as adults. And, last but not least, I think Taichi would be the very first human friend who learns about Koushirou's adoption history, being incredibly supportive about it. (One time, Yuuko probably said something along the lines of "If I could, I would already have adopted Koushirou-kun into our family" and Taichi almost flipped because of the wording, but Koushirou told him it was fine, since he knew she meant it well. They both get along with each other's moms very well by the way.)

Yamato: After they returned from the Digital World for the first time, Yamato actually fulfilled his (PSP game only) promise and showed Koushirou how to cook a few easy recipes (besides how to boil the perfect egg). While Koushirou will probably never be a master cook and prefers stuff that is easy to make/get and eat - and while working -, food is actually something they occasionally bond over. They may not be as passionate about it as Mimi and Daisuke, but they'd absolutely surprise the others with their very own curry creations.

Sora: I've probably mentioned this a million times already, but in my mind, they're destined to become "fashion (and texting) buddies". Takeru - as well as Mimi or Miyako - may be a hundred times more comfortable in being experimental, but these two definitely have to figure themselves out first and foremost, breaking some gender stereotypes in the meantime and would 100% be there for each other (while moping and bonding over Taichi's and Yamato's antics). Let Sora help Koushirou to find his own personal wardrobe while he would support her in getting her designs going digitally - once the time is right.

Mimi: Since Mimi slowly but steadily becomes more acquainted with technology through the years, it shouldn't be surprising that they're becoming "calling buddies". Mimi always preferred calling over typing and since Koushirou is helping her to set up her online business, they also end up chatting for hours without end about literally everything - and they absolutely suck at ending their calls. Mimi keeps telling Koushirou to rest, but she's terrible at just saying "Bye then!". Time zone differences make this even more of an issue and it often happens that one of them just falls asleep while the other rambles.

Jyou: Gomamon and Tentomon forced them to become "coffee shop buddies". I'm not kidding. They were so fed up with them burying themselves in uni/regular work that they ended up making them have "Go outside for a change, let's grab something to eat!!!" meetings once a month (at minimum, since Gomamon was done with cooking and wanted to get treats too and Tentomon loved the idea; occasionally they pull Sora and/or Taichi with them too). Since Jyou never felt intimidated by Koushirou's intellect but knows his struggles with "keeping his mental health together", they have an easy time blowing off some steam.

Takeru: Koushirou and Takeru actually grew closer with each other during "transition years" between middle and high school. With Taichi, Yamato and Sora facing high school entrance exams and eventually leaving middle school, Koushirou was more likely to spend time after school with "the 02 squad" for a while (and the two of them and Hikari would definitely have study sessions together at this point in time). Takeru is also among those who's more skilled with computers, which is why he's easily third admin of the Chosen Children network (with Miyako being second), but also likes to ask Koushirou for advice - who happily rambles along (and they're also "meme buddies", sending each other random stuff in the middle of the night they came across and thought the other would find interesting). Takeru will also be among the first who gets to hear about his adoption history in more detail and he'll absolutely feel more attached to Koushirou because of it.

Hikari: Aside from me being convinced that he is archiving all the photos she's been taking in the Digital World for years (while also helping her to set up her own digital photobooks), one of my favourite headcanons is that Hikari's the main reason why Koushirou turned out to be "a cat person"; he has been around the Yagami residence way too many times in his life and probably thought he couldn't really "get along" with cats in general. But Miko, after having been reluctant at first, warmed up to him rather quickly after Hikari kept her around in the same room as them. So the cat would just end up resting next to him while he was typing away on his laptop. (Sometimes he watches Tentomon curling into a ball when falling asleep next to him and Koushirou cannot help but feel reminded of a cat as well and he finds it adorable.)

Daisuke: Despite Ken being the closest person to him overall, Daisuke has had a hard time talking to Koushirou for YEARS, still having a tendency of wanting to appear extra smart in front of him. It was a lot easier when Taichi, Ken or Mimi were around, he could talk normally then, but even worse when Takeru was there too, because he felt double-intimidated. Koushirou noted that behaviour, didn't get it though, so Taichi had to explain it to him in a sense of "Imagine being the new kid in football club that thinks he can't kick a ball if the ace striker is watching him", to which Koushirou just nodded. They absolutely met for a football match a few days later - and that's how Koushirou ended up in goal, Daisuke, who scored numerous goals against him, started to act a lot less tense afterwards.

Ken: Imagining a scenario in which Menoa gets redeemed (and maybe after they find a way to get their partners back), I could see Koushirou and Ken being very keen to make her realize that she should also rather invest her intellect in improving the infrastructure between the worlds instead of harbouring feelings of vengeance and bitterness... They're all smart muffins with bug babies after all. (And Koushirou would definitely be interested in figuring out why both Ken and Menoa were so prone to "getting corrupted" while he himself was mostly spared... They're not exactly prone to trauma dumping, Ken in particular struggles with it a lot, but that's another case of "once he knows Koushirou's back story, it gets easier to open up.")

Miyako: Miyako pretends that she's bothered by Chosen Children Network duty a lot, and it maaaay be a bit bothersome at times, but the truth is that she felt intimidated by all the effort Koushirou put into it. Aside from Iori, she always looked up to him as senpai the most and didn't want to appear incapable in comparison. If Koushirou didn't know he could entrust it to her, he would have given it to Takeru first, but despite her spunky, sometimes unpredictable nature, he trusted in her judgement and communicative skills from the start without a doubt.

Iori: By the start of his uni life, Iori really values the privacy of Koushirou's office to use it as study space - especially because he's getting resources there for law school he wouldn't easily get access to without spending horrendous amounts of money. And because they just enjoy each other's company, being a lot more grounded than the rest of their friends. Just like in middle school, they end up having study sessions, often joined by Takeru, but also occasionally by Ken, going through several of their study subjects - sometimes they even go for outside activities (because Koushirou is most likely not used to those anymore and needs to keep up on physical training too - when they get the opportunity, they take Jyou with them too).

[takaraphoenix]

also I wanna know whos your favorite male and female and or any One Piece characters? And what do you want to change from OP if you can?

Nooo that question is so unfair in the manga that has approximately 394545094112549058029 fully fleshed out and lovable characters--

So obviously you are getting more than one answer there!

The Strawhat answer to the question is, very clearly, Luffy for favorite, he is... everything I adore in an anime protagonist. He is goofy and filled with love and fully unhinged and feral if it's about helping his friends. Also ace coded to hell and back.

Favorite female Strawhat is Vivi YES SHE WILL FOREVER BE A STRAWHAT QUITTING DOESN'T MEAN YOU NO LONGER COUNT. I will love her forever, I miss her everyday, the Reverie giving her back to me, even if not with the Strawhats, actually gave me life.

The non-Strawhat answers would be uuuh so I'm gonna say two boys here and it counts because it is kind of a "passing of the torch". My favorite was always Ace. And then they took Ace away from me just as they introduced Law and Ace's death was when I really fell for Law as a character because him being there for Luffy meant the world to me. So, pre Marine Ford Arc it's Ace, post Marine Ford Arc it's Law.

Special shout-out to my beloved best boy Yamato, who DID join the Strawhats but not officially enough and not sailing off with them so he isn't really counted as a Strawhat yet but by all the gods above and below, I will celebrate when he actually steps on board and truly joins (the way they made us wait for Jimbei to).

Favorite non-Strawhat female character goes to Perona so hard I ADORE her she is so fun, she is the perfect woman, she is Zoro's annoying little sister, she needs to be in more episodes. Whenever Perona and their dad Mihawk show up, I SQUEAL in delight. After the Strawhats, the Pastel Goth Family is my favorite platonic dynamic of the show (I am So Sorry Shanks-Luffy, but have you considered: if you marry Mihawk you could both be dads to three disasters together!! Okay I think I am amending my answer from the other ask if I ever end up writing for OP it's gonna be a LawLu fic where Shanks and Mihawk are married and where Zoro gets to be protective big brother and Perona weird creepy stepsister).

What I would want to change... Honestly, there is one thing I did hate and it was Momonosuke becoming leader of a fucking country at age eight. That was unhinged. Aging his body up to make him look like an adult didn't give him the years of experience and maturity he would need for that. That arc should have FULLY ended with his older, adult sister becoming leader, as she has been trained in etiquette and also knows their country because she lived in it for the past twenty years. That was so uselessly patriarchal.

Also, shout-out to Yamato not leaving with them. If I had any say on the matter, my boy would be a full Strawhat right now, getting to come full circle after Ace offered to take him, for him to now get to go with Ace's brother would have been poetic especially after Oda-san did let him and Luffy talk about it and them basically agreeing that he should join the crew like don't give me hope and don't pull through. I do have faith he will join later, but... you see... I want to see it now.

[edenslice]

(VERY LONG) ONE PIECE OC RAMBLE!!!!

pirate timeline: wyvern pirates (0-12) → beast pirates (12-20) → quit piracy (21-25) → straw hat ally (25-27)

relationships: siso & king | siso & yamato | siso & zoro

siso was king's favorite, even before she became tobiroppo

he found them very similar to each other, him being the last lunarian and her being the only (known) sea deity of her kind

they had a mentor-mentee relationship! king watched her grow up

siso bore no ill will against him after she defected. this is one-sided, unfortunately

he was the one who trained her in close range combat. kaido didn't order him to, he took it upon himself

(this did gave zoro an automatic upper hand against king in their battle though, because siso's fighting style is similar to his)

she was supposed to be an all-star, right next to king and queen

every time kaido offered, she would refuse and use those offers as: a) opportunities to bully and make jack feel inferior to her and b) show off how humble she is to lesser ranked officers

her actual reason, though? to be an all-star meant even lesser time to be with yamato, her only real friend. being part of the tobiroppo already required her to be on oversea missions a lot. if she took the offer yamato would be all alone

siso was the only tobiroppo to have never pillaged wano, even ordering her underlings to do the same

yeah she's pillaged any other place, just not wano. reason being yamato said not to ruin oden's home and she went Whatever U Say Handsome ♡

"okay, but—what difference would it make if my lackies and i stopped?" "if i could get people to leave wano alone, it'd start with you! then your subordinates! someday, they'll all stop, and wano's borders will open again!"

siso and yamato are each other's safe spaces ^_^ yamato considers her the love of his life and siso would do absolutely anything to make him happy

they are best friends first, lovers second

their relationship is very far from perfect though; it hit rock bottom the weeks before siso defected and only 5 years later were they able to clear things up and start to heal from their mistakes

siso felt upset at yamato's reluctance to escape, perceiving it as him being insincere

like, all bark, no bite—he ranted and ranted about how much he wanted to be like oden and sail out but when she offered to break his shackles he backed away? made a million different excuses? avoided her?

even worse, yamato always made it sound like he was still loyal to kaido, which pissed her off even moee

meanwhile, yamato was upset at siso because during the months leading up to her defection he could not recognize nor distinguish her from the others

he felt angry and betrayed—she knew how to shed off the mask of callous indifference she puts on around others and be herself around him, but now she can't? how dare she not live up to her word? how dare she treat him the same as lower scum?

he knew that siso discards and leaves anything/anyone that doesn't satisfy her needs and wants. he knew she never hesitates to put herself first, and that deep-seated fear of being abandoned made him lash out violently many times

that little voice in his head repeated, again and again: if siso helps you escape, she'll take you out to sea and leave you stranded. you've hurt her too much: no one will come back for you.

that's why, when siso defected and was forced to fight off hordes and officers who all wanted her head, yamato clamped his jaw and ran far, far away....

only when she was deep underwater, escaping successfully, did he scream at the waves his goodbye, unsure if he'd ever see her again. if she'd come back for him.

she did, of course, 5 years later, and by that time any and all resentment they held for each other was replaced by pure yearning. they've both changed for the better, and they snuck away, finally reunited

(the reason why siso couldn't come back any earlier than 5 years was her overwhelming shame for what she said, and simply because her time in onigashima was traumatizing, no matter how hard she denies it)

when siso first met the straw hats, it was in thriller bark. something about the florian triangle had pulled her in and enticed her to explore the place, disguising herself as a zombie

yes, her first encounter involved lots of screaming from the coward trio, a flustered sanji, and a very confused zoro

(did she know luffy was a god in disguise, even before he himself knew? possibly!)

the same way she had a hunch zoro was more than just a bounty hunter in their first encounter years ago

either way, siso had high (unsaid) expectations of luffy: he will become king of the pirates and be the first devil fruit user to not be hated by the sea. she'd make sure of that.

she never believed that kaido, her captain for 8 years, would claim that title. yet she wholeheartedly believes that the boy she met hours ago, wearing a straw hat and jorts that hasn't been washed in a week, would

it's the Luffy Effect™

zoro and siso met once in those 5 years, when he was still a teenage bounty hunter and she was learning east blue culture and cuisine

the grim reaper, who lived in the blade of wado ichimonji, told him something wasn't right with her. she wasn't a mere 'fishman'.

when siso left, he got a strange feeling they're gonna meet again someday, during a time when his life may come at a crossroads

and boy. teenage zoro was Right!

keep in mind siso just watched the straw hats fight kuma. she sat there, unhelpful, and observed. not out of sadistic amusement, but of genuine curiosity

bafflement too, wondering how the hell did they get that far without knowing a single thing about haki

when everyone else got up and prepared to fight, she stayed sat. when the warlord asked for luffy's head, she sneered like the rest of them. when they all got blasted away by his attacks, she took it as an opportunity to sneak away and watch from a higher, safer surface

she wasn't scared (growing up in the grand line and working for kaido eliminated general Fear) but she was scared that not everyone would come out the battle alive

when THAT Scene happened, that's when it clicked for siso, that zoro and his crewmates were the real deal. and that yamato was right in putting his faith into luffy, a pirate he never met and only knew through ace's stories

siso talked to kuma just before he was about to leave. asked him his business, and if he knew anything about ace's whereabouts (for yamato's sake) and to her shock: he acknowledged her otherness, told her that he's headed for sabaody, that ace "has been tangled up with the marines for a while". nothing more, nothing less

yes she told the straw hats they'd be seeing the warlord again in sabaody, told luffy ace's status (he waves it off as "typical ace business") (☹️), but kept shut about her true nature/goal.....

no that didn't stop them from being Poofed but at least they were a little more prepared to see kuma again!

[ryuuseini]

You don't know the urge I have to expand this parenthetical statement

Though in hindsight, that could’ve been because Taichi-senpai was her brother, and he was in some kind of relationship with Yamato-senpai (one that Daisuke could never wrap his head around, yet never wished to understand it either)

To

Though in hindsight, that could've been beacuse Taichi-senpai was her brother, and he was in some kind of relationship with Yamato-senpai (one that Daisuke could bever wrap his head around, yet never wished to understand it either. He had asked once before, approaching Taichi-senpai like he normally would, asking how his relationship with Yamato-senpai worked. And Taichi-senpai had sat him down, telling him that sometimes, he goes to restaurants with Yamato-senpai and Sora-senpai, and they have to ask the waiters to push together two tables because they're used to monogamous couples, not polygamous relationships. And Daisuke doesn't have the willpower to say "that's not what I meant, I mean... Whats up with you and Yamato-senpai?" Because he remembered how, one day, Daisuke was sitting alone eating some ramen, and the two had come up to him, trying to involve him into the conversation when in actuality, they just yelled at him as well as the other. "Taichi won't support my dreams," he remembered Yamato-senpai saying, followed quickly by Taichi-senpai yelling back "Well I would, if you didn't want to become a fucking rocket scientist!" And they argued back and forth for awhile, before huffing and making out, all while Daisuke had stopped eating his ramen and just wanted them to leave. ... He truly didn't have the willpower to ask Taichi-senpai what that was all about.)

But its SO LONG and SO IRRELEVANT grrrr

[gildedmuse]

The ZoLaw AU Nobody Asked For Where...

Zoro is "in love" with Mihawk/Ace/Saga/Shanks/King/Sanji, he's really sure of it [okay you're gonna have to stick with me for a hot minute on this one]. Not that he has any idea of how to flirt with such an amazing guy.

Law is a flirt, that's an established fact. He's even tried flirting with Zoro a few times, probably for laughs or thinking it might unnerve Zoro before a match (ha! as if Zoro was so easily distracted!).

(Nevermind he'd failed to recognize it as such until Robin pointed it out. Oh, so that's what he meant about Zoro's Santoryu skills having other uses. No, wait, he still doesn't get why the guy would say that....)

It's not like Zoro enjoys the idea of being indebted to that smug son of a bitch with his smirk that makes people go all pink and voice that he's probably making purposefully low so it does that annoying thing to your stomach. But, well, he's starting to think maybe Usopp had been right when he used to talk about "the importance of wooing". Not the part where he insisted he was a master of it - Zoro isn't an idiot, and besides what would Usopp even be doing "wooing" someone not Kaya and around her he is just Usopp but more sappy. Still, it's possible he was onto something with that nonsense about people liking when you say silly things about them wearing clothes or their faces being good, or maybe they actually do like being given useless stuff that they're just going to throw away later or.... Damn, what else had he gone on about? Arg! It had all just seemed like a huge waste of time and making a fuss over these bootless acts and words that didn't seem to mean anything much. Why should Zoro even bother!?

Oh, right. Because stupid [Preferred Hot Guy] and his stupid face and even stupider damn voice. Not that Zoro hadn't tried it his way first, it's just, well, the guy is clearly an idiot and it was his fault for making Zoro gets all - just - tch! Stupid!

And with Usopp's advice half forgotten before he's even finished, it doesn't exactly leave Zoro with a ton of others he can ask for ideas I mean, tch, he's certainly not paying Nami just so she can insult his haramaki again - it's comfortable, especially with his swords, and he's not wasting money on some itchy outfit he'll never want to wear - and he doesn't want Franky making a big deal out of it. Zoro just KNOWS he'd turn it into this whole thing and insisted on building a giant robot with Zoro's face painted on it or worse. And it would probably just end up smashing down [Preferred Hot Guy]'s door, just like it did when Sabo had asked for his help on putting together a surprise party for Koala. Sure, Sabo (and most the rest of Zoro's idiot friends) thought it was awesome, but Kaola was definitely not "woo"ed, and she was already dating Sabo forever by that point! Besides, Zoro is way too mature (and can't afford to fix his door after). No, giant heart-strewn robots definitely weren't what he needed.

Chopper is a kid, Brook is super old, Kuina is Kuina and Luffy is like his captain (they're not exactly pirates, just university kids, but Zoro thinks Luffy would definitely be his, that is if captains were reckless idiots that dragged you to all their stupidest, messiest, best adventures) and you can't ask kids, old people, rivals or captains about stuff like asking out crushes. Everyone knows that. Perona already is always trying to tell him what to do, he's not about to give her permission to boss him around. Johnny and Yosuke once said that Zoro could get any girl he wanted without even trying, but apparently that doesn't work on guys. If he asked Vivi she'd tell Nami. If he asked Jinbe he'd tell Luffy. He could ask Yamato, but the guy keeps slapping Ace on the back and yelling really loudly about what good friends they are, and again, Zoro is not as clueless as everyone seems to believe. He knows hopeless when he sees it (plus he's tried both fighting and talking to [Preferred Hot Guy] way too loudly and they got him about as far as Yamato....).

There is HER but.... no, he has his pride. Zoro would rather cut off his own feet than go to Robin and ask something so embarrassing. Besides, he already knows whatever answer she gives, he wouldn't't understand it. Or he WOULD but she'd also give him one of those SMILES like she just knows he doesn't understand it even though he totally does. Maybe.

At least some of it. Well, if the damn woman just said what it was she wanted him to know instead of making it some kind of demonic riddle!

And that leaves... Well, Zoro has always been proud, but he's not a fool. When Kuina defeated him he stayed until he became better, when Luffy was there to help him out after that asshole cop got in his face and handcuffed him to that lamppost, he let the annoying kid help, when he had the chance to train under Silvers Rayleigh, he took it and nevermind that it meant having to put his ego aside. Zoro would never let some hurt feelings stand in the way of victory.

And Zoro is only a little flustered and embarrassed he has to ask for help over something that is so nonessential and shouldn't even be that hard, but damnit he really wants things to work with this guy! And that means being good at flirting and dating and sex and compliments and relationship and everything. So he grits his teeth and does it.

Even if it's a strike to his ego having to ask Torao for help. Especially help with this whole... (Come on, he already asked the embarrassing part, just say it....)

"Really, Zoro-ya? You can't even say it? You need my help to get your little crush to notice you, right? To make him *want* you, I should say. Tsk, tsk, no need to get all indignant, Zoro-ya. And here I thought you would have preferred me being honest and to the point."

Would it be too much to tell the younger man how adorable it is to see him so flustered? Considering how easy he's made getting a reaction out of him, Law supposes it would be. Really, he should take pity on Zoro-ya, after the other boy worked up the courage to come to Law with such a request.

"That's quite the cute expression, Zoro-ya. Though what happened to the swordsman that gives me such a challenge on the mats. I certainly hope you're not so easy when it comes to showing your hand to your [Guy]-ya. Love is like any other fight; hardly worth the effort if there is no blood on the line."

[Why is Torao smiling at Zoro that way? It's.... Annoying, and Zoro doesn't like it! Gah!]

Okay, okay, so Law may enjoy himself a little too much at first. Can you blame him, when here is the overly confident, self assured, unimpressed Roronoa Zoro of kendo infamy standing here, openly admitting to Law's superiority? How can he resist the temptation of... Nudging the boy's (very easily pushed) buttons when he's giving Law such an opening?

Not to mention Zoro is one of the Strawhat gang, and while he always has been one of the more interesting tolerable, it still gives Law a great deal of satisfaction knowing that their usual method is running straight into every situation without a thought or care hasn't paid off. For once.

(What? Cora-san, it's not that he's laughing at Zoro-ya's misfortune! Don't give him that look! Law just likes that one of the Strawhats finally had to admit that Law is better than them.)

It's more than that, though. Law remembers the boy's blank stares the number of times Law played coy or made vague advances out of curiosity or boredom. Worst, he saw Zoro-ya's last attempt to talk to this guy he's apparently gotten himself so tied into knots over and.... Law can't believe someone can make such a mess when he's hot enough that, to be honest, he could have skipped right past the part where he used his mouth for something as pedestrian as talking. Law can already see [Preferred Hot Guy] would be more than happy to... Accommodate this more direct approach.

But Zoro-ya had asked for Law's guidance. He's hardly going to throw away such an opportunity. It isn't as if Law is going to stop Zoro from getting his [Preferred Hot Guy]-ya, but what about the next person that catches the kenshi's eye? No, it's better if he learns these skills properly.

Zoro: Tch, come on, how hard can it be? Just show me how it's all done so I can do it.

Law: *smirking* Just so long as you take our little lesson seriously, Zoro-ya.

Flirting goes well, date upcoming!

Zoro: So now what?

Law: *raised eyebrow, more concerned with his medical text book at this moment. He can't always just be amusing himself by teasing messing with this boy* Hmm. I thought you said the flirting worked. *As Law knew it would.*

Zoro: Yeah, now you have to show me the next part. Don't tell me you're backing out of your promise so soon, Torao!

Law: ....

Law: *Curiosity getting the better of himself, turning to look at the green haired boy with.... A weary thoughtfulness* You have the attention of your boy. What precisely is the problem?

Zoro: That was just the asking out part!

And while Law is helping to guide Zoro through all of it without being a diaster it's hard not to notice. Well, he already noticed Zoro was hot, but it's not just that. He's also cute. Like, in a way that makes Law smile this kind of stupid smile.

One that Zoro-ya informs him isn't nearly as annoying as his usual smile which only makes Law feel....

Oh.

Oh.

Fuck.

How did Law let this happen?

[laeteria]

Scenes Aninana S2

Originally written on 13 December 2021.

I skipped through IDOLiSH7: Second Beat to talk about some scenes in the anime, so you don't have to do it yourself.

Kind of obvious, but there are spoilers under the cut!!

EP3: Iori's decision

The main topic of this episode is changing IDOLiSH7's center. Riku has some health problems that keeps him from doing his best, but that means that they need to work around it.

Tsumugi suggests to Iori to change center, but Iori stubbornly says he doesn't want to change center, because Nanase Riku is the center of IDOLiSH7.

Some things happen and at the end of the episode, Iori goes to Tsumugi to say that he wants to change centers.

Iori is standing in the dark, while Tsumugi is standing in the light. I take it as Tsumugi being the rational option here, while Iori being the "bad" option in this case.

I also want to say that you can see the exit sign above the door (the green light), and I think that's supposed to symbolizes the fact that Iori won't be running away from this problem anymore. This can be supported by the fact that he steps towards the light.

EP4: the talk between Yuki and Yamato

We have known about Yamato wanting to take revenge since S1, but more context than that was never before this scene. Yuki obviously knows what Yamato is planning and he tries to talk him out of it.

At one point their reflection will be shown in the cutlery. Yuki's reflection in the spoon, while Yamato's in the knife.

It's a well done scene, because a spoon is used to support. Yuki never really straight out tells Yamato to stop what he's doing, but he makes him think about the path he's taking. A knife is also a great support, but you have to handle it with care. Yamato is a very talented individual, but one wrong move and he can hurt you…

EP5: confrontation between the twins

I want to talk about this particular shot of Riku and Tenn. Tenn is visiting I7's dorm, but for some reason he's seated, while Riku is on the ground and it's Riku's room???

That actually makes a lot of sense, because Tenn is TRIGGER's center, but also Riku's brother. Riku simply looks up to Tenn a lot and that's probably the simple reason.

But… why does Tenn look more comfortable than Riku? It's as if Tenn is in his own room and I thought about the following: what if Tenn is already comfortable with his position, while Riku still needs support?

The scarf that Riku is wearing is actually Tenn's scarf, but that can also symbolizes Tenn wanting to protect Riku. The actual scene is pretty depressing and you will think that Tenn is a bad brother, but he really is doing it all out of good will.

He doesn't want to see Riku being hurt. To protect him, he had to show the harsh side of this idol path as well, so Riku could be sure of his own decision.

EP6: Mitsuki's wavering resolve

This scene is one of the most heartbreaking scenes in this season. When Mitsuki thinks everything is going well and when he's rewarding himself, he sadly overhears people talking bad about him.

We immediately go to this black and white shot, because at that moment, the only thing that went through his mind were these hurtful words. As if it couldn't get worse, the shopkeeper asks him if he's Mitsuki from IDOLiSH7.

If you have watched the episode, you know that Mitsuki said to Nagi that he thinks he can say proudly that he's Mitsuki from IDOLiSH7… but he couldn't.

Mitsuki ran and ran. In this scene, he runs past these discount boards, that symbolizes how Mitsuki sees himself. He believes that he's not good enough compared to the rest. He's "cheaper" than the rest, so he's only an extra. It also zooms in on these trashcans, but I think it's obvious what's meant with that.

Mitsuki stops before some stairs. He falls on his knees and cries. Why isn't he good enough? What does his character add to the group? He thinks about all these things, but the only thing he has to do is to keep going.

He doesn't walk up the stairs. Stairs are easy to walk on, but there was an invisible barrier blocking Mitsuki from doing so. It's a simple task and yet he couldn't do it…

You really have to watch this scene, because it really makes your heart hurt so much.

EP6: Momo's worry

I wrote about this before, but long story short, the box and the cake represent Re:vale.

"Consume withing 5 days" is a reference to the 5 years that Momo spends with Yuki.

"Individual packages will have seperate dates" refers to Momo and Yuki, because Momo is not a member of the original Re:vale and thus he has a different "expiration date".

EP7: Mitsuki's breakdown

Nagi notices Mitsuki being down, so he wants to talk with Mitsuki. Mitsuki pretends to be okay, while he obviously isn't, but in the end he tells Nagi about his problems.

Notice that Mitsuki is standing in the shadow, while Nagi is standing in the light. Rather than pulling Mitsuki to the light, Nagi goes to Mitsuki.

Nagi accepts Mitsuki as the person he is, even if Mitsuki isn't the happy Mitsuki he knows. Nagi wants to carry Mitsuki's pain with him.

Also, this scene contains orange and yellow, aka Mitsuki's and Nagi's image colours. They really thought everything out.

EP10: Re:vale's past

Yuki was devastated after his old partner left him. When Yuki read his letter, see how the there's a lot of light coming from the window, but Yuki himself is still pretty dark compared to the rest. At that moment, the light of his world had left him.

He's leaving his light behind and this has to represent his passion for music. He is unable to keep doing the thing he loves, because the light is not the same.

When Momo starts bothering Yuki, you will see the light behind Yuki, but before Yuki another light appeared (Momo).

When Yuki finally accepts Momo's request, the whole colour scheme will turn light and it leaves a very hopeful feeling. The dark and depressing setting has been changed by simply changing the light.

This scene is very sweet as well and also probably one of my favourite scenes in the anime.

[freyalise]

fate/samurai remnant spoilers (talking about the entire game, basically)

ok so I'll say that I haven't read fate/stay night, but I'm familiar enough with the series and read enough of the supplementary materials that I'd consider myself a "casual fate fan." and, I've played a decent amount of the Warriors games (namely Hyrule Warriors, Dynasty Warriors 8, Persona 5 Strikers, etc.) so I came into the game more or less expecting to enjoy both of its roots.

I really enjoyed the game, overall. I was a bit worried about Iori being the primary playable character, but once I unlocked Fire Stance and then Void Stance that complaint stopped being relevant. Let's be real here, if they had given me the choice I probably would have just played as Musashi the entire game, so it's for the best that they forced me to play with Iori. A lot of my frustrations with Iori's moveset--which mostly revolved around enemy Shell Gauges and how difficult it was to break them without using Saber or magic, which involved resource management that felt awful if you didn't have either--disappeared once I unlocked more of his skills and once Wind Stance became available. I didn't bother using much of Earth Stance since I don't like blocking in games if it lets me dodge or parry, which meant I missed out on the most important upgrade (making it so your attacks don't bounce off enemies) until NG+, so that was kind of a bummer. But overall I grew to enjoy the flow of stance dancing with the occasional swapping over to Saber or a Rogue Servant. I will say that I didn't vibe with a lot of the Rogue servants gameplay-wise. I wanted to make Aria work since I love her, but her just being a numbers buff with zero swap-in mechanic felt extremely bad. I ended up sticking with Circe once I unlocked her and through most of NG+. I thought Assassin felt really bad to play as well. I don't like his noodle arms.

My main complaint with the cast is that there wasn't much room for all of the Servants to breathe. Caster is basically irrelevant in the first ending since he just dies offscreen like Dorothea and Assassin. If the routes had more meat on their bones a la Fate/Stay Night that would have helped, but that's a tall ask for a game that's not a visual novel, and the routes that we got were quite good. It's all well paced, and while 90% of the leadup to the different choices was identical they diverged enough that it felt like an actual route rather than pushing a button to receive an ending. A Ray of Light is a stronger ending overall since the concept of Caster being the one who wrote Yamato Takeru into history thus inevitably sealing his own downfall due to Saber being incredibly strong is so fucking good. It's not a huge part of the story since Caster is basically irrelevant outside of that ending, but it's narratively satisfying so I'll give it props. Flames of Resentment was fine and the closest we got to a "good ending," but I didn't like Chiemon as a primary villain all that much since I think his motivations are uninteresting at best. Lancer not saying much aside from "Yes, Master" outside of their NG+ digressions doesn't help that. Plus Dorothea dies offscreen hashtag justice for Dorothea.

I think it would be remiss to not mention Entreat the Darkness, though. I'm not usually a fan of the downer ending in games despite loving miserable endings elsewhere, but I looooved Entreat the Darkness. The concept of Iori being the Sword Demon, a man who lives to kill with the sword, is something that's mentioned offhand in NG and built up further in NG+. It's established often enough in NG+ that it makes Iori's heel turn feel justified; sure, he'd have his peaceful life back, but he doesn't belong in peaceful Edo. Of course he'd choose to keep the Waxing Moon Vessel in order to sate his bloodlust--that's what he lives for. The boss fight with Saber, the realization that Saber's only wish was to have a companion that trusted them and didn't judge them for their sins, the final shot of Kaya running up to Iori's lifeless body with Saber nowhere to be found... It's kino, basically. The other two endings needed a little something something extra to flesh them out a bit, but the abruptness of Entreat the Darkness bolstered it significantly. It's not "the bad ending" per se, it's the logical end point of a Holy Grail War; that is, everyone is miserable or dead or miserable and dead.

I haven't decided if I want to go for 100% completion yet. All I'm missing is the food stall achievement, the workshop enhancement achievement, and seeing Entreat the Darkness from the pursuing Tsuchimikado path (ending 1), but I think I might give it a rest since Steam achievements are pointless and I'd like to put the game down and move on to something else while I still feel warm and fuzzy feelings about it. Maybe I'll go back and finish it when the DLC starts coming out, but I only bought the base game so who can say what will happen. Either way, it was a hell of a lot of fun.

(note my screenshots above are all letterboxed because I have a pervert monitor and the game has no native 3440x1440 support. other than that the PC port was solid enough)

got all three endings in fate/samurai remnant. i could get all of the achievements if i blasted through ng++ but i'm not sure if i want to do that!

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Hello!

I hope that you're well!

I'm sorry to bother you and I don't even know if your ask is open but I have a little question (which ended up being a little long... I'm sorry for that...):

Why are Gai and Kakashi in a queer platonic relationship and not in a platonic relationship? Like why does it have to be queer? I don't understand... Like, it's just a normal platonic relationship no?

I'm sorry to bother you with that and I don't want to hurt anyone by asking that question (that's why I'm a coward and ask as anon) it's just that I am completely lost with all the terms because for me everyone is unique and has unique relationships with whoever they want as individuals and not as genders or whatever, and I don't personally see the point in using "categories" although I do understand the need for some people who don't fall into a category and feel rejected to belong to one and be appreciated for who they are...

But if we use the term queer as in strange or peculiar, I do think we all are queers since we're all unique... So, like, for me Gai and Kakashi are just in a platonic relationship which some could also define as deep friendship. but idk, that's why I'm confused about the queer term (to be honest my sister said I'm queer and even though I'm not sure what she meant I think it was because I have a very weird vision of things which doesn't fit the traditional norms of society...)

You don't have to answer me! It's really fine if you don't because I bothered you or because you find my question insulting or rude or anything.

I also wanted to say I love your writing and your ideas in general!

It's obviously not cannon. Cannonly, Kakashi and Gai are friends and that's all we ever see them referred to as. The story doesn't revolve around them so the snippets of their friendship we get are beautiful but minimule

Why do I think they're in a queer platonic relationship? The purpose of that term is to describe a relationship between platonic and romantic. One that stands out as different from what others in their society would view as 'strictly platonic' or 'romantic'. It of course doesn't have to be something everyone uses and you're just as valid saying 'they're relationship is platonic' cuz cannonly it is. That being said, when I look at their friendship I don't see the same platonic friendship I have with my bestie.

Kakashi' and Gai

Go on vacation together

As soon as Kakashi is finally free if Hokage duties and able to actually enjoy his retirement, what does he do? Does he relax in Konoha? Or just take a little trip on his own?

No, he goes on a detailed well planned vacation to see important places that hold special memories with one person. Gai. This isn't just a fun vacation with two best friends, but a deep and meaningful vacation. They have a goal to see amazing places that mean so much to them, and while the anime didn't really show it they do go to places like the filming spit for Icha Icha and you can see Gai's as happy to be there as Kakashi even though it's not his fav book

Gai eats Kakashi's none wanted food for him

Again, this could be totally platonic and mean nothing but the way Kakashi tells Mirai that Gai eats his tempura for him

Kakashi' is a picky eater. We see this over and over again, yet he still gets tempura with his food. Why get something you won't eat? Because your best friend will eat it for you. Kakashi's really sitting here with food on his plate he won't touch just so Gai can steal it from him. And when he's confronted about it he's like 'oh ya I don't like it so Gai eats it for me. He's nice like that'

Kakashi' would have chased a fairy tale to save Gai's leg

After the big bad is defeated and never reaches immortality by killing Mirai, we see Kakashi and Gai standing off to the side chatting. During this chat two things happen.

1) Kakashi admits that if there was someone telling him that there was a hot spring that could heal Gai's leg, he'd willingly go and hunt it down

2) Gai telling Kakashi 'i don't need my leg. I have you.'

In both these instances these men are showing a deep care for each other. Kakashi' would risk his life to give Gai his leg back, but Gai doesn't want his leg back. He doesn't miss it because all these years he has had Kakashi' by his side. Alive and happy. Is that super gooey and could be read as platonic? Yes. Could it also be read as deeply romantic and sweet? yes. Putting it somewhere in the middle cuz we know they're not a cannon romantic couple but they are closer. Like, I'm sorry I don't see Shikamaru saying that to Choji? Or Sakura to Ino? Not because they don't care but because their relationship is different. Kakashi's world revolves around Gai in a lot of ways and vice versa. They have built their lives around each other since the war, even living together.

This isn't the standard 'two best friends who have other spouses/friends'. By Boruto the only friend you really see these two interact with is each other. Everyone else is their old students. (And I am pissed about Yamato not being around cuz he deserved better than the shit he got)

They legit...sleep side by side

Look at this. Look at them. These two have a huge room to sleep in and not only are they side by side but their beds are overlapping

When Gai wakes up from a nightmare, he is able to calm down because of Kakashi's snoring.

Hatake Kakashi, nightmare mess, is able to sleep a peaceful night with Gai by his side.

This is borderline romantic af, but they're not a cannon couple. This isn't really something two friends would do (in my experience at least) and it's very rare to see two males friends depicted doing it. Like, Sasuke and Naruto are super close. They had the whole 'i will bear your burden and die with you' scene and I still don't think the anime or manga would ever show them actively sleeping this close to each other??? Kakashi' and Gai's relationship is depicted diffrently

At the end of the day, cannonly they're a platonic friendshiom

But I'm going to enjoy the fact that there are so many deeper more romantic linings to their friendship without them being a 'cannon couple' that I will call them a queer platonic relationship because by the standards of my society and their own around them

They don't fit strictly into platonic, and they're not romantic

They're somewhere in the middle, unexplained and a little weird to others but their bond is clear as day

And that's a queer platonic relationship to me

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1020 - Initial Thoughts

And we're back, they said no break but they didn't tell us there wouldn't be a chapter for the next week because of...the Olympics I think? Something that stopped the weekly fix

but that was then, today we have One Piece as we continue on from our chain of Tobi Roppo fights

Spoilers for Chapter 1020 - Support the Official Release too

The cover page now makes me want fried prawns, damn you Denjiro!

So close with Yamato's DF, turns out it's Inu Inu no Mi: Model Makami rather than Okami like I guessed

To my credit I didn't know what a Makami was, there are so many mythological creatures of Japan, turns out though it's a protector deity of Makamiohara...in the Yamato Province. Said to protect the people's crops for boar and deer (which may be a nod to Oden and the Mountain God), it also happens to be the guardian deity of Wano - which feels a little like an Alabasta nod

It's also meant to protect against fire (like Kaido) and robbery (like Orochi), but Kaido - while admitting that Orochi was a tyrant - wants him to protect what Kaido and Orochi has made Wano into: a hub of weapons development

Ice attacks as well to show the contrast with Kaido's fire, though it's pretty apparent that he didn't go all out with that fireball while Yamato is still weary

Finally over to Robin and Brook vs Black Maria but Brook is worried, because Robin's seeing people from her past

Clover, Olvia and Saul too, definitely a trap, though I don't wanna say they're dead in case Oda pulls a curve on us

But Robin is too smart for the trick, suckering the figures posing as illusions with some uppercuts. It must still hurt for her though

The one posing as Saul was a Number as well, seems to be our only female Number, this was Kunyun so given how we've heard that laugh already she's number 9, Numbers 1-3 are still missing

Robin could've given him a signal true, but it is alarming that they can fish into your memories like that

It's a Black Maria ability too, don't really recall Ancient spiders doing that, Mythical maybe but not the Rosamygale

She's also attacking from the ceiling, wrappings that definitely weren't there the last we saw her keeping things discreet

Turns out Brook was subject to illusion too, but pandering to his hopes of his crew being alive is probably not the best way to trick him, I mean he did have to bury them all after 50 years of preserving their bodies on the ship

So it turns out Black Maria's weapon isn't a severed head, it's another SMILE abomination XD I did get a giggle out of that actually, big head but a tiny pug body, guess he doesn't mind so long as he's that close to Maria. Dunno how he can make fires though but Kamijuro's lion belly could do the same

Maria if you keep hanging upside down with all that flesh showing you're gonna give people heart attacks...or awakenings...or both, either way stop distracting us from your horrifying lower half and intent to kill our heroes!

While Taunting the duo's belief of winning and then directly taunting Robin, Maria burns the floor to keep them cornered, Robin using her Spider Net to dangle with Brook in the air

I mean, Robin's not wrong, the Castle's already on fire thanks to Orochi

Brook though has a plan, since we now know the weapon is Alive he can attack it

Robin's 'the fuck?' face though XD

New Attack from Brook, he can freeze people by going through them in his soul form, pretty handy that and it knocks Pugbutt out of the weapon

And then his body deals with the fire to save Robin when Maria knocked away the bit of roof she was hanging on

God bless tiny faces

Maria really trying to pull up old feelings though, suggesting that the crew will sell Robin out eventually like others, because she's a burden and even Sanji brought her to Maria

Excuse you Maria but now that Jimbei's part of the crew Sanji's is the third-highest bounty, and still an undervalue considering how Luffy's is over 4x more right now

Brook and Robin aren't too concerned though, even going as far as leaving Maria to Robin while Brook takes on the goons and Number

'He's one of the wings that will allow the pirate king to soar' - what a freaking line

Here comes Naked Kaiju Robin! Maria your big woman energy can't compare to Naked Kaiju Robin, it's already over

But we're back to the land where in a portside Okobore town Luffy still hunts for meat

Shinobu and Momo have escaped too thanks to Shinobu's kite, which I had expected when she rotted the floor anyway

Momo looks like he was gonna say Kiku and Kin'emon died, but Luffy interrupted him before saying the D word, I wonder if they could still be healed, though it is wishful wondering

Luffy is right though, he can't break now, he needs to be strong until the fight is over

So there's Caribou!

Come on man, I stood up for you after the Cover Story showed you have something like a heart in there, true you may help for your own reasons but in Sabaody you wanted to ride with Luffy

But that's how we're getting back up, Momo is gonna fly Luffy to the top

Though it wasn't the same heights as 1000 and 1010 before them it was still a really good chapter. I mean, I could whine about how Robin vs Maria was only a third of the chapter sandwiched between Yamato's DF being revealed and Luffy coming back into consciousness but frankly, I think we needed the fight to go longer.

Not only did we need to set up Robin 1v1 but Maria hardly got to show any powers up until now, so it was more of a showcase, and it doesn't hurt for some of the Tobi Roppo fights to last longer than the quantity of a chapter and a half. Though Brook and Usopp remain the only characters without the big fights so far now they have been extremely effective on support, and with Oda reminding us of the Numbers I think Usopp may still have a chance to face 1-3, Brook's enemy I don't have any clues on but he showed off a new move.

Yamato's DF being a Wano guardian deity does push me towards the idea that Yamato may stay in Wano after all, he wants to be free yes but Oden wanted to ensure that Wano was ready for Joy Boy, wouldn't Yamato want to follow that? Instead of protecting Wano for Kaido he would feel at least some responsibility to protect Wano from Kaido. Plus it doesn't bode well for his Straw Hat candidacy that his powers are ice-based, since we already have that in Brook (then again, Zoro, Sanji, Luffy and Franky can all use fire so maybe not).

The appearance of Caribou does make me hopeful that he can pull a clutch move as well, he seems on Luffy's side at least for now so maybe we can strong-arm him into helping. The key if he does would be how much he can store within himself, he can contain something or someone as big as Shirahoshi after all, what if he hid someone to bring into the belly of Onigashima?

Luffy riding Momo to the top of the dome also makes a lot of sense, calling all the way back to Punk Hazard too. This'll likely be Kaido's first time seeing Momo in Dragon form too, but Oda remains tight-lipped on how Luffy survived and communicated while in the water.

No break I hope this time, meaning next chapter will likely proper conclude our fight with Naked Kaiju Robin (or probably clothed Kaiju Robin considering that was a mid-transformation) and Maria, cool move but still would like to see some Haki from her, and a new nickname, Devil Child doesn't work when she's an adult. But alas, happy to see Robin get a solo fight.

[the-firebird69]

Cosplaydiy Anime Star Blazers 2202 Derek Wildstar Mark Venture Costume Space Battleship Yamato Uniform Suit Any Size L320 _ - AliExpress Mobile

"Cosplaydiy Anime Star Blazers 2202 Derek Wildstar Mark Venture Costume Space Battleship Yamato Uniform Suit Any Size L320 _ - AliExpress Mobile" https://m.aliexpress.com/item/2251832780144077.html?gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt

This is similar quality no it is not this is very poor quality my quality is that of probably what the men's wearhouse used to be the American made systems which everybody copied it's very high quality and it's very nice material it's not a regular polyester weave it's a special one for space and it is made to be a little cooler and they get very hot up there and it is meant for versatility as well and it is meant for running around and trying to keep it clean as well it's easy to clean it's durable material some of them are a leathery material it's not vinyl it is armor and it's a composite which is used widely in space they're real suits and real light armor mostly personal wear but we do have armor that they wear and it is spaceworthy and they do have the regular outfits they wear too when they're not on duty and there's a ton of people buying them huge numbers of people want to be on board they're going to go for the common Empire too and they're selling those and we're selling those and it's all supercon I'm down here now in Miami. Well if you can't find me there we're in line then our quality is much better you can actually wear it and you don't have to wait for it or make it yourself like most people end up doing you can send us your size or your scan

Hera

Zues

I wish you were at supercon so damn boring and you should probably tell them this sucks and stuck in here with no car no nothing to do no money and income is always a pain I'm going to do that they need to light that up it's really not good

Hera

It is lit up but it's old and it's not current but it's lit up by the Wells Fargo money and there's no statue of limitations with social security there are a bunch of assholes and they say you owe us this if they find against you so we're finding that they're dragging their feet on the Gap money a little bit not hun but this might spur it on and we are getting psyched about the Wells Fargo stuff we're going forward and capturing the money from other places and we're going to see if Ellie will deliver the money from St Elizabeth's and from her find she might do that and he's going to do basic stuff and he's just going to put in savings probably they rent payoff bills

Thor Freya

Yup

Zues Hera

I did put myself in your shoes and there's not much you can do as you tell me you pay rent and you pay off your bills and you buy a few things that make life a little more comfortable and that's about it then you have to save it cuz it's not enough money to make a change can't maintain a house on 250 Grand maybe a condo he says you can buy one for 90 or 100 and be old and cheap and gross that's true they saw them around that too that are old and cheap and gross some are newer but not much or are tougher areas but he's right you'd have to spend 200 Grand and you have a small cushion in your back to where you started and the s*** smell should be going shortly somehow find a way

Stan

Actually working on that I get Trump out of all these things he's in he's a worm he's in all this stuff sitting everyone's face is a huge a****** you can't believe he's losing any such a pain he doesn't have a ton of power he's right up front it's a pain

Mac

We're going to have to rid ourselves of him I'm getting a good response at the bases now they're trying to pour in the more they do that the more desperate the more the poor in and right now they're getting somewhat desperate the foreigners are breaking in and are going after them because they're in low income areas it's easier for the foreigners to get around they can't maneuver where we are at all or even get around they can't even stay there

Tommy f

They're coming in and it is pushing us to go after military bases and the military bases have a ton of hardware and are trying to ready to take over the world and take over cities we're observing it and our friend here is completely right

Tommy allen2

[50cyg]

It could be my asexual/aromantic streak talking, but am I the only one who doesn't see a Taiorato "romantic love" triangle? Am I the only one who just sees three very close friends where one of them simply happens to be a girl? Or, alternatively, two boyfriends in a lover's tiff and their best wingwomen who recently had just about enough of their shit?

Short answer is No you are not crazy, many people feel the same way as you who are not asexual or aromantic

Ridiculously long answer under the cut haha :P

Initial Reaction to thisAnon:

“two boyfriends in alover’s tiff and their best wingwomen who recently had just about enough oftheir shit?” laughed my ass off for like 10 minutes straight. I’m stilllaughing about this now, I love this so much!!

Second reaction:

I don’t believe I haveposted much regarding Taiorato so I’m very curious as to why I’ve received thisAnon Ask, I’m curious as to what made you decide to message me? Not that I’mcomplaining because I LOVE asks (they are the second-best part of having a Tumblrpage IMO, right behind getting to make friends with other bloggers) and I justspent like an hour responding to this and I wouldn’t put so much effort in if Ididn’t love it 😊

Reaction after severalhours of having this go through my head while driving around running errands:

It’s definitely not yourAsexual/Aromantic streak talking because I am not asexual or aromantic and Itotally get what you are saying and so do many other fans.

Since I am a Taiyama shipperI lean heavily towards the two boyfriends and their wingwoman concept but I’mgoing to try to be unbiased here. Also note that when I use Ship names likeSorato and Taiora I am both referring to the ship in a platonic sense as wellas a Romantic sense. So, like if I say “Taiora scene” I do not necessarily mean“a scene where taichi and sora interact that is meant to be taken romantically”,I likely am just meaning “A scene meant to highlight the relationship betweenthese two characters” or “hint at the potential future relationship of thesetwo characters” (in the case of Sorato)

I’ve definitely seen a fair number of moments throughout theTri series that can be interpreted as Sorato and Taiora romantic moments. Formost of the Sorato moments you can read my really long post about the Triships. As for the Taiora moments I have not compiled a list of moments but Imight if anyone asks. But honestly, they are all easy to refute, as are most ofthe shippable moments in Tri since they seem to be catering to most ships atleast a little and heavily catering to the three big ones (Taiyama, Takari,Koumi), which makes everything a little confusing and not very concrete. Also,these scenes could easily be interpreted as platonic scenes (with the onlyexception being the koumi scenes), and since really the show is meant to beabout friendship and not romance it makes sense that the scenes play out thisway.

To summarize the next 4 paragraphs (because they are reallylong and I ramble a lot so if you don’t want to read them you do not need to,just skip to the paragraph that starts with “as for taiorato”), Taiora playsout platonically probably because it is meant to be platonic both in Adventureand Tri. Sorato can be seen as platonic because it’s meant to be very subtle soif you aren’t looking for it you will probably miss it. Taiyama is the mosteasily interpreted as romantic because Toei wants it that way since A: it’s areally popular ship and B: their relationship has always been the primary relationshipwithin the series.

(skip ahead if you don’t want to hear me go on and on) Italk about this in my Digimon Tri Ship post I just mentioned but it’s prettyeasy to not see a love triangle when it is not being explicitly obvious. I meanthis “love triangle” is no Team Edward vs Team Jake (omg I just made a twilightreference and I am deeply ashamed but I’m sorry it works as a comparison), Yamatoand Taichi are not fighting over Sora, they have never fought over Sora, thatis not their relationship. Primarily this is because Taiora was never meant tobe in the running according to the original creator even though many otherpeople involved in the production did ship them. People can say all they wantthat it was only the English Dub staff but the Digimon Movies disprove that, especiallyDiablomon Strikes Back when Sora reaches for Taichi instead of Yamato, there isliterally no plot reason for that, it was put in there because someone in theproduction staff wanted it there and that must be because they ship it. Sobasically, Taichi was always meant to be the supportive friend encouraging histwo besties to be happy with each other.

Now the other interesting thing that I haven’t seen manySorato fans bring up is the fact that if Tri is meant to be a call back toAdventure, which is very obvious by all the scenes that are direct nodes to theoriginal series, then it makes sense that the moments between Sora and Yamatowould be very subtle while the moments between Taichi and Sora are a littlemore obvious. In Adventure Taichi and Sora had a lot of scenes together becauseTaichi was the character most focused on and Sora was his best friend as wellas the person who had known him the longest and since the show focused a lot onfriendship it makes sense to put Taichi and Sora’s relationship at theforefront. As for the Yamato and Sora scenes I think the main writer meant fortheir scenes to be subtle hence why he only told a select amount of people (Iwill never understand this executive decision and honestly blame him for allthe discourse within the fandom regarding Taiora vs Sorato. I know a lot ofpeople blame the English Dub but I have also heard people claim that there weremany people on staff in Japan who shipped Taiora and since the concept of the hot-headedleader and primary girl is pretty cliché it does not surprise me that manypeople would be behind it and even assume it is meant to be end game. If you donot make it clear you intend for something to be canon and have a ton of otherpeople writing whole episodes and character arks who may have their ownconcepts you very much run the risk of people putting in moments dedicated toother ships). Basically, these three factors (putting friendship at theforefront, wanting Sorato to be subtle, and lack of communication) allcontributed to both Taiora and Sorato being very easily seen as both romanticand platonic. But really the reason I brought this up was to compare it to Triand I’m sorta getting off topic I think (god all my posts really just feel likerants, I need to work on my writing style).

So, getting back to this being reflected in Tri. I recentlyread a really brilliant post that pointed out all the Sorato moments in Tri andhow some of them are very similar to the foreshadowing moments in Adventure.There was one specific scene in this post that totally blew my mind where theauthor talks about the scene where Yamato plays his harmonica in Confession.They point out how Yamato’s harmonica song, which was used in foreshadowingscenes in Adventure, plays throughout Sora’s scene and into the first part ofJyou’s scene when Jyou is talking about wanting to introduce Gomamon to hisgirlfriend and I just thought “holy crap that is actually a really brilliantly subtleway to hint at Sorato” (I am getting so sick and tired of referencing posts I can’tlink to and I’m so sorry, I’m going to go through all my likes and reblogs inthe next month and bookmark everything important so I can find and link stuffmore cause it’s really not nice of me to not link to the post for both thereaders and the wonderful people who create the posts. Seriously if anybody isreading this post and knows what I’m talking about please send me the link so Ican include it in this post because it was very well written and as a nonSorato fan I was super engaged and impressed). So basically, a lot of TriSorato scenes are call backs to the subtlety of Adventure Sorato scenes and Taiorascenes are more obvious because the Taiora scenes in Adventure were moreobvious.

And then we have Taiyama. If we are following the same logicas above then of course we are going to get the most of Taichi and Yamatobecause their relationship was the primary relationship in the original seriesand their fights drove a lot of the plot and virtually all of their characterdevelopment (especially Yamato’s character development but I’d say Taichi’sfinal ark of character development is solely due to his final fight withYamato). So if Tri is trying to mimic Adventure they are going to have theTaiyama fight scenes play into the plot and character development once again. Taiyamais one of the most popular ships in the fandom because of all theirinteractions in Adventure, many of which really do play out like two loversinteracting.

As for Taiorato, it can be often seen as just platonicbecause Digimon is meant to be a story about friendship between both thechildren and their partners as well as between the other children. Since Taioratois the golden Trio of the Digimon Adventure universe and always has been so weare going to get a lot of these guys interacting but there isn’t going to beany obvious love triangle stuff probably because it isn’t meant to be therejust like how it was never meant to be there in the original season, and alsobecause it would be pretty OOC if Taichi and Yamato suddenly started fightingover Sora. Sora is primarily designed to be, or at least try to be, a calmingagent between these two very different and strong headed boys. She is not meantto be a love interest and cause further discord, basically I’d say she is theopposite of what most girls in her role (lead female) end up being and that isreally great. These three are meant to be the three in command of the group andthey were designed to work well off each other and of course that is going tobe showcased in the show and it comes down really to their friendship sinceSorato is meant to be canon (at least in adventure) and Taiora are just greatfriends, and Taiyama are also Rivals to Friends. So yes, it makes sense thatsomeone would look at this and think “wow those three are an amazing trio offriends” cause that is the point.

But for seeing it as a love triangle, I think it is verylikely the Tri creators are pointing subtly at it for the same reason they aresubtly or not so subtly (cough cough koumi cough cough) pointing at it becauseit is prominent within the fandom and they are catering to it. They are bothplaying off the discourse within the fandom to cause more drama which oftenleads to interest which leads to sales. Also, don’t forget Taiorato as a Triadrelationship is super popular so they are likely catering to that as well inmaking it seem like they could all be together, oddly that can lead people toseeing it as solely platonic if you are not used to seeing a functioning Triadrelationship and not a love triangle with obvious discourse.

I tried to make this as unbiased as possible, even though ultimatelythese are of course opinions and interpretations of the material. If you arecurious about my biased opinions on this “love triangle” just ask and I can doa follow up post.

Thanks so much for the Ask 😊 I enjoyed responding to it

[wackiekebab]

Japanese teacher: so, how much do you guys know about the history of japan

Majority of the class: not much

Those special few: well........................japan is an island by the sea filled with volcanoes and it's "beautiful"

(ominus low E5 maybe?)in the year negative 1,000,000,000 (drop music, dead)japan might not have been here.

(resume music, mybe) in the year -40,000, it was here, and you could walk to it

and some people walked to it.

then it got warmer, some icebergs melted, (slosh sound) it became an island ,and now there's lots of "trees!" (brisk, short, up beat. airy.like maybe with a light high reverby string triad)because it's warmer.

so now there's people on the island, they're basically sort of hanging out (in between the mountains) eating nuts off trees and using the latest technology, like stones! and bowls! (groovy! they put like shoelaces on them or something)

[actually their technology was super sick. they had bows, and they knew how to fish, and there was plenty of food growing on trees all the time, it was great, but then it got colder and there was less food and less people and it was pretty sad.] cut

(ding, dong) (bell sound) it's the outside world, and they have technology from the future (flash "bronze age" on the screen in the corner somewhere).

like really good metal, and Crazy Rice Farms (exaggerate this visually, but not with vocal effects). now you can make a lot of rice, really really quickly.

(side note: (like, tint the screen and caption it as a side note) that means if you own the farm, you own a lot of food. (red)

which is something everybody needs tosurvive (epic reverb and matching graphic huge dramatic effect or whatever)

so that makes you king.

rice farming and rice kingdoms spread across the land, all the way to here, with these main kingdoms. eventually, This became the main main kingdom (yamato), in control of the entire land.

knock knock, get the door, it's religion.

it's buddhism, and Baekje wants you very badly to try it.

"please try this religion" said Soga. (baeklje was paying him to say this, i think) NO, said everybody.

"TRY IT" said soga.

NO said everybody, again. quieter this time.

and so the religion was put into place, and all the rules that came with it. (show 17 article constitution.)

eventually someone else took control of the government.(Prince Naka no Ōe and Nakatomi no Kamatari) and made some reforms. (taiko reforms). Like making the Government govern More (ritsuryo) and making the government more like china's government, which is a government thay governs more.

"Hi china," they said.

"Hi dipshit," said china

"Can you call us something other than dipshit?" Said japan

"Like what"

"How about sunrise land" said japan

And they stole some of China's alphabet to write a book about thmself. then write lots of poetry and art and another book about themself

then they stopped moving the capital every time the emperor died, and kept it in one place for a while . right here  (heia?? kyo) so they could make it bigger and stronger with like more offices and departments.

and they conquered the north, finally.  (show checking off checklist) (just) get that squared away

& they generally stopped talking to china, because the Chinese government was kind of falling apart at this point.

japan changed their writing system (kana) a little bit.

then they did more art, and poetry start to show examples)

(then clarify)

the rich people in the palace did art and poetry the poor people probably had to work

the art and poetry and writing got better and better, and the imperial palace was so busy doing art and fighting over the throne that they didn't really care about the rest of the country.

rich people in the suburbs had to hire Thugs to protect their shit

the thugs got more organized and became as powerful as the government. (right here, say where the headquarters is, and introduce terms "shogun" and/or "shogunate")

they let the emperor still be "emperor"  but the warriors were actually in control

Breaking news,  the mongols have invaded china.

"we've invaded china" said the mongols.  "please respect us, or else we might invade you as well."

"okay"  said japan (swords drawing, with sheath noise)

so the mongols came over, and tried to fight the Japanese.

on the first day, the Japanese did pretty well, and on the second day, the Mongols army was randomly destroyed by a tornado

the mongols said what the fuck and tried again.

this time, after 7 weeks of fighting, the mongols were randomly destroyed by another tornado.

the warriors were very excited, but very tired ......

then the Emperor overthrows the Shogunate, then the the shogunate overthrows him back and installs a different emperor, who makes the shogun shogun again,

now in Kyoto.

[so how's the economy right now?]

It's Great, actually! there's a lot of trade with Korea and China, things are going really great, thanks for asking.

AND THERE'S A LOT OF NEW ART, here are some of the types:

(list types)

it's time for Who's Going to be the Next Shogun?

usually it's the shoguns kid. but the shogun doesn't have a kid. so he tries to get his brother to quit being a monk and be the next shogun. he says 'ok' but then the shogun has a kid.

SO NOW WHO IS IT GOING TO BE?

vote now on your phones.

and everyone voted so hard that the palace caught on fire and burned down.

the shogun actually didn't care, he was off somewhere doing poetry.

and the whole country began fighting for control of the country.

["FREE FOR ALL!" (sound clip from smashbros64) everyone is fighting. EVERYONE is fighting.] cut, replac with above line.

(can you show a map?)

(boat crash landing sound)

knock knock, it's europe. no, they're not here to Take Over (yet), they just want to sell some shit, like clocks. and GUNS (pan hard right with rev/delay jingle: and "jesus"

meanwhile, this clan is ready to win the free for all, but they are INTERCEPTED by somebody younger, crazier, and more talented (oda nobunaga)

he builds a castle Close to the city, but just far enough so that it won't catch on fire from drama. he is about halfway through conquering japan when

someone who works for him kills him. and then someone else who works for him kills them . and That guy finishes conquering japan.

and then he confiscated everybody's swords!

"and now i'm going to invade korea, and then hopefully China!" he said, and failed. and also died.

so ANOTHER GUY (tokugowa Ieyasu) took over (after fighting everyone else who wanted to take over)

and moved the capital to Edo, which seemed like a good strategy at the time, and he still let the "Emperor" in kyoto dress like an "Emperor"

the Tokugowa family continued to rule japan for a long time, and they were VERY strict. so strict they closed the country. no one can leave, and no one can come in. (sidenote)EXCEPT for the dutch, if they want to buy and sell shit, but they have to do it right here (circle Dejima)

now that the entire country was not at war with itself, the population increased a LOT. business increased. schools were built. roads were built. everyone learned to read. books were published. there was art, poetry, plays, fashion,

and Dutch Studies.

people started to study european science from books they bought from the dutch. we're talkin geography, medicine, astronomy, languages, physics, and maybe even electricity (emphasize this with graphic swell and touch of audio. and full screen something .)

over time, the economic and cultural prosperity began to gradually slow d-

(interrupt the narration.)

(boom. big huge low drone note/drum hit. just show a huge freakin ship. and possibly an overlay of the united states flag at the time.

narrate a little more solemly this time)

knock knock. it's the united states. with Huge boats, with guns. gunboats.

"open .. the country. stop .. having it be closed." said the United States.

there was really nothing they could do. so they signed a contract that lets United Stats, Britain and Russia visit japan any time they want.

Choshu and Satsuma hated this. "that sucks." they said. "this SUCKS."

and they overthrew the shogunate, and somehow, made the Emperor the Emperor again, and moved him to Edo, which they renamed 'Eastern Capital' (Tokyo). they made a new government... which was a Lot More Western. (maybe show 'privy council' compared to british privy council?) in fact they hired hundreds of Westerners to help make the government more Western. they made a new constitution, that was .. pretty Western. (show a diagram of govt if you can, showing house of representatives, etc)

and a military that was pretty western. (show visually LARGE)

and do you know what else is western?

that's right, it's CONQUERING STUFF (visually large, but not so much in audio)

so what can we conquer? (map showing japan and surroundings)

(quick zoom to korea) Korea! they conquer korea, taking it from its previous owner, China, ... and then go "a little bit further" (liaodung peninsula) but Russia rushes in, out of nowhere, and says "stop, no, you can't take that. we were gonna .. build a railroad thru here, to .. try and get some warm water, ..

and Russia builds their railroad ... supervised by a shit-ton of soldiers, and then when the railroad was done, they downgraded to, (fake out decrease graphic, then immediately increase) a FUCKTON. did i say downgrade, i meant upgrade.

and Japan says "can you maybe chill". and russia says "how about maybe you chill." (maybe pointing finger appears on that word?)

(silent, black background.) japan is kind of scared of russia. you'll never guess who is also kind of scared of Russia. quick crossfade into spin around the world.) Great Britain

so Japan and Great Britain make an alliance together, so they can be A Little Less Scared Of Russia.

feeling confident, japan goes to war with russia, just for a moment (show actual time),

jingle: "it's time for world war 1" see movie 65

the World is about to Have A War. because, it's the 1900s, and Weapons are getting crazy, and all these Empires are excited to try them out on each other. (you can show diagram if you want)

meanwhile, japan has been enjoying conquering stuff, and wants MORE (huge, voracious emphasis.) and the next thing on their list is (show "to be conquered" checklist)

this part of China, (tsingdao) and lots of tiny islands .

All that stuff belongs to Germany.

which just had war declared on it by Britain, because Britain was friends with Belgium, which was being tresspassed by Germany in order to get to France to kick France's ass because France is friends with Russia, who was getting ready to kick Austria/(hungary)'s ass, because Austria was getting ready to kick Serbia's ass, because someone in serbia shot the leader of Austria's ass. er, actually he shot him in the head.

and Britain is currently friends with Japan. so you know what that means. (silent pause.) Duh, japan should invade all up in Germany's shit! which they wanted to do anyway.

so they call britain on the Tele(gram) to sort of ... Let Them Know .

and then they did it! and they also helped Britain a little, here and there, with some errands and stuff.

(classic ringing bell sound)

now the war is over, and Congratulations Japan! you technically fought in the war, which means you get to sit at the Negotiating Table! with the big dudes, where they decided who owns what. and Yes, japan gets to keep all that shit they stole from germany.

you also get to join the post war Mega Alliance: the League Of Nations !!! jingle see movie 66

(spoken quicker, like fine print) who's mission statement is to Try Not To Take Over the World

The Great Depression (big low ominous slam, title screen, slowly growing multiple layer thing a la pineapple or mountain of regret)

(narated still over that ominous thing) the great depression is bad. and japan's economy is now crappy.

(break from ominous) but the military is is doing just fine, and it invades Manchuria.

and the League of Nations is like

"no, don't do that, if you're in the league of nations your'e not supposed to take over the world!" (almost like Eric Wareheim 'i cant waeeaeit' sort of voice)

and japan said, "how bout i do anyway" jingle , see movie 71.mov

and japan invaded more and more and more and more of china, and was planning to invade the entire East. (show proposed map of greater east asia co prosperity sphere)

you've got mail" it's from Germany, the new leader of Germany. he has a cool mustache, and he's trying to take over the world and needs friends. (show text, quick letter type / crop reveal of the contents of email: "i am interested in taking over the world, and i was wondering if you could be my friend." this also got forwarded to Italy.

they all decided to be friends, because they had so much in common. (immediately fill table with 'trying to take over the world' and 'needs friends')

"it's time for world war 2" jingle movie 72.

Germany is invading the neighbors. then they invade the neighbors' neighbors. then the neighbors' neighbors' neighbors , who happened to be britain said 'holy shit' and the united states started helping britain, because they are "good friends" see movie 77.

and

started Not Helping japan (clearly indicate or caption somewhere on the screen that that means they stopped "selling oil"), because 'they're "friends and our friends are not friends" (tiny gap) "plus they're planning on invading the entire ocean" same mel. see movie 79.

the United States is also working on a large, very huge bomb. bigger than any other bomb, ever.

Just In Case (maybe like, real silent, plain text, full screen, background dimmed. real dead voc.) ( if you can really subtlely indicate Germany .... in the background. )

but they still haven't joined the war. war looks bad on TV, and united states is really starting to care about their image.

But then, japan spits on them ! in Hawaii, and challenges them to war. and they say Yes! and then Germany, as a symbol of friendship, declares war on the United States also.

so the United States goes to war in Europe (scale tip, germany flies off) and they help the gang chase germany back into germany, and then when they are done, they chase japan back into japan.

and they haven't used the bomb yet, and are curious to see if it works, so they drop it on japan. (devastating explosion which stops all music.) (then after a medium pause , like 3 sec?) "they actually drop 2"

(longer pause, overwhelming silence / mushroom cloud, etc.)

(silent.)

(white flag appears, which says "ok, you win" no vocal here.)

United States installed a new government (show like install wizard or something, maybe even include process details like constitution, blah blah blah, etc) inspired by the United States government, with just the right ingredients for big international businesses to do big international business, such as sell lots of cars, and electronics.

then the economy got worse and staed kinda bad, (show line graph of econ) but they continued to make great video games and cartoons.

Everyone: ....what the fu-???