#And that for a character that has ZERO official merch.

[neckromancy]

What I keep telling people: I am very normal about him

Also me:

[kingdomoftyto]

I'm crying laughing, the DVDs are even worse than I remember... Season 1's menus are silent with a single static jpg of the same key character art they use for everything else, and the episodes on the Season 2 discs don't even match what's listed on the box! Absolutely stunning lack of shits given. Truly unparalleled. But I really shouldn't be surprised given... well... everything about how this series has been treated since the very beginning.

Time for a quick ~✨PHANDOM HISTORY LESSON✨~ to give newer/less hyperfixated folks more context for why the graphic novel being as great as it is is such a HUGE deal:

Danny Phantom was one of Nickelodeon's MAIN cartoons, in its time. It was a central pillar. One of the top three or four of their lineup, which is saying something when the competition includes the cultural juggernaut that is Spongebob.

Despite this, and despite its superhero theming making it perfectly marketable, it got basically ZERO official merch.

What little we did get was often ugly and very, very cheap. The dedication at the start of the graphic novel that jokes about collecting the Burger King toys? That's because it was some of the most notable merch the franchise EVER had. (I sadly do not have any of it. There was no BK in my hometown. Here's a pic from the internet, though, to give you an idea.)

If you think I'm exaggerating about that being the most significant physical merch to come out of the series, consider that the first video game had an entire menu option specifically for the Burger King promotional tie-in:

That video game, by the way, was one of only two ever based on the show. The first was an adaptation of "The Ultimate Enemy" in the style of a short sidescrolling beat-em-up, and the second was themed around "Urban Jungle" and (as far as I can tell--I've only played the first couple levels) was an arcade-style scrolling shooter. Both were for the Gameboy Advance, and both are...... fine, as far as cash-grabby video game tie-ins to kids' shows go. This was pretty normal for the time, so I suppose we did okay in that department, actually. They're not GOOD, but they're playable and have at least a bit of effort put into them.

But besides those two video games (plus a handful of simple, long-defunct Flash games on nick.com)? In the decade and a half since the show ended?

Nothing.

No books, no games, no comics, no web shorts--unless you count mega-crossovers with every other Nicktoon (a la Nicktoons Unite), or soulless promotional material like "Fairly Odd Phantom" (which, trust me, despite being the first new DP animation in over 10 years was not even worth the effort of watching).

...I think there was a limited edition FunkoPop once?

So yeah.

A Glitch in Time is not just the first cool, well-made thing we've seen from the franchise in a while. It's the first THING we've seen since the show. PERIOD. And arguably the first worthwhile supplementary material to EVER come out of the show, depending on how you feel about those GBA games and the Nicktoons crossovers.

This franchise is widely beloved even now, almost 20 years after it first aired, and it feels like that fact is now, finally, FINALLY getting some official recognition.

PLEASE read A Glitch in Time. Tell other people about it. The series--no, the fans--deserve this (and more of this, if the folks in charge see enough of a response and decide to grace us with any followup). It's LONG overdue, but better late than never.

[gabrielsbubblegumbitch]

Bro I can't believe that HH keeps getting shit for putting Valentino on merchandise when Star Wars made like morbilion dollars marketing child murderers and war criminals merch to children

Official HP merchandise includes stuff with the symbol of magical Nazis

And people also tattooed this shit on their bodies

Don't let me start about the GoT merch because holy fuck. Like 75% of the character's there are rapists or war criminals or murderers

Oh I forgot about all the horror franchises. Supporting manslaughter much???

But murder is not as bad as sexual abuse. First of all, it is. And if you want to talk about abusers so loved that they got not only merchandise but also comic books, movies and a cult-like following let's talk about this guy

And no one fucking cares, no one harasses fans, no one wishes them all the worst for enjoying villains. I wish those people bullied adult men in Darth Vader shirts as much, as they bully a random queer woman.

Anyway this post was brought to you by the person with a fucking FNAF pfp who really has all the audacity and like zero self awareness

[kitkatopinions]

You want to know what I think about why they haven't confirmed Yang as queer yet or had either Yang or Blake explicitly say anything about be attracted to women (unlike our "hetero" characters)? Because the writers know the bees are the beginning and end of their gay representation. We can have Arkos, Renora, some Rosegarden and maybe some White Knight now (bc framing), but when it comes to sapphic couples, the bees are it. And they see no problem with that either.

As I'm answering this ask, I will be heavily criticizing RW/BY and Bumble/by. Fans of the bees, please beware. If you can't stand to see criticism, just move along.

Here's what we have for confirmation of attraction to the opposite sex from our main characters:

Weiss asks out Neptune. Blake goes on a date with Sun and she and Adam had a prior romantic entanglement. Yang openly leers at shirtless men and verbally says that she approves of their shirtlessness. Jaune is romantically interested in Weiss and kisses Pyrrha. Nora kisses Ren and openly says she's in love with him. Pyrrha kisses Jaune. Ren 'melts into' the kiss with Nora and talks about his feelings for her. Qrow goes on about how he was undone by the sight of a female waitress's skirt length. That's eight out of ten main characters (the other two being Ruby and Oscar,) and if you count Sun and Penny as main characters, that's nine out of twelve because Sun asked out Blake.

The majority of this happened in season two. In the second season of the show, people were asking out people of the opposite sex, and the only characters that didn't have their interest in the opposite sex confirmed within the first three seasons were Ren and Nora. When Ren and Nora kissed after they were hinted at being romantically interested in each other for seasons, they were far and away not the only main characters to have confirmed attraction to the opposite sex and weren't even the first kiss between characters of the opposite sex. If someone wanted to prove that the ship between Jaune and Weiss was going to happen, they don't have to say 'Jaune looks at her, he was upset when she almost died, they go out with a group one time,' they can say 'Jaune has confirmed romantic attraction towards her' and 'At the very least, Weiss has expressed canonical interest in men.''

Here's what we have for confirmation of attraction to the same sex from our main characters:

Nothing. Literally nothing.

We have two very small side characters who appeared in a couple episodes of season six, a villainous character who is in love with her former friend who is described by her voice actor as straight in what looks like official RW/BY merch, and a transgender character who has only existed for two seasons as a more minor character. And then we have Blake and Yang, who have been coded as queer for years now with no canon confirmation so that even though they're clearly meant to be perceived as romantic by queer people, homophobes can pretend it's not happening and Yang can still describe Blake as her sister in side content like video games while Rooster Teeth the company with a huge history of bigotry can sell pride shirts. This is behind the curve of heavily censored cartoons made by big companies like Cartoon Network and Disney. There's no excuse.

When people say that there's nothing queerbaity about Bumble/by and that it's just a slowburn like Re/nora and therefore we should all say nothing about it, they're really ignoring that Re/nora is the exception, they were some of the only main characters who hadn't expressed confirmed interest in the opposite sex, while even Ruby and Penny had seemed to want to talk about 'cute boys' in season one. And even Re/nora at this point is far more confirmed than bumble/by. People like saying that Bumble/by is a slowburn, but that doesn't mean that Blake and Yang couldn't have been confirmed as queer looong ago. Like, people act like Jim and Pam had zero confirmed romantic interest in each other or any other people until they got together and were shown dating in season four. Most slowburns don't look like this.

And people also are pretending like no outside meta matters at all, whether that's the history of a lack of representation for queer characters or considering the company's history of bigotry or the biphobia of one of the creators and lead writers Miles Luna. Despite the fact that there's no queer main characters in ten years, despite the fact that Blake and Yang's progression is unnatural because their tender moments are not allowed to be backed by even a discussion of feelings, despite the fact that the first male character who was coded queer was brutally murdered, despite the fact that there was wild heteronormativity in the early seasons where several characters just casually talked about their attraction to the opposite sex while the creator of RW/BY said that he'd be willing to include queer ships eventually maybe if he thought they were earned, despite the fact that Blake was described as straight by her VA as late as 2019, despite the fact that RW/BY is the biggest money maker for a company that is not only seemingly always struggling with funding projects but also constantly having controversies often about displaying bigotry and needing to get back into people's good graces, despite the fact that they've tried to sell Pride merch and Bumble/by merch that said like 'maybe they're a couple,' despite all of this... No one is allowed to suggest that there might have been intentionally stringing queer audiences along, or that it's a bit suspicious, or anything like that. No queer person is allowed to side eye a bigoted company. Because then we're 'ignoring the slowburn' and just being really unfair to Miles Luna the man who told an 'anecdote' about how hot he thinks watching girls make out is. No queer person is allowed to think that Bumble/by is badly done, because we'll literally get attacked, no matter how much we might like tons of other queer ships, including the canon queer ships from other shows like Adventure Time, Owl House, or Steven Universe.

I think that it is because Blake and Yang are likely to be the end-all-be-all as far as their confirmed queer characters, I think that's why fans are so defensive. Blake and Yang as a ship had juice before volume six and had a lot of people who shipped them, I'm not saying that the only reason they've been shipped is because they're likely to actually be confirmed. But. There's a habit in most fandoms to take what's either the only confirmed queer ship or the queer ship that's most likely to be confirmed and then instead of asking why there aren't more queer ships, people start acting like any fan who doesn't ship it or has any problem with it is trying to hurt queer people. Like if the content creators hear that the ship might not be popular, they just won't do it. Like we'll be punished for not being grateful for the scraps. So fans take it upon themselves to be knights and guardians for these ships, because instead of having grievances against the content creators who make queer ships so rare (and sometimes, badly done,) fans often seem to act like other fans are the enemy for not liking the one ship we have or might get. There's this element of...

A lot of rwde posters who care about queer rep wouldn't care very much about the relationship between Blake and Yang if they weren't the end-all-be-all of the main character rep in the show. If Weiss and Ruby or Weiss and Penny had been a thing, or Jaune and Neptune or Jaune and Ren or something, or other queer ships involving the main characters existed, then Blake and Yang's own status as queer wouldn't be as important because they wouldn't be the only (coded as) queer characters. Like, Lapis Lazuli and Peridot in Steven Universe weren't in an official relationship, but we had Ruby and Sapphire, and Pearl had been in love with Rose Quartz, so I at the very least didn't feel strung along by their 'roomies' language.

Another thing to note is that once again, what I at least care about is whether or not Blake and Yang are confirmed as queer, not whether or not they're in a relationship. People accuse rwde posters of not being happy with a slowburn queer ship and that we think that queer relationships should all be rapid paced (the defense against comparisons to Disney's the Owl House or Arcane having Vi out and out say that she thinks Caitlyn is hot.) But in actuality, this is willfully ignoring that they could've been confirmed as queer without getting in a relationship, just like Jaune talking to Ren about his feelings for Weiss doesn't mean they're destined to be together, and Weiss asking out Neptune doesn't mean they need to have an emotional journey with each other and have a passionate kiss at the end of the show. Yang could've gone to the Vytal dance with Velvet instead of with no one. Blake could've had feelings for Ruby before she had feelings for Yang instead of going on a date with Sun. Ruby could've had feelings for Penny before the Fall of Beacon the way that Pyrrha had feelings for Jaune. Neptune could've had a crush on Jaune during the Vytal dance, instead of having only turned down Weiss because he couldn't dance. Clover could've actually been confirmed as queer and wound up in a relationship with Qrow. But instead all we have is... Ten years of nothing but side characters who don't get much screentime and two main characters nuzzling foreheads and a bunch of fans screaming at us for saying 'we want more.'

It's disappointing.

[ruthlesslistener]

Ghost really is like a Asian mascot. Even the official sources treat them like one (see Fangamer Japan's exclusive merch of them!). Heck, Ghost even looks like one San-X (Japanese company that makes mascots to sell in merch) franchise of mascots. Sentimental Circus! Check them out on Google and I promise you the semblance is uncanny. That's why I agree that Ghost not only doesn't look, nor act like a child. They look like a adorable mascot character. Even a pokemon lol. And mascot characters aren't always kids. Some are literally just creature with unknown origins. Rilakkuma for instance, is hinted to simply be a... costume... a man in a costume... or just a costume come to life. Japanese mascots have such varied backgrounds! So don't be surprised when a lot of Asian people don't really see Ghost as one.

That's really informative anon, thank you for telling me! I genuinely had no idea about it (and now feel really bad because goddamn I was an ass. Like, we already know that, but fuck dude). It does give me a lot of insight into why people might have that interpretation of them and has unironically helped me understand a lot of fanart that sort of blew over my head before. Like, straight-up I didn't understand why chibi characters were a popular thing until now, which is embarrassing to admit to- I thought it was just a quick way of drawing a character in a cute manner vs like, a wholeass art style. In which case, yes, Ghost fits that criteria exactly.

As context for why I didn't make that connection at all: I had zero information about how mascots worked in Asian countries, that they were actual characters and that there was a preset understanding that they aren't child-coded because of proportions. I knew that they existed, but I assumed that they were more like branding mascots and sports mascots (which I also don't know about jsyk, so I'm probably sticking my foot in my mouth here), where they're just a face to stick a name to for better recognition of that company or team, ie designs that have no actual characters to them and thus no meaning beyond 'product' or 'sports team'. I was also working off of the (very westernized) art idea that certain proportions were used to indicate ages instead of it being a stylistic choice, which further limited my understanding. That there's way more to it and a far different perspective is super cool

Either way though, I appreciate the insight and thank you for explaining it to me! It opened my eyes to a new perspective on art and I will be sure to remember it in the future.

[ohanny]

i finally got to sit down and enjoy so here is cutie pie 2 you episode 3 reaction/recap mess :'D

ok i just typed it into youtube search bar and i saw the 3/4 thumbnail of nuer and syn and am screaming already so that's great

zee's hands are large and i am not sure what i should do with this information

kuea exactly how big of a dumb dumb do you feel like right now?welcome to being an adult, where you can have both marriage and a career wow

i am so glad lian is so chill like yes king, communicate, explain to this dumb dumb we are out of high school (also i am glad this is like a 4 episode arc because you know if this was a full 12 episode season this drama would have been milked for hours)

zee's jawline makes me feel things and stuff

kuea is an adorable baby though, practicing his stage presence

lian and yi ahahahaha

WHEN ARE WE GETTING TAEKWONDO MASTER KON DIAO PLS

bitches do love a good montage. i am bitches.

will these two ever get any cooking done on these counters

oh they are actually planning a barbie dream wedding together. this is such character development. but nooo, is kon diao out of a job now? YOU DID GREAT SWEETIE

lian is working double time being both a dad and a daddy, someone give this man a raise

kuea: i am saving myself for marriage

lian: while i respect your decision, i will make it very difficult

that is going to be one cold shower

whoever swoops max's hair like that also needs a raise

diao: we are so early we're lucky the employees got here first

yi: lian commented on me being late once so now i have the neurotic need to add all potential events from a mechanical breakdown to car sex into the estimated travel time

diao: why are u like this?

diao: i'm just a babyyyy

yi: when did i ever scold you

diao: *whips out a receipt so long you'd think we're watching one of those extreme coupon-ing shows*

wayyyy to change a subject yi

to be fair, if he said my name in the "nong diao" tone i would marry his scolding (hot) ass and red flag trust myself to change this man for the better over time

still holding onto a hope of a grey's anatomy wedding switcheroo :')

diao lowkey pissed about the most unromantic proposal ever

i am not looking at poppy's thighs i swear

when has foei ever been okay lol

the way i thought kuea was wearing taylor swift "blank space" merch for a second there hahahaha

lmfao these two literally have zero clue about what is going on in their own wedding

lian: yi will be here soon

yi: has been there for 5 hours at this point

diao you smol boba ball alskdlaaslkdfj

syn has a cute pout and bangs that tickle his eyeballs and i will literally physically fight anyone who says one bad word against him. i don't care he's fictional. he is my precious.

literally everyone at this wedding:

foei knows he done fucked up and oh my god, diao officially pulls the best disgusted faces in this show. mention mustard yellow and he looks like you killed his dog.

OH MY GOD DID THEY REALLY JUST PUT NUER AND SYN AT A KID'S TABLE IN THE BACKGROUND?! THE INJUSTICE!

look at these boys actually participating in planning their own wedding the day before

lian: fix this or you are fired

kuea: babe <3

foei: i love how my financial security is a joke to you all

NUER AND FLOWERS pls it is a crime this couple gets no attention because obviously they be coupling better than anyone

WHY IS DIAO AIR SWIMMING OUT OF THE SHOT WHAT IS GOING ON AHAHAHA

nuer and syn making up excuses to ditch their friends as if they would notice if they suddenly disappeared at this point ◔_◔

i love how yi is just like that's it, i don't want to be sober anymore

OOOH so they didn't just wanna fuck this is a bachelor party, yes yes, i get it now :D

kuea surprised his best friends showed up at his wedding like did you actually invite anyone?!?! how?!?!?!

nuer: i am healed

syn: and i am honest lalalalalala

are you even besties (derogatory) if you don't do synchronized wine sipping at an abandoned pool on the eve of a wedding and express your emotions in the most businesslike manner ever?

again, i do not have eyes and thus am incapable of noticing max's thighs

EVEN THEIR TOES ARE ANGLED IN A PERFECT MIRROR IMAGE

lian: i am the happiest man on the planet right now

yi: lol let me try and change that

THEY FLUFFED MAX AND GAVE HIM STUBBLE :)))))

oh yi you need therapy

not nuer and syn and their evening prayers and a pillow wall because of course there is only one bed and no blankets because why would there be

me: you know he can't just kiss it better every time

diao: shhh

ooooh, early season one confident gay nuer making a bold comeback

biting my first, screaming, crying.... you have no idea how excited i am about tutor and yim having their own series

YIM LOOK AT YOU *jumps out the window*

damn nuer, you and your... lessons ˙ᵕ˙

so when is their show dropping anygays? asking for a friend.

STOP INTERRUPTING THEM FOR COMEDIC EFFECT YOU COWARDS

ooooooh just casually stargazing here, by the ocean, on a blanket nailed down with lit candles as one does, like a sexy fire hazard

yes, lian is making this waiting for our wedding thing very hard

also zee is like a schrödinger's twink or something because give that man a polo and he looks like a stiff wind could knock him over but have him take his shirt off and suddenly it is laundry day helloooooooo

how on earth can all these people unbutton shirts one handed like what is this skill and on which level of gay do i unlock it???

lian: can i play with you instead?

kuea: hiaaa

gravity: oops ◔w◔

as someone who has done it on a beach let me tell you no amount of blanket will protect you from sand. anakin skywalker hated it for fucking REASON so for once i am going to say keep those pants on, it is not worth it

yes. you do not want a chafed raw booty crack for your actual wedding night.

okay i said you can have a marriage and a career but if i had zee promising to make me the happiest person in the world i would straight up forget cosmic-exo hahahahaha

oh. my. god. they will be in the rain. wet.

... WAIT A FUCKING SECOND.

WEREN'T WE SUPPOSED TO SEE PERTH IN THIS?

DID I HALLUCINATE THE TEASER AT THE END OF THE LAST EPISODE?

SHOW PERTH YOU COWARDS!

[icerosesummerbracket]

[SUBMISSION]

Okay, but I HAVE to talk some more about the Jardin Sauvage, because they were pretty much what kickstarted my obsession with french history!!!

Starting off with the difference between between Chance and Mercury. As their two sorta-leader-figures (I know they don't really HAVE leaders, but let's face it, they're the most invested) literally the ONLY similarity they share is that the monarchy has to go.

[SUBMISSION BREAK FOR COMMENT FROM ZERO]

I'm afraid I can't give you Chance and Mercury as leader-figures because Chance is in the 14-18 range with Rose and some others which means they're a little young for that, and Mercury is set at 16-20 which is only marginally older. I can give you "they represent two different sides of beliefs people in the group hold" instead

[SUBMISSION CONTINUES]

Chance is more focused on bringing down the system and creating a new working one, they're more focused on long-term goals, and ensuring that what they do really is FOR THE PEOPLE. That's why even before Radiance officially becomes next in line for the throne in book 2, Chance is already suspicious, "those children she has seem a little fucked up, huh. Let's send Etienne to spy, I wonder what's up with that".

Meanwhile, Mercury is really more focused on immediate action, and making sure the CURRENT regime is gone as fast as possible. Hence why he doesn't really consider Radiance to be a threat in book 1 and the first half of book 2, guy has a bad case of tunnel vision. He prioritizes efficiency, and does everything in his power to achieve his goals. (Hell, in the beginning of book 1 he's even hopeful that Etienne's spying will result in them having Radiance as an ALLY). Honestly? I think he would have made for a damn good villain, but I'm so glad they didn't go that route.

Now for Etienne!!! She's there for vengeance, lol, I mean, half of the people are, being poor under fantasy feudalism really makes for a tragic backstory, huh? (And then we haven't even talked about her parents smh). But even then she doesn't really fit in with the group, I mean Currant is there, and she's glad to reunite, but everyone is just so Good and Helpful, and it feels so unfamiliar and weird. And then se gets send spying. Hoo boy. And these people??? They're like *her*. They're fucked up in more ways than one, and it'd be so *easy* to stop the facade and genuinely join. But she sees Radiance and the atrocities she commits, and it's all too familiar to the people who oppressed her. AND THEN SHE'S FORCED. TO DO. THE SAME. She tells herself it's to keep up the act, to gain Radiance's trust, to report back to The Good Guys, but she can't help but wonder if she is just as bad as them. If she has grown up to be just like the people who hurt her. If there is no redemption for her, if she should just stop fighting and accept that's she's a monster. ((Current see's this of course. He may not have seen his sister in years, but he *knows* her. Ultimately, he can't help though, and isn't that just another tragedy in itself))

Anyway,,,,those are my thoughts,,,,I'm a Jardin Sauvage fan first, human second, proud owner of official merch for it and everything

[OOC: yessss, thank you for accepting the ask about this, as a french history and literature nerd it made my day, and also, hope this vision for Etienne fits with what you (and everyone) had in mind < 3]

[SUBMISSION END]

[Out of character] I can't think of any snappy comments riffing off ideas here at the moment tbh, but I want you to know those Etienne ideas are hitting in such a good way, oh my god I love her

[inkystaarart]

the lineups of my daydreamer au aka my highschool au i drew while watching yhs

these are just the sketches of the first few profiles i had written in my notes. i did a few sketches like 2 months ago basically introducing the sibling pairs but i’ll explain the characters drawn here better.

keep in mind these are all pretty much headcannons. i built this kind of like TommyInnit Changed the Chat to GENDER SMP

(this is a very long post)

Grian Xequla Dreamslayer

he/they/star/chirp pronouns

bisexual (i might change this later?)

student council. basically boatem and a few others are on the student council with mumbo as president (at first)

avian/watcher. he has an improved eyesight and he can occasionally see through walls.

flock: mumbo, scar, pearl, etho, timmy, martyn, big b, and joel (joel is not official yet)

orchetra kid. he plays the viola.

Pearl Moon Dreamslayer

she/void/star

queer

student council

dating gem.

avian/watcher. can see through walls some days. or see people’s skulls. it’s funny. sometime she just says “you have a nice skull” to someone without context and scars them for life. (basically context for that one obscure pearl post i made a few months ago)

genderfae!

flock: grian, gem, impulse, jimmy, martyn, big b

Jimmy Solidarity Dreamslayer

he/it/feather

bisexual

he’s an avian/watcher. although he got mostly avian genes. sometimes he has improved eyesight but usually he doesn’t. depends on the day. he’s the least watcher out of all of them.

flock, pearl, grian, joel (not official), scott, martyn, big b

on the school’s swim team. based on empires s1 since he was a cod boy? idk i didn’t watch that season from his pov

he looks up to grian. i actually can’t mention a lot of what i put in this paragraph on my notes app because it reveals a shit ton about grian’s backstory and i’d rather hurt you on ao3 in a few months. if you do read.

Mumbo K. Jumbo

he/it/gear/zero

unlabeled

student council president! he was sick when everyone voted for president so he was president

etho’s twin.

likes to study end crystals!

Etho Slab Jumbo

they/echo/daze

aceflux

mumbo’s twin

really good friends with grian because i love their dynamic. mumbo sometimes gets jealous

dated joel in middle school

orchestra kid. he plays the cello

in the sparring club at school. practically the best sparring person there.

Scar Goodtimes Smajor

he/it/meow/fizz

omnisexual

student council. he’s in charge of designing school merch

fey

scott and scar are irish twins. they’re in different school years for story purposes.

favorite sport is archery. if you know you know

orchestra kid. plays the violin.

Scott Chromia Smajor

he/color/lucid/ve

gay

does not have a favorite color. loves them all equally.

collects crystals

Bdubs Smajor

he/moss/thorn

questioning. or unlabeled queer.

clings to etho and cleo a lot. calls them dad and mom.

Fail Whip “Fwhip” Tay

he/it/gold

demisexual

he’s adopted into gem’s family. and also random headcannon: gem and fwhip have two moms. they’re cool like that.

Gemini “Gem” Tay

she/they/daisy/thorn

bisexual

dating pearl

band kid. plays the trombone.

False Symmetry Shadow

she/they/it/wing

pansexual, polyamorous

dating cleo and stress

in the sparring club at school. wins a lot. except against etho.

shapeshifter. she can change what hybrid or species she appears as, just not her physical humanoid details (if that makes sense) she usually appears as an avian but without the wings.

Lizzie Shadow

she/xe/meow

bisexual

dating joel

shapeshifter. she switches between a fish lady (for when she swims) and a cat hybrid. someday i’ll better explain how the shadow family’s shape shifting powers work

joel acts tough and like he can protect her but lizzie defends him in fights and everyone is scared of lizzie but not joel because joel is short

dyed her hair pink. joel helped her and then lizzie convinced him to do a green streak in his hair

on the school swim team

orchestra kid. plays either the bass or the viola. depends.

Tango Tek Shadow

he/ve/sun

polysexual

most of my notes on him are for his future relationship

shapeshifter. takes the form of a demon/netherborn

Impulse SV Daemonium

he/they/demon

gay

skizz’ twin

skizz calls him piss demon because his horns, the tips of his ears, and his tail are colored yellow

Skizz MC Daemonium

he/him

straight

i legit wrote “single. not ready to mingle. never will be” in his notes.

this concludes part one.

[jaeheewillalwaysbemyfav]

what random hyperfixation aside from their cannon interests do u think the obey me brothers would have? like i could totally see satan be one of those people that is super into fragrance and knows what every single note smells like or beel being very informed about brand marketing lol

The idea of Satan being like every fanfic character and being able to pick out all sorts of smells from anything is hysterical lmao

I’m only at, like, lesson 39, so if this is either disproven or comes up as canon in the later lessons, Oops. So some of these will be more random/Vibe based, and some might have some justification I pull from canon like aspects of the characters’ personalities or canon interests bc, well, even when extrapolating/taking a canon character and saying “mine now”, I tend to like to refer to the source material.

So without further ado!

Random Hyperfixations/Interests the Brothers Have (At Least, According To Me)

Lucifer

Birding

No, not birdwatching

Birding

What is birding, you ask? Well it’s basically birdwatching but much more meticulous and aggressive

Birdwatchers tend to just kinda chill somewhere or set up a bird feeder and admire whatever shows up, maybe look up some local birds to better identify them when they see them

Birders(?) are like mf Pokemon trainers: Gotta Spot Them All! Birdwatching is a much more active hobby for them, they will literally drive out a couple hours just to see a bird they’ve never seen before and record it

I think this fits Lucifer because he is absolutely the kind of person who would try birdwatching and get super competitive about it

(No shade to birding, I just find it really funny that there’s a name for what is basically “INTENSE BIRDWATCHING”)

Anyway, Lucifer has probably been responsible for several discoveries of new bird species in the Devildom, and is well-known amongst ornithologists, who may or may not stalk him on his bird-ventures because the odds of him finding something new and exciting are quite high

Mammon

Idk why exactly but I feel like he’d be big into drumming? Most kinds of percussion, really

There’s something really tactile and stimmy about a drum set that I think Mammon would appreciate

I don’t know a lot about the technique of drumming, but I love a good beat, and rhythm is the foundation of music

Plus he could totally do streams and take (paid) requests every now and then

But mostly I think this would be something he just does himself

To relax, to have fun, to vent out any pent up Feelings

His drums are kept in a separate music room that is magically soundproofed tho because he has a tendency to get the urge to play at odd hours

And that has caused Problems in the House in the past

Leviathan

Okay, we all know Levi is into collecting, especially fandom merch and the like

But I think he’s also into Swords

Don’t get me wrong, he probably has some decorative and/or nerdy swords

But I do also mean like Actual Historical and Modern Swords

Cursed swords, enchanted swords, ordinary swords that are just Really Cool looking or have an interesting history behind them…

He can’t display them all at once, but he has a comprehensive organization system for them as well as a giant binder with all the information about them

A lot of his finds come from his underwater explorations of Devildom and human world seas and oceans

Like Lucifer, he’s got professionals who occasionally stalk him because of this

But they’re gonna have to be faster than him at actually finding the weapons bc once he’s got it in his sights, he’s not exactly keen on letting someone else take it

The Devildom Royal Museum has been in deep negotiations with him for centuries about displaying parts of his collection in personal exhibits but he’s been pretty stubborn

It’s not fair, he’s the one who found them, why do they get to take them away?!

However, as space becomes increasingly limited, Levi might have to concede some ground...

Satan

Straight up amateur archeology/whatever the Devildom equivalent of urban exploration would be

Satan’s a huge nerd, so it stands to reason that he’d be into visiting old ruins in the Devildom and see if he can find anything interesting

Archeology is basically like uncovering the mysteries of the past, and he’s big into detective stuff already

He probably finds the research afterwards just as interesting too

He has definitely let his grades slip a bit while following up on a particularly promising trip

Unlike Levi, if he finds something of value/interest, he has no problem handing it over to actual historians and the like, but he wants to be involved in the Process

He refuses to call the emotion he feels when seeing his name on an exhibit’s plaque “pride”, but...

Asmodeus

Heavy metal :)

It absolutely Does Not fit with his pastel pink softboi sex kitten image

So very few people know

Lots of people have heard Asmo sing, and a few have heard him scream for… certain reasons

But practically no one has heard him really scream

Part of him is slightly insecure about liking something that some might find unbecoming

But mostly he likes to keep it secret because he finds it deeply amusing to drop small hints about it and see people’s reactions

There may or may not be an underground Devildom metal band with a suspiciously charming singer who can go from the most primal growls to the crispest cleans without a hitch

I just really like the idea of Asmo dressed like a metalhead okay? He has the range!!

Beelzebub

Woodworking

This one is totally random, I have zero justification for it

I just think it’d be neat

Big things, small things, decorative things, functional things

Woodworking is a very physically and mentally involved process (unless you wanna lose a finger), so I imagine it’d be very grounding for Beel

Plus, bringing food into the woodshop would likely end terribly so if he’s looking to beat his cravings without emptying the fridge, that’s a plus

Now, my sleep-deprived brain supplies, has he ever tried to carve something with his teeth like a beaver? Well

I’m gonna say yes, but only once and it went poorly

He probably also does, uh… idk what it’s Officially Called, but when you burn/engrave stuff into wood with a heated metal stick

For some Sad Boy Hours, he’s definitely made something in tribute to Lilith and placed it at her tombstone

Belphegor

I’m gonna cheat a little bit bc while I don’t think it’s been brought up in canon, we do see it in his dance battle sprites… Ballet

It is the One Single Physical Activity Belphie’s into, and no it’s Not because ballet is easier than other activities

That is a bullshit lie fed to you by sexism, since ballet is perceived as more feminine than say, basketball or wtv

If ballet’s the base of your dance knowledge, you can do a lot of different styles with it, using a variety of techniques

But I imagine Belphie’s style is more classical leaning

He will literally do exercises in place to stay awake, his core is excellent

He can go on pointe, but because he sometimes takes long breaks from dance it may take him a while to build his strength back up to do it safely

Also it is now my headcanon that one of those breaks did not take place during his attic-captivity, because what would piss Lucifer off more than the THUNKS of Belphie’s slippers at odd hours?

THUNKS, you ask? But ballet shoes are so delicate lookin-

Toe shoes, my friend. Toe shoes.

They contain a wooden box at the toe which help support a dancer’s feet when they go on pointe. At shows, the music drowns it out, but if you’ve ever heard a pointe dancer practice in person, it is Loud. Not actually as graceful as it looks lol

Also also, does this mean Beel could have repaired Belphie’s shoes at some point? I dunno, i have no clue how ballet shoes are made. But i think it’d be sweet if he did ^-^

[yumeka36]

Analysis on the absence of Elsa and the Northuldra in post-Frozen 2 stories

If you've been following post-Frozen 2 storybooks and comics as closely as I have over the past year and a half, you've probably noticed that the majority of stories take place in Arendelle and focus on Anna partaking in adventures with Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven. While Elsa has appeared alongside them in a few stories, as well as a couple of her own stories taking place in the forest with Olaf and Bruni, the ratio of "Anna stories" vs "Elsa stories" is pretty one-sided. And, while new characters introduced in Frozen 2 like Mattias, Halima, Bruni, and Nokk, have had some appearances in post-F2 stories, the Northuldra have had zero…not even mentions or cameos. I’ve been pondering on this topic quite a bit and finally got around to writing all my thoughts. This is a long and thorough analysis so sit back, enjoy, and put your thinking cap on...

The lack of Elsa in post-F2 stories is puzzling since both Anna and Elsa are fairly even when it comes to post-F2 content in general; all the post-F2 merch I've seen has both of them in equal amounts, and pictures of Elsa are always all over the magazine covers and paper craft pages that the comics come from. So it's not like she's being excluded from post-F2 merch overall, she's just noticeably absent from most of the comics and storybooks. Again, this is puzzling because post-F2 marketing gives the impression of "Anna's doing her thing in Arendelle" and "Elsa's doing her thing in the forest," so an equal number of stories for each sister, as well as a few where they do things together, seems like the most logical way to go. Yet the ratio of post-F2 stories currently looks something like this:

Stories featuring Anna in Arendelle with other characters (no Elsa) - 56%

Book & Comic: Anna getting a gift for the queen of Chatho

Book & Comic: Anna getting an official portrait as queen

Book: Mattias getting accustomed to Arendelle again

Comic: Anna and Mattias visit Halima

Comic: Anna and Kristoff make a bicycle for Olaf

Comic: The gang helps Olaf find a new nose

Comic: The gang celebrates the spring festival

Comic: Olaf minds the kingdom when Anna is sick

Book: The origin of Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven's epilogue outfits (this one is technically not post-F2, but I'm counting it since it's so close to the end of the movie. Also it’s an upcoming book, so no link yet)

Book: Arendelle celebrates the cloudberry festival

(out of these, Mattias has featured in about 17%)

Stories featuring Elsa with Anna and the rest of Frohana - 27%

Book: Anna awaits Elsa's visit after their initial parting

Book: Explore the North (this isn't a storybook but a collection of isolated scenes during and after F2; since some scenes are post-F2, I'm counting it)

Comic: Elsa visits Arendelle for charades

Comic: Anna and co. visit Elsa in the forest to help Bruni

Comic: Elsa visits Arendelle for the snowman competition

Stories featuring Elsa in the forest with the spirits (and Olaf, no Anna) - 17%

Book: Bruni's Big Adventure

Book: Elsa, Sven, and the spirits help Olaf find a unicorn

Book: Elsa helps restore balance in the forest that resulted from the misguided actions of some travelers

(out of these, Yelena, Honeymaren, Ryder, and/or other Northuldra have featured in 0%)

*Major shoutout to @chileanon​​ and @bigfrozenfan​​ for translating many of these stories that aren’t available in English*

(my percentages are based on the number of post-F2 stories released thus far, to my knowledge, in the form of comics or books. Some stories have both a comic and book version, as well as two different book iterations with only slight differences. In these cases, I'm counting them as one. Since comics are released sporadically and only in a few European countries, my number may be slightly off if there were any not brought to my attention on social media. I'm very active with finding information about post-F2 content, so I feel my numbers are fairly accurate. And again, I'm only counting stories that take place post-F2, or at least within the timeframe of the epilogue, not stories that take place during or before)

(I'd also like to point out that Olaf is the only character who has appeared in every single post-F2 story so far. It makes sense since he's a very marketable character for the kids and simple to write for. Though this probably wasn't the intention, I'm seeing him as a connection symbol between Anna and Elsa as they go about their new roles).

So what is the deal with these ratios? As I said, both Anna and Elsa have been evenly highlighted throughout all of Frozen 2's marketing, and continue to be to this day (and Elsa is arguably the more financially successful of the two and Disney knows it), so why is Anna so much more prevalent when it comes to post-F2 stories? And why are the Northuldra so left out? Obviously they wouldn't feature in a lot of stories since they're not main (and marketable) characters, but if Mattias can appear in a story or two, why can't the Northuldra at least get a mention? If someone hadn't seen Frozen 2 and read these post-movie stories, they would think the only residents of the forest are Elsa, the spirits, and some animals. Is there a reason for this? These are the kinds of questions I will examine and attempt to answer in this post.

But before I get to the meat of this analysis, please take note of the following disclaimers (I apologize for the length of the disclaimers, but they're important things to keep in mind):

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Disclaimers

- All of this is my own speculation based on the facts made public; namely, the content of the post-movie stories themselves. Since I have no insight into the coordination, publishing process, or other planning/logistics behind the creation of these stories, theorizing is all I can do. I don't know to what extent executives at Disney dictate what authors can and can't write in these stories, whether the authors actually have a lot of creative freedom yet choose to write the stories this way, or whether these outcomes vary depending on factors like country and story format. So I'm purely going off the limited knowledge I have and what I feel is most logical.

- Continuing from my previous point, unless you have some insider knowledge about the inner workings of Disney Publishing Worldwide, Disney Press, or whatever branch of Disney creates these post-movie stories, exactly who is responsible for the way they are is unknown. I could be wrong of course, but I doubt that Head of WDAS Jen Lee has the need to personally green light 6-12 page comic stories that get printed in a foreign language magazine read by, like, 1% of Frozen's worldwide audience. Even though Jen Lee and Chris Buck created the story and characters of Frozen, the franchise is owned by Disney firstly, and it's very likely other people at Disney provide approval for things like this in lieu of the filmmakers. It’s doubtful that the Frozen 2 filmmakers had any input into the creation of these post-movie stories, or even know that they exist. While the Frozen 2 filmmaking team is responsible for how Frozen 2 ended, they ended it in a way for post-stories to easily expand on the Frozen-verse like how I previously described; some stories featuring Anna as queen and interacting with the people of Arendelle, some stories featuring Elsa in the forest interacting with the spirits and the Northuldra, and some stories with them doing things together. And technically this is exactly what post-F2 stories have been doing–we have stories featuring Anna as queen, stories with Elsa in the forest, and stories of them doing things together…it's just that the proportion of "Anna stories" vs "Elsa stories" is surprisingly off, plus the complete absence of the Northuldra. And again, whether it was someone's decision that the stories should be this way, or whether it's just a weird coincidence, is unclear. Is there a particular person or persons from Disney's publishing branches pushing for the stories to be the way they are? Or is it the individual authors' decision? Or some combination of both…or some other factor entirely? Yes, higher ups at Disney have to provide approval for every official piece of media that gets released for their IPs, but who is "Disney" in this case? A manager/supervisor at Disney Press? Is it the same person who approves every new story or just some? Is it just one person who approves or is there some long chain of approval? And if so, how far up does it go...all the way up to someone who actually worked on Frozen 2, or does it stop before then? Does it vary by country? Does it vary whether the story is in comic or book format? There are a lot of unknowns in terms of how these stories come about, so please be mindful of that fact before assigning blame to any one person or group of people.

- And lastly, again, I'm only focusing on post-F2 stories–stories that take place after the events of Frozen 2. I know that comics and books have come out after Frozen 2's release that take place during or before the events of the movie, such as a comic about Ryder helping Kristoff with the proposal and a book showing Frohana having a family game night prior to the movie. For this analysis, I'm only focusing on how the characters and franchise are presented post-movie, in brand new ways not yet explored in the actual canon of the movie. I'm more interested in seeing how these stories are shaping the franchise going forward in anticipation of new official canon content whenever it comes.

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So with all this in mind, let's keep analyzing…

Lack of Elsa

First I'm going to examine the main reasons I have for why we don't see Elsa as often in post-F2 stories:

Arendelle stories are easy and familiar: Personally, I think this is the most likely reason, especially for the comics. The comics are made as part of magazines released in a few European countries. They're simply extra selling points for the magazines, which contain other items that appeal to kids, like arts & crafts activities, and Elsa is always all over those even if she's not part of the comic. I would also venture to guess that the authors and artists who create the comics don't have a ton of time, or incentive, to weave together interesting stories. After years of releasing Frozen 1-based comics that almost always involve adventures in Arendelle, I'd imagine it's very easy for current Frozen comic writers to simply follow that formula, since it worked in the past and is easy and familiar. Sure, they could include Elsa in more of those stories, but if you look at it from the perspective of a comic writer with deadlines, if I could get away with writing an acceptable story without including an extra character to draw/write for, I would do that as much as I could. If Elsa is still in, like, 80% of the magazine, I think little kids would still be enticed to buy them even if she's absent from the comic stories. Obviously with Frozen 1, all the characters lived in Arendelle, so it wouldn't make sense to have a lot of stories without Elsa (though there were some). But now that Elsa is living elsewhere, her absence in these stories isn't as questionable, especially when she's still part of the magazine in general. While this logic applies more to the magazine comics than storybooks, I would still argue that the storybooks are also niche and are simply made to bring in a little extra revenue to small markets rather than a serious attempt to expand the canon.

So then the question becomes, why not show more stories of Elsa in the forest with the spirits and/or Northuldra? Those stories could be simple too, like a story about Elsa and the spirits helping Honeymaren find a lost baby reindeer or something like that. The reason for this could again boil down to Arendelle simply being an easier and more familiar setting to work with. If excluding Elsa from the comics has no affect on magazine sales, since she's already present in the rest of the magazine, why not just stick with a formula that works and takes less effort to write? Even if coming up with simple stories for Elsa in the forest isn't too difficult, Arendelle is a more recognizable and "glamorous" setting, especially for the magazine's target audience of little girls. Another key point is that Elsa's exact role in the forest was left much more open to interpretation at the end of the movie than Anna's role as queen. Being the queen of a kingdom is something easily identifiable, and again, easier to write for. Why risk depicting Elsa's activities in the forest in a way that could conflict with Disney's expectations (assuming someone with clout at Disney green lights these stories) when you can just stick with safe adventures in Arendelle?

Disconnect between stories and canon: This is more of a general statement about fandom interpretation of the comics and storybooks as serious depictions of post-movie canon: it's best to keep in mind that these stories are, again, simply made to bring in a little extra revenue for the franchise, as most of Frozen's earning are either from box office sales or toys/dolls and other merch. Most of the books and comics aren't made with a large, worldwide market in mind, so I'd hesitate to think that a lot of effort is put into creating stories that are true depictions of post-canon content that would perfectly align with a potential Frozen 3 or other future official releases. Many of the post-Frozen 1 stories released in books and comics contradict each other in minor ways, as well as the actual canon movies and shorts as well. This is unfortunately what happens when you have a franchise like Frozen that's owed by a company (Disney) and not an individual director, author, etc. Unlike, say, Harry Potter or Naruto, where the work is owned firstly by the original author who has say into practically every new media piece that's created for their franchise, lots of different people at Disney contribute to various pieces of Frozen media and bring their own interpretations into it…interpretations that could end up not aligning with each other or future canon content from the filmmakers. A few different authors write the post-F2 storybooks, and still different authors write the comics, and I doubt they collaborate to make sure everything in their respective mediums match up exactly, nor do they check in with the Frozen 2 filmmakers to make sure every story released is a clear representation of whatever vision the filmmakers have for not-yet-conceived post-F2 content. This might not be the case for a bigger production, like the Frozen novels such as Dangerous Secrets, and shorts like Olaf's Frozen Adventure, but it is for these little kiddy books and comics that a very small portion of the market even knows about. Even if someone at Disney has to approve them, as I mentioned in the disclaimer, we have no idea if it's the same person always approving, different people depending on country/format, or if there's some chain of people who provide approval. This spreading out of the Frozen-verse across different media formats and Disney branches unfortunately spells frustration for fans who are constantly trying to build one, coherent view of the franchise's world through the alignment of the comics, books, shorts, and movies. This is unavoidably the nature of the kind of franchise Frozen is–something that's owned by a multi-faceted behemoth like Disney rather than a single author, so there's going to be a disconnect between its media formats that are conceived by a variety of different minds at the company. In the end, everyone is free to decide what they do and don't consider canon, but don't be surprised when the image the storybook writing team has for Frozen ends up being different than what the filmmakers create years later.

The pandemic: While I don’t think the covid pandemic is the sole reason here, it could be a possible contributor. Manufacturing was compromised across various industries in 2020, and magazine/book publishing could have been one of them. Maybe Disney did have plans to create more post-F2 books in early 2020, but had to change those plans (among many other things) when the pandemic hit. Some possible evidence for this is that, for some of the storybooks at least, the European translations are based on the English versions, which means the English versions came first, and yet the English versions weren’t released until several months later, most not even in hardcover form. This could indicate a slowdown in this branch at Disney in the US, or at least a portion of it. The US did get some hardcover Frozen 2 books in 2020, like Explore the North, Bruni’s Big Adventure, and the Frozen 2 manga, but not as many as Europe, which is strange if these books started off in English first. Again, without any insight into the industry, I can only theorize, but I do believe the pandemic should at least be considered.

Disney restrictions for future canon: This is an optimistic reason, but one that I think is important to mention. A possible reason that Elsa is noticeably absent from post-F2 stories, but not F2 marketing in general, could be because Disney has future plans for exactly what her role as the fifth spirit is and they don't want to risk anything that portrays that role in a contradictory way. They might not know exactly what that role is yet, but they'd rather not risk retconning anything that's shown in official content, like the comics and storybooks. Since Elsa's role was left open to interpretation at the end of the movie, focusing too much on what she's doing everyday could inadvertently reveal things about her role that could be portrayed as expanding the canon, something that these stories aren't allowed to do. So perhaps the authors are told to downplay Elsa's activities in the forest as much as possible, so often they'd rather just exclude her altogether to make things easier. Of course, this is complete speculation, but I'd like to hope it's true if it means Disney has future plans for Frozen!

On that note, the only story released thus far that has a direct depiction of what Elsa does in the forest is Tales of Courage & Kindness, a digital book that was recently released as part of Disney's Ultimate Princess Celebration campaign. I feel like this book is slightly closer to canon than the other books and comics because it was promoted on various official Disney social media outlets (and was released in English, while many of the books and comics aren't). It depicts Elsa's role (one role she has at least) of helping the spirits protect the forest from outside influences that could throw off its balance. Again, this book is still pretty niche and we don't know if there was any collaboration between the filmmakers and the author of this story, so this depiction of Elsa's role could be downplayed in favor of something else in future canon content. But what I found most puzzling about it is that this book, which seemed to be written for slightly older children than most of the post-F2 storybooks, had a perfect opportunity to feature the Northuldra, since it takes place exclusively in the forest. And yet, there wasn't even a mention of them at all. Which leads to the next portion of this analysis…

Lack of Northuldra

Even though Elsa doesn't appear in as many post-movie storybooks and comics as Anna (for possible reasons I just discussed), she still features in some of them. The Northuldra, however, have not appeared in any post-F2 stories, even the few that take place in the forest. This is strange since the epilogue of Frozen 2 very clearly shows Elsa with the Northuldra at their camp, as well as with the spirits. But as far as post-movie stories, the most we've gotten is one line from Elsa in one of the comics (English version from the official UK magazine):

(thanks to Snow on Discord for sharing this with me)

We can assume the "anyone" she's referring to are the Northuldra who live in the forest (unless she's referring to the animals of the forest, lol. Also, why the heck are they calling Bruni an "it"? This is a prime example of what I mentioned before about the disconnect between the various branches at Disney. In the Bruni's Big Adventure book and other official content, Bruni is referred to as "he/him")

As a matter of fact, Olaf, who lives with Anna and the others in Arendelle, is more prevalent in the forest stories than the Northuldra! I feel like he's been added to these stories to give Elsa someone to talk to, since Bruni and the other spirits don't talk. But why not have her talk to Honeymaren, Ryder, or Yelena? I know all the kids love Olaf, but you'd think they could get away with having one story where Elsa interacts with the Northuldra, just like Anna has a couple of stories where most of her interactions were with Mattias. And like Elsa, the Northuldra aren't excluded from post-F2 overall as they're still seen occasionally in other merch. They're just not in any stories that are set post-F2. This exclusion of the Northuldra is very bizarre, so let's see what we can analyze for why it's like this…

The Northuldra aren't marketable characters: This would be a likely reason if it weren't for the fact that Mattias, who is also arguably not a marketable character, has appeared in a few post-F2 stories. In fact, many minor Arendellian characters often appear in the comics and storybooks…Halima has gotten more attention in these stories than the actual movie! So I think it's more than that, which leads to my next point…

The spirits are more marketable: This is probably why stories that feature Elsa in the forest aren't focused on the Northuldra. Again, assuming the stories in the books and comics are created just to bring in a little extra money and not as serious depictions of canon content in collaboration with the filmmakers, it makes a lot of sense to keep the focus on what sells the best. We know that (in terms of merch at least) Bruni and Nokk were the most popular new characters from Frozen 2, so why not have stories with Elsa in the forest focused on them? This doesn't contradict the ending of Frozen 2 after all. However, this doesn't explain why there's literally no mention of the Northuldra. Even if the stories focus on the spirits, they can at least show the Northuldra in the background or mention them here and there. Which then leads to my next point…

Few stories in the forest, so few chances: In conjunction with my previous two points, I think this is the main reason for the lack of Northuldra in post-F2 stories…there just hasn't been enough opportunities. First off, most post-F2 stories take place in Arendelle, so no reason for the Northuldra to be seen there (unless they wanted to depict Arendelle and Northuldra mingling with each other, but that concept is probably beyond the scope of the kiddy books and comics!) And as of now, there have only been four post-F2 stories that take place in the forest…

-Bruni's Big Adventure: this one gets a free pass because it's aimed at very little kids and literally just shows Bruni and Olaf goofing off, with Elsa making brief appearances at the beginning and end. The more descriptive European version does mention about Elsa living in the forest with the spirits and no mention of the Northuldra. But again, this book seems aimed at an even younger audience than the others, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the author needed to keep things very simple and only mention what’s important for the story at hand.

-A Day With Bruni comic: this one could have definitely shown some Northuldra in the background, or even mentioned them in Elsa's dialogue. I guess the idea was for the group to meet Elsa in a secluded area, since the story was about helping Bruni get his fire going again, which could be dangerous at a camp site. I still don't know why they weren't at least acknowledged in Elsa's dialogue, but that could have just been a conservative choice by the comic writer.

-A Unicorn for Olaf: while this book could have shown the Northuldra, since it features Elsa, Olaf, Sven, and the spirits travelling all around the forest, I kind of see why they didn't; the theme was that each spirit Olaf encountered helped him get closer to finding the unicorn–it's a simple and easy narrative for a little kid to follow, no need to complicate it by including extra characters (I know it's hard sometimes, but we have to keep the target audience for these stories in mind...it’s much more narrow than the movies!)

-Elsa's story in Tales of Courage & Kindness: out of all these stories, this was definitely the one where the Northuldra should have at least been acknowledged. The story features the forest getting disturbed/thrown off balance, so you would think Elsa would mention the Northuldra, the people living there, perhaps to ask if they know what's happening or if anything was wrong. Really strange that this wasn't the case…only reason I could think of is, again, insistence on simplifying Elsa's role in the forest as much as possible, which includes downplaying anything going on in the forest besides just her and the spirits. Maybe the book author wanted to include mention of the Northuldra, but then was told to edit that part out for simplicity's sake. In Anna's equivalent story in this book, Mattias is absent, which I found strange too. Maybe the author was instructed to keep things simple and not include extra characters if it's not necessary for the story (again, the target audience for this story is the general audience of little kids, not hardcore adult Frozen fanatics). But still more possible reasons for the Northuldra's exclusion from this story, and perhaps the others, could be as follows…

Disney restrictions on depictions of indigenous people: I'm not sure how valid this reason is, but we do know that the filmmaking team consulted with the Sami people about how the Northuldra were depicted in Frozen 2. So when it comes to depicting them in anything post-F2, perhaps Disney's being super sensitive. Maybe the image they want to avoid is "we got your approval to depict the Northuldra in Frozen 2, but as far as anything after that, we can do whatever we want." It wouldn't pay to consult with the Sami on all these little niche storybooks and comics, so why go through that hassle when it's very easy to just exclude the Northuldra from them? There are some flaws with this idea though, like where does Dangerous Secrets fit into this (it's not post-F2, but it's still content featuring the Northuldra in ways not shown in the movie). Then there's the fact that Disney doesn't have this restriction with their other movies that feature indigenous cultures, like Moana for example. But the argument there could be that Moana is a main character, so they literally couldn't have any post-movie stories if they had this restriction, so maybe different coordinating/negotiations took place in that case compared to Frozen 2.

The Northuldra are nomadic: This is a reasonable argument for why Elsa seems to often be alone with the spirits in the forest. But I feel like the movie tried to convey that the Northuldra live in the forest. They might travel around the forest to forage for food and set up camp at different locations, but they don't stray too far. In the movie's prologue, Agnarr does say that the forest was "home" to the Northuldra, and I don’t recall Dangerous Secrets giving any indication that they leave the forest for extended periods of time. But this is something that could definitely be addressed in future canon, I just don’t think there's enough evidence for it as of now.

Coincidence/author's choice: This applies not just to the absence of the Northuldra, but lack of Elsa in the post-movie stories as well…it could all just be a coincidence. Maybe the authors of these stories have freedom in terms of how they portray Elsa and whether or not they include the Northuldra, yet they simply are choosing not to. Their reasons for doing so could be what I've already discussed–stories in Arendelle are easier and more familiar, so why not stick with that when there's no consequences for it? And likewise, why continually include Elsa, an extra character to draw and write dialogue for, in the Arendelle stories when there's no need to anymore? Maybe tomorrow a new story will be announced that features Elsa in the forest interacting with the Northuldra and what I've said here becomes way less relevant? But I feel like it's not a total coincidence…like, maybe some countries are more restrictive than others, or some Disney branches are more restrictive, like the comics vs the storybooks. It's hard to say, but some of this could be coincidence for sure.

Conclusion

To summarize, there could be several reasons for why Elsa and the Northuldra aren't as prevalent in post-F2 stories, or it could just be a weird coincidence. I'm of the opinion that the authors of these stories keep the focus on adventures in Arendelle out of convenience and familiarity, since the books and comics are made just to bring in a little extra revenue from small markets. Elsa is still all over other Frozen 2 merch like dolls and toys, and that's where the bulk of the franchise's sales come from. The authors could be restricted by Disney in some way with how they depict Elsa's role in the forest, or whether or not they can include the Northuldra, so they often opt to just not have them in the stories, or just stick to the more marketable characters like Olaf and Bruni. Without any inside information about how Disney's publishing branch makes these stories, we can only speculate. But what I do know is that viewing these stories as an accurate image of what all future content for the franchise will be like is very premature. It's only been a year and a half since Frozen 2 (and only seven months since new animated content with Once Upon a Snowman). Even though that seems like a long time for fans, it's an extremely short time in terms of how long Disney takes to create new content for their animated films. Just look at how many years it took to announce new series’ for Princess and the Frog, Zootopia, and Moana? Monsters Inc. just got a new series ten years after its last movie, and Lion King, one of Disney's biggest hits, didn't get a series (The Lion Guard) until nearly twenty years after its sequel movie. Even if Disney seemingly abandons a franchise, they often come back to it in time, especially one as popular as Frozen. Unlike a franchise such as Star Wars that has a whole studio just for it, Frozen has to share resources with other Disney movies, which is why new content for their animated movies is spread out across so many years. And if we do get a Frozen 3 or a series on Disney+ however many years from now, there's a good chance it could portray the current status quo differently from these storybooks and comics, just like how the post-F1 stories feature a different status quo than now. Whether another change like this is good or bad has yet to be decided, but until it happens, I'd like to imagine it's something like this page from the Explore the North book (one of my favorite post-F2 images)

We see Anna and Elsa having fun together while Arendellains, Northuldra, and the spirits are learning to get along again...and honestly, nothing in these post-F2 stories I’ve discussed contradicts this scenario. Even if we don’t see the Northuldra in the stories that take place in the forest, that doesn’t mean they’re not there. Even if there’s fewer stories featuring Anna and Elsa together, that’s no indication of how often they get together in canon. As I discussed, there could be a number of reasons for why the post-F2 stories are as simplified and one-sided as they are...they’re only meant to extend the ending of the movie in minor ways, so that if Frozen 3 or other official canon content is released down the line, nothing will have to be seriously retconned. As I mentioned, a lot of hands at Disney touch these stories without paying mind to the fact that the filmmakers could conceive something different in the future, which is why I don’t take the post-F2 books and comics too seriously. I simply enjoy them for what they do offer and don’t get hung up about what they don’t offer.

[makeste]

my long boring post about chapter 293 and Kacchan’s hero name

lmao I think that’s all of them. anyways, so I said I was gonna do a post on this, and so here goes.

first off, I just want to say that people are allowed to not like the name! it’s a completely subjective thing, there’s no right or wrong “it’s good” or “it’s bad.” or rather, there is a right or wrong, and it’s whichever one you think it is. if you think it’s good, you’re right. if you think it’s bad, you’re also right. it’s an opinion, it doesn’t need to be backed up by peer review lol.

that said, here is my own completely subjective opinion: I think “Dynamight” (though please not with the capital “m”, I beg you lol) is a terrific name for him honestly. it’s clever wordplay, it’s a subtle callback/tribute to his favorite hero who is also his inspiration for becoming a hero, and it’s a perfect fit for his chosen aesthetic. it’s honestly great.

and what makes it even better is that at the same time, it is also stupid as fuck lmao. this is a name that encapsulates the duality of man. it’s the perfect metaphor for this boy who think he’s the hottest shit god ever invented, and has no idea that the number of people who take him seriously after interacting with him for more than ten seconds is actually in the single digits. this hero name is the equivalent of an excited puppy ferociously bounding towards a squirrel only to trip over its own feet and fall flat on its face. it thinks it is scary as fuck, and has no idea that 30,000 people on TikTok think it’s the most adorable thing they’ve ever seen. I unabashedly love it, and will also ceaselessly roast the everloving shit out of it without the slightest remorse, just like I roast the beloved boy attached to it. that’s just how it is lol.

so that’s how I feel about the name! however, this next part I need to emphasize: my opinion of the name, and my opinion of whether or not I actually think this will be his name, are two different things. I like the name Dynamight. I really do. and I also think there is next to no chance that this will actually be his hero name.

here’s the thing. this would have been a perfect name for him if it had been his chosen name back in chapter 45 when everyone else picked their aliases. it would have fit in seamlessly with the rest of his class. Red Riot, Chargebolt, Earphone Jack, Sugarman, Uravity; those are all names that stick in your mind and look great on official merch. those are names that sell action figures, but they also do a great job of representing the individuals behind the names. they have personality. and so does “Dynamight”, for sure.

but the thing is, for whatever reason, Horikoshi didn’t have him pick this name back in chapter 45. he went with a running gag instead. “King Explosion Murder”, “Lord Explosion Murder”, and so forth. and in the end, we never got a hero name at all. he could have had him pick Dynamight after we’d had our laughs. hell, he could have used it as an early easter egg hinting at Kacchan’s admiration for All Might, which wouldn’t be officially revealed until the final exam arc about twenty chapters later. “Dynamight” in Japanese is written out in katakana -- ダイナマイト (“dainamaito”). this is the word that’s used in Japan for actual dynamite. there is no inherent indicator that it’s a pun; it just so happens that the “mite” in dynamite is spelled out phonetically in Japanese the exact same way that “might” is. so the pun isn’t obvious unless you know to look for it. Horikoshi could have left us all thinking that “Dynamite” was his name until chapter 62 or thereabouts when he revealed that Katsuki looked up to All Might, at which point Horikoshi could finally reveal the official English spelling and it would be like a second name reveal. which would have been pretty sweet, actually.

but my point being, for some reason he instead chose not to do this. instead he chose to drag it all out for 250 chapters, content to let us all languish. this man had not a shred of mercy for the thousands of Bakugou fans who were all “please, sir, the fic,” before eventually giving up and adopting Ground Zero as the official-unofficial name until we either got a real reveal or died of old age. he dragged it out, and kept it as a gag, and eventually it was just like, fine, whatever.

and then this happened.

and it changed everything.

because you see, all of a sudden “Bakugou’s Hero Name” wasn’t just a running joke gag plot anymore. in the span of three sentences, Horikoshi changed the entire meaning of it. “your hero name represents your desires. the embodiment of how you wish to be. your ideal self.”

just like that, the whole mystery of “what will Bakugou’s hero name be” goes from being a funny little ongoing thing to an existential question, with the implication being that the choice he finally makes, whatever it may be, will in essence reveal the very core of his character. “your ideal self.” in other words this will really be almost the pinnacle of his entire character arc. his hero name, when he finally picks it, will show us just how far he’s come. it will show us his answer to “what kind of person do you want to be.”

that is an insane amount of meaning to suddenly dump onto something that up until this point had just been a funny little running gag. “lol Bakugou loves murder and death.” “lol at this rate Bakugou will graduate while still not having an actual hero name.” from that, to suddenly out of the blue, “Bakugou’s hero name will show us who he is as a person.” like, holy shit though. and mind you, this isn’t something that’s been done for any other character. this is very Bakugou-specific. all this build-up and significance has been ascribed to his hero name specifically. at this point his name is basically its own fucking plot. it’s literally its own individual little arc. all of that build-up. all of that meaning and importance given to it.

and then Horikoshi goes and gives us this.

so. like... okay, I guess??

like, just some quick things of note here though:

he is still doing the whole “explosive destruction murder” thing on top of the “Dynamight” part. indicating that there has not been the slightest bit of thoughtful consideration actually given on his part. literally the one thing that everyone and their mom was trying to explain to him not to do, and all of it went in one ear and out the other. which is fine!! he is adorable here and I want to ruffle his hair, honestly. but it’s clear to me that he still hasn’t grasped what Jeanist was trying to explain to him before, if this is really his answer to “what would you consider to be your ideal self” lol.

the name is INSTANTLY panned by every single person in the surrounding vicinity, villains included. hell, Mirio might as well have stabbed him all over again. obviously this is intentionally being used as a lighthearted moment to briefly give the audience a breather before we wade back into the Todoroki drama; but at the same time it indicates that this name isn’t exactly going to be taken seriously by anyone who hears it in-universe. they are literally wincing upon hearing it skjlklhkgf.

lastly, none of the people closest to him -- Deku, All Might, Kirishima, or Shouto -- are even there to hear it. all of that build-up, all of that “Kacchan’s hero name will show us how far he’s come in his character development”, and then when it finally happens, the people who have had the most impact aren’t even there to partake in the moment. Shouto and Deku are busy dealing with an entirely separate plot and trying very hard not to be set on fire while Kacchan is out here providing comic relief.

because that’s really what this is, though. this is a joke. like, I don’t mean that in a pejorative sense; I mean that it is literally a joke. and so what you’re telling me is, if this really is his hero name, we waited 250 chapters and Horikoshi built up an entire character arc around it, only to have the end result be a joke panel that in the end was arguably not even the biggest thing that happened in the chapter.

like, idk, maybe there’ll be a flashback about it later after all’s said and done which will imbue it with more meaning as some have suggested. maybe Horikoshi will explain how it’s a childhood throwback name that Deku once picked for him, like that theory that’s been making the rounds. I’m not saying it won’t be possible to build on this after the fact. but it will be after the fact, all the same. as far as the initial reveal goes... this is it. the epitome of anticlimactic. a brief joke reveal mid-fight where everyone immediately goes “are you fucking serious” and he’s all “I WAS FUCKING SERIOUS” and falls down out of comedy lmao.

and so, to wrap this post up finally, basically the way I see it is that there are two possibilities here. either (1) I have been way overthinking this from day one and it was never really that deep and Horikoshi thought this would be an appropriate and funny conclusion to a plotline which in his mind was always meant to be mostly lighthearted, with the Jeanist stuff mostly just thrown in there to push Bakugou into picking an at least halfway-decent name in spite of himself.

or, (2) this isn’t going to be his final hero name either. this is instead the last hurrah of the “Lord Explosion Murder” part of that plotline, and after he’s laughed out of the room yet again he will mope and cross out this one as well, and Horikoshi will sit on it for another 500 chapters until he finally reveals it at the very fucking end of the series. like at this point I wouldn’t put it past him to wait until the very last page. I s2g, this man. but the flipside of it is that when that moment finally does happen, I fully believe it will be a moment that actually feels earned. it will feel right. it will feel like the moment we spent all that time waiting for. or at least that’s what I hope.

so anyway, those are my thoughts on it! tl;dr, while I like Dynamight as a hero name in and of itself, I don’t think it’s going to be endgame, mostly because nothing about that reveal moment actually felt right to me. and of course, it’s very possible that I’m completely wrong about this; it wouldn’t be the first time (Kacchan’s quirk says hello). but on the other hand fandom isn’t totally batting a thousand either (Ground Zero says what up), so hey. we’ll see!

[carlatsukinamistolemyhamsandwich]

Diabolik Lovers Survey 2020 Results

This year I got 138 responses in total, which is close to double the number I got in 2019 (74 responses) so a big thank you to all of you for taking part and for those who helped to promote it! Now onto the results:

Question 1. Who is your favorite DL character?

1. Subaru Sakamaki (18 votes) (3rd in CL poll, joint 4th in 2019 survey) 2. Shu Sakamaki (16 votes) (1st in CL poll, 1st in 2019 survey) 3. Ruki Mukami (13 votes) (4th in CL poll, joint 6th in 2019 survey) 4. Laito Sakamaki (12 votes) (8th in CL poll, 10th in 2019 survey) 5. Ayato Sakamaki (11 votes) (2nd in CL poll, 3rd in 2019 survey) 6. Reiji Sakamaki (10 votes) (9th in CL poll, 2nd in 2019 survey) 6. Carla Tsukinami (10 votes) (11th in CL poll, 4th in 2019 survey) 6. Kanato Sakamaki (10 votes) (6th in CL poll, joint 6th in 2019 survey) 9. Azusa Mukami  (8 votes) (12th in CL poll, 13th in 2019 survey) 9. Yui Komori (8 votes) (7th in CL poll, no votes in 2019 survey) 11. Yuma Mukami (7 votes) (10th in CL poll, joint 6th in 2019 survey) 12. Shin Tsukinami (6 votes) (14th in CL poll, joint 11th in 2019 survey) 13. Kino (3 votes) (13th in CL poll, joint 11th in 2019 survey) 14. Kou Mukami (1 vote) (5th in CL poll, joint 6th in 2019 survey) 14. Richter (1 votes) (did not feature in CL poll, no votes in 2019 survey)

Note: 3 people said they didn’t have a favorite character and 1 person skipped the question. Karlheinz, Beatrix, Cordelia, Christa and Yuri were all available options but they did not receive any votes. I’ve included where they came in the CL poll (the most recent official popularity poll) to show how the results compare. Below you can also see how the voting breaks down compared to the 2019 survey.

While I was a little surprised that Subaru managed to dethrone Shu as the fandom’s overall favorite, I was not surprised by him, Shu, Ruki and Ayato all featuring in the top 5 considering their rankings in the CL poll. Laito also managed to sneak his way in there but considering that he was the winner of the 2018 survey, that wasn’t much of a surprise to me either.

The thing that I really don’t understand is what on Earth happened with Kou. Up until 24 hours before the survey closed, he didn’t have a single vote (lone Kou fan, thank you for stepping up), despite doing pretty well in the CL poll and the 2019 survey. If anyone has any theories on where all the Kou fans have gone then let me know because I am baffled.

Anyway, onto the rest of the survey, because this post is extremely long, I’ve put the rest below the cut.

Question 2. Who is your least favorite diaboy?

1. Kanato Sakamaki (42 votes) (1st in 2019 survey) 2. No least favorite (15 votes) (2nd option in 2019 survey) 3. Kino (14 votes) (3rd in 2019 survey) 4. Ruki Mukami (12 votes) (joint 6th in 2019 survey) 5. Ayato Sakamaki (10 votes) (4th in 2019 survey) 6. Carla Tsukinami  (9 votes) (no votes in 2019 survey) 7. Reiji Sakamaki (7 votes) (joint 6th in 2019 survey) 8. Shin Tsukinami (6 votes) (joint 6th in the 2019 survey) 8. Azusa Mukami (6 votes) (joint 10th in 2019 survey) 10. Shu Sakamaki (5 votes) (no votes in 2019 survey) 11. Kou Mukami (3 votes) (5th in 2019 survey) 11. Laito Sakamaki (3 votes) (9th in 2019 survey) 11. Yuma Mukami (3 votes) (joint 10th in 2019 survey) 14. Subaru Sakamaki (2 votes) (no votes in 2019 survey)

Note: I discounted one vote for Subaru on this question, as the participant had also voted for him as their favorite character so I assumed they misunderstood this question.

Every single year I’ve done this, Kanato has come first in this category by a massive margin and (while I will admit he’s my own least favorite) I am still no closer to understanding why he gets so many votes. If anyone does have any theories then do let me know.

Other than that, Kino’s placement certainly isn’t a surprise given his place in the 2019 survey and that he was the villain in all of the other characters LE routes, which I suspect has not endeared him to many. I do find it interesting that Ruki and Ayato (who did well in the popularity poll) were also in the top 5 for this question. 

I also wasn’t expecting Shu, golden boy of the fandom, to actually rank higher than some of the other characters in this question and to only have one less vote than Shin (who is considerably less popular and did some fairly deplorable things in the other character’s DF routes). 

Question 3. What is your favorite type of DL media?

1. The games 60 votes (1st in 2019 survey) 2. The drama CDs 46 votes (2nd in 2019 survey) 3. The character songs 9 votes (3rd in 2019 survey) 3. The merch (e.g. plushies, badges, straps etc) 9 votes (4th in 2019 survey) 5. The anime 8 votes (5th in 2019 survey) 5. The manga 6 votes (6th in 2019 survey)

I don’t really think there’s much to comment on with this one, the results are pretty similar to last year and given that the drama CDs and the games collectively provide most of the story content for DL, it’s not at all surprising that they’re the fan favorites.

Question 4. If you have played and/or read translations for the games, which is your favorite?

1. Dark Fate (39 votes) (1st in 2019 survey) 2. Haunted Dark Bridal (27 votes) (2nd in 2019 survey) 3. More Blood (13 votes) (3rd in 2019 survey) 4. Vandead Carnival  (10 votes) (7th in 2019 survey)  5. Lost Eden 8 votes (5th in 2019 survey) 6. Chaos Lineage 8 votes (4th in 2019 survey) 7. Lunatic Parade 6 votes (6th in 2019 survey) Note: 20 people said they had not played the games or read translations of them.

DF, HDB and MB all remain as the top 3 games of franchise. I was a bit surprised to see VC jump up so much though, although I know some more translations for it have been posted recently, and a game being translated will always help to boost it’s popularity within the fandom.

Question 5. If you have listened to and/or read translations of the drama CDs, which set of CDs includes your favorite?

1. Bonus CDs (19 votes) (4th in 2019 survey) 2. Para-Selene (18 votes) (2nd in 2019 survey) 3. Bloody Bouquet (14 votes) (1st in 2019 survey) 4. Zero (13 votes) (joint 5th in 2019 survey) 5. The original do-s vampire CDs (11 votes) (3rd in 2019 survey) 6. More Blood do-s vampire (8 votes) (joint 5th in 2019 survey) 7. Verus II (7 votes) (joint 5th in 2019 survey) 8. More, More Blood (6 votes) (not an option in the 2019 survey) 9. Dark Fate (4 votes) (no votes in 2019 survey) 9. Born To Die (4 votes) (joint 9th in 2019 survey) 11. Verus I (3 votes) (joint 9th in 2019 survey) 12. Eternal Blood (2 votes) (no votes in 2019 survey) 13. Versus III  (1 vote) (joint 8th in 2019 survey) 13. Versus IV (1 vote) (no votes in 2019 survey) 13. Chaos Lineage  (1 vote) (joint 8th in 2019 survey) Note: the Lost Eden CDs (joint 8th in the 2019 survey) did not receive any votes and 26 people said they had not listened to or read translations of the drama CDs, 6 more than those who had not played or read translations of the games. 

I was pretty surprised to see the Bloody Bouquet CDs bumped down to third place considering that they won far and away in the 2018 and 2019 surveys, especially with the Zero CDs coming so close behind them. Para-Selene (my own personal favorite set of drama CDs) is still a fan favorite, and while I know many people enjoy the bonus CDs, I certainly wasn’t expecting to see them take the top spot.

In terms of other things to note, I do find it interesting that the Eternal Blood CDs (which feature the Mukamis) are less popular than the Born To Die CDs (which feature the Tsukinamis and Kino), considering that in this survey, the Mukami brothers got more votes combined than the Tsukinamis + Kino, and I’m pretty sure all of the Eternal Blood CDs have been translated, while to my knowledge, no English translations exist for the BTD CDs (although you can find a summary of Shin’s on this blog), so I would have expected this to be the other way around.

Question 6. How long have you been interested in DL?

1. More than 4 years but less than 6 years (55 votes)  2. More than 2 years but less than 4 years (26 votes)  3. More than 6 years but less than 8 years (15 votes)  4. Up to six months (9 votes)  5. Over 8 years (7 votes) 6. More than 6 months but less than 1 year (6 votes) 7. Less than 1 month (2 votes) Note: 6 people said they couldn’t remember how long they’d been interested in DL for.

It seems the majority of us have been here for years (truly, there is no escaping diahell) but it was nice to see so many newcomers to the fandom take part this year, especially as we haven’t really had that much new content. 

I mentioned this in the 2019 survey results post but I do wonder whether the release of the MB anime (a little over 5 years ago), may have some correlation with a large chunk of the fandom (or at least the portion that took part in this survey) being into the series for between 4-6 years.

Question 7. If you answered the survey I did last year, have any of your choices changed since then?

Note: Multiple options could be selected here.

My favorite character has changed: 21 votes

My least favorite diaboy has changed: 17 votes

My favorite DL game has changed: 9 votes

My favorite drama CD has changed: 18 votes

There were definitely more changes this year compared to last year (although given the much larger sample size, that’s to be expected), but it does seem most are fairly firm in their favorites. 

Question 8. If you purchased one of the More, More Blood CDs, which version did you get? 

Deluxe edition: 7 votes (5.22%)

Regular edition: 4 votes (2.99%)

Deluxe edition from Animate: 7 votes (5.22%)

Deluxe edition from Stellaworth: 2 votes (1.49%)

Deluxe edition of the same CD from Animate & Stellaworth: 3 votes (2.24%)

Multiple MMB CDs (some regular, some deluxe): 5 votes (3.73%)

Did not buy any of the MMB CDs: 106 votes (79.10%)

Note: 4 people skipped this question.

I mostly asked this question because I was curious as to how many people bought the deluxe edition versus the normal edition, especially as after listening to Shin’s (and from the comments I saw online) I feel like you really need the bonus CD you get with the deluxe edition to nicely wrap up the story.

I was sort of expecting most people to go for the deluxe edition, as I think if you’re ordering your favorite's CD, you’re going to want the maximum content with them possible, even if it does come with a bigger price tag.

As for why so many people went for the Animate bonus over the Stellaworth bonus, I imagine this was because Animate has an international online store (although I think whether you can actually get the bonus drama CDs from them is variable) while Stellaworth only ships in Japan, which means if you order from them, you have to use a proxy service which really hikes up the price.

Question 9. Out of the following things released within the last year, which has been your favorite?

1. 4-panel More, More Blood comics (28 votes) 1. Winter of Lovers merch (28 votes) 3. More, More Blood CDs (24 votes) 4. Masquerade Jewel merch (18 votes) 5. My Melody collaboration merch (15 votes) 6. Other (14 votes) 7. Merch from Rejet 2020 Fes (10 votes) Note: 1 person skipped this question.

I thought for sure the More, More Blood CDs would win this one but I seriously underestimated just how popular the More, More Blood comics and merch lines were. I suppose given that the bonus drama CDs came first in the Drama CD category and the MMB comics are much in the same vein (as in they both contain humorous content), it isn’t that much of a surprise, especially as the comics are posted online and are therefore much more accessible to international fans than the drama CDs.

As for the merch lines, Winter of Lovers is the most recently released set, so it may be possible that this is partially responsible for it’s popularity (i.e. it’s the merch line freshest in people’s minds).

Question 10. Which of the upcoming DL releases are you the most excited for?

1. Young Blood manga (64 votes) 2. Daylight CDs (25 votes) 3. Releases that have yet to be announced (20 votes) 4. Count Off (9th anniversary song) (7 votes) Note: 22 people went for the “Can’t choose/ Not excited for any of these” option.

The Young Blood manga won here by a massive margin, which is pretty interesting considering that the DL manga ranked lowest in question 3. That being said though I suspect this manga will be more popular than the others as it should give us more of the boys’ backstories.

I’ve seen several people hoping for the unannounced release (that we should find out more about April) to be a new game. Personally I’m not super convinced that’s going to be the case as new game announcements tend to be done at Otomate party (as was the case with CL in 2018), which is scheduled for July. However, I do admit that I think a new game would be a really good way to celebrate DL’s tenth anniversary (which is coming up December next year), so I don’t think it’s completely outside of the realms of possibility that we may get another game at some point. 

Either way I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in April.

And that’s it for the 2020 survey. Again, thanks to everyone who took part, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the results, was there anything that surprised you?

[kyotakumrau]

A thread with the 1st slot report from azifxxx, Zepp Tokyo with Kyo and Shinya

F: Hello everyone at Zepp Tokyo! I'm DIR's manager Fujieda.

T: I'm manager Takabayashi.

F: today in Tokyo it's the last day (...) now I'd like to invite two band members to start the talk event! Give them applause!

Shinya arrives, then Kyo.

Kyo wore a black beret and big glasses, blackish grey jacket, some yellow badge on the left side? and grey denim. Shinya (Yamo-chan) wore all black, double jacket? it looked very soft. When entering the stage Kyo did 'Fujifuji pose' to F...

F: today Kyo and Shinya came to the event! How are you doing, the two of you?

S: I'm always fine. 24h a day. Just got bit foolish in Sendai due to snow...

K: yeah... I'm also good...

F: for both of you it's your second time, going straight to the point what's the most impactful/memorable thing in 2020 for you?

S: not COVID?

F: from the band's point of view it is.

S: it didn't feel like being in a band. There were no concerts at all.

F: for you, Kyo? (pretending to eat)

K: PS5.

S: I see.

K: I couldn't get it. That's all I can think about.

S: I want it too, but not that much... can you play Dead by Daylight on PS5? having ps4 edition?

K: you can.

S: then I want it. I also applied for it, but as I wasn't contacted I don't think I won.

F: there's nothing besides PS5?

K: the fan who said in the message they're getting it next day, they are probably playing right now..  I get angry again when I think about it. And not just a bit....(F: what would you do if after you got PS5?) Eh? I have to say it each time？💢 (makes dissatisfied sound and turns away, for a while stays silent) 

F passes them the merch items.

S&K: ... (silently checking the items)

When prompted to say something

S: mini water bottle.. is for when you go out for a bit...

K: is that a pig?

S: it's a bear

But it has 3 fingers? The hoofs? 

S: a bear isn't like that? 

K: but only 3 fingers?! 

K: you draw 3 or 4 fingers for a bear! A horse gets 2! is the claw here (between the fingers?)? the claws come out here (pointing back of the hand)? 

S: there are no fingers there (in the back of the hand) 

K: and it is listening standing in front of the speaker? Its ears will get bad! Listening to such loud sound in front of the speaker! you will go nuts! 

F: so Kyo, you were praising the choker a lot in Osaka. 

K: ... (looks at the choker) ...(starts to tie the choker)...(puts the choker in front of F) 

F: it can be tied up? Is that a good point? Ah, you mean that it can be displayed like this? It's a very popular item so everyone please get one! 

Today there are only two tables, on the right (kamite) sits Shinya with Takabayashi, on the left (shimote) Fujieda with Kyo 

F: any no-no topics for the questions? (S says nothing) I hope it’ going to be interesting... what kind of outfit are you wearing today? 

S: I’m wearing black... the hood is...(hesitates) like Penyu 

K: (smiling😊) 

S: I realized today that it’s like Penyu. Not because Kyo came today as well. 

K: suddenly getting closer, feels bad 

F: Kyo... today you’re also wearing a total outfit idea? 

K: you think there’s a theme? 

F: a bit... like in an older coffee shop.... cafe... like sitting in a coffee shop... 

K: it’s monochrome checkers! 

F who got told it's checkers went 'i see~'

K: what, so today's theme is let's have a smoke or let's go to a cafe?

The usual atmosphere... like Kyo who always corners F until he's lost what to say

Ta chooses a question: 'what's the memorable small (v-kei) venue for the band members?'

S: Area or Cyber recently got closed, right? I really don't remember... didn't we only play at Rock-may-kan? I think no small venues [we played at] are left in Kansai? only Cowboy or Muse Hall.

K: I guess only Rock-may-kan.

Ta: how about for Shibere Bajiru?

K: with going straight to Shibire (like paying too much attention?), is that a shoulder pad. No? I wanted to see~

F: Cyber, Area is a very sad news... K, you don't have any [venues]?

K: not really...

Ta: 'what's the book you've recently read or a movie you've seen?'

S: ehm... nothing much... I also don't really read manga. But I've seen Demon Slayer. I got into it after watching anime.

K: heh, about Demon Slayer, I ordered the comics to be delivered, but only volumes 4~8 came. Am I supposed to start from vol 4? Wouldn't it be horrible? don't wanna start there

K: there's this thing I have, only get into it after it stops being so popular. I also didn't watch yesterday.

F: what kind of books do you read?

K: I read various things ... but I'm really excited about the new story from the Innocent.

Ta: 'what's your kanji of the year?'

S: 心・kokoro from 心夜・Shinya

Ta: isn't that the same every year?

K: for me... nothing really.

Ta: what was it this year (officially)?

S: 密・mitsu・crowd/carefulness, right?

K: (still trying to think) ...nothing really.

F: 'if you were to play on a different position in a band?'

S: by elimination only the guitar is left.

K: not the vocals? You're going for the guitar??

S: I'm not going for the vocals...

K: but you sing in karaoke?

S: I can't sing...

K: there's emotional singing! You're often angry!

S: I haven't gotten angry in 10+ years

K: but you sing the chorus!

S: but there's only short phrase with the chorus...

K: but you're doing lotsa of choruses

S: well... I'm practicing...but vocals are the most impossible for me...

'If you done something else than vocals?'

K: Takumi's position is good, watching the band members from the side, if it's something else than vocals then from the side is good.

S: but you like bass? That's the only idea I have for you.

K: that's only when song writing though!?

S: but you've been playing everywhere, right?

K: where everywhere? I haven't!

S: you have that time... (=sukekiyo)

Ta: aren't we going fast today? 'is there any country you'd like to visit?'

S: if possible I don't want to go...

K: but you're always going somewhere alone. To play board games etc

S: it only happened because I was already going.

Ta: Kyo doesn't want to go like "I'm!Not!Going!"

K: I'm playing a bit online games (Fortnite), but I'm told I suck at it. When you suck at something it's usually better to quit, I'm told so, many times, why is this guy going that way or is he going to the enemy's site on purpose? I'm told things like that from 6:30 in the morning sometimes.

K: if I (my heart) get broken by that how should I continue living?

S: I'm being told 'how are you living?'. I'm using the pig character but it feels like I'm living like a pig. I can block out the talk, but I'd rather hear those terrible opinions.

K: but it's hard

S: it is really hard.

K: when I played with Fujieda it was going well! He told me, get down or make your nose bigger

S: it also went well when we played, don't go there, let's go there and so on.

K: but the fights take about 20 mins in DbD, right? I'm dead in Fortnite in about 10 seconds

Ta: 'what do you like about F?'

S: he's always full of energy and almost never gets sad

K: his nose? Doesn't it get bigger as you look at it?

F: is that a praise?

K: it's easy to breathe and the mask stays on. Hands down it's your nose.

F: 'what song would you like to listen to very loudly?'

S: I'm not good with loud sounds... I prefer to listen quietly.

F: what do you listen to nowadays?

S: our new song(s)

K: I also don't want to listen (loudly), not really...

F: how about a song to listen quietly?

K: nothing special

F: Fujifuji!x

K: (ignoring him) (removes invisible dust from his shoulder)

Ta: 'what would you ask Santa for?'

S: it would be PS5?

K: Me? After all of that, I don't need it anymore, don't come. How does he get inside? There is no chimney. Is he picking a lock? Is Santa like a cockroach? Pretending to be dead when they're not... but maybe Santa is fine with all of that.

K: in the past, when I was in elementary school I was happy when Santa came, but then at some point he stopped coming. Wasn't that a crime (Santa's visits)? and parents also don't know how he comes in, isn't that scary? And from that time he doest come. I don't want him to come anymore.

'What song do you want to play when you can do concerts again?'

S: And Zero. I saod that in Sendai as well, but if it's not mode of Arche we probably won't...

Kyo: I don't really have one..

F: Do you want to play new songs?

K: I haven't listen to it (them). Isn't it how it is that you listen to them even when you weren't planning to? you dot feel like listening so much to the song you made yourself, no?

S: I also haven't listened to the new song(s) much.

Ta: Fujieda is listening to new songs a lot, in a car.

K: isn't that a bit narcissistic?

F: you don't want to perform new songs?

S: I already did while filming the music videos... doesn't that count?

'what time you go to bed and wake up?'

S: I go to bed at 6 and wake up at 1pm. It's my cycle.

K: I go to sleep at 1 and wake up around half nine. Should be around then? So there's someone who wants to know information like this?

F: they want to imagine (their lives)

K: and for what? Even if they know the time they don't know what we do

K: what time you wake up and then what time do you make coffee, make a toast, I don't understand why asking that, what's the point?

F: Shinya, is there something you'd like to know about Kyo?

S: I want to know everything.

K: I hate it that this person is called a doctor.

F: when the band has just started you two have met as first, right? What was your impression then?

S: I thought he's a really good person.

K: ...Oh?

F: And did you hit it off/became friends?

K: he didn't speak like this then. He spoke one or two things a day. He had long black hair and earrings.

S: You've bleached that black hair for me.

K: and, he said 'thank you' but... he said his kanji of the year is 心・heart, but he's the one without one. For over 20 years all band members are saying that he's like a robot or humanoid. When you go to his house he will reply with 'what is it?' with the chain on the door.

S: this is because when a certain member came some things happened...

K: But when I came over I was nice! I want to  visit! Remodel stuff! (with enthusiasm)

S: remodeling... (like the certain member) there are issues like that and that's why you're banned...

'is it weird if your mother comes to the concerts?'

K: isn't it okay?

S: and brings dad...

K: I'd love to see mother headbanging. The deep one when you start from waist!

F: do your parents come to the shows?

S: mine often come.

F: your parents as well, Kyo?

K: sometimes.

F: is it something you welcome?

K: yeah.

And then F asked when they came last time but probably T said nlt to ask something like that

About the avatar Music Clip for the 12/31 stream.

S: the video looks like PS2 game..

K: like that from Virtua Fighter.

The last comments

Shinya: Thank you for today. I think we won't be able to meet for a while, but there will be the nye stream and also a knot calendars, I hope you will spend the next year using them. Let's meet again.

Kyo: We couldn't meet at all this year, but after this long time seeing everyone's faces I calm down. I think it's a good thing. Everyone knows through social media what others are doing, but it is important to meet in person. We will be looking into concert plans, hope you stay tuned and thank you.

[its-tie-kir-ra]

Wait, do you actually think that there's a chance that Sessrin could be a trick done by the writers? Like they could take it back and change it next season?

OK I have no idea how long this has been in my askbox so sorry 😬😩🙇🏼‍♀️

I very specifically said that the writers could write themselves out of canon if they wanted to. Not that they are going to, but that they could. I believe that it's canon until proven otherwise, and I won't hold my breath. This was mostly just from stuff that doesn't make sense to me, as both a writer and producer. Lemme explain.

So, first, let's talk about writing.

They don't try to sell me on the pairing at all.

Like nothing. Nada. There's no story behind the pairing. There's no build up. There is an 88 second long ice bucket of a scene that could fix climate change, that's how cold it is. They don't even attempt. Which just doesn't make sense to me.

They could've easily pulled some of the filler episodes to make it a few about their relationship and how it grew, because weirdly enough I do see the appeal behind the pairing. Like seriously, no judgement to anyone who ships it. We all have our kinks, and I know for a fact that I have one pairing in particular that most people who be like 'what the hell, that's gross, you're gross, yadayadayada'. S*ssrin actually have a really solid base for what could be a really lovely love story, from a writer's perspective, and it could go like 50 different directions. I can see the fantasy element of being dragged off by a demon into the forest to be possessed. There have been hundreds of stories told like this over the last thousands of years, that kink isn't anything new.

But it's just the fact that they don't take that time, they don't do any buildup, and they just expect me to buy that this is a healthy marriage without any evidence pointing to the contrary. Like I said in my video, if you saw it as guardian/child, they don't take any second to reassure you that 'no, Rin was not a victim, she chose this with complete agency'. Nada.

(I don't count any of the other scenes between them from the original as build up. I don't, full stop. Because if I do, that has some pretty gross implication. I have to believe that Sesshomaru had completely pure motivations in bringing Rin along with him when she was a child, for my own sanity. My. Own. Sanity. And also, for my own sanity, I believe that the writers want us to believe that Rin is at minimum 18 when she gets pregnant and that the reason Rin is not deemed important enough to be given an actual arc in the narrative is because this series is written by men and she's a woman who at this point is over thirty, so, basically, she's dead to them unless she's cooking.)

There's also other things. How only one character (Kaede) talks about Rin to the twins. How neither twin looks anything like Rin, or at least not more like her than how any other anime character looks like another anime character). Now some of this could be attributed to the mystery, but it's just so stupid that I'm confused.

Now, Marketing.

This is where I really get weirded out. Because not only do they do nothing to sell me on the pairing in the show, there is absolutely ZERO effort to sell Sesshomaru and Rin as a married power couple that they supposedly are in any official marketing materials. That I've seen. So far all I know about is one art piece that shows Sesshomaru and Rin together that was allegedly drawn by one of the animators. There is a ton of merch that shows Inukag being Inukag and MirSan being MirSan but nothing with Sesshomaru and Rin unless Rin is still a child. Which...like...wouldn't the studio be doing everything they can to sell you on the pairing?

Studios know about shipping. Full stop. Shipping is insanely profitable by companies (Harem anime, anyone?), and they will do everything they can to sell you on a canon pairing (look at a show like Sailor Moon; half of her merch is with Tuxedo Mask because people want to see them TOGETHER). This is PRIME merch time; right after a ship becomes canon. Why the fuck isn't there a flood of Sessrin Merch out in hot topic right now? Like...make it make sense. From a business perspective, not putting out merch right now is losing hundred of thousands if not millions of dollars. And we're talking EASY money. Like...cash grab money...you know...like Yashahime is. Why aren't they milking it? It makes no sense.

So, at this point, they know on some level there is some uneasiness with S*ssrin. I don't know much about the Japanese fandom (and I welcome anyone with experience in it to share it below and I'll reblog it) but from what I understand there were plenty of them going 'WHAT THE FUCK'. And I know from my own conversations with Japanese people is that a lot of them really hate how a lot of Western people basically see Japanese people as people who participate in these really taboo sex acts and fetishize them (I have heard so many gross stories, oh my god). Which means there's a good chance a lot of them aren't too happy about how this makes Japanese culture appear to foreigners, and there is probably a section of fans going 'uuuuh, yeah, no, gross'. So like, there is no way the studio isn't aware of this on some level and isn't putting INSANE pressure on Sumisawa. And even so, anime is really big outside of Japan, and I doubt that they don't on some level keep an eye on what the Western countries think about this/what they want. It's a huge market and makes up a huge portion of their revenue.

And there's also something about an official family tree that hasn't been updated yet, which is just fucking bizarre at this point. Unless there's another mystery, I can't think of a reason why they haven't changed it yet (I guess laziness could also be a reason which would be in character for Sunrise).

Have it so there was a spell that made Kaede misremember the twins mother. Make it so that Rin is the mom but Sesshomaru isn't the father (which would explain why he left the children to be eaten by wolf demons 🤷🏼‍♀️). Have it so Sesshomaru pulled a virgin Mary and had the babies through his asshole. Anything goes.

It's just weird. This whole debacle is weird. So weird. Honestly, I would still be surprised if they did switch it up. I'd be in the corner laughing as the fandom dissolved into chaos. I'm not holding my breath, but there's room to do so if they wanted to.

(I also don't think that if it doesn't turn out to be canon, that the writers were geniuses all along and doing this big twist. I'm not that naive. It's more like they decided to test to the waters to see what fans wanted this, and now they can back out of it if they wanted to.)

Thanks for the ask!

[megansfavourites]

My theory on why Giovanni is in the PWT in Pokémon BW2

So, we all know that Giovanni is in the Kanto Leaders tournament in the PWT instead of Blue, who instead competes in the Champions tournament. The question is: why is a wanted man and a former Gym Leader allowed to participate in the PWT? My personal headcanon is that after being defeated by the player in the Kanto games, Giovanni goes into his solitary training to become a better trainer (as per what he says after you defeat him in his gym), and later reforms and regains his position as the Viridian City Gym Leader by the time BW2 came.

Let’s also consider the fact that Blue has been seen travelling to other regions, like Kalos and Alola. Why is a Gym Leader travelling all over the world instead of staying in his Gym all day and waiting for challengers? The answer is that Blue probably was no longer a Gym Leader by then. Perhaps Blue later became a Champion again, after Red left, explaining why Blue is part of the Champions League in the PWT (I know that the more likely reason is that it’s because Blue is the Champion that you face in the Kanto games). He then becomes a travelling champion just like Cynthia, visiting the other regions. This would have to take place after HGSS.

The Viridian City Gym then becomes vacant again, and the now-reformed Giovanni returns to reclaim his former position as the Ground-type Gym Leader of the gym. He then starts his new life as a gym leader instead of a mafia boss.

I like to imagine that the Giovanni from Pokémon Origins is the same person as this Giovanni; the one who tells Red that he will no longer be the boss of Team Rocket, but simply the Gym Leader of Viridian City, and insisted on handing the badge to him despite Red claiming that he was not battling Giovanni as a Gym Leader.

Yeah, Giovanni still says mean stuff in BW2, like saying that he will make you experience a world of pain for your insolence like in the Kanto games, but I think that’s just him being bitter over the fact that he got beaten by at least 3 kids in the past (Red/Leaf/Chase/Elaine and Blue in the Kanto games, and Ethan/Lyra in HGSS). The fact that he’s officially allowed to participate in the Kanto Gym Leader tournaments suggests that he probably officially became a Gym Leader again.

I felt that he did have the potential to reform, and that he can be a pretty nice person - he accepts defeat graciously in the Kanto games and gives you his badge and a useful TM, and in Pokémon Masters, he recognises your strength with your partner, and also mentioned in his event that he wanted to change his ways, and compete fair and square in the PML.

The Giovanni from USUM is supposedly from another timeline where he succeeded in his plans, so that Giovanni isn’t the same as the one from the Kanto games/HGSS/BW2. (For some reason, Pokémon is starting to sound like the Zero Escape series)

All of this is just pure speculation, but I like the idea of him going from being a mafia boss to just a simple fedora-and-trenchcoat-wearing Ground-type Gym Leader. It doesn’t help that Giovanni is one of my favourite Pokémon characters 🤩

Update (21/4/21): I happened to find this piece of official BW2 merch featuring the 8 Kanto Gym Leaders during the BW2 timeline. It shows Giovanni as the 8th Gym Leader together with the rest of them, and it has Janine on there instead of Koga, showing that it’s definitely the post-HGSS roster. Just thought it’s really cool, and that it supports my theory of the newly-reformed Giovanni returning to his original post as the Viridian Gym Leader.

[four-loose-screws]

An Interview with Mr. Toshiyuki Toyonaga about Fire Emblem (Claude‘s Japanese VA), Pg. 10 (The Grand Finale!!)

Being a Part of FE Like This Is Toyonaga-San’s Dream Come True! And His Thoughts for the Future

How do you feel right now about being asked to appear in official live broadcasts for the FE series?

Toyonaga    To be a part of the FE series like this is a dream come true, and I can hardly believe it’s all real. I was so thankful for being requested to come to the broadcasts and that I was able to talk about the series. I think my school age self, who was just a player of Genealogy of the Holy War at the time, would have slowly fainted if you told him where I am now!

Because this is a special series that you’ve loved for thirty long years! If you have any final words that you want to share here at the end, please go ahead.

Toyonaga    Something I want to share to congratulate the thirty year anniversary? ...Hmmm… I want to request that they make me another “Waku Koyasu,” and call me “Waku Toyonaga!”※ Laughs.

Image on the right:

We’re giving away a signboard Mr. Toshiyuki signed personally! (see page 97 for details)

Signboard reads: “Nindori November Issue” and “Claude Von Reigan”

Mini Q&A

What is your favorite class in the series?

Toyonaga     I use Knights when doing challenge runs, but it would be more accurate to say that I like the feeling after they class change to General and all the hard work pays off a bit. When I’m playing normally, I like magic users. Mages, Sages, and so on… The magic classes are thrilling to use, don’t you think? Their magic stat is high, so they can rout the enemy during the enemy’s phase, but because of that, their HP could be slowly chipped away at. They can easily be killed, and it makes you feel so tense. I think I like the feeling of the thought, ‘Please don’t defeat any more enemies!!’ I personally really like the feeling that they contribute a lot to the fight, but also that any little thing could make their situation take a turn for the worst!

Please tell us your impressions of the illustration made for the promotional card included with this issue.

Toyonaga     Where he’s inviting someone to the dance floor? And, of course he’s winking, just like always! Laughs. It’s so unfair when he winks! From the viewpoint as a member of the cast, I’m quickly filled with complex thoughts when I see him and the other characters in a situation where no one knows yet what’s going to happen next. But I wonder if this scene was chosen because it was the most memorable for everyone who played the game, and it is from the Academy Phase where all three of the class leaders are together.

And we’re all really curious about the fact that he’s taking someone by the hand, right?

Toyonaga     Yeah… Claude will even do this to male Professor Byleth, so I think that was a bit surprising to see! As the person who performed his role, when I think that this scene, where he takes the professor’s hand, might be what made him so popular with everyone, I feel very deeply that everyone is saying “Thank you for making it!!” Laughs.

Please tell us your impressions and thoughts about recording the FE Three Houses Extra Drama CD: An Officers’ Academy Sleuthing Story.※

Toyonaga     Having the three class leaders team up together is something that isn’t possible in the main game, or the Ashen Wolves DLC, so when it was decided that a drama CD would be produced, I was personally happy and glad they were able to do something together. As drama CDs are especially known for their fanservice, I felt that I would be the one amongst the three making things fun and lighthearted. As I performed Claude’s lines, I had the thought in my mind that he would especially carry the burden of relieving the tension between the trio.

Toshiyuki Toyonaga

Birthdate: April 28th, 1984

Height: 162 cm (5’4”)

Title: A jack-of-all-trades who can even do voicework!

Hobbies: using computers, video games, writing, spending time lost in thought

Likes: his house

Dislikes: coriander, sea urchins, oysters, spicy food, people who are too friendly

Favorite tea: darjeeling

Favorite flower: sunflowers, dandelions

Q: Which do you prefer: sweet foods or spicy foods?

A: Sweet foods (I can’t eat spicy foods.)

Q: Which do you prefer: meat, or fish?

A: Meat (I can’t stand the smell of fish.)

Q: Are you a dog person or a cat person?

A: A cat person.

Bonus     Can we ask you about Earthbound as well?*

We know that this is a totally different series, but we’d like to ask you about Earthbound as well.

Toyonaga     Oh! Ah ha, okay.

It’s a very popular game with Nintendo Dream readers even now.

Toyonaga     Wow, really!? That’s amazing! But I had a feeling that was the case. This brings me back to my aunt again, but she played the first game. I was a bit older when Earthbound came out on the Super Famicom, but my aunt bought that game as well. As I watched her play it, I wanted to play it, too. So, since there were three save slots, I believe? She chose one for me to use, and let me play it.

That was so nice of her!

Toyonaga     I was stuck on the name entry screen for about two to three hours, choosing my favorite food, and then after that, my favorite thing! I remember thinking while entering them, ‘Why are they asking me something like this?’ and things like that. I loved collecting the melodies. Of course, I also thought that Shigesato Ito-sensei’s script was amazing as well, but I was really moved by the music. I thank the game so much for its superb music! Later on, I was also moved when the third game came out.

*T/N: In the English-speaking world, we better know Mother 1 as Earthbound Zero. The popularity of the Mother series has resurged in Japan, to the point that new merch has even been a frequent occurrence over the past several years! A two page spread about a merch line in 2021 was even included in this issue, so Mr. Toyonaga being asked about the series as a part of this interview makes perfect sense in context.

※Waku Koyasu: Refers to Mr. Takehito Koyasu, the voice actor who voiced Navarre in the first FE radio drama, alongside some other appearances; and is known for being a huge Fire Emblem fan. His passion for the series has led him to perform roles for every game since Awakening, and earned him the title “Waku Koyasu.”

※Three Houses Drama CD: You, the listener, appear as the game’s main character, “Professor.” The story is about the three house leaders and Sothis wandering around inside Garreg Mach Monastery together to search for a very important missing key.