#suspense anime

[gohashisenju]

Check out my video on my Youtube Channel

[darlin-djarin]

instead of a bo-katan show or a mandoverse movie, how about we get a children of the watch show but SPECIFICALLY abt the foundlings and their shenanigans. i wanna see grogu and ragnar and all the foundlings mess around, fight, go on adventures, etc. i wanna see the armorer scolding the foundlings for stealing a whole ass ship. i wanna see 5 year olds beating each other up. i wanna see grogu yeeting some bitch ass kid across the planet. yk, the works.

[sophiamarieispinkbunny-chan]

Something bothers me about Fiona/Nightfall…

Okay so in my first chair analysis post, someone reblogged it saying that Fiona/Nightfall might hate Twilight and turn on him as he and Yor get close with each other  and I can actually see it happening. Right now, it’s still less likely but it’s not impossible for her to turn rogue and here’s how the manga suggests it.

She’s the one who usually let’s her emotions guide her despite appearing emotionless, like how she almost endangered Operation Strix through visiting Twilight's home without any consent from her superiors, causing for Yor to doubt her marriage with Loid.

Sylvia, her Handler, told her not to do anything but she ignores it...

She even broke that policy among fellow agents by making an unnecessary contact with Twilight...

And in this chapter, Twilight's statement suggests that Fiona/Nightfall seems to also have a problem losing her cool, letting her emotions control her and that often gets the way in her missions.

In everything she does, what motivates her is the hope to gain Twilight’s affection.

When she does something, it wasn’t because she genuinely cares for peace and other people's sake herself. She just strives for peace because it’s what Twilight wanted. It's mostly displayed in the recent mole arc chapters.

This isn't really that necessary but it's just cringey and uncomfy to me how she says Twilight is like her little toy knife, when Twilight was never hers. I really don't like this part of her personality when she thinks she knows everything about Twilight when she knows nothing about the real him, the past him and the man he's slowly becoming.

So moving on, when it finally dawns on her that she will not ever have Twilight's affection, I don’t know what she could do.

I mean it is hinted when she’s first introduced that she’s the one who’s most likely to betray someone in the agency and it might be a judgmental comment from a hateful coworker but knowing how the plot is moving right now, I know Endo could be throwing subtle details that could mean more in the future. And who knows, she might’ve done it before. When?

Let’s go back to the exchange of Twilight and Franky during Chapter 2 when Loid is finding someone suitable to be his fake wife.

Twilight stated that most of the female operatives in their agency were wiped out during the recent spy sweeps. Female agents we're the one who are mostly wiped out and Franky mentions someone must've ratted them out to the SS.

I think, this might be a wild and far fetched theory but it's not impossible, Fiona/Nightfall was the one who ratted those female agents. Why? She might have received the information for Operation Strix, considering that all Wise agents seems to know about the Operation. She probably eliminated all female agents that might've suited to be Twilight's fake wife.

Cause if you think about, it is really practical for Wise to have the wife be a spy too, it would be really convenient for the mission. However, the candidates they think are capable of being an ideal wife and mother just get outed like that in the SS and this spy sweep just happened to be when Twilight is looking for a wife.

Nightfall might've thought, finally, she could fulfill her utmost desire to be Twilight's wife. Yet Wise has a different idea. Even if she's the only female agent left, she still isn't suitable for the role and I think Handler purposely didn't pick her knowing she has feelings for Twilight and her emotion might get the best of her, thus could compromise the mission. Handler, as a former wife and mother herself, could also think Nightfall can't do the job of a wife and especially of a mother properly. So I have this hunch that Handler purposely gave her another mission at that time so she can't complain about not being picked as Twilight's wife for Operation Strix.

Yes, Nightfall might be on the good side now because she’s helping to maintain peace and she's protecting Twilight. But her main intention why she’s doing this is so subjective and dependent that I think it would really affect her judgment in the future when she realizes reality is different from her fantasies.

[unexpectedbrickattack]

experimentin w shit heehee

[flimflamfranky]

my favorite shot from the new opening <3

[crehador]

please watch migi to dali, normalest and most hinged show of fall 2023

[based-kami]

Boy's Abyss

[corvidsofthedeep]

No Context Crow #270: Detective Crow

Artwork by ahlemkhedri on ArtStreet.

[dearestaeneas]

Bite

You’re hungry.

It’s okay. You’ve been hungry before.

You’ll be hungry again.

It won’t last long. You know that much.

It’s cool today. There’s a breeze that doesn’t bite so much as nibble. That won’t last long, either. In just a few short hours, that coolness will turn to something not too unlike frost. There’s rain coming tonight.

There’s rain coming tonight, and you’re hungry.

All in all, not the worst situation to be in.

So you prowl. The underbrush doesn’t so much as crunch under the pads of your feet. You move as a mountain, the muscles in your shoulders flexing with each step. You hear the distant sound of hooves: twigs snap, leaves rustle, branches bend. They’d be scared of you, if they knew what that shape so far from them really was.

You don’t know why, though. You’re of no threat to them. Sure, sometimes you’re desperate. Who isn’t? That’s not your fault. To an outsider, this distinction wouldn’t be large enough to matter, but you know, and the deer know. It’s different.

Your stomach growls, a rumble that your throat replicates. You cannot mask your hunger, but you can at least remind the world that your hunger is a threat. It is too bright out, despite the canopy of trees above your head and the gray sky above that.

Leaves brush against your back. If you’re moving, they’ll see you. Best to lay for a while. They fear you in a way the deer do not. Perhaps it has to do with the deer sharing your home. They’re family, in a way.

This is close enough, you think to yourself. The earth bends here for you, under your weight. Your nose runs parallel to your legs, and you let out a humph! of a sigh as you wait.

As you sleep, the world begins to darken. It is not customary to sleep so in the open, but who will challenge you? Who will attempt to teach you a lesson for this deviancy?

You snored, although you did not know it. It was a deep and rumbling tone, more a feeling than a sound. They heard it for miles. You shook the world. As far as anyone could tell, you were the world.

The rain woke you, and how dare it. Droplets spattered on your nose. You yawned then, great jaws extending wider and wider. The sneeze that follows after you lick your lips surprises even you as you stand suddenly against unseen predators. There are no predators, of course. There never are.

There never will be.

Your tail wags as you lay down, and it thumps against the ground, reverberating through the trees. If there were any birds left in the trees after your sneeze, they were gone now.

You don’t mind the waiting. Even with the pain in your stomach, you’re still home. You’re comfortable and safe and soon, will be fed.

You hear them before you see them, obviously. Their feet stomp along the trail, which had been pounded into the earth by so many before them. Of course, some simply had to make it through, otherwise the trail wouldn’t be such a viable source. They’re bickering, as they often are at this hour. You smile. Your great tongue hangs from your mouth. Your breathing is louder then, but beneath the rain and the other sounds of the forest, who would really notice it?

“I told you the rain was going to start sooner than you thought,” one of them says.

“It’s not coming down too hard yet,” the other replies sheepishly. “And we’re too far to turn back now.”

You don’t understand what these words mean. You’ve heard conversations that sounded similar enough before, and all of those had been just as inconsequential as this one.

They do not see your massive form for what it is, and how could they? You tower, creating a hill of your own. The canopy will always protect you, but few will ever come as close to you when they stand and look to the heavens.

“It’s not even dark yet,” the sheep says.

“The trees are getting thicker,” comes the uneasy reply.

You stretch. Your paws snap a sapling some feet away with their weight.

Frozen silence.

Minutes pass. This moment alone is so delicious it nearly fills your stomach.

Then, one set of quick steps. “I want to go home,” the voice says. It already sounds a little farther away.

“You’re being dramatic,” is the annoyed response.

“You said we had about a mile and a half, right? I’m not taking this at a leisurely pace anymore.”

“I’m not going any faster.”

“Then get home alone.”

It is a rare joy when they separate. You don’t mind chasing after one, you don’t even mind losing one.

You study the movement of the bodies before you. The gap between them extends wider and wider.

You sniff. By now you have stopped smiling, eyes keenly following the furthest body. Its pace has accelerated greatly, and it periodically calls back: “Hurry up!”

The other body is slow, strolling as a tourist. “You’re afraid of everything!”

If they were to run, as the first body now is, they would cover the nearly two mile trek in about 20 minutes. It would not take you even a fraction of that. But the second body does not follow the first’s example.

The first body is now too far for the second to hear its calls, but you can hear them. They are more of the same. The feet never stop pounding.

You stand then. The landscape shifts with your form, and the lowest branches of the trees above you shift at the touch of your back. The body hesitates at this sound. Although the sapling had sounded much like a distant shot from a hunter’s gun, this disturbance resembled something creaking, something ancient.

“Hello?” They sound so small. Why have they stopped moving? The rain is still somewhat light, pattering gently. They are mostly protected from the elements, though the remaining light is fading fast. If they were to look, they would only see a shadow’s shadow, although there would likely be an acute awareness that the hill that had been beside their path for so long was now gone.

It wasn’t fun when it was too easy.

Your stomach grumbles as if in response. You had debated how best to remind the body before you that they were not home, and your own body had answered. The sheep gasped, and there was a panting that followed as their gait increased. They were slow. Their breathing sounded pained, their anxiety rising at a disproportionate rate and slowing the rest of their body.

You watch with curiosity. They move as if injured. You pad along beside them in silence. Eventually their breathing evens. Their pace remains somewhat faster, although it appears something in them has calmed. They are humming, quietly.

Several moments pass before you step closer to the trail. You inch your way toward them, some paces behind, until only a thin layer of forest separates you from the body.

Their eyes are forward, and as alert as they could be in the darkness. Eventually you will break the wall of greenery that separates you. The body is visibly on edge, aware of you without admitting it to itself.

Until it stops.

“Please make it quick,” the body says. Its voice is even, although quiet.

You stop. A puff of an exhale escapes your nostrils. The body had heard.

This is better than you could have imagined. You sit then, almost expectant. Your eyes are bright and intelligent, yellow in the darkness.

The body steps closer to the woods.

Your tail begins to wag, and it swishes in the forest behind you. Twigs and fallen leaves swirl. The wagging increases in intensity until the body freezes. The delight coursing through your massive body is unparalleled.

The body steps away from the forest. You can no longer contain yourself.

You step slowly onto the trail behind the body. Your massive paws straddle it. The body stares up at you, eyes wide and face pale. You slowly tilt your head down, nose only a foot or two away. They do not move.

You begin to sniff them, taking in the sweat and fear their body releases. Perhaps they are comforted by this. They slowly reach a shaking hand up, and you lower further to meet the distance. The tiny palm touches your cold, wet nose.

The body lets out something like a laugh, lets out something like relief and something not too far from hesitant joy.

You bite.

The body screams, clutching at its mangled arm with its only full one. The blood drips onto the soil. It begins to run, and you sit.

You are patient. You chew thoughtfully, though you barely chew at all. All the while your tail wags.

The body stumbles away in a sprint, emitting a hoarse screaming sob.

By now the second body is nearly gone from the wood, if not completely free. You follow, trying to appear as if you were giving chase. The body looks over the shoulder of its injured arm and sees you follow, sees the way your tongue hangs from your open mouth, hears your tail slam against trunk after trunk.

If you had been smaller, they might have had more appreciation for how beautiful the scene they witnessed was.

There is beauty in everything. There is beauty in your teeth, in your fur, in the way blood drips like rubies from your jaws.

There is beauty in the body’s eyes, the way the little brown dots appear so small in a sea of white. There is beauty in the way the body twists to cradle itself.

Your jaws snap at the body a second time, failing to tear the meat once more. This is on purpose. A wetness blossoms from the shoulder, accompanied by another cry.

The meat is stumbling now, feet catching on one another until finally it falls. There is a sticky trail behind it that your paws have passed through. The fur between your paw pads is matted with it.

It cries. It twists to face you. You are confused by this: so often does meat turn from you, so often does it refuse to face the beauty of nature.

Like the deer, perhaps this meat understands that the act itself is not borne of malice or hatred.

Do you feel a pang of regret for taunting it so?

No. Nature plays games. To play is to live is to eat.

You are quick with your meal. That, at least, is a conscious decision.

You have taken it back into the depths of the woods, and once finished, you lick your paws.

It is fully dark now.

The pain in your stomach has finally subsided.

[tacomedli]

So yesterday I was finally able to catch up on Jaiden's most recent stream, and-

I love q!Jaiden. So much. I want to scream.

How is her lore/streams so funny and yet so sad at the same time?!?!! I don't know how long her trip to Japan is supposed to be or when she'll be able to stream again but I really wish I had a fast forward button because I am going to DIE from all this suspense!!!

[brightcolors29]

毒中毒者 💊💊💊 (The Poison Addict)

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Here is my finished drawing of Mao Mao 🐱 || from the anime Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 🌿. I hope you like it.

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[didsomeonesayventus]

"yeah i don't think xyz is that whiplashy at all its the tonal contrast yanno" says area woman who grew up with kingdom hearts 2 as a formative piece of media

[solar-lilith]

"if a book doesn't hook me within the first two paragraphs then its not worth my attention"

this is not something to brag about, nor should this become the industry standard for novels. if your limit to be hooked is half a page then you don't have the attention span for books. there are short stories, there are sub-genres geared towards grabbing attention from the get go, but not every book can or should operate like that

[2thouxand99]

RESIDENT EVIL 3: NEMESIS

[regarding-stories]

Until it breaks: Suspension of disbelief has limits

Nothing deals damage to suspension of disbelief like cold hard facts. Because once the analytical part of your brain kicks in, it's all over. All the Fridge Logic will unravel, and frankly, the enjoyment drains out the watching or reading experience.

Now, I picked this topic because of a recent Lupin III Part 6 episode I watched. Being one of the longest-running shows with endless material released over the course of decades, Lupin III has in general good writing. Or let's say it like this: Typically the authors nail the characters.

Yes, part 6 in general is a highly enjoyable show that can bank on the fact that our main characters - Lupin, Jigen, Fujiko, Goemon, and Zenigata - are well fleshed-out, recognizable characters that you are just gladly along for the ride with and the general fun factor of the show ensures that you merely experience the differing quality of episodes as minor ups and downs along the journey.

There are exceptions, though.

When it holds

Lupin III is basically revived as "parts," where each part could be considered a big season. I'm currently watching Part 4, and several episodes definitely have the quality of Fridge Logic - you might question things after the episode finishes, but you're basically okay with how things unfold while they still do.

One episode, hitting that slightly noir vibe, focuses on Inspector Zenigata, Lupin's eternal complement.

The show aired almost ten years ago, so forgive me for spoilers.

The basic plot of the episode "Until the Full Moon Wanes" revolves around every scoundrel in the world believing that the widow of a media mogul sits on a huge hidden fortune because her husband seeded the rumor before he died. The first climax of the episode seems to be convincing the world that this was indeed a lie - a cooperation between Lupin and Zenigata. In the denouement we learn that the fortune actually exists and the widow wanted potential thieves off her back, Lupin shows up to steal it and is finally thwarted by Zenigata.

The episode really revolves about human folly, with a media mogul rescuing a girl from sexual violence, taking her as his beloved wife, then completely scorning her when she cheats on him once - including marking her body. This theme of scorn beyond the grave and its somewhat noir vibe playing on human passion and the unreliability of love and character are enough to keep us entertained until we get our inevitable finale.

I'd say this one stretches suspension of disbelief but doesn't break it. Though it raises questions - even if she had a huge fortune hidden, wouldn't it be easier to own it, hire guards, and just enjoy it? Furthermore, how did Lupin and his gang intend to steal the fortune?It's gold. It weighs tons and tons. (And yes, it's enough gold to be considered the reserves of a country. Did the author not watch "Die Hard with a Vengeance"?) It's also stacked in the most stupid way possible to impress the audience. Once you start to think about it, the story unravels and falls apart. But I'd bet while it goes on with its (somewhat forced) twists and turns, you're willing to follow it.

When it breaks

There are, however, some episodes too stupid to live, and so far the unrivaled king of the trash heap is "The Jet-Black Diamond". I'll spoiler this one so you don't have to watch it.

So, some small wooden dolls are somehow supposed to lead to a treasure. But the story makes no sense, no matter which way you look at it.

The central theme behind the treasure hunt is supposedly a love story. A somehow Japanese woman in Brazil falls in love with a pirate who basically sacks her village but spares her. (Because seeing people die you spent your life with is conducive to romance. Maybe she had Stockholm Syndrome.) They know they have little time so they concoct a plan to hide some treasure and meet again. Which never happens because the pirate gets executed shortly after and she commits suicide.

This might make sense on the surface but just wait for the rest...

The clues they leave lead to a cashew tree with magical red glowing flowers that only blossoms every 75 years. The biological facts themselves are mindboggling - how does it benefit the damn tree to blossom only every 75 years? And how is it so exact over such a long period of time?? And why is everyone showing up at the right time to see it???

Breathe. Slow, deep breaths.

So this basically means they planned to meet again when they were around a hundred. Instead of, you know, like five years later.

Then... piracy in the Caribbean and around South America was a phenomenon largely limited to the 16th and 17th centuries, with stragglers hanging on until the 18th century. Steam vessels and larger national navies ended it for good in the 19th century. (To put it very roughly.) The episode itself can be assumed to be set in 2021 when Part 6 aired. So, are we to assume that old-fashioned piracy occurred in Brazil in the mid of the 20th century? The age of airplanes and nuclear bombs? (Piracy persists but is a rather local phenomenon in the world, relying on quick hit-and-run raids.)

What is the treasure, actually? Pepper. Some special pepper, that supposedly ended up making the village prosperous. This is probably an allusion to the times when pepper was still highly valuable, something which was maybe true up to the 17th century (as a little research shows).

What we really have here is an author shoe-horning a pirate story into Lupin III, and somehow trying to tie it to a love story and a living relative. (Instead of a long-lost pirate treasure.) But frankly, the whole thing fails over and over again. The finale is devoid of any logic. Even the dolls are somehow important because their patterns help identify the tree by its blossom patterns. The only tree blooming in that particular year, looking entirely magical and obvious BY ITSELF!!

(Also some young local thugs show up to gang up on the old lady and her company because everybody thinks about the ages old treasure all the time and so the arrival of a Japanese lady is clearly stirring up the area.)

To make the offense even worse, just when the story focuses on Fujiko being in the lead for quite a while, Lupin shows up as a drone projecting a hologram acting as Captain Exposition, stealing her thunder. They couldn't be arsed to write him in properly, but they couldn't leave him off-screen for five minutes or have somebody else have the spotlight. Wow, that was horrible writing altogether.

And here we have it - it qualifies as a story. It's tied together by a plot. Events happen, characters appear, and the same mixture of twists and turns and a lack of treasure at the end (for Lupin or Fujiko) appears, but it doesn't work. You could be forgiven for not knowing about the history of piracy, but the notion of a tree with such magical properties is not a twist to a story, it's a ridiculous device meant to introduce one twist too many to a poorly written story.

Because for some reason the author was so focused on thwarting the thieves so much he had to set up an entirely unbelievable gotcha even for Lupin standards. A show where people evade bullets near point blank range or where eating a steak can restore Lupin's blood loss within hours. It's actually quite the accomplishment!

[hypaalicious]

Arknights anime thoughts

(Very minor spoilers below, but it’s only if you are completely clueless to the Arknights storyline in general)

Pros:

Extremely faithful adaptation of the game story, down to lines directly pulled from the game itself; if you don’t have it in you to read the story then the anime will get you caught up to speed in no time

Beautiful animation style, especially for something entirely made in-house and is HG’s first big animation project

Drama? They know how to do it! Frfr, they will punch you right in the chest with feels moreso than the game managed to do

The Doctor is very NB and while I know that pissed off the fans who really wanted an unambiguously male protag, it fits with how the game wants everyone to be able to self-insert regardless of gender

Gives a much needed spotlight to Operators who are kinda glossed over in the game, like Franka and Meteorite

Amiya’s inner struggles as she tries to reconcile her power and her idealism are absolutely fleshed out in the series. That poor girl is going THROUGH IT 😭

Cons:

Action scenes need a LOT of work. 🤧They have dramatic set up with minimal return and I feel they don’t showcase the martial prowess of our Operators well enough. Ex: Ch’en is a master swordswoman. At most, we see her jump into the air at enemies while yelling, or cutting through gates with her sword. All the scenes where we coulda had some kickass fights kinda fall flat or awkwardly end to transition to another scene

This could be connected to the previous point, but due to Chinese censorship, HG isn’t allowed to show blood or anything really graphic in the animation. Which, if you know how brutal AK’s storyline gets, seems to be a big handicap. They’re doing alright despite it, but they get REALLY vague on some things. Ex: when Mephisto was burning his victims in that Chernobog building but the anime couldn’t show the bodies or mention what exactly it was he was doing… so it just looked like he was an arsonist to an abandoned high rise and then suddenly Meteorite was gagging at the smell

The intro song to season two is TERRIBLE. Like… I can’t remember the last time I skipped an anime intro because I couldn’t stand the song LOL! The ending song is much better, tho.

Overall:

Awesome anime if you’re already a fan of AK, but I can’t really recommend it to anyone who doesn’t already play the game. 🥲 AK’s lore and story is so fantastic but it can be a slog to read through at times, and ofc not everyone’s gonna be into tower defense/strategy games either. Kinda hoped the anime would put AK on the map to those who would never play it, but idk… I think people would be bored after awhile because it’s not flashy like JJK or Demon Slayer.