#2021 spring anime review
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Super Cub review: Happiness is light personal consumerism
[this was written recently after the show ended (mid-2021). it's relatively better than my recent attempts at writing, probably because covid brain hadn't set in yet]
No, I'm not in favor of capitalism. Shush. Ah, imagining people genuinely argue for capitalism with "buying little cheap things is neat" depresses me already.
But anyway, would you believe me if I said that among the exciting superpowered extravaganzas and visual smokeshows of the anime (plural) of this season, one of the most interesting shows is just a simple story about buying stuff and being happy with it and not much else "happening"?
I'm gonna try to do a bad impression of a MyAnimeList's synopsis here. I don't know why I need to do that; you can just easily google it and see what's up. But in the interest of giving context to the readers without needing them to click away from here… What's Super Cub? It's a series of motorbikes manufactured from Honda, a long-lived model dating from 1958. It's also an anime adaptation of a light novel about a high schooler named Koguma, a lonely jerk without family and friends, going through high school on a scholarship, living in a place where the only entertainment is an FM radio. One day, after seeing someone riding a scooter to school and thinking, "That's neat," she wandered to a bike dealer, and due to a stroke of luck, managed to get a motorbike that's in her budget: a used Super Cub that apparently has killed 3 people. Immersing herself in riding the Cub and taking care of it, she finds joy, forges connection with other people, and even made some friends! Blegh. I'm sorry. but that's the gist of the story! If that doesn't sound like much, that's because it isn't. Still I implore you to watch it anyway.
It's genuinely a thing of beauty, how the gears of this show turn (pun). It's by design a story where much doesn't happen, and that works to its advantage. You don't need big hitter studios like SHAFT or Madhouse because there's not much happening on the screen at a time. Monologues and dialogues are sparse, especially at the start of the show, which is a bit of a wonder when you consider that this is a light novel adaptation. One ponders if the light novel consisted of just 75 lines of written out anime noises. "Uh." "Haa." "Humu." Haha. Anyway, this, along with the aforementioned non-busy screen, give room for the story to breathe, so to say. Stuff like lines of rapid-firing dialogues that even the subtitlers have a hard time keeping up with, or a character's complicated powers that was described a few seasons ago so you forget now and you're left confused, are not here to get in the way of the story. But then again, as I said on the synopsis, there isn't much of the story anyway. So what is this show then? It's… a lot of pondering. Koguma pondering about the changes in her life due to having a motorbike. Koguma pondering about the subtle changes in herself after buying a motorbike. Koguma pondering about the subtle changes from the little upgrades on her motorbike.
Among the fun pondering and navel gazing (two of the things that do happen), one fun thing to point out about this show is that almost all episodes of the show follow a formula that can be summarized as: Koguma buys something with her paltry allowance. Koguma discovers thing works well. Koguma's happy. Wonderfully, even though it's a Honda copyright sign officially sanctioned work, the story manages to convey those consumerism plot points without overtly sounding like a salesperson (the only branded thing that they would ostensibly be advertising is the Cub series motorbikes, after all). It's just a subtle pattern of the show that you don't notice at first, but then you start to and your brain just latches on to it. It's almost like a fun thing for a certain type of jerk (like me) to bring up on the show's discussion as a gotcha of sorts. As an "Indy doesn't actually have an effect on the movie's plot" type of thing. But, you know, the manner in which the story is told doesn't really let me do a "this show is trying to sell you consumerism!!!" argument anyway, even in bad faith, haha. Koguma's living on scholarship. A lot of the conflicts of the show stems from her needing to solve problems arising during her rides, looking for the obvious solution to it, seeing the price and going, "I can't afford this, you're having a laugh." Solutions range from unorthodox stuff that does fit her budget, to connections that she unexpectedly made.
Being a weirdo just by itself leads to a lonely life, but being a weirdo with a Cub begets another weirdo with a Cub. Reiko is one of the first things (people) that Koguma discovers (or rather, discovers Koguma) due to her Cub. Reiko acts like a sweetener to Koguma's bitter, lonely disposition, Reiko being a cheery and in-universe established It Girl, also an expert voice that helps ease Koguma through her honeymoon period with her Cub, a siren(!!) voice that sucks Koguma even deeper in love with her Cub and the concept of "driving around", and some tasty understated interpersonal relationship as well. Reiko calls Koguma exclusively with the -san suffix, even though they're as tight as friends can be on the outside; she only eats lunch with Koguma, Koguma sleeps over at her lodge, uh, thing? They endlessly drive around in tandem, just best buds things. It might be out of reverence; Koguma is a scholarship girl after all, and even though Reiko is the one more experienced and knowledgeable with regard to the Cub and driving, she tends to childishly reject solutions for their driving problems (like not wanting to install a windshield and leg shields due to them looking uncool on Reiko's Hunter Cub. To be fair, they do look uncool on Reiko's cub specifically, haha), and only relents after she sees Koguma using the solutions with no drama, effectively making Reiko the one following the lead. On the other hand, the -san might just be because that's how "distant" their relationship is (the only actual thing that they have in common is that they both ride a Cub, after all). Anyway, speculations aside, Reiko's here to help Koguma buy things! and consume better!!
Joking aside, even though having "I did consumerism!" as high points in the episodes might sound like a very weak proposition, there's this cute little thing that the show does to accentuate it. Put a pretty ribbon on it. You usually don't notice it due to the slightly depressing? undertone of the story, and the not-lavish production value, but the episodes and scenes tend to start out with desaturated colors. And then, after bouts of trying something out to solve her problems (which, as I mentioned before, largely involves her buying something for it), the moment where she finds out that the thing works well, colors come into the screen. It's quite a thing. You haven't been realizing that you're not seeing colors as vividly as they could be, until you see the vivid colors. A shot of happiness in your eyes. Happiness ranging from getting a raincoat so you can brave the rain to do your courier work, installing a windshield to protect you from the late fall cold air, consuming a warm coffee to counter the cold, brewed by Suu-chan, another friend you made along the way… (okay this is a stretch for the "consumerism" talking point lmao she still "consumes" though lmao)
The "being officially sanctioned by Honda" thing does remind me of another show with that distinction, a miniseries titled One Off. I've never actually watched it; the only things I remember from that show are the opening song, "Yakusoku no Basho" by Round Table ft. Nino, which is a great, cute song, obviously better than both SA-A-GIA and the CV song for the ending of Super Cub, though charming as they are; and the ending song, which is shown in story as a part of an in-universe scene, depicted as the characters doing karaoke, which happens to be my only exposure to the actual animation of the show… It left something to be desired. The premise is far more exciting than Super Cub! A beautiful foreigner! Riding a big dang bike! Through the mountainous roads! Although now, with hindsight, we found out that you don't need all that to sell a Honda. All you need is a simple story written effectively! A story about finding a hobby,
making friends along the way,
light personal consumerism,
dressed as an even simpler story about a girl in Yamanashi riding her motorbike.
#i love super cub because it's basically just another season of yurucamp#super cub#review#anime#spring 2021
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Star Student X Delinquent Yuri Romance Manga 'I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl' Licensed in English
On Saturday, Kodansha USA announced at its Anime Expo 2023 panel that it has licensed Kashikaze's I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl (Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai) for English publication. The first volume of the school romance Yuri manga will be released in the spring of 2024.
I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl follows Ayaka Sakurai, a star student gifted in both academics and athletics. However, she gets nervous about exams, so has to settle for a lesser high school than she intended.
When her homeroom teacher recognizes Ayaka's struggle, she offers her a recommendation letter that could get her into any school of her choice, on one condition. She has to convince the delinquent girl, Sora Honda, to come to school. Thus the goody-goody Sakurai is thrust into a web of blackmail that might just lead to romance!
I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl was serialized in Comic Yuri Hime from 2019 until its conclusion in October 2022. Ichijinsha publishes six collected volumes of the manga in Japanese.
The manga received positive reviews from audiences and critics. Erica Friedman awarded the first Japanese volume an 8/10 score on Okazu, and the series won 12th place overall in Yuri Navi's fifth Yuri Manga Sousenkyo in 2021.
Kashikaze is a Japanese Yuri artist. She has contributed to multiple Yuri anthologies, including Canelé: Soeur, Shibuya Gyaru, and Chocolat: Shkaijin Yuri Anthology. She also released a side story doujinshi focusing on the side characters from I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl.
Look forward to the release of the first volume of I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl in the Spring of 2024.
Source: Kodansha USA Website, Kodansha Comics Twitter
#yuri#girls love#lgbt#gl#gay#lgbtq#news#manga#anime expo#anime expo 2023#queer#lesbian#anime#yuri manga#gl manga#yuri anime#gl anime#I can't say no to the lonely girl
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End of Year Review 2023
It is currently Christmas Eve-Eve at the time of this writing, which can mean only one thing; The End of Year Review for 2023.
These past three years held a lot of significant changes and growth for me, most of which I likely wouldn't have experienced had I remained in that horrible part of the mid-west. Despite the mass 'rona pandemic and the constant mental health battles/challenges, 2020-2022 were very good to me and I consider them the best years of my life.
2023 is a welcoming addition to that train.
The first major reason were the goals I set at the end of 2022, all of which were achieved without fail (to a point);
I continued making animated shorts, but only produced 2. However, this was a good glow up year for The Boris Blobinski Show! I got to manage a smaller production team, consisting of my talented friends, and together we banged out a beautifully animated episode!
I got my contact lenses! However I haven't really worn them since I left the optometrist's office. I still intend on using these for when I go swimming or to the spa, but I can see why some people aren't crazy about this option.
I finally got my hair dyed, and it wound up being a vibrant cherry red. Had it done back in March, and most of my hair is still pretty red despite the roots coming in.
Been losing a small chunk of weight still, which means I was able to convert to smaller shirt and pants sizes.
I did a lot more exploring this year! I finally secured my Californian rite of passage by visiting In-N-Out burger, discovered a couple awesome local bakeries, and went to the movies for the first time in years. First major achievement was going to Universal for the first time ever and visiting Nintendo Land! The second biggest crowning achievement was the daytrip to The Ventura Harbor in April, where I got to board a small wildlife sea cruise and witness dolphins, whales, sea lions and seals.
I got back to working on comics again, and produced two short stories for a larger collective that is still in production.
Second major reason were the events that weren't planned out of the gate, but were absolutely welcomed;
I saved enough money to get a new desktop PC built. My friend from Colorado flew down and spent the week with me, partially to help get the PC built to proper standards and to also spend some quality time together in person.
I started freeway driving practice mid-year; taking smaller steps to feel more comfortable driving in the faster/wider lanes without having my PTSD invoked. I have a long way to go, but even driving within a 5 mile radius is still worth celebrating, especially since I've actively avoided freeway driving for most of my life.
My best friend is finally coming to visit me at the end of December! I have not seen them in person since 2016, and it will be their first time visiting my apartment space as well.
As far as plans for 2024 go, here's what I have on the docket;
I will be going to an actual jury duty selection at the end of January for the first time. (Exciting, I know!) I'm curious to see what the process is like, but I hope I can dismiss myself from the proceedings. (Respectfully, of course.)
I plan on hosting another friend visit me around the Spring/Summer.
I will be working on a very ambitious episode of The Boris Blobinski show that will take up most of the first quarter of my year.
I will continue my weight loss regimen as I have started back in 2021. As of this writing I am now down to 186 lbs. This is actually pretty close to my first goal, but I want to continue this trend until I hit between 135-140.
I still want to do more local travel and discover new venues. I'm eyeballing Downtown Ventura and will likely add a few more intended places to my list.
Attend activity based events like Life Drawing and other art related functions. As an artist, it's important I find different means to shake the rust off of my skills, and as a human I need to start making efforts in social connections again.
Continue freeway driving practice to the point where I can actually go beyond 5 miles comfortably.
Continue working on my one shot comics, see if I can at least produce two more stories before building a website/platform to host them all.
Outside of Boris Blobinski, I want to be more active in the animation space again and make a few more originals outside of that project.
Lastly, I want to look into Toon Boom Harmony official Certification. I've worked with the program for over 10 years, both for traditional hand-drawn animation and character rigging, and I would love to have that piece of recognition. Hell, I am not against the idea of applying as an instructor if I can get that far!
Of course I don't think I'll be able to jump into everything as intended. I know 2024 will also be met with some unexpected surprises, but I'll gladly welcome them all the same. And lastly, before we pull the plug on this, I want to thank everyone involved in my life that has made 2023 a fantastic experience. You know who you are.
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Alrighty I'll do the year in review thing too!
I posted 5,363 times in 2022
That's 3,107 more posts than 2021!
146 posts created (3%)
5,217 posts reblogged (97%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@deeisace
@britta-ashcroft
@marzipanandminutiae
@aboxthecolourofheartache
@carpe-mamilia
I tagged 5,351 of my posts in 2022
#art - 813 posts
#animals - 643 posts
#amusing things - 607 posts
#our flag means death - 549 posts
#paintings - 509 posts
#19th century - 330 posts
#video - 325 posts
#birds - 299 posts
#cute - 286 posts
#18th century - 280 posts
Longest Tag: 137 characters
#you can see the limited budget & tight deadlines in a lot of the costume pieces‚ but the false hair looks great‚ which is more important!
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
hiding my downloaded Our Flag Means Death episodes in the least suspiciously named folder I can think of
1,837 notes - Posted August 21, 2022
#4
"This is one of my favourite extant late 18th century waistcoats!" I say, as if I had it narrowed down to just a few.
2,717 notes - Posted April 10, 2022
#3
Top 5 historic clothing items we should bring back into style (stockings on men, big cuffs on coats etc.)
Well I am very biased, because my everyday clothes are mostly 18th century menswear inspired, but for a list as short as 5 it's good to narrow it down!
See the full post
3,299 notes - Posted November 26, 2022
#2
why do fake fireplaces always just have fake decorative logs? They could put anything in there.
9,220 notes - Posted November 19, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
Anonymous asked: but what is the sewing bird for?
For holding the fabric, it's like a third hand to help you while you hand sew. It clamps to the table and the bird's body and head are a big spring loaded clip that holds things. I've never used one, but it would be neat to try.
(image source)
A lot of them also have pincushions.
See the full post
12,842 notes - Posted August 31, 2022
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I posted 829 times in 2022
That's 399 more posts than 2021!
176 posts created (21%)
653 posts reblogged (79%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@keydekyie
@therealbrigeedarocks
@enrichmentformaverick
@kawaii-bees
@unpretty
I tagged 788 of my posts in 2022
Only 5% of my posts had no tags
#gud art - 138 posts
#inspiration - 124 posts
#tmatb - 117 posts
#laugh rule - 82 posts
#grace your face - 52 posts
#grace makes art - 47 posts
#ask - 42 posts
#self reblog - 36 posts
#flora - 36 posts
#tmatb ii - 33 posts
Longest Tag: 140 characters
#kaelin's like: 'omg why is he looking at me like that? are my hands weird? why is he smiling a little? is he mocking me? wtf is he thinking?
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
Kaelin's pretty good at climbing trees, but it still turns Ruyak into a stressball
189 notes - Posted October 23, 2022
#4
If he could afford it, he would have let this one go...
read more...
206 notes - Posted August 31, 2022
#3
Sound on please!
This is a short film I made several years ago to promote my book series "The Moth and the Bear," which you can check out on my website graceohare.com. All the art and animation was done by myself, save the cart turning over. My partner helped me with that. The song is Tili Tili Bom by Lev Zemlinsky.
273 notes - Posted September 30, 2022
#2
So I played Stray...
410 notes - Posted September 16, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
500 notes - Posted September 17, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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I posted 135 times in 2022
That's 135 more posts than 2021!
23 posts created (17%)
112 posts reblogged (83%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@van-yangyin
@/void-imp
I tagged 117 of my posts in 2022
Only 13% of my posts had no tags
#reblog - 95 posts
#van-yangyin - 93 posts
#lea-heartscxiv - 24 posts
#sims 4 anime - 18 posts
#sk8 the infinity - 17 posts
#sk8 sims - 16 posts
#my sk8 sims - 15 posts
#showusyoursims - 12 posts
#thesims4 - 12 posts
#show us your sims - 12 posts
Longest Tag: 70 characters
#i've just started because i'm going to want to delete my account?💁♂️
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
吉田家族『Kitta Family』
First Name: 瑠 (Ryuu)
Last name: 吉田 (Kitta)
Job: Writer
Ryuu is Ryuuya's biological father.
He lost his wife when Ryuuya was barely 6 years old, his parents didn't agree with him raising Ryuuya by himself and his in-laws didn't agree either, and even less now that he's with a man together, his parents and in-laws are totally against this union. Ryuu and Tatsu met in a bar while Ryuu was bartending and from that day on they became friends, Tatsu was the best man at the wedding and when Ryuuya's mother was about to die she made Tatsu promise never to leave Ryuu, she knew what it was like to be in love and she knew that Tatsu would be a good father to Ryuuya.
Tatsu and Ryuu were by Ryuuya's mother's side until the last moment.
Ryuu and Tatsu are very protective parents. Ryuu loves videogames, it's weird that Ryuuya doesn't like it having two dads who like videogames, well maybe Ryuuya has seen them play videogames so much in their spare time in family that he has become bored with it.
See the full post
4 notes - Posted May 22, 2022
#4
Gobbolino, the Witch’s Cat
Gobbolino and Salima are two witch cats, Salima is totally black and Gobbolino has a white paw.
A long time ago I made Gobbolino the cat who wanted to be a normal cat.
Gobbolino was created on August 18, 2018
4 notes - Posted May 8, 2022
#3
Luxie Ruin
She gets along very badly with Agatha Crumplebottom, so much so that she has declared her an enemy.
She's a very special sim, she loves to be naughty and her favorite color is blue... I should have imagined it.
She is a living doll, blue in color, and although she is wearing a wind-up, I must tell you that she doesn't need it.....
Maybe her appearance doesn't scare you but her voice... that voice so deep in the dark .... has made more than one to scream .... and not of pleasure, but of fear.
Luxie was made by @van-yangyin and myself, on a night we wanted to make a sim that was scary and had all or some evil traits. For the month of Halloween, we made our own challenge, using a color or two and evil traits.
Luxie was created on October15, 2020
Hair by Simlaughlove
Wind-Up Keys by WaeKey
Spring Poncho Coat by HappyLifeSims
6 notes - Posted May 9, 2022
#2
Sólo quedan 5 días...
Ahora solo quedan 4 días...y restando...
6 notes - Posted August 3, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
吉田光希『Hiroki Yoshida』
First Name: Hiroki/光希
Last name: Yoshida/吉田
Hiroki moved from San Myshuno to Hendford-on-Bagley (Villa Gallina de la Bolsona in Spanish), when he adopted Warlock a Shiba Inu, he thought that the best for Warlock was the countryside without dangers of roads and children who mistreat animals.
From San Myshuno he made good friends among them Miya Chinen who Hiroki finds adorable.
Hiroki goes to the University and studies Marine Biology, although his dream is to be a veterinarian, he also likes the sea.
His hobbies are video games and cooking. When he has time, between classes and walks he tries to cook and follow a saga that he has been playing for a long time, and every time he plays or publishes something he has a new theory in mind about the story and its characters.
He has a crush on Taiki, but his first impression of Hiroki is unreliable.
Though someone has a crush on Hiroki, and it's Yozora Matsuoka.
Hiroki Yoshida was created on December 12th, 2020.
6 notes - Posted May 20, 2022
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Mission Impossible:Dead Reckoning Part I | Review 🖋️
⛔⛔⛔ Possible Spoilers ⛔⛔⛔
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Early Screening
Saturday
07.08.2023
Guest Writer
C.Armstrong 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿
Note of Gratitude:
This is our movie reviewer's last submission and I would like to thank him for sharing his thoughts with all of us throughout the years.
Covering Comic Conventions:
4th Annual Khem Comic Book Festival 4/2018
5th Annual Urban Action Showcase & Expo 9/24/2018
Star War's 501st in Brooklyn Spring 2017
Black Label Comic Con June 2021
Corwin Armstrong will be kicking off his own content,podcast/blogging and bringing his creative thoughts to the masses.
KhemFest Anime Festival 2018 🎭
On Location:Black Label Comicon
Working exclusively for Black Label Comicon 👍🏾
You can check his Black Label Comicon video interviews,with comic creators from that event at http://www.blacklabelcomicon.com 🦸🏾♂️🧛🏾♂️🥷🏾
Contact Corwin Armstrong on his Facebook page for information REGARDING photographs and videos from this event.
*Nerd's World DOES NOT HAVE or RECEIVED Any Photos or Videos Regarding This Convention!!*
Corwin Armstrong was volunteering directly with Black Label Comic Con,please contact Founder Eric Cooper for inquiries!
00.10 seconds
C.Armstrong interviewing Black Label Comiccon Creators for Eric Cooper,Owner and Founder.
youtube
Thank you,
July 26,2023
Founder/Editor-in-Chief Nerd's World NYC 👾
L.George
#corwinarmstrong#carmstrong#early screening#earlingscreeningreview#wereallgoingtothemovies#mission impossible dead reckoning#tomcruise#mission impossible#dead reckoning part one#finalsubmission#checkblacklabelcomicon#videointerviews#Youtube
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I posted 1,925 times in 2022
That's 1,925 more posts than 2021!
529 posts created (27%)
1,396 posts reblogged (73%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@encantoisawesome
@glitternightingale
@junosaccount
@omgcheez
UGH. My username was on this list and I’m embarrassed. I need to stop reblogging things from their OPs and from the people I follow instead 😩
I tagged 1,885 of my posts in 2022 (no pancita on the list??? ⬇️)
Only 2% of my posts had no tags
#bruno madrigal - 1,092 posts
#all of queue all of queue - 950 posts
#fan art - 542 posts
#julieta madrigal - 371 posts
#mirabel madrigal - 331 posts
#encanto - 326 posts
#pepa madrigal - 323 posts
#stuff i've posted - 299 posts
#asks - 189 posts
#isabela madrigal - 182 posts
Longest Tag: 74 characters
#and because i need to see something that mostly made me happy to write lol
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
sleep pile with bruno and his nieces and nephews!
Thank you for the request 🥺 Somehow this turned out to be over 1,000 words! Here’s the AO3 link!
...
Duerme bien
“But we should—“
“Leave him there. Good idea.”
“Not what I was going to say!”
“Whaddya mean? We’re practically twins! We finish each otherrr’s…”
“Like I’d ever fall for that.”
“Hey. What’re you guys just, standing there for?”
Mirabel and Camilo startle at the voice behind them.
“Luisa! Keep your voice down, okay,” Mirabel hisses. “It’s Tío Bruno.”
The tall young woman crosses the courtyard and gazes in the direction her sister has indicated with puckered lips. Her powerful body is immediately tense, ready to spring forward and pluck their tío out of whatever situation he’s landed in. The instant she sees him, though, she gives a low little laugh.
“Oh, he’s sleeping.”
“Yeah. On the floor. Just. Dead to the world, right there.” Camilo, heaping on the obvious statements.
“Which is why we should move him to the couch!”
“He looks… comfortable?” Luisa shifts from one foot to the other. “Haven’t you seen this before?” The younger kids shake their heads. “He used to do it a lot. Before he, uh, left. I remember seeing him asleep on the floor, or like, in a corner somewhere. Mamá said that as long as he wasn’t in danger, wasn’t going to fall or get stepped on or anything, it was okay to let him be. Said he needed the rest.”
She doesn’t mention the part where she’d plunk down in front of Bruno, a doll and stuffed animal in tow, or sometimes blocks. Or that she’d sit with him until he woke up (once or twice prodding him awake herself). Then her tío would blink at her through those ever sleepless eyes, never upset with her, not even if she roused him sooner than he’d wanted. Just a crooked smile and a bleary but tender, “Buenas, Luisita.”
Camilo is gesturing at the man’s form in the center of the living room. “See? I was right. Also, wow, fu—ay! Wh—“
“Shh. I still think we should move him.” Mirabel’s brow is furrowed.
See the full post
498 notes - Posted May 27, 2022
#4
See the full post
541 notes - Posted November 26, 2022
#3
Some very cute illustrations from the Encanto “Little Golden Book”
Bruno looks so awkward and uncomfortable in his mamá’s arms 🥺 Little Antonio peeking out from behind Isabela! And baby triplets!! Lookit baby Pepa! Baby Juli with her toes! And baby Bruno with the butterfly!
697 notes - Posted April 5, 2022
#2
See the full post
1,609 notes - Posted April 13, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
Bless whoever decided that Bruno should be shorter and smaller than his sisters.
1,804 notes - Posted May 30, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
#tumblr2022#year in review#my 2022 tumblr year in review#your tumblr year in review#i like reading the tags on ops#and just.#reblog from there cuz lazy
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Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #206
Brought to you by a marine biologist and another fresh fellow...
CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST!
Aquarium fish have a genetic history similar to dogs - most species in the aquarium trade have been bred for fancier body shapes and brighter colors, and sometimes completely different patterns from their wild counterparts. No one knows this better than the humble goldfish or its cousin the koi, but we have covered lots of AC freshwater fish that were *clearly* a domesticated form running feral in the rivers of your island. Today, I present another such friend - the gourami.
The gourami first appeared in Pocket Camp in Fishing Tourney 26 in May 2020, and then actually came back for a full spring season in 2021. Gourami are native to South and Southeast Asia, so makes sense they prefer warmer water (although if I were to be super picky, I’d point out that anywhere that gets snow still has *frigid* water temperatures in the spring thanks to snow melt, but I digress! I’m not actively trying to poke holes in Animal Crossing’s choices when it looks like they thought about it a little in goddamn Pocket Camp!)
“Gourami” is actually the name of an entire family - Osphronemidae. They are nestled with the Order Anabantiformes, and more specifically the SubOrder Anabantoidei, also known as the Labyrinth Fish. We covered fish in this family almost a hundred entries ago when we talked about the Betta, so to review:
Labyrinth fish have what is called the “labyrinth organ” which acts like another version of “lung”, allowing the fish to gulp and use air when their still-water habitats become hypoxic or anoxic, aka, very low in oxygen/has virtually no oxygen dissolved in it. Lots of freshwater fish have to deal with this major issue in their habitats, so there are a plethora of strategies fish have evolved to combat it, including *actual lungs* (which then helped lead the tetrapods further onto land). So, you can think of the labyrinth organ as another version of sack-air-breathing that we could have been using but lungs eventually won out as the equipment of choice for tetrapods. Natural history is fascinating.
The Betta is actually included in Osphronemidae with the other gouramis - they are very closely related. The two fish belong in two separate SubFamilies. The gourami ACPC chose appears to be a domesticated version of the Honey Gourami (Trichogaster chuna).
^So, this is generally what they look like in the wild - males, of course, have bold colors to attract females. In this case, he has a dark bluish-black underside contrasted with orange and yellow on top. Of course, humans saw this and were like “ Ya know what this guy needs? More YELLOW.” And then we made this:
Luckily for the gourami, it seems we’re totally okay with their body shape so far. Species of gourami can get generally large (and I mean in like, the 2 to 4 inch range) and like their cousins the Bettas, some species and individuals can be aggressive to tankmates.
Now, the most noticeable trait of the gourami are its elongated pelvic fins that look like thin tentacles that they kinda use like tentacles. Because they live in murky freshwater habitats, those long fins act like antenna, helping the fish to feel around its environment through touch when it can’t see.
And there you have it. Fascinating stuff, no?
#gourami#honey gourami#fish#freshwater#animal crossing#animal crossing pocket camp#acpc#science in video games#animal crossing fish explained
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I posted 4,802 times in 2022
That's 4,610 more posts than 2021!
163 posts created (3%)
4,639 posts reblogged (97%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@/the-gayest-sky-kid
@/lotus-reblogs
@/draemyr
@/yume-fanfare
@/limerancy
I tagged 3,365 of my posts in 2022
Only 30% of my posts had no tags
#genshin impact - 1,892 posts
#art - 160 posts
#talking - 119 posts
#xiaoven - 106 posts
#!! - 93 posts
#important - 65 posts
#prev tags - 58 posts
#save for later - 57 posts
#zara draws - 57 posts
#:o - 55 posts
Longest Tag: 134 characters
#you’re the reason that i’m way more confident in talking to people online and if it weren’t for you i probably wouldn’t know so many *
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
✨🌌a starry night🌌✨
See the full post
41 notes - Posted February 1, 2022
#4
@lotus-pear , @salty-icepops , @cherryblossoms-in-spring , @ancient-cistern ..... I´m sorry :)
so uh last night was one heck of a adventure... so I decided to draw a lil somethin for us <3 in the style of my "aether beating up childe" drawing of course
45 notes - Posted January 2, 2022
#3
my piece for the collab with @lotus-pear - the other one linked here
46 notes - Posted January 2, 2022
#2
decided to make a lil animation for this guy :3
63 notes - Posted March 26, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
🎶 xiaoti's like a melody in my head 🎶
64 notes - Posted January 12, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
#tumblr2022#year in review#ayo almost 2000 posts tagged genshin impact 😭#could be worse#also my xiaoven drawing is my top post? :o I thought it would be the venti animation but still nice#I should redraw that drawing tho#I'm sure I could do way better now#talking
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Yuri of Absence and The Chair of Yuri: Combining Lesbian Manga and Science Fiction - The Secret Garden
This article was originally written in 2021 as part of The Secret Garden, YuriMother's exclusive series of articles, available only for Patrons. If you want to access other articles and help support Yuri and LGBTQ+ content, subscribe to the YuriMother Patreon.
In the “olden days” of Yuri, which is really to say anything in the ‘00s or earlier, there was not much variety in the mainstream Yuri market. If you wanted to read a manga about the romance between two women or watch an anime with clear lesbian elements, choices were between a sweet school story or a classic tragic school Yuri story. As I have mentioned many times recently, one of the most significant advancements in the recent Yuri genre is the advent of sub-genres. Once considered an element or subgenre itself, Yuri hosts various works from isekai to feminist literature. However, one of the most curious and certainly most well-known subgenres is science fiction.
Yuri science fiction is in the spotlight right now, with everything from visual novels like Synergia to webcomics like Ratana Satis’s Soul Drifters. However, one of the most prolific and rightly celebrated titles is Iori Miyazawa’s Otherside Picnic. The series began publishing under Hayakawa’s Bunko JA imprint in 2017, and over the past few years, it exploded onto the scene. It has an upcoming sixth book, a manga adaptation serialized in Monthly Shounen Gangan, healthy overseas publishing, and of course, an anime adaptation helmed by Kase-san and Stiens;Gate director Takuya Sato. It has garnered praise from critics CBR, Anime News Network, and Erica Friedman of Okazu. I wrote glowing reviews for the first few books, complimenting its worldbuilding, pacing, and characters. However, Otherside Picnic did not spring out of anywhere. Indeed, it is the product of gradual shifts in Yuri and sci-fi storytelling and Miyazawa’s genius theories and knowledge of the genres.
The mixture of Yuri and science fiction is not anything new; it predates most other forms of Yuri save Class S school romances. You may not picture many of these when you think of modern Yuri sci-fi, but as early as 1975, we had Yuri stories like Boku no Shotaiken that included small sci-fi elements, in this case, transferring the mind to another body. Over the next two decades or so, a time during which so few Yuri titles surfaced, it is occasionally referred to as Yuri’s “era of Darkness,” multiple titles sci-fi titles including Dirty Pair, Project A-Ko, Bubblegum Crisis, and Iczer featured science fiction settings and Yuri elements. At this time, Yuri was not much of a genre as we think of it today, but more of a factor inserted into a larger narrative. Think of Yayoi and Shion from Psycho-Pass for a more contemporary example. In fact, except for Iczer, none of these titles feature any outright lesbian characters, just female casts with “Yuri-ish” moments of women standing close together and being companions.
These titles feature two key elements that many current series have shifted further away from, soft sci-fi and Weak Yuri. Soft, as opposed to hard science fiction, is the more established of these two scales. Science fiction can be separated between outlandish and impossible ideas, sometimes known as science fantasy, and those based in reality, research, and the hard sciences such as physics, astronomy, and mathematics. Sorting works between these two labels is, ironically, not an exact science, and fans and critics alike argue about their precise definitions. However, let us consider soft and hard science as a spectrum, with outlandish premises like Dragonball on the soft end and the reality-based concepts of Space Brothers at the other. One can sort most titles along this continuum. M Alan Kazlev does an excellent job dissecting this scale in further detail. Many of the titles we enjoy today, including Otherside Picnic, inhabit this transitory space, as it is not fantasy. Still, its reliance on anthropology and psychology’s soft sciences may put it a small step below more grounded hard sci-fi. Still, it is far above the aliens and superpowered robots in ‘80s anime, so we shall consider it hard sci-fi for the sake of this argument.
*Note: Many science fiction circles use the abbreviation sci-fi for soft science fiction and SF for hard science fiction. For ease of readability and common vernacular, this article uses “sci-fi” for both instances.*
Sci-fi Yuri did not break out of soft science fiction territory until very recently. In the 1990s, Yuri underwent dramatic changes thanks to Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena, which helped reform it as a genre rather than a feature. Maria Watches Over Us revived S Yuri traditions, and new titles were set in schools and focused on modern girls’ lives. In the 2000s, Yuri magazines began serialization and featured stories such as Kisses, Sighs, and Cheery Blossom Pink and Strawberry Shake Sweet (both serialized under different names). Despite being primarily aimed at adult women, the magazine found success with male audiences, prompting new stories appealing to men and boys. These works reintroduced action and science fiction into the genre with pieces like Kannazuki no Miko: Destiny of the Shrine Maiden, Blue Drop, and Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl (Yuriboke does a better job breaking all these down). However, all these were still vehemently in soft sci-fi territory, with Kashimashi’s only surreal element being an alien because the author was, to simplify grossly, unable to fathom the existence of transgender people (coming full circle from Boku no Shotaiken). Possibly the only contemporary mainstream hard sci-fi title to include Yuri and enjoy a modicum of success was Qualia The Purple. However, this series did not have the genre-defining power that later works would.
However, what changes between these series and those mentioned earlier is the Yuri itself. The relationships become much more explicit and central to the plot. You can deliberate whether or not Bubblegum Crisis is sapphic, but just try sitting someone down and arguing that Kannazuki no Miko is not built around the crux of two women holding romantic interest in each other. Yuri science fiction author Gengen Kusano proposes a dichotomy similar to soft and hard sci-fi to analyze these titles, Weak and Strong Yuri. He explains it in his own brilliantly convoluted and philosophical way, but in short, Weak Yuri relies on using logic and the mind to make the real imaginary, while strong Yuri is about emotionalism and realism, making fiction into reality.
Strong Yuri is Yuri that focuses on realism through feelings and emotions. Kusano describes it as fiction characters having real emotions. They have strong connections and affection for each other that are real and powerful. The audience experiences the feelings between the characters as they are felt and portrayed. Think of how emotional the exclamations and love, sorrow, confusion, and affection are in titles like Bloom Into You and Citrus. In a sense, they can be so strong that they transcend their fictional confines and become real, as they are experienced by considers, a stage called “radically Strong Yuri.” Most explicit Yuri, which is not subtext or suggestive content but in-your-face lesbianism, is Strong Yuri, although not all Strong Yuri is outright depictions of lesbianism; it is a square rectangle situation, not all rectangles are squares, but all squares are rectangles.
Weak Yuri is cemented in the areas of thought, logic, and epistemology. It deals with the theory of mind, the ability to attribute mental states to others or ourselves. For example, when we see someone smiling or laughing, we may not feel their emotion ourselves, as we do not have direct access to their mind, but we recognize that they are happy. In Weak Yuri, one uses their theory of mind to observe facts and deduce the existence of a Yuri relationship, even if one is not present. So-called “Yuri-ish” titles like Yuru Camp or K-ON! do not outright state or depict romantic or sexual attractions, but is attributed by the viewers onto characters. Said observer witnesses the interactions between girls and, using that factual and observable data, puzzles out a lesbian attraction they prescribe to the subjects, whether real. Shipping culture relies on Weak Yuri’s logic Kusano’s most extreme, “Radical Weak Yuri,” the relationships of real people, like idols, become imaginary through these projections.
Blue Drop and Kashimashi may have been soft Sci-fi, but unlike the soft sci-fi, Weak Yuri series of the twentieth century, they featured Strong Yuri and placed it more as a central aspect of the work with other elements built around, rather than as a side element. The next revolution in sci-fi Yuri came when hard sci-fi titles began production. A few of the principal players here are Kusano himself, Otherside Picnic Creator Iori Miyazawa, and editor Rikimura Mizoguichi, all of whom feature in the viral Yuri Made Me Human interview of Miyazawa. Most of the theories and ideas discussed in this article, including Kusano’s Weak and Strong Yuri arguments, came from these seminars.
It all started with Kusano’s existential widescreen Yuri baroque proletariat hard sci-fi Love Live AU fanfic of the popular ship NicoMaki, consisting of Nico Yazawa and Maki Nishikino. The revised edition of this story, Last and First Idol, was published in 2016 and became the first debut title to win the prestigious Seiun Award in 42 years. Satoshi Maejima’s post-script essay at the end of the Last and First Idol collection gives far more detail into these works’ history. However, Idol was the first prominent story to feature Yuri in a hard sci-fi narrative. It was not perfect. In fact, in its push to feature gruesome content and insane hard sci-fi that Yuri is pushed to the wayside during most of the story.
*Author’s note: The first time I read Last and First Idol, I was completely unaware of its contents, which was a shocking experience; the story comes with a severe content warning).
Last and First Idol did not create a woven hard sci-fi, Strong Yuri narrative. However, it was a definite proof of the concept, a testament that the sprawling details and imagery of hard Sci-Fi could work with Yuri relationships. Kusano’s next short story, Evolution Girls, which would appear alongside Last and First Idol in the collection of the same name, saw the author focus more on emotionalism and create a Strong Yuri work. Nevertheless, Last and First Idol was a massive success. Future hard proof that Yuri hard sci-fi was coming in force came in December 2018, when Hayakawa Shobo ran a special edition of its long-running S-F Magazine featuring Yuri stories. The issue, planned by Rikimura Mizoguchi, proved so popular for the second time in its then 59-year history, the magazine had to reprint before release.
While Kusano was developing theories on Yuri and Hayakawa Shobo worked to push the public eye onto Yuri sci-fi, author Iori Miyazawa was refining his own Yuri premises, ones that, though he did not know it at the time, would not only see Strong Yuri and Hard sci-fi standing side by side in the same story but would synthesis the two into a unique product that could attract new fans and expand the borders of science fiction and Yuri. The work in question, of course, is Otherside Picnic. This light novel series about girls journeying to another world to hunt creatures from occult internet lore is to date Yuri science fiction’s best execution.
As Miyazawa admits, he strives to create Strong Yuri by focusing on emotionalism and realistic characters. However, such character-driven narratives are often at odds with hard science fiction, which requires dense walls of text to explain the complicated science behind its concepts and world. Miyazawa avoids this trap by utilizing Yuri tropes, specifically scenic Yuri and “Yuri of absence,” and integrating Yuri relationship into these explanatory literary lectures. Examining the latter first, rather than using narrative or exposition dialogue to unravel the intelligence behind the world or elements of science fiction, Miyazawa uses the relationship between Sorawo and Toriko.
In Otherside Picnic, explanations of the mysterious Otherside come primarily from two sources, dialogue and Sorawo’s inner monologue. When Sorawo and Torikko discuss a nuance of the paranormal creatures they investigate, it no longer becomes a large infodump but a Yuri scene about their relationship through their interactions and responses. According to both the strong Yuri theory and Yuri’s traditional definition, these emotions and discussions are the crux of the genre – stories about females’ relationships. Similar emotionalism fills Sorawo’s inner monologues, specifically in the frequent romantic admirations of Toriko. Thus, an explanation existing in that same space becomes Yuri, as it mirrors the same emotions and attraction. Merely by placing the usual exposition into interactions and relationships, Miyazawa was able to open hard science fiction to new readers, who may have been apprehensive before because of these text walls.
Miyazawa’s other secret weapon is, as he describes it, “Yuri of absence.” Relying on the principles of Strong Yuri, that Yuri is fiction made real through emotions, Yuri of absence extends these parameters outside of characters. As Strong Yuri relies on feeling, not observable data like characters, anything that invokes two women’s feelings together is Yuri. It could be a song, or an empty bench, as one can imagine two women on it and feel emotions tied to that. Of course, taken to its extreme, nearly anything can then be Yuri, as I have joked before, gesturing to an empty chair proclaiming, “Behold, a Yuri!” However, Miyazawa uses this Yuri of absence sparingly, rendering it closer to scenic Yuri’s intimacy.
Scenic Yuri, a particular type of Yuri of absence, focuses exclusively on setting and imagery, a feature that works particularly well in science fiction as according to Masahiro Noda’s “sci-fi is all about images.�� Traditional Yuri uses character interaction and supplements it with images and sights that help communicate characters’ emotions and intimacy, like fleeting shots or descriptions of the sky. Take the shot from Kase-san and Morning Girls where Yamada stands by the bus stop. The distance between the girls, the tree in the foreground on Yamada’s side, and the pole on the right all invoke emotion and help tell the girls’ story, distanced by their differences and upcoming life paths. Now remove the girls, the scene remains, as does its meaning and emotions, whether the characters are present or not.
Scenic Yuri is employed vigorously in more male-targeted S Yuri (a minority of the Class S genre). Here, the imagery provides intimacy so that the voyeuristic viewer could look into the characters’ private and forbidden lives, specifically the girls in all-girls schools. Take the shot from Strawberry “Mo Man May Enter Here” Panic. The sweeping view of the Strawberry Dorms atop Astraea Hill, a place where men are forbidden, gives the consumer an exclusive inside look at the private home of its subjects. Otherside Picnic uses these same scenic Yuri principles in its descriptions. In this case, the intimacy does not come from a place where men are prohibited or a shot describing women’s relationships. Instead, the reports of abandoned ruins and deserted open fields where only Toriko and Sorawo exist provide extreme intimacy. It is an emotional view of two of the few women in this world with nothing but each other; thus, Yuri.
Yuri science fiction is easily the most exciting place in the genre right now. Its creators are experimenting with new theories and storytelling methods to expand the boundaries of what science fiction or Yuri alone could never do. The subgenre has undoubtedly come a long way from its Weak Yuri roots and continues to grow. Industry leaders like Miyazawa and Mizoguichi will continue to push into this excited and uncharted territory, using tactics new and old to bring together Yuri’s emotional and romantic core with science fiction’s epic and provoking imagery. I have few doubts that we have seen all these pioneers have to offer and that Last and First Idol and Otherside Picnic are just the beginning.
Sources
Friedman, Erica, and Kishiji Bando. “Shoujo Yuri Manga Guide.” Yuricon, 29 Mar. 2011, https://www.yuricon.com/oldessays/shoujo-yuri-manga-guide/.
Hanson, Katherine. Yuri No Boke 百合のボケ 〜百合が好きだ〜: Sci-Fi Yuri Anime and Manga. 17 Feb. 2012, http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2012/02/sci-fi-yuri-anime-and-manga.html.
Kit, et al. Tomo Choco Podcast Episode 58: A Trip to the Otherside. https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/tomochoco5287491142565609/id/14974343. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Komatsu, Mikikazu. “S-F Magazine’s Yuri-Themed Issue Gets Reprints Before Release.” Crunchyroll, https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2018/12/18/s-f-magazines-yuri-themed-issue-gets-reprints-before-release. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Kusano, Gengen. “[R-18] #SF #矢澤にこ 【SF合同サンプル】最後にして最初の矢澤 - 節足原々（セッソクハラハラ）の小説.” Pixiv, https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=4992326. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
M Alan Kazlev. “The Scale of Hardness in Science Fiction.” Futurism, https://vocal.media/futurism/the-scale-of-hardness-in-science-fiction. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Masayuki Sakoi. Strawberry Panic S01:E21 - Like a Flower. Madhouse, 2006. tubitv.com, https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/558933/s01-e21-like-a-flower.
Maser, Verena. Beautiful and Innocent: Female Same-Sex Intimacy in the Japanese Yuri Genre. ubt.opus.hbz-nrw.de, https://ubt.opus.hbz-nrw.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/695. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Miyazawa, Iori, et al. Yuri Made Me Human, Part 2. Translated by Kati_lilian, 24 Aug. 2018, https://teletype.in/@kati_lilian/S1yjBCJgH.
Miyazawa, Iori, and Rikimaru Mizoguchi. Yuri Made Me Human — Interview with Iori Miyazawa. Translated by kati_lilian, May 2018, https://teletype.in/@kati_lilian/SJA8KwjjN.
Moore, Caitlin, et al. “The Winter 2021 Preview Guide - Otherside Picnic.” Anime News Network, https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/preview-guide/2021/winter/otherside-picnic/.167892. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Nicki “YuriMother” Bauman. The History and Future of Transgender Representation in Yuri - The Secret Garden, January 2021 | YuriMother on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/posts/45495024. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
---. “Yuri Is for Everyone: An Analysis of Yuri Demographics and Readership.” Anime Feminist, 12 Feb. 2020, https://www.animefeminist.com/yuri-is-for-everyone-an-analysis-of-yuri-demographics-and-readership/.
Pinansky, Sam. Interview with J-Novel Club’s Sam Pinansky. Interview by Erica Friedman, 1 Oct. 2019, https://okazu.yuricon.com/2019/10/01/interview-with-j-novel-clubs-sam-pinansky/.
Sarantos, Constance. “How Otherside Picnic Breaks the Yuri Genre Mold.” CBR, 10 Jan. 2021, https://www.cbr.com/otherside-picnic-breaks-yuri-genre-mold/.
“「SF冬の時代」は雪解けを迎えた 早川書房・溝口力丸 Vol.1.” KAI-YOU Premium, https://premium.kai-you.net/article/201. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Snapshot. https://www.cbr.com/otherside-picnic-breaks-yuri-genre-mold/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Takuya Satou. Watch Kase-San and Morning Glories. Sentai Filmworks, 2018. vrv.co, https://vrv.co/series/GYQWD1X1Y/Kase-san-and-Morning-Glories.
Walter, Damien. “Science Fiction vs SciFi vs SF: What Is the True Definition?” Damien Walter, 7 Aug. 2018, https://damiengwalter.com/2018/08/07/science-fiction-vs-scifi-vs-sf-what-is-the-true-definition/.
YuriMother. “LGBTQ Light Novel Review - Otherside Picnic Vol. 1.” The Holy Mother of Yuri, 12 Dec. 2019, https://yurimother.com/post/189635367305.
This article was originally written in 2021 as part of The Secret Garden, YuriMother's exclusive series of articles, available only for Patrons. If you want to access other articles and help support Yuri and LGBTQ+ content, subscribe to the YuriMother Patreon.
#Yuri#otherside picnic#the secret garden#miyazawa yuri#yuri of absence#scenic yuri#lgbt#lgbtq#lgbtq+#queer#gay#lesbian
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End of the Year Review: A Three Year Act Edition
My birthday is ten days away, so I felt it appropriate to write another one of these End of Year Reviews before then.
I decided to summarize the last two years since I didn't bother to do so after 2019. The motivation to do this came from regretting to not record and keep any of my previous EoY posts from 2018 and earlier. As I get older, those said years became a blur to me, which is unfortunate.
But I digress, let's start things off with the glorious year of...
2020
The year when Covid went into full swing around the globe, but also the year of brand new beginnings and a year full of insane luck and precise timing.
In 2019, literally the day after Christmas, I was offered a job as a 2D Animator for a unique Cybersecurity training firm in CA. After a brief moment of panic and my best friend convincing me to take a chance with this new venture, I agreed to move out west at the end of January, and start my new job in February. For first two weeks I stayed at an AirBnB close to my job, and eventually moved into a makeshift studio space attached to a family home that belonged to a fellow alumni's mother.
I never imagined I would finally leave Michigan after 35 years of personal pain and misery, to have a job that actually paid a livable wage that was also synonymous with my career path, and be able to leave behind an environment that put me in a constant state of stress and depression. For the first time in ages, I felt truly blessed.
In the Spring, my best friend and I started getting re-acquainted with an old mutual friend of ours that we seldom spoke to in years. We ended up spending weekend nights having three way calls, discussing creative projects and talking about life in general. Never thought I'd re-connect with them in such a way, but now we have a much tighter friendship bond than we did in the past.
2021
After being able to save a lump sum of money thanks to the low rent cost and full on public transit reliance, I finally acquired a car. It didn't take me long to get re-acquainted with driving on the road; not having to deal with the iconic pot holes and rough weather worn terrain made travel cakewalk. I took my time to discover some great local haunts, like GraphAids and Record Outlet.
However, in October I realized that my body was out of shape, and when I weighed myself for the first time in forever, I was hitting 231 Lbs. I took it upon myself to start a weight and task log in order to keep track of CICO, and exercise again. ( I was rotating between DDPY, Ringfit and the mini-elliptical) I also acquired a nutritionist to guide me in making better decisions for my diet.
When November rolled around, I came to the conclusion that I needed to move out of the little studio space and into my own apartment. While it helped me save a great deal of money, the space was tiny, I missed having a stove, and a washer and dryer nearby. My landlady was oddly avoidant on giving rent history to my soon-to-be apartment management, but come later December I was still able to get approval for a unit.
That same month, I announced the end of my long running web comic The Shufflers. It was one of the hardest decisions I had to make, but a necessary one. I still think about whether or not I can pick it back up again, but only time can tell.
2022
No doubt, is perhaps one of my favorite years living out in CA by far. I moved into an upper level apartment, got promoted to Production Supervisor at my workplace, I traveled to Colorado Springs to hang out with my friend, got to visit The Academy Museum with my workmates and explored the Studio Ghibli exhibition, and roamed a little bit around my new city and found some neat shops and restaurants.
Along with it's pleasures, also came with great internal struggles; even though I left my old life two years ago, some of the excess baggage was still clinging on to me, and my perception of self was still very unhealthy. I started receiving therapy in June twice a month, in order to help me untangle my past grievances with myself and to help me pull away from the people that caused it. These sessions have been a real eye opener, and keeping a journal based on each one has greatly helped.
One of the hardest challenges I've ever faced so far was convincing myself that I am worthy of self love and respect, to undo the belief that I am an unlovable, creep-ass overweight toad, and stop hiding my honest feelings and insecurity behind a goofy ass mask. While it's been a painful journey, the self-discovery was worth it.
Plans for 2023
I'll be continuing my self-improvement goals throughout this year. Since last October, I went down to 202 LBS. Next year I'd like to hit 175 or less. (Ideally I should be aiming for 135 as the ultimate end goal, but that won't be likely for another year and a half).
Outside of that, the other goals I'd like to achieve are;
Continue making Animated shorts.
Get contacts, particularly ones I can wear if I decide to go swimming.
Get my hair professionally colored. Been thinking of doing a red violet or dark purple.
Re-work my wardrobe more
Continue exploring and go to more events.
Work on an actual comic project again.
So far for all the goals I've set in previous years, I was able to attain them. I hope that I'll be able to continue that trend in the next year.
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I posted 3,458 times in 2022
That's 3,458 more posts than 2021!
731 posts created (21%)
2,727 posts reblogged (79%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@devotedlyfuzzyperson
@canonsunkmyships
@clean-swift
@skyisverybored
@chronic-defeatist
I tagged 552 of my posts in 2022
#heartstopper - 56 posts
#alice oseman - 53 posts
#osemanverse - 25 posts
#narlie - 25 posts
#charlie spring - 24 posts
#nick nelson - 24 posts
#solitaire - 20 posts
#tori spring - 17 posts
#nick and charlie - 15 posts
#spotify - 13 posts
Longest Tag: 124 characters
#i have been using those pronoun try on things and seeing me being referred to as they/them gives me like a flutter-y excited
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
Me and my ✨ fruity friends ✨ at school camps lol (from heartstopper book 3)
158 notes - Posted June 22, 2022
#4
Jaiden animations appreciation post
172 notes - Posted September 16, 2022
#3
I love you Heartstopper, I love you solitaire, I love you radio silence, I love you I was born for this, I love you this winter and nick and Charlie novellas, I love you loveless, I love you colouring book, i love you Netflix adaptation, I love you fanartists, I love you fan blogs, I love you detailed analyses, I love you osemanverse and I also love the fandom.
sure, there are some absolute downright awful osemanverse fans out there (such as peeps who simp and ship the cast n shit)
but I think, for the most part, the osemanverse fandom is pretty great.
and I guess it’s home for me. I can be myself.
ah. This was meant to be one of those funny “I love you” lists but yeah it ran away from me lol
194 notes - Posted July 28, 2022
#2
Okay……sooooooooooo I thought of an osemanverse tag game??? So like tag 3 users that are in the fandom and yeah? (Lmk if this is stupid plsss)
fave osemanverse book:
least fave osemanverse book:
fave Heartstopper volume:
fave osemanverse character:
Character you relate the most to:
Fave actor in the HS series:
@tesseract-s @canonsunkmyships @devotedlyfuzzyperson @ literally anyone
239 notes - Posted August 30, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
OK so i have a theory
y'know how a bunch of people have different ideas on when Nick fell for Charlie cuz its pretty obvi when Charlie starts to fall in love (the first time they meet in form) but when did Nick fall? the first meet? snow scene? pulling Ben off of Charlie? Lovesick/running scene?
well, my theory is that it's the rugby scene where Charlie giggles. why? well, when Charlie first meets Nick (and falls in love) there are the animated leaves floating around.
they then only appear in the first episode once after that, (i think lol) (excluding the title-thing-animation)
and that's when Nick and Charlie are doing RuhGbyY training (imagine it in a geordie accent) and Nick says well done.
and the look on his face is him falling in love (IMO lol)
edit: wait hang on wtf why does this have 700 notes???
edit 2: 😳
edit 3: 😯
See the full post
1,118 notes - Posted July 26, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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I posted 1,160 times in 2022
That's 1,160 more posts than 2021!
13 posts created (1%)
1,147 posts reblogged (99%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@agrebel18
@haystarlight
@my-mediocre-existence
@idontliketomatoesleavemealone
@wantmeifyouwantme
I tagged 501 of my posts in 2022
#heartstopper - 49 posts
#heartstopper netflix - 25 posts
#the owl house - 25 posts
#heartstopper tv show - 24 posts
#nick nelson - 23 posts
#charlie spring - 21 posts
#toh spoilers - 19 posts
#heartstopper comic - 17 posts
#heartstopper trailer - 17 posts
#alice oseman - 13 posts
Longest Tag: 133 characters
#i wanted to watch it before since it has to do with wandavision but joes now in it????? i'm definitely making this my new personality
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
Guyssssss how are we feeling there's literally 3 days till Hearstopper!!!!!
18 notes - Posted April 19, 2022
#4
Why did nobody tell me “What if it doesn’t end well” by Chloe Moriondo was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING???? I COULD WRITE A WHOLE DANG ESSAY ABOUT HOW GOOD IT IS
30 notes - Posted September 7, 2022
#3
The Santa Clauses spoilers!
Okay so I'm seeing a lot of people saying they’re mad bc Charlie isn’t going to replace Scott as Santa and I'm going to slightly disagree with them on that because Charlie has a point
“it’s not the best place to raise kids” I AGREE because Scott and Carol literally have had their kids isolated there for basically their whole lives (from what we know in the show) and it isn’t healthy because Cal has literally turned to VR to escape reality (Cal kinnies where y’all at?) and Sandra only has animals as her friends aka the white weasel thing (there’s nothing wrong with her having animals as friends but it would be nice if she actually met kids her age). It would be nice for them to actually get to interact with other humans instead of spying on them through snow globes. ISOLATING YOUR KIDS AT THE NORTH POLE IS NOT THE WAY TO GO!!!! (and the fact that Scott only hangs out with Cal whenever Cal’s in trouble is not good at all)
31 notes - Posted November 17, 2022
#2
No but the Wednesday Addams series on netflix hasn't even started but I already ship wednesday with that one blonde girl 🧍🏻♀️
32 notes - Posted November 1, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
No but the way The Addams family is number one trending on tumblr rn is crazy
216 notes - Posted November 27, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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3776 - Saijiki
Let me tell you the story of how I came across this album.
When I was a kid, my dad had me go to a writing workshop at the library every week. It was there that I learned how much I enjoyed writing. I wrote all sorts of things: stories, scenes, characters, and poetry. I wrote some of my first haiku at that workshop.
In 2020, the world fell apart for a bit, and my life did too.
In 2021, I was hospitalized for suicidal ideation. In the psych ward, the patients were each given a paper crane. We were also taught how to make them. So, I learned how to fold paper cranes. In keeping with the theme, I figured I’d write some haiku about the psych ward.
A few months after I got out of the psych ward, I spent some time watching anime with a friend of mine. One of the movies that we watched was called The Garden of Words. The characters in the film read tanka. I had never heard of tanka. So I looked into them, and tanka quickly became my favorite form of poetry. In particular, tanka gave me a newfound appreciation for haiku, which I had lost interest in years before.
Another anime movie that we watched during that time was Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop. This is a movie about haiku. And between these two movies, I suddenly became extremely interested in classical Japanese poetry.
At some point around that time, I became interested in kpop music. This led me to Le Sserafim, which led me to Miyawaki Sakura, which led me to IZ*One, which led me to AKB48.
At some point, Netflix restricted how accounts could be shared. This meant that I could no longer watch Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop.
Last winter, I totalled my car. Because I couldn’t go anywhere to do anything anymore, I began reviewing albums on a tumblr page.
This weekend, I’m cat sitting at my mother’s house. My mother has access to Netflix. So, I opened Netflix to see what I could watch that I didn’t normally have access to. I ended up watching Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop, which I hadn’t seen in years.
The main character, Cherry, mentioned something called a “Saijiki.” So, as someone very interested in classical Japanese poetry, I looked up “Saijiki.” This brought me to the Wikipedia page for Saijiki. At the top of the page, it said “For music album, see Saijiki (3776 album)”. So I hovered over the link to the album, and it mentioned that it was by a Japanese idol unit. As someone now interested in idol culture, I clicked the link. I found out that 3776 was inspired by AKB48. And, since I had a reason to listen to and review albums, I listened to and reviewed the album.
8.7
-
January
Kpop has nothing on this
Haha okay, here’s the beat
Sorry I didn’t type at all for like the first third of that, too busy listening
This is So good
Me singing ode to joy along with them
9/10, only because I expect I’ll need to leave room to go higher
February
Woah okay, now we’re all loud and stuff
Actually, for some reason I’m reminded of In Love With A Ghost
I think it’s the synths being used
This album treats vocals like they’re a joke haha
8/10
March
This feels like a continuation of February
I wonder if they blend together like that?
I’m listening to them in a playlist so I can’t tell
I love the guitar in this section. It definitely feels more like spring
Also, birds? I think I hear birds
The guitar scratches sound like birds too
9/10
April
Electric guitar
Sakura sakura
The drums, the synth, mmm
9/10
May
I love the flute oh my god
Lol wtf is this bass doing
Oh hey the flute is back
I think this is a different flute
9/10
June
The guitars and the bass are So nice
The vocals … I think I enjoy less
The whistling is so good though
Haha and here’s the electric guitar
7/10, I’m starting to become disillusioned, give me something Good
July
This does actually feel kind of like July to me
And now we’re all Hype
And here’s the electric guitar, except it’s different again
I do like this one a lot actually
9/10
August
(I’m reading comments on the video instead of typing)
Oh no, I’m starting to get worried by the piano, it’s all gonna get Sad now bc summer is Over
9/10
September
Yep, this sure does feel like september
Actually I’m getting more November out of it almost
I guess the drums aren’t very November
Does this feel like back to school though? I can’t tell
8/10
October
This does not totally feel like October to me
I guess I could see how it is though
8/10
November
Lol wait what is this, dance pop?
I should also mention that the vocals in this remind me so much of that one Vi Hart video with the musical line doodle things, I forget what it’s titled
Yeahhh the bass drum though
9/10, the pew pews are so funny
December
December ain't never this hype, no way
Maybe in Japan December is this hype
Well now she’s singing about christmas and there are also jingle bells so I mean
(This got me dancing)
10/10
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Whats Your Opinion On Bvlgari Bags?
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