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bubbipond · 3 months

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Ranting this late in the day should be a crime but I am exhausted by the people in the BL/GL community.

Have any of you seen those videos on YouTube that are like basically talking about the persons least favorite pairings? I just watched one where they said force and book look too similar to play love interest. I’m sorry but the way that is insanely racist and just not true??? Then I saw in the comment section of a different one people saying that Phuwin should stop acting in bl’s because he obviously dislikes kissing men. Then the rest of the videos are just really bullying these actors. Listen, I’m all for criticism, but these videos aren’t constructive. Normally they are just mean and vile.

There are pairings that I don’t love so I don’t watch them. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Kinnporsche but I promise you I do not go around saying mean things about Mile or Apo. But let me address the ones that I just find extremely rude.

Number one Force and Book look nothing alike. I have never had an issue telling them apart because they have such vastly different features. I think a lot of criticism for them stems from their original series being super annoying and Books character irritating a lot of people. That wasn’t a Force and Book problem that was a writing problem. There is a long history of racism in Asian communities. Where a very popular joke is you can’t tell them apart. I’ve heard it in real life, in the K-pop scene, in anime and dramas, and now in BL, I guess. Now don’t get me wrong, there are actors who I feel would play brothers amazingly because of similarities. But Force and Book are not one of them., at least not in the case of being “almost twins” like this person was saying.

Moving onto the Phuwin comment, I think this one is so stupid because he does not have to take BL jobs. Actors stop doing these all the time. Pairings dissolve and new ones come around all the time. Also pairings dissolve and the actors stop doing BL’s as a whole. We have seen it countless times. so if he really didn’t want to have to have intimate scenes with a man, he definitely does not have to. Now let me say, I do understand the critique about the way he kisses but I don’t agree with it being just blatantly because he is kissing a guy. If you watched him in the non-BL series he has been in, where he has had a partner who is a woman, you would know that’s just how Phuwin kisses. If you were really trying to give good criticism, that has to be paired with you paying attention. If you watch how he talks and how his mouth moves, whether he’s in a show or talking in real life, his mouth movements when he kisses makes sense. Also keep in mind, and this is not a slight at him, but he has very skinny lips. So when he’s kissing Pond whose lips aren’t big, but they’re bigger than his obviously it’s not going to look like he’s doing as much. But to try and low-key say that he has some repressed homophobia because you don’t enjoy his acting is weird. Also keep in mind, and I’ve joked about this before, this pairing almost always end up playing characters where Ponds character is seemingly more into the relationship than Phuwins characters. Not that his characters don’t care, but it’s almost always pond being the character that has an egregious amount of affection for Phuwins character.

I honestly don’t normally watch videos like these, but I clicked on it just because they were discussing a lot of popular pairings. and in my head, I was just like oh you’re doing this for views. There is no way this is for any other reason when every pairing you have chosen to talk about are highly popular pairings. You mean to tell me out of all the ones do you want to talk about the ones with the biggest fan bases and I’m supposed to believe that you aren’t just trying to get views on your page?

This is coming from somebody who doesn’t even particularly love half of the pairings this person discussed. But something I have noticed is that in a fandom/world of media dealing with oppressed peoples, there is bigger critique than in its counterparts. Because not only are these shows about a group of people who have long been suppressed due to sexuality, but it’s also about a group of people who have history of racism against their cultures. It is okay for a series to not be the most expressive and beautiful and extravagant series on earth. It is okay for things to be mediocre at best. Because even the LGBTQ+ community have very very boring stories. That does not make the stories unworthy of being told. We are allowed as a community and as queer people to have media the same way as everyone else. But instead, we get these very dismissive and low-key weird and social relationships in media.

Okay thank you for coming to another TEDTalk…I hate a lot of you and a lot of you are weirdos. (:

#Pondphuwin #phuwin tangsakyuen #pond naravit #we are #we are the series #phumpeem #forcebook #a boss and a babe #fish upon the sky #only friends the series #mileapo #gmmtv #Thai bl

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atla-genderbender · 7 months

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ATLA Gender Bender: Firelord Ozai

"You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."

The principle behind this AU is to swap the genders of the main cast (Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko) and other characters where it enhances the story. This means that most child characters, like Azula and Suki, are also swapped, but adults are swapped on a case by case basis. This is especially true for characters who had a formative influence on the main characters, like parents and other role models. If you swap a given character and their parent(al figure)s, this alters the character's personality more than swapping that character without swapping their parents. Sometimes this effect is subtle, and sometimes it is large. This is why I would avoid swapping the genders of a character's parents, unless it makes sense to do so.

In the case of Zuko's parents, I do not think it detracts from the story to swap their genders. I would even go so far to say that some things are enhanced by swapping both Ozai and Ursa. Female Ozai fits surprisingly well into the role of an "evil empress". "Urson" also works as a "papa bear" character. A female Ozai would contrast well with a female Zuko, serving as a "good queen" "evil queen" dichotomy. I also find it fascinating to think about what would change and what would stay the same if Ozai's gender was also swapped.

I picture female Ozai being no less evil or sadistic as normal Ozai. Unlike Ozai, she would have to maintain the image of a good mother to her children, and a good daughter to her father. This is especially interesting if she is the first female Fire Lord in a line of male Fire Lords. She would be a queen who has to strike the perfect balance of femininity and power in order to please her court. A woman who possesses bewitching beauty to conceal a wicked, sadistic soul. I think she would be very narcissistic and cruel, obsessed with being beautiful and powerful at once.

I attempted to convey this through her design, which could be tweaked in many respects. To explain the rationale behind her design, the Fire Lords of Avatar draw from East and Southeast Asian influences. Firelord Ozai's hairstyle is Chinese inspired (see: atlaculture.tumblr.com/post/65…), but his clothing is Burmese inspired (see: atlaculture.tumblr.com/post/63…). As such, I decided to base the hairstyles of female Fire Lords on East Asian hairstyles worn by female rulers.

It feels inevitable that female Ozai would be compared to Wu Zetian. I wanted to minimize these comparisons, and make it clear that female Ozai is not supposed to be a representation of Wu Zetian. Doing so would unfairly demonize a real historical figure. Still, I could not resist including a couple of elements inspired by Fan Bingbing as Wu Zetian in "The Empress of China" (see: dwvyw8kf1avne.cloudfront.net/s…). This is what inspired female Ozai's red makeup, and the stylized phoenix headdress that she wears. Other design elements are not inspired by Wu Zetian, but other portrayals of powerful queens and empresses in Chinese dramas. Namely, Empress Du Feihong in "The Glamorous Imperial Concubine". I hope that the final design is so stylized that it is clear that she is not supposed to represent a real historical figure. I attempted to simplify her headdress in a way that could be easy enough to animate while still making it clear that she is wearing a ridiculous amount of gold and rubies on her head. This is meant to contrast with female Zuko's design. Where female Zuko is humble, female Ozai is vain.

In the end, I am dissatisfied with the design I came up with, for reasons I will explain under "OUTFIT DESCRIPTIONS".

This design approach diverges from the design principles behind the one female Firelord shown in Avatar, that being Izumi. I took liberties with hairstyles, but did not change the masculine style of robes. I felt this would diverge too far from the pre-established rules of Avatar. Additionally, I think it creates an interesting contrast between a feminine hairstyle and masculine robes, especially if Ozai and "Zuka" are the first female Firelords in a long series of male Firelords.

The phoenix imagery actually makes more sense if Ozai was a woman, since the fenghuang is traditionally a feminine entity. I also think it would be cool if she was still named "Ozai", kind of like how "Ty Lee" is very feminine but has a masculine name. It would also imply that "Ozai" isn't the name she was born with, but a name she adopted for its meaning "large presence".

I picture Grey Griffin as the voice of female Ozai. Specifically, how she voices adult characters, like Ming Hua in LOK and the female Viltrumite from Invincible. I don't think that she should have the same voice as Azula, but Grey Griffin could give her a venomous and vicious voice that would fit her really well.

OUTFIT DESCRIPTIONS:

1: Firelord Costume

I am dissatisfied with the hairstyle I came up with for female Ozai's Firelord costume. I have written previously about my concerns that viewers would conflate her with the real life Wu Zetian. In order to minimize these comparisons, I tried to make elements of her hairstyle abstract instead of authentic to real life costumes. However, I do not think I was successful in achieving my goal. When I first started drawing female Ozai, I knew little about hanfu, and have since learned more about traditional Chinese costumes. The crown that I gave her is clearly inspired by fengguan, which is a distinctly Chinese element. Given Ozai's affinity for phoenixes, I can't not picture female Ozai wearing some sort of fengguan. The design I came up with is flawed, as it is something that "looks Chinese" without being authentic to Chinese costume design. This could come across as offensive. The best approach would be to fuse the Chinese element of the fengguan with other cultural influences, so that the result is something that is not specifically Chinese. I took some time to try to come up with a better design, but to be transparent I am approaching creative burn out with this project and was unable to come up with a better design. I guess this speaks to my limits as an artist.

With all of this said, these designs are best viewed as a first draft and not the final product. These are meant to give an impression of what her character would look like, and could use more sets of eyes to review and improve the design.

2: "Phoenix Queen" Costume

In the second costume, her cape is somewhat inspired by Maleficent's cape in "Sleeping Beauty". Maleficent's appearance also helped inspire female Ozai's widow's peak and facial structure. As I mentioned before, her costume is inspired by the real life apsara. She has dressed herself in the image of a goddess of fire.

3: "Phoenix Queen" Costume, after removing crown and cape

The third costume is supposed to be how female Ozai would appear at the start of her fight with "Aangi". I intended for her to have the same body type as the female Viltrumite "Thula" from "Invincible". I also think that female Ozai's voice would sound like Thula's. I picture her as a warrior queen who spends a lot of time training, giving her an athletic and muscular appearance. I think she would appear more physically intimidating if she has some muscle mass on her frame. This being said, there are a lot of different athletic body types. A less bulky but athletic body type could arguably fit her better.

4: Appearance after being defeated by "Aangi"

The fourth costume is supposed to be how female Ozai would appear at the end of her fight with "Aangi". Since she doesn't have a goattee, I think "Aangi" would grab her by the gold part of her top. I think it would be cool and dramatic if "Aangi" ripped this part of her costume off. In the heat of battle, female Ozai loses the gold parts of her costume, and a waterbending attack by "Aangi" washes off her makeup, exposing her as a false goddess.

Her finger nails and toenails are painted and sharpened, to resemble the talons of a phoenix.

Like what I’m doing? Consider leaving me a donation via Ko-Fi.

#ozai #avatar the last airbender #atla genderbender #genderbending #rule 63 #gender bender #genderswap #genderbend #my art #my headcanons

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thehat-taheht · 10 months

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Boxers of Yesterday Today and Tomorrow

Storytelling in Sports

A normal person otherwise devoid of any specific purpose finds their raison dêtre in training for the martial arts.

This single sentence storyline is a fundamental story type in many Asian stories. You find it in Chinese Shaolin Temple epics, Japanese and Chinese rival school epics, Thai action films, Spanish and French sword-fighting fictions, and even American dramas and comedies. Rocky is the most notable example of an American version of this story type. In every example, the storytelling rarely focuses on the action and instead puts the onus on the relationships the character has with the world.

The most notable Japanese examples are Samurai films and combat/sports manga. In most of these examples the protagonist is relatively normal, allowing the audience to relate to them. Then the narrative introduces a reason for the character to evolve during exposition. The main character then is introduced to a mentor, not unlike Joseph Cambell’s example path of the Hero’s Journey. In sports narratives this mentor is usually in the form of a coach or trainer and they are uplifted from normal person to a superior athlete.

In sports manga and other sports fiction, the answer to all problems is always the same: Training.

Discipline provides confidence and training provides strength. Both of these are held together with ‘guts’ or determination. The athletic hero is confronted with stronger and stronger opponents and continues to train until he can defeat them. This type of ‘superiority through training and determination’ is a cornerstone of most Japanese stories. Many deal with an argument between skill and talent as well. In most cases learned skill defeats natural-born talent after enough training has occurred.

The lessons taught in these stories are almost always the same:

Nothing good is achieved without effort

Trust your friends and family

Strength is the product of discipline

Determination will give you victory

In this essay I will be focusing on three Boxing stories from Japanese culture. We will explore their meanings and narratives, the lessons taught, and the importance of their stories on culture.

Joe Learns to Box: Yesterday’s Tomorrow

Pugilism has a long history of nobility and violence. Boxing is enjoyed the world over as the world’s most basic of martial arts. Everyone can do it, but few can master it. Despite the sport’s organization being mostly from a European base, the United States has become the de facto home of the sport. It spread across the world and entered Japan in 1854 and became popular despite Japan’s dominance in the martial arts world.

Post World War II anti-American sentiment led to a lull in the sport, but boxing matches continued. As Japanese classical art like Emakimono evolved into Manga, artists struggled for meaning in a post nuclear world. One particular author found this meaning in the story of a prize fighter from the slums of Tokyo. Asao Takamori under the pen name Ikki Kajiwara teamed up with the artist Tetsuya Chiba to create their seminal work, Ashita no Joe. The story captured the spirit of Japanese determination and also their desperation in the face of their defeat of WW II and the subsequent reconstruction period. Joe’s redemption and anger belonged to the youth of the day and inspired other authors, artists, and aspiring boxers to try their best to grow and learn what it means to be strong.

Using this story as a lens to view other anime and manga you can see its influence everywhere you look, from popular to obscure. Notably Takamori’s story inspired a renaissance of boxing fandom in the late 1970’s. Despite there being several titles going to Featherweight and Welterweight champions in Japan during the time, boxing was relatively unpopular due to its association with the US. Ashita no Joe, or “Tomorrow’s Joe” captured a moment and helped to move its fans forwards toward a brighter tomorrow.

The titular character Joe Yabuki, is a tough-as-nails drifter that wanders into a shantytown and runs into an alcoholic boxing trainer, who sees a bright future hiding inside the brash youth and attempts to coax it out of him. Because of his terrible attitude and criminal behavior he is instead put in jail. Joe redeems himself (somewhat at least) and pushes himself to become a professional boxer. His story can be seen as a successful transition from an economic outcast into a functional member of society. In this case, society can be said to be the true villain of the story. Joe has either rejected society or society has rejected him, he has either turned to violence or been rejected due to his reliance on violence to solve his problems. Similar story origins can be found in gangster movies but also in stories like Rambo: Firstblood.

Classic and contemporary gangster films have characters that as children are shown a violent way of life, either by design or necessity. These children then grow into violent adults, full of anger and contempt for society and view the world as a thing to be possessed or conquered. Society ultimately rejects them for their violent and destructive natures. Stories like Rambo on the other hand, have a well liked child grow into a life of violence for a noble cause, but are ultimately unable to separate this violence from their personality. They eventually reject society as they cannot find a place and the violence in them serves no purpose.

Yabuki is a bit of a mystery as we have no context to put him in, but as with both other character types, his violence serves no purpose. He is defined by his violence and it colors all of his actions towards others. Joe is a fundamentally unlikable character, full of anger, bitterness, and child-like pettiness. His relationship with those that eventually come to care about him serves to instill societal norms in him in an attempt to turn him into a better person.

Instead of society itself, I propose that poverty is the real enemy of Joe and his friends. Every day is a struggle for all of them in San’ya. Economic disparity is on parade throughout the narrative, from the driftwood houses along the Namida Bashi (Bridge of Tears) to the sky scrapers and mansions of the mega-wealthy. Joe is carted around the world boxing in various countries, but he never really grows out of the slums in his mind. Joe is obviously a victim of his own stubbornness, but he was made that way because of lack of economic opportunity. This is one of the primary stumbling blocks on display in gangster stories, but instead of becoming an enforcer and earning a living in the underworld, Joe becomes a homeless wanderer, evoking the Japanese concept of a Ronin. A skilled fighter, disgraced and masterless but clinging on to his own moral code as he wanders from town to town.

While Joe is a product of his time, his story is no less poignant for modern audiences. I enjoy Ashita no Joe for a variety of reasons, but one of the best is its lack of focus on form. Chiba’s art is almost romantic with emphasis on Joe’s inability to care about the world, and Takamori’s rambling narrative is like a daydream at times with no obvious focus or form. If I had to compare it to music, Joe’s story is like a free form jazz with some repeating phrases and a theme, but mostly feels disorganized and yet is familiar. Joe has emblazoned himself into the minds and hearts of Japanese artists and athletes for decades and will continue to guide hearts, minds, and fists for decades to come.

Ippo Steps into the Ring: Yesterday’s Today

In sharp contrast to the unlikable character study of Joe Yabuki, we now come to possibly the most likable character in all of Japanese sports manga. Makunouchi Ippo, the titular character of Hajime no Ippo, has a boundless optimism that is almost never extinguished and his ability to win through sheer will power is incredibly inspirational. When I meet people that do not watch any anime or read manga and they ask me what to start with, Ippo’s story is always close to the top of the list. Of the three stories explored in this work, Ippo is my favorite. I have watched Ippo's road to fight against Date Eji more times that I can remember.

As with Joe, Ippo is a product of his environment and time. He is an example of modern boxing theory and technique tempered with lessons from the past. The origins of boxing are represented by the retired boxers in the narrative and the techniques of famous modern era boxers are on display in this love letter to obscure boxing styles. Ippo is the son of a fishing boat captain whose good naturedness causes him to forgo friendships and childhood distractions to help his mother operate the fishing boat business that supports them after his father's death. He is bullied and taunted until a chance encounter with a professional boxer saves him from a group of wannabe hoodlums underneath a bridge. Ippo awakens to find himself in the world of boxing and puts all of his considerable determination into making himself a professional licensed boxer. He manages this and continues to help his mother without complaining or losing his intoxicating optimism.

Makunouchi is meant to be a representation of the perfect son in Japanese culture. He is mannered, self-effacing, and always does the right thing. Conceptually, Ippo is almost as far as possible from Joe as a character. The world that Ippo exists in is also just as opposed to Joe’s world. While economics do factor into the narrative a bit, it is not a focus of the story. In this world the common everyday experience of Japan’s average citizen is on display. The manga is in full swing with shonen style comedy and slice of life stories, Ippo’s life is beset with heartache, rivals, highschool life, and bad dating advice.

The thing that really sets Ippo apart is the illustration of effort and power in the art of the near constant boxing and sparring matches. Although the art is a bit dated, it still communicates emotion and drama in a way that no other sports show has ever done in my opinion. Some of the later fights continue to give me chills and despite knowing the outcome of every fight, I still find myself cheering on Ippo. The color palette for everyday life is somewhat subdued but still contains a range of colors, but the fights are incredibly bright with flashes and huge blast lines. Usually this style of art would be a turn off for me in other mediums, but somehow Hajime no Ippo gets away with it.

If Joe’s story is Jazz, then Ippo is a Rock Ballad. Guitars scream at times, but other times the story is whimsical or romantic. George Morikawa’s skillful blend of emotions bring you through a chord progression of inspiring notes building to larger than life crescendos, that crash down upon you in a hail of pummeling fists, and knock you out with the power solos that are the crowd pumping championship matches. The drama conveyed in Takamura’s face while he attempts to control himself from opening a refrigerator while dieting to make weight, and the joyful head nod that Ippo gives when he defeats the first villain of the show are highlights that play on an loop in my mind drenched in squealing guitar riffs and the roar of the crowd.

One of the craziest things about watching the show for me is the effect it has on my exercise habits. If I ever want to get motivated to work out, I put on the first season of Ippo. Just as Ashita no Joe’s world is meant to capture the desperation of the downtrodden and the realism of his world, Hajime no Ippo seems to look at the world through Ippo’s guileless naivete. Ippo’s world is both very realistic and simultaneously extremely exaggerated. This offputting juxtaposition is difficult to navigate at times when you are wondering what is real and what is imagination.

Junkyard Dog Bites Mankind: Today’s Tomorrow

When writing about the future one of the things you have to ask yourself is ‘what will X be like in the future?’ Yō Moriyama, Katsuhiko Manabe, and Kensaku Kojima asked themselves, what would boxing be like in the future? How would people fight in the age of machines and artificial intelligence? Gearless Joe is the answer, or rather the inverse of the answer as he is essentially an anti-hero forgoing the future methods of robotic-assisted carnage, for old fashioned human-powered beatdowns.

If Hajime no Ippo is Classic Rock and Ashita no Joe is Jazz, then Megalobox is Industrial HipHop. It is hard, but rhythmic, artistic and catchy. By far the most polished of the 3 examples, it is an extremely fun watch and is effectively a stylized re-telling of Ashita no Joe. The nameless protagonist chooses the moniker ‘Joe’ meaning a man with no real name, but also an obligatory hat-tip to the source material that inspired them. Originally self-named ‘Junk Dog’ is employed to fight in fixed matches in the underworld that our original Joe eschewed. He feels trapped by his life and while attempting to force change, ends up essentially trapping himself even worse. Through a twist of fate, he is forced into the world of professional legitimate boxing in which if he loses he will die. In this brutal and vicious dog-eat-dog world, Gearless Joe shines as a likable anti-hero.

Unlike Ashita no Joe, society is not the big bad guy. There are of course real bad guys in Megalobox in the form of gangsters and fixers and hustlers, but the true villain in the story is greed. The story paints a nasty picture of corruption in the slums and then opens up the world into the bright lights of the legitimate world. With every turn you see another sign of economic elitism, not the least of which is Joe’s lack of personal identity. He is a non-person in the society and cannot even be allowed into the city, there is of course a blackmarket answer for everything and Gearless is allowed to come into the futuristic world of the Megalonia tournament and fight for his life.

His trainer sets up their gym under a bridge bearing more than a passing likeness to the same Bridge of Tears from Ashita no Joe. His team and Gearless Joe are the only desperate ones in the narrative, so unlike the feeling of inclusivity that Yabuki’s gang felt, Gearless Joe feels isolated.

An Abridged Story of A Bridge: Tears to Cheers to Fears

Dieting and sweat, training and bruises, bright lights and cheering crowds. There are a lot of things that the stories share due to the sheer concept of boxing, but one thing that stands out the most to me about the similarities is the geography. Ashita no Joe and Hajime no Ippo canonically occur in Tokyo whereas Megalobox occurs in the fictional ‘Administrative Zone’, but a common point with all stories is their reliance on a single feature of the landscape, a bridge. The bridge in Ashita no Joe is a famous one called Namida Bashi or the Bridge of Tears. It got this name due to the requirement that future prisoners of Kozukahara penitentiary would have to say their goodbyes to their loved ones on that bridge as you had to cross the Omoigawa river to get to the prison. The river was moved and the bridge doesn’t exist anymore, but in its time it was a symbol of loss and heartache and of loss of agency. It was no small symbolism for Joe’s trainer Danpei to open his ramshackle gym under the bridge. Joe’s relatively brief stint in prison and their constant struggle for survival, coupled with Joe’s incessant need to cause trouble always lead to loss, heartache, and usually a loss of agency. Many of Ashita no Joe’s most important moments occur in and around the bridge, borrowing context from the bridge’s reputation. Each of these events is usually a precursor to a major event in the context of Joe Yabuki.

Even though the bridge is now gone, the area around the bridge’s location is close to the Tiato and Arakawa districts that have several rivers that run through them with modern bridges that look remarkably like the one that serves as a setting for many of the critical plot turns in Hajime no Ippo. We see the entire storyline of Ippo’s relationship with Umezawa (Ippo’s school bully that is turned into his greatest fan) unfold under and around the bridge. Ippo manages to catch the 10 leaves that teach him how to jab next to the bridge, and several key conversations and character introductions are in and around the canal next to the bridge. I don’t feel that this use of the canal next to this particular bridge is random and suspect that if it isn’t just an icon from the author’s youth, it is an homage to Ashita no Joe’s use of the Bridge of Tears.

Ippo’s story doesn’t revolve around the same themes, so the bridge being similar but different is important in my mind. Being under the bridge, where Joe and Danpei were, is when Ippo is at his weakest and most vulnerable. The wise tree nearby becomes his first teacher and Ippo learns that he can grow stronger through dedication and training. This causes the bridge to become a symbol for growth and hope for a better tomorrow for Ippo. Even Umezawa crosses the bridge on his way to become a better person. Like Ippo is the inverse of Joe, the bridge in Hajime no Ippo is the inverse of the Namida Bashi. Everytime a character crosses the bridge they are stronger than they were before.

Megalobox as a revamp of Ashita no Joe also has a bridge, and of course they have their ‘gym’ underneath it. The symbolism in Megalobox is missing however and the bridge takes on a different meaning. Joe Yabuki and his trainer Danpei are poor in a community of poor people and they have a community to help them make their gym a home. Gearless Joe and Gansaku Nanbu have no such community to help them and must toil essentially on their own. The bridge and the river are essentially signs of the reality of illegal squatting, evidence that they do not belong in the world they find themselves in. As Gearless Joe and Nanbu rock the boat in entirely different ways than Joe Yabuki, death at the hands of the corruption of the city is their motivating factor instead of prison and poverty. The bridge over their heads instead becomes a symbol of cover, of hiding in plain sight. Not unlike the nameless boxer’s decision to choose the anonymous name of ‘Joe’.

To my reckoning there are a lot of examples of symbolism in all three stories, but none are shared so visibly and with as great an impact as the bridges over the heads of heroes while they train and live life outside the ring. Plans are formed, strategies devised, and history is made under these bridges, while clueless people stroll above them not knowing what extreme determination and strength of will lies beneath.

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quincyhorst · 7 months

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DRAGON FIVE: Seol Hyeon Dae

More FD Bench, now with reserve DF Hyeon-Dae. Unfortunatey the one I have the less of, but I still like him anyway </3

He has three younger siblings who are eager for cinema as him, and they beg for in an appearance in his future movie. Hyeon-dae always keeps his promises, though he can't guarantee how good will their appareances be. (They are in dire need ofimproving some acting skills...)

At least they are good supporters of his soccer plays, so he appreciates that.

...He's actually the nicest guy of the whole group. He has no resentments, no self-pressure, no pettiness, no actual anger... He's just a guy with huge ambitions and that's it, as "vanilla" as that might sound. But that doesn't make him an outsider from the other benchers; in fact he does help keeping the group around most of the time.

Ji-Nan grew a liking for him because of that, and they like to hang out around the town when practice is over. Chung-yoon also likes to join in at times, liking to talk with Hyeon-dae (And to keep an eye over the keeper).

Sung-Joon is slightly harder to interact with to due to how much of a show-off he is, but HD did just fine by convincing him to appear in one of his movies; his future award being a "new step for Korean media" (At least that's his choice of words). Both a blessing and a curse, now SJ won't stop talking about that whenever he's with Hyeon-Dae, and how great of an actor he will be...

And while HD does know a lot about korean movies, he isn't very interested on K-Dramas. SJ is the one to talk with him about that.

...Meanwhile with Jung-Won he talked just a bit, but they seem to be in good terms. JW offers a lot of interesting technical information about cameras, surprisingly, so maybe a collaboration could happen in the future.

I guess he could be the "leader" of the benchers? Sung-Joon tends to claim that title himself given he's older, but all the rest believes Hyeon-Dae fits the role better. Even if he doesn't always know what to do most of the time (?

Final thing for now, but midway the asian eliminatories, he had quite the curious encounter in a japanese camera shop: With Adel Siddique, a bencher of the Qatari team with the same exact dream as his (Read their profiles pls). After having a nice conversation about filming equipment the two decided to keep in contact -be it phone numbers or the few social media of the era-. They are still on good terms in the future, but the truth is that they are now focused on their individual careers. Does this mean that they could end up competing for an award? Most likely. I won't say who gets to win the Oscar tho (?

A random tidbit that I want to add here to end is that, for some reason, Hyeon-Dae's 3D sprite made his pupils look like literal minuses ➖➖, similar to those of a goat. The anime went with an approach closer to his actual sprite; pupils still "blocky" but more normal-looking.

(Source for the pic)

Honestly the latter medium made him look so much better overall. That bowlcut can't be fixed tho, I'll say that (? 😭🙏

#hc:ina11 #Fire Dragon (ina11)#Seol Hyeon-Dae #Adel Siddique #Not on the mood to give much comments today #Though if you're familiar with Jojo's Bizarre Adventure... For some reason he reminds me of Joshu Higashikata #LOL #Just needs some more shaving and a sillier fashion style (?

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caitchercatlady · 21 days

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Ranking Asian Dramas of 2024: Winter

YouTube community posting is not going to be enough to share my opinions on dramas that I watched this year. Instead, I will share them here. Then, I realized that a Tumblr post won't be enough, but I still want to post here anyway. No matter, it's time for plan C: Posting in parts! What you will see first will be all of the dramas that aired in winter 2024 (some that aired in December of 2023 that finished in 2024, not to get confused). First, let me introduce you to my ranking system, which seems self explanatory.

Where’s the Replay Button?

They Got the Bag

Good For What it Was

Wanted to like but it has eh?

Why did I even Finish this?

With that noted, let's get started. (BTW, these will be in order of when they first aired.)

I Became the Lead in a BL Drama (Premiered Dec 24, end Jan 2nd; Where’s the replay button?)

If this wasn’t my favorite drama of the year, what was going to be? Episode one pulled me in for a loop by first making me think that this is going to be a shy child star and hot new celebrity trope when in reality the hot mysterious celebrity is actually a closeted fan of the child star whose dream just came true. Thankfully, he’s not saesang crazy because he remembers that he has a reputation to uphold, but that doesn’t make the romance any less cute whenever Yuichiro and Hajime are together. I honestly wished this series was longer, but I’ll rewatch it someday anyway.

Patisserie Mon (Premiered Jan 3; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

Truthfully, I found out Perth was in this, and I wanted to binge every moment that he was in it. To be fair, the side characters, minus FL’s friend, were the best part of the show. The love triangle ruined the main characters for me. Isamu for the win! That opening theme slaps hard AF though. I will play the whole thing from start to finish each episode. (I've been putting it on full blast since I found it on Spotify!) The ending was also very wholesome; Not gonna lie.

Intern in My Heart (Premiered Jan 10; They Got the Bag)

I was very worried that a show like this wouldn’t take a younger man/older woman romance seriously, but lo and behold, I was wrong! I was very happy that Ray and Rin (and the side characters as well) were treated like normal people in this drama. I mean, Ray is not normal because of his foresight powers, but when it comes to the romance, age didn’t play some comedic trope that made the two so awkward. It wasn’t awkward in the slightest as a matter of fact.

Blue Spring Ride Season 2 (Premiered Jan 19; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

I completely forgot that the first season aired in the last year, so that’s why I didn’t review the first season at that time. Admittedly, as a person who read both the manga and watched the anime, I was kinda thinking that events jumped around and about for this anime to have more drama in it. Maybe I’m misremembering and that the racing is just really fast. Honestly, maybe I preferred this because at least we get more story with Futaba and Kou. Now, onto Season 2. So we go from getting the boy to a stereotypical love triangle done always wrong all for the sake of “romantic trouble plot.” Also, minor student falls in love with adult teacher. Jesus, you would think that this drama would’ve cut that out, right? We’re in 2024 for god’s sake. Trying to finish this series for the sake of this post was absolutely painful to watch. It’s convincing me to not read the rest of the manga if it’s going to be like this, and that’s sad because the anime and manga had me in a heart grip.

Legend of Mermaid: Human Love (Premiered Jan 22; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

To be clear, I really didn’t want to watch this because the effects are pretty bad, especially the CGI fox demon and how goddamn slow the fight scenes are, but I was watching this as a part of my Mermaids in Asian dramas video, so I had to watch it from start to finish I absolutely regret it with how hokey it was. Oh well, at least I watched it on YouTube for free. Also, once you actually get into the movie, the plot intrigue really isn’t that bad. However, the mermaid concept as the title states, doesn’t exactly exist, so as a partial romance, the story falls flat, but as a mystery fantasy, it does better.

Happy Ending (Premiered Jan 25; They Got the Bag)

It was very cute for a short series. Very romantic at that. Kinda wished it was a full series for me to get into it more, but they got the bag for audiences to be attracted by it.

Anti-Reset (Premiered Feb 2; Good for What it Was)

Logically, this drama shouldn’t make sense, but I watched it because the premise reminded me of Absolute Boyfriend, the manga from the early 2000’s. The story was pretty predictable, which I expected from something like this, but Yi Ping and Ever 9 were just so cute together. If the show was just about the two of them and no side characters who try to break them apart, I would’ve had a more enjoyable experience than I already had. The ending broke my heart 100%. I thought I would be ready for what I was about to watch, but I was so wrong.

My Piggy Boss (Premiered Feb 2; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

This is Beauty and the Beast. Usually, you can’t make Beauty and the Beast boring, but somehow, they did. Xiao Zhu as Belle is like Emma Watson’s version of Belle, and I’m not happy to see it. I normally like stories where the jerk warms up to the female lead, but his change felt unwarranted because the FL was so unapologetically boring.

Kun in the Distant Ocean (Premiered Feb 11; Why Did I Even Finish This?)

Someone in the comments of MDL said that they believed the script to this movie was written by AI. After watching so many bad Chinese drama shows and movies this year, I wouldn’t be surprised anymore. Again, this was for the mermaid drama video, and movies like this make me regret the experiment in the first place. Everything about this movie felt wrong. Why was the character and plot all over the place?

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connoisseursdecomfort · 2 years

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I always think that Damianya is written to make fun of all love story tropes. Damianya can be as loud and childish and cheesy as they want, because they are literally babies, and that is why it works. Damianya can be all drama/manga/anime lovey-dovey tropes smashed into one, it can also be Pride and Prejudice. It can even be just random children shenanigans. Read it however you want and it will still be entertaining. You can take it EXTREMELY seriously, or not at all. Choose your adventure.

On the other hand, Endo is more careful writing Twiyor, because Twiyor is basically an idealised modernised marriage in Asian societies, in which real partnership and companionship flourish while satisfying social expectations (on the surface). It is about two people getting used to new roles while finding enjoyment in playing these roles. It started as a transaction (I mean, marriage 🤷‍♀️) in which they have zero expectations towards each other other than simply to stay in this relationship as long as they could, and despite all the evaluations they find what they truly need on each other.

I’m not saying that long-term couples must get married - in this case, marriage could be just a symbol of a couple trying to settle down for a long term relationship/ partnership. To be fair, the bar of marriage isn't that high nowadays - it’s harder to register a civil partnership, while a lot of people could just rush in and get married instead, just like what Twiyor did. I’m also not implying being married can’t be fun - Yor can have the wildest imagination and Twilight can be as dramatic as he wants to be, and yes I’m sure they would have lots of fun punching bad people, but I don’t think that is what Endo wants to convey through the story of Twiyor.

It’s amazing how well they communicate. When they see a problem, they seldom put the blame on the other half. When shit happens, they sit down and talk it out. Damianya shenanigans could easily end with some misunderstandings, and Endo would just leave it there - they are kids, it’s no big deal at least for now; but whenever Twiyor have issues, the whole thing usually ends with them being sincere with each other.

And yes, I want that. I want that level of maturity. Normally we would call that adulting, but sadly this kind of ships adulting is hard bruh.

#spy x family #I mean I still want the fun damianya is having #but ultimately I want what twiyor have #adulting

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neopuppy · 1 year

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I went to the Dallas show too and everyone I talked to said the GA situation was mess. I had seated tickets so it wasn't that bad for my friend and I, but our friend in GA said the line/fast pass situation was insane.

I was so ready to be bias wrecked by renjun but jaemin just wouldn't let it happen

I high-key want to see the dreamies again

MANNNNNNN i wont get into it abt the line drama too much, idc what they venue said either it was 1000% their fault. As someone who was raised by armys to smarten up abt how kpop works when I first got into it I rly never wanted to do a GA crowd again after how wings tour went down💀😅 but 7dream……

the whole everyone show up at the same time to get in line without any staff to handle how it goes is the venues fault, they were letting people get crushed, smothered and injured just bc we’re “kpop stans and the worst fandom they have ever had to deal with.” and then going on twitter to make fun of us 💀 also idc what anyone says there are a group of 20-30 foreign girls cutting lines at every stop and will not allow anyone to talk to them rationally. There are also about 15-20 American fans doing the same thing- thinking they control front of the line and saying the most ridiculous shit…..unfortunately most of them are Haechan stans too. They make it harder for the rest of us bc they were acting crazy as fuck, everyone else I met was pretty normal and calm😭 but those people were rly insane and staking out the venue by hiding in bushes/trees and piles of dirt the nights before. GA crowds need to be abolished bc some of these people are just abnormal.

idk I have been to well over 50 kpop concerts and ykw, Dreamzens are the worst. like, hands down the worst fandom experiences I have had irl have been in Neo City, they rly do have some of THE worst sasaengs I have ever encountered and it’s not limited to Asian fans, a ton of Western fans have adapted that behavior. It’s rly weird and sad to see.

BUT!!!!! None of that can deter from how fun and amazing the concert was oh my god I love them so much I almost cried a few times I’m ngl, like I’m not that person but NCT Dream mean a lot to me(despite how awful the fandom is, online AND irl), I heavily deep-dived Dream during the pandemic/lockdown and they in many ways became my safe space throughout the mental strain covid put me through(and still does). Their music and them in general bring me more comfort than I realized, like finally getting to see them all together felt idk….. I felt happy again, like my heart was full. It was so nice, I’m crying just thinking abt it, I love them so much bfjwixidcn.

I have really been getting over kpop and very disheartened with it ever since lockdown restrictions have been lifted(even prior bc the way kpop was moving during the pandemic made me pull back big time). Concert etiquette is lost, younger/new generation fans are the most disrespectful and entitled pieces of shit literally ruining the fun, and people are more insane than ever……like I cannot handle this culture of newer fans that truly believe they will become y/n and get an NDA by acting like a wild animal and holding up not only stupid signs but also crossing lines between fan/artists.

There are more problems in this fandom beyond Judy(iykyk) for example, but the fact that people enable her delusion by saying she is pretty and they aren’t doing much to shove her away. SHE READS MY JENO FICS LIKE THE REST OF Y’ALL……. She is not fucking anyone in NCT and its sick how even the fandom has no respect for these artists as human beings

Like I have traveled for many concerts now, and it is 1000% extremely easy to not stalk or ‘conveniently’ show up at the same place as kpop idols. People with the same flights/hotel/at the same restaurant/off-schedule events etc etc are going out of their way to harass these idols.

The whole experience of being a kpop fan is an everyday struggle for me bc on one hand I love these artists for their work and talent so much, on the other hand being associated with fans who act like wild animals that were raised by apes is sooooooo humiliating and not in a nice kinky way either.

I keep saying this is my last year with anything kpop idk. I just wanted to see the neos a few more times in concerts bc they rly do have the funnest concerts imo, but something rly shifted after lockdown, bitches went too crazy fr. I wanna go back to 2019 when concerts were more abt having fun with your parasocial friends and less abt getting attention lmao. Ok I ranted butttttttt yeah. Asking for kpop stans to act somewhat normal is…..outlandish I suppose.

Hopefully the next time I see the Dreamies will be more pleasant! I know this arena is much safer and more prepared for kpop stans bc they handled enhypen’s crowd rly well when I saw them there. Either way I’m going to have fun! Hope everyone stays safe💚

#asks #not putting a read more cut bc I said what I said #the things people have been doing this tour is down right EMBARRASSING

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neatfrog · 1 year

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~Notes~

~occasional 18+ content 🔞🔞

~queer faggot 🌈

~current things I can’t shut the fuck up about: hazbin hotel/helluva boss, fallout, venom (coming soon)

~my art tag here !

~currently taking commissions ✨

~About~

~you can call me kitchie (pronounced like ‘kicsi’ in Hungarian - it’s a joke bc kicsi means small and I’m 4’11”)

~you might have once known me as venomtots

~3 decades alive on this wretched planet

~married to someone I met on tumblr (follow ur dreams, kids)

~I enjoy cats and languages

~I draw (if the brain worms let me), and am capable of writing but haven’t actually done so in years. my white whale is the venom fanfic from 2018 that I still haven’t finished

~I’m autistic and have adhd so if I do something weird pls just blame it on that

~I’m not kidding when I say I’m obsessed with languages, it’s my special interest since I was like 7

~fluent - English and French

~advanced - Hungarian

~also OK - Norwegian, Spanish (Mexico), German, Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin)

~can’t speak/write but can read sorta well enough: Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Finnish (the only words I know are probably all from Antti Tuisku songs)

The rest is just my likes and shit, no obligation to read

~Likes~

video games

favs: Fallout, Baldur’s Gate 3, The Outer Worlds, Rule of Rose, Clocktower, ReMothered, Visage, The Evil Within, Resident Evil, the Dark Pictures series - most survival horror/horror in general.

I’ll admit that I often don’t have the patience for the horror games where you have to be all sneaky and try to find things & escape while constantly being chased, but I still really love those kinds of games and wish I had the patience to play them, so I’ll usually just watch a let’s play

I’m also a slut for some Mario Party, and my adhd ass can sit and play shit like Powerwash Simulator or House Flipper for hours

books/comics

horror/thriller/mystery mostly, but if it sounds interesting I’ll read whatever. we have several shelves of Stephen King books

favs: The Walking Dead, Venom, GoT, A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy, The Hunger Games

I still read manga occasionally (FMA will always be my #1 favorite)

movies

horror (any kind), foreign films, indie, comedy - again, if it sounds interesting and I’m in the mood then anything is cool. if you like horror and haven’t watched any Asian horror films, you definitely should do that

series/franchises that could be releasing their 20-quillionth remake/sequel and I would still be going to see it: saw, the purge, friday the 13th, scream, nightmare on elm st, VHS, Killjoy, Terrifier

ok I’d probably watch any Hunger Games movie too tbh

and literally anything ari aster does, I know that man’s some kinda fucked up but damn does he make some Movies

also Tubi has some really awesome shit on there, definitely worth checking out

I found Liza a rókatündér (Liza the Fox Fairy) on there and it’s now one of my all-time favorite movies

tv shows

favs: Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, Fallout, The Walking Dead, The Boys/Gen V, IWTV, Resident Alien, Hannibal, Ted Lasso, Disenchantment, Paradise PD/Farzar, WWDITS, GoT (minus s8), Supernatural (stopped around s14 and then they did That Thing at the end so it’s more of an old fav now)

I love Scandinavian crime thrillers/dramas 🤣

when starting a series it’s honestly whatever my spouse and I decide we feel like watching at the time. I usually prefer comedy or horror, but we’ve been known to watch other things

I’ll admit I’m also a sucker for crime shows like CSI, I had season 3 on dvd as a kid and rewatched it all the time. I used to watch it and Criminal Minds with my parents so it’s kind of nostalgic cause it’s like one of the few things we all did together

(I used to be into anime but I haven’t really been feeling it for a while. My first anime was InuYasha (still holds a special place in my heart). My all-time favorite is Fullmetal Alchemist, and I enjoyed Death Note and JJBA a feral normal amount. Black Butler was also 👌🏻 and I still need to finish the manga)

music

90% of the music I listen to isn’t in English. I don’t really need to understand the lyrics, I just like how it sounds. It does end up being funny sometimes though when you find out you’ve been bopping it to a song that’s repeatedly calling someone’s mom a whore

Most Listened: Antti Tuisku, Apulanta, Evelina, Szakács Gergő, ByeAlex, Intim Torna Illegál, Leander Kills, Dubioza, KYO, Stromae, Siri Nilsen - etc (Linkin Park is still an all-time favorite as far as American music goes)

I admit I’ve been obsessed with the hazbin hotel soundtrack lately

ok I won’t say no to the occasional k-pop or j-rock song (I used to be Obsessed lol)

that said I’ll listen to literally anything if it sounds good (nice beats make brain go brrr). only genre I actively dislike is post-9/11 country music

~Dislikes~

spiders (i’m sorry lil dudes ur rly cool y’all just irrationally scare me), making phone calls, unwarranted rudeness

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ritzy-biscuit · 2 years

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These Chinese action dramas be like, "we only have one season"

Me: ooohh and it sound good to, I could keep up with it for once! 😊

The series: season 1, 40 episodes

Me: 🙂🙃 wat.

#ritzy rambles #i mean it's normal for asian dramas and anime #but i'm so used to netflix series being like 10 episodes a season. lol #there was one drama that had 60 episode and it was still season 1 #currently watching word of honor #it has 36 episodes #i'm on ep. 6

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absolutebl · 2 years

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Hello,

This is an industry related ask. I saw a meme that got me thinking about how people view the BL industry in entertainment. The post goes like this:

GMMTV has a system where they hire actors to work on BLs as a pairing and they ensure the actors gain a strong following before casting them in a het drama and they never work on a BL again despite still reaping the benefits of the fandom they acquired from BL.

When I first saw the post I laughed because I have always joked that a lot of these actors see BL as doing dirty work that allows you to get to higher levels, but when I began to think of it I ended up feeling sad. The GMMTV pairing I thought of when I saw this was BrightWin, I have never watched their series so I don't even know much about their chemistry together but from social media I have seen that they still do promotion and sponsorship using their ship despite the fact that they probably will never be in a BL together again.

Now I don't think any actor should take a project they don't want but the thought kept ringing in my head that they see BL as something dirty which in turn make me feel dirty. This is more of a me problem as I often struggle with internalized homophobia. I am christian and I come from a place where hating gays is normal as queer people are the equivalent to demons. It took me years but over time I have come to realize that queer people are people and even if I can't completely understand them I don't want to pour energy into hate. Most people think I am strange when I defend queer people because they are so strange here. In fact, I didn't want to start watching BLs at first because I considered them as not queer enough and fetishized depictions. Over time I have come to realize that there are good stuff as well as bad ones.

My main point is that thinking of how the rest of entertainment must view BLs just brings all those feelings forward. What is your opinion on how BLs are viewed in entertainment? Do you think my thoughts are merely clouded by my own prejudice?

I have a short answer for this:

In Hollywood right now no one thinks of, cares about, or even knowns, BL.

Leaving that aside. I have a long answer too.

The "rest of entertainment" specifically Asian countries probably regards BL much in the same way the publishing industry regards romance and for much the same reasons and I talk about that in this post. It's a marketing, queer, and feminist issue. And I talk about that, and it's dirtiness specifically around dubcon and being a queer person who likes BL here.

I hope they help make you feel a bit better.

I will add, since you mentioned christianity that for you shame is likely also in play. Shame for liking soemthing deviant, shame for being a fan of anything at all (that's not sports or god).

Many fans have existed for a very long time under various cones of shame. Those who like fantasy and sci-fi, video games, RPG, LARPing, fanfic, erotic art, anime, yaoi, even kpop. To be a fan of something means at some point you will probably be shamed for it. Unfortunately, enthusiasm and love are often perceived as exploitable weaknesses by those who do not possess a similar capacity for immersive joy. Such people are pitiable, in the end, for they will never know true passion for shared ridiculousness.

I'm one of those who got stubborn about it and decided to mount a defense (which for me meant advanced degrees). But it's a battleground to make it clear that just because a thing is popular, romantic, charming, cute, appealing, sweet, or fun doesn't make in unimportant.

Finally, all industries that produce pop culture are inherently (or grow to be) corrupted and polluted in some way. Film, music, art, publishing, you name it. Any industry that makes money off talent and image is going to end up with gate keepers and middleman whose sole function is exploitative. Because that's how entertainment makes money.

It is possible to still love a thing while knowing its inception is flawed. That is not weakness, that is survival. Without the uplift that enjoyment gives us, without shared bits of pop culture and entertainment, without art (in whatever ridiculous form you need to consume it) there is no change, or growth, or connection within culture (or across cultures). There is no exploration of boundaries, there is no challenge to the social norm. There is no entertainment and distraction. And there is no escape from reality and the mundanity of everyday life.

If you need it, it's there for you, as flawed as it may be. Like a chipped glass, it still holds the water you need to drink to stay hydrated.

And I won't look at the smudges if you won't.

#asked and answered #ABL counseling session #love the things you love

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dolugecat · 3 years

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On some Japanese social issues I had learned about at uni and abroad):

(Rb ok!)

Legit had an epiphany about the true hidden meaning of the last arc of Mob Psycho 100. It’s hella projection but for real there is nothing neurotypical about Mob or Mob Psycho. I do not wish to enforce my interpretation on others (ironic bc I do that all the time but this is a serious social theory). There are some interesting and very sad social issues in Japan that the west really doesn’t understand but would I think help people understand a lot of context behind not only Mob Psycho, but also a lot of other anime. I learned this at my shitty university (prestigious but horrific) and while studying abroad in Japan and talking with Japanese peers. Get ready here we go (and tw for bullying and darker things):

Unfortunately in East Asian education systems, bullying can be extremely intense. Growing up I assumed it was over exaggerated extremely in anime for drama but it really can be so horrific. From what I’ve heard, there is often a single kid or so who is just shit on by everyone else, even the teacher. Mogami land *is* the reality of some Japanese kids. I’ve read that in Korea, this social punching bag sometimes is just the darkest skinned person (yayyy colorism /angry) and or someone who does not fit in. I mean, we have that in America too, but maybe not as common for the bullying to be as focused on one misfit rather than several. These kids just can’t escape the stigma too, kids from other schools find out they were a major victim at their old school and it starts anew. Thus there is so much stigma and incentive to join in on bullying so you aren’t the one. Sadly, this also ofc leads to higher suicide rates. That’s where the “shoe on building roof” anime trope comes in, bc somehow taking off shoes is relayed to death (I forgot why sorry)

There is a difference in how intense in general high school vs college is too. In the West, commonly college is the more intense curriculum and is harder than high school, but in Japan it’s usually the opposite. Grind suuuupppeeerrrr hard for entrance exams (huge standardized tests that determines what college you can qualify to) bc unlike the ACT or SAT here, that test is by far the most important factor for college admission. Then chill and relax a bit in college. Can’t relate. Name and prestige is very critical for job application, more important than here. That’s why planning out your future is sooo much more intense for Japanese high schoolers than in America, and why there is sooo much more pressure to excel in high school than here. Japanese school years and holidays are done different than ours, I’d suggest looking it up.

Social prestige of going to an American high school or college is nuts. Like whyyy do you value our shitty education, Japan’s is much higher quality (it’s bc we neo colonized them). Being able to speak English is very, very highly valued and any association with Americans make you cooler. From my experience, some Japanese students got very excited to practice speaking English with us, and their biggest issues with learning it is pronunciation, lmao. Wasai english is unique slang that is indeed English words but it’s kinda different and it’s kinda jarring to remember lol. So, Teru having parents that are working overseas isn’t too uncommon, idk about leaving him absolutely alone, but I did have a ex-friend who just came from Japan in middle school who’s situation probably wasn’t too far off from that. Empty wealth with no love, it’s no wonder those kind of people can end up being huge bullies (minori?)

I did a presentation on 引きこもり(hikikomori) for which means “shut in”, (like Serizawa) and it’s fucked up. It’s a social phenomena where according to some Japanese researchers a mix of undisciplined parenting, guilt/not living up to expectations, and hopelessness makes an alarming amount of youth/ young adults literally never go out side their house/room. Often a parent is “enabling” the behavior by supporting them, but idk the articles seemed a bit victim-blaming to me when I read it, but I don’t think I should make a judgement too hard, not my place. I will say I do suspect and believe I read something to support that ASD might play a role in hikikomoris (there is pitiful resources for autistic people in Asia, much much less support than even here, to the point I don’t think most know it exists). Like come on, with the other points I laid out my personal opinion as an Asian American with autism is that it really seems it’s unknowing ableism against autistic classmates, but I didn’t grow up in Asia so I don’t want to say.

Mental health in general is tragically quite abysmal in Japan, and with it being so hyper competitive and brutal work culture, it’s no surprise birth rate in Japan is so low; some Japanese young adults say it seems unethical to bring a life to such hostile world. Suicide rate is of the highest in the world. It’s fucked, I’ve interacted with some of the locals in Tokyo and they were so nice, but the business men just looked dead inside, it’s so sad.

Relationships between child and parent is also strained bc of this intense work and school culture. Quality time is too scarce when you gotta work so much. And the pressure from parents to do well in education or else you might end up socially stigmatized is rough. Bc your job is who you are, it’s hyper capitalism (thanks us for making them do this)

With autism being so unknown, support for parents in raising autistic kids is almost nonexistent. What happens if the “darker” side of ASD shows up in kids? I used to be a menace when I had meltdowns, I felt so bad but really just became so indiscriminately violent. See where this is going? Legit, I think ESP is a sort of metaphor for neurodivergance to ONE. There is so much stigma around it, and even less way for kids to understand why they are different than the others. My Korean family can’t admit we all got ASD, too much fear and internalized shame.

I got finally diagnosed with ASD as an adult and I’ll tell ya, I relate too much to Mob hurting Ritsu. I felt so bad, but also not in control, I knew what I was doing but not how to stop. Luckily, is was blessed in that my hyperfixations involved science and logic, so I did well at school. Sadly, our boy Mob just don’t got the passion or ability to do well at school. His kanji is very bad, even to point of not being confident he wrote a kanji (世) they learn when they are 9, in elementary school (thanks @katyatalks). Him being a bit berated by his parents for having bad grades and bending spoons seems harsh to Westerners I think, but IMO it’s pretty tame from what I’ve seen of some Asian parents (I get to say that lmao). Ofc, however the shaming is very real and Mob just agreeing with them about how weird and stupid he thinks he is so sad. There is even more pressure for the eldest to be better than here, I feel from some interactions. Nonetheless, it’s implied Mob is quite emotionally detached from his parents, even though he loves them, which also adds to his emotional complex. Combined with originally fragile self esteem and feelings of worthlessness, we got one emotionally stunted boy. However, contrary to common belief people with ASD are sometimes hyper empathic and experience emotions very intensely. We are prone to having “meltdowns” which if not assisted with can be quite violent if very intense. For me, my worse meltdowns as a kid came from when I didn’t understand why I wasn’t getting what I wanted, it seemed selfish and cruel of me but I couldn’t control it. I wanted to be a good kid, so why did hit my moms leg at target when she refused to buy me Pokémon toys? I couldn’t come up with a good reason for why my mind just commanded my body to do bad things, just a single thought was controlling me, I want I want I want I want I want ____. Which I argue could be what ???% represents… bc well…. Yeah….. hmm….. not in control of self (mob unconscious), selfish (not actually, I’ve forgave myself but my “normal” kid self was so ashamed), destructive, hurt family, wanting to stop but can’t, that’s kind of…. Too relatable.

But legit, since realizing my new HC, I’ve started to think of the last chapter of mp100 when I “explode” and it helps me feel better and I do gain “control” a bit easier. I don’t feel so bad anymore either, Mob!

#mp100 #mob psycho 100 #my post #mp100 headcanons #welcome to my hc #asd #autism #actually autistic #kageyama shigeo #mob #mp100 meta #Japanese society #japanese culture #meta #mp100 analysis

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captnjacksparrow · 2 years

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I dont feel love from Narutoʼs side in NH and their relashionship looks horrible from my point of view.

I know a guy who had a similar relashionship (I mean, being at work 80% of time and letting the woman take care of the children alone) but this guy was not happy, he had a lot of regrets... He talks about how he feels he should have been more for his daughters (his wife was almost never mention) and how he enjoys having time to be with them... This man used to have 3 jobs and he talks about them with pasión.

Naruto is not like that, the passion he had for the hokage post was lost at some point and he is able to leave everything without a thought if he think Sasuke has the slightest possibility of being hurt (Gaiden says hello).

The thing that makes me wonder is how NHfans talk as if their relashionship is the most normal thing in Japon (SStards says the same but nobody takes them seriously)

I dont remmember much but you said that the fact that Naruto allowed Boruto to cause that much trouble and didnt botter to go to Himawariʼs birthday would look horrible in Asia. I dont know much about Japon but in China people are super afraid of loosing face and Boruto painting his own facerʼs face would have made Naruto and his family a laughingstock

If you talk about the fact that they dont sleep together, they will cry all tell you that couples in Japon dont sleep together but in dragon ball super (the anime) makes pretty clear that Goku and Vegeta sleep with their wifes and Seikibing (an ex- animator from pierrot) draws Naruto and Hinata sleeping together. So... Is Naruto really a norma husband?

Uhhh.... These people!!! Pulling Culture Card as if these morons know everything🙄🙄

I just wonder if these morons had really peeped into an Asian Household, especially the bedroom and during midnight at that!!! And If they did, still they couldn't even do the peeping right. Because they are wrong.

Idiots.

If a Husband and Wife sleep separately,

It means they are not in speaking terms. And they had many heated Arguments in the past and they just decided to not cause any more drama.

Or it means either Husb or Wife is still thinking about the past love and they feel that they couldn’t do it with some random weirdo. [[Arranged Marriage hell]]

Or it means the Husband is Impotent.

Or it means either Husb or Wife is Cheating with someone.

Or it means, they lost the interest/desire to be next to each other. I mean they got Totally Worn Out. This applies to Couples who are above 50. You might ask, but still they can sleep next to each other, Right??? Well, Mostly this couple might have never had any interest in each other... They were together because of their kids... And Life just passed so quickly.

Now tell me, which category Naruto falls into??

He is not a fucking 50 year old guy to get worn out of his wife. He is just 32 and many people get married at that age here... There's no way anyone would sleep separately from their wife... At least At that age.

I also don't think Hinata and Naruto had an argument over anything to the point of sleeping in a different room.

Calling Naruto as Impotent will go against their own NH fandom. Plus he had 2 kids.

And that leaves with Cheating... He might be cheating with someone (??). Well, I leave that assumption up to you. Lol.

And the last one, Can’t able to move on from the Past Love??? Certainly so. I go with this. And I’ve seen it in many movies.

I remember I watched a movie, where the Girl’s parents visited her home after her marriage. And her mom found out that there are two beddings in two different rooms. The mom plainly told her, ‘Your life is with your Husband and Whatever conflicts you have with your husband, resolve it immediately’. And as it happens, that girl asked her Husband to not touch her since she was feeling uncomfortable being touched by him because she sincerely loved a guy some years ago and he died before her eyes... So, She couldn’t move on.

And if this Sleeping separately thing was emphasized in any Asian Media... It definitely means something is wrong with them and it might be because of any of the above reasons. So, No... It’s not common in Japan or anywhere else to have this dynamics between a couple. NH peeps are really dumb to proudly pull the culture card when they have no clue as to what it is.

As for the Kids, I can’t believe Naruto had never spoken about Boruto to Sasuke... Like Sasuke didn’t even know Boruto’s name until that movie scene. So, Naruto wasn’t fondly talking about his Kids to his ‘Friend’ like your ( @katheristuff ) Friend does. But he didn’t mind talking fondly about Sasuke in front of Sarada though.

All of these things are shady as fuck and I don’t know how these shippers are not even using their common sense to defend their Ship.

Like I said before.... Asians may not be so open about PDA (exceptions do exist), but it doesn’t mean that we are some loveless morons. Even if people don’t like their partner for the above mentioned reasons... Still they would be very affectionate towards their Kids in their own way. But what Naruto and Sasuke are doing is not the representation of a Typical Japanese society. That’s for sure.

Otherwise, Why would Japanese people got extremely furious and Bashed Naruto & Hinata while Gaiden (a plot which has no relevance for NH) was being released????

[[I need to cook up that Japanese people’s response to Gaiden post.... ASAP... Geez]]

#anti hinata #anti nh

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mortallyclearwonderland · 2 years

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Lily Orchard and Spy x Family

I used to watch Lily Orchard, but stopped for a couple of reasons:

- Her content was short and not that engaging

- What little there was, was stolen jokes, obnoxious politics, ''would've been better with gay princesses'', horrible opinions (I'm okay with someone having a different opinion. It's Lily that thinks if somebody has a different opinion than her on a cartoon it means they hate her and are worse than Hitler.)

- Just the overall toxicity of her and her fanbase turned me off. She constantly brings up her ex, family drama, and youtube drama in unrelated videos.

Another ''running gag'' that Lily has is a ''Cute Baby''. She will probably just talk about how cute Anya is, which is true. She will most likely praise Anya for punching a classmate because Lily is violent. Something about ''eat the rich'' and ''privilege'', and how it makes okay for a child to be violent. Also, she doesn't like anime at all. She will most likely complain about the ''sexualization'' of Yor and how creepy Yor's brother is, completely omitting that's the joke.

Later I may post again and count how many of my predictions were right.

It's perfectly normal for someone who usually doesn't like anime to find one or two that they actually enjoy.

To me, it looks like Lily is trying to find a new audience, so she looks at shows that are popular. Someone out of morbid curiosity may look at her video. With how she deletes all the unwanted comments, some innocent subscribers may fall into her trap.

P.S I don't think Lily is racist towards Asians for not liking anime. She hates anyone who disagrees with her.

#spy x family #lily orchard

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hnnyoongs · 3 years

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akai shuichi headcanons

shuichi wears a beanie all the time because he's self conscious about hir hairline .... and I mean who can blame him? id be too

shuichi saw gin when he was visiting Japan in the 10 years ago flashback and was like ooh long hair is cool AND it'll piss ka-san off flash forward 5 years later when shuichi infiltrates the BO and is like fUck cool long hair dude is a psycho

shuichi cut his hair off when he heard akemi was killed by gin he kinda went into the whole mental breakdown mode and was like fuck this shit because he started growing his hair out cuz of gin and also akemi really liked his long hair

shuichi used to be a band kid when he lived in England and wanted to pursue a career in music (much to the chagrin of Mary) but after tsutomu disappeared he was like fuck that and stopped playing until he entered the BO

shuichi has a really bad memory about things that dont have to do anything with his job kinda like BBC's Sherlock but not as bad

shuichi used to find dead bodies when he was a kid just like shinichi but it wasn't as often maybe like a dead body once a year or something

shuichi named himself dai because that's what Mary actually wanted to name him when she was giving birth she was screaming die die die and tsutomu wasn't there yet so she was like aight die sounds like the japanese name dai the only reason shuichi wasn't named that was that tsutomu burst in and was like FUCK NO

shuichi was picked on when training for the FBI since compared to 6 foot jock white men shuichi was a 5 foot 7 asian with long hair and dressed like a teenage girl who frequented Starbucks in the toxic environment of the FBI for anyone who doesnt fit the mold shuichi had it cut out for him

shuichi showed signs of multiple mental illnesses but they were all difficult to pin down so he was never diagnosed with anything since he refused to talk at the FBI mandated therapy sessions

shuichi's type is someone who is kind but could wield a gun

he used to dislike kids but being around them as okiya has made SOME kids special in his heart

before tsutomu's disspeareance he taught shuichi how to hunt with a shotgun

shuichi lived off of sports drinks and bars whenever he was single since he couldn't rely on take out due to it being unhealthy which wouldn't help his FBI styled life

shuichi taught akemi simple self defense techniques but refuses to teach her how to shoot a gun saying he didn't want her hands to get dirty

shuichi and shukichi blackmail each other for favors by using the "ill tell ka-san you did that one thing that you blamed dad for when we were kids if u dont help me out"

scotch once told him that bourbon's type was a white milf (in reference to Elena who was white and was a mother) so shuichi was scared as fuck when rei met Mary's adult self for the first time

shuichi hates being compared to his mother but the truth is they're the most similar and they both started mimicking tsutomu after his disappearance

the only thing shuichi knew how to cook before meeting yukiko was plain white rice as that was the only thing tsutomu was able to teach him

shuichi mimics an American accent while talking in America or talking in English unless he's talking to his family or he's mentally shook up and his British accent slips out

he thinks in British accented English as well (idc if the animanga shows him thinking in japanese it makes no sense that western raised people like Jodie and camel think in japanese) but he does use some japanese like ka-san and when he's trying to get deep into his okiya persona

he tries very hard to keep the polite speech patterns of okiya Subaru since as akai shuichi he's very .. rude

shuichi's sniper skills were so good the fbi was willing to overlook his disrespect of authority and his tendency to do everything by himself without consulting everyone

shuichi slips into a British accent around James if he's feeling really comfortable

he felt bad about using shiho since she was only a year older than masumi and she hadn't done anything wrong so he vowed to get her and akemi out of the BO

he had a plan to get akemi and shiho out by convincing the higher ups to grant them immunity if they testified but akemi's death derailed the entire thing

he hates to admit it but his family is the most important thing to him he may not contact them that often but he's going to such lengths to bring his father back because he cares for his family so much

shuichi didnt really know what he wanted to do with his life once he took down his father's pursuers but after akemi and scotch he decided that if he solved his father's disappearance first he'd hunt down the BO next tho once learning that Haneda Koji’s death had something to do with the BO he's back at the thing where he doesn't know what to do with his life without revenge

he promised shukichi that he'd be the one to solve shukichi's death if what happened to Haneda kohji also happens to shukichi

he isn't a fan of dates in amusement parks but if it makes his partner happy and smile he'll have fun

dating Jodie was a quiet thing most likely from an attachment maybe due to a bad case or a loss of a mutual friend depending on the agency they might have been legally allowed to date each other but it is usually looked down upon I dont think they went out together often probably spending time together at home ... doing stuff

he identifies as bisexual it was normal to him in childhood since both Mary and tsutomu talked about their past relationships to their children he never told anyone due to the fact it would affect his FBI status since it was illegal in America shukichi and Mary know he's bi but shuichi has no idea Mary knows

akemi and shuichi would take strolls in parks go shopping and go to cafes

he's very self conscious about his height and whenever he goes to Japan it makes him feel good about himself since he's relatively tall there

Mary was the one who drilled japanese into his head not tsutomu

the last time shuichi talked to Mary was when he called her up to tell her to take masumi and leave Japan for Britain after masumi cornered him and scotch him and Mary had a whole argument and after that they stopped talking to each other, not that they talked to each other much in the first place

shuichi learned jee kun do by watching training videos from vhs tapes/cds/YouTube depending on when you consider detco taking place I personally believe conan shrinks in 2018 meaning that tsutomu disappeared in 2001 and shuichi used a mixture of tapes and cds to learn

shuichi can read people really well but has a hard time manipulating people by being nice he can use people by being a jackass very well but trying to be a normal person is hard for him

Yukiko and yusaku remind shuichi of his parents before tsutomu disappeared but like more upbeat

shuichi dislikes full body hugs

akemi and shiho were both anime and romance drama fans so he knows random things about the shows and uses that info to connect with the DB and especially haibara

he considered himself British first and foremost but when asked about whether he considers himself white or asian he'll always go with asian

he started smoking soon after his father disappeared since his father used to smoke and he needed to cope but didn't wanna fall into drugs like cocaine

smoking is heavily looked down upon in America and is seen as unprofessional which helped shuichi go undercover a bunch due to him being a heavy smoker

akemi would make him stop smoking around her and shiho saying that second hand smoking was dangerous and that shuichi who was smoking constantly was going to get lung cancer but he would tell her that he just couldn't stop smoking he did stop smoking around shiho and akemi tho going outside to do it instead

as okiya it makes him go wild because he desperately needs to smoke to cope but okiya cant smoke it doesnt fit his image so he smokes a shit ton at night during his nightly drives

shuichi forced himself not to smoke during his time visiting Japan when he met masumi because he knew Mary would get even more upset with him

shuichi was terrible driving American styled cars and he got so upset that he perfected his drive-in techiuque over the years just to spite the instructor that said he was barely passing

he likes to go on late night drives and speed on the high way because he's a thrill seeking idiot

he has no social media but he created on as okiya Subaru to keep an eye on haibara's higo stan account

he takes offense to the idea that he's stalking haibara he's just p r o t e c t i n g her

he wants shiho to be happy more than anything so he's an avid coai shipper and is exhausted in Conan's obliviousness

shuichi didnt tell shukichi he wasn't actually dead shukichi just walked up to okiya Subaru one day and was like shuuichi-ni-san right? shuichi has long stopped questioning shukichi's weird ways of knowing shit he shouldn't know

shuichi is a sherlockian but he's not like shinichi or hakuba in that he does not hate BBC's Sherlock and actually enjoys it a bit

one upside to shuichi living in America is that he gets to hoard guns because he's obsessed with them he thinks they're really cool it's like conan with Sherlock he starts yapping his mouth of about them

bourbon once dangled a gun on in front of a sleeping shuichi cuz he didnt believe scotch when he said that rye was obsessed with guns and started saying incorrect shit about the type of gun he was holding and shuichi just shot up and started berating him

shuichi hates that chianti is a killer because she's the only person who's as much as a gun fanatic as he is

he tends to steal Jodie's car a lot

he likes fucking with peoples heads it's very fun to him to watch them get all worked up

shuichi hasn't mourned his father yet because he doesnt believe his father’s dead

deep down he blames his father for his mother going slightly bonkers

he didnt want masumi to be a detective at first but now hes proud of her

he drinks a lot as okiya Subaru since he cant smoke as much

he's willing to go to hell if it means he can rip gin from limp to limp

he really hates gin yall I dont think I can convey how much he hates gin

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realcube · 4 years

Text

karasuno boys spending christmas with you 🎄

;tw// christmas (?), santa ig, extreme fluff, shoplifting, underage drinking, violence, ennoshita, kinoshita and narita exclusion 😞

(a/n): ik the gif isn’t hq but look how cute it is (○｀ 3′○). also i’m aware that i wrote a rather western-washed version of Christmas (despite the characters in question not being western) but as someone of an asian ethnicity, imo western traditions surrounding Christmas are a lot more..festive (?) which i hope that isn’t offensive considering that Christmas was popularised by the west. so, in short, sorry the traditions aren’t those that are celebrated in japan (or asia) but i just found it i had a lot more inspiration to write it this way. :) perhaps i’ll make a part 2 with aoba johsai or nekoma celebrating Christmas with japanese traditions

Shōyō Hinata

you spend christmas at his house bc he wants to be with his sister on the day

and any sibling that you live with, he insists that they stay over too

but if you don’t have any younger siblings then y’all just spend the whole day spoiling natsu

hinata absolutely adores how well you get on with his sister, it just makes him so happy seeing his two favourite people having fun together

although, it did make him a bitter when he asked natsu if she likes the doll he bought her and she said,

“Yeah, thank you. But look at the Furby (L/N) got me! It’s pink and so fluffy, feel it! And it talks, it’s eyes move and-” Then she continues to rave on about how amazing your gift was.

honestly, y’all spend the whole day pampering natsu; making sure she has the best christmas possible

y’all made gingerbread cookies with her, helped her built a snowman (or rather, a snowwoman because she insisted that it was a lady), snowangels, opening presents, christmas crackers, watching movies - the whole shabang.

probably the only time in the day were she was sad was at 10PM when hinata insisted that she goes to bed

natsu looked at you to back her up in her argument that she should be allowed to stay up late on christmas but you kinda just stood there like 🧍‍♀️/🧍‍♂️

not wanting to get involved in their family drama (unproblematic liege 😍😩)

eventually though, natsu did go to bed and as soon as she was sound asleep, you and hinata spent the night cuddling while watching more christmas movies as you were both too tired to do anything else

you ended up falling asleep in his arms and it was a christmas miracle that his arm didn’t get pins and needles like it usually did while cuddling for a long period of time

Tobio Kageyama

i’m a firm believer that he doesn’t celebrate christmas

not that he doesn’t like the concept, it’s just doesn’t understand the hype

plus - other than going to nationals - there isn’t much he wants and from what he knows, santa can’t make that happen

but as soon as you come over to his house on christmas day with a tub filled with cookies shaped and decorated like volleyballs, suddenly christmas is his favourite holiday

he invites you inside to eat the cookies with him and you notice that he’s watching a volleyball match on the TV

you giggle at how passionate he is about about the sport and offer to cast a Christmas movie from your phone onto the TV

he says yes since this is probably the 10th time he’s rewatched the same match

you scroll through the list of christmas movies available on Netflix, “Wanna watch Arthur Christmas?”

“No.”

“How about the Grinch?”

“Eh, no.”

“Ooh! What about the Nativity? I love that movie-”

“No thanks.”

So you ended up watching Frozen and Frozen 2 (on a different streaming site) because Kageyama didn’t like any of the Christmas movies available on Netflix

You figured that Frozen kinda counted as a Christmas movie because..there was snow :)

anyway, you already knew Kageyama tolerated Disney Movies so Frozen was your best bet

and as it turns out, he was oddly engaged by the movie which gave you an opening to slip into his arms, stifling an evil snicker the whole time

as we all know, when Kageyama is into something he is into it.

so whenever the climax of the movie comes up (or any part with high suspense) you feel him squeeze you slightly and tense up

AND IT IS THE MOST ADORABLE THING PERIODT 🥺😩

so yeah your christmas with him is not overly Praise The Lord but it very fun and cute since it mostly consists of Disney movies

(also Barbie: A Christmas Carol because it gave you both overwhelming nostalgia since he has a big sister who i now headcanon to be a barbie movie addict ✋)

Kei Tsukishima

the biggest grinch™

mostly bc every year he drops hints to both his mum and brother that he wants new headphones but every year he still gets a snowglobe from his mum and something dinosaur related from his brother

even though his brother is aware that he is ‘too old for that shit’ now

but Akiteru just loves seeing his brother’s pissed off face whenever he opens his gift (which is a similar size to a headphones box) to find something like a Jurassic Park Lego set

anyway, backstory over - in short, Tsukishima very much dislikes Christmas

So when you appear at his door with a gift, he slams the door closed

“Tsukishima!” You roar as that was quite rude - even for Tsukishima - since it was snowing and you were clearly freezing, “Let me in! I’m freezing my tits off out here!”

Eventually, he did let you in and gave you a hot chocolate as an apology but as soon as you tried to hand him the give, he refused to take it

“No.”

“Why not?” You whined, clearly upset that he wouldn’t take the gift you went through so much effort to get your hands on.

“Because I didn’t get you anything.”

You rolled your eyes, “You got me this hot chocolate - now, take it. It’s seriously not much.”

Upon eyeing the wrapped box in your hand, he realised it was about 9x9″ - the same size as the tub you usually deliver food in, meaning that the gift was probably some sweet treats

“Alright.” He sighed, accepting he gift as he figured that he could easily pay you back by making Christmas cookies with you or something

He hummed, delicately unwrapping the gift and his heart skipped a beat as he noticed the present inside was in a black box rather than a clear tub which you normally gave homemade treats in

nevertheless, he persevered in unwrapping the box

when he finally finished, his heart dropped yet he couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with joy

“Wireless headphones.” He muttered to himself, doing everything in his power to resist the smile tugging on the corner of his lips but it was challenging, to say the least

“Yeah!” You chirped, “Don’t worry about the price though, I got them on a Black Friday sale.” You lied, aware that it was usually considered rude to talk about the price of a gift you’ve given but knowing if you didn’t say anything, Tsukishima would assume you paid full price (which you did smh) and immediately empty his bank account in order to pay you back

You could almost envision the situation already; “Would you like it in cash or cheque?”

“Neither, Kei!”

“You seriously got me branded headphones?” Non-imaginary Tsukishima asked, unable to pry his eyes off the long-awaited gift in his hands

“Y-Yeah.” You stuttered at his unusually sinister voice. “I wanted to buy you noise-cancelling headphones and Google said these were the best ones available that weren’t selling for millions of y--”

“I love you.”

You did a double-take, “Huh?”

“I love you.”

You did a..triple-take.. “I-I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

“I’m not saying it again, dumbass.”

now, tsukishima wasn’t a very affectionate person but considering you paid full price for headphones (yes, he knows. you’re not a very good liar 😐) for him, the least you deserved was forehead kisses

plus, he was determined to make you as happy as you made him that day

so can get all the kisses you want, all the hugs, all the cuddles, all the smiles, all the cookies- everything!

but that’s not to say that he’s not going to get you anything in return as subtly through the day he was gathering info on what to get you

by the end of it, he had a whole list but unfortunately - after looking at his bank account - he realised that the only thing he could afford was an easy-bake oven (┬┬﹏┬┬)

Tadashi Yamaguchi

y’all spent Christmas at your house because Yamaguchi was absolutely entranced by your massive Christmas tree

he also slept over because you both wanted experience the Christmas morning buzz together

also because your parents were working on Christmas day and Yamaguchi didn’t want you to be alone 🥺

(he didn’t tell you that though as he didn’t want you to think that he felt bad for you or anything)

after you both completed you morning routines, you raced downstairs (quite literally raced; you won.) to open the presents

the milk and cookies you both hand left out for ‘Santa’ was gone because your parents chugged the milk and scarfed the cookies before they left for work

“Open the presents I got you first!” You urged Yamaguchi, pointing to the two presents wrapped in Sanrio wrapping paper

Yamaguchi did so; sitting on the floor cross-legged to open the larger, box-shaped gift first

“Candy!” He chirped with a smile, gently shifting through the selection of sweets you got him, his grin stretching as he did so and once he was finished, it was beaming ear-to-ear. “You know me so well, thank you so much, (L/N).”

You giggled, a light blush crossing your features at the praise - then motioning to the second, smaller, thinner gift.

Yamaguchi accidently tore the wrapping paper off to reveal basic, charcoal face masks.

You quickly interjected to explain, “You said that you were embarrassed about how the animal-themed face masks your mum bought you were too childish and that they just made your skin more oily so bought you those; less embarrassing and supposedly good for oily skin.”

Yamaguchi’s heart fluttered upon hearing how much attention you paid during his random rants, “Thank you, babe!” He enthused, hugging the mask to his chest.

After that, you opened the gift he bought you and were over the moon when you realised that it was a box full of adorable stationary

“I noticed how you kept complaining about your pens running out of ink during class and..yeah..I hope you like it..”

You obviously loved it and expressed that by giving him a big bear hug and many kisses (づ￣ 3￣)づ (*≧︶≦))

By then, it was around Midday so you had time to play in the snow for a bit before Yamaguchi had to go home to spend the rest of Christmas with his family

but of course he came back on Boxing Day to binge watch movies and cuddle with you 🥰

Daichi Sawamura

okay; I am going to say this and you aren’t going to argue with me bc I know that I’m right:

if you have any younger siblings or cousins staying in your house for Christmas (and I mean younger like 5 or less) and the kid isn’t a little shit

daichi (with your assistance) will dress up as Santa and you will dress up as an elf to surprise the child with a visit

daichi would be like ‘ho ho ho!’ and you’d be like ‘shut up, santa, you fatass.’

and the kid would be like ✪ ω ✪

y’all would take pictures and shit before santa dips 🚶‍♂️🛷

after that, you both would head back to his place to celebrate a kid-free christmas

you don’t open gifts because you both mutually agreed not to get anything for each other this year since you had ‘grown out of presents’ (tsk).

but you did get a RingFit Adventure from one for your relatives for Christmas so you and Daichi spend an hour or two playing that

it’s surprisingly taxing though so you’re both puffed afterwards

so you decided to make spaghetti for yourself and Daichi and a Christmas miracle occurred..he got off of his ass to help you cook 🤩

usually he’d hide his fear off fucking up under toxic masculinity but today he actually let you teach him how to make food and he was a natural chef tbh

however, his habit of grabbing your ass or holding your lower back wasn’t especially helpful while he had tomato sauce all over his hands

you changed into a different pair of bottoms as the spaghetti cooled down

then, a second Christmas miracle occurred

Daichi gave you both permission to eat in the living room, on the couch, so y’all could watch a movie or something as you ate

every other day of the year, daichi would have to be killed before he let anybody eat in the living room - forget on his new couch

but today was a special so he let it slide

originally, the plan was to watch a Christmas movie but then you noticed that a new episode of y’alls favourite show was out - House Hunters - so you just watched that instead

hey, it made you both happy so why not?

especially with daichi’s running commentary which you outwardly expressed annoyance to but internally loved

“Andromeda will never be Suzanne, rest easy.”

“That house is so ugly, next.”

“Why’s their budget so low? May as well just buy a caravan.”

“They are so fucking picky.”

“Her face annoys me.”

IT LIKE HIS ALTER-EGO IT’S AMAZING

anyway, merry christmas to the daichi stans and that is from me, not daichi - he actually forgot it was Christmas at noon

Kōshi Sugawara

SUGA IS DOMESTIC LIKE DAICHI BUT MAKE IT ❄ FESTIVE❄

y’all bake christmas cookies together, exchanges small gifts, bake carrot cake, watch The Polar Express, bake pudding, kiss under the mistletoe, bake-- yeah, there was a lot of baking

get ready to work out twice as much and start dieting if you don’t want to develop an illness due to the amount of sugar you consumed

to be honest, Suga was kinda lost for things to do on the actual day of Christmas bc y’all were so hyped preparing for it so he had no idea how to top that

I mean, you both went on romantic, late night car drives to buy a tree

cute couple trips to the store to purchase decorations

planning out and putting the decorations around the house (and with both of your keen eyes for design, the house ends up looking gorgeous ofc)

you ornamented the tree in his living room but it was so tall that he couldn’t reach the very tip to put the final decoration on top

so you hopped onto his shoulders and stuck the star on top with a smile

but he wasn’t done with you yet, he rushed around the house with you on his shoulders while you clung onto his hair as if your life depended on it

he did most of the festivities with you before Christmas but he saved one special one for the day

“(Y/N), let’s bake something.”

You sighed, shooting him a weary smile, “Suga, we’ve been baking all day.”

“Just one last thing! It’s not even baking actually, more like assembling.”

You quirked an eyebrow at his statement, “Hm? What is it?”

“Let’s make our dream houses with gingerbread!”

Of course you agreed. Not just because he is the cutest thing you’ve ever laid your eyes on but also since it sounded rather fun

“What are those?” You pointed to the weird rectangular designs on the roof of his house

“Solar panels.” He hummed, elegantly icing the sides of his house, “I want my future house run on that energy.”

“Anyway, what’ve you got on your house?” Finishing off the final swirl on his door, he turned to look at your gingerbread home and deadpanned

A sheepish grin formed on your lips as you noticed his blank expression towards your ‘dream home’ which has walls garnished with golden, edible glitter and sugar paper sanrio characters on the roof along with many other extremely unconventional things

“Hey,” you shrugged, “Let me have my dreams.”

“Of course,” Suga agreed, his usual sweet smile returning, “Although, in an ideal world, I thought we’d end up living together and starting a family. However, I don’t think we can do that if you planning on putting a horse head on our front door.”

“IT WAS JUST LYING THERE, KŌSHI! IF ANYTHING IT’S YOUR FAULT FOR GIVING ME ACCESS TO A MARZIPAN HORSE!”

“I DIDN’T THINK THAT YOU’D DECAPITATE IT, (Y/N)! I THOUGHT YOU’D USE IT FOR A STABLE OR FARM OR SOMETHING!”

“YOU SHOULD KNOW ME BETTER THAN THAT!”

Asahi Azumane

you both spent christmas day in your respective households, promising each other that you’d spend boxing day together

until around 7PM when you had to come over to his house bc he called you, extremely puzzled at the fact that random mutuals from school (and the whole volleyball team) were on his instagram page, facebook, snapchat and any/every other social media platform wishing him a happy birthday

“I don’t get it.” He spoke through the phone, confusion and anxiety apparent in his voice, “My birthday isn’t for another six days. Why do they think it is today? Is this a joke?”

“Uh, can I come over? I’d love to see you.”

“Um, sure.” He replied, even more confused that you didn’t answer his question and instead asking one yourself

you spent the rest of the day with him, trying your very best to distract him from social media by doing various activities

you both baked, watched movies, played board games (he’s a beast at battleships) then you moved on to other games like charades - basically every bs excuse you could come up with to get him to stay away from his phone

but that’s not to say you didn’t enjoy every second of it bc you did

he is so cute like whenever you are doing an action which he can’t interpret, his automatic guess is ‘are my beautiful gf (Y/N) (L/N) who i love very much? (= ❛ ᴗ ❛=)’

PRECIOUS 💓

and then you are just like, ‘yes, i am, baby. but i am also optimum prime. your turn.’

anyway, by the end of the day there was no way you were able to prevent him from finding out about the joke now

so you just decided to tell him - figuring that it’d be better for him to hear it from you rather than someone else

“See.. y’know how jesus was allegedly born on christmas day? well, the joke is that..you kinda look like what people assume jesus would’ve looked like..”

Asahi had to do a double-take at what you just said, “Th-they..think I look like jesus?”

“yeah.”

Ryūnosuke Tanaka

you’re both broke af so you spend Christmas day pretending you are a rich couple

you slept over at his house too so you could start early in the morning and by that I mean 10:30AM

firstly, you and tanaka flick through an Argos catalogue (which you found on the ground, so there were a few mud stains on it 😶) to select the gift(s) you were going to buy for your ‘children’

but really it was just you and him going through it and circling all the toys y’all wanted as kids but couldn’t afford/didn’t get

“I super badly wanted one of those kiddie monster trucks that you could control with a remote as a child so my son is going to need one of those.” Tanaka said, circling the monster truck with a marker

“Yes, of course. And I asked for Monster High dolls every year as a kid but my parents said they were everything god hates so let’s buy that because we stan satan in this house, apparently .”

“Of course, of course.” He said in his best ‘rich person’ voice which was actually just an english accent

After resenting your parents for around an hour, you both moved onto the next activity of your rich person Christmas which included reading your horoscope in an english accent

that only lasted a few minutes though because both of you couldn’t be bothered to read

you also planned to look at the stock market (just like all rich people do on christmas day, obvs) but it was so boring

you took a glance then just went ‘okay, bye.’

next, you had caviar - just like rich people eat for every meal of the day, i think.

except it was actually black pop rocks

“ah, yes. scrumptious.” “the flavour is immaculate.”

then, as dawn drew close, you and tanaka preformed your final rich person activity

no, it wasn’t being rude to minimum wage workers

no, it wasn’t being ungrateful

no, it wasn’t exploiting the working class under capitalism

no, it wasn’t being generally stuck-up and cocky

instead, it was going to the grocery shop and buying everything rather than shoplifting :)

“what should we get, babe?” you asked tanaka, in awe at how many different brands of toilet paper were on the shelves. “Have you ever noticed how spoiled we are for choice when it comes to toilet paper?”

“uh, no.” he replied in reference to the toilet paper question, “Hm, how about some gingerbread men or something?”

his suggestion was just met by a blank stare and silence

“JUST KIDDING! WE’RE TOTALLY BUYING BOOZE!”

“Hell yeah!”

luckily, because tanaka looked a lot older than 17 and also since the cashier was too tired to check his ID, you both managed to buy the drinks without getting caught

“Merry Christmas, Ryū.” You hummed, fidgeting with his hand which was interlocked with yours as you walked through a rather prestigious neighbourhood and admired all the extravagant christmas lights

“Merry Christmas, (Y/N). Love you.”

Yū Nishinoya

you and noya spent the whole day in his backyard and since it was a white christmas, you were able to spend the 90% playing in the snow

at first, you both went outside with the intention of making snowangels and taking cute couple photos in the snow

but the weather was just so inviting that you had to stay for a little longer even when you did finish taking pictures; so you made the ‘ultimate’ snowman

by that, it was just the biggest snowman y’all could make without it falling apart with stones for eyes, spiking out twigs for hair and an empty Monster Energy can for a nose

once you had completed the snowman and basked in it’s glory for a moment, you went to head inside - but then you felt something hit your back

you turned around to see noya snickering, a mischievous grin on his face which you couldn’t stand

so what started out as him playfully throwing a snowball at your back, eventually turned into a full-on snowball battle to the death

there were snow forts, piles of snow ammunition, mini snow-warriors guarding the edges of your fort, a snow-princess which you were trying to steal from each other’s fort to win (basically like capture the flag but colder..) and a few brunch bars in the middle of the battle field for snack breaks

it was all going smoothly until Noya ran up to your base, obviously with the intention to steal your princess

“stay away from her, you fiend!” You yelled, jumping into an offensive stance - your neighbours must hate you bc of all the noise you and Noya made.

Noya screaming his battle cry as he rushed towards your fort, batista bombing you to the ground before you had a chance to attack him with a snowball

now that you were out of the equation, he scurried over to your princess which was perches on a little snow podium you made for her

he grabbed it, lifting it above his head like a trophy and letting out a loud victory cry “I win!”

he then turned to you and laughed upon noticing that you had your face buried into the snow in shame, “You have been defeated, (L/N)! And the great Rolling Thunder prospers!”

“That’s a stupid nickname.” You groaned, outstretching your arms to allow him to pick you up, “Now take me inside, I’m tired.”

“Alright, babe.” He spoke softly, seemingly coming down from his adrenaline high.

He strolled towards you, scooping you up into his arms - off the snow - and carrying you inside

unbeknownst to him, you had fallen asleep as he held you and once he put you down on the couch and noticed- i- my man almost died of happiness

“Oh my god, (Y/N)! You’re so fucking cute! (❤´艸｀❤)” he hollered, peppering your face in kisses

“Shhh..” you hushed Noya, sticking your bottom lip out to form a pout

Noya nodded understandingly before hopping onto the couch beside you and snuggling up

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