#saiyuki meta

[nothingenoughao3]

Is there a dream fanfiction project you've always wanted to tackle but haven't had the chance to yet?

Actually, uh, yeah, I do! I even have an esoteric title!

The dream project is called "a wonder and a terror", in reference to Keanu Reeve's answer for how it feels to grow old. I want to go back and revisit most of the worlds I used to visit in fanfic. That would include Final Fantasy 7, Sorcerer Hunters, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Hellsing, Slayers, Gensoumaden Saiyuki, Gundam Wing, Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, Trigun, Gargoyles, and Generation X--aaaaaaaaall stuff I once obsessed over.

The thing is, I was writing/reading fic for those works when I was a teenager. And most of these works also feature teenagers, or very young adults. In a lot of cases, these shows are literally about child soldiers, or extremely young/inexperienced adults being forced to take on The Good Of The World.

The theme I'd take on in all these fics will be threefold:

What happens to child soldiers when the war ends and they grow up?

What happens to folks who thought they'd die on the battlefield who live long enough to experience aging?

What happens to characters who became powerful/famous under one gender identity who try to transition?

In addition to flipping characters' genders or their cis status, I plan on doing a LOT related to characters having chronic disabilities, physical as well as mental. And there will be a lot of shipping, many of it for ships I never explicitly wrote for in the past. (Specifically, I'm very glad that Barret/Cloud's time has come 'round at last.)

Some fics are already released on my account. "Entering King" is where I introduce the idea of trans man!Sanzo, which ties into some of the stuff I wanted to do for the Gensoumaden Saiyuki fics. My Gen X work is going to take place in the same canon already established here. Not a lot has been completed yet, but I do hold out hope that I'll get there!

[sakuplumeria]

Sanzo survived: Sauna to Cold Bath

This Sauna drama CD translation from Saiyuki made me search for saunas in Japan because I was kind of confused of the translation. Miko and the others were such a BLESSING for translating this, it’s just the difference in the setting that got us confused. There was a term called the cold bath or “mizu goro” 水語呂 which I don’t find common in saunas. So what is it?

I found this info here. Turns out it was pretty common for Japanese baths to have a cold bath in the sauna, usually if the sauna is spacious. The cold bath may be outside the sauna room or even in the sauna room. People usually sweat themselves in the sauna and dip in the cold bath a little, then continue sweating in the sauna. It was said it will help blood circulation and opening the pores. Now I kinda want to try it… Okay, so I wonder the position of the cold bath inside the sauna, and how cold can it get usually? Because Goku literally threw Sanzo into one… and I stumbled upon this.

The sauna is… more complex than I thought lol. This probably is a particular setting of a big public bath, we have all sorts of things to try, sauna, private hot bath, large hot bath, cold bath, warm bath… I love that they put the temperatures as well in each setting.

If we go back to the drama CD, they all started in the sauna and it was getting hotter as they bickered and quarreled. It was probably about 70? 80? degrees Celcius there, I don’t know how long they stayed there. People usually just stayed for 20 minutes, but even 45 minutes were still probable considering their “game”. I can see that Hakkai wouldn’t push himself beyond limit, so when he got out, I assume it was probably about an hour since they first got in. Goku followed him soon enough. Gojyo and Sanzo… I don’t know if they could actually stay together that long, but maybe around 15 minutes until Gojyo was fed up? Half an hour maximum.

Maybe he was already dehydrated or his energy already gone, but Sanzo stayed there in the sauna. Even after the others finished changing their clothes and indulged themselves in cold drink? At least another 30 minutes had gone by. I don’t wanna know the condition of Sanzo’s body when they found him still in the sauna room… After some discussion, they decided maybe Sanzo needed to be put in the cold bath but in panic, Goku literally threw him in it!! That’s more than 50 degrees Celcius difference between the sauna room and the cold bath I don’t even want to know anything anymore RIP Sanzo

Well, Sanzo wouldn’t be Sanzo if he didn’t raise from the dead, would he? XD

[starfallsoup]

[ blank template ]

I wanted to do this art meme of my blorbos!!

in order: mithrun, my wife haurchefant, herlock sholmes doing sholmes things, farcille / mr monk, sanzo from saiyuki, meta knight

[saiyukiitaliaandinternational]

Saiyuki: origini parte 4

Xuanzang, biografia

-alla volta dell'India:

L'imperatore Tang Zhen Guan era asceso al trono già da tre anni quando Xuanzang aveva 28 anni. A quei tempi i Göktürk (popolazione turchica originaria dell'Asia Centro-orientale) attaccavano costantemente i confini occidentali e a causa di ciò il governo chiuse i confini, proibendo a chiunque di recarsi lì tranne ai mercanti e agli stranieri. Fu proprio in quel periodo di disordini che Xuanzang e un gruppo di monaci, con lo stesso obiettivo, decisero di ottenere i passaporti per l'India, all'epoca chiamati guo shuo. Il Governo rifutò di concederglieli, ma Xuanzang non demorse, a differenza dei suoi compagni, e uscì di soppiatto dalla città di Chang'an tuttavia venne fermato a Liang Zhou poiché non aveva il passaporto. Un abate buddhista rinomato lo aiutò a scappare, così di giorno si nascondeva e di notte fuggiva ma la tempo stesso era già partito l'ordine d'arresto da parte del Governo, tuttavia i funzionari,essendo devoti buddhisti,lo lasciarono andare el'ordine venne sospeso. I veri pericoli per Xuanzang lo stavano attendeno. Dopo aver lasciato Yumen Guan (Porta di Giada) o passo Yumen, un passo di montagna situato ad ovest di Dunhuang nell'odierna regione cinese di Gansu, Xuanzang dovette affrontare la prima vera minaccia,il deserto del Gobi.

Regione del Gansu, fonte: http://www.itourschina.com/ChinaMap/gansu/

Qui nel deserto del Gobi Xuanzang dovette afforntare il caldo opprimente del giorno e il freddo pungente della notte,la scarsità di cibo e acqua ecc. a bordo del suo cavallo notava le ossa dei pellegrini che come lui avevano osato sfidare,invano,il deserto. Molti di essi si erano diretti a ovest proprio come lui. Nel deserto oltre le minacce naturali c'erano anche quelle artificiali come le cinque torri di guardia presenti nel deserto. Alle sentinelle era ordinato di sparare a tutti i passanti sprovvisti di passaporto. Nel tentativo di sfuggire alle sentinelle di vedetta,venne quasi colpito a morte dalle frecce,si perse e girovagò per il deserto. Fortuna volle che il suo cavallo lo condusse ad un'oasi che gli salvò la vita. Nella Biografia del Maestro Tripitaka del grande monastero Ci'en della Grande Dinastia Tang si racconta che alla quinta notte nel deserto, incapace di andare oltre mentre sognava, un uomo dall'altezza di un gigante venne da lui e gli ordinò di alzarsi e muoversi. Alzatosi e andando senza meta, il suo cavallo si eccitò e andò verso una direzione precisa che lo portò all'oasi che gli avrebbe salvato la vita. Piccola curiosità: la creazione del personaggio Sha Wujing,il cui nome vuol dire “sabbia di pura conoscenza” pare sia stata ispirata proprio dall'incontro onirico di Xuanzang con questo misterioso uomo. 

Dopo essere fuggito da morte certa, Xuanzang arrancò a fatica verso Kumul (un'oasi della prefettura di Hami, Xinjiang) e da lì andò verso la valle di Chuy o Chu

E8115-Chu-Valley.jpg, di Vmenkov, 14 settembre 2007, sotto licenza Creative Commons 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic e 1.0 Generic

Arrivò a Turfan, allora conosciuta come il paese Gao Chang. Il suo re era un devoto buddhista,tant'è che gli mandò quattro novizi e altre venticinque persone a seguirlo nel suo viaggio più una lettera d'introduzione e forniture varie. Dopo aver lasciato Turfan dovettero attraversare il monte Ling o Picco della Vittoria,il quale era ricoperto di ghiaccio e neve; un terzo dei suoi compagni morì,mentre i più fortunati morirono di morte veloce,colpiti dai blocchi di ghiaccio spezzati dai forti venti,altri invece vennero seppelliti vivi dalle valanghe,altri ancora si persero o caddero nei precipizi o morirono per congelamento. Nonostante questo la determinazione di Xuanzang di raggiungere l'India non diminuì. Continuò ad attraversare il Tian Shan e finalmente raggiunse quello che oggi è noto come Kirghizistan attraverso il passo Bedal. 

Il viaggio di Xuanzang ad ovest continuava,passando attraverso vari paesi, visitando lungo la strada i luoghi del Buddhismo. Arrivò al Nava Vihara, dove acquistò i testi Mahavibhasa e studiò il Buddhismo Theravada sotto la guida del Maestro Prajnakara. Ad ogni modo essendo un devoto sostenitore del Mahayana, sosteneva che una persona non doveva ricercare l'Illuminazione per sè, ma per gli altri. Dunque il suo studio del Theravada non era spinto dalla venerazione ma per il mero interesse di studiarne le debolezze per poterlo attaccare. Dopo aver lasciato Nava Vihara, andò verso altri posti dove alla fine, attraverso il passo Khyber o passo del Khaybar (un passo di montagna che collega il Pakistan con l'Afghanistan,all'epoca era uno dei passi più noti nell'antichità e faceva parte della Via della Seta), raggiunse l'India.

Ci vollero tre anni per raggiungere l'India.

[nighttimefjaeril]

Saiyuki Ibun family headcanons

on the basis of factual and non-factual evidence:

Toudai: his family is poor, he has a bunch of younger siblings (he's the oldest) and he had to interrupt his studies in order to support it, so he began working very young. Possibly a gravely sick family member, and possibly one of the parents is already dead. He moved out to live with his gilfriend, and we all know what happened next...

Genkai: we know a bit about his family already: he had youkai parents that were probably middle-class, but became rich by exploiting his powers; they ended up being killed for selling informations to opposing factions. He and his twin Taruchie have been separated at some point.

Seiran: again, we know a bit about him: he's an orphan that has been raised in a temple under a former Sanzo's wing; I'm picturing he was either abandoned or his parents were died (possibly due to a war?). I like to think his upbringing was similar to Kouryuu's.

Doutaku: he's the youngest of a very large family, possibly farmers: his parents couldn't afford raising another child, so he left home very early on in order to work and provide for himself. He's still in contact with his family and has a ton of nephews (from his older siblings)

Jyoan: we know that he grew up in a war zone, so it's possible he's also an orphan, but unlike Seiran he hasn't been adopted and has lived as a stray kid; it's possible his mother is still alive and has left him behind, but he has never met his father. He might have half-siblings.

Ganpuku: he has a very tranquil family life compared to most: his parents are peddling merchants and their income is pretty solid; he has a good relationship with them, especially with his mother. He may have an older sister. The fact that they've been discriminated brought them closer.

Ryuzen: he probably comes from the wealthiest family out of everyone: his parents have a high-status job (doctors, lawyers), so of course he’s had the chance to pursue his studies. He's probably an only child, but he wasn't overly spoiled; the focus has always been on his merits.

Sho'un: we know that he was raised in a temple and his father was the owner; they've always butted heads because of his rebellious nature. He's most likely an only child or the only male, befitting the role of the heir. His father's death brought the family closer.

Gichou: he's a "country boy", brought up in a normal but lower-income family. He used to be the star of his high school sport's team (lol), so he could continue his studies. He met his wife in college, got married and had a daughter, till the break-up happened T.T (poor Gitchon)

Soujin: I envision a sort of "Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" past for him: started out with nothing, travelled a lot, tackled all kinds of careers till he settled down somewhere with wife and children and some fruitful activity. He became a monk after his wife's death and his children had started families on their own.

Houmei: WHO. THE FUCK. KNOWS. For real, it's pretty impossible at this point to get a picture. All I know that whether he was poor or an aristocrat, he didn't have a normal upbringing, and took a not-so-righteous path at some point before Sanzohood. I'd enjoy a runaway backstory.

[terresdebrume]

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on Japanese culture by far, meaning that the interpretation below is based on fairly generic knowledge and destined to help me put in words the cultural differences I notice rather than inform others. If you’re more knowledgeable than I am about Japan, I will happily welcome input and/or correction.

One thing that struck me when I first started reading Saiyuki (something like a decade-ish ago now? I think?) was the characters’ struggle for individuality and their determination to live their lives the way they wanted without accepting anything else. At the time, I found it cool but not exactly groundbreaking, seeing how omnipresent the desire for individuality is in Western Cultures (perhaps it isn’t quite as glorified in France as it is in other countries, but it’s definitely there). Those guys were doing the same thing I’d seen before, just in a cooler way, I guess.

Rereading the manga now, though, what I notice the most is how much their desire for individual freedom and strength (I must grow stronger, I must follow my own path, I must carry my own burdens and care for my own life) is rooted in distinctly Japanese (maybe, in a broader sense, Eastern?) concepts and ways of thinking.

In the Western Narratives I consume, the desire for individuality seems mostly rooted in the idea that we are ‘better than’ conformity. That we are worth more than being forced to submit our will to collective thinking/need/desire, which shows most notably in the classical ‘cop/soldier defies the army’s chain of command and saves the day as a result’. This trope works because we assume the individual is better than the slow, lumbering mass, which can’t process things quickly enough to be efficient or come to the right answers.

By contrast, in Saiyuki, Sanzo’s team (and I think, to a different extent, Kougaiji’s team) seems to be (at least partly) basing their respective search for individual development in consideration for others.

Sanzo strives for strength in part because he wants to be able to retrieve his master’s legacy (and also because he wants to prevent what happened to Komyou from repeating itself, as well as to be able to protect Goku the people he cares about).

Gojyo strives for strength so he won’t be in a position where people will be forced to do terrible things to protect him again (see: Jien/Dokugakuji).

Goku strives for strength so he won’t be a burden to Sanzo.

Hakkai strives for strength so he won’t get a repeat of the Kanan situation.

And of course, throughout the journey, all four of them work hard to make sure they won’t be a burden to the other three (see the numerous times where they refuse to wait patiently until the others come to rescue them...or even the way Sanzo, Goku and Hakkai give Gojyo a good kicking after they’ve been forced to rescue him).

So what I’m trying to say is that, rereading Saiyuki makes me feel like the boys’ struggle for individual development and individual agency is still rooted in the notion of being in service of the collective (even if it’s just a collective of four) and that their character arc isn’t so much about rejection of the established order but more like a subversion of it. Not so much ‘I want to do different things’ as ‘I’m basically doing the same things but in my own way’ which is a deep difference from what I understood during my first read.

It’s actually really fascinating to realize all that now, tbh. How things that look the same at surface level can have such a different working once you start scratching.

Plus, of course, the feeling that you understand a work of fiction better is an unbeatable one :P

[valoniel]

So I’m writing my Hounours thesis on Saiyuki, and I noticed something interesting: youkai do not appear to have/use surnames. There are literally no youkai people whose surnames we know.

“Aha!” you might say to me, “What about Sha Jien?” And to you, I would say that he is never actually called Sha in the canon, we just assumed that because of Gojyo. What if Sha is his mother’s surname, which he would have by the naming rules, because he’s a bastard?

“CHIN YISOU!” ...Isn’t his real name at all. He’s named himself after a mahjongg tile. We don’t know what his birth name was even a little bit. Also, he’s technically his own shikigami.

Maoh is a title. Koushu is a title.

So whose surnames do we know? Well we know Sanzo’s full name/title, Genjyo Sanzo. Full human.

Son Goku, who is not actually youkai, but itan.

Cho Hakkai who, if we pay attention to the hints, was born human and is ALSO not youkai, but itan.

Sha Gjoyjo, who is hanyou.

The existence of surnames on “youkai” characters is a dead giveaway that they’re not, in fact, youkai at all.

*EDIT

I have been reminded that Minekura has WoG that Jien is “Sha Jien”, which I concede. However, given AGAIN her care with names in not only Saiyuki but her other works as well, if she has decided to give him this name as the single outlier that he is, she most certainly has a reason for doing so that in NO WAY actually negates this observation. Thanks for coming to me TED talk.

Holy. Fuck.

[alienatheart]

Reload Blast Ep 11 Reactionanalysis

Under the cut!

Summary: Everyone in the jeep reacts to Gojyo’s mark. Sanzo guesses right away that Hakkai knew all along, and points out WHEN they tell Gojyo won’t change anything. (See Hakkai, we told you!) Goku wonders when Gojyo went berserk, Gojyo proclaims he hasn’t, and laments it’s positioned such that he can’t see it. Various attempts to describe the mark fail, and speculation about its sudden appearance begins. The likely culprit would be the increased intensity of the minus wave so close to the source, but Gojyo isn’t too worried; he’s only half youkai, so it only half affects him, right? Hakkai is less sure; he thinks they should plan for the worst. He elaborates that he wouldn’t have suggested it until just now -since they’re no longer ordered to go, they have the option to turn back and minimize any risk. Gojyo doesn’t like being called a risk and calls out Hakkai’s egomania. Hakkai finally says it: if the worst happens, he can’t bring himself to kill Gojyo, or bear to let Sanzo do it, even as a mercy. Sanzo seems to agree, to Goku’s surprise, even as Hakkai admits he’s being selfish and trying to avoid regrets, remembering Kanan. Gojyo’s really mad everyone’s treating it like a foregone conclusion, and the last straw is Sanzo telling him and Hakkai both to get out now (and leave Hakuryu with him)!

Gojyo grabs Sanzo to ask where he gets off, telling them to leave, but Sanzo lands the first blow and it devolves into a standing brawl in the jeep. Goku tries to be the peacemaker and get Hakkai to help, but Hakkai’s in a supremely unhelpful mood. Goku yells at them to stop but gets Sanzo’s boot to the face for his trouble. He goes to pull them apart but runs into Gojyo’s kick and comes up swinging. It’s notable that Goku seems to be aiming mostly for Gojyo. Sanzo’s still injured but swinging at anyone anyway. The fight is only stopped by Hakuryu the Jeep revving his motor and popping a wheelie to drop everyone out on the ground! Lying on the ground give everyone a chance to chill out and reflect how lame it would be if their own bickering ended up proving Taruchie and the Aspects right. As Sanzo and Gojyo light up to cool down, Hakkai shocks the ikkou (and the audience!) by asking Sanzo for a smoke.

Meanwhile, in the youkai village, Sharak is finding out the population has decreased by half, despite the villagers’ efforts to resist the negative aura. Sharak cautions them not to have false hope, but tells them efforts are being made to stop the wave at its source, which is somewhat reassuring. However, Sharak recalls Sanzo’s report that Nataku was exclusively killing youkai, and decides to reinforce the village barrier as a precaution. The youkai are grateful for her shielding them from the minus wave’s influence, but Sharak downplays her assistance, saying their resilience is all their own. On her way out, a youkai baby reaches out for her, and Sharak reflects that while she can’t have her own children, she will do her utmost to protect others’ even if it means fighting. This resolution is extremely timely, because that gleam in the sky is Nataku and he’s coming in hot! Nataku imapacts the village, or rather Sharak’s Kouten Scripture, which she activated in time to shield everyone. Nataku evaluates his targets and summons the same attack orbs he used at the fortress.

Back at the jeep, the Ikkou has cooled down finally. Goku thanks Hakuryu for helping them come to their senses. Gojyo wants to know why Hakkai didn’t tell him sooner, and Hakkai says he worried the trigger might be emotional unrest. Gojyo asks if Hakkai really thought merely finding out would make him flip out, and Hakkai admits he didn’t think so, but he knows from his own experience acknowledging the youkai strength can lead down a slippery slope. Gojyo responds in the case of needing someone to bring him back from the edge, he’d be silly to abandon his own lifeline. Hakkai agrees and admits he was being “super lame” and Gojyo announces he’s awesome enough for both of them. Hakkai chides him for saying it out loud, then everyone’s startled by the impact over in the village.

In the village, Sharak introduces herself to Nataku, who responds that the humans have 10 seconds to leave, or be targeted with the youkai. Sharak asserts these youkai aren’t harming the humans and she will take responsibility, but Nataku ignores her statement and begins carrying out his orders, blasting an attack directly at Sharak! She shields herself with the scripture again, calling for Nataku to wait, but his second attack breaks her barrier as he announces she will be eliminated. Sharak casts a non-scripture spell that grows wood from the ground to entangle Nataku. One of the civilian youkai starts running away, and Nataku sends an orb after him, which turns into a masked warrior with a sword. The warrior deflects a shot from a Kouten Corps rifle, aweing the spectators. Nataku summons more orbs and breaks out of the tree that was engulfing him, then faces down Sharak with his orb army and issues the ultimatum: Humans must flee or die. Sharak and her guys stand ready and say they aren’t going anywhere, and the battle begins in earnest. The defenders are outnumbered but holding their own; the orb warriors attack silently and shrug off injuries; lost limbs and dead bodies dissolve into dust. But Nataku summons replacements, scaring more youkai into fleeing. Sharak sends Eijin after them but he’s too late to save them, and though he kills the two attackers, a third cuts him down. Nataku repeats his ultamatim and Sharak confirms Sanzo’s earlier observation that Nataku is executing orders and seems to lack will or emotions of his own.

Just as Nataku announces all will be eliminated, a shot rings out! Not a rifle, but Sanzo’s pistol, the Ikkou have arrived on the scene! Sharak apologizes for not having to time to explain, but Hakkai affirms they can pretty much guess the situation, Sanzo announces them, and Goku…can’t think of how he could have ever met Nataku before the fortress. Nataku tells the “humans” they should leave…then looks closer and identifies Gojyo and Hakkai as two new enemies. The Ikkou treats it as joke, and says its personal since Nataku is the reason they were fired. Nataku changes his orders to his soldiers, telling them to eliminate those four first! 

The orb soldiers are defeated quickly, but everyone barely dodges an extra-lethal blast from Nataku. Then Nataku re-summons his reinforcements, and Hakkai confirms they are Shikigami or something similar. The Ikkou eliminates a few waves, but more keep coming, prompting Hakkai to begin a review lesson for Goku. If you can’t destroy a shikigami’s medium, take out the controller! Nataku’s been blocking Sanzo’s bullets and effortlessly intercepts Goku’s Nyoi-Bo with his sword, the force of his parry throwing Goku into Sanzo. While they pick themselves off the ground, they’re open to another killing blast but Hakkai intervenes, blocking with his Chi Shield just in time.  He can’t withstand it for long though, and gets thrown backwards. Gojyo uses the chance to send the crescent blade of his Shakoujou at Nataku, but it’s double blocked by orb warriors, and then Nataku grabs the slack chain and hauls Gojyo forward, throwing him on top of the Ikkou pileup. Sharak begins to despair as the episode ends with Nataku ready to continue his mission…

So now everyone knows about Gojyo’s mark, and I can honestly sympathize with his frustration when the others think he’s going to become a liability. They’ve come this far, they should be able to trust each other by now, right? Hakkai admits to being selfish thinking he could protect Gojyo from it; even though he meant well trying to head off the problem like he couldn’t before when he lost Kanan, that controlling nature can be a negative trait. I really wish they hadn’t filled time with Goku joining the fight, because in the manga he was the voice of reason while Hakkai pouted and the other two squabbled. But by now I’m resigned to every anime series ignoring Goku’s repeated demonstrations of maturity. T_T

Anyway, Hakuryu knows you don’t split the party! And Hakkai! Smoking! What does it mean? The “lifeline” callback! Also, the “I’m awesome”/“You’d look better if you didn’t say so” line is a Gaiden callback that didn’t make it into this anime, I really need to start making some comparison posts one of these days.

Sharak in the youkai village is very well done. Since we never got the Oasis arc from the manga animated, its good to see these civilian youkai, and how similar they are to the human townsfolk from earlier episodes, just trying to live their lives peacefully. And Sharak being proactive as a guardian, as concerned for them as the other half-dozen villages she’s been keeping watch over, is so wholesome.

And Now! The fight with Nataku! The final battle of this anime, and its amazing to watch! I recall when these manga scenes came out and we were speculating if those spheres were physical objects or just glowing glyphs or sigils. The fortress fight answered that first, but now their second secret is revealed: Nataku is that boss fight with endlessly spawning minions! I don’t mind that they padded the episode with more of the Kouten squad fighting; it’s refreshing after so many helpless humans in filler episodes of past animes.  But the real stars are about to show up and…get their butts kicked. They do make a good showing though!

When they first arrive and start with the banter, you know they got their groove back, and the tension from before is forgotten, for now. After all, there’s nothing like a grudge match against the guy who got you fired, right? I loved watching every second of it. It’s interesting to note that the Ikkou doesn’t really do combo attacks, but they are so much better than they used to be at relentlessly striking one after another, and they always have each other’s backs, shielding or distracting when someone goes down. Unfortunately, Nataku is on a whole other level, he has his renewable bodyguards to run interference while he can outright stop bullets and packs some serious firepower himself. The episode goes right up to the last manga update we had when the series started airing, and it was only slightly less nerve-wracking to wait a week for the continuation than the 10 months where Gojyo was buried under a pile of rocks.  Going in, episode 12 was uncharted territory, and we’ll get to that soon!

[harinezumiko]

Shitpost SU: Future Prediction

Okay guys I’m lazy and therefore I’m copypasting from @thoughttrainderailed​ and my Discord exchange about the trailer.

Harinezumiko:

also though my me

just

Jasper laughing like she's axe crazy and looking like a One Piece character

immediate cut to the Famethyst+Betas, probably from a different sequence based on background palettes, but like hear me out

This is just a Thing That Happens now

Jasper shows up

Has a tantrum

Attacks someone

Leaves

The Fam is just like "ah yes it's Tuesday Jasper sure is here doing the thing"

but this is

clearly them reacting/not reacting to Jasper showing up to finally fight Pearl

because they all know how well it's gonna go

Thoughttrainederailed:

hahahahaha

Harinezumiko:

they've had a betting pool

Thoughttrainederailed:

so Jasper becomes Team Rocket

Harinezumiko:

and Skinny just

stares into the camera like she's on the Office

because why is this my sister, why is this another Jasper, why is she allergic to learning, why do I have to be also a Jasper from the same fucking Kindergarten, I know what look Carnie's giving me, Jasper you dishonor me

like at some point Jasper flips shit at the Famethyst for siding with the CGs and forsaking their Diamond

and the Fam is like

bitch we have been wearing blue on our uniforms for millennia, nobody but you gives a shit anymore, we're siding with Steven because he makes Together Breakfast

also Jasper you've lost every single 1:1 fight calm your entire tits

and Jasper's like IT'S NOT 1:1 IF THEY'RE CHEATING WITH FUSION

and of course 2x Topaz is like /LOOMS

Skinny resigns herself to losing this week's bet again

Thoughttrainederailed:

hahahahaha

does Skinny keep betting that Jasper will learn

because it's the only hope she has

Harinezumiko:

she knows it's a fool's bet but she has to make it for solidarity reasons

if she doesn't bet in Jasper's favor it proves Sharky right and that's worse than paying up

Thoughttrainederailed:

hahahahaha

besides

it's gotta happen eventually

the CGs aren't gonna crack her

Harinezumiko:

pretty much

Thoughttrainederailed:

so the only for it to end is for Jasper to Learn

even if it takes another Millenia

Harinezumiko:

like Skinny knows "Jaspers never give up" is True

and also she knows that Jasper is Not As Big An Idiot As She Is An Asshole

not because she's necessarily brilliant

but because she survived working for Yellow Diamond

so CLEARLY at some point Jasper must have learned tactics, and at some point she will remember that hitting things with her face over and over again to no effect means DO SOMETHING ELSE TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL

Thoughttrainederailed:

hahahahaha

EVENTUALLY

Harinezumiko:

this is my new hope

but it will not save RS from me

[nerdqueenmari]

2 4 8 27 30 38 41 55 76 :3

saiyuki ask part 1 and part 2

2)      A character in Saiyuki that grew on youI used to think Kanzeon Bosatsu was ridic and look at me now

4)      Favorite member of Kougaiji’s groupPrince Charming

8)      Which character do you really dislike?There aren’t any characters I really dislike tbh??? I guess idk I didn’t like Chin Yisou that much and I’m not in love with Yaone but I don’t DISlike them??

27)   How do you react when your absolute fav gets injured?You don’t wanna know how hard I flipped when the Barcode Kou Incident happened. And if you don’t wanna know that, you really don’t want to know how much screeching occurred when I first bought Reload 9.

30)   Favorite manga arcB...urial? Even a Worm? Burial? Even a Worm? BURIAL?? EVEN A WORM?????

38) Do you binge read the entire series or read selected chapters?I binge, but slow for reasons I can’t articulate. I like to marinate in the misery I guess.

41) If you HAD to choose a character to die, who would it be?Ukoku.LOOK, I know we all have this agreement that we would gladly suck his dick, but HE HAS IT COMING AND HAS FOR YEARS.

55) Was there a character you used to love but no longer do?There aren’t any characters I don’t enjoy, so this hard. I guess I’m not as much of a Gojou fangirl as I used to be, but I think that mostly has to do with growing up. (And I’ve always been a Sanzo oshi at heart so)

76) Which character has had the most growth? Goku’s come lightyears since the beginning, so he probably wins, but all of the Ikkou gets an honorable mention here, I think.

[yuukei-yikes]

Headcanon roulette! What jobs do you think the kagepro cast would have?

(CRACKS KNUCKLES) LISTEN I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HEADCANON ROULETTE IS BUT IF YOU CAME LOOKING FOR A SHORT ANSWER I AM VERY SORRY i am going to give you so many headcanons youre gonna pass out i am going to tell you my headcanons and WHY i have them and i'll also be angry at jin for saying bullshit about their jobs. it's gonna be a good time SO. MY JOB HEADCANONS FOR THE KAGEPRO CHARACTERS: shintaro: jin says he'd be a teacher and to this i say (rolls newspaper and hits him in the head). WHAT THE HELL MAN!!! shintaro loves music bro i GUESS he could be a music teacher but EH i don't see him like the sort of person who'd enjoy being in a classroom so my headcanon is the obvious: song writer/composer. obviously. bro seriously why a teacher?? this guy's SISTER work(ed)s in the music industry, momo would absolutely use her contacts to help shintaro build a career out of music! and if shintaro's music are the kagepro songs we know then they'd have success lol and yes this is meta but he canonically wrote tomei answer SO... COME ON. writing songs inspired on the events? bro. bro. bro. b ayano: whatever she does i think she'd 100% wanna work with children. if anyone wants to be a teacher it'd absolutely be her! i like to think she becomes a social worker/kindergarten teacher? just anything she chooses to do would be around children tbh. kido: everyone always makes a big deal out of her cooking so i like to think she goes to cooking school!! so a chef!  i know jin said kido would have an orphanage but. 1) wh. why kido. ayano is right there?? ayano makes more sense to me than kido idk 2) why specifically the OWNER of an orphanage that's just weird kjrfksdhgds i GUESS it's not as ridiculous as jin's take on kano's job (i'll get to that next) but still... it's gonna be a nah from me kano: listen. listen. my job hc for kano is VERY headcanon based so i don't have any Canon(tm) content to support it but i assure you it makes more sense than jin's bullshit take on how he'd be a P*LICE OFF*CER. LIKE. EXCUSE YOU SIR WASH YOUR MOUTH YES KANO IS A DICKHEAD BUT HE WOULDNT GET TO THAT POINT!! SO my take is... hairdresser. WHY?? GLAD I PRETEND YOU ASK: again it's very hc based but i'm just gonna say kido hates talking to strangers bc she's #invisible and seto hates crowded places + when they move by themselves with mary i got the feeling they sheltered themselves from the world SOOO what if from then on kano has always done their hair for them im JUST SAYING... I THINK IT'D BE SWEET AND COOL AND FUN AND ALSO HE SEEMS LIKE THE TYPE. come on kido's green hair?? kano's doing. please. it'd be epic momo: she quits being an idol BUT momo adores 1) being silly 2) making people happy. what would she do? my most cursed but also my best take: fuckign....YOUTUBER.... she'd be her own boss and she'd make videos of whatever the HELL she feels like doing. trying to make art. destroying her hair. doing drag makeup. just whatever dude like everyone would know her as that one youtube girl who used to be a massively popular singer but now films herself bleaching her hair 5 times in one night and it'd WORK seto & mary: ok for once what jin said makes sense to me but i don't think he even said it, it just showed up in saiyuki's comic where they have a flower shop together. like i agree with that, they would! but maybe after a while seto would go work/maybe open a shelter of his own leaving the flower shop for mary haruka & takane: ANOTHER two that i'm not mad about what jin thinks (thankfully can you imagine how fucking mad i'd be if he said bullshit about my faves' jobs lol) i mean haruka has his whole thing of how he wants to be an artist and apparently takane is a streamer which i'm not mad at. i'll extend on them: i think both would be freelancers, haruka with art and takane  aside from her streams she'd like coding! like after being ene she for SURE knows some shit and she's super into videogames so she'd absolutely get into developing games and stuff. good for haruka and takane, their regular life is a quarantine hiyori: i don't have much to say about her but fashion designer/model would work for her i think. she's like that hibiya: HIBIYA HONESTLY I JUST... CANT THINK ANYTHING FOR HIM i think jin said he'd be an archeologist which i mean ok?? but ayaka was an archeologist and idk it seems weird he'd also be one with no connection to her at all for some reason but im not completely mad at the idea since i do think hibiya would have something that everyone considers to be INCREDIBLY BORING as a job. i want it to be a running gag that no one KNOWS what hibiya does for work and he's super offended about it but no matter how many times he repeats himself no one ever remembers what he does anyway those are my headcanons subscribe and comment click the bell to get notifications everytime i upload a new video i'll see you in the next one

[tharacelehar]

(Oh and Saiyuki I guess, while I’m here)

Oh man, this combined with the Supernatural Renaissance is just SUCH a nostalgia trip

Favorite character: This is a very tough decision but I think it does have to be Sanzo. I am not immune to jerks with a heart of gold. He is not a good person, and I love him so so so much. I think the thing about Sanzo that always gets me is that despite every single instinct that he has to not care, he does.

Second favorite character: I think Yaone, Sharak, Hakkai, and Gojyo are all tied for second place, for different reasons. I just think they’re neat!

Least favorite character: I mostly want Ukoku to shut up whenever he is onscreen. A good fanfic writer can make me like Ukoku, but canon Ukoku needs to stop talking.

The character I’m most like: My best friend once told me, “You’re not nice, you’re just really polite.” My coworker said to me yesterday, “Everyone thinks you’re an angel, but we’re also afraid you’ll snap someday.” I have to conclude that I am Yaone or Hakkai.

Favorite pairing: ..................this is so tough because Hakkai/Gojyo is so good, with the “if you went all ax-murderer on everyone we love I would simply have no choice but to go all ax-murderer with you” and all, but Sanzo/Goku just... They love each other SO MUCH, agh, my heart. I also have a secret soft spot for Sharak/Genjo, but in that way that they’re a battle couple who would be actually completely drift compatible. Like that “she’s the only person in the world who could give Genjo Sanzo an order and expect it to be followed” kind of way. In a “Sharak Sanzo is the coolest person that Genjo Sanzo has ever met and he would allow her to sweep him off his feet” kind of way. I also ship Sanzo with that one youkai who was taking care of all the little kids? I have a lot of feelings about their relationship even though it was literally only like one chapter.

Least favorite pairing: There is no reason for me to dislike Kougaiji/Sanzo. I like Kougaiji! I like Sanzo! This should be a win-win! But no, I do not like it.

Favorite moment: Sometimes I think about the mahjong meta post as the gold standard for things that make me appreciate a scene. Aside from that, I would have to say that some of my other favorite moments are: 1) Hakkai and Gojyo thinking about their future together, 2) Konzen’s death (because I bawl every time, it is very cathartic), 3) I will admit to loving every single time they rehash some clip of Sanzo discovering Goku on the mountain. THEY HEAR EACH OTHER IN THEIR HEARTS.

Rating out of 10: 7/10 although the nostalgia factor sometimes makes me bump it up to 8/10, I will also then remember like... the misogyny/etc and then I’ll be like hm, maybe put that back down to a 7. But I really did love all of these characters, and the whole assholes-on-a-road-trip vibe is just so much fun. (which, admittedly, to bring things back around to where we started this post, is also a major factor of the Supernatural Renaissance in my brain).

[babywarg]

Writing Tag Game

I've never done this and it looks like fun! Thanks for the tag, @visionarygalaxy 💖

No tags, but please do this, it is a fun fic retrospective thing.

(I apologize if I missed any tags for previous memes - this has been a terribly busy seven days. Please ping me via PM if I missed anything 💖)

AO3 Name: babywarg

Fandoms: recently, MCU; specifically, ironstrange. previously: tenipuri (RIKKAIDAI!!), katekyou hitman reborn, gensomaden saiyuki, hobbit movies, yst/rw, yyh, etc. i'm a one-fandom-at-a-time person

Tropes: Uhhh I am not sure I have one. Two switches with dominant personalities occasionally duking it out and then giving way just a little bit to let the other in, I suppose... (I privately refer to it as “semepile” but there should be a better word for it out there)

Number of Fics: 83 total for all pseuds; just 65 for babywarg

Fic I spent the most time on: definitely my first multichapter, Settling for a Miracle - i'm STILL spending time on it!

Fic I spent the least time on: all the fics that are below 1000 words 😺 His Storms has a special place in my heart because it came fully formed in my head; putting it down on paper was effortless.

Longest Fic: co-written: Particles (with the brilliant @amethyst-noir​ <3). solo ride: Settling for a Miracle

Shortest Fic: that is a complete ficlet and not a meta: Waking Up Beside Him for the First Time

Most Hits: No Longer Human

Most Kudos: Love Through Time

Most Comment Threads: co-written: Particles. solo ride: Settling for a Miracle

Most Bookmarks: Love Through Time

Total Word Count: 360,200

Favourite Fic I Wrote: here's a quick 10:

1. What Comes Next

2. No Longer Human

3. Our Time Together

4. Love Through Time

5. Particles (although I’m sort of cheating because I love the parts that @amethyst-noir wrote the most 😺)

6. Saying Your Names

7. Stigmata

8. Seven Days in Love

9. A History of Love

10. Hold Back the Night

Fic I want to rewrite/expand on: Saying Your Names. it feels like there's a lot of lore in this fantasy AU that i wasn't able to explore in just 5 chapters.

Share a bit of WIP or story you are planning: okay! tagging @wspaceblog for this because it's a WIP of something we've been talking about 😺

Tony grew up in his father's tailoring shop. In his three decades there, he had witnessed a lot of people coming and going - but few truly made an impression on him.

Off the top of his head, in fact, he could think of only two:

One was someone who never set foot in the shop at all. It was a boy about twelve (Tony's age), bone-thin and pale, with dirty blonde hair.

He always looked like he had come out of a fight - there was sometimes a bruise on his face, or a torn sleeve, or a ripped shirt collar. But always, he entered Tony's line of sight with a sort of rage burning in his baby blue eyes.

He would stand in front of the shop and look up at the display mannequins, which changed clothes every Wednesday - and, slowly but surely, the anger on his face would fade.

It would take on a serene look - as if he were staring not at clothes, but at works of art.

And sometimes the boy would look beyond the mannequins, and set those baby blues on Tony's face. And when he saw that Tony noticed, he became flustered. A touch of color graced those gaunt cheekbones.

More than once, Tony opened the door to the shop, hoping to invite the boy in. But the boy always fled whenever he heard the knob turn.

- and in the end, it was all right, because Tony's dad hated letting "the rabble" into his exclusive shop. That boy neatly fit into his father's definition of "the rabble."

One day, the boy just stopped standing in front of the shop. Tony always wondered where he'd gone.

The other was someone who arrived way later: a boy about nineteen (Tony's age). He strode in with the confidence of someone who could afford the goods.

Tony never actually knew if the boy had money. He only knew that the boy was good at looking like he did.

And he only knew that the boy liked running his fingers over the finest cloth they had.

His dad didn't like this, of course, but didn't see any cause to throw him out. The boy wasn't damaging the merchandise.

He just sent Tony out to deal with the kid. And Tony had to deal with the kid a lot. The kid visited the shop several times, just looking and touching for a few minutes, and just letting Tony talk about the selections on which he lingered.

The kid had a self-important air about him that unsettled Tony somewhat, but at the same time, drew him in.

Tony's dad didn't like him.

That might have been part of what made it so much fun for Tony to escort him all over the shop, telling him anything and everything that came to mind - all but spilling his most precious trade secrets and sewing tips.

Tony didn't mind if the kid just came to waste time; his quiet, yet intense presence was welcome.

One day, the kid found it: the cloth with the exact pattern and texture that he wanted. His holy grail.

It was a good choice, too - one of their most tasteful, most expensive velvets.

"How much to make a fully bespoke suit out of this?" the kid asked him.

And Tony was taken aback, first by how soft and sultry the boy's voice was - exquisite, like mulberry silk.

And then, by how clear and brilliant his eyes were. Like subtly colored glass.

No choice, really, but for Tony to turn on the charm.

"For you," Tony said, all saccharine, "just six thousand."

(What? The kid was hot, but Tony wasn't about to go too low on a suit made of one of the best fabrics in the house.)

The kid didn't dispute the figure. He fell silent for a moment, feeling the scrap of cloth between his fingers in a light, almost reverent manner.

"I'll need a fully bespoke suit in a few years," the kid eventually said. "That fabric had better be ready for me."

"Years?" Tony echoed with unflagging sweetness. "We don't reserve for that long, especially not without a deposit. And especially not when people can still grow out of the cut." He gently took the fabric from the boy's hand. Their fingers briefly touched, and Tony brushed aside the light tingle that crept up his spine on contact. "Come back a few months before you actually need the suit, okay? And I'll personally see what we can do for you."

The boy just stood, staring into Tony's eyes as if determining his sincerity.

Then, the boy nodded, and wordlessly left the store.

He didn't come back in the following days. Or months. Or years, even, as initially stated.

The boy hadn't even left his name. By all accounts, this told Tony that he wasn't actually serious about the reservation.

But Tony still kept a few yards of the velvet material he had chosen stored away. He wasn't sure why.

[nighttimefjaeril]

A little reflection.

There are basically no canon couples in Saiyuki, except for maybe Hakkai/Kanan, which is long gone at this point. That’s because Saiyuki isn’t a romance series, so it’s safe to say that couples will never be the focus.

Because of this, I feel that sexuality/sexual orientation of the characters is purposefully kept ambiguous in most cases, or at least no definite answer on the topic has been given; the only cases where sexual orientation has been disclosed have been with Kanzeon Bosatsu and Nii, in which both have been defined bisexual. That is the only case where Minekura has straight up canonised a character’s orientation.

Where unstated (aka for all the other characters) it’s safe to say that there is no canon and everything is open to interpretation. There is no right or wrong really, any view/perception is fine as long as everyone realises that it’s not canon, simply because we’re not given any in most cases. And this is fine.

I don’t think it’s really fair to rely on hetetonormativity as canon even when it comes to characters that have been canonically expressing interest in the opposite sex; e.g: Hakkai and Gojyo. Sure, the first has had a relationship with a girl, the second has definitely shown interest in women. But is it really fair to define them as straight by default? They could be bisexual, pansexual, grey (OK for the latter perhaps not Gojyo lmao). The truth is that we simply don’t know. And we’ll never know for sure unless Minekura clearly states so, as she did a couple of times before.

I think it’s right to say that both have canonically shown interest into the opposite sex in the series, but I don’t think that’s enough to define them as canonically straight. Does it make any sense? The two things (aka being interested in the opposite sex and being heterosexual) aren’t really mutually exclusive, are they?

This is great IMHO, as it allows us fans to pretty much make our own idea on the matter, ship whomever without “fearing” to go against canon representation. Even though I really wish we had more LGBTQA+ representation in Saiyuki (or any media really), I understand this is not a series focused on sexuality nor romance. If you think about it, it’s actually pretty cool that the only cases where a sexual orientation has been confirmed deal with lgbt+ characters nevertheless.

Tl; dr: there is no canon sexual orientation in Saiyuki except for Nii and Kanzeon; everybody should be free to have their own interpretation as there is no right or wrong; please refrain from thinking that heteronormativity (aka straight until proven otherwise) should be the canon interpretation. That’s just my opinion ofc.

[airagorncharda]

About My Blog:

Name: Nate Age: 29 (I’m bad at updating this, I was born in 1990) Pronouns: he/him/his.

It’s been ages since I’ve updated any sort of info about myself or my blog, oops.

Dfab nb trans guy, genderfluid. On the aro/ace spectrum. Queer. Gay. Neuroatypical (ADHD among other things; possibly dyslexia or else it’s just my ADHD that makes reading The Worst). I have chronic pain. I’m chubby. 

Privilege: I’m white, I grew up with financial security while I lived with my parents, I live in a liberal area of New England in the USA, I am able-bodied, I can pass as neurotypical. If I make false assumptions or fuck up because of any of these things please call me on it. I will do my utmost not to make this necessary, and to listen if it should ever be necessary.

I blog about social justice, social issues, whatever fandom I’m currently hyperfixated on, DnD, and plenty of other stuff.

My views have evolved since I started blogging, so if you go far enough back in my blog you’ll find posts that I no longer agree with.

I use my “likes” as storage for things I want to respond to later, or save to my computer when I’m on the mobile app, or research more thoroughly before reblogging when I have time/attention, etc. Do not assume I agree with everything in my likes. View my likes with caution.

I’m a writer and an illustrator, and am a Personal Care Assistant to a really cool lady. I play a lot of DnD and I love my dnd group. I’ve been in a relationship with one of my best friends since we were 15. We are engaged, live together, play video games and DnD, and have cats.

I post my thoughts here. I post my art here. These are my cats. This is my face.

I am not always right. I am still learning.

Do not cite me as an expert or trust my implicitly. I am happy to give my thoughts on and discuss any issue, and I do try to research my points before I make them, but I am not an authority.

My ask box is always open. I will respond privately if you ask me to. If I respond publicly I will tag it with your URL so you can find it easily (unless you ask me not to). I tag all asks with “ask” and all anons with “ask” and “anon”. If you send me an ask and I don’t respond it might be because Tumblr ate it, and I never received it, or because I have ADHD and sometimes I forget to respond to things. In either case feel free to send the ask again. I do not consider this rude.

—

I am careful to always tag for things like racism, transphobia, ableism, etc., as well as death, blood, horror cops, spiders, etc., so people can blacklist them.

I am usually happy to add to this list if you have a phobia or trigger and need me to, just ask. If for some reason I’m uncomfortable tagging a particular subject, I will not be offended if you unfollow me (I’ll also just NEVER be offended by that; you do you)

Some navigation help for my blog:

current events - this tag is reserved for whatever the most recent important (and awful) thing happens to be.

Disney’s Frozen - this tag is referencing all of the problems with that movie (the first one), including general discussion about the sexism in how women are animated. It accidentally became my “misogyny in animation” tag, sorry!

Statistics - this tag is for all posts with specific statistics about social injustice.

real talk - this tag is for short posts that I feel most clearly and succinctly summarize issues of social injustice.

Boost - any post that involves petitions, fund raisers, sales, or other things I want people to not only see but interact with.

Fandoms:

I’ve been in fandom for a long time. I’m here to have fun, and am not comfortable with the current online purity culture of throwing shame at people who enjoy harmless things that you don’t. Fandom is not always about what we wish was real or canon; sometimes it’s about the opposite of that on purpose. 

I’m a polyshipper and a multishipper, though I definitely have OTPs and sometimes don’t enjoy seeing those pairs with other people. This is personal preference, and not a judgment on others. 

I try to stay out of fandom discourse and mainly reblog art I like. Occasionally, though, I do reblog criticism of fandom specific bigotry. 

Just because I reblog stuff from a particular fandom doesn’t mean I necessarily like everything about the piece of media, where/who it came from, or the direction it went. I value fandom because of the power to make the stories we’re given into the stories we wish we’d been given, AND the power to turn stories we love into whatever we’re vibing with at the moment.

Harry Potter was a formative fandom for me, so despite hating JKR I will still engage with fanworks related to it. I tag anything Harry Potter with “hp”. I tag everything relating to JKR with “fuck you JKR”.

Anything related to Tolkien’s Middle Earth stories is tagged “lotr”, anything about the MCU is tagged “Avengers”, and anything related to Avatar the Last Airbender is tagged “Atla”. 

I tag anything from the Tales of series with “Tale of” as well as their individual game titles. Anything from MOST Fire Emblem games gets lumped together under “Fire Emblem” but Three Houses is “fe3h”. Similarly, Most Final Fantasy games get “Final Fantasy” while 14 gets “ffxiv”.

Other media I particularly love off the top of my head (and their associated tags), or at least that I often reblog about, includes: Critical Role (and CR2), Phoenix Wright, She Ra (tag: “shera”), Saiyuki, Yu Yu Hakusho (tag: “yyh”), Undertale, The Good Place. Mad Max, Naruto, Miraculous Ladybug (tag: “miraculous”), Legend of Zelda (tag: “zelda”)

Personal tags:

My favorite meta (good meta makes the world go ‘round)

My favorite things on this whole damn site (I love this)

Stuff that’s purely positive (decency, and wholesome)

Things that remind me of my friend group (me and mine and ours)

Mron (things that remind me of and inspire me to work on my sci-fi story about androids)

Embalar (things that remind me of and inspire me to work on the fantasy story/video game/dnd homebrew setting I’m actively working on)

The Fog (things that remind me of and inspire me to work on my fairy tale story, which includes mermaids)

recipes

lifehacks

poetry

art refs (specific tags for: costume design, character design, god design, monster design, creature design, hands, feet, muscles, anatomy, facial expressions, hair, body types, clothes, dresses, fat art, etc., and specific tags for mythical creatures: mermaids, centaurs, vampires, demons, dragons, gryphons, sphinxes, harpies, etc.)

art (specific tags for: sculpture, painting, illustration, music, art history, installation art)

books, games, shows, and movies I wish existed (tumblr books)

furniture, appliances, and house stuff that I would love to have the money to have (want)

pretty jewelry that I want but would never wear because I don’t wear jewelry (for my dragon hoard)

–Nate

[recentanimenews]

Manga the Week of 8/19/20

SEAN: The Yen Press juggernaut is back.

Let’s start with Yen. They have a couple manga debuts. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai is the manga version of the popular light novel. This arc is a done-in-1 omnibus.

I Love You So Much I Hate You (Nikurashii Hodo Aishiteru) is an office romance yuri about two professional working women with a rivalry… or is it?

MICHELLE: I hope this is something kind of complicated, but I guess we shall see.

ASH: I do like that we’re starting to see more yuri with adult characters.

MELINDA: Yes, I do too.

SEAN: I Don’t Know How to Give Birth! (Shussan no Shikata ga Wakaranai!) is a comedic essay manga about the author struggling with her first-time pregnancy. It looks fun.

ASH: I’m super-curious about this one.

ANNA: I am too!

SEAN: Also from Yen this week: Teasing Master Takagi-san 9; Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization 6 (the final volume); Spirits and Cat Ears 9; So I’m a Spider, So What? 8 (manga version); an omnibus version of the Puella Magi Madoka Magica manga; Phantom Tales of the Night 5; Overlord: The Undead King-Oh! 4; Magia Record 2; Kakegurui 12; Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon: Sword Oratoria 12 (manga version); Hinowa Ga CRUSH! 4; Black Butler 29; As Miss Beelzebub Likes 10; Aoharu x Machinegun 18 (the final volume); and Angels of Death 10.

ASH: You weren’t kidding about the return of the juggernaut! And this is just the manga. Out of these, Phantom Tales of the Night is what has most of my attention.

SEAN: As for Yen On, it also has some debuts. Interspecies Reviewers should already be familiar from the manga and anime: this is a light novel version.

The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy (Seiken Gakuin no Maken Tsukai)… yup, another demon lord in a magical academy.

MICHELLE: How many does that make now? At least three.

SEAN: Also: Sword Art Online 20, Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kouhai, Final Fantasy I*II*III: Memory of Heroes, Do You Love Your Mom (and Her Two-Hit, Multi-Target Attacks?) 6, The Dirty Way to Destroy the Goddess’ Heroes 4, Bottom-Tier Tomozaki-kun 4, and 86 ~Eighty-Six~ 5.

From Viz: Venus in the Blind Spot is a best of collection from Junji Ito, and also has the exact same meter as “Mirror in the Bathroom” by The English Beat.

MICHELLE: My brain automatically went to “Heroes in a Half-Shell.” Which is strange, considering I never watched that show.

ASH: Hahaha! Whatever the meter, I’m always glad for more Ito in English.

ANNA: Always a good thing.

MELINDA: I’m on board for this!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Urusei Yatsura 7, Ooku: The Inner Chambers 17, Golden Kamuy 17, and Blue Flag 3.

MICHELLE: Hooray for more Ooku, but after the cliffhanger at the end of volume two, it’s Blue Flag I am desperate for.

ASH: Oh! This is a good week for Viz. And a bad week for my wallet; I’m reading most of these.

ANNA: Yes, super anxious to read the next volume of Blue Flag.

MELINDA: Ooku! And okay, I’m behind on Blue Flag, but I definitely want to know what all the fuss is about.

SEAN: Vertical has the 3rd Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro.

Udon has a 3rd Rose of Versailles omnibus, meaning I’m already behind.

MICHELLE: I only just got volume two last Friday!

ASH: I got the second volume on Saturday, but go ahead and bring on the third!

ANNA: Me too!!!

MELINDA: Help!

SEAN: Tokyopop has a 2nd volume of The Fox and Little Tanuki.

Sol Press has the 3rd Redefining the Meta at VRMMO Academy novel.

Seven Seas debuts a spinoff. The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Jack Flash & Faerie Case Files (Mahou Tsukai no Yome Shihen.75 – Inazuma Jack to Yousei Jiken), which should be a lot of fun for fans of the main series.

MICHELLE: Huh! I’ll have to check this out.

ASH: I’m a fan of The Ancient Magus’ Bride and I’m a fan of the writer Yu Godai, so I’m doubly-excited for this release.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Toradora! 9 (manga version), Skeleton Knight in Another World 5 (print), Reincarnated As a Sword 3 (manga version), Plus-Sized Elf 5, How to Train Your Devil 3, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 8 (manga version), Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends 18 (print), and Bloom Into You 8.

MICHELLE: I believe that’s the final volume of Bloom Into You, as well. I need to get caught up.

SEAN: No debuts from Kodansha. But we get, in print, Sweat and Soap 3, Saiyuki 2, O Maidens in Your Savage Season 7 and 8, Love and Lies 9, Gleipnir 7, and the 5th Cardcaptor Sakura Collector’s Edition.

ASH: I’m a little behind, but O Maidens in Your Savage Season is so good.

SEAN: Digitally we get That Blue Summer 8 (final volume), Space Brothers 37, Shojo FIGHT! 12, Orient 5, Mikami-sensei’s Way of Love 8 (final volume), Living-Room Matsunaga-san 8, Kakushigoto 6, GE: Good Ending 8, Fairy Tail: Happy’s Heroic Adventure 5, Dolly Kill Kill 5, and Cells NOT at Work 3.

MICHELLE: I have been enjoying That Blue Summer. Hard to believe it’ll be over so quickly!

SEAN: J-Novel Club has one debut, but it’s a biggie: Slayers!. The classic fantasy light novel has been rescued and is coming out with a new translation. The first volume is out next week.

Also out from J-NC: Wild Times with a Fake Fake Princess 2 and How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 12.

Ghost Ship gives us To-Love-Ru Darkness 16, Saki the Succubus Hungers Tonight 3, and Parallel Paradise 2.

Lastly, Dark Horse has the 2nd volume of Dangan Ronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.

Mo’ volumes, mo’ problems. What’s weighing you down?

By: Sean Gaffney