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reikorun · 3 months

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KlubOutside Q&A 201-300 [Translation]

Translated by @reikorun

Q201.

2021.09.20

I like Luppi. I was absolutely overjoyed when Luppi made an appearance as a playable character in Blade Battlers 2nd which was released on PS2. In this game, Luppi's arms transform into tentacles and he could extend them to attack. I was surprised because there was no such depiction in the original work. Did sensei also supervise the settings for attacks in this game?

A201.

I can't recall so I probably didn't touch it. Luppi fighting with outstretched arms is so entertaining to me. I think that outlaw kind of feeling is one of the greatest qualities about games back then.

Q202.

2021.09.20

Of all the characters you have drawn, which one did sensei consider the most difficult to design?

A202.

Shun Shun Rikka, or rather the image of Orihime's abilities is the one thing which changed the most without quite clicking together. Initially, the story was that Orihime herself would grow Horns and sprout a tail, becoming sort of like a dragon girl.

Q203.

2021.09.20

Sensei, is there any character that you have drawn who makes you think "this guy is insufferable"?

A203.

There isn't. I draw while thinking “this is so scummy, that's the best thing about it.”

Q204.

2021.09.20

Does Kubo-sensei have any fetish? When I look at sensei's drawings, I can't help but speculate that you like slender wrists and long fingers, regardless of gender.

A204.

I don't have any particular fetish. I think it's because I draw illustrations using my own hands as reference.

Q205.

2021.09.20

Regarding Ichimaru Gin's eye color, I believe it was red around the early days of the anime, and then changed to blue in the latter half. What does Kubo-sensei think of his red eyes around this early stage? Also, as far as Kubo-sensei's canon is concerned, is it safe to assume Ichimaru Gin's eye color is blue?

A205.

In the early days, the checks were not being handed down to me so they ended up being red. For the record, the anime related mistakes were errors made by my editor at the time who didn't bring the checks to me. Because of this, I drew Gin with his eyes open on the cover of volume 20.

Q206.

2021.09.20

Rukia's visuals in the live-action adaptation has become quite a hot topic of conversation, but was the matter reviewed by Kubo-sensei?

A206.

I had made it clear from the beginning that I would not be involved with the live-action project, so basically the whole thing was given the okay. Even regarding Rukia's hair, there was a conversation where I said "I'd like you to go ahead with this" so I assumed there was a clear vision but it turns out there wasn't. I don't dislike the movie itself. Renji was extremely good.

Q207.

2021.09.27

Kubo-sensei, to what extent do you supervise merchandise and so on? I'm very happy that a lot of BLEACH merch has been released recently.

A207.

I feel like I'm supervising the things my editor can't make a judgment call on. Speaking of editors, they try their best to avoid handing over supervision duties to authors so that they can allow authors to concentrate on their creations, but after the series had ended, I had some free time so my editor has started bringing me more supervision duties than before.

Q208.

2021.09.27

If it were to come true, would you ever wish for a BLEACH anime adaptation, which faithfully follows the original work, to be broadcast by way of a remake?

A208.

I think I would.

Q209.

2021.09.27

It seems that the 2021 art exhibition will only be held at one location in Tokyo, but would it be possible for you to consider holding it at a variety of other locations? I'm really looking forward to it, but I'm sure there are many people across the country who live a considerable distance away and can't make it. It's a wonderful opportunity, so I think it will be easier to visit if it is hosted in various locations. I think it's a really difficult task, but I would be grateful if you could consider it just once.

A209.

I also want to show the exhibit to my parents, so I hope it will be held in Hiroshima.

Q210.

2021.09.27

Even though Byakuya and Ichika-chan never interact in the original work, I can easily imagine Byakuya being an uncle. I wonder why that is?

A210.

I can imagine it too. Byakuya's face whenever he tells her "kamawanu*"…. (*It's fine/I don't mind)

Q211.

2021.09.27

In volume 58, chapter 518, when Grimmjow was trying to interrupt Urahara and Ichigo's communication, Urahara instructed Orihime and Sado to "use the you-know-what to chase him back outside the tent", but what exactly was the "you-know-what"? What in the world is it, that it can throw Grimmjow off balance to such a degree…? I've been wondering about this for a long time.

A211.

It's a device which emits a sound that Grimmjow dislikes.

Q212.

2021.09.27

Is Ninny-chan easier to draw than Noel-chan?? I was curious because there are more illustrations drawn of Ninny-chan!

A212.

This is because the clothes I want to draw tend to suit Ninny better. If you have big breasts, it's probably difficult to find clothes that suit you.

Q213.

2021.10.04

Ginrei is Byakuya's grandfather, but Kyōraku did not mention his name as a Shinigami who has been Captain for 100 years or more, so perhaps his career as a Captain was rather short?

A213.

I forgot to mention him! Let's just pretend it was Shunsui's blunder.

Q214.

2021.10.04

Do you find that characters of a certain age group are easy to draw, and conversely, characters of a different age group difficult to draw?

A214.

I'm not very good at drawing children or toddlers.

Q215.

2021.10.04

I have been curious about Tsubokura Rin-kun of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. Rin-kun's hair wasn't filled in when he was in monochrome, I thought for certain he had pale blonde or white hair. However, in the anime his hair was dark brown … so as far as you are concerned sensei, what colors did you imagine when designing him?

A215.

Was that the color it turned out to be? The image I had in mind is a pale sepia-like color.

Q216.

2021.10.04

Isn't it too bothersome to draw Grimmjow's hairstyle??

A216.

It's too bothersome isn't it? I wonder if you could give him a stiff pompadour instead?

Q217.

2021.10.04

Do you remember the first game you ever played?

A217.

It's "GeGeGe no Kitarō - Yōkai Daimakyō" which was purchased for me together with the Famicom unit itself.

Q218.

2021.10.04

Do you get asked to draw portraits by acquaintances?

A218.

I have always refused all portrait requests from both friends and celebrities.

Q219.

2021.10.11

What is Kensei's specialty dish?

A219.

It's "Whole Pumpkin Gratin". The highlight for him is the part where he gets to use his bare hands.

Q220.

2021.10.11

When I saw the Playlist on KlubOutside, I was surprised at the wide scope of Sensei's music choices. How do you discover new music?

A220.

SoundHound is my recommendation.

Q221.

2021.10.11

Is the bellyband worn by the Shinigami Men's Association the same as the one worn by Kirinji Tenjirō?

A221.

It's different. The bellyband Tenjirō wears was made by Senjumaru.

Q222.

2021.10.11

Now that I think of it, what does "Whiskrs" mean? I looked into it, and although there are some existing terms, I couldn't find anything in particular with regard to its meaning. I don't know whether sensei came up with the name or not, but perhaps it envelopes some special meaning?

A222.

It's a modified spelling of the word "whiskers". I came up with the name, or to be more specific, it's originally the name of a store that exists within the BTW universe. Though, this still has yet to make an appearance in the story.

Q223.

2021.10.11

When you go out, have you ever had a fan recognize you as Kubo-sensei and then attempt to speak with you?

A223.

A long time ago, another author wound up uploading a photo of a drinking party I was with to Twitter in the middle of the get-together, the restaurant was identified from the photograph and I was ambushed. It was late at night and I was on my way home alone, so it was really scary. That was probably the one and only time I was approached on the street.

Q224.

2021.10.11

Sensei, have you ever felt negatively about your own work in the past? I am currently creating works with the goal of becoming a designer, but unfortunately I feel embarrassed to display even the things I have created very recently in front of others. How do you overcome this from your perspective, sensei?

A224.

When I first became a manga artist, I felt embarrassed when my editor read my draft right in front of me. If you are creating something that personally satisfies you, you're just not accustomed to showing it to the average person, so you have no choice but to show it to a bunch of people and get used to it.

Q225.

2021.10.11

Have you ever had a character Awakened in Brave Souls? If so, I would like to know which character it is.

A225.

It's Fierce Battle Aizen. Though, it's more like I just ended up Awakening him when I was targeting others.

Q226.

2021.10.18

In the work, it was never once stated from a reliable source that Tōshirō's Bankai comes undone once his petals dissipate, but what actually happened when his petals fell away during the period he had an imperfect Bankai?

A226.

Hitsugaya would injure himself after going through an imperfect growth.

Q227.

2021.10.18

When Rangiku had collapsed, Gin said "the fact that you passed out from hunger, it means that you have it too, right? Spiritual Power." and in Volume 11, there is a description from the exchange between Rukia and Renji that those with Spiritual Power feel hungry. But why didn't Hitsugaya realize he had powers until he dreamed of Hyōrinmaru?

A227.

Because his grandmother taught him that "only children get hungry.”

Q228.

2021.10.18

Why did Orihime's Rikka grow larger when Chad and Orihime returned from training in the final arc? I was curious because no one touched on the matter.

A228.

That's because Kisuke modified it to match her clothes (a cover was installed on the outside of the pins to make them difficult to break), but nobody said anything because they didn't think it was particularly worth mentioning.

Q229.

2021.10.18

When I was looking at "Hirako glasses" which was updated on the Gallery's Graffiti section, I became curious, what is that thing Hirako Shinji is holding in his mouth? Considering the hot drink in his left hand, maybe it's a cinnamon stick or something?

A229.

It's a cigarillo that he's holding in his mouth purely for fashion. I looked into it when I drew it but I couldn't find anything that matched the size I imagined.

Q230.

2021.10.25

Good evening! The work titled "maturity" in the gallery that was released on April 3, 2021, could that be Mayuri-sama?

A230.

It's Mayuri. When I tried to type the title "mayuri", I accidentally tapped on the wrong suggestion and entered that instead, I left it as it is because it's a pain to change it.

Q231.

2021.10.25

Did Ikkaku make the strap that Ichika has attached to her bag in JET?

A231.

That's right.

Q232.

2021.10.25

In BLEACH, how much influence did the ranking results of popularity polls have on a character's level of activity?

A232.

It's irrelevant. I'm the type who thinks "isn't that kind of thing discourteous to characters with few votes?"

Q233.

2021.10.25

Regarding the art exhibition, is it possible to increase the number of venues? I would absolutely love to participate, but due to the current situation, it is quite difficult to travel to Tokyo. Nevertheless, there are many fans of sensei and his work around the world. Although this is a very presumptuous request, I would be extremely grateful if you could consider it. Best regards.

A233.

I'll let my editor know! Murakoshi-saaan!!

Q234.

2021.10.25

Sensei, given that you play a lot of Dragon Quest, I was curious, is "Zaraki" - the district of Rukongai which Zaraki Kenpachi took as his name - based on the spell "Thwack" (*Zaraki in Japanese).

A234.

That's correct. Hold on, have I never mentioned this before?

Q235.

2021.11.01

Is there any reason why Kyōraku-san couldn't grace the cover of a tankōbon? I wanted him to have a cover.

A235.

It's just a coincidence. I wanted to draw it too.

Q236.

2021.11.01

Are Renji's tattoos only on the upper half of his body? Do they not continue down to his thighs?

A236.

They don't continue down. Wait? Have I never drawn his thighs before?

Q237.

2021.11.01

Is the double chant that Rukia recited during the fight against Aaroniero, simply the Sōren Sōkatsui chant split in two, with the Rikujōkōrō chant sandwiched in-between? Or does the substance of the chant change slightly depending on whether each is invoked independently or as a double chant?

A237.

It's a shortened version of Rikujōkōrō inserted between the full version of Sōren Sōkatsui. The effectiveness of the spells will increase if you perform both chants in full, but the time efficiency will decrease, so that would diminish the purpose of a two layered chant.

Q238.

2021.11.01

When a Zanpakutō is inherited from another person like in the case of Tōsen and Kenpachi, will the essence of its soul be overwritten? Or will it be made to mix with the essence of the previous owner?

A238.

Generally it is overwritten, but in some cases it may mix.

Q239.

2021.11.08

Were there any foreshadowing elements that made you go "ultimately, nobody noticed, huh?" up to the end of the BLEACH serialization? If so, is it likely there will be an opportunity to present it somewhere?

A239.

After I've finished playing a game or watching a movie, I like spending time alone thinking about what happened here and there or discussing with others about this and that. I want to create moments like that, so there are some parts where I try to depict things in a way that is not easily noticed, that's why unless someone correctly points it out, I try not to say much.

Q240.

2021.11.08

Why didn't Ryūken give Uryū the "ken" (弦) character in his name? ×[1]

A240.

Because he was thinking that he didn't want to let Uryū become Quincy.

Q241.

2021.11.08

How far have you progressed in Monster Hunter? If there is a monster that you like among the monsters that appear in this title, please tell me about it!

A241.

I haven't played in a while. In this title I like Goss Harag.

Q242.

2021.11.08

Can I post the photos from the gallery on social media??!?!?

A242.

I guess it's not allowed, going by the FC rules. You can post my dog from Deskside at least.

Q243.

2021.11.15

Have you ever had to change a scene you originally wanted in order to make the depiction more in line with Jump guidelines? If so, which scene is it and how did you truly want to draw it?

A243.

During the time Jump had a large circulation, extremely graphic depictions were not allowed, so I had to redraw some of the places where Mayuri appears. The first thing I fixed was the scene where his squad members die in an explosion.

Q244.

2021.11.15

There are characters for whom the theme music feels perfect, and on the other hand, others for whom the theme music is unexpected. By listening to each character's song, I feel like I am able to learn more about a character's inner being, it's so much fun! When deciding on a song, which does sensei place more importance on: the lyrics, or the melody?

A244.

It's only about the melody, sound and vocal quality. If it's the case that the lyrics also match, it's just a coincidence.

Q245.

2021.11.15

The market for e-books has grown larger, but when it comes to electronic and physical copy, people often say things like "you should buy the physical book!" What do you think?

A245.

Either one is fine. Even I read most of my manga electronically now. I like making paper books but I think physical paper copies will become more of a collector's item in the near future.

Q246.

2021.11.15

Kubo-sensei draws many animals, but are there any that you particularly enjoy drawing?

A246.

Right now it's dogs. Since owning a dog, I've started to grow fond of animals, so I feel like I may reach a point where I'm able to draw animals a little better now.

Q247.

2021.11.15

If there was an entrance song for Chad's boxing match, I wonder what kind of music it would be? If you have a song in mind that you can imagine for this scenario, please share the artist's name and song title with us.

A247.

It would be "Apache" by Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band.

Q248.

2021.11.22

An illustration of Tatsuki wearing a Shihakushō exists, did you originally plan to have her transform into a Shinigami?

A248.

The one I drew for Jump Festa a long time ago, right? That's just an illustration I drew for Jump Festa that one time.

Q249.

2021.11.22

It seems like Rukia often wears dresses in the Human World, is there some reason why? If you have any particular preferences regarding the clothing choices of the BLEACH cast, please by all means, tell us about it!

A249.

I'll give you three example reasons for why they wear what they wear:

Orihime's body type makes it difficult for her to wear a dress.

I wanted to make a physically active Rukia stand out by making her wear clothes that are ill suited for physical activity.

Rukia was wearing hakama in Soul Society, so she's not familiar with fitted clothes.

Q250.

2021.11.22

You may not remember this … but during an autograph signing session, I was the one who announced "I'm getting married to my boyfriend who I initially became friends with through BLEACH!" We broke up at lightning speed after that! (Peace sign.) But sometimes we hang out and are on good terms as friends. Now my question is, what is sensei's favorite color?

A250.

My condolences. It's orange.

Q251.

2021.11.22

In the JET Q&A segment, you replied that the Vice-Captains of the 13th Division ten years later would be Sentarō and Kiyone, but I believe Kiyone was also the Vice-Captain of the 4th Division, so does that mean that they are concurrently serving as Vice-Captains?

A251.

That would be a mistake. Sentarō is the only Vice-Captain of the 13th.

Q252.

2021.11.29

Please tell us how Unagiya Ikumi-san and Ichigo met in the first place.

A252.

Their meeting came about when Ichigo delivered Kaoru, a lost child (and Ikumi's son) back to his mother. (Ikumi encountered them en route.)

Q253.

2021.11.29

Ichigo remembers the time Orihime carried her older brother Sora to the Kurosaki Clinic, but does Orihime remember meeting Ichigo at this time? When Ichigo entered high school, he noticed that Orihime was the girl from back then, does Orihime realize that it was Ichigo who greeted her at that moment?

A253.

Ichigo is the only one who remembers. Ichigo remembers that scene clearly because he felt a strong sense of one-way sympathy for Orihime, who was on the verge of losing her family.

Q254.

2021.11.29

Sensei, what's the one thing that makes you think "I'm second to none when it comes to this!"?

A254.

My Mickey Mouse impression.

Q255.

2021.11.29

I got the impression that Aizen-sama was often drinking black tea at Las Noches, but I wonder if likewise he drank Japanese tea during the time he was in Soul Society in the role of a Shinigami? Or is it that Western style food and drink like black tea also exist in Soul Society, and he has been a black tea enthusiast since long ago?

A255.

I drew that because I wanted a scene where Aizen eats the same thing as the Espada, but when it came to eating, there were some characters (like Ulquiorra) who I didn't want to depict in a dining scene (at that point), so I merely chose black tea as a compromise, therefore it's not that I was paying any particular attention to tea itself.

Q256.

2021.12.06

Is it possible for a member of the Gotei 13 to transfer to another Squad at their own behest? Recruitment of Captains or Vice-Captains from other Squads has been portrayed, but what is the situation like for ordinary soldiers?

A256.

It is possible if they make an application and obtain permission through their superior officer all the way up to the Captain. However, If they don't have any accomplishments their superior will reject it so it's difficult for an ordinary soldier.

Q257.

2021.12.06

Do you have a favorite coffee shop?

A257.

The place I frequent the most is Hoshino Coffee. I want to go to Komeda but I haven't had the chance to go yet.

Q258.

2021.12.06

What kind of life did Ikkaku-san and Shino-chan lead in Rukongai? I'm not sure if they're related by blood or not, but are they still family?

A258.

They're ordinary relatives. The Madarame family are a distinguished family and Ikkaku is treated like an oddball.

Q259.

2021.12.06

What do you order when you use services like Uber Eats for delivery?

A259.

The thing I order the most is Starbucks' White Mocha. By the way, I don't use Uber because I had a scary experience in the past.

Q260.

2021.12.06

I would like a YouTube channel or something to be created for Uni-chan.

A260.

If I could get someone to do the editing for me, then I would like to make one to document my dog's growth, but I don't think I would update it often….

Q261.

2021.12.13

If you were to spend a day with any character from "BLEACH" or "BURN THE WITCH", who would you like to be with?

A261.

I seriously thought about it, but maybe being with Balgo would be the easiest….

Q262.

2021.12.13

Speaking in terms of BLEACH characters, who would you compare the breast sizes of Noel-chan and Cquntnire-san to?

A262.

It's more or less that I'm drawing Noel like Orihime and Cquntnire like Nel.

Q263.

2021.12.13

What is Kubo-sensei's favorite rock or metal band?

A263.

I haven't been listening to much metal lately…during my high school days, I liked ROYAL HUNT and IN FLAMES.

Q264.

2021.12.13

This is closer to a request than a question, but I would like for you to issue and sell, the currently trending, NFTs with BLEACH illustrations! If that were to happen, I would definitely buy them!

A264.

I'll let my editor know about this also. Murakoshi-saaan!

Q265.

2021.12.13

What is your favorite ice cream?

A265.

Lately, I've been liking HERSHEY'S Chocolate Ice Bars. It's also nice that each bar is small and just the right size.

Q266.

2021.12.20

I have a question regarding BTW Magic. In chapter 0.8 which is a one-shot, Noel-chan uses Absolute Dragon Shatter in Front London, but in chapter 1, numbered Pipers spells known as "Magic" made an appearance. As a premise, I believe that Magic and Absolute Dragon Shatter are alike (as they both use Witch Kits), I suspect that the reason why Noel-chan adopted this unnumbered attack method in Front London may be due to one of the following two points:

1. Magic is an attack method that utilizes the medium of Witch Kits to feed on a special energy similar to Reishi which exists only in Reverse London, on the other hand, Absolute Dragon Shatter is an attack method made for Front London, which does not require this special Reishi.

2. Given that it was an attack against a Disguiser Dragon who had remained hidden for ten odd years, Absolute Dragon Shatter was used as an arcane means and is considered the highest order of Magic or even a method surpassing Magic itself.

I'm really interested about the relationship between Magic and Absolute Dragon Shatter, will it be revealed within the story in the future!?

A266.

How insightful, I'm not sure whether or not I'll get to write about it in the future so I'll explain. In Front London, you can basically only use spells through items that are "charged" with magical power. The gun-pipe is not a rechargeable item, but Noel habitually fills it with magical power of her own accord, the release of that power is Absolute Dragon Shatter. Only Noel is able to use it.

Q267.

2021.12.20

The person Ichigo respects is Shakespeare. Given this fact, does it follow that this is a universe where eminent figures like Mozart and Napoleon existed?

A267.

Eminent figures certainly exist within the Soul Society too, but if I were to touch upon that, the manga would end up in a completely different place, so I didn't bring it up.

Q268.

2021.12.20

Do Szayelaporro's glasses have lenses? Since it's a mask, there should be no lenses so I assumed it was the frame alone. However in the anime, there were depictions of lenses reflecting the light and gleaming so I was confused!

A268.

There is no lens.

Q269.

2021.12.20

Were all the designs of the Zanpakutō which materialized in the Zanpakutō: The Alternate Tale arc, created by you, sensei?

A269.

I came up with some ideas and had an image in mind, Kudō-san designed them, I checked them. They pass for various reasons like being "just as I imagined!" or being "interesting because I wouldn't have come up with this design myself!"

Q270.

2021.12.27

Do you have a favorite character from Dragon Quest numbered titles or spin-off works?

A270.

It's King Grossner (Dragon Quest 10).

Q271.

2021.12.27

I heard that you like figure skating, Kubo-sensei, but do you have a favorite athlete?

A271.

It's Candeloro.

Q272.

2021.12.27

It is mentioned in the novel "WE DO knot ALWAYS LOVE YOU", that when Shiba Kaien died in battle, Isshin was the Captain of Squad 10. Why didn't Rukia, who was already serving as a member of the Gotei 13 at the time, realize that Ichigo's father was Shiba Isshin when she was freeloading off of the Kurosaki family?

A272.

There are two reasons for this: for one, his outward appearance was completely different. Secondly, he was a Captain from another Squad and she was a regular soldier, so they didn't have much point of contact in the first place. To go further, given that there is no way for a Shinigami to have children with a human (only Kisuke knows how), the idea that a "Shinigami may become human and produce children in the Human World" did not occur to Rukia.

Q273.

2022.01.03

I like the accessories (hats, sunglasses, etc.) and clothes that the characters are wearing in KlubOutside's Graffiti, they are exceedingly stylish. Is it possible to put them up for sale?

A273.

I will let the FC manager know about this. Totani-saaan!

Q274.

2022.01.03

Sensei, do you have any plans to publish, for instance, the yonkoma you drew for the magazine into a single book someday?

A274.

It might have been published in JET.

Q275.

2022.01.03

When you were writing BTW, who came to your mind first between Ninny and Noel?

A275.

Out of all the characters in BTW, Noel was the first.

Q276.

2022.01.03

When Rukia entered her name into the family register, it's assumed that she did not change her last name, but now that she has become a Captain, it means there will be two Captain Kuchiki, so how do the other troops distinguish between the two when addressing them? Is it possible that she will revert to the Abarai surname?

A276.

Many of the troops differentiate between them by calling them Captain Kuchiki and 13th Captain Kuchiki.

Q277.

2022.01.10

Did Zangetsu eventually return to being a single blade? The "Ten Years Later" version of Ichigo was implemented in the social game - Brave Souls, and he wielded the "Zangetsu which emerged from a broken Tensa Zangetsu" as seen in the final stages of the Thousand-Year Blood War arc. Zangetsu which was reforged into two swords for Hollow and Quincy, became one as Tensa Zangetsu in Bankai, so I thought for sure it would return to two swords once the Bankai is disengaged.

However, does this mean that Zangetsu did not return to two swords due to the fact that after activating Bankai, Ichigo's Hollow and Quincy powers were absorbed by Yhwach, and that his Bankai was damaged among other factors? Or is it that it's possible for Ichigo to wield both the dual swords and the single sword if he so desires?

It may just be game original staging to begin with, but I was intrigued.

A277.

Since I haven't described this in detail nor do I plan to portray the matter any further, I'll give you an answer. The two blades of Zangetsu are the "sword" and the "sheath". The correct form of a Zanpakutō is one that has a sheath, and there are only two swords without one: Sayafushi and Zangetsu. What fixed Zangetsu into its "correct form" is the dual swords state, and in Bankai Zangetsu is placed back in its sheath, what emerged after that sheath was shattered is the "True Zangetsu". The shattered sheath was absorbed by Ichigo, so I think he is also able to return to dual blades if he wants to, but I suppose that depends on Ichigo himself.

Q278.

2022.01.17

I've always wondered about this since reading volume 12, but was there a physical relationship between Aizen and Hinamori? I think it's more fitting for Aizen to not engage in this sort of thing, so I'm on the side that says it didn't happen.

A278.

I won't answer this because I think it'll be more fun to leave it unanswered.

Q279.

2022.01.17

Is Hōzukimaru a rare type of Zanpakutō which always requires the sheath for its Shikai.

A279.

That's right.

Q280.

2022.01.17

Kubo-sensei, when it comes to TVs, are you in favor of wall-mounted? Or do you prefer freestanding?

A280.

Mine is attached to a wall storage unit with an extendable arm.

Q281.

2022.01.24

Upon being granted a letter, does the Schrift allow abilities to manifest based on the nature of an individual? Or does His Majesty already know what they are before granting it at the epithet stage.

A281.

Yhwach can see words almost as if they were engraved on the individual's body. Those who are bestowed Schrifts, which were previously lost through death in battle and so on, are discovered from the words engraved on them and then given power.

Q282.

2022.01.24

Do Yōkai and Yōsei exist in the world of BLEACH?

A282.

It would be more fun if they did.

Q283.

2022.01.24

A color version of the BLEACH e-books exist, but does Kubo-sensei decide on the color scheme and such?

A283.

There are parts that I check and parts that I don't (I only check what my editor asks me to check), but even the parts that I do were decided upon rapidly in the intervals between my work schedule during serialization, so when I look at them afterwards, I often come to think "was this the kind of color I chose??”

Q284.

2022.01.31

Sensei, if you had the opportunity to be involved in a project in the future, what sort of creative work would you like to be involved in? (Live-action film, animated movies, manga, dramas, YouTube, etc.)

A284.

If I could get involved with the story aspect, then it would probably be a game.

Q285.

2022.01.31

If you could actually sell any kind of merchandise at the fan club shop, what kind of items would you want to sell?

A285.

Bracelets with the text from the opening poems.

Q286.

2022.01.31

Is the reason why Uryū was not affected by Auswählen connected to Uryū's grandfather?

A286.

There's a bit of a complicated setup regarding this, but it might appear in the anime adaptation of the Thousand-Year Blood War arc. (Depending on the composition.)

Q287.

2022.02.07

It has already been decided that the Thousand-Year Blood War arc is getting an anime adaptation, but will there also be an anime adaptation of the side story novels? I'd especially like to see "WE DO knot ALWAYS LOVE YOU" in the anime which depicts Rukia and Renji's marriage and the progress of Ichigo and Orihime's relationship.

A287.

Ah, I see. If there is enough room, then it may be possible.

Q288.

2022.02.07

Is it not true that Gigi is a girl? It kind of seems like Yumichika only said otherwise to provoke her.

A288.

Giselle is a man.

Q289.

2022.02.07

Who was the one to slash Rukia from behind during the first invasion by the Sternritter?

A289.

The plan is to depict this in the anime version.

Q290.

2022.02.14

Is the giant spoon used by Hikifune Kirio of Squad Zero actually her Zanpakutō?

A290.

That's correct.

Q291.

2022.02.14

During the performance of the ROCK MUSICAL BLEACH, Kubo-sensei personally talked to Tsuchiya-san, who played the role of Gin, about Gin's true intentions and purpose, as he was having a difficult time interpreting the character, and Gin's true intentions had not yet been revealed within the story at the time. I remember there was an episode which went something like that, but in so doing, did you also discuss everything which occurred with regard to Rangiku and Aizen? Also, did you not have any reluctance to divulge information which has not yet been revealed in the story?

A291.

I feel that we talked about things like how Gin viewed each character rather than the story itself. If it is necessary for the performance, then there is a possibility that I may also convey undisclosed information to the voice actors so it's not limited to this particular occasion.

Q292.

2022.02.14

Is the "table with English language BLEACH quotes suspended inside its transparent legs" which you wrote about in the cover flap comment of Volume 44, still being used? I would love to see photos of sensei's favorite furniture and more!

A292.

I use it when I'm composing my drafts at home. The tabletop is in disarray, so I hope a photo of the legs will do.

Q293.

2022.02.21

With regard to the role of a Shinigami, it involves cleansing Hollows of their sins by way of a Zanpakutō and sending them to Soul Society in peace, but was this role simply to extinguish Hollows until Nimaiya Ōetsu showed up?

A293.

It was only after the creation of the Gotei 13 that the role of a Shinigami was properly defined.

Q294.

2022.02.21

At what age did Chad get his tattoo? Was it when he moved to Mexico? Or did he get it inked in his own hometown in Okinawa? I would be grateful if you could tell us.

A294.

He got his tattoo in Mexico when he was 9 years old.

Q295.

2022.02.21

I heard that the Lost Agent of the Shinigami arc concluded earlier than planned, is that true? If so, I'd like you to tell us about the story you were actually planning to write.

A295.

You mean the rumor that I was planning to compose an episode for all the classmates but I got bored and decided against it? If so, then it's true. I feel like I mentioned that in a character book or something.

Q296.

2022.02.21

Have you ever wanted to draw Oiroke manga? (*Manga with light erotic content.)

A296.

I'm not confident that I'd be able to draw it well.

Q297.

2022.02.28

In the BLEACH PS2 game "Bleach: Erabareshi Tamashii", techniques such as "Hadō #20: Shōtenkyū" and "Hadō #26: Gōensai" made an appearance, but were these Kidō Kubo-sensei's ideas or the creations of the game staff? If it's the former, I'd also like to know how to write it in kanji!

A297.

I had no involvement with that so they're the creations of the game staff.

Q298.

2022.02.28

I really love the relationship between Ichigo and the store manager, Unagiya Ikumi, and you can sense in the air how Ichigo suddenly turns back into a child. Please tell us if there was anything you paid extra attention to when creating Ikumi-san.

A298.

Ikumi is a character that was born because I wanted to create a place for Ichigo where he could be himself outside the Kurosaki home due to a plot development, that is, the sudden loss of a place where he belongs in the Lost Agent arc.

Q299.

2022.02.28

In "BURN THE WITCH", it seems that each division is armed with a different type of weapon, but in the event that they change affiliations, like how Bruno encouraged the witches to do in the story, do they undergo training with new weapons?

A299.

They train with new weapons. It is also among the Director's faculties to ascertain an individual's suitability for a weapon and then offer an invitation to them.

Q300.

2022.03.07

Is the thing under Hisagi's left eye, tape? A tattoo perhaps?

A300.

It's a tattoo.

Translation Footnotes:

×1. 弦 means bowstring and is in both the names of Sōken (宗弦) and Ryūken (竜弦).

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lovergonebad · 6 months

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Black Cat ~ *Choi Yeonjun*

Summary: Yeonjun made a mess of all your potions that you've made for your clients. Now it's up to him to own up and clean up after himself.

Pairing: Cat!Choi Yeonjun X G/N!Reader

Genre: Fluffyish Drabble

Word Count: 803

Warning: Cat!Yeonjun

Masterlist

Taglist: @plutonieve

“Get inside. NOW!” You shouted, your voice thundering through the usually peacefully peaceful forest. You were hardly ever this furious, however he knew this time he crossed a line.

Slinking inside, the sleek black cat made his way into your cottage and jumped onto your desk chair. It was then that Yeonjun transformed into his human form. He rested his chin on his hand and pouted like he didn't know what he did. But he did know what he did. Although you should know that accidents happen.

You pointed to the mess on your workbench. It was littered in glass shards from broken jars and spilled potions. At least the flames of your candles were blown out and your grimoire was tucked into your bookshelf, or else you'd be even more furious with the amount of damage he caused. Still, all of the important stuff was safe. So Yeonjun had no idea why you were this mad at him. So he made a little mess! No big deal!

“What. Did. You. Do?” You snapped, your pointed finger shaking in fury.

Yeonjun shrugged, acting like it wasn't that big of a problem, although he wasn't making eye contact with you. “It was just an accident, that’s all. I was chasing a bat.”

“You were chasing a bat.” Your glare was starting to freak him out now. He found himself adjusting his carefree posture into a straight back with his hands on his knees. “YOU WERE CHASING A BAT ON MY WORKBENCH AND SET ME BACK SIX MONTHS IN POTION WORK! TELL ME, WAS THAT BAT WORTH THE MESS YOU MADE?!”

“W-well, I didn’t want it to get anything that was important-”

“THOSE POTIONS WERE IMPORTANT!” You let out a scream of frustration before sinking down into a chair near the hearth, your head in your hands.

Yeonjun didn’t mean to make you so upset. True, he knew he shouldn’t have been near your workbench with all your important projects on them. Really, he should've been smarter about the whole thing. Now he knew he needed to fix his mistake, somehow.

An idea dawned on him and before he could contemplate on the effectiveness of it, he got to work.

First things first, Yeonjun grabbed a log near the hearth and stoked the fire more. This allowed him more light to work with. Taking a slender stick from the fire, he started to light the candles near the workbench and began to clean up. He took his time and care when handling the glass shards and mopping up the potions. He didn’t want to cross-contaminate anything or accidentally get something on him. The last time he messed with your potions, he had spiky neon fur that would change colors every time he sneezed (which was frequently, due to another potion he was doused with) with the effects lasting for a whole month. You wouldn’t stop laughing at him, which positively vexed him. But now he found himself smiling at the memory. It was nice hearing you laugh rather than you yelling at him like you did earlier.

As he finishes cleaning up, you appear by his side. You didn’t say anything at first, just stared at the now clean table. Feeling anxious again, he knew he needed to say something to you first.

However you beat him to it. “Thank you, Yeonjun.”

“I’m sorry, for making such a mess and putting you behind in your work. I didn’t mean to be so careless. I'm truly sorry.”

“I forgive you.” You assured him before adding, “But now you have to help me remake all of the potions you destroyed.”

He winces before nodding. “I completely understand. I’ll help with whatever you need help with.”

You smile at him, but it wasn’t your usual tender smile. It held mischief and a slight bit of malice in it. “You have to go out into the forest and replenish all of my ingredients you ruined. And when I run out, you have to go out again and repeat every time I run out until all the potions are done for the year.”

Yeonjun opened his mouth to protest, but swallowed his objections. He could be getting it a whole lot worse. Sure, he hated going out foraging alone, but you needed the time and concentration to redo all of those potions. It was the least he could do for all the trouble he caused you.

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

You scratched the top of his head, right in between where his ears would be if he were in his cat form. “Thank you, Yeonjun. Now go fetch!”

Grabbing the little basket he used when he went foraging with you, he left the cottage. Grumbling under his breath, he muttered, “Be a familiar, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.”

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magnoliaroad · 2 months

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Magnolia Road is Moving + Exciting Projects!

Hi there - Rizu here! It's been about a year since I last posted an update here. Life got really busy and pulled me away from Petz. As life calmed down I had the itch to return to some unfinished petz projects! Here's a look at some of the things I've been working on. The major one being the launch of my new home - Magnolia Road on Neocities! Keep reading for more details!

When I first launched this tumblr blog, I wanted a platform that didn't require a whole lot of set-up to get started. While it has served its usefulness as my first home in the Petz community, I need more room for the amount of content that I'm planning on making.

So I've been quietly working on a complete website overhaul and it's been such a blast. I think it will serve me better as a home for my crew and petz content. For the foreseeable future I am planning on keeping this tumblr for long-form write-ups on Petz things.

Without further ado, check it out here.

Not everything on the website is finished but I've put the 'good enough' stamp on it for now. I'm looking forward to fleshing out the pages more with some exciting content.

On that note...

Projects!

Something that I've wanted to do for a while is to create more custom content for Petz 5. Though Petz 4 is the community favorite, I feel Petz 5 has a lot of nostalgic charm and a lot of potential for quality of life upgrades. Despite Petz 5's glitches and bugs, I've by and large have learned to live around them without too much trouble and largely prefer some aspects of Petz 5 over Petz 4, such as the expanded color palette for playscenes, weather, day/night cycles, being able to carry all the toyz with you, etc.

With the new content that I am working on, I hope to inspire some more love for Petz 5 and make it a more welcoming home for your Petz!

So what am I working on? I've been working on a MASSIVE rework of the Petz 5 playscenes. They are quite dated and an eye-store in some instances.

So here's a sneak peek of what I've got going so far. These are not finished yet so these may change a bit!

I'm going for a Luxury Living theme based off of neutral beiges, greys, and gold, with a touch of rococo. I've painstakingly fixed the window sprites (they're a pixelized mess in the original), replaced the garden backdrop with my renovated back yard (see below), and gave the night scene some gentle spot lighting. No more ugly orange floor and yellow fridge.

Continuing on the Luxury Living theme, the family room gets an upgrade.

This one definitely needs more work before it is done but here's my Cozy Cabin themed room.

I've always disliked the original snow scene in that all the trees look like lifeless lumpy snow blobs. I wanted to bring back some greenery and make the scene look more vibrant. I replaced the really bland skyboxes with more realistic skies, with the night scene featuring an aurora borealis.

Inspired by my love for Lilly Pulitzer prints, this beach remodel is a more colorful upgrade over the original. I've recolored the sand to look more like....sand and less like this weird ugly yellow sand the original had. I'm planning to make a daytime one as well.

Salon upgrade. This one is very incomplete, so expect this one to change a bit. The original dresser is so hideous that it's hard to make it look "better".

And finally, perhaps my pièce de résistance and my most time consuming overhaul was the backyard. The original looks so junky with its broken fence, muted colors, and lack of landscaping. It definitely needed some more life to it. I hope I achieved that with my 4 seasons remake of the back yard. To say it was a challenge is an understatement. I had to make 3 versions for EACH season. Day, night, and stormy versions. So 12 BMPs along with the edited leaf sprites. The fall leaves are not stills - they are recolors of the original animated sprites and move in the actual playscene! I was excited to be able to pull this one off and I'm happy with how it turned out.

And lastly I've reworked the Petz 5 carrying case skin with a template that makes it easy to come up with new carrying case skins quickly.

Here's just one of the many carrying case skins that I have planned. This one matches the pattern featured in the beach remodel.

And there you have it! These are all works in progress and I can't wait to share more updates with you all. As always, thank you for stopping by!

#petz #petz 5

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hapuriainen · 3 months

Text

Now that I've played at least one game in every Pokemon region, it is of course time for a ranking. Though note that the criteria is less based on how "good" I think the games are objectively and more on, like, vibes and such and if I have good memories of playing.

10. Sinnoh - This was the only gen I skipped when it came out because I didn't have a ds and didn't know how to emulate one, and when I finally did get one, Black & White were already out and Gen 4 was old news. But a while ago I did play Brilliant Diamond and really didn't have a good time at all. At that point everything felt extremely by-the-numbers and dated and I can't think of anything that this game offered that I didn't already get from the other titles. Some of the Gen 4 Pokemon are nice but it also has so many legendaries, which I really don't like as a concept (I mean I don't like it when the game tells me which Pokemon I'm supposed to find special and interesting). Also not a fan of the art style in the remake and I find Barry incredibly annoying.

Almost all of the BDSP customisation options were S-tier and Cynthia made for a great boss, but that's about it.

9. Kanto - I was there for the first anime episode so I have a lot of nostalgia for the early days for the franchise, even though I didn't get to play the original GB games. And when I did get Yellow on an emulator I already had Gold, which already covered Kanto so why bother? By now I've played Let's Go Eevee though and didn't really enjoy myself. The Kanto story is so nothing, and the motion controls just kill the whole thing for me. Also Trace is the worst rival character.

Most of my apathy towards Kanto is its overuse though, like the franchise has done interesting things beyond the original 151 but always when there's new forms or a major character hails from a different continent or whatever, its always Kanto and I've grown sick of it.

8. Galar - There are some characters I really like, but otherwise the Galar games felt pretty hollow. There's a lot of cool looking locations but there isn't any substance to them and you can't do anything in them, and the open area was a great concept but you can't do anything in it either. The giant forms don't do a lot for me either since I tend to prefer small and cute Pokemon so making them bigger and more ""badass"" usually doesn't work for me.

Out of all the Switch titles I like the Galar art direction best (as in how the characters look) at least.

7. Alola - I remember there being a lot of talk how the Alola games supposedly shook up the formula because they didn't have gyms, but, like, they totally had gyms, they were just outdoors and had a different name. My main memories of playing Moon are about being constantly interrupted by handholding and the unbearable Rotom Dex, and even with the setting being something completely different from usual, I barely remember anything about it. The customisation was surprisingly boring too and I couldn't care less for Z-moves or Ultra Beasts. Lillie is super cute though and Team Skull was a lot of fun and regional forms are an excellent idea, even if it was wasted on Kanto only in this generation.

6. Hoenn - I had Sapphire on an emulator and later a Alpha Sapphire, and I must say I didn't manage to finish either (I think I didn't even make it out of Mauville in that run), which is why I debated if I should put the Alola games higher just because I made it almost to the end there. But in the end I think Gen 3 did a lot more for the franchise, the berries, contests, secret bases, abilities and double battles are great. I don't have a lot of motivation to go back and finish Alpha Sapphire, all the surfing really doesn't sound inspiring, "too much water" isn't just a meme! Though maybe I should try at least.

5. Kalos - Now we get to the games where my feelings are a lot more positive. I remember being super stoked for the 3d graphics, and somehow for the fact that your character could sit down on a bench (???). The customisation is also great and roller skating was a fun way to get around. The story was pretty weak though and I really don't like the bland rival friend group. I dunno man, the more I think about it, the harder it is to think about things that actually matter to the gameplay experience that I really like, but regardless I have pretty good memories of Y.

4. Unova - White was my first game on an actual console (and not an emulator) so that alone makes it special to me. It's hard to come up with anything specific about the gameplay this time around either, but I remember having a good time, the world was fun to explore, N was a great rival and the story was good too. And the Big City of the region was amazing (and so was Kalos' for that matter) and the changing seasons made for beautiful graphics.

3. Paldea - The graphics were ugly and the performance was a mess, but I like nonlinear open world games okay? And honestly even that didn't work properly since the gym levels didn't scale and I unintentionally did the easiest gym fourth so I was stupidly overleveled, and the world wasn't that interesting to explore either. But I still had a decently good time and also the game had been patched by the time I got around to playing it so I didn't encounter that many bugs.

Also points for making the friendly rival and box art legendary into something I actually liked for once, the school stuff was fun (would've liked even more), the Arven story line is one of my favourite Pokemon stories, and the Area Zero part was great. And overall the game managed to make the overused "beat 8 gyms and deal with the evil team and local legendary" plot feel somewhat fresh.

2. Johto - The Kanto nostalgia pandering doesn't work on me, but Johto sure does. Gold was my first Pokemon game and I have so many good memories playing it, especially the nighttime Goldenrod city with the 8-bit music is my jam. I would also say that for its time it has been the best improvement on what came before, and of course it's the only time we get two games (or maybe 1,5) for the price of one instead of the other way around with the inclusion of Kanto. Then there is HGSS which contains still the best implementation of follower Pokemon. The story and characters will improve from here and the old gameplay jank doesn't really motivate me to revisit the games but they will always have a special place in my heart.

1. Hisui - There really isn't any contest here, the gameplay is simply so much better in LGA than in any of the others. Catching and battling Pokemon is so streamlined, the HM equivalents are useful and make exploring more enjoyable rather than being glorified keys, and the story is different for once. And I said I like nonlinear open world games but this is fine as well, when you get a huge area to explore at once, even when they're unlocked in an order. Like what I have an issue with is if you can't take three steps without running into an unskippable NPC scene or some arbitrary roadblock.

I do have issues though, the Pokemon box and Pokedex menu fiddling is atrocious and a way bigger issue here than in any of the other games since there's a lot more incentive to catch and use different Pokemon, I don't really like the art direction, and the customisation options suck and I had to use 90% of the default look for the whole game. But regardless I would really like it if the franchise went into this direction in the future.

#pokemon #ramble ramble #just in time before the Presents in an hour #game talk

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hotwaterandmilk · 8 months

Text

Paripi Koumei/Ya Boy Kongming drama eps 2-3

After proving himself worthy of being Eiko's strategist, Kongming helps her not only out-perform event rivals Jet Jacket, but quickly works at finding a rapper to elevate her appeal.

Plot-wise the gist of these episodes is the same as the arcs in the manga (and anime) with Kongming using his tactics to outsmart Jet Jacket while still offering them an olive branch at the end of the day. KABEtaijin is then introduced as a rapper struggling to find his confidence after having succumb to stagnation following an on-stage incident.

What makes the drama stand out while covering the same ground as previous incarnations of the story is how it recognises in its 44-minute episode length it has time to play around with the setting and characters.

So instead of having a scene in the back office of BB Lounge involve Kobayashi, Kongming and Eiko just standing around talking we have Kobayashi riding the faux horse we spotted last episode for the majority of the scene. It is ridiculous and exactly what a TV show needs to break up moments that work well in a manga but could potentially drag in live action.

Rather than being a shot-for-shot remake of the manga, the drama leans into comedy with us actually following Kongming around properly as he surveils his targets in episodes 2 and 3. The absurdity of this man dressed as he is while trying to be subtle and also film on a smartphone is genuinely funny. However, the show never fails to underscore the lead's lighthearted ways by showing his past actions as fragments of a bold historical melodrama and it really, really works.

But Kongming isn't the only character to benefit from the way the drama embraces its unique perspective. We get to see a bit more of RYO from Jet Jacket and get a greater feel for his motivations. We get some genuinely hilarious doco segments with Maezono Keiji that establish his ego and single-mindedness long before (I assume) we get to meet him properly.

Even the moments that ARE straight out of the manga are translated to screen well, like KABEtaijin's encounter with Kongming at the laundromat. You can completely understand why KABEtaijin freaks out, but it's hard to ignore just how utterly silly it all is.

The third episode ends just before Kongming forces KABEtaijin's hand and begins their rap battle. And yes, before you ask, Kongming did ride in on something OTT (like he did in the manga):

Perhaps not as OTT as his ride in the manga, but I can't fault this show for how it has spent its budget. Not only does everything look top notch, the amount of care that has been spent on producing the performers in the show is amazing. For example, their releases are featured on all major streaming platforms and Jet Jacket got a proper MV for 'MID DAY'. They didn't have to go to this much effort but they did and that really adds another layer to the drama. It features the same characters and story we already know, but it still manages to hit different.

Things I didn't like

I still feel like Eiko is the weakest part of the drama. Kamishiraishi Moka isn't a bad actor and her singing as EIKO is solid, there's just a real low-energy feel to this version of Eiko that I had hoped would go away after the first episode. It's a shame, as I mentioned in my post about the first drama ep, I love Eiko in the anime and manga so I was fully expecting to love her in the drama too but she is still falling flat for me idk.

The throat-healing concoction that Kongming shares with Jet Jacket has a whole preparation scene that felt really unnecessary? Like oooh look at him brewing this ancient, weird, stinky broth. The drink has the same effect as the manga/anime versions but the whole prep scene didn't work for me.

I won't say it was bad, because I liked the idea of it being adapted for the drama but Kongming house hunting alone didn't work nearly as well as the manga version with Eiko did. Without her there to sort of balance him out or even to help add a bit of context (suggesting he stop living at BB Lounge with Kobayashi) means I'm not sure if the ultimate punchline (his staying put after driving the real estate agent batshit) will work as well. I'm willing to see where this goes though, if they decide to continue it as a minor plot thread or just decide to have him never leave BB. Either way, I think the manga got it right the first time with this.

Stuff I did like

I thought the official Twitter account was exaggerating when they said we'd see a more gentle side to Kobayashi in the drama, but they really have made an effort to humanise the guy a bit more and I'm absolutely here for it. While the manga acknowledges that Kobayashi is a decent guy, a lot of his character there remains tied up in explaining and reacting to the revelation of Kongming's tactics.

The drama doesn't opt for Kobayashi holding a stray rabbit during the Jet Jacket performance per the manga, but it does have a few little things he does which help add depth to his relationship with other characters. When Eiko is lamenting he gently punches her head, he looks up at Kongming for approval with his Three Kingdoms asides more than once, and I did really like this exchange between the two when Kongming admits his past mistakes as they drink together.

Overall these were two more great episodes in a drama series that is shaping up to be a more than adequate take on the source material. Bring on the rest of the eps!

#paripi koumei #ya boy kongming #ya boy kongming!#paripi koumei spoilers #ya boy kongming spoilers #ya boy kongming! spoilers #drama #ramblings #the photo killed me #anyway i'm not having a great week pain-wise so this is very rambly #forgive my nonsense but this series has got me good

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roseadleyn · 1 year

Note

if u truly like diabolik lovers (according to ur fandom list anyways) then any diabolik lovers ocs that you like and/or love?? and do you have any dl ocs of your own?

OH MY GOD. i have another ask like this. should probably stop procrastinating and answer all 87 of my asks but procrastination is life 😍‼️

btw this list is not in order at all‼️i love you all the same <333

1. helen harrison, aurora, and lae'la by @/nutaella-kookie

laila isn't around on tumblr anymore (deactivated) but i actively stalk all blogs that contain helen posts. she's my favorite oc ever created and i genuinely love and fantasize about her all the timeeee

aurora is the BEST person in the demon world alongside devyn and gilbert. shut up. u don't get to argue because omg i love this woman

and lae'la... she's so objectively wrong but oh my heavens she looks good while she's at it. girlboss, love her.

2. keiichirou seong by @gingerall

okay but i am so in love with this man u do not understand!!! he's written well, he's drawn well, and he's so pretty 😭💞 yes he's a red flag but red is my favorite color so what are you going to do about it huh 🙄🙄

(@gingerall's art SLAYS btw. go check it out. i dare you. rn. )

3. devyn kang by @secretarykang

devyn is so beautiful???? so girlboss???? like, genuinely, this is the rare female oc who's a compelling female character who doesn't need to beat everyone up to be empowering and i just. hhhh ma'am i love u pleaseee

4. maya by @summercreolefanfictioner

BABIE!!! mentally traumatized, but babie!!! i found maya a while back and read her ENTIRE masterlist in one setting. istg i love her, she's so complex (in a good way!!) and deserves the world for putting up with kanato like she does

5. gilbert by @summercreolefanfictioner

SIR??? MY HAND IN MARRIAGE IS HERE??? literally simp over him as a hobby he's too well written and way too handsome for me to not do that okay??? and also he didn't need to die miss summer he deserves a happy ending with devyn!!!

6. cyra by @mariicake

is she single??? because i am (/j)

okay but like come on. this woman is so. wjsjd she makes me feel things she's so pretty and she slays literally every interaction with those mentally ill vampires and whatever else cooks in the dl abyss

7. asa, akemi and amaya by @crookedherringcolorclodthe2nd

(i'm unable to tag your original blog, my apologies!!)

my go to ocs if i need to laugh??? these girls. i absolutely adore their dynamic and the way they're written, a definite 10/10 for character building

8. malorie by @whitechocolatemochaasblog

MALORIE IS THE PRETTIEST NAME EVER OMG. also i just love how cute she is???? she's so baby, i love her with my whole entire heart and soul

9. makoto by @kirua9

poor girl </3 she just wants some love 😭 come here makoto i can treat u better than he ever could‼️

she's so hurt that it makes my heart ache

as for whether i have my own dl ocs... i have my own ocs, but not dl ones!! i'm considering putting my ocs in dl but i'll probably do it after i've organized this blog a little bit, you know???

currently, the ocs that are out are xander, raymond, roselyn, and caelia, and i'm working on emma (that's her old moodboard) rn <333 seven of my ocs have moodboards but i hated the mbs so i obviously had to remake them all; currently four have been remade, fifth is abt to be done‼️

lots of my mutuals have ocs but none of them are dl, so they weren't mentioned here. they slay nonetheless!!!

...and i've rambled way, way too much again, bye bye 😍

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sapphire-weapon · 5 months

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4make player -> Krauser's done and dusted but I'm fascinated by their remake history, bc he's so different to me than in the original. There's such a strong tone of jealousy and I can't quite put my finger on it. I'll sit down and analyse it later, but my working, very early theory is that Krauser is jealous of Leons emotional adaptability and successful coping mechanisms. I'm articulating poorly, but essentially it screamed "It's not fair that I have to suffer more than you! You're below me, why do you experience "less" pain? Why do you deserve respect and opportunity while I was left behind?"

see, i disagree with this take. i've written in the past about how krauser is an honest villain, and i think that's true with his feelings, too. krauser knows that leon's being held hostage by the government, and he's trying to teach leon a lesson as to what happens when you trust the government to keep their word when it comes to protecting the people you care about. that's why he keeps harping on leon's naivety.

so it's not "why do you suffer less than me?" it's "why can't you see what i see?"

what krauser doesn't get is that it's not about trusting the government; it's about trusting yourself. krauser has lost his ability to trust himself, which is why he pursues the power of las plagas in the first place -- but he doesn't see it that way, and he places the full blame on the government.

so krauser's brain the whole time is just going "i trusted them and they fucked me, and they're going to fuck you, too, and you're a goddamn idiot for being unable to see that. LOOK AT ME. THIS IS GOING TO BE YOU. THEY ARE GOING TO KILL THAT LITTLE GIRL YOU'RE TRYING TO PROTECT (sherry), AND YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO DO A THING TO STOP THEM."

but leon's over here going "i literally never said that i trusted them to not fuck me or go back on their word, so idk what ur on about."

and the more leon does that, the more krauser gets fucking pissed. and he gets pissed because of the reality that he doesn't want to face: leon was never the naive one; krauser himself was.

when leon accepted his role in the government, he was a point where he didn't trust anyone or anything anymore after what happened in raccoon city. he doesn't trust the government; he surrendered to them. because he especially didn't trust himself to make any sort of decision or give any pushback otherwise.

but he still had an innate sense of right and wrong (what happened in raccoon city was wrong; what happened during operation javier was wrong, etc.) and he still held onto the belief that there was such a thing in the world as "innocent people." and krauser mistook that + leon's complete surrender to the government as leon thinking that the government is the vehicle through which he'll be able to act on what's right and wrong (likely because that's what krauser, himself, believed), when that's not the case.

so like. leon's entire arc in RE4make is about re-gaining trust in himself through ashley's belief in him, so by the time he encounters krauser, he looks self-assured because he is self-assured, but not because he believes that the government has his back -- but because he knows that ashley does. as long as she believes in him, then he believes in himself -- and this is the first time he's believed in himself since krauser's known him.

but because krauser doesn't know any of that, he looks at leon and thinks that leon's just slorp glorping the government's favor of him and setting himself up for disaster. ("haven't you learned anything over the past two years?")

so it's all projection on krauser's part, not jealousy.

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man-down-in-hatchet-town · 9 months

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Everything You Want

If you ever needed proof that I really love Shipwrecked, here it is: I tore myself away from Hatchetfield on NPMD RELEASE DAY (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) to put down some thoughts on Greater Gatsby, episode 7. As always, spoilers below the cut.

(Before we jump into that, though, MASSIVE shout out to Curt Mega for this podcast, Nerdy Prudes, and Pulp Musicals. He's worked on almost everything that's keeping me going right now. Man of the Season. Thank you for your service, sir.)

Okay, I got to say it. Ford suggesting that Peter Lorre, an ethnically Jewish guy who had to flee Nazi Germany, isn't used to hate mail was... a choice on his part. But the running gag of celebrities taking threats as complements is genuinely one of the best gags in the series so far.

So the writer of the letters is going after adaptions. The further we get into this, the more I start to wonder if these letters are really just an old-timey viral advertising campaign. If you build up this whole, buzzy, real-world-intrigue story about beloved actors being threatened for appearing in adaptions, you know what will happen when such adaptions come out? Ticket sails will soar. People will want to be part of the narrative, to see the movie Jimmy Stewart or Wilhelmina Vanderjetski put their life on the line to make. And someone in the business threatening other people's lives just to increase profits is thematically just the sort of thing that would exist alongside Ford Phillips and his hatred of the cynical, exploitative Hollywood system.

But the problem there is, what would that have to do with F. Scott's murder? There's got to be a reason both these cases are part of the same story. Perhaps Fitzgerald somehow found out in his deep-dive into Hollywood secrets, and the letter writer killed him to keep him quiet. It's not a worthy motive, but most aren't, and the greed at the top of the ladder knows no bounds. Or maybe the letters are being sent out by someone connected to the movie but unrelated to the murderer in order to specifically market a rewritten Greater Gatsby and further capitalize on Fitzy's death--make it seem like he died for the art. But then again, the public doesn't know he was even murdered in the first place...

Or maybe I'm flat-out wrong about the whole marketing angle. Really, the most obvious answer is that Greater Gatsby was basically an adaption, and the writer of the letters genuinely hates such movies. They threatened Fitzy, then simply followed through. But that falls apart if you look a little deeper. Beyond "hatred of adaptions" being the silliest reason to kill someone, such events would imply a pattern of the writer murdering a victim before moving onto the next and that hasn't held up. So maybe F. Scott was being threatened to stop work on his film by someone who had a secret to protect. The situation spun out of control, our threatener killed Fitzgerald, and is now writing all of those threats as a distraction. That way, if the threats he/she ever sent to Fitzgerald were found, investigators wouldn't see through to the real motive behind them.

Meanwhile, all of the celebrity cameos were very fun and silly, but didn't tell us much other than give the slightest glimpse into why Ford hates Jimmy Stewart so much (still perfect character lore). We got another mention of Eugene from the Punchwhistle twins, definitely making him feel less like flavor and more like set-up. And do we think Rex's perfect recall is going to come back, or was just a device for this one scene? In Ford's personal orbit, it sounds like Bixby's quest to fix his financial issues has gotten him into real trouble. There's clearly something clandestine about the group he's renting the backroom out to, and their potential relevance to Mo, one of the few people to see Fitzy's body, is another point in favor of that group connecting back to our murdered author. I still think they're working on remaking Greater Gatsby in secret.

Speaking of secrets, we don't know where Barnaby was the night of Fitzgerald's murder, or why he's lying about it. He could be the murderer, he could have also been having an affair as well... I gotta tell you guys, Barnaby might be one of my favorites but I wouldn't trust him with a moldy piece of bread. The way he stabbed Ford in the back and then instantly came to him for help because someone else was untrustworthy? What a guy. (He's right about the cops, though. Don't trust the fuzz.)

Regardless, it looks like Fig and Ford are setting their sights on Darby. I doubt she's the one behind the letters but I'm hoping we'll start to get answers about her "book club" and whatever the hell Bixby's gotten himself into...

#also sorry I think this one is the longest yet #but I got the fandom brain rot sooooo #Fig and Ford #shipwrecked comedy #the case of the greater gatsby #ford phillips #Barnaby Nightingale #Bixby

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raycatz · 1 month

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1, 9, 30 for other ask game!

1, What’s your favorite kind of soup? Miso! I like light soups/broth.

9. What Legend of Zelda games have you played? finished: LA remake, OoT 3D & og, MM 3D, FS Anniversary Edition, WW HD, albw, botw, Hyrule Warriors: AoC (w/o DLC), totk practically finished (I just haven't beaten the boss yet): FSA, Minish Cap, Spirit Tracks, SkSw played: Zelda I, alttp, OoS, Phantom Hourglass, Link's Crossbow Training (lol), Hyrule Warriors og haven't played / haven't played enough of: Zelda II, OoA, Twilight Princess, TFH

30, Tell me a story about an adventure you went on! So I work as a camp counselor over the summer. Summers as a whole are an adventure but for an isolated tale- My camp has a hiking unit (usually around middle-highschool aged) and when they visit one of the peaks around camp they'll invite along any units who want to come with. My unit of 5 kiddos (5th graders!!!) and 3 counselors wanted to go. The hike was 8 miles. 4 miles up the switch-backs and along the ridge a while and then 4 miles back. We woke up early, packed extra canteens in everyone's backpacks, packed lunch, and set out with the hiking unit. My unit had younger kids and they were such troopers. They were engaged with the hike leader and asked questions. Watching them and being a part of their experience of the hike was a lot of fun. We'd made it over the switch backs and to the ridge and probably had only about half a mile left when one of my campers told me that they didn't want to go any further. That they were tired and that this was the worst decision they'd ever made. They kept going though. They made it to the peak and we enjoyed the view and had lunch. And then we went back. When we got back to camp they told me that they were glad they stuck with it and that getting to the peak was one of the best things they'd ever done. I'm really proud of them.

#I love my campers sm #they're all such great kids #I used wikipedia to reference the zelda games and uhhHH #WHY IS LINKED UNIVERSE ON THE LIST OF LOZ MEDIA WIKIPEDIA PAGE #''retrieved march 5 2024'' WHO DID THAT #there's a random loz metal song on the wikipedia page as well...#they're alongside things like the loz manga and hyrule histora. lol these things don't go here #aaanyways. thank you for the asks!#asks #ask game

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saffronapplemanga · 1 year

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GANGSTA. - ギャングスタ - PART 1

CRIME, ACTION, DRAMA

GANGSTA. by Kohske

(8 volumes, hiatus) Mangaka Kohske-sensei is sick and works on updates when she can. There are chapters beyond volume 8 in JP that haven't been collected into a volume yet here.

Available in English here

Anime - Yes. I'll admit it's crunchy, poorly paced, and disappointing because the studio went under literally a few days after it finished airing and it shows, but it’s still fun? They did cut stuff from the manga and there's so much they didn't adapt, so I'd recommend reading it. I'm begging for a remake and a season 2 or something...

Links to my other manga posts here

~Part two of this post is here~

We've got a meaty post today, lads! Sit down, because I'm going to gush about the series that's going in my all-time favs and I've made it my whole personality lately. I'm here to push the GANGSTA. agenda!!! I’m about to be so damn annoying.

Back in 2015 I was going through college hell and wanted something to chill with during my meager downtime. And so the GANGSTA. anime answered the call. Watching TV while shoveling food into my face was my only free time.

A whopping 8 YEARS later now that I'm a freelancer and have a flexible schedule allowing me to get into manga more than ever before, among other factors, it was finally time for me to pick this up. Naturally, I forgot a lot over the years, plus having consumed the anime in my suffering college student frenzy, much of my memory is fuzzy. What I DO remember is that the setting and aesthetics were cool, I loved the characters, and I was mad crushing on Nicolas Brown.

I'm pleased to report that after rewatching the anime and reading the manga, the me of 8 years ago had excellent taste.

Fellas, I present my 34-year-old homicidal, feral, sweet-as-a-button, baby girl ❤️

***Trigger warnings for everything you can think of for this series.***

This post will be divided into: Why You Should Check GANGSTA. Out - What's It About? - Lots And Lots of Character Analysis (And Gushing)

I'm going to give an elevator pitch and spoiler-free summary on why you should check this series out since I feel like it's — dare I say — slept on. Later, I'll get into spoilers and give a heads-up when I do.

Why You Should Check GANGSTA. Out

Diverse cast- disability, race, and age.

Disabled main character- Nicolas is deaf, mainly communicates in sign language, and I personally feel like the way it's handled is awesome (more on that in the character analysis). There are also great portrayals of mental illnesses.

Primarily adult cast- our main trio are 24, 34, and 35. All different races/mixed race. Also, they look like this->

The cleavage crew. My babies are amazing, just look at them!!!

Cool setting.

AWESOME character writing- we're never spoonfed, and there's so much you can glean about the characters from bits and pieces given to us — which is what a large portion of this post will be dedicated to discussing. Tons of nuance.

FOUND FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Found family? You have me hook, line, and sinker.

You can tell it was written by a female author if you know what I mean... Hear me out, I get into this more later. Please don't roll your eyes at me. I'm going somewhere with this.

Other than GANGSTA. I'm specifically thinking of Dorohedoro right now. It's the only time I've ever laughed at a boob joke and the whole, "Oh no, I walked in on a girl naked" joke and all that. Also, the bikini top/scantly clad outfits in that series don't give me the ick. Don't ask me to explain, I can just taste it. It's the execution.

While there are characters who are in romantic/sexual relationships, there are also a lot of platonic/familial relationships as well. I like romance as much as the next person and I can get really sappy sometimes, but I also want more non-romantic relationships between men and women. Sorta tired of the whole "a man and woman are in the same vicinity so they must bang, they HAVE to pair up". Again, love me some romance, but more of the other stuff too, please! And GANGSTA. delivers wonderfully. Some of the best depictions of the dynamic I crave that I've ever seen.

Look at this banger opening:

youtube

The ED is awesome too!

And last, but certainly not least, I'd like to present my "Nicolas Brown propaganda" video of this clip from Episode 1:

Look me in the eyes and try telling me this isn't the best thing ever. My man kicked a cop car in to stand up for Alex so they could save her and take her home!!! Also, Nic is voiced by Tsuda Kenjiro, the VA behind my other fictional crush, JJK's Nanami 'Husband-Material' Kento! Fair warning, I'm not going to shut up about Nic.

I have to admit, it’s difficult for me to wholeheartedly recommend the anime because of what I mentioned at the very top of the post. The voice actors were the best part of the anime, while the animation was… meh, and the pacing is not great. But it's still enjoyable! The manga destroyed me so good, though…

BTW if you're one of those people who are hesitant to get into a series that's on hiatus like my bestie, she HATES reading stuff on hiatus, I implore you to give it a go anyways. I successfully roped bestie into committing hehehe. It managed to absolutely wreck me in 8+ volumes. It's so worth it and I was very happy with how the last currently out chapter (#56) ended.

In case you were wondering... No, I still haven't recovered from Banana Fish.

There's also a completed spin-off series, GANGSTA: CURSED (I enjoyed it. I like action but it was almost too action-heavy for me. My fav parts of the main series are the quiet moments), a light novel GANGSTA: Death of Anosmic Stray Dogs (it was okay, Nic was funny but not enough of him, tbh I’ve read better fanfics), and drama CD's. I actually ordered the drama CD's to listen to later, but I'm traveling right now, and idk when I'll be home to pick up my package, so... And I read the extra manga that came with the Japanese Blu-rays (I enjoyed it).

What's It About?

Our boys Nicolas and Worick are the local "Handymen" doing odd jobs from deliveries and construction, to prostitution and homicide. They go way back, but their relationship is much more complicated than it initially seems.

The grungy city of Ergastulum is essentially an open-air internment camp. For who? Superhumans known as "Twilights", also called "Tags" for the tags they're required to wear. Twilights are the descendants of those who took the drug, Cerebret, developed during wartime to create enhanced soldiers. Their children inherit these qualities —making them an unintended consequence — but with a catch. They are forever dependent on consistent doses of Cerebret to stay alive and keep their bodies from shutting down. At the same time, however, it slowly poisons them, significantly slashing their lifespans. They are kept under surveillance, having been herded into Ergastulum, and xenophobia between them and the "Normal" non-Twilight refugees who settled there is constantly brewing. The Cerebret they need to survive is strictly regulated, expensive, and used to keep the Twilights on a short leash. They are in many ways, second-class citizens.

If you watched until the end of the Nicolas Brown propaganda video like I'm sure you totally did, you would have seen the tags dangling around Nic's neck — meaning that Nic is a Twilight. And in order to operate, he needs to be in a contract under someone. This contract puts the holder in ownership of the Twilight. In Nic's case, his contract holder is longtime friend and fellow Handyman, Worick. I'm sure you can imagine that it puts a certain strain on their relationship... Your BFF and roommate legally owning you even if it's to protect you? Awkward.

To make matters worse, Nic is running out of time, fast. The Cerebret, like I said, shortens the lifespan of Twilights. Various factors come into play regarding lifespan, but on average, they live into their 30's. And Nic is already 34 years old. I am... stressed, to say the least. I don’t know how he's going to pull through guys, I really don't.

Genuinely concerned for Nic's well-being. I don't trust Kohske to pull her punches...

Enter Alex — a prostitute the Handymen take off the street and offer refuge to. We learn about the city, the boys, the factions at play, and more alongside Alex, who has been thrown into this world. Worick is a charming sweetheart who I think sees a lot of himself in Alex, especially since he's been working as a gigolo from a VERY young age. And Nico despite his seemingly harsh exterior, is so damn kind and soft... They all are. I love my found family of traumatized dorks *sobs*

It's not all doom and gloom, though! We have funny, silly, cute-as-hell moments, too. And the domestic scenes? The quite, tender moments? Love. Obsessed.

I like how Nic is holding his old wanted poster with his face in the first panel like he's wearing it as a mask or something. And they're in separate interrogation rooms with glass between them but they can still communicate because Nic can read lips and Worick knows sign language. Clowns, the lot of them.

I admit at first, GANGSTA. seems like a kinda lame title. Like, as a native English speaker, if someone told me to check out a series with this title, it would give me pause lol. It really has that late 2000's to early 2010's aesthetic, edgy themes, plus the whole "Twilights" term — which when combined may make you think, "Yo, this looks lame," especially if you were a teen during that time. "Twilight" just makes me think of that Twilight, but we're ignoring that. For me, my teen years were cringe, and I'm sure many of you feel the same. But you know what? Mangaka Kohske-sensei rocks this vibe! She makes it cool! And now that I'm older, it's like, whatever embrace cringe, have fun and all that, y'know? So, GANGSTA. is great and totally not cringe in any way, hush.

She loves edgy characters — and eyepatches. Gosh, she loves eyepatches. And good for her! You do you, queen! I can dig it.

Bonus Nico because he's so damn cute. Love of my life.

But listen, this manga is deceptively deep, guys. You might think at first it’s simply crime, drugs, sex, and violence... But no! There’s more to it. The crime, drugs, sex, and violence are used to great effect instead of just edgy for the sake of being edgy. The plot is great and all, but the real bread and butter for me with this series are the ✨characters✨. I don't care if you have the sickest plot on the face of the planet. If I'm not obsessed with your characters... what are we doing here then?

Seriously, if I'm not willing to cut a bitch for your characters, try again.

It’s time to segue into ->

Lots And Lots of Character Analysis (And Gushing)

Goodness, where do I even start? So many good characters and moments to over-analyze! There's a boatload of stuff I want to talk about and I'm going to try and make it make sense. I’ll gradually dig deeper and deeper into the squad’s character. I do think I'll have to primarily focus on the main trio, or else my hands are going to fall off from all the typing.

Kohske-sensei doesn't spoonfeed us and doesn't treat us like we're dumb. You know when writers don't trust their audience to get something so they beat us over the head with it? Yeah, no, none of that here. Because a lot is implied or hinted at, this is going to be my interpretation of things. If you have a different take, I'd love to hear it! I'm going to just dive into the analysis with any evidence to support my claims, so I'm assuming you already know the story (or maybe come back later after reading the manga?) because from this point...

***SPOILERS UNTIL CHAPTER 56 FROM HERE ON OUT***

This section will be broken up into: Where It All Began - Nicolas and Nina - "Nice vs. Kind" - Worick and Alex - Nicolas and Alex - Nicolas and Worick - Nicolas - The Trio and The Scene That Had Me Bawling My Eyes Out - Brief Shoutouts to Characters I Also Want to Talk About, But This Post Is Already Long Enough

I'm about to get really sappy, so uh, here goes nothing.

(Note: the manga pages/panels I included for reference are arranged from right to left reading order btw)

Where It All Began

Let's start... at the beginning! The hankie. The first chapter establishes what kind of characterization we can expect from our main cast.

When we first meet our trio, Nic and Worick are leaning on a wall overlooking the city while Alex walks below, bleeding. And then, a handkerchief lands on her head. At first, it's not clear which of the Handymen dropped it down to her, but we're led to believe it was Worick as Nic had his back to the wall.

This is the first panel of Nic that made me go, "Well, hello there, sir 👀💦" Don't judge me. And like, why are half the buttons on his shirt undone? Worick too, LMAO. Not that I'm complaining..........

However, when Alex later thanks Worick for the handkerchief, he tells her it was actually Nic's. Awww, cute...

When the Handymen are hired to take out a gang, it turns out Alex is one of the prostitutes in the gang and therefore is going to be taken out by association. But the boys aren't too keen on this, which results in us getting the glorious Nicolas Brown propaganda scene I included earlier in this post. They claim her as their spoils after taking out the gang in order to keep her safe and get her off the streets. They even throw their weight around with the police by threatening to bash their heads in to do so.

This is all to say that while we see the boys do unsavory things like gleefully murder, we can see already that they're nuanced and SO DAMN KIND. They didn't have to do any of it. They had no reason to. They don't gain anything from it, nor do they expect to (more on this later).

Confirmed: They drink respect-women-juice. King shit.

The next day, we see that Nic seems to be acting pretty coldly with Alex. Right away, I took this as he's having a hard time opening up to her despite everything he did the day before to help her at no benefit to himself including saving her from a passed-out Worick LMAO. It's like... he's scared to get close. He doesn't mind her presence, but he stays at arm's length. We later get hints it's probably because of Veronica and he's afraid of getting hurt or getting someone hurt again. But, while running deliveries, we get this scene:

Which to me is Nic announcing that Alex is now under his protection — a fearsome rank A/0 Twilight. Yeah, it's to keep Worick's clients happy, but I think it's protection for her, too. They haven't known each other for a full 24 hours yet and the boys are already like, "Yeah she's with us. Leave her alone."

Nicolas and Nina

When we meet the absolutely precious Nina, we see a lot more of Nic's overt soft side. It's obvious he loves Nina a lot and is super affectionate with her and sees her as his little sister. And she very much loves him back!

I turn into a blubbering puddle of goop every time these two interact.

He goes out of his way to buy her the drinks she likes, holds her hand whenever they walk together, teases her, plays with her, comforts and holds her, and always keeps her safe no matter what. I could scream about every single panel they have together, but I want to highlight some of my favorite moments:

Worick disposes of the guys trying to kidnap Nina while Nic walks her to the clinic, but she stops at the sound of distant gunfire. Nic eases her anxiety by making her laugh and jokingly saying, "I didn't hear a thing," because of course a deaf man wouldn't lolllll. But he knew that she did indeed hear something because he knew what Worick was up to. But, they don't let Nina know that she was being tailed and in danger so as to not scare her.

Nina sleeps holding Nic's hand while he's passed out at the clinic, and when he wakes up he puts the blanket over her, careful not to wake her.

When Nic stays over at the clinic after he's hurt, the next day he jumps around rooftops with his superhuman agility, holding Nina close, simply to entertain this child he cares for dearly.

Alex asks Nina if she's scared of Nicolas, and while she understands Alex's hesitation, she says that, no she's not scared of him. She knows him for who he is, and not just how he seems. She knows he's actually a very soft man.

After all the patients at the clinic die, Nina is having a rough time processing her grief. She's a little girl with an enormous heart and was grieving over people she didn't even know. Nic leaves all the other grown-ups to go sit with her in his lap, against his chest, comforting her. Later, he takes her hand and walks her to Bastard to hear Alex sing and hang out with Loretta for a pick-me-up.

This scene pulls at my heart... Look at how much they love each other, and how much they feel comfortable and safe with each other. You can FEEL it.

After getting shot by Monroe and having seizures from Theo's experimental drug, Nic still tries to get up and go help the gang. Alex goes to stop him, meanwhile Nina... she looks at him with an aching heart, hurting because he's hurting. Taking his sword, she unsheathes it to reveal that it's broken. This causes Nic to have a moment where he realizes he too is broken and useless right now. So he slumps to the floor, allowing Nina to hold him. She was able to convey what she wanted to tell him — that he was in no condition to go anywhere and that she was worried about him — without saying a word.

To no one's surprise, this part had me in TEARS. So much is said with no words.

Nina puts her hands on Nic's, comforting him while he continues to be out of commission. Nic agrees to let Theo have his body to study as he's accepted his ever-looming demise, and Nina is... distraught. She cries for him. She cries while Theo tucks her into his lab coat, arm around her. I think that given Nicolas' history and trauma, having someone shed tears for him and be so gentle to him is extremely important. He spent the first 12 years of his life being abused on multiple levels and made to feel like he was nothing and then lived a harsh life even after he and Worick ran away. Having someone express this kind of emotion for him, this unfiltered love and care is important. Their casual, comfortable, and trusting tenderness is important.

"Nice vs. Kind"

I do want to emphasize that Nic isn't just kind to Nina. He and Worick are kind to everyone who isn't trying to kill them/has attracted their ire, that is. This is important to note for my next point -> Lately, I've been thinking a lot about something that I'm going to refer to as "nice vs. kind". I mentioned this in my AI Art post in a bit of a different context than we’ll be getting into here. While everything I'm going to talk about can apply to anyone, I'm going to focus on "nice guys".

Earlier, I talked about how the Handymen helped Alex without gaining anything or expecting anything in return. In fact, they're letting her bum off them and crash at their place for absolutely nothing. Combined with how our boys are good to pretty much everyone who isn't trying to kill them, I feel like this makes them truly kind instead of just "nice guys". When "nice guys" complain about how women in particular don't "give them a chance" or whatever it is they complain about, I have to laugh. You're being nice just because you want something from that person (such as getting a woman to sleep with you) or because you want to appear nice to people. In short, you're doing it only because you have an ulterior motive or something to gain — and it shows sooner or later. It's being selectively "nice" to people only when you are trying to gain.

Meanwhile, the boys don't do this at all. They aren't good to people because they're trying to gain something (unless it's work-related, they gotta eat after all). They don't care much about what people think of them or worry about "looking good". The boys follow what they believe in and act on it, even if it may seem morally grey or when it leads to them having not the greatest reputation with most people. But those who know them, know. And THAT is sexy and attractive, both in a romantic and platonic sense. When my friends are truly kind to me or anyone, I'm like, "Wow, that was so hot of you bestie."

When Nic was protecting the clinic in chapter three, Alex was scared of him. He unnerved her. Having just escaped from a man who abused her to hell and back, she was already on edge. Nic looked like an aggressive man, just like the last guy. Her initial impression is similar to the impression most people have of him. But he doesn't care about "looking good" because he's focused on doing right by those he cares about. THAT'S SOME HOT BOY SHIT!!!

Theo is great. We love Theo.

But how do I know without a shred of a doubt that they aren't expecting anything from Alex? I mean, isn't Worick having her help them with the business and do stuff for them? Yes, he is having her do stuff, but it's the intention behind it. When Worick asks Alex to man the phone while he's gone because Nic can't do it, he's giving her this task for her own sake. It's to make her feel included and useful and not feel like a burden, but without asking too much of her. I come from a culture that practices what I call "aggressive hospitality". What I mean is, for example, my friends will refuse to let me help clean up after dinner — and aggressively so — because I'm the guest. But I hate this because I feel useless and I'm just awkwardly watching you do all the work when I have two perfectly good hands. Like, PLEASE give me something to do, anything. And that's what Worick is doing for Alex! His asking her to do these little things is a kindness from him to her.

Besides, if Worick and Nic wanted to use Alex, they could have so easily at any time. A woman crashing with two guys after escaping an abusive pimp and is having drug withdrawals in a city where she has no one is an INSANELY vulnerable position to be in. She's quite literally easy prey. It wouldn't be unusual for someone in that situation to expect to be assaulted, to "pay with her body" in exchange.

But the Handymen, never go anywhere near that line. In fact, they completely reject the possibility, which leads us to one of my favorite scenes.

Worick and Alex

Alex's withdrawal symptoms are making her spiral and she's terrified. She needs to be useful. She needs to be useful the only way she can think of... or else. So she throws herself at Worick — but Worick shuts that shit down immediately. He doesn't entertain the possibility for a second. He refuses to use Alex. He could have taken the opportunity to "get some" but instead, he grounds her and makes her feel safe.

One of the most attractive qualities a person can have is making you feel safe, and I don't just mean physically safe. This isn't limited to what women find attractive in men or what's romantically attractive. This applies to a lot of relationships in general. (More on romance later, or rather lack of romance, because I didn't take this scene to be romantic.)

Worick went out in the rain looking for her. He saw that she picked up a John, going back to her old ways — and he never shames her for it. He just wants to take her home and is upset at himself for taking his eyes off of her. He makes it clear she owes him nothing. He reminds her that she's safe now, he's here now. And my sweet, sweet man just starts complaining to her about his crappy day in a silly, whiny manner to cheer her up and make her laugh.

He's like, "Boohoo, Nic fucked up my fancy shirt." LOLLL But seriously, I would trust this man with my life after all this.

The last line in this scene is some of the first instances of Worick being flirty with Alex, but in a way that I believe is another example of his kindness. Yeah, I said what I said. These scenes are some of the reasons that made me go, "I would bet money that this series was written by a female author." Some people might have the kneejerk reaction that these scenes are Worick being creepy, but I would argue that it's totally not the case.

When Alex visits Worick at the clinic, we get the following scene:

Alex is being hard on herself and feels ashamed. She pours out all the anxieties plaguing her mind, completely opening up to Worick. I don't know about you guys, but admitting how I really feel to someone, especially someone I care about and who I want to like me back in such a raw way is one of the scariest things you can do. What if they reject me? Or hate me? Will they think less of me?

But Worick brushes all this away so easily, again, never judging her. And again, he gives her something to do, to look forward to, with the promise of a song. Again, he gets flirty with her, joking around to lighten her mood.

"He's inappropriately touching her, though! How can you say that's kindness?"

Worick and Alex are both sex workers and have been from a young age. They both have trauma surrounding it. They understand each other in a way others can't. If Worick was invading everyone's bubbles and getting all touchy-feely with them, then I'd say yeah, he's being a creep. But he only does this with Alex. And while Alex might playfully smack him when he does, she's never really uncomfortable. She knows that he's doing this to cheer her up (and Worick uses humor as a coping mechanism — you can't fool me, sir. I have you CLOCKED).

If it actually made her uncomfortable, Worick would stop right away. He's earned her trust and continues to do so. This is what the banter and camaraderie between them looks like. It's like when I affectionately call my friend a "bitch" and say "I hate you" because we have an understanding with one another. If I did that with everyone, I would be an asshole. Meanwhile, my friend's mom yelled at her to be nice to me before I dump her ass. I was like, "Auntie... What are you talking about? We're literally having a brunch date together right now." LMAO, that's just how our relationship is and it works for us. In the pages above, you can see them horsing around, Alex "reprimanding" Worick for being a "perv" but quickly dropping her head on his chest and snuggling up to him. SHE FEELS SAFE WITH HIM!

AND HE FEELS SAFE WITH HER!!!!!!!

I didn't take this scene as romantic either btw.

I rest my case. Good day to you.

Actual picture of me reading about these dummies.

------------------------------

~Continued in my part two post~

#GANGSTA.#manga #manga recs #manga recommendation #manga discussion #seinen manga #漫画 #おすすめ #青年漫画 #ギャングスタ

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terapsina · 6 months

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💘🕯️💌

💘Is there any posted fic you want to rework/re-edit/re-write?

Absolutely everything that's older than 2 or 3 years?

But more seriously, IDK maybe 2 Times a Story Trope Slipped Through Emma's Fingers (+1 Time Regina Made Sure It Didn't). I think it was my first attempt at 5+1 things fic but I kinda lost steam midway through so it became 2+1 things. I've always kinda regretted not adding more shenanigans.

I guess I would like to remake this fic and add 3 more tropes (and fix the ending, I've never been particularly happy with the ending).

Most of my other regrets deal with the perpetuity of my WIPs.

🕯️was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

This might be predictable but that's definitely She's Come Undone and Set Free.

It's been hard to write a on multiple fronts. First of all of course is the subject matter itself, shining the light on Elena and Caroline's trauma and trying to get the story to a place where they might start to heal was hard. And it hurt.

On the practical front it's also the hardest thing I've been writing because it's also the longest thing I've ever written.

And while writing it I was constantly surprised by where it lead me. Every time I sat down to write I knew stuff like "here Elena and Caroline have a heart to heart" or "here they're gonna tease Bonnie about Rebekah" but I never knew HOW those scenes would go or where the real meat of the scene would come in. And after I finished them I always had this feeling like... 'that scene would have gone an entirely different way if I had tried writing it last month'.

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

Okay. So I've still got no idea when I'll finish with it but I'm still really excited about doing the wrapup epilogue bits of She's Come Undone and Set Free.

Especially, the stuff I have planned Bonnie and Rebekah. (it's not ready for viewing but let's just say that I HATED how dirty they did Bonnie with that whole 'secretly dead for months' thing. So I'm going to see how things might have gone different with an Original in Bonnie's corner).

Other than that. Here's a sneak peek into the beginning of the epilogue (please be aware that it might change before posting though. And hasn't currently been combed for grammar mistakes).

Elijah was putting away the freshly dry cleaned suit he'd changed out of before returning to New Orleans - his mind judiciously on anything other than the woman whose fingers had wrinkled the fabric as she grasped the collar at the back of his neck - when his brother found him.

"I heard a strange little rumor." Klaus’s voice was full of thinly veiled curiosity.

"Did you?" he asked carelessly, not quite paying attention. "How fascinating."

"Whatever did Damon Salvatore do to piss you off, Elijah?"

Elijah’s movements halted momentarily as the muscles in his back seemed to pull into stone. He'd known of course that it was simply a matter of time before Niklaus was informed of the bounty he had placed on the whereabouts of the older Salvatore brother. He had simply hoped it would have taken longer than a day.

He exhaled silently under his breath, the only sign of irritation Elijah was willing to telegraph before answering. "He harmed someone I care a great deal about."

"And who might that be?" Niklaus asked.

Elijah chose not to answer.

#ask game #writing #answers #isagrimorie

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silver-wield · 11 months

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Hey just wanna ask. I read a clerith claiming that the Jail scene dialogue from OG is the ultimate Clerith scene ever because Cloud chose to flirt with Tifa with aerith in front of her. Enough to put her off. Uh I'm still currently replaying OG on my 2nd run but sources stating "there's obvious mutual attraction" going on with them? Makes my stomach churn for some reason probably because I'm kind of pissed off of Soldier Cloud being this way. Why did SE gotta do Tifa like that and put them together in one jail cell only for her to get hurt like that?? Wtf?

I swear to God if they don't make up a CLOSURE on why he's supposedly "attracted" "mutual attraction" to aerith, flirting with her saying wtvr in OG (Im not thinking of what's canon, the act itself exist it shows a perspective) I'm never going to forgive SE.

Im tired of them making Tifa out to be the second choice, or an aftermath after (she's always been the first choice wtf!? Where are all these shitty "he liked A more but settled with T" coming from??). She wasn't like Aerith who openly flirted with cloud because ignorance is a bliss. She liked Cloud the most but held back the most for obvious reasons out of worry, and they be letting cloud hurt her like that?? Wtf?? Tifa doesn't deserve that! She deserves so much more.

HELL NO WAY, I'm not gonna accept that True Cloud had a tinge of romantic interest / infatuation in aerith, that thing be better related to Zack or his Soldier Persona's needs (a fantasy that needs to be reciprocated to exist).

Plus if it was so important, wtf take away that scene all together? Why make cloud like he couldn't care less about aerith after saving her in remake (Barret doesn't even say stuff about him caring so much for A unlike in OG)? Even though a part of me sees this whole charade as a red herring, it pisses me off to my core that it's hardly given closure.

Ugh if they didn't just wanted to make sure people would be saddened by her death, they wouldn't need to put Tifa in the back burner for a huge chunk of the first parts because she gonna die early then. I'm so glad they've focused more on Tifa early on and you sure as hell would count on me to pray that her date would be the only one we'd be gettin on rebirth.

PS I just want to see Tifa happy, without the feelings of inadequacy. That she's the only one True Cloud ever loved and was attracted for. Otherwise, people will think again she's some martyr when her promise and moments literally gets NTR'd by aerith who took advantage of cloud to reminisce about Zack. I swear Tifa's a saint for caring about aerith in OG when the latter treated her really awfully. Ugh, she better be the enlightened version in remake because I sure as hell don't forgive OG aerith for causing her such sadness and pain (ngl A's pretty spoiled compared to what the others have gone through, I'm kinda pissed because most of the time she doesn't even deserve it).

Also, Claudia's line where city girls might be a source of temptation and distraction made me think of Jessie and aerith. Wherein he'd be needing Tifa, the mature one to balance him out.

Sorry, got pretty pissed. the only reason I'm tolerating and trying to understand Cloud here is because I love Tifa. And because I love her, I do really want to Like him too. Damn I feel like a combination of Marle and Brian.

It's okay, they're dumb and deluded. Also, that jail cell scene doesn't exist in remake so they're clinging to something Nojima removed because it didn't fit how the characters and plot were set out.

Fun fact: Toriyama wrote all of Aerith's scenes with Cloud in Midgar, so all annoying nonsense is his fanfiction at work since Nojima literally took it all out 🤣

They bring this up every few months because they think there was flirting and they love that mistranslation they throw around because to them "peevish/complicated" means jealousy and that there's something between Cloud and some chick he literally just met when he's been pining for Tifa since he was nine.

Basically it's about Tifa's feelings of insecurity and that as much as she likes Cloud, she feels like he's out of her league. It doesn't really have anything to do with Aerith, it could be any girl making her feel inadequate, but she feels out of sorts because she considers Aerith a friend and doesn't know how to resolve these conflicting emotions.

Never mind the devs put Cloud and Tifa in the same cell together, but sure, there's totally a moment happening elsewhere. If that was true, why is he with Tifa? That's basically saying the devs are assholes who wanna make Tifa miserable for kicks.

Yeah, I doubt it. Nomura said this in '97 that Tifa's the canon route and Aerith is the extra for players who wanna. With Remake they're not even entertaining that shit and having Cloud all over Tifa like the game is M rated and they'll be banging any second 🤭

#ship war #for the plot #for the fandom

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balanceoflightanddark · 2 years

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Slurpasaurs: A History

When it comes to classic dinosaur films, what is typically the first special effect that comes to mind which is used to bring the prehistoric beasts to life?

Stop motion with figurines like in The Lost World (1925)?

Suitmation made famous by Gojira (1954)?

...put some crummy ass fins and horns on your pet iguana and call it a day?

Yeah, we're gonna be talking about the last one for today's post.

The term "slurpasaur" is used to describe a peculiar method of bringing creatures to life that was used quite well up until the 60s. As I said, it refers to using a pet lizard or reptile and filming it in a way to appear more monstrous than they actually are (to...varying degrees of effectiveness). Usually this includes filming them close up and in slow-motion to give them more "weight" and make them appear larger. Horns, fins, and other adornments were often used to more vaguely resemble the dinosaurs they're supposed to portray.

Again, mileage varies on how this...uh..."creative" way of bringing dinosaurs to life works.

(Hint: it rarely did)

Dinosaurs and lizards actually do go quite back aways to their earliest depictions. When dinosaurs such as Iguanodon and Megalosaurus were first discovered, their remains were very fragmentary at best. And so early paleontologists had to do what they could to properly reconstruct these mysterious finds. Since the teeth and bones seemed to vaguely resemble reptiles, it was thought they were lizards. As seen in the two depictions above: the left being the famous Crystal Palace dinosaurs designed by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, and the right being a painting of a Megalosaurus attacking an Iguanodon made by Édouard Riou.

Obviously future finds that showed dinosaurs weren't oversized lizards would render these depictions outdated, but the model would later find a surprising reemergence on the silver screen.

Since the use of stop motion was a slow, arduous, and expensive process while rubber suits had it's own set of problems (the suits being stiff and difficult to work in), the use of pet lizards provided a cheap and easy alternative. Not...necessarily the most effective special effects in the world, but movies are a business and sometimes in order to make some money back, you needed to cut some...

...corners.

Among the first users of the slurpasaur technique is the 1940 "classic", One Million B.C. The plot involves a pair of cavemen tribes learning to live together in a prehistoric world filled with hungry predators and exploding volcanos. Interestingly enough, this film got nominated for an Academy Award for special effects.

Let's see what everyone was so excited about!

(Fair warning about the clip in question...animal rights weren't really a thing back then, so it involves an actual fight between a gator and a monitor lizard. Be advised)

One Million B.C. (1940) Gatorsaurus vs. Tegudon - YouTube

...huh. That's some...award winning effects right there.

One Million B.C is also one of the most well-known practitioners of the slurpasaur technique, and stock footage taken from this film is often used in many future films that depict dinosaurs that may also involve slurpasaurs. Including some of the films in this post. One of them is the 1961 Valley of the Dragons, which also inspired the name of this blog cause admittedly that is a cool name for a dinosaur film.

Interesting note before we move on: the One Million Years B.C remake (1966) also used an iguana in a rather late usage of slurpasaur. Partly to pay homage to the original film. And partly to show just how far special effects had come.

Considering that Ray Harryhausen was in charge of special effects...quite a lot.

The next film on the list is The Land Unknown (1957) where a helicopter crashes in the South Pole and discovers a whole lost world of dinosaurs.

Who apparently evolved backwards to resemble monitor lizards.

Now to be fair, The Land Unknown didn't rely solely on slurpasaurs. Like One Million B.C it also used several other techniques to bring dinosaurs to life.

...which were just as effective.

Now to actually be fair, there were a...very few amount of slurpasaur applications that aren't too bad. Take this depiction of Dimetrodon from Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) which...wasn't too far off from older depictions of the species actually. I'll let this one slide.

Not as forgivable is King Dinosaur (1955). Set on an alien planet that features similar animals to those on earth (allegedly), our "heroes" find themselves on an island populated by lizar-er, I mean "dinosaurs".

Again, to be fair, the slurpasaur idea could work if the animals in question were portrayed as generic prehistoric reptiles that weren't based on a specific species. Still looks silly, but at least there would be some reason for it.

Not with King Dinosaur. Here, two of our "heroes" are trapped in a cave by the eponymous King Dinosaur, where one of them, a noted biologist I might add, looks at what is clearly an iguana...and identifies it as a TYRANNOSAURUS REX.

To show I am not high and making this up, here is the clip in question with expected commentary from Joel and the bots.

MST3K: King Dinosaur (FULL MOVIE) - YouTube

Repeat, a skilled biologist looked at this guy:

And thought he was a T.rex, one of the most recognizable dinosaurs in all history.

You may take this moment to facepalm.

And it wasn't just King Dinosaur either. The 1960 remake of The Lost World had Professor Challenger identify a slurpasaur as a Brontosaurus. For a little clarity, here is what a Brontosaurus looked like back then and what Challenger saw.

...can you see the family resemblance?

Which is part of the reason why the slurpasaur technique thankfully fell out of fashion since nobody can look at a lizard with fins and say that's a famous dinosaur. That and the gratuitous examples of animal violence. And that better effects were becoming cheaper and more accessible.

Nowadays the most you can expect from slurpasaurs is maybe a winking nod to their depiction. Like in this clip from South Park where the dinosaur is depicted by...a guinea pig.

guinea pig south park - YouTube

Only slightly harder to take seriously then an iguana trying to gum the viewer to death.

Which is the reason why slurpasaurs are fun to poke fun at. It's both absurd, silly, and kind of charming that early filmmakers tried to pass harmless lizards off as powerful and terrifying dinosaurs. These films do have that cheesy popcorn vibe that makes it fun to watch and bring up with friends.

Cause nothing says so bad it's good when a bunch of cavemen try to fend off that iguana you saw at your local reptile convention.

#dinosaur #dinosaurs #paleomedia #paleoart?#b-movie #so bad it's good #slurpasaur #one million bc #king dinosaur #valley of the dragons #the lost world #journey to the center of the earth #long post

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mdhwrites · 1 year

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🦝 hey I'm back 👋

And wanted to ask about your thoughts on Luz's trauma that you mentioned in another post. Also I think the writers exaggerate the whole "accidentally helping Philip" thing. Didn't seem that big of a deal to me as the fandom and the show make it out to be

So while I get, since it's a teaching blog (that reading back I don't like how long I spent on the example), I've technically answered this before when talking about trauma in fantasy media in general because... it's tricky. To put it mildly. But I will reiterate at least some of it here to become more concise. I... Hate it. I don't think it's well done, I don't think it makes sense, it doesn't match the past, etc. It is something the writers clearly wanted in the show but didn't put the time into. Let me show partially why for Philip's trauma specifically (and I'll actually talk about Luz's bullying here but later). So we have an episode where Luz is finding frustrations with a personal goal of hers. She finds something that will allow her to achieve this goal and promptly sets out to take care of it. In the process, she meets obstacles and an ally that, despite red flags, she accepts immediately to continue on her quest. Once she gets to her goal though, she finds out that she had unwittingly helped someone who wished ill intent on her and those close to her. She escapes death and saves those she cares about before getting back to her normal life, her goal unfulfilled. And besides scale, there's actually very little embellishment I just did in describing Witches before Wizards... But you thought I was describing Elsewhere Elsewhen. Because the two are very similar in structure and the mistake Luz makes. Luz even effectively lives a fantasy in Elsewhere Elsewhen with the lie she makes and the fact that she is so implicitly trusting of Philip for no reason than he can help her and gives her compliments. Much like the wizard. HOWEVER... The wizard is funnily enough done BETTER. The only paradox, true paradox, in Elsewhere Elsewhen is that if Luz didn't show up, the journal would have been burned (and there are ways to explain that actually, like him remaking some early entries or only the introduction at all). This is because Philip was already actively working on this goal, gotten one person killed for it and was actively seeking for others to get him to the Collector. Luz was not necessary here. Luz WAS necessary in Wizards because of her connection to Eda so she is genuinely to blame for putting Eda and King at risk.

Now no, trauma is not rational... In the real world. This is a fucking narrative. Consistency and reason is what allows readers to understand what the fuck is going on. When you break those, you get into threatening suspension of disbelief where... There better be something your audience is getting back for their suspension. So what do we get for Luz? Well... We lose our cheerful protaganist for a while... Kind of. Her mood shift is entirely S3 and I'll actually get back to that. We lose it... And never get a proper resolution. It's apparently really short in Thanks to Them everyone going "We don't care, we still love you," which thank god the rest of the cast is sane and they didn't do that trope but... There's a real fun thing in episode 2 of Season 3. Camila's speech that leads to Stringbean being made doesn't address the problem in Luz's head. It addresses perhaps one of them but not the one that has been consuming our protaganist and stopping her from interacting with people. It doesn't properly stay targeted on the problem we've been having to watch Luz whine and be overdramatic about: Making mistakes. BUT IT STARTS THERE. But literally none of Camila's words reach Luz until she reveals that she's a secret nerd. It's part of what I consider to be really bad about that scene honestly. Actually addressing the plot? Actually talking about the specific event? No. None of that mattered. None of that is what is addressed and yet the speech still appears to have gotten Luz finally out of her funk. And that's frustrating. But let's actually talk for a moment also about what this sort of trauma normally does. So you make a choice. That choice leads to horrible consequences. As such, you may reasonably flashback to it and the like anytime you have to make a choice that feels mildly important. For Luz's especially: Anything that might affect another person. Luz after Hollow Mind still, you know, tries to convince King to not trust and leave the Titan Hunters, decides to swap places with Hunter and abandon everyone else there who could make a decision instead, tries to stay in the Isles, leaving her friends without a human guide in the human realm and nowhere to stay without her, etc. like that. She doesn't act based on the trauma. She just gets whiny and overdramatic. It's actually the same problem I have with the trauma in Reaching Out. The trauma is "Death of father mixed with potentially lost of her mother". Logically, these would be used to make a character more cautious. Scared of any little thing that could hurt those they care about. Or, they become more disconnected from others so that they cannot be hurt like this again.

In Reaching Out, Luz watches her girlfriend doing underground, unregulated combat and finds this BORING. Finds it entirely unengaging. When her girlfriend is hurt, rather than talking about the injury itself or harassing the healer to do a good job, she tries to chat about the past. These actions do not match what you're trying to have be the source of her problems. You're treating it as generalized anxiety (if even that) when trauma hits different, especially in a narrative where you cannot just go "It's trauma, I don't have to explain it." I appreciate that mocking phrase for fantasy being versatile. And I know I said I would get to Luz's bullying when talking about Luz's trauma but someone recently made me realize that a lot of the characters exhibit similar issues to Luz with their past trauma aspect and... And that's another blog. This has gotten long enough. To sum up though: I don't think the Owl House does trauma well in almost any regard and the fandom makes this worse by calling literally anything bad that happened in the last fourth of S2 trauma. Probably to try and make the show sound more serious than it honestly was interested in being up until that point.

#Luz #The Owl House #Rambles

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marvellouspinecone · 1 year

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Happy holidays, @trixicbean ! I was your secret Santa for @thasminsecretsanta this year. Please enjoy today's chapter and keep an eye for the next one tomorrow. I will put the full text under the cut ⬇️ and you can check it out on ao3 as well⬆️. I wish you a wonderful rest of the year!

Patience has never been the Doctor's forte. Right now staring at the closed door to the TARDIS's wardrobe felt like her time senses were broken beyond repair and every objective second stretched like taffy - neverending and hurting her teeth.

No need to be dramatic, she told herself. It's not like we're going to be late for the ball. We've got a time machine. TARDIS hummed, soothing, at the back of her mind. The Doctor only wished it meant that the ship would cooperate with choosing their destination coordinates.

Just as she was thinking, again, of knocking, the door opened.

"Hey, Doctor, I know you gave me a magazine and all that, but these future hairstyles are near impossible. You sure I can't just go with braids? A little bit of retro can't be that bad for the timelines."

Thankfully, Yaz was too focused on a thin sheet of disposable screen in her hands to notice the Doctor staring at her, speechless. Yaz chose a suit of vibrant, electric blue. The fabric, draped in artsy folds of twenty-third century fashion, shimmered with her every move, like lightning over water. Her wide trousers almost resembled a skirt — ideal for a bit of running they might be bound to do in every place they went to. The top was flowy, coming up to her collarbones, shifting in a way that momentarily outlined her soft curves before hiding them away again. She wore some shiny eyeshadow as well, just enough to turn her dark eyes into two black wholes in the centres of glittering galaxies. Only when the Doctor found those eyes trained on her, she remembered she was supposed to say something.

"Yeah... I mean- absolutely not! I'm positive!"

The Doctor was sure she wasn't making any sense, but Yaz seemed to get the point as she laughed.

"It's 2230s, Yaz," said the Doctor, her confidence boosted. "It's all about maximalism. If you do a simple style, you'll stand out too much, and we have to blend in. No interfering, we're only there to observe."

Yaz gave her the best "yeah, 'course" look.

"Well that and appetizers." She grinned, and the Doctor's eyes were immediately drawn to her dark purple lipstick.

"Promised you the best canapes in Earth's history, didn't I?" Luckily, the Doctor's mouth was running on autopilot while her brain was treacherously coming up with multiple ways to ruin that lipstick, none of which involved tiny sandwiches.

"Wouldn't wanna miss them, then. Will you help me do my hair?" Yaz ran her fingers through her curls, untangling some of the mess.

"Of course. Why not?" the Doctor said as she followed Yaz to the vanity table.

It might go so wrong.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Yaz said as the Doctor took a few strands and started weaving a pattern.

"You and me both," the Doctor mumbled. "Just have to follow the tutorial and everything will be fine."

Yaz laughed.

"You'd never do that. You look at any set of instructions and do the complete opposite."

"Oi! I can do that! Especially when something as important as Yasmin Khan's look is at stake."

It went surprisingly smooth. The Doctor only had to go back and undo the knots twice, and in the end they both agreed that the alterations she made were better than the original (or at least not worth remaking).

Yaz was inspecting herself in the mirror. Then her critical gaze shifted to the Doctor's reflection.

"What will you be wearing?" she asked, curious.

"Oh, I'm already dressed," the Doctor turned on her heel and her grey coat billowed around her.

"You can't be serious." Yaz's eyes were wide in disbelief. "Doctor, you can't give me a lecture about maximalism and blending in and then wear the same bloody thing as always."

"Well, I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve."

The Doctor winked and pulled out the sonic pointing it at herself. Her dark coat lining lit up with silver pinpricks, like night sky. The lights were moving over fabric, blinking on and off, and seemed to escape her clothes entirely and float in the air around.

Yaz gaped.

"Impressive," she said finally. "You still have to do something with your hair, though."

"I didn't think about that," the Doctor admitted.

"Of course you didn't, you bighead. Come on, let's find something."

They ventured into the depths of the wardrobe. After several minutes the Doctor wished she made a better cataloguing system. It was all over the place, an Elizabethan gown with Bronze Age Greek pauldrons draped over it, worn riding boots tucked away near a jewelry box full of Venusian treasures.

"Oh, that's it!"

The Doctor heard Yaz's words from behind a cabinet of her many umbrellas and rushed to have a look. Yaz was pointing at an old dummy head with a delicate headpiece made of silver chains and tiny crystals resting on top.

The Doctor squinted.

"Seems appropriate."

"Let's try it on."

Yaz scooped up the accessory and started fiddling with it. In a dusty mirror over her shoulder the Doctor saw the chains and crystals flow through her blonde hair like a starfall. Never interested in her own reflection, the Doctor moved her eyes to Yaz.

Their faces were so close that the Doctor could smell clean and sweet scent of hair styling gel, could feel Yaz's soft breathing on her skin. Yaz's lips were pursed in concentration, her fingers warm and careful as she tried to place every strand exactly right. The Doctor wanted to smooth out the worry from the human's lips, to say that the old and daft Time Lord was not worth such deep and loving attention. But she stayed silent and unmoved, drinking in every feather-light touch.

Sharp pain stabbed through the Doctor's hearts. She couldn't get attached. Not now, when she thought she had perfected her little game of dancing on a wire, the fragile and delicate balance of being close enough to not feel lonely, yet staying far enough to not grieve her future loss. The only solution was to have nothing to lose.

Yaz seemed to sense something and frowned, making eye contact. It would be so easy to give in and reach out for something more, something new, and beautiful, and doomed. It was so hard to pull away.

Something shifted in the air. The Doctor didn't have time to proccess as the next thing she heard was Ryan's cheery voice.

"Did you fall asleep in there or what?"

Yaz was the first one to react.

"Took you long enough to go looking for us!" she teased.

A beat, and the boys appeared from behind the shelves, having followed her voice.

"You don't look half bad," Yaz said approvingly.

She was right. Ryan was dressed in a suit of simple black colour but intricate cut and design, hugging his figure, with a caplet draped over his shoulders. His hair and face were covered with a generous helping of glitter. There was obvious awkwardness in his posture, but the Doctor hoped it would dissipate as soon as they'd start having fun at the ball. Ryan, for all his shyness, knew better than to let something as insignificant as glitter and a whimsical outfit dampen his mood.

"Shut up," he retorted, with no real bite in his tone. "Your hair is proper fancy, though."

Graham tapped his foot impatiently. He opted for a hat, obviously not wanting to bother with styling. His clothes were an explosion of floral embroidery, colourful and lighting up the room.

"You all look lovely, now can we go? I was promised a bite to eat."

"Alright, fam," the Doctor couldn't help but smile, warm and fond. All the loss and grief in the world could wait for her far away from now, in the future. "Let's get a shift on."

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