#Japan Academy Award

[pkmatrix]

Godzilla Minus One WON Best Picture at the 47th Japanese Academy Awards!!

The 47th Japanese Academy Awards were held today, and Godzilla Minus One won 8 of the 12 Awards it was nominated for:

Best Picture Best Supporting Actress (Sakura Ando) Best Screenplay (Takashi Yamazaki) Best Cinematography (Kozo Shibasaki) Best Lighting (Noriyuki Ueda) Best Art Direction (Asato Komijo) Best Sound Recording (Hisashi Takeuchi) Best Film Editing (Ryuji Miyajima)

The movie was also nominated for, but didn't win, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Music.

Congratulations! :D

Japan Academy Awards Official Website - 47th Academy Awards Nominees and Winners (Japanese)

[yiska-h]

Miyazaki’s Oscar Winner - The Boy and the Heron 2023

[captaingimpy]

Godzilla Minus One: A Poignant Look at PTSD on a Shoestring Budget

“Godzilla Minus One,” directed by Takashi Yamazaki, marks a significant entry in the Godzilla franchise, celebrated for its 70th anniversary. Unlike its predecessors focused predominantly on the spectacle of destruction and the symbol of nuclear aftermath, this film explores deeper humanistic themes, presenting a poignant narrative interwoven with Japan’s historical trauma post-World War II. The…

[thenerdsofcolor]

Max and GKIDS to Extend Exclusive Deal to Stream Studio Ghibli Films

In a press release this morning, Max announced it was extending its exclusive deal with GKIDS to stream Studio Ghibli films in the U.S., including the rights to Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning The Boy and the Heron. Continue reading Max and GKIDS to Extend Exclusive Deal to Stream Studio Ghibli Films

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Cliff Edwards - When You Wish Upon a Star 1940

"When You Wish Upon a Star" is a song written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for the 1940 Disney animated film Pinocchio. It was sung by Cliff Edwards in the character of Jiminy Cricket, and is heard over the opening credits and in the final scene of the film. It won the 1940 Academy Award for Best Original Song, and was therefore the first Disney song to win an Oscar. "When You Wish Upon a Star" is widely considered as the signature song of The Walt Disney Company and is often used as such in the production logos at the beginning of many Disney films since the 1980s.

Harline and Washington delivered "When You Wish Upon a Star" to the Pinocchio story crew in early autumn 1938, and they recognized it right away as a spotlight song that should be given prominence in the film. Disney decided that the song should play over the opening credits, and used as a musical theme throughout the film. The Library of Congress deemed Edwards's recording of the song "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and inducted it into the National Recording Registry in 2009. The American Film Institute ranked "When You Wish Upon a Star" seventh in their 100 Greatest Songs in Film History, the highest ranked of only four Disney animated film songs to appear on the list.

In Japan, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark, the song has become a Christmas song. The song features in Disney's one-hour Christmas special From All of Us to All of You, originally broadcast in 1958 in the US, but now considered a Christmas tradition in the Nordic countries, where it is broadcast on Christmas Eve every year since 1959. 🎄⭐

"When You Wish Upon a Star" recieved a total of 65,8% yes votes!

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Sharon Tate (Valley of the Dolls)— She quickly became a Hollywood "rising star" and sex symbol in her unfortunately short film career and was often referred to as a fashion/style trendsetter in her era. She was so beautiful and absolutely rocked every aesthetic her characters embodied - fancy Victorian vampire with a long red wig, cute super-spy sidekick with a beehive and Buddy Holly glasses, mysterious villainous femme-fatale witch...the list goes on! There's also been a long-standing rumor that the classic Malibu Barbie may have been visually inspired in part by a brief on-screen role of hers in the movie "Don't Make Waves", where she played a fashionable beach-goer. She only lived to 26, but she was an absolute icon of the 1960's!

Shima Iwashita (Goben no Tsubaki)—Shima Iwashita was THE leading lady of Shochiku (one of the 3 major movie studios in Japan) for over 16 years, including the entirety of 1960s. She's been two-time winner of the Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Actress and the winner of the Japanese Academy Award of actress in a leading role in 1977. Famously known in Japan as the actress best suited to wearing kimono, Iwashita often played elegant, strong-willed, and sometimes vengeful female characters. She is particularly adept at portraying women's independence and self-reliance, as well as their delicate inner feelings, and has portrayed a number of sentimental and individualistic women in her many period and contemporary dramas. Her talent was discovered by Yasujirō Ozu, one of the world's greatest filmmakers, who told Shochiku executives at the time, "She is an exceptional talent who comes along only once in a decade." Ozu cast her as the female lead in his final film An Autumn Afternoon before he died of cancer in 1963. Now at the age of 83, she is as beautiful as ever.

This is round 2 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Sharon Tate:

she was the sweetest person and great actress too!

 Even though her career was cut short, she proved to be a talented and charismatic actress with plenty of potential. Known for her astonishing beauty, fashion choices and wonderful personality, she remains a Hollywood icon to this very day!!

she should be known for more than the terrible thing that happened to her. she was beautiful but also a burgeoning comedic actress and apparently an incredibly kind person

Shima Iwashita:

[kaijuno]

In light of Fall Out Boy’s GARBAGE cover of the song. Let’s learn about the original. Notice how they’re actually in chronological order instead of just random references 😒😒😒😒

1949

Harry Truman was inaugurated as U.S. president after being elected in 1948 to his own term; previously he was sworn in following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He authorized the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during World War II, on August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively.

Doris Day enters the public spotlight with the films My Dream Is Yours and It’s a Great Feeling as well as popular songs like “It’s Magic”; divorces her second husband.

Red China: The Communist Party of China wins the Chinese Civil War, establishing the People’s Republic of China.

Johnnie Ray signs his first recording contract with Okeh Records, although he would not become popular for another two years.

South Pacific, the prize-winning musical, opens on Broadway on April 7.

Walter Winchell is an aggressive radio and newspaper journalist credited with inventing the gossip column.

Joe DiMaggio and the New York Yankees go to the World Series five times in the 1940s, winning four of them.

1950

Joe McCarthy, the US Senator, gains national attention and begins his anti-communist crusade with his Lincoln Day speech.

Richard Nixon is first elected to the United States Senate.

Studebaker, a popular car company, begins its financial downfall.

Television is becoming widespread throughout Europe and North America.

North Korea and South Korea declare war after Northern forces stream south on June 25.

Marilyn Monroe soars in popularity with five new movies, including The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve, and attempts suicide after the death of friend Johnny Hyde who asked to marry her several times, but she refused respectfully. Monroe would later (1954) be married for a brief time to Joe DiMaggio (mentioned in the previous verse).

1951

The Rosenbergs, Ethel and Julius, were convicted on March 29 for espionage.

H-Bomb is in the middle of its development as a nuclear weapon, announced in early 1950 and first tested in late 1952.

Sugar Ray Robinson, a champion welterweight boxer.

Panmunjom, the border village in Korea, is the location of truce talks between the parties of the Korean War.

Marlon Brando is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in A Streetcar Named Desire.

The King and I, musical, opens on Broadway on March 29.

The Catcher in the Rye, a controversial novel by J. D. Salinger, is published.

1952

Dwight D. Eisenhower is first elected as U.S. president, winning by a landslide margin of 442 to 89 electoral votes.

The vaccine for polio is privately tested by Jonas Salk.

England’s got a new queen: Queen Elizabeth II succeeds to the throne upon the death of her father, George VI, and is crowned the next year.

Rocky Marciano defeats Jersey Joe Walcott, becoming the world Heavyweight champion.

Liberace has a popular 1950s television show for his musical entertainment.

Santayana goodbye: George Santayana, philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist, dies on September 26.

1953

Joseph Stalin dies on March 5, yielding his position as leader of the Soviet Union.

Georgy Maksimilianovich Malenkov succeeds Stalin for six months following his death. Malenkov had presided over Stalin’s purges of party “enemies”, but would be spared a similar fate by Nikita Khrushchev mentioned later in verse.

Gamal Abdel Nasser acts as the true power behind the new Egyptian nation as Muhammad Naguib’s minister of the interior.

Sergei Prokofiev, the composer, dies on March 5, the same day as Stalin.

Winthrop Rockefeller and his wife Barbara are involved in a highly publicized divorce, culminating in 1954 with a record-breaking $5.5 million settlement.

Roy Campanella, an African-American baseball catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, receives the National League’s Most Valuable Player award for the second time.

Communist bloc is a group of communist nations dominated by the Soviet Union at this time. Probably a reference to the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany.

1954

Roy Cohn resigns as Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel and enters private practice with the fall of McCarthy. He also worked to prosecute the Rosenbergs, mentioned earlier.

Juan Perón spends his last full year as President of Argentina before a September 1955 coup.

Arturo Toscanini is at the height of his fame as a conductor, performing regularly with the NBC Symphony Orchestra on national radio.

Dacron is an early artificial fiber made from the same plastic as polyester.

Dien Bien Phu falls. A village in North Vietnam falls to Viet Minh forces under Vo Nguyen Giap, leading to the creation of North Vietnam and South Vietnam as separate states.

“Rock Around the Clock” is a hit single released by Bill Haley & His Comets in May, spurring worldwide interest in rock and roll music.

1955

Albert Einstein dies on April 18 at the age of 76.

James Dean achieves success with East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, gets nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, and dies in a car accident on September 30 at the age of 24.

Brooklyn’s got a winning team: The Brooklyn Dodgers win the World Series for the only time before their move to Los Angeles.

Davy Crockett is a Disney television miniseries about the legendary frontiersman of the same name. The show was a huge hit with young boys and inspired a short-lived “coonskin cap” craze.

Peter Pan is broadcast on TV live and in color from the 1954 version of the stage musical starring Mary Martin on March 7. Disney released an animated version the previous year.

Elvis Presley signs with RCA Records on November 21, beginning his pop career.

Disneyland opens on July 17, 1955 as Walt Disney’s first theme park.

1956

Brigitte Bardot appears in her first mainstream film And God Created Woman and establishes an international reputation as a French “sex kitten”.

Budapest is the capital city of Hungary and site of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

Alabama is the site of the Montgomery Bus Boycott which ultimately led to the removal of the last race laws in the USA. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr figure prominently.

Nikita Khrushchev makes his famous Secret Speech denouncing Stalin’s “cult of personality” on February 25.

Princess Grace Kelly releases her last film, High Society, and marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

Peyton Place, the best-selling novel by Grace Metalious, is published. Though mild compared to today’s prime time, it shocked the reserved values of the 1950s.

Trouble in the Suez: The Suez Crisis boils as Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal on October 29.

1957

Little Rock, Arkansas is the site of an anti-integration standoff, as Governor Orval Faubus stops the Little Rock Nine from attending Little Rock Central High School and President Dwight D. Eisenhower deploys the 101st Airborne Division to counteract him.

Boris Pasternak, the Russian author, publishes his famous novel Doctor Zhivago.

Mickey Mantle is in the middle of his career as a famous New York Yankees outfielder and American League All-Star for the sixth year in a row.

Jack Kerouac publishes his first novel in seven years, On the Road.

Sputnik becomes the first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, marking the start of the space race.

Chou En-Lai, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, survives an assassination attempt on the charter airliner Kashmir Princess.

Bridge on the River Kwai is released as a film adaptation of the 1954 novel and receives seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

1958

Lebanon is engulfed in a political and religious crisis that eventually involves U.S. intervention.

Charles de Gaulle is elected first president of the French Fifth Republic following the Algerian Crisis.

California baseball begins as the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants move to California and become the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. They are the first major league teams west of Kansas City.

Charles Starkweather Homicide captures the attention of Americans, in which he kills eleven people between January 25 and 29 before being caught in a massive manhunt in Douglas, Wyoming.

Children of Thalidomide: Mothers taking the drug Thalidomide had children born with congenital birth defects caused by the sleeping aid and antiemetic, which was also used at times to treat morning sickness.

1959

Buddy Holly dies in a plane crash on February 3 with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, in a day that had a devastating impact on the country and youth culture. Joel prefaces the lyric with a Holly signature vocal hiccup: “Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

Ben-Hur, a film based around the New Testament starring Charlton Heston, wins eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Space Monkey: Able and Miss Baker return to Earth from space aboard the flight Jupiter AM-18.

The Mafia are the center of attention for the FBI and public attention builds to this organized crime society with a historically Sicilian-American origin.

Hula hoops reach 100 million in sales as the latest toy fad.

Fidel Castro comes to power after a revolution in Cuba and visits the United States later that year on an unofficial twelve-day tour.

Edsel is a no-go: Production of this car marque ends after only three years due to poor sales.

1960

U-2: An American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union, causing the U-2 Crisis of 1960.

Syngman Rhee was rescued by the CIA after being forced to resign as leader of South Korea for allegedly fixing an election and embezzling more than US $20 million.

Payola, illegal payments for radio broadcasting of songs, was publicized due to Dick Clark’s testimony before Congress and Alan Freed’s public disgrace.

John F. Kennedy beats Richard Nixon in the November 8 general election.

Chubby Checker popularizes the dance The Twist with his cover of the song of the same name.

Psycho: An Alfred Hitchcock thriller, based on a pulp novel by Robert Bloch and adapted by Joseph Stefano, which becomes a landmark in graphic violence and cinema sensationalism. The screeching violins heard briefly in the background of the song are a trademark of the film’s soundtrack.

Belgians in the Congo: The Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) was declared independent of Belgium on June 30, with Joseph Kasavubu as President and Patrice Lumumba as Prime Minister.

1961

Ernest Hemingway commits suicide on July 2 after a long battle with depression.

Adolf Eichmann, a “most wanted” Nazi war criminal, is traced to Argentina and captured by Mossad agents. He is covertly taken to Israel where he is put on trial for crimes against humanityin Germany during World War II, convicted, and hanged.

Stranger in a Strange Land, written by Robert A. Heinlein, is a breakthrough best-seller with themes of sexual freedom and liberation.

Bob Dylan is signed to Columbia Records after a New York Times review by critic Robert Shelton.

Berlin is separated into West Berlin and East Berlin, and from the rest of East Germany, when the Berlin Wall is erected on August 13 to prevent citizens escaping to the West.

The Bay of Pigs Invasion fails, an attempt by United States-trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro.

1962

Lawrence of Arabia: The Academy Award-winning film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence starring Peter O’Toole premieres in America on December 16.

British Beatlemania: The Beatles, a British rock group, gain Ringo Starr as drummer and Brian Epstein as manager, and join the EMI’s Parlophone label. They soon become the world’s most famous rock band, with the word “Beatlemania” adopted by the press for their fans’ unprecedented enthusiasm. It also began the British Invasion in the United States.

Ole’ Miss: James Meredith integrates the University of Mississippi

John Glenn: Flew the first American manned orbital mission termed “Friendship 7” on February 20.

Liston beats Patterson: Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson fight for the world heavyweight championship on September 25, ending in a first-round knockout. This match marked the first time Patterson had ever been knocked out and one of only eight losses in his 20-year professional career.

1963

Pope Paul VI: Cardinal Giovanni Montini is elected to the papacy and takes the papal name of Paul VI.

Malcolm X makes his infamous statement “The chickens have come home to roost” about the Kennedy assassination, thus causing the Nation of Islam to censor him.

British politician sex: The British Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, has a relationship with a showgirl, and then lies when questioned about it before the House of Commons. When the truth came out, it led to his own resignation and undermined the credibility of the Prime Minister.

JFK blown away: President John F. Kennedy is assassinated on November 22 while riding in an open convertible through Dallas.

1965

Birth control: In the early 1960s, oral contraceptives, popularly known as “the pill”, first go on the market and are extremely popular. Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 challenged a Connecticut law prohibiting contraceptives. In 1968, Pope Paul VI released a papal encyclical entitled Humanae Vitae which declared artificial birth control a sin.

Ho Chi Minh: A Vietnamese communist, who served as President of Vietnam from 1954–1969. March 2 Operation Rolling Thunder begins bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail supply line from North Vietnam to the Vietcong rebels in the south. On March 8, the first U.S. combat troops, 3,500 marines, land in South Vietnam.

1968

Richard Nixon back again: Former Vice President Nixon is elected President in 1968.

1969

Moonshot: Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing, successfully lands on the moon.

Woodstock: Famous rock and roll festival of 1969 that came to be the epitome of the counterculture movement.

1974–75

Watergate: Political scandal that began when the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC was broken into. After the break-in, word began to spread that President Richard Nixon (a Republican) may have known about the break-in, and tried to cover it up. The scandal would ultimately result in the resignation of President Nixon, and to date, this remains the only time that anyone has ever resigned the United States Presidency.

Punk rock: The Ramones form, with the Sex Pistols following in 1975, bringing in the punk era.

1976–77

(An item from 1977 comes before three items from 1976 to make the song scan.)

Menachem Begin becomes Prime Minister of Israel in 1977 and negotiates the Camp David Accords with Egypt’s president in 1978.

Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States in 1980, but he first attempted to run for the position in 1976.

Palestine: a United Nations resolution that calls for an independent Palestinian state and to end the Israeli occupation.

Terror on the airline: Numerous aircraft hijackings take place, specifically, the Palestinian hijack of Air France Flight 139 and the subsequent Operation Entebbe in Uganda.

1979

Ayatollah’s in Iran: During the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the West-backed and secular Shah is overthrown as the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini gains power after years in exile and forces Islamic law.

Russians in Afghanistan: Following their move into Afghanistan, Soviet forces fight a ten-year war, from 1979 to 1989.

1983

Wheel of Fortune: A hit television game show which has been TV’s highest-rated syndicated program since 1983.

Sally Ride: In 1983 she becomes the first American woman in space. Ride’s quip from space “Better than an E-ticket”, harkens back to the opening of Disneyland mentioned earlier, with the E-ticket purchase needed for the best rides.

Heavy metal suicide: In the 1980s Ozzy Osbourne and the bands Judas Priest and Metallica were brought to court by parents who accused the musicians of hiding subliminal pro-suicide messages in their music.

Foreign debts: Persistent U.S. trade deficits

Homeless vets: Veterans of the Vietnam War, including many disabled ex-military, are reported to be left homeless and impoverished.

AIDS: A collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is first detected and recognized in the 1980s, and was on its way to becoming a pandemic.

Crack cocaine use surged in the mid-to-late 1980s.

1984

Bernie Goetz: On December 22, Goetz shot four young men who he said were threatening him on a New York City subway. Goetz was charged with attempted murder but was acquitted of the charges, though convicted of carrying an unlicensed gun.

1988

Hypodermics on the shore: Medical waste was found washed up on beaches in New Jersey after being illegally dumped at sea. Before this event, waste dumped in the oceans was an “out of sight, out of mind” affair. This has been cited as one of the crucial turning points in popular opinion on environmentalism.

1989

China’s under martial law: On May 20, China declares martial law, enabling them to use force of arms against protesting students to end the Tiananmen Square protests.

Rock-and-roller cola wars: Soft drink giants Coke and Pepsi each run marketing campaigns using rock & roll and popular music stars to reach the teenage and young adult demographic.

Short summaries of all 119 references mentioned in the song, you’re welcome.

[dark-night-hero]

The Academy (Rowan Theodore)

⤷ You have been friends ever since you were toddler. Sure the two of you have lay low around each other ever since the broken engagement, but the two of you still hang out when you have time. So why won't this guy let you resign?!

Theo: My office.

Theo: Now.

You: ????

You: Bruh

You: I'm in Japan right now.

Theo: I'll have my men pick you up. Send location now.

You: Are you nuts? I'm on vacation! I sent my resignation letter months ago!

Theo: Either you send your location and let my men pick you up or I send to your parents how much you have been slacking off, using heartbroken by our ended relationship as a reason. I'm all ears on your choice, Mon chère.

You: [sent location]

You: Fuck you

Theo: Love you too.

Seen

You were furious, fuming as you landed on the academy's helipad. That fucking son of a bitch had a nerve to be such a fucking snitch threatening to tell you on your parents. How annoying! "Theodore!" You barge inside the principals room and found no one. "That fucking-" You glare at nothing then pause. Looking back to the man that escorted you who avoided your gaze. "Out." "As you say." The man bow and close the door behind him. Pissed off, you sat down on the comfortable sofa you have not seen nor sat into for months when the book shelf on the wall moved.

A black hair man in his late twenties you seen for the past few months emerge inside the office, at the same time, the smell of tobacco field the air causing you to frown in disgust. "You came faster than I imagined, did I scare you off, mon chère?" He chuckle and proceed to walk towards the window before opening it. "Or were you just that eager to see me again after three months of being away from me?" By his words, you could not help but to glare at him. Forget it, there is no reasoning with this guy. Besides, you did miss him though now that you think about it. He was really annoying.

"Fuck off, Rowan. What do you need me for? What happened to my resignation letter?" His and his stupid academy that has you as one of it's teacher. He was the one who wanted to become one, how come here are the two of you now, he as the principal, the guy who often do nothing, like seriously nothing but supervise and you as the teacher, the one who actually teach and interact with the students. Sure it was fun. Was. Right now, you just wanted to rest. After everything that happened. You just want to stay away from teaching. "Resignation letter? Oh yeah I did tell you i have it. Never said I'll approve it tho." He deadpan and sat on his office chair behind his desk. "You son of a-" thud.

Countless files where placed right in front of you causing you to raise a brow. "Special case Mon Chère, I need you as their adviser." "Enough with the nickname asshat. And no, I'm not doing this." You huff, though still took a glance at the files right in front of you, what is that?? "(First name)" He sighs then sat down next to you. "None of it was your fault." He added. "He is my student. He is my responsibility." You reasoned out. "I should have noticed he was going through something, he was a bright child and I was blinded my his brightest I didn't notice he was falling apart. I was his adviser Theo." Three years ago one of your advising students died, all alone in his dorm room with no one around him. And no amount of awards, teaching could bring him back.

"We've been through this (First name)." You felt him wrap his arm around your shoulder as you look down on your lap. You have always been a proud teacher, a proud adviser whom your students look up to. They were like your children, your goddamn annoying children. So when one of your students died. You tried to keep up the cheerfulness and pride that you have. And as soon as the school year ended, you had fallen apart. You felt like you had failed them. That you could not be a better guide for them. So you step down and never teach again, kept submitting resignation all throughout the years but this dumbass kept fucking denying them. Telling you to take a break instead in which you found no use of. Still, a paid vacation was very nice.

"It wasn't your fault, you tried your best. (First name). I'm sure he did know that too. No one is blaming you for it mon chère." "Still-" "This new class needs you." He says and you felt him pull you close to him. "You're the only one who can handle them." He added. "You can always give it a try and if you don't like it, then we can give up. I will sogn your resignation letter." Now that perk up your interest nevertheless, you are scared. "In two condition." "I'm all ears." "You get to be the co-adviser." "... Me?" You nod, looking up from your lap into his face. "Why me?" He spoke, eyes innocently blinking at you, pointing at himself. "The last time I tried to handle things by myself, I fell apart and..." You look away from him. "I always thought if you were with me- if you were me you would have done a great job. Maybe he would not end up like that." You shrug. He was the one who always wanted to become a teacher. "Plus I heard from aunt you have done nothing but to laydown on your office every day. What's the use of your degree if you're not using it?" "I am using it." "I doubt, asshat. If I suffer then it's natural that you get to suffer too."

Pulling away from him and shrugging his hold off you, you pick up one of the files on the table. "Theo." "Yeah?" "You're awfully clingy and talkative nowadays. It's annoying." "You think so?" He had a tone of amusement as he said that. That was natural when he was with you, specially when you were half a year away from him, out of his sight, texting him once in a while then disappearing again and again. He hates that you were out of his grasp even though he knew he could easily force you. He did not want that, you would not want that. So he was force to stay in place, like a good dog waiting for his owner to come back. Still, nowadays he was getting impatient. So here he is using dirty tricks to get you back within reach.

"The second condition, what is it?" Looking away from the file in your hand to look at him before turning your attention back at it again. "Oh, I was just about to say that I'll be staying in your quarters the whole school year." He almost broke the armrest of the sofa he was holding. "We used to share it when we're engaged. I'm more familiar with that room so I'll be using it, you stay most in your office right? I'll take that place." "Heh? Kicking the owner out of his place?" "Then don-" "Sure, you can have it, but expect me to pay visit once in a while." "Good." You utter as you side eye him and focus on your files. "Also Theo, why do I have a future duchess- your nephews- multi billionaire business heirs in my class?" "I told you mon chère, only you can handle them." He laughs.

Also. Is this not the name of a novel- a character from a book you have read a long time ago? Why is she within the names of the new advising class that you have? "What's wrong mon chère? Reality finally hitting you too hard?" He laugh but all you could focus on into was the picture of the characters you have seen- read in your previous life. "Rowan Theodore." "What's up with the fullname?" "I don't really think I should do this." You wanted to faint. You had knew for a long time ago that something was wrong the moment you realize you have your previous life memories. But you never suggest that it was transmigration- reincarnation to a novel you have read before. But as the main character name and face was right in front of you, her details right in front of you. Fuck me, you wanted to faint. This class will be the death of you.

[ⓒdark-night-hero] 2024°

[ghibli-collector]

Studio Ghibli To Release New Hayao Miyazaki Documentary

Studio Ghibli is set to reveal a new documentary that chronicles Miyazaki's work on The Boy And The Heron.

Studio Ghibli's The Boy And The Heron became the number one movie in North America for its opening weekend. The movie, which was originally billed as the final film from director Hayao Miyazaki, has become a big hit for the studio and the production house is aiming to dive further into the making of How Do You Live. A new documentary is set to be released in Japan that will chronicle not only the making of Ghibli's latest, but take us further into the mind of the legendary director Hayao Miyazaki.

Miyazaki had originally stated that he would be retiring once The Boy And The Heron was released, but the director has seen changed his mind. Returning to Ghibli with a number of fresh ideas for films in the future, Hayao might be in his 80s, but it's clear that he is aiming to create anime movies for some time to come. Since the release of Ghibli's new film, the movie has received several accolades from film critics and groups, leaving many to wonder if How Do You Live might follow Spirited Awar's path and nab an Academy Award for Best Animated Picture.

2,399 Days With Ghibli and Miyazaki

The new documentary will arrive on Japanese television channel, NHK General, on December 16th. While an international release has yet to be confirmed by either Ghibli or NHK, it's a good bet that anime fans in the West will someday have the opportunity to watch it. The previous documentary following both Ghibli and Miyazaki, 10 Years With Hayao Miyazaki, eventually found its way online thanks to NHK for anime fans all over the world.

If you haven't had the chance to catch the latest anime film from Studio Ghibli, it is still available to see in North American theaters. Here's an official description from the production house for The Boy And The Heron, "Mahito, a young 12-year-old boy, struggles to settle in a new town after his mother's death. However, when a talking heron informs Mahito that his mother is still alive, he enters an abandoned tower in search of her, which takes him to another world."

Source: Evan Valentine

comicbook . com

[ferretfyre]

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film:

Those who survive keep thinking about the dead. In one way or another, that will continue. You and I must keep living like that. We must keep on living. It'll be okay. I'm sure we'll be okay. Drive My Car (Doraibu Mai Kā - Japan - 2021, dir. Ryūsuke Hamaguchi)

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (January 21-27, 2024)

Godzilla Minus One made awards show history in both Japan and the U.S. this week. Its Oscar nomination for best Visual Effects is the first of the series (Godzilla [1998], Godzilla [2014] and Godzilla vs. Kong were previously shortlisted) and the first for any Japanese film. Small wonder Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, and their team went berserk when the nomination was announced. The other nominees are The Creator, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Napoleon, and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. According to IndieWire, The Creator has the edge, but Minus One could very well win. And while it naturally made less headlines in the Anglosphere, Minus One also picked up a whopping 12 Japan Academy Film Prize nominations, exceeding Shin Godzilla's 10.

Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color is now in North American theaters. I was intrigued enough to make it my fourth theatrical viewing of this movie, but in the end it did basically strike me as a gimmick. Godzilla Minus One was shot digitally with sets designed for color, so making it actually look like a film from the 40s was always going to be an uphill battle. Even with the regrade, there wasn’t a ton of contrast in most shots, and some of the scenes taking place at night were quite hard to see. Still, apart from the Odo Island massacre, I found the Godzilla scenes as gripping as ever.

Thanks to Minus Color, Minus One made $2.6 million this weekend, crawling back into the box office top 10. Its total in the U.S. and Canada now stands at $55 million, third among all foreign-language films released in the U.S.

Brush of the God, Keizo Murase's directorial debut after a lifetime in movies, is finally complete. It'll play at the Osaka Asian Film Festival in March (link contains more images), and hopefully travel overseas very soon. Murase will also receive an Association Special Award at the Japan Academy Film Prize.

Clover Press shipped out copies of Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett to Kickstarter backers, myself included. It's an excellent art book, and there are plenty of deleted and altered scenes mixed in with more familiar sequences. Believe it or not, Bennett drew the panel above for Kong: Skull Island—they considered having James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) flash back to an encounter with King Ghidorah in Vietnam. Not sure how that would've worked, as Ghidorah is generally not one to lie low for a few decades, but it's the first I've ever heard of it being considered. I'm hoping to post some more scans soon. Here's the order link.

Minecraft social media accounts teased a crossover with the Monsterverse, in what's likely to be the most high-profile of the Godzilla x Kong video game collaborations. The Mobzilla mod was created over 10 years ago, so this is long overdue.

The big toy news this week was Titanic Creations revealing the digital sculpt for its Yongary figure. This guy's had even less figures than Gorgo - I can only think of one, and very few of them were made - so expect massive demand. New Godzilla toys were also on display at London Toy Fair, both at the Playmates booth and among the plushies made by an unknown company.

[justforbooks]

Haruki Murakami

The acclaimed Japanese author’s deceptively simple writing combines fantasy and reality in stories of everything from missing cats to dystopian histories via fantasy thrillers and meditations on love.

Japan’s bestselling living novelist Haruki Murakami started writing aged 30 and became a literary sensation in 1987 when his fifth novel Norwegian Wood was published. His mixture of realistic and dreamlike narratives has earned him a dedicated fanbase, and his name is often floated as a contender for the Nobel prize in literature. If you’re new to him, or want to re-read his greatest hits, here are some places to start.

The entry point

Murakami’s novels can be crudely separated into two categories: the fantastic and the realist – although many fall somewhere in between. Published in 1987, Norwegian Wood lacks the otherworldly strangeness that has come to characterise much of Murakami’s most popular work. Instead the novel is a deceptively simple reminiscence of young love. Landing on a German runway, narrator Toru Watanabe hears the titular Beatles song and is transported back to his college days and turbulent love affairs with two different women. Nostalgic and sweet, Norwegian Wood is Murakami’s most accessible novel, and the book that transformed the author into a literary superstar in Japan.

If you only read one

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is peak Murakami, and features many of the things the author is known for (Mysterious women! Vanished cats! Phone sex! Spaghetti!). Unemployed thirtysomething Toru Okada is looking for his missing cat and missing wife when he sleepwalks into a wild goose-chase of increasingly bizarre events. “The best way to think about reality,” he declares, is “to get as far away from it as possible.” Part detective story, part nightmarish Alice in Wonderland, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle becomes a story about Japanese history, bizarre mysteries and red herrings. Abstract, infuriating and very funny, it is Murakami at his most beguiling.

If you’re in a rush

If you want to make a critically acclaimed film, adapt a Murakami short story. The South Korean thriller Burning took Murakami’s story Barn Burning as its foundations, while, more recently, Ryūsuke Hamaguchi won an Academy Award for his adaptation of Drive My Car. Some of Murakami’s finest storytelling can be found in his microcosmic worlds. Sleep, published in the New Yorker in 1992 and included in the short story collection The Elephant Vanishes, was the first time Murakami wrote from the perspective of a woman and the result is stunning. The story offers a character study of a devoted wife who is suffering from a sleeplessness that is not quite insomnia. Murakami frequently – and justifiably – receives criticism for how he writes female characters, but Sleep is a brilliant story that uses the liminality of the night to evoke the unease of being a woman in a patriarchal society.

The memoir

Murakami’s biography could be the backstory for one of his protagonists. The author was running a jazz club, turned 30, and quit to become a novelist. The rest is bestseller history. Murakami’s slim memoir, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, offers an insight into his diligent creative practice. “Most of what I know about writing I’ve learned through running every day,” he explains. Only seriously taking to running in his 30s, Murakami reflects on the comparisons between marathon-running and writing , and demystifies the author’s practice as regimented routine, endurance training and occasionally injury inducing.

It’s worth persevering with

Across three volumes and over a thousand pages, 1Q84 is Murakami’s most ambitious novel to date, encompassing cults, assassins, parallel realities, two moons and creatures that emerge from the mouth of a dead goat. Following twin story threads of fated lovers, Murakami’s epic is set in a version of 1984 that slips between the familiar and unfamiliar. While 1Q84 is certainly sprawling, it’s structured like a maze with the occasional trick mirror and trap door. It was bemoaned by some critics as a disappointment when first published in 2011 and its length may be intimidating to the casual Murakami reader, but descend into 1Q84’s world and you’ll be treated to a page-turning thriller, a tender love story, a pulpy mystery and a meditation on the metaphysical mysteries of a world not dissimilar to our own.

The one that deserves more attention

After its publication in English in 2001, Sputnik Sweetheart left the orbit of Murakami’s more popular works. It’s a shame because the novel offers a refreshing variation of the author’s most predictable trope: women vanishing. Narrated through the eyes of a typical Murakami narrator (male, pining, passive), at the heart of Sputnik Sweetheart is a lesbian romance between Sumire, a wannabe Jack Kerouac, and Miu, an older, refined wine importer. Lusting after Miu, Sumire begins to shed her bohemian exterior, transforming herself to become Miu’s chic personal assistant. The unequal romance soon develops into self-obliteration as Sumire seems fated to be forever Miu’s sputnik – orbiting her from the isolation of space – before she disappears. Sputnik Sweetheart’s yearning romanticism is as tender as it is uncomfortable.

The masterpiece

Departing from his typical thirtysomething, whisky-drinking, jazz-listening protagonists, Kafka on the Shore is narrated by 15-year-old runaway Kafka Tamura. Fleeing his violent, dead father after receiving an Oedipal prophecy, Kafka finds refuge working in a small coastal town’s library. Alternating with Kafka’s tale is Satoru Nakata’s, an older man who lost his childhood memories at the end of the second world war, but instead gained the ability to converse with cats. Nakata is forced on the run after he crosses paths with a sinister cat-catcher who goes by the name Johnnie Walker. Both characters embark on vision quests, with one foot in everyday Japan and the other in a magical undercurrent that delivers the characters to each other. Murakami has said that the urgency behind his stories is “missing and searching and finding”. Kafka on the Shore eludes genre pigeonholing, and instead exemplifies its author’s ability to map a dreamscape labyrinth, one with its own strange poetic justice.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[mybeingthere]

Cressida Campbell (b. 1960, Australian) is an award-winning artist living and working in Sydney. She is renowned for her highly detailed woodblocks and unique woodblock prints depicting scenes of domestic interiors, Australian landscapes and still life. Like artists Giorgio Morandi or Margaret Olley (her great friend), Campbell recognises the beauty of the everyday, capturing the transitory moments of life, instilling her work with a timeless quality and enduring appeal.

'I like the texture and the colour of the watercolour prints,’ the artist has said. ‘I don't do it all at once like an expressionist painter. All I know is if I just draw and paint onto a bit of paper it would not be nearly as good as the process that it goes through when it's cut.'

Campbell completed studies in painting and drawing at East Sydney Technical College in 1979 before studying woodblock printing at the Yoshida Hanga Academy in Tokyo, Japan.

https://www.philipbacongalleries.com.au/.../cressida...

[pkmatrix]

Godzilla Won An Oscar! So I drew this comic to celebrate. ^_^

Kong's four American Academy Awards:

Best Visual Effects (49th Academy Awards)

Best Visual Effects (78th Academy Awards)

Best Sound Editing (78th Academy Awards)

Best Sound Mixing (78th Academy Awards)

Godzilla's fifteen Japanese Academy Awards:

Best Picture (40th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Director (40th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Cinematography (40th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Art Direction (40th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Lighting Direction (40th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Sound Recording (40th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Editing (40th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Picture (47th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Supporting Actress (47th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Screenplay (47th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Cinematography (47th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Lighting (47th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Art Direction (47th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Sound Recording (47th Japan Academy Prize)

Best Editing (47th Japan Academy Prize)

[himitsusentaiblog]

HELL YEAH!

[stellar-constellations]

"An angel!"

        

        Fem! Writer! (Y/N) x Lovesick! Kazuichi

        (Y/N) is the ultimate writer!

        Modern AU? No killing game!

        (Y/N) is from a different country!

        I am not a car expert so do not trust everything written in this story!

        The eerie silence that filled the room didn’t help ease my nerves at all. The classroom was loud and buzzing before the cinnamon-haired teacher stepped into the room and announced that there was going to be a new student. Then it all fell way too silent for my liking.

        The teacher popped her head out into the hallway and spoke, “come on in.”

        I swallowed up my nerves and slowly walked into the classroom. I couldn’t help but think back to the latest years that's lead me here: Sixth grade was a blur, seventh grade was about moving and worrying about the future, and eighth grade was worrying about change and how successful I’d be in life. Then the previous grades from 9-11th felt like a fever dream, like they weren’t real. I felt unseen, unheard, invisible. Despite always being surrounded by people always talking to me in those years, it still felt unreal  

        But that’s the past. Grade twelve can’t be all that bad after all, I’m an Ultimate. I should fit in with these people; I belong here. I thought. I had to transfer high schools to come here to the top school in Japan—Hope's Peak Academy. I already said bye to my friends, and I'm in close touch with them all since I have their numbers and I don't plan on easily disappearing.

        I stepped in and gave a quick scan of the room, seeing vibrant hues of white, yellow, brown, even pink and green.         

        Is that normal for a high school class? Oh, it could be hair dye? Hope's Peak must be laid-back on the dress code, I guess individual creativity is important here...

        “Everyone, meet (Y/N) (L/N). She’s the Ultimate Writer. Really interesting if I do say so myself, I mean, a foreign author living here in Japan and being able to interpret individual lifestyles so perfectly crafted all together and—ah, I'm fangirling huh?” the teacher gushed, placing her hands to her cheeks and swaying side to side.

        I felt heat set into my face as I averted my gaze to the ground. In a way, I was ashamed and embarrassed of my writing. I never thought I deserved the medals or certificates for my books—I wasn’t that good. But I must be good in others eyes if I was awarded the title "Super High School Level Ultimate Writer.”

        I heard a gasp and I felt panic set into me.

        Are they judging me? Am I not good enough? Am I gonna have to hide away this year? Oh god. All the possibilities that swarmed my head starting making me feel nauseous. Despite all the creative scenarios filling my head I didn’t except the response I was dreading of.

        “An angel!"

        ...What?

        Confusion and shock set into me before I processed the words. When I did process the words, I felt my face exploded into fire. Everyone shared a moment of silence, thinking of what to say before the silence was interrupted by…a child?

        “Huh? I was expecting something awesome like an Ultimate Fortune Teller or an Ultimate Superhero! Not this…this…” the girl stringed out words before trying to think of what to say. “STUPID DUMMY!” she shouted.

        “T-that’s all you had?” I stuttered, slightly impressed by the level of immaturity and confidence destroyed in just three words.

        Talk about anticlimactic… Out of all the insults in the book, she chose that?

        “W-what? Have a problem with it, dummy?” She blurted out.

        I couldn’t help but think who this girl was. I don’t remember seeing this girl on the Ultimates website.

        “...Who even are you?” I spoke in a monochrome voice.

        Another silence fell in the room before snickering could be heard.

        “Well, this is something.” A boy with a baby-face spoke.

        I looked at his face and remembered who it was, the Ultimate Yakuza! Kuzuryu Fuhiyko. He’s a dangerous man that’s the boss of his family’s mafia group. The Kuzuryu yakuza is not a group of people you should mess with, especially with the boss whose right in front of me! 

        “Shut up, baby face! I was just so shocked at how lame this girl was!” the child shouted.

        “I-If I may speak, I don’t think she’s bad...” A girl with long purple hair and chopped bangs budded in. "I mean, she's not... what's the word... rowdy? O-or troublesome, I suppose...? B-but what do I know? I-I'm just a big, stupid, idiot and I'm sorry!" 

        That’s Mikan, the Ultimate Nurse.

        "At least you know your place." The child huffed.

        With how she's talking about herself, I think she needs to see the Ultimate Therapist. Do we have one here? I thought to myself, mentally deadpanning as I kept a straight face.

        “An angel! You’re even more beautiful than Sonia!” the boy from earlier spoke up again.

        He has pink hair and a black beanie, pink eyes and sharp teeth. He walked closer to me with literal hearts in his eyes as he clasped his hands together. I couldn’t help but feel flustered and bashful at how much of an effect I have on him.

        “He didn’t say Ms. Sonia! Holy crap, he’s got it bad!” Fuhiyoko exclaimed.

        “…I don’t see much.” A sleepy girl said.

        That’s Chiaki, the Ultimate Gamer. She looks so tired and out of it, I couldn’t help but think of how that would look like me if I wasn’t so worried about school. Last night I didn’t get any sleep at all because I was worrying about school.

        “Guhguhguhguh-” The pink haired boy broke down, fizzing at the mouth before looking at Chiaki and pointing a finger at me. “This is (Y/N) (L/N)! She’s the Ultimate Writer! An amazing imagination! Decided to her work! Despite having many books being written, each work of hers is so mind-blowing and uniquely paced with meaning and foreshadowing in every word, no, space!" he shouted. "She published her first novel at just 12 years old, with it being a huge hit with movie adaptions and even more movies!” Pinkie shouted at Hiyoko.

        Kazuichi Souda, that was his name. He’s the Ultimate Mechanic, something I find fascinating. I’m a fan of cars, though I don't know too much, it's interesting to learn about. I learned a little, but being in front of a pro such as him, I could learn so much more! I felt honored and giddy to have him defending me like this.

        “I’m a huge fan of your books! Especially the one with the robots and cars!” he commented, gushing with red dusted on his face.

        H-he read that book?! That wasn't even a book! It was a tiny snippet in one of my short story books! That thing was 400 words maximum! How could he like that one out of all my works? I guess they weren't lying about how he's a huge car-geek! I thought to myself, but smiled politely.

        “You’re amazing, and you’re even prettier in person than on the TV! You’re so creative and intelligent and grounded and—“ he would've said more but he was cut off by a brunette male.

        “Okay, Kazuichi, I think we all understand. (Y/N) truly is remarkable, but class was supposed to start ten minutes ago.” A plain brunette said, Hajime Hinata.

        His Ultimate is unknown on the website but it’s fascinating to see such a plain and boring person in such an amazing school such as this. I even heard a rumor online that he's a Reserve Course Student, buying his way into the class.

        ”Thank you, Hajime. Now, let’s start today's lesson.” The teacher smiled.

        .

        .

        Time skip a few months later.

        “Damn it!” I exclaimed as my car started to slow down on the highway.

        I turned the wheel towards the right side of the highway and got off the road so I can get out of the traffic. I turned off my keys and stepped out of the vehicle, walking around the car to see if I had a flat tire; I doubted it but I wanted to double-checked. After finding nothing, I walked to the front of the car and popped open it’s hood. I was hit with a wave of grey smoke and I groaned in annoyance.

        Did my engine fail on me? Did a overdue spark-plug bust? Did pack-rats bite the wires? Did the battery die? Was I due for an oil change?

        I walked over and opened my door, hopping into the driver’s seat as I tried to start the engine.

        It won’t budge. So the engine did fail on me... the question is why? 

        I sighed as I pulled out my phone and dialed a car-pro. The phone picked up immediately. I didn’t even have to hear it ring twice.

        “Ms. (Y/N)! What a surprise to have you calling me!” 

        I playfully rolled my eyes, not like he could see before I spoke, “I told you to just call me (Y/N). But hey, Soda. I’m sorry to call you for this, but you’re the only one I can rely on.”  

        I could just see the shiny eyes and smile being blessed upon me as he heard those words.

        “ME?! ONLY ME?! YES, YES WHAT IS IT?!” he shouted excitedly, so excited I started feeling bad for asking him to do this for me.

        “I broke down on the side of the highway, the one near Kanji? Few miles down from that one gas station? I need your help. I think it’s something with the engine? If you can just bring me your car and jump-start I can jump-start the car at least until I get to an auto-shop or something. My car won't stop after it started to slow down on the highway.” I nervously chuckled, “Sorry. Not exactly the date you were expecting?” I then sighed. “Sorry for being such a pain in the ass.”

        ”Oh no! You’re not a pain at all. I’ll gladly do anything for you.” He chirped.        

        I know, that’s half of the reason why I called you. It'd also be nice to see him outside of school too.

        “Thank you, Soda. I’ll send you my location.” I hung up and sent him my location by text.

        I didn't even have to wait ten minutes in the car as he already sped down here.

        “Try-hard much?” I teased as I leaned on my car. 

        He flashed me a nervous smile, broadcasting his sharp, sharp teeth that I’ve grown to love. Just how fascinating is his genetics? Pink hair, pink eyes, and shark teeth? Those are such strong genetics. I was surprised that a human could naturally be birthed with those types of traits (the reader is unaware of why he actually looks like that, but we'll keep it a secret).

        “I didn’t want you waiting long.” He commented bashfully.

        “Well. I sure didn’t wait long at all. Thanks.” His eyes lit up as his face went red. “Pssh! You don’t gotta thank me… please thank me again.” He whispered the last part to himself. I smiled and decided I’d entertain him, after all, he did come out here for me.

        ”Thank you, Kazuichi.” I chirped.

        “AH HA HA! YOU SAID MY NAME! MY FIRST NAME!” he squealed out like a school girl.

        It was like the first time I gave him the nickname “Soda” since his last name was “Souda” and pronounced just like the word “soda”. I giggled as he took deep breaths and calmed, he stopped yelling but the blush on his face was still evident. 

        “Okay! Okay!” he said talking to himself, as if he was giving himself a pep-talk. “Can you show me your engine?” he requested.

        It wasn't like he couldn't just walk over and look at the engine since I popped the hood, but I decided to show him the way just in case.

        Kazuichi leaned over and stared at the engine, fumbling around with it. I felt nervous that he would get hurt before realizing he’s the car-expert and he knows more than me.

        ”Yep, definitely something wrong with the engine. I would tow it but I didn't bring my tow truck. You know how to jump-start a car?” Kazuichi questioned.

        I shot him a playfully glare before responding. “Of course I do! What do you take me for?” I asked.

        It's something every car owner should at least know for their own safety.

        “W-wait no! I didn’t mean to offend you! I was just curious and—“ I cut him off by placing my finger on his mouth, effectively hushing him up as his face exploded red.

        “I was kidding, Kazy. Now hand me those spark-plugs you got.” I smiled.

        He nodded quickly and ran to his car, almost throwing the sparks at me in a hurry to run off and scream. I smiled as I walked over to his car and popped open his hood. 

        I took the red spark plugs and hooked one red clamp to the positive terminal before walking over to my car's engine and doing the same thing. I walked back over to Kazuichi’s car and clamped the black clamp on the negative terminal. I then walked to my car (overhearing Kazuichi mumbling to himself about me being smart and how good I’m doing, which gave me a massive ego boost) and I clamped the black clamp to the frame of my car, not the other negative terminal, since it could potentially cause a spark.

        “Kazuichi, can you give me your keys?” I asked to which he quickly responded and ran over to me.

        “Here, angel!” he gushed.

        I smiled and grabbed his keys, opening his car door and plugging in the car keys into the engine. I started his car and waited for my car to charge up. Kazuichi leaned on the cars door, staring down at me. It was like where the love interest places there hand over the protagonist in the high school movies, caging them in. I felt my heart race as my face started to flush red and I adverted my gaze.

        “Now look whose getting flustered.” He teased

        Not my fault when you show up in your mechanic pants and white tank top, then start flexing your muscles at me. I thought.

        “I’ll admit, the views nice.” I teased back.

        Kazuichi smiled like a love-sick idiot and I felt my face heat up again.

        “Thank you Ms—“

        “Don’t finish that. Just call me, (Y/N), remember? You make me sound old.” I chuckled.

        “Would you prefer Mrs. Souda?” he exclaimed, a sparkling shine in his eyes.

        I rolled my eyes and smiled. It makes me sound even older, but I'll play along.

        “Doesn’t sound bad. Has a nice ring to it.” I smiled.

        His smile grew and before he could try and get down on one knee and propose, I gently pushed him away from the door so I could get out of the car.

        He looked at me confused as I shrugged it off and walked to my own vehicle. I started the engine and smiled once I heard the motor power on.

        “Great! It works! Thanks, Kazu!” I commented turning around at his dazed and bashful face.

        “I thought we were having a moment!” he whined.

        I rolled my eyes and smiled. His little tantrum quickly drying up as he inflated up again and spoke.

        “I can fix up your engine at my shop. It’s not far from here, that’s how I got here so fast.” He pointed out.

        I nodded and walked towards him.

        “A-and after, we can get food or something? But only if you wanna! Consent is important! My mother taught me that and—“

         I shut him up with a peck on the lips, quickly pulling back before he could even have the chance to kiss back.

        ”Sounds great. I’ll tail behind you. Lead the way, Kazu.” I teased with a wink as he erupted in a scream before quickly running to his car yelling out an “(Y/N) KISSED ME!” 

        I chuckled and hopped into my car.

        Soda’s such a cutie, but he's my cutie.

        Have any requests? Check my masterlist to see the characters I write for: Masterlist