#special interest: doomed yuri

[nonbinarylesbianherb]

Rhaenicent watching my other interests leave and circle back around every few months like

“welcome back!”

“you’re still here..?”

“never left. Never.”

#rhaenicent #hotd #i imagine #thats a tag so i just wanted to do that #but i imagine my shorter obsessions (which range from weeks to months) as hyperfixations and rhaenicent as long term special interest #and everytime they come back theyre like ?? holy shit?? theyre still interested in you?? #well yes! #hyperfixation #special interest #special interest: doomed yuri #alicent x rhaenyra #my beloveds

[shirokokuro]

The Curious Case of Megalobox and Translation as a Form of Metacommentary

Pardon me for I must speak about the boxing show.

***Vague spoilers for Megalobox Season 1***

Background

Megalobox is a 2018 sports anime set in a futuristic Japan that is characterized by wealth-disparity and illegal immigration. The story follows Joe “Junk Dog,” a boxer who partakes in underground, rigged fights orchestrated by the mafia tycoon Fujimaki. Despite his talent, Joe’s status as an illegal alien ensures that he is doomed to throwing matches for income.

Joe’s literary foil is the champion boxer Yuri. Possessing a much higher status than Joe, Yuri is the main fighter for the Shirato Group, a tech company specializing in assistive gear for megalo-boxing matches. His passion for boxing has ultimately been stifled by the economic aspirations of the Shirato Group’s CEO, Yukiko Shirato. In a bid to display their state-of-the-art boxing gear to military investors, the Shirato Group hosts a megalo-boxing tournament. This decision sets the course for Joe and Yuri’s inevitable collision.

Themes

Megalobox explores a variety of concepts such as poverty, addiction, classism, and family. At its crux, the first season emphasizes that greed is the antithesis of passion and that personal autonomy is necessary to achieve a life well-lived.

Audience

I was unable to find any demographic information for Megalobox’s audience. The creative team elected to use line art reminiscent of 90s hand-drawn animation, and the rating is 14 and up. From this, it is clear the intended audience was meant to be young adults and older. Additionally, I think it’s safe to say given the contents of the show that it is intended to appeal to male viewers.

Thesis

Translational variances between the Japanese dub of Megalobox and the English sub and dub versions present different interpretations of the show’s core messages. In the English translation, gender is injected into the show’s text in ways absent in the original Japanese.  

Discussion

By and large, the translation team for Megalobox did a stellar job keeping true to the original intention of the Japanese dialogue. The English dub mirrors the English subtitles very closely, and I think the voice acting team did a very good job at delivering these lines. In fact, Megalobox is one of the few anime that I chose to watch in English dub instead of with subtitles, which has culminated in my current epiphany.

When watching, I couldn’t help noting some of the moments when characters would discuss “men” as a state of being. In these scenes, the word “men” was used in lieu of “human” to discuss philosophical concepts. This tendency tinted my understanding of Megalobox. I was curious if this gendered interpretation was inherent to the original Japanese as well or if this machismo patina was a result of translational bias. After performing brief comparisons of some English and Japanese scenes, I discovered it was the latter.

There are a few moments in the show where non-gendered phrases are translated as male. For instance, in episode 12, Yuri and Yukiko are discussing the irrationality of Yuri’s desire to fight Joe. In the English subtitles, Yuri explains his reasoning with the following:

“The man who taught me Megalo-boxing told me something. ‘If you’re lucky enough to run into a fighter in your generation who you want to win against from the bottom of your heart, consider yourself blessed. If you ever find someone like that, never let him out of your sight.'"

The tricky thing with translating sentences like the ones above is that Japanese often doesn’t use pronouns. There’s no need to use them because grammatical subjects aren’t required to form a complete sentence. As such, when translating Japanese to English, a pronoun often must be inferred for the translation to be effective. Translators are thus left to fill in the blanks of what the English translation should be. This freedom leads to some interesting results, like in Megalobox. For example, the above quote doesn’t actually use any gendered language at all in the original Japanese.

“The person [人 hito] who taught me Megalo-boxing told me something. ‘If, in your generation, you meet a fighter who you want to win against from the bottom of your heart, that is a blessing. If you ever meet a person like that, never take your eyes off of [them].'”

The “man” and “him” in the translation are absent from the actual Japanese. This isn’t a huge deal, especially because we see that Yuri’s trainer was a man and, Yuri being a male Megaloboxer, his opponent being male is sort of implied. In the dub, there is the additional challenge of matching the mouth movements to the VA’s lines. Again, I don’t take issue with the above English translation since the gender is implied through context. Some other translations, however, altered the text in ways that fit the original message of Megalobox into a gendered frame.

Such alterations appear in two conversations, once in episode 6 between Aragaki and Nanbu and once in episode 13 between Yuri and Joe.

(1) In the conversation between Aragaki and Nanbu, the two are discussing the finale of Aragaki’s career and his feelings surrounding it. Aragaki discloses a conversation he had with Joe:

However, the closer translation is something like, “Joe said something to me: ‘You can blame whoever, but the decision to make the call is up to you.’” The Japanese word used here isn’t “man” or even “human.” The original Japanese uses the word 手前 (temei), which is a derogatory way to say “you.” Aragaki is literally relaying the words that Joe said verbatim. In the English, the translation is generalized to humanity in general, encapsulated by the gendered term “man.” As such, the moral of Joe’s Japanese statement splits from its insular roots (“You have to make your own call”) to instead reflect a broader worldview (“A man makes his own calls”).

(2) The second time this alteration appears is during a brief internal monologue of Yuri during his fight with Joe. The main statement of interest is this one:

The closer translation, however, is, “I can’t dance on my own.” The Japanese word used here is 俺 (ore), a gruff, masculine way to say “I” instead of the “a man” used in the English dub and subtitles. Given this, what the spoken Japanese accomplishes is completely different in tone and message from the English subtitles and dub. In the Japanese, Yuri is expressing a thought that pertains only to himself and Joe; in contrast, the English translation poses this moment as if Yuri is pontificating about the nature of man and man’s dependence upon competition to achieve new heights. While both the original and translation are not entirely divorced from the core concept of Megalobox (i.e., passion makes life worthwhile), the English translation provides a societal commentary on the nature of man that is not present in the original Japanese.

Closing Thoughts

I hesitate to describe this type of translation as “dangerous." It is completely fine to have media that explores what it means to be a man in the same ways it is fine to have media that explores what it means to be a woman or to be someone of any other gender.

That being said, at its core, Megalobox discusses the human condition and the necessity of dreams—fueled through personal autonomy—to sustain meaning in life. This moral is by no means intended to be gendered in the original Japanese. In the conversation between Aragaki and Nanbu, for example, the Japanese assertion that people have to make their own choices can just as easily apply to anyone of any gender, not just men. The English takes this message and, perhaps unintentionally, restricts it to one gender. I would therefore assert that the worst outcome of gendering the theme of Megalobox is that it is disingenuous to the original material.

Fascinatingly, I think my own months-long obsession with this element of Megalobox stemmed from the fact the English highlighted that I was not the intended audience. I kept thinking while watching the dub that I understood what the text was trying to communicate to me, that the philosophical conflict was something inspiring and applicable to my own life, only to run into the brick wall of, “This media is not meant for you.”

If anything, it is very much interesting how translational decisions can have such a profound effect on a show’s delivery.

#megalo box #essay #I do enjoy the boxing show #megalobox

[limbus-limousine]

Hello. Given you asked for asks, here's a query I'm most certainly not legally obligated to make: What are your opinions on Ishmael and Hong Lu? To be clear I'm speaking of them individually and not as a ship but if you'd like to talk about that I would like to listen

I like the both of them a fair bit!! I started liking Ishmael a lot more after her canto (as has been happening to me with every other character) and to be honest, I really appreciate her specially because i feel she didn't get a lot of love previously. Always saw people calling her boring and such but to me it was always kind of evident that she was just... Very closed off, and maybe too paranoid for her own good. I really like the contrast she has (but mostly had, since she's been notably making an effort to better herself, which I also love to see) with the rest of the group. To many she came off as the voice of reason, which made her reactions in Canto V feel more drastic. However I always saw some excessive paranoia and worry on her that clashed with the carelessness of many of the other sinners... I also really dig how her meeting Queequeg again was written, the hug and all, it was very heartfelt (cried really hard on the canto finale. I miss doomed sailor yuri)... I really hope we get her to have more specific interactions with other characters as well, make her personality and the changes to it shine a bit more! (Still bitter about people calling her boring)

As for Hong Lu, to be honest, I don't want to form too much of an opinion YET. Mostly because I haven't read the book and, we don't know a lot about LCBHong Lu either. Though his character is very interesting and promising in my opinion, it surprises me that he hasn't had that many interventions, but it does make sense if you think about it. Considering the whole thematic of being very sheltered, whenever Hong Lu talks it's almost always to say something family related/compare things to childhood experiences. I do relate a bit to that and Im very excited for the corresponding canto as well... I do wish I had more to say about him but I've been a bit slow on reading source books and Hongloumeng definitely won't be my fastest to finish LOL

On the ship, to be honest I have no particular thoughts! I like most ships between sinners and at most I'll just be sort of neutral about the ones I don't really engage with I think. To me.its more about the portrayal and characterization than the pairing itself + very open to shipping one character with multiple different characters both separately or at the same time too, don't care if it's romantic/platonic/secret third thing. I really like the Jade whale ship name though we should name more pairings like that I thinkm. Also it IS funny to have a paranoid, weathered sailor hanging out with this freak who didn't care to move when acid started falling from the stomach ceiling of a whale...

#answered #limbus company #project moon #just need to say that despite drawing the same characters over and over #i love all sinners dearly #Hold them all close to my heart... my bugs

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group C Round 3: #C4 vs #C7

#C4: Lesbians with swords

#C7: Comedy with high school girls with unique personalities

Details and poll under the cut!

#C4: Katana Maidens: Toji no Miko

Summary:

Throughout history, an elite group of shrine maidens known as "Toji" have saved the world from "Aratama," strange and malevolent beings bent on destroying humanity. In modern times, these warriors have been assigned to a special police squad to exterminate Aratama. The government has also set up five elite schools across the country to provide young girls the necessary sword fighting skills to eradicate these monsters and eventually join their fellow Toji in protecting the world.

A student of one of those five schools, Kanami Etou is chosen to represent Minoseki Academy in a sword fighting tournament, where she meets the mysterious Hiyori Juujou. Although Kanami and Hiyori rise to the top of the tournament, their battle takes an unexpected turn, throwing the world of the Toji into chaos. Likely that the Toji are facing betrayal from within, the two are forced to flee the tournament, clashing with former comrades on the way.

Propaganda:

The depth of this show was seriously mindblowing to me. For much of the series it was just a fun romp, with some pretty interesting twists and turns along the way. But as these characters develop, as the plot gets moving, it all comes together in the end. I have not seen a more concentrated concoction of doomed tragic yuri in my life.

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Self-Harm

#C7: Wasteful Days of High School Girls (Joshikousei no Mudazukai)

Summary:

As she heads off to her entrance ceremony at Sainotama Girls' High School, Akane Kikuchi muses over her grade school dream of becoming a manga artist and the lack of progress that she has made. When she finally arrives at school, she is surprised to learn that she is once again in the same class as her two best friends: the deadpan and emotionless Shiori Saginomiya and the hyperactive and ridiculous Nozomu Tanaka. Tanaka then comes to the obvious realization that she can't achieve her grade school dream of being popular with the boys and getting a boyfriend by going to an all-girls high school.

In desperation, she begins asking the girls in her class to introduce her to their guy friends. Her classmates, however, are anything but ordinary. From a grandmother-loving loli to a reclusive chuunibyou to an overly analytical stalker, each one is given a fitting nickname by Tanaka to accentuate their weirdness. And so begin the wasteful days of these high school girls, each day kicked off with a simple question: "Hey, wanna hear something amazing?"

Propaganda:

Wasteful Days of High School Girls is fast-paced and genre-savvy, subverting a lot of high school anime tropes in ways that are really delightful even if you yourself aren't that familiar with high school animes. But most of all it is cool in a way that only awkward, weird, realistic teenagers can be. It probably won't make you long for your own high school days (if they are in the past), but that is a good thing, because sometimes only a good comedy can really lay bare what life is really like when you're a teenager.

The thing that makes this show so amazing is the characters. These are anime characters with some real Character with a capital C. Everyone is such a real and unique human personality; not just the main trio but all their classmates too AND the teacher and even the nurse that only appears in like one episode!

This is a show with the lowest of stakes and it still manages to feel like something incredibly significant has happened when you get to the end of it. And something incredibly significant has happened! Life happened! An entire year of it!

Trigger Warnings: [Not Stated]

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

#anime #best underrated anime #polls #poll tournament #tournament #anime tournament #animation #group stage #group stage round 3 #tournament polls #group c #katana maidens #toji no miko #katana maidens: toji no miko #wasteful days of high school girls #joshikousei no mudazukai

[aria0fgold]

So I procrastinated drawing and decided to do a hunger games simulator with some OCs (couldn't remember much human OCs and I didn't wanna just include the entire family tree of Alec and Ray so some nonhuman ones are included). I decided to include myself in it too so I can give my OCs a chance to come at me for putting em through this.

Here in Day 1 and we immediately see THREE DEAD

Rozalynda btw is a human oc that's a parent figure to a nonhuman oc (that I didn't include here) She's very sweet actually, very mom coded, so seeing her team up with Alerik to drown Cas is insane. Mel being a boyfailure and steps on a landmine, you tried your best, Mel...

One, it's VERY FUNNY how a 13 year old kid snatched a mace from me. And two, Crystal finding a bag full of explosives is VERY IN CHARACTER.

Night 1

Alec just straight up killed the dude, didn't even gave him a chance to be in the situation longer, scary...

Now this is just... really sad. Marcie and Seph are BESTIES!!! WHY DID YOU DO THAT MARCIE???

Also btw Clarissa is Ray's younger sister.

Day 2

Seeing myself and Alerik teaming up for a short time to split up and search for resources is very on brand, I think. Considering Alerik's situation (his self-awareness) so I can see him arguing with the simulator Aria honestly. Also, you'll be seeing Rozalynda be VERY MURDEROUS throughout this whole thing.

And here's Ray questioning his sanity, very in character, I am so sorry Ray.

Night 2

There's so many things happening in this chunk. First, Crystal dying from a landmine she's trying to set up is REALLY POETIC in a way since Crystal is a Bomb Expert, her special interest are bombs, so the fact that she died from one she was trying to arm is poetic in its own way. Second, Aria girlfailure. Third, Felicity ambushing someone is in character for her but Man... Cedany is dead... (Cedany is Cressida's older sister). Fourth, seeing Alerik fighting Alec is honestly so insane to me cuz that's Alerik, my highly self-aware oc, and Alec, my baby, my favourite (Saying sorry to all my other ocs, excluding Ray cuz he became favourite by association).

So it's actually REALLY in character for Alerik to just have some Intense Beef with simulator Aria and Alec. Lastly, fifth, *Them, it's a lil sad that there's no nonbinary option for this but alas... Also Pharaoh is a nonhuman oc beefing with a human oc, like OFC YOU'D WIN! YOU'RE A DEMON! Honestly would be so funny though if Pharaoh lost that.

Day 3

RETRIBUTION! My sins towards my ocs has caught up to me via simulator Aria's own Stupidity cuz REALLY GIRL??? You got your mace snatched by a 13 YEAR OLD at the very beginning, why did you think fighting ANYONE is ever a good idea? Also very fitting that Alec's sister got to participate in the killing. She deserves it, as a treat, for all the torture I put her own brother through-- WAIT!!! I just realized the doomed yuri of that, Cressida is Ely's future partner... Cressida is... she's dead 😔 OH! I cannot believe! that even in her dying moments, simulator Aria decides to bring upon pain towards the ocs anyway (ngl it's kinda fitting for me).

Also yeah time to address the elephant in the room that is Odessa attacking Alerik cuz 1. Odessa is a human oc (she's Pharaoh's partner) 2. It's both SO INSANE and SO IN CHARACTER of her to just fight with a GOD. It would've been soooo funny had Alerik died by her hands.

Night 3

A peaceful moment during Night 3, well, kinda, mostly peaceful if not for Alerik ruining Gala's supplies (Gala is my nonhuman mhyk oc).

#aria rants #ariaoc #DAMMIT I REACHED IMAGE LIMIT MAAAAAAN #anyway continuing this on in a reblog instead then cuz theres a couple more days to go #the game ran until day 9 so halfway there and tbf with their numbers so few now theres not much to screenshot anymore #honestly enjoyed this one a lot its so funny how in character some of my ocs were #and how REALLY murderous rozalynda was in this. i dont know why shes assigned murderous but she is. love that for her rlly #tbf tho she IS a parent figure to a nonhuman oc so she does have the possibility of being so... deadly

[mirchloe]

it's the last day of lesbian visibility week, so here's a few lesbian headcanons!

franke realized she liked girls when she was real, real little. she just didn't have any interest in boys. she always wanted to be around girls and be liked by them. kitty is her first girlfriend, and she feels really special when they're together. she feels like kitty picked her out of every other girl in camp. i do think this earns lili's frustration because she used to be close with kitty, so there's a bit of jealousy at play, and franke has picked up on it a little.

frazie and norma lesbian realness. personally, i like aro lizzie who doesn't care much for gender or using labels, but she does have preference for girls. back to the teen lesbian duo, though, i love that they're somewhat classic opposites attract because frazie still has so much baggage to unpack about her own internalized psy-phobia. i don't think they'd be close during that first summer, especially since frazie is more of a wild card, and norma, now a junior agent, is aspiring to become a full-fledged "drop the junior" agent. they're stubborn! they're snide! norma's hitting her with a smile that oozes smugness, and frazie knows she can just fling her like a rubber band, but fine, she wants smug? she wants cocky? frazie has that in spades. (also, she isn't that miffed about the hazing deal as i think people headcanon her to be - she practically rolls her eyes when raz says she can defend him or whatever during her dialogue tree. she'd be a little annoyed, yeah, but nothing like, 'ohh, you guys are the worst, and i'm gonna pelt you all with acorns the size of your heads, if you don't say sorry.' raz would be embarrassed because those are his friends, and he doesn't need a sorry because they've taken him under their wing! they like him! he's a cool li'l dude!) but what makes frazie and norma so interesting to me is that they can bring out different sides of each other. norma is proud to be psychic, proud to be an agent, and she can show frazie that there is joy in being a psychic. frazie can help norma leave her carefully cultivated shell, get messy, be a little rebellious (reasonably! because norma is not risking her job). also, raz would make the most disgusted faces at them. it's his personal hell. goodbye, razputin.

cassie and gloria are old women yuri. i think cassie's affection for lucy is unrequited. she simply doesn't feel the same, and cassie internalized that, especially since she went decades without having her answers. lucy loves her, but it's not the same as what cassie desired. it's a bygone love, and cassie has learned to move on - and so has gloria! she dealt with so much comphet throughout her life and her personal tragedies. she had affairs with men and women, and realizing she's a lesbian later in life was freeing. i think they'd have a sweet romance, something comforting and filling of their gaps.

and speaking of comphet, the camper queen of it - elka. what can be said about her? she's beholden to her foresight. she believe whatever horrors the future shows her. it will come true. it's happened for all the dooms. so, seeing herself with nils is like a sentence. she will be with him, and since she's become that entwined with fate, she's determined to at least make herself happy in their relationship, even when she's forcing it on him, and nils is clearly wanting out (though, nils isn't exactly innocent, either). she moves to the flow of the waves, so her big moment is saying no to the future, realizing that she needs to grab her own happiness instead of nodding along to the insistence of her visions. i think she'd realize she prefers girls when she's older (twenty-something? maybe mid to late twenties) since her childhood and teenage years are spent being "boy crazy" and "spiraling in depression," as written by her therapist. (at least dogen is good soundboard when she needs to vent! he thinks she's being dramatic, but gets that she's going through a lot and tries to help, though his advice often goes through elka's ear and out the other.)

#i have more but i wanna finish up a fic for another event #franke #norma #frazie #cassie #gloria #elka

[the-yuri-librarian]

This is GL challenge for you (if you choose to accept them).

1.a) Please write your top 3 or top 5 favorite tropes in GL.

b) From each trope, write at least 3 GL that you love.

(Feel free if you want to write the reasons or not of why you love them).

2. a) What is the first GL that make you want to know more about and eventually love GL?

b) What is that one GL that have a special place in your heart (for whatever reason)?

The GL can be in in the form of manga, manhwa, manhua, books, tv series or movies.

Thanks so much if you want to answer this long ask.

Ok here we go:

1. Tropes I enjoy with series as examples:

A. Idk the proper name for it, but I really love stories where the grumpy one falls in love with the sunshine one. Series with this trope: Pulse, Mage & Demon Queen, Moonlight Garden, Opium, Kemono to Waltz, maaaayybbbeee What Does the Fox Say, there's probably more that I'm forgetting. Realized after I moved on to other tropes: Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch From Mercury is very much this, as is I'm in love with the villainess....there's definitely more

I really like this trope because I just think it's romantic and adorable. You get to watch as the sunshine one's quirks slowly melt the heart of the grumpy one until the grumpy one has fallen head over heels, and they often have no idea it's happened until it's too late.

B. I also (and I hope this is not too cliche of me) really enjoy stories where one or more characters have a queer awakening. Series with this trope: Love Thy Neighbor (sort of), Bloom into You (sort of?), The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at all, Failed Princesses, Can't Defy the Lonely Girl, The Summer You Were There, Lily Love, Octave, Wono to Waltz (pretty sure at least, also been a while), I Love Amy, Goodbye My Rose Garden, Her Tale of Shim Chong (sort of), Blooming Sequence, After Hours, Hana & Hina After School, I Can't Believe I Slept with you, The Barefoot Nina (I think), etc. etc.

This one is also great because of the sheer cuteness. The intense blushing, the heart racing, the way their crush slowly starts to consume their thoughts, their eyes begin to linger on their crush's lips. It's also really fun to see what the final thing that makes them realize they're gay is, cause it's always a little different. It's especially fun when they're already doing gay things and are just in denial about their feelings. I hope this isn't too basic of me lol

C. Honestly it's hard to pick a third, but as of right now I would say that I really enjoy stories where the characters are doomed by the narrative. I haven't read a lot of girls love comics (manga, manhwa, webtoons, American comics) where this is the case, so I'm gonna be including some books and a couple anime here as well but: Love Thy Neighbor (probably), Qualia the Purple, The Locked Tomb Series, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Kitanai Kimi ga Ichiiban Kawaii, The Barefoot Nina, Destroy it all and love me in hell (maybe, I've only read the first couple chapters of this), The Summer You Were There, Throw Away the Suit Together, Nevermore (ending pending) etc.

I just really really love a tragic ending. Sometimes, love isn't enough. It can't save you. Sometimes love is too much. It dooms you. It's just so incredibly compelling to me. Not to say I dislike happy endings, but ya know

Sorry there are so many repeat titles. More about this below, but I haven't actually read *that* much yuri, all things considered

2.

A. So, funnily enough, the first time I encountered the term yuri was through yaoi? Like, when I was an early to mid teen, death note yaoi and Naruto yaoi were wrecking havoc on the early-ish internet, and that going "what's yaoi" also got me the definition of yuri also, which lead me to Naruto yuri AMVs

But, in terms of what made me interested in girls love as an adult, there is only one answer: bubbline. Basically, during my extended undergrad, I watched adventure time all the way through for the first time and fell in love with Marceline X Bubblegum as a ship. To use an old school term, they were my one true pairing. That lead to Steven Universe (shout out to IRL friend Selena (psuedonym, they know who they are)) and she-ra. Then, I went and got my master's in English, which lead me to reading a lot of canon literature, and while there was some queerness, it was fee and far between.

After I graduated, I had about a summer where I had no job, I was about to move in with my partner, I was about to get my second master's in library science, and I was like "fuck. I really want to read something that made me feel the way Bubbline made me feel at first." Which class to the answer to the next part:

B. When I was in that state of "I want to read something gay that makes me feel like Bubbline does," I went to my local bookstore, where I just so happened to pick up Gideon the Ninth (I refuse to say more except read the series if you haven't it's great). And it blew me away. Afterwards, it was a two years straight of reading a ton of queer fantasy, scifi, and horror (there was a fair amount of non-queer stuff there too). Then, in February of 2023, I read A Restless Truth. It is the second in a historical fantasy trilogy, I had not read the first one, I just knew it was sapphic, and WHEW. It was the first book I ever really read with what we affectionateky call spice in the girls love community. And it broke my brain. I finished reading it (the main couple is great btw) and two days later immediately read it again. It's SO hot. This made me starved for sapphic content with a desperation I had not felt before, which lead me to witch from mercury, with lead to revolutionary girl utena, which lead to yuri comics (this is Sept of 2023), which lead to well....here. so, all things considered, I have not been reading yuri/girls love comics for all that long, but now that I've started, I'll probably never stop

I hope that answered your question? And I hope it wasn't too boring!

#ask #personal #yuri #yuri posting #girls love #the bubbline to girls love addict pipeline stirkes again #not gonna tag all the series mentioned thats too much

[pallastronomy]

Highkey considering slapping a sideblog together where I do nothing but scream into the void about my OCs. I don’t talk about them here much bc nobody knows shit about them and that’s entirely my fault but they are in my head constantly I have several hundred of them some of them have been here for 5+ years and they Never Leave

Highlights of the plot synopsis roster under the cut (And this isn’t even all of them)

- Zero Escape-adjacent death game but with dogs and mentally unstable divorced women yuri that is entirely an excuse for me to play with my favourite animal ficton tropes (Specifically the sliding scale of to what degree animals are anthropomorphized in fiction and also wanting to dig aggressively into the ‘humans bad nature good’ narrative that tends to be common to the genre) because developing a special interest in Warrior Cats as a kid does something to you once you discover better animal-centric books and this is proof

- Doomed by the narrative but the narrative is the sparklecat comic the protagonist wrote when he was 11. A story about artists and their relationship to art, its meanings, the interconnected web of people who make and consume it, and what defines it at all, wrapped in layers of surreal nonsense comedy. Has my least neurotypical character cast to date which is REALLY saying something

- Entire Warrior Cats fan arc/conclusion to the whole story post-OotS (Feat. The evil StarClan arc we all deserve) that I started writing solely out of spite when past Azure dropped the series after Tigerheartstar got magically resurrected. I’m more attached to these motherfuckers than I have been to any major characters from the past three arcs combined. Also really really proud of the worldbuilding on this one but I’m not divulging details until this motherfucker gets its own behemoth of a post on the potential sideblog

- Hell is real but the supposed eternal damnation for sinners is just being forced into a desk job doing all of heaven’s paperwork for them because nobody else wants to. And also the whole cast is talking cats

- A universe comprised solely of ideas and scrapped concepts I wanted to use for other stories and was too attached to to let go of so I strung them all together into an incoherent mess for the bit

#azureisms

[ecargmura]

Hirogaru Sky! Precure Episode 35 Review - Why The Sudden Baseball?

Are Japanese people aware of the cliche surrounding baseball/softball and lesbians (A common cliche in the western world)? If they are, the writers knew what they were doing when writing a baseball-themed episode for this show. I got a lot of yuri vibes out of this and it’s not just from Sora herself.

I think the best part about this episode is that viewers finally get another update to Sora’s school life after Episode 17. She’s back to wearing the non-summer uniforms and she apparently is a super popular potential recruit for sports activities as a lot of female sports club members are seeking to recruit her. While she’s not too interested in joining a sports club despite liking sports, she decides to help out the girls’ baseball club as a special coach as their ace member Tamaki has to sit out for their upcoming big tournament due to an elbow injury.

While this is a Sora-focused episode, this is not one where she gets development. Rather, she’s the one giving development to her schoolmates. She’s the one encouraging them to become stronger even if one member is unable to fight. In turn, she also gives Tamaki encouragement about how she’s not fighting alone and for her to never think such things.

I loved how her development comes in full circle here. At episode 5, Sora was hesitant to let Mashiro fight alongside her as a Precure, but Prism encouraged her that she’s not alone. Episode 33 has it Sky give encouragement to Prism as a return of what she did for her when the latter was in doubts over letting Ellee fight as Cure Majesty. In this episode, Sora gives that same encouragement to Tamaki as she thinks about Prism that day. Man, I love how mature Sora has become since then. She’s seriously growing one step closer to become the hero she wants to be.

Despite being characters of the day, I really like the focus Tamaki and Kaname got; while the former has more focus, it’s evident that these two care about each other so much because they both love the sport (and possibly each other). What I like is that Tamaki’s injury is treatable and healable and everyone’s actually encouraging her to get the surgery and rest. Usually, in sports anime, injuries are a huge deal and it makes it as if they cannot play ever again. Precure’s not having any of that, fortunately. Also, I love the fact that Kaname is voiced by Yuka Nishigaki, who’s the wife of Tsubasa Yonaga who voiced Mihashi from Ookiku Furikabutte (Big Windup); not only that, I really like her voice too. Tamaki’s voice actress Sara Matsumoto was cute too! Also, Tamaki has the honor of being the one of the few people who has seen Sora transform right in front of her.

Also, I noticed that the opening hasn’t updated to change Minoton to Skearhead. Given that Skearhead is supposed to be very powerful and dangerous, he’s acting just like past villains with his tendency to pop up, summon a Ranborg and then yeet out when its purified. However, I feel a more calculative approach when it comes to Skearhead. Is he going to do something drastic in future episodes or will he be doomed to being the recurring villain trope?

Anyways, this episode was simple and straightforward; I don’t think there is anything more to talk about for this episode, so I’ll end it here. What are your thoughts about this episode?

#hirogaru sky precure #precure #review #sora harewataru #cure sky #tamaki shinomiya #Kaname Ogi #baseball #anime #anime review #ecargmura #arum journal

[thehandwixard]

nda headcanons part one of ???????

halara nightmare:

autism moment. is this even a headcanon they have a canonical special interest in cats. they know everything about cats

they probably mask pretty heavily in some areas and not at all in others. they dont care about being 'emotionless' or 'not getting jokes' but they do care about anything thatd make someone not take them seriously

that said i think they would have a couple cat plushies as comfort items that theyd bite and stuff to stim. the only way they feel comfortable to satisfy this stim out in public is with their candy

i dont feel like theyd describe themself as transgender but either way you're not knowing it. youre not knowing the gender.

master of intricate rituals

kurumi wendy:

i feel pretty strongly that her parents are alive but they work for amaterasu (given that shes an aetheria student) so she really isnt in contact with them much

yuri internship

would play a lot of dating games and get way too into the drama and have to walk around the block deciding where to go about it

i think her high level of personability is cause shes like. trained herself to be good at talking to other people. not in that its fake it just didnt come naturally to her so she adapted. i dont think she made a lot of long lasting friends

can play doom on a microwave

#halara nightmare #raincodeposting #raincode #kurumi wendy

[yurimother]

‘My Next Life as a Villainess’ Yuri Manga Anthology Licensed in English

On Tuesday, Seven Seas Manga announced that it had licensed Yuri manga anthology My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: Girls Patch. The anthology is based on Satoru Yamaguchi’s hit My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! light novels and its light manga and anime adaptations.

My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: Girls Patch is a Yuri anthology featuring nine stories by different Yuri artists including Peke, Nacht, and Kamegoya Sato. The full list of contributors is below.

Seven Seas describes the manga anthology:

Fans already love the romantic comedy franchise about Katarina Claes, a woman from Earth reborn into an otome game and determined to avoid her villainous end. Although she’s living in a game world full of male love interests, she also develops rich relationships with the women around her–and that’s exactly what this anthology is about. Enjoy these original manga stories about Katarina and her lovely ladies setting the boys aside to explore deeper relationships with each other. This book is a special gift to the fans of this series who dreamed of more love between the women!

My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: Girls Patch will be available in English digitally and in print in May 2022.

Contributors to  My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: Girls Patch in order of appearance are:

Okara Okara

Natch

Kinona

Kanda Dan

Nodaka Yuu

Kuroto Yuu

Kamegoya Sato

Sakurai Makoto

Peke

#Yuri #lgbt #news #breaking news #manga #my next life as a villianess all routes lead to doom #girls love #gl #gay #lgbtq #lgbtq+ #queer #lesbian #wlw

[bonbonbunny]

Do u have any good lady's isekai falls-in-love-with-a-prince-from-a-novel type webcomic recommendation? I read 2 and now im hooked

Do I EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Most of these I find on Webtoon. If you join webtoon and read regularly, you'll see them suggesting more things you might like, and new stuff on the main page, and you'll discover more and more of them, too. 💖

Happily Ever Afterwards - The heroine is reborn AFTER the epilogue of her fave novel, after her favorite character has been exiled from the kingdom due to the story’s events (he’s a tragic, sympathetic character).  She sets about traveling to the cold, difficult kingdom of his exile to try to convince him to marry her, so that she can give him the happiness he deserves to have after all of the sad events from the book!  This comic is SOOOOO sweet, cute, and fluffy-fluff! ☁️

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The First Night With the Duke - Starts out with a lot of comedy, but has gotten much more serious as the chapters have progressed, with some intense scenes that I haven’t been crazy about.  The heroine completely derails the plot of the novel by being born as a random, unnamed side-character who accidentally seduces the male lead, and no romance between him and the actual female lead ever even has the chance to happen. 😅

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The Matchmaking Baby Princess - The heroine is born as a tiny baby princess, who uses her super cute charm to influence the characters around her so that things turn out better for them than the way the novel goes.  This one is still fairly new, so the episodes haven’t shown a whole lot about how she derails the story yet, but, it is REALLLY CUUUUUTE!!  And has very beautiful scenes of palatial gardens and such.  Also obviously the heroine herself is not the one that the romance happens to lol.

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His Majesty's Proposal - This one is a bit similar to The First Night With the Duke, with a rando side character getting proposed to by the prince after spending a night with him.  A fun twist with this one is that the heroine is reincarnated from a crotchety old woman in her previous life, so she uses all kinds of old person slang (like calling people “whippersnappers” and stuff like that lol) and is kind of rude and grumpy lol.

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Every Rose Has a Death Flag - Pretty typical isekai where the heroine is reincarnated as the villainess and knows that all of her ends are bad ends, so she tries to remove herself from the attentions of the prince and the other main characters, but through the process ends up endearing herself to them instead.  Good stuff without any weird quirks or gimmicks. 👌

-

Tricked into Becoming the Heroine's Stepmother - The protagonist is actually one of the AUTHORS of this novel, so she is familiar with exactly what will be happening to all of the characters!  She is reincarnated as a rando townsperson though, and doesn’t have much influence, until she appeals to the prince and just spills the fact that she’s the author and knows everything that’s going to happen to the princess (his daughter) in the future lol?!  And he believes her??  And employs her to his household in order to prevent any of the princess’ suffering???  Also did I mention that the princess is the most adorable little toddler ever, with fluffy hair like a chestnut? 😭😭

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The Male Lead's Girl Friend - Again, the heroine is reborn as the villainess of the story, and attempts to distance herself from the male lead as much as she can (endearing herself to him in the process).  Some of the interesting quirks here are that she ships the male and female lead SUPER HARD, and is trying everything she can to hook them up together, but they both only seem to fall for her harder with every attempt. 😄 There is also a cool school/academy setting to this one to set it apart from the others with similar plots, as well as BIG YURI VIBES between the protagonist and the female lead.

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How to Survive a Romance Fantasy - This is the most comedy-intensive of everything on this list.  In fact, it just kept getting sillier as its chapters went on, and I actually dropped it from my reading list because it wasn’t making me laugh as hard anymore as it was in the beginning.. 😅 In this one, three normal-world folks are reborn in the fantasy world, as the heroine, the prince, and the villainess, and ALL THREE of them hate it and want nothing to do with the plot, so they run away as far from the plot as they can, and are also keeping their identities as the main characters secret from one another.  It is very, very silly.

-

Non-Webtoon Webcomics

These have not been officially picked up & translated.  To read them in English, you will have to find them online where they are posted by fan translators.

The Villainess is a Marionette - This is for real probably my very favorite comic on this whole list, and can you believe how beautiful the art style is???  The tone of this one is totally different from any of the others here.  The protagonist is reborn as a malicious villainess with particularly cruel endings in her future, and she sets about to avoid them by using her power, influence, and wiles to manipulate the royal intrigue happening around her.  She’s... RELATIVELY kinder than the original villainess was in the story, and several characters that were her enemies in the original story are endeared to her now, but she’s still got her claws sunk into the royal family’s shady dealings.  This is a “bad boss b*tch” kind of heroine lol, and it’s super satisfying to see her come out ahead of the other villains with her crazy 4D chess manipulations.

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Sincerely: I Became a Duke's Maid - A super snuggly, sweet, and fluffy story where the protagonist is reborn as a maid during the tragic antihero’s childhood.  He is afflicted with a painful curse, and the protagonist, knowing that only more pain is ahead for him, does her best to befriend him and make his youth a little bit lighter.

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Who Made Me A Princess - Yet again, a tragic end awaits this princess that the protagonist is reborn as in her childhood, so she uses her cute charm to change the king’s attitude toward her (he was neglectful in the original story).  Some interesting original-plot-derails happen in this one, where her innate magic power is much stronger than it’s supposed to be, and she needs the help of a magical pet creature and a very handsome wizard to sustain her life in this world.

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Seduce the Villain's Father - This one wins the award for having the most hilarious title in this list. 😆 It’s much cuter and lighter than it sounds!!  This protagonist derails the original plot by allowing herself to be kidnapped by the villain’s kingdom instead of the intended character (her sister).  She is reborn among characters the generation before the events of the novel, so the villain himself isn’t here yet - but his handsome dad is!  And if she can convince him not to marry the woman that would become the villain’s mother, then the storyline is saved!  Probably!

-

Special mention:

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Roads Lead to Doom! - This anime is probably the main “reincarnated as the villainess” isekai that introduced most of us to this concept. 😅 I’ve linked to where you can watch the anime for free on Crunchyroll, but there is also a manga if you’d prefer to read it!  While there are many, many comics that use this plot hook, this is the only one that made it to anime form, so it’s like, required watching!

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To close this long list up, all of these recs are JUST ISEKAI!!!!  If I were recommending my favorite webcomics in general, there could also be Cursed Princess Club, The Remarried Empress, The Princess’ Jewels, and Men of the Harem in this list...

There are so, so many comics with beautiful art styles featuring gorgeous princesses, it’s crazy!! 😭😭 I could for real spend my whole life reading them probably?? 👌👌  Those millions of women that read romance novels about dukes falling in love with noble women are suddenly extremely relatable.

#asks #isekai #webcomics #webcomic #long post

[philliamwrites]

The Dawn Will Come [Chpt.2]

Fandom: Fire Emblem Three Houses

Pairing: Dimitri x Reader, Claude x Reader, Edelgard x Reader, Yuri x Reader, Edelgard x Byleth, lots of minor pairings

Tags: #gn reader, # platonic love byleth & reader, #reader is a tactical unit, #angst, #slow burn, #subplots, #unreliable narrator, #pining, #remporary amnesia, #reluctant herp, #canon divergence, #lost twin au, #many chapters, #original content

Words: 6.7k

Summary: Waking up in a forest without any knowledge of your past and who you are, you join the house leaders of the Officers Academy to search for a way to return your memories. Unfortunately, the church has different plans for you, and Fate places you in the centre of a cruel game with deadly stakes. It certainly doesn’t help to fall in love with a house leader who is doomed to be your demise.

Notes: Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

Chapter 02: The Herald of Dawn

Hold me, O Night, with motherly affection, While the wan earth wakes with a misty yawn. By my blood will be born the Dawn and from my fleeting dream—the undying sun!

[Gabriele D’Annunzio]

    Hushed whispers wake you from the dark. The crackling of fire sweeps away the last remains of weary unconsciousness, and you blink at a tent's ceiling. Someone draped heavy blankets over you, and with every breath you exhale, puffy white clouds rise up. The shadows of a fire dance across the walls, their blurry movements flush another wave of dizziness over you, and as you sit up, you notice a tight feeling around your head. When you raise a hand to your forehead, there is a bandage sitting tightly wrapped around your head, covering your right eye. The pain has finally stopped, but it still feels dully raw, like an injury that hasn’t healed properly and serves now as a reminder of anguish.

    The memories from the battle rush back to you, the sound of metal hitting metal and heavy bodies dropping to the ground echo in your mind. Death was nothing new to the soldiers and mercenaries, so how come you don’t feel particularly sorry for the fallen? You’re no soldier, at least that’s what every fibre of your body tells you, so normalising killing isn’t right. You rebuild your surety of that, one shaky brick at a time.

    Once on your feet, you make your way outside, drawn in by the smell of cooked meat and quiet chatter. The sight of a small camp greets you: more tents build a row on this side of the camp, and in the centre, solders sit around a small fire, their voices barely audible. They lean over a steaming kettle, their weapons at their feet or beside tree trunks—laid down for the night but still within reach.

    “Heey, you’re finally back with us!” Claude’s voice rings through the camp, and several heads turn in your direction. As he waves for you to join him, you duck your head and move quickly to his side, wishing you could just merge with the ground and disappear from everyone’s attention. “Little one, you got us worried there,” he says. On his knees, he’s balancing a steaming wooden bowl, and the sight and smell reminds you how hungry you are. Your stomach agrees by providing a low growl.

    “How long have I been out?” You barely recognise your own voice, the sound rough from exhaustion. Claude hums in thought and gestures with one hand to a soldier to bring you food, while his other pats the ground beside him for you to sit down. “We managed to march a couple of hours after cleaning up the mess from the battle. Right now we’re near the edge of the forest. There should be only one more day of marching until we reach the monastery.”

    “And you guys are sure they can help me up there?” you wonder, watching the first group of soldiers get ready for the night watch. They’re frighteningly young, jostling and bumping into each other, laughing and stamping their feet against the cold snap that still lingers, the last gasp of winter before spring begins in earnest.

    “If not there, I’m not sure there’s anyone out there who can help you.”

    You glare at Claude. “Surely you must be the voice of confidence in this merry bunch, right?”

    He laughs. “I’m the closest you’ll get to an optimist around here.”

    “That’s reassuring.”

    “Reassuring is my second name.”

    “No, you said it’s von,” you mumble. Claude stares at you for a long minute, then bursts out laughing, the sound dark and rich. “No, that’s a noble prefix. You don’t even remember that?”

    You open your mouth, and close it like a fish, feeling your cheeks raise in temperature. He shouldn’t make you feel guilty for forgetting something like that, and yet the shame settles in your bones and you want to smack your head against something to help your brain remember.

    “Ah, but pardon my rudeness,” Claude purrs and gives you a mock bow. “I can tell you everything you want to know about nobility and how overrated it is. In fact, I might as well convince you to join the Alliance before Their Highnesses steal you to their side.”

    “I’m not going to be on anyone’s side,” you mumble, and steal Claude’s blanket as payback, relishing in his offended expression. “It has nothing to do with me.”

    Claude raises an eyebrow. “Ehh, I’m not so sure it’s that easy.”

    “It is,” you insist, unable to hide the sulk from your voice. “Because I say so.”

    Claude raises both eyebrows. “That’s not how it works.”

    “Watch me.”

    Something like a shadow flashes across his emerald eyes, but it disappears quickly enough for you to think it’s only the light from the campfire playing a trick on you. “We’ll see about that.” He scrapes the remaining contents from his bowl and lets out a satisfying yawn when he’s finished, stretching his long limbs like a cat getting comfortable. “Sooo,” he starts, unnecessarily dragging out the vowel and the sound of it locks up your shoulders into one tense muscle in preparation of what he’s going to say next. “Care to explain what happened back there?”

    You take a deep breath. “You mean when it felt like my eye was going to fall out of its socket?”

    “Actually I meant when you tripped over that one root after we found you.” He gives you a crooked grin. “But that’s interesting too, please go on.”

    “I thought no one saw that,” you mumble, and avoid his gaze as you remember that stupid root that nearly broke your neck. Well, Claude surely knows a thing or two about tricking someone into talking about exactly what he wants to hear.

    You thank the mercenary that brings you food, and notice it’s the one from the battle with the crooked nose. He gives you a just as crooked grin and limps back to his comrades. The stew warms your chilled bones, the rich flavour of meat and vegetables lifting your spirits and filling you with energy. As you eat, you drag out the minutes but Claude doesn’t even squirm as you let him wait, and starts whistling an off-key tune until you start to feel uncomfortable.

    “Well, if I knew, I wouldn’t be afraid that it might happen again,” you admit begrudgingly. “Because that was scary.”

    “Yeah, it didn’t really look like fun,” Claude agrees. “But what was it in the first place?”

    “I don’t know.” You start to become weary of those words. “But it hurt.”

    Claude gives you a sympathetic look, and goes silent, allowing you to eat, but you can’t shake off the feeling his mind is still trying to figure out what’s the deal with you. He can, for all you care. And once he’s done, he can write a report and hand it right to you so you’ll understand as well.

    Out of the corner of your eye you notice someone moving towards you. Dimitri approaches you with caution like you’re a small animal he might scare off with hasty movements. But the look he gives Claude is that of a disappointed father, and he shakes his head once he’s standing in front of him. “Claude, we were supposed to not disturb our guest,” Dimitri says sternly, then bows his head in your direction. “Apologies. We should let you rest.”

    “No, it’s okay,” you admit, and shuffle a little to the side to make room. “Please stay.”

    Both boys exchange a quick look, but then Dimitri sits down, minding a polite distance unlike Claude who only needs to stretch his legs for his feet touch your knee.

    “We were worried,” Dimitri starts. Just like Claude, he’s taken off most of his armour, and nothing about him stands out as a member of the royalty. He looks just like any other boy, and you’d never admit it out loud, but you already miss the blue tones on his uniform, the colour making his remarkably ice-blue eye stand out even more. “Luckily we could dispose of all bandits and return to a safe area. Byleth carried you here all by herself.”

    “Yeah, remind me not get on her bad side, okay?” Claude laughs, but you think you hear a slight nervous tremble in his voice. “She looks like she can decapitate me with a butter knife.”

    “She doesn’t look like it. She very certainly will behead you with a butter knife,” Dimitri provides with a pleasant smile as if he’s talking about the weather.

    “See, and that’s why she fits best in the Alliance,” Claude says, winking at you. “We’re always full of surprises.”

    Dimitri rolls his eyes and crosses his arms in front of his broad chest. “You might try it. I personally plan to convince her to join the Kingdom.”

    “I think you’re both too late for that,” you say as you look to the other side of the camp where Byleth and Edelgard are currently engaged in a deep conversation, their heads leaning close to each other. Claude groans miserably, but quickly recovers as he turns to you, his eyes brightening up with excitement. “It’s okay, because once my disarming charm has wrapped you around my little finger, I’ll have an impressive tactician on my side.”

    You almost choke on your next spoon of stew. “Tactician? I wouldn’t go that far.”

    Beside you, Dimitri clears his throat. “Though I have to question Claude’s way of persuasion, I must admit he isn’t wrong about the latter. What you did back there was impressive.”

    “I really didn’t do anything special,” you mumble at the same time Claude raises both hands leisurely and says, “Hey, it’s not my problem you think you’re immune to it, Your Princeliness.”

    Dimitri grumbles something in a foreign language under his breath. Grinning smugly, Claude turns to you, and nudges your side. “Have confidence, little one. They’ll teach you everything you need to know up there.” He points up towards a mountain where you’ll apparently be heading tomorrow. If you squint, you think you can make out lights in the horizon brightening the night sky.

    “That monastery,” you say, trying to ignore how Claude’s body radiates heat. “What exactly is that place? I’ve never heard of a monastery that holds a school. I think,” you quickly add, unsure what thoughts provided by your hazy mind are facts.

    “The Officers Academy is a facility where students learn the arts of warfare, magic, and leadership,” Dimitri explains. He’s very obviously trying not to look at Claude, which in return has Claude’s grin widening even more. “The lessons provide us with everything we need as upcoming heads of our families. Swordsmanship, sorcery, authority, the history of our continent. There is much to learn for everyone attending the classes.”

    “So it’s a death factory,” you translate, the sudden bitter taste in your mouth overshadowing the taste of the stew. “How can they just teach that stuff like it’s normal?”

    “You saw it yourself, didn’t you.” Claude stretches his long limbs and leans back until he props his body up on his elbows. “Bandits and thieves everywhere.”

    “And most students come from a noble house,” Dimitri adds. “They need to be taught how to take command, and about the responsibilities coming with leadership.”

    You blow a strand of hair away from your face, mood dropped now that you know where you’ll be from tomorrow on. “This doesn’t sound right.” Though you can’t really say how a school is supposed to be instead. This is a world with different rules, and you aren’t sure if it’ll be easy to accommodate to them.

    While the boys bicker how good the plot of the tale mentioned earlier really is, you see Byleth approaching. A bruise is forming on her left cheek, and she holds her arm as if bearing the pain from a wound. But nothing of that is portrayed on her face, as if her brain hasn’t registered she’s wounded yet and hence doesn’t need to express it.

    “How are you?” she asks, sending the boys a quick look. Dimitri and Claude climb to their feet and wish their good nights with a quick bow. They hurry to Edelgard and gang up on heir, probably interrogating her about the conversation she's had with Byleth.

    “I’m better,” you say, a little surprised you actually mean it. You feel refreshed and nourished, ready for another day of walking. Byleth sits down and watches the camp for a moment in silence. The chaos from before has settled into a quiet hum. Men and women sit together in little circles and tell their glorious battle stories with boisterous laughter, selling the illusion of a victorious life. But that might easily end the next day because of a hasty recklessness. No one thinks of that. Everyone is just celebrating, reaching for flasks and living in the moment. It’s a beautiful sight.

    As the buzzing sound of people chatting subsides and the first turn in for the night, Byleth turns towards you, her voice lowered. “What you did back there,” she starts, and for whatever reason remains silent as if she decided talking about it isn’t a good idea. Shadows from the weakened fire dance across her face, and again you’re flooded with the unfathomable feeling of familiarity. It’s in the sharp lines of her face, the way her eyes move and settle on something as she observes her surroundings. It’s almost a painful sense of nostalgia. Something about this woman just brings you an unusual amount of ease, like it doesn’t really matter who you are, and rather that you’re here that makes the difference.

    Before you can stop your brain, you’re already asking, “Do we know each other by chance?”

    Byleth looks at you for a long minute, then slowly shakes her head, and you try not to show your disappointment too much. “I’ve travelled a lot with my father,” she says. “We’ve come through many lands and villages. You may have seen me at some point, but we’ve never exchanged a word until yesterday.”

    You nod at the plausible explanation, but the feeling that this isn’t the right answer curls like a hook into your heart. “And your father hasn’t said anything about me as well?”

    “No.” Byleth’s eyes follow your hands as they set down the empty bowl. Seeing that you’ve finished everything, she nods in approval. “And he doesn’t forget a face.”

    “How do you all just … trust me,” you wonder, looking to where Jeralt is miserably leaning against a tree trunk as Alois keeps talking and talking. He looks like he wishes someone would take him down with an arrow.

    “He doesn’t,” Byleth says. “And he calls me a little whippersnapper for that. He hasn’t called me that in the five years.” At the sound of the smile in her voice you snap your head in Byleth’s direction, but when you look, she wears the same bland expression like before.

    “But you do,” you start carefully, not trusting your ears again, so you settle on staring at her until she gives another emotion. “Care to explain why?”

    “For now, you haven’t given me any reason not to,” she states as if it really were that simple. It couldn’t be. Up until now Byleth has been your only anchor that your meeting wasn’t purely coincidental—that the reason shrouding your memories would dissipate like the night once dawn breaks if you just stick to her side, and everything will be revealed in time. But now without anything to hold on to, you feel like you’re slipping deeper and deeper into an abyss from which you can’t ascend. This feeling is terror fizzing in your blood like poison, and you shudder at the thought that you’ll forever remain adrift.

    “Your powers,” Byleth continues, unaware of your mental breakdown right next to her. “They’re unusual, and if you learn to use them right, very dangerous.” Spoken by everyone else, this might sound like a threat, but Byleth says it like a simple statement, a fact, unaware how much she tilts your world with it. “What do you plan to do with them?”

    You don’t have to think long about it. “I won’t do anything. Whatever it was, it’s over,” you say and gesture at your bandaged eye. It’s true. Since you woke up, your eye has remained calm, no red veil or eery proclamation someone might step into the campfire and burn alive. The pounding has stopped, and the normalcy of it is like a soothing balm.

    Byleth studies you. You really wish she could give you more than her vacant expression. “You don’t know yet … your eye.” She takes your spoon and with the end of it, she draws a symbol on the ground. “Do you know what that is?”

    You look at it, but nothing comes to your mind. It’s just a four pointed star with two lines crossing the right and left tips. “No, I’ve never seen it.”

    Byleth holds your gaze as if she hopes to find a lie written between your eyes, and this time you don’t look away until she relents with a barely audible sigh.

    “Why do you ask?”

    “Because before you passed out, it appeared here.” She taps a finger against her closed, right eye, then points at you. Your body goes rigid. Immediately, your hands fly up to tear off the bandage, but Byleth catches your wrists and holds them down. “Not yet.”

    “I want to see it.” Your breath catches in your lungs. It sounds like you need air because you’re drowning. “I want it off. Take it off!”

    “I can’t show you, there are no mirrors,” Byleth says quietly, and throws a quick glance around the camp to see if your panic has alarmed anyone. You want to point out that you could use the reflection of her sword, but maybe Byleth has considered the same and thought it a bad idea, because she doesn’t know what else you might do with a weapon in your current state. Seeing that fighting against the vice grip she has on your hands is futile, you slump down, your arms falling slack back to your side. “Just what… what is happening. What is that?”

    “Edelgard said it might be a Crest, but none she or the others have seen before,” Byleth explains. “They told me there is a teacher at the monastery who studies Crests.” She gives your arms a barely noticeable squeeze before she lets go. “So it’s going to be okay.”

    “How can you say that?” you nearly sob, and wish you could hold onto her longer as she stands up and brushes dirt off her uniform. “How can you be so sure?”

    “I’m not,” Byleth says, giving you one last look. You want to tell yourself it’s something like worry you see in her eyes, but her expression remains blank, like a board that’s been wiped clean. “I can only hope.”

    The next morning, Jeralt and Alois set an unforgiving pace, determined to reach the monastery shortly after dawn broke. While everyone else couldn’t wait to reach their home as fast as possible, you feel worry grow with every step up the hill towards the walls and towers. The monastery looms like a stronghold, a building so tall and intimidating, built to make people feel small.

    You were allowed to take off the bandage, and there was nothing worse than knowing something was on your eye but you couldn’t see it. Unlike everyone else. They kept staring at you, mumbling to each other in quiet whispers, and more than once you considered telling them that just because your eye was different it didn’t mean you were blind. It was reason enough for you to put the bandage back on and stay away from the soldiers and mercenaries, leaving them to their superstitious rumours. Who could have thought that you’d grab someone else’s attention entirely with that revelation.

    Even before the first sunbeams broke through the budding branches, the wind carrying the smell of spring and new life, Edelgard stuck to you like a tick. It wasn’t hard to find out she was more interested in your Crest than you as a person, and every question you couldn’t answer fuelled her irritation. Still she was nothing but determined to squeeze the tiniest information out of you, and even though you tried to avoid her by either marching way too fast or way too slow, Edelgard didn’t relent and remained by your side. Fear is a little exaggerated to describe what you feel towards her, but it's close. Whenever her sharp eyes focus on you, unease takes hold of your brain and the words leave your mouth as nervous stammers. It certainly doesn’t help that you know she can easily hack off a grown man’s arm without so much as blinking. Or that the corners of her mouth curl up into the sweetest, rare smile.

    Once you’re on the trade road up to the monastery, pebble makes way to smooth cobblestone. Giant iron doors stand wide open, and as your group enters, a merchant’s cart rolls past you and greets the returning knights. After the first entrance point, the second waits in the form of a portcullis and more knights standing on guard. Past the second ring of walls, you enter a small forecourt. On both sides are stalls and booths with merchants screaming their prices and the sound of metal hammered into the right shape at the blacksmith’s. At the foot of wide stairs leading up into the first building, a man dressed in dark blue robes awaits you, his strong arms crossed behind his back.

    “Welcome back,” he greets Alois and the students. “Your messenger bird has reached us yesterday late into the evening, and preparations have been made.” To Jeralt, he says, “My name is Seteth. I am an adviser to the archbishop. Lady Rhea awaits you.” Jeralt nods but he looks a lot more cautious since you’ve entered the monastery grounds. At the mention of that name, his posture visibly tenses, but he gestures to Byleth and you to follow him nonetheless.

    “We shall return to our respectable classes for now and make known we are unscathed,” Dimitri says. “Please, Byleth, and you too, if things have calmed down, meet the other students as well, won’t you?”

    “Ohh, good idea. You have to go around and introduce yourself as our great saviours.” Claude winks at you with both thumbs up. Edelgard slaps his hands back down.

    “We’ll be standing here until evening if we don’t get going," she says. "Please give Lady Rhea our regards. We’ll report to her once everything is sorted out about you.” She eyes you sideways, then ushers the boys down another hall like a mother hen. You exchange a quick look with Byleth who already looks very exasperated with the student’s antics.

    Seteth leads you into the Audience Chamber, a rectangular room with statues decorating the walls, and asks for you to wait. The moment he leaves the room, you turn towards Jeralt and Byleth and ask, “Who is this Lady Rhea?”

    “I’m aware Byleth doesn’t know much about her, I haven’t taught her he teachings of Seiros, but you—” He stops mid sentence seeing the way you look at him, and clears his throat. “Lady Rhea is the archbishop of the Church of Seiros. She’s commanding the knights and sees that the people don’t do anything stupid in the name of Seiros.”

    “Seiros?” you ask, turning the name in your head. Nope, nothing.

    “You know, the one who defeated the King of Liberation and founded the Church of Seiros?” When you just shrug, Jeralt scratches his beard and hums in thought. “Well, I sure won’t be the one preaching what you should know or not. But maybe don’t make it all too obvious you aren’t a follower.”

    Or what, you want to ask, but Seteth returns and he isn’t alone. The woman walking ahead of him looks like she belongs on the portrait of a saint. It isn’t much that she walks towards you, but rather strides in grateful steps to the middle of the room, her chin raised high and shoulders squared. And yet when she looks at your little assembly, her eyes are soft and kind, her expression open and friendly.

    “I welcome you into these sacred halls,” she says, her voice like soothing velvet on your skin. “Alois informed me of what happened, and I thank every one of you for saving the students.” Lady Rhea smiles at you all separately. Her eyes linger on you, and she titles her head slightly. “I've also heard about the wondrous things that happened to you. Please, be so kind and remove the bandage. Let me take a look at this Crest.”

    You hesitate, your fingers playing with the hem of your shirt. But Rhea waits patiently and raises a delicate hand when her advisor Seteth flinches to repeat her request. Slowly, you take the bandage off, barely able to imagine how the symbol or Crest as they call it looks upon your eye. When you meet Rhea's gaze again, her smile freezes, and her eyes widen in surprise. Her lips part slightly, then stretch into an ecstatic smile. Beside her, Seteth inhales sharply. “This is impossible,” he breathes, growing pale. You start to panic.

    “Why, what's wrong with me? What is impossible?”

    “Nothing, nothing is wrong,” Rhea quickly reassures you, but it's hard to believe when Seteth looks like he's seen a ghost. “A fortunate day indeed. Not only does one of the strongest knights to have ever walked these halls return, but it also seems that a new chapter of history dawns upon us.”

    All eyes land on her, one more puzzled than the other. Even Seteth doesn’t look like he fully comprehends what’s happening. “Lady Rhea?” he asks cautiously at the same time as Jeralt demands, “What are you talking about?”

    The archbishop ignores them both, and the longer she gives you that pleasant smile, the more unsettled you feel. “When Alois wrote about a Crest appearing on your body, I was not sure what to think of it. But now, I cannot hide my joy at the return of a Crest that we thought was lost to history.”

    “I—I don’t know why I have it,” you quickly say, feeling you have to defend yourself before they accuse you of stealing it. Can Crests be stolen in the first place? “I don’t remember why I have it.”

    Lady Rhea nods, her solemn expression making way to worry. “Of that Alois informed me as well. You may stay here until your memories return. Allow me for now to tell you about the Crest. Maybe that will dissipate some of the darkness shrouding your mind.”

    You nod, and brace yourself for whatever she’ll reveal. It certainly helps that Byleth stands close to you, her mere presence a standing stone you can hold onto for now without drifting away.

    “It is a Crest most uncommon,” Lady Rhea explains, her hands gracefully crossed in front of her. “For there was only one person who bore it. This Crest belonged to the very one who served our Lady Seiros against the evil powers that threatened Fódlan thousands of years ago. He was known as Seiros’ Champion. The Herald of Dawn.”

    She allows those words to sink into you, and how deep they sink. Now that they’re out here, you feel like they pull you down, deeper down into a dark sea from which you can’t surface. The only result is drowning.

    “Herald of … you don’t think. You can’t think—” Your thoughts move way too fast, you can’t grasp any to sort them.

    “What I think means nothing in light of what has transpired and therefore is reality. You are chosen by the Goddess herself to bring hope to the people of Fódlan. You are the Herald of Dawn.”

    You feel sick. It may be phantom pain, but you could swear your right eye starts hurting again, as if the Crest is reacting to the revelation, the call of its true nature. You dig your trembling fingers into the fabric of your jacket, considering for the tiniest second to gouge your eye out. Can’t be anyone’s champion or Herald without the Crest, right? “So, you’re saying … am I the one from back then? This Champion?” If you were really the same person, how were you still alive after a thousands of years? The prospect of finally having an identity is great, but you aren’t sure you’re ready to pay the price that comes with it. And this one seems to carry a very heavy price.

    “That seems quite impossible.” This time Seteth speaks up. He looks just as unnerved by this revelation as you feel. “The Herald appeared when Saint Seiros was in dire need, and once his duty was fulfilled, he vanished. ”

    “But now, another Herald has come, and with you the promise of suffering and hardships,” Rhea explains, her expression now strict and foreboding. “The task of giving hope is the most difficult to ask of a person. But that is the path the Goddess has chosen for you.”

    “No, no, you’re wrong. I’m no Herald … and certainly no Champion of anyone. I can’t give people hope, I don’t even know what to give them hope for!” Your voice borders on hysteric, but you’ve never been more determined to plead your case. “I’m not the right person. I’m really not.”

    “Then how come you bear the Crest of Seiros’ Champion, my child?” Lady Rhea asks, and you notice the tiny shift in her voice. The kindness grows thiner and thiner, and in its place austerity and even coldness settle—the voice of authority and undeniable command. “It is Our Goddess’ will. The Church of Seiros needs you. The people of Fódlan need you. You cannot turn away from your Fate.”

    You want to argue that yes, you can; you’ll turn around and leave this place filled with crazy people and their fanatic beliefs. One look from Byleth stops your thoughts. Lady Rhea interprets this silence as compliance, and nods, visibly pleased. “We have waited for this opportunity for so long,” she continues, now smiling again. “There shall be festivities today. As a welcome to our Herald, and the return of Blade Breaker Jeralt. For you, his daughter, we have also thought of a task that will greatly help Garreg Mach.”

    Jeralt grunts, clearly unhappy, but Byleth only cocks her head to one side. You’re astonished that after everything, she’s still awfully calm and collected.

    “A teaching position has become free as of yesterday,” Lady Rhea explains to Byleth. “By Alois' recommendation, you are to take that position and teach one of the Houses here at the Officers Academy. Your colleagues will provide you with further information. As for you,” and you flinch when she turns to you, afraid what else she has in store, “you too shall teach the students the course of leadership and command. Seiros’ Champion was a great tactician. He honed Saint Macuil’s abilities. I would not be surprised if you too show an unparallelled gift for strategy.”

    “Well,” you start, but the hesitation is clear, and Lady Rhea smiles like she knows what you can do once the Crest is activated. “Whereas you are to choose one house,” she tells Byleth, “the Herald will hold seminars. As a servant of the Church, you cannot call in favourites.”

    “I don’t even know what to teach,” you mumble weakly. “How to teach.”

    “Me neither,” Byleth says, the first time she’s spoken since entering the Audience Chamber. The amusement glinting in Lady Rhea’s eyes is like the sun reflected on a purling river. “Do not worry,” she says. “You will learn in time. And we are here to help you as well.”

    On your lips lie the words that they certainly didn’t help you. You came here so they could help to search for a way to return your memory.

    Instead, they made everything worse.

    The ceremonial robes hang heavy over your shoulders. The feast hasn’t started yet, but you’re already sweating and panting with the weight of the golden embroidery and the head piece decorating your forehead. When Seteth brought everything in a couple of hours ago, he was grumbling something unintelligible under his breath, at his side a little girl who, unlike him, was happy to meet you and to see that you’d take on the role as the Herald. You wanted to tell Flayn there was a difference between want and have to, but she was already focused on helping you dress and prepare for the festivities. Servants handled the remaining tasks of making you presentable, and now you’re standing in front of a giant mirror, observing yourself.

    It was scary how things changed so fast. Not even 24 hours ago, you were a nobody, a nameless figure roaming the woods, and now there is a name that isn’t your own—no, not a name. A title. A title that will all but replace your name. History won’t remember you as a person, they will remember the deeds that you’ve done, the mistakes that you’ll commit. Lady Rhea spoke of honour like it’s a crown on your head, but you see the noose that it really is around your throat. The head piece feels too heavy, and the golden necklace sitting on your neck reminds you more of a dog collar.

    There’s a knock on your door. Seteth said that someone would get you before everything starts, and you don’t even try to hide the relieved sob when Byleth enters the room. She examines you from head to toes, and leans her head to the side, one finger on her chin. “You look … different,” she says.

    “You mean ridiculous.” You move your arms, demonstrating how the wide sleeves flap uselessly at your side. “I wish we could do this all without me looking like a sack of potatoes.”

    “I had to think of cabbages, but you aren’t wrong either.” She crosses the room and looks outside the window. You can already hear the masses as they enter the Cathedral, and it does nothing to calm your haywire nerves. Byleth seems to notice as much. She turns to you, and asks, “How are you holding up?”

    “Do you want the real answer or the one I prepared for Lady Rhea?”

    Byleth raises a brow.

    “Not good. I’m just … how could this happen?” You throw up your hands in frustration, and the robes give a dangerous tearing sound. Your arms fall immediately down, the thought of damaging a hundreds of years old ceremonial robe the last thing you need today. “Of all the things, how could I suddenly become some figure of the Church.”

    “Is it so hard to believe that the Goddess of Fódlan has lead you to this path?” Byleth crosses her ams and leans against the wall next to the window, eyeing you curiously.

    “I don’t even believe in this Goddess,” you groan, flopping on your bed. The chambers chosen for you overlook the bridge leading to the Cathedral where people swarm inside like little ants returning to their anthill. It was a small room equipped with all necessities for comfort but no additional expenses on luxury. A bed, a dresser, a simple table and chair, a mirror, and a shelf take up all the space. Not that you could have brought anything with you.

    You look up at Byleth and dread the next question. “Do you believe in it?” you ask. “That I’m someone chosen?”

    “Hmm.” Byleth casts one last glance outside, then pushes off the wall, gesturing you to follow her. You sigh, and mentally prepare yourself for what will happen in the Cathedral. Before you leave the room, Byleth rests her hand on the door handle and looks back at you over her shoulder. “I don’t know. Where I’m from, belief doesn’t save you from the sword of a thief. Only deeds and actions. It’s the reason my father and I are still alive.” She considers you for a moment, and when you blink you imagine you see the tiniest smile on her face. “What you did yesterday was very much real to me. Maybe a Goddess guided you, maybe it was just lucky instinct. But you saved my life, and that certainly is something I can rely on.”

    She doesn’t wait for an answer, and swings the door open. You quickly follow, your steps feeling a lot lighter than before. “I guess I’m just frustrated,” you admit, carefully paying attention your voice isn’t too loud. “That they think there’s someone who can just decide how my life is going to be. Like this herald business suddenly defies who I am.”

    “As long as you don’t forget who you are, does it matter?” Byleth wonders aloud, turning down another corridor that ends in stairs leading down. “As long as there is just one person who doesn’t forget, does it really matter?”

    Maybe not to her, but for some inexplicable reason, it means a great deal to you. So you answer with a grumble, and Byleth hums like she knows she’s right. To change the subject, you ask, “What about you? How can you just follow along with being a teacher here?”

    “Truth be told, I’m not happy,” Byleth says, nodding to the knights standing on guard in the first floor that leads outside. “But at the same time I can see Lady Rhea’s reasoning. Those students need someone who teaches them not to be stupid on the real battlefield. Especially when they are to be future rulers of Fódlan. If I’m the one shaping those little whippersnappers, I can rest at ease.”

    You follow her down the hallways, staying silent until, “Whippersnapper is such a weird word,” you say.

    Byleth gives a huff of air that barely passes as a chuckle. “It is.”

    Together you leave the living quarters and enter the Cathedral at the backside where everything is closed off for the rest of the people. Lady Rhea and Seteth are already waiting for you, both dressed in equally complicated robes as you.

    “Thank you, Professor.” Lady Rhea nods towards Byleth, who nods back and joins the other teachers. “And now, Herald, it is time to meet the sheep you shall shepherd from today on. Please, follow me.”

    She doesn’t give you time to prepare for the crowd waiting for you, and glancing at Seteth for help doesn’t do anything either as he just crudely nods towards Lady Rhea, telling you to go along. You square your shoulders and hope for the best.

    The Cathedral has been decorated with candles and tapestry showing the banner of the Church of Seiros and above it the Crest of the Herald. A platform has been built for your entrance, and stepping on it, your gaze roams over all the assembled students, clergy, and knights. Seeing them, you feel terror seize your body, locking up all muscles. The masses look at you with hunger in their eyes, ready to devour you like you’re the last piece of bread on the table. “Herald, Herald! ” they cry, and each time they open their mouths, the noose tightens around your neck. Saint and Martyr vaguely dance at the edges of your mind, beyond your grasp, mocking how you know them but don’t understand their very being. This is bigger than you. This is far bigger than you can manage, and you want to run away and hide from their greedy eyes.

    Scanning the crowd, you notice the house leaders in the far back. Edelgard looks unpleased, her mouth set into a grim line, while Dimitri claps politely with the rest, and Claude raises a golden cup in mocking salute. You really want to break down and cry. The only solid point is Byleth, has always been Byleth up until now, at the other end of the room, holding your gaze steadfast like a pillow of strength in troubled waters.

#philliamwrites #ao3 #fanfiction #writing #fire emblem three houses #fe3h #fire emblem #fe #reader insert #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #fire emblem three houses dimitri #fe3h dimitri #fire emblem three houses dimitri x reader #fe3h dimitri x reader #dimitri x reader #claude von riegan #fire emblem three houses claude #fe3h claude #claude von riegan x reader #claude x reader #fe3h claude x reader #fire emblem three houses claude x reader #edelgard von hresvelg #fire emblem three houses edelgard #fe3h edelgard #fe3h edelgard x reader #edelgard x reader #fe3h edelgard x byleth #edelgard x byleth #fire emblem three houses byleth

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group C Round 4: After the Rain vs Katana Maidens: Toji no Miko

#C1: After the Rain (Koi wa Ameagari no You ni)

Friendship over nostalgia for the past, and moving forward

#C4: Katana Maidens: Toji no Miko

Lesbians with swords

Details and poll under the cut!

#C1: After the Rain (Koi wa Ameagari no You ni)

Summary:

Akira Tachibana, a reserved high school student and former track runner, has not been able to race the same as she used to since she experienced a severe foot injury. And although she is regarded as attractive by her classmates, she is not interested in the boys around school.

While working part-time at the Garden Cafe, Akira begins to develop feelings for the manager—a 45-year-old man named Masami Kondou—despite the large age gap. Kondou shows genuine concern and kindness toward the customers of his restaurant, which, while viewed by others as soft or weak, draws Akira to him. Spending time together at the restaurant, they grow closer, which only strengthens her feelings. Weighed down by these uncertain emotions, Akira finally resolves to confess, but what will be the result?

Alternatively: The main girl works at a diner and misses being able to run. Main guy is the boss at the diner and misses writing.

Propaganda:

It feels like a lot of folks didn’t give this a fair chance because they thought it would be an age gap romance, when it really is more about friendship between the MCs. Don’t be turned off by the opening. It’s cute, but all from MG’s POV. The art is pretty, and Aimer’s “Ref: rain” is one of my favourite songs now, besides it being a beautiful ending theme. Depending on how old you are, you might relate more with one MC over the other.

Trigger Warnings: One-sided age gap. Depending on your views, MC’s friendship with her boss could be uncomfortable

#C4: Katana Maidens: Toji no Miko

Summary:

Throughout history, an elite group of shrine maidens known as "Toji" have saved the world from "Aratama," strange and malevolent beings bent on destroying humanity. In modern times, these warriors have been assigned to a special police squad to exterminate Aratama. The government has also set up five elite schools across the country to provide young girls the necessary sword fighting skills to eradicate these monsters and eventually join their fellow Toji in protecting the world.

A student of one of those five schools, Kanami Etou is chosen to represent Minoseki Academy in a sword fighting tournament, where she meets the mysterious Hiyori Juujou. Although Kanami and Hiyori rise to the top of the tournament, their battle takes an unexpected turn, throwing the world of the Toji into chaos. Likely that the Toji are facing betrayal from within, the two are forced to flee the tournament, clashing with former comrades on the way.

Propaganda:

The depth of this show was seriously mindblowing to me. For much of the series it was just a fun romp, with some pretty interesting twists and turns along the way. But as these characters develop, as the plot gets moving, it all comes together in the end. I have not seen a more concentrated concoction of doomed tragic yuri in my life.

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Self-Harm

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form with your revisions, and I’ll consider adapting those changes.

New: Starting round 5, screenshots will be included in the poll post. You can submit screenshots through the form linked above, or through here, via ask or dm.

Guidelines in submitting screenshots:

No NSFW or spoilery images.

Pick some good images please. Don’t send any blurry or pixelated ones.

You may send up to 9 screenshots, but not all may be used.

#anime #best underrated anime #polls #poll tournament #tournament #anime tournament #animation #group stage #group stage round 4 #tournament polls #after the rain #koi wa ameagari no you ni #katana maidens #katana maidens: toji no miko #toji no miko #group c

[fnlrndcllctv]

THE YEAR IN FIGHTING GAMES: 1994

As the original release of Street Fighter II turns 30 this year, we are taking a look at the landscape of fighting games between 1991 and 2021 on a year by year basis!

This week, Shaun Eddleston takes a look at 1994…

1994 was an eventful year for video games.

Nintendo was starting to wind down on its production of NES games, while celebrating the success of games such as Super Metroid and Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo. SEGA’s Sonic The Hedgehog series was going strong with Sonic The Hedgehog 3, and games such as DOOM II and Warcraft were making their way onto computers all across the world.

It was also a year where Germany placed Mortal Kombat II on its index of media works deemed harmful to young people by Germany's Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons effectively banning the game from sale in the country (and remained that way all the way up to 2005!).

Let’s take a look at 1994 in fighting games...

One of the more obscure Neo Geo titles, Aggressors Of Dark Kombat (known as Tsuukai GANGAN Koushinkyoku in Japan) was an interesting title that felt like a bit of an experiment in the genre. The game’s movement feels more like it would fit into your standard beat ‘em up game such as Final Fight and Streets Of Rage, and even drops weapons into the stage for fighters to use. 

The game also includes a fun comeback mechanic, the “GAN GAN attack”, which kicks in once a player’s health bar drops below a certain point, and their power bar is full. Once one of these mega attacks connects with an opponent, the player automatically wins the round.

Art of Fighting 2 continues the story that kicked off in the previous year’s entry, as we immediately learn that the identity of Yuri’s kidnapper, the tengu masked Mr Karate, is none other than Takuma Sakazaki, Yuri and Ryo’s father. This is all part of a much bigger criminal plot that ends up being spearheaded by a certain young crime lord from another popular SNK fighting title…

As for the game itself, almost every aspect of the Art Of Fighting experience was rebuilt and polished. The character sprites and stage art looked better, and a new “Rage” gauge mechanic was introduced into the mix. All of the game’s characters are immediately playable in arcade mode, and each have their own specific dialogue when interacting with other fighters.

The first 3D weapons-based fighting game was also one of the earlier releases on the Sony PlayStation, and was poised to be the game that would “outshine” the impressiveness of Virtua Fighter’s groundbreaking graphics.

While it didn’t quite beat out SEGA’s franchise, Battle Arena Toshinden still had a couple of interesting aspects to it that are still worth mentioning today. 

First of all, it is arguably the first “true” 3D fighting game, as it included the ability to side-step or dodge roll during a fight. This meant that the act of avoiding projectiles now had more options outside of blocking the hit or jumping over it, giving the game a little more depth (both mechanically and visually).

Thanks to the newly opened up 3D movement, ring outs are also possible in the game, where players can lose a round by simply falling off the side of the stage. This is an element that many gamers see as a bit of a cop out during a fight, but I personally see it as a fun way to humiliate opponents and even bring overly confident fighters back down to earth.

Capcom’s massive success with Street Fighter II was one of the most important moments in video game history, and the game was still going incredibly strong since its release 3 years prior (including this year, which we’ll touch on later in the article). There was a big question that lingered though; what non-Street Fighter fighting game would Capcom bring to the table next?

That game was Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors.

Darkstalkers wasn’t a million miles away from Street Fighter II in terms of gameplay. It utilised the same six-button L/M/H attack layout, and even used a Super Gauge that would be shared with the series.

The main strength of Darkstalkers that set it apart from its more famous older cousin, and that was its characters and theme. Instead of a tournament of worldwide fighters that many 2D fighting games utilised, Darkstalkers took inspiration from classic horror movies from the Universal era and offered a cast of 10 fighters that range from werewolves, sasquatches and vampires to Egyptian mummies, zombies and a Frankenstein’s monster for good measure. 

A spooky cult favourite!

1993’s Fighters History was a controversial entry in the fighting game genre. Not necessarily because of any violent content or especially iffy storyline, but for just how similar the game was to Street Fighter II. It was so similar, in fact, that Capcom attempted to sue Data East for just how much of a shameless ripoff the game was.

Capcom wasn’t successful with the lawsuit, and Data East went forward with a sequel, Fighters History Dynamite.

The game, perhaps more commonly known in some places as “Karnov’s Revenge”, added more characters (including the game’s boss fighters, Karnov and Clown) to the playable roster and spruced up the game's stage backgrounds.

Other than the slightly expanded range of fighters, and a hilarious hidden character to discover, not a lot else has changed from the first title, and still feels like it can’t shake off the original comparison that it got into trouble for.

Many 2D games up to this point were trying to mimic Street Fighter and Fatal Fury’s cartoonish graphics, there wasn’t really anything outside of Mortal Kombat’s digitised graphics that truly felt “next-gen” going into the middle of the decade.

Enter Killer Instinct.

While Rare as a developer was having a fantastic year already, with the success of Battletoads and Donkey Kong Country leaving long lasting impressions on the industry, their fighting game was a revelation in arcades, bringing a mix of 2D gameplay on 3D stages, strong bloody violence and a ridiculous new combo system to the table.

The characters were memorable, the animated FMV sequences were jawdropping to watch, and witnessing the game announce blare out “ULTRA COMBO!” whenever someone nailed a particularly savage sequence of hits just felt right.

Why not check out our thoughts on the game’s “killer” soundtrack?

Inspired by the popularity of Ryo Sakazaki (Art Of Fighting’s main protagonist) and his appearance as a guest character in Fatal Fury Special in 1993, SNK decided to go all out and start a crossover fighting series that brought together characters from their library of past games.

The game, named after the fighting tournament in Art Of Fighting and Fatal Fury, allows players to choose from a selection of 3-member teams that have been designated to different countries of the world, and matches revolve around an elimination system. In addition to a selection of original new characters, KOF ‘94 mixed together the Ikari Warriors, Psycho Soldier, Art Of Fighting and Fatal Fury franchises to fill out one of the largest fighting game rosters around at this point.

The game’s music is the subject of our very first entry in the Soundtrack Sunday series, so check it out!

Of the slew of games that took direct inspiration from Mortal Kombat, very few actually left a lasting impression.

One of the exceptions to this was Primal Rage, which saw stop motion dinosaurs and prehistoric apes duke it out for supremacy in the new “Urth”.

The game, which also took inspiration from Taito’s Dino Rex from 1992, caused its own controversy with one of its fatalities. In 1996, a woman from Arizona said that her 11 year old son had bought the game, and used a strategy guide to execute the “Golden Shower” fatality (in which, as the title suggests, the character Chaos urinates all over the corpse of an opponent). She flipped out and started a grass-roots campaign against Primal Rage, which resulted in some US stores withdrawing copies of the game, including the already-censored SNES version, which didn’t even contain the offending move.

The game was also successful with its merchandise, and saw a line of toys and a board game to accompany it.

The first Samurai Shodown game was, and still is, one of the finest fighting games of the early 90’s, so SNK had a huge task on their hands when it came to creating a sequel.

With Samurai Shodown 2, they absolutely knocked it out of the park in pretty much every aspect. All of the sprites of the characters who reappeared from the first game had been completely remade, a bunch of new characters had been added in, everyone got amazing new moves and a number of new game mechanics were also introduced to make the game feel much more balanced and fun to play.

One of these new mechanics was the “Weapon break” system, which meant that if a player got hit with a particularly powerful attack, there was now a chance that it would knock their weapon clean out of their hands, leaving them unarmed until it was recovered. The sheer panic of scrambling to pick up your sword while the opponent is slashing away at you is a thrill that still feels as effective today as it did back then.

Street Fighter II’s reign as king of the arcade fighting games was starting to wind down by 1994, so the game saw a final upgrade in the form of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, which added more game speeds, new animations and moves for all of the characters, a new “SUPER” gauge system and the introduction of  a hidden character that would quickly become one of the franchise’s most recognisable fighters; Akuma!

While many more casual players may not have felt the real impact of these changes (this was the third update in as many years since the original release), it remains as the “definitive” version of Street Fighter II, and is still used in tournaments to this day.

Developed by Namco (and ported to PlayStation in 1995), Tekken took the 3D fighting style that was pioneered by 1993’s Virtua Fighter, and added its own spin on things in regards to the control system.

Instead of using the traditional fighting game inputs that corresponded to the strength of the attacks, Tekken utilised a system that dedicates a button to each individual limb of the fighter. In doing this, the game became more of a learning process for players that wanted to do special moves and combos. This departure was so innovative, that experienced players could now figure out special moves by studying the fighters limb movements during their animations.

Known briefly as “RAVE WAR” during its beta test stage, Tekken quickly found itself as one of the most popular PlayStation games in history, and became the first game to sell over a million copies for the console.

Take a look at our thoughts about the game’s soundtrack!

Virtua Fighter was an incredibly important moment in gaming, so following up with a sequel that lived up to its predecessor was absolutely vital for SEGA.

Luckily, with Virtua Fighter 2, they managed to not only surpass the first game in the way it looked, but how it played too. Improved movesets ramped up how authentic each individual martial arts/fighting style felt, and with things running at 60FPS in the arcade version, the game felt like it was miles ahead of its competition.

The third entry in the World Heroes series was yet another improvement on the games that preceded it, but considering the sheer amount of solid competition it was facing in 1994, it still fell to the wayside.

The game added two new fighters and added a brand new boss to face off against, but things were starting to feel somewhat dated with the series now, and it suffered as a result.

While there were many action-adventure and side-scrolling beat-’em-ups based on characters from the Marvel universe, it wasn’t until the early 90’s until we got a fully fledged fighting game. It only made sense that Capcom, one of the heaviest hitters in the genre at the time stepped forward to fix this.

Released in arcades in late 1994, X-Men: Children of the Atom established what would become a beloved and fruitful relationship between Capcom and Marvel, and laid the foundations for the successful “Vs.” series that fighting game fans have played for nearly 25 years now.

The game is loosely based on 1993’s “Fatal Attractions” storyline, in which Magneto and his Acolytes return to confront the X-Men, tempting Professor Xavier to cross a moral line to stop them. It’s a pretty insane storyline with some fairly gnarly imagery (one such example sees Wolverine getting the adamantium ripped out of his skeleton!), and the good vs. evil dynamic lends itself perfectly to the setting of an arcade fighting game.

1994’s entries in the genre saw developers starting to take full advantage of the new 3D graphics that SEGA introduced with Virtua Fighter in the wake of a new console generation, while 2D fighting games kept on coming hard and fast to try and best Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat’s popularity.

Join us next week as we take a look at the games of 1995!

Did we miss anything from 1994 that’s worth mentioning?

Let us know in the comments below!

#Aggressors Of Dark Kombat #Art Of Fighting 2 #Battle Arena Toshinden #Darkstalkers #Fighter's History Dynamite #Killer Instinct #The King Of Fighters '94 #Primal Rage #Samurai Shodown 2 #Super Street Fighter II Turbo #Tekken #Virtua Fighter 2 #World Heroes 2 Jet #X-Men: Children Of The Atom #Capcom #Namco #SNK #1994

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Jujutsu Kaisen: Season 2, the Prequel Movie, and Their Possible Connections

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Season 1 of Jujutsu Kaisen ended last month on a high note with a stellar, action-packed finale. Since the anime launched last year, the series has been lauded for its stupendous animation and fight sequences, but the exciting team-up between the protagonist Yuji Itadori and his classmate, hammer-wielding Nobara Kugisaki, left us hyped and hungry for more.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Release Date

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a little while longer for another season. While MAPPA, the production studio behind the anime, has teased future episodes, a projected air date has yet to be revealed.

Based on comments made by the production staff and how well-received Jujutsu Kaisen season 1 was, it’s almost guaranteed there will be a follow-up season at the very least. As for when, it’ll likely be after the prequel film is released.

It’s not all doom and gloom for Jujutsu Kaisen fans, though. Shortly before the Season 1 finale aired, the anime’s official Twitter account announced a prequel film for the series. And if that wasn’t enough to whet our appetites, they dropped a teaser trailer for the movie after the season finale finished broadcasting.

When is the Jujutsu Kaisen movie coming out?

While we don’t have a concrete date yet, the teaser trailer projects a Winter 2022 release. In anime speak, that means early next year. Even though that potential release date may disappoint fans hoping for something right now, it may be easier to swallow with the knowledge that Studio MAPPA is also handling the production for the prequel movie. Given the stunning visuals and slickly choreographed action sequences MAPPA delivered for the anime series, as well as the studio’s history for working on well-received series like Yuri on Ice and Dorohedoro, the result will likely be worth the wait.

Since we don’t have an official release date yet, we can’t be sure how the film will be distributed outside of Japan. But considering the anime’s popularity, it’s safe to assume there will be a North American, English-language release.

Yuta Okkotsu and the Jujutsu Kaisen Movie Plot

The film will adapt Jujutsu Kaisen 0, the prequel of the main manga series. Creator Gege Akutami originally released Jujutsu Kaisen 0 as a standalone, four-chapter oneshot. But after the miniseries proved more popular than expected, they began serializing the main Jujutsu Kaisen manga the following year. And aren’t we all glad for that?

Based on the teaser trailer, the prequel will focus on Yuta Okkotsu, a student with enormous cursed energy. We can assume that Yuta has come to Tokyo Jujutsu High School to learn how to control his abilities based on the trailer’s narration. He appears to be standing at a crossroads where he can either use his powers to save people or destroy them.

It’s doubtful that his training will go off without a hitch, though. While the trailer focuses on Yuta, it opens with Suguru Geto talking about unleashing a Night Parade of 100 Demons on Christmas Eve. Since we last saw Geto allying himself with cursed spirits during Season 1 of the anime, his motivations for doing so can’t be anything good and most likely have a lot to do with Yuta.

How does the Jujutsu Kaisen film connect to the anime series?

While the prequel focuses on a different protagonist, this isn’t the first time we’ve been introduced to Yuta Okkotsu. He’s been mentioned throughout Season 1 of Jujutsu Kaisen. He’s a classmate of Maki Zenin, Toge Inumaki, and Panda, and his absence was noted during the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event by numerous people. Most notably, Aoi Todo—a third year from Kyoto Jujutsu High—was dismayed when he learned Yuta wouldn’t be participating in the competition. His reaction tells us that whatever happens in the prequel, Yuta will become a force to be reckoned with.

The Night Parade of 100 Demons is also referenced before the exchange event arc when Todo and Mai Zenin drop by Tokyo Jujutsu High to survey their future rivals. From that encounter, we know it becomes known as a terrorist attack. We also know Todo distinguished himself during the attack when he exorcised five first-grade and one special grade cursed spirits by himself.

So while the film may not tie directly into the main series, its events and characters have an impact upon the current storyline. That said, Yuta’s absence in the anime is conspicuous considering how often he was brought up during Season 1. Keeping that in mind, chances are good that he may make a future appearance. After all, why is he absent during the exchange event? Maybe the film will provide a clue.

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Will we see characters from the main series in the Jujutsu Kaisen movie?

In addition to Yuta and Geto, the teaser trailer also features a voiceover and glimpse of Satoru Gojo. It makes sense that Gojo would be present, because not only is he an instructor at Tokyo Jujutsu High School, he’s also the most powerful jujutsu sorcerer currently alive. Yuta’s abilities would definitely interest him.

Beyond that, due to the movie being a prequel, it’s unlikely we’ll see Yuji or Nobara since they’re both freshmen in the main series. There is a chance we may see Megumi Fushiguro, despite his also being a freshman in the current timeline, because of his connection to Gojo and the illustrious Zenin clan. On the other hand, there is a high probability we’ll see Maki, Inumaki, and Panda. They’re Yuta’s classmates at Tokyo Jujutsu High, which gives the prequel an opportunity to explore their characters more in-depth than we’ve seen in the anime series so far.

The teaser also briefly shows a young girl and a cursed spirit attached to Yuta. Without a doubt, the film will explore their connection to Yuta and each other.

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Season 1 of Jujutsu Kaisen is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

The post Jujutsu Kaisen: Season 2, the Prequel Movie, and Their Possible Connections appeared first on Den of Geek.

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