north carolina is insane dude i was in the laundry room folding my towels while listening to gintama opening songs and i looked out the window to the pool and the only guy swimming had a fuckin killua tattoo

btw i just wanna go on record to say i aint "larping" being a uhhh checks notes "incest loving hillbilly".

im from backwoods georgia. the boondocks. i grew up in the woods off a dirt road using well water and propane. i am a victim of incest. i dont know why anyone would think im uh...faking that. just because i happen to find comfort in hick horror. also i dont love incest thats such a weird thing to accuse me of because i fucking watched repo and acknowledge the canon subtext. or i acknowledge the TEXT in tcm....the most well known movie about an inbred family.

did yall ever stop to think that I read and watch the things I do because that's my lived experience? because it helps me feel seen and understood and rationalize my own life? or are yall just mad because im doing it in a way you dont think is appropriate? log off for me. maybe im not the terminally online one here.

there's a lot of reasons more people aren't into yuri that are troubling to consider, but equally, I genuinely think it cannot be understated how much of it comes down to most yuri being boring as hell. Like truly. I've been reading the front page of Dynasty Scans like it was the newspaper for 15 years I am not exaggerating I can show you the download file data 15 years.

You know what the complaint about yuri by yuri readers was back in 2009?

"wow that really was just 5 volumes of them blushing at each other and then they don't even kiss"

You know what the complaint about yuri by yuri readers is today in 2023?

"wow that really was just 5 volumes of them blushing at each other and then they don't even kiss"

Don't get me wrong, Yuri has grown a LOT in that time, to the point that most people today wouldn't even understand a Maria-sama reference if it were dropped in front of them (thank God). It's expanded and evolved to encompass more stories about adult women, wider varieties of scenarios, a greater acknowledgement of real life lesbianism, and is more comfortable showing girls kissing with tongue and having sex.

Yuri Manga is maybe the best is it's ever been, and it's also getting the widest readership it's ever had in the English speaking world. The titles we carry at work are always on back order with long queues, and, when I've asked them, most weebs of all gender or sexualities report keeping up with at least a few Yuri series.

At large though? Most of it is still really boring. That's not a bad thing necessarily. I like it because it goes down easy. For the most part any series you pick is gonna be pretty chill. Even shit from Sal Jiang which is PRETTY EDGY for yuri is a pretty breezy read. More serious ones like How Do We Relationship? cover some pretty real subjects about how intimacy is actually quite difficult even when both of you love each other, but it's not like... Exciting. Yuri isn't where you go to pump your fist or get perched on the edge of your seat.

So when the comparison is made to yaoi, well, I mean, have you READ any yaoi? Even in some of the more restrained titles those boys are likely to be sucking and fucking balls and all within the first volume or two. There's gonna be drama, intrigue, shit is gonna get messy, passions are gonna get heated, clothes are gonna be ripped off, people are gonna get sold to One Direction, it's stuff you can sit down with a bowl of popcorn with you know? Stuff you can message your friend and gush Hey Can You BELIEVE? A lot of it is pretty trashy, but that's the appeal. The generic state of yaoi is torrid and exciting and sexy. Ultimately, as a species many of us like to see pretty people fuck. In yaoi you'll get that. In yuri you won't. Nothing wrong with that, but it is gonna be a major contributing factor to their relative popularity.

It's also worth making the comparison to hetero romance manga, which has undergone a renaissance of it's own in recent years. There's now a whole meta around crafting a handful of mean shitty grouchy dysfunctional bully women and flinging them at the protagonist of the day who, unlike in years past, may actually have a face and personality. Most of these are also very trashy and truly scrape the bottom of the bucket in terms of writing.

AND YET?

I would bet money on the fact that you'll have heard of these women and probably even have a good idea what they're like without ever having touched a page of their manga.

I'm sorry but the straights are whipping donuts around the yuri girls in terms of delivering a wide variety of weird compelling fucked up women. How many yuri leading ladies by comparison can you point to as standout recognizable characters even divorced from their story? There's definitely a few, but not many. I'm not talking quality or depth of writing, I'm talking straight up pure recognizability. There are many beautifully written women in yuri, now more than ever. I can't think of many who'd like, get a figure made or have their face splashed on merch, though.

I don't really have a conclusion here. I love Yuri a lot, but at the end of the day this is just kinda the state of things right now.

I think Twin Peaks and Gravity Falls fans should start romanticising Washington state and the Pacific Northwest as a whole like weebs did with Japan.

I say “romanticising”. I couldn’t think of any other word for it.

Fastest Girl in Town - Angel Reyes x Reader (NSFW)

Tagging: @witches-unruly-heart @annetje @infinity-mars @danzer8705 @im-just-a-mississippi-girl @the-wandering-lunatic @anime-weeb-4-life @vannabanana1995 @multifandomloversworld @camelia35 @harperdoodle @queeniesdiary @laylasbunbunny @est1887 @justazzie

When Angel first meets you, he’s playing getaway driver as a favour to Riz, who stuck taking care of Club business up in Vegas. After the whole fiasco with the tunnel, Angel figures he owes him, so he does as he’s told and parks a Buick at the corner of some disused farmland and waits for his passenger.

He’s in the middle of his third cigarette when he hears a ‘WOOSH’ and he sees a surge of flames erupt from a field in the distance. The bright orange blaze licking up towards the night sky, like forked tongues. He can feel the heat from here, the raw power of the fire searing through the quiet. The air is thick with smoke, it bellows across the landscape in a thick black cloud, bleeding into the heavens. The stench of kush is in the air, not the fragrant scent he’s used to smelling but something more earthy.

It's the gun shot that jerks his senses into overdrive. It’s a pop in the distance and he sees the figure clad in a black hoodie hauling ass towards the car.

Another bullet pings off the Buick and before he knows it, he’s fucking behind the wheel, turning the key and bringing the engine to life with a roar. The passenger door slams shut as you throw yourself inside, yelling for him to drive. He doesn’t need to be told twice, he shifts gear and puts his fucking foot down.

It’s a few minutes into the drive that you tear the hood from your head, and he realises that his fugitive is a woman. A fucking stunning one at that. Your hair is wild from its confinement. It falls across your features when you turn to look at him, your eyes shining bright from the light of the moon. Your cheeks are flushed with adrenaline, your lips curving up into a sinful smile as you try to catch your breath. Clasped in your hand is a silver Zippo, he watches from the corner of his eye as your thumb runs over an inscription etched upon the surface.

It takes him 120 seconds to fall in love.

It’s not the beginning of a traditional fairy-tale but it’s the beginning of his.

That night he fucks you in the back of the Buick, or rather you fuck him. He’s never been with someone so dynamic before, someone as wild and fucking untamed as he is. When you pin his hands above his head, he submits to you entirely. You could do anything you fucking wanted to him right now and he’d take it, if it meant that he could make this brief snippet of time with you last.

It blurs for him, emotions and feelings tumbling together as you sink down on his cock. There’s an intimacy in the madness that he craves, something he’s never been able to get anywhere else. Your taste like strawberries, your lips soft and tender as your tongue dips into his mouth. You mark his skin in the throes of ecstasy, biting down on the curve of his throat as your cunt squeezes him so fucking tightly, he sees stars when he comes. The intermingling of the pleasure and the pain, taps something inside of him, he lets out a fucking sob, because it feels so fucking good not to be the one in charge for once.

In the aftermath you share a blunt, one that you pull out of a silver cigarette case that matches the lighter in your pocket. He sees the emblem on the front and suddenly he understands who you are, why Riz needed someone he could trust to help you out.

The Kush Queen, they call you back at the MC.

He’s never laid eyes on you before tonight, it’s usually Riz and Creeper that take care of that side of things. He knows your semi legit, that you have one farm that you use to sell in the California and the other one on Riz’s land, that ships out of state.

He knows that you’re the proprietor of Rose Kush, he read the interview you did discussing how the ever-changing state regulations were putting a stranglehold on small farmers. People with excellent quality products, that could help folks who couldn’t afford medical expenses because the premiums were too high. He knows that you donate to the Sweetleaf Collective, to make sure patients on a lower income get the relief they need because they can’t get it anywhere else.

In the hazy afterglow you tell him why you set the fire, that Simon James, a rival of yours blinded one of your workers when he wouldn’t give up the location of your second farm, the illegal one. Angel understands that loyalty begets loyalty. It’s an eye for an eye, so to speak and you couldn’t let that piece of shit get away with hurting someone you cared about so you decided to hit him where it hurt, his bottom line.

You aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty and Angel respects that.

You tell him you fully intend to salt the fucking earth, so the bastard can never grow another crop again.

As he sits in the back of the Buick, high and fucked out, shirt hanging open over his unzipped jeans, he thinks there has to be a fucking country song about this kinda shit.

“There is.” You tell him, plucking the joint from between his fingers and taking a drag. He watches as you blow the plume out from between your lips, and he thinks it might just be the sexiest fucking thing he’s ever seen. “It’s by Miranda Lambert and it’s called the Fastest Girl in Town.”

He laughs because he’s heard that song and yea, it’s about right.

Love Angel? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

So, doing the most rudimentary searches on the Digimon thing and here's some interesting nuggets. 1. Mamoru Hosoda, the director interviewed, only directed a single episode of Digimon Adventure (the first season) and two of the movies.

2. The "love triangle" that you referred to? The third part of that was Koromon, Tai's Digimon partner Agumon in his devolved state. The most likely outcome is that it was more just talking about the specific conflict of that episode (whether or not Tai stays in the real world or goes with Agumon back to the Digital world) and just used some other form of relationship conflict as a metaphor.

3. The translation of that interview has been called into question, due to the low quality of the image used for translating and the nature of it being translated from Japanese to Chinese to English, which any weeb worth their salt can tell you results in serious errors.

4. The whole incest angle to this sprung up from 4Chan, which is solid grounds to throw this entire claim into the dumpster.

The whole incest angle to this sprung up from 4Chan, which is solid grounds to throw this entire claim into the dumpster.

why i'm not surprised at all about that? of course, LO'll prefer any narrative where she can posture about how other people like incest but not her! never her! nevermind if she ends up accidentally reinforcing the racist narrative that japanese people are perverts who would romanticize two kids together as brother and sister, because when LO has ever cared about not being racist towards asian people?

Rambling about Mutant Mayhem

Overall: AWESOME MOVIE! The animation and art style is to die for. If they release an art book I am preordering that shit asap. I was laughing so much throughout the entire thing. The emotional moments hit too (if yk yk). And the FIGHT SCENES. DAMN. The animators understood the assignment fr.

(Btw, there is a mid-credit scene that is veryyy important for the future of this universe. Don’t miss it.)

Highly recommend giving it a watch. Turtles fan or not

Spoilers under the cut:

LEO MY BOY ILYSM AKSHKSJS

He is so cringefail and lowkey pathetic (rizzless Leo is canon)

But at the end when he pulled through and he got all excited AAAA it was adorable

They comment a lot on how Raph is always angry, but he wasn’t rlly? It was more enthusiasm and aggression, not outright anger. Not a complaint just an observation

This guy can throw hands fr. Don’t mess with this Raph aksjsn

Mikey and Mondo are bestie goals you can pry these two from my cold dead hands

KPOP DONNIE IS REAL KPOP DONNIE IS REAL AKSHSKSH

The boys(tm) aren’t traumatized yet enjoy it while it lasts

These voices are THE SHIT! Perfect cast for the turtles muah!

I have so many positive thoughts about the dialogue +dialogue delivery in this movie it needs its own separate post

I did not expect them to actually get milked. I thought it was a throw-away line but they COMMITTED TO THE BIT. RESPECT.

April is awesome. Just amazing. Took all the best aspects of previous April’s and combined them together. (That throwing up scene was not for me tho no ty)

I also was not expecting attack on titan to be crucial to the plot but here we are

Donnie’s weeb-ness saved the say

If there’s one rule that every reboot of turtles has to follow is that no matter what Splinter always solos. They understood the assignment

About Splinter, I rlly enjoyed his storyline. It’s made rlly clear how much he loves the turtles and how hard he’s trying. But the movie actively called out his behavior without making him a villain. Bravo.

Speaking of villains, Superfly slapped. Mans was intimidating, cool, smart. Rlly liked his and Splinter’s parallel arcs

The mutant crew rlly were just silly guys aksjsjhs

Kinda iffy on the whole ‘they learned ninjitsu through media’ thing.

I hope that in the show they can touch on that. Maybe show that they’re training is incomplete and have them improve their skills with a proper teacher

But yea that didn’t rlly land with me.

I think my only other nitpick is that the other mutants don’t have enough moments to shine. They def make do with the time they have and it works, but I would’ve liked more ( Bebop and Rocksteady specifically)

Splinter making out with a mutant cockroach was not on my 2023 bingo card

I had tons of mixed feelings about that ending. But the mid-credit scene saved it

I think the turtles being “normal” kids has potential to be explored. I’m not against it

They’re still ninjas thank god

I thought when the mask came off they were leaving it behind

BUT NOPE they still kicking ass

That was my only problem with ending pre mid-credit scene

SHREDDER IS REAL SHREDDER IS REAL

FOOT CLAN IS REAL FOOT CLAN IS REAL

Wonder what they’re origins are gonna be aksjsj i crave new content

Does Hamato Yoshi not exist in this universe? Are they hiding him and are gonna do a dramatic reveal?? Questions questions questions

Also, Utrom?? KRANG??

Love the idea of all these mutants living in the same space

In Donnie’s clip, did that look like the purple dragons to anyone or was that just me?

Are we just not gonna mention that the TCRI technically has some mutagen blood from Raph and Donnie? No? Okay

Now lets talk about April and Leo

It’s not explicitly stated to be canon. April going to prom with Leo felt like it was framed to be a casual, just friends thing. And I rlly hope that’s what they were going for.

Do I ship it? No.

I’m glad that Leo and April didn’t rlly end up together. Because it would’ve been super unnecessary and forced. Nothing I got from the narrative or message suggests that a romantic pairing helps the plot. I despise the ‘girl is clearly not interested but ends up with guy anyways’ trope and I’m glad that it kinda wasn’t there?? Again, it wasn’t super clear. But nothing romantic between them was shown at the prom or anywhere else so I’m going to choose to believe it’s not canon.

IF THAT WERE TO CHANGE depends on the upcoming show.

If the show has a well written, healthy, and developed relationship. I’d be all for it.

Just please do not pull a 2012 again. I saw that meet-cute ik what you’re trying to pull writers you better tread carefully.

And speaking of 2012; when you’re gonna introduce Casey Jones (i say when because yes), if you’re going to try the whole April love triangle thing again, at least make it funny. You managed to make rizzless Leo entertaining I’m sure you can do the same here. Just don’t make it as annoying as Capritello was in 2012 learn from your mistakes

Better yet, pull a Spiderverse and subvert expectations by making Casey an absolute bro to Leo. Idk, be creative with it.

That’s everything for now. I’m optimistic for the future of this universe. Looking forward to that show even tho it could be effected by the writer’s strike but I don’t wanna think about that possibility rn please get ur shit together and pay writers and actors what they deserve

I’m gonna go make a Kpop playlist for Donnie. Ask box is open if anyone wants to add on or ramble about the movie. Have a good day!

(Tagging my bestie) @enlighten3d

You know the whole 'Hi we have the cure for cancer but we're not going to share it with the world' awful, literally. Mythos thing about Wakanda made notice something

The cure was cancer was definitely not a silver age thing

It stated Kirby made Wakanda (though their advance technology was a later on addition) because he was tired of poverty porn Africa

And Wakanda xenophobia was acknowledged, because I learn there a page in a silver age comic where an African American character went “what’s up brother!” to a Wakandan

And the Wakandan him a “mute”

Now here my theory because when your…ancestors went to Europe for the world wars

Actually I think a lot of white Americans (especially poor ones) had a fetishized view of Europe. And they probably had they until WW1 where many had a one in a lifetime experience to meet Europeans

Then the Europeans immediately pointed out that Americans are foreign to Europe as a Chinese person.

Which definitely broke the illusion of Europe and lead to our modern American identity

Make sense?

So sliver writers probably took that account with doing black panther Mythos

Now the cure for cancer thing, oh I got my suspicions but I think older comic readers can help

But in the 00’s there was two black writers one named Houdini and the other Christopher Priest

Now I vauge on Houdini, but him and priest had that “WE WUZ KINGS” mindset

So they pushed the advance Wakanda shit…while saying that it’s a okay that Wakanda is xenophobic as fuck.

Actually I’m going to do a part to, but I notice something with black Americans writers when they get their hands on stuff.

Oh btw for Priest, well MCU Wakanda was heavily based off his run….

But Priest and the creator of boondocks had a falling out

To the point McGrunder took a piss out of him in a boondocks episode

Oh, priest had black panther beat silver surfer by using a wrestling move….so you can guess his mindset….Im not better with some crazy shit he tried to pull at dc in the 2010’s…no sir ree…

Actually I think a lot of white Americans (especially poor ones) had a fetishized view of Europe. And they probably had they until WW1 where many had a one in a lifetime experience to meet Europeans Then the Europeans immediately pointed out that Americans are foreign to Europe as a Chinese person. Which definitely broke the illusion of Europe and lead to our modern American identity

Never thought about it that way, though there is a lot of genetic memory in Americans we have tried to keep where we came from with ourselves to a degree, or at least some of us do.

Go find the local Greek community or little Saigon, Chinatown, Little Italy, and so on.

(relevant tangent time)

Guy named Andrew Doro (looked it up) made a splash several years back by chronicling his journey to eat food from every country in the world without leaving NYC, got his blog, and IG, looks like he's still going most recent post is from 5 days ago.

Older interview here

Not something you can do in Billings Montana but it's a cool project.

But ya some of us have done our best to keep the "old world" alive in our new home, you also get the families that came over and assimilated themselves forcibly.

Or you get mutts like me who's family roots go back before the revolution in some parts and while I know what my DNA says I also know that I'm American and not Irish or German.

Probably a good deal of what you were talking about going on in the aftermath of WW1 and 2 for sure, GI's staged in England before D-Day which was close enough to the US to not throw them but I'm sure folks had some culture shocks seeing the "old world" first hand.

We also can't forget

I imagine some weebs have a similar experience.

As for the comic stuff I am not well enough versed in those to even say which is golden or silver age, I just recall that there was a deal with them holding on to the cure for cancer.

Mostly brought up when you'd get people talking about how great Wakanda was and their only experience was MCU, which is lots of people for lots of the characters in the MCU.

Had someone spouting off that Captain America wouldn't use guns, just his shield like steven universe, double dumb because he was shown using guns in The First Avenger.

But I'm sure I have a fair number of followers that will have the information on that and hopefully one or more of them adds it here or if they want to send it as a ask that works too.

Honestly my biggest issue with MCU BP was people thinking that either Wakanda was real or it's what Africa would have been like if not for colonialism.

Which both things are insane just for different reasons.

The best things in the world is finding young artists with bizarre hyperfixations.

So, little fun tidbit about me, I spent most of my life in the Bay Area, and my favorite city in the world is San Francisco. My dad was born and raised there, both my parents went to SF State, etc.

I have a really strong emotional connection to the city, more than anywhere else.

Thanks to my dad, my family are all diehard fans of the San Francisco professional sports teams. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I scrolled past a YT Short of someone's OCs in San Francisco Giants gear.

Intrigued, I investigated the channel, and HOLY SHIT-

I seem to have stumbled across an artist who developed a hyperfixation on the CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO ITSELF and made a bunch of OCs that are personified landmarks and locations

I think I've just found the San Francisco equivalent of a weeb. A friscaboo? Idk

Either way, I am in no means disliking this. In fact, I heavily encourage her to be San Francisco's strongest soldier and make sad lore about her Golden Gate Bridge gijinka. I am personally really digging the Trans-America Building girl

Anyway, I love this person with my whole heart and wish nothing but good things for her.

Twst boys... the audacity

so this was actually a random idea that started as a simple "someone has the audacity of this type of person" and it just got into uh, something. I can't even manage to describe this post lol

good luck on that

tw: some got a stronger language than I intended... maybe it's nothing but just for sure, there's this warning maybe I'm giving myself too much credit

Riddle has the audacity of someone who can make math calculations in his mind and gets always the right results

Ace has the audacity of someone who can turn the blame back on you and get away with it, people are convinced of his innocence (especially if you’re an older kid/brother)

Deuce has the audacity of someone who called his teachers by the first name a dozen of times and can deck a punch both sober and drunk 

Cater has the audacity of a Instagram blogger who has +300k followers and remember all his Starbucks orders without missing a single detail

Trey has the audacity of a grandmother of 5 children and 13 grandchildren that has been baking and cooking her entire life and that’s why you should listen when you’re being said that you should put the dry ingredients first

Leona has the audacity of someone who says that he doesn’t need to call his dad because he’s already capable of beating the shit out of you

Ruggie has the audacity of someone who ran away from all the angry dogs in his neighborhood and survived 

Jack has the audacity of someone who will be called and relied on by church old ladies who needs him to reach the top shelf or put something higher because only he is tall enough

Azul has the audacity of someone who knows the names of all 500 types of Italian pasta that exists and also knows how to differentiate them

Jade has the audacity of someone who forgot what kind of mushroom he found, ate it and nothing happened 

Floyd has the audacity of someone who can bend backwards like a Soleil ballerina, grab his own ankles and walk around

Kalim can’t spell “audacity” but has money enough to erase the word from modern dictionaries 

Jamil has the audacity of someone who will taste your food, know exactly what you did wrong but will only say “it has a strange taste” and won’t elaborate further, seeing you look at him in despair

Vil is the living embodiment of audacity

Rook has the audacity of someone who knows all songs from the Les Miserables by heart, both in english and french

Epel has the audacity of a entire farmer village from the countryside that will look at you struggling eating a ear of corn and say that is because you’re from the city

Idia has the audacity of someone who built himself watching anime, knows most of the old classics, the medium tiers that nobody knows, the hyped ones and the obscure ones, so yes, he’s the god of the weebs

Ortho has the audacity of machines who gains conscience but can’t properly comprehend humanity flaws, therefore he’s superior and humanity will be slaved by machines like it’s a Isaac Asimov romance 

Malleus has the audacity of someone who will simply move you out of his way just with his hand, without actually putting that much effort in it like a a prize claw machine

Lilia has the audacity of an older senior citizen who would say “where were you when I was in the war? exactly, not even in your father’s scrotum” and sips from his pure coffee, no sugar cup

Silver has the audacity of someone who sleeps during a whole movie or lecture but somehow remember all the details 

Sebek has the audacity of someone who knows Latin and, on top of that, knows how to conjugate his own name in Latin 

Chenya has the audacity of someone who never fell in any “deez nuts” jokes and always retorts a “mom joke” with a even heavier “mom joke” because he already hates his mother + the real influence behind the whole “ligma”

Neige has the audacity of someone who passes out in the middle of the street, stays in a unconscious state for a long time and when wakes up, he says calmly “oh that was just a minor inconvenience”

(fun fact: Neige doesn't have a smug face so I had to joint his angry expression with a smile to create this mildly uncomfortable with the situation he's in but Chenya said it was going to be fun, so I'll do my best to appear "bad")

a ranking of trans representation in weeb shit

I was thinking about trans representation in weeb shit so I figured I might as well just rank all of them, from best to worst. this will obviously only include stuff I've seen.

umineko: read umineko(I have another, incredibgly spoilerific post on this here)

ciconia: it's trying, and might end up better than umineko, but only 1/4 of is out and I've read like half of that but I don't think it's gonna come up more after this point in phase 1. but it has so much potential, and has already discussed a lot more than a lot of these, so I feel like second place is where it can be.

zombieland saga: has a trans character who is part of the main idol group, she is never misgendered, and the struggle of dysphoria is at least somewhat addressed, so overall it does nothing wrong and a lot of things right.

punch line: to be fair it's revealed by someone shouting "he's a girl" but otherwise handled with a lot more tact that is expected in anime. also, he's a trans guy, which makes it cooler. for anyone who has now looked up the synopsis of this anime, no I will not take further questions for why this is so high up in my rankings. however, I will confirm that it was solidly good, and I don't regret watching it.

assassination classroom: nagisa shiota was not written as a trans guy. he was not intended to be a trans guy. however, if you interpret him as a trans guy, his story both makes a lot more sense and is more compelling, and also gives free representation. therefore, I will interpret nagisa shiota as a trans guy and no one can stop me.

wonder egg priority: on the one hand, the most direct adressal of the consequences of transphobia I've seen in weeb shit. on the other hand, this is fully caught up in the thematic disaster that wonder egg priority is, with the accidental gender essentialism combining with showing a bunch of cis girls, and then one trans guy, having, uh, problematic implications. but like, as a standalone episode(which it probably wouldn't make sense as but whatever), this would be a lot higher up, probably in second place. maybe even first, since transphobia is probably a bigger issue for most trans people than dysphoria. also I'm pretty sure this and zombieland saga(and maybe ciconia) were the only of these where the author knew what trans people were and went in with the intention of writing one. though, to be clear, I do not recommend watching this anime.

re:zero: okay we're getting into the zone where the trans representation is solidly bad. now, ferris is a trans girl. I have read the relevant lines in japanese, and her "lol I'm a boy nyaa" shtick is clearly a joke, whereas the lines where she implies she feels gender dysphoria are not jokes. the issue is, she was not written as a trans character. she was written as a boy who wants to be a girl. and, like, ferris has been written as a character who is fine being referred to as a boy, but like, she's also fine being referred to as a girl. and she is also just so extremely trans. like at the least trans, she is a femboy who is incredibly personally invested in her identity as such and refuses to wear masculine clothes, which uh, is valid I suppose. I'm still using she/her pronouns to refer to her because I've gotten used to it and it isn't like japanese has gendered third person pronouns in common usage so whatever.

steins;gate: okay so to be fair I have not finished steins;gate. additionally, whether ruka is actually trans is up in the air, much like ferris, but like most people who consider ferris trans also consider ruka trans so they're probably right. and if they are right, then introducing her by having okarin repeatedly state that she's a guy is like the worst possible thing to do. also I think that ruka is the one who started the whole thing of responding to "is [character name] trans" with "no, [character name] is [character name]" which is the most obnoxious and unhelpful response imaginable and has been used for all the above examples, so even if ruka isn't actually trans, steins;gate deserves this spot for introducing that deflection tactic.

intentionally not included: ranma 1/2. ranma is a man who is sometimes trapped in a woman's body for short periods of time. this really isn't comparable to the experience of trans guys. really all it is is wish fulfillment for trans girls. except it's only barely that since while in a girl's body ranma spends all his time searching for hot water to turn back. so like, ranma 1/2 is a pretty trans show, but you can't really point to any one character and be like "that's the trans one". actually, ranma's childhood friend who he thought was a guy but was actually a girl is probably the transest character. I know about this character because I, like most weeb trans girls, watched way too much of this show for the aforementioned wish fulfillment. 97 episodes to be precise. there are so many better things I could have done with my time.

Fated Rantings: Saiba

I finished the original Fate Stay Night anime

Now I’m sure the first thing an older Fate fan will ask is “why would you watch that one?” because nearly every recommendation I did see was ‘Unlimited Blade Works’ or Fate Zero.

And, to be honest, I was curious. I’m old by weeb standards and I prefer that older early 00s anime style. Most importantly, I fell down the Fate rabbit hole to begin with due to Saber herself.

My earliest loves as a child was older medieval fantasies you see. Robin Hood, King Arthur, stuff like that. (I love Gargoyles to this day due to it’s Celtic roots)

I had always heard of Fate but never dabbled. Some avoid it for the convolution but I grew up on Kingdom Hearts so that’s not exactly a hurdle I fear. lol

Rather I tried the mobile game out of boredom and true to my nature I sought lore because I love mythology. Even if you hate Grand Order everyone can enjoy how Fate retools mythology of any kind into a modern story.

So one playlist later and I found myself knee deep and now here we are. That said, while I chose to watch the original Fate Stay Night it was not the first Fate I’ve seen.

While waiting to track down the dvds I watched Apocrypha online first. Which also proved to be better than anticipated: https://derekscorner.tumblr.com/tagged/fated-rantings

Arthurian Legends own me

Now as stated, I found myself drawn to Saber the most. Not just the one you see in the original anime or UBW but as a whole. I had spoiled myself on Saber’s backstory and lore long before I watched that 26 episode anime.

I found myself rather engrossed in this retelling of King Arthur because it was done better than simply gender swapping the legendary figure. Saber was raised as a man and a knight and sees people treating her as a woman as an insult.

And this makes sense given the era King Arthur was believed to have lived in. Women simply could not hold a title like king. Yes, that is very silly, especially since she was chosen by a holy sword, but that’s the point you see.

But the events that made her this way aren’t just tied to that. It’s not as simple as gender identities despite what some will claim. In fact, Artoria is very similar to her “son” Mordred who was also warped by circumstance.

To my delight Fate does not shy away from Arthur’s more noteworthy legends but bends them to Sabers life.

There are subtle changes but key events still happened.

Although they’re full blood sisters in Fate, Morgan Le Fay is still Artoria’s sister.

Although Merlin was wise his detachment to humanity caused him to guide Artoria poorly.

The whole mess with Guenevere and Lancelot.

Although Artoria was the ideal king men wanted she wasn’t one they could understand. (and vice versa)

Caliburn, Excalibur, and the holy lance left her ageless. (literally)

Hell, even Mordred is still her “son”. Artoria allowed Merlin to work his magic to temporarily make her (I presume) a hermaphrodite to produce an heir only for Morgan to use this chance to sneak into the castle and essential slip a magic roofie and take advantage of her sister.

The dark aspects of King Arthur’s legend are still there and it has made Saber who she is. She’s desperate for the grail to redo the sword selection because she genuinely wants someone better fit to do it.

Little does she know the sword and her life was plotted by Merlin and her father decades prior. Artoria, much like Mordred, was set up for failure but not by her own design.

This stubbornness, alongside Shirous own stubborn nature, frustrates some watchers. I however found it fitting for them both. While Shirou lacks the power for her to fight efficiently his personality is the perfect match for her as she is in that moment.

And, like my Mordred post, I’m gonna tackle something some probably think I have no right too but bear with me.

While I understand Artoria’s wishes to not be viewed as a woman I do not think she hates being one or has any ideals you’d usually see tumblr (well now twitter) throw on that bonfire. Rather, to consider her as such is to diminish her pride as a king. Even if she believes herself unfit and a failure she still was a king.

On the flip-side, Shirou is naive due to his age. He’s never been in love before and like Gilgamesh (albeit far less depraved) he can’t really accept that Saber is something he longs for but can’t have. Despite her shared feelings in this route she can’t stay in that era.

But I did not get mad at Shirou for stubbornly getting in the way. He done it the wrong way but behind his teenage infatuation is a desire for Saber to be treated like a genuine person.

She violently rejects this because she believes she’s unworthy of that kindness. It’s a very nuanced thing where no one has bad intentions but still causing negative disputes.

This core issue is what hooked me so badly that I bought and watched the original anime. This is the only anime adaption that follows the “fate route” otherwise known as “sabers route”.

That’s also why this ramble is so Saber focused. This is her story and it was a story I loved to see. A small part of you wants to see them work out but more importantly a big part of you wants Saber to love herself.

To be given the chance to want and be human. Something her upbringing as “Arthur Pendragon” denied her. This lack of freedom in her life is noticed and pointed out exceedingly quickly by Iskander in the Fate Zero scenes I’ve watched.

In Fairness

Now I will grant you that I could enjoy this story far more because I had the context. I was fully aware of what drove Saber and I was aware of why she was summoned by Shirou and how.

I knew about Avalon, her torn feelings, and how Shirous hero complex mirrored her. I would imagine the average anime fan, especially back in the early 2000s, would be fully fucking lost.

For them Fate Stay Night was a generic anime with borrowed names in mythology. I’m also aware some prefer the modern ‘Unlimited Blade Works’, Fate Zero, and ‘Heaven’s Feel’ because they enjoy the other girls more.

Each route focuses on a girl in the barest sense. There’ll always be “animisms” like damsel in distress as well that some just do not like. That is fine. I wouldn’t recommend you view this without context either.

That said, I still enjoyed it far more than I expected. I wish this route explained Heroic Spirit Emiya or had the added epilogue where Shirou finds Saber in Avalon but it’s fine like this.

There was things to enjoy I felt. Rin seems not as “tsundere” as she is in other media I’m shown and I like that she nor Shirou really have a drive for the grail. Their dynamic seems to work in any route whether they’re lovers or allies.

I also like Shirous powers. Due to the Scabbard Avalon he’s become a highly spec’d magic sword. His father didn’t train him properly and he sucks at everything else but by hell do I wish I could just conjure swords. Seeing him use it to greater levels in other stories is always a good time.

I even laughed because the comments I had read before were right. Kotomine literally slings mud as Shirou in this route. The man can use magic karate to topple trees and here he just slings angst sludge at the boy. lmao

Another small thing to note was Gilgamesh’s use of the Babylon Gate. In other media he seems to just sling his entire treasury at people but in this show he actually used the tools a bit. A few swords, a dagger, chains, it wasn’t much but I liked that. (though I suspect animation budget was the cause)

Resolution

At the end of the day I found Fate Stay Night an enjoyable time. I even put off watching the last six because I did not want the ride to end. It leaves some mysteries open but that’s the fault of the original source which was a visual novel.

You simply can’t cram an entire, multi-route, novel into an anime. Thus why I say I enjoyed it more than most due to me having prior context.

To be honest I hope they redo this route one day. Give it the full ‘Unlimited Blade Works’ or even ‘Heaven’s Feel’ treatment. If they do I hope they added the epilogue of Shirou finding Saber in Avalon. (Let them be happy damn you!)

Now to plot what my next venture into Fate will be. Bye~

Anime Review: Trigun Stampede

Originally, when this series won the poll to see which of this season's anime I would review, I was planning to rewatch the 1998 anime in order to better discuss the differences between the two series, since I've never watched the movie or read the manga or seen any of the other adaptations that may or may not exist. I ultimately didn't because I have super important video games to play, but it's probably fine. I'm sure there are plenty of comparisons between the two just a Google search away if that's what you're interested in.

I watched several disconnected episodes of Trigun in high school and watched the whole series a few years ago, in the background while I played some video game or another. Basically, while I definitely enjoy and have fond memories of it, I've never had the deep and abiding love of the series that a lot of other millennial weebs have.

I didn't retain much about the plot or the history of the characters, but I remembered that Vash is a plant (though not the kind I originally thought of) who likes love, peace, and donuts; Meryl and Milly were trying to keeping him from causing more property damage; Wolfwood dies; and Knives is yandere. That's about it. Even so, I was put off by some of the seemingly arbitrary changes made for Stampede--mostly the decision to replace Milly with a middle aged alcoholic named after an actor and the introduction of Vash and Knives' backstory in the first episode.

I left the first episode feeling largely ambivalent toward the whole thing, and when the second episode was out I was busy watching other premiers so I didn't bother with it. Then I got caught up with the third episode and was blown the fuck away.

Knives has always ever been "Vash's yandere brother" to me. I remember little about him from the '98 series except that he exists and was the bad guy. When he was introduced in the first episode of Stampede playing piano while draped in that weird blobby shroud thing, I found it a bit silly. Like, "ooooh look at him he's so scawy lmao". Then he showed up in episode three and was fucking terrifying.

The highest point of the series is the episode detailing Wolfwood's backstory, which is presented in a charming picture book style that looks very nice and contrasts nicely with the really dark shit being covered. If I wanted to, I could also write a separate essay just talking about how Knives is the best character and how he was totally right all along (some of the shit he gets up to in the last couple episodes crosses over into 'what the fuck dude' territory, but he is supposed to be the bad guy so it's fine).

The environmental messaging is a bit hamfisted, but considering the current state of the climate I think we're far past the need for subtlety--if anything, we should probably start looking into beating people 'round the head with actual hammers instead of merely metaphorical ones lest this series become based on a future true story.

Ultimately, though, Trigun Stampede is fucking phenomenal. I'm not going to say 'you owe it to yourself!!' to give it a second chance if you bounced off the first episode because the only things you owe yourself are food, water, sunshine, and love, but I doubt you'd regret giving it another go.

Warning: Horny ass alpha hybrids, Breeding kink

After a while of living with the hybrids you start going around naked during summer because it's so hot and consequently it sets off Emmets heat cycle sooner.

They also like bathing with you if you're comfortable with it, although it's a bit hard for Ingo.

Emmet sometimes ties you up with his weebs or he just makes neat art with it to show you.

Although they listen to their instinct a lot especially during intimate moments there still is a sense of self control, but imagine if there was a way to make all that self control go away :)

They would be furiously thrusting into you not even winching when they cume still going at it until they exhaust themselves, you would be lost in a white void not feeling the other one entering you from behind. You won't be able to use your legs for a while after that. The moment they collapse you fall unconscious into a sweet dream. In the morning they will feel so guilty especially if none of you were prepared for it.

Now that's lovely and all… but what if it was mating season…

Imagen going to the town and being carried by one of them the whole time because you were so roughly fucked last night that you cant stand and still kinda exhausted. Perhaps your belly is a little bit rounder than usual.

*Is going fucking feral*

Okay but,, the idea of walking around naked... Like okay, yeah, sexy times yes BUT- The domesticity of it all. 😩 You trust alpha hybrids Ingo and Emmet so much, that you have no worries just, walking around naked. No one bothers going on their land, but if some fool does, both Ingo and Emmet are just a shout away. LIKE OKAY IMAGINE THIS Just imagine sunbathing naked on a rock by a pond. Both Ingo and Emmet snuggled up on each side of you. The sun keeps you warm while you cuddle up with your mates. It quickly becomes a bonding activity for you three. And bathing together?? 😩😩😩 like yeah sexy times can happen, but COME ONE how sweet would it be. Like imagine its late, and the sky is clear. You decide to go bath in the pond, and your mates join you. They both love gently cleaning your body, taking their time, almost as if they are worshiping you. Its sickeningly domestic. While Emmet takes his time with your legs while you sit on a rock, Ingo sits with you, gently kissing your hands and palms. Sometimes he hums a haunting melody, helping you relax. When Ingo takes his time with your arms, Emmet is giving gentle kisses to your shoulder blades. He’s clicking at you every so often, and rubbing his scent glands against your skin. It’s so tender, and makes your heart swell with love with how well they treat you. Emmet being a Galvantula hybrid, makes you all sorts of things with his webbing! One of his first courtship gifts was a blanket from his own webbing. It has his scent on it, and its nice and silky and soft. Plus, he made it extra thick to keep you warm in the colder season. He makes you robes and and clothes, and Ingo even helps out! Ingo helps decide what style to use, and keeps an eye our for dyes, and jewels that would go amazing with his webbing. Emmet also loves wrapping you! It’s a part of his instinct. If you’ll let him, he’ll wrap you nice and snug, and cuddle you. It’s a personal bonding between you too. He’ll happily click and coo at you. Ingo usually leaves you two alone when he does this. And dhhodsghadfhohohsohohohohoho I want alpha hybrids ingo and emmet to lose control while fucking me GOD. It takes a bit of coaxing to get them to let go and convince them you can take it, but when you do, oh boy. Both will be pounding into your hole for hours, and that’s just one of them. If you have both, expect the whole day to be dedicated to making sure you are thoroughly pounded into, and filled to the brim with their cum. Their stamina is insane, they can go for a long time before even having one orgasm. Even then, when they are in this feral state, they will keep going. They won’t even stop when they start cumming, and just keep thrusting into you. Each thrust filling you up more than before, pushing the cum as deep as it could go. You are completely cock drunk by the time they reach their second orgasm. They are so big... The pleasure is too much. You no longer think. Just feel. Your hole practically had fit to shape their cocks that relentlessly pound into you. It was exactly what you wanted. Eventually they collapse, exhaustion overwhelming them both. You wake up unable to walk. They both apologize profusely, though when they see the blissful look on your face, they hesitate. You tell them that was some of the best fucking you have ever had. Ingo’s a blushing mess, and Emmet asks if you want to continue. Ingo smacks him on the head.

You may have enjoyed it, but you very much need time to rest and recover! If it’s mating season though... Emmet will get his wish. Both of them won’t let up until they feel you have been thoroughly bred full. You hum, completely satisfied, though you have to wear one of the looser shirts Emmet had made for you. Their cum had filled you up entirely, and you looked a month or two pregnant. You can even feel it inside you as you are carried around. You clench your thighs at the feeling. Not to mention how absolutely wrecked you looked. And yet, if anyone notices when you go to town that day on one of the boy’s shoulders, they wisely choose not to say anything. Especially with how happy and content you look.

Jellicle cats or something idk i never saw cats the musical

So it was tough figuring out something for the lions cause their whole thing in canon was being the chi protectors and i kinda already took that from them

But then @sweetheart-weeb-33 suggested that they be very knowledgeable about chi

And looking at the way i perceive chi and everything to do with it that means the lions are Christians now

Imagine living in one of those lion cities they probably don't believe in the separation of church and state ew

You think out of everyone in chima the religious ones would get some divine inspiration from the guys upove or something but nope gods ignore them just like everyone else cause gods believe in equality

But chi stuff isn't all about religion these guys also get into politics they just want everyone to get along and have a nice time

They like to insert themselves into everyones problems to make themselves feel like the good guys for helping everyone with their issues

What? What did you say? National war? Well shit guess peace isn't that easy to achieve um nevermind they're totally willing to throw hands if god said so

Basically they're Americans

Anyways laval is just a silly goofy guy who really likes speedors and pretend fighting

This guy can't handle actually fighting tho not cause he's weak or anything he just can't handle making ppl upset <:(

Luckily for him he won't have to actually fight anyone ever

Nope

Not at all

;)

Okay okay, I think I have one.

Anime blorbos are the major arcana assigned based on personality, and all stay out while drawing the rest of the deck. During this process, you must cosplay as 1 (one) of the blorbos. The deck is evenly split (as much as possible) among the blorbos in whatever manner/order you feel like. Minor arcana type of the first card drawn determines what side of the argument they're on the following way, and specific card states why:

- Cups: In agreement with you, or otherwise generally self-care focused

- Wands: There should be some form of negotiating between your ideas and the opposing position

- Swords: You're a fucking idiot and you have a dumb dumb pea brain and dumb dumb pea brain ideas that are dumb you stupid dumb idiot

- Pentacles: fuck you, fuck this, this whole thing is stupid, everyone should just drop all of this, why are you the way you are

If the first card of your cosplay blorbo is Cups or Wands, you may proceed. If it is Sword or Pentacle, you must, in full cosplay, would a foam katana and fight a thoughtform of your blorbo in public in Highlander fashion. If you win, you may proceed. If the blorbo wins, you must give up your sinful ways.

Assuming you are able to continue, The rest of the cards are read sequentially row-by-row, blorbo-by-blorbo, in the form of a discussion/argument between the blorbos (Left-to-right if you're reading traditional, Right-to-left if you're reading Full Weeb Mode). You must then determine the winner of the argument.

I am very interested to see how assigned personality, favoritism, and resentment from cards that feel like they're not being properly listened to will affect readings over time. I imagine it playing out like a teen drama about a toxic friend group who all pretend to get along because they're forced to see each other on the daily but not-so-secretly hate each other to varying degrees.

now this is what i'm fuckin talking about

now... i do not have cosplay things so perhaps a viable alternative is to simply assume the visage of the character in an astral space and carry out astral combat, etc?