#yeah anyways go read shonen note :)

[always-a-joyful-note]

Based off ch. 19

[ririnpopo]

He's so kirby

[lanshappycorner]

Me explaining to u guys why you should ship Byakusho

Do you like doomed yaoi? But you still want them to have a happy ending so you end up reading fanfics to cope?

Look no further, byakusho is for you. Doomed yaoi with an actual happy ending. Regardless of if you already like KHR and you don't particularly ship them, or you know absolutely nothing about this series, you should read it anyways. Also if you're wondering how they can be doomed yaoi and still have a happy ending, you should definitely read this

This segment is for people who do not know anything abt KHR so if you already know abt who Byakuran and Shoichi are, you can skip to the next bolded segment.

OKAY SO for those who do not know anything about Katekyo Hitman Reborn, it's basically like. About mafia and stuff. Also they all have different "dying will flame" types based on their personalities/affinities and stuff. Just think of them all as magical girls with guns okay don't worry too much about it they have magic and they're in the mafia

Let's go over their characters real quick.

Shoichi is first introduced in something similar to a filler episode, called "The Misfortune of Shoichi Irie" or something like that. Basically in the episode, he's delivered a package by the mafia for taking care of their kid, Lambo.

Lambo is another character (a kid from the mafia) Not under Shoichi's care, but they do meet briefly. Realizing that the package isn't supposed to go to him, he ventures to return it to Tsuna's (the main character of KHR) house, where he runs into a lot of odd and kind of gag-like funny typical shonen anime shenanigans. But this really freaks him out

He ultimately fails to return the package, and suffers from nightmares about the encounter.

Something to note though is that Lambo possesses a bazooka called the "10 yr bazooka" and if you shoot it at someone, it basically has the ability to switch you and your future self (10 years from now) for 5 minutes. This is extremely relevant.

The main characters of KHR are transported roughly 10 years into the future, and realize that they cannot return home even after 5 minutes. They then find out that there's this guy attempting world domination, and his name is Byakuran. Byakuran has access to knowledge of every parallel universe and timeline, allowing him to even consider world domination

Byakuran runs the Millefiore mafia family, and his right hand man is Shoichi. Long story short, they are introduced as the villain duo that the main characters must defeat

I'll go over some more stuff that ppl familiar with KHR probably already know, but it is necessary for my reasoning so please read through everything

First off, they are quite literally soulmates. Initially, Shoichi wanted to know what his future was like, hence he traveled back into the future twice after changing his actions. There, he meets Byakuran both times, accidentally causing Byakuran to realize his powers to gain access to knowledge from other worlds

However, because he runs into Byakuran in the future no matter where he travels or how he tries to change the future, it is basically implied that Byakuran and Shoichi are destined to meet in every timeline. Or in most at least

When Shoichi realizes this, he immediately devises a plan to take down Byakuran. His plan? Befriend Byakuran, gain his trust, and ruin all of his plans

Upon returning back to the past, he purposely erased his memories of the future, planning to have them return years later. You may be wondering how Shoichi is so confident that he could carry out the plan despite having no memory of Byakuran

Well this all really implies how confident he was that he and Byakuran’s fates were intertwined. Because how else could he be so sure that their paths would cross or Byakuran would show interest in him? Yeah. Anyways

They met in college and there is something you have to know here, and it's that they are so best friends to lovers guys they are in fact best friends

Shoichi, having no memories of Byakuran, somehow befriends him and becomes his best friend. Like, For Realsies...

When he regains his memories, he realizes much to his horror that his friend was about to game end the world, so he continues to persist with his plans despite now feeling completely awful about it

Fast forward, Shoichi is now Byakuran’s right hand man in the Millefiore family. It is important to note that Byakuran refers to Shoichi as "Sho-chan" and Shoichi refers to Byakuran as "Byakuran-san"

It may at first seem like Byakuran is being playful and Shoichi is polite, and while Shoichi does have a level of politeness, it's important to note that Shoichi and Byakuran use katakana to refer to each other when they use -chan and -san

This is in most cases actually considered rude when referring to one's superiors, and considering Byakuran is Shoichi's boss, it basically means he's okay with Shoichi referring to him rudely. Furthermore, the usage of katakana in this context just implies closeness

This information cannot be seen in the anime because you can't tell if someone is using katakana or hiragana just by listening to them speak, but it is very apparent in the manga that they are close. Also, all the other characters besides Shoichi refer to Byakuran as Byakuran-sama, so there's that too

Byakuran sent Shoichi a whole room's worth of white anemones, as most friends do

Shoichi finds this troublesome though because Byakuran is big on flower language and this means Byakuran has great expectations for him to succeed in his mission (of killing the main characters)

However it's later revealed that Shoichi had intended on betraying Byakuran, and Byakuran also reveals himself that he already knew about Shoichi's eventual betrayal, since Shoichi has always disapproved of his views

So if Byakuran already knew Shoichi was going to betray him, sending him a room of flowers meaning that he expects him to do well has no practical meaning to it besides from

1) he's just fucking with shoichi and 2) anemones explicitly mean love and passion so really he's just gay

No I'm so serious he's just gay. Like the Millefiore is made up of a bunch of squads right, and Byakuran is as mentioned above obsessed with flower language. Meaning he absolutely could not have not known what anemones generally mean outside of "anticipation/expectations"

But also each squad is named after a flower and Byakuran decided to explicitly assign Shoichi the rose squad. This man has done everything but kiss Shoichi on the lips like actually. All the fucking flowers in the world and you assign your best friend the rose ? And you send him a whole room full of flowers meaning love and passion? You gay bitch 😭😭

Anyways it has to be said that Byakuran besides being definitely not straight, is a really shit person. Like I have to say it he's awful, he's responsible for the death of thousands of people and he just casually destroyed a couple of worlds in search of more power. He views people like his toys and he admits to it

He is like a child in how everything is really just for his amusement, something for him to play with. He is even willing to sacrifice his closest allies for more power, he's just that type of guy </33 he just...does not have emotional attachments to other people

But with that said, he doesn't seem particularly hurt when it's revealed that Shoichi was not on his side anymore. However, when they play Choice, Shoichi is picked as a target and I refuse to believe that it is a coincidence and not Byakuran being petty because his best friend betrayed him💀

For those who do not know, Choice is a game that Byakuran and Shoichi made together in university, but now they're playing it irl. It's kind of like capture the flag, but the flag is one specific target, and in this case, the target for the main characters' team is Shoichi

Even when Shoichi was beaten and nearly died in Choice, Byakuran seemed unaffected by all of this and we are led to believe that he never really did care about Shoichi despite calling him his best friend

Shoichi, however, admits to the main characters that despite Byakuran being the way he was, back before he regained his memories of the future, the time he spent with Byakuran were "the best times of his life"

He genuinely enjoyed being around Byakuran and considered him his best friend despite knowing that Byakuran was going to do awful things, and he was determined to stop him. Despite it all

In Shoichi’s character song, we get a glimpse into his thoughts, and as it turns out, he really is in conflict with himself

Because in his heart, he wants to be with Byakuran, it's his place, but he chose to save the world instead, so that place is gone. He even says that he has to lie to his heart to do what he has to </33

In the song he also states that he doesn't want to break his memories and he wants to keep them safe, probably referring to the picture perfect time he spent with Byakuran before shit hit the fan. He continuously wills himself to not cry, to stop crying, because it's for the world

Girl I am crying for him. He cannot afford to act selfishly because choosing to be with Byakuran would make him the happiest and would simultaneously doom the world. But anyways

Clearly Shoichi holds Byakuran in high regard and loves him. Like not even just romantically, but in general he really does love Byakuran a lot

At the very end of the arc, the villain must be defeated though, and Byakuran is killed like straight up killed

Throughout the entire scene, Shoichi does not once show joy. He seems to accept the situation and is happy in a way that his plans have come to fruition, but his plans have always been "defeat Byakuran" rather than kill him. Shoichi had never planned to kill Byakuran, or at least explicitly said it, although I'm sure he knew that type of conclusion was inevitable

His reaction to Byakuran's death does stand out though, because every other character does seem to express joy at the victory, but Shoichi looks...blank. Perhaps shocked or in disbelief, but either ways his best friend was just killed right in front of him and he can't even be mad about it because this was the only way he could've been stopped

Shoichi is not aware of this, but before Byakuran dies, we finally get a glimpse into his thoughts as well

Byakuran admits in his last moments internally that although he did all of this because he wanted to create a perfect world, it wasn't as if he was completely dissatisfied with this one because there were also times where he felt "warm and fuzzy" as well. We then get a bunch of flashbacks in his dying moments of him and Shoichi together

BITCH???? AKDJAF 😭😭😭 only in his dying moments do we find out that Byakuran really did actually care about Shoichi and genuinely considered him his best friend because well. Context. It's his dying moments would he have dying moment flashbacks about someone he didn't care about

Like just moments of them chatting...Shoichi smiling at him... gay ass flashback if I've ever seen one 😭😭

Byakuran is someone who doesn't generally value people, he views them as toys and pawns. So the fact that he basically admitted that he did have a genuine connection with Shoichi is so :((((( this guy is just so out of tune with his emotions that he couldn't properly convey it in the end and Shoichi never actually knew about it

I say this but I feel like Shoichi did have a vague idea that Byakuran held him to some degree of high regard because. Well he was Byakuran's right hand man and they were friends for years prior to the whole mafia world domination thing

He's the only person that truly treats Byakuran like a human despite Byakuran trying to play god and everyone worshiping him. And despite being the only person that doesn't treat Byakuran like the god he wants to be, Byakuran still keeps him around

So clearly that means something but anyways that is the doomed yaoi. Byakuran is dead and Shoichi's plans succeed at the cost of his best friend's life, and he never found out in the end that his best friend probably did love him as much as he loved him. And that is where it ends

OR SO YOU THOUGHT HA

As mentioned this all takes place 10 years in the future

Meaning that the past version of Byakuran is still Alive. When the main characters return back to the past, there is a huge earthquake and everyone, including the past versions of Shoichi and Byakuran, are given memories of what they did in the future

Byakuran is taken to mafia prison bc sure it's 10 yrs in the past but like that guy is like a ticking time bomb 💀 doesn't matter though because somehow he's bailed out of jail.

Byakuran is a white boy btw :/ he lives in Italy and Shoichi is Japanese. Yes this is important because when they're in university, they meet abroad when Shoichi probably goes to Italy or something to study, but as it stands, currently Byakuran is in Italy and Shoichi is still in Japan

Byakuran is preparing to go to Japan with the people that helped to bail him out and the first thing he says is that he can't wait to meet his best friend Sho-chan😭😭😭

Thanks to the power of love and friendship, Byakuran is now no longer batshit insane and it's implied he now properly cares about his teammates btw. Anyways congrats to Byakuran for having human emotions I'm so happy for him

After returning to Japan, of course he goes to see Shoichi, and we don't know how it went exactly, but the next time Shoichi appears in the series, he tells the main character that Byakuran explained the situation to him and stuff, so it is implied that they are on good enough terms to speak abt stuff normally

Also Shoichi is kinda next to Byakuran the entire time 😔 and there is a segment where Shoichi literally shit talks Byakuran in his face which is so funny to me because it's BYAKURAN hes talking to and he just doesn't give a shit. But Byakuran pulls out the "best friend" card on him and throughout his entire speel, Shoichi never once denies that they're best friends ever

In the very last arc, Byakuran sustains extremely awful injuries and by extremely awful I mean intestines completely destroyed awful . Luckily somehow he gets around it (dont worry about it) and is chilling in the hospital and although it's a very small panel, you will see that Shoichi actually is there visiting him in the hospital

Remember how I said that everyone has magic powers and special dying will flames. Well Shoichi just happens to have the sun flame which makes him a healer so we can infer that he's also helping to heal Byakuran in the hospital along with visiting him

In this timeline they're able to retain their friendship and work towards a better future but anyways that's them my favorite doomed but not really doomed yaoi they are everything to me please ship them

[h0estar]

catching up to bnha (contains spoilers for chapter 362)

BAKUGO REALLY DIED I'M GOING TO COMBUST

i saw the spoilers years ago, and let me tell you, i was livid. some MHA fans are genuinely incapable of having basic human decency and think it's edgy to just post whatever on social media. WITHOUT WARNING. tumblr gets a pass because at least it has spoiler tags, even if i follow them anyway, lmao. but, i was definitely going through it! dark days, man.

you see, i would've absolutely grieved this moment had i read this weekly. i would've cried, despaired, and cried some more. i would've been absolutely devastated. but because i knew it was coming, all i could do was stare in shock. heartbroken? definitely. but the emotional impact was definitely lessened. rip to the feels i could've had.

ANYWAY

i know he's alright 🙄

and this "death" feels like a slap in the face to Bakugo's entire character arc. i mean what was the point of him working his hardest to be number one? to have his goals on full display for the readers time and time again? to have other characters rooting for him? to display his determination and drive? to develop his character so well? it would be a huge waste to just throw him away as a plot device for another one of izuku's rage-fueled power-ups. he's more than that :(

i mean, sure... his heart exploded or whatever... and i mean yeah sure there was a bit of flashback. but he's had a such a great development, it'd make no sense to just take him out so early in the game. right? RIGHT?!?!!!!

also, not to mention the multiple death scares this mf had. therefore, i am definitely not buying it 🙄 (even if it looks real this time but whatever!!!! i know he's alright!! he's alive and well. i know it because of the spoilers, okay? i think. i dont know. was that him? crazy. i think it was. maybe. i hope? hahhahhdaidjkssk)

anyway, i'd have to brace myself for the next volume. this volume was hell on earth with toya vs shoto, endeavor vs afo, shigaraki in the sky, etc. i sense pain, pain, and more gut wrenching pain in the next volumes so @h0estar, be prepared.

honorable mention to horikoshi's art. i love love love love bnha's art style so much. see, as much as i love the anime, i'm always a sucker for some godtier manga art because you can see the artist's improvement and emotion in his works. horikoshi is so passionate about the details and i love how he goes beyond (plus ultra?!) with his works, considering this is a weekly shonen. in all his years, his work's quality never deteriorated 👏🏻 it's one of the reasons why i'm a manga > anime girlie for MHA. note that i'm not artist so i could be yapping about things i don't understand, but i'm sure you get me! ha ahaha

[self-loving-vampire]

Re: shonen-and-shoujo as someone who is hoping to write her own girl shonen someday: It is nice to see some more thoughtful additions to the shonen v magical girl thing! Thanks for breaking it down in that post.

Though I do have a point to kind of add to the convo: I think a part of the reason why I was more eager to suggest magical girl stuff to people who wanted a shonen but with girls *was* because a point I had heard a few times from a couple of people was how they disliked that female characters in shonen had to “act like men” in order to be strong. Which was where my point of confusion came from.

People who say they want a girl shonen that specifically has more tomboyish characters makes a lot more intuitive sense to me, and it will be what I aim for in my project. But I think that might be one reason why some people do instinctively rec magical girl stuff.

To be frank, I’m not fond of the dismissiveness around female characters who “act like men” in these circles. Like, I am a woman who can be classified as pretty feminine, and I get why people would be annoyed at like, not having the traits they typically inhabit be framed as strong. But on the other hand, like, media rep for masculine women is also pretty sparse. And at least for femme girls, we do have something close to that. (Also tbh a lot of women in shonen aren’t even masculine).

(Tangential thought, but it is worth noting that a lot of currently existing media which could be classified as girl shonen does feature feminine girls. I think Soul Eater is the big example.)

Anyways, apologies for rambling. This is something I have quite a few thoughts on and I had wanted to share them with someone. 😅

Yeah, I agree. A lot of the time there's this idea that female characters are somehow obligated to "act like men"[1] in this kind of media, but if you actually look at it those characters are generally still feminine[2], just strong and willing to fight as well.

I think part of it might just be that a lot of people have such a strict view of gender roles that even that comes off as overly tomboyish to them. That's probably how we get stuff like "the butchest girl twitter can handle before they start getting scared" or that one sad mormon conservative losing his mind over princess Peach wearing pants for a little bit in the Mario movie.

When acceptably gendered behavior is extremely narrow, practically anything (especially anything that would make you all that relevant in a series focused on training and fighting) makes you non-conforming.

[1]: And why gender behavior like this either way? What does "acting like men" even mean when men are not a monolith and women also have a high degree of variance to their personalities and interests?

Personally I think most people have varying combinations of traits considered "masculine" or "feminine" but social expectations and upbringing may force them (sometimes through abusive means) to suppress this variance in order to conform.

So I don't think women, fictional or otherwise, ever really "act like men" because I don't believe "acting like men" is a coherent type of behavior to begin with. Gender roles as a whole are just blatantly fake in my opinion.

[2]: Soul Eater definitely fits as an example of this. It has a lot of really cool female characters, but they still tend to largely abide by the social expectations forced on women. If we translate "acting like men" as being gender non-conforming, then they definitely don't seem to be doing even that to a significant degree.

Like, I love Maka and Tsubaki but if someone called them GNC I'd be kind of concerned for the reasons explained above.

And the same is true of shonen women more generally. A lot of them don't even wear pants. How are we going to scandalize the trads again if they're not wearing pants?

P.S. Read Fate/stay night and the Tsukihime remake coming to Steam soon! They have some nice, properly violent fight scenes that women have very major roles in.

[nine-fingered-entity]

one piece live action episode 1 thoughts:

yeah, i'm months late. who cares?

also. full disclaimer: i have both a huge sentimental connection to one piece (first ever manga, first read when i was like. 8.) and am an enjoyer of it current day (have read the whole thing 3 times. can and will bitch about it at length but genuinely do love it. have posted like. 45k worth of one piece fic.) so absolutely biased as hell.

anyways

show is silly goofy which is correct. one piece is silly goofy first and foremost. just relax, enjoy the ride, accept the cartoon shonen logic. once i did that i had a good time.

i 'm actually a fan of the changes made to pacing. breaking up the first chapter with all the luffy flashback lore makes a ton of sense for live action and makes more space for present-day stuff. we don't need to know all that right away. we'll get to it. episode was still a bit rushed but tbh the manga had that issue too with the early chapters (had a lot to do and oda did not yet have free rein to bloat)

along the same lines, introducing nami and zoro at the same time makes a lot of sense. gives us more time with both of them. get to see nami in her element a bit more-very cool. also the map gives them all more of a reason to be in shell town causing havoc.

i especially like the reworking of how zoro and luffy meet and how zoro teams up with him (not a crew! yet!). it always kind of bothered me that luffy somewhat coerced him into joining in the OG - thematically that was a cognitive dissonance, so luffy freeing him without expectation felt a) more luffy and b) will make zoro eventually joining more meaningful imo

do sort of wish that they'd somehow managed to keep zoro stubbornly hanging there starving for like. days. because i think that's a really good intro to his character and what's important to him but at least he still managed to eat the floor rice. like overall i think the changes were a good idea but they do give a different spin on him. (i think he accepted being freed too easily in this one. but. oh well.)

big fan of the alabasta foreshadowing. and zoro's opening scene. kind of ate ngl. cool to see things only offhandedly mentioned in the manga.

acting/writing. hm. i think some of the serious dialogue was a bit clunky and some bits the acting felt a bit...self conscious? sometimes luffy seemed a bit Too Self Aware/and not relaxed enough. during the sillier bits though i thought he did better and loosened up. same with zoro. no notes for nami though.

i was expecting to hate the rubber CGI but. did not mind it. fight scenes felt a bit silly but that's okay they are silly. (it is a plot point in the early manga that luffy fighting looks bizarre.)

fight scenes pretty decent, considering the medium change. three-sword style does just look flimsy live, unfortunately.

why is Garp here????????????????????

surprisingly faithful to all the important bits, honestly. we'll see where this goes. interested to see what they do with orange town now that the set-up has changed.

fun thoughts:

was that crocodile in the execution crowd? oda was apparently pretty involved in all this, so if that Was crocodile then that counts as evidence for my favorite One Piece theory. crocomom real?

spotted Foxy and Bellamy bounty posters, which imply both of them have been to the East Blue. interesting but probably inconsequential set-building. curious on what posters i missed.

my instagram ads keep showing me a one-hole zoro earring set (all three dangles but you only need one piercing) and i've never been more tempted. damn the algorithm.

huge fan of koby's hair

was jumpscared multiple times by british accents. which is on me and my USAmerican-ness.

unfounded guess but i bet they're going to change how kuina dies. please.

[kimium]

For the latest ask game: F, K, P, U!

(From this ask meme HERE)

Thanks for the ask, Shreedle!!! Always love your asks!

F. What's the longest you've ever been in a fandom?

That depends on what we mean by "been in a fandom". If we simply mean enjoying/watching a series then my two longest fandoms are Sailor Moon/Pokemon. If we mean creating content for it then my longest fandom is SDR2 (since 2016).

K. What character has your favourite development arc/the best development arc?

I think Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket has my favourite character development of all time. Picture this: it's early 2000s shoujo anime/manga. Your main heroine is supposed to be sweet, innocent, and kind. She's supposed to be caring, giving, and compassionate. When she meets her brooding love interest it's supposed to be her love, warmth, and giving of herself that wins him over.

Tohru Honda takes these tropes and turns them on their head. Now, originally the audience is met with the heroine I just described. However, as Fruits Basket goes along it cracks open the tropes by lacing them with one of the underlying themes of the series: Change is scary but we have to embrace it. Wishing for eternity will only lead to rot and decay of something good.

Watching the cracks form in Tohru as the series reveals her politeness is a defense mechanism as well as a feeble childish desire to keep her father alive. Watching Tohru slowly accept that selfishness isn't always inherently bad in regards to Kyo sent a shiver down my spine the first time I read the series.

I also love Tohru Honda because of Akito Soma, who is a character foil to her is Top Tier.

P. Invent a random AU for any fandom.

I think the best AUs are when everything is the same except for one minor thing, either for humour or drama. Anyways, here are a few that came to mind:

-KHR: Everything is the same except Shouichi uses a different flame (not Sun).

-Dr. Stone where everything is the same except Xeno/Stanley were dating Byakuya before the Petrification Event. Senku knows this but says nothing.

-FE Fates where the Trio don't make it to Nohr or Hoshido and are stuck in Valla (where time works differently).

(Also, this is an AU that I've already created with my friend M34GS, but I'm in love with our Twisted Wonderland "Sort of Saw Franchise AU". Same with our Bar AU.)

U. Three favourite characters from three different fandoms and why they're your favourites.

Okay. Well, I already talked explicitly about Tohru Honda who is one of my most favourite characters ever. I'll pick others but know she's on my top favourite character list.

First Character: Gojo Satoru (JJK)

Yeah, shut up. I know. This is a basic choice but let me explain. Before I knew his backstory, Gojo was a favourite because I am a Huge Sucker for Over Powered characters. Especially those with eye powers or who are confident because of their abilities.

However, what truly cemented Gojo as a favourite is his backstory with Geto. I love character foils but they're also Achilles and Patroclus coded. My heart aches when I think about how they're the embodiment of a romantic tragedy. Fandom jokes that they made their "KFC break up" everyone's problem but it's true. They're so entangled and in love with one another that they'll literally burn the world down together. And in a shonen manga no less! Truly, I've never seen two male characters so explicitly hinted to have been together in my entire lifetime of watching shonen series.

(Side note: Gojo's line "Love is the greatest curse of them all" from JJK 0 lives rent free in my brain. How can I hear that line with my own two ears and not go feral over it?)

Second Character: Vil (Twisted Wonderland)

Last year when I first got into the game if someone told me I would end up loving Vil, I would have laughed at them. I would have never expected it since normally Vil's character archetype (obsessed with looks/beauty) isn't my type. Usually because I think of characters with a mix closer to Asmo (Obey Me) and Cater (also from Twisted Wonderland).

Vil took all my expectations and threw them away. To start, Vil is a hard working, dedicated perfectionist. Vil doesn't accept anything less than his best effort because he has clear goals in mind he wishes to accomplish. Also, Vil doesn't consistently berate people for not understanding subject areas he's an expert in. One character trope I hate are smug characters who think everyone is "an idiot" because others don't know what they're talking about. Vil doesn't do that and instead will guide others (even forcibly) through the steps.

However, what drew me closer into loving Vil is how he is an excellent commentary on society's immense pressure on famous people. Can you even imagine from day one knowing every little thing you do can be picked apart or held against you? Society already demands we live up to impossible standards and that goes double for famous people. Watching Vil feel like he has to constantly be "Vil the super model/actor" and not "Vil as a person" is what drew me into his character.

Third Character: Sakura (Cardcaptor Sakura/Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles)

There is just something about Sakura as a character, regardless of iteration, that draws me to her. I think it's her strength of character and the refusal to give up on herself/others. I also admire how CLAMP writes Sakura as a character with convictions. Her goals remain and never waiver even in the face of any challenge. Finally, there is something fun about seeing the differences/similarities presented in Sakura a child in CCS to Sakura a young adult in Tsubasa.

[demonicsaintess]

Just… *wipes tear* just know I accidentally forever deleted this article right before it was finished. I cried a bit on the inside, like a winner, (sike I cried on the outside too!!), and decided to write it again, but better.

Three Animes I Have Dropped, and Why

So, we all like anime! Yay! That’s why we’re here right? We have our favorites, those we’ve hated, and those we’re obsessed with— the ones who have become a part of you (wow that’s cheesier than a little kid’s hands at the cesspool of mechanical rat pizza—-) *ahem* Anyways, I thought I’d write a pretty straight-forward bit about 3 animes I’ve dropped and why. Now, without further ado:

Don’t Toy With Me Miss Nagatoro!

Sometimes one needs a palate cleanser between animes. This, is one of those animes. I’d honestly say under my breath, it’s a “beginner’s” anime. I’m personally unaware of any, but I truly wonder if there is someone out there desperately pining for this show. Not to say it’s a bad show, it’s a great concept for a high school romcom, but it just leads you by the nose with the shock value. I get that a romcom is very difficult to make completely unique these days, and it’s still a charming show in itself, but I’m TIRED of ecchi laced romcoms where the joke is perverseness. Not saying Nagatoro is sexual, just, the show to me felt like her sadism always had to do with anatomy? I’m not sure I’m explaining this quite right. TLDR; I got tired after a few episodes, of seeing this almost romanticized play of Nagatoro mercilessly bullying someone. It’s not a bad anime; but for me it was destined to be dropped~

Death Note

**Note; I’m getting a horrible, chilling feeling running down my spine as my fingers move across my keyboard.

I’m willing to stake my nonexistant reputation on this take. Therefore my take is; maaaaaan honestly what a damn let down. Maybe it’s just because this sort of anime doesn’t appeal to me, but the only reason I even watched the damn show was because I was trying to get my wife into anime. She’s a normie, so this actually didn’t backfire on me, except towards myself. I had to sit through the most BORING anime I personally have ever watched. Sue me okay? I said what I said. Everything about this anime is just dumb; and here’s why. I’m all for fucking narcissism and killing bad people to make society better, but goddamn fucking Light is an idiot. I just feel like he rushed his killings. I wasn’t excited even once, except watching how excited my wife was. I would have dropped this before I even started, if it wasn’t for her. I watched the first 12 episodes and BOUNCED. TLDR; Light is an annoying toddler and also a fucking idiot who honestly is simply book smart. Dude is lame as hell. Even the bitch he pulled is lame. What a lame way to try and fix the world. Think bigger you loser.

God of Highschool

Okay so, this one as well, is probably going to get me flamed, but again, I said what I said. I’m not quite sure when I decided this anime was not for me, but when I did, I was ready to throw it away. To be fair, I don’t even think I made it past his 2 friends going up against whoever they were in the contest? It just felt… slow? to me; maybe even boring. For example, the characters were awesome, but felt two dimensional to me. Of course, this is just speculation, considering I didn’t make it very far into the show. I lost interest in it, and unfortunately the fight scenes weren’t enough to make me stick to it. I heard it’s pretty good though, from other people, so I can’t knock it too hard. TLDR: it’s not my kind of show, but the fight scenes could be pretty hype for someone who likes shonen more than I do!

So yeah, I’m not saying these animes are bad. There’s a reason why they’re so popular; but just not interesting enough for me.

Thank you as always, for taking time to read another entry by me,

The Holy Villainess

[chronicallylatetotheparty]

Grand Premier

Summary: Barely in Paris and Kagami is already expected to rub elbows with the local elites. Specifically, one Adrien Agreste. At least he dresses better than his father.

---------------------

Kagami didn't want to be here.

"This is an important deal for our company's expansion into France, Kagami," Tomoe Tsurugi reminded her in Japanese. "Be polite with Adrien Agreste."

"Yes, Mother." Kagami would play her role to perfection. Even if it was at the premier of a mediocre movie.

"And if the young Agreste isn't polite I hear he fences at the same school we're enrolling you in."

Kagami didn't smile. No, not at all. And if she did there were no witnesses. "Yes, Mother."

Keeping her usual stoic expression as the parasites, pardon, the paparazzi used flash photography in her face Kagami walked down the red carpet. Arm extended for her Mother.

Gabriel was just as tedious as she imagined him and wearing the ugliest suit Kagami had ever seen. And she'd seen ugly yakuza suits in person. At least Adrien's all black suit was suitable for a family in the fashion industry.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tsurugi Kagami," the blond boy greeted in heavily accented Japanese. A polite smile on his face as he bowed slightly. "Welcome to Paris. My name is Adorian Aguresuto."

Kagami raised an eyebrow. That didn't sound right.

Eyes widening as he realized his slip up and- Wow, those were expressive eyebrows. -hand going to rub the back of his head as a faint blush painted his cheeks. "I mean Aguresuto Adorian! I, yup..." Suddenly self-conscious Adrien jerked his hand down. Smile nervous but more honest.

Kagami decided to have mercy on him. "Your inflection needs work but the pronunciation is adequate."

His lips twitched. "Adequate?"

"Yes. That is the most accurate description," Kagami stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, then I guess I better ade-quit while I'm ahead," Adrien joked, switching to French.

She could pinpoint the second Adrien noticed what his mouth had said (seemingly without permission) by the way his rosy cheeks went into full bloom. Kagami was fairly certain she was interpreting that expression correctly. "I see why you learned, Japanese."

Apparently deciding her impression of him was already ruined, Adrien forged ahead. "Anime has some impressive puns. I couldn't resist."

Kagami's perfect posture straightened ever so slightly. "Oh? What kind of anime are you interested in?"

Adrien began listing several shonen. Which, honestly, Kagami should have seen coming. At least it included One Piece. Kagami resisted the urge to proclaim the merits of the completely arbitrary power ranking system unprompted. It just fit the story so well and- No! Focus! What was he saying?

"...but right now I'm reading Fruits Basket."

Ooh! Kagami's self control slipped just a little bit. Her eyes might've lit up even. "Yuki is my favorite character."

Adrien beamed at her. "He's amazing! Torhu's my favorite!"

Kagami glanced at a large poster of the movie. Chat Noir displayed prominently with Ladybug. Oh, right. That was a thing. "I would've thought it'd be Kyo"

"Not all catboys are created equal, Kagami," Adrien stated solemnly before breaking into a grin. "He's my second favorite. I just really like Torhu 'cause she's so kind and selfless and..." Adrien paused. Looking down as he fiddled with a silver ring on his finger. "And she's so brave. After losing her mom like that. I really admire her."

Kagami felt she was missing something. She usually felt that with strangers but it was on the tip of her tongue.

Before Kagami could pinpoint why Adrien's appreciation for Honda Tohru felt the way it did Adrien snapped out of whatever he was in. "Anyway, what about you?"

"I relate a lot to Saiki Kusuo. He has trouble understanding people despite being telepathic." Was that too much? It felt like too much.

Apparently not 'cause Adrien's smile was back. The honest one, not the polite one. "Yeah, it's hard to understand people when they don't say what they mean."

Oh, thank you! "What's worse is when they say things they don't mean. It's very confusing."

"Right!? It'd be so much simpler!"

"..." Kagami was supposed to respond here. She was positive that it was expected. But she didn't have anything she felt like adding at the moment. "... So have you read Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Kagami was positive Adrien was restraining himself from vibrating in excitement. She could tell because his eyes were huge and his grin unrestrained. His enthusiasm making her lips form their own smile. Kagami had never met someone her own age she could tolerate, let alone geek out about the differences between anime and manga adaptations.

Most of the other rich kids Kagami knew acted like that ponytailed girl who thought Kagami couldn't see her glaring from across the room. But she wasn't important.

... Actually, there was something Kagami wanted to know. "I hear you fence."

Suddenly shy again Adrien's hand went back to rubbing his neck. "Uh, yeah. Not to brag but I'm the best fencer on the team."

"Not for long."

"Huh?"

"I'll be coming for that top spot, Adrien," Kagami promised.

Adrien's eyes widened, then a competitive gleam sparked in his eyes. "Looking forward to it," he smirked.

In the end the movie was just as mediocre as Kagami thought it would be. Enjoyable sure, if you ignored all the cliches.

"It's even worse on screen!" Adrien proclaimed cheerfully.

Kagami eyed him as they filed out of the theater. "Aren't you the male lead?"

"Against my protests!" He grinned.

"A pleasure doing business with you Madame Tsurugi," Gabriel Agreste's grating voice said from his assistant's tablet. Kagami amused herself by imagining Gabriel was actually that small in person. "Come along now, Adrien."

"Yes, Father." The open expression was gone. Adrien's demeanor immediately subduing at Gabriel's call. Turning towards her, Adrien gave her a small smile- "I look forward to seeing you at school." -and winked with his whole head.

Kagami's cheeks heated up slightly as she returned his smile. "I won't go easy on you."

Adrien frowned. "Well, of course not. That would defeat the entire purpose of dueling."

Kagami's smile grew wider. "Yes. Yes, it would."

She stared at the passing city through the window as they made their way to their new home. Committing the unfamiliar skyline to memory.

"And how was the young Agreste, Kagami?" Tomoe asked. "Was your interaction fruitful?"

Kagami thought about Adrien's predilection for certain manga tropes, how he'd blundered effortlessly past her walls, the clear eagerness Adrien felt at talking to someone else who gets it. He was... endearing. And Kagami wouldn't mind his company again.

"Yes, Mother." Yes, it was.

----------------------

Notes: Written for the Alternate First Meeting promt of Adrigami Week 2021.

[earlgraytay]

*drops this into your inbox*

[ID: box of Deluxe fair trade earl grey tea with fifty tea bags]

Please elaborate on how Twilight and JoJo have similar strengths and weaknesses. I really want to hear what you have to say about both of them regarding their similarities.

Thank you for the tea!

So... okay. Nota bene that I'm still only on Battle Tendency/Part 2 of JoJo, and that I haven't properly read Twilight in... a while now. But.

The thing that these series have in common, more than anything else, is that they're the product of one person's very specific creative obsessions, baaaaasically unedited.

Since both writers were working in less-than-prestigious markets when they started out (80s manga/early 00s YA), they could write Weird Dumb Shit without anyone stopping them. And then when JJBA and Twilight started printing money, any editing that either might have had went out the window, because clearly this person is doing something right, right?

Araki and Meyer are both very good at worldbuilding, for specific given values thereof; they're both good at coming up with bonkers-but-halfway plausible ideas. They both created a weirdly compelling take on basically-unkillable vampires, and manage to keep tension going despite the vampires being unkillable. In some ways they even managed to create foundational works for their genre- if you want to understand how shonen adventure anime got started you kinda need to watch JoJo, and if you want to understand why YA is Like That you need to read Twilight.

They both struggle with some pretty major parts of writing- Araki, bless him, has yet to create a heroic character with more than two personality traits, and Meyer at the time of writing Twilight could not pace a plot to save her life. And yet- somehow- the stories they created are compelling enough to keep you on the hook for a while.

Twilight and JJBA are, unfortunately, both sexist and racist in ways that say... Things... about their authors.

In JJBA's case, Araki is clearly taking inspiration from 19th century adventure stories and pulp fiction- and using that inspiration completely uncritically. You've got racist stock characters that you wouldn't even see in Western fiction in the 90s, because everyone agreed we don't do that shit anymore. And... look, I am not going to say anything about Araki's sexuality, but... he's clearly uninterested in writing women, yeah? It comes off as really homoerotic, even though it's totally unintentional.

In Twilight's case.... well... look, if I say "Stephanie Meyer is Mormon and was most likely raised that way", I think that covers it. Just about everything that's fucked up about Twilight boils down to "Meyer's Mormonism makes her think things that are Very Much Not Okay are a normal part of the fabric of [hetero] relationships" and "Mormons grow up believing Weird Ass Shit about Native Americans anyway, the weird bullshit in Twilight is respectful by comparison". Both of which are pretty fucking major flaws with the writing!

On a more neutral note: both Meyer and Araki have some very niche interests that turn up everywhere in their writing.

If you know anything about JJBA, you know that random characters and powers are named after 80s music for No Fucking Reason. as early as part 1 you've got characters named Dire and Straits, and in part 2 you've got Cars, Wham, and AC/DC. (oh, scuse me- Kars, Wammu, and Esidesi. COPYRIGHT, WE'RE NOT VIOLATING IT). And of course Roundabout has become an iconic part of JoJo to the point it's a meme just because it's what Araki was listening to while writing...

Similarly, in Twilight, one of the first things you know about any character is the make and model of car they drive. The characters spend a hell of a lot of time having conversations while they're driving around, for no real reason. For heaven's sake, Meyer's favourite character is a mechanic! It's a part of the world that's tonally unfitting with everything else she's trying to build, it's definitely the author's interest peeking through, and it's really endearing.

There's no good TLDR here, it's just an infodump, but ... yeah, the similarities are there, and I'm enjoying the mashup on the merits, if nothing else.

[generallypo]

in all sincerity, kim dokja makes me happy and he deserves to be so too :^(

incoherent yelling and sobbing under the cut. these fEELINGS will not be contained aaauuunnghhh. 

------

anyway i binge-read all 500+ chapters of ORV this week and i honest to god feel bad for this -- completely! fictional! aghhhh -- guy. in case you haven’t figured it out, the following is some spoilerly shit

i went in expecting a fun, brainless power trip fantasy for dudes with an isekai addiction. instead, it turns out ORV is actually a gigantic, self-deprecating prank on the entire genre itself. kdj plays more into the sad -- if high-functioning-- clown trope than the sexy, edgy, chuuni bastard type i was prepared to laugh at. there were -- gasp! -- female characters with personalities! parents (aka ADULTS who act like ADULTS) who actually survive and feature prominently! adorable children! a real sexy, edgy bastard! a power trio with amazing fashion! sexual tension and bickering! friendship! life and death bonding! 

*breathes in deeply* fouND FAMILYYYYYYY.

like, yeah, the plot around the first few arcs seems a little aimless, but the buildup is worth. the world-building is pretty decent. there’s discernible effort put into the fight scenes, and i can appreciate that. but -- but! what i stayed for were the characters -- namely, the fantastic OT3 of KDJ, HSY, and YJH -- who come together despite their initial rivalries and end up saving each other’s asses, like, every other day. granted, the other characters don’t get as much focus, and they do fall into certain character tropes.. 

but a trope done well is nothing i would gripe about. every significant character in ORV has a coherent, and more importantly, respectful take on their respective trope. maybe it’s because sing-shong is actually a married couple, but all the interactions between even minor characters are a convincing blend of awkward rambling, suggestive humor, sharp remarks, and casual banter. in other words, this cast of mostly working adults (plus a teen and two kids) talks like working adults. the relationships built throughout the story are, frankly, some of most realistic of its genre. sing-shong has managed to craft a dynamic that undoubtedly brims with fluffy fondness all around, but also drips with sarcastic tension, with unspoken urgency, with a wariness that softens into sincerity over the course of many, many chapters. it’s the kind of progression that makes even stock characters read like more than just the 2-bit villain or comrade or love interest. here, we have relationships both straightforward and not, strained or otherwise, romantically-oriented as well as decidedly the opposite -- and then numerous others scattered along the spectrum with the freedom to shift either way. 

it’s also an interesting point of note that our MC kdj actually does not end up with a stated romantic partner, much less a conventional heteroromantic harem. he gets teased about that fact from time to time, but it’s with less of the sleazy shonen locker room humor one would expect and more of the good-natured ribbing you’d find among friends or that one especially nosy auntie at the yearly family reunion. kdj is a grown ass man. in the background, i applaud his maturity, and he handles all the prodding like a champ. 

so instead of finding and fulfilling his horny, he builds himself a wealth of loving family. yeah, there are beautiful men and women around him. yeah, they unequivocally adore him. but they’re also adults, and they have priorities, too -- which are not so much finding a way to bang kdj’s brains out and more so simply keeping the damn guy alive. this is truly not ‘oblivious mc with his thirsty, sex kitten harem’. it just so happens that a guy proves himself to be unflinchingly gentle and capable in an apocalyptic setting despite his broken self-esteem, and lots of people find that attractive, romantically and platonically. 

it.. kinda makes sense? he’s a hard worker, thoughtful, and good with kids. kdj is the kind of guy you know would make a reliable partner, and anybody with eyes can plainly see and appreciate that. 

and it’s not that our MC’s a total brick wall. in fact, it’s likely the opposite, and he’s just too darned repressed to admit it. from what has been implied, kdj does indeed recognize and accept love, or at least a primitive concept of it. i like to imagine that the kind of love that he ends up seeking out simply manifests itself more easily as acceptance and safety, as warmth and a home of people to return to every day. even better, the people who surround him know this, and they give him exactly that. it’s refreshing, and honestly, really sweet.

(as a side note, i really, really do appreciate the cosmic bi energy radiating off of kdj, who canonically earns the title of being loved by all and is all but in name married to yjh and hsy. he also respects women and small children and honestly anyone who isn’t total scum to him or his family. i respect that.)

but the happy stuff aside, you know it it just ain’t ORV without the generous screaming dollop of angst. admittedly, there’s self-sacrifice, injury, lonesome wandering, more sacrifice, some epic fighting, reunion and confrontation. all of it is a lot to digest, sure, but never does it feel entirely hopeless, or truly, truly heart-clenching. ORV, up until the final act, is a mostly light read. you relax in your chair, thinking that nothing beyond this point can disturb you. 

yeah fucking right.

------

and then the beginning of the end arrives. when the squad finally break through to their ‘ending’, the scene that kind of breaks me is the reveal of the Most Ancient Dream. it ties so much thematically into the little tidbits that we get of kdj’s past, and it though it feels like almost a joke that the source of the goddamn apocalypse is a kid with bruises smeared across his skinny ass body -- it’s such a pathetic picture that it’s kinda poetic, actually. you’re left mystified but somewhat convinced, like a math problem explained halfway through. this.. child.. is a villain somehow, isn’t he?

and then 999th turn uriel speaks up, and she. just. hugs him. 

[[You are this universe’s most powerless existence, aren’t you.]] 

that. that gets me. kdj’s reaction immediately upon this revelation? absolute murder. seeing him essentially self-destruct upon realizing that all these people he’s surrounded himself with -- some who continuously proclaim their loyalty and affection for him throughout their journey, some who suffered eons of war and loss and trauma because of his existence -- not only forgive his younger self but smother him with unconditional acceptance and love is stifling, is too vulnerable and exposed and he simply can’t cope -- it’s so telling of his true mentality, of his crippling insecurity and crumpled sense of self-worth. kim dokja is a liar, through and through, so much that he fails, or perhaps refuses, to comprehend the veracity of others’ kindness and love towards himself. 

by some miracle, the events at the end of the world somehow resolve.. or so it seems. there is a departing train, a liberated team of ex-gods, and a child rousing from his slumber. in the aftermath, i am left shaking. somehow, despite the ending having been (happily?) reached, there’s still another chapter ahead. what is this witchcraft?

------

and then ah, yes -- the epilogue arc. i teetered on the edge of being critical for a little bit there -- is that display of deus ex machina, of sad, self-sacrificing nobility a bit too egregious to be acceptable? is this some wild last let-me-yank-this-outta-my-ass plot twist to drag out the chapter count? i sincerely thought that the arc before it would have been the finale. i was wrong. thank god.

anyways, as an answer to the above: no, and no. i stake my firm claim on the belief that the epilogue arc was meticulously planned out well in advance of its release, confusing and time-warpy as it is. i liked it. tremendously. even if it entirely invalidates all of kdj’s supposed development (”haha lol yeah sure i won’t sacrifice myself or anything anymore guys don’t worry about me” -- KDJ, at some point because he’s a lying rat bastard). actually, our beloved MC disappears for a large chunk of this arc, and i think it’s great. in his absence, the other characters not only go absolutely fucking nuts, but they have to figure out this new problem on their own, even if the lure of peaceful complacency in the newly saved Korea might convince them otherwise. 

and then the whole time paradox thing comes around. yjh goes to space, hsy saves the only life she can, and kdj grows up. the crew waits, holding onto their hope even if it bleeds them dry. sing-shong does a damn good job of illustrating their fraying calm, their lurking madness, the unseen but pervasive depression that seeps in from kdj’s absence. the kids lose their father, lhs and jhw lose their reliable leader figure, ysa loses a best friend and confidant, lsk -- as distant as she pretends to be from her son -- loses her only child. and then there’s hsy and yjh , who are essentially bereft of the other half of their existences. their pain is palpable, is grounded in the hopeless, gnawing frustration of an utterly meaningless victory. emotionally, ORV hits all the right -- if agonizing -- beats.

however, a story can’t sustain itself just through its pathos. i’m happy to say that ORV doesn’t drop the ball after the first milestone, and after all the hurt, the characters do leap straight back into action. even better, the plot holes actually do get patches, and the poetic cycle of writer, protagonist, and reader comes full circle by making use of all those supposedly throwaway characters from the myriad world lines. 

at the end of the road, there is a distinct sense of unity, of a delicate but undeniable cohesion to the world lines and their origins. sing-shong lets us guess a little here at the finish, but there’s just enough information to feel hopeful. maybe there never had been a definite start -- or finish -- to the story of kdj company, and... that’s okay. everybody ends up where they were meant to be, where they fought and struggled to reach. it’s.. almost like a happily ever after, if we’re allowed to dream of that.

------

now, i realize, this was all an orchestrated maneuver.

i’ll take it.

to me, all of this work sounds like someone put some serious thought into this behemoth of a plot. it cements the entire original premise of the story. it suggests -- but never explicitly confirms! -- the possibility that breaking free of the cycle is possible through the exact same system that sustains it. it’s terribly interesting -- and inspirational! with all the dramatic revelations and life-threatening scenarios  and the cast’s resigned acceptance of them that essentially make up ORV’s entire mood, there’s still that last hint of rebellious and righteous anger that lights up the whole damn nebula. it’s like the kdj company blasting away at the heavens just to yell into the nether: we’re not looking for the happy end, but the free one. stay alive.

it’s subtle, and yet it’s such an emotional gut punch. i came away with the most ruinous, frustrating, bittersweet sense of longing in ages. i pined. for these fictional darlings. god, i am weak.

so. yeah. ORV is pretty good. flawed, but ambitious and impressively thought out.  i’m stoked that the webtoon is making pretty good progress, even if it’ll take an eternity and a half to meet that monstrous chapter count. i’m still gonna follow it. hell yeah. 

------

(by the way the idea that secretive plotter and co are literally gonna take care of and raise baby kdj and spoil him and be the best friggin family a kid could ever want does things to me. protect him. he’s suffered too much. let at least one worldline’s version of him know happiness. and actually, aLL OF THEM DESERVE DOMESTIC BLISS TOGETHER IN A BIG OL MANSION WITH SUN AND FRESH AIR AND TENDER FAMILY MOMENTS UGH)

------

and there you have it, folks. you made it to the end. in the far, far distance, i’m cheering you on and crying my eyes out in gratitude. thanks for tuning in!

[insomniac-arrest]

how NOT to do a tournament arc

It’s kind of sad, I really enjoyed the first book in the “Darker Shade of Magic” series by VE Schwab, I even rated it 4 stars on my Goodreads! People told me that the second book, A Gathering of Shadows, was even better and I was pretty excited.

However, I cannot get myself to finish the last 80 pages or so. I am really close to the end, but I just Do Not Care. I have stopped caring about these characters or what happens to them. I think the main problem is that I actually really love “tournament arcs,” they are literally always my favorite arcs in Shonen manga.

the tournament arc in the Naruto series?? life-changing. the tournament arc in My Hero Academia? literally the only full arc I’ve seen of that show. The tournament arc in Yu Yu Hakusho? so much fun. even outside of manga, the second Hunger Games book is my favorite of the three because I think the arena/game itself is really interesting and I’m a shallow bitch.

Lee vs Gaara?? 😩👌

I think it’s this love of the trope that kind of ruined the book for me because Schwab fundamentally mishandles why audiences care about our heroes joining or winning these things. *SPOILERS AHEAD*

So I literally hated the reason for every single character joining the tournament. Not only are most of them way too OP to be joining this tournament (it’s like the reverse underdog trope and I hate it), but the reasons they join are generally weak and actively make me want them to lose.

Why does Naruto do the tournament arc? He wants to go up in the ninja hierarchy and it’s a stepping stone to his overall goal of becoming a hokage. And, as always, he’s trying to prove his self worth as a person by punching people real good. He is an underdog and seeing him win is thus satisfying. You want him to win for practical, emotional, and cathartic reasons. It’s not that complex.

None of the heroes in A Gathering of Shadows want to join the tournament for practical reasons and seeing them win achieves no catharsis. They do have emotional reasons for joining it, but their emotional reasons actively make me want to bully them. Let’s get into it.

Lila wants to join the tournament to test her magic and also run away from her cool pirate life she always wanted because of Issues I guess. I found her reasons for joining the most acceptable of the 3, but also frankly vague and boring. She kind of just has this sense she has to join. The thing that really got me is how she goes out of her way to kidnap and replace this rando in the competition.

She is technically an underdog here, but having guessed by this point she is a *SPOILERS* Antari, I already know she is super powerful and is way too magically gifted for being in this normal-people magic Olympics. I don’t watch Haikyuu for the tall people dunking on other teams! I watch it for the short king overcoming height-ism! Your stories about genetically superior magic people suck!!

If she had like, an actually compelling reason to insert herself into the competition-- such as being in poverty and needing prize money or seeking revenge or political sabotage or wanting to win the heart of a girl, I might be more forgiving. But the fact she just kinda wants to . . test herself, and fucks up someone else’s life to do that, just made me angry. I get that’s she’s a spunky, wild-card, the author describes her as a “self-serving badass,” but she was just so weakly motivated that the self-serving part made me root against her. She’s out there messing with someone’s entire profession just to “test her abilities.” This is some villainy shit.

This and the fact her “not-like-other-girls” fuckery was all over the place in this book (one of her love interests literally says “you’re not like other girls”) rubbed me the wrong way.*

*Note: the first book also had this problem too, but I was kind of willing to forgive it bc I was interested in the magic stuff going on. But Schwab did NOT course correct and I had to have this whole do-I-dislike-Lila-bc-of-internalized-misogyny debate with myself. Luckily, I discovered that the only character I really liked in this book was Rhy regardless of gender.

Alucard is also there. I don’t clearly remember his motivation for joining, but he is already wealthy and has status and allies and doesn’t really need to join this tournament so I also did not particularly care if he won or lost. He’s also just, very pompous. Which, yeah, made him likable enough, but again, pompous characters in tournament arcs are not the ones you’re rooting for. That’s not why you watch.

Finally, Kell, king of the Over Powered angst trope, wants to join the tournament because he dreams of violence. He wants to fight other people. He has some bloodlust which he feels real bad about, but also damn does he want to use his magic powers to punch people. Like, dummies and training are not enough, it has to be real flesh and blood people to pummel.

I can’t emphasize how thoroughly this turned me off. Characters who join tournaments literally just for the purpose of smacking other people around are villains in these type of stories. They aren’t doing it for the prize or redemption or self-worth shit or love. And I wanted Kell to lose so bad!! I wanted him to get water-slapped across the stage! Not only was he way too overpowered in this tournament for me to care, but the reasons he’s in the tournament actively pissed me off. You want to find freedom in violence Kell? :( absolutely not.

And like, he does lose, but it’s only because he lets Lila win. No struggle. No gay little speeches. No random heartfelt trauma reveal or character development.

I hate it here.

Naturally, a western book does not have to follow random anime tropes, but shouldn’t readers be a bit invested in this staging since it takes up a large part of the book?

None of these characters are in the tournament for interesting reasons that make me want to root for them. Some characters who I was neutral on to begin with, literally made that Sims relationship thing pop up above my head when I read this

I know what you’re thinking: But Insomniac! The book isn’t about the tournament! It’s just the set-dressing! You must have noticed, the tournament fight scenes were really brief and boring. The main conflict is between the real villain and the main characters.

And I’m like . . . then why were the magic olympics there? Also, the fact all these characters were joining this important sports event for shallow reasons really did a number on my perception of them. None of them even want to be Hokage. This is ridiculous.

Anyway, as a side note I was interested in the Rhy/Alucard interaction, but I’ll probably never finish this book so  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[chidoroki]

..You already know what I’m gonna ramble on about, right? What’s got us manga readers feeling a little bit like this? Yeah.. I have words.

Yes, I’ll be chatting about possible future spoilers, so scroll past now if you wish, but if you frequently check the usual tpn tags anywhere today (or over the next few days), I’m sure you’ve become quite familiar with this guy already, so.. here we go.

Let me start off by saying that I was beyond excited when we first found out we were getting a second season to this series. Having read the manga, I had high hopes that the anime would do so well, given the first couple arcs that follow the escape from Grace Field. From the very beginning, most of us figured it would touch upon the demon forest, the B06-32 shelter, Goldy Pond and quite possibly Cuvitidala. Of course, that was before we learned that this season had an episode count of 11 and would include some anime-only scenes, so we started to have some doubts. The new opening threw us through a loop as well, as a bunch of us speculated exactly how much this season was going to cover in terms of story and what chapter it would end off on. I was still a bit skeptical, but I put some belief in thinking we might be able to at least reach Goldy Pond. The more I thought about how many chapters this season could adapt, I remembered that Fire Force (another shonen series that has its fair share between action scenes alongside some calm, lighthearted ones) managed to fit 90 chapters into it’s first season, which was a total 24eps. I then thought it was possible for TPN’s second season to reach ch96, or maybe even ch101, since the total ep count for both s1&s2 would be 23. The upcoming arcs (GP especially) are undoubtedly more fast paced than the entire first season, which was very dialogue heavy, so naturally these action scenes would take up less time and require fewer episodes to show off. I won’t bash the second season for leaving certain scenes out and/or changing them (as the first season did this as well, albeit less noticeable), but the obvious ones come to mind. The full snakes of alvapinera scene? It was good to see the escapees overcome their first outside world obstacle on their own, sure, but overall it isn’t too important. Isabella’s scene at the gate with Grandma Sarah? Disappointing yes, but I figured they could always include that sometime later in a future episode.. at least, that’s what I’m hoping for. I can forgive the anime for those changes at the moment.. but after what episode 3 decided to pull? Oh no.. now they’ve done it!

I’m sorry.. but who exactly thought this change was a good idea? The anime-onlys must think we’re going crazy right now but c’mon, CLOVERWORKS! Are y’all for real right now?? Yeah they never even announced his voice actor beforehand like they did with Sonju & Mujika before their debut, but damn it! Also, don’t take my word for this, as I only just heard and not completely sure about the credibility, but apparently after ep4, the rest of the season will be like.. original? And I’m not sure how to feel about that if it’s true? I’ll take whatever content we get because yes, I love this series to pieces and want it to last as long as possible, but after waiting almost a full two years to see these wonderful kids animated again.. I just wanna continue on with the story we all know and love, darn it. I know Shirai is overlooking this season and giving his approval or whatever too, so that’s comforting at least.. but still, I just wish we knew this a little sooner, rather than have us find out this way by cutting out one of the most anticipated characters of this entire series! (for the time being anyways.)

Yeah we didn’t see him this episode, but he’s around.. somewhere. No one else is around to write on the walls like that, let alone get into the shelter without a pen. (i also noticed it doesn’t say “poachers” anywhere, so that’s a bit odd too..)

I just hope that whenever our man does show up, whether it be this season or not, that it follows the manga because his introduction is fantastic and his interactions with the kids are so amusing. Honestly, he’s too important to cut out entirely. The same goes for the Goldy Pond arc, which I saw some others worried about too. It’s at Goldy Pond (ch73) where Emma and another man, who we’re also anxious to meet, both find out about how to cross over to the human world via the four premium farms, the supporters, and project lambda7214.

I also saw some people concerned about Mujika’s goodbye to Emma this episode and how upon giving her the necklace, our demon friend didn’t hint at The Seven Walls at all, which is why Goldy Pond suddenly becomes that more important for us to see because it’s also there where the place is mentioned, not only by the many secret files from the pen’s cap, but from Minvera himself (ch72).

Come on now, Goldy Pond arc also does wonder for Emma’s character and appearance. It’s here where we see just how serious she is about changing the world and saving everyone she possibly can. Even if she has to fight crazy, killing poachers, she’ll do it. (also one of those poachers becomes very helpful much later in the story, so there, yet another reason we can’t skip this arc.) Though this all gets me wondering if GP will still get blown up on Jan 29th.. oh season two, you raise so many questions.

Now, could this season completely change some of those scenes even further? Of course, they’ve already done so with other bits of information. Ray figuring out the demon’s weakness in ch62 during the trip to Goldy Pond? Sonju already explained it.

The letter from Minvera that we learn about in ch56 which was originally hidden in one of the manuscripts from the shelter’s archive room? Conveniently pinned to the wall in plain sight!

I didn’t notice this when I first watched the episode but remembered just now while skimming through the manga yet again, but the episode didn’t have Gilda list off the coordinates to Goldy Pond that Minerva noted in his letter.

So how will the duo find their way there? Well, you already know.. and since GP is such an important arc, that’s another reason I believe our beloved man will show up.... eventually.

Going back to the changes now, but it’s Dominic who reveals the secret room behind the piano instead of our favorite father figure.

Although this room, which is supposed to be a full stocked armory, is completely bare..

Like.. hello? Where are all the weapons?? Are they gonna make these kids go out and raid a bunch of the other fake/dummy shelters for weapons or something? which.. actually sounds interesting and fun now that I think about it.

I also noticed that the conversation about the mass-production farms Sonju mentioned back in ch50 was also cut, but I can see the anime easily adapting it into a future episode somewhere, since said farms are mentioned again in ch56, courtesy of the shelter’s many books.

For now it just seems.. I don’t know, a bit easier? like I recently spoke about how Ray had to figure out how the pen worked in terms of coordinates and yet the anime just had the pen show a simple map, then Sonju flat out told them how to efficiently kill a demon, and the phone that allows them to contact the supporters? Oh, they found that instantly, whereas geezer had no idea such a room even existed in those 13 years he lived at the shelter..

Have I spoke too much by now? Probably. None of the changes bother me too much, aside from the geezer’s obvious absence, but I’m still looking forward to the rest of this season, as I’m sure it’ll give more spotlight to some of the other kids aside from Emma and Ray. Season one just did so well with sticking to the manga that I guess we all got caught way off guard, huh?

[leiasfanaccount648]

Scene Out of Hallmark

Keiji Akaashi x Fem!Reader

Summary: Travelling during the holidays is extremely difficult between people working and getting home in time to be with family friends. It’s another story however when you end up getting snowed in at an airport with an insanely gorgeous man.

Warnings/Contains: Fluff, slow burn(?), reader has an iPhone and airpods (sorry to samsung/android users lol).

Word Count: 2635

“Attention passengers, we are terribly sorry to announce, but all flights this evening have been delayed until further notice due to weather. For more information about your personal flight and when it will likely be rebooked, please see the attendants at your gate. Thank you.”

“Are you kidding?”

Keiji sighed as he looked at his phone, checking the time; 19:28. His flight was scheduled for 20:45, but now he was stuck at the airport for god knew how long. It was December 22nd, no doubt one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season much less of the year. He was trying to fly back home to Tokyo to see his friends and family for the holidays, but now he was worried that his plans might be foiled depending on how long the weather decided to last.

He looked around the gate for his flight, seeing some people staying in their seats while others left the area, most likely to get food or check on their flight for when a possible reschedule would be. Knowing that he couldn’t leave the airport since he had luggage on the plane, Keiji leaned back in his seat to try and relax. Yes, he was upset that he wouldn’t get to be home as soon as he liked, but he couldn’t do anything about it now.

About an hour later, Keiji sighed as his phone notified him that it was low on battery. He reached into his bag to pull out his phone charger, but felt his heart drop when he didn’t feel the wire where he usually kept it. He tried to think back to where he might have put it, only to realize that he packed it in his suitcase along with the gifts he had bought for his family and friends.

Keiji sighed, annoyed with himself and the fact that he’d most likely have to buy an overpriced one from the airport; he looked up from his bag after he set it back down by his feet, only to see a girl in the row of seats across from him who appeared to be around his age staring right back at him.

Two hours earlier

“Attention passengers, we are terribly sorry to announce, but all flights this evening have been delayed until further notice due to weather. For more information about your personal flight and when it will likely be rebooked, please see the attendants at your gate. Thank you.”

“Are you serious? I just checked my luggage, too!”

(Y/N) groaned as she stopped walking towards her gate. She pulled out her phone, opening up her contacts before clicking on one while walking off to the side to avoid being in someone’s way. She adjusted the airpods in her ears before pocketing her phone as she called the person pulled up on her phone. She leaned back against the wall and set her carry-on bag down, watching people walk to and from the gates in the long stretch of hallway as she waited for the person to answer. Sadly, she heard the automatic voicemail begin to play, making (Y/N) shake her head before leaving one.

“Hey, it’s me. I’m sorry, but all the flights in the airport have been delayed due to the snow storm that’s coming in. I know that I need to meet with the publisher on the 24th, but I’m not sure I can make it if they don’t reschedule the flights in time.” She sighed, moving her hair out of her face. “I’ll let you know when I get told of when my flight will be. If they end up needing to reschedule the meeting, please inform me. I don’t want a repeat of last time.”

(Y/N) paused as she briefly thought back to her last meeting with a publishing company where they had to reschedule her, but she wasn’t told of it by her friend that was helping her try and get her name out there by scheduling such appointments for her. Of course, she didn’t want to think about that possibly happening again.

“Anyway, I’m going to stay at the airport in the meantime; again, I’ll keep you updated. Bye.” (Y/N) took her phone out of her pocket, ending the voicemail and hoping that her friend would receive it soon and inform her of any changes.

“Alright,” she grabbed her carry-on bag, “now where’s gate B7?”

An hour later, (Y/N) made it to her gate after accidentally going to the wrong side of the airport. She sighed as she sat down, relieved to at least be at the right gate. She took note of how empty the area seemed, figuring that some people had decided to try and check into one of the hotels near the airport if they didn’t have any luggage to check or wanted to get some food and were waiting in one of the long lines she had passed while walking through the airport.

(Y/N) didn’t bother thinking about it longer than she had to, simply taking out her airpods so they could charge and pulling out a book from her carry-on bag to read. Her thoughts immediately changed from trying to figure out what was going to happen next in the book however when she heard someone sigh. Out of instinct, she glanced up at the sound to see a fairly attractive man sitting across from her, who was also, now, looking at her.

The two locked eyes for a moment before Keiji coughed to break the silence. “Sorry to bother you, but do you have an iPhone charger I could borrow by any chance?”

(Y/N) opened her mouth, hesitating for a moment before actually saying anything to him. “Yeah, o-of course.” She smiled sincerely, mentally screaming at herself to ‘get it together’ and just ‘be nice to the guy’ as she rummaged through her bag to grab her phone charger. She couldn’t deny that he was crazy attractive, and appeared to be booked for the same flight as hers, but he was just a guy, and a complete stranger at that. However, she was most likely never going to see this man again, so why not try and shoot her shot?

She handed him the charger, meeting his gaze once again. “Here.”

“Thank you.” Keiji smiled back at her, appreciative of the fact that she was nice enough to let him borrow it. He plugged the cell block into the outlet under his seat before plugging the other end into his phone, letting out a small sigh of relief as he saw his screen light up saying that it was currently at 17% and charging.

“So,” (Y/N) zipped up her bag, “were you flying to Tokyo, too?”

Keiji looked back at the girl, part of him shocked that she continued their conversation while the other part of him was a little relieved that he didn’t have to force any small talk between the two of them. He nodded at her question before answering.

“Yeah, I was. I had friends and family to see.” He smiled to himself at the thought of Tetsurou messing with him for ‘being late’ and/or making him and Kenma ‘deal with Koutarou’ for longer than planned, even though he knew that they all cared for each other dearly. He looked back up at her, holding his hands in his lap and playing with his fingers out of habit. “I can only assume you’re doing the same?”

(Y/N) let out a laugh, shaking her head. “No, sadly,” she smiled, “I’m stuck with the cliche work on Christmas Eve.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear.”

“It’s alright, it’s not that important. I just hope they reschedule if I can’t make it in time.” (Y/N) glanced down at her phone screen as she felt it vibrate, only to see a notification saying that the snow storm that was passing through the area would be lasting nearly all night. She frowned, hoping to see a message from either her friend or the publisher, but luck appeared to not be on her side.

Keiji nodded, understanding how she felt as he’d had his fair share of work related meetings in which he’d encounter issues with. His eyes widened slightly as he was brought back into the conversation as she spoke up again.

“Oh, sorry,” (Y/N) laughed softly, shaking her head. “I’m (Y/N) by the way.”

“Keiji,” he smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“You as well.” (Y/N) reached her arms up and behind her, stretching them for a moment before bringing them back down to rest in her lap. “It looks like we’re going to be here for awhile.” She looked out the stretch of windows that showed the runways along with some of the planes by a couple gates both nearby and at other parts of the airport. It was dark out, but the lights and the snow falling heavily gave the outside enough light for everything to be seen easier.

Keiji looked out the window as well, taking a moment to enjoy the sight. He may not have been home, but falling snow was one of his favorite things ever since he was a kid. For a moment, he had even forgotten that his flight got delayed and may not get to fly home for another day or two.

“What’cha wanna do?”

Once again, (Y/N) pulled him out of his thoughts.

She was smiling, as though she was waiting for him to be confused or weirded out by her words and not take offense to it. Keiji simply stared at her, not sure how to answer her question.

“Pardon?”

(Y/N) closed her book and shrugged, glancing to the side and watching a couple people walk by their gate. “I mean, we have nothing else better to do than wait for our flight.”

“Then what do you suppose we do?”

“Um,” (Y/N) thought for a moment, her leg bouncing up and down. “It’s a bit cliche, but how about 20 questions?”

Keiji stared at her for a moment, almost making (Y/N) worried that she had weirded him out by being so outgoing towards a stranger. What she did know though was that he had been in much crazier if not weirder conversations with his friends from high school; so, why not humor her?

“Sure,” he smiled, crossing his legs and his arms as he leaned back in his seat. “Why don’t you start?”

(Y/N) felt her stomach flip at the look Keiji was giving her, making her smile shyly and glance to the side once again. She tried to ignore the slight heat in her cheeks as she came up with a question. “Alright, uh, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m an editor for Shonen Jump.”

“Really? That’s so cool.”

Keiji sighed and adjusted his glasses. “I guess. I’m hoping to work more in the literature side of things soon.” (Y/N) nodded, understanding; she probably would prefer to be editing in that genre as well. “Anyway, um,” he looked down at the floor trying to come up with a question. “What kind of work are you travelling for?”

“Actually, I’m trying to get my first book published, so I was going to meet with the company.”

“Which one?”

“Wandering Works Publishing.”

Keiji smiled, as if he knew the company personally. “That one is pretty reputable. How did you get a meeting with them?”

(Y/N) held back a sigh, instead letting out a long breath while she spoke. “My friend has been trying to help me get the book published, so she’s the one who’s scheduled everything.” She glanced back out the window, watching the snowfall before looking back at Keiji. “Anyway, why did you choose to go into the same field?” She chuckled to herself.

Keiji shrugged, dropping his hands to rest in his lap; out of habit, he began to play with his fingers. “I always liked literature and analyzing complicated texts in high school; so I thought why not try and help in the process of making more of them.”

(Y/N) smiled at his reasoning. “What high school did you go to?” “I believe it’s my turn to ask a question, darling.” Keiji chuckled softly, his smile nearing a smirk as he looked up at (Y/N).

The two continued to ask questions back and forth, eventually forgetting about the game that (Y/N) originally suggested. Keiji learned how the book she was trying to get published was the first of a three part series she had been writing since high school and had been in the process of publishing for almost a year now. Meanwhile (Y/N) learned how Keiji used to play volleyball in high school on one of the best teams in the country, and that one of the friends he was visiting was now a professional player.

Time seemed to pass so quickly that neither of them seemed to notice how quiet the rest of the airport had become. (Y/N) had even moved to sit next to him so that they could talk to one another better.

While Keiji read over the first chapter of her book on her laptop, (Y/N) looked back out the window to see how the planes and runways were holding up due to the snow storm. Her eyes widened at the site. “Wow, it’s really coming down,” Keiji glanced over at (Y/N) before looking out the window as well, also shocked at how much snow that had fallen in the past couple of hours. “Hopefully it stops so we can get on our flight sooner.” He looked back at (Y/N)’s laptop, looking in the corner to read the time, 23:13. “They haven’t given us any update on it in the last two hours, either.”

(Y/N) leaned back in her seat. “I doubt it’ll be anytime soon with the amount that’s already on the ground.” She yawned, frowning and starting to get more worried since she was most likely not going to make her meeting.

After a moment of silence, Keiji spoke up to break the silence, as though he could sense her worry and uneasiness. “The first chapter is good by the way. I hope you get it published soon so I can get a first edition copy.” He smiled and handed back her laptop.

(Y/N) smiled, unable to stop the blush on her cheeks as she heard his compliment. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.” She closed her laptop and began putting it back in her bag. “Maybe I can give you the honor of owning a signed copy.”

“I would like that.” Keiji smiled at her, taking in her appearance while she wasn’t looking at him. He couldn’t deny that she was beautiful, and a great conversationalist, but he wasn’t sure if making a move out of nowhere would be the best idea given the fact that he couldn’t really evade her if things went south.

(Y/N) looked back at him after closing her bag, staring right back at the man beside her. Neither said anything for a few moments before clearing her throat and looking away, although it was evident that she was smiling to herself, or Keiji might even say she was flustered. So, he decided, why not go for it?

“Listen, um,” he glanced down at his hands as he began playing with his fingers again before looking back up at (Y/N). “Since we’re likely going to be here awhile, would you maybe like to get a coffee or something?”

(Y/N) met his gaze once again, obviously taking in his words before smiling wide; she nodded. “I would like that.”

Ficmas Masterlist

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[themightyaliendwarf]

Bungo Stray Dogs!

Remember how I said I was going to share my thoughts after finishing season 1? Yeah... that was a lie. But I can fix it now!

So, I finished season 2 on, I think, Wednesday and I'm glad I watched it before I wrote this post, because I have some more to talk about it. Besides, I've actually decided to pick up the first 3 volumes of the manga.

(Yeah, I think it's now quite obvious, I will be mostly praising the series in this post)

But let's start from the beginning!

As I mentioned before, I knew nothing about this anime (apart from the fact Mamoru Miyano is voicing a character who gets stuck in a barrel once). But, of course, the title suggested it's going to be about writers. Suffice to say, the first episode was absolutely nothing what I was expecting. Superpowers? Detectives? Mafia? Another series with a weretiger?! (yes, it's actually a second series - the first being Midnight Texas - I know about that has a weretiger). But despite being something that I wasn't expecting, I enjoyed it. Mostly because of Baccano/Durarara vibe and aesthetic.

But despite all that, I didn't notice many literature references in the first season (don't shout yet, please). Apart from the names of the character's gifts that is. But then I opened the manga and saw this:

A whole 4 pages talking about how literally EVERY character is based on an author. They are all just Japanese authors (duh!) - apart from the characters from the Guild who appear later, of course. So, that proved how ignorant I truly was. Speaking of characters.

I really enjoy watching characters with strong personalities, but, who at the same time, are complex and can't be described with only one trait. I think it's so easy to make a character who is "just gloomy" or "just quirky". But here, although they seem at first simple, every character clearly has a lot of layers. And those subtle/clever references to their real-life counterpart (that's to translator's notes I know that, for example, the actual Akutagawa was a big fan of the actual Dazai) simply add even more spice to it.

Oh, another thing to love about this series:

I'm a sucker for frenemies.

Of course, another important thing to discuss is voice acting. And, oh my God, this anime has all seiyuus that I love. Mamoru Miyano? Amazing as always. Hiroshi Kamiya? Yes, give me this god of playing smug/charming/lovable bastards. Yoshimasa Hosoya - perfect voice for serious characters who can lose their temper easily. Kishou Taniyama -that one guy I always forget about, but then I remember I adore his voice. Kana Hanazawa - the queen of cute voices. Sumire Morohoshi? I did not believe that she was the voice of Kyouka. But then she started screaming "yada, yada, yada" and I finally heard Emma from TPN.

Seriously, that's one of the strongest set of voice actors I have seen in a while.

Another thing I have to mention - comedy. I was really surprised when I read it's classified as seinen because I usually assume those shows with lots of jokes/superpowers to be shonens (of course, I am writing it after finishing the second season, and I know how dark/sad/serious this anime can get). But yet here we are! Thanks to an amazing cast, this anime is effortlessly funny. I love those fast-paced, characters-oriented jokes, so it's a perfect series for me.

Before I move on to some random thoughts, I have to say a couple of words about another important aspect of this series: the music. It's really good. The OST and OPs are definitely going on my playlist.

And now here are some random thoughts: - Ranpo might be my favourite character (not just because of the seiyuu). Probably because he is not exactly your typical "I'm smart, peasants" genius-detective. He is also not a strange, L-like, quirky detective. I think he is a healthy mixture of both. The result, apparently, is a lovable character, who always steals the show.

- I was certain Atsushi was voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto. Welp, guess I was wrong.

- While I was reading the first volume of the manga I noticed Akutagawa speaks in a very archaic - mostly applies to how he forms sentences, rather than using specific words. It is not something I saw in anime (I watched it with English subs, but I read the manga in Polish). I wonder if this is a translator's choice (there wasn't anything about it in the notes) or maybe he also speaks like that in Japanese.

- I aspire to be like the President of the Agency. Not because he is a man of honour, power and wisdom. No. It's because there is always an electric guitar playing whenever he enters a room

- Fitzgerald's ability is literally pay-to-win

- When you are mortal enemies but you have to share a lift:

And I think that's all! Right now I'm going to have a break with this series (will probably finally watch Monster), but I will surely be back! From what I've heard, after season 2, I shouldn't go for season 3, but rather the movie, right? Or something like that. Well, anyway, I'm going to double check once the time comes.

So, to sum up: loved the first two seasons. I give 8/10

[bewaretheidesofmarchyall]

Hey, i really like minecraft and used to watch mcyt's back when i was younger. I was wondering if you could maybe guide me into the dream smp series. I have no idea where to start or what people are partaking in it. It seems so active rn and you seem to be invested in the plotlines and such so i thought maybe you can help me?

Okay!

The Dream SMP: A History

Warnings for drugs, the selling of drugs, drinking, war, death, explosions, and human/fish relationships

So, once upon a time, there was a Minecraft server.

It didn't have much of a plot or drama, everyone was just kind of playing the game

Then Wilbur showed up.

An important thing to remember about this server: It’s all Wilbur’s fault, except when it’s Dream’s.

Anyway, Wilbur decided to start a Minecraft drug empire (re: potions) out of a hto dog van (I did not misspell that. It’s called the hto dog van).

But they all lived in Dream’s server (Dream is the main Ruler/God/Inconceivable Green Dude of the SMP) and under Dream’s rule. 

He interfered with their “drug” business, so Wilbur did the only logical thing: Declared independence and formed his own nation to sell more “drugs”!

The nation was called L’Manburg, but Dream wasn’t a fan of any of this

And so the Revolution began!!

Part One: The Disc Wars

The main players were Wilbur (the most theater kid of them all), Tommy (The closest thing to a shonen protagonist this thing has), Tubbo (sunshine personified, likes bees, can lie though), and Eret (fuck Eret /j) (In all seriousness, they're awesome)

It was a hard battle.

Dream had way more people. The revolutionaries were outgunned, outmanned, outnumbered, and out planned. And that was before Eret betrayed them.

Eret killed off all of their fellow revolutionaries in exchange for Dream giving them a kingdom.

All seemed lost (Tommy even tried to duel Dream despite being 16 and not the best at combat. He got killed quickly.)

Tommy hadn’t really cared about the revolution in the beginning, but at the end he gave up his most prized possessions (his music discs) to get Dream to leave them alone.

And L’Manburg was an independent nation!

Everyone celebrated in the ways they knew best

In Wilbur’s case, that was sleeping with a fish (yes. a fish. it was a salmon, if that clears anything up) named Sally and having a son: Fundy, furry extraordinaire!

Somehow the middle ground between Salmon and Human is Fox, as Fundy is an anthropomorphic fox.

He was the first person born in L’Manburg, and it seemed like there was to be peace throughout the land once more.

Take one flying guess who screwed that up.

Part Two: The Election

If you guessed Wilbur, we have a winner!

He decided that he needed to win an election to rule the country, and ran as POG 2020, or Wilbur for President.

But he wasn’t unopposed.

Enter Quackity (yes, this is the guy Trump vague tweeted), wanting power but being chill about it, as usual. He decided to throw his beanie into the political ring as Quackity 2020.

It seemed like an easy race, since Wilbur had liberated the nation and Quackity was just Some Guy at this point.

Then, Fundy and Nikki decided to run as Coconut 2020 in a third party bid for the presidency.

THEN, when Schlatt (senile old goat, the corrupt businessman archetype, often drunk) came up to the stage to endorse a candidate, he instead rambled into the mic that he was running for president too.

Like the senile old man they all thought he was.

Little did they know.

Wilbur still could have easily won this election. He was popular and everything. Then, he made a decision.

(Wilbur didn't need to do this, but like all tragic heroes and/or theater kids, he had hubris and was going to make it Everyone's Problem)

He went up to Quackity and suggested that they combine their votes. Quackity wasn't going to win either way, but this way he'd get to be vice president.

Quackity saw that it made sense, but decided that he wanted to be petty that day, and decided to combine votes with Schlatt instead.

And then the votes were counted

Team Coconut came in fourth because they cheated

Team Schlatt came in third because no one wanted the drunken, senile goat to be president

Team Quackity came in second

And Team Wilbur won in a landslide, taking 45% of the votes! 

Tommy ran out of the video to tell his mom they won. And then Wilbur revealed the deal Quackity and Schlatt struck. 

Quackity+Schlatt got 46% of the votes. Schlatt was president of L’Manburg. 

Schlatt immediately takes the podium and starts giving a dramatic speech that sounds less Senile Goat more Dangerous Dictator Goat. He orders that Team Wilbur leave the nation of L'Manburg Manburg (he renamed the country) under threat of death.

Part Three: The Festival

Team Wilbur became Pogtopia, Schlatt and crew became Manburg, and L'Manburg became a nostalgic dream.

The Pogtopians hope to reclaim their nation, and get this absolute madman on their team.

The dude spent a year just farming potatoes to beat someone in a contest. He regularly quotes The Art Of War. He's a die-hard anarchist.

Behold: Technoblade.

So Manburg is a dictatorship at this point in the tale, and Pogtopia is trying its best. 

They have Technoblade, Tommy, Wilbur, probably someone I'm forgetting, and Tubbo. 

Tubbo is their spy on the inside (so is Fundy, but he hasn't even told Pogtopia he's spying for them, so he's regarded as a traitor)

Then the Festival rolls around

Wilbur has been spiraling, and having a little corruption arc because of course the theater kid decides to kin Hamlet (or is it Macbeth in this situation?) 

A day before the festival, he reveals that he's planning on blowing up L'Manburg, because if he can't have it no one can.

The festival comes around, and surprise! Tubbo is publicly executed in front of a crowd!

Schlatt figured out he was a traitor, so he ordered that Techno execute him.

Techno did, but because he was peer pressured. 

Then Techno killed pretty much everyone at the festival with fireworks!

Wilbur tried to blow up the place, but lost the button to detonate the TNT (Side note: The TNT was given to him by Dream. Because of course.)

Part Four: The Revolution 2 (Electric Boogaloo)

By the time the true war for L’Manburg rolls around, next to no one is on Schlatt’s side.

Quackity betrays him, Fundy betrays him, even Eret is back on the side of Pogtopia.

The war went by fast, and Schlatt was surrounded by former allies and enemies alike.

Schlatt had a heart attack before anyone could actually kill him, and died as pathetically as he’d lived. Anti-climactic, but everyone was happy.

Wilbur declared Tommy, our protagonist, president.

Tommy declined the presidency, saying that he needed to search for his discs first. He declared Wilbur president of L’Manburg once more.

Wilbur declined the presidency and declared Tubbo president

Tubbo accepted and gave a lovely speech

And then it all goes to shit. "Surely not all of it?" Yeah. All of it.

Wilbur (yes. it was wilbur.) explodes L’Manburg, finally pressing the button to destroy his nation despite his dad trying to stop him.

His own father, Philza, kills him

Stabs the Wilbur

Everyone panicks

And that's when Techno decided it was Chaos Time.

He stands on the ashes of L'Manburg, and said that no government will be allowed to rise in the entire SMP. Tommy objects, and Techno gives this speech:

do you think you’re a hero, tommy?

the thing about this world tommy, is that good things don’t happen to heroes. let me tell you a story, tommy. a story about a man called theseus. his country—well his city-state technically—was in danger. and he sent himself forward into enemy lines. he slayed the minotaur and saved his city.

and you know what they did to him, tommy?

they exiled him. he died in disgrace, despised by his people. that’s what happens to heroes, tommy. the greeks knew the score. but if you want to be a hero, tommy. that’s fine.

do you want to be a hero tommy?

THEN DIE LIKE ONE.

And then he spawns two withers (one of which is named Subscribe To Technoblade) and all hell breaks loose.

Part Five: The Aftermath (aka Where Are They Now?)

Since then, Tubbo has been trying to rebuild L’Manburg. It’s a canal town now, and it looks lovely. He’s a good President.

Tommy isn’t the best Vice President, but once he stops banning people from the country he should be good.

Nikki has left the fox Wilbur gave her in Pogtopia.

Speaking of abandoned foxes, Fundy’s dealing with the death/betrayal of his dad, as well as not getting on that well with the others. He’s also engaged to Dream.

Yes, you read that right. Dream and Fundy are getting married. Fundy met their eldritch overlord on what was pretty much a blind date, and they just clicked.

Eret is adopting Fundy! She has no kingdom any more, but she’s recovered some honor and now has a son.

Philza is dealing with the fact that he killed his son, and may try to resurrect him.

Schlatt is still dead (but is he really gone?)

Quackity is....doing some worrisome things, getting vague tweeted at by Trump, ate Schlatt’s heart, and might be possessed by him??

Technoblade is still doing his own thing, I think

And Wilbur? Wilbur is an amnesiac ghost, blocking out the memories of when he was hurt or a bad person.

There’s way more to say on the subject of the Dream SMP, but this is the basics! Hope this helped!