#it's such a DISTINCT style that there's really no winning for losing there's no way to adequate mimic the style

[benevolenterrancy]

I know it's not brought up often in the comics, but Cacofonix singing so badly he makes it rain is a joke that i still think is hilarious and adorable

#asterix #asterix and obelix #asterix et obelix #cacofonix #assurancetourix #fulliautomatix #cétautomatix #my art #it might not be clear but that's definitely who's in the little boat coming up to give the bard a wallop #i have a big soft spot for the magic carpet #asterix the gladiator and asterix in britain were our first two that we had for as long as i remember #but asterix and the magic carpet was one of the first that my brother and i bought with our own money and we read it to tatters #anyway i was rereading some asterix comics this weekend and i felt the urge to try to draw this man's ridiculous hair #anyway i have the same problem drawing asterix characters that i do with tintin characters #it's such a DISTINCT style that there's really no winning for losing there's no way to adequate mimic the style

[theggning]

Oh god look she’s talking about Godot again- YEAH I AM, because nobody talks about Godot’s actual strategy and mechanics as a prosecutor!

Because in canon he only does 4 cases (4 of which he loses and one of which... ahem) Godot has the reputation of being a “bad” prosecutor or inept at his job. But I call bullshit! Players are just used to 2 games where every prosecutor is either Manfred Von Karma or a disciple of his (Payne who??). Godot’s prosecution style is totally unique, and very distinct in ways that make him an absolutely perfect “final boss” prosecutor for the original trilogy.

- Chiefly, and unlike the VK prosecutor club, Godot does not care about winning. Sure, he doesn’t want to lose, but it has nothing to do with his “record.” Though he states his desire to defeat Phoenix, he later specifies he’s actually “testing” him and his worthiness to the legal legacy he’s inherited. And for all the flack Godot gets for his winless record, Phoenix really lucked out in all of these cases. Godot actually would have won State vs. DeLite 1, State vs. DeLite 2, and State vs. Byrde had one witness in each not made a stupid mistake at the finish line.

- To that point, and often unacknowledged, there is a specific moment in each case where Godot stops arguing his case and either gives leeway to or actually assists the defense. (EX: He helps verbally reason out Phoenix’s arguments, agrees to Mia’s request to cross-examine Atmey, personally subpoenas and “tames” Furio Tigre, etc.) This usually comes once it’s been proven beyond a doubt that Phoenix’s client is innocent. Godot remains an unrelenting asshole to Phoenix personally and eggs him on about how competently he can prove his point, but he’s clearly not looking to send innocents to jail to stick it to him.

(Hmm. Who else cares about a client’s guilt or innocence and the truth ahead of “winning...”)

- He infamously has never prosecuted a case before 3-2, but multiple characters remark that he’s obviously not an amateur in the courtroom. Gumshoe in particular notes that Godot has skill and confidence to back up his arrogance (via a series of Top Gun jokes) and he’s not just a rookie floundering around behind the bench.

- Also unlike the VK prosecutor club, Godot mostly plays fair. He doesn’t prep or coach witnesses, doesn’t instruct them to lie. He never does anything as cheap as the infamous “updated autopsy report,” or Franziska’s blatantly illegal detention room photo stunt from 2-2. Obviously there’s a few below-the-belt moments (and he clearly enjoys when he can catch Phoenix flatfooted) but those are mostly the result of this goofball legal system being massively stacked for the prosecution anyway.

- The one questionable quirk of his is the fact he tends to take evidence from the crime scene. In 3-2, he kept DeMasque’s brooch to himself without telling the police he’d found it. Gumshoe and the Judge are both appalled at this but Godot thinks nothing of it, remarking that it’s a “rule” of his that “the safest place for evidence is in my pocket.”

(Hmm, which other legal professional we know tends to pocket evidence from the crime scene without telling the police? And what job does he have?)

- Godot’s style with his witnesses is completely different than the other prosecutors. Rather than coaching them or telling them what and what not to say, he tends to let them speak their minds on the stand. For all his cryptic douchebaggery he does have a way with people, keeping his cool with hostile witnesses (Tigre) and building friendly rapport with others (Ron and Kudo especially come to mind here.) 

(Hmmm, which other legal professional is used to building a strong rapport and trusting a witness to give testimony...?)

- He’s a world class bullshitter. Like even putting aside the unparseable metaphors and non sequiturs, when his back’s against the wall he throws out some absolutely wild arguments, blatantly ridiculous notions, whatever he can think of, trying to make it stick until the evidence decisively rips it down. The whole mirror testimony in 3-3 is a prime example of this... just blatantly stupid, but he allows it because it forces Phoenix to prove something.

(Hmmm... which other legal professional do we know is a constant bullshitter, desperately throwing outrageous theories to see what sticks...?) 

Notice a pattern at all?

This incredibly funny post by @franbamm and @palant1r is 100% accurate and is one of the best takes I’ve ever seen. Why does Godot’s prosecution feel so strange, so off? Because he prosecutes like a defense attorney. Not just any defense attorney either, but a certain defense attorney, the protege of his own protege, the man he crawled back from hell to do battle with. He’s the best possible “final boss” prosecutor for Phoenix because he’s his foil, both characterization and courtroom-wise.

In order to truly prove himself, Phoenix will have to proverbially beat himself: an inwardly honorable but near-incoherent bullshitting weirdo, constantly flying by the seat of his pants.

#ace attorney #ace attorney meta #godot #phoenix wright #godot's style is weird but it all clicks when you realize why it's weird #I LEARNED IT FROM YOU TRITE #or i guess it's indirectly the other way around huh #that post is great though #the two astronauts with a rock thing is just quintessential 100% pure godot #i fucking love this guy

[stoopid-turtle]

moar made-up thoughts about dd's thoughts

Some of the replies on my previous post left me re-evaluating, and I don't know that I was incredibly effective at what I meant to communicate (honestly, that is really frustrating for me). So I just want to clarify and maybe add some context.

I assume it goes without saying that everybody in turtleland adores dd and gg and that we think dd is a sweetie-pie (I can't conceive of being a turtle without that belief). And as a group, dd and gg's sweet moments get highlighted a lot, which I adore. These posts I have on dd are more about stuff I don't see discussed quite as much and they're not meant to encapsulate all that dd is because, wow that's a lot. For the previous post, I'd been thinking a lot about dd's mentality and how he approaches things, as seen in SDC, because his captaining style seems really distinct in a way I wanted to dig into.

Honestly, we've known dd for years at this point, and he's grown and changed throughout that time. He's been influenced by gg and by other friends and mentors. And like most people, how he acts is variable and dependent on context. 

I do think dd was sometimes thoughtless when younger, but I don't think that's anything out of the ordinary for his age at the time, and I think he's grown out of it. In any case, it was never mean-spirited. Still, I think the way he expresses his feelings is pretty reserved and that he's not incredibly prone to sentimental gestures, like the gifts he sent Yang Kai. I think he can be thoughtful in that he's responsive when people indicate what they want, but I don't think he's the type to think up a gift idea on his own. Given that Yang Kai actually knows the guy and said as such, I don't think it's too far off-base to say that. I honestly think he probably gets help from gg with that sort of stuff, and he's likely to have gotten better at it as a result. But dd has never struck me as a sentimental guy.

(though with the captain gifts, I have no idea the logistics of how those worked, and I suspect, like most things on reality shows, that production assistants helped with suggestions and such)

I think he's a fantastic captain! I don't think I said that, because it's one of those things I assume goes without saying, especially as it's often said as such in turtledom. I think even back to Produce 101 when he was mentoring the young girls who were fawning over him. He did the cutesy dance with them to support them, even though he hates being cutesy (and bless him for it. That dance is a gift (and led to cute bts moments of gg poking fun at dd)). He's passionate about dance and he's passionate about helping other people improve (and learning from others). Dancers want to join his team because of that passion, and because dd just has a natural talent for it that is incredibly inspiring.

But he does like winning. He explicitly said as much himself. And that one episode I highlighted where his team lost is pretty tense. The rehearsals were tense, the performance was tense, dd's response to everything was tense. During one round, his team only gets 4 votes compared to, like 40 for the other team. I can't recall the score ever being so lopsided, especially when the losing team is full of top-tier dancers.

And dd's behavior then is incredibly relatable to me. He laughs about it, joking about how he only got 4 votes. But it's the laugh you get when you're really unhappy and kinda embarrassed but trying to keep a good, positive face on things (or at least, that's a strategy I have for those moments, and given dd's switch to serious-times when he's doing the team debrief, I think he's somewhat similar). 

And dd recovers well. He has a debrief with his team. He talks to Han Geng about what his team is lacking (they specifically talk about his team performance not being thematic like the others) and realizes they need a choreographer to pull everything together and give them direction. And the very first round of recruitment, he gets a choreographer for them. 

I don't think dd only likes winning. The reference to "not here to make friends" thing was a bit of rhetorical exaggeration for fun. Like I noted, he makes friends. He learns a lot and he mentors a lot, and that's definitely a big part of the draw for SDC for him. And while dd never intentionally cultivates a family atmosphere (as opposed to the other captains who explicitly tell their team that they're like a family), they come together like a family anyway. But he still likes winning, and I think he has trouble enjoying everything else as much if he's not winning. 

It's not a bad thing to be competitive like that (I once got into a fight with my wife because I kept losing in thumb wars against her. I personally know when competitiveness becomes stupid). DD has a passionate drive to succeed. This is how he's managed to excel at basically everything he tries (except cooking). I think way back to the auditions in SDC 3, when dd impresses his group by being savvy about street dance gestures (like the plagiarism gesture) and by knowing how to appeal to dancers (by having them warm up with some freestyling). He quickly overcomes any doubts the dancers have based on his idol background by being genuine, sincere, and passionate and that's why people want to join his team.

 *rereads all this* Hmmmm...feedback and replies are good. This is a better post.

Also, this judge is the one who always says nice things about dd. He's said at one point that dd has an extraordinary natural talent for dance even among professional dancers. He's right and he should say it. Best judge. A+ I hope they keep bringing him on.

#bjyx #yizhan #in this house we use a lot of words #the first photo i put in this tumblr and it's some random white dude wtf me #dd would def roll his eyes at alla this #still an honor

[tokyogruel]

Hi, I wanted to ask a quick Milgram question! I saw your theory about Shidou lying about his family, and thought it was really cool :D I'm just having a hard time thinking the project would have characters lie in those interrogation-style questions -- from a writing standpoint, the videos should be looser because they're meant to be debated/studied, but you'd lose your audience credibility if everything was up for debate. It's a really interesting idea, so I was just wondering your thoughts on how/when the characters can lie 👀

hi there, thank you so much for this ask! ive been sitting on this theory for a few weeks, and these interrogation questions have only given me more fuel to my theory fire, so to speak lol.

if im being honest, i think the interrogation questions (as well as the voice dramas) are the only place prisoners CAN outright lie, as it has been stated that prisoners cant straight up lie in their music videos- since theyre extracted straight from their subconcious.

This, however, does not mean the characters are unable to obscure the truth… if they’re sneaky (or focusing on he wrong aspect of their crime, like mahiru)

and of course, what good is a character breakdown from me, if i neglect to talk about both sides of the coin?

so i present to you, yes you dear anon, my analysis of mahiru shiina and shidou kirisaki:

LOVE, LYING, AND INTENT TO KILL: 005 and 006

part one...

a quick disclaimer before we begin: i believe shidou has good intent behind his lies, but he is intentionally obscuring his crime, or misleading us on what his crime was in order to win an innocent verdict also, i apologize if this is way too long, rambly, and if i go on too many tangents. this theory has been eating me alive for weeks

this theory is also heavily supported by this post by @milgrammatical explaining how they believe the MILGRAM extraction process works

if you have the chance, please click the link and reblog the original post! however for this breakdown ill provide a screenshot:

now, to begin this post, i would like to start off by providing more evidence that this is, indeed, how the extraction process works.

to do so, i will use mahiru's first and second MV and VD, as well as shidous second MV and VD

PART ONE: interrogation to extraction

mv. 1 this is how to be in love with you

just before mahiru's first extraction, she makes it a clear point that love is dear to her, in fact it's Everything to her. her video is then titled "This is How to be in Love with You."

mahiru also gets sidetracked at one point during her voice drama, misinterpreting the articles Es has read to relate to articles that she has read: relationship and fashion advice from magazines

because she becomes focused on this idea, and reminisces on the articles she has read in an attempt to be a good girlfriend, Mahirus thoughts shift towards being part of those magazines, inserting herself into the pages that she has learned from in the past. we can assume these advice columns, as well as the accompanying pictures, are being pulled from her long-term memory

please also note how clear these are: her outfits in the first photo appear during the later "days" of her video, theyre consistent. the photos have realistic backgrounds, they are clear, distinct, REAL places that she has been. nothing in her video is obscured, except for her boyfriend. and even then, its because she does not see him as an important aspect of her trial at this point in time. there's one thing that is important to her this time around: love, showing Es who she is as a person, and the events leading up to- and into her relationship

ill be moving on to her second mv, but i cant resist including this fun little tidbit, even if it's just pure coincidence, it tickled me:

mv. 2, daisuke

this one is slightly less straightforward than the previous connection, though i believe it still holds up

to start, the second trial interrogation is where mahiru first starts to acknowledge that she was not the only person in the relationship. she mentions her partner, how they both felt about each other- and she makes it very clear what their relationship was: boyfriend and girlfriend

this is then followed by her mv, where we finally see the man behind the tan jacket in TIHTBILWY, her boyfriend. he is fully fleshed out, his eyes are visible, his style matches that which weve only seen glimpses of in her first MV. he looks unique (in a very.. bland way, but nonetheless recognizable)

his appearance pre-daisuke was also hinted at with this interrogation:

while it may seem unrelated at first glance, you can see there is somewhat of a resemblance between mappi's boyfriend and mikoto- short, brown hair, soft eyes, layered jacket, "the kind of guy they seem to make in a factory" as jackalope would put it. its thin, but its something. at the very least, i cant see any other reason why mahiru would throw mikoto under the bus like this, without knowing him at all.

i dont mean to go on a tangent already, but i would like to note that, despite the comparisons made between mikoto and mappi's boyfriend, they truly do not resemble one another much, and are distinctly different from one another. (this will be important later)

back to the voice drama,

in Love is [Un]dead, Es points out that Mahiru was likely blinded by love, and that the first MV to come from her may have been tainted by it, as they say here:

mahiru also makes a point that she may have been too lovestruck to acknowledge her wrongdoing- even subconsciously.

this winds updirecting the daisuke music video itself, and we IMMEDIATELY see a difference. the opening shot is not of mahiru, like her first MV- instead, front and center, is a very clear shot of her boyfriend hanging by his neck. she is no longer clouded by her ideals of love, and is spitting out the truth, showing us all the ugly sides of her relationship

and yet, we can still see mahiru's original perception of the relationship. there is likely truth behind it as well, a bad relationship can still have it's highs

but there is a key part of this MV that ive also seen people touch on briefly:

the distortion.

mahiru's views of her relationship are warped, it's been that way since trial one. but this is... different. she's suffered head trauma, the "carousel" of her relationship literally becomes warped- though in a way we've never seen before. the song becomes scrambled (though still catchy), and the imagery begins to twist, the video has static cuts, and the bright and shining carousel slowly melts into reality.

in my interpretation, this is because of the damage she has taken from kotoko- a physical impairment, rather than purely mental

but at the end of it all, mahiru has granted us what she has denied (even to herself) in the past: the truth. her relationship was dirty, broken, poisonous

.. to be continued

#milgram #shidou kirisaki #mahiru shiina #milgram theory #creature speaks

[firesign23]

JB Smut Swap 2023 Rec List

The die has called it: I’m here to share 14 fics from the 2023 JB Smut Swap that I particularly loved and think people need to read if they haven’t already. I’m far too indecisive to declare them the best, or rank them, but I try to recommend fics with premises people might not be drawn to or I haven’t seen talked about much, that sort of thing. So here they are, in no particular order:

Look, I had a whole post reccing my gift, Ghost in the Machine and its Coda. But I have to rec it again. It’s emotional and hot and so, so good. Don’t let the warnings deter you on this, it is very much worth a read.

Smoke and Mirrors - I loved, loved, loved the rhythm of this. Kitchen competence, pegging, and a sensory delight 

chains around my demons (wool to brave the seasons) - the worldbuilding in this is just wonderful, and the smut is tender and hot. Forehead touches and laughter and a really compelling world to lose yourself in for 1500 words.

what she'd do to me tonight - bodyguard/politician AU with a secret relationship and playful power dynamics with an underlying respect. What’s not to like? 

Lovely Lady May - another story with a distinctive narrative style, a luscious, rolling rhythm that plays with the roles both Jaime and Brienne fulfil to each other and the wider society they live in. And heaven knows that’s a weakness of mine. 

You Hold Me Together - POST FIGHT CARETAKING! POST FIGHT CARETAKING! POST FIGHT CARETAKING!

Sweater Weather - An atmospheric mod AU with Jaime, Brienne, water, and the bittersweetness of having to co-parent. The sex is totally smoking, but it’s all the ways they make space for each other that really stole my heart

 just crossed swords on the killing floor - I knew I was screwed from the Thomas Crown Affair AU tag, but man. I WAS REALLY SCREWED. The language, the emotions, the steaming hot [redacted]. It is, as of this posting, a WIP but that just means you can read it twice. 😂

Knight Club - I can be real hit and miss with dubcon, but the very harsh gender stuff in this just pulled me in and kept me engrossed. It’s dark, but if that’s your jam it’s 17K of utterly compelling dark 

yes, and - Look, nobody who knows me is surprised this one is on the list. Gentle femdom and mouthy Jaime and well-negotiated kink? Even before the very clever callbacks to canon and the delightful image of Brienne in Regency menswear I was doomed

so all the world can see - If breeding kink is your thing, this is great, and if breeding kink isn’t your thing… well, it’s still great. It’s soft and sweet and feels authentic

What You Want - Jaime in a suit and heels, waiting for Brienne? I love fics that play with gender presentation, and this one was funny and hot so #winning 

Figure It Out - Exes meet at a party, fuck in a bathroom, there’s a mirror, I mean, honestly, that sort of sells itself, doesn’t it? 

I’m cheating here. The exchange had TWO Beauty and the Beast AUs: Certain as the sun includes Brienne as the beast and a quest for revenge, and by fang and claw is a beast!Jaime with some delicious riding of the dubcon line. It was fascinating to see the same story, one that is already woven into canon, told in different ways. So it gets to count as one rec

And so here we are at the end of the list and I’m still dithering and thinking of other stories that could have been chosen. So if these didn’t whet your appetite, make sure to check out the whole collection! 

As ever, many thanks to the @jb-smut-swap team for a wonderful exchange!

#jb smut swap 2023 #jaime x brienne #brienne of tarth #jaime lannister #fic recs #the creativity and skill of this fandom always delights #me

[balkanbitch]

You want to know what I think about almost everyday? How different Natsu and fairy tail as a show would be if Natsu was a girl

Cause like think about. The world of fairy tail (like many anime worlds) is pretty sexist and shitty towards women. Almost every man in the show is a weirdo in one way or another. The world also has high expectations for women and how they should be/look. Sexualizing them at every given moment

Now imagine this little girl coming in to this world who never had to deal with the things like gender/sex (We don't know much about dragon culture but there seems little to no distinction between male and female dragons or differences in society ranking based on gender) now having these weird expectations put on her to act a certain way.

We rarely see any women who even have a similar personality to Natsu but Natsu is cocky and constantly challenging people. Could you imagine a girl trying to that in a world like fairy tail? Like we see other women like Erza do stuff like that but the thing is she has the power to back it up. Season 1/pre show Natsu doesn't, she gets beat by her stronger guildmates all the time. The world is already cruel to the women in it so could you picture how it would be to a women who tries to challenge more powerful opponents and then keeps losing over and over. The men who'd beat in her in combat would probably draw it out just to humiliate and embarrass her and then say stuff like "weak little girl needs to know her place." Or not even acknowledge her like "I'm not fighting a girl" And she would be just so confused cause like why are these people shaming her for her gender? Why don't they respect her like they do other men they beat? Why is she being targeted for something she can't control?

I feel like this would make her much more aggressive/angry than Natsu already is. She would be really violent when she fought, putting everything in every attack just in hopes of winning and being respected like her fellow guildmates/wizard. Over the years she builds a reputation of being brutal and violent in her fights. We don't see many female characters that have a fighting style like Natsu (besides mira and a few others) so it'd be a shock. Many would tell her she needs to tone it down and that she needs to be more elegant when she fights. But she doesn't want to fight like that. She wants to fight like how she was taught. She sees how people who fight like that don't get nearly as much respect as their male counterparts. And She'd do anything for her to be respected, to be praised for someone to see her as strong and capable like Igneel did.

#this doesn't even get in how it would this would change her relationships with her friends and guildmates #i think about this like a lot it's unreal #actually my roman empire #i wrote this instead of sleeping #i literally couldn't sleep i needed to write this #lucy if called a tomboy for sometime raising her voice and sticking up for herself... female Natsu would not stand a chance bro #this is kinda dumb but i can't stop thinking about it #believe of not this is barely a quarter of the stuff i think about when it comes to genderbent Natsu #fairy tail anime #fairy tail natsu #fairy tail #natsu dragneel #natsu #genderbend #i did not check for spelling #dumb ramblings #yall can ignore this #cleaning out my drafts

[quirkwizard]

How would Fat Gum do in the Sports Festival?

You would think he'd suffer during the Obstacle Course, but I think he'd do alright. Fat Gum can be surprisingly quick for his size. And if any gets in his way, he could just suck them up and push them back out. The bots aren't going to be an issue for someone of his bulk, but the tight ropes are certainly going to be a problem. Not unless one snaps and he swings his way across. With the mines, he could just run over them. He'd absorb whatever damage he took and keep on moving. And he would kill it in the Cavalry Battle. He could pull the Fat Bus maneuver and keep his entire team safe in his chest. Better yet, put the headband on him, have him steamroll over every other team, and win by default by capturing everyone else.

As for the fights themselves, I think that he does well in a lot of them. Most of the students rely on physical damage, and none of them can really output damage enough to do anything to him and are more likely to get stuck. And if he wants, he can just unleash it all back on them. So I'm comfortable saying that Tetsutetsu, Kirishima, Iida, Tokoyami, and even Bakugou would lose here. Uraraka and Sero are kind of odd. While Fat Gum is an easy target for their powers given his size and fighting style, I think that he would be too heavy to effectively use their Quirks on him, or any attempts to capture him may just end with them getting stuck. Momo is another odd matchup. She'd have time to build up, but I can't imagine what she'd pull out at this point in the story to take him down.

I'm uncertain how Aoyama's laser would interact with Fat Gum with the absorption, whether the laser would be absorbed or go straight through him, so let's call it a draw. Mina has a pretty distinct advantage here. She's mobile enough to get around Fat Gum, and her acid could burn through whatever fat he has on him. Again, I'm not sure if she'd do that in the first place, and I'm uncertain of how that would interact with him. Izuku's a pretty safe bet since I think whatever "One For All" has could overwhelm Fat Gum or push him out. Shoto and Ibara could easily beat him as well. They can utilize their Quirks in such large quantities that they could incapacitate him by freezing him or tying him up. And Shinso would definitely win. What? Shino's going to ask, and Fat Gum can't not respond to him. That's rude and Fat Gum is way too nice for his own good.

#My Hero Academia #Quirks #Taishiro Toyomitsu #Fat Gum #Fat Absorption #MHA Meta #MHA Theory

[notoneglance]

Why the takoyaki amnesia doppelganger episodes???

So I think we can all agree that this whole plot line in Blade was wild and peak Inoue and definitely a comedic break in between two emotion heavy arcs. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t do anything for the narrative. Despite being a huge departure in tone from the rest of the show, it does actually fit thematically and in terms of character development.

As a refresher, the arc I’m talking about happens in episodes 29 and 30 of Blade where Hajime briefly loses his memory and meets an identical-looking guy who convinces him to switch places for a bit. This guy, Mikami Ryou, is the heir to a takoyaki-making group in fierce competition with a taiyaki group and knows nothing of the Undead.

As silly as this whole premise is, the “prince and the pauper” style identity switch thing is a well-established trope often used to explore a character and their situation, just as it does here in Blade. There are intentional parallels between Ryou’s life and Hajime’s, despite their completely opposite personalities, and by switching them around, this arc both gives us a new lens on Hajime as a person and foreshadows the ending of Blade.

So let’s recap Ryou’s situation: 

He’s the son of the head of an intensely competitive takoyaki-making gang, the Iroha clan, and was raised into this job. He doesn’t seem to have anything against making takoyaki itself—we first see him enthusiastically working at a stand—but he isn’t actually part of his father’s group. In fact, he hates the pressure to be involved in the conflict to the point where he switches lives with some random stranger just to leave it all behind. Part of this is because he is dating Michi, the daughter of the head of a rival taiyaki-making group who also seems a bit distant from her family. Both Ryou and Michi’s fathers discourage them from being together, each believing that their child is being “deceived” by their competitor.

Does any of this sound familiar?

The Battle Fight has way more going on than the simple two sided takoyaki vs taiyaki rivalry, but from the pov of the audience, it can be simplified into an Undead vs Human Kamen Rider fight. The show explicitly draws parallels between the two fights. When Ryou’s father says he wishes that Ryou would join the Iroha clan so that they could “win and survive”, Hajime despite his amnesia is instantly reminded of the Undeads’ motivation to do exactly that. 

Like Ryou, Hajime was raised in this competition but does not particularly want to fight, instead forming a connection with someone on the other side—Kenzaki.

Actually, the whole “win and survive” thing is really interesting. Because of their circumstances, both Ryou’s father and Hajime fully believe that their survival is dependent on winning. It’s a kill or be killed world out there, and even if Hajime is starting to wish that there was some other way, neither of them are willing to let themselves lose. I’ll come back to this point later, because neither actually end up needing to win in order to survive.

Anyway, we have a bunch of similarities between Hajime and Ryou’s situations, but what does that actually tell us about Hajime (other than that he and Kenzaki are in love)?

Well, first off, having those similarities sets up space for a distinct contrast to highlight some aspects of Hajime’s character. The plot going on with the Blade squad and the fake Hajime centers around Hajime’s humanity. In the beginning of episode 29 before Hajime loses his memories, Kotaro accuses him of not having enough human emotion to care about what happens to Shima’s bird Natural. When he is replaced by Ryou, Kotaro thinks that the personality change was due to Hajime taking his words to heart.

These episodes emphasize that Hajime isn’t human and he’s definitely not the friendly and open person that Kotaro seems to want him to be. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing and it doesn’t make him dangerous.

Most of the people besides Kotaro are just confused by Hajime acting so out of character, and Amane actively rejects this false Hajime. Even if Kotaro is happy about Hajime acting differently, he’s an outlier, and probably the only one in the group who has ever really held negative feelings for him.

Just like how Kotaro prefers the new Hajime, Michi initially prefers Hajime to the real Ryou, actively choosing to claim that this imposter is Ryou despite knowing otherwise. Ryou’s father goes along with it too, even after it’s implied that he has also figured out that this man is not his real son. Unlike Ryou, Hajime is focused and strong—a fighter. In the rivalry between the takoyaki and taiyaki groups, Hajime is the one who has the determination to “win and survive”, to fight for the Iroha clan.

We see the opposite on the other side as well, that Ryou is not a fighter. When thrown into a situation where an Undead attacks him, he runs away screaming rather than holding his ground. Which is a perfectly reasonable reaction for a regular human!

The part where the idea that “Hajime is superior to Ryou” to the people in Ryou’s life falls apart is when it comes to the emotional bonds. 

Kotaro might be wrong about Hajime not caring about people in general, but there’s no reason for him to specifically care about the people Ryou loves. When Michi asks the fake Ryou if he loves her, Hajime replies that he doesn’t know what love is, upsetting her. Hajime spends most of this arc confused and not really invested, vaguely going along with the events without particularly asserting his own will, whether others are expecting him to be a takoyaki maker or Michi’s boyfriend. He doesn’t have any real stake in all this drama because he doesn’t actually know them—he’s not their Ryou.

However, things get switched up when Ryou comes back and declares himself as the real Mikami Ryou.

Both Michi and Ryou’s father initially insist that Hajime is the real one, culminating in a takoyaki vs taiyaki bake off competition between the two Ryous, where both characters that previously seemed disinterested become fired up, breaking out of the lover/fighter dichotomy that has thus far been set up.

Despite running away from the fight, despite running away from his life, Ryou does actually care about his girlfriend and father, and he wants them back. He doesn’t actually want to leave them behind or for them to leave him, so when push comes to shove he stands up and puts his whole spirit into the competition in order to get back his life. Later, when an Undead comes to interrupt the competition, Ryou stands his ground this time, risking his life to defend Michi. 

Afterwards, Ryou puts a stop to the fighting between their two families by uniting them through marriage—something that Hajime was never capable of doing despite also almost getting married to Michi—because Ryou is the one that genuinely loves both Michi and his father. And when it comes down to it, they choose the Ryou they know and love over Hajime even if he seemed outwardly better.

Ryou isn’t naturally a fighter, but that’s fine because he can when the situation calls for it, and his reluctance to fight is what allows him to find a solution to this rivalry that benefits everyone rather than just one side.

Meanwhile, Hajime also participates in the “who is the real Ryou” competition not because fighting is just what he does, but because he cares about people in general. 

Even though these are strangers that he has no real personal ties to, Hajime feels a connection with Ryou’s dad and his motto for the clan to “win and survive”. Which makes sense, since it’s basically the whole idea behind the Battle Fight, even if he does not remember it. The first time that Hajime made takoyaki, it was extremely half-hearted, just knocking ingredients over into the pan with a confused frown, but now he is fully putting all of his effort into this competition because of his desire to see the Iroha clan succeed.

When the people he loves are threatened, Ryou acts against his nature to protect them. We don’t see this parallel on Hajime’s end here, since none of the Blade squad are in danger this arc, but we’ve seen it happen so many times before with Hajime saving Amane and Kenzaki and even Kotaro that one time. Even without showing it, by having these parallels, the show reminds us of this aspect of Hajime’s character.

The point of the Ryou/Hajime contrast in these episodes is to show that Hajime is an Undead, a fighter—and that he also is someone who cares about people because these two things are not actually mutually exclusive and in fact tie into each other. 

In the end, the thing that brings Hajime’s memories back is twofold: the memory that he is the 53rd Undead who will cause everything to be destroyed if he wins, and the memory of Amane saying his name.

That is a good set up for the next arc of the show where the other characters find out that Hajime is the Joker and what exactly that entails, and we start seeing more of the conflict in Hajime between his instincts to win and destroy and his desire to live a human life with the people he cares about. Having this more solid understanding of Hajime, of his strengths and shortcomings and the way he fits among the other characters, is important groundwork for the new set of information and conflicts.

But there is one last thing these episodes do, which is to foreshadow the ending of Blade.

The interesting thing about these episodes is the way that the taiyaki/takoyaki rivalry gets resolved: not by one side winning over the other, but by both sides surviving through Ryou and Michi’s marriage.

In Japan, when two people get married, legally one of them is no longer part of their birth family and is instead becomes a part of their spouse’s family. It can be either the husband or wife, though in practice it’s usually the wife that marries into the husband’s family, as it appears that Michi does here. Socially though, marriage can be viewed as more of a merging of two families, as is seen with Michi’s father also calling Ryou his son.

In the end of the show, the Undead/Kamen Rider conflict is resolved in a similar if more tragic fashion. 

There does not have to be a winner to the Battle Fight for both Hajime and the world to survive. Just like how Michi joins Ryou’s family to bring peace, Kenzaki ends up physically changing species into an Undead. Meanwhile Hajime does not physically (or legally) change his status, but he socially becomes human by living among them.

Despite the goofiness of the takoyaki episodes, Kamen Rider Blade as a whole is a more serious show. Their conflict—between the Undead and humans, between the characters and destiny—cannot be so easily resolved. While Michi and Ryou join each other’s families and get to live happily together, Kenzaki and Hajime can only partially trade places as species and are unable to ever see each other again, not really resolving the conflict of the Battle Fight but only putting it on hold.

Still, even if Hajime and Kenzaki are left separated and connected only by the violent demands of fate/God/the Overseer of the Battle Fight, there is a lasting bond between them. It’s not for nothing that the ring designed off their combined character motifs is called “eternal marriage”. 

TL;DR: The takoyaki episodes are important in how they set up Hajime as a character in preparation for the Joker arc and also foreshadow how Hajime and Kenzaki get symbolically married to bring peace

#i’m not saying that these episodes were *the best* way to accomplish these goals #i’m just saying it does contribute to the plot and themes even if the tone is wildly off haha #kamen rider blade #tokusatsu #aikawa hajime #kenzaki kazuma #blade #toshiki inoue #i spent way too long writing this essay #anyway please talk to me about blade i have So Many Thoughts #my post

[lilac-5ky]

Killing Butterflies (Part 6: Save me, Save you)

A/N: No, I haven’t been listening to WJSN on repeat. But you know, this song kinda reminds me of the way reader-chan sees Takasugi-kun and I got inspired! This chapter gets very uhm dark and sad. It's even more angsty than the previous one and it lowkey ends on a cliffhanger, but I feel like with this I've reached the half of this fanfic. The way I see it now, I should be able to wrap this story up within four more chapters so aye, there's that.

Warning: Violence, blood, decapitation and all that jazz. Heavy emotional damage too.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 7

(yes, i mourned a lot in sa arc, but shinsuke in this arc surpassed himself, h o l y s h i t he looked so f i n e)

There needs to be no war for there to be a battlefield, you realized as you paced through the never-ending maze of corridors. A single spark was all it ever took for conflict to arise, turning man against man, or man against Amanto, in this case. Between the vicious space pirates and the terrorists that captured you, there was no discerning friend from foe, no side for you to choose. You didn’t fit in with either. This was never your war to fight.

With every clang of the blade, another body fell beneath your feet, destined to drown in a crimson pool of its own blood. They were all the same. Squirming and cursing across the floor like worms. Even when their lives were coming to an end, even when the light within their darkened orbs was fading away, hatred kept on stirring in them, refusing to be extinguished.

Was this how your eyes also looked?

Other than the pits of fire that delved within, there was something else residing in their pitiful gaze. They were pleading, begging for you to put an end to their agony, yet you couldn’t let your blade be sullied with the blood of another. Once it got a taste of his, there was no going back. Only Takasugi was the one who could sate such vile desire.

You kept on dragging your feet aimlessly without lingering anywhere for too long. You passed more enemies than you could count, encountering skirmish after skirmish, but even so, no one appeared particularly interested in crossing blades with you. If anything, they seemed to be completely unaware of your presence as if you were a ghost; a ghost passing among ghosts to be. Perhaps that’s for the best. No one should be able to stand in your way.

At last, you entered a wider area, presumably the bridge of the vessel. The sound was much louder here and so was the foul scent of blood. This was where the real battle escalated, you noted as you leaned against the banister, glancing down at what appeared to be the majority of the Kiheitai’s manpower.

Some of the swordsmen appeared vaguely familiar, men you’d seen lying around the ship whenever that obnoxious blonde escorted you to the ladies room. A man with broad shoulders and a jagged scar along his chin, another one with fox-like features and ghostly complexion, and then, finally, the teal-haired samurai from the day at the docks.

It was too early for you to judge who was winning and who was losing, let alone from up there, though you could tell that with him on Takasugi’s side, victory was certain. The man possessed a fighting style unlike anything you’d previously seen. Rather than using a katana, he fought with the aid of his shamisen, an instrument of death in his hands.

Every time he tugged at its strings, one deadly crescendo unleashed after the other, a flurry of invisible threads that cut through the bodies of his enemies with unparalleled poise.

The way he fought was cruel. Distinct and masterful, but cruel.

“Shinsuke, did we really need to mix it up with those guys? Brains isn’t the only thing they are lacking, I daresay,” he spoke, his voice crystal clear amidst the clamor.

“You think so? If you ask me they make up for excellent practice dummies.” A voice you knew all too well replied in an amused tone.

Even when your attention was previously monopolized by the man known as Kawakami Bansai, you found taking your eyes off of Takasugi impossible.

Back then and right now, he always shone the brightest in the eye of the cyclone. It was as if he was meant for this, as if his hands were made with the sole purpose of carrying a sword. No such thing as reservation hindered his strikes. One by one, the enemy troops met their demise, mere blocks of tofu for his sword to slice. Still, no slaying seemed enough to quench the insatiable blood thirst in his eye.

You wondered how someone could be foolish enough to oppose his will. He was on a completely another level; a dangerous man with nothing to lose, one whose skill was honed to utter perfection. Yet there you were, with your fingers ghosting over the hilt of your sword, entertaining the idea of drawing it.

Your enemy is right there. He is right in front of your eyes. You should strike him now, now when his attention is divided between the Amanto. Now is the time, right here, right now.

The more you egged yourself on, the harder it was for your legs to move. Even with a sword in hand, even with such an opportunity manifesting out of nowhere, you were hesitant to jump into action, meekly watching from the sidelines.

Come to think of it, this wasn’t much different from what happened on that day either.

Would you be mine then?

There was no telling how much of what happened last night was reality, or just another figment of your wild imagination. Had Takasugi really spoken such words to you, or were you projecting your heart’s undisclosed desires onto him? That couldn’t be it, right? Especially when you could still feel his fingers lingering upon your skin, when his voice tingled through your ears all night long.

It was real, you decided. It was definitely real. Takasugi had grown every last bit fond of you, as you were of him.

Throughout the meeting, you failed to participate in small talk or any other conversation topic your father and your guests touched upon. An occasional nod here, a forced chuckle there, was the sole evidence of your attendance. Your body may have been present, but your mind was on him and him only. The way his figure basked in the moonlight, the way your idol glinted in his eye, the way his lips curled up right after saying those words to you.

Everything about your brief encounter was enough to tempt you into giving everything up for him. Even when you’d failed to stand up against Harumi, your newfound conviction wouldn’t let you back down. There is no reason for your dreams to remain as such anymore. All you had to do was say yes, all you had to do was choose him, and he’d be yours.

The thought alone was exhilarating, preventing you from getting a wink of sleep all night long. You couldn’t wait for your morning class, eager to give your answer to his question. The only thing standing in your way now was the night, but even she’d be subdued come daylight.

The minute you felt the first rays of the morning sun graze your skin, you flew out of bed, sliding into your training attire within seconds. You took a look in the mirror, stealing a glance at the girl inside. Unlike the dolled-up yet gloomy girl you’d found staring back at you last night, this one, be it a less fancy variant, looked happy. Her expression had shifted to that of utter joy, her eyes smiling along with her lips. She truly was happy. Much happier than she, much happier than you’d ever been.

Once you managed to tame your bed-hair, making sure that you were at the very least presentable, you rushed towards the front door, carefully avoiding every obstacle and servant, until you rammed into something unexpected. More like someone, you realized, as you exchanged looks with none other than your father.

“I’m so sorry!” You exclaimed, fully aware of how much he disliked you prancing around like a horse.

To quote Harumi, “Such behavior was unsightly for a girl of your lineage”. Or something along those lines.

Rather than scolding you, an exuberant sound spilled from his lips as he managed to regain his balance.

“Oh, Y/N, you seem to be in such great spirits that you nearly knocked this old man down.” He cackled, holding onto his stomach with one hand. “My daughter, what’s gotten you this excited?”

“N-nothing in particular, father! I’m just really looking forward to meeting with Shin—, Takasugi,” you corrected “for my class. I’ve improved a lot, you should know.”

“So I hear. Takasugi informed me of your progress.” He did? “As expected of someone who carries our family’s blood. Both your father and your late grandfather-”

“Were swordsmen of impeccable skill before becoming Bakufu officials, yes, I am familiar with the story.” You interrupted, finishing his sentence for him.

The last thing you needed was to be caught in another of his endless lectures when Takasugi awaited you.

“Could I possibly be excused now? I’m already late for class as it is.”

“I am afraid there will be no class today, Y/N. But fret not, I did not come here to spoil the mood.” He paused, revealing a letter from within his sleeves.

The scribing was dense enough for you to get lost in the words, but the wisteria sigil at the bottom of the paper spoke volumes of its own.

“We received an official proposal this morning,” he continued, “it looks as if you made quite an impression on Isamu-dono. As soon as the preparations allow it, you are to wed his son.”

Somehow, your father’s sudden visitation caused you more pain than any of Takasugi’s hits had inflicted on your body. All happy thoughts dissolved into mist, fading into the rain of your eyes. How could this happen? Why was it that when you finally had the chance to be happy, you were forced to watch it slip away?

“Y/N? Did you not hear what I just said?” He asked, though all you could do was nod. That, and preventing yourself from tearing this letter into shreds.

“Then why do you appear so dejected?”

“Because,” you mumbled, your voice barely above a whisper. "Because Kaworu is not the one I want to marry.”

“What was that?” Your father asked with a forced chuckle. “Forgive your old man, age’s finally getting to my ears. What was it that you just said?”

Squeezing your eyes shut, you took a deep breath. You wouldn’t let your words be drowned by your tears.

“I said I can’t do that. I can’t marry Kaworu.” Here goes nothing. “I don’t mean to offend House Fujiwara, nor stand in the way of our clan’s future, but there is no way for me to possibly accept this proposal, not when my heart’s been already claimed by someone else.”

Looking at the letter one last time, you returned it to him.

“Father, that man,” you smiled ever so softly at the image of Takasugi “he is greater than any other individual I’ve met in my entire life.

I admit, at first, I wanted nothing more than to possess him. He fascinated me in ways no one else has, moved me in ways I never imagined to be moved. But after sharing my joys and my sorrows with him, after I glanced at his soul, I’m afraid I was the one who got possessed by him, though I don’t regret it. I don’t see myself standing at another man’s side when he exists. I could never possibly do that. He is the one for me, and I’m unashamed to say that I love him. I really do.”

Your eyes burned full of conviction, believing in every single word you’d uttered. Takasugi was undoubtedly the only one capable of bringing you such happiness. Even if you had to oppose your own family, even if you had to turn against the whole world, you wouldn’t hesitate to do so if that meant seeing another of his beautiful smiles. He was the light in your life, and you could only hope to be a spark of hope in his.

Stillness befell the room as your words slowly sank in. The air grew heavier with your father’s expression shifting to a rather grim one. His otherwise gentle smile gave way to a nearly vicious grimace, with his eyes creasing into a level, yet dark look that all but suited him.

There was something deeply unsettling about the way he bore his eyes into yours. No matter how strict your father could be, this was your first time seeing him like this, a sight that was enough to freeze the blood in your veins.

“Y/N, my darling daughter.” He brought his hand to your shoulder, your instinct ushering you to flinch away. “You are young and there is so much that you don’t know regarding the workings of this world, but make no mistake. Each of us has a role to play, a duty to uphold regardless of the cost. Though you may fail to understand it at the moment, someone of our status should and must only look at those of equal standing. This is how you preserve your legacy and protect what’s rightfully yours in this filth named society. This is how you keep moving forward.”

Bestowing you with a sickly smile, the claws of his fingers dug into your skin, pressing against one of your bruises so hard that you had no choice but to wince in anguish.

“The way to the top can be lonely, Y/N. I’m well aware of that. Keeping a pet close for the sake of comfort and solace is understandable. After all, pets can be useful and, more often than not, are great assets for people like us. Showing affection or rewarding them isn’t unheard of, but at the end of the day, make no mistake to consider a pet your equal. A pet, no matter the company it offers, will always remain a pet.”

He lowered his head so that you were eye to-eye, the pressure on your shoulder significantly increasing.

“Now, if a pet stops being of use, or even worse, if a pet starts being a nuisance by standing in your way, do you know what must be done?”

Unable to think of an answer to his question, you shook your head negatively. All you wanted was to be released from his clutches.

“We put them down.” He cooed in your ear. “Did I make myself clear?”

With his baleful disposition and the pain he was causing you, there was no way for you to think straight. Could this demon that borrowed his voice and features really be your father? The loving and hard-working father who did his best to fill a role meant for two in your life? The father who made sure you never missed a thing, who tended to your every need without you having to ask? This impostor surely couldn’t be him, right?

“Now, how about a trip to the stores? With the big day coming up, I’m sure you could use a new dress for the occasion.” Fishing a pouch out of his kimono, he forced you to hold it between both palms. “After all, you’ll be marrying into such a renowned house. It’s only right for your appearance to reflect that.”

By the time his grip loosened up, it felt as if a piece of you was forcefully taken away. The weight of his hand traveled all the way to your neck, causing your breathing to falter. Even when he’d left the room, there seemed to be no end to the light tremor of your limbs. For the first time in your life, you were truly terrified. Not as much for your own life, as you were for his.

Though you hadn’t done as much as to reveal the identity of the man you loved, and your father never explicitly spoke his name either, you couldn’t help but think that he somehow knew. Was it because a part of you actually felt guilty about going against his wishes to the point of growing paranoid? Or was it that he’d actually heard something through the grapevine?

No matter how much you tried, you failed to wrap your mind around your father’s spiteful threats. You’d never given anyone reason to badmouth you and had never been caught in any particularly indecent scenarios with Takasugi. Unless…

“Lady, where is is that you are going?” Harumi’s voice rung razor-sharp in your ear, providing you with the answer you failed to reach on your own.

She was the only one who could’ve done this, you realized. The only one who knew of the way you looked at him, the only one who’d caught you messing around the other day. She’d even gone as far as to give you a warning about what would happen if you caused a scene, yet she ratted you out despite your complying. It was all her fault.

Ignoring her calls, you walked outside the door, marching down the gate without doing as much as look her way. All these years you thought she was your sole ally in this household, but even she’d turn her back on you. There was no one you could trust, not her and certainly not your father. The dream you thought you could live had given way to a nightmare, one neither you, nor him would be able to escape unscathed.

You kept on moving without sparing her a single word, without even noticing Takasugi staring at you from afar. All you wanted was to get away from everything, and funnily enough, your father had provided you with the perfect excuse to do so.

Unlike your previous visit to the city, this time you didn’t mean to find your way. There was no real destination for you to reach. All you could do was move forward, passing through the various stores without giving them a second look. Your sole reason for being there might have been to purchase a dress for the wedding, though that was about the last of your priorities.

None of the kimonos in the displays managed to capture your attention. They all looked the same; dull and colorless. Even if you tried to convince yourself that you were window shopping for a different occasion, the pouch residing within your clothes served as a reminder of what had transpired earlier, a heavy load that you wanted to dispose of.

After a while of aimlessly walking around, you felt your own stomach rumbling. Storming off without having a single bite for breakfast wasn’t the brightest idea. Maybe it’s for the best. Maybe if you skipped eating all day long, you could actually die and escape, though a day of starvation wasn’t capable of achieving that. And, if you’re being honest, death wasn’t in your immediate plans.

Eventually, your steps brought you before a dango selling vendor, the very same vendor you’d visited with Takasugi. A little more than half a year had gone by since, yet the man tending to the stall seemed to recognize you, ushering you to walk closer.

“Good to see you again!” He greeted you with a friendly smile.

“You remember me…?”

“It’s not every day that you meet someone who’s never tried nor heard of a dango in this day and age, miss. You shared the same look of excitement with our younger customers.” He went on, handing three skewers to a man beside you.

“If my memory isn’t giving out, you were with a samurai last time?”

“That’s right… though I doubt we’ll be coming back together.” You said, failing to hide your resentment.

“I’m sorry to hear that, but if he’s unable to join, then perhaps it’d be nice of you to bring some to him. I’m certain that samurai would appreciate the gesture coming from such a refined young lady.” He paused, shifting his attention to another customer. “That would be five coins! Have a good day!”

Would he really appreciate it if you offered him something so insignificant when you couldn’t give yourself to him?

“Pops, how many dangos can I buy with these?” You asked, placing the pouch on the counter.

The man peeked through its contents before turning to face you in astonishment.

“Miss, I’m afraid I don’t have enough dango to match the sum you are offering. This amounts to more than my entire business does. I could never possibly accept it.” The man replied, pushing the bag towards you.

“I insist. Even if you can’t give me my money’s worth now, I’ll be sure to visit again. You can pay me back then. Dango seems like a worthwhile investment to me, especially when it’s as delicious as yours. Please take it.”

After a lot of back and forth, the man hesitantly accepted, trading the coins for a bag full of skewers. Though it weighed more than the pouch, you felt significantly lighter than you did before.

Unsure of where to go next, you moved along the sidewalk until you faded into an empty alleyway. Usually, you did your best to avoid such places, but at the time, you wished to find a place quiet enough for you to eat your lunch, away from the busy life of the streets, and certainly away from the lively crowd. Besides, eating one of your most favorite snacks ought to cheer you up, right?

“This will do.” You exclaimed once you took a seat on the steps of a nightclub, setting the bag on your lap.

At least till night falls, no one should be coming to disturb you. For the time being, you are completely on your own.

Bringing a skewer to your lips, you began munching on it, though you couldn’t bring yourself to actually enjoy it. Much to your disappointment, the dango lacked flavor, tasting like absolute nothing. First the dresses, now the dango. Little by little, the world seemed to be losing its appeal, turning into a bland and hollow environment, devoid of interest or meaning.

But then again, you realized that it wasn’t really the world’s fault. It was because of your own disposition. It was all because of you.

How did your life end up being so miserable? You wondered, tossing the half-eaten skewer back inside the bag and setting it to the side. You’d never missed a single thing, yet now it felt as if you were left with nothing at all. Wealth and status meant so little when they were the very binds that kept you confined in this cage you so desperately wanted to break out of.

Saying yes to this marriage would be the first step to a life of endless torment, but if you kept at it, there was always a chance things would take a turn for the worse. Was it really worth endangering his life over a silly love story? Just like you did, he must also have his own aspirations to see through. Whether he felt the same way about you or not, you didn’t want to be the one to stand in the way of his dreams, let alone in the way of his life.

That’s right. They really are silly, your feelings for him, that is. It was only an infatuation. He was simply the first guy you’d approached, the first one to make your heart beat faster, the first one to be your friend. There was no real value in that, really. You never really liked him anyway. This was just another spoiled girl’s whim. You’d probably lose all interest in him the second he offered himself to you. That’s how unimportant this whole thing was. Come tomorrow, you’d open your eyes and set your sights on something new, something that actually matters.

It sounded like a plan, but for now, you couldn’t see past your nose, your vision being all blurry and hazy. It’s just rain, you thought with a sorrowful smile as you gazed into the spotless sky.

“Silly me, I shouldn’t have left the house without an umbrella.”

Slowly, the teardrops that clouded your eyes began to overflow, staining the sleeves of your kimono as you buried your face in them. The rain grew stronger with each sob, erratic whimpers that resembled thunder strikes. It was so cruel and unfair. This stupid heart just wouldn’t stop yearning and breaking for him. Even when you were trying your best to erase him, all you wanted to do was see him.

Suddenly, a pair of feet manifested before you, joined by another and then another. Rubbing your eyelids against the fabric, your eyes danced between the three men. They were all in their late thirties, sporting a fairly ordinary attire, with the sole exception being that of the swords attached to their hips.

“What do we have here?” The man to the far right said, leaning towards you.

“Why the long face, miss?” The one to the left nudged at the bag with the edge of his sandal. “And look at all that dango… mind if we share?”

You pulled the bag out of their reach, shoving it behind your back. These guys seemed like bad news. A random band of brothers wouldn’t so carelessly be carrying swords in broad daylight, unless they had vile intentions.

“Boss, looks like we caught ourselves a good one. Check the crest. Isn’t this the Tsugaru brat?” The first guy spoke, attempting to get a closer look at your shoulders.

“I’ll be damned if it isn’t!”

“Missie, care to accompany us someplace better? An empty alleyway can be dangerous for a girl your status.” The guy in the middle, presumably their leader, suggested with an eerie smile.

“I’d rather not.” You responded, discreetly flexing your fingers towards your sword.

“Pardon my manners. You must have thought of this as an invitation, but in reality,” the leader paused to offer you a glimpse at his blade “,my ranking doesn’t allow for such courtesies. Get on your feet while I’m still asking nicely.”

Wrapping your fingers around the hilt, you hesitated to stand up. You’d heard of Jouishishi attacking Bakufu officials and their families, but to actually experience it was something else. If you followed them, then who knows what would become of you? But then again, you weren’t unarmed. For better or worse, after all this time of training with Takasugi, you’d like to think that you had a few tricks up your sleeve. Whether you could take on all these guys by yourself or not, there was only one way to find out.

Pretending as if you’d complied, you rose to your feet only to turn against him, slashing through the man’s face with a rapid strike. It wasn’t enough to kill him, though it was enough to send him flying to the ground. With a shriek, the man brought both hands to his nose, attempting to cover the wound. His lackeys exchanged quick glances before throwing themselves at you, each attempting to get hold of your shoulders. You waved your sword in their direction, though neither seemed particularly intimidated. They weren’t scared in the slightest.

While you were trying to figure out what the best course of action in this situation was, their boss managed to regain his composure. His left eye was shut, blood dripping from the gash all the way to his chin and clothes, painting a hideous expression on his features.

Unlike the other two, he didn’t hesitate to unsheathe his sword, attempting a strike at you the moment he got back on his feet. A loud clang followed when the man hit the banister, barely missing as you dodged to the side. Just when you thought you escaped him, two pairs of hands dived forward, capturing both of your shoulders while you writhed, desperate to get out of their grasp.

“Too bad, missie. Too bad.” Sneering, the man grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked it upwards. “I’d really consider returning you to your nest, but now it looks like only your head will make it back.”

With their claws not faltering one bit, and the man’s sword nicking at your neck, you couldn’t help but wonder whether this was actually your end. A wasted life that’d only just begun.

There were so many things you wished to do, so many things you wished to say that’d remain unheard. Even in your final moments, you couldn’t forsake his image. You longed to see him one last time, though that was out of the question now. It’s fine. Perhaps this was for the best. He wouldn’t get to see how pathetic you were, you thought as you closed your eyes, accepting your fate, one that wouldn’t come just yet.

The swift sound of a blade cutting through the wind forced your eyes open. Where the man’s head once stood, blood spewed out of his severed neck as if it were a spring. His now lifeless body fell to the side with a thump, revealing a dark silhouette from behind, one that you couldn’t bring yourself to face. Your gaze remained frozen upon the gruesome sight, your pupils flickering between the man’s detached torso and head. Only a minute ago he was hurling threats at you, and now, there he was, dismantled as if he was no more than a toy.

Stepping amidst the crimson puddle, the figure sent the man’s head spiraling towards the other two men, who, in return, let go of you completely. You hadn’t even caught a glimpse of his face, though you needn’t need to look to know who the executioner was. His voice was enough to give away his identity.

“And who’ll be the recipient of this head?”

“Y-you! Takasugi Sh-” One of the men uttered right before getting impaled by Takasugi’s blade.

“Wrong.” Takasugi grunted, retracting his sword. “What about you?” He turned to the third man. “You have an answer for me?”

The remaining Joui rebel was a shivering mess that could barely stand by himself, let alone answer Takasugi’s question. His darkened eyes constantly darted between the corpses of his comrades in terror.

“Where should I send these to?” Takasugi prompted, pointing at the bodies and then the man’s chest with the silver tip.

“I…I”

“I won’t be asking again.”

“Ten-Tengudou!” He coaxed in a pathetic tone.

“Tengudou… I see.”

“You’ve heard of us?” A glimmer of hope glinted in his eyes, only to fade away right after.

“I haven’t… but then again, I feel no need to acquaint myself with such scum.”

With a sneer, Takasugi pierced through the man’s chest, forcing him onto his knees.

“You can join your friends in hell. See how far comradeship will get you there.” And with that, he pulled his sword out, shaking the blood off, and then returning it to its sheath.

You remained huddled near the ground all the while Takasugi dealt with the men, too stunned to neither aid him nor react. One moment you thought you were a goner, and the next one, he’d come to your rescue. Did your wish reach his ears? The short answer was no, but the sudden change in your behavior was a surefire sign that something was wrong, a sign that he, fortunately, chose to follow.

Once he was done inspecting the surrounding area, lest other members of their facton lurked in the shadows, Takasugi helped you up. The blood underneath had flowed all the way to the main street as if it were a river. There was so much of it, threatening to drag you in its depths.

Though you didn’t want to admit it, the sheer brutality with which he tore through these men had managed to startle you. This was the first time you’d seen him in action, fighting an actual enemy, despite not crossing blades with either of them. Up until that point, you’d never considered the possibility of him being someone capable of such atrocity, yet perhaps he was just as dangerous as they were.

Rather than speaking a word to you, Takasugi let out a deep sigh as he claimed your face with his palms, the sleeves of his yukata dropping over his fingers. Even then, you found yourself averting your eyes from his, though as he wiped the blood off your cheeks, you had no choice but to ease into his touch.

The way he held you was so tender, yet the look in his eye contradicted his gestures. You’d never seen him like this, not even when you’d defamed his precious yakult bottle. Was it rage, or was it worry? You couldn’t tell, but then again, you lacked the courage to ask him. All you wanted to do was go home. Home with him.

Taking a step back, he stripped off his haori, offering it to you instead. At first, you were unsure as to why he did that, but once he wrapped it around your shoulders, you understood his reasoning. Bright flowers of scarlet sprawled across the yellow of your kimono, a leftover from the bloodshed. Though he didn’t seem to care enough to dispose of the bodies, he was considerate enough to not let you walk around adorning their blood.

Nuzzling your nose deep into the fabric, you started to gradually relax. The haori was slightly bigger than the one you were used to wearing, but it carried his scent, the kind of scent that made you feel safe. Perhaps when he was around, that’s all you needed to feel at home.

“Follow me.”

For the first time in a while, your tongue was tied in his presence. Even when you knew that Takasugi did what he had to do in order to protect you, there was no way for you to get the man’s stare out of your head. His face was imprinted behind your eyelids, flashing in your memory whenever you blinked.

You couldn’t help but think that the only reason these men died was because of you. If you hadn’t been so careless as to leave without any attendants, if you hadn’t slipped in that back alley, if you hadn’t been so weak as to let him interfere, then they wouldn’t have lost their lives. Jouishishi or not, they were samurai just like he was, and somehow have him be the one to act as their executioner, heavied you with guilt.

Other than asking you to follow him, Takasugi hadn’t spoken a single word to you. It was as if you’d gone back to the time when he disregarded your presence, though the reason behind his silence was far more intimate than before. Just like you blamed yourself for the entire incident, he blamed himself for you. If he’d turned you down, if he hadn’t taught you how to hold a sword, then you wouldn’t have dreamt of picking a fight with these guys, and you wouldn’t have knocked on death’s door.

He was enraged not so much by your actions as he was by his own incompetence in keeping you out of harm’s way.

With the two of you having none other than yourselves to blame, you kept on walking until you found yourselves standing outside the house. You thought about how you should thank him for all he did, though he was the first to break the silence in a way that made you forget all about showing gratitude.

“I resign.” Takasugi spat in a dry tone.

“You resign…?”

“I have no intention to keep on teaching an insolent brat who knows no danger.”

“But Shinsuke, I—”

“You almost got killed today!” He howled, his voice loud enough to scare a couple of birds away.

“If I was a minute late… no,” he shook his head, “if I wasn’t there in the first place, you heard what would have happened. You think men who’ve lost everything to war care enough to spare the life of a little girl? All they see is the hatred and the pain, the death and the destruction of everything they held dear. While you were busy playing house with your dolls, they had to watch as the Bakufu and the entire world turned their backs against them, leaving them to fend off the Amanto all by themselves.”

His knuckles were clenched into a pair of balled fists while he talked, almost as if he was accusing you of a crime you never committed. Those things he described, you could tell they were events he got to experience first-hand. You could feel the anguish behind his every word, as if simply discussing them brought him back to the hellhole he so desperately crawled out of.

“Shinsuke-”

You tried to comfort him, but it was of no use. He wasn’t done lashing out.

" Y/N, do you really think there’s a place for useless words such as ‘mercy’ in their vocabulary, let alone when it comes to someone as privileged as you? To them, the blood of their comrades and their families stains your hands as much as it stains your father’s. All they can spare for the likes of you is resentment. Nothing less, nothing more.”

“Is that how you also see me?” You asked in a quiet voice as you lowered your head.

The kind of girl he described wasn’t far from the girl you used to be, but that wasn’t the case anymore. You wanted him to know that. You wanted to prove to him how much you’d changed because of him, yet that was exactly the reason why he was now baring his teeth at you. As long as you remain a coward who knows her place, then you won’t be endangered. As long as you stray off his path, he won’t have a reason to walk over your corpse.

“All I see is a spoiled little girl who plays with toys too dangerous than she can handle.” He answered, refusing to face you. “Forget everything I taught you and go back to your dollhouse. Your hands were never meant to hold a sword to begin with.”

Hearing his words caused you far greater pain than your father managed this morning. All this time of trying your hardest to make Takasugi acknowledge you, of getting him to finally look at you the way you looked at him, only for everything to fall apart. If it were for him, you’d make sure to find a way of dealing with both your father’s wrath and the forceful marriage agreement. But if that someone didn’t love you back, if that someone was repulsed by the mere sight of you, what was there left for you to do?

Even as you watched him march towards the front door, you couldn’t bear to watch him slip away. Your fingers latched onto his sleeves, anchoring him down with every last bit of conviction you had left.

Had he turned around, he’d be able to see the tears you’d tried to hide away from him, your eyes mourning for everything the two of you could’ve been. Though not even he was strong enough to face the eyes of a girl whose heart he broke so cruelly.

His final resort was to place his calloused hands upon yours, pondering whether to keep you close or push you further away.

“I’ve had my fair share of watching people die. I refuse to be a witness to your death.” Takasugi said in a gentler voice as he shook your hands off him, leaving you to pick up your pieces on your own.

Watching him rip the Amanto pirates apart certainly brought back memories, the kind of memories you’d conveniently buried in the depths of your mind. Was the man in front of you the one who’d robbed you of your only family, or was he the same boy who jumped into action just to save you? The images of both flashed before your eyes as he fervently fought off the enemies, confusing you even further.

If you wanted to save me, if you didn’t want to watch me die, then why did you make it so that I’d die a little bit inside every single day that followed? Why didn’t you let my misery end back then? Just who are you already?

Gritting your teeth together, you let out a sharp exhale.

It doesn’t matter anymore. Such misery shall come to an end now.

At last, you unsheathed your sword, your eyes fixated on him as you climbed down the stairs. The aliens around him had all but decreased, every one of them as dedicated to take the Kiheitai’s general down as you were. This really was a golden opportunity.

Once you stood on the same level he was, you glanced around. Jumping at him from the front would be your worst bet. He’d see you coming from miles away. If you went from behind, then his second-in-command would get to you first. All that was left was the sides, your best chance being to mingle with the Amanto and go for the killing blow.

Walking along the railing, an Amanto soldier caught your eye. Unlike most of his fellow comrades —who mindlessly jumped into action with their swords and fists—, he was holding onto a pistol, one he aimed at none other than Takasugi. Firing a bullet from this range probably wouldn’t find its target, though it wasn’t impossible. With the quick work Takasugi made of them, it wouldn’t take long until the field was clear enough for the man to take a successful shot.

Your eyes darted between the two men in uncertainty. Your enemy undoubtedly was the man who ravaged his way through your life, whose sword left nothing but destruction in its wake. Your enemy was Takasugi Shinsuke, the man whose name your blade called out to reach, yet why was it that instead of pointing it at him, you were directing it at the gunslinger? Why was it that your feet were moving on their own?

That’s right. I never had the chance to thank you, but now, that debt will be paid. This is the final kindness I have left for you, Shinsuke.

Before you knew it, your sword impaled the man’s back, his dark jacket growing darker around the rip. A thud echoed as the gun dropped from his hands onto the ground, the man’s body following suit with your blade nailing him down.

You dropped to your knees, taking a look at his face. Both his eyes were frozen, his pupils dilated from the shock. At the sight of you, his lips parted, only for his head to roll to the side. His chest was heaving no longer, you realized. He was gone. A swing of your weapon was all it took to claim his life. It was that easy. So ridiculously easy.

Retracting your sword, you rose to your feet without breaking eye contact. This man must have had a family of his own. A woman and kids of his own, people to call his friends and comrades, people to mourn him, people who would mourn him because of you, because you chose to kill a murderer in order to save another by becoming one yourself. What kind of foul trick was fate playing on you?

“You still haven’t learned to watch your back.”

A blade passed by your side, finding its target right behind you. For a moment, you’d forgotten all about the on-going battle. Even when everyone seemed unaware of you before, that changed after you killed that man. Along with your sword, you’d managed to draw the attention of just about every Amanto on board.

The hollow sound of a body dropping to the floor forced you to turn around, finding yet another pool of blood sprawling beneath your feet.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Takasugi asked, retrieving his blade. “This isn’t your battle to fight.”

“Saving a bastard samurai from the humiliation of dying to an Amanto minion.” You talked back to him, raising your sword over your chest. “Make no mistake, Takasugi. Your life is mine to claim and until that moment comes, I won’t let anyone cut you first.”

Parting his lips as if he had to say something, Takasugi let out a muffled sound. Even when a little less than a dozen of pirates pointed their weapons at him, he was chuckling. With his own sword in hand, he assumed a fighting position, turning his back against you.

“Oi, Y/N.” He spoke, flashing a grin behind the silver. “Your strike against that vermin was enough to kill him. Just like you didn’t hesitate now, don’t hesitate when it comes to my head either.”

There it was, another opportunity for you to put an end to this, though, oddly, you didn’ consider taking advantage of it. Instead, you caught yourself smiling at the sight of your opponents approaching, knowing that your worst enemy had your back.

“I won’t.”

Fighting side by side with him, was the last thing you would have expected to happen when he visited your cell this morning, yet there you were, trying your best to hold your own. The more hits you blocked, the more you were able to return, slowly easing into the rush of the battle. Just like he suggested, you let go of your reservations. You weren’t striking for the sake of killing. You were simply striving to defend yourself and keep the Amanto off his rear while he did the majority of the killing.

So this was the life he’d chosen for himself. A life full of bloodshed and betrayal, a life with his enemies outnumbering his friends, if he had any to begin with. A lonely path with no way out, the very same path you’d chosen for yourself in the name of revenge. Still, he was right, was he not? From the moment you joined this fight, you hadn’t heard a single whisper in your brain. Though it wasn’t his blood that you spilled, you felt surprisingly tranquil, finding even the slightest of enjoyment in all this.

Whenever an enemy fell, you moved onto the next, not allowing yourself to feel sorry for their loss in the slightest. Glancing over at Takasugi, you could see him doing the same, tearing through them until only the two of you were left standing. His purple strands bore a dark red hue, his sword glistening in the same color. You wondered how you must be looking. Judging by the sticky feeling on your skin, you mustn’t look any better than he did.

Shaking the blood off his sword, Takasugi turned towards your direction. His expression had significantly softened up, the filth of his enemies not enough to sully his gentle features. Unlike back then, his eye didn’t resemble that of an executioner, rather that of a man who looked at the object of his affection.

His steps exuded confidence as he walked closer to you, your gazes fixed on one another. The revenge you sought, the crimes he committed, all faded away in instant as if the two of you were the only ones left in the room. “Can I really forgive you?” You caught your heart asking your mind. “Am I really stupid enough to trust this man a second time?”

Before you had the chance to answer these questions, his hand reached forward, spinning you around. An involuntary gasp evaded your lips, uncertain of what had just occurred. His fingers were clamped around your wrist, pressing your armed hand against your sides, with his second hand extended behind your back.

Just like before, the sound of a body falling echoed from behind, an enemy you hadn’t noticed attempting to cut you down when you weren’t looking.

Slowly, Takasugi loosened his grasp, pulling away from your body. You could have sworn his yukata was stained even further than it previously was, though you couldn’t be sure. What troubled you the most, was the squint of his eyes, his expression shifting to that of sudden hurt.

“I told you. I refuse to be a witness to your death.”

In an attempt to balance himself, Takasugi rested his weight upon the hilt of his katana, only to collapse seconds later.

“Ta-Takasugi?” You asked, your eyes widening up at the same time as his eyelids began to droop, the green slowly fading in the back of his skull.

“Quit playing games, this isn’t like you.” You chuckled awkwardly, towering over his fallen body. “It’s not as if this is enough to bring you down, is it-”

Upon noticing the gush of blood that poured out of his yukata, your legs gave out, sending you to your knees. A tear had ripped the fabric of his clothes in half, revealing a rather deep gash that sprawled across his torso. This couldn’t… this wasn’t, right?

Your eyes traveled upon his body, searching for another of his infamous glares in his face, expecting him to scoff at you for making such morbid assumptions, though nothing came out of his lips. He looked as if he were sleeping, an eerily serene expression carved in his features, with his head tilted to the side. This was definitely him sleeping, then why was he perfectly still? Why was his chest not heaving, why couldn’t you feel a pulse when your fingers wrapped around his wrist?

“Wake up. This isn’t the time nor the place to be sleeping.” You whispered, lightly shaking his shoulders.

No response.

“I said wake up!” You shook him again, yet he seemed adamant on not responding.

Was this not what you wanted? To see him drowning in a pool of his own blood? Did you not wish to see him close his eye once and for all, to have him pay for what he did to you? He is the reason you lost everything, he is the one who murdered your family in cold blood, why are you weeping over him? Why are you covering his wound with your hands, why are you calling out for him to wake up?

“Shinsuke, just please open your eye, you can’t… you can’t die here! No matter what, you can’t die, you have to stay alive!”

No matter how much you raised your voice, Takasugi didn’t react in the slightest. He was right there in front of you, except he wasn’t.

“We haven’t even settled the score between us.” You spelled in between hiccupped breaths.

The words were turning into lead within your throat, refusing to spill from your mouth as you started to choke on your tears. In the face of death, neither your supposed hatred nor your stupid vengeance mattered anymore, not when he wouldn’t be around to shield either. If he wasn’t around, then what was the meaning of it all? What was there left for you to live for?

He was the man who took everything away from you, but he was also the man you loved. It only hurt so much because of how much you loved him, because after all these years your only choice was to lie and deny it all. It was easier than admitting that after all that happened, you were still madly in love with the man responsible for your downfall. That day, you didn’t lose just your father. You also lost him and now you were about to lose him again, this time for good.

“Please, Shinsuke… You can’t leave me alone. Not you too, not again.”

As you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, your tears streamed down his face and neck, hoping that they were enough to wipe away his sins along with your sorrow, hoping that your feeble embrace would be enough to keep him to life.

“Crying won’t help Shinsuke, I daresay. Let us handle things now.”

The voice of a man kept addressing you, yet you couldn’t snap out of it. Your hands wouldn’t stop reaching out to him, clinging onto his sleeves in an attempt to hold on, even when multiple pair of arms were yanking you away from him.

A gentler, be it firmer grasp landed on your shoulder once you were made to stand on your feet. The same voice kept talking to your ear, supposedly reassuring you, though that did nothing to erase your fears of this being the last time you’d ever get to see him.

#killing butterflies #takasugi shinsuke #takasugi #takasugi gintama #takasugi shinsuke x reader #takasugi x reader #takasugi reader #takasugi angst #takasugi fanfiction #takasugi imagine #gintama imagine #gintama fanfiction #gintama angst

[reviewdle]

What makes a Wordle a Wordle?

You know it when you see it, right? Just look for that distinctive '-le' appended to the end of a normal word, and you know what you're in for. But with hundreds of variants out there, what really defines the "Wordle-alike" genre?

I propose that you can identify a a wordle-alike from just a handle of key features, namely the win state, feedback modularity, player synchronicity, and aesthetic.

Win State: A world-alike is a puzzle game with a singular correct answer, which it is the player's job to discover. This correct answer is concealed at the start of the game, and the player wins if they find it by the end of the game. Most (but not all) wordle variants also have a lose state if the player does not guess the answer within a certain limit. This limit is usually set by number of guesses, though some use time as the limiting factor.

2. Feedback Modularity: The key mechanic of a wordle-alike is the guess. The player uses the act of guessing to uncover more information as they progress through the game. In a classic Wordle variant, the nature of the answer is modular in some way (e.g. a word can be broken down into letters, which can be uncovered separately.) Variants of this style will usually be more "puzzle-like", since the information revealed will depend on the player's guess. On the other hand, many variants have non-modular answers and will instead reveal preset clues after each wrong guess. For example, Framed is a move-guessing wordle-alike which gives you an additional frame from the movie after each incorrect guess, or Heardle, a song-guessing version which provides a longer musical excerpt with each guess. Variants of this style tend to skew more towards "test of knowledge" type games.

3. Synchronicity: This one is simple--everyone plays the same puzzle every day. Many variants will also have a "free-play" version where you can play unlimited random puzzles, but there will always be a daily version that is identical for everyone on the planet. I think that you can make a strong case that this fact is responsible for the OG Wordle's meteoric rise--after all, it's more fun to share and discuss with your friends when you're playing the same board!

4. Aesthetic: Probably the least important of the key aspects, but I think it still counts for something! Most wordle variants strive to emulate the feel of the original--clean and simple design with solid primary colors (often that classic green and yellow color scheme), color-coded clues and progress bars, a distinctive one-word name usually ending in '-le', personal stat tracking, and the all-important "Share" button.

And there you go! Obviously, not every variant will hit every aspect perfectly. (For example, the murder mystery logic puzzle game Murdle has 1, 2, and 4, but lacks any feedback modularity since you only have one chance to guess the correct answer.) But most variants will hit most of them!

Try paying attention to your favorite variants next time you play--how well does it align with the classic Wordle features?

#wordle #analysis #game analysis

[penultimate-step]

JJK S2 Livewatch: Eps 1-4

I started watching jjk s2 recently. it's pretty interesting. I didn't really like S1 or the movie, and don't know anything about the manga, so my expectations were pretty low, but I was pleasantly surprised.

this arc is a flashback to gojo's school days, taking place far before the main series proper. It also focuses on Geto, the villain from the first movie, pre-villainous turn. Most of my thoughts on this arc relate to the nature of flashbacks. It's inherent to these kind of arcs that we already know how things end up, and it's up to the writing to make us care within those constraints.

This arc does that in two ways. The first of these is by conspicuously demonstrating differences between the status quo and how things are in the main story, making the audience question ho w we're going to get from point A to point B. The call-forwards towards the future were very blatant, but in a good way, that solidly emphasized the differences rather than making me feel talked down to by the narrative. Gojo confidently proclaiming "we're the strongest," to directly contrast his "I'm the strongest" from S1 instantly contextualizes the relationship between Gojo and Geto, and with the added context from the movie, does retroactively make main timeline Gojo feel like a much lonelier, isolated, character. This is following from a scene where the two compare philosophies and show that they have the opposite moral views that they did in the movie - all these elements are bright flashing signals to us know that this arc is going to have it's main characters undergo drastic changes.

The second way the arc works is by having a limited threat. The mission this time is to deliver a young girl, Riko, to be sacrificed to Tengen. In opposition: multiple groups that want to stop this, by killing her. Thus, the threat is self-contained - win or lose, Riko will be dead by arc's end. Unlike the rest of the cast, who we know survive to the movie, the opposite is true of Riko, so her ultimate fate is a source of legitimate tension. Due to her fated death, this tension can be maintained even in the presence of gojo, who in S1 has been something of an "I win" button for the cast.

Speaking of: the fight scenes in this arc. Okay so I know this is a very subjective, personal hot take. literally nobody I've talked to about this has agreed with me. But I didn't like most of the fights in S1! I thought they were overanimated, too much style and flashy camera tricks over substance. But either the show changed or I've changed, because I didn't feel that way about these fights at all. Though part of that, I think, is because the series leaned into it more. At first, because the fights were more limited in scope - for the first 2.5 eps, none of the fights even try to have tension. Its Gojo! We know how these are going to turn out! fights become more humorous excursions and excuses for the characters to play around and do their thing. some battles are skimmed, theres even a moment where a seemingly dramatic cliffhanger is just resolved instantly offscreen because, come on did anybody think there was a real chance of loss here? It's really funny, and ironically the show taking itself less seriously allowed me to be more invested than I would have been otherwise. This buy-in is then paid off in the finale, where the contrast in tone emphasized the real stakes suddenly appearing.

Which leads to thoughts on the villain and the dramatic finale. The way Toji was built up was fun. Cutting to him every so often to remind the audience he exists, showing him doing seemingly everyday innocuous activities that nonetheless make him feel intimidating. The ramen restaurant scene is probably my favorite of these; Toji is casually eating a meal, betting on races, and talking on the phone, but the way he casually disregards all those around him while the anime plays scare chords.

That said. His appearances, while distinct, aren't fully a tonal whiplash. because the main plot is still that Riko is going to die, has been raised as sacrifice by the good guys and her only worth to anybody is dead. So even as the main plot has the main characters goofing off, the melancholy thought of death is just around the corner.

All these separate emotional beats come together and culminate in the big shock scene at the end of ep 3. Geto reveals that he and Gojo had decided from the start to save Riko's life, something that I didn't see coming but in retrospect should have. This ties back to the earlier threads about their protagonists' morality, and Riko's fated ending. She has a monologue and flashback as hopeful music plays, hinting that things might end differently...before Toji kills her. Brutal scene, seriously, but I can't help but appreciate how this is the capstone of how the show makes Toji grab the tone of every scene he's in to his own pace. the shock value of the music and camera suddenly just abruptly cutting out when he's arrived...very well put together.

The fights too, both with Gojo right before and with Geto directly after, are also amazing. just really well paced, choreographed, etc, flashy and bombastic but with none of the unneeded flourishes of S1. Just extremely well done and very impressive.

Technically there's a third serious fight after all this, when Gojo returns. but honestly that fight is so one sided that it's more a denouement than any real battle. The imagery in that one is kinda crazy though. Delicate piano music plays and nature shots flick by as the sun shines down on Gojo, giving him a kind of divine appearance. He floats and rises above Toji, metaphorically rising to a higher level of existence than him. This is also where he says his famous line that I've seen everywhere on the internet, which I now finally have context for. Apparently it's a Buddha quote?

This might be making a pretty far reach but by showing Gojo in a divine light at the same time as we have an arc about the supposed divinity of Tengen makes me think JJK is intentionally paralleling them - showing these two fulcrums of the jujutsu world, both reaching to a "divine" level, but that divinity is inherently inhuman - Tengen needs to absorb Riko or he'll lose his capacity for thought. meanwhile when Gojo achieves his mastery of limitless he briefly loses all control of his emotions - he spends the whole final fight jumping between emotionless serenity and manic rushes. In JJK, to be a god, one cannot be human.

Anyway. Overall I really liked this arc. my expectations were low going in but after this I am much more enthusiastic about the rest of the season.

#jjk #step.animanga #step.live #<- new tag for live reactions to things maybe #step.effortpost #jujutsu kaisen

[ear-worthy]

Pod-Alization: Trevor Noah Podcast Debuts; Who Killed JFK?

Who Killed JFK? podcast debuts on iHeart Conspiracy theories have been around since the days when Egyptian Pharaohs and Roman Emperors dropped dead suddenly and mysteriously. In today's world, social media has amped up the distribution of all kinds of crazy conspiracy theories. You can thank Fox News for being the legitimizer of such crackpot-ness.

Perhaps, the genesis of the modern American conspiracy theory is the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Novwember 22, 1963.

Was it the mob? Castro? The Russians? I'm sure Trump would find a way to blame Barack Obama for this event.

This new podcast from iHeart has names of distinction and lifelong commitment to excellence associated with the show -- Soledad O'Brien and Rob Reiner.

Who Killed JFK? takes us back 60 years ago to one of the most tragic moments of the 20th century, when questions still surround the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Join award-winning journalist Soledad O'Brien and beloved filmmaker Rob Reiner on Wednesdays as they team up to discover the truth behind the assassination, revealing how the ramifications of the 1963 tragedy still impact American society today. *************************************************************

Trevor Noah podcast debuts There's a new maxim in media. Those who don't want to do TV anymore, do podcasts. See Conan O'Brien, Dax Sheppard, Joe Rogan, et al.

Spotify likes to throw around the phrase "highly anticipated" a lot when referring to its original podcast releases.

But its original podcast What Now? with Trevor Noah, which launched on Thursday, November 9, is actually "highly anticipated."

To Noah's credit, he begins with a top-shelf guest who is a notch above the typical celebrity babblefest on audio or video talk shows.

This first episode features a conversation with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

According to Spotify, "What Now? with Trevor Noah is a show wherein each episode Trevor will go deep with a special guest, including entertainers, CEOs, actors, athletes, and thought leaders. These are the kind of conversations that happen behind the scenes, full of radical candor, authentic back-and-forths, and honest reactions, with Trevor bringing to bear his classic, effortlessly playful and equally probing style.

On the first episode of What Now?, Trevor Noah and Dwayne Johnson get real — discussing everything from Dwayne's troubled youth and his lifelong struggles with depression, to Dwayne listening, understanding and responding to public feedback surrounding the launch of his fund following the Maui fires, and whether he'd ever consider running for President of the United States.

The video episode is available exclusively on Spotify, with audio episodes available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes will publish weekly every Thursday.

Some highlights in the video episode include:

Trevor On Having a Spirited Conversation (1:00)

Trevor: “If there's one thing I've always loved, it's having a spirited conversation. I've always loved how the words coming out of another person's mouth can change how the mush in your brain processes or sees the world that it's seen a certain way for such a long time. It feels like these days, though. We might be losing that ability. Oh, it's become a little bit harder. You know. A few days ago, I was. I was at an event and. People were having really interesting and dynamic conversations, conversations about really difficult topics… men, women, young and old alike. And every few minutes somebody would start their opinion with the phrase. Now, I would never say this in public, but. Or, I would never say this if I was being recorded, but. And I found that fascinating. So many of us have opinions and ideas about the world that we live in. That we are either unable or unwilling. Or too scared to share. And I thought to myself. If we cannot have conversations about difficult things, if the conversations themselves are now the difficult things, then what hope do we have of fixing the difficult things? You know, I almost think of it like a minefield. One of the most dangerous places you can ever walk into is a minefield. Because you do not know. Where they are. You do not know when your last step may be. All you know is at any moment, something could blow up. But the danger comes when you step into the minefield. Imagine if discussing how to navigate the minefield was as dangerous as the minefield itself. That's what I feel like we're living in now.”

The Rock On His Connection to His Culture (13:33)

“At a very early age from my mom and my dad, it was always ‘what you are is perfect’ and ‘what you are is cool.’ Black culture, Samoan culture. We come from a world of pro wrestling. And at that time, Trevor, if you think about it, pro wrestling was nowhere near the global juggernaut that it is today. And it was, it was a very small subculture. So be proud of everything that you are out of the gate, It was always ‘be proud’… It's a cool thing. And I got to tell you, as you go down the road of life, you start to realize just how special culture is, how special all of our culture is.”

The Rock On Why He Wanted to Be A Wrestler (17:32)

“Not only did I grow up in it… but man, I loved it. I loved wrestling. I love the antics of it. I love the characters of it. And especially at that time, you know, when you grow up in the 80s, wrestling back then was a whole different, I think, unique experience in that a lot of people bought into it and they felt like it was real and they'd have these local stars every week and they'd be on their television sets, just their local TVs, and they would talk down the lens about what they're going to do to their opponent this Saturday night at whatever little arena they're wrestling in. I loved all that, and I had a front-row seat watching my dad and my grandfather and everybody in my family live their passions and it's what they, I believe, were all born to do… And so. I think the yearning of it, it started to happen for me when, to be honest, when we were evicted out of Hawaii. So we were living in a little apartment. We were evicted when I was 13 or 14 years old. And I remember in that moment I never wanted to feel that again. I was with my mom and we came home and there was a padlock or there was a notice… I remember just her and I were standing there. She was crying. She didn't know what to do. And my dad was wrestling in Tennessee at that time. And I remember then thinking, I never want to experience this again and what can I do to change it? What can I do? Like, what can I do with my own two hands on 14 so I can't do shit, right?… So I remember at that time thinking, well, all the heroes in my life are these guys. These guys who are, they’re big, they’re strong. They're pro wrestlers. I bet you if I built my body and if I went to the gym, then I could change the scenario. So from that moment, I think that is the defining moment.”

The Rock On Starting the People’s Fund of Maui and Reacting To The Initial Backlash (22:32)

Trevor: “…you know, when you feel like you've missed a news cycle, like The Rock and Oprah under fire. But for what? And people were like, Oh, you're the problem. And how dare you? And why would you? And I was like, Man, our whole lives, people have asked people to join into a worthy cause. When did this become a criticism or a fight? And I would love to know how you process that.”

The Rock: “I woke up the next morning wondering the same thing. Thinking. What? What happened? Did I miss something? So it took me a couple of weeks to really process that. And I felt like that moment was a pivotal moment for me in my life for a few reasons. Number one, I want to go back to the brass tacks of it and the whole idea of creating this fund, the People's Fund of Maui, is to help people and help survive and thrive. These are my people. These are my Polynesian people. My Hawaiian Kanaka Ohana. My grandparents. They're all buried in the islands, you know, So it meant so much to me. And I know it meant so much to our people, Right. That we were able to come together and create this fund. Over 8000 survivors, by the way we're helping right now. It's really beautiful. But what's interesting is when all that started to happen and the backlash started to happen and it started to come our way. So I always feel like in moments like that, it's important. Not to get caught up in it. It's important just to pause. Let's be prudent. Let's pause. But let me just wait and see. And. I felt like my gut said it's going to take a couple of weeks, but let me really take a look at it. I don't want to respond to it right now. Yeah, let's stay focused on the mission. And the mission is to help the survivors right now who have nothing. And they are devastated. And so let's continue to stand the fund up on its feet. But at the same time, I want to pay attention to this. And it really tested my ability to separate noise from criticism that was really worthy of my attention in this case and this noise. And at first it was a wave of noise. Okay, how dare you ask us for money? And I thought the same thing you did was right. Whatever you can give, if you want to give a prayer. Great. A buck, seven bucks, or nothing. So there was the noise that started to feel like it was political noise. Then it started to feel like it was. It just started to feel really noisy. And I wanted to make sure that we just paused and I was just waiting for. Well, where's the criticism here that is worthy of my attention? That really makes sense. And then, Ah, that's it. This is what I feel I got. And it took me weeks before I figured this out. And I had a I just had a moment one night, and I think I was as I usually do, I was having a drink, drink off and clear my mind and clear all this shit up in my head. And once all that left, I thought, Ah, that's it. And I saw someone had posted something and it was something to the effect of basically don't pay attention to these guys and all this other bullshit that they're saying. However, you're one of us. And when I read You're one of us was the thing that made me go. Got it. Went back to when I was in Hawaii. When I got evicted, we had nothing. I was a troubled kid. I got arrested like you. I mean, you know, we both were troubled kids, arrested multiple times. I was always pissed that we were broke. There's a difference between being poor and then being broke. And I was pissed. I was always angry, getting in fights, getting in trouble. And the last thing I realized in that moment, the last thing that I wanted to hear was somebody asked me for money. Especially if the dude who I like, right, is asking me for money, and he already has money, and I get it. And a lot of times when you're in that situation, I've been there when you are living paycheck to paycheck. You're in it. Yeah. And you're not necessarily vibrating, you know, at a certain level and you're in it. So I came out of that and then I went, That's right. I got it. Now I understand. And you know what? Last thing you wanted was to hear people ask for money regardless of the situation.”

Trevor On The Power of Global Connection (51:57)

Trevor: “I mean, we were doing your moves in the gym at school. We had detention, and we had this like giant room where you would just get locked in and was like, that's your detention. It was like a gym, really, but it was a massive gym and we would put out all these mats. And would be like alright we’re practicing The Rock’s moves. Let's go and everyone would get in there and I'm talking like almost two stories high and we'd climb up on the railing. That's just a cage match. And you'd grab someone. You know what I mean?… Think about that connection. Think about how far that was. Think about how far you were from me in South Africa. Think about how far I was from you in the United States. And yet in that moment, we were connected.”

#podcast #podcasting #conspiracy theories #trevor noah #jfk

[bigskydreaming]

Tbh, that last reblog about “woman compulsively overshares but somehow people still don’t know anything about her” actually sums up Dick Grayson very well IMO.

Because its one of the easiest and most subtle ways for people to keep secrets:

Convince people you HAVE no secrets or the capacity to keep them.

I can readily see Dick as someone who habitually almost overwhelms people with random information about himself, his day, his past, in such a way that they almost start to tune him out when he launches into some random anecdote......while most people aren’t likely to think too much about the fact that still the only information actually being shared is information Dick is WILLING to share.

And when you freely volunteer information that you can’t see as possible to use against you or have no reason to protect or not give up, but as much to use it as a smokescreen as because of any real reason to share it....you retain full control of what information you do and DON’T share, and its kinda a preemptive defense. If Dick’s always freely volunteering information about himself or his life without anyone even having to ask.....most people aren’t likely to ever realize that its equally true that they’re never really even getting the CHANCE to ask SPECIFIC questions in search of specific answers.

Even someone actively looking to use Dick as an information source or think he has some info they want to get out of him, like, upon seeing how freely and casually he talks about himself....is likely to be more inclined to sit back and wait, erring on the side of doing nothing to reveal any particular interest they might have in learning any specific information from Dick....instead banking on the fact that with this guy running his mouth as freely as he does, all they really have to do is wait and he’ll lead them close to what they’re trying to learn and they can just hone in from there all without ever revealing their hand.

Meanwhile, Dick’s just leading them on a merry conversational chase that isn’t likely to ever get anywhere NEAR any kind of actual sensitive information, because just because he gives off the IMPRESSION that there’s no subject he won’t talk about or keep hidden, he never at any point is actually oblivious to what he’s divulging and is really just keeping up a steady patter of seemingly innocuous conversation that’s actually intended as a never-ending maze of conversational red herrings. Keeping people eternally on the hook and thinking they’re about to hear some juicy intel but always skipping juuuuust shy of giving anyone anything Dick doesn’t actually want them to know.

Its the feint within a feint idea. Even the most secretive people have varying DEGREES of secrets. Even the most guarded individuals have layers of things they consider to be greater vulnerabilities than other lesser ones.

Someone like Dick, I imagine, might be likely to view even varying levels of conversation as something like a chess match. Where the goal isn’t necessarily to keep someone from ever learning ANYTHING about him, but rather just to keep them from realizing they’re only ever earning exactly what he wants them to know and not a thing more. 

The goal isn’t to ‘win,’ but rather to just ensure that one’s conversational opponent never actually realizes they’ve ‘lost’.....even if sometimes the best way to do that, from Dick’s POV, is to offer up a sacrificial pawn, let them have an ACTUAL secret of his, or learn of an ACTUAL vulnerability he’d rather not disclose....but that BY disclosing or giving up.....he’s able to steer them away from his greater secrets or vulnerabilities. As instead they leave the conversation thinking they’ve ferreted out what it is they were there to learn or get out of him, while in reality he only put up just enough of a ‘fight’ or ‘chase’ to sell them on the idea that they accomplished something he didn’t want them to, or they pulled one over on HIM, learned something he didn’t want them to....and in doing so, allows them to ‘walk away’ with a sense of accomplishment, their goal already succeeded at, all without realizing that there was a much greater treasure trove of secrets or vulnerabilities that still lay ahead....with its greatest protection being that people think they’ve already found all there is to find and thus turn back before ever looking deeper just in case there might be more.

Essentially....its just another version of the Brucie act. Keeping people from investigating the deepest parts of a person by leading them to believe they just have very little depth to begin with.

But while Bruce’s version of this tactic is to shroud himself with the illusion of being a very shallow body of water, with so little depth you can see all the way to the bottom just from the surface, and thus turn away because you’re convinced there’s literally nothing TO see there, because if so you’d already have been able to see it with a glance.....the ultimate bluff....

Dick’s version of this tactic is to hide his secrets in a maze that people never realize is a maze, because he presents himself as more than willing, even eager, to act as a tour guide and show them around the place himself, take them right to whatever it is they want to know.....but all while steering them down a self-chosen path that keeps clear of all the more intricate and better-defended parts of the maze.

And so ensures the people ‘exploring it’ never actually get a clear view of how much bigger and more complex it is than they’re even being ALLOWED to notice.....the ultimate misdirection.

I think it fits both their overall personalities and even is reflected in their combat styles too.

Bruce is of course a master of misdirection himself, but his approach tends to be more brazen. He bulldozes through expectations and hides his true motivations or thoughts or feelings beneath the cover of the massive, distracting debris he throws up wildly in his wake, everyone too busy gawking at the DISPLAY he’s given them to witness and speculate and gossip about, to realize that it was all just a carefully constructed diversion meant to keep people too occupied to notice the real work going on just down the street.

Whereas Dick learned both from Bruce teaching him how to hide his secrets and keep things like his identity well guarded, and from watching Bruce put his teachings into action himself at gala after gala and even when interacting with his peers in the Justice League at times....

But just as with his combat style and Robin and Nightwing personas, Dick also flavored his own approach to misdirection by pulling from his origins and utilizing a more performative technique that isn’t as much aimed at crafting an immersive ILLUSION for his true thoughts or motivations to hide behind, but rather is aimed at crafting a more interactive SHOW, complete with audience participation, to put on as a cover for his true thoughts and motivations....where just like a performer calls on spectators to participate and thus help demonstrate how ‘real’ the performance actually is.....the true obfuscation lies in how the performer never actually loses control of the narrative he’s constructed in such a way as to build towards an inevitable ‘big finish’ even while allowing and ASKING for total strangers to play a part along the way.

Its an interesting dichotomy to me, how Dick and Bruce can be so similar even in their guardedness, but still distinct when you hone in on things like the nuts and bolts of how they go ABOUT guarding their most secret selves.

[lesbianrobin]

i know this may sound confusing and i’m sorry it’s the only way i can articulate what i’m trying to say so i hope it makes Some sense but like. i believe that stranger things Needs to look and feel different and have new characters every season in order to work. 

each season functions as a sort of snapshot. season one is very much evoking the same sort of nostalgia as stand by me. if you’re unfamiliar with the movie, it’s about a group of four twelve-year-old boys hearing about the body of a missing boy that was found in the woods, and going on an adventure to try and find it. it’s a frame narrative, the story being narrated by one of the boys now that he’s an adult and he’s looking back on his childhood. its iconic ending line is this: “i never had any friends later on like the ones i had when I was twelve. jesus, does anyone?” 

this is the brand of nostalgia stranger things season one captures. it’s not just about the eighties. it’s about this very specific moment in adolescence, when you’re just on the cusp of puberty and developing your outlook on the world, coming to really understand the concept of death, and dealing with moral dilemmas and serious decisions that you likely never have before. at the same time, you still have a childish naivete. your friendships are uncomplicated, and your devotion is unconditional. season one operates on this basis. it’s a snapshot, a single moment in time, something pivotal that happens in your life just before things start changing and childhood is over, the single moment in time when the world suddenly becomes real to you. 

and... if season one is the moment in time just before things change forever, then in season two, things need to change forever. if season two introduced nothing new, kept all of the same settings and characters, had the same exact tone and aesthetic... it wouldn’t be a new snapshot, would it? it would be an attempt at extending the first one, like tracing over an old photo. it would be taking this foundational idea, that there’s something very special within this specific moment of childhood, and betraying it. saying, no, things didn’t really change that much. i grew up, but i didn’t lose anything. i grew up, but i didn’t gain anything. i grew up, but i didn’t change.

when you look through an old photo album, you don’t generally see the same exact picture taken over and over. some of them are portraits. some of them are candids taken at home in your dad’s recliner. some of them are at the park. they’re taken during a birthday party, or at a dance recital. the furniture gets rearranged, the pictures go from sepia to black and white to color film to digital, the fashion changes and your grandmother’s beehive disappears and your mother gets a perm and you straighten your hair to death and then curl it when the style changes the next year. my point with all of this is that each season of stranger things captures a single moment in life, one of those big moments that of course you have to capture, and in the details of those photos you find the millions of little changes that nobody ever bothered to take out the camera and document. even if those changes are gradual, they still exist, and they’re undeniable. when you look back through the photo album, you don’t see the furniture move. it’s in one place, and then suddenly it’s in another.

maintaining the exact same aesthetics and cast from season one throughout the show would be attempting to take a single moment in life and artificially extend it. allowing the aesthetic to evolve, however, adding new characters who become just as important as those we loved in the first place, creates new photos. new snapshots of new moments in time, all separate and distinct from one another, but still along the same path, still part of the same photo album. the photo of you and your friends winning the science fair leads to the photo of you getting ready for your first school dance. the photo of you in your halloween costume leads to the photo of you shaking off you and your first boyfriend’s first fight. the things that matter to you change. you meet and love new people. you find your style and find it again and wear what’s fashionable and then ditch it all to try something new.

i guess all i’m trying to say here is that i feel there’s something very much alive at the core of stranger things, something organic and real that isn’t defined by a singular aesthetic or cast of characters. it’s defined by life, and life is, in turn, defined by change. while that change may seem abrupt or uncomfortable at times, it’s just a part of growing up, and isn’t that kind of a big part of what stranger things is about? growing up? i don’t know, i just think it’s nice how the world and the cast grow along with our characters. it just feels right to me.

#em talks #stranger things #lesbianrobin.canon #obviously this is just my opinion like. i'm not saying this is an intentional thing that the duffers and other writers set up #it's just like. how i view the show #this isn't in response to anything it's just kinda something i've been thinking about for awhile #long post

[ignitification]

Midoriya Izuku - Green for Hope, Red for Burning Passion

I always asked myself why exactly Horikoshi has changed Midoriya's character design so drastically.

Indeed, we go from a character called Yamikumo who looks like a feral child with the bad habit of eating his nails off, and drinks more coffee than humanly possible to an anxious bunny who smiles awkwardly and does not know how to accept compliments.

To me, the difference is absolutely insane. Izuku's hair and eyes are uniform and reflect his character and surname. However, a thing that I find peculiar is how the dark (Black/Green) and the Red theme are a constant throughout particular tellings of his character.

The legendary red shoes are one of Deku's main features. It's part of his character. However, I just got to think why exactly (especially having an idea on why was green used for him) and I think that the answer might be very very banal. However, I do think that this is not the only reason.

First of all, there is the most simple reason which I could think of: Midoriya Izuku is described as plain. In my opinion, plain does not really define Midoriya but the concept of him being bland and capable of melting into background is fundamental to express him in the most little details (however, there are few things which inwardly contradict this description: first and foremost his freckles). But as it might be, and Midoriya is indeed considered not worthy look at for more than once (at least as described in the manga - which is also one of the reason why his design has been changed so much, as Yamikumo had literally zero chance to go unnoticed), it appears clear how this suppression of character, of wanting to relegate Mido to a background role is what instead pushes Izuku forward to make a bold choice of something like wearing red shoes. They are strikingly particular, and noticeable: which means that Midoriya is not happy about being an npc, but instead wants to be noticed and in some way stand out.

The second reason, which I mulled over if was relevant enough is All Might. A recurrent color in all All Might's costumes is Red (and Blue, which kind of reminds of Superman and the American Flag. A fact that I found interesting as well if how AM wears Blue, Yellow and Red while Midoriya wears Green and Red, and of course Blue and Yellow together form Green).

And finally the third and final reason (at least, for now) is that Red, as a colour reminds Deku of Kacchan (even if arguably, we see in the first panel of the manga how Izuku wore already his shoes so this might be false and instead it might refer to the fact that Red is Izuku’s favourite colour only), who we know he associates with victory. As the mental image of Kacchan, who was red eyes, is his substitute for him being able to stand proud, strong and capable to win, Izuku might want to express this strive to be strong.

But what do these two colours mean, stand alone ?

As for Green: this colour, in different cultures, is associated with "Hope" . I think here the main gist and general going is that Midoriya represents Hope for the Heroes, Hope for the Unwanted, the Broken and the Damned (the Villains). I talked about Izuku being a Symbol of the New Society here, but in short, with Izuku Midoriya being fundamentally associated to the colour green, I think Horikoshi wants to express two things: how Izuku never loses hope (to be a hero, to have a quirk, to be a friend to Katsuki who bullied him for years or Shouto who straight up challenged him even before getting to know him, to reach and to save everyone) and how he represents and spreads hope for others (Eri, Kouta, the same Todoroki and Katsuki).

Green indicates life, renewal, harmony and safety. Which, in this sense, points out Izuku's nature as a person and how he is bound to feel restless unless he provides comfort to everyone, and that desire to save desperately anyone who he can reach. Green is a calming and soothing colour. It also stands for prosperity, freshness and progress - which point out not only the conclusion of Deku being N1 Hero, but as well at him 'changing up' the society and becoming the Symbol of Hope and Change (on which I briefly touched upon here).

However, on a negative side it also stands for Greed (wanting to be a hero and follow AM steps even when he had a hard time adapting his body to his new quirk) and Envy (Bakugō first and foremost and the generally heroes and those who has time to wield their power properly). In this negative meaning of the colour, I think Izuku’s selfless nature comes to the surface even more: how he feels bound to feel negative emotions which spur his renewal and development (after all, he did unlock Black Whip after Monoma had insulted Bakugou), but at the same time use this emotion toward a bigger goal (him being mad at Shigaraki, but at the same time wanting to save him - I wrote about this too here).

Green, is, finally, the colour of the Heart chakra: an expression of how Midoriya puts everything before him, because his heart cannot take the selfishness of thinking of himself first, which also come hand in hand with his sacrificing nature and reminds of his name meaning and the association made with the number 9. Indeed, “Opening the Heart chakra allows a person to love more, empathise, and feel compassion” - which in short, stands for an externalisation of Mido’s personality.

On a shorter note, in Japan, the colour green represents youth, eternity, vitality and energy - which, in its own way is both a confirmation and a denial to other references made in Izuku’s character, such as his dangerous nature, him not being concentrated to live on for more than he is allowed to fulfil his duty (him being tied to number 9 and so on), and at the same time it reminds us of OfA, as it gains more power and energy and at his cheery, youthful persona.

As for Red, as the colour of Blood, it also stands to indicate '' Danger, Sacrifice, Courage" (which reconnects to his name's theory and numerology, of which I talked about here, in short).

In addition, red is usually used to professionally gain attention (it's hard to miss something so bright) and convey confidence. We know for a fact that Deku has been wearing red shoes since he was a kid (or at least, since he met Bakugō, which coincides with Izuku being four) and that despite being Quirkless, he always showed courage in standing out to people even when they thought of him as 'inferior' because on his unusual condition.

Among other negative meaning, there is an overflow of temper, anger, agitation, and overbearing, demanding and oppressive behaviours. As clear as day, these characteristics relate more to fiery Katsuki than Deku, but as stated before, Deku puts Katsuki as model and adapts his combat style to resemble Katsuki’s. So, this overflow of energy and action is a double-edged sword which affects both Katsuki and Izuku in different ways (and is mellowed out in Izuku’s character by his other soothing characteristics , but more on that later).

Also, Red, in Asia is a lucky colour which might (or not) hint at how, despite everything Izuku got his 'lucky' chance to inherit AM's power and follow his dream of becoming a hero. Particularly, in Japan this colour is associated and denotes strength, passion, self-sacrifice. A transmission of feeling as complex and empowering as the ones Deku fills while he is living his everyday life as a future hero, summed to his nature and inherited quirk.

Red is also a magical and religious color. It symbolized super-human heroism to the Greeks and is the color of the Christian crucifixion, which might be as meaningless as other things, but in this case it might greatly relate to the type of enormous power Izuku tries to reign in, and to the self sacrificing spirit which he proves again and again.

So far, the meanings of the colours which have been associated with Deku are in line with his name, his personality and even the storyline which has been drawed out.

Among other meanings red represents power, courage, energy, passion, and creates physical effects such as enhanced metabolism, enthusiasm, higher level of energy (which comes back to the initial reasons on why Deku chooses Red as a distinct colour for himself and his shoes).

The color red is linked to the most primitive physical, emotional, and financial needs of survival and self-preservation.

Finally is also the colour of leadership, determination and courage. So in short, the colours red, where it indicates energy, action and strong emotion-filled desires and aspirations, is also weak to overbearing aspects which transform empowerment into negative traits (which is what, in the end, is represented by Bakugou). It is also strong-willed and can give confidence to those who are shy or lacking in will power (the shoes in Deku’s case). 

Red is the colour of the First (or Spine) Chakra and usually allows a person to be grounded and connect to universal energies, while Green is the link between spiritual and material.

What do these two colours mean in association with each other?

Onto how these two colours are related to each other, especially considering the premises made, we see that Red (life-giving properties, trust, belonging and violence) and Green (health, eternity, youth and greed) are not only opposites, but they complete and balance each other out. Indeed, to reign over emotions and actions, to red is usually added green which indeed is a pain-relieving patch for red’s intensity (the theory of Bakugou and Deku being two sides of the same coin are thriving).

Midoriya Izuku is an intense person. His personality allows him to balance out his power with a selfless nature, and while he himself is sweet and caring, his fiery eyes (and shoes) express for him his utmost sincere feelings, which deep down are very telling. As mentioned before, Izuku responds to Monoma when he insults Bakugou and makes a jab at how actually Bakugou is the one who ultimately terminated AM, by unlocking a new dangerous and powerful quirk, which is so powerful and fiery, and red in his intensity, that they need Shinsou’s intervention to actually calm him down.

Izuku is a overly protective person: he has forgiveness as a foremost characteristic and even if he does mention how he will not forgive Shigaraki for what he has done, on second though he realises that even a ‘monster’ like Shigaraki deserves to be saved, and therefore his other nature takes over.

Therefore, the coexistence of these factors, and his personality are probably at the origin of why Midoriya has had such a drastic make-over before becoming Midoriya Izuku, and why the colours of Red and Green are fundamental in the description which lets us have a full picture of Midoriya as an individual: something who is full of hope and energy, striving to express whisk power and passion while trying to concern only himself with the danger that comes with his mission to save everyone.

#bnha meta #mha meta #bnha analysis #mha analysis #color theory #numerology #bnha colour theory #colour association #mha #bnha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #my hero academy #Izuku midoriya #deku #bakugou katsuki #kacchan #bkdk #bakudeku #green #red #am #all might #yagi toshinori #eri #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga #bnha manga spoilers #mha manga

[cjloogy]

Spirited Away – 千と千尋の神隠し

I think it’s easy to consider this thing a work of art. The animation is beautiful, the art direction is stunning, all of the character designs are incredibly inspired and imaginative, the music is wonderful, and the voice acting sells everything that’s happening on screen. When it comes to productions that work well to introduce people to the medium of anime, I think this is a solid option despite its extremely fantastical setting and premise. Everything here just works, and there’s really not much to criticize for what it sets out to achieve in my eyes. I think just about anyone could enjoy this film if they’re a bit more open minded to exploring different mediums and stories.

As for what’s going on in this film, there’s a lot. But I can still boil it down to a few sets of themes that stand out to me at least. An obvious one is supernaturalism, this tale is inspired by Japanese Shinto-Buddhist folklore, as showcased by the wide variety of spirits that Chihiro encounters, plenty of which I can pick out individually. The setting of the bathhouse is a pretty literal interpretation of solstice rituals, in which villagers would call forth various spirits and kami and invite them to their baths. Chihiro’s place in all of it is that of a child going through their rite of passage into adulthood. She’s somewhere between child and adult in this rather upsetting point in her life, and in this world of spirits she also stands outside of societal boundaries. The literal translation of the title reinforces this idea further, 千と千尋の神隠し (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) or “Sen and Chihiro’s Spiriting Away” where 神隠し (kamikakushi) can also be read as hidden (kakushi) by gods (kami). In this way, I can see Chihiro passing through this world of spirits while moving on from her status as a child in her old home, to a more grown individual who’s embraced her past and accepted moving to a new home.

Other themes I can notice more now are ones that seem to be more critical of modern aspects of society, such as consumerism and environmentalism. Greed is a major motivation and pitfall for many characters in this movie, with varying obsessions over gold and food. I feel like this greed is mostly rooted in westernism, with Yubaba having a distinctly western-inspired dress and having much of her furnishings in her room look very European compared to the much more traditional Japanese styled architecture and furnishings of her workers. I think this ties into the influence the west had over Japan during the Meiji restoration, where in the process of modernization and “catching up” with the rest of the world, much of the traditional Japanese culture at the time may have been overwritten. Yubaba’s act of literally taking Chihiro’s name from her and turning it into Sen (which is the Japanese character for one thousand) can also be looked at as a commentary on employers’ fixation on sheer value even when it comes to living beings. Chihiro’s parents also turn into literal consumerist pigs, which is incredibly subtle and took me many viewings to understand this incredibly nuanced metaphor. Haku himself also gets his name stolen from him, albeit in a somewhat different manner from Chihiro. He exists as a manifestation of what was once a river in the human world, but the river was destroyed and had apartments built over its place, causing him to lose his home and his sense of self and identity. A pretty blunt commentary on both consumerism and the destruction of nature through urban expansion, which continues to be a concern for many in Japan to this day.

As far as Japanese cinema goes, I feel that animation should probably viewed from a separate perspective when comparing it to other films. The production is intense in its own ways, dealing with an almost entirely different set of hurdles under a pretty distinct medium, so comparing Spirited Away with other works that we’ve watched should be an interesting experience. While other Miyazaki films still win out for me, this viewing reminded me of how absolutely solid this movie is. A strong story with a lot of good commentary and a superb audiovisual experience makes it clear why this is considered by many to be the best animated film of all time.

Can’t beat Howl though, love that guy.