#Yuri is a child model

[capsensislagamoprh]

CHA 5

Christophe knew a lot of people. He knew fashion designers trying to make it, models desperate for a gig, crew looking for anyone to sign off on production work just for the college credit, and he knew how to get them together at a moment's notice. What he couldn’t do was recreate the missing designs. Victor had been absolutely distraught to realize that some of his pieces were positively wrecked by the move, while other less spectacular pieces made it through just fine. In the end, he was left with a set of angora sweaters, slimline slack jeans - or sheans, as he liked to call them - that combined the elegance of high end office wear with the durability of street fabrics, and a single pair of sheer socks he’d made from scraps of a disastrous attempt to make panty hose more fun and less annoying.

It was a frantic week of pulling fabrics, bolt by bolt, from boxes, tubes, and any piece of clothing that had been destroyed, trying to make something new, exciting, something that would not only delight the senses, but bring some whimsy into an otherwise very monotone world. Why everyone thought beige was the be-all, end-all of the last two seasons, he wasn’t sure, but come hell or high water, he’d see this change. “Don’t get me wrong,” he babbled to the man behind the counter, “it’s a fine color. It has its place. But so much? All the time. Non. It’s - how you say?” Victor waved a hand in front of his face, letting his jaw go slack, eyes blank. “Steklyannyy pritsel?”

“Terne?” came a voice rich as clotted cream. “Means dull, boring.”

Victor turned, eyes bright. “Yes! This is the word!” It was the man in the jeans. The delicate blond boy was standing with his hands behind his back by a selection of buttons, looking exceptionally bored. He must have noticed Victor’s flicker of recognition. His eyes were beautiful. Long lashed, blue, wide and earnest. Not just any blue. Cobalt. They caught the light in just such a way… “Hello,” Victor said with his friendliest smile.

“Hello. Sorry, I didn't mean to step in. You just seemed to be a little lost with the language.”

“Oh, yes. It mixes with the others sometimes. Ty govorish' po-russki?”

The man winced. “Not that well, if I’m being honest. Knew someone who spoke it pretty well. Taught me a few phrases, some things here and there.”

“But that’s marvelous! Learning something new is never out of style,” Victor purred. The boy by the buttons huffed, turning his head away. “Your … son?”

“Ah. Yes. He’s supposed to be choosing the buttons to fix his shirt with,” Mr. Cobalt Eyes said with a slight frown. The boy turned slowly towards the display again, grabbing four sets of ladybug shaped novelty buttons, handing them to … Victor really needed to find out who this handsome man was.

“Victor, by the way. Nikiforov.” He made a move to lean on the pile of fabrics being measured and weighed, casual interest in his gaze.

“Trent. Trent Dale.” He put a firm hand on the boy’s shoulder. “This is Yuri.” The boy stared at Victor, eyes as viridian as the sea. Vivid colors ran in the family, it seemed.

“Nice to meet you, Yuri.” The boy said nothing, clutching the buttons tightly. “He must have his mother’s hair,” Victor added, trying to prolong the conversation. Trent was tall, and handsome in a corporate way. Victor could almost see him dressed in suits, polished shoes gleaming as he stepped from his bedroom, freshly showered, smelling like the promise of sex and money. Yuri frowned, shuffling uncomfortably. Victor realized he had missed something Trent was saying.

“ - it’s okay, though. We get by. Don’t we Yuri?” He shook the boy’s shoulder, jostling a mumbled nonsense out of him.

“Oh, well, I suppose that’s all we can do,” Victor covered smoothly. “Try to get by. So, what happened to the buttons?”

“Oh, that. Small accident. Popped one. It got lost in the shuffle, I suppose. Rather than walk around with one missing, we decided to replace them all. Although, I don’t know about ladybugs. Little out of place, don’t you think?” Trent addressed the last half to Victor, half to Yuri. The boy stiffened, looking at the buttons as if trying to figure out if he wanted to fight about it or not. Victor took pity.

“I think it adds a bit of whimsy to the design. As long as the colors don't clash horribly, it just makes it fun.” Crouching to be more at the boy’s eye level, he shone a smile that bent his lips in at the bow. “What color is the shirt?”

Yuri glanced at Trent who nodded. “It’s black,” Yuri answers in a bite that seemed to cut off the rest of his sentence.

“Is it a dress shirt?” Yuri nodded. “A black dress shirt. Full sleeves? Bit of a wider collar?” The blond’s eyes widened. He shook his head. Another glance at Trent, then he turned back to Victor, swaying towards him just that little bit. “It’s got a mandarin collar, and it’s trimmed in red, Like the cuffs, and it’s long.”

“Is the black very shiny?”

Yuri wrinkled his nose. “No.”

Victor couldn’t tell if that little pout was because he wanted it to be shiny, or if the boy was offended by the very idea. His eyes burned as he looked at the fabrics, then lowered his head to look at the buttons he was clutching. “Well, in that case, ladybug buttons would be perfect. A little pop of color to accentuate what’s already there, and a little childhood wonder. Snakes and snails, yes? Why not some insects too? Particularly when they…” Victor’s mind went blank, searching for the word. “Slivat'sya? Sootvetstvovat'?” he muttered.

“Da. Oni podoydut i ne slishkom bol'shiye…” The words trailed off as Yuri stepped back, biting his lower lip. Victor beamed. “You speak po-russki very well,” he chimed, throwing a glance to Trent as the boy clammed up. “Well…” Standing, Victor looked over his shoulder at the clerk neatly packaging his trims and notions. “If you ever need button advice again…”

“Be hard to ask if I don’t have any way to contact you,” Trent smiled. Those teeth were so white, Victor could have gone blind.

“Oh! Yes.” Snatching one of the store's business cards, he pulled a fabric flower from the display vase, revealing it to be a pen in clever disguise. Jotting down a number with a small winky face holding fingers up in a peace sign, Victor handed it over. “I’ll be busy for a week or two, but I'm free after that.”

Trent looked at the card curiously. “Interesting.” Then those blue, blue eyes glanced at the many bags. “Making something big?”

“Massive,” Victor purred. Then he chuckled. “I’m making my spring collection. Again.”

“You’re a fashion designer?”

“I will be. I’m at PCA.”

Trent gave an impressed little nod, considering Victor. “A hard school to get into.”

“I did my best. I am going to take on the world, one fashion disaster at a time.” He spared Yuri a conspiratorial wink.

“I look forward to seeing it.” Trent’s easy smile almost had Victor walking out of the shop without his copious amount of goods.

____

CHA 6

Victor spent the next three days bent over the kitchen table, back aching, hands smudged, eyes strained as he littered the floor with rejected designs and sketches. He had his originals, but they were old, and while there was something he could draw from them, there was no joy in the way they lingered on old problems, previous mistakes. Instead he pulled the idea of it from the place it originally came. The jumpsuit - that recalled a particular night at a club that ran well into the next morning, having to face down an unforgiving instructor and her brutal, soul crushing constructive criticisms - needed a refit. A modern twist that fit more than the desperate need to not look like he’d been wearing the drink stained clothes from the night before under it. It was giving him problems. Jumpsuits were pretty much fashionable or made you look like a dock worker. It was hair pulling maddening.

“Min vän,” Christophe cooed, sliding a cup of warm tea under Victor’s nose. “This is not good for you. You need to rest. Let your mind recover, gain inspiration.”

“I’ve tried, Chris! I tried,” Victor cried, using the cup to warm his hands. “I just…” His lips drew tight as he threw his feet on the seat of his chair, folding in on himself. Leaning against the wall, Victor closed his eyes. “It’s not working.”

“Okay.” Christophe drew a chair over, sitting close. “Tell me what you were thinking when you created it?”

“I didn’t want to throw up on my presentation, and I wanted to pass.”

Christophe scoffed. “Sure. We all want that. What was really going on?”

Victor searched his mind for a witty segway only to come up flat. Sighing, he set the cup down. “I just wanted to hide. I’d done something stupid,” Christophe’s mock shocked expression withstanding, it felt good to be able to speak about that very strange twenty four hours. “I’d been stressing about finals.”

“As you do.”

“As I do. I needed to get out, clear my head. I let myself get talked into going to the club.”

Christophe shrugged. “Nothing wrong with a little fun.”

“At nine p.m. On a Tuesday. During finals week. The night before my organic harvesting and natural fiber production's economic impact on the future of fashion presentation.”

Christophe winced. “You spent months agonizing over that! The late night calls, the desperate pleas for help researching.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Victor muttered.

“The way you sobbed into your sketches when you couldn’t find drafter blue pencils.”

“The color disappears once ink is overlaid! They’re worth their weight in rubles!”

“Your sudden desire to become an oil rigger to avoid the whole section on soil erosion, and sustainability.”

“It’s a touchy topic.”

“Your inability to admit you were addicted to lattés for a whole month.”

“I didn’t know four a day would make me gain six pounds, okay?!”

“Sure it wasn’t the stress eating?”

Victor shoved him with his foot. “As I was saying!” Christophe smiled into his cup, eyes sparkling. Victor huffed before leaning back against the wall with a little wiggle. “There was this guy, and he was just… so fine. Strong, and firm, and - “ Victor sucked in his bottom lip, biting down on it as he made a little grunting sound.

“Sure sounds like it,” Christophe grinned.

“I thought so… until I woke up to the sound of him talking to someone while I was in his bed.” Christophe winced. “Same old song and dance, da? One night stand, already committed, and torn between tearing through, setting everything aflame, and slinking away, tail between legs.”

“I take it you went with option two?”

“I went with option two.” His head hit the wall when he threw it back. Rubbing the spot, he crossed his legs, sitting up more in the chair. “My clothes were covered in spilled drink and… other things.” Christophe nodded sympathetically. “I needed something to cover it up. I found a jumpsuit in this awful tan color just hanging on the line outside, and took it. I spent the whole rush to campus trying to find things to style it, and just went with using it as part of the presentation. Added a whole bit about how sustainability was good, but it couldn’t be allowed to cover individuality, and sort of…” He made a motion indicating he’d unzipped it from neck to crotch.

“How did that work out for you?”

“I got a pass, so not too bad.”

“I’ll bet you did,” Christophe winked. “Well, as thrilling as that story is, what are you going to do about this?” He motioned to the design. “It’s not too complicated. Pants are a bit much. Maybe shorts?”

Victor sat up. “Shorts. Christophe! You’re a genius!”

“Naturally. Why?”

“Shorts! If I turn the pants into shorts with a roll cuff, side strap buckles to hold them up, they become adjustable, allowing for more range of use. Increase the drop of the collar, add a little extra here so it flaped to the side in open neck mandarin, a-la-militare, add whimsy with the buttons and piping at the edges… a wide belt with a buckle that has shine, little sparkle with the accessories… Look at this!”

Christophe peaked over Victor’s arm to see the sketch produced. “Loose top kitten heeled boots, scrunched socks with pops of color… you know min vän, you may make a fashion designer yet.”

cha 1&2, cha 3&4

[femmeroi]

kill yourself faggot

Our relationship is rough right now, but in a few episodes we will be married.

[yumeka-sxf]

A chronological analysis on Twilight and Yor - Part 21

*This is part of an ongoing post series. If you missed the Introduction/Part 1, click here*

----------

The next morning, Twilight muses to himself that there are still things in the world he doesn't understand, but nevertheless, a spy must overcome fear of the unknown. While his face and tone are dead serious, it's comical that the thing that caused him to burst into this heavy-handed inner monologue in the first place is none other than his misinterpretation of Anya's reactions the previous day. AniTrendz described the humor of this scene perfectly by stating that "Loid really spent all morning acting dramatic when he's just sad that his daughter called him lame."

And yes, he really was bothered by the fact that he's still having trouble understanding Anya's emotions. While her mental well-being is important for Operation Strix, he also cares very much how she views him as a father. Unfortunately for Twilight, this trend will continue – after a whole day of fun activities, he's devastated to see the scowl on Anya's face when they're having dinner that evening. And, once again, he blames himself and even thinks that Anya could possibly hate him.

As I've mentioned before, Twilight is always cool and confident when it comes to his spy missions, but whenever Yor or Anya are upset, he becomes a second-guessing nervous wreck! It's telling how frazzled he gets when trying to figure out what's going on in their minds versus anyone else. If Anya and Yor's happiness is tied to a mission, and he's always calm and collected about his other missions, why would he get so bent out of shape about them in particular? I think we all know the answer to that.

It's also important to note that the couple of days on the cruise are likely the longest amount of time Twilight has been alone with Anya, without having Yor for parenting support. If she were with him during all this, there's no doubt that her patience with Anya's antics and the encouraging words she always offers, would put his mind at ease. But without her around, there's no one to buffer his constant freak outs when trying to analyze the mind of a child. His anxiety gets so bad that Anya even starts to feel bad about it.

Meanwhile, the big showdown on the deck between Yor and the assassins has so far been the most gritty and violent scene in the series. Endo has stated in the fanbook that making Yor likable while also giving her a profession that involves killing people, was difficult (though I think he's done a stellar job!) A reoccurring theme in Spy x Family is how the tragedy of war has led to otherwise good people partaking in immoral acts, whether for survival or because they're brainwashed into thinking that the side they're on is the right and just one. It's not only Twilight and Yor, but other characters as well, such as Yuri, Sylvia, even the young terrorists from the doggy crisis arc, as well as the assassins on the cruise – the factions that they work for, the politics behind their decisions, and the jobs they're assigned to do, are not framed as heroic nor completely evil, only the aftermath of political turmoil that the next generation has to suffer for.

In Part 13, I mentioned an interview in the fanbook where Endo states that the Forgers should not be seen as virtuous role models…he doesn't think it's correct to only see their "nice family" side. Despite all the comedic antics in the series that sometimes stretch the veil of realism, one very realistic aspect is that none of the characters are depicted as "black and white," "heroes and villains," and their professions are portrayed as more tragic and ugly than "cool." This is in contrast to other shonen series, where the main protagonists are often portrayed as role models who fight for noble causes we can't help but support, while banishing only the most wicked of villains. And often these protagonists started out "normal" only to suddenly gain superpowers, opportunities to go on grand adventures, and have big battles against villains. But Twilight and Yor are the opposite. The series starts with them already having extraordinary abilities and exciting, dangerous jobs, so the end goal is instead for them to be able to attain a peaceful, normal life…because their professions aren't framed as wish-fulfilling but as heartbreaking, grim, and sometimes terrifying.

Twilight and Yor's professions, as well as those of pretty much every other character in Spy x Family, have a lot of gray areas on the moral compass. This is why having a balance of both fun, slice-of-life scenarios, and spy/political action and drama conflicts, brings out the true complexity of the characters. Twilight may lie and act cold as ice towards people during his missions, but because we get to know him while he's living as Loid Forger, we can see that he's doing it for a noble cause, and underneath all that callous calculating, he's a compassionate guy who cares about the feelings of others. Likewise, we see that when she's not killing people, Yor is a total sweetheart who doesn't have a mean bone in her body, is a loving mother to Anya, selfless sister to Yuri, and, like Twilight, she does what she does because she truly believes she's doing good in the world.

If we only see Twilight and Yor as a spy and assassin, our view of them could be skewed negatively. On the other hand, if we only see them as a "nice family," we would be doing exactly what Endo warned against in his interview. But because we get to see both sides of them, we're able to relate to them even more, which makes us want to root for them. Is the immorality of their jobs too much to be forgiven, or are they righteous people who are simply victims of a cold war? Obviously if you're a fan of the series like me, you're opt to lean towards the positive view that Twilight, Yor, as well as many of the other characters, have been sorely damaged by the post-war era that they live in, but the commendable things they do far outweigh the ugliness of their professions, so they deserve a happy ending. And that's really the main appeal of the series – with all the gray areas of morality, seeing whether they can truly live happily without lies is something to look forward to.

Continue to Part 22 ->

<- Return to Part 20

[danieyells]

. . .I could've sworn I did Ritsu's already. Apparently not. Yuri's one of my favorites and he's the one I chose in the beginning so I'm saving his for when I'm a little better rested(I have Monday off because of another doctor's appointment, so that's the lastest i'll post it)

RITSU IS SO. . .I LOVE HIM. I'll rag on him a lot because he's so tunnel visioned and just like. . .repressed. And he needs to touch grass(figuratively) but also. . .when you've been set from childhood to work and care only for your work and only know your work. . .it's understandable that he is the way he is. . . .

The way he changes as his affinity goes up is very repressed too. . .but you can still see the change at the end a little. He's a very stagnant character. . .but still interesting to look into the mannerisms of.

Hello: (the first time the game is opened after that character is set as home screen NPC. Only happens once per day, unless the character is switched out and back.)

"Any self-respecting inspector would stay comfortably ahead of schedule—I suggest you get into the habit. Let's go—there's no time to waste."

dude this is the 'you've logged in for the first time today' dialogue why are you assuming that i must be late! rude.

You've Got Mail: (whenever there's something in the inbox, usually Arena rewards)

"Did you check that notification yet? We could have a request from a client, so please do so right away."

Default: (requires no affinity, has no time constraints)

"I have been assigned to Sinostra, so I will not allow them to stand trial, no matter how villainous their actions. That is the Shinjo family policy."

"I shall ensure the Gala is held this year, and that Sinostra will wear the Laurel Crown. I have never made a promise I couldn't keep."

boy i can't wait for that to fall through--he, respectfully, needs the humbling.

"I've read the Compendium of Laws countless times since I was a child. Memorizing its contents is a rite of passage for the eldest son of the Shinjo family."

and somehow it ended up an artifact he can use as a weapon? I really wanna know what it does tbh.

"What business do you have with me? Please keep in mind that I charge 5500 yen per half hour for consultations, tax inclusive."

(roughly $35USD, although it's faster to just think of it as $55--) WE ARE BUSINESS PARTNERS. WHAT ARE YOU CHARGING A MFER FOR.

"As long as I have a notebook, my business cards, a binder, paper, and my voice recorder, I can handle the initial stages of any case."

i need my binder every day too ritsu.

Affinity 1: (between 5am and 11am)

"{PC}. Are you aware of the responsibility your position as inspector entails? I suggest you tidy your appearance and wipe that vacant look from your face."

they do not need to be aesthetically in order to be inspector. as long as they're paying attention it may even be better to look vacant. lure them into a false sense of security. also it's easier to pay attention if you're comfortable, in my experience. . . .

Affinity 2: (between 11am and 4pm)

"You've lost your notebook? Just a moment. ...At 9:04 AM, it was inside the photocopier. Yes, I do have that information recorded."

Affinity 3: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Have you seen Taiga Hoshibami? Strange... According to my behavioral model, he should be in the casino at this time..."

Affinity 4: (between 8pm and 5am)

"At the end of each day, I compile information about every person I encountered in my notebook. It always proves useful eventually."

yandere adjacent behavior, except it's for everyone and not just one person lolol

Affinity 5: (between 8pm and 5am)

"The vice-captain has asked me to organize some documents. Let's start by making copies of everything in case the originals become lost or damaged."

Romeo has a line that references this as well!

Affinity 6: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"I always have my business cards on hand. It should go without saying—any lawyer who fails to gain their client's trust during the first meeting is not worth their salt."

Affinity 7: (between 11am and 4pm)

"A post-meal coffee must be drunk black. Unnecessary additives only interfere with the natural flavor."

Affinity 8: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Until the age of three, I spent my days visiting the greatest sights the world has to offer with my mother, as from four my studies would prevent me from doing so."

is that child abuse? i think that's child abuse. you learn the source of ritsu's problems very early on in his affinity--he has had zero normal social interaction opportunities and no childhood. From birth until he stopped being a toddler he was just flying around the world looking at beautiful things, no stability in his location or world aside from the presence of his mother, and then he went home and probably basically got locked away to study law the moment he could sort of read. His whole existence was molding him to work. . .Subaru is similar, even down to what age they were forced to start preparing to work at. But Subaru is at least better adjusted, probably because acting awarded him better opportunities to try and think about how other people think.

Affinity 9: (between 8pm and 5am)

"According to my behavioral model, there is a 29% chance that Taiga Hoshibami is currently at the baccarat table."

Affinity 10: (between 10pm and midnight)

"I review the day's coursework for two hours then prepare for the next day's classes for three— no more, and no less. Six more minutes of silence, please."

WHERE DO THE RECORDINGS COME IN TO THIS. This mans somehow has 40 hour days. Maybe his artifact slows down time or something lol

Affinity 11: (between 5am and 11am)

"Good morning, {PC}. We have a meeting at 3 PM today, so please adjust your plans accordingly."

Affinity 12: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Darkwick Rulebook Article 183: "For the protection of anomalies, unnecessary running indoors is prohibited." This rule has been in place for over one hundred years."

wait how old is this school? how old is the Institute???

Affinity 13: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"All right. We need to organize our notes from today's investigation, so let's relocate to the diner. Our usual booth, of course."

Affinity 14: (between 5am and 11am)

"The content of our classes may be novel, but I topped the year in the scholastic ability test—they are nothing I can't handle."

so among the first years' scholastic ability tests, Ritsu was 1st, Leo was 2nd, Sho was 5th. Considering there are only four new first year ghouls then that must include the general students too. I wonder where Ren placed? Probably not very high. But still, Ritsu is a genius. . .or at least very very good at memorizing information. Lots of book smarts, minimal other smarts.

Affinity 15: (between 5am and 11am)

"As your business partner, I request that you improve your conduct. Please refrain from consenting to any further uncompensated labor."

Affinity 16: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Our Anomalous Law classes are truly fascinating. There is a long history well worth learning about— though of course, I have already mastered the basics."

Affinity 17: (between 10pm and midnight)

"I cannot afford to be complacent, even before bedtime. It's vital that I check the day's notes again to ensure nothing has been missed."

Affinity 18: (between 8pm and 5am)

"I set time aside in the evening to watch opera performances online. It allows me to get my thoughts in order, and provides a change of pace."

when??? what time??? because he has to review all of the audio recordings and notes from the whole day--what time does he have to do anything in???

Affinity 19: (between 10pm and midnight)

"I just finished checking my recordings from today. You sighed a total of four times— is something troubling you?"

i love the vibe of this. rather than silently nothing your sighing and potential exhaustion or scolding you for not caring for yourself, he expresses concern towards you. also, it's so soft yandere. like he already records everything you say and do, to confront you over it on top of that he shamelessly defends his recording and notetaking. . .if not for that he recorded everyone it would really be so yandere lolol. instead it's just his odd and overbearing way of showing he's beginning to care.

Affinity 20: (between 5am and 11am)

"You struggle to get up in the morning? I can contact you each day at a set time if you like, but I'll have to think about how much to charge..."

affinity 20 and my guy still wants to charge for his time. . .we're gonna have to teach him to have A Singular Normal Social Connection aren't we. and we're probably gonna fail.

Affinity 21: (between 11am and 4pm)

"You wish to have lunch with me? All right. We are business partners, so I will accompany you free of charge."

wait maybe i spoke too soon.

Affinity 22: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"This is for you, {PC}— it's the takeout coffee I often purchase. Your performance will decline if your mind isn't sharp."

his increased attachment is shown in the bare minimum of understanding normal human social interaction and caring for you by sharing his things and his time without charge. In trying to make you the best you(from his perspective) that you can be. Because that's what his parents did for him--so surely that's the best expression of love he has, aside from obsessive study and understanding.

Affinity 23: (between 8pm and 5am)

"I feel we made solid progress toward the reinstatement of the Gala today. Let's reconvene again tomorrow and continue working together to realize our goal."

Affinity 24: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Could I ask you to accompany me a little longer, {PC}? I realize it's outside of business hours, but...I would appreciate it if you could make a special exception."

He wants to spend time with you. And he's realizing he can just ask that. But he's so entrenched in legal and business mannerisms he doesn't know how to say "i want to be around you for longer". You're his business partner. It's bad form to request your attention outside of work, it has no value towards your goals and business efforts, but. . .that he's making a sort of formal appeal for your attention outside of work is as far as he can get in terms of expressing his affection right now.

Affinity 25(max): (no time constraints)

"It seems we make better business partners than I would have expected. I look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with you."

kind of comical that his max affinity line is still so formal after a more friendly 'please spend time with me late at night' 24th. . .but also, he wants you to be his business partner for longer. i think that counts towards something! It's a reason to stay with you! Maybe over the course of your business partnership he'll learn how to express deeper feelings. . .he's going to need an heir, after all--

Spring: (March-May) (between 5am and 11am)

"There has been a noticeable increase in reports of suspicious activity of late. More incidents means more business. Be prepared."

(between 11am and 4pm)

"You have a petal in your hair. A little more to the right. No, not there. Just let me remove it. Hold still."

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Indeed, the cherry blossoms are in bloom. Incidentally, Japan's oldest cherry blossom tree can be found in Yamanashi Prefecture and is estimated to be 2000 years old."

ritsu would probably kill at historical trivia night.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"I had tempura at the cafeteria today. It didn't come close to the tempura I would eat with my father at the historic soba restaurant we used to frequent though."

Summer: (June-August) (between 5am and 11am)

"This one is for my face, and this is for my body. I have six handkerchiefs with me— enough for morning, noon, and night. I cannot let my opponents see me sweat."

why's this giving me ace attorney prosecutor energy. . . . .

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I witnessed a half-naked man running around in this vicinity. Did you see him? He is risking a charge of indecent exposure."

but we saw Kaito in his underwear and you said that meant he wasn't at risk of indecent exposure. . . . . . . .

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"The warmer it gets, the more of a racket people make. Honestly, how were these people raised?"

to relax and have fun during the summer break. . .you should give it a try.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"You want to go and watch the fireworks? A rather childish request, but all right. So? Where would one go to view them?"

FIREWORKS DATE FIREWORKS DATE just don't touch him without getting his consent first that could be counted as sexual harassment and he'll Get Your Ass.

Autumn: (September-November) (between 5am and 11am)

"The weather is much more pleasant for going out on professional errands now. A first-rate lawyer keeps their boots on the ground. Now then, let's get going."

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I object to the cultural assumption that fall is the season of the arts. The arts should be enjoyed throughout the year, regardless of the season."

you and yuri would get along well i think. until you realize the guy is a medical malpractice suit waiting to happen. then you'd criticize him and he would take that so poorly.

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Once I've perused the relevant documents in the library, I plan on doing some reading. Please excuse me."

(between 8pm and 5am)

"The nights may grow longer in the fall, but daylight hours should not affect the time you rise and retire. I'll see you tomorrow."

Winter: (December-February) (between 5am and 11am)

"I have detected a change in how Taiga Hoshibami divides his time since the weather has taken a cold turn. It has created quite a quandary for me..."

yeah he doesn't like getting out of bed when it's cold. he also eats a lot more, like a bear about to hibernate. shockingly behavior patterns tend to change with the seasons.

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I've never experienced snowfall heavy enough to obstruct my movement, but I'd like to deepen my knowledge of the phenomenon for future reference."

to frostheim then! i'm sure that place is just awful for movement in winter.

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"I'm heading to the diner to fulfill a request from Ren Shiranami. Perhaps I shall enjoy a warm bowl of soup while I'm there."

. . .I wonder if this is an Obey Me!Raphael situation where he has no grasp of that the food is not good. . . .

(between 8pm and 5am)

"People say that hard work is the key to success, but it only took me a year to master German—as was the case with Italian and French."

His birthday: (January 13th)

"Indeed, today is my birthday. I've always celebrated this day by enjoying my mother's cooking, but from this year I am striving for a more self-reliant existence."

MAMA'S BOY MAMA'S BOY tbf up until he was 3 his mother was probably his only social connection and then he was locked away studying so. . .his mom is probably the only one he has like. . .personal feelings and attachment for. you'll be a tradwife too :) but also that he's trying to be more self-reliant at darkwick. . .that really does explain that he's like. not used to any sort of social interaction or doing things he hasn't been told to do by his parents. maybe in his time at darkwick he'll realize how good it feels to just. . .be a person. dedicate time to fun and relaxation. realize that work isn't everything. or maybe he'll be so judgemental towards the lifestyles of others he'll retreat even further into his current habits.

Your birthday:

"Happy birthday. A year older, a year wiser. I have high hopes for your performance in the coming year."

New Years: (January 1st)

"Happy New Year. Let's devote these next 365 days—or 8760 hours—to finding fitting solutions to the challenges that come our way."

what if it's a leap year. can we take the extra day off?

Valentine's Day: (February 14th)

"Thank you for the chocolates. Are you gifting them to me out of social obligation, or is this an expression of affection? Your answer will influence what you receive in return."

(for the uninitiated, that is very much a thing in Japan where on valentine's day a girl give some men in her life--like coworkers--obligation chocolates, which are generally not as nice and most likely store bought, although this practice is losing ground. friends get friendship chocolate and you give people you're actually attracted to or in a relationship more extravagant, expensive, or homemade chocolates to express your true feelings or a desire to be in a relationship with them. Ritsu is essentially asking 'is this because we're coworkers or are you asking me out' because White Day is the day for return gifts in response to given valentine's day gifts, and in the case of chocolates given to someone you wanna go out with they can act as a response to that proposal. presumably if you're asking him out he wants to give you chocolate to agree to get with you, since he's bothering to ask. . . .

White Day: (March 13th)

"White Day has its roots in Japan, having been invented by a certain historic confectionery shop. With that knowledge, please accept this."

'here's some trivia. and some chocolates. we are now in a relationship. should this be as fruitful as our business partnership, we can discuss marriage plans within the year.'

April Fool's Day: (April 1st)

"The spreading of false rumors is subject to strict punishment under Article 233 of the Penal Code. Do you still intend to continue this ruse?"

NO FUN ALLOWED.

Halloween: (October 31st)

"Coercing another party to choose between a "trick" or a "treat" could amount to intimidation. Engage in such festivities at your own risk."

NO FUN ALLOWED PART TWO: ILLEGAL BOOGALOO.

Christmas: (December 25th)

"Religious freedom is guaranteed by Article 20 of the Constitution. If this is a day that you wish to celebrate, then I will accept that."

he can't make you work on religious holidays you need off!!

Idle: (about 20 seconds without interacting with the game) (below 13 affinity)

"Five seconds have elapsed. Yes, that is how long you've kept me waiting."

(13 affinity and above)

"How long do you intend to keep me waiting? As always, I am on a tight schedule today. Please hurry up."

Absent: (logging in for the first time in 2 or more days?)

"I've been expecting you, {PC}. You weren't planning on breaking your promise to me, were you?"

SUCH A HARD-WORKING, SOCIALLY INEPT LAD. But Ritsu's a lot of fun, I give him a lot of shit and i desperately need him to touch some grass and get a reality check and learn about how others live and maybe experiment. . .but like i love him for being such a little shit. he's so. . .ignorant to the rest of the world and how other people are. . .i love seeing him try and dissect other people's behavior and intentions and coming to the conclusion that they must want the same things as him because he just. . .has no grasp of interests and intentions that aren't his own. . . . It makes me facepalm but also makes me laugh 8'D good boy. quality boy.

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Prelims - Propaganda Division - Group 3

Propaganda:

Gene -

"Has a special interest in film and almost works himself to death because he doesn't think his film is as perfect as he wants it to be. He completely botches a project on purpose, an action blockbuster, because he felt like it wasn't respecting the thing he loves the most."

Kei -

"It was the scene in which Makoto and Nao discover that he was able to stuff so many wild plants into his bookbag bc there was literally nothing in it that sold it for me. I can't put it into words. I just see that and I know. I know that boy is autistic."

Arthur -

"His powers are literally fueled by his special interest in knights and chivalry."

Euini -

"I relate a lot to his social anxiety, especially his performance anxiety that occurs when he's being watched by people, particularly due to his stress at needing to follow the plan/do things the "proper" way in order to not feel like he's a failure. he also stands like a lil autistic kid and i appreciate him so much for that.

(LIGHT SPOILERS) basically, he has a test that he needs to take in order to advance as a witch, and he keeps failing it because he cant perform properly while being watched by other people, even though he knows the "right" spells to use and why he's supposed to use them. on his third attempt of the test, he's prepared a "script" to use so that he can follow it and not worry about failing in the moment (in this case, his script is a hand-written book of the proper spells to use and the order in which he's supposed to use them), but when a part of the exam changes, he's no longer able to follow his script. because he's been taught all his life that there's only one proper way of doing things, his way of thinking is very rigid and he's not able to deviate from his plan without panicking. luckily, one of his fellow examinees (richeh from the autistic anime girls poll 💕) is able to convince him to try and change the way that he does things to something that is more attuned to his personal needs- basically change the way that he casts his spells and which spells to use so that he doesn't need to struggle with doing things in the way that everyone says that he should; the way that he cant seem to manage. but, even before richeh helped him with that though, he was still finding way to modify the "proper" spells a little bit to better suit his weaknesses. he was trying so hard to fit in to the mold that witch society gave him, but it just wasnt right for him and he was making it work however he could."

Westar -

"something something Westar's entire character is an anomaly amongst the other denizens of Labyrinth in that he's a big goofball in a world where everything is dictated to the extreme by its ruler. if that's not an autism metaphor of some kind I don't know what is."

Sousuke -

"Sousuke Sagara is an ex-child soldier turned teenage special ops who has to go undercover at a high school to discreetly bodyguard another student. The only problem is that he has no IDEA how to act like a "normal" teenager. Sure, you can say that a lot of his mannerisms come from the whole "raised as a child soldier" thing which, fair, you could make a decent case for (C)PTSD. However, he's also extremely serious and has notorious flat affect and does not understand when other people are joking at all. He's incredibly literal; there's several scenes where he misinterprets what someone says, like the time he asked the art teacher what a model was supposed to do and got a rambling flowery metaphorical response about "becoming one with nature" so he ran off to hide in the woods. Another thing, his social skills are… lackluster at best. He's very blunt, and also a terrible liar for an undercover agent, when the student in question confronted him his strategy was to repeat the same phrase over and over again. One time he's challenged to see if he can pick up any girls, and after a brief misunderstanding his "improved" flirting tactic was to jump in front of them and say "Hi! Would you like to know the names of defense agency spies?" Speaking of, Sousuke has an obvious special interest in the military tech and giant robots he works with. He reads their magazines for fun and was able to rattle off the specs for a model Russian tank. The first time he actually looks happy is when he accidentally starts infodumping in front of the class while introducing himself. One time he got distracted on a mission (and need I remind you, Sousuke takes his job VERY seriously) because he found someone who was also interested in the giant robots and got into a full-on conversation with them and completely forgot what he was doing. It is IMPOSSIBLE to read this boy as allistic. And sure, he might be a little stiff, but he's also very caring in his own awkward way. One time he gave a girl flowers as an apology gift…because they were poppies and he told the girl she could get rich by selling opium on the black market. The "picking up girls" challenge mentioned earlier ended with him helping a grandmother pick out a toy for her grandson. He agreed to pretend to be someone's boyfriend for a day (it went exactly how you'd expect, but it's the thought that counts). In conclusion: stan Sousuke Sagara. and vote for him too."

Katsuhira -

"His entire thing over the course of the entire show is that he doesn't feel pain or emotions like other people. He isn't 'interested in himself' or other people (low empathy) and doesn't realize that the things that happen to/because of him do effect other people, he doesn't realize when people have a crush on him or want to be friends, and all of this is stuff he kinda comes to realize as the show progresses. He struggles to care for himself physically because of the lack of physical and emotional input he experiences, and his friends canonically often cook for him and have to remind him to eat, and is a bit picky about what he eats. He cannot read social cues to save his life and is very blunt and honest when communicating with others, and doesn't talk with much tone or emotion in his voice."

John -

"Is very loud and passionate and says everything he thinks out loud, not understanding why others may see that as weird. Has difficulty controlling his volume, so he's almost always shouting."

Yuuri -

"So he models his entire life around the first celebrity he gets a crush on. He's takes up that celebrity's hobby, he gets the same kind of dog that his crush has, and he definitely has his bedroom wallpaper with his crush's face. But then, he actually meets his crush. And his crush likes him back. Naturally he panics over this and proceeds to deny it for months until his crush straight up kisses him. Then like a day later, he just, buys a ring and proposed to his crush on the spot. He's the guy ever. He's so socially awkward, yet somehow still incredibly cocky."

Yoshimori -

"Baking special interest but does Not Get math my beloved."

[dontbreakthechain]

Ok genuinely I’m having actual thoughts about @mazeeque ‘s yuri version of iwtv. In roughly chronological order:

Before we begin, please note that (A) with one exception, everyone but Louis, Lestat, Daniel and Armand are their canon genders, (B) I’ve only read the first two books so far, and (C) there’s a certain amount of “well, the plot still needs to happen." No matter what, the basic sequence of events starting with Lestat and Louis meeting and ending with the book being published still happens.

Also before we start, names! Louis is easiest, he just becomes Louise. Lestat is a made up name, she could still be Lestat. But, Lestette is so dumb it makes me laugh, so that's what we'll go with. Daniel becoming Danielle is the most straightforward, but it doesn't feel right somehow. Dana feels righter, Diane feels rightest. She went by Dani when she was young, hates being called Di. Her first husband called her Di.

Speaking of feeling right, I have no idea what to call Armand. The birth name is easy enough, apparently Aruna is not the feminine form of Arun, Arun is the masculine form of Aruna. But the other names? Much trickier. They can't just sound kind of like Amadeo/Armand, they need to feel similar. If you'll grant me some leeway, the Old Spanish form of Amadeo, Amadis, works for me, despite being masculine name. In mythology, Amadis was the lover of Oriana, and so: Amadeo -> Amadis, Armand -> Ariana.

Sadly, Armand’s pre-Paris backstory changes very little. Ariana modeled a whitewashed shepherdess, not shepherd. Probably posed as the Virgin Mary a bunch. Vampires in this world aren’t immune to cultural prejudices, but, with point C taken into account, she is still sent to lead the Paris Coven. The feminine form of maître is maîtresse.

Let's be real (and go a little out of order). A Santiago under the command of a woman is a Santiago that is ten times worse than in canon. They fuck and he is flabbergasted and emasculated that it didn’t completely change her entire personality.

Lestette joins a convent as a child, just like how Lestat joined a monastery. As we all know, Lestat’s father forcibly dragged him home, and then his mother made him a hunter. Would that happen here? The reason that Lestat’s father did that is that the De Lioncourts are too poor to bribe Lestat into high church office, but too proud to let him be a normal monk. Would they feel the same about letting their daughter be a normal nun? I tentatively say no. Especially when you consider that this rids them of a mouth to feed and a dowry to scrounge up. Lestette remains in the convent, but grows more and more bored and trapped the closer she gets to actually taking her vows. Just like Lestat, she eventually successfully runs away to Paris to become an actress.

This is where "The plot needs to still happen" shows up again. We have to assume that Magnus still becomes obsessed with her, despite her not being a man with a certain look and body type. We have to assume that she and Nicki run off together, despite that Lestette wouldn’t be allowed to hang out alone with a man and Nicki’s backstory couldn’t happen if he was a woman. And, we have to assume that Lestette and Gabrielle still have their Very Special Relationship, despite Lestette no longer being Gabrielle's idealized male form.

Let's say that whatever drove Magnus is now different. Let's say that Nicole de Lenfent was sent to Lestette's convent, to study but not take vows. And let's say that Gabrielle and Lestette remain close, with Lestette now literate and able to write letters. Gabrielle might even move to the convent or a nearby town as well, such things happened. Lestette and Gabrielle are still weird, just with slightly less gender this time. Not none though, there’s still single woman in a man-free environment vs conventional wife and mother to deal with.

There is sadly no Wolfkiller Incident, unless we really want to reach. And maybe we do.

(Incognito trained in secret master huntress Lestette. Let's talk about it)

No real big changes for Lestette's vampire life, so let's move on to:

Louise de Pointe du Lac. Oh, Louise. If pre-turning Louis is conformity first, personal happiness fifth, then Louise is conformity first, personal happiness fifteenth.

While Louis was able to save his family by getting into unsavory businesses, what can Louise do? We do see madames in the show, but it's clear that it's a middle management role, with less money and respect than being an owner. Would Louise even be allowed to buy a brothel outright? If she did, would anyone respect her, even the level of respect they give Louis? The family might not like to talk about where the money comes from, but it hasn't made them pariahs. Would it still be the same if a Du Lac woman was involved in shady business?

And none of that is touching marriage. There's some vague talk of Louis getting married someday soon, but he was allowed to make it to his thirties single. Would the same be true for Louise?

I see two basic possibilities. One, we stick as close to canon as we can. Louise de Pointe du Lac is an old maid business woman. It’s possible she uses Paul as a smoke screen. She drags him around and everyone maintains the polite fiction that he’s in charge. Well, everyone but Paul. Paul is not happy about this arrangement. His main duty is allowing Louise to forge his signature on documents. Neither of them are allowed to the Dipshit Poker nights.

Option number two, Louise gets a head start on being an unhappy housewife. To save her family, she was married off to some rich asshole as a young woman. She could run circles around him and they both know it, but they’re stuck in their miserable roles. Louise becomes the ‘It’s not cheating with a woman’ lady.

In option one, Jonah and Lily swap roles. Louise makes sure to talk about Jonah as her Great Lost Love, her One That Got Away, the man she is so heartbroken over she can never love again. She then sneaks off to fuck Lily in secret.

Option two has the potential for kids. Oh God kids. Either she doesn’t have any, with all the implications for her social standing and psyche, or she does and she basically abandons them when she turns. Either way, her relationship with Claudia is somehow even more fucked up.

Last but not least, Dani Molloy. We’re leaving the first wave and entering the second. Diane is allowed to be a tough, no-nonsense, well-respected journalist. She’s not allowed to be all that and a former drug addict with a personal life in shambles. I mean, she still is, but she has to keep it a secret. She might still publish a memoir in her untouchable old age, but she spent most of her career dodging any and all personal questions.

Her author bio is ‘Born 1953. Lives in New York. Likes black coffee.’

To be clear, Diane does not have any more of her shit together than Daniel. But, to get the kind of work she wants to do, there’s this façade of hyper-competent professional she has to put up that Daniel doesn’t. Like, Dani’s at-home wardrobe is the same as Daniel’s. Her at-work wardrobe is tailored business wear, hair done, full face of makeup, etc.

It makes her post turning transformation all the sweeter.

PS. Fashion! I’m not saying that there were no changes to menswear over the show’s time period, but fundamentally it was one kind of suit to another kind of suit. We got a lot more to work with here. Ariana and Lestette go through the bob era with hair long enough to sit on. Louise stops wearing dresses the second it is not literally illegal for her to wear pants. Ariana started wearing pants about two decades before that. They both still call pants ‘slacks.’

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group G Round 4: Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story vs Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

#G1: Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story

Golf made interesting by the power of anime antics and yuri

#G4: Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!)

Three girls decide to open an animation club

Details and poll under the cut!

IF YOU VOTED FOR THIS POLL BEFORE, PLEASE VOTE AGAIN.

There was an error in the original poll post. I forgot to change the poll deadline to 1 week, so the first post only had a 1-day poll. Since I can’t edit poll blocks once the post is published, I had to redo the entire post.

Tagging those who liked/reblogged the first post so that you can see this and vote again: @play-read-write @verirothestar @captain-harkness-lives @inariedwards and @elirodri (thank you for bringing the error to my attention!)

#G1: Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story

Summary:

Infamous among those who gamble on golf games, Eve uses her exceptional skill in the sport to earn a living—by betting and winning against various opponents. Known as the "Rainbow Bullet," she vows to beat her foes and conquer the world of underground golf using only three clubs. However, the universe where Eve knows no defeat is shaken after she plays a clean game with Aoi Amawashi, a golfing prodigy that came to the country of Nafrece to enter a golf tournament. Armed with talent and born into the perfect environment for golf, Aoi the "Innocent Tyrant" calmly crushes her enemies with a bright smile on her face.

After their game-changing match, Eve and Aoi become intrigued with each other and promise to battle again someday. As Eve's aggressive and risk-taking approach challenges the elite and steady playstyle of Aoi, the two geniuses may just manage to bring golf to unexpected heights.

Propaganda:

Birdie Wing is one of the most absurd, hilarious, and entertaining anime that I’ve ever seen!! Mafia that solves infighting by betting on highly illegal golf matches, golf eugenics, a high school golf tournament feeling like a more high-stakes event than the ACTUAL GODDAMN MAFIA… It’s incredibly campy in the best way possible, and the creators embrace the wild premise of the show with open arms. It’s masterful in suspension of disbelief, as by the end of the series I was nodding my head, thinking that truly, everything is possible with the power of golf. The series also has heavy yuri overtones, which, while not quite pulling through in the end, are definitely a big part of the appeal, and Aoi is my favorite lesbian daughter <3

Trigger Warnings: Guns, Child Abuse. Mother is manipulative to her daughter, and she is used as a tool. Father arranges an unwanted marriage for his daughter.

#G4: Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!)

Summary:

Midori Asakusa draws detailed landscapes and backgrounds of both the world around her and the one within her boundless imagination. Even the simple act of doodling on a wall evolves into an emergency repair on the outer hull of her spaceship. She is only brought back to reality by her best friend Sayaka Kanamori. The two are stark opposites, with Asakusa’s childlike wonder contrasted by Kanamori’s calculated approach to life.

After a chance encounter where the two “save” the young model Tsubame Misuzaki from her overprotective bodyguard, a connection instantly sparks between Asakusa and Misuzaki, as both share an intense passion for art and animation. Whereas Asakusa is interested in backgrounds and settings, Misuzaki loves drawing the human form. Sensing a money-making opportunity, Kanamori suggests that they start an animation club. Thus begins the trio’s journey of producing animation that will awe the world.

Propaganda:

It’s playing with animation in a really cool way, AND it is just gorgeous. The backgrounds are done in a beautiful painterly style, and each environment is detailed and evokes wonder.

Each of the three girls is a unique and fleshed-out character, and their interactions and blossoming friendship are super fun and wholesome to watch. The dialogue is also very realistic—it really feels like what three high school nerdy girl friends would talk about. Each has her own strengths, in animation, organization and craft, such that they really come together as a team and manage to make something beautiful.

The show is fun, heartwarming and doesn’t take itself too seriously, but at the same time it is so so sincere. Quiet and serious moments can be quiet and serious without needless bathos, and fun sequences (like a chase through the school) are given extra effort to be zany and funny, and fully animated in both senses of the word. Above all, you feel a strong love for animation and deep wonder of the world permeating the series.

Trigger Warnings: Flashing lights in the opening theme

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form with your revisions, and I’ll consider adapting those changes.

New: Starting round 5, screenshots will be included in the poll post. You can submit screenshots through the form linked above, or through here, via ask or dm.

Guidelines in submitting screenshots:

No NSFW or spoilery images.

Pick some good images please. Don’t send any blurry or pixelated ones.

You may send up to 9 screenshots, but not all may be used.

[submalevolentgrace]

me: hey youtube, i'm really into gunpla lately, i like watching videos about gunpla kits. i have no privacy from you, you know all this already. so what's...

youtube: vinyl anime girl figurines in bikinis, you wanted?

me: no, that's not... gunpla. i like gundam plastic model kits. i wanna admire all the little detail in kits i don't have and learn some modelling techniques to apply to the ones i do.

youtube: ahh, gotcha. here's ww2 nazi germany panzer tank model kit reviews.

me: no! gundams! model kits of fictional giant robots! tiny 1/144 scale model kits of fictional giant 20m tall robots with laser swords they hold in their hands and put in cool poses! fictional. robot. kits.

youtube: this nazi half-track truck is considered one of the best 1/32 scale model kits for beginners, it comes with a full mechanised infantry support unit to paint, with accurate uniforms.

me: no.

youtube: best imperial japanese army fighter aircraft model kit 2023?

me: robots! fictional. robots.

youtube: ahh, best imperial japanese navy battleship model kit 2023.

me: listen, you...

youtube: a-10 warthog desert storm camouflage custom painted model kit!

me: STOP! i don't want vehicles of war! look i get it, gundam is a franchise about the horrors of war and we all missed the point in favour of 'wow cool robot' or lately 'omg cool yuri private school romance' or whatever, but it's not real. they're not real machines. it's not a real war, it's fiction. i can build these little guys as a distraction from the impending war here, from the existing wars, from the horrors of wars burned into my brain by live television news, i can love the zaku and zgok without conflating the republic of zeon with real world military superpowers seeking to dominate the globe and becoming a fascist fetishist because of anime robots.... i don't want to watch creepy old men salivate over scale model sculpted detail in planes with gattling guns that mowed down civilians, real human civilians, in real life wars. i want to watch energetic irish homosexuals rank the single-joined elbow posability of a bright red mech with a laser axe that'd be larger than a building, if it were real, which it is not, because these are toys for playing with, not historically accurate recreations of actually extant machines of horror and death. there is a difference! surely there is some confluence of keywords and user engagement metrics that can elicit an echo of understanding the difference in your unthinking algorithmic fever dream of signals????

youtube: ...

me: *panting with rage*

youtube: .....balloon titty anime bikini girl with the sculpted face of a scared crying child? it's a model kit!

[katyspersonal]

nobody:

me: Ok so now that we've learned gender of Pharis was lost through (mis)localisation and she is a woman, she and Beatrice could be a cute yuri ship 🥺 Pharis and Beatrice probably fought and had a breakup though because Beatrice insisted on going to the Abyss so bad and Pharis is one of the people defending memory of Artorias..... doomed yuri...

me to me: "Doomed yuri"? Lol Ymir TRIGGERED

@val-of-the-north: *dies*

@fareehaandspaniards: AHAHAHAHAHAHA NOOOOOO

me, when Faree laughs at my jokes: HUMANITY RESTORED

me: *makes a sockpuppet of @heraldofcrow and makes her talk* But there is an unused child model of Beatrice, so imagine if instead she was a daughter figure for Pharis! Pharis failed to protect her chaotic reckless daughter..... ouch my heart... *uses that gif with a girl crying in the rain*

(I really miss Crow I am going insane т.т)

[awakefor48hours]

What about Azulanette for the ship classification....

Ask Game

ANON I AM KISSING YOU ON THE MOUTH (or whatever form of intimacy you're comfortable with).

I know I'm definitely biased when I say I'd put Azulanette under makes sense and compels me but here's an excuse to talk about it.

First of all Marinette. When it comes to Marinette's love life she has gotten the most characters to fall for her (Adrien, Luka, Nino, Zoe, and Kagami yes, I'm counting her, I refuse to believe Kagami never had a crush on Marinette). But out of all these characters, Adrien has always been "the one" for her and Azula and Adrien do have similar upbringings.

First of all, Adrien's life has been compared to royalty (even though it's usually in a fairy tale setting) and Azula is part of a royal blood line.

Growing up, Adrien had a sheltered life and got a very thorough education (so thorough that his lowest grade ever was an A-) and part of what made Ozai love Azula more is that she was a prodigy.

*Gif taken from this video

As Adrien/as a civilian he has to be an unbreakable image that was meticulously crafted by his dad, like Azula. Everything about Azula has to be "perfect" in every way possible, no just her firebending has to be perfect but her appearance.

As Cat Noir/as a hero, he has the power of destruction and the way that Azula uses her firebending techniques are for destruction/destructive purposes.

You also have the fact that the both of them have poor social skills.

It's easier to remember for Adrien because he's usually talking to other characters (or saying the dreaded "she's just a friend") but Azula is also pretty weird/socially inept and for the same reason as Adrien (she lived a sheltered/away from other kids). The only difference is that Gabriel was trying to make Adrien "perfect" model but Ozai wanted Azula to be the "perfect" soldier (putting quotations around perfect because I don't think perfection exists).

This is another reason why I started gravitating towards Azulanette. As ML goes on, Marinette helps Adrien find courage in himself to start doing things for himself and I can see the same happening for Azula.

Along with Adrien, Marinette also helped Kagami break away from her mom's control and became her first real friend in Ikari Gozen. Then you have Zoe, Zoe was terrified of Chloe so she did her best to be Chloe's carbon copy but after meeting Marinette, she changed. Then you have Adoration, when we see Zoe finally stand up to Chloe.

If given the proper circumstances, this same thing could happen between Azula and Marinette. Azula is a child warrior who spent her life dedicating herself to a war that I don't really think she ever truly believed in. Azula deserves to have a chance to change and be better.

Also, even though there isn't much in the name of Azula's love life, the only love interest Azula has ever had has been Chan but due to her lacking social skills, she sent him away (I want to point out that having poor social skills/coming off too strong wouldn't scare Marinette).

Azula would probably be more attracted to stronger people/people who can protect themselves which is something that Marinette does well. She's the holder of the strongest Miraculous, has worn the most Miraculouses than anyone in history (and she's a kid, so she's only going to get stronger), and she's pretty clever too. I want to again point out that Marinette has gotten several different people to fall for her so Azula can be another one.

Also, they'd be toxic yuri, enemies to lovers, with a red/blue color scheme and because I'm me I love that. So I'd still put them under makes sense and compels me.

[fabseg-creator]

Miraculous AU: Yandere Twins Au - Eminath/Nathalie and Émilie (Yandere Émilie)

After Amélie, it's turn of Émilie to seduce Nathalie. Of course, it happens in the past.

It's the part two of the Yandere Twins AU (it's a prequel).

Part one here (Amenath)

The sketch art and the story (below) are mature: they contain bondage, undressing, sensuality moment, implied drug using and toxic yuri (not really consent).

The story:

Flashback, 15 years earlier

An undressed Nathalie misteriously wakes up in a luxury room (it contains a white bed, a desk, a window and a door) and she fonds out she is tied to a metal bar (reminding a strip tease bar). 😶

The treasure huntress sees Émilie in front of her.

Émilie: Already awaken, Nathalie ? -giggle- 😊

The latter holds a whiplash (from Nathalie's equipment). Nathalie guesses to have been previously drugged by the latter.

Emilie was waiting her married man (Gabriel) to be gone for a long time. Long enough to reveal her true intentions to Nathalie.

Nathalie (confused and intrigued): Émilie ?! What is happened ? What is this madness ?

Émilie: I always wanted to make this moment with you from the first we met, Nathalie. ❤

Nathalie: What do you mean ?

Émilie: I want to accomplish my life's goal.

Nathalie: Your life's goal ? A beautiful woman like you desires an more important goal than being actress and top-model. You and Mr. Agreste have already ressources enough for live as rich people.

Émilie blushes about Nathalie saying "beautiful woman" to her. ❤

Émilie: I want to form the family from my dreams. I wish to be pregnant for make birth to my future child (I think about a boy). Why I left the Graham de Vanily House ? For freedom ? I'm already living this. Why I travel around the world (even if I was with Gabi or not) ? For exploration ? For treasures ? During our last travels, that's a lot of good moments. But I began to think about someone (not something). I believed Gabi was my ideal person but I've found a fascinating human who makes me feel happy.

Nathalie: I don't understand, Émilie. And where is Mr. Agreste ?

Émilie: He's the last of my worries, honey. I've requested him to go to capture a lot of butterflies for the future greenhouse I wish to build at the manor. And now, we can have some time enough for the two of us. You and me.

Nathalie: You and... Me ?!

Émilie: I'm very happy because I have finally found the perfect match for my heart. You find treasures, archeological pieces and mysterious but magical artefacts (like this Miraculous/the Peacock brooch), Nathalie. Meanwhile I find a better treasure than the treasure itself: A person who is making me fall in love. Do you want to know ? ❤

Nathalie tries to guess who is Émilie talking about. She begins to understands with a blushed tone.

Nathalie: I am ?

Émilie suddenly becomes exalted.

Émilie: Ah... Yes, Nathalie ! Good answer. ❤

She calms down before posing as a Femme Fatale.

I have another riddle for you. Answer correctly and I free you. I think about a reward to you. But be careful about the whip. 😈

Nathalie: Say that, Emilie. 😏

The blonde woman smiles and giggles.

Émilie: Are you in love with me, Nathalie ? ❤

The question makes Nathalie blush.

Nathalie (troubled): This thing is difficult to say, Émi...

Émilie uses the whiplash by hitting the ground, interupting Nathalie.

The deafening whip is made at the proxy, at the right side of the tied huntress.

Émilie: I'm sorry, honey. I don't want to hurt you. I just want a clear answer from you. ❤

Nathalie: I don't know how to say about that. I think you're going a bit of... Too far. Too forward.

Émilie seems shocked and she likely expresses sadness from her face. 😥

Nathalie is worried about that. She fears her words could have heartbreaked/hurt Émilie. She even believes the aristocrat woman begins to cry by judging the eyes of the latter. Is Mrs. Agreste going to torture her ? 😰

Émilie suddenly turns back to normal (if we can talk about).

Émilie: You're right, Nathalie. I understand you feel about. That isn't the good way to express my feelings to you. I'm disappointing you.

Unpredictable. Nathalie looks like fascinated after the blonde woman's sudden humility.

Nathalie: No. No. I don't consider you as disappointing, Émilie. I'm nice to know you. Forgive me. But I can't never reject you. I trust you too well. So, trust me.

Émilie lighty smiles. She walks up to Nathalie and freezes. The faces of the two women are close each other. Émilie makes a blow.

Émilie: I will trust you. And I say the question again Nathalie: Are you in love with me ?

This time, Nathalie is ready to confess/answer at her request.

Nathalie: Yes, Émilie. I love you.

Émilie blushes. ❤

Nathalie: If I couldn't express that, it's because I saw you and Gabriel are already happy together as a couple.

Émilie: And I thank you for trusting me. And for confessing me.

Émilie drops the whiplash. She puts her hands on Nathalie's cheeks and kisses her on the lips. 💋

Nathalie blushes too much. But instead of resisting or protesting, Nathalie suddenly feels a pleasant sensation. 😊

Émilie: I haven't any doubts about you anymore, Nathalie.

Nathalie: Neither am I, Émilie.

The two women kiss together again. And they are both passionated. 💋❤

-----

Thirty minutes passed.

A topless Nathalie and a now undressed Émilie are hugging each other in the white bed.

Émilie: You know. I've always suspected you have an interesting thing toward me since the first days of our travels. I had to check it myself with my "method".

Nathalie: Your "method" has heavily worked too well on me. Even it was a weird way.

Émilie: I wish we marry together, Nathalie.

Nathalie: I would like But Mr. Agreste is your husband.

Émilie giggles.

Émilie: I think he is still a good man for me. I even recognize he's a good husband. I don't wish to betray his trust.

Émilie holds the Peacock brooch in her left hand.

Émilie: I think I must talk to him about the coming event. He and I have waited too long for having the ideal child. I hope this child will be a boy. I have an idea about the name.

Nathalie: Oh ! And what can be his name ?

Émilie: I think about calling him: Adrien Émile Donatien Anathase.

Nathalie: "AdrienÉmilonatiathase". Wait ! That's too many names. Why not Adrien only ?

Émilie: Yes. I will name my son Adrien.

The blonde woman stands up from the bed and wears up her clothes puts the brooch on the chest.

Nathalie: Good luck, Émilie. But about our intimate time: What happens if your husband finds out what we did together ?

Émilie: Oh ! Our little secret ? Make sure Gabriel never knows about it. Consider this moment as an experience.

Nathalie: Do you hope we can hang out together again ?

Émilie: If you want to reproduct the same thing together again, send me the message. I will be pleased. -giggle- ❤

Nathalie: No problem. 😘

Émilie: No need to be rush. I will be patient about it. 😘

End of the flashback

The End?

[katyahina]

A compillation of Bloodborne characters data and model bits

I just decided to put as many bits about Bloodborne chaarcters as possible in one post, so to not have to check multiple folders every time I want to draw a character, but I thought it could be handy for other artists/writers! The following references feature the data mostly gathered by awesome Zullie the Witch but maybe also some others. I use the NPC data for the characters but also some model references, all put in one post.

1) Here are all the exact colors from NPC data gathered on one image.

They are gathered from this ( x ) sliders page, all in one image for the convenience. The white hovering effect over eyes color means ‘clouded’ eyes effect that the player cannot access in normal character creation, and the X mean that hair is missing (I did not count ‘bald’ eyelashes variant as one though).

1.1)  Almost all characters with brown skin have strange ‘reddish grey’ eye colors. Such characters are Henryk, Djura’s Ally, Yahar’gul hunter with Cannon and Ludwig’s Riffle, Yahar’gul character with Threaded Cane that uses Tiny Tonitrus (and ambushes you from the corner like a rat lol), Olek, Simon, Djura’s Apprentice and Yahar’gul hunter that’s trapped in Church’s chambers.

Exceptions are Afflicted Beggar who instead has hazel eyes and Yahar’gul Hunters that use Tonitrus (in Cathedral Ward) and one that uses Beast’s Claw, who instead have simply grey eyes (and share face data).  Interestingly, this red-grey color appears to be exclusive for characters with brown skin.

1.2) Adella’s hair is dark brown, not black. It is hard to see even on this image.

1.3) Tomb Prospectors have strange skin tones. Josef and Forgotten Madman have more purpl-ish skin tone, with his escord having it too but closer to blue on the color spectrum, Vitus and Queen Killer have greenish skin, Wallar has bluish skin. Olek seems to be the only one with realistic skin tone, it is simply dark olive / brown.

1.4) Plenty of characters have no eyebrows. So yeah, this might disqualify some of the above. These characters are: Djura, Djura’s Ally, Yahar’gul Hunters that use Claw and Tonitrus (idential), Micolash, Hunter of Despair (Black Church one), Edgar, Olek, Josef, Queen Killer, Afflicted Beggar, Unused Vileblood, Valtr, Brador, Damian, Yahar’gul hunter in Nightmare, Doctor in Research Hall, Antal, Vitus and Wallar. I have no idea what they all had to smoke to get their eyebrows fall out, lmao

2) Arianna’s hair lose color after she births a child, and her eyes are dark pink. Arianna has three face data - normal, after Bloodmoon, and after birth. In the Bloodmoon she just gets slightly paler, more sickly colored skin and lips and loses her blush, but after birth her skin gets MUCH paler, hair loses color and eyes get ‘clouded’ effect.

This eye color is not the same as reddish grey one from previous example, it is more saturated.

3) The most buff character is a Yahar’gul hunter with Cannon+Rifle. He is the only NPC of all who has all body scale stats (except for ‘head’) set to maximum 255. Queen Killer has only ‘chest’ and ‘abdomen’ set to 255, and Alfred has ‘abdomen’ on 255 but ‘chest’ only on 212. Yes, random hunters have way more of a male tiddy than Alfred.

4) Arianna is more flat than Adella. Yeah, it is a bit goofy remark, since ‘chest’ slider for Bloodborne NPCs is just chest width and not breasts size, but it could be interpreted as such. There are generally two types of ‘chest’ slider for female characters: the smallest 0 (Iosefka+Imposter, Arianna, Yurie) and the middle meaning 128 (Adella, Black Church Hunter, White Church Hunter, Henriett). Lonely Old Dear is a special case and has slider set to 192 (the largest).

5) Simon might actually lack eyes. MIGHT. Simon’s face data has two vertical stripes both going through where his eyes are. Djura is strongly implied to miss an eye where his face data has a scar going through where his eye is covered with bandages. It seems like developers can distort characters’ faces but not remove eyes, as you can see that despite implications, Djura’s data has both eyes. In either case, Simon has those strange scars for some reason.

6) Henryk and Afflicted Beggar share absolutely identical mole on the right side of their nose.

7) Edgar’s glasses are supposed to be round. But because his forehead/brows lean so strongly down, it causes glasses model to bend to avoid clipping, so it is a bit flattened at the top. Sure, it provides for a more unique glasses shapes, but... from technical standpoint bro frowned SO hard that his glasses frown too. xD

8) The ridge of Yamamura’s glasses is dark red.

9) Besides the eye colors shown in NPC data, there is some more. Willem’s eyes are grey, Maria’s eyes are greyish green and very pale, Gehrman has emerald eyes, and older daughter of Gascoigne and Viola seems to have greyish green eyes too. Ludwig appears to have his right eye blind and his left eye having its pupil so enlarged that it obscures the iris.

(Sources for models are Sinclair vid ( x ) and datamined corpses page ( x ))

9.1) Micolash has brown eyes in NPC data, but blue in cutscene model.

10) Some characters have interesting unused items equipped. Simon has Fist of Gratia and throwing knives equipped both of which he never uses, Yamamura has throwing knives that he never uses, Crow of Cainhurst has Hunter’s Bone (heavily implied to be Maria’s) and Executioner’s Glove that he never uses.

10.1) Simon only has throwing knives in Fishing Hamlet. Within lore, they are associated with Henryk. I personally do not see any other reasons for the developers to add them in this specific condition to the character that won’t even fight you, besides for the dataminers to conclude Henryk was likely participating in Fishing Hamlet massacre too. But heeey it is just a the-

11) Some interesting stats as NPCs. I am going to list every stat from the highest to lowest in order. Some characters have different stats depending on their questline and/or summoning location though; for such cases I only used the highest stat possible.

Blood Level (murder level??):  #1: Bestial hunter (234) #2: Olek (176) #3: Queen Killer (174) #4: Wallar (170) #5: Yamamura + Brador (162) #6: Yahar’gul hunter in Nightmare (157) #7: Gremia, Damian and Vitus (150) #8: Josef (146) #9 Djura’s apprentice and White Church doctor lady (145) #10: Black Church female hunter (143) #11: Black church doctor (121) #12 Simon (116) #13: Valtr (90) #14: Crow (88) #15: Henryk (81) #16: Madaras Twin (80) #17: Henriett (75) #18: Antal (72) #19: Edgar (68) #20: Alfred and Eileen (65) #21: Yahar’gul trio that ambushes you (60) #22: Micolash and Yurie (50) #23: two Hunters of Despair and Imposter Iosefka (46) #24: Suspicious Beggar (42) #25: Yahar’gul hunters that guard the entrance to Yahar’gul chapel (40) #26: Djura (30) #27: Djura’s ally (18) #28: Hostile Tomb Prospectors, Izzy’s Admirer, Forgotten Madman, Madman’s Escort, Bone Ash Hunter, Hostile Executioner, Unused Vileblood (10) #29: Annalise, Iosefka, Skeptical Man, Lonely Old Dear, Arianna, Adella (1)

Vitality: #1: Olek (65) #2: Wallar (63) #3: Queen Killer (55) #4: Vitus (53) #5: Damian, Simon, Crow and Micolash (50) #5: Gremia and Brador (49) #6: Valtr (48) #7: Josef (47) #8: Black Church female hunter (45) #9: Yamamura and Yahar’gul hunter in the Nightmare (44) #10: Djura’s apprentice and Antal (42) #Edgar (41) #12: Henriett, Alfred, Eileen and Bestial Hunter (40) #13: Yahar’gul trio that ambushes you (37) #14 Black Church doctor lady (36) #15: Yurie (33) #16: Imposter Iosefka (32) #17: Suspicious Beggar (31) #18: Henryk and Madaras Twin (30) #19: Djura (26) #20: White Church Doctor lady 25) #21 Unused Vileblood and Yahar’gul hunter in Cathedral Ward that uses Tonitrus (20) #22: Djura’s ally (19) #23: Yahar’gul hunter with the Rifle (15) #24: Two hunters of Despair (13) #25: Annalise, Iosefka, Skeptical man, Lonely old dear, Arianna, Adella, Hostile tomb prospectors, Izzy’s Admirer, Forgotten Madman, Madman’s Escort, Bone Ash hunter, Hostile Executioner (10)

Stamina: #1: Bestial hunter (80) #2: White Church Doctor lady (50) #3: Wallar and Brador (45) #4: Queen Killer and Josef (43) #5: Olek (41) #6: Damian (38) #7: Gremia (35) #8: Djura’s Apprentice (34) #9: Vitus (33) #10: Black Church doctior (30) #11: Yahar’gul hunter in the Nightmare (29) #12: Valtr (24) #13: Simon and Crow (21) #14: Henriett (20) #15: Black church hunter lady, Yamamura, Yahar’gul trio that ambushes you, Micolash, Edgar, Yurie, Eileen and Alfred (19) #16: Imposter Iosefka, Henryk, Two hunters of despair, Madaras Twin and Antal (18) #17: Suspicious beggar, Djura and two Yahar’gul hunters at the Cathedral ward (17) #18: Djura’s ally (16) #19: Hostile Tomb Prospectors, Izzy’s Admirer, Forgotten Madman, Madman’s Escort, Bone Ash hunter, Unused vileblood and Hostile executioner (15) #20: Annalise, Iosefka, Skeptical man, Lonely old dear, Arianna and Adella (12)

Strengtht:  #1: Bestial Hunter (60), #2: Micolash and Crow (50), #3: Yahar’gul hunter in the Nightmare, Brador and Yamamura (45), #4: Edgar (42) #5: Alfred (40) #6: Yahar’gul hunter withe the claw (38) #7: Valtr (36), #8: Djura’s apprentice, Queen Killer, Madaras Twin and Black Church female hunter (35) #9: Henryk, Olek, Josef and Yharnam Hunter of despair (31) #10: Black Church Doctor (30) #11: Suspicious Beggar (29) #12: Henriett and Yahar’gul hunter in CW with Tonitrus (28), #13: Gremia (27) #14: Djura (24) #15: Hostile executioner, Vitus and Wallar (25) #16: Damian (21) #17: Hostile Tomb Prospectors, Izzy’s Admirer, Forgotten Madman, Madman’s escort, Bone Ash hunter and nameless vileblood (20), #18: White Church doctor lady (15), #19: Eileen and Yahar’gul hunter with the cane and tiny Tonitrus (the rat behind the wall one) (14), #20: Imposter Iosefka,Yurie and Hunter of Despair from Black Church (13) #21: Annalise, Iosefka, Skeptical man, Lonely old dear, Arianna, Adella, Antal and Yahar’gul hunter with the Rifle (12) #22: Djura’s ally #23: Simon

Skill:  #1: Micolash (50), #2: Bestial Hunter, Yamamura and Yahar’gul hunter in the Nightmare (45), #3: Eileen and Black Church female hunter (40), #4: Yahar’gul Hunter with the cannon and Yahar’gul hunter with the cane (the FUCKIN rat one!) (38) #5: Simon (35), #6: Yurie and Vitus (33), #7: Imposter Iosefka, Black Church hunter of despair and Gremia (31), #8: Brador, White Church doctor lady, Black Church doctor and Djura’s disciple (30),#9: Josef and Olek (29), #10: Yahar’gul hunter with the Rifle (28), #11: Madaras twin and Wallar (27), #12: Antal (26), #13: Queen Killer (25), #14: Djura’s ally, Damian, Hostile tomb prospectors, Izzy’s Admirer, Forgotten Madman, Madman’s escort, Bone Ash hunter, Unused Vileblood and hostile executioner (20), #15: Crow (15), #16: Alfred, Edgar and Yahar’gul hunter with the claw (14), #17: Suspicious beggar, Henryk, Yharnam Hunter of despair and Valtr (13), #18: Yahar’gul hunter with Tonitrus (12), #19: Djura (11), #20: Annalise, Iosefka, Skeptical Man, Lonely old dear, Arianna, Adella and Henriett (10)

Bloodtinge:  #1: Micolash and Crow (50), #2: Yamamura and Bestial Hunter (45), #3: Edgar (42), #4: Eileen, Black Church female hunter and Djura’s Apprentice (40), #5: The trio that ambushes you in Yahar’gul (38), #6: Brador, Simon and Yahar’gul hunter with the Rifle (35), #7: Yurie (33), #8: Imposter Iosefka, Henryk, Two hunters of despair, Olek, Queen Killer and Vitus (31), #9: White church doctor lady, Yahar’gul hunter in the Nightmare, Black Church doctor and unused vileblood (30), #10: Wallar (29), #11: Gremia (25), #12: Djura (24), #13: Josef (23), #14: Damian (21), #15: Djura’s Ally, Hostile tomb prospectors, Izzy’s Admirer, Forgotten Madman, Madman’s Escort, Bone Ash hunter, Hostile Executioner (20), #15: Henriett (14), #16: Madaras Twin (12), #17: Antal (10), #18: Alfred and Yahar’gul hunter with Tonitrus (9), #19: Annalise, Iosefka, Skeptical man, Lonely old dear, Suspicious beggar, Arianna and Adella (6), #20: Valtr (5)

Arcane:  #1: Micolash and Damian (50), #2: White Church Doctor lady (45), #3: Edgar (42), #4: Imposter Iosefka and Alfred (40), #5: Yahar’gul hunter with the cane (he IS a rat tho) (38), #6: Queen Killer (35), #7: Yurie and Wallar (33), Gremia and Both Hunters of despair (31), #8: Olek (29), #9: Vitus (25), #10: Josef (23), #11: Hostile Tomb prospectors, Izzy’s admirer, Forgotten Madman, Madman’s escort, Bone Ash hunter, Unused vileblood and hostile executioner (20) #12: Simon and Black Church doctor (15), #13: Yahar’gul hunter with the claw, Valtr, Beastial Hunter, Black Church female hunter, Yamamura, Yahar’gul hunter in the Nightmare, Antal and Djura’s apprentice (14); #14: Henriett (13), #15: Annalise, Iosefka, Skeptical man, Lonely old dear, Suspicious beggar, Arianna, Adella, Eileen, Djura, Djura’s ally, Yahar’gul hunter with the cannon, Henryk, Crow, the two Yahar’ful hunters in CW, Brador and Madaras Twin (8)

(All stats are from this ( x ) page)

11.1) Micolash has all stats at the decent 50, except for the stamina that he only has at 19. Ironic for someone whose entire battle is running...

11.2) Bestial hunter ABSOLUTELY kicks ass as you can tell.

12) Some summons were canned. Such as: Djura (unknown boss), Yamamura (against Ludwig), Antal (unknown) and Bone Ash Hunter Carla (unknown).

11.3) You were supposed to find Henriett dead. Guess that was a way to explain her appearing in the Nightmare. Also, there is a secret catherdal ward NPC that you were supposed to find dying.

12) Some characters drastically change stats when you don’t see them. Such characters are: Alfred (from 33 to 65 blood level), Eileen (30 to 65) and Simon (97 to 116). Basically they were killing while being left to do their own ways, I just step in here to appreciate the attention to the details.

That’s all yet, I think! I might have made some mistakes (especially at the point 11) so if you spot any you guys tell me! But uhhh I think I actually gave my strongest attention span to all these numbers, so it must work :pensive:

[lagomoz]

Info on Milgram families

Haruka: Mom, possibly had a sibling. His mother is clearly very neglectful and abusive, but was kinder to Haruka in his early childhood, leaving him with all his Issues today. His dad left when he was young, and Haruka implies it’s either something to do with him or that Haruka blames himself for it, though she still considers his father family. Lists no siblings as his family, but it’s a common theory that he may have had a sibling he killed. Either way, he’s an only child now and has some MAJOR issues with his parents. Says he loves his parents, but it’s pretty obvious it’s not a two-way love. There’s a lot to say about his family in particular since it’s so important to his murder

Yuno: Mom and younger brother named Yura, along with her grandma and grandpa listed as family. Her father left her when she was young, so Yuno has no memories of him. Loves her family and wants to see them again and seems especially close with Yura, who she shows off cats cradle tricks to

Fuuta: Mom, dad and older sister. His parents are divorced and he hasn’t seen his mom since said divorce, while his dad is a “weak, pathetic fogey”. He lists only his father and sister as family, but when asked who he’d like to see, picks his mom. His dad is a civil worker and his sister is a beautician, though he doesn’t know what his mom does

Mu: Mom and dad, only child. Her parents are rich, her dad a landlord / furniture importer and her mom a former model. She’s clearly quite close with her parents, repeatedly saying how much she misses them and how she loves them, along with calling them both kind cool and beautiful and saying her ideal type of man is like her dad (??????). Her mother is French and father Japanese. Her parents have almost certainly spoiled her, but considering how highly Mu speaks of them, it raises the question as to why she didn’t (or couldn’t, or did and failed) reach out them to stop the bullying

Shidou: Unknown? Lists his family as something he treasures, but also states there’s nobody he’d leave behind if he died. He considering having a loved one die more painful than death and when asked who he could bring back to life says he couldn’t chose. Whether or not the person he was trying to save was a spouse, blood relative or something else, it’s possible he’s had more than one loved one die

Mahiru: Unknown, but her answer to someone she could confide to is the worker at a beauty salon she goes to rather than a friend or family

Kazui: Well, he had a wife

Amane: Mom, dad, to an extent her cult. She admires her father, who has been away on some kind mission (likely a religious one), which Amane sees as something honorable. She wants to see him so she can be praised. Amane says her parents must be proud of her because she’s such a “good girl”. There’s also the four figures in Magic - Gachata, Yuri, Gozake, Riyone - that she interacts with (and that abuse her), but it’s unclear who exactly they are in relation to Amane other than fellow cult members

Mikoto: Mom and little sister, parents are divorced and no mention further of father. His sister is in high school and he describes her as brilliant. Says he gets along with his mother, that she raised him and he doesn’t want to worry her

Kotoko: Mom, dad, older brother and grandma. No further information to my knowledge

[kayssweetdreams]

A "Perfect" Vacation Ch 23

Meanwhile, With Dolly, Roland and Misère...

Dolly didn't feel safe sleeping in the hotel. Maybe it was the fact that it reminded her a bit too much about her time back at PPP, or Ka Lā's attitude, or Maybe it was the fact that they were invited by a woman they have never even HEARD of before. But either way, she just didn't feel safe.

Even with her dad and Misère around, she couldn't help but get the same uneasy vibes that she had around Madame Prim, whenever Ka Lā came around her. "Don't worry Dolly. Maybe we can ask Ka Lā to give us a ride back to the mainland." Roland suggested, hugging his daughter and trying to keep her calm. "I have to admit...I can't help but feel a little uneasy here too." Misère said, her eyes shifting back and forth.

"Dad. You think that the others feel the same way? After all, Yuri and Kaylo had the same 'treatment' as me..." Dolly admitted, hoping her father would understand. "I think they do. If you don't feel comfortable, we can leave. After all. It's not like this is the school again." Roland said, rubbing his daughter's back, trying to keep her calm. "How about this: We find Ka Lā and ask her for a ride back to the mainland in the morning." He suggested. Dolly, while happy that her father acknowledged her fear, was also nervous about staying on the island for one more day.

"Don't worry Dolly, Everything will be OK." Roland said as he got comfortable in the tent he set up. No matter how much Ka Lā insisted, Roland refused to stay inside one of the room, instead, he brought a portable tent (a YURT. As he says) and set it directly in the forest, Claimed that it felt more like home. Dolly also had her own tent, but for some odd reason, she lost hers after one night. "Ok...Good night Dad." Misère said, making herself comfortable on a nearby hammock "Good thing that it's a warm night tonight." She said to herself as she closed her eyes.

However, the next time Dolly opened her eyes, she saw that she, her dad, and Misère were strapped down to 3 metal tables. Panicking, Dolly began shouting for them to wake up "Dad! Dad wake up! Misère! Get up!" She yelled. Unfortunately, her words were in vain, the two adults were knocked out. Struggling, Dolly attempted to wiggle out of her restaints, but to no avail. "Oh I wouldn't bother if I were you." A scarily familiar voice said. Dolly tensed up. She knew that voice ANYWHERE...and she didn't want to.

"M-MOM?!" She screamed in terror, watching as Ka Lā stepped out of the shadows. Dolly's breathing grew erratic. "K-KA LĀ?! BUT-HOW-BUT-YOU'RE" the girl sputtered, panicking as she saw the woman getting closer. "Now Dolly dear...it's improper for a girl to stutter." 'Ka Lā' said, making Dolly thrash and panic even more as she was now standing directly above her. "BUT HOW?! THE POLICE ARRESTED YOU!!" Dolly yelled, unable to fathom how her perfection obsessed mother was HERE. Although she was JUST arrested on the news. "Oh Dolly. You know that the quest for perfection never rests." Prim said, in a almost mocking voice.

"W-What do you want? I live with dad now and your school is destroyed. I have nothing you could want." Dolly said with as much bravery as she could in her voice. As much as she was terrified to see Prim again, she would NOT let her have the upper hand, and Fear her. Prim's eyes narrowed "Ah yes. Your stupid flower-loving, Tree-hugging hippie of a father has completely warped your mind. And my school is now in shambles, thanks to that bug loving brat, and her pink haired demonic friend. But don't worry...Mother is going to fix it all once more. Along with your new sisters." She said in a strangely calm voice.

Dolly grew confused. "Huh? What sisters? I'm an only child." She said. "Not anymore you're not. You and you're going to be a PERFECT role model." Prim said, her perfection crazed smile shining as she stood back...and revealed Yuri and Kaylo, everything that made them special gone, their eyes duller than a dull blade. The two of them gazed at Dolly and Prim with emotionless smiles.

"Good Day Dolly. Hello Mother..."

[floatingcatacombs]

Patlabor is On Lock

12 Days of Aniblogging 2023, Day 3

While Gundam is the most recognizable mecha anime I got into this year, most of my time was really spent working my way through the Patlabor franchise, and it’s quickly become one of my favorites. I’ve always loved the quiet moments in mecha shows, which makes sense considering I started with Macross and live for the bridge bunny gossip and off-duty downtown hangouts. Patlabor is built with this downtime at its core, operating with more of a slice of life mentality than anything else.

A lovable cast is crucial for making this work. Thankfully, Noa Izumi is a wonderful and unique protagonist, a scrappy soft butch who’s in it for the eroticism of the machine. The first Patlabor opening is a love letter from Noa to her mecha, and I get it! The AV-98 Ingram is an iconic design, with its asymmetric bunny ear antennae and shoulder lights and comically oversized revolver that requires the right hand to pop out in order to draw, exposing the arm wiring in the process. This is a show clearly written by first-generation mecha otaku, and plenty of time is dedicated to showing how the Labors have to be transported and recharged, how the movement software depends on reinforcement learning, showing off corporate model revisions, and of course repairs in the hangar.

Going back to the human characters, Noa’s work partner Asuma is clearly the more passive one within their dynamic, and it’s sweet to see that played out sincerely. And then there’s Kanuka Clancy, the stern weirdo badass from New York who’s constantly swearing and dropping one-liners in English. She’s the obvious breakthrough character of the show, and also the perfect opposites-attract pairing for Noa if you’re the kind of person whose yuri meter went off the charts during their drinking contest episode. Most of Patlabor’s cast seem fairly one-note at first, and one of the great tricks of the show is giving them just a little bit more depth than you would expect. Pretty much everyone, even the most jokey characters, eventually get a standalone episode or two that further sketches them out and offers real interiority. Captain Goto is another fan-favorite, and it’s definitely his mixture of laziness and wicked perceptiveness that does it, plus his main character billing in the movies.

SV2 may be a law enforcement unit, but this really isn’t a police procedural at the end of the day. These guys are the bum department out in the sticks who everyone hates, and the upside of that is that SV2 gets stuck with the oddest of jobs instead of cop work. Sometimes that’s dealing with a runaway military prototype, other times it’s arguing with the insurance company. The best kind of episodes are the ones that take almost entirely on base as everyone tries to solve a problem of their own making, like an Ingram falling into the sea or the mechanics getting into a fight with the only restaurant that delivers to them.

A main plot does eventually emerge, with a shadowy company developing a mysterious jet-black Labor piloted by a child who is the girlish boy to Noa Izumi’s boyish girl. The Griffon is sleek and curvy and has superiority in the water and air – it’s a machine designed to defeat Ingrams, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Yoji Shinkawa looked here when designing Metal Gear RAY. Automation is a fundamental ideological enemy of mecha – faceless mass production and artificial intelligence mean an end to the era of personal combat. Even Patlabor, a warless series, dips its toes into this idea in the later episodes, with Noa and the mechanics alike worrying that the neural networks in their new Labor models will make them redundant.

Overall, this show is hilarious and sweet and clearly loved by an older generation of otaku. So why didn’t I hear about it earlier? Partly it’s on me for not hanging out with the right mecha fans online for a while. But if I had to guess, it’s also because Patlabor is one of those works that’s straightforwardly, unobjectionably good in a way where it already says everything there is to be said about it. You can have near-infinite arguments about Zeon ideology or mobile suit powerscaling online, but there’s only so many times you can say “yeah, Noa Izumi, love that girl” precisely because everyone agrees. It can also be hard to pitch things by their vibes in a genre known for adrenaline and intrigue. Patlabor’s vibes, for the record, are immaculate.

I'm probably gonna be chasing the high of cel-era sunsets forever

Mecha’s also a bit looked down upon from the outside. Anything that makes it into the larger conversation has to be understood as “elevated” or a “genre deconstruction”, even if the very first Mobile Suit Gundam is already about Amuro’s trauma and PTSD from being made into a child soldier. This elevation is actually happening to the second Patlabor movie as we speak - it’s becoming increasingly discussed as a major component of Mamoru Oshii’s filmography, divorced from its source series and instead compared to his subsequent Ghost in the Shell movie. Funnily enough, Oshii’s contributions to the Patlabor TV show are actually the more lighthearted gag episodes.

A lot of recent Patlabor retrospectives have drawn attention to the artist’s collective Headgear, established and owned by the series creators so they would be able to retain the rights for the franchise. This structure is fairly unique for the anime industry and probably only makes sense for established creatives, but it does seem to have worked out great for them, providing financial stability and strong creative control over the franchise. This allowed Patlabor to thrive in the relative wasteland of late 80s TV anime, a time when even Gundam had fled to the OVA market.

That being said, it does take Patlabor switching back to OVAs to truly spread its wings. The New Files are a conclusion and continuation of the TV series that are willing to move at their own pace, resulting in some dramatic and surprisingly thoughtful stories. It’s genuinely touching to watch Goto and Nagumo try and fail to communicate their feelings for one another in a very restrained episode as thick with long-stewing emotions as it is empty space. Of course, the very next episode has half the cast get stuck in the sewer labyrinth underneath their base and there’s a bunch of Wizardry references. Oh, Oshii.

The Patlabor movies fully lean into this melancholy and uncertainty, and it’s a welcome evolution for the series. The first movie still ends with an all-out action set piece in a half-built mecha factory that stands in for the Tower of Babel, but the second one stays serious the whole time through, going as far as pivoting to a more realistic artsyle. It’s a challenging film. The politics are all-encompassing but fairly straightforward, as Oshii effectively infodumps a presentation on the postwar history of the JSDF throughout. Instead, what the makes the movie so difficult is its willingness to face the end of an era – the Cold War is over, the bubble economy has popped, and the former members of SV2 have all gone their separate ways. The conditions that have created Patlabor, both internal and external to the show, have dissipated. And the movie makes it clear by having the military stage a raid on SV2’s headquarters, tearing their Labors to shreds with gunfire in a beautifully animated act of desecration.

After watching her be a lovable mecha dweeb for 50 episodes, it hurts a bit to hear Noa Izumi say that she doesn’t want to be that girl obsessed with robots for the rest of her life! These characters are growing in such a way that will remove them from the focus of the narrative, and it’s a movie about letting go just as much as it is about looking towards an uncertain personal and national future. I love Miyazaki’s Porco Rosso, but the fact that Oshii put this out just one year later paints a delicious contrast between the two directors with regards to escapism versus reality with regards to militarism. There's some great interviews from the era where they're just taking potshots at each other about all this.

[apricotmayonaise]

Dahlia Hawthorne + April May headcanons? (Ship or separate I don’t mind :3 )

(Sorry if this has been done before lol. Anon because I’m a coward)

anon i do not know who you are but i love you dearly and i am kissing your forehead so much right now. i will do all three

DAHLIA HEADCANONS: -born 14 february 1993 -pretty strong! like she literally swam through raging rivers without. dying. so -she loves books and reading and poetry (the poetry one is canon i think oops) -she has aspd (not in a "murderer character must me sociopath!11!" way but in a I Actually Read The DSM For Fun When I Was 9 And Also Know That Demonising Cluster B Disorders Is Bad) -her red hair isn't natural, she dyed it when she went into hiding as "melissa foster" -speaking of hair, her and iris did that braid crown hairstyle as children, until the bridge incident when iris "betrayed" dahlia and dahlia got so pissed she cut her hair to about the length you see in that one 3-4 cg -refuses to take help from anyone when shes sick but WILL use it to get out of things -did not actually help get iris seperated from her. that was a lie to make herself seem more in control -lesbian

APRIL HEADCANONS: -born april 30 1993 (duh) -passenger princess. do not trust this woman behind the wheel. -has three siblings. february march (33) june july (13) and august september (3) -i have an insane amount of backstory headcanon for her so please ask me about that my dms are always open -related to above, she was a child beauty queen/reality tv person (2-7) and teen model (13-20) -she LOVES romcoms. so much -natural hair color is a mousey brown. it got dyed pink when she was 2 due to . child beauty queen -has HORRIBLE nightmares. rip queen! -owns one of those fucking lipstick tazers. like despicable me 2. -also a lesbian! was in denial for most of her life ("well, men like ME so obviously i like them") before being like "wow im gay. but im still going to flirt with men because theyre more likely to give me their credit card info" -she has a cat :) -she has all the mental illnesses that i have because i am her and she is me. hpd, bpd, anorexia, ptsd shes me fr -related to the above, she doesnt take it seriously. "yeah i have ptsd, proficient talent for sucking dick" type shit DOLLYHEARTS HEADCANONS: -they meet when they're both about 13-14 years old -dahlia, or, "melissa" as april first knows her is in boarding school because shes in hiding as melissa foster -april, on the other hand, got sent to boarding school because her mom was not good at dealing with a daughter who belonged in either thirteen (2003) or euphoria. she generally acted WAY too grown for her age and was pretty self destructive. she was also a model for bluecorp and would pose for their billboards as well as other companies and magazines -the pair quickly become High School Girl Best Friends. hooray. -things get yurious up in that bitch -this continues for many many years until they r in college. theyre sort of in this weird in between situationship phase and are also Highly toxic and somewhat codependent. -neither of them are being normal about it -things get even more toxic yurious when doug gets thrown into the mix. this poor man . pls let him live -dahlia commits murder goes to jail yada yada they write letters to each other half of which are death threats that they cover in kisses and lipstick marks and hearts -and then april goes to jail -AND THEY WERE CELLMATES! -more toxic yuri happens -dahlia gets executed -april gets executed -ghost yuri