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parsnips-and-meth · 9 months

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Boiling Over (Part 1)

Hi! This is my first time posting an exclusive tumblr whump piece - I hope you enjoy. This one features some Todoroki whump, BKTD and a little bit of Dadzawa. Includes: Fever, Vomiting, Vertigo.

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He should have listened to Bakugou.

Shouto had woken this morning in a feverish haze. Shirt clinging with sweat, ears ringing. He’d nearly fallen and cracked his head open on the desk trying to get out of bed. But he’d put it down to quirk overuse – yesterday had been intensive. It wasn’t unusual for his body to overcompensate… or undercompensate.

He’d sat panting on the tatami mats, right hand pressed to the back of his neck. It had been soothing, and after a few minutes, he felt more centred. Certainly not bad enough to miss training. Besides – he was sure his temperature would regulate by lunch.

He had been wrong.

Bakugou was glaring at him over his mapo tofu. He stabbed around in the sauce for a while as Shouto shivered, yet to even pick up his chopsticks. There was nothing appealing about his soba today. The sight of the noodles sitting slumped and wet like fat, brown earthworms made his stomach churn.

“You’re an idiot,” Bakugou hissed, a cube of tofu circling his mouth. Shouto swallowed. “I told you to stay in bed.”

Shouto could feel a twisting burning in his chest. He pressed his left hand to his sternum and activated his quirk.

“Go back to the dorms,” his boyfriend ordered. “Go back or I’ll fucking kill you.”

“There’s only one period left,” Shouto murmured, closing his eyes. The lights in the cafeteria were beginning to coagulate and blur.

“I don’t care,” he growled. “You look like shit, Icyhot.”

Shouto frowned but didn’t open his eyes. “That’s not very nice. You’re supposed to be nice to me.”

“I am nice to you, you stupid fuck.” Bakugou’s calloused hand landed on his cheek, thumb stroking back and forth. “God, Sho, you’re burning.”

He opened his eyes and shot Bakugou a soft smile. The blonde just squinted further, clearly not placated. “Just one more period,” Shouto said, “and then I’ll go straight to bed.”

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He should have listened to Bakugou.

He didn’t even remember changing into his gym uniform. But he was wearing it – he could feel every single fibre of it tearing at his skin. The grey expanse of Gym Gamma was so wide, so bright today.

Oh god. Not once in his life had he ever felt this awful.

He was paired with Kirishima for a round of quirk combat in close quarters, but neither he nor the redhead had moved an inch. Shouto could feel his stomach bloating against his waistband, could feel its contents seething. He snaked his right arm around it, hunching his shoulders and taking deep, shuddering breaths.

It hurt.

The sounds of their classmates around them were building, fights underway. Still, Kirishima waited, watching him nervously. Shouto wondered why he didn’t jump at the opportunity – there was no way Shouto was winning this one.

“Hey, man.” Kirishima’s voice was quiet, “you wanna sit down? You don’t look so good.”

“Mm,” Shouto grunted. “I’m okay. Just need a minute.”

“Dude –”

He straightened up, pushing his shoulders back. A deep, rippling ache spread up from his stomach to his throat. He could taste acid. “Let’s go,” he said, pushing his right foot forward.

The fight didn’t last long. His ice was sloppy, arching just past where Kirishima stood, and the other boy skidded round and started barrelling towards his left side. Fire licked its way up Shouto’s arm, but the heat was searing, unbearable – his head throbbed, and his vision narrowed, a rotten, sour taste flooding his gums. He put out the flames as his knees buckled, catching his fall with one hand, and clamping the other over his mouth. He could hear Kirishima shout, but it was indecipherable over the tinnitus. Shouto’s oesophagus burned, stomach cramping and knotting, and he burped, saliva sticking to his palm.

He felt vile.

“You idiot.” Bakugou was next to him. When had he got here? “You stupid, fucking idiot. You never listen.” Shouto shuddered, and he felt his boyfriend’s hand run up his back, gentle, soothing. “You gonna be sick?”

He couldn’t answer. He dropped his hand and belched again, rocking forward over the floor. Hot saliva rolled off his tongue and hung from his lips in strings. Bakugou moved his other hand up to cup Shouto’s forehead, pushing his hair back.

“Yaoyorozu, could you make us a bucket, please?” That was Aizawa. His teacher stood in front of him – Shouto could see the scuffs on his black boots. “The rest of you can wait for me in the changing rooms.”

Shouto heard lots of whispering and shuffling, and then blessed silence. He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to breathe – in, out, in, out. A bucket was put in front of him, along with a flannel and bottle of water.

“What’s wrong with him?” Yaoyorozu asked, voice trembling.

He heard Bakugou scoff. “He’s chronically stupid.”

Shouto lurched forward with a dry retch, forehead hitting the rim of the bucket. He moaned, gulping in another round of air. In, out, in, out. Cool fingers brushed against his skin, followed by a hiss.

“Christ, kid. That’s a nasty fever.” Aizawa took out his phone. “I’m going to call Recovery Girl. Let her know we’re coming.”

The nausea was so rampant he could feel it in his eyes. Shouto reached out and grabbed at Bakugou’s knee. “No,” he mumbled, “don’t… can’t move –”

He was cut off with another unproductive gag. He felt like he was choking. Bakugou brushed a hand through his hair, hushing him. “Not yet, Sho. When you’re ready.”

He sobbed as another cramp ripped through his stomach. “Katsuki.”

“It’s okay, Sho. It’s okay, you’re okay –”

He heaved violently, and this time a slurry of undigested food made it into the bottom of the bucket. Bakugou was holding him steady, mumbling things Shouto couldn’t quite hear, couldn’t quite understand. But the sound of his voice was enough. He burped, bringing up another mouthful of liquid, and then his back was arching as his body tried to wring itself dry. Round after round of vomit, until he had nothing left but spit and dry air.

The stench of the bucket was cloying. Bakugou pulled him back even though he was still gagging, rubbing his back in circles. “I think you’re done, babe. Here, come on. Breathe for me.”

Shouto hiccupped, leaning back into the blonde’s chest. “I – I don’t feel well.”

“No shit.” Bakugou used some of the water from the bottle to dampen the washcloth. He tilted Shouto’s head and began wiping away the bile and spit sticking to his chin, the snot under his nose. Aizawa took the bucket to wash out, and Yaoyorozu took his place in front of Shouto, smiling softly.

“Want to try a bit of water?” she asked, holding out the bottle. Shouto groaned, pulling away from her. The nausea had just barely let up – he wasn’t sure he was ready to swallow anything yet.

“Hey. Have just a little,” Bakugou said, taking the water from her. He unscrewed the cap and pressed the bottle to Shouto’s lips. “Dehydration is dumb.”

He felt it wash over his tongue. It tasted acrid and did little to settle his stomach. He pushed the rest away and belched into his fist, shivering.

“You think you can stand?” Aizawa asked, returning with a clean bucket. After a few measured breaths, Shouto nodded, clinging to the bucket as Bakugou eased him onto his feet. Yaoyorozu moved to stand on his other side, taking some of his weight. His teacher’s gaze was scrutinising, brow furrowed.

“Let’s go. I want you checked out sooner rather than later.” Aizawa held the door open for them as they left the gymnasium. “But tell me if you need to stop, alright?”

“Mm,” Shouto said, not sure what he was agreeing to. Colours and sounds were starting to melt together. He leaned into Bakugou on his right, eyes searching. “Kats-ki?”

“I’m here, Sho.” He pressed a chaste kiss to his boyfriend’s temple. It was scorching, even on his right side. Bakugou bit his lip and tried to temper his anxiety. “I’m not goin’ anywhere,” he murmured. “I promise.”

#Bakugou is a good boyfriend #Todoroki Shouto whump #todoroki shouto #bakugou katsuki #bktd #bakutodo #whump #whump fic #sickfic #mha #my hero academia #bnha #caretaker #tw: vomit

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ghouljams · 5 months

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Have you done Bee yet?

I have not!

You're an adventurous soul. You want to be, at least, but you're a creature of comfort and sometimes adventuring is hard. You like to have fun, and you'll admit sometimes you're a little impulsive because of that. You deserve a few treats though!

You think you're a little crazy. Whether that's because of you taste in fictional characters, your hobbies, or your fantasties, you're not sure. You tend to immerse yourself in fantasies instead of dealing with your problems. It's easier living in your daydreams than living life. You know it's not healthy but you can't stop, this is the only way you know how to live and it's scary to confront your problems. If you actually had to look at your life you might be forced to admit that you have no idea how to interact with people when they're not in your head. It scares you not having a script for social interactions, and you worry that people will know you haven't practiced your lines.

You either overcompensate or undercompensate for your perceived social failings by diving head first into your interests. That way at least you have something you know you can talk about. Except you know from experience that people don't want to hear you talk. You've probably heard, "you're so annoying", "you talk a lot", or "are you done yet?" at least once. Maybe a combination of all three! Either way it's left you with a deeply held fear that everyone is counting the seconds until you stop talking. You've trained yourself on keeping quiet even when you have something to say so that new people don't know how annoying you are. The thing is, your passion for the things you love is adored by the people that meet you. Adults aren't as mean as kids, and most people care more about your love of a topic than what that topic is. You're not as embarrassing as you think you are, actually you're not embarrassing at all.

You need to stop caring so much what people think of you. The right people will match your enthusiasm and value the things you have to say. If you asked your friends I'm sure they'd say they love hearing you talk. I know I do.

#ghoul speaks #oc: bee #ghoul uquiz

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spnscripthunt · 6 months

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Nexstar‘s third-quarter earnings reflected the soft TV advertising market, with political ad revenue down 85 percent from last year, and so-called “core” advertising revenue down 2.3 percent.

Similarly, The CW keeps losing money for the broadcast TV giant, though its losses continue to narrow quarter by quarter. The CW lost $60 million in Q3, down from $78 million last quarter.

Overall in Q3, Nexstar had revenue of $1.1 billion (down 10.8 percent from a year ago), and net income of $8 million, down more than 97 percent from a year ago, reflecting the robust political ad market in Q3 of last year.

In a comment, Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said that reduced losses at The CW, ad spending for the 2024 presidential election, and an “improving economic environment” should turbocharge the company’s earnings over the coming months.

He also argued that the Disney-Charter deal and changing media environment could work to Nexstar’s benefit.

“Broadcast stations have the most watched television content, and we remain undercompensated for that viewership,” Sook said. “With our significant audience reach, the broadcast model remains the only and best way to maximize viewership – something that broadcast networks and sports organizations understand. We believe that recent changes in the television ecosystem brought on by the Charter/Disney agreement will have a further positive impact on our model by creating stability in our subscriber base and freeing up programming spend from derivative cable networks to be reallocated to premium content like ours. The terms of our recent distribution and affiliation agreements reflect this viewpoint and we are very pleased with the outcome.”

The CW, which Nexstar acquired last year, has been reprogramming its lineup, ordering fewer expensive scripted shows, and cutting deals for more unscripted and sports fare, including a deal with the WWE for NXT this week.

The company also picked up some college sports rights, NASCAR Xfinity Cup rights, and LIV Golf rights, among others.

#the cw #nexstar #*pretends to be shocked*#admin: lets-steal-an-archive

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76th-biannual-cock-festival · 2 years

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This has been a big fucking year for voice actors and acknowledgement of how rampant their mistreatment has been for years. Between Crunchyroll being put on blast, Bayonetta's voice actress being vividly underpaid, disrespected, and recast for it, Charles Martinet being edged out of the role of Mario for clout and attention by a talentless Hollywood actor who sincerely is not even trying, and now Roosterteeth being caught red-handed fucking over practically every one of their voice actors (and staff) for YEARS continuously through low pay, crunch, and intense discrimination. Voice actors deserve respect and have been getting the shit end of the stick for too long. I hope all of this is a wake up call for the whole field and gets people to recognize the degree to which voice actors are wildly underappreciated and undercompensated. The companies employing and exploiting them can rot.

#rwby #roosterteeth #rwde #charles martinet #mario #hideki kamiya #bayonetta #crunchyroll #chris pratt #hate having to use this many tags but just this month ALONE has been insane #so fucking tired of this shit

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rearranging-deck-chairs · 9 months

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did they have 13 do anything like this? they shouldve had 13 do stuff like this

#someones like 'overcompensating?' and shes like aCTUALLY im compensating JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT thankyouverymuch #if anything im UNDERcompensating #ryan in the background mouthing: undercompensating?#look i think it's dumb and not particularly funny when men do it #when women do it however #i contain multitudes #thats untrodden ground #ever seen the biggest fragilest ego in the universe been worn by a WOMAN? thought so #she couldve been a bit more of a loser is all im saying #rights for this loser when hes a girl also #that post thats going around abt how the doctors typical flaws dont work well with 13 bc shes a woman?#im not smart enough to tell if thats true but #maybe tey shouldve like just switched some flaws or smth so it evens out and theyre still a loser #i mean 13 is still a loser but like in serious ways mostly #or maybe im just overinvested Not an impossiblity in fact a likelihood nigh Certainty #i guess 'i think his was a bit bigger actually' maybe counts but she didnt even respond to that one so

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ntrlily · 16 days

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reading about If I Pay Thee Not In Gold and apparently Piers Anthony went on a rant about being undercompensated and said something to the effect of "You can't tell me Mercedes Lackey's contribution is worth 100 times what mine is" and it's like

i mean. well.

it probably like. is. sorry dude.

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historyhermann · 9 months

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Job creep among fictional librarians

In her 2018 In the Library with the Lead Pipe article, "Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves," Fobazi Ettarh writes about job creep. She defines it as subtle and slow expansion of job duties not recognized by the organization or their supervisors. Since librarians are often expected to place their duties and place the profession above their own interests, leading job creep to become common. This manifests itself in employees doing more but having less time to accomplish their tasks. As a result, employees who can't do more than what is in the job description are seen as not doing the minimum and their managed may believe they are not committed to the organization or its mission if the extra tasks aren't completed. This interconnects with the idea of librarianship as a religious calling, with some asked to do "dangerous emotional and physical labor" without getting the support or tools provided to other professions who do those duties.

Originally published on Pop Culture Library Review on August 3, 2023.

Job creep is more than employees being pressured to "deliver more than the normal requirements of their jobs" and tied to undercompensation, part of a twin phenomenon in librarianship. It is interconnected to vocational awe, meaning that assumptions, values, and ideas librarians have about the profession or themselves. This results in the beliefs that libraries, as institutions, are "inherently good and sacred, and therefore beyond critique" as Ettarh puts it. Such job creep is inherent in librarianship due to self-sacrificing and service-oriented workplaces, as noted by Ettarh.

In terms of libraries this means librarians are "undertaking jobs they might not have trained for" like giving tax help or even administering Narcan to people who have overdosed. In terms of fictional librarians, I struggled a little to find those who do more than what is expected. One example, could be, perhaps, Myne/Main in Ascendance of a Bookworm. Although she is dedicated to becoming a pioneer of the printing press in this world, she becomes a priest in order to work in the library, so she can be a librarian who helps people. It was much more than she "signed up for", just as it is with librarians who deliver Narcan but never signed up for such a task. [1]

On the other side are characters like Kaisa in Hilda. As she is a librarian first, and witch second, perhaps she believes as some librarians do, that librarians are responsible for the safety of "patrons who come inside your library doors". In the case of Kaisa, she takes this responsibility far through her magic. She makes sure Hilda and Frida are ok, and safe. At the same time, Hilda and Frida help her get out of the void and make sure all of them aren't lost for eternity. The Trolberg library probably doesn't have active-shooter response training, like some libraries, but that doesn't matter because there are witches, who work below the library, or in the library itself, like Kaisa. She undoubtedly recognizes that there are other ways to protect patrons "besides having a gun and going blasting" as some librarians have stated.

There are other librarians who do more than expected. Take Clara Rhone in Welcome to the Wayne. She provides the protagonists with "critical information" and recognizes there are "different pathways to attaining information." She also realizes, to some degree, the role of librarians to help people "meet their informational needs." [3] Without her help, Ansi, Olly, and Sarah would have never found the mysteries, and secrets, of the Wayne apartment building. If the library she works, the Stanza, had never been there, it could have never been a sanctuary from those who were chasing them. It would have never been a place to give them the information they needed for their journeys. Without Clara, the protagonists would have not succeeded in their goals, not for a second. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

Clara is not alone. One librarian who appears to do much more than they bargained for is the unnamed and uncredited librarian in an episode of We Bare Bears. Possibly voiced by Ashly Burch, [4] this librarian undoubtedly encountered homeless and semi-homeless library patrons. This is because she is working in a library somewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, as I wrote about back in May. This librarian appears to let the protagonists sleep the night over at the library, which is unique, considering that some librarians, at least in anime, are shown sleeping at the information desk, which will be the subject of a post two weeks from now. This librarian likely believes that you have to, as some librarians argued, "do the job that’s actually there, not the one that exists in your head", realizing the importance of librarians in serving the community in whatever way possible.

On the other hand, this librarian likely is not being supported by any managers or mentors telling her that burnout, as is empathy fatigue, a big problem, and to not be so hard on herself. Even so, I hope that she believes that she can't "solve all the problems" and that it isn't her responsibility to leave "work at work." [5] Hopefully she is like those librarians who take vacations, if she has paid time off, which is hopefully provided by her library, when needed, and relax.

There were other stories of librarians having trauma from their experiences, even if they loved "providing a service to underserved people". Maybe they believed that society "needs an overhaul for how we treat people" like one librarian. [6] In the past, I've written about a papermaster (Anita) in R.O.D. the TV who was traumatized by the burning of books, which scarred her for life. Learning that one of the protagonists, Yomiko Readman, was behind the act (because her powers got out of control), ruined her. I've also noted that an action of a librarian, Wan Shi Tong (voiced by Héctor Elizondo), caused Korra, a protagonist of Legend of Korra to be even more traumatized that she already was previously in the series.

More than the aforementioned characters is Amity Blight (voiced by Mae Whitman). She is a lesbian who is in a relationship with another protagonist, and she directly experiences trauma, something which is at the core of The Owl House, as I noted in an article last year. As some reviewers have argued, Luz becomes a revelation that Luz needs, even if she has to confront trauma and "move away from those in her life who are only capable of hurt." This also involves going at trauma head-on and realizing it doesn't control her anymore. [7] At the same time, Amity gets fired from her job at the library, in the episode "Through the Looking Glass Ruins." Although she gets her job back, some have argued that getting fired can be an "extremely traumatic experience". It can also come with depression, anger, and resentment, although those feelings can fade over time. Some have even argued that getting fired is a form of "abandonment trauma" and can be tragic, especially for those who feel they are fired for no reason. It can also lead to self-defeating thoughts and distress of some kind. [8]

In the case of Amity, she undoubtedly feels distressed about the whole thing, considering she got the job and her own study room in the library. However she recognizes that her boss, Malphas (voiced by Fred Tatasicore) can be nice at times, but would also feed her, and Luz, to bookworms if they were caught in the forbidden section. Despite this, she endeavors to help Luz, even though this puts her job on the line!

This brings me to other librarians. Some have argued that although those in library school don't "ever teach everyone everything they might need to know" and it becomes impractical to believe that students can be taught "all the dimensions of their jobs." These same librarians argue that while certain things aren't included in library classes, "curriculum- and program-level changes are difficult." One person who would likely recognize this is Mo Testa in Dykes to Watch Out For. She is a graduate from library school dedicated to social justice, even rejecting a job because the previous librarian disagreed with the Patriot Act and left. She clearly sees the library as the "temple to the written word", connecting with what I have earlier about libraries as being like temples, in Japan and beyond.

She is also a lesbian and a feminist. At the same time, she is a reference librarian, is a White female who wears glasses, and is passionate about her beliefs. This undoubtedly translates into her work as a librarian and that stands against stereotypes in more ways than one.

There are librarians who describe job/mission creep as a big problem in librarianship, with "other duties as assigned" becoming a bigger part of your job. Then, you are seen as doing "less than" others when your colleagues do the extra work. These same librarians reject the idea librarians can solve community problems or be social workers when trauma counseling doesn't exist, and supplant the jobs of social workers or medical professionals. Such librarians would also argue against being "stretched thin" by trying to be librarians, social workers, mental health professionals, and more all at the same time, setting a bad precedent, instead of just being information specialists. [10]

I tend to sympathize with this view the most, as a person who once countered a now library consultant (then manager) who I called "Justin the librarian." I wrote, back in 2019, something I still agree with, that it is clearly ignorant to say that librarians do "everything" for every community member. Instead, librarians should do what they can, but never try to be "everything". That would, as I wrote at the time, undoubtedly stretch their personal capacities and the institutions themselves, weakening the profession, even as librarians work to serve patrons from all walks of life.

While characters like Doctor Oldham, who is an old "sage" and a medical doctor, on the Gargantia inter-locking fleet in Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, would fulfill what the previous librarian I summarized would completely oppose, others are different. I would believe that Lydia Lovely in Horrid Henry, Mira and Sahil in Mira, Royal Detective, would not do more than what is assigned. Even Ms. Herrera, who is possibly Latine, in Archie's Weird Mysteries would likely not go beyond what was assigned to her. She does help Archie, an often patron. On the other hand, she may be a bit stretched thin, but that would only be because the library seems to be understaffed and she has a lot on her plate as a result. Hopefully she is well-compensated.

Notes

[1] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Chera Kowalski, Assistant to the Chief of Staff Free Library of Philadelphia in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019.

[2] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Tom Rink, Instructor of Library Services at Northeastern State University in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019.

[3] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Homa Naficy, Chief Adult Learning Officer at Hartford (Conn.) Public Library in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019.

[4] After listening to various video clips of Ashly Burch, Demtri Martin, and Philece Sampler, all of whom were credited with "additional voices", I think the closest to this is Ashly Burch, but I could be completely wrong, and it could be Demtri Martin.

[5] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Graham Tedesco-Blair Adult Services Librarian at Newark (N.Y.) Public Library in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019.

[6] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Amanda Oliver, MFA Student at University of California–Riverside who formerly worked in libraries in the Washington, D.C. area and presumably D.C. Public Library in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019. Also see: Oliver, Amanda. "Working as a librarian gave me post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms," Los Angeles Times, Apr. 19, 2019.

[7] King, Jade. "The Owl House Is Showing Young Viewers The Necessity Of Queer Rebellion." TheGamer, Jun. 21, 2021.

[8] "Trauma From Being Fired: How to Get Over It and Move On." An Overviews Of Societal And Workplace Issues And their solution, Oct. 3, 2021; Anderson, Susan. "FIRED FROM A JOB: A Silent Form of Abandonment Trauma," AbandonmentRecovery.com, Sept. 12, 2014; Hamdi, Awatef. "How to Get Over from Trauma of Getting Fired for No Reason," fratres, 2021; Carmichael, Ava. "Can Being Fired from a Job Cause PTSD?" Ava Carmichael's website, accessed June 24, 2022; Carter, Sherri Bourg. "Seven Things to Avoid After Being Fired." Psychology Today, Aug. 18, 2011.

[9] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Nicole A. Cooke, Associate Professor and MS/LIS Program Director, School of Information Sciences, at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019.

[10] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Fobazi Ettarh, Undergraduate Success Librarian, Rutgers University–Newark (N.J.) in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019.

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short-and-ugly · 10 months

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would 200 dollars be enough for some head-sized skoodge and zim plushies. squishy. i draw out the designs and send them over for someone who is capable of making them. would that be undercompensating or would that be a good amount.

#christmas gift for me #no #yes #maybe #gosh

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azrael-writes · 11 months

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Father Winter

I stand before the precipice,

Below my window's glare,

For all that ice— an edifice—

A lie beyond compare

Temporary, restless

Beneath my watchful gaze,

Undercompensate regardless,

And go my merry way

I feel the aching hunger,

That maw beneath my feet,

For he's come again— that monger—

To beg for ashen meat

Delicate, somber

Beware it's mourning cry,

As Winter always suffers

And bleeds its victims dry.

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animehouse-moe · 9 months

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The Future of Anime Staff: A Foggy Forecast

This is a topic that I've really wanted to talk about for quite some time, and I was sat around thinking about what it was that I wanted to post today. So I figured screw it, I'll write that post now.

The plain and simple is that the anime industry is changing at a far quicker pace than it used to. Not that this change is new, but that it's happening faster. Think of the industry as a candle. Rather than a different candle being used, our candle is just burning far faster than it was. And I'd love to dive into the details of that.

So, a faster pace of change, how can you say that? Well, the easiest marker is the creation of new animation studios from anime veterans. I mean, WIT was formed from Production I.G veterans, and Mappa came from Madhouse. And from there, Production I.G came from Tatsunoko Production, and Madhouse came from Mushi Production.

But we haven't stopped at this level yet, rather than going one further back, we're going on further forward. From WIT studios sprung Kafka, and from Mappa we have E&H Production. To help illustrate what I'm about to explain, please take a look at this (poorly made) graphic.

I think what's most apparent is the gaps in time between the formation of studios. Taking the Mushi Production side as an example, Mushi Pro was founded in 1961 while Madhouse was founded in 1972, making for a difference of just 11 years. Madhouse to Mappa is a far larger gap though at nearly 40 years. From there, it's a measly 10 years to the formation of E&H Production.

Looking at the Tatsunoko side, the studio was founded in 1962 while Production I.G appeared in 1987, making for a difference of 25 years. From there, WIT is founded in 2012 making for a difference of once again 25 years. Following WIT however, Kafka appears after only 8 years of WIT as a studio.

Overall, the numbers speak somewhat for themselves in broader strokes to how the anime industry has grown and changed. Though there was a reasonable era in the industry of stability and maintainable growth, in recent years that growth has been less sustainable.

More series are being produced, more staff members are unsatisfied with their working conditions, and so new studios are created. Now, there's a totally different conversation to be had about why new studios is the way for veterans to find creative freedom and less oppressive schedules, but that devolves into how producers view and interact with the anime industry.

Anyways, the point is that unsatisfied workers are more and more common, and branch and child studios appear more and more frequently. Just look at how BUGS FILMS spits a bit of fire at their parent company OLM via some little details in Zom 100.

So, to the heart of the issue: what the hell does this have to do with the title? Well, great question me! The point is this: veteran staff are no longer remaining veteran staff for the required amount of time. You're not seeing high level staff members stick around with specific companies for longer periods of time. Similarly, we've seen production companies catapult the number of anime series licensed in a year well into the stratosphere, shown via this information from all the way back in 2021 about Kadokawa licensing 40 series a year until 2023.

So where does all this go, where does it all lead? Two roads. The first, overworked and undercompensated staff that will put out subpar and error-riddled work due to crunch times and other issues. The second, constant staff movement that erases the middle of the hierarchy.

If anime production is expressed in tiers you'd have three of them. The highest tier being directors, series composers, etc. etc. The next tier would be episode directors, script writers, assistant directors, and whatnot. The bottom tier would be LO, In-between, and even key animation.

Of course, you can't go from bottom tier to top tier in one go, and each tier used to require specific experience and ability. You'd need reasonable experience with episode direction to transition to lead director, sufficient experience with key animation to move to animation direction, a number of years with a given studio, etc etc.

The issue that this ridiculously expanded production produces is, simply put (as I did before), the erasure of the middle tier and the transition requirements to the top tier. A nasty side effect is the disappearance of studio employees as freelance work dominates, and as @444lpblue has effectively put, the blurring of lines in regards to studio style. More on that later, lets look at some examples of the former points first.

Shota Goshozono is the lead director for Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2. They've also only been in the industry for 8 years, and have a total of 5 episode direction credits prior to JJK S2. And Mappa shows through this decision how not to handle a new director.

Yes, you read that correctly. A total of 8 years in the business, and only a grand total of 5 episode direction credits prior to JJK S2. Even more interestingly is that their career starts with and is fleshed out at A-1 Pictures. They did some key animation on Mob Psycho, and some other work on the Cloverworks end of FGO stuff, capping off their freelance work with two episodes of Ousama Ranking before arriving at Mappa with JJK S1.

Yes, once more, you read that correctly. Gosso's first experience with Mappa was in 2021, and in 2023, after a total of 3 episodes directed under the studio, they're in the lead seat for Jujutsu Kaisen.

I think it's an understatement to say that it's a bit of a shocking development. I mean, to fill the shoes of Park it's a pretty ludicrous decision. Park is pretty well as close to Mappa royalty (even though they've only directed a total of 3 series) as you'll come across as they begin their tenure with the studio in 2014 working on Terror In Resonance. Just to sort of emphasize for context: Park started working with Mappa a year before Goshozono appears in the anime industry.

If Gosso and JJK is what not to do with first-time directors, Saitou and Bocchi The Rock is absolutely what to do with them.

Keiichirou Saitou, a person in a similar situation to Gosso, but producing a definitively different result. Just how do they do it?

Before I answer my own question once more, just a brief history of Saitou. They have a total of 7 episode direction credits prior to Bocchi The Rock, and started in the industry back in 2015, also like Gosso.

The massive difference though is where those credits lie and what they are. Cloverworks is a relatively new studio, so rather looking at productions under the same studio, it's more effective to look at staff that overlap with the core of Cloverworks. Most notably this includes the director of Akebi's Sailor Uniform as well as the assistant director for Spy x Family. But more than that is the tenure of these staff members. Being able to work under Shingo Natsume on not one, but two projects is definitely the highlight of Saitou's early work and undoubtedly the source of a great deal of their visual style.

So if Saitou has Nastume, and Gosso has Park, where's the real difference? Well, it's more a subjective opinion, but my belief is the breadth of productions that Saitou has been credited on. Not so much purely in terms of genre and whatnot, but more the number of unique series and how they're spread out. While it's only 2 more episodes directed than Gosso, they've directed on one more series than them, and have their direction credits spread from 2017 into 2021 (5 years total). Meanwhile, Gosso's episode direction credits take place within the span of 2 years.

And that's the very crux of my argument. Saitou has had 3 more years to refine and explore their creative direction under quality staff members. Gosso had less than half the time to do the same thing. And with that inexperience in mind, Gosso leads a larger and more established production with the goal of filling some very big shoes. Bocchi The Rock and Saitou were afforded the benefit of noticeably more freedoms and concessions in regards to production and approach than Gosso and JJK, and that just continues to play into the challenges and successes faced by each.

Gosso and Saitou clearly come from similar backgrounds. Starting their careers around the same time, having a home-base/origin studio in the form of A-1/Madhouse respectively, and have had big breaks early on in their careers. Let me provide a totally different example now.

Mori Hirotaka, arguably the most infamous director of 2023, and the direct rival to Keiichirou Saitou's electric work on Bocchi The Rock. A veritable master of the craft, who presents a different story altogether.

Hirotaka is a far more interesting staff member to take a look at, because they jumped into the industry headfirst with their first credits being assistant episode direction One Piece (for a total of 17 episodes, no less).

From the moment Hirotaka appears in the industry, their focus is on episode direction and storyboarding. Though they originate with Toei, Hirotaka expands their reach to incorporate a trio with the former studio alongside Production I.G and A-1 pictures.

In terms of hard numbers though, they're credited with episode direction for 9 episodes (though one's an opening) across 8 unique series.

I don't think I really need to say it, but I will anyways. Hirotaka is a perfect example of my opinion/argument that time and breadth is the best possible way to encourage growth and exploration of creative foundations and the ability to effectively apply them to various projects. Having those assistant credits just doubles down on the sentiment.

But how about something more interesting? I mentioned Production I.G earlier in the studios that Hirotaka has worked with extensively. Hirotaka started with them in 2014 where they directed the second opening for the first season of Haikyuu!! before moving on to several other projects. Nearly a decade of experience and work under Production I.G. Compare that to Gosso who only has a single Mappa series prior to JJK S2, and Saitou who's a first time Cloverworks staff member.

This is where we tie back in to the freelance work. It took Hirotaka a decade to get the role of a lead director with production I.G, it took Park six years. Saitou got their lead director role with a first-time studio, before they got their lead role with Madhouse. Gosso worked on 3 episodes with Mappa before getting their lead role with them for JJK S2.

Though there's very little time separating these staff members, the idea of a "core" studio remains apparent with Hirotaka and Park, and does not exist with Saitou and Gosso. And it's something you can see happen consistently within this current climate for animation, especially with more "low level" things like key animators.

Let's circle back to get a better look at the bigger picture.

The nature of freelancing in the current industry outlook is to promote swift movement between studios and projects. This means that staff members have more freedom to take on different projects and the like, but at the same time means that without strong industry connections, they lack a foundational team that will provide them with an environment to grow and improve within. This means that we see more and more people placed in key roles where they don't have the keys to success and the ability to effectively manage it.

Great examples of this that are tied back into the comment on new studios appearing is the struggles faced by both Kafka and BUGS FILMS in their initial solo projects. Both are faced with the reality that they don't have experience managing at the scale that they are at, and in their own ways have (and are) struggling to meet expectations. Koichi Naruse is the CEO of Kafka, but has only been in the industry since 2017, and worked on a total of 5 series before moving on to lead Kafka. A similar story can be said of the situation that BUGS FILMS finds themselves in. Not that experience automatically equates to quality and ability, but the more time in industry the better understood it is.

At the end of the day, it's not something easily avoidable. Companies and individuals will struggle, and they will find their place amongst it all.

It's either work under an oppressive schedule in a not-so-great workplace, or job hop. At the end of it, the greats will stay great. Gosso will find their place in it, and Saitou will continue to try and match their initial work. It's just, sort of an aggravating thing to experience as an outsider when the solution is to tone down the number of series produced a year, and unionize all the staff so that they can have livable wages and fair and healthy workplaces.

But either way, here we are. And what does the future hold? Well, like the title says, there's not really anyone that knows for sure. It's one of those things that will only make or break at critical mass. I don't know when that will happen, and I doubt know if others will either. All I know for sure is that the rate of change in the industry continues to grow, and it becomes more and more hungry for high level staff to govern the endless flow of content, despite there not being enough. This gives freelancers much more freedom and opportunity but at the cost of further isolation of members of the industry from environments and workplaces that are meant to help them improve and grow as unique creatives.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #mappa #madhouse #呪術廻戦 #bocchi the rock #bocchi the rock!#ぼっち・ざ・ろっく！#heavenly delusion #tengoku daimakyou #天国大魔境 #anime and manga #anime #anime industry #cloverworks #production i.g #wit studio #studio kafka #e&h production

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