#izumi has two dads

[izvmimi]

cw: selfship content. married with named children. fluff.

Izuku has been pacing around the kitchen for the past five minutes, and you, devilish as you are, are pretending not to notice, content with your late night snack of hot chocolate and lightly buttered bread.

The kids are all asleep, or at the very least turned in for the night, and things have been overall peaceful in the Midoriya household for the past few days, so whatever has your husband in distress is unlikely to be that bad. Additionally, he has an expression he makes when the situation is more embarrassing than dire, and that's written all over his face at the moment.

You bite into a particularly crunchy part of the bread and the sound appears to echo - Izuku looks at you and you return his gaze with your mouth full, blinking innocently, then burst out laughing when he frowns.

"Fine, I'll bite. What's wrong, baby?" you ask.

Izuku stops pacing then stands still facing you, one arm crossed over his chest and his other hand balled into a fist under his chin.

"Did you know Izumi had a crush on..." his voice was already hushed, but now it falls into a barely audible whisper, "... Ami?"

You blink. That's all? you wonder.

"Well, yeah..." you reply. "He's uh... been like that since he was 8?"

"What?!"

Izuku looks betrayed for a moment, then moves over to you quickly, pulling out a chair to plop down on.

"Okay, but his sketchbook is literally filled with portraits of just her!"

You drink the last of your hot cocoa, then smile at him, resting your hand on his wrist posed on the table.

"Sounds like his dad."

Izuku turns pink at the ears, but then he shakes his head, trying to focus.

"It's not the same!"

You sigh. "Are they tasteful at least? They seemed fine when I saw them."

Izuku's mouth opens and closes quickly. "W-What do you mean tasteful?"

"I mean he is 15."

"___! They're okay, he's not a pervert!"

You tilt your head to the side. "Exactly, so what's the problem?"

Izuku looks at you with incredulity, shocked by your unbothered manner. "You know, perhaps the 10 year age difference??" Izuku starts. "What if he gets his heart broken? It's not like it can happen!"

You take another long look at him, then laugh again.

"Don't burst a blood vessel, it's just puppy love. He'll get over it."

"I didn't get over my first crush!"

"... Honey, how old do you think I am?" you ask. He sighs then sidesteps your statement, knowing he sounds ridiculous, then presses his head against the table. You push your plate and mug aside now, then take his fingers in yours, and he turns his head to the side to look up at you.

"You know, it's not weird for your teenage son to have a crush on a pretty girl, especially when she was his babysitter most of his life. It's harmless."

Izuku frowns.

"It's not weird I promise. Plus, it won't last." With that last part you lean just a bit closer to whisper, "I heard him on the phone with someone else, he has a crush on another person in his class right now, which I also know because he actually starts caring if I iron his shirts for school."

Izuku seems briefly relieved, then again bothered by this additional info.

"Why doesn't he tell me anything?" he asks.

"Teenagers don't tell anyone anything, don't worry about it." You say, squeezing his fingers. He gives you a half-smile, then you decide to change the subject.

"By the way, Atsuna needs to get stuff for cheerleading, so you can you take her tomorrow? I have some errands I need to run."

"Cheerleading? When did she start cheerleading?"

Izuku looks genuinely dumbfounded, following you as you get up to put your dish away.

"Two weeks ago." You snap your fingers. "I need you to keep up."

He pouts, and you actually feel a little bad.

"I'm kidding," you insist, but the damage is already done. You lead him back to a seat in the kitchen, and he frowns again, tapping his foot anxiously as he sits.

"I'm a shit father," he mumbles, and your heart aches for just a moment. You shake your head then cup his face in your hands. Izuku looks at you and you soften then kiss him.

"No way. You're just doing a ton at once right now. Let me take care of things for now, and then we'll catch up this weekend, okay?"

His hands circle around your wrists, and he's not completely convinced but he nods.

"You do such a great job, I wanna pull my weight," he murmurs and kisses you again. You let his kisses warm you more than the cocoa and press your forehead against his.

"You pull yours too, baby. We can't give 100% to everything all the time so I'll cover you and you cover me, okay?"

He nods.

"Thank you," he adds. You move out of your seat into his lap, and caress the side of his chin, feeling the roughness of his unshaven face, tired but still handsome.

"I'm taking more days off," he promises.

"You don't have to," you insist.

"I don't have to, but I want to."

You laugh but it's just a breath through your nose, and press yourself closer to him so that your face buries into his chest.

"#1 Pro Hero wants more days off so he can give his son the Talk? That will go over well with the Hero Commission."

Your sarcasm hits a little too close to home but he gently grips your fingers again and pulls them to his mouth, kissing the finger tips.

"Izuku, your husband and the father of your kids, wants to spend more time with the beautiful woman he married and the children he helped create," he states. You look into his eyes and he looks determined to make a change and you smile, accepting his resolve.

"Thank you."

---

Your phone rings in the late evening on Sunday, and you can't help but be amused as you pick up. The second you say hello, you can already hear screaming on the other end of the line.

"Is there a reason Deku is suddenly off the patrol schedule for an entire month?!"

You stifle a laugh.

"Why don't you ask him, Kacchan?" Calling his name like your husband does only serves to aggravate him more.

"Very funny. Tell him to pick up the fucking phone."

You glance over at your husband who is busy helping your youngest daughter, Ai, braid her hair down for bed in the living room. Ai holds a mirror and tells him where to part her curls, and Izuku's tongue sticks out as he tries the style on the video on the TV screen. Despite his slight confusion, he looks happy as Ai observes his work and gives him plentiful encouragement.

"When he's no longer busy. Bye! Hug the wife and kids for me!" you say cheerfully as you hang up.

[dualcordie]

I’ve seen people talking about Zuko adopting Izumi instead of her being his biological child and I had a silly little thought (that I haven’t stopped thinking about for days)

warning: this post is basically just my last two brain cells trying to put out a semi-coherent thought

What if Zuko and Azula mend their relationship after everything and heal, but they both still despise Ozai so much that they make a pact that their lineage dies with them and they refuse to ever have children?

BUT

Azula goes on some self discovery trip and eventually meets this little orphan named Izumi. They hit it off almost immediately. Azula is usually super awkward around kids, but Izumi is a little menace and Azula loves her. She sees parts of herself, and even Zuko, in Izumi (ya know, before things went downhill for the both of them as children). She manages to bring Izumi back to the capital and tells Zuko she has a surprise.

Zuko nearly shits himself when said surprise is a 6 year old who can’t seem to stop bouncing off the walls and talks so fast you can barely make out what she’s saying. Zuko is adamant that Izumi doesn’t belong there and “What about our deal?!”

To which Azula starts to persuade him (because she’s good at that shit and would be able to do it without hesitation) and even makes the point that their ancestors would be livid if they knew that the Fire Lord adopted a random child rather than “keeping their lineage pure” or whatever the fuck kind of bullshit they’d say. She wants to be an auntie so bad, she’s bound and determined to get Zuko to adopt this kid.

Zuko says Izumi can stay, but he can’t be a dad right now and they’ll have to eventually find someone to take her in. Azula doesn’t believe that for one second, especially after seeing how great Zuko is with every child he comes across. She manages to rope the gaang into it and when Zuko sees how Sokka and Izumi instantly click, how comfortable Izumi is around Aang and Katara’s kids, as well as Toph’s, he can’t say no to adopting her. He takes her in, spends more and more time with her, and they’re definitely a dynamic dad and daughter duo (even though he hasn’t officially adopted her yet). There’s even talk going around the palace that Zuko is spoiling her rotten (but he swears he isn’t, he’s just trying to give her a better childhood than he had).

then blah blah blah Zuko’s a great dad to her and him and Sokka surprise her with the official adoption and they sometimes struggle with the whole new being married and parents thing but they’d give their lives for Izumi in an instant and they’re in love and that’s all that matters

[linnorabeifong]

Just Thinking

With everything Lin’s been through I’m surprised she never had an Azula-esque mental breakdown.

This woman had an absent father, a neglectful mother, basically had to raise her sister because Toph wouldn’t then got her face sliced open by said sister. Her sister leaves after that and then her mom leaves about (guessing here) a year or so afterwords and just hangs out in a swamp. She joins the police to impress her mother and goes on to become the chief and her mom still doesn’t care.

Her job is immensely stressful, her friends are across the world ( Izumi is in the fire nation, Kya is traveling, Bumi is in the UF) and she gets left by Tenzin (who she’s probably known and been friends with since infancy) for a younger woman.

Presumably there would also be the pressure of the Beifong name and title and the maintenance of the estate after her grandparents die because I don’t see Toph handling that. Additionally all of her mentors either die or move away from the city (Aang dies, Sokka dies, Zuko is in the fire nation, Katara moves to the south) . Obviously we know from the show she handles her emotions poorly and bottles them up. We also know that she’s kind of socially-awkward at times like Azula.

Then we get into the issues of each season. RC already has organized crime that she has to fight to take down then the avatar lands on her door step and destroys public property and agitates the equalist situation. Then Lin looses her job which she has dedicated her entire life to. Outside of her job she doesn’t have a lot going for her. Then she sacrifices herself to save the family of the guy that cheated on her and looses her bending in the process. That must be soul crushing and no one shows up to save her or support her in her time of need.

Season two she has to deal with the attacks in RC and deal with her detective being falsely accused and then with the spirit vines overtaking her city.

Season Three she has to protect the avatar from a terrorist group and is forced to see her sister after thirty years. This experience is obviously super overwhelming for her and then she’s pressured into meeting all these new people (our girl is an introvert). Additionally the stress of her job is physically taking a toll on her as seen throughout the episode. She goes to get acupuncture which resurfaces all of her old painful memories and then when she has an outburst ( understandable she’s going through a lot) everyone is mad at her. ( I have so much more to say about this but I don’t want this post to be a novel) . The battle with the Red Lotus: she was nearly killed and she watched P’Li die. that had to be gory. Even if Lin has seen a lot of death that’s a VERY gruesome way to go.

Season four is obviously stressful for her but there’s particular instances that stick out here: Toph hiding who her dad was just to go and tell Bolin ( this must’ve been so immensely hurtful for Lin: think about it she didn’t even know her dad was from the fire nation until her mom casually told Bolin, that means Lin went fifty four years not even knowing her ethnicity ) . But also the way that after everything Toph’s done she’s just expected to forgive her ? And Lin is so incredibly self-sacrificing that she just swallows her own feelings and does.

Here are the things that really irk me the most

Circling back to season three: “Bitter loner who only cares about herself. No wonder Tenzin ended things with you years ago”

Wow, just wow this is so genuinely awful. But also untrue. Lin has made so many sacrifices, she’s put her life on the line multiple times for Korra and had her bending ripped away from her while protecting Korra.

Bringing up Tenzin was a low blow and so immature of Su.

Lin is so forgiving and no one appreciates her or acknowledges the tremendous amount of pain they put her in.

Also Lin has massive scars on her face. She has to see those every day. That has to take a toll on her self esteem. Not only that they look painful and deep. For all we know she could have sensitivity or be completely numb in that area.

This pisses me off the most: Toph could feel everything through the vines apparently so that means she knew when Lin lost her bending but she didn’t show up for her. Realizing this broke my heart for Lin.

In conclusion Lin has been through a lot. She is traumatized. Yeah she’s grumpy and she has outbursts and she cries in the Zafou episodes but none of this feels like a proportional response to everything she’s been through . I don’t think she as a character can heal until she really processes things and lets it all out but all we see is her continuing to work and heap more pressure on herself. That isn’t sustainable and eventually will create consequences much worse than what we’ve already seen.

I see parallels between her and Azula ( I won’t get into it) and with the strained relationship Lin has with Toph I could see her having an Azula-moment.

Thanks for listening to my disorganized thoughts .

[wickedcriminal]

Nothing just thinking of an au where Hohenheim had the boys while still living in Xerxes and they were in the center of the circle (maybe Hohenheim did that to save them) and they became immortal instead of him

Immortal Ed and Al traveling to Amestris and Xing respectively to teach the science of alchemy

Immortal Ed and Al ending up in present day Resembool finding Winry Rockbell, a girl who lost two limbs trying to resurrect her parents with alchemy who decided to join them in restoring their bodies to their original mortal states and perhaps getting her arm and leg back

Immortal Ed and Al joining the military as the youngest state alchemists and having to pretend they're not actually the oldest state alchemists

Immortal Ed and Al trying to be discreet when Ling and Mei come to Amestris looking for the secret to immortality (it doesn't work and now the royal twerps won't leave them alone)

They're still "trying to get their bodies back" in the sense that they're trying to regain their mortality so they can have normal lives again, like Hohenheim

Ed and Al teaching Izumi rather than the other way around

Father is taking the form of their dead dad which just makes the boys even more pissed off at him

The Hohenheim flashback episode with Trisha being that of a more motherly relationship, with the boys meeting her when she's younger but then she grows up and is like "you guys are still orphans?? Not anymore, lmao"

Also Pinako growing old right before their eyes

I don't think they'd be able to use their philosopher's stones to completely heal people? (I think Hohenheim couldn't heal Izumi). But they could probably help Winry with relatively smaller things (like how Hohenheim helped Izumi with her internal organs) ie Winry gets grazed by a bullet and Ed can help speed up her healing or ease the aching in her automail, so that's their roleswap in that sense. Winry was his personal mechanic, now he's her personal doctor.

Al still gets to be recklessly selfless because he can't die and he still uses his body to shield people even though he's much smaller and decidedly not made of steel

This has gotten pretty long but IMMORTAL ED AND AL

[chrysopoeias]

my based and controversial opinion on Ed's relationship with Roy and Riza

I do not like parental Royed. To me, it feels OOC and forced half the time. Like them being overly close and devoted to each other's well being. (The other half of the time it's just borderline romance, but by those who feel bad about the age gap so they make Roy the dad instead of the daddy lol). I think their canon dynamic is fun but in no way do they have a near-familial bond, honestly. These two people barely tolerate each other in the same room. It's Ed's growth as a person, and mainly by speaking to Riza, that Ed gains some sort of respect for Roy. But he still thinks Mustang is an asshole. Sure Roy is on Ed's side in wanting him to succeed, but Roy also would not be caught dead hanging out with that kid after work. I know found family is very popular and everyone loves it, but I just don't think it always fits. Mustang is just Ed's shitty boss during his temporary military career.

I also don't really like Hawkeye being made a mother figure for Ed. He already has Pinako and Izumi fit that role for him. While Ed respects her and goes to her for venting and advice, I don't think he sees her like that. Besides Ed thinks Riza is hot, it would be more likely that he has hormone fueled fantasies about totally being able to seduce her (lmao dream on), than about her being his mother figure. She's just not gonna parent him, she treats him with respect and like a coworker (although with his age and inexperience in mind), compared to some others who do treat him like a stupid child.

[jujumin-translates]

★ Main Story | Act 13 - Budding Spring | Chapter 4 - Newborn Fleur Award

Chairman: “We would like to now begin the New Fleur Award Board of Directors press conference. Thank you for taking the time to join us.”

Chairman: “To start, board members Yukio Tachibana and Reni Kamkizaka will talk about the policies of the New Fleur Award.”

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Sakuya: What kind of policies do you think they’re gonna announce?

Izumi: I didn’t look into any of the details, so I have no idea.

Sakyo: Maybe something regarding the selection process will be different from the Fleur Award in the past.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Yukio: “New Fleur Award Board of Directors board member, Yukio Tachibana. Thank you for your time.”

Yukio: “I would like to explain to you more about the New Fleur Award.”

Yukio: “First, one major change to the New Fleur Award’s selection process will be the introduction of a ranking system.”

Yukio: “The current method of selecting nominees via the choice of the Board of Directors will be abolished, and all theater companies that enter will be able to participate.”

Yukio: “The ranking positions will go up and down in accordance with the accumulation of two different types of points.”

Yukio: “Theater Votes, which will be cast by audience members who go to see plays in person at a theater, and SNS Votes, which will be cast by audience members who watch via live stream.”

Yukio: “For the sake of fairness, Theater Votes will be worth more points than SNS Votes, which are easier to count.”

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: WHAT!?

Sakyo: A ranking system, huh… audience ratings will be more important than ever now.

Homare: In addition to that, it will require audience members to vote.

Tenma: So whoever’s got the crazier fans has an advantage, huh?

Banri: And it ain’t just about the SNS Votes either, right?

Itaru: If you’ve got good social networking skills, you could get trending and snag all the votes in one go.

Juza: So what you’re sayin’ is that we’re gonna have to fight for ‘em like we’ve never fought before…

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Yukio: “It will be held once every two years.”

Yukio: “The first year will be divided into four periods, or quarters. The rankings will be tabulated every quarter in order to determine the top ten theater troupes.”

Yukio: “In the second year, the top ten troupes will compete in the finals and the winner will be awarded the New Fleur Award.”

Yukio: “The bonus prize is still ten million yen, as it always has been.”

Yukio: “The venue will be a brand new theater that is currently under construction. More of the details will be announced at a later date.”

Yukio: “Full transparency was of the utmost importance regarding this change.”

Yukio: “The winner of the New Fleur Award will not be selected by some random board members, but will be voted on by a larger audience.”

Yukio: “Each and every theater company will have a fair and equal chance to win the Fleur Award.”

Yukio: “The purpose of this is to bring life to the entirety of the world of theater by putting both old and new theater companies on a level playing field, and by encouraging a larger audience to participate.”

Yukio: “By introducing a ranking system, a wide variety of people will be involved in the selection process for the New Fleur Award.”

Yukio: “While we’ve increased our transparency, there may be some forms of unfairness that we’ve never encountered before.”

Yukio: “As the Board of Directors, we intend to take each of these instances seriously if they are to arise.”

Yukio: “While being exposed to criticism and the public opinion may make you feel anxious, and you may fail…”

Yukio: “We want to create a whole new Fleur Award with all of the people involved in theater.”

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: Dad really has changed…

Sakyo: In a way, it’s the Yukio-san thing to do. He’s demolished the entire Fleur Award system and rebuilt it from the ground up.

Tasuku: Up until now, each theater company has been ranked based on how long they’ve been active and how recognizable their name is, but that’s finally changing.

Chikage: With past Fleur Awards, we all sort of had some idea of what theater companies were likely to win, but from now on, it’ll be much more unpredictable.

Itaru: Plus any number of new theater companies can join the fight.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Reni: “To continue, I will now present the detailed schedule.”

Reni: “Entries for the Fleur Cup, which will determine who will be in the running for the New Fleur Award, will open at the end of the press conference being held today.”

Reni: “There will also be a pre-voting period to allow people to get an understanding of the Fleur Cup system.”

Reni: “The pre-voting period will begin tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. Only SNS Votes will be accepted during this time, and the rankings will be announced a week later.”

Reni: “Now, please note that this pre-voting period is only a trial period to allow everyone to become acquainted with the process of the Fleur Cup.”

Reni: “The ranking results from this will have no effect on the final selection of the Fleur Cup in any capacity.”

Reni: “The final selection will begin at 7:00 a.m. on the day following the end of the pre-voting period. From that point on, the two types of votes will be available: Theater Votes and SNS Votes.”

Reni: “Thereafter, the rankings will be announced every three months. After a year has passed, the top ten troupes will be selected to participate in the finals.”

Reni: “More details regarding the finals will be announced at a later date--.”

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Manager: W-W-W-What are we going to do!? We need to enter as soon as possible…!

Manager: Where’s the entry form? I’ll have to line up outside the Board of Directors’ office first thing in the morning…

Itaru: Who even accepts written applications anymore?

Chikage: They just announced the Fleur Cup website. It seems like entries will be sent there after filling out the required information.

Sakuya: And then the rankings will be announced a week later…?

Tsuzuru: So the current place of the troupe will be announced outright, huh…

Banri: It’s interestin’, ain’t it? I’m lookin’ forward to seein’ where the other troupes place.

Sakyo: The press conference as a whole seems to be getting a lot of attention. The voting turnout itself could be significant.

Citron: There is no need to worry! Our fans will surely vote for us!

Yuki: Letting just any theater company participate me~ans that people who created a theater company on nothing but a whim can participate too.

Tasuku: So there’s no question of activity or personal history, got it.

Kazunari: Maybe if we can get some attention, we can get to the top of the rankings.

Tsumugi: But this pre-ranking won’t affect the final selection, and even if it did, it would probably only be temporary, right?

Homare: However, when it comes to rankings, people are going to be made uneasy, no matter the outcome.

Izumi: We’re never going to know what the results are if we don’t enter, so let’s just start with that!

Omi: Right. The rice is just about done, so why don’t we have dinner now?

Kumon: Yeah~!

*Doorbell rings*

Izumi: ?

Manager: Yes, ye~s. Who is it~?

*Door opens*

Izumi: Who could it be at this hour?

*Door slams*

Manager: Awahwahwah! Everyone, we’ve got some very important guests…!

Izumi: Huh?

Yukio: Good evening.

Reni: Sorry to bother you at this hour. We’ll be on our way soon.

Izumi: Dad and Kamikizaka-san!?

Misumi: It’s like you came outta the TV~.

Yukio: The press conference was being held at a venue nearby, so we thought we’d drop by.

Yukio: After all, I won’t be able to show my face around here so easily in a short while.

Izumi: Huh?

Reni: In addition to this being his own former theater company, his daughter is now the one in charge of it. You’d likely be suspected of collusion.

Izumi: I see…

Sakyo: You really are serious about changing both the Fleur Award and its Board of Directors, huh?

Yukio: I am. With this, no one should have to grieve anymore. I want the future of the theater world to be brighter.

Itaru: Well, but it’s still getting darker in other ways.

Muku: Rankings… will it really be okay… what if we suddenly start getting backlash and get canceled on social media and no one votes for us…

Kumon: Or like, what if there’s a system error and only MANKAI Company’s votes are deemed invalid…!

Juza: All we can do is shut our mouths and wait to be sentenced.

Azuma: Fufu, you’re saying we’re going to be sentenced as if we’re criminals.

Tenma: You’re all overthinking, nothing’s set in stone yet. Jeez.

[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Sweet! I wanna do platonic for a long time

Platonic relationship for Kyouko Hori and Izumi Miyamura having a little sibling that is a dandere (shy, quiet, timid and asocial)

(Horimiya) Hori and Miyamura with a shy reader!Sibling

Hori had younger siblings with the opposite personality. One incredibly outgoing, and one incredibly shy.

She didn't exactly mind their shyness, but she did want them to make friends that wasn't her or Souta.

Honestly? She has no idea where they get it from, considering their dad was loud and obnoxious and their mother was gentle and very persuasive.

But she did her best to make them the little brother/sister comfortable, even when they're speaking with others.

Thankfully when Hori met Miyamura, he could handle both quite well, seeing as he was quite the introvert himself.

(Y/N) never talked much and was quite avoidant of Miyamura at first, but Hori eventually opened them up to him.

She notices the two just simply enjoying a quiet moment together watching the TV, which brings a smile to her face.

Miyamura was introverted himself, especially with the way he was treated at school.

But one thing he always made sure, was that (Y/N) never suffered because of him.

The two were close siblings and shared their quiet moments together, not needing to say anything.

However, that changed upon meeting Hori and the rest of his newfound friends, introducing them slowly to (Y/N).

Except Shindou. Both agreed he was loud and extremely obnoxious.

Even if he was Miyamura's best friend.

Everyone constantly asks Miyamura about (Y/N), wanting to meet them. Especially Shuu.

So far, Shindou and Hori have been the only ones to meet them, the former for barging his way in, and Hori being very courteous to (Y/N)'s shy nature.

[serialadoptersbracket]

Round 3, Match 7: Kim Dokja vs. Izumi Curtis

Submitted kids:

Kim Dokja: Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung are the commonly accepted ones but you can also make a case for Lee Jihye and Biyoo

Izumi Curtis: Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric

Propaganda under the cut!

Kim Dokja:

1. “In the first scenario (where you have to murder something alive) his first priority is to make sure Gilyoung makes it out alive (by giving him the grasshopper before letting others know about it), and when the future version of Yoosung (41st round) is going to cause havoc his first plan is to basically the past (his present) version of her so they would have her on her side (he takes her in as his incarnation- if that isn’t an adoption idk what is); Biyoo is literally the soul of 41st Yoosung that he WENT THROUGH AN UNDERWORLD TRIAL to get her back and she is legally his child. Lee Jihye is more like the older sister-teenager of the group be she’s still adopted by association and Han Donghoon is a kid who was hypnotized and exploited by the ‘prophets’ and Kim Dokja saved him and became someone he trusts in- which is basically adopting. Mia is YJH’s little sister but with the family dynamic all of KimCom has she’s basically adopted too. This man is someone who believes the worst in himself but gives all these kids someone they need and in return they are the family he’s never had.”

2. “He saved Lee Gilyoung on the subway when he was orphaned at the time the apocalypse started even when he didn't need to and kept him by his side and fed him at his own expense and believed in him and taught him to be strong when no one else had really done that for Lee Gilyoung before.

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD (pretty vague):

Shin Yoosung was a character in the world of the apocalypse that occured (long story, won't explain here lol) and she was supposed to be destined to become a monster that would destroy Seoul and the two people other than Kim Dokja who knew this wanted to kill her when they found her to prevent her from becoming that but Kim Dokja refused to kill her and physically stood to protect her and then he later became her sponsor (uhhh it's a whole thing in-universe but basically pledged to back her and help her ig) and the stigma (a special power thing that can be gained through a sponsor) he gave her was based in him protecting everyone in their group and his love for all of them.

Both Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung are extremely attached to Kim Dokja and have on at least one canon occasion slept clinging to either side of him.

LESS MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD (though not terrible ig and still mostly vague at least):

Biyoo is. well she's Shin Yoosung actually but also not. So basically y'know that monster future Shin Yoosung was destined to become? so that monster version of her from a different timeline was sent backwards and sideways in time (idk how else to describe it jskdfs) and nearly did destroy Seoul as prophesied but Kim Dokja tried to save her—and he nearly did but then a shitty dokkaebi (they're like admin streamer people. idk would take a while to explain) did a shitty thing and forced her to be 'evil' and then she had to be killed ;-; but Kim Dokja promised to get revenge for her and after that he went and beat up the asshole dokkaebi who did that so badly that he gained a legendary Story. And then he traveled to the Underworld at risk of his own life to retrieve her soul and put that into a dokkaebi egg that he personally hatched. And she lost her memories for the most part but could still sense a bit what he'd done for her :') and so yeah she became Biyoo and is somehow both adopted and originally parented(?? idk saying biologically is. doesn't feel quite right lol) by him.”

3. “Bro is THE DAD of the group”

4. “Adopted his kids so hard that they’d do like anything for him they love him so much”

No propaganda has been submitted for Izumi Curtis

[prideoftheknights]

WINTER TROUPE 10TH PLAY: NOMADIC BARTENDER 【CHAPTER 1】

MASTERLIST | NEXT CHAPTER

translation under the cut!

Customer A: One gimlet please.

Guy: Understood.

Customer B: ...The way he mixes the drinks so masterfully is clean.

Customer A: Ah, you're right. Each and every movement he makes is really smooth.

Customer B: Whenever he makes cocktails, it feels like he's doing some sort of magic...

Customer A: Even just watching is fun too.

Guy: Thank you very much. Sorry to keep you waiting.

[Bell ringing SFX]

Syu: ......

I think I'll have a gibson today.

Guy: Coming right up.

Syu: Winter Troupe's next play should be beginning soon, right?

Guy: Yes. We'll be having a meeting about the contents of the play soon. I'll be happy if you're able to come see our play again.

Syu: Seems like the Spring, Summer and Autumn troupes all had the last member to join playing their second lead roles this time, so Guy will be next right?

It'll be a big day for the master who's always serving me delicious drinks, so I'll definitely be watching.

Guy: ...Thank you for waiting.

Syu: The bar's always crowded but strangely, I find it relaxing here.

That reminds me, I was thinking of bringing an old friend here next time. I might've told you before but this man used to be my dad's assistant.

After my dad passed, he left the group and we lost contact. But the other day, I met him by chance.

Guy: Since that is the case, do feel free to meet up at the store. I'll be waiting for you both.

Tsuzuru: To start off, we've decided the lead will be Guy as planned before; so next up, we'll have to decide on what the theme will be...

Guy-san, do you have anything you wanna do?

Homare: Since our fourth plays, Guy-san has racked up a lot of experience; he's even become a prominent theatre nerd. Wouldn't anything be fine?

Guy: Actually, since I'd known I would be the next lead for quite a while now, I've already thought about this in advance.

Do you think you'd be able to write a story about a job again, a bartender theme?

Izumi: Bartender?

Guy: I started my bar because I wanted to promote Zafra's culture in a different way from Citronia, but now it's become a big part of my life.

That's why I wanted to face it again through a play.

Tsumugi: If our play is set in a bar, there'll be a mature atmosphere that only we can create as the Winter Troupe!

Tasuku: And it suits Guy-san, too.

Izumi: But the job theme overlaps with our previous play Sunny Blanc though, so we need to make sure to differentiate the two properly.

Tsuzuru: How about we mix the bartender profession with something else?

Izumi: Something else, huh... Like a bartender who works in a market stall? I think there's a manga that has a story like that.

Tasuku: How about mixing bartending with battle?

Hisoka: Come to think of it... Earlier, customers were saying that Guy's cocktails looked like magic.

Tsuzuru: Magic... How about a bartending wizard?

Homare: Indeed, winter troupe has not performed many plays with a fantasy genre.

Azuma: I think the wizard aspect will suit Guy's mysterious image.

Tasuku: Sounds good.

Tsumugi: There'll be a clear difference between the florist theme of Sunny Blanc, so I'm in favour of this idea too.

Tsuzuru: I'll be moving forward with the script in this direction, then.

Izumi: We'll be counting on you!

Guy: I'm looking forward to it.

Izumi: (It's been a while since his last lead role, so Guy-san's all fired up now. I wonder how this next play's gonna turn out~)

Guy: ......

Azuma: I haven't seen that charm in a while.

Guy: I'm reporting to my father about me being the next play's lead.

Azuma: ...I see.

Guy: It's impossible right now, but I hope there will be a day where I get to tell him this in person.

Azuma: I'm sure your feelings will reach your father.

Guy: ...Yeah.

MASTERLIST | NEXT CHAPTER

[dannieisout]

I'm back on my avatar ish so here are some headcanons I have for bumizumi daughter

‐ Izumi and Bumi had Iroh and then a daughter five years later

- The daughter is an airbender. She reminds me of like a Ty Lee very light on her feet and probably knows chi blocking techniques

- I think they found out she was an airbender in a completely random way like through a fight with iroh or doing something goofy with bumi

- I don't necessarily believe Aang was a bad father but I do believe that because of the circumstances he wasn't always able to give the attention to Bumi and Kya so I think when Bumi finds out his daughter is an airbender he kind of hides it at first. Like he believes he is protecting his daughter as much as possible

- But Aang obviously finds out cause he's the avatar and so excited that another airbender is born and so the fact that he can now share his knowledge with not one but two people is so exciting

- But Bumi is like there is no way you are putting that pressure on my little girl, which leads to a lot of arguing from both sides

- Bumi lets Aang train his daughter but only if Iroh is allowed to come as well because that's fair

- I think just naturally Iroh becomes more interested in his grandpa Zuko because he has a cool dragon and he doesn't have to sit quietly and meditate all the time so he's cool with not hanging out with them but he still is close with his grandpa aang

- I don't think their daughter is a prodigy like Tenzin since she doesn't spend as much time as he did and Bumi is an advocate for her also being a kid and experiencing other things as well but like she's good and has potential

- I also think she doesn't take it as serious. Like she understands the importance of learning airbending but she doesn't feel like she's carrying the fate of air benders on her shoulder but she's also going to goof off

- This might be out of character for Aang but I think one day he's super overwhelmed and alot is going on and his granddaughter is not taking anything serious and he gets frustrated and blows up not on purpose but the damage was already done and she was HURT

- Bumi goes OFF like I don't think he ever been so mad at his dad and he says "you won't make her like Tenzin" or something like that and it hurts and there is so much emotion and then it goes quite

- I don't think think there is a formal apology but there definitely a shift, like Aang backs off a little but and the trainings become less frequent.

- Unfortunately around this time Aang starts to get sick (effects of being in the ice catching up to him) and unfortunately passes away before she can get her tattoos and formally become an air nomad.

- I think after Aang dies she doesn't bend as much like its too emotional, she does uses it to protect her family but it is not something she uses often even though Tenzin encourages her too

- She instead focuses more on her fire nation royal duties but contributes more after the Harmonic Convergence

Might do one for Iroh too cause I have thoughts for him as well.

[schro4444]

thank u I'm gonna now rotate all those specific Family Shenanigans my mind like a rottisserie chicken

but YES!! EXACTLY!!! like ik the (boring) answer as to why we weren't shown the learning curve was ANIME but his parents are genuinely so weird and extra and THIEVES THEMSELVES I'm 1000% certain that the answer was HIGH-OCTANE CHILDHOOD like...look at bby kaito...in one (1) panel w Toichi and already popping up right in front of his Professional ThiefTM dad without Toichi realizing, what a menace, I love him.

About Toichi though...... I would ALSO have wanted to see THAT learning process and I'm kinda bitter it was never mentioned actually. gimme the Chikage training Toichi montage!!! like, weird penchant for standing inside tower exhibits in the dark and memorizing laser grids to impress ladythieves aside, as far as we know he was just a weird little magician man who suddenly decided to become a thief, and while his being an escape artist would have useful applications on his budding career as a thief there are lotssss of things being a magician doesn't cover. Plus it was Chikage who was known as the Woman of Twenty Faces! why did they suddenly make TOICHI the expert in disguise who taught Vineyard and Yukiko! like yeah I buy Chikage being gleefully retired (izumi curtis "I'm a housewife!" vibes but like gleeful instead of menacing) until Toichi's death but like...waste of potential man...at least a mention abt her teaching Toichi would be nice...........

no boring answers in this household, only SHEER SHENANIGAN POTENTIAL!!! like, what else are you supposed to do as two (2) happily married overdramatic phantom thieves/theater kids with a super genius baby who has an improbably high iq and a photographic memory? OBVIOUSLY you train him in the family business without telling him that's what's going on. and OBVIOUSLY he gets ridiculously good at it by the time he's in first grade. quoting some old tags of mine: shapeshifting nightmare baby that can already pick locks. he's impossible to babysit!!! my favorite gremlin.

YOURE SO RIGHT. i want this prequel so bad. oh my goodness. he was just a Really Good Magic Nerd, that'll only carry you so far!! eventually my guy had to learn from his beloved wife how to break open safes and avoid snipers!! I kinda like the idea that maybe they combined their knowledge on disguises--maybe toichi was more on the acting side of things while chikage had the latex, lol--to make the Ultimate Disguise (enter kaito, stage left). the woman of twenty literal faces + some guy with a mustache who could probably convince you that the sky turned green, through sheer charisma

chikage: so what was your plan for getting out? have you memorized the blueprints yet? I've counted at least twenty potential escape routes for you, as long as you're feeling agile enough to get through the vents, hehehe toichi: well you see toichi: I was going to. um. talk my way out chikage: chikage: sweetie you were going to What toichi: IT ALWAYS WORKED FOR ME BEFORE

[izvmimi]

cw: kids and lots of them! honestly selfship content, mimidoriya + the minidoriya content in fact.

You remember every one of your kids' first steps, as do most moms, but today is different, because rather than walking today, your five year old and only girl, Atsuna, is floating above your home.

At any other time, you'd start panicking, knowing full well your gauntlets have been out of use and probably out of service for months now since you've retired from active Hero work, but today your daughter isn't up there alone. Your husband waves at you briefly from afar, grinning widely, his teeth catching the light of the sun, then turns back to his daughter whose legs shake wobbily just a couple feet above the roof. Izuku watches her carefully and extends his hands out, but does not touch her, allowing her to catch her own footing at her own pace. You watch your youngest son, Kenji in your arms, and he sucks his thumb as he stares at the two. You can tell he's getting jealous and you nuzzle him close.

"Do you wanna go up, Kenken?" you ask.

He shakes his head but he's still watching intently and you smile to yourself. Atsuna floats forward, then wobbles backward and nearly screams as she loses her balance, but Izuku quickly maneuvers around her and again hovers his hands, but just below her small body.

He tuts.

"Keep your balance, princess, you're not going to fall with me right here, okay? Just think happy thoughts. Think about how many birds you'll get to say hi to!" he encourages her. She can't see him now that she's facing forward and you can see her eyes search the ground quickly for her brothers' reaction. Izumi looks intently and his expression is almost comical in its seriousness - perhaps he is nervous that his dad will, in fact, let her tumble onto the ground, and he is ready to catch her. Aki, 7, drinks from a juice pouch and looks bored, having mastered his version of Blackwhip months ago, and now able to swing from tree to tree as though he were a baby Tarzan. When he finishes his pouch, he looks to you for more and you shake your head.

"Would you like some water, love?" you ask. He looks at you as though to break your resolve and you smile back and he pouts, but then he takes the tiny bottle of water you offer him. Aki snickers.

By now Izuku has gotten Atsuna to stand up straight and elevate a few feet into a straight line, and she has an elated expression on her face.

"That's it! You got it!" Izuku exclaims. Atsuna's face lights up and she jumps backwards, and Izumi yells "showoff!" although he's grinning ear to ear, clearly proud of her, too. Aki nods but he's proud of his sister.

Izuku starts a game of tag with her and the two of them dart for a few moments. Aki disappears for a moment, but then reappears with a ball, which he throws at full speed but it barely makes it high enough. When it falls flat, Izuku not having noticed while trying to escape a giggling Atsuna, Izumi catches the ball and flings it as hard as he can with the use of his Quirk. It goes nearly lightning fast, but Izumi's offered a warning - "Dad, catch!" - and Izuku's got it and compliments him on his arm.

"Nice one!"

Kenji seems to want to jump out of your arms now, intrigued by the ball that's now being passed in the air between his siblings and their father, and Izuku notices.

"Come get your son, he's sick of me," you call out.

He floats downwards and swoops him out of your arms, shifting him to one, then reaching out the other.

"Come play?" he asks. His eyes sparkle with childlike amusement as Atsuna insists, "Yeah! Come play catch, Mommy!"

You roll your eyes at him, but let him carry you in his other arm and take flight again, offering Blackwhip to your eldest which Izumi refuses with a half-annoyed half-sheepish look, and then to Aki who takes the lift gladly.

You all play catch for almost an hour until you all tire out.

[sound-under-the-sea]

Haven’t gotten to Linzumi angst but I was afraid that I would forget the fluff so I wrote that first. Then there’s Kyazumi which has so many layers. My thoughts are so hard to articulate it is so frustrating.

Like Kyazumi to me are best friends to lovers but it takes such along time to get there. Kya gets mad at Izumi twice. The first time was subsequently related to her Dad and reacting trying to bury the feeling of anger at distance forming between them. While the second Izumi told her she was getting married and that she was sorry.

While Linzumi is a really slow burn of strangers to friends to lovers. Like Izumi barely knows Lin and the first time they were introduce to each other is during work arrival after Toph is gone. The first thing on Izumi’s mind is both surprise and concern over her scar. After she leaves she does apologize and hopes that she’s ok. Much to Lin’s surprise but brushes it off anyways. Lin isn’t quite ready for another attempt at a relationship and Izumi doesn’t really know Lin. Though over the years they do get closer and Izumi does find herself caring for Lin and Lin is shocked and doesn’t know how respond to someone actively caring for her. There’s more but it’s complicated and I don’t know how to articulate it well. I’ll probably put it elsewhere.

These two ships are like trains that are going at different speeds and on different tracks.

[fayrinferno]

The Complete Escaflowne Pilgrimage

Why am I posting a random train video? Well, you gotta wait for it... Today, Escaflowne is older than its number of episodes for the first time. Happy anniversary! I thought I’d finally post this thing that is so overdue, you wouldn’t believe. Thanks @coverteyes for proofreading once again, I would likely not get this out anytime soon without her help!

Warning: this is very long and image-heavy under the cut. Preview:

As you may know, I lived in Japan for some time a few years back. Obviously, I had a great time. There are so many things to see, to try... even one year didn’t feel like it was enough! Of course, this sentiment is shared by a gorillion of other people, so yeah, tourism in Japan thrives... unless there’s a pandemic going on. (Man, I really had no idea what would happen… I started writing this after I got back from Japan, right before 2020).

In any case, what has been gaining popularity in recent years are the anime tours, covering the spots featured in popular titles. The anime makers often reference real places in their work, one of the reasons I was surprised to see that real Japan looks very much like anime Japan. Add the sense of detail that they possess, and you get a very faithful rendition of the atmosphere you get in existing places, in Japanese cities and countryside, in trains, in schools etc. Of course, die-hard fans easily spot the places, and something as mundane as a random staircase or a zebra crossing becomes a “monument” worth visiting!I am always behind on new anime, and my thing is fantasy and sci-fi rather than slice of life, so I probably passed some of these places unknowingly. Anyway, it’s no secret that I have a soft spot for my fav anime titles from my teenage years, especially Tenkuu no Escaflowne. It takes place mostly in the alternate world of Gaea, but the main heroine, Kanzaki Hitomi, goes to school (lives?) in a town inspired by Kamakura, Japan. Well duh, her school is even named Kamakura Kita. But there are also differences, more on that later.

Since there are only a few existing places from Escaflowne you can easily find, I decided to get all of them. Starting, of course, from Kamakura. The first two visits to the city were not done for that purpose, but I still managed to capture some familiar views. On the third, I planned to catch everything I still missed. 

What really helped me was the map and the comic published in The Vision of Escaflowne Fanbook back in 1997, only about one year after the series aired. The whole book was put together by Escaflowne fans. The map was created by two fans who went on a quest to search for the spots and then drew a small comic about their adventures. Thank you, Yufuko-san and Izumi-san, you helped me a lot there!

So the tour is done by Senoo Yufuko, who introduced herself as “a part time housewife” and Izumi, the “guide” and “Escamakuramaster”. Funny thing is I googled a person called Senoo Yufuko and found out she's a fantasy novelist. What was more interesting was that her website is called Usagiya…as in, usagi, or rabbit. Like the rabbit in the comic about the Kamakura stroll. From her website I opened her twitter, and then I had a revelation with the first look at her twitter profile pic. HOLY ... it was her! This Japanese fantasy novelist, who is the age of my dad, made a fan pilgrimage to Kamakura in 1997, and she is still active! She did this tour with her one year old in a stroller, who would be... the age of the series itself now! This was somehow very heartwarming for me. Anyway, on with the report!

I didn’t bring the Fanbook itself to Japan but fortunately I had it scanned. So I stopped at the nearest conbini (convenience store) and printed out the pages. Armed with those, the camera, the series screencaps saved on my phone, and some rations, I embarked on a third journey to cover everything I missed the first two times. My theory was, if the scenery was supposed to be based on real Kamakura, in the 90s analog age, they had to use photos as references. And if there were photos used for the scenes, they can be taken again from the same spot! So I tried to capture as many as I could.

How to get there (and around)

I mentioned this elsewhere, Kamakura is an old, coastal town south of Tokyo with many sights and popular beaches. To get there, you hop on the Yokosuka line for Zushi in Tokyo–the trip costs only a few hundred yen (or a few bucks)– and before you know it, you’re there.

First thing you will certainly pass if you take a train is the Kamakura Kita or Kamakura North station (named the same as Hitomi’s school). This station is also referenced in one of Escaflowne episodes, more on that later. Anyway, it is worth getting off the train there for other reasons, too, as there are several pretty temples and gardens in the area.

The following train stop is already the main station of Kamakura itself. You may feel surprised at how many tourists circle the station, but then, it is a really popular getaway from Tokyo. I read somewhere that many foreign fans come to Kamakura because of Slam Dunk, a popular basketball manga. Many more come to Kamakura because of Kamakura. I can guarantee that not many come because of Escaflowne, which seems a bit forgotten and obscure by now; I didn’t see any references to it during my stay, when some other, more popular, 90s titles came up from time to time.

So, in this case, I was an exception, but I also quickly fell in love with the town so I cannot say the anime was my only motivation in returning there.

In the town itself, you can move around by the Enoden (literal translation of the full name is Enoshima electric train). This cute, green antique train is an attraction in itself and connects Kamakura and the neighboring city of Fujisawa. If you make more than two Enoden trips, it is already worth getting a Noriorikun, a one day pass, right away at the station. I also got a souvenir of Enoden from one of the gachapon machines.

There are plenty of things to do in Kamakura: there is the Great Buddha, historic temples and shrines (used to be the seat of the shogun and a capital), the famed Enoshima aquarium (featured in the Kuragehime jdrama, for example), beaches popular for surfing, windsurfing etc. But if you are crazy, you may wanna try to find some anime sights instead.

So let’s finally get to it. The photos are mine, taken mostly with a Fujifilm XT-20 camera.  (Please note that I filtered and adjusted the photos as necessary to get the closest possible result.) 

Starting from the first episode….

Hitomi’s and Yukari’s walk home (EP1)

After Yukari catches Hitomi in a compromising situation with Amano-senpai at the infirmary, they walk home side-by-side. Yukari mock-scolds Hitomi about making a move on him behind her back and teases her into buying her desserts. They descend steep stairs, pass several buildings and then walk into the tunnel where Yukari tells Hitomi about Amano’s imminent departure.

The dessert enumeration happens right in front of this cute little building, now housing a hair salon.

They also pass this small church that is right across the street.

You can get to this area by a short walk from the station along Shiyakushodoori (City Hall Street).

As they pass the hair salon first, then the church, they seem to be coming from the other direction, towards the station. After the church and the stairs they get to the tunnel.

I passed two or three tunnels walking this very road, and more can be found around, because the area is quite hilly. I think there are two potential tunnels that could be the one Yukari and Hitomi walk through: Onari tunnel and Shinsasuke tunnel.

Izumi-san thinks this is the tunnel in question, because it had a fence on top and “nameplate” like the one in the anime (the nameplate was changed to just a fenced opening from the production sketch).

Because of the thriving shrubbery, I could not see any fences nor nameplates, but I believe I got the right one. They really tried to replicate this funny tunnel. It’s funny because the opening has a different shape on both sides. The side which Hitomi and Yukari are coming out of is more or less the correct shape though, which is why I think this is the one. It’s in fact the first tunnel you pass on the way from the station.

On the other hand, during another visit, I got a picture of the perfectly round Shinsasuke tunnel further up the road. This one has a phone booth next to it, like the one in the anime (although the booth is on the wrong side). 

What do you think? Which one is closer? I think it may have been the combination of the two.

Here’s another bonus shot of the inside of the first tunnel:

Sasuke Inari Taisha / Sasuke Inari Shrine (EP1)

Escaflowne TV kicks off at Hitomi’s school called Shiritsu Kamakura Kita Koukou, which is imaginary, sorry. But just across the street from this made-up school, there is a familiar thing... a shrine with red torii gates leading uphill in the woods. The shrine where the dragon follows Hitomi and her friends while Van tries to kill it to obtain its minerals.

In reality, the entrance to the shrine is not across some street, but rather, a small street leads to the entrance. It is pretty hidden in a residential area, and the torii gates feel way smaller than they seem from the anime (you can see a pic with a certain person as a comparison in the previous post).

Anyway, this red torii-lined pathway is a feature of many other inari taisha (fox shrines) across Japan. My second visit to the shrine, I heard the fox barking, even (and I rushed away cause I was alone haha)! The most famous fox shrine in Japan is probably the Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, with literally thousands of red torii of all sizes and numerous shrines lining the way up the hill. But you can find a similar-looking pathway randomly in Japan!

What makes this the referenced shrine was the main building which looks similar, but not the same. The steps to the side shrine (where Hitomi and co. escape after the dragon follows them up to the main shrine), also look a lot different.

Shibuya 109 (EP 8)

This is the only Tokyo landmark to appear in the series. Hitomi has a dream/vision of a date with Allen and they go to a game center in a department store called “Shibiya 1G9″, or something. (The reason behind the mangled name is probably trademark use/advertising reasons.)

Ta da.  Allen and Hitomi have lots of fun, until Millerna arrives and snatches him off with her carriage. Then her dream and the building collapses, in a recurring motif of a falling tower.

It took me one visit to Shibuya 109 to see why the creators would choose it. This is heaven for teenage girls, especially. Don’t know about the 90s, but now it houses covering all kinds of scene brands, Korean cosmetics, and ultra kawaii and hip fast food stalls. I saw many teenagers around, just hanging out. It seemed like a place definitely on their map. It may have been remodelled since the series aired, but it seems to still remain a sacred hip place for teens.

Hitomi is not from Tokyo, but I guess she would be allowed to visit with friends over the weekends and such. It’s only a half-hour train ride. The Allen date is also something very Japanese. I lost count how many times I have seen couples hand-in-hand in and around shopping centers, with the girl holding a huge bagged plush toy the boy likely won for her from one of those machines. So of course she would imagine this as an ideal date!

Kamakura Kita Eki / Kamakura North Station (EP 16)

I mentioned this station earlier in this post. Kamakura Kita Eki on the line to Tokyo is shown in episode 16, when Hitomi’s mother invites Yukari and Amano to show them a picture of Hitomi’s grandma and tell them her story.

We are not shown the actual house from a distance, just a bamboo fence and a shot of the patio. I found bamboo fences, but not in the right shape of the street… but this kind of looks similar, if you use your imagination and see a bamboo fence instead (as this probably was many years ago). Really, this is just for effect, you can catch similar scenes anywhere in Japan, and probably even a closer match than this. But the atmosphere of the place was similar, as it seems a more traditional area of the town altogether.

Hitomi’s walk back (EP 24) 

Have you noticed that Hitomi’s walk back home has a few extra scenes in Episode 24? There is one with Yukari on the steps that give an aerial view of the bay for example. I could not see any stairs after passing the hair salon, but the anime makes it feel like they should be in the area, so I explored a bit. Found some stairs, but they seemed to be leading to a private property, so I did not try climbing them. Instead, I turned to the Fanbook again.

Izumi-san and Yufuko-san think the stairs are located in another area, and they lead to the Gokurakuji Pass (apparently, it used to lead to the Gokurakuji temple but does not anymore). It was in an area that I was passing through on my way to Fujisawa in the evening, so guess what, I got off the train and I went to look for them even though it was dark already. What do you think?

You probably can’t see anything. But I think it’s possible a view like you see in the anime would open somewhere further up those steps and that path.

However, there was a closed gate so I could not climb them higher. I don't know if it was permanent or if it was closed because it was so late. But you know what, I take it as a sign to return next time and explore that area. It was the same with Mt. Fuji, we planned a trip but the weather prevented us from seeing the summit. So I still have the dream to climb Mt. Fuji one day!

Instead of the view we got from the stairs in the anime, I present to you another high view of Kamakura, this one from my Hasedera Temple visit. The actual photo I took is in the previous post, I used a sepia filter for this.

The final stop of my day trip was Fujisawa, from where I caught a direct train back to Tokyo. Izumi-san and Yufuko-san said that the area in front of the Fujisawa station looked like the one Hitomi wandered around when she got back from Gaea shortly in ep 24. These scenes are not present in ep 1, so it makes me wonder if she walked around the city that night after her tunnel talk to Yukari in ep 1, too, or if it was induced by the new discoveries about Yukari, Amano, and herself. But she seems to be home around the same time (“Hitomi, bath is ready!”) so could be the first option.

By the way, Hitomi’s house, as seen in the anime, fits the architecture of the area. I saw some similar houses but did not want to take photos of private property.

Back to Fujisawa, here are the stairs that looked a bit familiar, with a box advert in the back. (Unfortunately, there was some construction work going on though.) What do you think?

Streetview actually offers some better shots than I could make at the time (for the purpose of identification at least) and I think it actually confirms that this indeed is the model place when you look at the buildings.

The only other shot from this part was a crosswalk that could be anywhere, so I did not bother with it.

Kamakura Koukou Mae Eki / Kamakura High School Station (EP 26)

On my way to Fujisawa, I also shortly got off at Koukou Mae again (the station from the final scene of the anime, to be handled next) to capture the night Enoden in a similar way as when Hitomi rides it on the way home in episode 24. Mission failed. 

But what I noticed is that the whole station seems to be flipped around for this scene of the anime! I was wondering why Hitomi was riding the Enoden to Fujisawa in the opposite direction than the actual train does, but that explained it. It was all flipped! 

Anyway, back to Koukou Mae Eki. It is allegedly one of the most beautiful stations in Japan and a famous spot for the Slam Dunk fans as well. The Enoden line station itself is rather small, basically just a shelter, which was left unchanged. Also unchanged is the view of Enoshima island from that station, even though you would notice that the proportions are a bit off. 

What is missing are the concrete tetrapods, even though they are nothing special on other stations on the line. Of course, they could have also been moved or removed over the years.

But even Yufuko-san and Izumi-san recommended going to the Koshigoe station to see the tetrapods, so I believe they were not here even in the 90s. I followed their recommendations and saw some behind a structure there. So they combined the view of the island and the tetrapods from the surrounding areas into one.

Also, what needs to be said is that the anime station building is not exactly the same as Koukou Mae Eki. The Fanbook says the design of the station was similar to the next Enoden station on the line called Hase on the photo below. Please compare and contrast.

As we see in ep 26, the back of the station is open, with some empty area behind the Koukou Mae station. This is not the case in the actual place. The back of the station is covered (though this could have been changed more recently to force people through the ticket turnstile) and right behind the station is a slope with a cemetery on it. That was a really strange discovery.

So that’s it, that’s all I managed to find! I had a mind to create a detailed map or something but you know what, if you ever get to Kamakura, probably it’s more fun discovering the stuff yourself. Maybe you can even catch something that I missed? I had more plans there, but with my luck I hurt my foot soon into my last trip. That, of course, slowed me down considerably. Well, see you next time then, Kamakura, and as you see, I have my eyes set on Enoshima already!

P. S. I may make a part 2 to this post, translating the map and the comic from the Fanbook, so keep an eye on that if this is of interest to you or would like to visit yourself!

[aranarumei]

hi kiri What’s the deal with a3’s timeloop day. you shouldn’t be surprised that I am asking this. okay I love you bye

ok this is actually a pretty simple answer! but i got rambly so here's a readmore.

A3! (which stands for Act! Addict! Actors! <- don’t ask me why it’s this. idk) is a gacha game where you play as the manager, Izumi Tachibana (I’m doing first name, last name here) and you work to revive a dying theater company called Mankai. there’s 3 Acts, each with like, 4 big stories in them. and a bunchhhh of shorter event storiess which imo are crucial to experience. The first 2 acts, along with the interceding events, have been completely localized, and were run on the now-defunct English server. There is, however, an archive—if at any point in time you are ever interested, feel free to shoot me a message. And I’m serious. Even if it’s like two years later. It’s been like almost 3 years since I started going thru a3 and I haven’t even finished act 2. I’m slow

Anyways, Act 1 deals with establishing the company—in its former glory, there used to be four troupes that rotated by season. Izumi’s dad also used to run it, and he disappeared. So that’s why there’s four big stories each act: it’s one per season. In Act 1, each story deals with gathering the members for each season troupe together, and then pulling off their first play. And it also deals with like, the issues all the characters are facing. It is like, within the yumejoshi genre so there’s definitely that vibe of like. wow look at all these pretty boys who are kind of into me!? but I think it’s pretty mild on that point and like. something I enjoy is that I can see Izumi as like. an actual Character as opposed to just a self-insert. Which is nice. but the real selling point for me is that there’s a lot of like, found family and rich character dynamics within the cast. It is even homosexual sometimes.

One thing I find really interesting about a3 is that I think it has really strong character writing and development. And it’s really good at establishing different “moods” across each troupe, which works well in creating dynamics and also because each troupe specializes in something different. So spring is like, the “classic” troupe—they tend to do lots of reinterpretations of classic works, though that’s not exclusively their thing… but anyways. they do like. nice fantastical stories in my opinion. Summer does comedy, autumn does action, and winter does drama. and winter HAS drama.

Now up until winter there’s been some wackiness in a3 but it’s been like, pretty grounded in how it’s played out. and then winter rolls around and. see the issue with winter is that unlike some of the younger members they’re all composed of adults. so they’re bad at talking about their feelings, because instead of just shouting things out loud they will just shut down and like. Leave. I love this about them and I think it’s such a good writing choice.

Enter Tasuku Takato and Tsumugi Tsukioka. Tasuku and Tsumugi used to be like, the best of friends. they acted together and followed their passions together. and then they both auditioned for the God Troupe together, which is this prestigious famous troupe (it’s also evil.) and while tasuku got in and became one of the lead actors, tsumugi failed his audition. This left a deep scar on Tsumugi, who ended up kind of running away from acting as a vocation all together. now, Tasuku quit the God troupe because they were engaging in some shady stuff, and ended up joining Mankai along with Tsumugi, who coincidentally was inspired to try acting again. tsumugi’s been elected the leader of winter troupe, and therefore the person who’s meant to take the lead role in their first play. Tasuku is constantly snapping at him whenever he’s unconfident, and it’s just not great vibes. To top it all off, they’ve been issued a challenge by the God troupe, where they’ll both perform and the audience has to vote on which play they like better. Tsumugi is not really confident he can stand up to them for obvious reasons. Tasuku gets mad at him about it. Tsumugi runs into this weird doll, and the next day, they wake up in a time loop.

See, the thing is, they’re on such a tight deadline for the play, and winter is So Bad at talking about their feelings, that magic is real now. this is somewhat of an oversimplification, but it’s funny to say it like this. Anyways, there are like, seven mysteries in Mankai (have I mentioned they all dorm together! they all do! Each of them has a roommate and they all live in a big dorm that’s connected to their own theater and stage. It’s part of why they’re in such big debt and trouble at the beginning—its really hard to maintain those facilities) and one of them is about this doll that will put you in a time loop unless you become friends. essentially. And this is what happens… eventually they end up talking to each other for real due to the time loop, and each affirms just how much they respect the acting of the other. later on when Tsumugi slips back into being unconfident tasuku is able to resolve his past mistakes, because part of why he was so angry at Tsumugi was also because he was angry at himself for like. not reaching out. And telling him how much he loved him and his acting. Because their styles are very different—tasuku is loud and commanding, and Tsumugi is a more understated and subtle.

A3 is also very very cool in that parts of its plays mirror real life? so like. this play, sympathy for an angel, has two leads: Michael (Tsumugi) and Raphael (Tasuku). In it, Michael becomes interested in this woman on a list of people who are about to die, and ends up visiting the human world. He writes letters to her. His friend, Raphael, warns him against this, saying that he’s foolish for going so far for someone he can’t even meet. And each time he steps into the human world, his own soul gets weaker, and his wings begin to wither. Still, he persists against objections. Eventually, the woman recovers, gets a fiancé, and he returns to heaven. Thinking he’ll just wish for her happiness even with his unrequited love, he looks at the list and finds out that despite recovering, she’s still on the close to death list. Despite the danger to himself, he descends into the human world, and takes her place in a car accident. As he’s dying, his soul about to be obliterated because he’s been in the human world too often, Raphael descends and holds him in his arms. Michael says that he’s happy he got to do something for the person he loves, and he’s happy to be held by his best friend. Raphael says that though he’d called Michael the fool, it was him that truly was one: because he stood by, unable to protect both the person he loves and his best friend. Because he was in love with Michael the whole time of course. And then Michael dies in his arms. Now this makes me weepy as does the accompanying character song but what I really love most about it is like. Raphael’s regrets in that he didn’t protect Michael kind of directly mirror Tasuku’s own regrets in being unable to help Tsumugi when he was going through a tough time? only Tsumugi isn’t dead and so Tasuku has an actual chance to fix things, which is sweet.

It should be mentioned that one guy in the spring troupe WRITES all of these plays which is deeply funny to me bc it means that 1) he is probably gay and doesn’t know this and 2) he has precognitive abilities regarding the inner psyche of all of his castmates. and that’s a3 timeloop day. some of these a3 characters have me by the throat btw I just get beamed visions of them chatting and introspecting like constantly. I definitely haven’t explained everything but I think this is enough?

[transboysokka]

This is a big ask so don't feel like you have to, but would you be interested in pitching some summaries of the fics you have up on Ao3? I know there are summaries up there, but I like the casual way you have with words and you say fuck a lot and I dunno yeah

omg this is so funny bc i know the exact way with words you're talking about and of course im not gonna pass up a chance to promote my own work hehe YOU GOT IT!

i have 20 atla fics so I'm going to recommend them in order of... least to most kudos??? to try to trick people into reading more of my stuff? lol idk

I'm 99% sure all of these are Zukka fics...

The Last Five Years - ok actually this is a bad place to start bc i don't think im gonna finish it. it just really didn't take off but um its a The Last Five Years AU with really fucking sad Divorced Zukka

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Cry - this is i think my newest one, it has trans zukka and it's a bit angsty with a fake death but i also think it's kind of fun. it's the idea trans people have of ''who's going to care if my family puts the wrong name on my gravestone?" but there IS a happy ending

A Problem Halved is a Problem Shared - im gonna be honest i dont fucking remember writing this one lol but it says dialogue-only and it WILL be angsty bc it is about zuko and sokka dealing with different issues they have

One Last Time (and its sequel The End of All Things) - Actually OLT is definitely one of my faves I ever wrote. It's my canon-compliant take on um... *cough* Sokka's death, referenced in Korra. It's SO angsty but it has one of the most visceral scenes I've ever written and I DID cry writing this. TEoAT is the happy ending Divorced Zukka deserved with bonus Iroh but you WILL cry reading that too. BUT i cant fucking recommend these ones enough!!!!

If I fade away (the awful things we do to make the head go quiet) - VERY dead dove. trans zuko needs to pay a MASSIVE price to get home to the Fire Nation after Ba Sing Se, and it's not his choice at all. I love this but READ WITH CAUTION

In Which Sokka is Supportive Ally Boyfriend Goals - I am dead serious i like dont remember this one at all but i know it has trans zuko!

Nourishing the Flame Within - not the best written tbhtbh BUT it does have two very important Zukos in it that I hold to be universally true: trans zuko and eating disorder zuko

bad idea right? - okay this is DEF one of my faves lol its about divorced zukka but they just cant stop messing things up and sleeping with each other even though theyre not together anymore lolol

Keeping it in the Family - lmao OKAY SO this is the ONE version of zukka that im like 'ok all u z*tara folks, maybe zuko WAS with her and it obvs didnt work' and then he hooks up with sokka instead and its GREAT but oops now we have Family Drama

Scars of Trust - bro im not gonna like i barely remember writing this one but i remember I LOVE IT and it's about sokka who has been dating zuko a while but he finally learns that zuko is trans? its great

Playing the Long Game - eh, i don't love it, but I'd say it's worth a read. it was my first longer fic in the fandom. it DOES have a great Zukki evolution though if you're into that, and a nice mystery!! Also some whump and angst bc of course

Keeping Score - I liked this one! It's just little snippets of times Sokka has survived assassination attempts, because we always hear about it happening to Zuko, but Sokka gets them too. Angst obviously

It Was Cruel and It Was Wrong - wow, a dead dove fic, yes. It's basically like "If I'm Joo Lee and you're Joo Lee, then who's flying the bison?" Yeah so Sokka and Zuko are both brainwashed by the Dai Lee and Suffering but be careful because this gets DARK

Mother - Izumi has two dads but she feels bad she doesn't have a mom. But guess what, her dads don't have moms either!! She's very happy to find that out! Wow Izumi, way to have some sympathy.

Impact - It's about Zuko taking a longer time to recover from an assassination attempt than he'd want, and Sokka being loving and patient with him! I wrote this when I had a bad concussion for like three weeks and so it's pretty like. Medically accurate lol

Scratchy - Short and sweet. I don't remember this one much but I know that it is fluffy and involves turtle ducks!

Hidden Pain, Shared Love - Another short and fluffy one. It's about the first time Zuko sees that Sokka has problems with his leg sometimes?

Zuko and Sokka Get Engaged in the Most Zukka Way Possible - okay i actually really love this one because it's on brand and cute and also i made it fucking angsty because oF COURSE

Zuko Amongst the Dragons - yes so what if zuko was raised by dragons and met the gaang but he was super feral? and what if shenanigans ensued? AND what if sokka and zuko fell in love anyway????