#if you want to go through the experience of watching Sailor Moon for the first time

[thefloatingstone]

Where would Sailor Moon of ranked in your favorite anime video if it were included

2nd after Revolutionary Girl Utena :D (both directed by Ikuhara which I only found out many years later)

90s anime is my favourite version with the live action PGSM as a 2nd

[impossibleprincess35]

[Tag People You Want to Get to Know Better]

Thank you so much for the tag, @splitt-spectrumm! (I love your work!)

Last song: Johnny Cash's version of "Sunday Morning Coming Down." I love Kris Kristofferson, but Cash's version just hits.

Currently Watching: Getting ready to begin "Bad Batch" season 3. We had to revisit season 2 first.

Three Ships: Obitine, Steggy, and Leia x Han.

Favorite Color: Blue and all of its shades.

Currently Consuming: A protein shake mixed with espresso over ice.

First Ship: Serena x Darien from the U.S. dubbed "Sailor Moon" eps in the '90s. The morning I watched the episode where Mamoru dies before I caught the school bus, I cried in the computer lab telling my friends about it and they didn't sit with me at lunch because I was killing the vibe. (When it comes to fandom, do not cite the deep magic to me, witch. I was there when it was written. :D)

Birthplace: Somewhere in the United States :)

Current Location: My home office.

Relationship Status: Happily married to my golden retriever husband, who loves this weirdo.

Last Movie: In the theater? I dunno. In general? I watched "Deadpool 2" the other night after my kids went to bed.

Currently Working On: I'm steadily plowing through the Kadavo arc of TCW for "Asphodel," and in my year on the run fic ("The Echo and the Stain") they're currently trapped on a New Mandalorian base being bombed on Draboon, and in my modern AU "REPUTATION," I'm getting ready to write the "King of My Heart" chapter and it is pure fluff. Outside of my fics, I'm working on completing a novel that I've been trying to do for over 10 years. It's a fiction piece based on my real life experiences after my dad passed away, and it's probably never going to get published, but I feel an obligation to finish it.

Tagging: @bettyxrosex, @c0rv1dae, @knightsistersblog, @stellanslashgeode, and @mercysong-tardis - only if y'all want! Don't feel obligated! :)

[archmage-lleweneth]

Day 1 — “Steer”

Caswyn Lleweneth had died last night, on the streets of Vesper Bay. She was certain of little else, but she must’ve.

She could distinctly recall the moment where her frantic, fruitless attempts to puzzle out some way of escaping the coming doom had given way to a cold, clear, terrible clarity. She had heard the red moon detonate. She had felt the dreadwyrm’s roar. She would die tonight. She thought only of savoring each sensation to be had in her few remaining moments. She’d emptied her purse on the bar, set her glasses down on the pages of a borrowed book, and left them both behind. She hadn’t hid from the dragon’s next pass. She’d stood in the street with her neck craned to the sky and the mere presence of the dreadwyrm had swallowed her up completely. There was no room for thought. No room for experience. The promised end that had hung in the sky for months had come and in that moment it was a relief.

When she could see again, it was a familiar sight. Falling stars. Hundreds of them. One of her earliest memories; a star shower over the Hinterlands, and a truth she’d never managed to fit into mere words.

Was that all I ever was? A prophet with a stilled tongue? Had I known my whole life this doom was coming? What good was the warning if it did nothing to change our fate?

What happened next, she could not say. She had nothing to connect that moment with this: Alone, in a fishing boat she did not recognize, with no land in sight.

Surely I didn’t steal a boat? If I had, how did I get it here? If not, who would’ve gone out of their way to save me?

If the cry of the gull was an answer, she did not know the language. Whether the salt wind that kissed her cheek was the breath of a doomed world, or a saved one, she could only wonder.

“No more questions,” she said aloud, “You’re neither Scholarch nor student. Their methods will not serve you.” She swallowed, her mouth gummy with thirst. Not here anyway, she thought, with no shoes, no water, alone in a boat I have no knowledge of how to operate.

Well, no first-hand knowledge, but she’d seen it done. She’d lived around boats her whole life. She’d watched able sailors go about their work. She knew what made good sail cloth, how to spin up rope, and what principles allowed a ship to ride the wind. She’d be a fool to decide that was all there was to know, but she’d be a greater fool still if she let that stop her from trying.

“Better to act a fool than be one,” she thought, in her mother’s voice. Caswyn didn’t know if her last letters had reached them. If she died out here, she’d never know what happened to them, and they of what happened to her. There was so much she didn’t know.

But she had been in Thanalan last night, on the coast, and the modest swell that lapped at the boards of her little boat could not be that of the open ocean. She was in the Strait of Merlthor, and the sun was still low in the sky. The lines at the top of the mast steamed where the sun struck them. Dew. It would be have to be dawn. Thanalan lay towards the sun.

It was shoddy work done thrice, and not quickly, but she got the sail to catch the wind. The little boat leapt, lurched, and nearly turned over before Caswyn’s hands got a feel for the tiller. She trailed a hand into the sea before raising it in prayer, “Llymlaen, give me a safe harbor this day, and you’ll be first of the Twelve in my heart for the rest of my days.” The movement of the ship began to clear her head. She could feel water through her hand on the tiller. She could feel the icy bite of the wind on her cheeks. She was alive, though she knew not how, she knew what she wanted to do about it. “Just see me to land,” she pleaded, “and I will live my every remaining moment as a second chance at life deserves.”

[squidsandthings]

top 5 manga/anime series :D

Sailor moon

My First love, my magical girl awakening, the reason i like women /hj (Haruka and Michiru the characters ever). I will always love sailor moon deeply. It genuinely saved my life and it will always be something which brings me lots of comfort. In the name of the moon, I'll love this series forever.

2. Bungo Stray Dogs

Okay wow was anyone surprised? I know this is a big shocker. To be honest going into bsd I never expected to latch onto it the way I did. I started bsd halfway through Moriarty the Patriot looking for something to watch in-between since I didn't want to finish Moriarty yet. Off-hand I happened to remember one of my irls (you know who you are) bringing up bsd so I watched all of s1 and s2 in one night. Bsd is one of those stories that's insane to explain but once it gets it's grips on your brain it's never coming out. The characters are just endless wells of potential and I never get tired of reading new analysis about the show and manga. I've made so many friends thanks to bsd. I can't not be grateful to it for being what really brought my blog any attention but also for all the connections ive made in this fandom and all the amazing fanworks Ive seen and creators i've engaged with. Bsd is absurd, its tragic, its funny, it's making me sob after work with BUBBLES???, but it's also one of the best things to happen to me, even if I'm going to push asagiri down some stairs.

3. One Piece

*looks at tab* hey! I made it to episode 250 of one piece thats like...22% finished. Yipeee....

Ok I know one piece is long, and @bubblingacid and I will gladly give you a 10 page essay about its writing and design flaws. but..GOD. For all the sexism, the pacing, for everything one piece can be. The things it's able to do keep me hooked. One piece has given me I think osme of the widest range in emotions ive experienced watching an anime. Water 7 so far is some of the best anime I've watched, in general. Arlong park, made me cry at 3am. And even if I want to chop skypeia into bits with a meat cleaver I will say it was worth it for the g8 filler arc. I was intimidated by the scaled of one piece when I started it. Finishing one piece felt like this unachiveable goal shinign off in the distance, a legend, something I could never do. But I'm here. Not done, not even halfway done, but I've made it this far. One piece fills me with hope. A stupid reckless hope, a freedom to chase a silly, impossible dream, with all my heart no matter where it takes me. And I know one day I'll finish one piece, just like I know one day Luffy will be king of the pirates, and I just have to see it.

4. Moriarty the Patriot

One of the first anime I got into! I love this show dearly. I'm not as obsessed with it as somehting like bsd. But it has alot of fond memories for me, watching it before marching band practices and such. Sherlock is my favorite ever <3 And I do say catch me if you can sherlock holmes to myself on a regular basis.

5. Pokémon Indigo & Orange Leagues

MY CHILDHOOD!! I have so many memories watching this show as a little kid with my mom. She would tell all bout watching it with her brothers and sisters as a kid and it was a real bonding experience for me with her. I did watch the dub as a kid so I did think onigiri were jelly donuts for a good amount of my life (ive learned now I promise). One of the first songs I taught myself on horn was the original pokemon opening. It's a show I'll always have nostalgia for and one which inspired me to collect way too many pokemon cards. I love it alot and always will.

ty for the ask!

[ihatedean]

Is jojo's bizarre adventure a good first anime? I've only watched Sailor Moon as a kid and maybe Dragon Ball but the art is so gorgeous I'm kinda curious!

people who aren't fans appreciating the art style give me life omg<33 i agree it's stunning ! ! just look at this ! wow ! !

EDIT: WOW OH MY GOD WE'VE ENTERED YAPPING STATE. SORRY. SHORT ANSWER YES IF YOU LIKE MULTIGENERATIONAL FAMILY SAGAS AND THEMES OF FATE AND BLOOD BUT IT'LL TAKE SOME GETTING USED TO. JOJO IS A WEIRD SHOW. ITS WIDELY KNOWN AS THE GAY ANIME FOR A REASON.

but to answer your question,, i'd say it's 50-50? i know a lot of people that aren't anime fans that LOVE jojo. it's a very unique show that doesn't follow the classic formula that other shonen anime follow like DB does, for example- this is either a huge bonus or it completely ruins the experience, because a lot of people compare it to other shows they're already familiar with. there's no better word for it, it's a BIZARRE series. everything is weird, the dialogue, the characters, the setting, the art. the author's writing style is something everyone sort of had to get used to and we love him for making us go through that.

i actually avoided the anime for years because i thought the characters looked gross and the lack of female characters was kind of an issue for me back then (it gets better it gets a lot better you just have to see it through). but it was my boyfriend's first shonen and he begged me for months to watch it together so i said fuck it- i think i made him watch twilight or play danganronpa in exchange.

.....it might not grip you from the start. part 1 is not a lot of people's favorite part. it wasn't mine- after like four or five episodes (of nine ! it's very short !) of being weirded out by it, i realized that i had to stop seeing it as a shonen anime, and instead began to see it as,,, a play,, of sorts. if you watch the first two parts you'll know what i'm talking about. it's drama. once i changed my perspective on it, i completely fell in love ! ! from part 3 onwards it's a lot more like the usual shonen, and i know it's a lot more enjoyable for the average fan, but the first two parts are charming in their own weird little way :)

looking back on it after watching twin peaks, there are a lot of similarities, with the quirky characters and the themes. i only started twin peaks because of a jjba fic inspired by it. if you like twin peaks, i'm certain you'll like jojo.

but this is my spn blog and i assume you like supernatural so. i'll say: don't expect the same focus on relationships that spn puts on the characters, but know that its present in every interaction. where sam and dean hold each other tenderly and talk about how they're the only thing that matters, in jjba you'll have one character looking at the other in a way that's just drawn differently and the fandom will go insane. the supernatural characters are built very very carefully and have a lot of details that fans memorized- jjba characters are just as good but have a lot more space to play with if you want, regarding headcanons and storylines. their lives and thoughts aren't as well documented as sam and dean's is what i'm trying to say lol you'll know what brand of underwear a character likes most but you won't know his birthday. it happens. yes a lot of the fanfic is ooc because there's barely any character to remain inside of.

last but not least. this is a wincest blog. the first six parts of jojo follow six different generations of the same family. this is not minor. there will be daddy and mommy issues, there will be strange family dynamics. the family tree is FUCKED up and when you learn why you'll either drop the show or become sickeningly obsessed with a certain little guy called DIO. yes like THAT dio. there are a lot of musical references. unlike some characters i know, he's canonically bisexual.

anyways WOW do i like this anime. idk what else to say if you need more convincing this is the opening i guess

[amazing-spiderling]

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

🤍what's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"?

🍭why did you start writing?

💞

I played a little process of elimination here. Could I read (and even enjoy?) a story with less than ideal plot, worldbuilding, grammar, and language? Yes, I think so- even though those all enhance the experience for me. I can think of specific times I've had to stop reading and just *sit* with a perfect and unique metaphor- when an author described something and I realize that if I had a hundred years to come up with a million different ways to describe the same thing, I never would have imagined it the same way they did. And there are times I've read fanfic and thought the plot was so engaging, the worldbuilding so rich that even if it wasn't about a fandom I was in, I would still enjoy it. (Sometimes I throw those recommendations to my friends, just as a sample of excellent writing.)

But the characters. Oh. I am very sensitive to what the kids call, "he would not fucking say that" syndrome. Even in actual mainstream media- I will suffer through absolute *dreck* if there is even one character I really like, who is written very well. I need those characters that ping for me to become invested in a story. After that- everything else is just fruit, frosting and sprinkles. Welcome, for sure. But I'm here for the cake.

🤍

hrghhhh ummmm... I'm not even particularly proud of it, but I'm also not really one to delete fics, but after Infinity War came out, I (along with most MCU fans at the time) was sitting there going, "wait, now what?" I remember watching (and rewatching) that movie and trying to piece together where the story might go from there- and all the fan theories flying around, some of which were much more interesting (and grounded in the established universe?) than what we got. At the time there was a lot of talk about all the "snapped" people possibly ending up in a pocket universe (which were the fashion at the time lol) perhaps in the soul stone or similar. I didn't want to delve into that too deeply, but I took a little bit of that idea along with the (eventually walked back) reveal that May Parker didn't get snapped and tried to write a little fic about Tony and May having a conversation as the, ah... "dust settled", so to speak.

I picked apart Peter's famous parting words, the "I don't want to go" part specifically, and had Tony realize that the "going" was more literal than he realized, with all the vanished going to the soul gem realm etc. He then realized that was the problem he needed to tackle, with May's stone faced encouragement.

It's not the most compelling thing I ever wrote, and obviously it's not canon-adherent, but I think it just kinda flailed around and flopped (as I imagined) because it was short, gen, and maybe a little too vague in the language. But, meh. I got it out there and out of my system.

🍭

I'm trying to think back to my first (non-schoolwork) attempts at writing. There were silly little comics, of course, and these sort of... hybrid story/art/joke notebooks. I think high school is the first time I really remember sitting down and writing actual fanfiction of any kind. The thing that all of those experiences (and much of my writing these days) have in common is a communal aspect. I drew comics on notecards to share back and forth with my friends. We swapped the notebooks, each contributing to different pages as we tried to make each other laugh. In high school, we wrote about series and movies we'd seen, working in inside jokes and discussing what people now call "headcanons" before putting them in a story.

"Back in my day" fandom specific forums were still a thing, so when I tried my hand at writing X-Men and Sailor Moon fanfic, there were forums to share things on, and even if there wasn't a built in comment system, there was still the feeling of community and sharing.

This is all to say that for me, writing (and all forms of creating) have always been about sharing and connecting with other people. Whether they were my classmates, best frieends, or people I happened to meet online- writing is another way to express myself, share my thoughts and develop ideas in the hopes of building something, whether it's giggles at the lunch table or an online community. It's not just why i started writing, but the reason I still do. :)

[a-silver-dragoness]

"How long she dreamed to never wake

Not to die but forever sleep

To shed mortal coil and ascend

As dragon goddess

Winged and content"

I was browsing Tumblr a couple days ago when I was struck with this intense, forest fire of inspiration. I don't remember the exact post, but suddenly it was like "I NEED TO MAKE THIS ART RIGHT NOW", and that burning inspiration hasn't ceased following it's creation.

I really, really want to gush over my favorite, most influential dragons of my life, so be prepared for a long summary/explanation!

From (top) left to right:

Everlasting Dragon, Dark Souls: "Rumour it may be, but I have heard of a surviving ancient dragon who resides in this land. A coterie of Undead serves the dragon, as they train to become dragons themselves. Sounds unlikely, but you never know, do you?"

- Domhnall of Zena

Light Fury, HTTYD THW: My favorite species in HTTYD! A welcome change to the classical "big, scaly monster" category that 90% of dragons fall into. We need more sparkly, feminine dragon species IMO. I know a huge chunk of the fandom hates this species because of it's feminine traits, and the individual that represents the species is female (females aren't supposed to have sparkles, such a horrible design REEEEEEEEEE), but I feel like everyone forgets that the ENTIRE species is feminine and sparkly, not just the Nameless Light Fury. There are male Light Furies with these traits, which everyone conveniently forgets, and assumes the entire species is all female or something?

I've seen plenty of really good redesigns, but it makes me feel bad that so many people hate the species enough to change everything about them. They make the species more masculine, more bulky, more "big, scaly monster". They make the species look more like Night Furies, which makes me feel kinda weird. But regardless, I will always prefer the canon design over any redesign.

Blue, Wings of Fire: My first exposure to WoF was the Graphic Novel of The Dark Secret. I was like, "Woah! Dragons as the main POV characters! That's so cool! I've been waiting for this my whole life!" So, I eventually bought all five Graphic Novels, and checked out The Lost Continent from my local library, and I've been hooked ever since. I currently own the entire 3rd arc, the Winglets, and Darkstalker. I know the fandom probably hates the scavengers in the last book, but as long as dragons continue the be the main POV characters, I couldn't care less how involved they are. Plus, as long as you have two intelligent species in room together, they're eventually going to figure out how to communicate (it's inevitable).

SilkWings are my favorite WoF species. Flamesilk (or just spinning silk and weaving it into tapestries) is an awesome ability, and a very unique feature for a dragon species. I have this strange, prominent love for four winged dragons in general, but I do prefer SilkWings over HiveWings. The ability the cocoon oneself and emerge five days later with wings is a concept that.... interests me greatly. I wish I could grow wings too.

Red Dragon, OG Demon's Souls: I have very fond memories of watching my brother run through Boletaria 1-2, running from the red dragon on those bridges to get to the Tower Knight boss fight. Their roar is unforgettable, and it's makes me happy to hear it. I don't mind the Remake, but I very much prefer the OG Demon's Souls. It has a very wonderful, janky old game feel (DS2 also feels this way to me), and the OST can't be topped. Plus, it has the sexiest armor in any video game, the Fluted Knight Set.

Ryukotsusei, Inuyasha: The first time seeing an eastern dragon was at my cousin's place. She had a few seasons of Inuyasha, and a Sailor Moon movie (the one with the winged unicorn). Probably not the most appropriate thing for a little kid to be watching (I remember Kagome getting kidnapped by a demon and waking up naked in a bathtub), but for my first anime experience I had alot of fun. Definitely had a crush on Koga. I remember drawing a circle in my hand and pretending to suck up demons at school.

The One That Got Away: I read this dragon book in elementary school, and I've never been able to find it again. I've only read it once, and when I went back for it, I never found it again. It has been bothering me for YEARS that I've never been able to find this wonderful book again. So, if anyone has any idea what book I'm taking about, please, PLEASE, send me a message or send an ask with the title! Here's what I remember.

A dragon (maybe red) swooping down grabbing a sheep, with veins seen in its wings, a farmer watches as his sheep is taken away. A dragon hunting a herd of deer. A dragon in a cave, with words like "this dragon's wings are too tight/big for this cave, it'll have to find a new cave soon".

On the bottom are things that might represent or be connected with my godkin identity. I could explain each one, but I'm very tired, and I don't want to do that.

Thank you for making it to the bottom of this VERY long post! Enjoy your day!

[miki-kaname]

2023 Final Thoughts

This was one of the worst years I ever went through. I deleted my previous account, so you won't see any evidence of my journey.

I made two new friends here, and they were very supportive. I thought we could keep it going, but it ended prematurely. One was taken down and the other quit unexpectedly. It was a sad day when I found out.

I wasn't very productive this year, I just posted images and told a joke every now and then. Due to the deletion of my last account, many of them are now lost; anime content, fanfics, journal logs, old collaborations, and many others. Though I'm convinced that roughly 25% of them still exists from reblogs, but I have yet to locate them.

The biggest loss was my last mutual. We were great friends for about five years. We discovered each other when we followed each other out of the blue. The very first time we talk is when I made a post about me revealing that I had autism. He DM me, thanking me for the inspiration post. I didn't know back then, but we became friends that day. Since then, we talked now and then and shared our different experiences with the shows we love. I introduced him to anime when I decided to shift focus of that medium. He checked out several shows that I was watching back then; like Sailor Moon, Fruits Basket, Cowboy Bebop, Spy x Family, and Evangelion.

And in 2022, he introduced me to Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I met Sayaka Miki thanks to him.

The last time we talked was back in the summer. We discussed different animes we were watching, and I told him that I finished the K-ON! manga and was planning to watch the anime. He was looking forward to hear my thoughts about it. The last thing I said was I was happy to finally speak to somebody in order to break the barrier. The final thing I said was, "Take care best buddy." He was very happy for my progress.

And then... it was over.

A few months later, I found out that his account was taken down. I felt sick and I heard a loud ringing sound. And my chest was in a lot of pain. I cried that night, forever alone on Tumblr. So I did the unthinkable.

I deleted my account.

Due to the pain I was suffering, I wanted to escape from everything. But life was getting far worse. Someone in my family got really sick, and it was the most heartbreaking news ever. He has a brain tumor. My mom came home, crying. I haven't seen my mother this devastated in years. My whole life was falling apart.

This whole year was nothing but constant let downs, bullying, trolling, controversy, and major backlash. Due to my disability, I took it too hard, and the dark thoughts blocked out every positivity I ever received.

Even though I came back, it felt like I never should have return.

I'm sorry for being negative, but I did my best. And I did try. I'll... be careful next year.

Thanks for reading.

[thesaintcomes]

[𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬]

– Livedoor News (2 February 2020) –

From Ballet to Musicals, the Girl Who Continues to Stand on Stage Since Her Childhood

- Hayakawa-san who is said to be in acting sector among the 4th generation of Nogizaka46, did you have any acting experience?

When I was little, I participated in a local musical during summer holidays. My mom told me that she would buy me a bicycle if I passed the audition, and I wanted that (lol). - (Lol). You participated every year, right?Yes. It was fun to make friends, hence I started to participate every year.

- I heard that you were also learning classical ballet.

That's right. My mom used to do ballet when she was little, so she already had leotards for me even before I was born. Therefore, I started learning naturally. I took a break when I was about to take the entrance exam though, but until then I had always been doing it all the time. Even after entering Nogizaka46 and coming to Tokyo, I tried to find classes and go when I have time.

- So you do like ballet.

That's the only thing that I've been doing for a long time. Therefore, rather than my actual love for it, the thought of "I've been doing it since forever, so I will just do it" played a bigger factor.

- But if you're not attracted to doing ballet, you would not be able to continue that far. What is the appeal of it?

You can face yourself when you do ballet. By seeing yourself dancing through the mirror, you can see not only how beautiful you are dancing, but also your facial expressions and movements. If you dance with a feeling that doesn't float, it will be seen in your movements. I think ballet will hone you through such experiences.

The Rivals Are Not the Others, but the "Yesterday's Self"

- After joining Nogizaka46, you won the fan-vote for 11 out of 16 performances in the 4th generation's first stage play "3-nin no Principal" and appeared in the second act. How was this experience?

After all, it was painful because it was revealed in front of me whether I was selected or not, and there was a great conflict within myself. But I think I got more than that. I realized that it was a fight against myself. - Fight against yourself?At first, I was just comparing myself to the others, such as "She is quick to remember the lines," or "She is praised." However, during that period one of the staff said, "It's a fight against yourself," and from that point on, the comparison target gradually became "my yesterday's self". It became like "Did I sing better than 'my yesterday's self'? Did I dance better than 'my yesterday's self'?" The rival is no other than my yesterday's self. I think I still think that way even after the stage play ended.

- You appeared as Sailor Mars in "Nogizaka46 Musical 'Sailor Moon' 2019". Did you know the work "Sailor Moon" well?

I knew it. Since my name is Seira, I was often called "Sailor Moon" (セーラームーン: Seeraa Muun) when I was little (LOL). However, I didn't watch the original manga nor the anime, so I bought and read the them after my appearance was decided. I actually had never read shojo manga before, so it became the first one in my life.

- Did you really enjoy it?

Yes. My feelings for the play have become very strong. During the "Principal" period, I was desperate to learn the lines, and I wasn't able to deepen my ability to play the roles*, but during the "Sailor Moon" period, I was able to concentrate on one role and pull it off for the first time. I went to Azabu Hikawa Shrine which is the model of Rei-chan (the real name of Sailor Mars)'s house, read the manga, and watched the anime. I really enjoyed the time when I prepared to play the role while talking with the other members as well.

- It's a very popular work, but how was the reaction around you?

The 4th generation members came to see me and said, "I too want to be a Sailor Mars." My genmates were like me, we were not able to stream "Sailor Moon" real time, but they watched it when the anime was re-aired. I wonder if the girls felt the same way (about me) as the Sailor Moon whom they admired back then. I was very happy.

*T/N: I assume it was because the roles of "Principal" were decided by fan-vote where the fans picked the roles they thought suit the members. The members performed on the same day after the roles were announced. Therefore, she couldn't be sure which role she had to deepen her ability on.

Selected As the Heroine of the Stage Play "Sumaho wo Otoshita Dakenanoni"

- And this time, it was decided that you will appear on the stage play "Sumaho wo Otoshita Dakenanoni". It was already made into a movie starring Kitagawa Keiko and became a hot topic. Did you watch it?

Yes. But I was scared and couldn't watch it (at first).

- (LOL).

I checked the synopsis of what the story was about, prepared my mind, and then watched it (LOL).

- How was it?

It was interesting! It wasn't the ghostly scary thing like I had imagined, so it was all fine (LOL). I'm completely addicted to it, and I'm also reading the original novel. I even read it back last night preparing for this interview. I couldn't stop reading after I started, to the point that even I still am wondering about the what's going to happen in the book next (LOL).

- Which part do you like?

It's like "I was deceived!" (LOL). Because I like figuring things out, it was really fun to think about how it was drawn from the perspectives of various people, there were thoughts like "Whose perspective is this?" Or "How would they pull it off on the stage play?" The process of finding out the truth is also very fun, so I hope I can solve the mystery alongside the audience on the stage play.

- This will be your first heroine on stage play alone, which means there are no Nogizaka46 members around.

That's right. I feel lonely ....

- I think the fact you have decided to work alone in this way means that you have expectations from the people around you. How is it?

The staff often asked, "Is it fun to work on the stage?" The 4th generation members also said, "I want to see you more on stage," so I feel very rewarded. About "Sumaho wo Otoshita Dakenanoni" too, they also said "I'll definitely go to see it," so I will work very hard to do my best.

Whether to Join Nogizaka46 or Go on to Higher Level of Education, Such a Big Choice in Life

- You joined Nogizaka46 in August 2018. What was the reason for applying for the audition in the first place?

I took the audition with a recommendation from my family.

- So you didn't want to be an idol?

I auditioned when I was in the third year of high school, but until then I was planning to go on to university. Therefore, I actually was sent to a cram school since the second year of high school.

- Were you prepared when you passed?

I wondered, "Is it okay?" "Am I really going to Tokyo alone?" "Is it okay to go on living like this?" I was thinking of going to university to study and find a typical job. I wanted a stable life (LOL).

- You literally jumped into a world that is the exact opposite of stability.

Yes …. When I thought that this decision would change my life, I was very worried that I even consulted with my homeroom teacher. After all, I can go to university later if I want to go. But then I thought, "entering Nogizaka46 can only be done now!" So I decided on this one.

- What did you think when you passed the Sakamichi Joint Audition and knew you were assigned to Nogizaka46?

I thought, "I'm glad I put it somehow." (LOL).

- So you weren't really thinking about which group you wanted to join.

I didn't know which group I would fit in. Of course, I was very happy when I knew I was assigned to join Nogizaka46!

- How was it when you first met the members?

I was overwhelmed by the aura. I still remember the first time I met them. Everyone had a really sophisticated beauty that I couldn't even put it into words anymore. I was super nervous ....

- Are you still nervous even until now?

I can speak more than before. I have more opportunities to work with my seniors, and I've gradually come to understand their personalities, also I think I'm not really a shy person since the beginning.

The Growth of Nogizaka46 Leads to My Own Growth

- It has been a year and a half since I joined Nogizaka46. I think you have had a lot of experience with singing and dancing lessons, recording CDs, shooting music videos, recording TV shows, etc. Do you feel that you have changed?

My top priority has changed somehow.

- Top priority?

It may not be very good to say, but I was thinking only about myself at first. It was something like "How can I live in this group?" Or "What am I looking for and what do I want to do?"

- Of course you would think so.

But over the past year, I've often felt that the group is building me up. I got my seniors who do things very well, and I also have a lot of media releases with my genmates. It's all thanks to the seniors who have made Nogizaka46 bigger. I'm often made aware of the fact that it's thanks to the group that I'm able to appear on the stage play "Sumaho wo Otoshita Dakenanoni". That's why I also started to think of the group as my top priority. Of course, there are times when I think about myself, but more than that, I also started thinking "I want to contribute to the group" and "If the group can grow, I can grow as well."

- Usually, people would notice something like that after a few years of working experience, but you quickly arrived at that point.

I think it's because I'm blessed with the seniors and staffs who also think that way. Nogizaka46 is filled with kind people, so I get attracted to Nogizaka46 that it has become an important existence. Over the past year, my love for the group has grown tremendously.

- Hayakawa-san was originally not familiar with idols, but what kind of profession and existence do you think idols are now after working as a member of Nogizaka46?

I think it's a profession that can make people feel positive. I like working on TV and radio, but I especially like the time when I can meet the fans directly, such as during live and theatrical performances. A good performance will make everyone smile. Seeing everyone's facial expressions makes me feel better. If I'm able to show my true self and they are happy about it, I would be happy too. I think idols are a wonderful job to create such a relationship with fans.

- What kind of fans do you have, Hayakawa-san?

They are very encouraging. I think I can do live concerts, handshake events, and works because of them. I feel really helped, so I'll do my best to give back as much as possible.

What kind of person is Seira Hayakawa?

- Finally, I would like to ask Hayakawa-san about yourself, so we have prepared a questionnaire corner.

1. Your personal current trend?

→ Soaking in the bathtub for a long time. Since I started living alone in Tokyo, it's fun to be able to occupy the bathroom by myself (laughs). It's cold now, I can warm myself up slowly.

2. What do you do on your days off?

→ Watch movies, go to ballet class, go shopping, or stay at home the whole day.

3. What do you like about your hometown Osaka?

→ A place where people are easy going and talking to each other always feels fun. After all, whenever I return to my hometown, I feel relaxed.

- But when you talk about it like this, I don't feel like you are from Osaka, including your dialect.

It's because I hide it! I'm interviewed for "Sumaho wo Otoshita Dakenanoni", so I thought I would be more like an actress if I didn't speak in the Kansai dialect (LOL).

4. What do you want to be when you are reborn?

I want to be a tree when I'm reborn. Something like camphor tree.

- A tree …? (LOL).

I want to live long. I want to see various kinds of periods. Isn't there a 1000-year-old tree? I think want to be that kind of tree.

[scare-ard--sleigh]

tagged by @maplefiasco 8 shows to get to know me uhhhh in no particular order!!

tagging (no pressure tho!) ;; @cauldronofmorning @angellspt @spacephrasing @ambrwolf @wesninskijr @rolodextra @zapkilikan and anyone else who wants to do it !

what we do in the shadows: wwdits caters to me so heavily. it captures all of my genders. everyone's hot and fucking each other and they're all so fucking stupid. i've watched it 90 billion times and i still laugh bc the jokes still make me laugh.

midnight mass: we're setting aside my taste in men for a minute here. midnight mass does a really excellent job capturing the more horrifying aspects of growing up as an outsider in a very tight-knit religious community. i've never seen that done in a way that's resonated so much. i talked about this show a lot in therapy. plus okay fine; father skinnyjeans thee vampire [chef's kiss.]

the magicians: idk how to sum up the everything about the magicians in a few sentences. i have an eliot prayer candle lmao, his arc and his friendships and the way he does masculinity are so important to me despite the writing having a few missteps (mind the warnings definitely.) the fandom experience is unlike anything i've ever had, yes derogatorily but also in a really good way--my writing got so good because of the things that i created for this show.

steven universe / sailor moon: i combined them because while they're separately very important to me, it's for a lot of the same reasons and i don't feel right putting one without the other. i'm very saccharine underneath everything, i wanna believe love and friendship can heal anything. i grew up on sailor moon, and i think su would have had the same impact on me if i was the right age.

daredevil: where do i even start :( human disaster matt murdock is just like me fr. foggy nelson is who i wish i was (he also reminds me so much of my husband.) i almost went to law school bc of this fucking show. it's the first time i ever saw two guys crying during an argument bc they love each other that much (nelson v murdock is a treasure of an episode.) i didn't dig s3 as much and i hated the defenders but god the rest of it's so good.

bob's burgers: it's less because i think it's deeply telling and more because it's 100% comfort food. if i'm sick or stoned or sad or trying to find a crowdpleaser, bob's is always my go-to. their family and bob & linda's parenting methods are a lot of what i picture for myself when the time comes.

death note: death note was the thing i was obsessed with as a teenager and while i missed a lot of the point of it, it also is what started making me smarter about media consumption, interpretation, and analysis. mello is also like thee gender of all time.

succession: the latest and greatest "oh jeez that's me." like firstly i love watching shows about terrible rich people but to dig deeper: some of the dynamics hit soooo fucking close. i feel like the portrayal of mental illness and abuse are done almost too well: proceed with caution.

honorable mentions:

buffy the vampire slayer: buffy was the first show i ever got like really, really obsessed with (as well as the first canon i ever tried to make an oc for) but it's almost impossible to recommend for actual viewing bc of how badly it's aged. i didn't rewatch it for the many years, cringed through the last one, and am at permanent hiatus since we've entered the Joyce Is Dying arc which is just like painful to watch on top of the uhhh. joss whedon writing.

archer fx: i don't think archer's necessarily required viewing to get to know me, but i've definitely done some of my best writing for that canon and if you're willing to listen to me talk ad nauseam about archer and cyril's dynamic i'll probably love you forever.

[angelofstarlight]

Sailor Moon and Twisted Wonderland crossover short

Rini arrives at NRC

(Happens after VDC and Serena learns Mallleus's actual name)

It was after class and the first year group was studying outside.

"Man today was long." Ace said.

"It did feel rather long today." Epel said agreeing.

Serena giggled at them as Sebek rolled his eyes. Luna and Grim were on the ground by the textbooks watching them.

"Come on we need to study." Jack said.

"Why? We've been in class all day." Ace said.

"I agree." Grim said.

Before any of them could reply the wind picked up and a pink cloud appeared above them. Next thing that happened was a little girl fell out of it landing on Serena.

"HI Serena." She said.

"Hello Rini....Rini!" Serena exclaimed hugging her with a smile.

The others looked at them before the little girl looked at them with narrowed eyes.

"Who are you and why are you around my mother." She said.

"M-mother?" Deuce said.

"Rini's my future daughter. She visits from time to time." Serena said.

Luna looked at them amused.

"We should inform the others." Epel said.

Serena sighed and nodded

*fourty minutes later*

Serena was smiling nervously as the housewardens stared at her shocked. The teachers however were trying to figure out how to work with this. Lilia however was grinning in delight.

"Angelfish who's her father?" Azul asked.

"Never met him when I went to Rini's time. I figured I had her like my mother had me, through magic." Serena replied

"Correction Serena hadn't met him yet so she couldn't see him." Rini said.

This made all of them freeze before glaring at one another. Crewel noticed and stepped him.

"Heel! None of you are to pry anything from the pup. If she hasn't said anything it is because she doesn't want to damage the timeline." He said.

"Yes sir." They all replied.

Rini however was smirking. Oh she was going to mess with them. Honestly she had no idea what her mother saw in them currently.

"Seeing how attached the little hatchling is to Serena we have agreed to let Rini join Serena in class." Crowley said.

"I take it you are well behaved?" Crewel asked Rini.

"I am. Momma raised me to be respectful and polite. I actually want to be a lady like her." Rini replied.

"That's adorable." Lilia said.

"Don't let that fool you. Rini can be devious too. And i know she didn't get it from me. I'm just learning to be." Serena said.

"Yep. I got it from papa." Rini said.

The boys looked at each other because they all could be. The teachers sighed knowing this will be a experience and headache.

[sidhewrites]

tbh i think it makes sense that half the options are children's media and half are not, because the poll is asking about your FIRST TIME seeing it. so like, is this your first time and you are a younger adult or an older teen, and you are seeing it through kids media? for me, i am an older adult but my first experience with it was through Sailor Moon, a kids show, way back when i WAS a kid. so like, the poll options do make sense i think. meanwhile, my second portrayal would have been Will and Grace only a few years later. so idk. those are my two cents! : )

Yeah no I think I worded my tags very wrong because it wasn’t meant to criticize at all or anything. It was a vague handwave towards two semi-related thoughts re: a lot of tumblr is younger than me and also a lot of people my age solely watch kids shows due to like. Wanting unproblematic protags or sticking to comfortable shows that don’t push their comfort levels. this is intended as a neutral statement, not judgment or critique but I don’t know how to word it better. I apologize it’s the end of the work week for me so I really am struggling to expand on this properly but it’s absolutely not a critiquing anyone, esp as an adult who used to want to work in cartoons.

Genuinely I just don’t understand how the anon saw me go “huh these are a lot of kids shows and tumblr demographics are a thing” and get defensive about adults liking kids shows.

Also heyyy fellow sailor moon fan. I was too dumb to pick up on the “cousins” thing at the time so I don’t count it but that show was my life as a kid. I should rewatch it at some point lol

[bleachenjoyer]

3/22 - Aggretsuko

Like Sailor Moon, Aggretsuko stood out to me in the context of the semester's shows as one of the few that I had actually seen before this class. Though I started it when its first season came out in high school, I didn't quite relate to it, but after many years and some actual work experience, watching Aggretsuko's themes of workplace politics and gender discrimination were much more compelling.

Workplace politics is a core tenet of these episodes of Aggretsuko - Retsuko has to navigate her relationships with the people in her office through the lens of being coworkers at all times, even in cases where she interacts with them outside of the workplace. In most situations she finds herself in, she has to navigate carefully in order to not do anything that risks her standing in the office, rather than act as she wants to. I think this shines light on workplace culture in general (and not just in Japan, where Aggretsuko is based on) - everyone has to construct a facade of who they are to try and get ahead and obtain status.

However, I think it is equally interesting how Aggretsuko dives into the more human aspects of the characters, and emphasizes that the people you work with are just as much people as you are. In Retsuko's interactions with Gori and Washimi, it is shown that the two high-ranking executives are just as nervous as her in interpreting their actions whenever they speak or interact, even when they do not necessarily need to (as in their though process when Retsuko turns down their invitation to go out). Over the course of these episodes, it is shown that, even as workplace colleagues, you can have very genuine connections with people, which can even grow to being helped out in the workplace (from a place of care and not just performative politics).

[thus-spoke-lo]

I just adore my local comic book shop so much. The store is just chaos (a lot of their inventory is in cardboard boxes on the floor in front of their shelves, which I kind of like?), and there’s only like two employees I’ve ever seen there, and I think one of them is the owner, and the store just kind of feels like you walked into someone’s garage or basement storeroom but like… it’s perfect. I’ve only been in a few comic shops on my lifetime (I used to just buy manga at Borders cuz that was my option in my small hometown), but I always kinda felt unwelcome in them? Or at least like walking through the door meant I had to already know stuff about comics (and usually they felt a little anti-manga tbh).

But walking in here, I usually see some parent and kid talking to one of the employees and trying to find the kid a comic series or manga, and they’re always so patient (last time I was there, they ended up helping a very sweet tween girl walk out with the first few volumes of Demon Slayer and it made me happy to see lol), and I wished more places made an effort to show a vested interest in helping kids discover new media to consume.

Anyway, I went in today for exactly one thing and walked out with a few books, including the first two volumes of the republished Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon that came out this year. I got to the counter and the dude asked if I’d ever read the manga before, and I’m just so trained to bristle when guys ask me if I’ve read whatever manga or comic before, so I kinda cringed when I said no, but I’d grown up watching the dubs on TV as a kid. And his eyes got super wide and he just goes “Well then you’re in for a real treat! It’s a really beautiful manga, I think you’re going to love it. And volume 3 comes out soon too!”

And that was it. There was no litmus test, no making me feel weird for not having read a pretty seminal manga. Just a guy being happy for me getting to experience a book for the first time. It reminded me that there are people who really just want other people to enjoy stuff and don’t have some sort of ulterior motive of proving they’re the smartest nerd in the world.

There’s no real point to any of this except to say, when possible and reasonable, support your local bookstores and comic book shops, especially ones that really feel like they want to make comics and manga accessible and fun for everyone.

[hezuart]

That anaversary aizen looks absolutely fabulous, he looks like a figure skater xd.

I heard along time ago the last arc of the anime was being animated finally bc they pulled a 90s sailor moon were the last season was not either animated or dubbed untill decades later.

I recall near the end of the current 366 episodes there was an episode were the creapy demon ppl woke up in hell and we're all bitter, and there was the other guy who was like, iM cOmEiNg FoR u IChIgO, but then is never mentioned again after and I'm like,why? Why is lt there just plopted randomly into a different arc that seams unrelated.

And locking aizen up underground seems ok, but It deff won't hold, and he will. Escape, and he will kill, you either need that one spell from star, dubbed, the darkest spell of moon the undaunted, a powerfull dark spell that killed immortal beings, that came from best character, eclipsa, the queen of darkness.

We need that.

Or stick him I'm crystal like eclipsa was in star. Is there no one who could trap him in ice or crystal for all eternity.

How about throw him into the centre of a volcano trapped and caged , forverr being killed by heat?

I assume there's space travel, send I'm into a black whole, were a black whole don't fuckin care if your immortal or fat, you will die

:3

Yes, I love anniversary Aizen. His original octopus-butterfly hollow design was ugly so I'm glad he's back to being the fashion icon he is.

Locking Aizen up underground once is one thing, doing it twice after saying he got more powerful by just sitting there, and he escaped to battle the Quincy Soul King God... is another. I think he should have escaped at the end of the Quincy arc. That is the only feasibility.

I heard the anime is coming back for the Quincy arc as well, but because of COVID its probably going to be delayed. (I'm not gonna watch it until the Rain section of the arc then I'm dipping out. I'm only here for Zangetsu)

and funny that you mention that hell scene in the manga :)

-> spoilers for the new BLEACH 73 page anniversary chapter / thoughts/critique on it

So hey you had a premonition! Syazel .... returned? And his hole is outside of his body??? for some reason???

(I didn't understand the explanation or why / how that happens and what that means for the hollow)

And my friend and I were laughing because out of ALL the things. Kubo could do in this anniversary. He gave Syazel his dick back after going to hell. That is iconic. (that's where his hole was located, and now that its not on his body ... well...) This is the funniest thing Kubo has EVER pulled. Kudos to you, sir.

The entire internet is freaking out over Ukitake being in hell. Honestly Kubo has done far worse, and we've established that Soul Society is a corrupt system that hasn't changed, so I'm not surprised he would pull something like this.

At the same time, Kubo 1. cheated his audience. 2. continues to prove me right that he cannot bring himself to kill his characters

1. Hollows who have commit murder in their human life are sent to hell. Syazel and Aaorniero are two of these hollows, and yet, when they are killed, there is NO gates of hell scene. We see them there later in the hell chapter (which was more of a promotion for the fourth movie and I didn't believe it would hold any merit)

But the same goes for Ukitake. We never see the gates of hell take him. What, was hell late? Did hell's gates get lost like an uber before picking him up? It's bull. Withholding such vital information from your audience, not showing the gates of hell when they should pick up this soul IMMEDIATELY is ... I mean its a lie. Kubo lied to his audience.

2. Now we are told powerful shinigami are sent to hell when they die. First of all that sounds like a security threat. Wouldn't shinigami want revenge for that? Or attempt to escape? Why would they still hold loyalty after being sent to a prison of eternal suffering?

Also "Yhwach and Aizen" were the only ones keeping Hell's gates closed is way too convenient and doesn't really make any sense. I feel like Aizen should have deliberately gone to hell to retrieve powerful shinigami / hollows for his army instead of keeping it /closed/.

This is definitely a Kubo-doesn't-know-what-he's-doing-and-is -making- stuff-up-as-he-goes, but it might have a pinch of merit because of previous plot lines.... but either way, there's some big plot holes here, but again, its Kubo, so I expected nothing less.

Again, he can't kill off his characters. He introduced zombification, he introduced immortality through the hougyoku, he has Orihime and Hachigen's reversal / rejection abilities. He brought back Luppi, friggen.... a character who's entire upper half of his body was incinerated. Like.... come on. No. He's dead, you can't bring him back like that. That's a cop out and just weird. You're taking away consequences and grief.

(Also Yamamoto and Unohana deserve to be in hell far over Ukitake, they've done some fcked up stuff in their pasts unlike him)

Also Kubo's favorite character is Mayuri, which.... you're allowed to have a favorite problematic character. But Keeping said character alive and bared from the consequences of abusing his daughter, murdering innocents, and experimenting on your own squad members? Nah. Nope. Kill him, Kubo. Kill this dude.

(his weird attachment to Mayuri is probably why he keeps bringing Syazel back, since Syazel is Mayuri 2.0, but Syazel is the bad guy who does face consequences for his actions while Mayuri is not)

~

Also, I'm certain Kazui and Orihime are going to be THRILLED that their precious husband/dad is going to hell when he dies :)

(I just... Rukia teased Ichigo about leaving Orihime at home. She teased him about having a house wife who he leaves all the chores to. Orihime had two panels. She checks on her son who promised he would be at home and sleep. Kazui fcking breaks his promise like it never mattered to him and JUMPS out the window after pretending to sleep in front of his mother. ... An 8 year old... alone... in the middle of the night.)

Orihime is abandoned. She is not invited to SS, she is not informed of what is going on, her son leaves her.... I...

Orihime is a side character. She doesn't matter anymore. She hasn't mattered for a long, long time.

A part of me is glad she had little screen time, since she tends to waste it, but another part of me is embroiled with rage.

I've even see people try to defend this. "Orihime and Ichigo can't be together ALL the time, that's an unhealthy relationship!" and I'm like guys... that's not the point. The point is Orihime is not part of Ichigo's other life. Any shinigami stuff from now on is none of her business. She's going to stay at home while Kazui and Ichigo go off and save the world. Ichigo is going to be fighting by Rukia and Renji while Orihime watches from the sidelines, or worse, doesn't even know what is going on with her husband and son. Orihime is going to be uninformed and abandoned, because she has not proven she is capable of fighting by their sides(go on, @ me. I will fight this. She's a failure.), and also because she prefers a human life over a dead one. Which is ironic, because she married a dead man. Ichigo is a shinigami, and he will be one forever. god forbid she ever meets his Zanpaktou. She would tremble in fear at the monsters her husband harbors in his soul, especially when she realizes they don't care about her and would rather see her dead. (Zangetsu would absolutely kill Orihime. Not sure about Kazui, but Orihime has not accepted Zangetsu, she does not like either of them, and the feeling is assuredly mutual.) frick now I want to make a comic about this

Also still frustrated over Zangetsu's shikai / bankai regression. Kubo once again lied to his audience. Ichigo has no bankai. How ridiculous is that? The main character of BLEACH doesn't have a bankai. Insulting.

(RIP to Chad. He doesn't exist anymore. He's just gone. No mention, no cameo. Gone.)

Kazui is a demon child. That character from the novels? Hikone? They're the same character. Literally same personality, same power level. Its worse because Kazui is a liar. He constantly goes behind his parents' backs. He can summon creepy fish and creepy eyeballs and open portals like is ANYONE aware of this? How has SS not kidnapped Ichigo's son and experimented on him / locked away his powers yet? All substitute shinigami require a reiatsu controlling / spy badge to keep them in line. Where is Kazui's? Or is he just a weird fullbringer?

I was worried Kubo was gonna try and pull a knock off Boruto but luckily he kept the focus on Ichigo and the others. But that being said, Ichika and Kazui are now just... sort of there? Kazui was kinda just.... having his own adventure that doesn't matter to the plot at hand, and Ichika had some nice characterization at first but she just hid behind her dad the whole time.

I have a feeling Kazui is gonna step in at the last minute or do some major behind the scenes thing that indirectly interferes with the main plot so no one will realize how powerful and dangerous he actually is. Its sad because Ichika is the superior character in personality and likability, but she clearly is not going to have a bigger part in this.

Ichigo having a normal life after everything still feels extremely boring and uncomfortable to me. Everyone's like 'I'm still bLEACH!" but.... BLEACH just... doesn't feel like BLEACH anymore. It hasn't for a while now.

~~~

There's two new shinigami characters. Didn't care for the girl, but the Sign Language kid who talks to animals is adorable ... however... he just reminds me of Chad, and I just... it hurts knowing Chad has essentially been deleted. Chad and Orihime are officially benched. They have chosen the human world, and Orihime has given Ichigo his spawn so she has no more use/purpose to him anymore... ////sigh

~~~

Also. This is claimed to be a new "arc". So is the BLEACH manga coming back? What is happening. I thought Kubo was tired and didn't want to do BLEACH anymore. I thought Shounen Jump cut him off. People made so many excuses for Kubo and why the past two arcs have been so badly written the past 6 years and now almost everything they've attempted to defend him with has been revoked.

BLEACH is going to continue to screw up its plot lines and characters, so Its probably best for it to stay dead but I've seen a lot of Kubo stans drooling over this content, they're desperate for BLEACH's return, but its already given out all its possible revelations. There's really nothing else to top here. It's just going to make things up as it goes along ,and I'm not really here for half-assed writing like that, especially since the damage of rushing the previous manga has already been done. Kubo and Shounen Jump are riding off a money nostalgia. None of this was planned.

Honestly though.... overall feeling of this chapter, not as bad as it could have been.

Syazel stole the spotlight, and he's my friend's favorite character, so that's all that really matters.

[luxshine]

Y yo a ti, Cas -segunda parte. Because of course Mexican Cas pulled us out of despair and can throw us back in.

Ok, so the last 24 hours have been a bit of a rollercoaster and now I have another post to write about how dubbing is made. Because I love Misha a lot, and I respect him but… the whole rouge translator thing just doesn’t jive with reality.

Now, first of all I want to make a disclaimer: I do not believe that there’s a conspiracy to keep Dean closeted and away from Castiel. That makes absolutely no sense, no matter how you slice it. Among other things, conspiracy implies intent, and I really doubt the CW, Warner Bros and everyone involved in the marketing choices cares that much. At most, I think that there was a misunderstanding of marketing/PR and now people are doubling down on trying to pretend it didn’t happen. But a conspiracy? Nope. This isn’t THAT important, and it would require a LOT of people involved to make things work.

Which is precisely why the rouge translator thing doesn’t work. Because you would need a conspiracy to MAKE Destiel canon in order for it to be real.

Second: As I write this, I still don’t have an answer from the voice actors. But rest assured, WHEN they reply (or we can organize a panel so YOU guys can ask directly), I will tell you the absolute truth. If I am wrong with my assumptions, and it WAS a rouge translator, I will let you know, and I will admit I was wrong. And if it was from the audio (say, a Jensen adlib) or the actual script? I will also let you know.

Third: I don’t doubt that Misha REALLY believes the rogue translator thing, if it was told to him by TPTB. There’s no reason to believe he knows how dubbing works in Mexico, nor how many people check the final product. Or that he even watched the episode, instead of believing it was a fan clip. Also, I respect him immensely and I don’t want any hate send his way.

That said, let’s go into how dubbing works, again.

For the sake of argument, I will start with the idea that yes, there was a “Rogue translator” who decided that THIS was the perfect moment to make Destiel canon. Not, say, Season 8 when he could have translated an “I need you” from Dean into an “I love you” when the god tablet thing happened, not in season 12, or during the purgatory prayers. No, the best moment was two episodes before the finale, when he had to know that Cas was not coming back. 

And yes, the translator knew Cas was not coming back because when we translate series, we get them in packages of 5 episodes or more at the time. So they must have had 15x16 to 15x21 (The interview special) all together. So they knew that this was Cas’s exit from the series.

Now, in my previous post I said how in the old times, we used vhs tapes and paper copies of the shooting scripts (when they were available that was not always). Now a days, we get the video file and a word document (if we’re lucky. If not, we make the word file). Translate everything. Go through it AGAIN to make sure the lip sync matches and that we don’t have huge speeches when there’s a small window of time to say the speech because of the language differences. Check that we didn’t accidentally used a slang word that only Mexico would understand. If the show is not PG-13, make sure our swearwords are not too bad or too localized. THEN we send it to the studio, which prints about four copies of the script and hands it,and the video, to the Dub director.

The dub director then goes and re-watches every episode, while checking the script. Some directors don’t speak the language, so they’re just checking cadence, time, and the damned lip sync. (And if you, as a translator, don’t match the lip sync? You are either back to training or out of a word if you get too many strikes). So sure, you could slip a change of line there, IF the director doesn’t speak German, or Japanese, or Hindi.

But almost every single dub director speaks English. So a change from “Don’t do this, Cas” to “And I, you, Cas” would be noticed then and there, and changed to the right line. Which means that, for the rogue translator thing to work, we’d have to add also a rogue dub director.

And honestly, do you see a professional dub director with more than 15 years of experience (because you don’t give a series to a newbie, and Supernatural had the same dub director for all it’s run) risking his job for ONE line?

Anyway, in the times before the plague dub actors were called in groups to the study to record, in order to save audio tracks. So, for example, all the Inner Senshi would record together when doing Sailor Moon, and I assume in Supernatural, Sam and Dean’s lines would also be recorded together, while Dean and Cas might have been or not. Depending on times and so on. So you’d had at least 3 people in the studio: Dean’s VA, the dub director and the sound technician. ALL of them checking what was being said, what was in the script, and listening to the original audio.

Some actors would also make corrections to the script there, making some lines easier to read, and, again, checking those damn lip letters (Can you tell I HATE the lip letter thing?) . I remember fondly the VA for Sailor Jupiter, Araceli de Leon (RIP), who was known as “The Corrector”, since she would go through ALL the scripts for everyone with a red pen. The day I handed a script she didn’t find any corrections, I was jumping out of joy. So if 15x18 was recorded AT the dubbing studio? Someone who knew English could’ve caught the difference between the “Don’t do this” and the “And I you”, making it harder for our rogue translator to go unnoticed.

But let’s say it was recorded post-quarantine, when voice actors work alone at home, in their own private sound studios. I have no idea if they would have the director at hand through zoom, but I assume so. In any case, the VA would STILL have the original audio to know how the lines were said, and after 4 years of dubbing Dean Winchester, I will assume that the VA knows at the very least a little bit of English so if his script said “And I, you Cas” but he heard Jensen say “Don’t do it, Cas”, he would’ve made a correction there.

That’s now two people who would have to ignore the rouge translator’s actions, and even help them, in order for this theory to work.

And then the audio goes back to the director, who checks it again, makes sure it is lip synced and well acted, and sent to the audio technician who mixes it all, and now we have a THIRD person who could’ve said “Hey… uhm… this line? Is not what it says in the original” and by this time, we’d have to have a conspiracy to keep that “And I, you, Cas” in the final product.

Which brings me to person number four: Once the dubbing is done? It’s reviewed by the client (In this case, WB Latam), who gives the final say and CAN ask for redubs if necessary.

Story time. When I was doing this for a living, I got a series that had the WEIRDEST line ever. A line that made me triple check I was hearing things right (because it was a damn adlib that I couldn’t check with the script)

It was: “I’ve been listening to jazz even since I was a sperm swimming in my father’s testicles”.

So yeah.

I was a pro, so I didn’t censor it or change it and send it as it was to the director. Who OF COURSE called me and asked “Are you 100% sure that’s the line?” (This was in Japanese, and he didn’t speak Japanese. He trusted me). And I said “yeah, but if you need to change it, we can find another way to say “I’ve been a Jazz fan since before I was born”. “ He, Jack bless him, said “Nah. If that’s the original, let’s keep the original”.

The client was NOT amused and we had to change it in the final product.

Now, this was a throw away line by a secondary character that never appeared again in the series, in a small scene that probably only I remember. And the client still said “Nope, change that”. I’d like to believe that a line that changes the relationship between two main characters would have the same, if not more, scrutiny from TPTB.

Which makes now four people who would have had to either ignore the actions of the rogue translator, or actively participate in a conspiracy to make Destiel Latam canon.

Which, I dunno about you, sounds like way too much effort for something that was going to last for exactly one second before Cas got sucked into the Empty.

Someone made a mistake? Probably. But I am more willing to bet it was whoever sent the master video file to the studio than the dub studio, if that line wasn’t supposed to be there.