#what am i gonna do now. my two favorite arcs got animated and for what. suffering time????? rejected

[uniformbravo]

i cant believe they finally made takenaka canon

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.219 thoughts

[Big Dick is Back in Town!]

(Contents: immediate reaction - gushing, setting analysis - Clothy, character analysis - Chikara/Ruin)

This chapter is the perfect example of why I don't do numerical ratings. If last week I'd said ch.218 was a 10/10, that would carry the implication that it was the perfect UU chapter, that nothing could top it, and come this week I'd look like a fool! Nor am I willing to give 219 any such rating, because I refuse to believe that we've reached the pinnacle of what Tozuka is planning to show to us. However, my refusal to assign a number to this chapter should not be taken as indicative of my opinion on it, because, as I'm sure you've all guessed by now...

This is the best god damn chapter in the entire series so far!

That entire sequence, that eight-page span, with two of the most exciting and jaw-dropping spreads that Tozuka has produced to date, was an immediate daymaker. Fuuko sticking the five-point landing, the realization that she was back on the bridge where she and Andy first met, Andy's head dropping onto the bridge only for him to revive just like in the anime's interpretation of the same originally more low-key events of the manga, all culminating in Andy sweeping Fuuko off of her feet with the two most lovely and romantic smiles I've ever seen in ink put to page?! Like Andy bursting through Ruin's Bloodclot Ball and allowing the radiance of the sun to shine down on Fuuko, I too felt like my day was instantly brightened

And that's just from Andy coming back! Now that he's here to stay, I can only imagine what moments Tozuka's going to hit us with! Sure, Andy and Fuuko are gonna have the most romantically charged kiss in all of Shonen Jump's history, but that's a given! I can't imagine Tozuka's going to stop there, there's bound to be all kinds of great lines, action setpieces, character developments, and don't even talk to me about the catharsis of it all! Tozuka's always been good at wrapping up storylines in my opinion (not you, Kururu) and this was such an incredible payoff for the Andy is Missing arc that I just know the ending of the main plot is going to render me unconscious

But of course, the latter eight pages aren't the only things that matter here; sure, they're what elevates this to being my current favorite chapter, but don't be fooled into thinking that the rest of the chapter isn't an absolute banger in its own right!

Chikara

First of all, Chikara is, without question, the MVP of the Union. Juiz and Victor going through 456 billion years worth of loops? Nah. Fuuko raising the first complete and upgraded Union? Nope. Andy becoming hands down the single strongest Negator in any loop ever? Forget 'im!

Chikara's not invincible. He doesn't have eons of experience. He can't even use his ability offensively! And yet? Chikara always pulls through. Rip? Killed 'im! Summer? Killed 'im! Creed? Got his eyes crushed and his knees capped, and he still beat 'im, only to limp his way to helping everyone beat Spring too! Then in the fight with God, this kid loses his arm immediately upon the fight starting, but still manages to crawl his way forward to halt his approach from Fuuko!

Fuuko, Juiz, Billy, Shen, etc., they're all monsters, fighting prodigies or ancient entities unlike anything the world has ever produced, and Andy and Victor are so unkillable that nothing they do should be even remotely surprising. But Chikara? He's just a boy. Just yesterday his biggest concern was whether he was going to pass college entrance exams, and now he's getting his eyes chopped in half and not even crying about it! He just decides "this is unacceptable. I will not be a liability just because of something as petty as losing my eyes!" If you don't think that's badass, there's just no helping you

And why shouldn't Chikara be the toughest "normal" character? He was the first Negator that Fuuko ever recruited back in L100. He clearly means a lot to Tozuka and was always intended to be integral to the plot, and he has absolutely stayed true to that vision. I know I've ranked Chikara pretty low when compared to everyone else, but that is not because Chikara's character is lacking in any major way, he's always had one of the most compelling arcs in the story, and every time I think Tozuka is done building on him, I am delighted to be proven wrong

Speaking of characters that continue to surprise me...

Clothy

CLOTHY IS BAAACK!!! No wonder he wasn't around for Tatiana's fashion show, he never left Andy's side! You know what that means?

Clothy survived Ragnarok

Even when every other UMA was erased from existence, Clothy lived on, retaining his memories and his friendships so he wouldn't need to be tamed all over again! I mean, just look at how happy he is to see Fuuko! Poor little guy, I hope Andy changed his criteria for an ideal outfit to include "unconscious when not on Earth," or at least offered to if Clothy wasn't willing to wait the whole 4.6 billion years along with him

I once questioned where Clothy's core was, as he frequently gets completely engulfed and destroyed when Andy gets hurt, say by lava or whathaveyou, but now thanks to this, I finally understand

Because Andy is his wearer and Andy's ideal outfit is one that can regenerate along with him, Andy has essentially overwritten the core as a weakness: Andy has become Clothy's core. So long as Andy survives, so too will Clothy; without meaning to, Andy has already successfully externalized Undead

...Hey, that sounds kinda familiar, doesn't it?

Blood and Shadow

Oh yeah, Ruin also wears his UMA partners and shared his immortality with them! It turns out that I was wrong last week, and that Ruin does still have both Blood and Shadow, and unless I'm mistaken, it...looks like Shadow is his pants??? Or...maybe he's hiding in Ruin's pocket? The position of Shadow's attack and Ruin's leg makes it a little ambiguous, but honestly whether he's in Ruin pants or is Ruin's pants doesn't change the fact that it's a completely undignified position for a villainous entity to be in and it's very very funny to me

Based on the way that Blood seems to flow out of the scar on Ruin's body, I think that Blood has actively become Ruin's own blood and Shadow his...shadow. These are likely extensions of their own Rules, the same way that Clothy has to abide by the wishes of his wearer, but becoming a part of a self-targeting Negator's body would certainly justify coming under his Rule's effects. I also wonder if their presence is related to Ruin's new appearance; Soul calls Blood and Shadow "the powered-up pair," so their increase in strength may be related to Ruin's sizeable scar and loss of hair color, though there are certainly other probable explanations

Ruin's Past

Blood and Shadow's return have shaken the likelihood that this is Ruin 101 and not 100, but the lack of his Regulator status, his new appearance and Billy's read that Unruin doesn't actually allow Ruin to survive Ragnarok all greatly imply that this is, in fact, 101, even if he's somehow able to remember his past iterations

This week's chapter has given us the most insight into his character that we've ever gotten: that Ruin loves the world, but hates people. There are so many ways that this could have come about, but given the flow of the rest of the story, I think I have a pretty good idea

Ruin is already a pretty heavy inversion of the rest of the cast just by virtue of being God's servant, but I don't think that the parallels stop just with his status. Everyone else is God's enemy because the awakening of their Negator abilities were all tragedies that they blame God for, so what would motivate someone to become God's ally instead?

What else could it be but for Ruin's awakening to be a blessing that he thanks God for?

Let's say a child is born in some small, superstitious village. The baby is quickly observed to be harmed by sunlight, and within two years it has grown exceptionally sharp canine teeth. I don't think they'd wait to find out if it's allergic to garlic before tossing that baby out - that thing's a vampire, after all!

Now maybe the baby wasn't cast out into the wilderness. Maybe just a church or a religious orphanage that refuses to believe a child is evil without observing any bad behavior first? So the baby starts to grow up, gets to be a child or maybe even hits adolescence; all the while, the families in town have avoided the vampire, giving him dirty looks when he comes out at night, scrutinizing every little thing he says and does; they all know that one day, he's going to bring the village to ruin. Only the priest or a nun or whoever believes he's human, and assures him that this is all a part of God's plan, that he will do great things someday

Then something happens. Tragedy strikes. And whether the child was involved or not, whether he was anywhere near the scene, it's all his fault. And the townsfolk have had enough

The church is destroyed. The priest is killed. The child can only watch as everything he holds dear is taken from him; his eye or his body wounded and bleeding, his hair rapidly losing color from the trauma, the light of the sun burning his very flesh away, his life lies in ruin

As his consciousness fades, hatred bubbles up inside. With his last breath, he wishes to punish those who ruined what little hope he had in life, those who defied God's plan, those who broke the rules. And then...the pain is gone. The scars remain, but the boy's body is no longer broken. The Blood no longer spills, and a Shadow shields him from the scorching sunlight. Though his past is set in stone, the boy can no longer be brought to ruin; and with this new power he will enact God's will and put right the world that humanity has harmed - it will be Unruined

At least, that's how I'd write it

Ruin's Present

Tozuka probably has different plans for the specifics, but I expect Ruin's backstory will have some elements along those lines, with him feeling like God is his savior and humanity being the ones ruining God's plan for an ideal world

Someone on twitter pointed out that Fuuko once said that the Rules themselves aren't inherently harmful to humanity, that it's usually people who abuse the Rules to do harm. This is likely the same conclusion that Ruin came to, and took that sentiment to its logical extreme - since Negators, who are humans, defy, enslave and kill Rules, humanity are the evil ones, and they must be stopped

Ruin likely believes he's the hero of this story and that the UMA are the victims! That would make sense, as the only characters he's emotionally attached to are UMAs! They're probably his family! While visually Ruin is the anti-Andy, morally he's the anti-Fuuko, fighting to protect as many of the Rules as possible, as they ensure the world keeps turning the way it's supposed to!

No wonder he killed Fuuko right after the Spring fight last time! She triggered Revolution!!! She sent his beloved world hurtling into the sun!!! That is ultimately a good thing from his perspective, as it means that God can come down and wipe the slate clean, but that's only a good thing because so many UMA are already dead! This is God's opportunity to reset the world to how it should be, the way it no longer is because of Fuuko and the Union

But from Fuuko's perspective, Ruin is one of the people who abused the UMAs. He had Blood, Shadow and Ghost rounding up people to use as sacrifices and taking hostages for blackmail. He was serving the misanthropic God that reveled in humanity's suffering. He was the reason she now had to go back to make sure that the world was reset to how it should be, with all of the people she loves in it, the way it no longer is because of Ruin, the Rules and God

Buuut maybe I'm getting ahead of myself again. I certainly don't want this to be another Kururu situation where I write up a whole backstory that we never get to see, and I'll definitely feel foolish if I make Ruin out to be a secretly heroic figure from a certain point of view only for it to turn out that he's just a bloodthirsty killer using faith as an excuse to cause mayhem. But I can't help it!!! Tozuka's characters are all so interesting to me that I can't help but want to look at them more closely and try to puzzle them out myself! It doesn't matter if I'm wrong, I just have so much fun thinking about them!

Conclusion

The mystery is part of what makes it compelling. This has been true since the literal beginning of the series, which I think is part of the reason I've been such a diehard fan since day one. Chapter one made us ask "who is Andy really? Why are there Negators? And how will Fuuko help him die?" Chapter two made us ask "what's a UMA? Who are the Union?" Chapter five made us ask "why AREN'T there any stars??" I've been so engaged with this series from the get because it only gave me what I needed to know in the moment and teased everything else, a tradition that it's clearly kept up 200 chapters later!

It's never been perfect. Sometimes details that should be given aren't, or are given in external material that a lot of fans may not see. It's not a 10/10, because there are certainly "better" manga out there and even they aren't 10/10s

But it is my favorite

Even when it doesn't give me exactly what I want, it always resonates with me. I always feel a deep connection to this series, to this world, to these people, and I want to deepen that connection as much as possible. Even if Tozuka won't tell me everything, what he does tell me makes me want to know everything, to be closer to what I love so dearly. That's how I enjoy life, and I'm grateful that Tozuka has given me such a great avenue to do it

Until next time, let's all enjoy life! Welcome back, Andy!

[p-receh]

Since my previous posts talked about elementals. I want to write an essay about them from my perspective and possible theories and headcanon I gathered so far. It might not be accurate so fill me in if you want to add or correct some of it. I love open discussion ^^

I've seen some people thought that in the early season, all elementals had not have characteristics but changed after Halilintar's incident.

Boboiboy's emotions under circumstances not only triggered the true self of available elementals, but it also awakened the other elemental powers as well(hence how the rest 4 were born) like what anon said here.

This is gonna be looooong ted talk so I have to spilt this in two parts!

What I want to talk about is how interesting their character development throughout the series. Starting with the original trio!

(That 3rd picture lasted for a few minutes... I didn't even notice their communication at first. :'()

Their development was that drastic in the youth era. The unstoppable "the fun, the serious and the tough one"(edit: more like, "The Striker, Tacklerer, and The Goal Keeper in soccer terms. Don't ask why I thought about this a lot) which sparks Boboiboy as the hero of Pulau Rintis. But, it's starting to decrease during Galaxy onwards.

I know I know they need to blend with the others as well. (They got most of the screen time in every series after all). I already talked about it here.

(People say this year indirectly the reunion of this trio I guess? Windara and Gentaraju animated arc? ...

but... aaah well... my head's spinning right now >_<)

Halilintar/Thunderstorm.

What more to say about this person? haha, I've already talked about it from anon in the first link I put on before and this one.

But still, from the very first moment he arrived till today, I am almost certain my hypothesis then and now is coming true. Being just created as "the cool, serious" side of Boboiboy, This 'talk less, do slash more' guy unknowingly becomes the tsundere eldest due to his tragic incident.

He is such a supportive person behind that murder mask. Seeing rare moments that he actually cares for others whenever he can is an absolute miracle. God, the season 2 comic and Sori continuingly showed his soft side from youth era. wtf my 12-year-old me is screaming right now! aaarghh! :3

(But that face in ep 5 when he's strangled lmaooooo X'D)

Taufan/Cyclone

One of my favorite things that I know about him is he enjoys whenever he's out. He truly loves all the thrilling fights, if not get the vibe, he instantly goes into a bad mood. Every poster I saw about him, always with his smile and never faded. That's why I was shocked when I saw his decision in Windara's arc. Finally, the man he always wanted to be, bravely giving it all in one v one fight. I'm so proud of him! T^T

His easygoing attitude reminds me of a certain hedgehog I knew hehe...both resemble the wind itself right? :] (I need to draw them in June)

Leading the Troublemaker trio is always fun to watch. And the fact that he looks at Hali as his role model is really cute! Despite him and Hali being the first two elements who had civil fights before, a bit sad these two are independent on their own from Galaxy onwards :'(

Gempa/Quake

Gempa got me confirmation that he is the leader of the elementals from the very first fight till now. I can see why he has the closest resemblance to Boboiboy himself (hence the hat position :] ).

To be fair, Gempa is the only elemental that I see no difference with Boboiboy. And with being one of the strongest elementals(with embedded two giant stone hands), he sure is a low-profile person and easily blends with other elementals. Now I know why he gets the title "Mama Gempa". He is unknowingly taking too much care of every elementals like a family ^^)' .

Even tho he's the last power to be introduced(in this trio) and sometimes people see him as a lone wolf in the group, he's natural at giving orders. The others actually listen to him and get scolded if they messed up! Like how parents do! X'D

How about the Temper Duo?

(Why monsta didn't put this dialog to Sori? :''(( )

How fitting the theme song of movie 2 titled Fire and water as well? Hehe.

Being the first two powers to be fused(the coolest name, "Frostfire" :} ), these two are what most people like to call "The polar opposites". The ones that used two hoodies in the youth era(except now only Ice wears it), the ones that had back-to-back introductions (exactly after Fire arrived, water showed up in the next episode, Galaxy season 1 also showcased the exact same pattern), the only two powers survived in movie 2, and even their own original masters lived in the same planet.

I'd say if these elementals do be brothers, these two were most likely born twins. (I know I may be late to this headcanon but hey why not? :/)

Blaze

The gremlin boi who got more screentime in sori than his partner. I absolutely adore this boy in Galaxy onwards. His wild and reckless traits are always the main attraction whenever I watch his combat style. I still think since season 3 and movie 1 He should've gotten a brass knuckle type as a weapon than the fire disc. He's a close combat brawler, right?

Anyway, he might be the one who hasn't changed much since his youth until now. In fact, I'd say he is a pretty consistent character from the start. Only gets wilder and cheekier to his fellow elementals tehee~. But that's the beauty of having a friend like Blaze. If done right, Blaze could shock you with his kindness and care deeply for others. Just like how he did with Duri once he accidentally broke Duri's plant in one of Boboiboy's official posts. (Sori ep 3 and comic made my day lmao)

Ais/Ice

If I can relate to one elemental, I choose Ice. He likes to eat yet is frightened to get fat like he did in his youth era; a very sleepy person; also an introverted person but he is confident when surrounded by his closest circle. And most of my friends are usually the Blaze type. So I can understand how to handle that person ^^)'

Ehem. Ice's first tier, Air/Water, got me confused at first. Mainly how he summons his power. Somehow Ice fixed that issue. Making his right arm purely made of ice is genius. My headcanon is every weapon or power he uses comes from his right arm. His cannon comes from his right arm, the same as the bow & arrow one. Even so, many scenes contradict that(Boboiboy is an ambidextrous guy).

Can I say I'm glad from Galaxy onwards he's a bit more open than in his youth era or just me? This doesn't count during the transition mode. All I see now is that he showed more emotions than Hali. (Also whoever decided Ice's tears become snowflakes, I salute you sir)

Last but not least! The Photosynthesis duo!

(I talk about this scene before but holy shit this scene is always mesmerizing to watch)

Duri and Solar were also made me adore them if not because of season 2 & Sori. Okay, I have to confess first to avoid misconception:

I was disappointed when Duri and Solar showed up in movie 1.

My selfish youth still took some time to get used to with Fire and Water in season 3. And all I think was negative reactions when Duri and Solar showed up. That's... also the reason why I went on hiatus.

Luckily, hence the word "was" I put it there.

I'm very grateful that they reset his watch back to start, so then they can at least make a proper debut with both Duri and Solar in Galaxy series. I much prefer that method. (That last episode was truly huge, I'm shocked they went that grand)

Therefore, Sori could continue to make the audience know better about these two! Pretty creative I'd say! I can see why the last three episodes are fan favorites. Me personally love eps 5 & 6.

Duri/Thorn

The most unique symbol to draw to, Duri truly shines in galaxy 2 comic and Sori. His debut in galaxy 1--oh wait, in Eid Fitri's short video after movie 1 made me confused with Taufan at first. Even though he's got more screen time than Solar, Duri still surprised people with the recent series. Who knew his childish and clumsy features could do unverbal damage to enemies by his words? Count me in! He might not do that to his friends and families, but he will delightedly do so with Solar :D

And thanks to Sori, I can now differentiate between Taufan and Duri more clearly. His design in Sori especially the last three is my fav. I love what Monsta did the effects on his arms. Since he doesn't has a signature weapon, they create a 2D flash-winded green leaf around his arm like a coil. That is a very cute detail for Duri.

A bit surprised when every elemental went to serious mode in Windara's arc, only Duri still managed to find fun in the battle. Heck even Taufan dropped his smile during that.

Solar

Being the trump card of the group, I can see why he is the last elemental to be introduced, both in movie 1 and galaxy series. The hardest one to obtain his 2nd tier that requires proper research and pure luck, Solar's traits are also what makes him interesting. To be honest I didn't expect his characteristic to be like this, at all. And somehow very matched with his design and attack as well. Every aspect is strangely in synch I'm astonished. (Adding a visor to his 2nd tier is uhh *chef's kiss B=) )

Also, I love that his attacks use his finger that's also kinda easter egg of the famous "Ray Gun!" shot attack from Yu Yu Hakusho(look it up, there's a live-action ver if you want to know the short ver of the series. The anime itself is legendary to all weebs out there).

Regardless of his limited screentime in every series. I'm very much grateful Monsta treats him equally. His timing in Sori is exceptional and his popularization bursting successfully. My only hope he didn't get cut in Windara and let all elementals showed up. When was the last time Boboiboy did that without splitting to 7?....

... Well if you count heptasplit part, the last time he did that was in Movie 1. That's 9 years ago.

Now we're done here? Nice! Onto the theory part in reblog!

[shi-daisy]

Surprise self-rec time! Pick 3 of your favorite things you’ve written and share them here, then put this in the inbox (anonymously or not) of your fellow writers to spread the positivity and help celebrate already written fics

(First of all, TUMBLR STRIKES AGAIN I HAVE NO IDEA WHY IT UNFOLLOWED YOU WHAT IS HAPPENING)

(Second of all, little side quest from me, tell me what inspired your fics, why you love them so much, how they came to be, etc etc, I wanna know ALL!!)

Absjkwk Tumblr is crazy don't worry about it this happens all the time. Okay time to gush!

I'll start with the oldest fic since I got a comment on it today and I was like 'oh right, I wrote you in 2018!'

Road to Redemption (Bleach)- This was spite concentrated basically. Bleach was my favorite anime until the abysmal final arc and the atrocious ending we got. So this was me rewriting it with every single thing I wanted and never got, getting all my pairs together and most importantly giving my favorite characters the endings I feel they deserved. It's been 8 years since the story's end and four since this fic was finished and while I still hate what went down in canon I am happy to have given my faves some peace in fanfic world. That's enough for me to take a break from this Fandom though I have two more sequels with the cast since I've loved them from 2010 onwards and that's probably gonna stick with me into old age. I just want them all to be happy.

Road to Ruin (Bleach)- Same as Road to Redemption but for the villians. Bleach has some of the best and most sympathetic villians you'll find. But the writer doesn't do much with them, so I said it f it and gave them all time to shine. You know how I love Tamlin? Well the same goes for Sosuke Aizen. That man owns my soul and if his writer won't hype him up then I shall. This is my favorite fic in terms of writing because is pure self indulgence and I adore the protagonist. I miss writing it so so much!

Five Missed Calls (Disventure Camp) - Not much to say here, it was mostly feels and headcanons that fueled this fic and for once the gods answer my prayers we might get a spinoff with the couple in question but back when I wrote it I was just angst ridden and needed some content to comfort me. Loads of people liked it tho, so I'm happy the sadness fueled headcanons were enjoyable.

A Court of Threads & Daisies (A Court of Thorns & Roses)- IF SJM WONT GIVE TAMLIN A HAPPY END ILL DO IT MYSELF ALSO FUCK YOU RHYSAND GO DIE IN A FIRE! Okay I'm calm now.

This was just meant to be fluff. It spiraled into more because this darn universe is so fun to play with and I really wanted everyone to find joy. (Not just Tamlin) So like with the Bleach fics I said 'Fuck it! Self indulgent rewrite it is!' It's been so fun to write this fic, the characters that became my favorites very quickly (Nemesis & Lazarus Ily ♥) the fluff, the headcanons, getting everyone to have their proper arcs and mostly spreading joy it's been a delight. More than the fic itself I love the people I've met and befriended because of it. As I hadn't thought of Acotar since 2017 but now it's rotting my mind again 😂 Most of all you and your support made this a delight for me to write and while I love the fic and will forever be glad I made it, what I love most about it it's that got me to meet you. Love you buddy!

A Court of Emerald & Sapphire (A Court of Thrones & Roses)- Like Road to Ruin it's a self indulgent prequel to the main fic that you can skip if you don't want the extra info but man do I love it. I'm thinking of editing and rewriting it to have more chapters because these ocs of mine have stolen my heart. They're baby and it's so much fun to plan a revolution with them against Rhysand. I wrote it as just extra info but it was a delight to make and I love my ocs so much. (Also my proud ass is thriving as the only Keir/Oc Acotar fic. That man is mine and mine alone 😈)

The Running Free (Danganronpa: Despair Time) - For as much as I love Danganronpa I don't often write for it as it's one of the rare fandoms where I don't take issue with the writing at all. This is just a one-shot with my crackship for this Fandom but it was fun to write and I love how despite it being super niche people seemed to enjoy it. Probably will be rendered null by canon if either of the characters involved is guilty when Chapter 2 concludes but hey, I have a sequel planned if that's the case 😉

A Court of Blaze & Sorrow (A Court of Thorns & Roses).- Acotad was meant to be 10 chapters of fluff and calling the IC out at the end...Why does it have two sequels?!?!? Anywho, the short story, I wanted to include Autumn in acotad but it was Tamlin's story so I gave Nesta and the Autumn Court their own fic. The long story, this fic is therpahy. Many things delved in it are there not just because I want to do the themes and characters justice but because they help me heal. Particularly addressing a though relationship with an abusive parent or a neglectful parent. In my case, mine's dead but even if it's been two years the struggles haven't fully left me and it's been therapeutic to handle that while tackling these characters who also have one parent who loves them yet (unwittingly) neglected them and one parent who limited their self expression, was physically and emotionally abusive, and in some cases even ignored the mental illnesses he himself exacerbated. It's not over yet but I feel really comforted by it and confident that I'll make everyone proud by the end.

The Jeweled Dragon (A Song of Ice & Fire)- Look you give me a rebellious princess that escapes and disowns her abusive family and becomes a badass sex worker plus she also never married had a bisexual polycule and refused the throne/ spat on the legacy of the fucker who abused her and I am yours baby! Saera Targaryen you are mother! Okay jokes aside her story fascinates me and while I love GRRM's attention to detail and meticulous planning I'm sad he didn't tell us more of what happened to her. So this is just my take on it. Also I loved some other characters here that deserved some love and more than to be a footnote in Westerosi history. They'll get their just desserts too but Saera is my star and I'm forever salty at HOTD for daring to sully her name. (Season 2 sucks and on behalf of Team Green I'm making a sequel and rescuing the babies from the TV writers!)

Heart to Heart (Disventure Camp)- It was gonna be a spite fueled one-shot. Then the season got so bad I had to rewrite (common theme here) also FUCK YOU CONNOR BLAKE, AND FUCK WHOEVER DECIDED TO BREAK UP THE BEST DUO OF THE SEASON ALEC AND RIYA ARE PEAK! End scream.

I don't wanna spoil much since you told me you want to get into this Fandom soon but I'll just say it's been such a delight to write this and to meet like minded people who wanted better for these characters and to give them better ends. (Also making my fave ship canon and running laps around the writers in the official show server has given me a fucking ego) It's so much fun to write. I love making angst romance and I am exicted to give my villianess girlie a befitting end.

Bonus:

Transformers fic (Transformers) with @maplesamurai - What's better than writing? Writing with your beloved bf!

Now this was just us being silly and coming up with goofy ocs but given the flexibility of the Transformers Fandom we chose to make our own story and it's been a blast, it's still a bunch of drafts but I am exited for it to be done and to share it with everyone because it has so much effort and love put into it that I am certain it will be beloved. Decepticon centric fic lets go we will give our badies their day in the sun! Also Maple is a freaking genius and a delight to write with, love you babe this has been so much fun!

Those are all the fics so far so I hope this has made you as giddy as me. Love ya bud!

[marialiwanag137]

What's your favorite Lupin part from the series?

Omalaaaaawd! Am I allowed to say that I have more than one favorite?

Although each show is unique, Parts 2, 4, and 5 are the ones I personally like.

Do you guys have any idea how much I keep coming back and quoting every unhinged line from Part 2’s English dub? Gotta love and give credit to the English cast 😂😂😂

Part 4, on the other hand, got me intrigued by the animation art style. Not to mention that I’ve become a sucker for anything Italian like how Jigen is a sucker for Fendi and Prada 🤌🤌🤌

Now even though there are mix feelings about this, I enjoy Part 5 ‘cause I like how each arc screams to me that Lupin never dies, anytime and anywhere. The main characters being put in this modern age and how they deal with it is very interesting, and although I may not know all of the tiny references, somehow I can still feel the decades-long history of the franchise. Same way that I felt when I watched The First film 😍😍😍

I still haven’t watched Parts 3 and 6 yet and I wanna give them a shot despite many people feeling conflicted about them, but I’m struggling on where to watch them 😭😭😭

I also tried watching Part 1, but the vibe of it being too close to the darker manga isn’t exactly my cup of tea… I only came for the Goemon-centric episodes 😅😅😅

Anywho, that’s it for today, folks! Hope this answer satisfies you. Don’t be afraid to share your thoughts too! Speaking of sharing thoughts, I have a question for you:

If there’s going to be a Part 7, what do you think it’s going to be about? Which jacket color is Lupin gonna go for next?

…Okay, that’s actually two questions, but y’all get the gist 🤷🏻‍♀️

[msperfectsheep-posts]

Okay Note here. CHARACTER ASK. i7 Torao, Haruka, and Nagi. Ouran High School Haruhi. Batman Jason. Anyone in persona you must talk about (I don't know anyone there). Did I miss someone? (You don't have to do all. I am mereky curious)

THANK YOU NOTE!!! I'm gonna put all of these beneath a cut just so I don't clog up people's dashes <3

Torao Mido: (IDOLiSH7)

Torao is the kind of character where you're like "literally why is he in the main cast when everyone else is a banger" and then you realize that his arc is just 4-5/6ths of the way into the story and you go Oh. Oh. I get it now. That's him. That said, I want to blast him with a fire hose.

Haruka Isumi: (IDOLiSH7)

Haruka was my discord pfp for several months and I think that says a lot already. I love him so much, he's like. so bulliable and he should be bullied. Dramatic ass teenager baby that dresses like an e-boy. I love him so much and every time he bleps (:P) in official art I want to Die. Prime blorbo material.

Nagi Rokuya: (IDOLiSH7)

I'll admit outright that, as someone who had Ouran High School Host Club change my brain chemistry forever when I was a child, and with i7 having a main character named Tamaki, I CONSTANTLY called Nagi "Tamaki" during the first season just because he was the silly blond weeb guy!! I was like holy shit there's two of them. And then I got to parts 3 and 4 and I was like Oh Holy Shit they're even more similar than I thought :'). Nagi is a BELOVED character of mine but it took a moment for me to grow into loving his character. I wish I saw more fan content of him because he fucking rocks, but he's also just on a different plane from a lot of the more popular characters and I get it. I love how everyone respects him as they should though. My king forever and ever.

Haruhi Fujioka: (Ouran High School Host Club)

SPEAKING OF OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB. Haruhi's arc in the anime and manga is a little different, and obviously the anime wasn't supposed to end where it did, but with the changes the director and writers made, I truly believe that it would be impossible for the animeverse to end the same way the mangaverse did. Anyways Haruhi is a really funny character because she's supposed to be the straightman in a lot of the jokes, but she's just as dramatic and silly as everyone else. And it's great. 10/10 protagonist, every time I think of her I think of that tumblr post about her with the big brown eyes and I go Yeah. yeah.

Jason Todd: (DC Comics; Batman)

(If you can't read that square, it says "SCOTT LOBDELL")

Jason was NOT my favorite DC character or even Robin for a long, long time. I only really got into his character when I started working on my fic, Beyond Imagination, and had to start analyzing what a younger Jason was like and how he would interact with the world in a modern day and age. All of the Batman characters get flanderized and mischaracterized by fanon and canon a lot, so it's hard to figure out what was generally agreed upon as canon unless you read yourself, but Jason's got a strong story and personality that really shined with his resurrection. I'd say it's one of the best uses of reviving a character thought to be dead, and every time I think about his death and like. both the in-universe and real life events that lead up to it, I get emotional. Great character that makes me deeply ill to think of from a meta-perspective.

Maya Amano: (Persona 2 Innocent Sin & Persona 2 Eternal Punishment)

Okay so. You may have noticed I tagged two Persona games for her and that's because, spoilers for Persona 2, the first Persona 2 (Innocent Sin) is a timeline that fails. The game with you resetting the timeline because you fucked up that badly, and the second Persona 2 (Eternal Punishment) is your second shot and doing things over. HOWEVER. Maya changes with the timelines because she was doomed to die with how things were set up in Innocent Sin, and fixing that to give the timeline a shot in Eternal Punishment changes her as a character. This bingo is more about Innocent Sin Maya, who is a 23 year old girlfailure reporter that makes me Deeply Deeply Ill. If you're ever curious, you can send me an ask and I'll talk about her more in depth because Persona 2 isn't the easiest game to play

Thank you for the ask!!!

[owlphibiansprite]

SO I HAVE BEEN TYPING UP ALL MY THOUGHTS AS I WATCHED HERE YA GO EPISODE 1 COMMENTARY IS POSTED A FEW HOURS AGO and as i watched i got more tired and less wanting to write stuff down

ep3: "burying their feelings"… come on. this whole storyline is just dumb. these kids are actually smart, barring spider of course. like they know by then that the patriarchy is bullshit, right? this whole "men biologically stronger thing", right? this whole "we're men we do this" thing. like c'mon malakai doesn't actually believe this shit…?

(oh also just thinking about ca$h & how darren kinda almost believed chook and how that literally wouldn't make sense cuz he's asexual but also chook was being really traumatising assault-y in that moment so it kinda makes sense if that shook darren and they are prepared to believe the worst of ca$h)

watching this season i am actually full of anxiety half the time. this is rly frustrating. i rly hate this cumlords storyline like it just feels so ooc for many boys the quinni scenes are my only solace

heh! ca$h doing the cook "fuck it" thing with the drugs CA$H ON DRUGS SCENE IS PURE ART

no seriously i rly don't like this season maybe i'm not high enough or maybe i'm not in the right frame of mind but i LOVED the first season but the second one is… idk. giving so much space to boys being patriarchal storyline like i don't fucking care about this ffs

amerie & quinni shenanigans are the best :D these two are such gremlins together

ep4: quinni is literally the highlight of this whole season right now

is no one gonna talk about how timothy is here talking over jojo and interrupting her plans and demeaning her and touching her in a patronising way? what if jojo did this to him. hm?

is everyone seriously that dumb to blame amerie for a recording someone else played during the activity?

ep5: well, i guess jojo is getting roped into this once again and is blamed for this misogynist white man's mistakes. anything else new?

oof feeling quinni a lot ca$h & quinni quality time let's have it

ohhh, i knew quinni was gonna have a moment like this.💚💚💚💚 :'( it was the buildup, i felt that hard (also i love frogs too!!)

ep6: i live how darren is so smell sensitive

LOL 2minute sex love it

ep7:

quinni is everything i am crying

ep8:

darren really out here with the puriteens with a bag that says "god's favorite" i love them

quinni literally just saved two people's lives, three by proxy she literally fucking ran into a burning building and saved lives

annyyyyyways ok that is done

um, final thoughts: there was no sasha redemption arc. she kind of stayed flat as a character, just self-centred. sad, but oh well.

after the whole cumlords storyline eased up i didn't feel so anxious anymore. glad voss got what he fucking deserved.

ca$h & darren endless drama, what else is new BUT all these new scenes give new fodder for wonderful AMVs (that are not anime lol) btw i love them your hunour i still love the love these two share

now i'll go back to my old post and see what parts of the list got ticked off

[strykingback]

@krowsselfindulgy How bad is Black lagoon? Since you compared it to RWBY I feel concerned for the formers quality.

Okay just before I begin. Black Lagoon is in no way means of bad. I was just saying that it was better than RWBY. Since on twitter someone was making some idiotic comparisons on how RWBY was better than [anime name]. But I'll happily tell you that this IS WHAT A GOOD MEAL IS LIKE IN A SHOWWW!!!

But before I go ahead. WARNING: There will be spoilers for the First Two Seasons of Black Lagoon . (I'll cover the Roberta's Blood Trail Arc another time) Also Further warning! The following triggers will contain blood, gore, violence and I mean lots of violence. N*zi's, R*pe, G*re, and some racism, including Police Brutality (Also this was done during 2006 like this was a time when things were unhinged!) ___________________

Now I think we're gonna go through a few of the characters, some favorite moments of mine from the series. Then we'll just leave everything for a second part? Perhaps? Because seriously theres a lot of memorable characters and moments from this show and its no wonder why everyone is hoping for a Season 3 one day! Okay where do we start? Well why not with the fact that any RWBY stan is gonna complain and say there are no "strong women" in Black Lagoon. Yeah you know what thats kind of true y'know I should agree with them. . . .

FUCKING DEAD FUCKING WRONG.

Lets start with someone from our main cast of characters shall we?

Enter Rebecca "Revy" Lee, an Chinese American born woman who lived in an impoverished part of New York City where he would have to suffer both Physical and Sexual abuse from both her father and THE POLICE. Which leads her to have a very nihilistic viewpoint of the world and its religion as she states herself (Mostly from the Manga) that: "God didn't do shit" for her because of all the abuse she had to suffer. Not to mention at one point when she was arrested SHE WAS LITERALLY- Um.. hold up a minute. Ahaha! Redo of Healer'd!

Oh and by the way she was also killing and getting in fights with the police all at A YOUNG AGE. Oh my god she was literally putting on Black Timberlands instead of Black Air Forces..... this was until she met Dutch who she would join him as the brawn to the ELCO PT Boat, the Black Lagoon.

However her greatest flaw is her "Whitman Fever" which can lead to her violently killing anyone who gets in her way (with a few exceptions). However, its also most possible that the reason why she shoots and kills is a way to cope with her trauma...... as anyone who treats her with genuine kindness instead of attempting to betray her and somehow... this person was none other than our Rock that we'll be talking about another time. but for now... lets show some memorable moments.

Such as.. her terrifying Speech towards our Other Main Protagonist Rock (Which we will :

Or WHEN SHE AND DUTCH GOT ON A BOAT THAT WAS HIJACKED BY NEO-N*ZI'S AND SLAUGHTERED THEM ALL.. LIKE DEAR GOD LOOK AT THIS

Then there comes our second character and dear God she is.... fucking legendary... THE FORMER SOVIET VETERAN OF WAR HERSELF.

ENTER SOFIYA PAVLOVNA AKA BALALAIKA My god this woman is the definition of "I am the Shit and I dont sit around and fuck around" unlike Salem and her dumbass sitting on a Grimm throne for the past like what oh wait.. one (Volume 4), two (Volume 5), three (Volume 6), Four (Volume 7), and FIVE (Volume 8) Goddamn times! Like holy fuckin shit Salem is one of them lazy villains. but for Balalaika, she is the true meaning of Fuck around and FIND OUT.

She was a former Soviet War Veteran who participated in the Soviet-Afghan War before being disavowed and thus, she would join Hotel Moscow and regain her soldiers who were all also former soviet paratroopers. When i say she will get shit done I MEAN SHE WILL GET IT DONE BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

Such as when someone was blabbing about when they were going to assassinate the entire Lagoon Company (Which who Revy is part of) and she pulls up on him and gives off the MOST HELLA DARKEST GLARES EVER.

YOU CANNOT TELL ME SHE'S LIKE THIS IS TERRIFYING TO LOOK AT CAUSE MY GOD SHE IS THE SHIT. SALEM EAT YOUR FUCKIN' HEART OUT!

Lets not forget when Roberta the Maid (I may have to talk about that another time....) pulled up, Balalaika did her research and found out who she was and cornered her with her Vysotniki (Basically her personal army of Red Army, VDV, and Spetznaz soldiers) and still...she commands the respect of all of them. ....

Theres also the fact that she went to "war" with many gangs but when Hotel Moscows Japan branch was having trouble. She pulled up and had the Yakuza running for their life. The only thing that would be capable of saving them would be Kazama Ki- Oh yeah thats right he was still in Prison and didn't get out until 2005. Still she blitzkrieged the Yakuza quickly and made them beg for mercy!!! But no joke. Balalaika has the respect of her men has the skills of a leader, even to the point where she would happily do a favor for a dear friend. Because at one point Dutch did rescue her and she returned the favor three times.

It was no joke that Revy said that Balalaika gets off on war.... cause boy howdy she was right...but that doesnt mean shes all but a war maniac. Somewhere deep inside she has a soft spot for her men she served with as she would go as far as to avenge them by any means necessary.

Like during the Vampire Twins Arc... and I kid you not as I say this.....

BALALAIKA HAD TO SIFT THROUGH 250 SNUFF FILMS IN ORDER TO FIND THE TWO TWINS THAT KILLED HER MEN....

There was going to be no way that I would be able to get through even be able to get through the first five minutes of just ONE. Like I said before... Balalaika. DOES NOT FUCK AROUND.

Such as when Balalaika gets her vengeance on one of the killers

Or her meeting with the Kosa clan when she makes fun of the guards FLIMSY GUN AND SHOOTS THEM BOTH WITH IT!!

Okay so enough of that cause it is 7:30 PM over here... and I think I may have to save this for a part two um... so have a REALLY Funny moment from Black Lagoon that gets me rolling.

[honestmouse20]

I am Back from vacation! Thought on new ninjago season under the cut :)

First off, I just wanna say that I watched it at 6am in my hotel room with headphones while my friend slept next to me lol. So I watched it all again yesterday too. Turns out I'd missed a Lot.

I really loved the pacing in this! Each character to me felt like they all had something to do and it all went towards the plot. Wildfyre learned to slow down and let herself heal, Kai and Nya both learned the paitence and tecnique to do Rising Dragon. Lloyd OFC got a Lot to do with his visions and panic attacks! I really liked how they handled his mental health in this one. Cole being back didn't feel forced! he was there bc Bonzal was essential to Ras' plan. Sora got a ton of development and I do wonder if they'll have her learn spinjitzu in part 2. And of course, Arin. Boy is Going Through it. It's a nice parallel to Lloyd also having a rough time. While Lloyd is haunted by possible futures, Arin is terrified of not being Good Enough to contribute to the team Or to make his parents proud.

This post would be hella long if i rambled about everything i loved in this season But I wanna highlight Some of my favs!

Cole and Geo Constantly holding hands and leaning on eachother (and geo's flashback to s1 being changed so they're holidng hands More)

Bonzle's whole arc and how she's a person now! Hella trans implications and also just a really sweet story when they show that she Does have agency and her creator Does recongnize and care for her

Sora and Arin's dymanic continues to be Really Good! I like how the initial excitement for being a ninja has worn off and they're starting to struggle.

Speaking of Arin, I stg that scene of him and Ras fighitng in the last couple episodes makes me think we're gonna get a dark Arin arc. Maybe he won't Stay evil (I don't want him to be a villan but they Could go that way if they want) but seeing Lloyd's reaction to his student turning sides would be very angsty and Very good

Also Lloyd in this was So good! Even tho he's trying very hard to be a Master and the keeper of the monastary, he's struggling and these visions are only making it harder on him. I'm sure we havn't seen the end of these visions and I'm sorta hoping they'll come to some big breaking point for him in part 2. Where he'll have to drag himself back up and Never Quit despite everything falling apart just like the visions said it would

Once again this show made me like kai again lol. HIs relationship with Nya and Wildfyre is So good and you really can see the similarities in how he interacts with them!

lloyd's power confirmed to be life????

why is no one talking abobut that ? did i read it wrong???

Onto some things i didn't Quite like but definatly didn't hate!

Ras' master is like 90 percent gonna be the Overlord. I'm aprehensive on this bc he's not really my favorite villan. Plus like he was Just the villan in crystalized so i feel like it's too soon for him to come back. once again gonna give this show the benefit of the doubt bc they've done a lto of stuff Really Really well. I'm just sorta hoping it's Not the overlord. Plus the powers were golden and that's Not the overlord's colors

what is timeline?????

i thought the shorts were two years after s1 and that s2 was gonna be between the shorts and s1???? but now the shorts are at the Beginning of the season and ryu is a teenage dragon? how long has passed? If it's been a couple years since season 1, it's a little less believable that arin and sora havn't progressed much fruther in their training. also no one Acts like it's been years?? But if it's Not a couple of years and Ryu just Grew up like that it's still a bit iffy. Ik they probably won't tell us exact times but I hope it's implied or Something bc im hella confused

so, tldr: This half of the season was Fantastic! From the animation being Incredible and the relationships between the characters being super interesting and realistic, this season was a ride from start to finish! I'm excited, and a bit scared, to see what part 2 brings!

[igneouswyvern]

After nearly two and a half years of being completely obsessed with Zestiria after I beat it way back in July of 2021 I finally decided to go back and watch the anime, Zestiria the X and, yeah I have some thoughts

I'm gonna start with the good. Definitely the best part was getting to see Rose and Alisha interact with each other, and Dezel and Zavied interact as well, since they were never in the party at the same time in the game. The anime format also did a lot of good for both Alisha and Zavied's characters (I'm so glad Zavied is something besides "the horny guy" now). Really the story works a lot better with the full party of 8 together towards the end.

The anime also gave me the one thing Tales games never give me, which is a full proper ending, and by that I mean showing us exactly what happened to the world after the final battle was won. I've never been very good at using my imagination when it comes to a peaceful and normal world so it was nice to see that fleshed out. While unrealistic I am also glad Sorey came back within Rose and Alisha's lifetimes because that always kinda bugged me in the game

Using Berseria as a legend in Zestiria was pretty cool considering they didn't get to do that in the game since it came out first. I thought it worked really well. However I am very confused on why they decided to animate the first three hours of post-prologue Berseria smack dab in the middle of the Zestiria plotline and just...never return to it. I don't know why they decided to do that, it didn't fit at all and the whole time I was just wondering if or when they were ever gonna come back to it. And if they were gonna do it for context's sake shouldn't they have, I don't know, jumped ahead to some part where Velvet actually fights Artorius?? It just felt so strange to me.

Onto some more bad: Why the hell did they make Maltran a good guy. She worked just fine as a twist villain. They just cut that entirely for no reason??

And there's one particular huge thing that they just completely changed. One of the most interesting things to me about Zestiria's narrative was the underlying theme that "you can't save everyone." From "everyone knows you can't purify a dragon" to that first moment in Pendrago when they encounter a hellion so strong that the only way to quell its malevolence is to outright kill it, leading all the way up to the finale of the game where Sorey has to kill Heldalf because he can't be purified. They learn over and over again that malevolence has consequences, and that the Shepherd's journey isn't without sacrifice, and that sometimes taking a life is the only way to save that many more.

And Zestiria the X just throws that whole concept out the window?????

First they straight up replaced the corrupted church lady in Pendrago with something totally different and far less impactful, just a corpse that can be purified. And then they go and purify a real dragon??? You can't just do that????? And of course that means they won't kill Heldalf either. He ends up unrealistically purified as well. It just bugs me so much. It goes against everything the original game wanted to set up. Sure it gave us a happier ending but we don't always need a perfectly happy ending! Life is full of heartache and tragedy and sacrifices, and the original Zestiria showed that in a really neat way. And the anime just goes and tosses all of it out the window. It just...it makes me really upset. Tbh the Pendrago sequence is one of my favorite moments in the game, and the dramatic sequence where you kill Heldalf is another favorite, and I was really excited to see those in anime form. And instead they just got binned entirely. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined :(

And for that matter they also kind of completely got rid of Sorey's character arc, as meager as it may have been. One of my biggest gripes with Zestiria the game is that Sorey is just too perfect a guy, he's too pure and innocent and never really makes mistakes and the game had opportunities to allow him to do that but were too scared to actually commit to it. But despite that, Sorey still has a character arc of some sort, mainly in what I mentioned above where he has to accept that sacrifices are inevitable but in some other ways too. Meanwhile the anime just removes all of that. Sorey pretty much never struggles, except maybe in matters of strength in the beginning you know, and he always gets his way--he never has to make a sacrifice and always saves everyone. All this culminating in The X Sorey being somehow even more flawless and perfect and static than game Sorey. And it's really disappointing to see because I was really hoping to get a more fleshed out Sorey as a result of the anime format.

Something pretty insignificant that bugged me was the fact that they pretty much never got to explore ruins or old temples or whatever else. The game's gameplay loop was pretty much go to a town, deal with some political stuff/watch some cutscenes, go to a ruin or temple and fight a boss, back to the town. Which worked really well for a game setting, but I recognize doesn't work as well in an anime. However, what the anime decided to do was completely cut out any ruins exploration and focus exclusively on the political conflict in the towns. I see why they did this, don't get me wrong, but I just can't help that it doesn't really feel like Zestiria when Sorey and Mikleo aren't nerding out over random stuff in ruins, you know? All that political stuff started to get really boring after a bit. And like so much of the game's story and lore takes place in those dungeons, so it just feels so odd to have them completely removed.

Pretty minor thing but I felt like they kind of messed up Lailah's character. Her whole thing in the game is that she knows everything about the Shepherd's journey but she's not allowed to talk about it because of her oath, so she does the whole inconspicuous whistling and deflecting to other topics the whole time. And I kind of liked it because she looks totally airheaded but it isn't true, she knows a lot she just can't tell us. But in the anime it felt like Lailah didn't know all that much about the whole situation, like she seemed just as surprised as the rest of the party in a lot of scenes. And I feel like that just kind of took all the life out of her character. She was already kind of generic in the game and taking away the one thing that made her interesting just made her even worse.

Okay I'm starting to make it sound like I hate Zestiria the X, I don't. I think I am just a huge purist when it comes to the original game and the anime did a lot of things contradictory to the game that I didn't like very much. But it's okay it was still a good anime and worth watching

It didn't really help me like my favorite characters (Sorey, Mikleo, and Edna) even more, but it did help bring the characters I was lukewarm about (Alisha, Rose, Zavied) about up to par with the original three in terms of how much I liked them, so that's nice. (Lailah and Dezel were more interesting in the game anyway.) I think if you took The X Alisha, Rose, and Zavied, and put them into the game's narrative, you'd have a pretty solid experience in total.

[kinosternon]

20 Questions

Got tagged by @marezelle (like a month ago, whoops) and this looks fun, so I'm gonna try it!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Officially 37, unofficially 57-ish (I have a lot on anon right now, plus some semi-ancient FFN stuff posted under a pseud)

2. What’s your total AO3 words count?

Apparently, 644,538.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Kind of a lot? One "it's complicated" fandom which I tend to stay on anon for, especially lately; a fair bit for a very specific corner of Free!, also for Natsume's Book of Friends. Voltron's an ex-fandom but I had fun with it right when it started; there's a handful of other anime I've cycled through. I've got an Undertale longfic I'd really like to get back to one of these days. Lately, a whole bunch of stuff for the 9 Worlds series by Victoria Goddard, which is both amazing in itself and also has my favorite fan community to date.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Names Gone Before—my one and only Adventure Zone fic, and a oneshot, but apparently it was a hit lol

Chasing Silver, Chasing Gold—my beautiful monstrosity of a love letter to the characters introduced in the third season of Free!, and which came out too late for most of the English-speaking fandom to notice it very much (this goes for the show itself and also the timing of my publishing🥲). I am so grateful that so many people have managed to find it regardless!

Equivalence—aforementioned Undertale longfic. I really want to finish it one of these days, but I know what's coming in the last arc and it intimidates me. XP

Omimai—of all my Natsume fics, I'll admit I wouldn't have figured this to be the top one. But I guess Natori is a fan favorite, and I do appreciate that it's very solidly a gen fic that gets a lot of love regardless.

Like trust falls from towers—aforementioned s1-era Voltron fic. It was an experiment to get me posting more, I had fun with it while it lasted, and I got some truly wonderful comments and support from folks reading along while I was working on it. I still go back and reread it sometimes, and I think it was pretty good.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always try to! I want to show appreciation and make sure people know that going to the effort it takes to write a comment means a great deal to me.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That's a tough one. Probably Pistachio Christmas Tree, as it's a snapshot of a really rough time in the POV character's life and doesn't really show any signs of things getting better for him anytime soon. (All my angsty endings come from canon compliance, lol)

OH. Or Chasing Fingerprints, which is a Nabari no Ou AU oneshot that I wrote back in high school. I wrote it under some weird constraints and don't really like it all that much, but the ending is ambiguous and deeply angsty.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

That is also weirdly difficult to say! Snapshots for Natsume, Slow your breath down (just take it slow) for Victoria Goddard's novel Plum Duff, and turning in your hand for At the Feet of the Sun (also by Goddard). Two of those three are wintertime fluff; I enjoy that subgenre a whole lot.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No. I've occasionally had some slightly weird interactions, but overall I'd say even those were well and enthusiastically meant.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Occasionally, and I'm not sure what kind it'd count as. Insecure, possibly? (me or the characters, either-or XP)

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Only two so far! The weirder one was my first-ever fic, where I technically crossed over Twilight with both old!Who and new!Who. Then there's Clowder, which crossed over two of Yuhki Kamatani's manga from pretty different eras and genres and which I'm pretty darned proud of.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I had someone ask once, a while back, but at the moment I don't remember which fic it was, or if I ended up hearing how it went.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

...If adding to a bredlik compilation counts, then yes? And I've also done a fair bit of writing to requested prompts for gift exchanges and the like, which isn't the same thing as cowriting but which feels at least a little bit similar.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Oh man, how can I choose? 😭 At the top this has to be a tie between Miharu & Yoite (Nabari no Ou, QPR extraordinaire) and Yukito/Touya (Cardcaptor Sakura, TRC, etc). But also Merthur was my first ship-ship. HiyoIku (Free!) for writeability and general fucked-up-ness, but I'm not always 100% sure I ship it, tragically. Natsume and Tanuma for the same uncertainty minus about 90% of the toxicity, whee.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I'm not going to say "doubt," but uh. A couple of "it's complicated" fandom pieces (especially the ones I originally meant to be series) and also the Undertale longfic. Also some 9 Worlds WIPs, but I haven't started publishing those ones yet, either.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Characterization is a big one—it matters a lot to me and also I've been complimented on it. Fic is my love letter to canon and so I tend to focus on what I love about canon the most, which is almost always the characters' interiority and/or relationship dynamics. I also think I'm usually fairly good at matching the tone of the original, though admittedly the translation aspect of anime stuff gives me a bit of leeway there.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Logistics. I will forget who I put in a room over a certain number of characters, and explaining how people get to and from things (or even appear in a scene) is a terrible chore. (And that's just people—my track record for items, especially furniture, is even worse.) I suspect that my overall pacing also suffers from this because coming up for practical reasons for scenes to start can be difficult.

Also scene transitions, because I write things out of order. :B

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I probably won't, for several reasons. For one, I feel like without a dedicated beta, my errors would be immersion-breaking for anyone with high enough Japanese proficiency. Also, on the other side of things, presumably most of my readers wouldn't be able to make the jump from English into Japanese (which is the only other language I'm remotely able to write in), so accessibility would be an issue. That said, I've occasionally tried to factor in what I know about Japanese and "translate" (at least a bit) to adjust how I write dialogue, when writing fics based on anime.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Doctor Who/Twilight, lol. (I cared a lot about them both, okay? Also I thought trying to mash up their canonical vampire mythologies would be funny! And I was definitely right about at least one of those things.)

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Oh this is also mean. It's gotta be Chasing Silver, Chasing Gold though. It kicked my ass but I also put my heart and soul into it, and its length, completion, and the responses I've gotten to it have all combined to profoundly affect how I see myself as a writer. (Which may sound a little suspect, but the thing is, I spent years massively looking up to people who could write longfic, most of all to people that could do so and finish. It meant so so much to be able to join those ranks myself, whether or not I manage to do it again someday.) It genuinely feels like one of the most significant things I've done with my life, and it's something I think I'll always be proud of myself for managing to write through to the end.

Annnd done! I'm gonna tag @octopus--writer just for fun ;)

[emet-selch-apologism]

Morose/Pelle: 2, 5, 17, 28

Void: 3, 8, 20, 31, 37

Nu/Vil: 1, 14, 26, 34, 38

dnd ask meme

i got up out of bed to answer this on my pc so dedicated am i to talking about my most special boys

going under read more because its gonna be long <3 ALSO adding images of everyone to hopefully make it easier to tell whos who

Morose/Pelle

left: pelle right: morose

2. What does saving a person involve?

morose and pelle are of one mind on this, that they cant really "save" a person unless they want to be saved. so their strategy would be less about them swooping in to save the day and more about being there to help the save-ee get out of a bad situation. this is MUCH more pelles purview than moroses though, hes more of a "provide resources and encouragement without being asked" kind of guy whereas morose is more of a "im not gonna push you but im here if you want to talk about it" kind of guy.

5. What is your PC’s idle animation?

for morose itd probably be him taking out his grimoire and taking notes in it. its a grimoire first and foremost, but he also uses the margins as a scientific journal if he doesnt have one of his dedicated notebooks on hand

pelle would keep it simple, probably just doing some small turns so his sleeves swish around. or probably any other gentle motion, like rocking or swaying

(the sleeves ^)

17. What are your PCs favorite fruits (not including gay people)

each other

morose likes apples. probably has something to do with how long he was a teacher for, his students DEFO would occasionally give him apples before or after class

pelle cant pick a favorite, hes so jazzed about all of the food that mortals produce and eat and cook. he loves all food

28. When your PCs want comfort, what do they seek out? 

each other

other than each other though

for morose, hed try to involve himself in his hobbies. this literally always means doing research and science and alchemy. hes been autistic about the arcane sciences for 200+ years and hes not gonna stop now

for pelle, who is very well adjusted, it usually means doing one of the hundreds of mortal hobbies he picked up in his retirement, or taking a walk and appreciating the worlds beauty, or talking to one of the zombie kids he takes care of, or meditating

generally speaking though when they need comfort both of them immediately turn to the other

Void

3. How would your PC describe themselves?

void is pretty difficult to get the gist of because their setting is so specific, but i will try my best

i dont think void knows how to describe themself. they basically just manifested into existence with full sapience and no identity. their entire character arc revolves around them trying to figure out who they are, wanting to be a person but convinced that they have no choice to be oasis (the dead god theyre the reincarnation of).

they dont even know that theyre a god yet.

since they have no sense of identity as a person, i dont think theyd try to describe themselves like one. theyd probably describe themselves as "the tear" (a rift in the sky between the material plane and a mysterious higher plane that no one has ever gone to, which is believed to be the source of all the Big Problems in the setting) or "the neverplane" (said Problem Plane). they might call themselves an etherbeing (a creature formed from the ether in the neverplane which consumes the ether of mortals on the material plane), but that wouldnt be totally accurate.

8. How decisive is your PC?

EXTREMELY indecisive. despite thinking its futile void wants nothing more than to fight their nature and just be a normal person, so any decision they have to make has to go through both their God Thoughts and then their Normal Person Thoughts. and, more often than not, these two sides are at odds with each other making it hard to decide pretty much anything. theyll freeze up if they think too long about any decision they have to make

20. What type of chocolate do they prefer? 

theyve never tried eating food before. i dont think they could even if they wanted to. but if they could i think theyd like white chocolate best

31. What’s your favorite part of playing your PC? 

I GET TO BE SOOO AUTISTIC. void is so autistic and i get to completely unmask and call it rp

actually though my favorite part of playing void isnt even rping as them at the table, its planning for future sessions and getting to go so deep into their psychology. the way ive set up godhood in the setting inherently poses a LOT of existential questions about the gods, and void is even more complicated because they want to fight against their godhood. theyre a lot of fun to explore mentally

37. What flower represents your PC?

so funny you ask this one for them because void is the only character of these five that has an actual in game lore related flower motif! glowing white dahlias! they spring up in significant places void has been to, they bloom out of the dust left behind by dead etherbeings, they can create them at will, etc.

Nuvia/Vilereth

(nuvia controls the left side, vilereth controls the right)

1. Does your PC believe it’s possible to save someone?

vilereth does. hes not usually inclined to do so (the only people hes tried to save is nuvia and nuvias sister elizabeth) but he thinks its possible to. he also probably thinks its a lot easier than it actually is. hes incredibly overconfident in his own abilities

nuvia is more of a tossup. i think usually he doesnt think its possible to save people (if he could have been saved then why didnt anyone save him from the cult who put a demon in his body). but if pushed hes still willing to try. but the list of people hed be willing to risk himself to save is very very short

14. How does your PC feel about white lies?

vilereth is lying all the time its his favorite thing to do. he loves to tell lies. he doesnt even do it maliciously (for the most part) he just thinks its funny. but he loves it he loooves lying

nuvia also doesnt care about lying. he doesnt go out of his way to do it the way vilereth does, but hes a very smooth liar (lots of practice) and he thinks that sometimes its just what has to be done so who cares? hes probably even a better liar than vilereth

26. How would your PC answer the trolley problem? 

neither of them would flip the switch.

vilereth wouldnt see it as his problem. he wouldnt really care and he wouldnt see himself as involved in the situation unless he flips the switch, and hed rather not get involved if he can help it.

nuvia has a similar outlook. hed at least be tempted to flip the switch so only one person gets killed, but ultimately agrees that hes not involved unless he does. if he did hed see himself as responsible for one persons death, and he already has more than enough stress to deal with.

34. Is your PC an effective communicator? What is their communication style? 

oh god no.

vilereth is always lying and making jokes to keep people at a safe distance. hes so averse to being vulnerable that he didnt even have a non antagonistic conversation with nuvia for 5 months after they were fused. even now that they get along (theyre gay btw) trying to get him to be open and honest is like pulling teeth

nuvia is also Not Good at communication. hes less afraid of vulnerability than vilereth is, but hes so completely conflict averse its insane. hed rather bottle up everything until he dies than have a slightly uncomfortable conversation even once.

38. How did you choose your PC’s name? 

they were initially just one guy who i named vilereth from a yafnag pull. then when i made them two people i did another yafnag pull and got nuvia

[loosesodamarble]

Hi Erika! 💙 Thank you again for all of the wonderful discussion about the world’s best grumpy, tsundere spatial mage. You always have such wonderful and thoughtful ideas, and your headcanons are so spot on and delightful! 😊 It’s switching gears a bit, but I wanted to ask you about Demon Slayer (I’ve been on a bit of a KNY kick—lots of excitement for Season 3 I think). I apologise if you’ve already answered this somewhere in a past post, but who are your favourite Demon Slayer characters? Thanks dear! 💕

Hello hello, Acacia~! Sorry for taking forever and a half to answer your question but here's the answer now! (Also gonna tag you @acacia-may to make sure you see this because it's been so long.)

This ask has been sitting in the inbox so long that Season 3 of the anime is currently airing now. Whoops! 😅🤣 I don't think I've answered this exact question regarding my KnY faves, especially since I mostly post Black Clover... So thanks for making me think of Demon Slayer again~! 💖

Now for my favorites, I think I'm gonna go ahead and start with some honorable mentions before listing a Top 5.

I'm gonna talk a lot so the meat of this post will be under the cut.

..........

Honorable mentions

I've talked about how similar Zenitsu and I are to each other and that's why he's an honorable mention. I vibe with the kid. He's so funny with how extra complainy he is about... everything. Poor child. (Side note: the store I work at sells some KnY character pens and the Zenitsu ones don't sell well and I lowkey feel bad about that.)

And Tanjirou is the MC. He's so sweet and kind to his friends. But he's a strong-willed fighter and knows what's right for everyone. Killing demons is how he saves humans threatened by demons and humans who have become demons. I love the way he learns in each arc, whether it be something emotional or in terms of how he fights. His worldview and morality don't really change but I do feel like he experiences growth nonetheless.

Top 5 Faves

5) Sanemi: I like this jerk, okay? I am drawn to jerk older brothers who secretly love and want to protect their siblings (Nacht, Nozel, and Sanemi have a little club in my mind.) He's a little off-putting at first but you know there's depth to his character when we see how he speaks to Kagaya with such respect. He acts rough but he's thoughtful deep down. And his bond with his mother and Genya! Like! This man is soft deep down, let me have it!

4) Nezuko: Before Nacht was my tumblr pfp, it was actually Nezuko. She is the cutest sister character in any series I've read (which actually isn't that many but sssshhhhhh!). I love her anti-demon flames. I love how she's allowed to fight and get bloody (mostly because she has a healing factor and can get absolutely wrecked but come back from it). She doesn't get to say a lot but she still has strong moments. Like how Tanjirou dreams of her telling him not to worry about their family not having nice things and to just try his best. Gosh, when that got animated I cried... I love Nezuko so much... Baby...

3) Mitsuri: Mitsuri is such a sweetheart! She's one of the two KnY characters that I'd date if given the chance. I love how she carries herself. She wears her heart on her sleeve whether she be happy or sad. Like, her second introduction to Tanjirou is crying openly in front of him. In the present, she's not afraid to be vulnerable. Her story in the second light novel is also really nice as it shows how Mitsuri became the open-hearted gal she is in the present. She went from feeling self-conscious about her reason for being in the Corps to learning how she brings cheer to people's lives and that renewing her convictions. She knows the Corps members have hard lives but her attitude doesn't make light of it. It's okay to have cheer after hardship because bogging oneself in pessimism will only hurt. Also, and this might be me bragging a little but I actually used Mitsuri and Obanai's failed romance in a college essay about romance literature in Japan. It was a silly little essay but to be able to cite one of my favorite mangas for a college assignment was fun (and actually my second time doing it. First time was talking about Daki and Gyuutarou in regards to depictions of "geisha"). I just love Mitsuri a lot and would love to be more like her (attitude, appearance, and ability-wise honestly...).

2) Kyoujurou: I love this man so much that I saw the movie in theaters and cried all three times because man does his death really hit hard in the anime. Kyoujurou is bright and warm and inspiring. While he's unable to help Tanjirou regarding the Dance of the Fire God, he still offers to make Tanjirou and the other boys his students. I think it's a mix of genuinely seeing their potential and just wanting the chance to teach the younger generation but it's kinda hilarious how quickly he latches onto the trio. I really like Kyoujurou's philosophy on life, how the fleeting nature of it is what makes it beautiful (mayhaps he read a bit of the Hojoki in his free time?/lh+j). It's a little sad to see people leave or even die but change is what makes life what it is. Kyoujurou also the second KnY characters I'd want to date so there's that.

1) Inosuke: MY BABY BOAR BOY! From the first panel he was in, he had me entertained. Inosuke is loud and chaotic and fun. I'm not usually about chaotic boys but Inosuke learning what kindness and friendship are are what endear me to him. He's so confused by affection is absolutely the cutest thing. And despite acting macho and like he's supposed to be a leader, all of his major victories are a team effort. Working alongside Tanjirou to beat that puppeted demon on Natagumo Mountain, the fight against Daki, and even in his fight of the final arc. I do kinda wish he had more solo moments though because he should get a little more spotlight, but what he does get, I enjoy thoroughly. He's the character that got me to make a KnY oc (Shizuka) because I wanted someone fiery but also sweet to play off him (and be shipped with him). Inosuke is a feral boy but still a sweet guy and I find that really cute for whatever reason. The bonus chapter about his early life is really stinking adorable as well! It's great! Inosuke is very adoptable in my mind. Thus, he is my favorite character.

[aster-pkmn-irl-real]

Listen I adore your yugioh stuff frfr. Like. It genuinely is a comfort show from my childhood. I may have to think a bit when you refer to characters by the Japanese names because I grew up with the dub so context clues are my friend lmao but. It is lowkey making me want to rewatch the show because I stopped when the shark barian reveal and suddenly shark is Nasch or however it’s spelled again because tiny child me got SO MAD that they made shark evil that I? Rage quit the show? At least that’s as far as I can remember so I can only assume. Though there’s a chance that it might not have all been out in English yet so I could’ve stopped because nothing else was available? I’m not sure, it was like a decade ago. But. I love yugioh and I specifically love zexal, I never super got into any of the other series besides og duel monsters and even then I’m pretty sure I only watched like maybe a third of it spread out across the whole thing? Like. I remember the whole Pegasus tournament thing, then I remember uhhhh digital world..? There were capsule monsters. And then uh the seal of orichalchum arc I remember really vividly, and then like the “they’re all in Egypt in the past now” bit. And that’s all. I know Marik exists but I literally don’t know where he comes into play

But zexal? Zexal is my heart my love. I had an oc i larped as on the playground and when playing outside because I was an only child with no neighbors, and this oc could travel to different worlds (of shows and games I liked) and thte two biggest were the Pokémon anime and then yugioh zexal. She was besties with everyone in her backstory but had amnesia and hd changed too much for anyone to recognize her as she slowly regained her memory. Standard 10 year old’s oc type stuff. My favorite parts to act through were like, the world duel carnival for sure, and then uhhhhhh I had fun with the barian stuff but I don’t remember any specific episodes I liked playing. I loved to scooter down the culdesac and pretend I was on the dueling roller coaster though

I AM SO SORRY I AM JUST RAMBLING IN YOUR INBOX ABOUT YUGIOH.

… I might rewatch zexal I’m gonna be totally real.

OKAY FIRST OF ALL ANON NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR RAMBLING ABOUT YUGIOH TO ME BRO I FUCKING LOVE YUGIOH PLEASE RAMBLE ABOUT IT TO ME

godd ur so real for loving zexal though, its genuinely so underrated. ppl like shitting on zexal and citing yuma as a reason to do that and its like tell me you dont remember being thirteen without telling me

also SO REAL FOR LOVING WDC. as an arclight fan wdc was amazing and like idk what it is abt being ten years old and having ocs that can travel between universes but like literally same? i used to do like an email rp with my one friend who liked pokemon and didn't mind ygo and im like having so much fun with this honestly and ik little me would've been so excited about pkmn irl and the ryoga blog.

also zexal was dubbed in full and almost all the episodes are on the ygo youtube channel, though unfortunately not all of them, but it does have most of them. i grew up watching the sub only cause they didn't have all the episodes on netflix so yk lol

[ishikawayukis]

(hi!! I was pretty busy but I’m finally on vacation and came to my home country to visit my family last week!! hope you’re doing well<3)

Fr, I feel awkward when that happens bc I never know if I should be the one switching languages or waiting for the other person to do so, but I might change between both bc atp I’m just as bad talking in both JAJAJAJA pero no me sale el video:’) I’ve tried to click it but I think the link is missing lol

Okay idk if these are the flashbacks you were referring to, but now when I was finishing skypeia arc (my favorite so far!!) I did skip the whole Nolan backstory 😂😭 I’m sorry but I really needed to see Luffy go kick that electric ass ://

There’s more we can learn about the crew’s past?? That I don’t mind JAJAJA (es que si es lindo<3 him and Iñaki are so precious) so far I only know Sanji said he’s from the North Blue👀

NO WAY??? I mean I can see it if these episodes aired during 2001 but that’s not the reason I was expecting for Pell’s miraculous survival JAJAJ

SHUT UP IM DOWN BAD FOR HIM!!!!! Skypeia Zoro is everything to me I swear, he didn’t give a sh*t for that god act and he cared so much for everyone in the crew :c oh and I’m watching it in japanese!! I don’t really like watching anime dubbed lol Y SI BIEN LINDO JAJAJAJA I need more Luffy singing moments<3

OKAY I might reach it then bc I’m on the Enies Lobby arc rn (which is so freaking cool abilities-wise bc damn todos han tenido un upgrade increíble + el plot está tenso y emocionante JAJAJ) AND HELLO?? SANJI’S LEG JUST CAUGHT FIRE?? ZORO SUMMONED A FREAKING DEMON SPIRIT?? LUFFY HAS TWO NEW ABILITIES ON HIS SLEEVES??? (metaphorically at least lol) but yeah idk how much I’ll be able to watch while I’m home BUT I really want to know how this ends JAJAJAJ (y gracias por no dar spoilers<3 veremos como nos va con el timeskip JAJAJ)

Oh no you’re totally right, if it was zombie that would be a cry for help LOL when I heard the song for the first time, although I did like it, it felt too heavy for me if I were to listen to it on my bad days:’)

OH ALSO I GOT THAT THIRD PIERCING JAJAJAJAJ

have fun on vacation!! love that you were able to visit your home country too <333

(me dí cuenta q el video no estaba cuando se lo quería mostrar a una amiga y dije ay jesú la tecnología me ganó AAJJAJA) but it honestly was just dumb it was a video fo ace singing propuesta indecente to sanji and zoro being like i Will kick your ass it just had me giggling so much LMAO

those are exactly the flashbacks i'm refering to LMAO if you thought nolan's was bad...... i am so sorry they're gonna get worse LDSGKHL much love to those characters tho nolan's story was very fun i just did not care. and yeah there's more you're gonna learn about the crew, sanji being from the north blue is a huge huge hint tbh i honestly can't wait for you to get there

skypiea zoro truly is top tier 10/10 can you believe there's people that say you can skip thsi arc like are you stupid. and nice i can't watch things dubbed either unless they're things i watched dubbed as a kid LMAO otherwise i'm like what the Hell is going on man

ennies lobby is SO GOOOOOOOD they all go insane like we can see how much they've grown and just everything about that arc is so good, i'm usually not a big fan of the fights because they uuuuh pq las prolongan mucho AJJAAJ (se me olvidó el inglés) but the fights in ennies lobby? amazing 10/10 kaku i don't care that you're a bad guy i love you please be good man

AJAJAJAJ AMOOOOOO next time i'm about and about with my friends i will most likely get it as well because who am i kidding i don't have any self control LMAO

[ma1kayl]

to start off (owarimonogatari)

i guess a fitting first post would be to talk about monogatari because i'm kind of hyperfixated on it right now.

i watched through, i wouldn't say most of, but a good chunk of the monogatari series anime last year, up through the end of koimonogatari. i don't really know why i stopped, i guess i just kind of convinced myself, "oh, the last story is called hitagi end, clearly this must be the end of the series." needless to say i was very wrong. i found out about hanamonogatari and into final season from a video essay i watched a few months later, thus spoiling a LOT of stuff for myself. i was really pissed off at myself for just stopping halfway through but it was also just a hilariously stupid situation to get myself into.

so here we are about a year and a half later, and i've finally set off to finish the anime. hana and tsukimonogatari were fun stories about my two favorite characters in the whole series (kanbaru and ononoki, obviously), but what i want to get into is owarimonogatari.

(i know that koyomimonogatari comes first in the order of the light novels, and i did watch most of it before i started owari, but the anime did it weird so i decided i'd finish it later. also, from this point on, i'm gonna stop putting the monogatari at the end of titles. we know what we're talking about. moving on.)

starting owari was a very refreshing experience. i had felt that, while hana and tsuki were both really good stories, they kind of lacked the "what the fuck is happening right now" vibe that has really become synonymous with monogatari for me, which is why i was honestly very glad to sit through the first half of ougi formula feeling like i was just having words spoken at me. and, let's be real, that's kind of all ougi formula was. i think the story it told was really interesting and a great way to set up the following episodes, but there's only so much you can do with two people sitting in a classroom for 50 minutes. one reason i was excited to finally start owari was because i finally got to learn who the fuck sodachi is. being around the internet as a fan of the series, you hear a lot of people talk about how "sodachi oikura is the pinnacle of character writing". and while i do agree that she was very well written (and acted) in the short amount of screen time that she got, there's just no way she can come anywhere as close to my heart as kanbaru, i'm sorry. that's just the way things are.

i really enjoyed sodachi riddle and sodachi lost less for the titular character and more for the depth that they added to araragi as a character. to the best of my recollection at this point in time, i don't think there had been that much about his past up to this point in the story, so getting to get a glimpse through sodachi was super cool to me. i'm glad we end up getting more of sodachi in the later novel seasons past what's been licensed in the states, because i do want to see her grow as a character and as a person with the bit of closure and resolve she got through araragi and hanekawa (and ougi).

as of writing this i'm two episodes into shinobu mail, and i must say i am beside myself with joy for the direction the story seems to be taking. we've gotten a little bit of a glimpse into shinobu's past through the kizu movies and throughout second season (i am positive that it was mostly restricted to a certain arc but i cannot for the life of me figure out which it was without rewatching the whole thing, because i don't think it was shinobu time, but correct me if i'm wrong), but having her former servant (allegedly) come back from beyond the grave as an apparition has the potential to add a whole new angle to the whole thing.

side tangent. i bought volumes 17 and 18 of the bakemonogatari manga today and read through about the back half of 17 (the first half just seemed like your standard adaptation of neko black), and i was bewildered by the connection to what i'm watching in the anime. some random ghost-like apparition showing up that apparently only hachikuji can see, that looks like a suit of armor and saying it was looking for shinobu, MY GOD oh!great is on some shit and i am HERE for it.

moving swiftly along.

i'm very excited to get to continue into owari, because the later stories (particularly mayoi hell) are bound to be very intriguing after all the shit that the characters have gone through at this point.

that'll about do it for this post. much longer than i had anticipated but that's just what happens sometimes. if you found this and read through the whole thing, i appreciate the commitment. stick around if you wanna read more mindless ramblings from yours truly.

またねー