#He follows a code. It's seen in the manga and in the “How to read 13” is stated that he isn't entirely evil. I believe this.

[wammyhoe]

When will you update the fanfic whiskey in a teacup🙏 Its well missed

I'm surprised (in a super good, heartwarming way) that you guys still ask about it. It's been on hiatus for about 6 months now, and I'm really sorry for the delay.

I've been incredibly busy, but I'll try to find time to update it soon. The story has become more demanding than I originally expected, and I don't want to post just to "keep it going" with endless fillers that would detract from the story.

Mello is trying to reach his goal but is conflicted about his feelings for the reader, and she has her own challenges to overcome as well. They both need to resolve their individual issues to be together, and I want to execute this well. I aim to keep him as in-character as possible, which is really challenging in a romance story. I've accepted that the Mello I’ve developed might be a bit out of character, which leads to a lot of asks (that I frankly just delete bc ugh, get a life?) criticizing my portrayal, as if those commenters know him personally.

Anyway, my experience in the fandom has been mixed lately, which is unmotivating and mostly disappointing. But I appreciate your support and interest, and I hope to post the next chapter soon!

ily!!! take care 💜💜

[piracytheorist]

Spy x Family Code: White thoughts!

Alright, time to write down my thoughts about the film! I liked it a lot, and for this anime only it was a HUGE satisfactory dose after not having had anything new since December 🥲 there were a few parts that I found meh, and I will mention them here too, but overall I got a very positive view of it!

Related to this, my mom was in the next room where I was sitting watching the film, and when I finished and passed by to get some water, she asked me what film I watched that made me laugh so much. So I think that speaks for itself 😂

Anyway, on to the film!

Having seen the trailer where Twilight rips off the disguise of a woman with long, curly blonde hair, as soon as I saw her here I was like is that her? But then that guy appeared and I recognized his voice and, dare I say I was confused XD

Damn, isn't that past their rating? XD

And then the music started! STRIX theme with a new twist for the film!

I think by this point we've already shrugged away Twilight's ability to make disguises. It gets even crazier near the end, so it should be of no surprise that he just disguised himself as that woman. Lucky she happened to wear a choker, too, good cover for his Adam's apple.

The way they showed the woman wrapped in a blanket underneath the desk, though 😳 that's the kind of visual you'd use to show a character died. What am I supposed to infer from this, guys?!

Then we cut to Yor!

There's a review on letterboxd saying how easy the film is to watch and follow for someone who hasn't watched the original, and I'm happy to hear that because as someone who already knows these characters and their dynamics, it didn't feel like it dragged on too much on that.

Yor, ever being the sweetheart, will call a guy a traitorous scumbag yes but she will be kind as ever when she kills him 🥰

The way she dodged the bullets! Queen! And also a set up to later show her dodge all the ammunition thrown from the shooters and Type F!

This. Was. Amazing. I actually gasped out loud. The animators understood the assignment, 10/10.

Right after that, we see Loid reach his door, and for the first time we see him go to use keys. A few other times I remember anyone opening the door they just... opened it. You'd think an apartment where a spy and an assassin live would have better security! XD

I love how they kinda showed it like Yor was going to attack Loid, and then Loid just turned and went like "Oh hey beautiful wife, welcome home! :D" It must have looked funny for anyone who hasn't seen the anime/manga before XD

Yor wants to cook! Everybody hide!

That... is a horror of an omelet. Yor's cooking is always for the "congrats lil buddy that’s the worst anyone’s ever done it" meme. She does try, though, bless her heart.

Anya evades the horror. And Loid wants to make... peanut butter pizza???? Is that even a thing??? WITH MEAT ON TOP???

What does it say about this film that this isn't the weirdest thing to happen in it

TITLE CARD WITH THE THEME ENDING AND THE ORCHESTRA GOING WILD <3333

Damian, shut the fuck up

... I mean, with a mother like that... I'll give this to him XD

Did Anya call him an asshole? Serves him right, tbh XD

Knowing that the story can't veer a lot far from the anime/manga canon, I already knew Anya wouldn't earn a Stella in that competition. But it was a good set-up for the rest of the film to move on from.

Twilight read Henderson's lips through a window and through the latter's thick moustache, and lip reading is already hard to do accurately, if not nearly impossible. Boy's nuts. But I think it only prepared us for a fucking falcon to fly above him and throw him the message from WISE. Show-offs XD

A rare view of Berlint!

DAAAAMN the higher animation budget is really doing those characters such good favour 🥰

Bro actually read a book by flipping through it. Get outta town.

The idea of having another guy take over Operation Strix from Twilight feels a little shallow. It's already a very delicate and long-term operation, it feels that it wouldn't make sense to replace their best agent with just a dude just because said dude has connections.

Twilight meets with Nightfall outside, and Yor sees them across all those streets (I mean, she is an assassin with a deadly aim) and... she doesn't recognize Nightfall? Is this supposed to take place before Nightfall visits the Forger household?

I mean, at the current time in the anime, Yor is supposed to be over her fear of getting replaced, but I get why they retreated back a little, so they could explain the later scene of Loid taking her hand and reminding her of his vows.

Very conveniently, Yor's coworkers are chatting about cheating men, and Yor, being inexperienced with relationships, immediately believes everything, her suspicions even taking root with what she just saw.

Back home, Twilight thinks about how, since he's dismissed from Operation Strix, he'll have to move out, and the camera shows their happy family picture 🥺 he's not ready to admit his feelings to himself but the narrative is.

Making the dessert that's the favourite of the judge and in particular the one he grew up with feels kinda cheating, no? XD

Come on, Loid. A child filling her bag with toys does not deserve that murder glare 😂

That train looked a little too modern for the supposed 60s/70s aesthetic. I know Germany has some top trains (as does Japan) but like, still XD it's very different from the train we see on the very first episode when Twilight boards one for Berlint.

Lovely visuals, though!

I wonder if there's any system as to how Bond's powers work. He has the vision of Anya finding the suitcase and opening it... but that's creating a sort of paradox because without the vision coming to him and without Anya seeing it, it wouldn't have been made true. I mean, I get why it was put there, but still.

Again, the story needed a little backtracking in order for Yor's doubts to make sense. I'm not sure how much they contributed to the whole story, but at least there it was funny. The small awkward laugh she throws at the end before she exits their booth to go look for Anya was hilarious XD

Gremlin Anya is best Anya <3

LMAO at least she enjoyed the chocolate XD

The following part was intense! I found myself saying "Run Anya run!" even though I knew from trailers that they'd eventually catch her anyway.

So the microfilm hides intelligence about a research lab in Westalis. Hmm.

I think it was at this point I noticed that they had Anya react to people's thoughts way too little. I get that it can get repetitive but with her curiosity she would have tried to look for more information through the guys' thoughts.

"Chocolate thieves" is actually perfect to describe those two. They were conveniently - and hilariously - incompetent.

But it did get intense. It's always like that when a bad guy threatens to hurt, let alone kill, a child.

I love how Yor asked Anya to close her eyes while she was beating up the guys but then told her she can open them when they were down and fully expected her to believe her lie that they just passed out XD

Also, her snowman jgvllublftlulbj

Chekhov's military airplane! I didn't expect it would actually work by the end, though XD

I love the music in the restaurant. Poor Bond being left alone outside where it's snowing, though 🥲 at least they brought him food!

Yor notices that it's rare for Loid to wear turtlenecks, and that's actually true. Too bad, though, they fit him so nicely :)

I actually laughed out loud at the guys jumping on Yuri to stop him. They were prepared. They knew who they were dealing with XD

"Rubble and Bonds"... the chef is very wholesome but he literally named his restaurant after his trauma and like... dude. Therapy exists. And then he starts laying out his trauma thick while Twilight is sitting there like yup this doesn't affect me at all

I don't think he was prepared for that when he asked about the restaurant's name. I was kinda disappointed they showed the exact same footage of him as a kid from the first episode. I think they could have afforded making a few seconds of new footage of the same imagery. But maybe that's just my anime-only ass who has been waiting for a certain manga arc to be animated for nearly two years now 😶

Snidel appears! And he has the absolute nerve to just... steal the meremere plate from someone else's table. Perfect way to make us hate him.

And... I'm sorry. I have to say it. When Snidel challenges Loid to a game and the camera focuses on Loid... that zoom-in and fade to black was SO CRINGEY. Sorry XD

The music there was nice, though. I think I notice a tiny bit of James Bond music influence.

Fucking Snidel shifting the goalposts with the amounts of sugar. That's not being detailed, that's not explaining the rules of the game properly. They really wanted us to hate the guy.

Twilight looks really stricken by the fact that he lost. And we know it's not because of despair - since he immediately says they can have meremere the next day - and it's not because his pride was hurt... so you can't take it out of my mind that it was because he was disgusted by how a grown-ass man practically stole a piece of cake from a little child, and Twilight was unable to stop him.

But then XD Loid has the absolute gall to ask a chef for his recipe, and then reprimand Anya for calling him stingy. Like mah dude it was already a far-fetched request to have the guy give you the recipe XD

Twilight being totally not suspicious and bolting through the market to buy all the ingredients. Cause that's what normal people do.

The way Twilight tries to cheer Yor up and he only manages to make her feel worse never disappoints XD

Right, I forgot this film was released in December in Japan. It feels weird for it to have a winter-y, almost Christmas-y feeling while I have my A/C on XD

I like how Twilight actually cared enough to expose the guy at the shooting gallery, and advise him to run an honest business. You'd think this would be low on his priorities... but having a child will expand your sensitivities. It feels similar to how he encouraged Carroll Campbell into playing tennis more fairly and to depend on his own strengths.

And then he wonders why a little child has fun on a train ride XD

I... am not sure how I feel about Yor's outburst there. It feels directly inspired by the Disastrous Date, if not a copy of it, and I'm not sure it helps Yor's character develop in any way. I mean, again, I get that the film can't allow the characters to develop a lot since it can't veer from canon, but still, it felt a little forced just to give Yor more screentime and to have a very subtle twiyor tease.

Anya finding out about divorce through Becky's soap-opera filter, though XD

They feel too confident leaving Anya all alone (even if she's with Bond) in a strange town. I know they can keep an eye on her from the ferris wheel cabin, but still.

Now that's a character development moment you can have without veering from canon: having Yor feel guilty for allowing Anya to notice her dark mood, and then feeling happy that Anya pushed her and Loid to having a moment together to talk things out.

Also, beautiful visuals!

Twilight, best™ spy™ of Westalis™, being unable to read the room whenever his wife is involved.

MAH DUDE. THERE'S ONE THING TO DESCRIBE WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND THAT'S BEING TOO DIRECT

That's a phrase you don't wanna hear from your little kid, especially when you're fake married XD

Handler: Go and help Twilight. Nightfall: Yes ma'am! Handler: Not you. Nightfall: SENPAI WILL NOTICE ME SENPAI WILL NOTICE ME Handler: jfc

It was really sweet seeing Anya and Bond play, and then Yor joining in. That makes it more plausible that the film is set earlier on in the story, since it looks like Yor isn't used to playing with Anya.

No, really, what did that woman who was at Franky's kiosk want to ask him when she would come by with her friend??? 😳

One day the way Twilight abuses Franky's services will come bite him in the ass, I'm calling it now.

Yet another scene where character/relationship dynamic can happen without veering from canon: Loid comes back to the hotel and says he'll go out again, Anya says she wants to come too, and Loid tells her she has to stay in the hotel. Anya goes back to the bedroom dejected, but Yor reminds him it's a family trip and they're supposed to spend this time together, connecting that to her memories of Yuri being happy whenever he spent time with her.

And I think that speaks to another level of distance Twilight has kept from his emotions; he denies himself that he loves his family, but that also leads him to forget that his family won't like missing out on quality time with him.

I especially noticed his surprised reaction at Yor saying that being away from loved ones can make one feel lonely. I don't think Twilight has allowed himself to grasp just how lonely he's felt all these years, it was just the norm for him to have no-one. He's forgotten what it's like to have loved ones and to miss them when you don't get to spend enough time with them, and he's also forgotten that for most people, this is how everyday life is like. We love people, we like spending time with them, we miss them when we haven't seen them in a while. A master of disguises he may be, but this role forces him to face the thing he understands the least: human relationships.

And so, he realizes that Anya's motivation here wasn't petulance or restlessness. It was her need to have fun with him. He considered it easier to sneak around to find the liqueur if they weren't with him, but he failed to consider that casting them aside would actually impact them. Give yourself some credit, dude 🥺

Nightfall: I will surprise Twilight with my effectiveness!

Twilight when he sees her unexpectedly:

I did love however how he looked so sternly at her when they were outside. Like lady, first, bad timing, second, this is why Handler didn't want you to be the one to help Twilight XD

Once again, Bond's power works in a form of paradox. He saw the shop where the liqueur was, and Anya went there because she saw it. If she hadn't seen it, she wouldn't have gone, and Bond wouldn't have had the vision.

I love how the military guys get a rough sketch of Anya and go like "Nah no-one can actually look like this" XD

Anya must have swiped some dalcs as she ran off. That liqueur wasn't gonna be cheap!

Poor Bond!

Endo has surrounded Anya with two physically exceptional parents and a big strong dog to protect her, so it's hard to make a case of her getting kidnapped believable. Realistically, I think Bond would have fought harder to keep her safe, but to achieve the kidnapping the bad guys would have had to get more violent with him. That would make for a sadder scene and also take away from the humor of those guys' incompetence, so the most violence against an animal they could resort to was a conveniently falling beer can.

And thus, the "Anya Has to Poop" side plot starts! With the amount of fear she went through in those scenes, I'm surprised she didn't just... accidentally let go 😶

I just realized when Loid was checking the plane's radio they were also refuelling it. Again, kind of a surprise the whole system worked XD They were a little too chill about the fact that Anya was with the military, though? Maybe I got the wrong vibe off of their acting, lol.

The way that Yor decides at the last moment to join Loid and just... runs and jumps into a plane that's right on takeoff. Madwoman. I love her.

Meanwhile, at least Nightfall is funny XD

They really went on and made an entire sequence in a different animation style for a poop joke. Respect where it's due 👏

Someone: So how did you save world peace this time? Anya: I refused to take a shit.

The incompetent duo have a bedpan that's shaped like a duck and, funny thing... in Greek the word for "bedpan" can also be called, colloquially, with the same word that we use for "duck". So. There's that random connection I found funny XD

Twilight tries to ask for permission to land on the airship and they immediately turn their guns on him and damn, that must be terrifying.

And damn, again, that's a huge risk he took just to get Anya back. My man was prepared to do anything. And he walked out of the plane crashing into the airship without a single scratch like GET OUT OF HERE. I wanted my whump and I only got a single drip of blood near the end 😞 when will I have my whump.

And then Yor just... ran on the top of the airship, fully exposed to the freezing weather of not only outside but also a few hundred (thousand?) feet off the ground. My girl runs on hot steam. AND THEN SHE ALSO FUCKING TOOK HER COAT OFF.

Meanwhile, Anya finally finds a private moment to take a shit. And that marks the end of the wackiest plotline in this movie XD

Okay now, look. I can maybe imagine Twilight quickly making up a mask of Snidel's face from earlier in the day (though he wasn't shown to have any time to do that), and he somehow had it ready when the time came for their duel. But making a mask of that random military guy? Yeah, my suspension of disbelief is stronger for that than for freaking time travel XD

Yor also has her moment of going like "Excuse me, may I ask a question" and immediately getting guns aimed at her.

Damn. What the actual fuck is Type F even. At first I thought it was a full-on robot, but apparently it's a modified human? The fuck. Also. Just how many fucking bullets does he have???!

For real, though, Snidel isn't fucking around. He not only is fine with murdering a kid in cold blood, he also finds it entertaining to make her terrified as well. Like, even that guy from the Doggy Crisis arc said "Nothing personal, kid," when Keith commanded him to kill her.

And then Twilight overhears the incompetent dudes mention Anya... and mighty spy Twilight's emotions get the best of him and he beats up those guys for no other reason than getting back at them? More likely than you think.

Fuck, that scared me. That bullet was literally millimeters from piercing his brain. Cool visual, though, with his real hair popping from beneath the mask.

Anya worrying about her papa :(

Okay, I don't care about the logistics. This was fucking awesome.

AND THEN THIS???

10/10. They understood the assignment.

AND THEN THE OTHER THING???

QUEEN SHIT.

No, but really, their fight was going in circles because Type F has a shit ton of bullets and Yor has great stamina and ability to dodge bullets. She can't win with her strength, so she has to use her brain and her environment. AND SHE SLAYS 👏👏👏

My dude why are you still surprised 😭😭 what did you expect your kidnapped daughter to do once she saw you came to her rescue 😭 HUG YOUR DAUGHTER BACK I BEG 😭

Nah, I know he can't yet, this guy's got the emotional type of constipation. He'll get there.

So we'll never know what he thought about her sneaking out to get him the liqueur, and why that made her smile, eh? Okay 🥲

I love how Yor and Loid just both buy each other's lies. Oh yeah I just decided to jump on your plane while you were taking off, no biggie! Yeah this military ship was totally run by chocolate thieves! And also, I was flying part-time as a student :D

(I also love how high his voice went there. It's full-on "nice sweet Dr. Forger" voice XD)

And then :)

My crops are watered :)

With the action part over, I gotta say that they handled it all of it awesomely! I felt that the whole film was a little slow at first, but I didn't really mind. The climax was great, I got my whump, I got my fake family working together with all of them pretending that oh it was just chocolate thieves and not an actual threat of war breaking out.

My question is... didn't Anya just gulp the chocolate down?

... how did the microfilm get stuck in her teeth?

... you know what, never mind XD

Aw, Twilight got Handler a bottle of wine! And she actually looked thankful for it!

... was she the one who went in disguise to trap Depple into cheating on his wife??

*squealing*

Yor offering to help with the dessert and everyone going "Naaaaah you don't have to 😁"

Damian, shut the fuck up.

It is funny, however, how Anya can say one (1) thing and unintentionally leave him a blubbering mess. Girl is not even trying for that, lmao.

And then, another trip! Buddy who has the time and money--

Oh, wait. Yeah they're going on vacation on WISE budget lmao XD

It's kinda funny to see this with me having the Cruise arc as the "last" I saw of them, as an anime only, cause it was "trip to the ocean!" then "trip to the north!" and now it's "trip to the beach!"

Aw!

Meanwhile, after the credits...

Hang in there buddy. Your time will come to get Twilight back XD

Overall, definitely recommended, it did have its weak parts and its parts that you had to happily kick your logic out the window, but it was great fun, with awesome action, character depth, and even angsty parts that I adored. This will keep my anime-only ass satisfied for a little while, hopefully we also get news about Season 3 soon!

[bibibbon]

Characters with wasted potential : kaminari Denki

I have never seen a series treat it's own electric/thunder user so badly like MHA does with denki kaminari.

Here is the thing kaminari is a pretty cool character; I like his character design and I think his character arc is alright but can use a lot of change.

In all honesty when it comes to kaminari I feel like his arc is literally supposed to be the same as mineta. Both of their arcs focusing on how they treat woman, them being cowards but growing out of it and learning how to be proper heros. However, when it comes to developments kaminari has his speed runned or just has him instantly change.

1) This is controversial but I personally would use have him be contrasted/foiled to mineta just to make his development more impactful.

2) I would have him show more of his cowardice and how he only really wanted to be a hero because its a cool thing to do or to follow in the footsteps of his mother (I would have pro hero Electra or just a simple electrician be his mother)

3) I would build up his friendship with jirou from the beginning and have both of them develop into better people/heroes with that friendship. (Maybe they can become a ship considering I do ship kamijirou 🤷‍♀️)

4) Emphasise the struggle kaminari has with his quirk (how quick he is to go overboard due to the lack of control) and how he tries to work to overcome it in his own unique way. I would have it so that his mum already helped him a bit by teaching him how to use his quirk in little amounts and big amounts but he struggles to get it into a medium range. I would also have him just experiment with it overall and maybe he could build a little friendship with Izuku or even mei who could introduce ideas like denki being able to act as a circuit, use tasers or even charge phones.

5) As kaminari gets to understand and become a better friend with jirou his views on mineta start to change and his whole views of "I have to go easy one girls" or " it's mean to fight girls like that" (something he said to bakugo during the sports festival) start to change as he grows respectful and becomes more appreciative to woman.

6) this is a 50/50 but I saw this one fic that said it would be cool if kaminari just started using flirting as a fighting tactic to fluster villains and easily take them down. That's something I kind of like and would be interesting to have incorporated into kaminari's character. You could have him work with midnight to build up a skill like that (would make midnight's death more impactful)

7) I feel like as it comes to the war arc his cowardice should logically still be there but the desire to help protect his friends and reunite with them should be stronger and we would still get the whole epic scene he had in the first war arc

8) have him canonically have ADHD it makes sense. I mean this is a universe just like ours the only thing different is superpowers and idk if I read his character wrong but to me kaminari has always given me the whole idea that he has ADHD or that his character is 'ADHD coded'. In my opinion it would be interesting for him to not really know why he struggles at doing something that everyone can find easy to do so when it comes to his grades he struggles in that aspect and has conflict because of that however, he can go through an arc realising that he has ADHD and find ways to both accept that and adapt to it (I don't know if that sounds rude, Iam sorry if it does)

9) I really like denki and jirou bonding over music and him actually respecting and liking her passion. I feel like we should get more of denki making music and exploring his more of his own passions. Like we know denki likes music and manga so why don't we have characters casually talking about that or doing that with him. I also like the idea of denki simplifying everything (like the UA security system) and making it seem like something that would come out of manga so he can understand it better

I feel like that kaminari could of been an interesting character with flawed views that end up developing. Ultimately, I feel like the reason I prefer him to mineta (even though they both act in a very disgusting Mannar towards woman) is that he shows chances of change and his character isn't just being a weird, disgusting pervert like mineta's is. To me kaminari could of been a coward kid who found it difficult to really fit in and do the things that everyone does but ultimately ends up overcoming that struggle while expanding his views and becoming a more respectful person.

[juruna-yudja]

Is the flash-forward in Ao no Exorcist (chapters 139 & 140) relevant?

Is essentially the direction this post will take and the question it seeks to answer. This WILL contains spoilers for the manga, from chapter 110 to the current last update, chapter 148. You've been warned.

So! One thing I've noticed lately in the direction Aoex is taking is that it seems to be gearing up for a final arc.

Big confrontation against the Big Bad with all the allies gathered in a desperate last stand? The world at stake? Allies actually suffer losses and are subject to mortality?

Check, check, and check.

By all metrics, this looks like a final batttle, final arc material. Except! There are a bunch of things that make me say the manga is far from over. Mostly it's a dual thing. The big one is the flash-forward chapter. The other reason is how the content of those two chapters is linked intrinsically to everything else.

And now another warning. All of this is speculation and theorizing. Take it with a grain of salt, don't get too hyped up. I could be wrong and reading too much into it. So keep that in mind.

That said, in the aforementioned chapters, halfway through chapter 139 and two-thirds of chapter 140, we see the future in a vision. More precisely, Mephisto is given a vision.

The funny thing with Mephisto is that he already broke the fourth wall once, in that one chapter I can't remember for the life of me. This, for me, gives credit to the flash-forward right away. Beyond the fact that its existence is a deliberate choice made by Katou of course.

Besides, since we're on the topics of choice, there are many elements present in those two chapters that tell me all of this was thought of in advance. Because those elements are referenced directly or in a roundabout way in the previous or following chapters. Here's my list:

Shima's dream of becoming an idol:

Chapter 139 page 27

And here is him saying it outright when asked about what they'd do after the battle in their story's present.

Chapter 144 page 9

Rin's powers:

The fun thing Kato Kazue has always done was color code Rin's power for our convenience, especially lately. In the recent fight with Yukio, he makes mention of Rin's appearance and how the way his brother looked then, bright hair and visible demon's core, meant that he was unstable. And later, Rin said that he tamed his demon's side.

Chapter 132 pages 20-21

BOOM. TRANSFORMATION

And as it happens, in the flash-forward there are also transformations and what's special about those is that he doesn't need to sheath and unsheath Kurikara to make them happen.

Chapter 140, pages 9, 16 and 18

But that is before and during the flash-forward. What about closer to the story 'present'?

Here is Yukio reaching out to Rin so his big brother can talk about his problems if he wants to. Because he learned his lesson about bottling up and trying to face everything on his lonesome. Isn't awesome and cooing worthy?

Anyways, Rin gives us access to his inner thoughts and tell us how he offered to make peace with Satan and was harshly rejected. But the whys of this are especially important.

Here he is, on the eve of their final battle, asking himself if this is the right way. Not outright rejecting Satan's words. Still on his journey of acceptance of his heritage.

The stages we've seen so far are; denial, acknowledgement, looking at the whys and hows of his nature by witnessing the past, trying to repress and then tame his demonic self by exerting control. The missing parts for me are understanding and acceptance. There is a space left for it in the 'present' and in the flash-forward, our vision of the future, he seems to have gone through those stages and be able to use his powers at will, finally at peace with himself.

Chapter 143 pages 27-28

The Paladin condition:

Chapter 139 page 21 & chapter 140 page 31

The exact same form of damage that one of the Ba'al's host bodies incurs through rapid cell regeneration/degeneration. Also, because I don't think Arthur's status as the only Lucifer's clone & prospective host to survive was put in here just to give him an existential crisis he refuses to engage with.

Speaking of the Ba'al's hosts though.

Astharoth's incarnation:

Chapter 144 pages 25 & 28

As funny as those panels are, and they are funny, I don't think it was done solely for the bit. If they were, why bother bringing back the guy who can theoretically be accredited with kicking off the whole plot by forcing Rin's first transformation?

Manga likes being self-referential and it's arguably a better idea than crafting a new guy out of whole cloth, but then why bother giving us these little glimpses into the individuals' attitudes, goals, wishes, and dreams of the Ba'al in the eleventh hour?

Katou Kazue has taught us to expect better.

And now that I've mentioned expectations...

Shiemi's uncle:

Chapter 114 pages 8-9 and chapter 131 pages 11-12

So, what's up with this guy? He scares Shiemi on an instinctual level when she's not easily frightened, and with the bloody hand and the way we see him smile in Shiemi's forgotten repressed memories, my personal bet is that he killed someone, she witnessed it and he told her to forget or made her forget. Also, has ambitions to shape her to his will, given the nature and tone of their short conversation.

Something else that's also important with Shiemi's uncle, he's the one who purposefully lied to Arthur about his origins and exudes absolutely creepy (controlling) vibes in general.

Chapter 111 pages 14-17

The Uzai family, attendants of Shemihaza, raised him once he got out of Section 13 Asylum due to Shemihaza's interest in him. That is what he's told at least. But... he's already been lied to about his past.

At the time it is very possible that Hilkiah was following the current Shemihaza's lead and keeping mum on exactly what Section 13 was or how it connected to the True Cross Order.

What matters in this section is the story's present. When presented with an opportunity to tell the truth, Jeremiah reinforced the lie.

Arthur considers him family, calls him brother. They're close enough that he expresses his deepest and most ruinous doubts to Jeremiah, the question that would make him reconsider his entire existence.

The question is, why would Jeremiah lie to Arthur?

I think the reason is that Jeremiah was assigned to stay at Lucifer's side by his uncle (despite Shemihaza's protests) to keep an eye on Lucifer and saw all of this:

Chapter 118 pages 20, 22-23

Chapter 119 pages 15-16

[Not included (I'm fighting with the image limit) but relevant. Before Lucifer zapped them all to cinders there was a first flash of light that mesmerized Arthur. He walked to it, saying, "It shines like something special... I want to be like that too." When the possibility he could die heading toward the light (ironic, I've just realized) is raised, teenage Arthur responds, "It's okay. If I die I can be part of it."]

So what Jeremiah saw is this; a child unharmed among corpses reduced to cinders, despite withstanding the full intensity of a lethal attack from Lucifer itself. The success of Section 13's research, a bargaining chip in the future for when Lucifer comes back.

And the reason I think he lied was to keep that bargaining chip nice and snug for eventual possession by Lucifer. Because demons feast on Exorcists' doubts and struggles. And what's more offputting and likely to put someone off kilter than touching upon their very identity?

Uncharitable? Maybe.

But Arthur is drawn into a fight by the guy who created Satan's host body, baited into getting close enough to be injected with something, and the next (and only) time we see him after that is during the flash-forward where he shows signs of advanced degradation.

This takes us to the final point I wanted to make.

The Looks:

Chapter 139 page 28

They're the law enforcement of the dystopian future which tracks its citizens' location and schedule; that Paku is a victim of and which Rin works against, so what? What's the only other place we see the extras wear berets alongside their uniform?

Chapter 110 pages 5-6

And which other faction wears white among the True Cross Order than the Grigori and more precisely, Shehimiza's faction? No one. Manga is a visual way of doing storytelling and this is why I think the visual coding is important.

Plus, Katou Kazue did go through the pain of giving the True Cross Order's uniforms. Uniforms that very visibly change design in that future we're allowed to glimpse, so to me, it's not a coincidence.

Also, I think, (this part is purely speculation) that in the flash-forward Jeremiah and his faction seized power, and allied with Lucifer, took control of the True Cross Order. Hence why the organization is so repressive and controlling, to the point that Rin (who didn't kill homicidal zombies because he's on the side of humans) actually kills one of their... chief operatives? Someone who represents a legion, presumably, someone important enough to be hunted down.

Previous paragraph aside, none of this was put in there on a whim or at random. In fact, the flash-forward is surprisingly cohesive, plot and characterization-wise (I'll definitely have to do an in-depth analysis of it to do it justice) and I'm of the firm belief that it is a teaser of what's to come.

Personally, and this one is a gut feeling only. I think that the current arc is either: the penultimate arc or the midway point of the manga.

[blackstarchanx3new]

FSR rambles 23

Oh boy. We're here!

This page was basically EXCLUSIVLY made to be a cover art page. XDDD

It was really fun figuring out the environment and capturing the vibe of the OOT Water Temple boss fight room with Dark Link.

This is a direct inspiration of that.

I'm STILL salty we NEVER got a proper manga adaptation of that fight.

I could go on a huge rant about how Dark Link's utilization was AWFUL in OOT's manga...like AWFUL especially knowing what it could have been with my own exploration into Dark Link's character (I say with the huge note that Dark Link is very OC coded in FSR...)

The Dark Link Fight is an isolating PERSONAL fight and the OOT manga turned it into a fucking display for the entire Kakariko village for them to kiss Link's ass for and it didn't feel properly introspective or deep or...anything. Relegating Dark to just a random demon that wore Link's face to fuck with him and not a reflection of his own darkness and insecurities, his flaws. His sins.

The reveal for Dark Link is PERFECT in the OG game, you lacking a reflection as soon as you pass the tree with a split branches. He's literally your reflected mirror image.

The fact we were robbed of seeing just how personal and frightening and introspective that could have been is just mnghghghg.

Wasted potential is the phrase that comes to mind with that adaptation of Dark Link.

There's another level of him being in the water temple because water shows your reflection. (Also...Deadhand's creepy ass getting completely cut from that manga...WHY. We could have had it all. 😭)

And it makes me so sad because Shadow is such a GOOD adaptation of an evil Link from the same artists. 😭 Giving Shadow SO MUCH that wasn't there in the og game.

Like...agh.

Dark in Twilight princess is a huge upgrade and was a huge inspiration to FSR Dark Link's character of reflection (Seriously read his scenes in TP, you will see FSR Dark Link's inspiration X'DDD)

Anyway...

I really like Legend of Zelda... And I've always loved Dark Link as a character if you couldn't tell from me utilizing him a LOT in FSR given the chance.

Anyway smth stupid about this page: hur de duur Dark is looking up Blue's skirt.

I remember just layering and layering effects onto this page. The fog and Dark's rippling visage in the water are some of my favorites.

Blue's in his cozy lil headspace.

Far away from people trying to keep him in what is to him: A torturous experience.

Blue made it VERY CLEAR he hates being Link and it's stressful and suffocating for him.

Just the thought of being Link again is deeply anxiety inducing for him. So he's retreated into a place of complete isolation.

He just wants to be alone right now.

Dark's boss room felt like a nice way to show that. ^w^

Blue in a lot of ways feels utterly LIED TO.

Splitting up with the sword was a promise they were going to be OKAY and safe. Because being Link is a DEATH SENTANCE to him.

So the prospect of going back is terrifying.

Peek a boo. Hi Dark Link. XD

That creepy ass grin as he slinks out of the water is very Ben drowned inspired haha.

There's a few pieces of Ben Drowned Fan art I've seen over the years that I thought of when drawing this one.

Like, the idea he's been walking underwater for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG just to follow Blue is very creepy.

Like, he doesn't seem the need to breathe. (He doesn't)

The lonely dirt or sand hilltop was an oasis from people but Dark pursued anyway. Dark got to him across this vacuous empty space of nothing but water.

Dark takes a moment to just stare at Blue and the situation.

And approaches slowly and carefully at first, before declaring himself and his intentions.

He gets a certain type of way when he gets no response.

Blue continues not to notice him. Green had a better handle on his own head and managed to decipher someone was up to something pretty quickly but Blue is shuts him out entirely.

He gets upset enough to clench his fist in anger but doesn't swing or do anything particularly violent yet. He just gives up and sits alongside Blue muttering he didn't really EXPECT Blue to respond but just wanted him too.

Dark Link is very used to disappointment at this point in the story. He's also the kind of person to only give as much effort as required of him.

Lifting his head back up he's in a blizzard...HUH.

He comes across a door and...just breaks the lock.

"That's not how the game is played-"

Instead of trying to get a key he just breaks it. X'D

Dark really doesn't play around.

Looking around, he gets attacked by...a blonde Blue-

Apparently this phantom is a "Faker" and "not the real blue" according to Dark.

...Care to elaborate on what that thing IS Dark- Nope okay...

If you want my stupid thoughts: It's a representation of Blue pushing people away and wanting privacy rn.

Since literally locking himself up didn't work he's lashing out.

When defeated this thing just turns into a puff of smoke that's the same shades as Dark's hair when he mimics Blue.

Dark Link doing his usual thing, which is tearing people down.

I refer to this as "The bisexual lighting Dark Link panel" because that's what it ended up being and it's hilarious.

Dark Link is the bisexual representation yall deserve-

...I'll let myself out-

Okay though seriously I do love this panel because it's so over dramatic.

Dark Link's crazy faces are fun as hell and he has a way with being a perfect muse. 🖤

The blue bleeding into red with Dark's mania and typical color scheme taking over the cold freezing blue with red hot anger and annoyance on Dark's end.

This is also a detail so small I don't think anyone would care or notice otherwise: Dark Link is drawn with Blue's nose. X'D

Him mimicking people's facial features doesn't pop up too often but originally I did want him to do it more often.

Dark has to drag himself out of his literal purpose and uhh, safe to say he's getting pissed off.

When Dark Link gets particularly angry across the "Darkblue" interaction he copes by clenching his fist in anger to try and dispel it. This dude would love stress balls X'D

Trying to keep a cheery attitude about something he WAS excited about, while faced with a task that's just infuriating him is getting to him.

he's not gloomy for long because he finds Blue hiding from him in a giant ice hide away.

Stupid art detail: I just like when Dark has gloves that are tinted red. It's cute.

Dark acknowledges he could brute force his way into the ice block if he wanted too but is just too lazy. XD

Dark just spilling his own opinions everywhere when given a captive audience.

he's just a lil guy with his heart on his sleeve, just wants to share his opinions on stuff like what color is he prefers and trying to relate to the other party.

He liked the blue fire he saw in SOMEONE's memories (Haha BOTW reference hello)

Blue's preference for green also being a reference to him trying to steal Green's clothing in the original FS. Though...there's also the question to be had if the colors would actually HAVE different likes and dislikes when it comes to things such as favorite colors or food...? Personality wise they're very different but would that change something like that?

Anyway, Blue finally starts to realize SOMEONE is talking to him.

LOL So this is the first time Dark Link's gender has been called into question by someone.

...Funny thing about that: Dark Link doesn't really understand gender. X'D

I head cannon him with an...interesting voice. Most of the time I see him sounding like Blue diamond from Steven universe.

When he's screaming though, Invader Zim. X'D (Think Zim screaming "YOU'RE LYING!!!!" and you got what I think he sounds like when he screams)

Sometimes when he's broody Legoshi from Beastars.

Basically: if someone voiced him, they'd either have to have insane range or he'd have to be voiced by multiple people.

Anyway back to Dark's gender.

he mimics people.

He's only been around MEN outside of Zelda (And her gender is less than straight in FSR lmfao, think back to when Link referred to her with they/them)

So...He's only mimicking men for the most part.

Link didn't have a maternal figure in his life, so Dark's understanding of women is super limited.

He also just uses his own name as a pronoun.

Dark Link's third person speak is very particularly written...I'm very particular about it.

Example of how I'd write a sentence and what I'd avoid if it makes sense:

Correct O "Dark Link would NEVER do that!? Do you think I'm stupid!?"

Incorrect X "Dark Link would NEVER do that!? Do you think he's stupid!?"

...I hate the idea Dark would refer to himself in complete third person. It would sound childish vs him just using his own name as a pronoun like "I/me/Myself"

Cause...if you've noticed only OTHER characters refer to Dark link with gendered pronouns. Dark Link only refers to himself as "I/Me/Dark Link"

Usually Dark Link refers to himself when he's distancing himself from his actions or just when I think it'd be funny/fitting.

So yeah, the curse doesn't really have a gender and everyone so far has just assumed he's a dude. XD Dark Link himself doesn't correct anyone because...why would he?

I don't think Dark would understand that he/she/they aren't universal pronouns for every person. XD

If you're wondering for future/current readers: This is also why he doesn't care Vio calls him an "it" or a "Thing".

Those are just descriptors of what he is.

he knows everyone calls Zelda a "She" and has called Zelda as such but I doubt he'd know why or when to use it otherwise. he'd just follow everyone else's lead.

ANYWAY.

YEAH DARK LINK FUCKS WITH GENDER.

So like...I've mentioned it before SOMEWHERE but in FS they just...straight up have telepathy??? Like Vio uses it to get Blue and Red to come to the Shadow temple AND Green (Imo) is woken up by Vio calling out to him when he wakes up from the massage.

So like...it's just cannon they can use telepathy with each other so here's blue referencing he'd know what the others sound like X'D

Cause of his curiosity the ice melts because...well he wants to know who's talking to him.

Dark's really happy about being let in. Announcing "Found you!" like he won a game of hide and seek.

Blue continues to push the fact he wants to be alone right now but Dark's too busy being weird.

Dark...buddy...Don't touch people's face like that.

Just seeing if Blue's lips are kissable I guess. XDDD

Blue's not fully in the headspace mindset yet so he's having a hard time visualizing Dark Link atm.

But he KNOWS that voice.

So Dark tries to appeal to Blue's emotions to get him to go back home...instead of just tearing him down.

Nice use of your powers buddy.

We get a nice POV shot of the blurred mess Blue sees of Dark's silhouette.

Dark's words in the first panel really do seem like sympathy...but it's hard to tell with him.

Blue gets frustrated enough he drags himself into the headspace to confront this mystery guy.

OOp-

We're back in the boss room.

You know what that means.

Blue fully recognizing and talking to Dark surprises Dark since he was SHOCKED Green fully noticed him.

Though this time...he seems...not happy.

Ngl, Dark's pissed off face sends me.

He's SO PISSED that Blue's pulling this crap on him.

I think Blue's phrasing specifically is what did it for Dark to snap.

"WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET A DAMN BREAK!?" - Blue shouted...at the disgruntled worker who can't take a break.

Dark even points out as much he could echo the sentiment.

Dark's just full of anger at this point at how this "Mission" has gone and has divulged into childish as hell insults.

Dark saying Blue's face is "hideous" and Blue immediately making an unattractive face is one of those things I just find so stupidly funny. (Dark ALSO making an unattractive face while saying it lmfao)

Just hits the funny bone just right. It's so stupid.

Dark Link proceeds to throw a piss baby tantrum.

ya know what pal, if I had to deal with BLUE I'd be at my limit too. XDDD

He's really just reflecting and taking out the rage that's been building and only getting worse since he's around Blue.

...Okay so I don't repeat myself, this entire fight is hilarious to me.

The eyebrow comment is so stupidly childish and it's funny DARK is the first one to point out Blue's MASSIVE EYEBROWS.

Dark is pissed off enough to actually fight somewhat competently to knock Blue onto his ass.

Dark's main method of attack is disarming his enemy. He knocked Shadow on his ass too and kept Vaati pinned when they fought after cutting his tentacles.

Dark's just loves breaking down your defences. ;)

HAND TRAUMA WARNING!!!

Blue accurately accesses Dark is shorter than him. (Blue's the tallest of the four colors in FSR.)

Even touching a sore spot with Dark being compared to Shadow Link.

Dark doesn't take that comparison well at ALL causing him to cut his own hand off just to win the fight.

And since the readers got hindsight: Dark Link's steaks in this fight are WAAAAY bigger than Blue's.

Dark gets chronic pain after he gets hurt by the Four Sword. (Granted timeline wise it's still the same day comic wise. 💀) Him holding the blade of his sword to avoid Blue getting him in the face and cutting his own hand off to avoid it was in a lot of ways the ONLY way out of that...Well if he was human.

I think there's a lot to be said about Dark literally harming himself to win this fight

He doesn't value himself much.

And that's a perpetual theme with him.

Dark just doesn't care about his own safety much.

Again, Dark already cut off his own hand and then GRABES THE BLADE OUCH DUDE.

These panels are pretty quick paced but dude's eyes have been the "Rage" eyes for awhile.

I usually draw Dark with these eyes when he's at his peak anger or manic.

Dark's cute lil horns popped out and his hat has a lil tail to it's end looking a LOT like vaati's.

MMMMM

Blue is SHOCKCED this guy would do something so drastic just to win.

Like reguardless of it growing back, I think most of us would have hesitation to CUTTING OFF YOUR OWN HAND.

Originally: Dark was meant to cut off his fingers, but ahh. Changed it because someone I know doesn't like finger/hand trauma. (There's a reason why there's a "mildly censored" of these pages.

Also the blood: Dark's blood dripping into Blue's eye literally clouding his vision and representing him being blinded by red/rage. XD

Hehe literal stuff.

It's also the eye that ends up glitching into Link's eye so...Hmmm wonder if there's a connection there.

Reasonable question from Blue. His shaky word bubble shows he's kinda afraid of that outcome.

Dark's downright offended by the suggestion though before laughing in Blue's face.

The "Are you stupid?" face is so silly. I'm sure a lot of you can tell it's inspired by the Excalibur face. XD

You can't "The writer's barely disguised fetish" me here, I added Dark pulling Blue's hair for someone else XDDD

FSR is nothing if not horny as hell.

The mention of Green snaps Blue out of having his hair yanked by this weirdo.

Stupid cut content rant:

Originally Dark Link was going to meet ALL the Links spare Green and Shadow all together (Vio/Blue/Red) and his rabbit dog line was actually in reference to Blue being PISSED about Dark.

La de daaa rewrites and ba boom they met here and Darkblue happened so.

Eh if you were interested. A lot of ideas end up being reused.

The idea of Dark reflecting Blue's toxic and overwhelming anger was used to a much better affect here than in the og brainstorming I think.

If you want another freaky cut detail:

Back when Dark had a bigger antagonist role. He went WAAAY deeper into his mental torture on Blue.

(Ya know. usual villain things like cosplaying vio's corpse)

Dark was less of a character in the older drafts and more of a HORROR creepy pasta character haha. more of what we saw Vio going through less of a hopeless romantic. XD

But the fact they had a boss fight has been around in the drafts since Dark's inception pretty much. Though the OG Darkblue fight had WAY more steaks and was towards the end of the og script draft of FSR.

Art wise I'm not completely happy with this page. Dark...buddy where's your eye shines. And MAN I wish I made the water more than JUST a gradient but ahh what can ya do. I release these daily sometimes with 6 page updates.

Can't always be bangers.

Dark expresses his "This is why you don't meet your heroes" rant because he's having an autistic meltdown shit didn't go the way he wanted. (Ya know what. Same sometimes pal)

Just throwing Blue back his sword in anger, to which Blue reaches for.

Dark is reasonably tired of this and expresses how HE feels about his situation.

This is more fucked up when you consider the four sword leaves Dark with serious pain.

Dude just offered to become Blue's punching bag "if it'll make him happy".

Dark's self worth is in the toilet and it's even worse because some part of him MUST think Blue might take him up on that offer.

Whatever fulfils his promise to Green.

Having this slung at his face Blue doesn't exactly take it well.

I've touched on it before but I really do feel like blue didn't ACTUALLY get much growth in his anger department. his anger just stopped being used as a punchline when he physically hurt the other 3.

Like...that's not character growth???

I really feel like we could have used a scene where characters REALLY touched on "hey, when you hurt people that isn't fucking cool" To blue but idk.

Like we got a very watered down idea of that where the fairy tells blue to stop being so mean but it's so soft and underplayed idk.

I really wanna touch on how I'd rewrite Blue's arc whenever I make a video dissecting the FS manga because I feel like blue has a LOT of potential to show someone coping with anger issues better.

Dark calling him out here forces him to recognize the gravity of his abuse towards the others.

And it'll be touched on again when Blue talks about how Vaati treats Dark Link, and how that pisses him off.

I just personally like how in realizing how his actions come off and how they hurt others (Specifically Dark Link here) Blue chooses to try and be better going forward.

Blue's defences kick in at first when Dark sugjests he take his anger out on him, and it's "Just something he needs to get used to" because he's bitter over what Vaati's been putting him through, what Shadow put him through even and the fight Blue and him JUST HAD.

Almost ALL of Dark's interactions, aside from Green's have been physical violence and that finally caught up with him and by proxy got him angry enough to confront blue on his behavior.

It's enough to make Blue think for a second like "No I'm not like that" so he immediately jumps to "Why would you say that!?".

Then to blaming Dark Link as he tries to rationalize before defaulting to wreck less anger just shouting for Dark Link to die as his terror at his own actions consume him.

The paneling reflecting how the darkness and his horror spread further and further.

We reached the 30 page limit sooooo we'll hop into this again soon. XD

[danaty-consolation]

Okay I am going to respond to this just once, so all the asks and comments about this topic will be ignored from now on.

Everyone is free to think, like and ship whatever they want, canon or fanon is there to make people happy, and everyone should respect each other opinions.

Now, I am going to be brutally honest here.

If we follow what you two say, that means Ryu is coded as bisexual, since she is attracted to women and men.

Ryu never had a positive male view in her life, Ataru, Mendou and her classmates? All perverts towards her. Her father? Had I even had to say how horrible he was in forcing his daughter to act and dress as a male just because his sick dream was having one?

Women are the only gender that see Ryu by who she is, a woman, not because of her body but also because of her as a person. They never tried to abuse her, they mostly showed her only kindness without any ulterior motives contrary to the men in her life.

So guess what? It makes sense for her to have her guard up with Nagisa after what he tried to do with her, even if he was pressured bc of a non-existent time limit it doesn't excuse his actions.

However later on, when they live together he is only respectful to her. No touching or hugging, the only time that that happens is because he is asleep, and he only has seen her changing or almost naked by accident.

But the thing here is that Nagisa is the one that tries to talk to her, and is only because Ryu is scared of him thanks to all the males in her life trying to use her in some way and Nagisa's past actions that make her wary of him. She thinks he is like other men and he deserves it because he acted like one of the men she knows.

Nevertheless, we see him actually being honest with her and respecting her wishes and feelings in the last scenes, ready to leave because he thought she hated him. Something that no men had done to her before.

The bar is in hell but at least Nagisa is trying and Ryu see's this.

He is already a better love interest that Konatsu and Tsubasa of Ukyo in Ranma 1/2.

Yes his introduction was late, but he at least received development with Ryu.

Canon or Fanon don't change a thing in fandoms, people love and support what they like.

And we should all respect each other opinions when they have valid arguments, being facts or preferences.

However, I did need to share my analysis because some people in the Urusei Yatsura fandom only saw the old anime and ova's without reading the manga so they may not know a lot of the context later on with Nagisa and Ryu. Heck, I didn't even expected for David pro to animate the one-night's battle chapters next week!

And if they still don't like it after reading my analysis, well good for them! It's totally understandable and I won't judge them or anything because we have different opinions!

The perfect character with flaws that follow the narrative most perfectly can have people who hate them! Some without reasons and some with valid reasons.

Maybe is because of the design? The personality? Something doesn't make people like them and that is okay!

People are free to block the users or tags, so they can still be happy and not ruin the fun of others.

I will keep loving Nagisa and shipping him with Ryu, because of the last analysis I made, some points I covered in this post, and because my opinion of them is really positive.

We are all grown-ups and if some are not, at least act as one for the fandom and to have a more healthy interaction and feed with everyone.

[go-goh]

Queer Coding in Inazuma Eleven

Character: Mizukamiya Seriyuu

Although Mizukamiya plays a rather minor role in the Areorion anime, the spin-off manga Heir to the Penguins following the deuteragonist Haizaki and Seishou academy provides us with more depth surrounding his character. With this development I’d argue that writers (whether intentional or not) made Mizukamiya one of the most definitive queer/gay characters in the series.

Regardless whether you believe Haizaki reciprocates Mizukamiya's feelings or not, it's nearly impossible to ignore the romantic subtext that is written into the spin off manga between the two characters. Sharing headphones, riding Ferris wheels alone together, and even the "pin against the wall moment", all of these romantic tropes support the idea that the relationship between Haizaki and Mizukamiya (at least through Mizukamiya's perspective) can be interpreted as romantic.

The essences of queer coding is implementing common romantic themes and elements into a character/relationship while not overtly telling the reader that it's queer. When looking at how romance is portrayed in anime/manga (particularly in romance stories following cis-het relationships), we often see protagonist continuous effort to become closer with their love interest and desire to form an interpersonal relationship; one that is unique to them and their love interest. Ex. Kimi ni Todeke, Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun, etc.

Even though Mizukamiya's desire to become closer with Haizaki plays into the running joke that is it's his "duty as captain" it's shown throughout the story that his actions are fueled by a genuine desire to build a personal relationship with Haizaki.

For example Mizukamiya wanting a nickname from Haizaki is differentiated from the other characters. While the other characters view their nicknames are derogatory (bc frankly they are lol), Mizukamiya see it as endearing and therefore wants one. Seeing his reaction to Kidou questioning his desire for a nickname further supports reading Mizukamiya's actions as him wanting to be special to Hazaki; everyone calls him "captain" so he wants the person he considers special to call him something else.

When you combine this concept with the common romantic tropes written into their relationship, Mizukamiya's dynamic with Haizaki mirrors that of a crush typically found in romance media. His awkwardness when alone with him, always being concerned about him, and crying when finding out he transferred (with a very telling screen tone) show that seeing his feelings towards Haizaki as romantic is not farfetched; in fact it's pretty much implied.

Conclusion :D

Mizukamiya is one of my favorite examples of queer coding in ina11. His character is often seen as comedic yet his queerness isn't a bastardization or bait. His relationship with Haizaki is candid and honestly refreshing after seeing little to nothing of his character Ares. This is technically my first post so expect more of this series :))

Extras

bc they speak for themselves

[mtdthoughts]

The Damsel in Distress (Migi & Dali Analysis)

Since the title of the story is literally "Migi & Dali", almost all of my attention has been aimed towards the twins. As a result, I've somewhat neglected the side characters, who are themselves quite interesting as well.

Here, I wanted to talk about Karen Ichijo, and you can think of this as a "redo" of the character analysis I've already done for her.

As always there will be spoilers!

When I first finished the story, I thought:

"Okay, Karen was actually smarter than we thought, happened to possess a lot of useful skills, and for some reason falls in love with Maruta."

Essentially she was a damsel in distress the whole time, but because she was a side character I didn't put further thought into this, and I thought her traits were just to play up the usual surrealness of the story.

However, after rereading the manga several times, everything about her makes much more sense logically. My earlier description was pretty much on the money (in my opinion), though now I can claim it with much more certainty than before.

It's quite clear that she has known about Eiji's brainwashing for quite some time, and according to her, she felt that something off was about her "family" for a long time.

But why is it her that feels this way?

Well, things start to make sense when one considers the fact that Eiji was always Reiko's favorite. If you've read my post about The Carpenters, you may recall that some have said that the root cause of Karen Carpenter's death was the lack of love from her mother, who favored her musically talented older brother. Perhaps something similar is true for Karen Ichijo, and the following frames and lines seem to suggest this:

She may have always felt insecure and inferior compared to Eiji, wondering why it was always him who received Reiko's affection, and perhaps wondered if something was wrong with herself. That's why when she found that she wasn't Reiko's daughter, she was relieved, because this at least confirmed to her that it wasn't her fault that things were this way.

I thought it was a bit strange that she didn't seem to harbor any extremely negative feelings toward Reiko, as was seen with Eiji when he killed her. She told the Be Birds to "bring ruin to this house" rather than something like "bring down that woman", and she seemed to have been rattled by Reiko's parting words to her as she left.

This could imply that although Karen desperately wanted to escape the Ichijo family, perhaps a small part of her craved for Reiko's affection which seemed to have been only for Eiji. After all, Reiko was the only maternal figure she had at this point.

Nonetheless, she couldn't bear the pressure of being forced to play her role in Reiko's perfect image of a family. However, before the twins came into town, she didn't have any allies, whether it was within or outside of her house. I think it's possible that she may have tried to recruit Eiji's help at one point, though he only ended up getting captured by Reiko and essentially have his memories erased.

Seeing how she was trapped and unable to resist Reiko, she continued playing her role and waited for someone to save her, while at the same time training herself for when that day came. That's why she's so good at acting, tying knots, signaling in Morse code, and why she seemed all too familiar with Reiko's "play dead" act. It also explains why she fell head over heels in love with Maruta, the first one to come to her rescue and the one who loudly proclaimed that he would bring ruin to the Ichijo house. Perhaps it also explains why she seemed strangely happy at the prospect of robbers coming to her house.

In fact, these ideas were hinted at towards the beginning of the story! In Chapter 12, when the twins first visit the Ichijo house for a "psychiatric evaluation", Karen can be seen playing with her dolls instead of practicing her piano as Reiko said she would.

Not only that, but she's playing with the dolls of people that were exiled from Origon Village by Reiko, all while whispering things related to escape.

I think it's pretty clear that she has been looking to escape from Reiko's influence throughout the entire story and well before Micchan meddled in the Ichijos' affairs (for a lack of a better word). It wasn't until the twins and Maruta came along when her silent cry for help was finally answered as she found new hope and freedom.

[leportraitducadavre]

Naruto re-read XXVI

Chapters covered: 209 - 217 Twentyfourth Volume of the manga

Site used: https://manga4life.com/manga/Naruto (VIZ translation of the manga)

Disclaimer: This is intended as a list and simple observations of the topics that particularly interested me in the aforementioned chapters, in that sense, do not expect a linear -or totally deep- analysis.

Tumblr’s update doesn’t allow me to attach more than 10 pictures, therefore, all of them will be LINKED. Apologies.

306) Hinata appears on the Chapter’s cover, her hands are dispositioned in her usually anxious manner but she’s seen smiling, she seems to be waiting. It’s unclear what she has to do with it.

307) Shikamaru states that it’s “against his code” to strike a lady (x), despite her being a kunoichi and the one that’s confronting him and keeping him from reaching and helping Naruto. Yet, because Tayuya doesn’t fit the “definition” of what a woman is (she’s on her Lv2 stage, which shapes her human form to something more monstrous), he’s okay with using violence to defeat her (she blocks his attempt regardless).

Now, I know that this particular aspect of his character is, as I’ve said before, to establish Temari as his romantical interest (x), she doesn’t break his preconceived notions, as some believe, she simply becomes the sole exception to his mentality, yet having a shinobi not willing to take an enemy seriously nor strike them down for the sole premise of their gender it’s strategically dangerous, and a person with such “moral code” can’t be leading an entire platoon of people (x).

308) Shadow Paralysis consumes a big portion of the user’s chakra, and again, it works by how much chakra the enemy possesses (x), as Tayuya increases her horns’ size (she increments her chakra by accessing further stages of the seal) and his shadow-strangle-technique is forced back.

309) Sasuke’s body, which has been sealed inside a dark fog to prevent him from dying after taking Seishingna Pills, seems to be ready and re-emerges (x):

“Seishingan pills (x), apparently, the Curse Mark Orochimaru gave his pupils (including Anko, likely she never took Seishingan pills and that’s why we never see her transformed into a “monster-like” figure like the Sound Four or Sasuke) boosts their strength but it’s only in the First Stage. This medication awakens the Seal’s power, raising it to its Second Stage, but the moment the Seal develops, the Curse eats away the user’s body, which if left unattended will surely kill them. To prevent this from happening, the user must acclimatize their body to the Seal’s power and Cursed effect for an extended period of time; the Sound Four want to prevent Sasuke from dying using a barrier Jutsu to control the side effects -inducing him into a comma of sorts.” (x)

310) When Sasuke wakes up, he ignores Naruto’s attempt to return to Konoha. Naruto, remembering Sakura’s plead, tries to follow (x), gets almost killed by Kimimaro and saved by Lee (x), whose shinobi career was saved by Tsunade (x).

311) Ino is the next one, appearing on the cover of CH 210 (x).

312) Kimimaro states that Lee isn’t as “easy” as the others, it’s unknown if he’s referring to the rest of the team or to Naruto specifically (x)

313) A little explanation of how a Jönin squad lost against the Sound Four (x), Tsunade sent an entire group of Gënin (with no backup) against a team that she was told won against full-fledged shinobi. She even attaches Sasuke’s value as a Sharingan Wielder (she doesn’t even mentions him by name, but the doujutsu he possesses); Jönin and Chünin were sent either to missions to gather wealth for the realm or to Konoha’s border to monitor possible dangers to avoid war –strange how a village decimated by destruction and whose numbers dwelled considerably after the invasion relies on small groups of shinobi keeping guards to avoid armed conflict instead of trying to solidify a political nexus in between Konoha and potential invaders. It’s likely more a plot device introduced by Kishimoto to give the gënin squad a chance to fight strong enemies without Konoha’s elite interfering but it doesn’t change the fact that, bureaucratically, Tsunade made a mistake as not only she sent gënin with immense potential (the Hyuga prodigy, the Nara and Akimichi heirs and the nine tails Jinchuuriki) to a dangerous situation that goes beyond their capabilities but also compromised further Konoha’s military and political situation.

314) Lee escaped Konoha’s hospital and found Naruto fighting Kimimaro (x) so following the trail of the team is possible and more gënin could be sent as support to guarantee a better success rate at recovering “the Sharingan”, is Tsunade unaware of how many gënin Shikamaru took? Lee consumed Tsunade’s alcohol which makes him particularly violent (x).

315) Kimimaro is very beautiful (x) and his Kekkei Genkai is incredible: It gives him complete control over his osteoblasts and osteoclasts (x); while the human body is composed of two hundred bones, Kimimaro can grow more from every part of his body and pierce his skin in order to use them as weapons against his enemies or defend his organs against attacks; it appears that his skin regenerates as he’s seen without open wounds after the bones disappear. Apparently, according to Kabuto, the Kaguya clan was whipped out by the nation of Kirigakure and Kimimaro was the last survivor (x), Orochimaru states that the clan never left behind the prototypical behaviour of the families during the Warring States Period (x) and when trying to go against a “well-governed body” that likely surpassed their numbers, they found their demise. It’s unclear why they went against Kiri, albeit it wouldn’t be strange if it was a response against the Kekkei Genkai cleansing.

Kimimaro’s death is all the more tragic when we learn he thought Orochimaru will keep him alive by remembering him and having him in his heart (x), yet that turns out to be a wish he will not have, as Orochimaru doesn’t care for him (x). Later on, it’s Juugo the one who keeps his memory alive, as he follows Sasuke when he becomes a cage for him, reminding him of Kimimaro.

316) Continuing from point 314. Tsunade did send reinforcements when she asked for the Sand siblings (x) and they were able to reach all of them in time to save them: Kiba, Shikamaru, and Lee did not win against the Sound ninja, rather, they lost and were saved by the siblings; and while them three are particularly strong as all of them reached the third stage of the Chünin Exams, while the rest of the Konoha Gënin didn’t, why rely on someone at least three days away?

317) “I owe Konoha a great debt.” (x) Considering Shinobis’ nationalistic mindset and how the individuals are linked to their village of provenance it’s not strange that Gaara associates the place of origin of the one that actually saved him to Naruto himself, so by helping Konoha, he helps Naruto by direct association. He likely ignores the fact that hadn’t been for Hashirama, he wouldn’t have become Shukaku’s jinchuuriki, as it was Konoha’s first Hokage the one that decided to cage the tailed beasts inside vessels to distribute their power amongst the newly formed ninja villages.

Temari admits that her actions during the invasion (and her actions now) weren’t of her choosing nor personal preference, as she was/is simply “following orders” (x). It’s established that shinobi do not compromise their moral parameters when performing a mission, as they simply justify their conduct by establishing another person in a higher rank or the structure in place as directly responsible for everything they do; in the same manner, these principles are never to compromise the village’s political gain and military power, so they either morph to fit Konoha’s, get repressed as to them not interfering with the mission at hand, or grow to become a direct opposition to the village’s. 

Gaara’s sentence about “how sad it is” that Orochimaru brainwashed Kimimaro (x) is paradoxical considering how his devotion to the Sannin is no different from his devotion to Naruto, Suna, or even Konoha. He gloats about how an entire kin will cease to exist as he’ll kill the last member in lieu of the mission he was given; Kimimaro dying regardless as a consequence of his disease (x, x) –and he did as they admitted they won by mere luck, does not modify Gaara’s overall antithetical behavior as he did not eliminate nor reduced his manners but rather he modified his violent conduct to be in favour of his village and those he considers allies (x) while Naruto, on the other hand, refuses to use killing force. 

318) Temari has a summon: a kamaitachi (x) –The kamaitachi, translated from Japanese as the sickle stoat; is a Yōkai from Japanese folklore with a mustelid-like appearance and extraordinary speed. "Kama" is a kind of Japanese sickle, also used with some modifications as a weapon by the peasants of the time. Itachi means weasel. He is always armed with a sickle or according to other versions of such shaped claws, occasionally inflicted cuts or scratches on people for no reason.

Summoning: Quick Beheading Dance (Kuchiyose: Kirikiri Mai)

Ninjutsu, B-rank, Offensive, All ranges User(s): Temari

Roaring whirlwind!! The rampaging and slashing dance of the Kamaitachi!!

Temari of Sunagakure controls the wind with a massive fan!! She whips up a tempest, and summons a Kamaitachi that rides the winds slashing through everything it touches!! The effects of the jutsu stretch outwards for several hundred metres. The swirling winds also whip up the mowed-down trees and boulders which rain down on the helpless enemy!! It is highly effective when surrounded on all sides or when the enemy is hiding behind a shield. The sole weakness of the jutsu is that it exposes the user’s position.

Source

(previous post) - (next post)

[aloera]

Aloera hii came running when i got the notification, djdjd incredibly as always ❤ can i ask how much time did it took you to find that tone in ur writing? I mean they way you describe things and feeling without making them too "poetic"and corny like it often happens when one tries to write? Also i wanted to share with you the manga panels i searched after reading your fic just so idk gsjd the expressions and significance fjdjf (i love this face is so :() (second one their canon dynamic>>> fanon)

I know these last too have been brought so much times but idc this will always be iconic, the first high epic point in the manga, everything got set in motions after this(to me) wish with a follow up more substantial after this a hint of a conversation idk (a lot of people have move on from this but i will always remeber) sorry that this got so long i just wanted to share this with you excuse my english have a great week/end.

first off thank you so much!! youre so sweet :)

as to how much time it took ive been writing since i was like.. six. and im twenty now. so ig fourteen years skull emoji.. but in general i think i focus less now on trying to sound like... super smart? if that makes sense? sometimes i think what makes things sound kinda corny is when youre describing stuff that you dont actually know.. so i try to just focus on stuff that i do know!! like for example with similes and stuff i just draw from stuff that i see in my own life.. common things.. and the hope is that it comes across as familiar and people reading that go oh i know what that feels like. yk? instead of trying to like.. idk be the next shakespeare and be super poetic and delve into topics that are maybe beyond me or just not really suited to my style of writing. no shade to people who do that!! thats just what worked for me in terms of developing my style :) for dialogue as well i'll sometimes say it out loud to see if it sounds like smth a real person would say outloud bc sometimes... its not... and i rewrite it until im not like. cringing as i say it LMFOA but also mind u i think there will sometimes always be a certain level of corn bc we are writing fic. like it is inherently corny asf. but once you get over that you can have a lot more fun with it :D

KIRISHIMAS LITTLE FACE SHUT UPPP i love him. i love him so bad. he actually invented facial expressions its crazy. have u seen that one panel of him glaring at monoma i think about it everyday hes SO FUNNY

you r so so so write on canon>fanon w them. their canon interactions are just so lovely and so full of heart and so recriprocated like i just know they are the most annoying two people to be around but they dont even care bc they are having so much fun with each other!!! which is why i love them :)

also. yeah. you and me are very right where you left me coded re kamino. i will never be over it i fear. i will be like seventy years old talking about "it has to be you" "if i cant do this im not even a man" "come" "you idiot" LIKE THAT WAS CRAZYYYYYYY i feel like as much as i get annoyed ab horikoshi kind of forgetting ab krbk i will never fully be able to be mad at him bc he gave us that.... like That Moment seared itself into my personhood. kickstarted a hand fixation and an undying loyalty fixation and like. twenty other fixations. is what it is ig.

sorry this is so long omg i just had sm to say but in conclusion thank you so much for the ask!! i will always love talking ab krbk so i really appreciated getting to talk about them with you :)))

[belltrigger]

Hello again ! It is I, the anonymous headcanon guy !

(I'd like to thank you for your kind words from the last time, first. I am still trying to figure out how tumblr works, but hopfully i'll be able to not be anonymous anymore !)

I came up with another headcanon, i hope you won't mind too much about me sharing it with you !

I see often with the twins that Emmet, the little brother, is a little shit and irresponsible, whereas Ingo is the epitome of the Dad Friend(tm).

I don't think it should go that way. Twins are differents than normal siblings. First, they are born together, so the normal(tm) sibling behavior don't stick to them (it also bother me a little to see Emmet getting the full little brother instinct whereas Ingo only get the Dad Friend one. Older siblings often bullies their younger siblings, but we don't see that hmm ? Anyway-)

I think their personality towards each other should be more equal, like both goofy and responsible.

Also, and this one is a little more personal, i heard that siblings (often seen with twins) have some sort of pack thing going on, like one being the leader and the other following. It may seems like, since Emmet is the LB(tm), he should follow and Ingo should lead, but it doesn't feel right to me (i often see that Ingo will lead in discussions, or do some things like going to someone or things like that. I know that Emmet is heavily autism coded, but Ingo has been portrayed as well, and I don't see why, just because he is less heavily portrayed he should carry the "leader" role. It feels like, since he is more normal, he can function. I find that bad, for lack of better words)

I think they should both lead, as they share a job with the same responsibilities, and both are good trainers with diverses pokemons (meaning one didn't dictate how both of their teams should look like, they both chose).

Anyway, to make it short, i think that both of them should be equal, and not simply little and big brothers (especially for twins, this is kind of a stupid thing. I mean, I get the little and big brother jokes, but in all seriousness, it shouldn't matters.)

Sorry for the long, long post but it really is something that i wanted to share, as it is something that's very close to me.

I hope you found it interesting !

Hello AHG! ヾ(•ω•`)o I hope you are doing well! Tumblr can be a little bit different from other sites, this is true! Take your time, lurk where you'd like, and if you ever feel comfortable (or capable!) of coming off Anon, I'd love for you to let me know!

And yeah!! Send me your head-canons, even once you figure out how tumblr works! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ Or post them and let me know where you're doing it so that I can follow you! I love reading head-canons! It's cool to hear people explain why they have them and the twins are SO open to interpretation! (As a preamble to your head-canon, so much is fanon and sometimes it can be quite frustrating that a certain thing has taken hold.)

I do think official media with them, despite having quite a few variations (Anime Submas, Manga/Special Submas, Original Game Submas, Masters Submas are the big ones), is a bit more close to how you are thinking about it. They're both shown as responsible in certain ways, and goofy in others.

In fact, fanart on the Japanese side of things often interprets Anime Emmet as the responsible one. The only problem with that is the anime is also technically the source of your woes, as I am pretty certain that is where people found out that Ingo being the older twin is 'canon.' If you look at content older than that, you'll find it was pretty even on who was treated as the younger brother and/or it not mattering as much.

Personally, I have gone back and forth for how I like to portray them in my stories. Like you, I love them being equal, them reveling in the idea of their twinship, and being each other's biggest rivals.

Alas, I think we can "blame" Pokemon Legends Arceus for people treating Ingo like "the dad friend" in current fanon. Between people seeing him anywhere between a protective uncle to outright finding him attractive and appealing as a romantic partner, Ingo has become "an adult to trust" to many people. As I am older than the twins' accepted fanon age, I really and truly don't have any Uncle or Dad feelings towards him, so perhaps that's why I treat him more like a brother than anything.

Something I do like to note is the fact that Ingo (in the Japanese version of the anime) uses 'kyoudai (siblings)' to refer to them, and not 'futago(twins).' However, Emmet (also in the Japanese version of the anime) calls Ingo "Nii-san(older brother)." So, clearly the anime is hung up on creating older brother/younger brother dynamics between them, and despite people not liking the design choices of Ingo (not having the :< expression), it is a pretty sizable chunk of characterization and screen time. It's possible that people are leaning into that for their fanon.

I can't speak to the autism thing as I am not diagnosed with austim myself, but what I can say is that English fanon for how they speak is somewhat different from the Japanese tone of their speech is. It's clearly the work of localization, because honestly the way Emmet and Ingo talk is extremely heavily loaded with stuff that doesn't translate easily. None of this negates people identifying with the twins, assigning stim or tics to them, or any head-canons revolving around it. I just think there's fascinating tone changes between each version!

For example! English fanon says that Emmet speaks very stilted, which has been translated as him possibly scripting, not liking to talk, having anxiety, etc. And while it is true that Emmet speaks in short sentences, he also talks in childish, improper, and 'rude' ways in the Japanese version. This is counter-balance to Ingo who speaks in an incredibley archaic, old-man style, absolutely stuffed with politeness. (And Ingo's method of speech is entirely why I suspect *he* was the twin thrown into Hisui, if they only picked one.)

Interestingly, their method of talking about themselves in Masters is also fascinating! Everyone knows that Emmet says "I am Emmet." (I feel his 'Boku Kudari' in Japanese is cuter, but I am biased, I think). But he *also* talks like he's a dude who works at the Subway with his brother, although he really appreciates his position and feels so much honor and respect for it. Ingo, however, speaks like he is *intrinsically* part of the Subway, as though he is a fixture there and not a guy who puts on a uniform he greatly respects. The Subway is something bigger than him, and he is a part of it; Emmet on the other hand is himself and the Subway is part of *him.*

The above is just my interepretation of their speech patterns and how they carry themselves because honestly *there is just so much space to fill.*

This got SUPER BRAVO long, so-! Oops! But I do find your headcanons verrrrry interesting! When I am done working on my commission, perhaps I will think about writing a fic where they are equals! I would like to think some of my stories would suit your needs, but perhaps I need to make more! Eheh

Thank you so so much for your ask!! o(*°▽°*)o

[jaydonsjam]

Morbius II

Here we are again to talk about the first five issues of Vampire Tales specifically the five Morbius stories! I know I keep saying it but these horror comics are enthralling and engrossing in the best way. Plus, following a villain is a lot more interesting than your run-of-the-mill superheroes. I did some research after noticing the non-existent stamp of the Comics Code Authority and found out (thanks Wikipedia) that since Vampire Tales was published as a magazine it didn’t fall under their judgement. Which is why there’s more violence and all around edgier content in VT than most Marvel comics of that era. After reading these five issues, Morbius has definitely jumped up the list of my favorite Spidey villains. Morbius’ struggle for humanity in the face of his endless need to feed on humanity makes him so interesting to me. I love the writing here because they manage to keep Morbius villainous and yet put forth other villains for him to face that make you root for him. The art is all in black-and-white but I think it really suits the horror genre and makes it feel like a 30’s universal horror film. My experience with black-and-white comics are really only with manga or The Walking Dead series.

“Morbius”

Steve Gerber wrote the first Morbius story in Vampire Tales #1 and Pablo Marcos did the art which looked absolutely beautiful with an eerie sinister undertone with a bit of watercolor effects. I love the fact that these comics actually have blood, because seeing the bites happen makes it more horrific. Also Morbius is seriously terrifying to look at. Morbius is searching for his love Martine and meets a girl named Carolyn so she leads him to Madame Laera who might be able to find out her location. They look through a crystal ball and Morbius sees Martine stabbed through the chest and throws the crystal ball shattering it. A demon named Nilrac is freed and fights Morbius but Michael defeats it. He tries to feed on it but finds there’s no blood so he attacks Laera and feeds on her, killing her. Carolyn, a child of Satan, is fascinated by this and takes Morbius to her place. Morbius leaves so that he doesn’t feed on her. I liked the fight with Nilrac but it wasn’t anything special. The best part of this issue was how good of a vehicle it served for Morbius and it even references previous stuff we had seen in Marvel Team-Up with the X-Men. I love how the story opens on an unsuspecting person walking down LA and they look up and just see Morbius pouncing them. Another thing that is referenced several times (and it’s a little unbelievable) is the fact that Morbius looks like a bat faced crazy man and when people ask him why he’s wearing a mask, he always says, it’s not a mask. It’s funny but I don’t buy the fact that people just think it’s a mask. One of the things that make Morbius so interesting is the idea that he doesn’t want to feed on people and when he does, he hates himself for it. He’s got a piece of humanity but he just can’t fight his hunger. He’s of course a monster but there’s something else there too.

“The Blood Sacrifice of Amanda Saint!”

The next Morbius story in Vampire Tales #2 was written by Don McGregor and pencilled by Rich Buckler and inked by Pablo Marcos. I love the title page (pictured above) with a bat serving as the background but at the same time resembling the shape of a human heart. One technical issue I had with this scan on Marvel Unlimited was the fact that some of the lettering was hard to read and there was like a pixelated look to some of the images. I don’t blame the art cause I think it’s just a digital scan issue. Anyways, Morbius decided on his next victim Amanda Saint, who has also been chosen by a satanic cult named Demon-Fire as a sacrifice. Morbius leaps down, feeds on one of her would-be captors and stops the kidnapping, saving his victim from her fate. There’s a cool fight that he has with one of the cloaked figures who’s wields a scythe. Morbius disarms him and then runs away with Amanda. They come to her house and her sister, Catherine is waiting for her. We find out that Amanda is with a man named Justin and he planned for her to get kidnapped and sacrificed but Morbius stopped it. Catherine looks an awful like a female masked figure that we saw earlier in the issue (we find out in a later issue that her sister was that figure). Justin has roommates who are involved in drugs (which comes back later). Morbius feeds on a taxi driver and Amanda gets kidnapped by Demon-Fire. Morbius tries to stop it but is thrown out of a two-story window and is forced to flee.

“Demon Fire”

The third Morbius story was written by Don McGregor and pencilled by Rich Buckler and inked by Klaus Janson. This issue had the same technical problem as the last one where the digital scan made some of the lettering hard to read. Morbius heads to the place where the cult took Amanda and finds a coffin that serves as a secret entrance to an underground lair. We get the Catherine reveal here along with Justin revealing himself to Amanda. At the top of the atrium in this underground lair is a giant demonic spider named Arachne with which they sacrifice people to. It’s quite ironic that Morbius fights a spider in this issue with his superhero nemesis being Spider-Man. I loved how creepy and sinister the black and white art added to the giant spider. It webs Michael and takes a bite but then runs away dying from whatever is in Morbius’ blood. The spider’s death throes cause the whole lair to start falling apart and Morbius escapes with Amanda as the whole cult is crushed except for sweet, silly Justin. We get an epilogue of police brutality. They were trying to hit Justin’s drug dealing friend but instead hit Justin and it ends with the cops dragging his unconscious body out of the apartment. Overall I dug this issue a lot. It’s ironic that Amanda is saved by the vampire who wanted to feed on her. It’s also funny that she didn’t know everyone around her was involved in a cult (including her mother and sister and boyfriend). I really felt bad for the taxi driver who was in the midst of a Watergate rant when he was killed by Michael. It’s also interesting that Amanda has no idea Morbius is a vampire even though he’s leaping and moving with obvious powers and he has a bat face. I just find that unbelievable. I get that she’s often not paying much attention or indisposed every time but I really feel like she should’ve known by the time she actually does find out.

“Lighthouse of the Possessed”

This issue in Vampire Tales #4 was written by Don McGregor and pencilled and inked by Tom Sutton. This issue opens with one of the most brutal kills Morbius does in these issues yet (pictured above). They really do a great job of showing that you’re reading a story about a villain. Morbius with Amanda has started staying at a boarding house. There’s a really weird eugenics mention after Morbius sees two grotesque people living there. I was taken aback but then I remembered that Michael is a murderous psycho so whatever. We also meet two characters one named Brock Kilbride an idealistic politically minded guy and his friend Arlene Randolph who spends both issues trying to make Brock see that the politician, Duke Mannery isn’t what he seems. We also meet another sect of Demon-Fire but this time they are led by a mysterious being called Blood-Tide. We also meet Amanda’s mother who was mentioned before having her husband leave her because she was a member of a cult (Demon-Fire) but there’s a reveal about that later. Amanda is prattling on and on about politics to Morbius but they are interrupted by Oliver barging in trying to cut them with his hook hand. Morbius throws him out of a window and he’s cut by shards of glass. Morbius with his bloodlust taking over feeds on poor Oliver. Amanda sees him and realizes he’s a vampire and freaks out. This is a big reveal but again, it makes Amanda seem kinda dumb for not already figuring it out. She runs out the door right into an axe swing from Mrs. Agnes. They are then mobbed by seafarers who are trying to kill them. At this point they run into Brock and Arlene knocking them over as they are chased by a giant mob of people. Mrs. Agnes catches Morbius still swinging her axe. Morbius flings the axe away and then slams Agnes’ head into the axe. It’s definitely the most brutal death in these five issues for sure. Morbius takes off Mrs. Agnes’ mask and it’s revealed to be Amanda’s mom. Like a true scoundrel, Morbius takes her wedding band and plans on giving it to Amanda someday. Lots of action in this issue and also plenty of dirty deeds done by Morbius. Reading these issues really makes me realize that while they call Man-Thing a monster or Jack Russell a monster, the real monster here is Morbius. You guys know I see him as a tragic figure but he is a murderer who constantly feeds on innocents (also bad people). I also appreciate the idea that is he trying to save Amanda to wipe out the stain of all the evil he’s done as a living vampire? It’s a good question.

“Blood Tide!”

The next Morbius story from Vampire Tales #5 was written by Don McGregor and pencilled by Rich Buckler and inked by Ernie Chua (he was also credited under Ernie Chan in his career). I gotta start off by saying the art is the best in this issue out of the five stories. The scan was fantastic and I had no issues reading this one (same with the last one). Morbius and Amanda see a film and get attacked by Blood-Tide! Brock and Arlene investigate a shadowy figure who works with the politician and it leads them to the same theater. There’s a cool moment where Blood-Tide and Morbius fight behind the screen and he tosses Morbius through the projection. There’s a moment where he’s about to pierce Michael with his staff but Brock kicks him in the head and leads Morbius and Amanda out of the theater. In a conversation with Arlene and Brock we get another moment where Morbius tells them it’s his face that looks like that not a mask. I’m starting to like this throughline joke. They follow The Godfather character to outside the lighthouse and Morbius decides to be stealthy and try to sneak into the lighthouse. There’s a cool fight between Morbius and Blood-Tide!

Blood-Tide has a really cool design with glowing eyes that seem to control people. There seems to be merit because of the mob of people who all want to kill Morbius and Amanda. He uses his gaze to freeze Morbius in place and is about to stab him with his staff when Brock distracts him. Morbius takes advantage of the distraction (he’s also freed from the gaze) by throwing one of the cult members out of the lighthouse window. He takes down Blood-Tide and unmasks him revealing him to be Duke Mannery the politician that Brock believed in. The guy is so taken aback and disgusted that he doesn’t realize that Duke has a pistol. In another gruesome kill, Brock has his brains blown out.

I was shocked by the gore in this moment but we did see Amanda’s mom get axed in the head last ish so maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised. I actually felt bad for Brock cause he did seem like he had his heart in the right place just supported the wrong guy. I will say that I’m not super into the Scooby Doo type reveals with both Blood-Tide and Mrs. Agnes. I feel like that trope got overused in this story especially in such quick succession. Overall though, Vampire Tales was a fun read and definitely the goriest, bloodiest and darkest Marvel comics I’ve read from this era so far. Marvel does horror really well. Like I said, I’m glad it’s not colored cause the black and white art adds so much to the horror genre. I’d love to read a black and white Man-Thing comic now. Next up we’re back to Adventure Into Fear #17-18! Thanks for reading this whole thing. I hope you enjoyed my moronic thoughts about funny books!

[katie5000]

Continued from Part 1:

With his attempted escape, he is only stopped by Legato.

Oh, the blorbo is here! And he is deliciously evil.

What follows are scenes seemingly exclusive to this adaptation that exist to establish a relationship between the two men. They're acquainted with each other. Legato is the one who decides that Wolfwood will be "The Punisher" of heretics. Legato is a religious fanatic in this adaptation - think Paul Bettany's character Silas, from "The DaVinci Code".

The whole regenerative capsules and religious assassin organization were independent of Knives and only worked with him due to a shared goal of sorts.

I can't remember the exact details, but they were a cult of plant worshippers, right? I thought the implication was that they did worship Knives, but the average rank-and-file didn't know him/hadn't seen him - he was just "God".

And apparently, since Wolfwood still has willpower to fight Legato, it makes him unique and declares that he doesn’t believe in any god…Wolfwood has gone from being a flawed, trapped principled man with some sort of religious core to an atheist.

Okay, you are glossing over some important shit here. First of all, context: Legato shows up to foist upon Wolfwood a job he vehemently does. not. want. His sales pitch is that the EoM worship a "beautiful Angel," and that Wolfwood will like working for him. Then Wolfwood says, "I don't believe in [any] God!" This is a verbal spit in Legato's face. Wolfwood is saying (indirectly) that what Legato and the EoM worship isn't divine. He also declares the cult a "gross religion" for wanting to "eliminate flaws": dissenters and the weak.

Legato brings in Livio who wanted to join Wolfwood and it is clear at the moment that Livio’s backstory has been completely retconned and he’s the younger brother character for Wolfwood to worry about.

It. Has. NOT. We haven't gotten Livio's backstory yet AT ALL. At this point, all we know is that he was a kid at the same orphanage as Wolfwood that more or less ended up becoming his bestie. Having Legato present him here is another opportunity for the writers to show that underneath all the crap, Wolfwood does have a heart.

Legato comes off as bizarrely cold and unemotional in this version…This Legato - just a cold blooded robot.

Oh. Oh, no. Don't make me pop off about my blorbo - this post is long enough.

Conrad shows up with his own Project Seeds jacket in white, symbolic of his role as a staff scientist…Our Doctor has to stop Legato from killing the promising young Nicholas for the greater goals.

The exchange between the two men is interesting. Conrad comes up and tells Legato to stop before he kills Wolfwood - ostensibly because Wolfwood is an important test subject. Legato stops, but addresses the Doctor rather flippantly - it's obvious he isn't doing it out of respect for Conrad, which raises questions about the nature of their relationship. Then Conrad says something intriguing: "You mustn't defile life!" This would suggest that Legato has a few issues with not defiling, while exposing ideological differences between he and Conrad.

(Note: If you've read the manga, you know how insanely loyal to Knives Legato is, and what Knives' attitude toward humans is, so it makes sense that Legato doesn't hold human life in real high regard.)

Wolfwood randomly declares that he can’t let the two of them kill each other…So, when did you become friends with Vash, Wolfwood? You only showed up in episode four and here in six you are his friend? You’ve had no bonding!…But hey, we now have Wolfwood’s flashback and we know he cares about Livio his adoptive younger brother who can’t kill his other friend Vash. This. Does. Not. Work.

Sigh. To reiterate for the third time: it is Wolfwood's job to keep tabs on Vash and eventually lead him to Knives. He can't do that if Vash is DEAD. And Livio is the closest thing Wolfwood has to family (his bestie, more or less). That is why he can't let the two of them kill each other. However, Livio is attacking Vash for some reason, and therefore Wolfwood has to figure out how to stop it without murder. Vash, of course, doesn't want to fight with anybody.

Legato has decided emotions are for losers and Wolfwood has those pesky emotions!

Legato has decided to toy with Wolfwood by testing him, because Legato is an idle sadist and Wolfwood is the "S+ boy" with expectations to live up to (and a buttload of disdain for him). Will he choose to fail his mission to save his bestie? Or will he choose to kill his bestie in order to continue the mission? In other words, after all his training in how to be brutal, does the man still have a heart?

They drive close enough to the Sand steamer that Legato is able to stop an internal mechanism inside the the locomotive that causes it to veer off course.

And towards the orphanage, no less. He has upped the ante.

It seems that Legato has leveled up in his own abilities instead of manipulating people to do things against their will…I guess Legato is officially an Esper instead to make him easier to understand.

The man's barely been on screen in a single episode - give him a chance to develop, holy shit. He may still go on to manipulate people against their will, who knows. Btw, telepathy is considered part of ESP as well - so technically, Legato's always been an Esper.

By diverting the steamer, it now is on a collision course with the Orphanage - which is apparently the entire town? This is as confusing as the Terminal being a Terminal alone.

There was a small town at the base of the cliff, which you might have noticed if you'd been paying attention, OP. The town was probably known for the orphanage, though, which is why it's labeled "Hopeland" on the map.

At the same time the Bad Lads Gang have appeared. And with our simplified plot we know - they were brought here by Knives.

Wait, what? How the hell did you come to that conclusion??

You heard it here first, folks - B.D.N. is apparently working for Knives now.

Hoo boy. So with all that, OP's has to be one of he most misinformed synopses I've read about anything Stampede-related so far. Makes me wonder what they're gonna say about next week's episode.

Bonus Legato section!

[ayamisc]

SUMMER 2010 J-dorama watchlist!

(c) Hiura Satoru, NTV

After that uneventful Spring 2010 j-dorama season (where only ONE series "passed" my criteria….)

I'm so HAPPY to know there are a lot of shows worth watching this season! :)

I've only been following 3 so far, and am about to watch the 4th one to see if it is "worth it" HAHAHA :P

Those 3 (and the reasons why I've decided to watch them) are:

Hotaru no Hikari 2

I've seen the first season of this romantic comedy. And comparing the korean to the japanese romcoms… I think this is the one that can be classified as closest to being Korean. This series is HILARIOUS. Starring Fujiki Naohito and Ayase Haruka… well. I just LOVE their chemistry on screen. Also, both are talented actors.. specially Fujiki Naohito (who I've seen play MANY roles..yet.. this one is DEFINITELY the MOST hilarious one!)

Aside from the continuation of the 1st series, the reason I've decided to watch this is because the "other" guy will be played by none other than Mukai Osamu… and he's portraying the role that REALLY suits him (kinda same role as the one in Atashinchi no Danshi and Bambino! ..though of course I don't mind him playing the bad/serious guy.. but still, this kind of role suits him BETTER).

I think I like season 2 better than season 1.. at least based on the first few episodes anyway. :) I'm not a fan of romcoms (that are not the shoujo manga type) much but.. I suppose this is an exception.

Moyashimon

THOSE MICROBES ARE SO CUTE! Hahaha.. I just fell in love with them that I even decided to watch the anime version (after YEARS of anime fandom hiatus). I'm also planning to read the manga chapters when I find time..

Anyhow, aside from the microbes… the series is just ridiculous. I hate to say it, but that's how I see it. It is.. OUTRAGEOUS… kinda in the same "feel" to it as Yukan Club, Mei-chan no Shitsuji, and Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge.

I'm not a fan of random storylines so maybe that's why I don't like this one as much. But the microbes are really oh so cute. >.>

HAMMER SESSION! You know how sometimes you get exposed to artists and you don't end up liking them right away? ..But in the end.. you DO (after months and years) ..kinda like saying "That artist grew up on me"

WELL. This happened. AGAIN. (The first occurence was.. my ichiban.. who I kinda ignored in Gokusen 3.. but anyway. back to the topic)

For the second time, it has happened. With Hayami Mokomichi. DUE TO THIS SERIES! LOL.

-Hammer Session is like……. Gokusen, Dragon Zakura, and Kurosagi COMBINED.

DO YOU KNOW HOW AWESOME THAT IS!!!!!! LOL.

-aside from Mokomichi Hayami (who I also kinda ignored in Gokusen 2 [I swear, Gokusen.. the starting point of all ikemen leading men]). Shida Mirai also stars in this series.

She's definitely grown. In a positive way. I'd like to see her become kinda like Toda Erika. XD

Higa Manami is also a part of this, and having seen her in Code Blue, Code Blue 2, and Majo Saiban.. I'm confident she'll bring a different flavor into the mix that is HAMMER SESSION. :D :D :D

As for the others I have YET to check out, here are a few info on them (also I'll only include the artists I've encountered before):

Unubore Deka - detective story, comedy starring Nagase Tomoya of TOKIO, Ikuta Toma, Kaname Jun, and Nakashima Mika

Tetsu no Hone - moral dilemma story starring Koike Teppei (aaaw.. he's starting to go for mature roles..)

JOKER Yurusarezaru Sosakan - hero by day, fugitive by night kind of story (Anne and Nishikido Ryo are co-starring too)

Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku - romance.. Matsujun stars (well, Matsujun and romance.. not his fan but.. Matsujun and romance? All too good to pass up)

Gakeppuchi no Eri - self-determination story starring Yamada Yu (probably won't watch this, but we'll see)

Already 3 episodes a week, and 5 other tentative follows.

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO gonna enjoy this season!!!! YEAH!! :]

PS. This blog was originally posted on LiveJournal.

[sneezemonster15]

Gay people can read het porn you know, especially when there's no gay porn available. Kakashi was shown unaffected by Konohamaru's Sexy Jutsu but stunned by Naruto's Reverse Harem. Guy's romantic preference is unknown on the series, but he was compassionate about "manliness" so the code is there. Plus Kakashi and Gai have "travel together" ending which is usually reserved for couples.

Well if that was the case Kishi would have shown it that way. If you have followed my blog, I have talked in detail about how stories are written and information about characters, their likes and dislikes, their proclivities are given. If there was indication that Kakashi reads het porn because gay porn isn't available, I would have agreed with you. But there isn't. If I have to just assume certain things without any indication or subtext or text in the narrative itself, I can imagine many things. Like maybe Kakashi is a stand up comedian in his off hours because it doesn't say anywhere that he isn't. Or he is an alien because it didn't say anywhere that he wasn't.

Are you seeing what I am getting at?

I have said it many times. First rule of deduction - Use what's given to you. Facts. Don't project your assumptions over the facts, use the information the facts give you. Don't go the other way round, that's the wrong way to glean information.

And it's not like he reads het porn out of helplessness, he literally waits for those novels with baited breath. He lost a test to Naruto and Sakura because of that novel, this otherwise super focused man who simply couldn't fight against Naruto doling out spoilers. Lol.

Kakashi is portrayed as someone with a stoic personality, who represses his emotions in the name of shinobi rules and regulations. He couldn't even emphathize or understand his own father's issues, until Obito put focus on it with great emphasis. This serves as an eye opener for Kakashi. And then after he dies momentarily, he finally has words with his father's soul, which puts him at ease, when his father tells him he understood him. He doesn't really react emotionally to anything, let alone sexy jutsus. I have talked more about it here.

If SNS serves as a gay romantic dynamic in this manga, then one must see how that justifies itself in Guy's and Kakashi's case. It doesn't. Haku and Zabuza, yes, Sai and Shin, also yes, we see similar tropes and visual imagery. Not with Guy and Kakashi.

Gai and Kakashi seem extremely comfortable with each other, super friendly, no uncomfortable silences, no half finished words and sentences, no roundabout way of saying they care for each other or they feel close to each other. Where you see sexual electricity and acute awareness of each other in SNS dynamic, there is just easy camaraderie between Gai and Kakashi. Traveling together doesn't really imply anything, friends can travel with each other as well. Sasuke went alone at the end of Shippuden and Naruto stayed in Konoha. Does that mean they aren't in love with each other? If there was more subtext to Kakashi and Guy traveling together, I would have given it a second thought. But there isn't. The 'code', if that's how you want their dynamic to be seen, then what you see with them is bro code.

[excusemyhyperfixation]

"Great Explosion Murder God, DynaMight" - a confession?

I have to ask the question, how is this written in Japanese? How is Great Explosion Murder God written in Japanese?

Now first lets go back to his original choice for hero names: Lord Explosion Murder, King Explosion Murder and Explosion Murder.

What was lost in translation are that these are a play on his name Bakugou(Kacchan is a nerd, fight me). All three names sound like Bakugou Katsuki or twisted funny versions of it, which reads as BakuhatsuSatsujin or the other one Bakugutsuou. Basically his naming sense is based off puns from "Bakugou".

So going back to the original question, how is "Great Explosion Murder God" written? Surely it would follow his naming sense to play off his name like his previous choices, and it could.

So i thought why not 爆王 主キ which reads as Baku-Ou 'Su-Ki?

Baku - Explosion/Bomb - 爆

Ou - King/Lord/Great Person - 王

Su - God - 主

Ki - Kill - short for キル(kiru), (yes japanese people use the english sounding words like for ticket which basically reads as chikketto. That just how it be)

Now don't say it can't be Bakuou Sukiru, because its already been released as "Great Explosion Murder God", because things CAN get lost in translation and sometimes the translator just has to choose which sound better. I've seen early translations of the name to instead be "God of Explodokills, Dynamaito" so literally it could have been up to the translator how to translate it into English

Now for why I like Bakuou Suki.

It basically comes down to that It's pretty much his name, and doesn't that fit with all the other names so far? Horikoshi is so damn deep with the puns.

Plus "Bakuou" can also mean Bomb King or Bomber King, a reference to Bomberman, a game i used to play on Gameboy Advance way back then. A very very popular Nintendo game.

Like excuse you, tell me Horikoshi would not.

As for the second part of "Bakuou Suki" is the "suki". Now I'm sure we've all read enough manga to know that suki directly translated means "like", but in japan it has been more recently been used to mean "love".

Therefore "(Great Explosion Murder God, Dynamight)Bakuou Suki, Dynamight" can also have the double meaning of "BomberKing Love, DynaMight".

Which could also be read as Great Explosive Love! (Or Bomber King's Love)

And who the fuck was Bakugou rushing to after which screaming this embarrassing pun filled name of "Great Explosive Love, Dynamite"?

Fucking Deku, that's who.

The Deku who Bakugou had a power up over while he had a montage over of their moments together. Bakugou powered up with the power of love!

Boss, tell me its ain't love and I'll smack you some sense.

The announcement of his "Hero Name" was cathartic because it was also an announcement of his own feelings. He was finally saying things out loud.

It was a confession to Deku. No one else might have understood, but even just admitting this to himself was a big step, saying it out loud an even bigger step.

(However you might ask where's the Kat is in Bakuou Suki. Well, in Japan or the general east the ship name for BakuDeku is more well known as KatDeku. Kacchan would also be written more as Kat-chan. The Kat is Katsuki from "Bakuou 'Suki" is reserved away only for Kat-chan, for Deku only).

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

👏👏👏I've cracked the code, lads! 👏👏👏

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

This has been a BakuDeku Public Service Announcement.

Thank you for your time.