#technically joshi's

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Wips into the Void- Whenever Edition Thursday.

Hello fellow kids, I come baring both writing and the usual art. Thank you to @silly-little-diary @skyrim-forever @sanzas-reverie @pocket-vvardvark for the tags (I'll be looking at posts as I wind down, also if you want to be tagged in these let me know. I'm kinda rebuilding a mutuals list).

Been doing a lot of writing and art recently since I started feeling a little less stressed. It's been good, and I've genuinely enjoyed what I've been making.

So, first we have some more of the Khan render.

Got gold and swords done and now we properly enter all the beads and Joshi's Madstone. I want to do one of him when he's older, post Dragon Crisis. Should be a fun comparison.

Next is a chunk of the paper I've been writing on Ashlander Burials and Mourning Practices. The idea is to write what is intended to be the first draft of a book on Ashlander Culture that Josh is writing for the benefit of his kid.

Please note, this whole section talks about cremation, embalming and mummification as well as animal sacrifices. So fair warning over clicking on the "Read More" button. (1.2k)

This next step, the cremation, is usually witnessed by the entire tribe and is officiated by the Ashkhan and the Wise Woman together.

This is meant to be a joyous time, where we remember the life of the deceased and their importance to the tribe. This usually involves feasting and will be detailed further in this chapter. Our main concern in this section is the preparation and lighting of the pyre. This is where the Ashkhan steps in.

Once the pyre is built, the hunters and scouts inform the Ashkhan, who will then join them in the guar pens on the camp’s outskirts. Usually, the deceased clan will join us for this step, as it is imperative that the right guar is chosen to join the deceased.

We chose to send guar with our dead as it is believed they will help guide us in death as they do in life. Guar are an integral aspect of our survival out in the wastes. They give us companionship, they carry the weight of our camps as we move through the ash, they help alert us to danger, and they provide us with food and clothing. If we did not have guar by our side, the tribe would be doomed to poverty and will either be absorbed into a larger tribe or simply die. This is not a fate we wish for those still living and thus is not a fate we wish to bestow upon the dead.

I, myself, have both observed and naturally, participated in this practice over the centuries in my capacity as Ashkhan. In my experience, we allow the family to choose a guar from our herds, one that speaks to them. A prayer is said, usually one chosen by the family, but “Words on the Wind” remains quite popular. This is when we invoke the recently deceased Ancestor Ghost to accept this first offering of companionship.

After the guar is slaughtered, usually by the Ashkhan, it is then prepared by the hunters. We believe that the bones of a guar calls the beast’s spirit after death, much like our own, and thus we collect and clean them in a manner that reflects how we prepare our loved ones. In this case, we keep a few of the bones, usually a rib or a femur, to inter with the dead. The rest is eaten by the living, and the skins are used to create a very durable leather.

We use the guar’s meat for the feast that occurs in tandem with the funeral pyre, though naturally the edible meat is prepared separately, whilst the organs and remaining bones are cremated in a secondary funeral pyre, so that they are separated from the deceased and the ashes can be collected separately. These ashes will be placed in a specially marked urn and placed with the deceased alongside the chosen bone.

The whole celebration usually runs until the early morning, with guests only dissipating once the pyre has fully burnt itself out, and only the ashes remain. The ashes are then gathered by the Wise Woman and seers into separate urns, one for the guar, one for the deceased and taken back into the embalming yurt. The ashes are then mixed with the same spices and herbs that are used in the ashsalt bath, and the urns are stored until the skin has dried out sufficiently. As stated above, this can be up to eighty days.

What becomes of the skeleton? As mentioned earlier, some of the smaller bones have been cremated alongside the soft tissue and organs. We choose to save certain parts of the skeleton, namely the skull, spine, ribs and pelvis. Sometimes the deceased may want their arms and leg bones saved [the femur is most popular], others specify the whole skeleton [usually the case for Ashkhans]. Regardless of how much of the skeleton is saved from the pyre, the next steps are always the same. The Seers and Wise Woman carefully clean the skeleton, removing any remaining flesh and sinew from them. Each bone is then inscribed with a series of magic imbued glyphs, the knowledge of which even I am unaware. Ilaba’andul-Maesa Ki has told me that generally they use an Ashland variant of the Daedric Alphabet, and it is written vertically along the centre of the bone. It is a practice that allows the deceased Ghost to find their remains upon their first summoning, like a set of instructions the spirit can read to find their loved ones.

There is a long period between this phase and the next, and this time is filled with preparing the deceased a place within our traditional burial caverns [SEE SECTION THREE]. Once the forty to eighty days have passed, the next and final phase begins. This is where the deceased is reassembled and shrouded, ready for their final resting place.

 Again, the particulars of this are not widely known outside the Seer circles, but Ilaba’andul-Maesa Ki has explained it to me as such:

The various preserved elements are gathered together and arranged in order of application. The first being the bones and trama root required for the posing of the mummy.

The skeleton is reassembled using the prepared bones and held together with twine. Trama root that has been carved into long dowels that are used to support the skeleton as it is posed into a sitting position. It is usually used to support the spine and as support or replacements for the arms and legs. These are posed according to the deceased’s wishes or that of their clan. Usually, they are holding weaponry or some object that would have been used in life. Books, alchemical supplies or the tools of a craftsman are amongst the objects placed in the mummy’s hands. Though these objects are added at the end.

The heart is hung in the centre of the chest cavity, and the skin is placed around the skeleton and stitched shut with twine, leaving only a few openings for the next phase.

The mummy is then stuffed with the ash from the pyre, giving it bulk but also returning everything to its origin point. Once the urns are emptied, the mummy is then sewn back together.

A final layer of ashsalt is applied to the skin, the belief is that a thin layer will help continue the preservation of the remains.

The mummy is then wrapped in linen bandages, and the various objects the deceased’s clan had gathered are then arranged on the mummy. This includes the aforementioned weaponry and tools of trade, but also includes the deceased’s madstone and robe if they are married, and any jewellery they might wish to have interred. The mummy is then wrapped in a shroud, and a garland of fire fern flowers is placed around their neck. A weaved crown of fire fern may also be placed on the mummy’s head if they hold sufficient rank.

I am sure there are a plethora of nuances in this process that I have missed, as always, each preparation is unique and not all elements will be needed or more may be added at the Wise Woman’s discretion.

The above is our usual method of preparing a body, however, there are circumstances where there may not be sufficient soft tissue to create a mummy. Maybe the dead had been lost and were allowed to decay naturally, maybe they met their end in a way so that their remains are damaged. My father, Ensirhaddon-Ammu Yani am ’Erabenimsun, was such a case.

[thefigureresource]

Calne Ca : Sailor Uniform ver [Calcium! Joshi Kousei Calne no Kiken na Houkago] non scale from Union Creative will be re-released November 2023.

[vince-linder]

Howdy

Our shared background Nomad boy, Joshy. Just for once in the city to visit a few people.

@wingedhorrors

[upwards-descent]

For any Venture Bros fans who also follow my OCs-- Vikram would hook up with Dr. Orpheus and Henchman 21 no problem but Shoreleave would probably make him piss his pants lmao he doesn't have the chutzpah to handle a guy like SL

[yourfavgaygaijingal]

GAL HISTORY

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

The Peak of the Kogyaru: 1993-1998

At the end of our last installment, the gyaru movement had spontaneously erupted in Shibuya — but in small numbers. These delinquent private high-school girls with light brown hair, tanned skin, and sexualized uniforms became known as kogyaru in certain circles, but they were still unknown to most of their peers.

Since the days of the Taiyo-zoku and Roppongi-zoku of the 1950s, upper-class delinquent subcultures have spread their influence to the middle classes through the mass media. And in most of these cases, the media first reports on the new culture as a moral panic.

From fantasy to moral panic

Japan’s quite expansive selection of shūkanshi weekly men’s magazines, such as SPA!, Weekly Playboy, and Friday, dedicate dozens of pages each week on celebrity gossip, glossy bikini and topless photos, reviews of sex services, and phony stories of naughty housewives. They do not, generally, take much interest in the latest fashion trends for young women.

Yet ironically it was these very magazines that first noticed the kogyaru phenomenon and arguably standardized the subculture’s name as “kogyaru.” Sociologist Namba Koji found what may be the earliest direct mention of the subculture in SPA! from June 1993 in an article called “The Temptation of Kogyaru”「コギャルの誘惑」. The article’s writer breathlessly tells his readers about the kogyaru clan and how they have become his new sexual infatuation.

The kogyaru emerged just as Japanese men grew bored with the 1980s’ obsession over female college students — the so-called “joshi daisei” boom. Beyond the kogyaru, men’s media were already lowering their gaze to secondary education.

The March 24, 1993 issue of Takarajima, for example, ran an article about the purchasing of sexual favors from high school girls, complete with a price guide (Namba 2006). The overall message to male readers was that the new generation of teenage girls had — very conveniently — embraced consumerism and materialism so fully that they no longer felt qualms about selling their own bodies.

This was also an era when a new suite of communication technologies provided greater independence to young women — playing right into many of the men’s magazine fantasies. Tokyo high school girls in the early 1990s, especially those in kogyaru circles, started carrying around primitive pagers called pokeberu (“pocket bell”) to send numerical messages to friends.

By the mid-1990s, these threads crystallized into the greatest moral panic of the entire decade — enjo kōsai. The term, meaning technically “compensated companionship,” became a widely-used euphemism for teenage prostitution and a buzz word of the era. Former egg editor Yonehara Yasumasa claims that enjo kōsai began as a mischievous but relatively innocent way of playing pranks on middle-aged men.

This unfortunately became a self-fulfilling prophecy: The more the media reported on the shocking phenomenon, the more that the small percentage of girls who were looking to sell themselves ended up flocking to the streets of Shibuya and finding buyers. There is no doubt that many schoolgirls did prostitute themselves in this era, but it remains unclear today how widespread the phenomenon was.

Nevertheless enjo kōsai became the defining issue of the era. Academic David Leheny later wrote“There is a case to be made that the kogal image epitomized Japan’s hazily defined crisis of the 1990s at least as well as did layoffs by top Japanese firms.” Conservative moralists used the trend as evidence that society had become overly materialistic and that society was decaying rapidly.

So by the mid-1990s, Japanese male sexual culture became obsessed with high school girls, the mass media became obsessed with schoolgirl immorality, and right in the middle of this, a brand new sexually-styled delinquent subculture had shown up in Shibuya.

Yet it is becoming clearer now that despite twenty years of stereotypes, the kogyaru were not the core practitioners of enjo kōsai. Famed sexual health doctor Akaeda Tsuneo, who has spent his years giving free consultations to teen girls in Tokyo, explained to Takarajima in February 2008 that “The girls called gyaru had too much pride and weren’t the ones doing enjo kōsai” (Kurihara).

The gyaru’s style, attitude, and Louis Vuitton bags, however, made them fit the stereotype, and they faced both the wrath of moral authorities as well as the constant advances of older men in the streets. A former kogyaru interviewed on website Tokyo Damage Report noted that “You’d get old guys who would say, ‘How much for sex?’ Some would hint, some would just start negotiating without any pre-amble.

This battle against the media and adults ended up changing the gyaru subculture in many ways. The aforementioned Yonehara Yasumasa believes that the kogyaru’s constant harassment from older men is what led to the development of their famously gruff and masculine speech. They turned inward — sexy to their own group, but angry and intimidating to outsiders. And as we will see in the next installment, this move away from open sexuality focused the gyaru on impressing fellow subculture members with extreme dress rather than wearing “cute” things to attract boys.

While the enjo kōsai controversy certainly tarred the gyaru subculture for years to come, at least by the mid-1990s, every single person in Japan had heard of it.

Kogyaru as fashion market

While the country debated the morality of schoolgirls, the schoolgirls themselves were busy shuffling into Shibuya and taking up influence from the kogyaru’s approach to dress. The Shibuya style may have been simple to replicate — chapatsu light brown hair, slight tan, hiked up school girl uniform, loose socks — but the original subculture also depended upon a certain social position and attitude. Since the kogyaru descended from an actual group of people and not the direction of the fashion industry, they were not instantly imitable.

So how would a new kogyaru recruit figure out how to properly dress in the style? When the kogyaru reached mass consciousness in the mid-1990s, there were still no dedicated “gyaru” magazines that worked with “gyaru” brands to show a step-by-step guide on becoming a “gyaru.”

There was, however, a shopping complex with increasing centrality to the subculture. In the early 1990s, both kogyaru and their older paragyaru-type tanned party-girl big sisters had patronized a store called Me Jane in a generally-ignored fashion building called Shibuya 109. Known later in gyaru circles as just “maru-kyu,” Shibuya 109 opened in 1979 but never achieved any level of popularity in its first decade. Fashion business analyst Kawashima Yoko described its early days as “Like Marui, but worse.” With Me Jane, however, the building finally started to attract a dedicated clientele. Soon kogyaru moved beyond Me Jane and started hanging out next door in a clothing store Love Boat and in the shoe brand ESPERANZA (Kawashima 178). The brands all focused on a sexy, summery style, with shirts, for example, that showed off the belly button.

Shibuya 109’s owner Tokyu noticed this sudden interest in their flailing complex and decided to do a “renewal” of the building in the mid-1990s, asking more stores of the kogyaru fashion variety to become tenants. This turned 109 into the gyaru shopping mecca we know today. As kogyaru wannabees poured into Shibuya, they made a beeline to 109 and essentially understood any store in the building as selling “gyaru” clothing. In this period, Me Jane saw double digit growth every year, ultimately making ¥700 million a year in Shibuya alone (Namba 2006).

Besides the financial success, the establishment of 109 as a legitimate location for kogyaru style meant that the brands inside were now pumping out thousands of new garments that could be used to build a “kogyaru” outfit. No longer did girls need the uniform — they could wear mid-riffs from Me Jane and ESPERANZA platform sandals. Hardcore adherents wore “flare mini-skirts from surfer brand Alba Rosa, bustiers, blue mascara and pink rouge” along with the standard chapatsu and salon tan (Okamoto quoted in Namba 2006). In expanding the look, the kogyaru unwittingly opened up their growing subculture to girls who were not in the proper Tokyo social status to participate before. Anyone who shopped at Shibuya 109 could now potentially become a kogyaru, making the style open to non-Tokyo girls and the middle classes.

Even now Shibuya 109 is the main fashion instigator for gyaru style. One of the reasons for the complex’s enduring success has been the brands’ innovation in retailing methods, namely creating strong relations between customer and shop clerk. In the late-1990s, many of the original kogyaru started to get jobs at 109 shops, and they became authoritative figures of the movement. Referred to as “super charisma clerks” (スーパーカリスマ店員), these 20-something workers took their responsibilities far beyond mere in-store transactions and acted as spokespeople in the media for their brands.

So while Shibuya 109 marked the mediation and commercialization of the once organic kogyaru style, the retail structure helped keep the actual girls in control of setting trends — rather than big brands and magazine editors.

GAL WAS NEVER MEANT TO BECOME CLEAN OR WATERDOWN!!!!!

[purpledemonlilyposting]

Oh look a blatant self asking talking shit.

[Lily's Post]

Lily people tell each other they hope you cover a thing they like as a CURSE. It is a wish of doom upon their fandom. Are you just whining that people tell you to watch FMA: Brotherhood cause it's really good again? You know it's based on award-winning manga drawn and written by a woman right?

And you get your paycheck from tearing down other peoples' creative output, Lily. Can't complain when someone does it to yours. Don't you only review children's fantasy adventure cartoons you hate because you have to "pay your rent"?

The money I get from laughing at you is like 3rd down the list of my income streams.

Way to prove you have never listened to a word I've said about Utena. I'm not the one who focuses on the allusions to Greek myth and esoteric French literature, that's a bit beyond me. Save that for the essayists on Ohtori.nu. I just talk about the plot and the symbolism cause I'm sick and tired of people who have only ever experienced Utena as an aesthetic mood board pretending they know what it's about.

You OUTRIGHT ADMITTED you spoiled the manga out of sheer spite.

You're such a child. You got called out for trashing a show you very evidently didn't even watch and so in retaliation you made a new video in which you spoil the ending of of the manga without any warning. And you had this video labeled as "First Impressions" for a while. Nobody expects ending spoilers of an unfinished anime adaptation in a first impressions video you absolute petty little bitch.

It's not a good anime, Lily. It's a dull moeblob fest the only purpose of which is to get 4 high school girls on a big technical ship. The writing is incredibly lazy, contrived and relies on increasingly improbable coincidences to get the characters from point A to point B.

And it's not like the girls in the show are actually interested in arctic research or science or ship work. Its just let's get 4 ditzy moe joshi kosei on a big ship to appeal to otaku men who like to goon over "pure" teenage girls next to engineering porn. You played yourself.

[idv-sunsxin3]

Horropedia // Dating Headcanons

Note// First Reverse: 1999 writing. A bit suggestive in some parts. This is my version of Horropedia, so if you don’t like it,,,, you might as well have to write your own because this is meant for my self-indulgence;; sowwy <//3

// preferably female s/o- gender neutral is also okay since I didn’t exactly mention a specific gender :)

As a strange autistic guy, I just imagine him to be the type of guy who probably have indirectly confessed to you earlier before you can even realize that months after- like you're just laid down on an armchair and you suddenly connected lines on the previous lines you once heard him before-

"Ah, hey! I've been waiting all my life to meet someone like you, so I had to come and say hello."

...he literally just say a simple remark with that smile as he gifted you a spirit catcher pistol- and then left....

Sometimes, you might not understand him. But you eventually asked him out on a date (in a normal way for once-).

"Oh? A date? Great! Let's go get coffee together. " :))

Little do you know, he also plans to have a ghost hunting date after that---

___

Kissing scenes in horror films? Horropedia at first felt a bit skeptical about them, finding that unnecessary... Until he got a crush on you, and then FELL for you - That's when he lowkey wondered in his autism brain... how would a kiss with you feels like?

Oh gosh, so many possibilities;;;

Horropedia would slowly realize the fact that he would unconsciously check his mouth breathing and fix his hair a bit whenever he spots you entering the room. "Who knows when that kiss scene happened cough cough -"/hj

There was a time Horropedia sneakily slipped during those ironically cute kissing scenes in a horror movie.. You may think you would just slip away from the unknown opportunity he would be searching for - But no, you wouldn't even get the peace to resume watching or have time to recover from a jumpscare that happened few minutes ago when there is this silly dork softly nibbling and smooching on your face and neck like that;;;

aaaand now you're making out with him in the middle of the movie ..

It seems there are now more reasons for him to ask you to stay over. ;)

He wants to impress you so bad ever since the moment he heard about you - You just happened to be... ordinary? But at the same time, refreshing... someone who easily connects with almost anyone.

Darn, I think you’re made for him. ☺️ (lol)

At first, he wanted to be the Mr. Mysterious and only introduced himself to you as "Horropedia. "... At some certain point after, he would  bashfully let you call him "Joshua." Just don't get too cocky...-/ih

If you're just as comfortable with dark humor and other kinds of morbid stuff, there is this small scenario where you and Horropedia would roleplay a bit as to help him make up stories involving these morbid antagonists and anti-heroes...- He would be kinda a bit down bad if you say Wednesday Adams stuff technically./hj

He is not sure If he has the right to die or laugh when he gets called "Joshy"... it's cringe, but he finds your silly demeanor very cute and funny.

You happen to be a big listener when it comes to horror movies, horror stories, and horror video games- whatever horropedia rambles at you at 3 am. as if it is a nearly daily basis/ih

He loves sharing hobbies with you, even cherishing the moments when you get to do whatever activities with him that are close to his interests and what he's passionate about...

You can already tell he's not interested in anything else other than that sense of thrill he has for phenomenon or violent drama... but he'll try his best to be flexible when it comes to giving you quality time... Like crafting, cooking, maybe painting?

You might know what he will create in his own hands...- ghost cupcakes, a sculpture of Friday the 13th's killer, Michael Myers mask---

Jumpscares are out of date for him, of course, but then... he still watches those classical horror movies once in a while since they're pretty much fundamental to the art of fear.

Ironically... He does like surprise back touches! Well... As long as it doesn't have to imply his poor posture, back hugs are good to go.

He finds it pleasant to have you sit next to him or on his lap as he plays those Indie horror games(?), "mmmm... Dark deception? World of Horror? Resident Evil? The Last of Us? What about Outlast? What do you think, Babe? :))"

FNAF would be obviously a breeze for him... Bro, imagine him going crazy about fnaf lore, hahahha-

DDLC gave him mixed feelings. He is half glad his baby is not that mad crazy because of that/ih

LITTLE NIGHRMARESSSS- Man, imagine him having these silly moments with how he just concerningly reacts so happily at a kid eating a gnome who just offered a sausage oh gosh-

Watching horror movies with him would be like watching a live commentary channel as you feel a slim hand rubbing your waist throughout the movie.

You might have mixed reactions alongside him when accidentally encountering sex scenes on horror movies...- things might get awkward but he would make sure to close your eyes if you don't like to see that kind of stuff- intercourse is not the option,,,, mass arson it is/ih

I can only imagine Horropedia calling you either your name, Babe, Baby, or  Boo (NOT PUN INTENDED I SWEAR FJNFNF;;) Is usually your name being called normally. Unless he is so so happy,,, or is because he just did something you probably not going to like~ 😇✨️

“Is your name Boo? Because you’re making me scream in delight.” ♥️

Oh boy-

[strawberrypillz0]

Heyy i wanted to ask you some questions:

• How do I know if I'm a real jirai joshi?

• And other people who are not necessarily jirai joshi/danshi are allowed to wear jirai kei?

I hope you don't mind answering it, I've been looking for my lifestyle for some time, I'm very lost and you could enlighten me on the question, thank you very much in advance

Lovee you<3

and thanks again

Thank you for the questions! I hope I can help a bit!

1. It’s hard to call someone “real jirai”, because at the end of the day most of us don’t live in Japan and can’t really relate to a lot of stuff jirais there do! But my definition would be - someone who struggle with mental health and is interested in the jirai fashion. That would be a lifestyle jirai! Fashion jirai would be someone who is only wearing the fashion, don’t associate with the “original meaning” of landmine, see it only as a style. I just really hope everyone could just stop putting so much pressure on themselves trying to fit some criteria, everyone is valid.. I hate how some people are trying to make it seems like we are some closed community you need to join by proving yourself, it’s silly - if you feel like you can relate in some way to the term Jirai you’re the “real jirai”.

2. Of course, even in Japan a lot of young girls/boys is wearing jirai just as a fashion - at least they used to, now they are choosing mostly french girly etc (technically the term that would fit them more is ryosunagata aka mass produced type, because they are wearing jirai clothes cuz it’s popular, but as we know clothes itself are different, also a lot of Japanese people who wear jirai fashion don’t want to associate themselves much with the word jirai because it isn’t positive at all.), my only issue is when people are trying to make jirai only the fashion or call it “the dark side” etc, complaining about the lifestyle jirais and try to ignore the whole history behind it.. in general i think people should enjoy whatever makes them happy, but all I expect is the respect for people who don’t see jirai only as a fashion.

I hope I could help you a little bit with finding the answer. I would say that if you enjoy wearing the clothes only you should wear it! There is a lot of “fashion jirais” now and people aren’t as judgmental as long as you don’t make fun of people who relate to the mental aspects of it.. which I see a lot of fashion girlies do - you don’t need to even call yourself a jirai if you’re scared of people judging you/ don’t want to associate with aspects other than fashion, just say that you’re wearing jirai kei/subcul c:

Love you too!

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Another snippet of the thing about the death rituals

Ashkhan Ensirhaddon-Sero’Sul Teldryn’am Urshilaku of the Unified Tribes

As We Lay Dying- The Rites for the Dead

Our rites begin before our bodies take their final breaths, as I’d wager is common amongst any culture on Tamriel. Each choosing their own comforts to take with them as they transcend to the next plane.

Both settled and nomadic Dunmer do not create much distinction between the planes of Mundus, Aetherius and Oblivion. They are simply separate parts of the same whole that one can traverse if one knows the right door. Our death rites are that door.

Spiritual work amongst the tribes is seen as the domain of Wise Women and the Seers who apprentice to them. It is traditionally seen as the domain of women, those who wield the capacity and maturity to confer with our ancestors. Those with the gift of prophecy and unrivalled magical ability who might hear the calls of our dead. A Seer or Wise Woman is required to ensure a safe, calm transition towards the next plain, in a way similar to how someone in the Imperial city might call upon a priest of Akatosh to guide their loved ones. In the end, we all look for that comfort.

There is a poem that my late husband favoured, it is a mourning hymn, one often sung during the final moments of life and again as we are laid to rest. It talks of rebirth, how our souls might live on through the light of those around us. He had always said it was meant to be uplifting, and he took comfort in the promise of renewal. He always saw the good in things.

I had not been conscious when he passed, but I was told that he had whispered the hymn before he welcomed his end. He had chosen that hymn to be his summoning rite, and I and the wider unified tribes have chosen to make this poem, Words of the Wind [May I Shrink to Dust] one of our primary mourning hymns in his memory.

The poem, an Ahemmusa verse, goes as follows:

May I shrink to dust

In your cold, wild Wastes,

And may my tongue speak

It's last hymn to your winds.

I pray for the herder

That whistles to his guar at play.

I pray for the hunter

That stalks the white walkers.

I pray for the wise one

That seeks under the hill,

And the wife who wishes

For one last touch of her dead child's hand.

I will not pray for that which I've lost

When my heart springs forth

From your soil, like a seed,

And blossoms anew beneath tomorrow's sun.

In the years following Red Mountain’s eruption, our seers and wise woman have chosen to recite this hymn in place of others as a prayer for the safe guidance of our dead into the arms of our ancestors across the mortal coil.

[frostfires-blog]

My Top 6 Favourite Shōjo & Josei Anime Series Released in 2023

It's fair to argue that we're in a shojo renaissance given the recent victories for the shoujosei community. To commemorate this I wanted to make a post highlighting my favourite shojosei series from this year's line-up—in the hopes of persuading others to watch them and cast their votes for them in the upcoming anime awards.

Keep in mind that some entries will date as far back as October 2022 because they officially qualify alongside this year's anime as a part of the roster for next year's anime awards.

○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

Honourable Mentions:

-> Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi

English Title: The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague

Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Workplace, Mythology

This anime follows Himuro, who involuntarily produces snow and ice phenomena—due to being a descendant of a Yuki-onna— when overwhelmed by his emotions, at his new office job. On his first day, he is saved from being late due to his affliction by the cool-headed Fuyutsuki—who turns out to be his new coworker. As they continue to work closely together, Fuyutsuki continues to provide pragmatic solutions to Himuro’s myriad of wintry quandaries—causing him to constantly want to repay her kindness. As Himuro’s feelings for her continue to grow, so does the frequency of his snowstorms—making them nearly impossible to hide. The fun, relaxing atmosphere of this anime gives a wholesome and homely feel—making it worth the watch if you don’t mind the somewhat slow, romantic development.

-> Romantic Killer

Genres: Comedy, Romance, Supernatural, Parody, Reverse Harem

This series is about Anzu Hoshino, a high school girl with no interest in romance and lives solely for video games, chocolates, and her cat. Anzu’s daily life is turned upside down when a wizard forcibly turns her life into a harem, dating game in order to force her to find love. Out of anger and sheer stubbornness, she vows to resist no matter what. While this is technically a shōnen anime, not a shōjo or josei—I wanted to include it anyway since it has a shōjo vibe to it especially because of the lack of fan service and unrealistic beauty standards. It has a similar vibe to other shoujo series like Watashi ga Motete Dousunda (Kiss Him Not Me) and Kaichou wa Maid-sama! While the storyline is seemingly basic, the show’s refreshing take on classic character archetypes and relatable humour make it worth a watch.

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Top 6:

6) Yamada-kun to Lv999 no Koi wo Suru

English Title: My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999

Genres: Romance, Comedy

Despite being dumped by her boyfriend, college student Akane Kinoshita continues to play the MMO they once played together and attends an offline game event in hopes of winning him back. There she meets Akito Yamada, an emotionless yet handsome high schooler, who belongs to the same guild as her. After running into her ex—who is accompanied by his new girlfriend—Akane is desperate for support causing her to rope Yamada into helping her and lending her a shoulder to cry on. As they spend more and more time together their feelings for one another continue to grow despite their innumerable differences. This anime gives off a similar atmosphere to Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashi (Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku) with its humour, casual slice-of-life atmosphere, common themes, and equally catchy opening theme song. The character dynamics, voice acting, and music make this show worth the watch.

5) Sugar Apple Fairy Tale

Genres: Fantasy, Drama, Adventure, Romance

Despite living in a kingdom where fairies are enslaved by humans, through the possession of one of their wings, Anne Halford longs to see the day when humans and fairies are treated equally. Despite this, she is forced to purchase a warrior fairy to protect her on the perilous journey to the Royal Candy Fair in order to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a Silver Sugar Master. Anne hires the sharp-tongued obsidian fairy, Challe Fen Challe for this job. Despite Anne promising to return his wing after the journey, Challe remains distrustful and wants nothing to do with humans. However, as the pair travel together, they learn more about each other as well as more about the different dynamics between fairies and humans across the kingdom. While seemingly a typical fantasy-romance shōjo, this anime deals with some heavy themes such as sexism, misogyny, slavery, and historical politics. While these themes could certainly be interpreted as problematic, they aren’t just swept under the rug and are commented on but certainly could’ve been more developed upon. The show ultimately balances its light-hearted, slice-of-life scenes and heart-warming relationship-building moments well with its more dramatic subplots. The art and animation are beautifully done when compared to other releases in the genre, especially its use of colours, lighting, and fluidity. The female lead’s dedication to her craft as a silver sugar artisan is commendable and somewhat reminiscent of Shirayuki’s passion for herbalism in Akagami no Shirayuki-hime (Snow White with the Red Hair). Another selling point of the show is the subtle tension and slowly fostered development between its two leads. Both characters have their own decently developed mentalities and motivations independent of each other which is always delightful to see given how rare it can be. Another selling point of this anime is that both season 1 and season 2 were released this year thus making the overall episode count 24 giving viewers ample time to grow attached to its lovable cast and charming atmosphere without feeling pressured for instant development.

4) Kanojo ga Koushaku-tei ni Itta Riyuu

English Title: Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Otome Isekai

After Rinko Hanasaki (originally Eunha Park in the original manhwa) is pushed off a building, she is reborn as Raeliana McMillan—the daughter of a nouveau-rich baron in a historical romance novel she once read who is fated to die tragically young. To prevent the fruition of this plotline Raeliana is determined to end her engagement with the man who orchestrated her untimely demise, Lord Francis Brooks. To do this, she is forced to use her knowledge of the plot to blackmail the novel’s male protagonist, Duke Noah Wynknight, into a contract engagement thus rendering her previous one null and void. Little does she know that she has captured Noah’s interest, in place of the female protagonist, with this move buying her a lot trouble than she originally bargained for… While only decently animated, the character dynamics, voice acting, pacing, and soundtrack make this anime stand out from other similar shows. The compelling chemistry between the two leads really elevates this anime from others with a similar premise. Overall while a decent adaptation from the manhwa, there is some room for improvement especially with the animation. Personally, I felt that this anime could’ve greatly benefitted from having 24 episodes (instead of the chosen 12 episodes) since parts covered by anime are mostly set up with the drama, action, and relationship development only taking place in later story arcs. Unfortunately, most of what makes this series praise-worthy and sets it apart from others with a similar premise wasn’t covered yet in the anime. Although reading the source material in advance had given me relatively high expectations that weren't quite met, I would like to clarify that I thoroughly enjoyed this anime.

3) Sasaki to Miyano Movie: Sotsugyou-hen

English title: Sasaki and Miyano Movie: Graduation Arc

Genres: Shounen Ai, BL, Slice of life, High School

Continuing from season 1, this film follows Shūmei Sasaki and Yoshikazu Miyano as they embark on the next important stage of their romantic relationship as it is tested by Sasaki’s impending graduation from high school. The movie is accompanied by an animated short featuring the side character Taiga Hirano and his growing relationship with his roommate Akira Kagiura. Despite being brief, the movie was filled with tons of important character-defining and relationship-building moments for both Miyano and Sasaki as well as their relationships with other characters and each other. The familiar soundtrack and art style were both nostalgic and comforting while the voice acting was top-notch, carefully conveying the immense depth of the characters’ multi-layered emotions throughout the various scenes. Throughout the movie, we saw just how much the main couple had grown since season 1… We see Sasaki becoming more confident in showing affection towards Miyano, as he holds himself back less and less. While Miyano became much more assured of himself and his feelings towards Sasaki. We see Sasaki’s backstory which provides much-needed context behind his insecurities in season 1. During this adaptation, fairly significant cuts were made from the original source material to accommodate the time constraints—which was naturally disappointing. The animated short that accompanied the movie was heart-warming and leaves watchers curious enough that there is room for a full adaptation of Hirano and Kagiura’s story…

2) Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon

English Title: My Happy Marriage

Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Historical

My happy marriage is set in an alternative version of the Meiji Restoration era where spirits and supernatural magic exist but in regression. Our protagonist, Miyo Saimori is born giftless despite belonging to a supernaturally talented family because of this she suffers immense abuse and mistreatment at the hands of her stepmother and half-sister while her father gazes on with indifference. Her hopes of building a happy life for herself seem distant after she is ordered by her family to marry Kiyoka Kudo, a man who is rumoured to be so cold-hearted all his previous marriage candidates ran off. Upon arriving at the Kudo estate, Miyo fully resigns herself to either a life of mistreatment or abandonment but is pleasantly surprised when her husband-to-be is anything but the monster she expected. Both of them begin realizing that the other may be their greatest opportunity to find true happiness and love as they slowly begin to each other. open their hearts to each other. While many may write this anime off at face value thinking of it as just another Cinderella remake—they are sorely mistaken. While seemingly simple in its premise and title, the execution of the many technical elements and core themes that make this anime was nearly flawless. The beautifully detailed animation was a pleasant surprise. Historically speaking shōjo adaptations haven’t gotten the best budgets and heavily rely on having great storytelling and characterization to draw in its viewers. My Happy Marriage however not only has impeccably detailed character designs but also seamlessly fluid and well-paced animation sequences. Special attention was given to animating the opening and ending theme song sequences unlike with many other shows where the theme song animation is somewhat of an afterthought.  The soundtrack and voice acting are both exemplary and encapsulate the moods of each respective scene well. The side characters are all well-crafted to suit their roles in the story and aren’t at all redundant with no single archetype being overused. The two leading characters are well-developed and show slow consistent and most importantly realistic growth. The series delves into lasting trauma caused by abuse and the long journey to healing that trauma. Despite only being 12 episodes, the plot and character-building does not get lost amongst the world-building or fantastical elements. This anime delves into the intricacies of human emotions and relationships as well as the main couple’s personal struggles and motivations making us as the audience want to root for them. Ultimately all these elements blend seamlessly to produce a charming and heart-warming show capable of stirring up the emotions of its audience. 

1) Kōkyū no Karasu

English title: Raven of the Inner Palace

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Historical, Mythology, Supernatural

The Raven Consort, Ryuu Jusetsu (originally Liu Shouxue in the original source material) is both venerated and feared amongst those in the royal court. Despite being titled as a consort, she does not have any contact with the emperor, Ka Kōshun (originally Xia Gaojun), and lives isolated from everyone else. Her fabled mystical abilities make her the subject of many rumours as she is said to take on any request from recovering lost belongings to casting curses. One day her quiet solitude is disturbed when the newly crowned emperor barges into her palace with a request. Despite finding his subsequent frequent visits annoying, she cannot bring herself to turn him away. She soon finds herself forging several meaningful connections with others, despite the warnings of her predecessor, ultimately forcing her to confront a past that was best left concealed.  This show’s unique character designs and uncommon setting make it stand out visually despite its humble budget. While seemingly episode in nature, this show has an intricate overarching plot with fantastic character development. The show does a great job at depicting the main protagonist’s motivations, internal struggles, and development while still maintaining the mystery surrounding her—thus leaving plenty of room for further growth and development. Another thing I greatly appreciated in this anime was its subtly. Rather than just blatantly exposing complex motivations, moral stances, internal conflicts, and relationship dynamics of and between its characters through quotidian dialogue—the show instead chooses to shrewdly unveil this through the actions and expressions of its characters alongside the use of meaningful dialogue.  Despite not being presently romantically involved the budding relationship between its two leads is carefully developed and slowly built upon in such a way that doesn’t make the show feel like just another forced or contrived romance elevating the show beyond layperson’s expectations for shōjo and josei anime. Despite somewhat, complex historical injustices being brought up in the anime, it is more focused on its protagonist helping others find peace through self-forgiveness and remembrance than seeking retribution. This has led to criticisms that the pacing of the series is too slow and that the plot lacks satisfying action sequences. However, in my opinion, the show succeeds in its goal of telling tales about the complexity of human emotions and relationships that transcend life and death. Another aspect of this show that really stood out was the soundtrack, especially its ending theme song, which exhibits a uniquely haunting melancholic ambiance that makes me want to listen to it repeatedly. This series is undoubtedly deserving of the title of an underrated gem—given its unique artistic expression, intriguing emotional storytelling, and character development—and has an immense amount of the potential for a follow-up season.

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[P.S. I'm really going to miss watching My Happy Marriage and Sugar Apple Fairy Tale every week—but at least season 2 of the former has been confirmed😭]

[sorceringing]

Pardon me wiggling in here- I BELIEVE based on user Kakigoori’s findings that TECHNICALLY Joshua is like some tiiiny ass amount shorter but I agree I personally see Joshua a half inch or inch taller thank Clive (at 5’11”) and for the models clothed it was determined that Clive’s heels sit inside of the heels of his boots while Joshua’s do not thus making him look a hair taller. They’re basically the same height but let them hcs flyyyyy nyahaha

Aaa joshie in heels 🥹 (insane)

but thank you!! I love that someone looked into it!!! I'm definitely going to continue to pretend Joshua is taller by an inch or two hehehehe

[axel-mania]

tagged by @wunderwirker for the wrestling 2024 meme! tagging @sonastarson @nakanotamu @myrmica @happyendingsong @fallynleaf @antediluvianapocalypse @bang-bang-gang @stardomtrash @emerald-truth

mvp/wrestler of the year: I'm gonna have to say shinya aoki. I know, the joshi fan is saying that. but his work in ddt this year has been insanely cool and he has popularized a finish that is literally just a hammerlock. he's able to build high tension, any moment could end the match vibes derived from his sports background with comedy derived from his.. everything flawlessly.

match of the year: the first mirai vs miku aono was really cool, a break out moment for technical wrestling as a focus in joshi wrestling again. but it could also be maika vs natsuko tora at the end of the year for breaking the taboo on gorey sadomasochistic death matches between women on live tv for all the sad old idol otakus to freak out about.

favorite feud: saori anou vs natsupoi and mika iwata. these two feuds were completely intertwined. anou initially attempted to use iwata as a stepping stone on her way to the perfect stage to consummate her love with her wrestling soulmate natsupoi, and then lost badly to iwata because of it, leading to a nervous breakdown and rocky relationship with poi. then both iwata and poi supported her and brought her back to herself, leading to a recapturing of the white belt from iwata and a passionate meeting with poi just like she wanted. she's selflessly able to support poi as the new white belt champion, poi's ultimate dream, but the way iwata caused her to stumble becomes an obsession that she feels she has to excise. she tries to end their relationship and forever forget about iwata at the end of 2024, which is very upsetting to iwata, who has grown to love her. and we will see where that goes next year.

favorite tag team/faction: wingori (hanan and saya iida)!!! rough hard hitting sacrificial hero iida x dramatic flying suplexing suffering babyface hanan. they have made tag team wrestling for me in stardom. but I've also been loving the entire saga of tag team champions in sendai girls, particularly bobomomobanana.

favorite show: probably the five star opener. it was such a return to form for stardom in-ring and had so many exciting matches, including with names that previously hadn't gotten a lot of attention: hazuki vs manami, mei seira vs tomoka inaba, hanan vs suzu... and the big hitters going crazy like azm vs momo w, mayu vs tam, maika vs poi. there was also an incredibly memorable storyline moment in the undercard, with thekla frustrated that hurting kurara only plays into her hands and makes her more of a tam-style idol, leading into thekla trying to cause her permanent damage.

breakout star: so many people I could say but I think I'll shout out chi-chi. she has It. that perfect barbie look combined with this cold, polished meanness and the skill to carry it out in so many little moments, and then make the match into a crescendo of tension at the end like someone with her low level of experience shouldn't be able to. big bumpy ajpw if they had girl power!

horniest moment: everything veny does, ever, but especially this:

[wikitpowers]

I was wondering if you had fancasts for the twp cast <3!!

i answered this question some time ago and made a whole post about it, so bc i've already done fancasts for kit, ty, dru and ash, we all know what time it is... THAIS, ANUSH AND JAIME I'M COMING FOR UR ASSES! OH I’M EXCITED!!!

anush joshi - michael cimino

i think anush would totally be the type of guy who is an absolute nerd while also being so freaking hot yet having no freaking idea he is 😭

thais pedroso - carithra chandran

carithra is just so so gorgeous and gentle and an absolute sunshine and i think she really has thais’ aura like i’d kill to see her play thais please god

jaime rosales - isaiah baumgardner

i’m aware this dude is from the philipinnes and technically a model not an actor but hear me out!!! he would make such a good jaime like tell me i’m wrong… if dru won’t have him i will bc… umm.. um

anddd that’s it for the fancasts! i hope u enjoyed muahahahhaha <3

[oddsconvert]

I love thinking about how whumpees are left in a certain state when we're not writing about them. Like how josh is just forever stuck in sensory deprivation until you right the another chapter. It's only supposed to last a day in the story, but technically he's stuck till you say otherwise lol. Just a funny thought.

Omg yes! 🤣😭 This is low-key how I see it too asdfghjkl just frozen in time, forever stuck in that moment I've left them in 🙈 sorry boys. Joshy, I swear you'll be out of sensory deprivation soon! Izaak, sorry not sorry about your recently broken ankle 🙂‍↕️ Declan, I'll give you some comfort after your nightmare!!!

[theothin]

tagged by @renegadeshroom. sometimes I actually do these

favorite color: purple. others have their appeal but purple is always great

last song: hammer of justice. great song, I'm gonna go listen to it again

currently reading: Ishuzoku Joshi ni Marumaru Suru Hanashi / "A Story About Doing XX to Girls From Different Species". I feel like this requires no explanation

currently watching: bokurano. having a blast

currently craving: how do bodies work. water I guess? which I guess means I should be drinking more of it

coffee or tea: iced tea. I do not see the appeal in any of the others

tagging: apparently this is supposed to be 6 people so let's go with @mrcatfishing @ericvilas @mere-technicality @werewolfwilds @thevoidwatches @lilietsblog

[billerak]

gotta love seeing posts about yuri being like "yuri is boring because its' like only girls holding hands" or shit and it's very much a 'tell me you've only seen subtext shit without telling me you've only seen subtext shit' situation.

Anyways finished Hanjiuku Joshi (technically re-read but it'd been so long that it felt like the first time really) and my god these bitches gay and horny, good for them.

this is quite possibly also the manga that gave me the appreciation for the student-teacher trope, now that I think about it.

Anyways you should read it it's only 18 chapters you can finish it quickly. It explores sexuality, sex and even a bit of gender. Also it's tooth-rottingly sweet and also quite horny.